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West Geauga board hears student STEM and arts showcases; parents urge warming‑center planning and continued arts funding
Summary
At the March meeting the board celebrated athletic and STEM achievements, students demonstrated VR projects developed in Alan Duncan's class, and public commenters urged the district to pursue generator capacity for emergency community warming centers and to advance performing arts center grant planning.
The West Geauga Local Board of Education opened its March meeting with multiple student recognitions and classroom demonstrations, then heard public comments about community emergency power and performing‑arts funding.
Student achievements and classroom innovation led the meeting’s early session. Principal Ryan Patty and staff recognized gymnasts, swimmers and wrestlers for recent state and conference accomplishments. In a classroom demonstration Alan Duncan and Sarah Salbury introduced student projects that convert childhood stories into virtual‑reality experiences built in Delightex and playable on Oculus headsets; students described the classroom work as intentionally accessible so peers could play independently.
Parent and community remarks followed. Mike Olsson (11705 Legend Creek Drive) told the board he helped start a robotics competition club at the high school with corporate support from Rockwell Automation and praised teacher Mr. Duncan’s volunteer time: “I have nothing but good things to say about Mr. Duncan,” he said, and urged the board to consider recognition or agenda support to sustain volunteer staffing.
Michael Kilroy recounted long‑running community requests for generator capacity dating back to 2008 and urged the district to equip the high school with portable generators and wiring so kitchens and basic services could support residents during outages. Kilroy said past outages show the school could serve as a local emergency hub and asked the board to prioritize planning.
Katie Davis (9559 Winchester Valley) praised a recent elementary production, described strong community involvement, and asked for a grant update on a proposed performing arts center. Board members replied that capital grants are handled on a biennial schedule and that planning will be folded into facility strategic planning and the next capital budget cycle.
Why it matters: parents and commenters framed schools not only as education sites but also as community assets for emergency response and cultural programming. The student demonstrations highlighted classroom technology and inclusion work that staff and parents said strengthens student engagement.
Next steps: staff said the performing‑arts center idea will be part of upcoming strategic facility discussions and that district staff will follow up on community requests about emergency power and capital grant timing.
