BARNESVILLE — The Barnesville Board of Education accepted several new volunteers for winter sports, including wrestling, at its meeting Oct. 17.

Bud Hines, Quentin Castello, Michael Aberegg, Owen Oliver and Clint Abbott will all be working as volunteers for the junior high wrestling team, while Kyle King and Zack Powell will be wrestling assistants. Danielle Anderson will be a volunteer swim coach.

Board Vice President Tammy Wells said she thinks volunteers are beneficial because they do a lot when it comes to helping coach the athletes.

Superintendent Micah Fuchs said the BOE tries to get applications from volunteers submitted and board approved and ensure all the paperwork is in line before the season begins.

The board, including Janice Miliken, Ed Eberhart, Wells and President Leslie Schultz, also approved employees for the schools with Marie Stephen as a substitute aide for 2024-25, Natasha Shilling as a middle school tutor and Ashley Campbell and Mindy Acton as elementary school tutors.

It awarded a one-year classified contract for a 3.75-hour per day educational aide position, with an effective date of Nov. 4, to Madison McLaughlin.

The BOE accepted updates to a list of policies, including compensation of board members, appointment of the treasurer, incapacity of the treasurer, committees, board of education meetings, social media, employment of principals and other administrators, criminal records check, professional staff positions, recruiting and employment, inter-district open enrollment and student absence and excuses.

The board also accepted updates to habitual truancy intervention strategies, CPR and AED training, religious expression days, interscholastic athletics, purchases, employee dishonesty and faithful performance of duty insurance policy, school calendar, specific religious beliefs, affirmations, and ideals or principles concerning political movements.

Fuchs said essentially, a lot of changes to laws require updates to policies. He noted that recently, the General Assembly passed a lot of legislation before it went into recess, and it affected a lot of the policies of Barnesville’s schools have, so there are many different things the board had to amend in its policy based on the laws.

“It could be as simple as language,” he said. “If something were to happen to the treasurer, ‘What would you do?’ So not anything that necessarily directly affects us. It’s just to be in compliance with state and federal law.”

The board held a closed-door session for the reasons of employment and compensation of an employee or official. The executive session lasted about 30 minutes before the open session resumed.

Miliken, Eberhart, Wells and Schultz approved of donations and pledges made to the school for the month of September.

Belmont Mills, Samantha Welch and Lashley Tractor Sales all donated $100 to Future Farmers of America. Summer Jenkins donated $500 for the girls cross country and track uniforms, Barnesville Shamrock Band Sponsors donated $753.43 to auxiliary supplies and $1,659,65 to percussion needs and Quanex donated $250 to robotics.

Pledges included Goaliners donating $40,000 and Aaron and Angie Hannahs donating $600.

The board approved purchase orders paid to Yahn Electric Co. for $8,035 for fiber optic cabling in the high school gym and music room and to GovConnection Inc. for $85,330.64 for network improvement parts and services.

The board approved amended athletic ticket prices, offering student tickets at a discounted price to maintain compliance with Ohio Revised Code 3319.5319, effective Oct. 21.

The high school junior/senior prom will be from 7-11 p.m. May 3 at Undo’s West in St. Clairsville.