BRIDGEPORT — The Community Foundation for the Ohio Valley presented Bridgeport Exempted Village School District with a $15,000 check to support Perkins Field during a board meeting Wednesday.

Superintendent Brent Ripley said the organization has always shown generosity to the school district.

Debbie Stanton, program officer at the Community Foundation for the Ohio Valley, presented the check to Bridgeport alumni.

The money will be used for general maintenance and upkeep of the field, which is home to Bulldog sports including football, baseball, softball and track. The stadium, situated off U.S. 40 east of the school complex, opened in 1922 and marked a century of service to the district last year.

In other news, a group of staff from Bridgeport High School discussed starting a new class for seniors for the 2024-25 school year. Leslie Kosanovic, curriculum director, said the class would be called “senior service learning class,” and students would learn about the history of the area and about district alumni.

Kosanovic said she hopes the class will help students learn more about their hometown and help “reinforce that sense of pride.”

She said that helping students learn about alumni and the people who helped Bridgeport grow and develop is very important to her.

“We’re all here — let’s face it — personally and professionally, because we stand on the shoulders of those that came before us. That’s why we’re here,” she said.

High school Principal Jack Fisher said the course would help students develop a sense of community.

“There’s a strong component where it ties our students to Bridgeport, learning about the community that they are a part of and that we are a part of,” he said.

Fisher also said he hopes the class will encourage students to give back to the community and support their hometown.

The staff also discussed how career planning and aptitude testing could be incorporated into the course.

“This will give them an insight into careers that maybe they’re not aware of but they might be really good at. So this will be the combination of those two things, the sense of pride and community and then, you know, maybe relating that to a career,” Kosanovic said.

Fisher also said he wants to give students extra support as they plan their careers.

“We’re looking to the future. We’re helping students after graduation and through graduation,” he said.

Guidance counselor Vicki Falcone said that career planning is necessary and that the graduation requirements for high school students have changed a lot recently.

“The state of Ohio is really, really moving towards us pushing careers for our kids, having them prepared starting in the middle school, getting them more involved,” she said.

She pointed out that the Department of Education has changed its name to the Department of Education and Workforce.

“So that just goes to say how intense the state of Ohio is to engage our kids and work towards trying to get them so they have skills to meet before they graduate,” she said.

Falcone said the state has also mandated that seniors take a financial literacy class and is pushing for students to be prepared for the future.

Ripley said more changes are coming to the schedule to allow students more time to get tutoring and extra help in subjects that they struggle with.

Meanwhile, Superintendent Brent Ripley discussed making indoor track an official sport at Bridgeport schools.

“We’re going to move forward with it. It’s great for kids. It’s great for the program. A lot of your good athletes that are in track, they do that throughout the winter,” he said.

All members of the board voted to approve Robert Newhart, the district’s current varsity track coach, to coach the indoor track team.

Newhart said Youngstown State University and Muskingum University would be possible venues for track meets and competitions.

“Indoor track isn’t very common. Obviously, there’s not a lot around the Ohio Valley, so it’s going to expose them to kids from different counties and different states,” he said.

The season would start in January and run until mid-February.

Newhart said track teams that compete all year tend to do better in the outdoor season.

“They just keep improving throughout the year, and I think it’d be a good opportunity for them,” he said.

The board also said goodbye to departing member Jerry Moore.

Ripley said Moore has been on the board for 34 years and has worked with seven different superintendents.

“You brought a lot of great change for Bridgeport,” Ripley told Moore.

The board presented Moore with a brick saved from the demolition of the former Bridgeport High School, where Moore graduated in 1970. It was inscribed with the words: “Jerry Moore Sr., board member dedicated to the Bridgeport Schools.”

Ripley said the students also had a “penny wars” fundraiser and raised $412. Ripley presented the money in a card signed by the students and gave it to Moore during the meeting.

Moore said that he would like to give half of it back to the school to support the students.

Moore held back tears as he read the card and said that he couldn’t read it out loud without getting too emotional.

Moore said he has always been proud of the students.

“They meet challenges and don’t have to be star athletes and don’t have to be academic scholars. They are just common, everyday kids who meet the challenge,” he said.

Moore is leaving the board after finishing third in a three-way race for two open seats on the board in the Nov. 7 general election. Kori Rosnick captured the most votes at 857, Ryan A. Kreiter came in second with 776 votes while Moore received 610.

The next regular board meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Jan. 4 at the district’s office.