Guest speaker to address issue on March 20

CHESAPEAKE — The community is invited to attend the meeting of the Chesapeake Board of Education on March 20, which will focus on the importance of 21st Century Community Learning Center grants at district schools.

Dr. Denise Shockley, superintendent of Galia-Vinton Educational Service Center, will address the meeting on the issue of the grants, which provide funding for before and after school programming in southeast Ohio schools.

John Gibson, the assistant principal at Chesapeake Middle, said the meeting was set up to address a statement issued on Jan. 17 by Jeremy Marks, the Ohio Department of Education federal funding liaison, that there would be no new after school programming grants for Ohio schools for the 2017-2018 school year.

Gibson said that the decision appeared to place a higher value on funding Columbus area schools, rather than rural ones.

“There was a public outcry,” Gibson said, noting it was since decided that ODE would be issuing new grants with changes.

The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Chesapeake Middle School and is open to the public.