Several members of the Pleasant Valley Intermediate School's Pencil Power Club attended Thursday evening's school board meeting to tell the directors about their program and to read some of reasons why the program is such a hit among the fourth grade.

The students invited the directors to attend the upcoming "Artists and Authors" event that will take place on the evening of May 10."This is a red-carpet affair attended by the students and their families," PVI principal Cassandra Herr said. "Everyone is invited to attend and students will be reading their favorite stories and displaying their art work for everyone to see."Herr explained that one of the benefits of the Pencil Power Club is that the students have not only sharpened their writing skills, but they also have become proficient at public speaking.Also discussed at the meeting was a report on the ninth-grade students attending Monroe Career and Technical Institute.Assistant to the superintendent Kenneth Newman outlined in a presentation what the curriculum for ninth-graders consists of and what is expected of them. The ninth-grade program is the only full-day program at MCTI. There are 32 students enrolled in the program. That is the maximum number allotted to Pleasant Valley.Newman said 32 eighth-graders are already enrolled for next year's freshman class.Newman said all of the students are passing within their programs, but that only 94 percent are passing core academics.Business items covered during the meeting included payments in the amount of $90,000 to The Redco Group for continued school-based counseling services.The Reflex Site License was also renewed for three years in the amount of $8,402. Both are paid out of the Ready to Learn Grant.Contracts were approved for Scholastic Book Fair, a spring food drive, a new master clock at PVI, a door prop and for cameras at the high school.The district workers' compensation for 2017-2018 was approved at a cost of $447,266. The Xerox contract was amended to decrease costs by $847 per month.