“I think I’m walking into an excellent building,” Cowell said last week. “The staff, the community and the parent support in that area is just phenomenal, and I’ve been very impressed with the collaboration already. I’d just like to continue moving them forward in an upward direction.”
Greenmont is one of two Kettering elementaries with new principals this fall. Jonathan Cooper, formerly principal at the now-closed Moraine Meadows Elementary, is taking over for Debbie Mears at Southdale. Mears took a curriculum position with Franklin City Schools.
Levy update
The school board on Aug. 3 unanimously approved the decision to put a new, five-year, 4.9-mill levy for operating expenses on the Nov. 2 ballot. A 6.9-mill levy narrowly failed in May.
The 4.9-mill levy would raise $6.425 million annually for the schools, and would cost the owner of a $100,000 home $150.06 per year, according to the Montgomery County auditor’s office.
Superintendent James Schoenlein said the district has cut $2.25 million from its budget this summer because the smaller levy will generate $2.7 million less annually than May’s levy would have. He said the savings would come from the closure of Moraine Meadows Elementary ($500,000), personnel cuts through a mix of attrition and layoffs ($1.25 million), plus equipment, utility and other reductions ($500,000).
“It is crucial, it is critical, that we get this levy passed to keep quality of life in Kettering,” said school board president Jim Trent.
School notes
• Rhoades is not the only Kettering educator taking a prominent position in Beavercreek schools. Tina McNachtan, who was a third-grade teacher at Beavertown Elementary, has been hired as an assistant principal at Main Elementary in Beavercreek.
• The school board has scheduled a joint meeting with the Kettering City Council for 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 31, at the school board offices, 3750 Far Hills Ave.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2278 or jkelley@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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