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Rep. Fowler Arthur Indicates Fair School Funding Act Unlikely to be Fully Funded

Chardon Board of Education Regular Meeting – January 27, 2025 

Meeting Details: The meeting was held at 5:30 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. The board meeting video is also available here through Chardon Geauga TV (GTV) and agenda items are listed according to the time that they were discussed on the video.

0.21 Min ROLL CALL AND WELCOME  Meeting was called to order. It was stated that this meeting is being held in accordance with Section 3313.16 of the Ohio Revised Code. 

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

Absent: James Midyette

Staff Attendance: Superintendent Dr. Michael Hanlon, Treasurer Deb Armbruster, and Munson Elementary School Principal Mathew Prezioso. 

0.53 Min Adoption of the Agenda - Adopted.

Pledge of Allegiance - Led by Mrs. Blankenship

Mission Statement - Read by Dr. Hanlon.

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.  During the Organizational Meeting there was no public comment.

1.51 Min Hearing of the Public- Agenda Items Only - There are none.

1.57 Min Consent Agenda - The board considered six items on the consent agenda 3.1-3.7 and approved all. All of these items can be found here, then selecting the meeting tab, date, agenda and number 3 on the agenda.

• One item to note is the approval of a compilation proposal here with Julian & Grube, Inc., to assist the district in the preparation of a GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) - based ACFR (Annual Comprehensive Financial Report). Reviewer Note: GAAP is a set of rules for standardized financial reporting in the U.S. that help ensure accuracy and transparency and focus on rules such as consistency, honesty, and transparency. The rules are governed by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB).

3.40 Min Presentation of Student Liaison Report - Dr. Hanlon noted that the students may have gotten the time wrong for the meeting as they were not present. Their presentation was given closer to the end of the meeting.

4.10 Min Superintendent Report and Recommendations. Items and associated documents for 5.1-5.13 can be found here, select meetings, date, and number 5 on the agenda. All approved.

Some items of note include:

• Superintendent’s written report submitted here and can be read. 

• January is School Board Recognition month in Ohio. A poem was read thanking them from Chardon Early Learning Center and some small gifts and student posters were presented to the Board.

• The District Quality Profile will be in mailboxes this week, as per Dr. Hanlon. For the first time, this will be mailed out to over 11,000 addresses in the community, beyond just parent mailers and the school website.

• 8.34 Min Principal Prezioso of Munson Elementary presented some facts and information about Munson Elementary and shared what he believes makes the school special in a slide presentation available here .

  • Munson received an overall 5-star rating (“significantly exceeds state standards”) on their Ohio Report Card.

  • Munson was recognized for their work with veterans. See slide presentation above for details.

  • Recess is now before lunch.

  • Munson has new playground equipment accessible to all students.

  • New Chatbot on the website to answer simple questions.

• Employment Separation Agreement and Release for Ms. Lois Cox here. Individual roll call vote, all approved.

• Professions Design Services Proposal for Park School, Auditorium, and Munson School here.

• Proposals with Capitol Aluminum & Glass Corp. for window replacement at Chardon High School and Park Elementary.

• Updated Special Education Model Policies and Procedures issued by the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce Development (DEW) here.

• The Board of Education approved the attached Three-Year Lease Agreement here and Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) here with Munson Township for the use of the Munson Township Park Athletic Fields.

  • Dr. Hanlon advised that the lease agreements and MOU “merely memorialize an agreement” that is consistent with an already ongoing arrangement and just provides a consistent way for all to work together to make sure fields are prepared for use. The township will also offer an accounting of how funds are used as part of the agreement. 

• Approval of Board of Education Policies upon Second reading.

  • Dr. Hanlon advised that between the first and second reading of these policies, the state legislature acted to correct the “unintended consequences” of SB 29 and NEOLA (Northeast Ohio Learning Associates) issued updates that have been incorporated into the policies as revisions.

37:10  Min Chief Financial Officer’s Report and Recommendations. Items and associated documents for 6.1-6.4 can be found here, then select meetings, date, and number 6 on the agenda. All approved 

• Presentation of December 2024 Summary Financial Reports:

  • December 2024 Financial Summary is here and the slide presentation with commentary by Ms. Armbruster begins at 37:39 in the video.

    • There are also a number of links and attachments on the agenda here under 6.1 that give more details about this report.

      • Of note, PI (Permanent Improvement) expenditures include entrance door replacements for Park and Munson Elementary, Chardon Middle School, and Chardon High School. All entrance doors have now been replaced except one set-up for which elements are on backorder.

• December 2024 Financial Podcast here.

• Donation Agreement between the donor, Geauga Center for the Arts, and the donee, the Chardon Board of Education of the Chardon Local School District. GCA is donating their current and future costume collections to the school district with certain conditions,  and the terms of the agreement can be viewed in the contract here.

47:50 Min Board of Education Reports and Recommendations

• Chardon Schools Foundation Report here, presented by Andrea Clark, Board of Education Vice President.

  • The Chardon Schools Foundation grant applications were due by December 20th of 2024. Requests had been down the prior year so there was some concern as to the current relevance of the foundation, but due to some efforts on Ms. Clark’s part, requests were up this year and 7 grants were awarded and identified in more detail by Ms. Clark at this time in the video.

• Legislative Liaison Report and Legislative Bill Tracker here, presented by Todd Albright, Board of Education member.  For his commentary, begin at 51 Minutes in the video.

  • Mr. Albright advised that he questioned his representative, Sarah Fowler Arthur, as to whether the Fair School Funding Act was going to continue to be fully funded. Ms. Fowler Arthur advised that it was likely not, and as per Mr. Albright, she also indicated that “Ohio is considering eliminating income tax this session which will probably impinge upon school funding.” Reviewer Note: Sarah Fowler Arthur is the Ohio State Representative for the 99th District which includes most of Geauga County. She was named Chairman of the Education Committee in the 136th General Assembly. The Ohio Fair Funding Plan is bipartisan legislation that created a new school financing system for K-12 education in the State of Ohio, overhauling the state's school funding system that the Ohio Supreme Court found unconstitutional four times beginning in 1997. It was signed into law on July 1, 2021 as a part of the biennial state operating budget. Governor DeWine included funding for the 3rd phase of Ohio Fair Funding Plan in his 2026-2027 biennial budget released on February 3, 2025.

  • Several House and Senate Bills that were very quickly mentioned by Mr. Albright: HB315, SB208, SB54, HB206, SB234, HB2, and HB8. 

• Student & Staff Liaison Report - Mr. Midyette begins at 58:30 in the video and details the accomplishments and activities of students from Park Elementary, the Chardon Wrestling Team, CELC kindergarten students, middle school choirs, and Topper Care.

  • The student Liaison Report for January of 2025 is here with slide presentation beginning at 1:02.49 in the video. The students described holiday activities and games, an Ohio State Day in preparation for the championship game. The One Acts & Talent Show was described as a success. The spring musical will be The Little Mermaid, but the dates are not yet set, and a fundraiser is in the planning stages for the Los Angeles wildfire firefighters.

  • Ohio School Boards Association Facts in a Flash here.

1:05.50 Min New Business - There is none.

1:05.57 Min hearing of the Public on Non-Agenda Items - There are none.

1:06.26 Min Motion to adjourn approved at 6:36 pm. The video concluded at 1:07.02.

Board agendas and minutes are available online.

Next meeting is the regular meeting scheduled for February 18, 2025. The new time is 5:30pm, as decided at the Chardon Board of Education 2025 Organizational meeting.

Observer: Jacqueline Berger

Editor: Anne Ondrey

Reviewer: Carol Benton

Date submitted: February 10, 2025

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