Stew-Stras Board Votes to End Co-Op w/Windsor

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Published on May 31 2018 12:13 pm
Last Updated on June 1 2018 6:36 am
Written by Greg Sapp

The Stewardson-Strasburg Board of Education Wednesday voted 4-3 to end the athletic co-op with the Windsor School District after the coming school year.

The first vote was to continue negotiations on extending the co-op beyond the coming school year. That measure failed 3-4 with Bob Schlechte, Kinda Morris and Barry Wittenberg in support of continuing talks and Allison Vonderheide, Rob Quast, Jeremy Chaney and Chad Smith voting against. Another motion was then advanced to end the co-op after the coming school year and that measure passed 4-3 with Vonderheide, Quast, Chaney and Smith voting in favor and Schlechte, Morris and Wittenberg voting against.

If things don't change, it is presumed the districts will go back to their former Comets and Blue Devils nicknames, although that has not been finalized.

The Stew-Stras board also Wednesday voted to hire veteran coach Bob Lockart as boys varsity basketball coach. Lockart has been coaching at Neoga, but resigned after Neoga had a teaching job to offer a coach. Andrew Snow has been hired as Neoga coach and as a teacher. The Windsor board has to concur in Lockart's hiring.

The Stew-Stras board also Wednesday accepted the resignation of Ben Giertz as junior high boys basketball and junior high baseball coach. A Stew-Stras native, Giertz remains a teacher in the district. The Board also hired Shane Smith as head teacher for the coming school year, and accepted the resignation of Rachel Rhody as K-12 music instructor for the district.

The Board discussed hiring an elementary teacher, but took no action. They also approved the list of program sponsors for the coming school year, but did not vote on coaches.

Board members voted to approve several infrastructure improvement projects. Those include coating a portion of the existing junior high school roof for $18,500; a bid to replace the high school gym lobby doors; a bid to replace the southeast high school gymnasium doors; and a bid to replace the concrete apron at the east doors of the high school gym lobby.