3 Separate Road Closures Due to Construction Will Impact Bus Routes in August and September
Kenston Board of Education Regular Meeting – August 11, 2025
Meeting Details: The Kenston Board of Education (BOE) Regular Meeting took place on August 11, 2025, at 7:00 pm. The full video of the meeting 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.
Observer Note: There may have been a problem with the meeting start or video as the actual meeting begins with the pledge at around 13 minutes into the video after a beginning blip.
Pledge of Allegiance led by Board President Tom Manning.
Board Attendance: President Tom Manning, Vice President Beth Krause, Ph.D., Jennifer Troutman, J.D., Dennis Bergansky, and Jim Henry.
Other Staff in Attendance: Superintendent Bruce R. Willingham, Treasurer Seth Cales, and Director of Transportation, Cris Illner.
13:30 Min Regular Meeting Welcome and Roll Call: This meeting is being held in accordance with Section 3313.15 of the Ohio Revised Code.
14:28 Min Approval of the Minutes: The Kenston Board of Education approved that the reading of the minutes be waived, and approved minutes from the Regular Meeting of July 14, 2025 here, and the Special Meeting of July 18, 2025 here, as recorded or corrected.
14:54 Min Informational Items
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A Birthday Book, titled Ice Dogs by Terry Lynn Johnson, was presented to Mr. Jim Henry in honor of his birthday.
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Kenston Departmental Update by Cris Illner, Transportation Director
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There are 9 high school routes, 12 middle school routes and 22 elementary routes. Although there have already been some requests, high schoolers may not ride on the middle school buses or vice versa.
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The Stopfinder app is active on the buses this year. Using this app allows a parent to see where their child’s bus is on its route. If parents find that any of their information is incorrect on the app, they can reach out to the Transportation Office via phone or email.
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The Wayfinder app will be active this year on 7 buses only. Each of these buses will have a tablet that runs the app. The app has visual routes with student bus stops on it. This will be helpful when substitutes or Ms. Illner need to drive the route. Wayfinder can also take attendance and track students so that the department always knows their location even if they get on the wrong bus.
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Ms. Illner discovered that there will be a 46-day closure of Bainbridge Road near the Auburn Point Greenhouse intersection and has been making plans for rerouting Auburn buses where necessary. Haskins Rd will also close from Bainbridge Road up to Tanglewood Trail for 18-21 days beginning on the 18th of August. Riverview Road will also close beginning on September 15th for 18-21 days. Ms. Illner says that the Stopfinder app will come in handy for parents to locate their children’s buses if/when there are any detour delays.
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Transportation professional development days will focus on safety for both the students and the bus drivers.
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25:15 Min Kenston Organization Update: Ken Abbarno, with President Jim Gray in the audience, spoke for the Bomber Elite Club (with a slide presentation). Some items/events discussed:
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Club Committee Structure
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Fridays are pregame meal planning and player consumption
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Fundraising involves Super Bowl Squares that go on sale in January and a number of other fundraisers noted on the slides.
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Fieldhouse enhancements
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School spirit
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First Responder night - A night to honor those who serve our community - Friday, August 22, 2025.
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34:18 Legislative Report: Dr. Krause had no news to report.
34:40 Min Superintendent’s Report
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A full Permanent Improvement list and update on projects will be presented at the September meeting.
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Many summer projects were undertaken and most focused on safety. Some are complete and some still await completion, such as the playground at Timmons.
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The parking lot flow between the Board office and the middle school has been changed to accommodate greater flow and more buses. Speed bumps will be added and personnel will be out to support drivers.
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Opening day for staff is August 12, 2025. Board members have been invited and Tom Manning will speak on behalf of the Board.
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Friday, August 22, 2025 is the opening football game against Solon as well as First Responders Night.
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Parents can access information on the website, the student page, or they can download the app to see Rooms, a parent-teacher communication tool, or they can email Dr. Willingham.
40:55 Min Hearing of the Public on Agenda Items
45:20 Min Treasurer’s Report: Mr. Cales discussed the Corporate Sponsorship event held on June 11, 2025 in the Kenston High School cafeteria.
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The event was organized by Treasurer Cales, Superintendent Willingham, and Director of Communications, Amy Sparks. Mr. Cales advised that the event was a tremendous success and raised $103,750.00 in donations. Mr. Cales referenced a slide that appeared at 47:34 in the video which identifies many of the major donors.
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Mr. Cales stated that many Bainbridge and Auburn businesses are interested and involved with the schools and seek to provide internships or externships to the students.
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The team is still reaching out to many businesses that expressed interest at the event.
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In response to a question from Mr. Bergansky about the location and spending of the donations, Mr. Cales advised that the money goes into a special fund within the General Fund and that the team, including the Superintendent, will make decisions about how the funds are spent. The monies are not currently earmarked.
50:28 Min Agenda approval items 9-18: As the Board President announced at the beginning of the meeting, these items were reviewed by Board members before the meeting and most were passed quickly and without discussion.
Observer Note: Video times are not noted on the quickly occurring motions and approvals below unless significant changes are mentioned or significant discussions occur.
Financial Items: All items and accompanying documents can be found here by selecting the meeting tab, meeting date, and 9.1-9.8 on the agenda. All Approved. Items that may be of interest include but are not limited to:
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Financial reports
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Investment Summary
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Bank Reconciliation
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The Kenston Board of Education approved the final appropriations for all funds (001-599) of the district for fiscal year 2026 and the final appropriations certificate of estimated resources-FY 2026. A handout was available at the meeting as per the agenda.
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The Kenston Board of Education approved the Title III Language Instruction for English Learners Grant Consortium (ESC-Northeast Ohio).
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The Kenston Board of Education approved the following Nutrition Services price for school year 2025-2026: Adult Lunch Price: $4.75
Certified Personnel Items - These items and accompanying documents are available here for review by selecting the meeting tab, meeting date, and 10.1 on the agenda. All Approved.
Classified Personnel Items - These items and accompanying documents are available here by selecting the meeting tab, meeting date, and 11.1- 11.9 on the agenda. 11.1-11.5, 11.8, and 11.9 were approved separately. All Approved.
Supplemental Personnel Items - These items and accompanying documents are available here by selecting the meeting tab, meeting date, and 12.1-12.5 on the agenda. All Approved.
Exempt Personnel Items - None
Business Operations -These items and accompanying documents are available here by selecting the meeting tab, meeting date, and 14.1-14.5 on the agenda. All Approved.
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Obsolete items: Mr. Cales responded to a question and explained that an item must be defined as a capital asset to appear on the obsolete list. He added that capital assets are defined by value and years of usable life.
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Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, the Kenston Board of Education approved transportation agreements for the following for the 2025-26 school year (students named in agenda but not identified in this document).
Teaching and Learning - None
New Business Items - These items and accompanying documents are available here by selecting the meeting tab, meeting date, and 18.1 on the agenda. All Approved.
58:25 Min Hearing of The Public on Non-Agenda Items - No speaker requests.
Just before adjournment, Mr. Manning spoke to highlight the upcoming Bainbridge ROX which is happening on August 23, 2025 from noon to 10:00 pm at Centerville Mills. The rain date will be the following day. The Kenston Foundation is active in this community event.
59:34 Min Motion was made and approved to adjourn the meeting at 7:46 pm, and the video ended at 1:00.16 min.
Next regular meeting: September 15, 2025 at 7:00 pm.
More information here: Board of Education | Kenston Local Schools
Video Observer: Jacqueline Berger
Editor: Rooney Moy
Reviewer: Carol Benton
Date Submitted: August 19, 2025
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