Dr. Hanlon Receives Jennings Superintendent of The Year Award
Chardon Board of Education Regular Meeting – May 18, 2026
Meeting Details: The Regular Meeting began at 5:30 pm at the Chardon Transportation and Business Affairs Center at 400 Washington Street in 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.
0:30 Min. Video Open/ROLL CALL AND WELCOME - Meeting was called to order. It was stated that this meeting
is being held in accordance with Section 3313.15 of the Ohio Revised Code.
Attendance: Board President Karen Blankenship and members Ash Galhotra and James Midyette were present for the entire meeting. Board Vice President Andrea Clark arrived about 10-15 minutes after the start of the meeting, and member Gordon Landies arrived at the meeting at about 50:15 min in the video.
Staff Attendance: Superintendent Dr. Michael Hanlon, Treasurer Deb Armbruster, Preschool Intervention Specialists Kristen Sironen and Sarah Gatto, and Munson Elementary Intervention Specialist Janet Sapp.
Others in Attendance: Trap Shooting Coach Mark Jonovich and students Walter Sweet and TJ Adair
3:50 Min. Adoption of the Agenda - Approved. Prior to the adoption of the agenda, Mrs. Blankenship advised that the 2027-2028 calendar is on the agenda tonight for approval. Mrs. Blankenship noted that, although multiple conflicts inhibited the scheduling of the desired work session regarding the starting date and instructional time built into the calendar, she felt that Dr. Hanlon’s presentation last month and his responsiveness to all Board members’ questions allowed for the calendar to be placed on this month’s agenda for approval. She had hoped for all Board members to be present although this did not happen. Observer Note: All members were present at the time when the roll call vote for the calendar was taken.
The Board Presiding Officer and Michaela Snider, CHS Grade 12, led the meeting in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Mission Statement - Read by Dr. Hanlon.
5:20 Min. Hearing of the Public - Agenda Items Only -
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Chardon parent and Coach of the Chardon Trap Shooting Club, Mark Jonovich, advised that the team’s transition from a club to a sport was on the evening’s meeting agenda and requested the Board’s support of this move. Mr. Jonovich has been coaching the team since its inception in 2024. There are 56 active athletes on the team from grades 6th through 12th. They practice in the fall and compete in the spring. Mr. Jonovich advised that around 60% of the students had never handled a firearm before joining the club and competed successfully. The team is organized with safety as a number one priority, and many team coaches are local first responders. See 5.9 on the agenda for the Resolution to Approve Clay Target as Varsity Sport. Observer Note: At around 1:06 in the meeting video when the 5.9 resolution was approved, the Board initiated further discussion, and Mr. Jovonich accordingly provided more information about the sport.
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A Chardon parent spoke about the 2027-28 calendar on the agenda for approval. She advised that when the calendar was pulled from March meeting’s agenda, she and other members of the community felt hope that their concerns would be heard and that the broader community would be allowed to voice their concerns in a continuing dialogue. Reviewer Note: See the March 16, 2026 Chardon Board of Education LWVG Observer Report for more information. She said she believes that holding the vote at this meeting reveals that no “visible consideration of feedback appears to have happened,” and she expressed concern that she sees no evidence of any compromise in the calendar that is to be approved. She expressed a wish to see better communication and collaboration with the community in the future.
12:02 Min. Consent Agenda - The Board considered ten items on the consent agenda, including the Minutes from the Regular Meeting on April 20, 2026 (available here). All approved unless noted otherwise. All of these items 3.1-3.11, and associated documents/contracts can be found here, then select the meeting tab, date, agenda and number three on the agenda. Items that may be of interest include but are NOT limited to:
14:12 Min Student Liaison Report for May 18 presented by Walter Sweet and TJ Adair.
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Updates on Prom, Powder Puff Games, Spring Sports, AP testing, Finals week, and senior mentoring. Walter and TJ offered thanks to the Board for allowing them to share their senior experience.
18:35 Min. Superintendent Report and Recommendations - Items and associated documents for 5.1-5.12 can be found here, select meetings, date, and number four on the agenda. All items, recommendations, and contracts were approved unless noted otherwise. Highlights that may be of interest from the Superintendent’s Report and Recommendations include but are NOT limited to:
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Superintendent's Report
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Ohio school districts received preliminary Ohio State Testing and End-of-Course Testing results for this year in mathematics. ELA (English Language Arts) scores are still pending. There were some notable achievement results in the data discussed by Dr. Hanlon.
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Dr. Hanlon gave an update on Capital Improvement projects in his report.
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Commencement will occur on May 19th at Parkside Church. Dr. Hanlon noted some achievements for students in his report.
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Recognition of the CHS Science Olympiad Team. 16 students were identified by name and those who were present received a certificate.
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29:00 Min See 5.3 for description: Recognition of Emily Doolittle for the Raymond A. Horn award and Janet Sapp for the Franklin B. Walter award.
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32:52 Min Kristen Sironen and Sarah Gatto, both Preschool Intervention Specialists from CELC, were the teacher spotlights. They thanked the board for the new playground equipment and for covering their spring concert. The Tiny Topper Promises Song, written and sung by Miss Annee, can be heard at this link here.
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36:25 Min Pursuant to Board of Education Policy 0165.1,E, the Superintendent makes recommendation to the Board of Education to approve the Academic Calendar for 2027-28 school year. Motion approved at 51:24 min with one nay vote (Mr. Galhotra)
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There was discussion among Board members after the motion and before the vote about:
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Instructional hours and the increased amount for grades 4-6.
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The difficulty of scheduling instructional hours for different grades.
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The time needed to prepare for state testing dates that the school cannot control but the legislature can. The district cannot remove instructional days from the beginning of the school year and still be prepared for testing.
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The need to discuss air conditioning in the schools as the weather can be hot in the spring as well.
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Chardon is not an outlier with its start date.
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There is flexibility for parents to take vacation time during school days.
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After the roll call vote for the calendar was taken at 51:24 Min, the Board scheduled a work session to discuss instructional time for each grade. The meeting will be June 3rd at 4 pm at the CLSD Board Office, 428 North Street. This meeting will be open to the public and Dr. Hanlon will work to have a representative from each grade/school present.
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See 5.8 for multiple documents regarding 2026-27 school meal rates and student fees. Dr. Hanlon noted that lunch fees, which have been frozen for some time, must now increase as costs rise. Athletic activity fees will also be reinstituted as costs rise, but the fees will be introduced at a much lower rate compared to before the fee freeze (about 3 years ago). This allows for the reduction of transfers from the General fund, but still offers considerable savings for families per Ms. Armbruster. Mr. Landes asked about financial support for those who cannot afford fees, and Dr. Hanlon advised that the Booster Clubs have been good about offering assistance and scholarships to those students.
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Approve Clay Target as a Varsity Sport At around 1:06.30 Min, there was further conversation with Board Members and more information shared about this sport by Mr. Jononovich.
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Resolution 2026-17 authorizing CLSD to purchase 3 school buses.
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See 5.12 in the agenda for multiple Board Policies (linked there) submitted for Second Reading and Approval. Most are revisions, but there are two new and one replacement one.
1:14.56 Min. Treasurer/Chief Financial Officer’s Report and Recommendations - Associated documents for 6.1-6.5 can be found here, then select meetings, date, and number five on the agenda. All approved unless otherwise noted. Some highlights of the presentation include but are NOT limited to:
1:55.16 Min. Board of Education Reports and Recommendations. All approved unless otherwise noted.
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Chardon Schools Foundation Mr. Landes advised that two grants are currently in the approval process and total approximately $7,500. One of those grants is for a 3D printer for the middle school and the other is for participation fees for a national or state STEM club.
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1:56.54 Min Legislative Liaison (no slides) - Mrs. Clark presented a Legislative Report for May 18, 2026. In the slide presentation, Ms. Clark provides information about each Bill below and its potential challenge for CLSD.
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Ohio School Board Association (OSBA) Legislation Tracker Observer Note: This item and the one below are usually noted in the Agenda but not discussed at meetings.
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OSBA Facts in a Flash
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Auburn Career Center Report - Ms. Clark advised that Dr. Glavan has continued to work on reducing the administrative overhead for the center. The cosmetology labs are being updated and the program is being enlarged. Auburn Career Center had nine SkillsUSA winners, which is phenomenal per Ms. Clark.
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2:11.54 Min. Student, Staff and Liaison Report here. Mr. Midyette presented interesting happenings in the schools.
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Seniors and the Senior Book Club with senior citizens. This year the club read and discussed George Orwell’s 1984.
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Annual Career on Wheels Day
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Military Service Signing Day- Five students were recognized
2:14.47 Min Dr. Hanlon was recognized by the Board for receiving the Jennings Superintendent of the Year Award from the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation. Reviewer Note: Learn more about the Martha Holdings Jennings Foundation here.
2:16.02 Min Hearing of the Public on Non-Agenda Items- There were no speaker requests.
2:16.58 Min. Pursuant to Board of Education Policy 0167.2, a motion was made and approved that the Board of Education of the Chardon Local School District adjourn to Executive Session for the purpose(s) of:
2:17.01 Min Mrs. Blankenship announced that there would be action taken after the Executive Session and the video ended very briefly at 2:17.01.
2:17.10 Min Pursuant to Board of Education Policy 0166, the Superintendent made a recommendation to the Board of Education to approve the attached Resolution 2026-14: Authorizing Approval of a Negotiated Settlement Agreement. Approved.
2:17.55 Min Mrs. Blankenship noted that there was no new business but wanted to remind all those who were to be present at the graduation on May 19th to arrive by 6:30 pm at the latest. The ceremony begins at 7:00 pm.
2:19.04 Min A motion was made and approved to adjourn the meeting at 8:09 pm and the video concluded at 2:19.06.
Board agendas and minutes are available online.
The next meeting is the Regular Meeting on June 25, 2026 at 5:30 pm.
Virtual Observer: Jacqueline Berger
Editor: Carol Benton
Reviewer: Sarah McGlone
Date submitted: June 3, 2026
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