West Holmes board approves routine business, celebrates student mental health grant

West Holmes Local Schools’ board of education wrapped routine business and spotlighted a $1,500 mental health grant when it met at 6 p.m. May 18 at West Holmes High School. The grant, from NAMI Wayne and Holmes Counties, will support a West Holmes High School leadership class Mental Health Awareness Video Contest tied to the Suicide Prevention Coalition.

Board members Ezra Day, Hans Ramseyer, Patricia Sage, Eric Yoder and Tina Zickefoose joined Superintendent Eric Jurkovic and Treasurer Jamie Mullet for the meeting, which also cleared a batch of end-of-year paperwork. The board approved minutes from the April 20 regular meeting and special meetings held April 30 and May 4, then accepted the treasurer’s report, month-end reconciliation and investments as of April 30, along with the financial report and financial summary for the month ending April 30.

For families in the district, those approvals are more than housekeeping. They document how money is being tracked, how past decisions are recorded and how the district keeps its financial records aligned as it closes one school year and prepares for the next. West Holmes’ calendar shows graduation was held May 17, the last day of school is May 28 and teachers return for a work day May 29, putting the board meeting squarely in the transition period between school years.

The superintendent’s report pointed to several areas that will shape the coming months. Jurkovic’s agenda included updates on FFA and curriculum, a 2026-27 gifted services overview, a review of Board Policy EDEC on artificial intelligence and recognition of West Holmes retirees. Those items signal work that reaches into classrooms, staffing and district policy before students come back in the fall.

The board had already been in a busy stretch of special-session business. On April 30, members approved the 2026 graduating class and a resolution for the Grade 3 paper testing choice. On May 4, the board met again to consider new policies and possible changes to current policies on drug testing of students and staff.

West Holmes Local School District serves 1,776 students across seven schools, a size that makes even routine board votes carry broad impact across classrooms, buses, buildings and staffing. The May 18 meeting showed the district doing the unglamorous but essential work that keeps daily school operations moving while also backing a student-led project centered on mental health awareness.