Editor
The West Clermont Local School District had a lot to celebrate during the Nov. 22 board meeting, including a $10,000 donation from the Deimling/jeliho Plastics Inc. Company.
Lauren Nazzarine, director of student services, introduced Bill Deimling, president, to the board.
“Mr. Deimling and his family have been lifelong supporters of the West Clermont School District for over 37 years. Bill has always found a way to give back to our community and tonight is non exception,” Nazzarine said.
Previously, Deimling provided each unit of the district’s special education preschool with iPads. Now, he is helping the district build a motor development room at West Clermont High School, Nazzarine said.
“Thank you for always being an advocate for our special education students, your donations have truly impacted our kids,” she said.
Deimling/jeliho, a custom thermoplastics injection molder and contract manufacturer, has been located in Union Township for 37 of their more than 40 years in business. At their current location, they can see the new high school being built, Deimling told the board.
When the company was starting out, the district signed off on three tax abatements for them, which cost the district money. Now the company, which has nearly 200 employees and recently added 30,000 square feet to their building, is well established and Deimling wanted to give something back, he said in an interview.
That is why Deimling, his wife and his daughter came up with the idea to donate to the district. After making that decision, Deimling asked to make the donation for students with special needs as his granddaughter, a student at Clough Pike Elementary School, is a special needs student.
“We just thought it would be very nice to give back to the community that’s helped us,” Deimling said, adding that the tax abatements really made a difference for the company.
Superintendent Keith Kline thanked Deimling, saying that his donation is appreciated.
“This is another great example of our community coming together,” Kline said.
SUTQ is a system run by the Ohio Department of Education and the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services that recognizes and promotes learning and development programs that exceed regulations, according to the website.
The district has been preparing for the last two years, Nazzarine said.
“Highly qualified teachers are interviewed, asked to participate in additional professional development, provide opportunities for family involvement and are challenged to close the achievement gap for our preschool students. All of these requirements are incorporated in our Step Up to Quality plan and we have to justify it,” Nazzarine said.
She added, “Our team has been working hard to meet and exceed these expectations.”
The following teachers were recognized for their hard work: Leslie Rickman from Amelia Elementary, Katie Ayers from Brantner Elementary, Rachel Kilgore from Clough Pike Elementary, Brooke Clayton from Holly Hill Elementary, Danielle Conine from Merwin Elementary, Shannon Collins from Summerside Elementary, Erica Jackson from Willowville Elementary and Jane Buckingham from Withamsville-Tobasco Elementary. Lauren Hanna, Julie Carter and Melissa Wiener, pre-school supervisors, were also recognized.
“These folks worked incredibly hard with our very youngest learners to make sure that they’re getting a quality experience and just so proud of the work that they’re doing in the classroom and really making a difference in the lives of our little ones,” Kline said.
Also during the meeting, the board unanimously agreed to contract with Endeavor Construction, a local, family-owned company that does construction work in the Tri-State area, for the West Clermont Middle School consolidation phase two, which will include corridor work, door hardware renovations and roof work.
Endeavor Construction put in a $2,723,000 bid for the project.
“I am happy to report that bid day was a great day and that we are able to capture all the alternates just under the published budget,” said Lance Perry, director of operations, referring to the alternate items he identified so the district would stay in budget.
He told the board that he has spoken to other districts who worked with Endeavor and they gave Perry positive feedback.
The bid came in just under $100,000 under budget, Perry said.