Parents Express Concern Over Major Scheduling Changes without Community Input
Kenston Board of Education Special Meeting – June 8, 2026
Meeting Details: The Kenston Board of Education (BOE) Special Meeting took place on June 8 at 6:00 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.
7:30 Min Video Opening
Pledge of Allegiance
8:04 Min Special Meeting Welcome and Roll Call: This meeting is being held in accordance with Section 3313.15 of the Ohio Revised Code.
*Dr. Krause noted that public comment cards that were submitted were all labeled as Agenda items when they were in fact non-agenda items as there was no content in them on which the Board intended to take action in this meeting, so the comment cards would be held for Hearing from the Public on Non-Agenda items.
Board Attendance: Vice President Beth Krause and Board Members Jim Henry, Girtha Smith, and Benjamin Timmons
Absent: President Tom Manning
Other Staff in Attendance: Superintendent Bruce R. Willingham, Treasurer Seth Cales, new KMS Assistant Principal Claire Gowing, and new KMS Intervention Specialist Christian Jolley.
Others in Attendance: Reviewer Note: The Geauga Maple Leaf reported that over 400 people signed a petition to express their frustration with start and end times.
9:50 Min Superintendent’s Update with an accompanying slide presentation.
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Dr. Willingham apologized for the upset caused by what he said appeared to be sudden changes in school start times and etc. Reviewer Note: In an email to Kenston families dated May 23, the following new start and end times for the district’s schools were announced as part of the larger “Kenston Superintendent News” communication:
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Timmons Elementary School (PreK through 3rd Grade): 9:20 am - 3:50 pm
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Kenston Middle School (4th through 7th Grades): 8:00 am - 2:30 pm
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Kenston High School (8th through 12th Grades): 7:55 am - 2:25 pm
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Dr. Willingham advised that the district is working to deal with appropriate adjustment with transportation issues due to the right-sizing plan. Last year the teachers’ contract prohibited a change in start times for the schools so there were many challenges with transportation at the start of this school year. This year a MOU (memorandum of understanding) was negotiated in December of 2025 and throughout the spring a new contract was negotiated and ratified on April 20, 2026. Dr. Willingham was disallowed to share any info until then. He advised that he accepts responsibility for the slow nature of the notification and his goal now is to refine the changes.
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Dr. Willingham and Mr. Cales wanted the new transportation routes to be driven and tested in June 2026 to ensure that the timing works and at this point he thinks it looks better.
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Dr. Willingham advised that kindergarten and elementary students will not be on buses with high schoolers. However, middle school and high school routes will need to be consolidated and refined so that they run smoother. Here again, Dr. Willingham apologized for the late notification.
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Dr. Willingham also advised that specials (e.g., art, gym, music) are not being reduced at Timmons or throughout the district, despite rumors to the contrary. At Timmons the district is working on changes to ensure that the ELA (English Language Arts) program, CKLA (Core Knowledge Language Arts) receives the required 150 minutes of instructional time per week. To do so, changes needed to be made to teachers’ planning/collaboration time, and as a result, changes must also be made to specials’ times, but they are not being reduced or eliminated. Again Dr. Willingham apologized for not communicating this as well as he’d hoped.
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Dr. Willingham introduced Christian Jolley, who will be starting next year as a KMS Intervention Specialist, and Claire Gowing, who will start next year as the KMS Assistant Principal.
Hearing of the Public on Agenda Items- There were no speaker requests. Dr. Krause advised all those who were there with speaker cards that they would be invited to speak during the Public Hearing on Non-Agenda Items, but that if Dr. Willingham had addressed their concerns in his update, they were not required to still speak if they should choose not to.
21:13 Min Agenda approval items 5-10: These items are usually reviewed by Board members before the meeting and most are passed quickly and without discussion.
Financial Items: None
Certified Personnel Items - These items and accompanying documents are available here for review by selecting the meeting tab, meeting date, and 5.1-5.6 on the agenda. All Approved.
Classified Personnel Items - These items and accompanying documents are available here by selecting the meeting tab, meeting date, and 6.1-6.7 on the agenda. 6.6 was approved separately so that employee’s Board relative may abstain. All Approved.
Supplemental Personnel Items - These items and accompanying documents are available here by selecting the meeting tab, meeting date, and 7.1-7.5 on the agenda. 7.5 approved separately so that an employee’s Board relative may abstain. All Approved.
Exempt Personnel Items- These items and accompanying documents are available here by selecting the meeting tab, meeting date, and 8.1-8.3 on the agenda. All Approved. Highlight:
Business Operations- None
Teaching and Learning Items- None
Special Education Items - These items and accompanying documents are available here by selecting the meeting tab, meeting date, and 9.1-9.9 on the agenda. All Approved.
New Business Items- These items and accompanying documents are available here by selecting the meeting tab, meeting date, and 10.1 on the agenda. All Approved. Items that may be of interest include but are not limited to:
25:53 Min Hearing of The Public on Non-Agenda Items
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Six parents stood to speak and express their concern about the school schedule changes, transportation changes and how they were communicated to the parents.
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One parent questioned what became of a particular survey that was sent out approximately two years ago, the results of which she believes indicated a desire to shift the start and end dates of school to later in the calendar year. She wondered aloud why nothing has changed with regard to the start and end dates in the two years following the survey, and she requested more information about the circumstances and results of that survey.
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While parents acknowledged the challenges regarding school day scheduling and transportation after the closing of the intermediate school, they expressed grave concern regarding how the schedule change decisions were made and how they were communicated to the parent community.
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Parents expressed concern that large schedule changes were made without public input and collaboration and that the Board was not representing the community when these decisions were made.
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Parents expressed concern that a major change announcement was sent out with too little visibility.
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Parents expressed concern about how the schedule changes create greater conflicts for working parents as to work schedules, child care, transportation and financial considerations.
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Parents expressed concern that time for specials was reduced at the elementary level.
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Parents expressed concern about the longer days for younger children who must first go to before-school care and then arrive home as late as 5pm.
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One parent expressed concern that 4th graders may ride with high schoolers on the bus and identified what he believes are potential problems.
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Bullying and intimidation
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Conversations that may be typical for high school teens would be highly inappropriate for older elementary students.
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Technologies and contraband that might be more available on buses with young students.
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The “unbelievable burden” on bus drivers to both drive and monitor these interactions.
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The parent who initiated the petition here, which was signed by over 400 Kenston families in reaction to the proposed new start times and busing schedules, stood to express concern that decisions were made for administrative convenience as opposed to the welfare of the children. She advised that if a more collaborative solution is not achieved, she will take her concerns to the news media.
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The audience continued to request specific information about a collaborative session with the Board. Dr. Krause advised that while they could not respond during the meeting as that constitutes a question-and-answer session, all comments would be taken under advisement and the Board would communicate with parents. She asked for patience. Dr. Willingham advised that he would provide an update by mail next week at the latest and that it would be a stand-alone communication. Reviewer Note: An email to Kenston families from Dr. Willingham dated June 17, 2026 listed revised building schedules and additional information as follows:
Below are the refined, tentative start and end times for the 2026–2027 school year, positioned side-by-side with last year's schedule for comparison:
Our Four Strategic Focus Areas
To achieve these adjustments, our team focused heavily on balancing four major operational goals, while still supporting our instructional goals. The four major areas of focus were:
1. Utilizing a Strict 3-Tier Busing System to Separate MS and HS Students: We have heard our families' firm opposition to a combined busing model due to the wide developmental gaps between younger and older learners. We have structured a 3-tier system to keep our middle school and high school students completely separated on their daily commutes. Managing the timing parameters of three distinct tiers presents some operational challenges, but we are working through them and will be able to accomplish this goal.
2. Securing a Later Start Time for Kenston Middle School: Moving KMS away from its early, heavily criticized start time remained a top priority for us. We worked in cooperation with our teachers’ association to adjust language, and this new model successfully preserves a later morning start for our middle schoolers. It is not as long as we hoped, but a twelve-minute difference from last year still helps address the concern.
3. Establishing an Appropriate Buffer Between Routes: To fix the chronic bus delays we have experienced since the right-sizing and especially last fall, building a reliable operational cushion between our bus tiers is essential.
4. Aligning Start Times Close to Previous Years: We recognize that professional households build their entire lives, work commutes, and childcare budgets around predictable schedules. Our primary goal during this adjustment period was to return start and end times as close to last year's baseline as possible.
We ask for just a little more of your patience as our transportation team finalizes the remaining logistical details. Please keep in mind that, as is standard practice every summer, these routes and schedules remain tentative until official student census and enrollment data are finalized and driven again for absolute accuracy in August.
47:37 Min The Board approved a motion to enter into executive session pursuant to Ohio Revised Code Section 121.22(G)
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To consider the dismissal, discipline, demotion, or compensation of a public employee or official, or the investigation of charges or complaints against a public employee or official.
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To consider the sale of property, real or personal, by competitive bid, where disclosure of information would give a competitive advantage to the other side.Executive Sessions are used for discussion only, no board action can be voted on in Executive Session. Ohio Revised Code Section 121.22 defines the Sunshine Law and matters for Executive Session.
Dr. Krause announced that no action would be taken after the executive session.
47:43 Min Video ended. A clock time was announced but this virtual observer was unable to hear due to the audience talking and dispersing.
Next regular meeting: June 29, 2026 at 6:00pm.
More information here: Board of Education | Kenston Local Schools
Video Observer: Jacqueline Berger
Editor: Gail Roussey
Reviewer: Sarah McGlone
Date Submitted: June 20, 2026
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