T-L Photo/KIM NORTH BRIDGEPORT HIGH School Principal Tom Daley talks during a Bridgeport Exempted Village School District Board of Education meeting Wednesday. He said a grade scale change would benefit students in the district. The proposal was unanimously approved, 5-0, during a vote of board members.

BRIDGEPORT — Bridgeport Exempted Village School District Board of Education members believe a decision they made Wednesday will go a long way in offering students more opportunities.

The five-member panel unanimously approved a resolution to revise the district’s grading scale during its regular monthly meeting inside the district’s Central Office.

“We’ve made our grading scale more comparable to what other districts in the valley are doing, as well as colleges and universities, so that the transition is seamless for students as they move into their post-secondary careers,” Superintendent Brent Ripley said. “In addition, it’s going to help our students out. Life is sometimes tough for families and their kids, and our goal is to do what is the best for the kids. That’s what it came down to with the grading scale.

“This grading scale will help our students not only excel more academically, but emotionally as to how they feel about themselves,” he added. “The old scale was a little tighter and hadn’t been adjusted since the 1990s.”

The new scale, which will go into effect at the start of the 2022-23 school year, will be a 10-point scale in which 90-100 percent is an A; 80-89 percent a B; 70-79 percent a C; 60-69 percent a D; and 0-59 percent an F.

The old scale was 94-100 percent as an A; 86-93 percent a B; 75-85 percent a C; 65-74 percent a D; and 0-63 percent an F.

“As we move forward here at Bridgeport, we’re going to be making some good changes in the next four years,” he continued. “We’ve got college coursework coming here free to the students enrolled in the district. They get free college credits that will transfer to local colleges and universities.”

High school Principal Tom Daley is all for the change. He noted that a committee of various individuals was formed to study the change. Board members Don Cash III and Pat McConnaughy were two members.

“I’m happy for our kids,” Daley said. “We’re just trying to level the playing field and get our students the recognition that they deserve. When we looked around at other school districts that had a lower grading scale, our kids were at a disadvantage. We wanted to even that out, and I think we have done that.”

Board member Jerry Moore was also pleased.

“The time is now to move on to the new scale,” he stressed. “It benefits the kids and gives them more opportunities at scholarships and college offers.”

Ripley also said the hiring of Leslie Kosanovic as the district’s curriculum coordinator would benefit the students, as well.

In other action, the board also unanimously approved the following matters:

– to accept the resignation of maintenance and transportation Supervisor Todd Antill, effective Friday;

– to approve a resolution for the 2022-23 school year that would give the district the ability to test third grade students via paper tests for the Grade 3 Ohio State Tests English Arts Assessment.

The next regular monthly board of education meeting will be held at 6 p.m. April 20 at the central office.