BY SHAWN MURPHY

Members of the Sylvania Area Community Improvement Corporation board met on Sept. 13 and approved expenses not to exceed $40,000 to assist in the development of Central Avenue.   The funds will be used to conduct engineering, surveying, and easement work, to extend water and sewer service on Central Ave. west of Herr Road to the township border near Kilburn Road. SACIC is pursing grant assistance from the State of Ohio and expects to repay the investment by SACIC in this project.
The President of Lourdes University, Dr. William Bisset, and Sylvania School’s Superintendent Dr. Veronica Motley were the guest speakers at the meeting and addressed the current state of education in Sylvania.
Dr. Bisset shared the strategic goals for Lourdes for 2024, including increasing enrollment, enhancing the campus living experience for students, getting students more involved with the city of Sylvania, and building collaborations between the university and the community. He also noted that Lourde’s has brought back its master’s degree Organizational Leadership. The University is dedicated to continuing to draw students from regional high schools and is also focused on attracting students from outside of the region.
Superintendent Dr. Veronica Motley spoke about the successes of Sylvania schools. She shared how involved both the staff and students are in the community, both in philanthropic and community development activities. She highlighted the wide range of athletic and extracurricular activities, strong programs for the arts, and the strong focus on future-ready college credit academics. As Sylvania schools moves forward with its five-year strategic plan, they are focused on managing the districts resources by following a Wants versus Needs approach.
Three needs include rebuilding Northview’s stadium, installing a new track, putting in new artificial turf at Southview’s stadium, and installing a new track at Timberstone Junior High. Joining Dr. Motley was the district’s Treasurer Adam Koch who shared the current financials for the district including discussion on increasing the district’s preventative maintenance programs to help make the best use of the district’s current assets.
SACIC is a non-profit organization representing a collaboration of business and government working to enhance balanced economic growth and the quality of life in the greater Sylvania area. SACIC membership information is available at sylvaniaareacic.org. Contacting Tiffany Bosch, 419-882-2135 or tbosch@SylvaniaChamber.org for luncheon meeting reservations.