By CECILIA FOX

Record Herald Writer

BETHEL TOWNSHIP - The public hearing at Bethel’s Board of Education meeting Monday night offered commendation and complaint about how things are run. The board heard comments from the community and shone a spotlight on a member of the staff.

Lynn Minneman, Bethel’s English as a Second Language (ESL) instructor, was commended for her work with the district’s ESL students. Minneman made a presentation about her program for the board and brought two of her students to show off their improved English skills.

“They are doing so well in their English classes,” said Minneman.

She explained how students’ language levels are assessed and different stages and methods of language learning.

Minneman also asked those present at the meeting to participate in language exercises so that people could better understand the language barriers that her ESL students face. In one exercise she asked two people to have a conversation without any words containing the letters ‘T’, ‘O’, and ‘A’. In another, participants had to spell out every word they said.

Community member Rick Slagle voiced his dissatisfaction with the state of the Bethel athletic fields. He is a member of the crew of volunteers that paints the football field each week and addressed the board with his concerns.

“The field looked worse after the Miami East game than it has at the end of the season in any of the previous year that I’ve been helping to paint the field,” said Slagle, who volunteers between three and five hours every Wednesday with fifteen others to paint the fields.

Slagle said that, until this year, the grass was cut each week before the lines on the field were painted. This year, however, the grass is cut on Friday, which Slagle says distorts the lines the volunteers work so hard to paint. He urged the board to come up with a solution to this problem.

“If a reasonable situation cannot be agreed upon, I will no longer volunteer my time to paint the football field,” said Slagle.

Members of the board thanked Slagle for bringing attention to the issue.

“I do believe we have a solution and I do appreciate you and all the volunteers for doing all you do,” said Don Whitaker, the board president.

Lori Sebastian, a Bethel resident and parent of a Bethel student, presented the board with an analysis of the effects of open enrollment on the school district. According to Sebastian, Bethel open enrollment is at an all-time high—this year the district has 125 open enrolled students or 14 percent of the student population. For every open enrolled student Bethel gains, the district receives $5732 from the state.

Sebastian asked the board to weigh the pros and cons of open enrollment when making decisions in the future. Some of the pros, according to Sebastian, include the added revenue that each open enrolled student brings to the district. The cons include the effects open enrollment could have on class sizes and the negative impact on school levy voting. Because the parents of open enrolled students do not live in the district, they cannot vote for Bethel school levies, which could make them harder to pass.

Also at the meeting, the board accepted donations from the Target “Take Charge of Education” program. Target donated $496.04 to the elementary school, $56.18 to the junior high, and $247.54 to the high school.

The board also reminded residents of Bethel Schools district to notify their employers that Bethel Local School District No. 5501 .75 percent Earned Income Tax went into effect January 1, 2011. The tax will be a payroll deduction and remitted by employers to the Ohio Department of Taxation.