Photo by James Dobbs
Superintendent Will Hampton talks about the importance of students getting their drivers licenses at the Marietta Board of Education meeting on Monday. Also pictured is Eric Reed, board president.
Marietta City Schools Board of Education met Monday to discuss Drivers Ed, CORAS and the departure of the superintendent.
Superintendent Will Hampton said Marietta would be offering Drivers Ed to students through the Muskingum Valley Educational Service Center. He said there are 12 other school districts participating in the program as well.
“We’re going to use us as a vehicle for those kids to get their drivers education through Marietta High School,” said Hampton.
In the consent agenda the board approved the Drivers Education course for the 2022-23 school year and approved the purchase of a 2018 Toyota Camry at the price of $19,535 for use in the program. Hampton said the car may be fully paid for by grants through the Muskingum Valley ESC.
Hampton said there is an opportunity for anyone who is interested in teaching Drivers Ed. He said you can earn up to $25 per hour as an instructor, but have to go through 52 hours of training first.
“It might be a nice opportunity for some of our old employees to do something after school,” he said.
Hampton said they are working with Jobs and Family Services to access funding in order to help cover the cost of the class for low-income households. One of the minimum requirements for an entry level job is having a drivers license and it is one of the many hurdles they would like to help clear for students.
“It’s a really nice opportunity for our kids,” he said.
Hampton also spoke about joining the Coalition of Rural and Appalachian Schools (CORAS) to help provide development opportunities to Marietta Schools. CORAS is an organization of 120 school districts and other educational institutions in the 32-county Appalachian region of Ohio. He said CORAS has an Urban Accelerated Facility Program that helps provide funding for building new facilities in urban areas.
“We are pushing legislature to make this accessible to our population of schools as well,” he said. “It reduces the cost to the community, it reduces the time for that to be processed and actually take action and build a facility.”
Hampton said school districts in urban communities in southeastern Ohio are getting more than double the money to build up-to-date, safe facilities and Marietta wants to be able to do the same for their schools.
The CORAS Legislative Committee is working on legislation to create an Accelerated Appalachian School Building Assistance Program, that could help fund public schools across Appalachian Ohio if passed.
The board passed a resolution to receive professional development services from CORAS.
“What Will is describing is spot on, and great for our region,” said Sam Tuten, board vice-president.
During the consent agenda, the board approved the resignation of Hampton as of July 31, 2022. His contractual obligations end on June 30, 2022. Hampton has worked with Marietta schools for the past 17 years and has been employed as superintendent for the last seven years. He will begin his five-year term as superintendent at Alexander Local School District in Athens County on Aug. 1.
Board member Bill Hutchinson thanked Hampton for his time at the school.
“I think he’s had an uphill battle since he’s been here, but he’s worked hard. He’s done a lot of things for the school system, a lot of things in place to make us better,” he said. “I just appreciate everything he’s done for us.”
James Dobbs can be reached at jdobbs@newsandsentinel.com
