West Geauga Board of Education Previews Actions Needed for Potential Levy
West Geauga Board of Education Board Meeting - 10/28/2024
Meeting Details: The West Geauga Board of Education met on October 28, 2024 at 7:00 pm in the Board Office Community Room, 8615 Cedar Road in Chester Township. Meetings are open to the public and media. The meeting agenda and minutes are available online. Look for the Meeting tab in the right hand corner. Pick the meeting you want to review and then click on “Agenda.” A video recording is available here.
Board Attendance: President Christina Sherwood, Pam Claypool, Mary-Michelle Coleman Walsh, and Kathy Leavenworth were present. Dr. William Beers was absent.
Staff Attendance: Karen Pavlat, Treasurer; Dr. Richard Markwardt, Superintendent; Dr. Nancy Benincasa, Assistant Superintendent; Scott Amstutz, Director of Instructional Technology; Carrie Morgano, West Geauga Gifted Specialist and Youth Bee Works representative; Brandon Stewart, Athletic Director, and Brett Munn, Head Baseball Coach.
Other Attendees: Scott Vura, Osborn Engineering; Matt Wilson, The Vasco Group; Justin Sofio, Youth Bee Works; an unidentified local resident; Anthony Zaffiro, resident; Katie Davis, parent; approximately 15 other persons, and this observer.
Call to Order - The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm, roll call was conducted, and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
0.40 min. Additions and/or Changes to the Agenda - Two additions were made to the agenda, Resolutions 355A and 355B. It was moved and passed to add these two items.
0.50 min. Program Reports and Presentations
-
Youth Bee Works Hive Project - Carrie Morgano and Justin Sofio from the Youth Bee Works program spoke about establishing a student run bee colony on the West Geauga campus that would be a gateway entrepreneurial opportunity for high school students who would operate the project. They would produce and market honey and other related products for sale in the community. The project would partner with Youth Bee Works who would fund all start-up costs. Several schools in the area already have programs with the support of Youth Bee Works. Mr. Sofio stated that there have not been any bee-related incidents in the history of the program. This is mainly due to the non-aggressive nature of the honey bee. In addition, the physical area of the hive would be fenced to prevent close contact with the bees. Youth Bee Works carries both product and liability insurance. Ms. Leavenworth asked if special planting was required to provide adequate food sources for the bees. Mr. Sofio stated that it was not necessary to do so.
-
Football Field Turf Proposal - Matt Wilson from The Vasco Group made a presentation on replacing the artificial turf for the football field. The current surface has outlasted the 8-year warranty by 2 years. The proposed replacement surface will make use of improved technology advances to have a 10-year warranty with an estimated useful life of 12-13 years. A repurposing of some of the existing underlayment and retention of the drainage infrastructure will reduce overall project costs. During installation the existing track will be protected, and materials will be staged within the stadium which will provide a secure area. The project time span from design, manufacturing, recycling substructure, regrading and installation will take an estimated 10 to 14 weeks. Ms. Leavenworth asked about potential damage to the track and was told that any damage would be repaired by the company. The Board will continue considering this matter during the November board meeting.
-
Myrtle Beach Overnight Baseball Field Trip - West G Athletic Director Brandon Stewart presented a proposal for a baseball field trip to Myrtle Beach during the Spring Break to play teams from several different states. He said it gives the team the opportunity to play different teams in usually better weather conditions than locally. The Ohio Athletic Association has issued revised dates for the coming season that requires the participants in this trip to miss the first two days of school following the Spring Break. Only varsity team players will participate this year which will be approximately 18 students. Instead of renting a bus for transportation to and from Myrtle Beach, it is proposed that parents will provide the needed transportation. Past experience has indicated that a large percentage of team member parents attend the games as a family vacation. Not renting a bus would save approximately $11,000 in total trip cost. After the presentation, Mrs. Claypool asked how much renting vans (for transporting the team while in Myrtle Beach) would add to the trip cost. Mr. Stewart replied that this information is currently being gathered. Observer Note: Refer to agenda item 2024-10-347 below where the resolution to approve this trip was amended.
34.50 min. Public Remarks
-
An unidentified local resident spoke to his personal experience with football coach Matt Rosati and to his character and integrity. Observer Note: As discussed in this WKYC news article, Mr. Rosati was placed on administrative leave on October 10, 2024 due to allegations of unspecified “inappropriate conduct.”
-
Anthony Zaffiro, a local resident, alleged that the school policy on ads placed in school publications (such as sports programs) was not being applied fairly. He also stated that the Board violated a policy in the selection of Dr. Benincasa as the new superintendent by not getting approval from the Geauga County Superintendent of Schools as part of the selection process. Mr. Zaffiro also claimed that Dr. Benincasa filed a false police report regarding Coach Rosati, which he said is illegal. At the completion of Mr. Zaffiro’s comments, board member Christina Sherwood pointed out that the policy quoted by Mr. Zaffiro was rescinded in 2013 and would violate Ohio Revised Code if it were still in effect. Board Member Kathy Leavenworth said that the county superintendent can only act in an advisory capacity if requested by a local school board.
48.20 min. Routine Items - Consent - All Approved
2024-10-335 Resolution to Approve Routine Matters of the West Geauga Local School Board of Education
48.50 min. Financial Resolutions - All Approved
2024-10-336 Resolution to Approve Warrants for September 2024
2024-10-337 Resolution to Approve Transfer of Funds
49.30 min. Personnel Resolutions - All Approved
2024-10-338 Resolution to Approve Classified Staff Appointments for the 2024-2025 School Year
2024-10-339 Resolution to Approve Revised Classified Contracts for the 2024-2025 School Year
2024-10-340 Resolution to Approve Additional Transportation Route Assignments for the 2024-2025 School Year
2024-10-341 Resolution to Accept Classified Staff Resignations
2024-10-342 Resolution to Approve Unpaid Day(s)
2024-10-343 Resolution to Approve Supplemental Contracts for the 2024-2025 School Year
2024-10-344 Resolution to Approve Service Contracts for the 2024-2025 School Year
2024-10-345 Resolution to Authorize the Award of Service Contracts for the 2024-2025 School Year
2024-10-346 Resolution to Approve Student Internship/Student Teaching Placements for the 2024-2025 School Year, which approves two Baldwin-Wallace Master of Speech-Language graduate students for placement as student teachers for the 2024-2025 school year.
53.30 min. Policy and Program Resolution - Approved
2024-10-347 Resolution to Approve Baseball Overnight Field Trip to Myrtle Beach in Spring 2025 - This motion was amended to include the addition of the following: “pending resolution of the transportation issues so all players are transported safely.”
56.10 min. Business Resolutions - All Approved
2024-10-348 Resolution to Approve the Youth Bee Works Agreement
2024-10-349 Resolution Declaring Transportation Impractical for the 2024-2025 School Year: This is a formal listing of students within the West Geauga School District attending private or parochial schools where it is impractical for the District to provide bus transportation.
2024-10-350 Resolution to Approve Proposal from Medical Mutual of Ohio for Medical Insurance Rates as of January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2025
2024-10-351 Resolution to Approve Proposal from Call A Doctor Plus for Telemedicine Rates as of January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2025
2024-10-352 Resolution to Approve Service Agreement Between ABA Outreach Services and West Geauga School District
2024-10-353 Resolution to Approve Anti-Skid Agreement Between Chester Township and the West Geauga School System
2024-10-354 Resolution to Approve the Lease Agreement Between West Geauga Local School District Board of Education and YMCA of Greater Cleveland
2024-10-355 Resolution to Approve the Addendum to the Agreement Between the West Geauga Local School District and the Educational Service Center of the Western Reserve
2024-10-355A Resolution to Approve the Pupil Transportation Agreement between Precious Cargo Transportation, Inc. and West Geauga Local Schools
2024-10-355B Resolution to Approve the Service Agreement between Education Alternatives and West Geauga Local Schools
1:04.30 min. Discussion of New Business and Suggestions to be Included on Future Agenda - Ms. Sherwood took this opportunity to respond to the remarks made during the Public Remarks portion of the meeting regarding alleged “illegal” acts by Dr. Benincasa. She stated that there is no substance to the statement and that the Chester Township police and the Geauga County Prosecutor’s Office had reviewed the situation and found that there were no improprieties by Dr. Benincasa.
1:04.50 min. Reports
Superintendent Report - Dr. Markwardt asked Mr. Amstutz to give a summary of the efforts being made with regard to the busing issue. A comprehensive review of the existing and proposed bus routes is being taken with input from current bus drivers. As new bus routes are added, existing routes will have reductions so that an optimum balancing of the routes occurs. There has been some additional turnover of drivers, and the district continues to use intensive recruiting efforts to add drivers. Currently, four new applicants are being evaluated. A reduction in transfer times appears to offer the possibility of an overall reduction of transportation time. Staff is also evaluating technology upgrades for route planning and bus location reporting during bus transit. Visits have been made to Chardon Schools to see and evaluate a system they are using.
Board Report - President Sherwood raised the issue of the district’s master facilities plan. The board has adopted a 6/12 building plan, which is two separate buildings consisting of grades 6 - 8 in one building and grades 9-12 in another. A common building will connect the two. She polled the board to see if they were still in agreement with this plan so that they could move forward. All members present indicated their continued support of the plan. Treasurer Karen Pavlat laid out a timeline that would meet all of the reporting requirements for funding the plan. A comprehensive estimate of the total cost of the plan will be provided at the November meeting. She also provided submission deadlines for state and election board filings in order to have a levy on the ballot for the May 6, 2025 primary election.
The board received an inquiry from a resident regarding the use of seat belts in school buses. A general discussion of the topic considered the many aspects of this issue. Ohio does not require seat belts on school buses. No decision was reached, but the board will revisit this topic in the future.
At last month’s board meeting, the topic of time spent for training staff on “using pronouns” was raised. Dr. Benincasa explained that staff are trained utilizing modules on various topics. This training takes between 12 and 15 hours and includes safety, emergency responses, and other pertinent topics. The module that deals with handling sensitive issues is a small segment of the total time.
There was a request from a parent regarding interpretation of the Student Handbook. Dr. Markwardt said he would review that portion of the handbook and respond to the board.
1:32.55 min. Executive Session - Adjourned at 8:33 pm. To discuss personnel matters dealing with the investigation of charges and/or complaints.
2:07.20 min. Reconvened from Executive Session
2024-10-357 Resolution Regarding a Public Complaint Under Board Policy 9130 - This policy involves “Public Complaints.” It provides for a person to present a request to the Board of Education for a conference with the Board regarding a complaint about an employee. The Board has the right to grant or deny the request. The Board voted unanimously to grant the request it has received. Reviewer Note: The request to conference with the Board regarding a complaint against a district employee was made by Mr. Anthony Zaffiro, but the nature of his complaint was not specified.
2:09.10 Min. Adjournment
Next Meeting: The next regular meeting will be November 18, 2024 at 7:00 pm in the Board Office
Community Room, 8615 Cedar Road in Chester Township.
Observer: Bob Doxey
Editor: Carol Benton
Reviewer: Sarah McGlone
Date Submitted: 11/6/2024
The League of Women Voters Geauga is a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan political organization that encourages
informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy. They do not support or oppose individual candidates or parties. Learn more about the LWVG at www.lwvgeauga.org.