The Cambridge City School District Board of Education met in special session on July 29, 2024, to approve several annual agreements, several personnel actions, and the 2024-2025 bus routes.
The CCSD Transportation office uses software designed to create bus routes, years of experiential data, and the guidance of state law and board policy to determine bus routes and stops.
“First and foremost, the safety and well-being of our students is taken into consideration,” Superintendent Dan Coffman stressed. “Then we look at population density – the number of students who live in a specific area.”
State law says that students can walk up to 1.5 miles to a school and a half mile to a bus stop. Cambridge BOE policy cuts the 1.5 miles in half to .75 for students to walk to school.
“We are cognizant of the distance students walk to school and bus stops and take into consideration the amount of traffic at the time of day we pick up and drop off students,” Coffman said. “As always, we want to do what is best for our students.”
Cambridge currently runs 14 bus routes and three van routes with some of the buses running double routes, dropping off students at Primary and Intermediate before making a second run to pick up or drop off High School and Middle School students.
The district is also looking for more drivers as most districts across the state are experiencing a driver shortage. Cambridge Schools will pay for potential drivers to earn their CDL.
In other business, the board contracted with Sarah Brown to be the official photographer for Cambridge City Schools for the 2024-2025 school year. Brown previously served the district for winter and spring sports’ seasons in 2023-2024. Pictures have been posted and can be purchased from her website at
https://sarahbrownsports.pixieset.com/.
The board also awarded the student accident insurance for the 2024-2025 school year to Student Protective Agency, Mt. Vernon, Ohio and underwritten by Guarantee Trust Life Insurance Company; approved membership into the Coalition of Rural an Appalachian Schools (CORAS); approved an amended student calendar for the Cambridge Preschool; and an agreement with LifeTouch for school photos and yearbooks for the 2024-2025 school year.
The board also accepted 14 donations totaling more than $5,000 for the Tim McBride Memorial Scholarship.
In personnel items, the board approved the hiring of Waylon Mohler and Tim Gibson as substitute bus drivers, Jan Leeper as a van route driver, Shaunna Surrarrer as bus route 42 driver, Mike McLaughlin as a bus driver, Angie Fulton as CATS Camp aide, Jan Wheatly as District-wide Medical Aide-LPN, Devon Karl as a District-wide Aide at the Primary School, Shanna Coss as a High School cook, Elizabeth Nelson as a substitute secretary, and Christine Albaugh for unpaid leave.
The board approved the resignations of Waylon Mohler, Marlo Barker, and Skylar Flynn.
The board also approved April Castello, Aaron Beatty, Lew Nicholas, Kitrina DuBois, Logan McCort, Shane Roberts, Mary Rich, Sean Byerly, Bob Mascolino and Kaylee Lenarz for extended service; approved limited one-year teacher contracts for Evelyn Brenneman who will teach STEM at the Intermediate School and Sarah Pittillo who will teach first grade at the Primary School; and approved Alauna Butler and Hunter Williams as substitute teachers.
In athletics, the board approved the hiring of David Easterling as assistant girls’ basketball coach, and Jeremy Tolbert as 8th grade football coach.
The next meeting of the Board of Education will be at 5 p.m. on August 15, 2024, at the Primary School.