TONTOGANY — The Otsego Local Schools Board of Education has chosen two high school seniors to serve one term on the board.
Seniors Isabella Comes and Parker Camp will attend each school board meeting and contribute to discussions.
“I just thought it would be a great opportunity to advocate for the student body,” said Comes. “There are a lot of issues going on, and I want to make sure that the student body has a voice.”
“I joined the board because it was a position offered, and I thought that it would be a great way to represent my class,” said Camp. “I think this will help our class out. This opportunity will give me more experience for the future.”
Students in the junior and senior classes were given the opportunity to apply.
“We sent out an application for the students to apply for. About nine students per class applied. Once I had a list of applicants, I sat down with a few that I knew could meet the schedule requirements,” said Superintendent Kevin O’Shea. “Ultimately, I ended up choosing upperclassmen because they have been in high school long enough to understand how everything works. I want to use their leadership to choose the next generation of student board members.”
Also at the September board meeting, it was announced the Otsego Educators Association (OEA) has agreed to take a freeze of base pay for the next three years.
“The OEA has really stepped up. They agreed to take a freeze of base pay for the next three years, meaning there will be no raise during this time,” O’Shea said. “They will get their step increases. This is not an easy thing to do, and what the OEA is doing is huge. It shows the dedication and sacrifices that our staff has made. I am so grateful to their organization for helping us out during a difficult time.”
Also at the meeting, the board:
• Recognized Leah McCabe, Molly Kramer, Brooke Simon, and Nathan Strahm recognized as state track qualifiers; Nathan Strahm for being runner-up in the D2 state 800m event; Brooke Simon for being runner-up in the D2 state discus competition; Molly Kramer for placing 12th in the D2 state 100m hurdle race; and Leah McCabe for placing 12th in the D2 state high jump competition.
• Recognized Kendall Mehl for placing 60th out of 245 spellers in the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
The next board meeting will take place on Oct. 24 at 6 p.m. in the Otsego High School library.
