New Members Sworn in at the July BOE Meeting

Last night, July 8, was the annual Board of Education Reorganizational Meeting. 

Kacie Penrose was first sworn in as the District Clerk, and then new board members Kristin Kashuba, Jared Lapin, and Dick Stearns took their oath of office. A quick election was held for Board President, where Justin Lilley was the only candidate nominated. The Vice Presidential Election also turned out to be a quick affair as Floyd Parker was unanimously voted in as VP.

The student member for this upcoming school year is senior Adam VanDeWeert, who was sworn in after the new members. Adam is part of many sports and clubs at Marathon, including Soccer, Chorus, and Drama Club. 

After the new members were sworn in, the board got right to work. There was a lengthy discussion about the contract with the school’s attorney and auditors, and the board pulled these two entities for review and consideration of alternative options. The board is awaiting the production of the audit for the 2025-26 school year.

The Board also voted to move the August 19 BOE Meeting to August 26. This allows for a meeting to align with the start of the school year.

Exit interviews were conducted with all staff not returning for the 2026-27 school year. The board voted to review all of them in an executive session at the next meeting on August 4. 

Another major topic of discussion was how to keep sports within their budgets. The board tabled the issue and is requiring administration and coaches to supply a proposed budget for their sport, alongside the costs from each of the last two school years, by the next BOE meeting. 

Members Stearns and F. Parker provided an update on the capital project in the cafeteria, the upcoming project to fix the front door, and the floors in some classrooms. The board is unhappy with the way some of the floors look in classrooms, where the finishing was improperly done, leaving the floors looking uneven. Payment is being withheld until the job is done properly. The cafeteria in the high school is making good progress, and they hope to be able to start sending crews to Appleby shortly. 

To watch the full board meeting: https://marathon.nntoday.com/watch/july-8-marathon-boe-reorganizational-meeting