Esports are coming to OVMS: S-OCS School Board accepts $10,000 in donations and grants

Owen Valley Middle School (OVMS) is getting an esports team thanks, in part, to a $5,000 donation from Boston Scientific. The official scholastic esports league for Indiana is the Indiana Esports Network (IEN) rather than the Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) that covers traditional high school athletics. Middle school esports participants can compete in eight different games, and have both fall and spring seasons.

“I know our kiddos are going to have such a good time with that program. It’s going to be awesome, especially now that a lot of colleges are having those esports programs,” said Spencer-Owen Community Schools (S-OCS) Board of School Trustees member Elizabeth Bixler.

The school board also accepted a grant of $5,000 from the Owen County Community Foundation for the Book Buddies program at S-OCS. Book Buddies is similar to the Dolly Parton Imagination Library and allows free books to be given to all S-OCS kindergartners. The program was previously funded by the State of Indiana, but budget cuts threatened the continuation for the 2026 school year. The program costs around $8,000 per year to remain operational.

Patriot Manufacturing was recognized at a recent Regional Opportunity Initiatives (ROI) meeting at French Lick Resort. ROI also recognized S-OCS as a good example of a school pushing the “Enrollment, Enlistment, Employment” initiative for graduating students.

During fall break, lots of maintenance is set to take place at the various school corporation buildings, including OVMS floor repairs, food service equipment installations, and HVAC repairs at Gosport Elementary.

Curriculum director Matthew Taylor went over his and Mrs. Betsy Breedlove’s long-running initiative to meet with all of the new S-OCS teachers to discuss classroom management tips and other important things happening across the corporation.

“Breedlove and I are kind of a traveling road show. We go out to the different schools and have enjoyed getting an opportunity to visit with them and provide some additional resources,” Taylor said.

Board members finalized the 2027 school calendar, voted to approve the purchase of two Mohawk school bus lifts for the new transportation facility at a quoted price of $38,996, and approved an overnight field trip to the FFA camp site in Trafalgar.

The meeting was followed by an executive session that was not open to the public in which no decisions can be voted on or approved. School board meetings can be watched in their entirety on youtube at https://www.youtube.com/@socsschoolboard.

Agendas and minutes can be found online at https://www.socs.k12.in.us/school-board.

Resignations

• Hailley Maynard, Spencer Elementary School (SES) instructional assistant
• Kirstin Richardson, SES instructional assistant
• Ashley Medonis, OVMS instructional assistant
• Katherine Gregory, OVMS archery coach

Hires

• Alivia Arthur, OVMS custodian
• Christina Polston, SES instructional assistant
• Hevin Jarrett, SES instructional assistant
• Jeannie Francalancia for Lisa Szymanski’s FMLA leave Oct. 5-Nov. 6. Then Leah Taylor from Nov. 9-24, with the potential to extend into Dec. 2026.

Leaves

• Crystal Wilson, Owen Valley High School (OVHS) cosmetology instructor
• Matt Latta, OVHS music teacher