STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES — Buckeye Local School District announced student representatives from Buckeye Local High School for the 2025-2026 school year. The roster includes, from left, front, Isabella Russell and Jack Newell. Back: Brooke Kovalski, Kamden Kinyo and Natalie Rager. -- Contributed

DILLONVALE — The Buckeye Local Board of Education is pondering the formation of a girls wrestling team amid a surge in the sport in the local area.

Buckeye Local High School Wrestling Coach Jimmy Morelli approached leaders at the Nov. 24 regular session in Dillonvale and said there had been great interest in beginning a team at the school.

“I’ve been involved in wrestling for four years now and I’ve coached kids when juniors were in eighth grade,” he said. “One of the things I’ve noticed during the last few years was a growth in women’s wrestling. I’ve talked to a lot of (interested female students) and there are a lot of tough girls who belong in that room.”

Morelli said he has gained support from parents, coaches and even officials at West Liberty University where he is currently obtaining an exercise physiology degree, saying people were willing to help make it happen. School board member Clint Powell asked how many area schools had similar programs. Morelli replied that East Liverpool, Steubenville and Carrollton currently had athletes while Wheeling Park was adding a team, plus West Liberty had a Division II wrestling program with 20 female members who headed to the nationals.

“It’s the fastest growing sport in the country,” said BLHS Principal Luke Parsons. “(Schools) built an entire program and Edison has female wrestlers and wrestle in boy/girl tournaments. Jimmy came to us a year ago and we started talking about it.”

Morelli said he was seeking one or two female volunteer coaches and he hoped to create a program for grades 7-12, plus he was willing to seek funding to help support a team. Following discussion, school leaders said they were open to the idea.

“We’re exploring the option of adding girls’ wrestling for grades 7-12,” said Superintendent Coy Sudvary. “Any additional programs have to be negotiated and there is mutual interest in adding this in the future.”

Meanwhile, school board member Ashley West gave a breakdown of various legislation being addressed in the Ohio Statehouse including bills going before Gov. Mike DeWine for signature. Among those are Senate Bill 50, which makes changes regarding age and school certificate requirements as well as work hours for a person under age 16; House Bill 124, which modifies the process for property tax sales-assessment ratio studies; and HB 434, that includes some education-related items. Other bills included HB 10, which would require public school boards and Ohio Department of Education and Workforce to adopt policies prohibiting the purchase of “cultivated-protein food” products or food “misbranded as a meat or egg product”; H.B. 114, which would alter age requirements for kindergarten admission; and a H.B. 184 amendment to include additional operating and capital budget cleanups, including some education-related provisions and one being the exclusion of educational service center governing boards from the prohibition of any school board from spending more than 15 percent of its annual operating budget on administrative expenses. Sudvary later commented that tax-related bills did not impact the school district.

Among other matters:

• Jefferson County ESC Director of Curriculum and Professional Development Ron Sismondo presented three $700 Best Practice Grants for innovative classroom projects. This year’s recipients included Joanna Call of BLHS, who purchased kits for coding, electronics and prototypes for STEM; Jennifer Aubrey of Buckeye Local Junior High for her art exploration club; and Stephanie Crust to provide STEAM Masters for gifted students in grades 3-5 at Buckeye North, South and West elementary schools;

• Sudvary recognized Buckeye South Elementary first-grade teacher Jenny Potts, who received the State Board of Education District 8 Teacher of the Year Award;

• Board member Brooke Stingle introduced the BLHS student representatives selected for this school year. The students will share issues and ideas at future school board meetings and give their peers a voice. The representatives include Isabella Russell, Jack Newell, Brooke Kovalski, Kamden Kinyo and Natalie Rager;

• District Maintenance Director Tony Panepucci said the greenhouse was completed at BLHS with utilities added and some projects were planned over Thanksgiving break, but the district received a $24,750 Bureau of Worker Compensation grant to acquire a scissor lift with Buckeye Local providing a roughly $8,300 match for the equipment;

• Steve Bezak III was reappointed as the district representative to the Jefferson County Joint Vocational Board of Education for a three-year term from January to December 2028;

• The board approved the retirement of custodian Roxann Green, effective Dec. 31. Sudvary and OAPSE officials recognized her for her dedication and said she will be missed;

• Leaders also accepted the retirement of intervention specialist Aubrey Rubright, effective Aug. 15. Sudvary commended her for 25 years of service as an educator and 14 years at Buckeye South;

• The next board meeting was set for 5:30 p.m. Dec. 15 in the district administrative office in Dillonvale.