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Parent Expresses Concern about Lack of Transparency 

Regarding Kenston High School Bathroom Monitors

Kenston Board of Education Regular Meeting – October 13, 2025 

Meeting Details: The Kenston Board of Education (BOE) Regular Meeting took place on October 13, 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.

3:49 Min Video Opening and Pledge of Allegiance led by Leighton Eliazo, KMS 5th Grade student, and Board member, Jim Henry.

Board Attendance: President Tom Manning, Vice President Beth Krause, Dennis Bergansky, Jim Henry, and Jennifer Troutman.

Other Staff in Attendance: Superintendent Bruce R. Willingham, Treasurer Seth Cales, Assistant Superintendent Kathleen Poe, KMS Principal Adam Fender, TES Principal Dave Rogaliner, and KHS Principal Tom Gabram.

5:02 Min Regular Meeting Welcome and Roll Call: This meeting is being held in accordance with Section 3313.15 of the Ohio Revised Code.

6:15 Min Approval of the Minutes: The Kenston Board of Education approved that the reading of the minutes be waived, and approved the minutes from the Regular Meeting of September 15, 2025, available here, as recorded or corrected.

6:43 Min Informational Items

• Kenston Building Update: 

  • Kenston Middle School Principal Adam Fender, accompanied by slides, spoke about the goals of the Middle School:

    • KMS is focused on analyzing data for driving instructional leadership, identifying learning gaps, and developing interventions and enrichments that are implemented during No New Instruction (NNI) time as a regular part of each school day from 2:02-2:25 pm.

    • Goals also include enhancing teacher-student interactions, strengthening Positive Behavior Intervention Supports implementation, and fostering a collaborative and inclusive building culture to create a more positive Student Experience at KMS.

    • Mr. Fender also identified several student experiences at the middle school so far this year.

• 17:05 Min District Report Cards Assistant Superintendent Dr. Kathleen Poe was accompanied by slides as she presented the overall District Report Card:

  • 39:40 Min Timmons Elementary School Principal Dave Rogaliner, accompanied by slides, presented relevant TES data from the district report cards and goals going forward.

  • 42:40 Min Kenston Middle School Principal Adam Fender, accompanied by slides, presented relevant KMS data from the district report card and goals going forward.

  • 47:20 Min Kenston High School Principal Tom Gabram, accompanied by slides, presented relevant KHS data from the district report card and goals going forward.

• 1:01.45 Min Kenston Organization Update - Vice President of the PTO Council, Shannan Holodinski, accompanied by slides, presented information about the Kenston School District PTO:

  • Each building has its own PTO Board with executive teams and committee heads. All of the individual building PTOs are overheaded by the PTO Council.

  • There are just over 750 members comprised of parents and teachers across the three buildings. Dues are $10 to join, and donations/volunteerism is encouraged.

  • The most recent fundraiser raised $38,000.

  • Some key events include, but are not limited, to Tailgate Sponsor-District and Family Fun Night at Timmons Elementary. 

• 1:05.24 Min Kenston Legislative Update: 

  • The Governor created a property tax review work group that made a number of recommendations.

  • House passed HB 129, which restricts certain types of levies. Dr. Krause noted Kenston does not use these types of levies.

  • Dr. Krause advised that, while property taxes need to be reformed, their elimination would be devastating to the schools.

1:08 Min Superintendent’s Report

• Kenston has hired another bus driver who will positively impact three routes, and another bus driver is in the training process.

• Dr. Willingham advised, as per Ohio Revised Code, that the Kenston School District is considering rehiring a retired bus driver. There will be a special board meeting at the end of November to move this process forward. See Ohio Revised Code on rehiring retired employees here.

1:09.58 Min Treasurer’s Report - Mr. Cales, accompanied by slides, presented the five year forecast:

• The district is a member of the Buckeye Association of School Administrators (BASA) which provided the following information:

  • Mr. Cales noted that Ohio ranks 45th in the nation for state funding of public schools. That means that 44 of the 50 states provide more state funding to the schools than Ohio does. Today, homeowners and farmers provide 70% of public school funding, compared to 1991 when they only funded 47% of public school funding. Mr. Cales noted that eliminating property taxes would be catastrophic for the schools without an alternative funding plan.

• The Five-year Forecast slide presentation can be found here.

  • Slide 2 describes the production and purpose of a five-year forecast which represents the General Fund of the District.

  • After 2026, the district will begin to deficit spend over the next four years. Mr. Cales noted that 2028 might be the time to look for an operating levy as the prior one has lasted a record number of years.

  • Enrollment is decreasing across Ohio which will impact spending projections.

  • Local taxes account for 75% of the district’s funding.

  • The Cash Balance will remain above or at the minimum through Fiscal Year 2028.

  • It’s estimated to cost $18,459 per year of general fund dollars to educate a student in FY 2026.

  • There is much uncertainty associated with Ohio legislation. See slide 23 for more information.

1:45.25 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:

Certified Personnel Items - These items and accompanying documents are available here for review by selecting the meeting tab, meeting date, and 10.1-10.5  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- 11.5 on the agenda.  All Approved.

• 11.5- Pursuant to ORC Section 3307.353, Public Notice of Intent for a non-teaching retire-rehire contract- No Approval required.

Supplemental Personnel Items - These items and accompanying documents are available here by selecting the meeting tab, meeting date, and 12.1-12.3 on the agenda. All Approved.

Teaching and Learning Items - These items and accompanying documents are available here by selecting the meeting tab, meeting date, and 15.1-15.5 on the agenda. All Approved.

New Business Items - These items and accompanying documents are available here by selecting the meeting tab, meeting date, and 18.1-18.7 on the agenda. All Approved.  Items that may be of interest include but are not limited to:

• 18.7- First reading for 36 Board Policies - most are noted as corrections, replacements and revisions. No Approval Required.

1:49.45 Min Hearing of The Public on Non-Agenda Items 

• A Kenston parent expressed concern about the lack of detailed information that was provided to the school community regarding the sensors installed in each bathroom at the high school. She identified the monitoring product as the Tritan Ultra Sensor and explained that these items were identified in school budget sheets, parent communications and emails, and board meetings simply as “ vape detectors.”  However, per this parent, these devices do more: they detect vape, THC, smoke and air quality disruption; they  listen for multiple key words associated with safety, bad behavior and aggression, screams, gun shots, and breaking glass; they assign numbers to each student as they enter and color code them based on the time they spend in the bathroom, and they detect phone use. This parent expressed concern that communications have “fallen far short,” and she suggested greater transparency from the school to the parents as to the capacity of these monitors. She suggested: that parents receive a standalone email describing the functions of the monitors; that signs be placed in restrooms notifying students of the capacities of the monitors in use; and that more careful consideration be given to the monitor’s capacity and use in a place where sensitive conversations may occur with a reasonable expectation of privacy.

• Another Kenston parent who lives on South Spring Valley expressed concern and frustration that many transportation issues within her neighborhood have not been resolved despite numerous calls on her part. She advised that there is still a stop without signage on what she believes is a blind hill, and that children are still awaiting school buses in unsafe locations. She indicated that many parents in the neighborhood have taken to car pooling their kids to avoid using the bus. She also said that children are still being dropped at what are considered to be dangerous places on Rte. 44 and on Washington Street.

1:56.53 Min - A motion to adjourn was made and approved at 8:51pm. The active video ended at  1:56.59 min.

Next regular meeting: November 10, 2025 at 7:00 pm. 

More information here: Board of Education | Kenston Local Schools

Video Observer: Jacqueline Berger

Editor: Rooney Moy

Reviewer: Sarah McGlone

Date Submitted: October 21, 2025

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