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Kindergarten Moving from Chardon Early Learning Center to 

Munson and Park Elementary Schools Effective 2025-2026 School Year 

Chardon Board of Education Regular Meeting – December 16, 2024

Meeting Details: Meetings are held at 6:30 pm, at the Chardon Board of Education building adjacent to the Chardon Middle School at 428 North Street, Chardon. Here is the link to the available Meeting Agendas and Minutes. Click on the meetings tab on the right to access the Agendas and Minutes. Board meeting videos are also available through Chardon Geauga TV (GTV). Topics discussed will be noted by the time that they appear in the GTV video for easy reference.

Roll Call Attendance: Board President Karen Blankenship, Board Members Andrea Clark, Todd Albright, James Midyette, and C.J. Paterniti 

Staff Attendance: Superintendent Dr. Michael Hanlon and Treasurer Deb Armbruster

2:09 Min Adoption of Agenda - Approved

2:50 Pledge of Allegiance led by the Board President and a Chardon Middle School 8th grader.

4:15 Min Mission Statement - Read by Dr. Hanlon

4:22 Min Hearing of the Public for Agenda items Only No public comments.

Observer Note: In order to comment at Chardon Board of Education meetings, members of the public must sign up to do so before the meeting starts. There are two opportunities for public comment. The first one is on agenda items, and the second one is not restricted to the agenda.

4:26 Min Consent Agenda:

• Pursuant to Board of Education Policy 0165.1,E, the Superintendent makes recommendation to the Board of Education to approve the minutes from the November 18, 2024 Regular Meeting here.  Approved

• All other Consent agenda items approved and details of those items or contracts are available here, then selecting the meeting tab, meeting date, and 3.1-3.5 on the agenda.

  • Approval of PSI Agreement for Notre Dame Elementary

  • Approval of Agreement with Re-Education Services for Student Services

  • Approval of Warrant List (CHEKPY) Report

5:28 Min Chardon High School (CHS) Monthly Student Liaison Report by Mia Goodwin, Student Council President of CHS, with a Visual Presentation here

• On November 26, there was a seniors vs. teachers volleyball game and the teachers won. Money raised and canned food collected from the event went to the Geauga Hunger Task Force.

• The Armed Forces and First Responders Career Fair hosted by CHS had great attendance and went well.

• There were many other holiday activities, including candy grams available for purchase, lunch time Christmas games, etc.

• The annual One Acts and Talent Show Production will be held on January 24th, 2025.

• The spring musical will be The Little Mermaid.

• Students are preparing for midterms.

7:26 Min Superintendent’s Report Recommendations

• Work on the transportation complex continues as weather permits.

• Exterior door replacements are occurring in schools across the district on a schedule approved by the Board earlier.

• Dr. Hanlon congratulated students and program directors for showcasing the talents of the students in so many ways: holiday concerts, community concerts, talent shows, etc.

• Winter break is December 23 through January 3, with school resuming on January 6.

Superintendent’s recommendations can be found here, then selecting the meeting tab, meeting date, agenda and items 5.1-5.6. All items approved.

• Items of interest to note include:

  • Academic calendars for 2025-2026 and 2026-2027. There was some discussion regarding the early August start date and the summer heat in the older buildings that do not have AC. Board members also requested that there be more dialog with the community while the calendar is being assembled rather than just during its approval process. Mr. Albright's comments expressed the hope that the community would then gain more insight into the actual challenges of creating a school year calendar.

  • Due in part to a decline in student enrollment and “Pursuant to Board of Education Policy 0165.1,E, the Superintendent makes a recommendation to the Board of Education to approve Resolution 2024-23”. This resolution transitions Kindergarten students from CELC (Chardon Early Learning Center) to Park and Munson Schools effective the 2025-26 School Year. Park and Munson will then house grades K through 3 and CELC will be a preschool, and available for ancillary use. Ms. Clark expressed concern that the specials such as art and music would be moved to carts at Munson, and was told that this was unlikely at this time.

  • First reading of board policies that are under review or recommended for adoption. These policies can all be found here under 5.8 in the agenda. The subject of AI is beginning to appear as a topic in a number of policies as it becomes more prevalent in the tools that the district and students use. Members of the community can submit questions and responses through email.

35.55 Min Treasurer Report/ CFO (Chief Financial Officer) Report and Recommendations 6.1-6.3- All items including forecast. All Approved

• Ohio Schools Council (OSC) Statement of Savings: $273,314.75. The treasurer advised that some of these savings were cumulative and some were more recent. OSC Report for Chardon is available here.  For more information about the OSC, see the site here. From their page: “OSC provides financial savings and operational effectiveness through the group purchasing of products/services, operational support, professional development and networking opportunities.”

• November Summary Financial Report is available here, and the podcast is here.

  • Cash Balance for 11/30/2024 is $29,813,950.10

  • Trending is favorable compared to forecast for revenues and expenditures.

  • Actual November Monthly revenue is $652,129.

  • While state revenues have increased, the total revenue is down due to the uneven timing of public utility collections (none for 2023, significant increase for 2024, and none for 2025), and the move of $1 million from the General Fund to the Permanent Improvement (PI) Fund.

  • November expenditures are up due to a month with three pay periods and payment period on transportation compound construction.

  • Lunch services had an excess expenditure of approximately $50,000 which was expected due to lowered lunch balances. Ending fund balance is still over $800,000.

  • PI Expenditures fiscal YTD is $2,245,260. For discussion of expenditures, see beginning around 44.15 minutes into the video.

  • The Self-Insurance fund has a little over $2 million

47.35 Min Board of Education Reports and Recommendations and accompanying documents can be found here, then selecting meetings tab, meeting date, agenda, and 7.1-7.3. All items Approved.

• Board of Education Report

  • The Chardon Schools Foundation held a meeting in December. Grant Applications for this Fall are due on December 20, 2024. There was discussion as to whether the Foundation is now outdated due to the proliferation of PTOs in the schools, but grant requests are still forthcoming, as per Ms. Clark, and the Foundation supports all the schools as opposed to just one particular school, as do the PTOs.

  • Legislation Tracker:  Mr. Albright advised that Ohio HB 432 will possibly make teacher credentialing easier for Career Technical Education (CTE) instructors. Observer Note: State Rep. Don Jones, Republican of Freeport, states, “House Bill 432 will create a larger pool of CTE instructors and better equip career tech planning districts to meet the growing number of students in CTE programs. The legislation does not lower that standard of CTE instructors but instead creates alternative pathways for qualified instructors to obtain licensure.”

  • Mr. Albright advised that Auburn Career Center (ACC) has adopted BoardDocs and the transition went smoothly. The Mike Rowe Foundation Fund is being integrated into ACC and now adult students can apply for a Mike Rowe Foundation Fund. A Chardon student will represent the district and Auburn Career Center at SkillsUSA.

  • The Chardon High School Model United Nations Team competed at a local conference, Cleveland Council of World Affairs, at Case Western Reserve University on November 18-19, 2024. CHS hosted its first Armed Forces/First responders Career Fair for grades 8-12.

• 55.40 Min The Board of Education designates the following day, place, and time for the 2025 Tax Budget Hearing and Organizational Meeting:

  • Date: January 6, 2025

  • Place: Chardon Board of Education, 428 North St, Chardon, OH 44024

  • Time: Tax Budget Hearing at 5:15 PM/Organizational Meeting directly to follow, at approximately 5:30 PM. 

• 57.11 Min  Pursuant to Board of Education Policy 0152 & 0151: The Board considered and approved a motion and a second to appoint Karen Blankenship as Board President, pro tempore to preside over the January 6, 2025 Organizational Meeting until the election of the President. 

59.07 Min New Business - None

59.17 Min Hearing of the Public on Non-Agenda Items - No public comments 

59.48 Min Motion that the Board of Education of the Chardon Local School District adjourn at 7:30 pm.
Approved.

Board agendas and minutes are available online.

Next meeting is the organizational meeting scheduled for January 6, 2025. The next regular meeting will be voted on at the organizational meeting.

Remote Observer: Jacqueline Berger 

Editor: Anne Ondrey

Reviewer: Sarah McGlone 

Date submitted: 01/07/2025

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