Chardon Schools Planning Possible Tennis Court Construction Project
Chardon Board of Education Regular Meeting – September 15, 2025
Meeting Details: The meeting was held at 5:30 pm at the Chardon Board of Education building adjacent to 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 available here. 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, Vice President Andrea Clark, Todd Albright, James Midyette and C.J. Paterniti.
Staff Attendance: Superintendent Dr. Michael Hanlon, Treasurer Deb Armbruster, Assistant Treasurer Crystal King-Morrison, and Assistant Superintendent Dr. Ed Klein.
1:15 Min Adoption of the Agenda - Approved.
The Board Presiding Officer and student leader, Park Elementary 2nd grade student Eloise Hoffmeister, led the meeting in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Observer Note: The video experienced a wind noise disturbance beginning at around 2:50 minutes, continuing off and on for a bit, making it difficult if not impossible to hear.
Mission Statement - Read by Dr. Hanlon.
3:06 Min Hearing of the Public- Agenda Items Only - No speaker requests.
3:15 Min Consent Agenda - The board considered nine items on the consent agenda, including the Minutes from the Regular Meeting of August 18,2025. All approved. All of these items, 3.1-3.8 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:
5:23 Min Student Liaison Report Walter and Henry Sweet gave a presentation on some of the Fall events at the high school:
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A Coffee Cafe is opening on Wednesday, September 17th at Chardon High School. The cafe will be open from 7-9am for students to purchase coffee.
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The Senior Sunrise was a successful event.
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A Chardon sports update was provided.
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September 27, 2025 is homecoming for the school district.
7:30 Min Superintendent Report and Recommendations. Items and associated documents for 5.1-5.9 can be found here, select meetings, date, and number 5 on the agenda. All items, recommendations, and contracts were approved unless noted otherwise. Highlights from the Superintendent’s Report and Recommendations include but are NOT limited to:
Observer Note: In this instance, two recommendations in the Superintendent’s report above were reported in the order they were first discussed by Dr. Hanlon, and not necessarily in the order in which they received a Board vote in the meeting. The tennis court plans and the cybersecurity policies were primarily discussed as part of the Superintendent’s report and the specific recommendations were placed to align with his initial mention and discussion.
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14:07 Min 2024-2025 State Report Card Overview is presented, along with slides here, by Dr. Klein, Assistant Superintendent.
40:28 Min Chief Financial Officer’s Report and Recommendations. Associated documents for 6.1-6.4 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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The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) awarded the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting to the Chardon Local School District for the Fiscal Year 2024 (view the award here). The award, letter to the President, and press release found in section 6 on the Agenda describe the Chardon financial report in the following manner: “The report has been judged by an impartial panel to meet the high standards of the program, which includes demonstrating a constructive "spirit of full disclosure" to clearly communicate its financial story and motivate potential users and user groups to read the report. The Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting, and its attainment represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its management.”
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Link to Ohio Checkbook (Overview of Spending by CLSD) here. Per Ohio.gov, “The Ohio Checkbook offers a way to see how state money is spent and where revenue is generated and allocated in the state budget. This interactive tool provides real-time financial and transactional data maintained in the state's accounting system.”
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The Fiscal Advisory Committee Report is available here. Ms. Armbruster described this committee, which includes herself, Dr. Hanlon, Karen Blankenship, and other faculty and community members. Observer note: Ms. Armbruster also addresses two other people on the committee in the room who are not on video, as Brian and Crystal. Crystal is likely Crystal King-Morrison, the Assistant Treasurer, but Brian’s full name and position is unknown to this observer.
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45:45 Min Slide presentation and discussion begins for the August 2025 Financial Summary Report here, and goes through 54:40.
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Link to the August 2025 Financial Report summary AI podcast is here.
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Link to the August 2025 AI Financial reports AI video is here.
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Donation list 2025
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Equipment Disposal list
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Pursuant to Board of Education Policy 0166, the Superintendent made a recommendation to the Board of Education to approve Resolution 2025-23 (available here): Establishing a State Capital Grant Fund (USAS 493) for capital-related expenditures not otherwise classified. Ms. Armbruster explained this as a capital grant fund that was specifically set up for the purposes of recording the monies coming in from a blight grant that was received from the county and administered by the state.
58:25 Min Board of Education Report slide presentation can be found here
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Chardon Schools Foundation (no slides) Andrea Clark said that while a formal meeting has yet to take place for their group, she knows that grant requests are due sometime in late November or early December. She also noted that there was a brief discussion as to whether the Foundation could act as a holding place for stadium restroom fundraising.
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Legislative Liaison (no slides) Todd Albright mentioned four actions in the General Assembly that he found concerning: HJR 6, a proposal to limit property taxes; HB 420, which seeks to eliminate all permanent or continuing tax levies by 2030; HB 421, which is about arresting the inside mileage; and HB 422, which adjusts voter approval thresholds required for new levies, requiring larger majorities for larger tax hikes.
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OSBA Legislation Tracker
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OSBA Facts in a Flash
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Auburn Career Center (no slides)- Todd Albright said that morale at ACC is much better now that the long standing lawsuit is resolved. The superintendent of ACC advised that ACC is now able to take advantage of an extra thirty minutes a day for direct instructional time.
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Student, Staff and Liaison Report (some slides above)- James Midyette noted the 2025 Buckeye State Delegates and the Toppers Safety Leaders at Munson. Chardon Middle Schoolers held a back to school bash in August of 2025 thanks to the support of the CMS PTO. The Chardon Job Training Program is in full swing. The Hilltopper Soccer team was able to play at the historic Crew Field in Columbus.
1:11.28 Min New Business - Mrs. Blankenship reminded all that there were two open positions on the Board in November, and she acknowledged one candidate, Ash Galhotra, who was present at the meeting.
1:12.12 Min Hearing of the Public on Non-Agenda Items- There were no speaker requests
1:12.50 Min Mrs. Blankenship’s call for a motion to adjourn was approved, and the meeting ended at 6:42pm. The video ended at 1:12.53 Minutes. Board agendas and minutes are available online.
The next regular meeting is scheduled for October 13, 2025 for at 5:30 pm.
Virtual Observer: Jacqueline Berger
Editor: Gail Roussey
Reviewer: Sarah McGlone
Date submitted: October 2, 2025
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