NEW PHILADELPHIA ― Superintendent Amy Wentworth says New Philadelphia City Schools are in a good position as the new school year begins, with necessary repairs made to district buildings, a full educational staff and new positions to help support the social and emotion needs of students.

Wentworth gave members of New Philadelphia city council a district update during their meeting on Monday.

More:New Philadelphia considers contribution to stadium track project

The biggest project over the summer was reconstruction of the track at Woody Hayes Quaker Stadium. The city contributed $50,000 to the $300,000 project. It involved resurfacing the track, replacing the pole vault pit and upgrading the finish line system. The track will be red, so it won't be as hot as a black track.

The superintendent said the project is nearly complete, except for some painting to put in lane numbers and the relay exchange zones.

"We just simply ran out of time before football season, so we will be returning, either at the end of the season or maybe at a point when we have an away game and we can take a couple of days," she said. "We'll have to shut the track down, probably for two days to do that and then it'll be completely finished."

Major heating and cooling repairs were made in district buildings. Almost every building has a new boiler or has had its boiler system replaced. Using COVID-19 ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) dollars, New Philadelphia was able to replace many of the air conditioning units that went out in different locations within the district.

"Another exciting thing that we got done this summer is we repaired the greenhouse at the high school," Wentworth said. "That is right on the front of the building. It is space that has not been functional for years. It has basically been a storage space, and it has been repaired. It is now no longer leaking into the library. It will be able to be utilized by our staff and students, so we're excited about that."

She noted, "If you have been around and looked at any of our buildings, you can see that from the outside they look really, really good, just basic things like mulching. We replaced some window screenings, we've done some new asphalt and painting. I really want to give my hats off to the buildings and grounds crew. They've done a fantastic job this summer."

More:Jeffery Williams hired as New Philadelphia assistant superintendent

The district will have more stability this year when it comes to staffing than in previous years. Last year, New Philadelphia had someone new in 15 of its 20 administrative positions. There are no changes for the 2022-23 school year.

Fourteen new teachers have joined the district, she said. Last year, there wasn't a single day when New Philadelphia was fully staffed.

The district was also able to add an elementary literacy position, as well as a social and emotional learning position for elementary students and a behavior support specialist for K-12 students.

"Those positions should really help support the needs of students," Wentworth said. "We know school is about reading and writing, but it's about a lot more than reading and writing, and we really are focusing on the whole child and making sure we have all those supports in place."

The district will be apply for funding through the $100 million Ohio K-12 School Safety Grant Program created by Gov. Mike DeWine. Wentworth said the district is hoping to obtain a grant to update safety features in its buildings.

More:New conference, new challenge for New Philadelphia Quakers

New Philadelphia has joined the Ohio Cardinal Conference for sports. She noted that the teams will have to travel farther than with the leagues they have been in in the past, but the school districts New Philadelphia will be playing are very similar in demographics. She anticipated that New Philadelphia will be very competitive in this conference.

Finally, the district has started the process of developing a new strategic plan that will guide the district for the next 3-5 years. New Philadelphia is working with the Impact Group to facilitate those plans, she said.

The district will have an online survey on its website in September, and school officials will be making phone calls to community leaders to get feedback. Questions that will be asked include: what is important to the community, what should the district's goals be and what are New Philadelphia's strengths and weaknesses.

"We feel like it's vital to hear what our stakeholders want from the school district, and that will become our strategic plan," Wentworth said.