BELOIT — The West Branch Board of Education approved membership in the Ohio Education Policy Institute for 2025 at its meeting Tuesday.

The board voted unanimously to approve membership at a cost of $1,000 for calendar year 2025. Treasurer Adam Fisher explained that membership in the institute offers data on school funding issues and legislation including property tax levies, property tax reform and the Fair School Funding Program, and will ensure the district remains up to date on any legislation being discussed which might affect the district’s funding.

Fisher also noted that with recent discussions within Ohio’s state legislature to cut funding for the Fair School Funding plan, regular updates on the status of funding legislation would be beneficial to the district.

During her report, Superintendent Micki Egli discussed the district’s open enrollment policy, which currently does not accept any applications for new open-enrollment students in grades K-7 and accepts limited applications for grades 8-12. Egli said that she would like to extend the grades the district accepts limited applications from to include seventh grade, noting that was the age when students look to join a district’s junior high athletics program and that she did not feel doing so would require additional staff be hired.

Board Member Joe Courtwright asked if the district had received much interest in open enrollment for seventh graders and Egli said that there had been last year, but not as much so far this year.

The board also approved several personnel and administrative items.

Administrative items approved included: participation in the college credit plus option for high school students for the 2025-2026 school year; and membership in the Ohio High School Athletic Association for the 2025-2026 school year.

Personnel items approved included: the resignation of Maintenance Director Christopher Hoffman effective Jan. 17, and Girls Golf Coach Dan Hall; the retirement of Nurse’s Aide Teresa Santee effective May 30, and Bus Driver Dennis Howell effective June 30; the hire of Interim Maintenance Director Brian Baker effective Jan. 18, Middle School Intervention Specialist Maria Jarvis effective Jan. 7, and Custodian Dana Payton effective Jan. 23; certificated and classified substitutes; and athletic supplementals for the 2024-2025 school year.

The meeting concluded with an executive session for the discussion of personnel matters with no action to follow.

The board of education will meet next at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 20.