Community Input to be Sought Regarding Possible Capital Improvement Options;
High School Start Time Changed to 7:45 am
Chardon Board of Education Regular Meeting – July 21, 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 at a new updated site here, and through a more specialized BOE site here. Agenda items are listed according to the time that they were discussed on the video.
:23 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, Vice President Andrea Clark, Todd Albright, James Midyette and C.J. Paterniti.
Staff Attendance: Superintendent Dr. Michael Hanlon and Treasurer Deb Armbruster
Others in Attendance who presented: Cheryl Fisher, Jeff Henderson, and Ryan Caswell of TDA (ThenDesign Architecture)
:57 Min Adoption of the Agenda - Approved.
The Board Presiding Officer led the meeting in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Mission Statement - Read by Dr. Hanlon.
1:48 Min Hearing of the Public- Agenda Items Only - No speaker requests.
1:52 Min Consent Agenda - The board considered five items on the consent agenda, including the Minutes from the Special Meeting of June 18, 2025, here, the Regular Meeting of June 23,2025, here, and the Special Meeting of July 8, 2025 here. All approved. All of these items, 3.1-3.6, and associated documents/contracts can be found here, then selecting the meeting tab, date, agenda and number 3 on the agenda. Highlights from the consent agenda include but are not limited to:
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The Superintendent made a recommendation to the Board of Education to approve the attached Personnel and Compensation items. See 3.3 for associated documents.
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Handbook for Classified staff
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Topper Care Director Handbook
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Administrative Compensation Package
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Personnel and Compensation
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Student Services Agreements and Agreements with Beech Brook for the 2025-2026 School Year.
3:08 Min Superintendent Report and Recommendations. Items and associated documents 4.1-4.2 can be found here, select meetings, date, and number 5 on the agenda. All items/recommendations were approved unless noted otherwise. Highlights from the Superintendent’s Report and Recommendations include but are not limited to:
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Superintendent’s single page report available here.
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Chardon Schools Capital Improvements Weekly Progress Report here.
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The House voted to override Governor DeWine’s veto of Item 66 on July 21. The House had also planned to veto Items 55 and 65 but did not consider those on that day. They have until December 31, 2026 to do so. Reviewer Note: More information on what the House did and did not vote to override is available here. As of the publication of this report, the Senate has not voted on any veto overrides yet.
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The superintendent made a recommendation to the Board of Education to approve the revision (ADDITIONAL) to the previously-approved CHS Parent-Student Handbook for the 2025-26 School Year. Chardon High School will change its start time from 7:35am to 7:45am to allow PLC (Professional Learning Community) time for teachers from 7:15-7:40am daily. The change document is available here.
9:00 Min Chief Financial Officer’s Report and Recommendations. Associated documents for 5.1-5.5 can be found here, then select meetings, date, and number 5 on the agenda. All approved unless otherwise noted. Some highlights of the presentation include but are not limited to:
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Mrs. Armbruster presented new websites for the board meetings which are also noted above.
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Link to Financial Summary June 2025 here.
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Cash Balance at Fiscal Year end, $24,781,652- Bank =Book
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June 2025 monthly revenue $1,490,743
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June 2025 monthly expenditures $7,410,152
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Current year revenue is $40,379,345 and last year revenue was $42,037,622 due to a delinquent public utility payment made last year.
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Current year expenditures are $47,137,698 compared to last year expenditures of $42,154,508.
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Actual revenue for the month was up $41,302 compared to last year.
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Actual expenses for the month were up $1,498,700 compared to last year.
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18:00 Min Discussion regarding PI revenue and expenditures. The PI fund balance is $463,612, but open purchase orders total $373,282 as there are a number of jobs still in progress.
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Link to June Financial Summary AI Podcast here.
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Recommendation to approve the Equipment Disposal list
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Recommendation to approve the Fund to Fund Transfer from PI fund to Bond Retirement. Annual transfer required to pay TAN (Tax Anticipation Note) loan for new roofs.
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The Treasurer/CFO made a recommendation to the Board of Education to approve the Depository Agreement with JPMorgan Chase Bank.
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Recommendation to approve the Fiscal Year 2026 Final Appropriations Measure as presented.
24:48 Min Board of Education Reports and Recommendations
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The TDA slide presentation is available here.
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Dr. Hanlon advised that this presentation has been the result of a project that has been in progress since September 2024. He advised that no decisions would be made at this meeting and that the presentation is strictly for Board discussions and conversations at this time. He noted that there would be three main components to the presentation as follows:
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Near, mid, and long term projects, including the need and associated costs, now and in the future.
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The possibility of locating and building a new elementary school potentially combined with a new auditorium.
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Possible educational re-programming of the middle school and the high school that engages a “rethinking of those spaces for instructional purposes.”
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Dr. Hanlon introduced the presenters from TDA as Cheryl Fisher and Jeff Henderson.
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27:25 Min Priority Renovation Improvements (Begins on slide 5): Cheryl Fisher began with a discussion of the Improvements/Costs divided into 3 tiers and considered with 5% inflation per year. These are strictly renovations, i.e., “warm, safe, and dry work.”
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Immediate Needs- 1-2 years
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Short Term Needs- 3-5 years
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Long Term Needs- 6-10 years (Big Ticket Items)
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37:20 Min New Elementary School (Begins on slide 13): Jeff Henderson continued the presentation by introducing and discussing the pros and cons of putting a new elementary school on three possible sites. Possible financial considerations for the new elementary school include:
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55 Min Reprogramming of the Middle School and the High School (Begins on slide 18): The existing middle school and high school buildings “... need to be redesigned to meet current instructional standards and long-term expectations.”
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Middle School
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Collaboration places are critical.
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Middle school classrooms would be arranged in suites rather than departmentalized.
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Other targeted renovations were discussed.
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High School
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1:07.20 Min Summary (beginning on slide 26) and discussions about how to rearrange and/or target 6 different priority lists/project groups as if they were “puzzle pieces” arranged for the best fit for the school district. There was additional general discussion about the costs of “swing space” (temporary locations to house people, equipment etc., during renovation) needed up front or over time depending on how renovations/building was done.
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Mrs. Blankenship introduced the discussion of next steps and the possibility of “being on the ballot in 2026.” Dr. Hanlon further advised that none of these items/projects above can be done within the scope of the existing PI levy as it has been fully expended and leveraged. These projects as presented would require some new source of revenue to the school district.
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There was discussion regarding the overlap and redundancies between the priority renovation improvements and the reprogramming that would be adjusted if projects are “teased out” in more detail.
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Todd Albright noted first, that it was important to see what options are available to the district after the latest legislation is finalized. Second, he expressed concern as to what the community would actually approve of among the presented options. He highlighted the necessity of helping the community to be able to imagine and see the potential positive outcomes and value in completing the building and renovation options if the district expects to get approval for any or for all of it. Mrs. Blankenship asked, “What’s the best way to get community input?”
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Ryan Caswell of TDA advised that there has been a shift in how community feedback is gathered since the Covid era. He further advised that there is no perfect way to gather feedback that is always 100% successful, but he suggested that the administration and Board should identify 3-7 questions to carry out to the community for gathering feedback both in-person and digitally. The Board needs to be sure to create questions that are not leading, as their job is to educate, not advocate.
1:34.05 Min New Business - Mrs. Blankenship advised Board members that the OSBA (Ohio School Boards Association) Capital Conference is November 16th through 18th, 2025 and registration is currently open. The OSBA hosts the Capital conference and the website for that event is here.
1:34.58 Min Hearing of the Public on Non-Agenda Items- There were no speakers
1:35.09 Min Mrs. Blankenship’s call for a motion to adjourn was approved and the meeting video ended at 1:35.30 Minutes. The time was not announced, and this Observer attended virtually.
Board agendas and minutes are available online.
The next meeting is the regular meeting scheduled for August 18 2025 at 5:30 pm.
Virtual Observer: Jacqueline Berger
Editor: Gail Roussey
Reviewer: Sarah McGlone
Date submitted: 08/01/2025
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