After a community forum held on October 29th, the Elida School Board of Education voted on whether they will move forward with a renewal tax levy. On Tuesday evening, the Elida School Board unanimously voted to move forward with the renewal levy for $2.7 million. Tuesday night's decision comes after the unofficial 5-year forecast presented at the community forum showing expenses outpacing revenues by an increasingly growing margin. Following Tuesday night's board meeting, we spoke with Elida Local Schools Superintendent, Joel Mengerink, about the next steps and the impact of Tuesday night's decision.

A number of teachers and district staff with Lima City Schools were honored Monday evening for their service to education. On Monday night, Superintendent Jill Ackerman, the Lima Board of Education, and district staff and their families honored those district employees who have reached 20, 25, 30, 35, and 40 years of service to Lima students. A total of 25 district employees received honors and recognition. At Monday night's celebration, we talked with one teacher about what it is like to not only teach for the Lima City Schools for 20 years but to teach for the district she graduated from.

Rhodes State College presented this year's recipients of the Alumni Circle of Excellence and the Outstanding Alumni Awards Friday evening. This year's Alumni Circle of Excellence awards were bestowed to Richard Kortokrax, Warren Pughsley, Melissa States, and Ezekial Wiechart for their contributions in their college, community, and career field. The Outstanding Alumni Award was granted to Dr. Nicholas Pratt for his career achievements and service. Dr. Pratt, who is currently completing his medical residency at Yale University, talked to us what the award means to him.

The Elida Local School District has hired a new treasurer to operate the district's fiscal responsibilities. Larry Kaiser has been named as Elida's next treasurer. Kaiser served as treasurer for Continental Local Schools for the past 2 years with 4 years of prior experience working for an information technology center serving numerous area school districts, including Elida. At Tuesday night's Elida School Board of Education meeting, we talked with Elida Superintendent, Joel Mengerink, about what qualities he observes in Kaiser to positively guide the district.

Lima City Schools' families gathered for community fellowship Tuesday evening at Lima Senior High School for the District-Wide Open House. The open house is the main highlight of the district's "Celebrate Public Schools: Experience the Spartan Pride" week where each Lima City School building and their programs are displayed. The open house is filled with various activities including a free meal prepared by the Spartan Inn culinary students, student performances, spartan merchandise, and prizes. The purpose of this celebration is to show the community how public education serves every student and family, a message Lima City Schools Superintendent, Jill Ackerman, wants families to know.