Local Businesses Recognized for Their Contributions to the Kenston Community
Kenston Board of Education Regular Meeting – June 29, 2026
Meeting Details: The Kenston Board of Education (BOE) Regular Meeting took place on June 29, 2026 at 6:00 pm in the KHS Auburn Bainbridge Room. The meeting is live-streamed and the video is posted on the Kenston Website page here and on Kenston’s YouTube page here. Notations in the report refer to the minute notation on the video for a particular section. View agendas and any attached documents here by selecting the meeting tab, the meeting date, and the agenda.
10:03 Min. Video Opening
The Pledge of Allegiance
10:32 Min. Welcome and Roll Call This meeting is being held in accordance with Section 3313.15 of the Ohio Revised Code.
Board Attendance: President Tom Manning, Vice President Dr. Beth Krause, and members Jim Henry and Benjamin Timmons.
Absent: Girtha Smith
Staff in Attendance: Superintendent Dr. Bruce R. Willingham, Treasurer Seth Cales, and new TES Intervention Specialist Julia Mansfield
Others in Attendance: Kimberly Gibson of The Hive
11:55 Min. Approval of Minutes The Kenston Board of Education approved that the reading of these minutes be waived and approved the minutes of the Regular Meeting of May 11, 2026 here, and the Special Meeting of June 8, 2026 here, as recorded or corrected.
13:40 Min. Mr. Cales noted an agenda correction (due to a printing glitch with BoardDocs) for those in the meeting with printed agendas. The BoardDocs online agenda is correct.
15:03 Min. Commendations Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, the Kenston Board of Education approved the following commendations:
20:41 Min. Informational Items
29:20 Min. The Board took a five minute recess.
30:24 Min. Superintendent’s Report with an accompanying slide presentation.
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31:20 Min. Dr. Willingham discussed Four Strategic Focus Areas used to determine the new building start and end times; see video for details
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33:10 Min. Tentative Save-The-Dates: Monday, August 17, 2026 for the Kenston all schools Meet-the-Teacher Open House from 5-8pm, and other important dates to note on this slide.
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Fourth of July Celebration and Fireworks at Kenston High School is Friday, July 3rd at 6pm. The rain date and time for fireworks only is Monday, July 6 at dusk.
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Agenda Items:
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Item 10.1: Dr. Willingham introduced Julia Mansfield as the new TES Intervention Specialist, and Jacqueline Mosholder as the TES half-day Preschool Intervention Specialist.
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Item 18.1: Dr. Willingham mentioned Kevin Byrnes and Joe DeBoth, recommended for approval as Kenston Schools' representatives to the Auburn Bainbridge Recreation board for a term of three (3) years commencing July 1, 2026 until June 30, 2029.
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38:34 Min. Item 18.5: Dr. Willingham wanted to highlight the agreement with Active Defender here and explain how the ID badges for the staff will function. State subsidy funds were used for this purchase.
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Item 18:25: Dr. Willingham described a recommended agreement with Rush Truck Centers to purchase bus cameras and installation. The bus’s stop signs will have cameras.
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43:40 Min. Dr. Willingham noted a few PI (permanent improvement) items from New Business. He is excited to reveal the main gym floor in the high school, which has been redone, and the gym sound system, which has been updated.
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Item 18.24 Dr. Willingham has asked the Board to approve a contract with Brisk Teaching. Brisk is a closed source AI education platform for teachers, and Dr. Willingham advised that it is a more secure choice with professional support.
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Mr. Henry gave a shout out to the Auburn Career Center for the work they do and the size of their program.
48:08 Min. Treasurer’s Report with Mr. Cales
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Mr. Cales spoke about the local homestead tax exemption and the owner-occupied tax exemption. He advised that traditionally the state provides reimbursement to the county for the above credits, but if the county were to invoke additional or “piggyback” tax exemptions on top of the standard ones, this added deduction is not reimbursed by the state, reducing collections for county services, such as schools, police, fire, libraries etc. In November of 2025 the County Commissioners chose not to invoke the piggyback exemptions. Reviewer Note: For details, see the November 18, 2025 County Commissioners LWVG Observer Report. However in June, the Geauga County Commissioners reviewed the exemptions again for possible implementation. Many school districts and county service representatives attended the June 16 and June 23, 2026 Commissioners’ meetings to advise the commissioners on the impact this loss of collections would have on their services. Reviewer Note: See the June 16 LWVG County Commissioners Observer Report and the June 23 LWVG County Commissioners Observer Report for more information. Mr. Cales praised Dr. Willingham for his address to the Commissioners. The Commissioners decided that the piggyback exemptions remain a poor fit for Geauga County at this time and voted against them. Mr. Cales advised that this will be evaluated annually and thus is likely to continue to be an important issue to speak out about.
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Mr. Cales will provide a full Fiscal Year report for 2026 in July and the Five-Year forecast will be presented in August of 2026.
54:58 Min. Hearing of the Public on Agenda Items - There were no speaker requests.
55:09 Min. Agenda approval items 9-18 - As the Board President announces at the beginning of each meeting, these items are reviewed by Board members before the meeting, and most are passed quickly and without discussion.
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Financial Items - All items and accompanying documents can be found here by selecting the meeting tab, meeting date, and 9.1-9.20 on the agenda. All Approved. Items of interest include but are not limited to:
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Item 9.1: The Kenston Board of Education approved the school fees, as attached in 9.1 on the agenda for school year 2026-2027.
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Item 9.2 The Kenston Board of Education is being asked to approve the following Nutrition Services prices (breakfast and lunch) for school year 2026-2027:
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Item 9.18: Upon the recommendation of the Treasurer, the Kenston Board of Education approved a renewal contract with Medical Mutual for the period of July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027. After review with the provider, consultant, and advisory committee, it has been determined that rates will increase by 6% year-over-year (historical average is between 6% - 8%). Item 9.19 and 9.20 are approvals for Dental and Vision Coverage with no increase in rates.
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Certified Personnel Items - These items and accompanying documents are available here for review by selecting the meeting tab, meeting date, and 10.1-10.6 on the agenda. All Approved. Items of interest include but are not limited to:
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Classified Personnel Items - These items and accompanying documents are available here by selecting the meeting tab, meeting date, and 11.1-11.6, (11.5 approved separately with Mr. Manning abstaining) on the agenda. All Approved. Items of interest include but are not limited to:
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Supplemental Personnel Items - These items and accompanying documents are available here by selecting the meeting tab, meeting date, and 12.1-12.4 on the agenda. All Approved.
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Exempt Personnel Items - These items and accompanying documents are available here by selecting the meeting tab, meeting date, and 13.1-13.5 on the agenda. All Approved.
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Business Operations - These items and accompanying documents are available here by selecting the meeting tab, meeting date, and 14.1 on the agenda. All Approved.
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Teaching and Learning Items - These items and accompanying documents are available here by selecting the meeting tab, meeting date, and 15.1-15.2 on the agenda. No Approval needed for first reading. Items of interest include but are not limited to:
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New Business Items - These items and accompanying documents are available here by selecting the meeting tab, meeting date, and 18.1-18.26 on the agenda. All Approved. Items to highlight include but are NOT limited to:
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Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, the Kenston Board of Education approved Kevin Byrnes and Joe DeBoth as Kenston Schools' representatives to the Auburn Bainbridge Recreation board for a term of three (3) years commencing July 1, 2026 until June 30, 2029.
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Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, the Kenston Board of Education approved a contract with Bainbridge Township Police Department to provide police detail assignments on the Kenston Schools campus for the 2026-2027 school year at a rate of $60/hour.
59.42 Min. Hearing of The Public on Non-Agenda Items
59:55 Min. Mr. Manning addressed the Board and advised that he has had some inquiries into how many work sessions the Board does or doesn’t do. For example, they’ve only had one work session in 2026 so far. Mr. Manning looked into how and why work sessions are called and noted that many “work sessions/discussions” are actually occurring inside of the regular meeting time. Mr. Manning advised that he looked into the number of work sessions that other local schools do and many are taking similar actions, i.e. having more discussions during regular meetings. He advised the Board that he is open to scheduling more work sessions if they feel this is needed. Mr. Cales commented that Board members can also call the President, the Superintendent, or the Treasurer with any questions they have at any time as well
1:04.46 Min. A motion to adjourn was made and approved at 6:57pm. The video ended at 1:04.48 min.
Next regular meeting: Monday, July 20, 2026 at 6:00 pm.
More information here: Board of Education | Kenston Local Schools
Virtual Observer: Jacqueline Berger
Editor: Harry Rees
Reviewer: Sarah McGlone
Date Submitted: July 3, 2026
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