Kenston Focuses on Safety and Inclusivity in October Board Meeting
Kenston Board of Education Regular Meeting – October 21, 2024
Meeting Details: The Kenston Board of Education (BOE) regular meeting took place on October 21, 2024, beginning at 7:00 p.m. following an Executive Session that began at 6:10 pm. The full video is posted on the Kenston Website page here and on Kenston’s YouTube page here. View the agenda online and any attached documents here by selecting the meeting tab, the meeting date, and the agenda.
Call to Order and Welcome at 6:10 p.m.
Board Attendance: Tom Manning, President, Jennifer Troutman J.D., Vice President, Jim Henry, Dennis Bergansky.
Absent: Beth Krause, Ph.D.
Staff in Attendance: Superintendent Bruce R. Willingham Jr., Ed. D. and Treasurer Seth Cales.
Observer Note: There are two to three people in the audience chairs at this time.
Executive Session Pursuant to R.C. 121.22(G)(8), Dennis Bergansky moved and Jim Henry seconded that the Board adjourn to executive session for the purpose of considering confidential information related to the marketing plans, specific business strategy, production techniques, trade secrets, or personal financial statements of an applicant for economic development assistance, or to negotiations between the School District and other political subdivisions respecting requests for economic development assistance. Approved.
59.40 Min Min REGULAR MEETING WELCOME AND ROLL CALL: This meeting is being held in accordance with Section 3313.15 of the Ohio Revised Code. Board and Staff attendance remain the same as noted above.
Observer Note: The room is now full of people.
1.00.48 Min Pledge of Allegiance with Mr. Manning and Timmons Elementary School third grade student, Myraa Arshad.
1.01.47 Min Approval of the Minutes The Kenston Board of Education approved that the reading of these minutes be waived, and approved the minutes of the Special Meeting of September 16, 2024 as recorded or corrected. The minutes of this meeting can be found here.
1.02.49 Min Commendations
Superintendent Willingham introduced Mr. Gabram, Kenston High School Principal, to commend the following:
1.07.02 Min Kenston Organization Update
Bomber Elite Co-President, Jim Gray, spoke about the organization’s relationship to the Kenston Football family. Bomber Elite Club is a parent organization that supports the football family in three areas:
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Men of character
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Community
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Program Stability
To do this, the organization raises funds and spends them to support the football program in a number of ways, such as specialized equipment, meals, the fieldhouse improvements and maintenance, gift baskets, scholarships, and other miscellaneous needs. The Reverse Raffle (10 years old) is their biggest fundraiser.
1.15.07 Min. Kenston Department Updates
Transportation Department Director, Christine Illner, was ill at home, so Superintendent Willingham gave the presentation (with visuals) about transportation. The presentation focuses on safety for October.
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High school bus stops include less door-to-door and more group drop-offs
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Hiring drivers and subs is very challenging right now.
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Training includes Safety Town, Evacuation Drills, and additional staff training from the Department of Public Safety for bus drivers.
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StopFinder, a program that the board is being asked to approve at this meeting, is a part of Transfinder GPS Software. This is a software add-on that allows parents specifically to access/locate where their child’s bus is. See details of the Stopfinder services on the contract here.
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The department has purchased one new bus this year and is looking for two more.
1.20.52 Min District Coordinator for Safety and Security, Larry Klimkowski, attended the Ohio School Safety Summit in July. At the summit he attended sessions about bullying and cyberbullying and after-school preparedness. Mr. Klimkowski also presented the elements of a 2024-25 district safety plan (including a visual presentation).
Auditing and updating technology items at the district include:
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72 radios
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AEDs (Automated External Defibrillator)
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Cameras added for security and integrated with ZeroEyes, an AI software that analyzes camera images to detect the presence of drawn firearms. See program contract to be approved here.
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Searching Grant options to provide alternative ways to fund safety technology.
Developing a Safety Drill Schedule calendar for lockdowns, severe weather, fire drills, bus evacuation, and etc.
Recent District Safety Walkthrough and review with all relevant safety personnel to identify strengths and weaknesses in the district’s safety plan.
1.29.50 Min Administrative committee/ legislative updates this month.
Superintendent Willingham attended BASA (Buckeye Association of School Administrators) and shared that many legislative bills are expected to be passed in the House this November. He will speak about SB 29 during his report.
1.31.05 Min Superintendent’s Report
Dr. Willingham updated the board on a number of items (with a visual presentation).
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Federal and State Homeland Security were present for the district walkthrough that Mr. Klimkowski spoke of, inspecting every aspect of the campus. The district will receive a detailed report that will help them prioritize and focus their security spending.
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Dr. Willingham also spoke further about both the Stopfinder GPS software and the ZeroEyes security software as mentioned previously in the meeting during Mr. Klimkowski’s report. The board is expected to approve purchase of these two items during the meeting.
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Dr. Willingham addressed Cyber Security as an important aspect of school security. He confirmed that the district does have insurance for Cyber theft and ransomware hits and is following all protocol to maintain that insurance.
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Senate Bill 29 takes effect on October 24th, 2024 and is a monitoring requirement and notification system. Districts must inform parents that they are monitoring student online interactions because of the precautions the district must take to protect them. If an interaction is flagged, the district must inform parents of the monitoring and steps being taken. The superintendent stated that while the intention of the bill is good in theory, the requirements are so overburdensome, for example, potentially flagging even misspellings and error keystrokes, that the bill is currently being edited as it is enacted. Parents will be receiving further information about this soon.
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Dr. Willingham gave the board an update on his initiative, Student Voices for Positive Change. This group of high schoolers will meet for the second time on Thursday, October 24th. The Superintendent has also recommended the program titled Cultural Humility, led by James Knight Consulting, for board approval, and he has been working with Dr. Poe and Mr. Gabram to coordinate scheduling. He also advised that the Education Service Center will be providing assistance over the next couple of years with implementation. The description of the program and the contract submitted to the board for approval can be found on the agenda and linked here. Dr. Willingham emphasized to the board that the goal is to allow and encourage the students to lead the change in the schools and that Dr. Knight will help the staff and students plan and organize the direction they take. Dr. Willingham will work with the administration and the Board to plan some early release dates to allow the staff to work with Dr. Knight as well.
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Dr. Willingham will also be working with staff, interested parents, and other relevant community stakeholders to update and enhance the PEAK (Peaceful Environment at Kenston) program as a Tier 1 program in the younger grades.
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Dr. Willingham is working with the administration to adjust building schedules for next year to address the challenges of different schedules in individual buildings such as the middle school currently.
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Dr. Willingham has been meeting with teachers and parents to discuss gifted and special education programming and explore ways in which the district might offer a better experience in scheduling. The high school should be able to produce by December an outline of course offerings and scheduling.
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Dr. Willingham addressed some issues with regard to the PI Levy
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The district commits to continuing with the Rightsizing plan in order to delay the need for an operating levy beyond the five year forecast.
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If the PI Levy does not pass, staffing reductions will occur to account for increased maintenance costs.
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The districts’ goal is to not ask the community for a new operating levy when a smaller dedicated levy will suffice.
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There will be another Kenston Conversations with Dr. Willingham on October 29th at 6pm in the Conference Room at the Gardiner Center, located at 9421 Bainbridge Road, Chagrin Falls, OH 44023.
1.49.32 Min. Hearing of the Public on Agenda Items
Michael Eisner spoke in support of the Permanent Improvement Levy and its need to help the district pay for property maintenance and new safety initiatives without “delving into operating funds.”
1.54.50 Min Agenda Items 8 through 17
Financial Items - Approved. These are available here by selecting the meeting tab, meeting date, and 10.1-10.7 on the agenda. Note:
District: Kenston Local School District
County: Geauga
Student #: 2,405.44
Set Aside $: $594,741.45 [2,405.44 x $8,241.61 x .03]
Observer Note: See here to read and compare both Ohio Revised Code 3315.18 and 3315.19 as mentioned in the Board Agenda.
Certified Personnel Items - Approved. These items are available here for review by selecting the meeting tab, meeting date, and 11.1-11.9 on the agenda.
Classified Personnel Items - Approved. These items are available here by selecting the meeting tab, meeting date, and 12.1-12.7 on the agenda.
Supplemental Personnel Items - Approved. These items are available here by selecting the meeting tab, meeting date, and 13.1-13.4 on the agenda.
Exempt Personnel Items - Approved. These items are available here by selecting the meeting tab, meeting date, and 14.1 on the agenda.
Business Operations - None
Teaching and Learning - Approved. These items are available here by selecting the meeting tab, meeting date, and 16.1-16.4 on the agenda.
Special Education Items - Approved. These items are available here by selecting the meeting tab, meeting date, and 17.1-17.3 on the agenda.
Old Business Items- None
New Business Items - Approved. These items can be found here by selecting the meeting tab, meeting date, and 19.1-19.8 on the agenda.
Observer Note: For further information, the reader will find the contracts for a few of the programs mentioned above by both Mr. Klimkowski and Dr. Willingham linked under this category such as Stopfinder, ZeroEyes, and Cultural Humility.
1.59.35 Min Hearing of The Public on Non-Agenda items.
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Emily Stupica states that she is a member of the community group Kenston Families United, formed by parents, families, and teachers who believe in inclusivity and want all students at Kenston to feel “safe, supported, and celebrated.” She is a mom of three children, each of whom she says, had very different experiences at Kenston. She believes that her positive perspective of Kenston changed when her second son lost eight weeks of school time due to significant medical issues and hospitalizations. Prior to this experience, the family had felt included in the Kenston family but during this crisis, Ms. Stupica says they were not contacted personally by any district member, only receiving reminder notices if he wasn’t reported sick each day during this time. Her son was also bullied while in school for his visible physical issues, resulting in their decision to place him in “The Stem School” for high school because he felt unsafe at Kenston. She also expressed concern that her youngest son, when in the second grade, both noticed and commented to her that his African American friends were often in trouble for the same things that other students were not punished for. Ms. Stupica is hopeful about some of the events being planned by the district with Student Voices for Positive Change and she is hoping for “explicit and specific, up and beyond PEAK” interventions to be implemented in the Kenston District.
2.05.11 Min Treasurer’s Report with Visual Presentation
Treasurer Seth Cales expressed concern for the district’s “growing maintenance costs” due to the inflation that all are experiencing. Mr. Cales states that in the past year, $1.2 million dollars needed to be transferred from the operating fund for capital maintenance costs, and this is what they anticipate will happen annually going forward. He advises that this is why the 1 Mill levy that generates about that amount annually was asked for. Mr. Cales’ presentation states that without the PI Levy, more money will need to be pulled from instructional purchasing. He spoke about the number of the “set aside” requirement and stated that it is the minimum amount mandated by the state for schools to set aside for capital maintenance. He advised that this minimum currently covers only half of what needs to be addressed in facilities maintenance.
Observer Note: Under Financial Items above, see the change to “set aside” requirements. See here to read and compare Ohio Revised Code 3315.18 versus 3315.19 mentioned in the Board Agenda.
2.13.02 Min Motion to adjourn was approved at 8:19 pm and the video ended at 2.13.22
Next regular meeting: November 18, 2024 at 7 pm.
More information here: Board of Education | Kenston Local Schools
Observer: Jacqueline Berger
Editor: Gail Roussey
Reviewer: Sarah McGlone
Date Submitted: 10/31/24
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