Meeting Details: Kenston Board of Education met in regular session at Kenston High School, 9500 Bainbridge Rd, Chagrin Falls, OH 44023, in the Auburn Bainbridge Room immediately following the annual organizational meeting, which adjourned at 7:12 pm. The agenda is available online. It was live streamed and a recording of the meeting is available here. Public seating appeared to be full for this meeting.
Board Attendance: President Jennifer Troutman, Vice President Neysa Gaskins and members Dennis Bergansky, Beth Krause and Tom Manning
Staff Attendance: Superintendent Steven Sayers and Treasurer Paul Pestello
The meeting was called to order by newly elected Board President Jennifer Troutman at 7:15 pm. Roll call and Pledge of Allegiance were conducted in the preceding meeting and were not repeated here.
Minutes: Approved for December 12, 2022 and January 4, 2023 without edits or comments.
Commendation: Superintendent Sayers offered commendations to the school board members for their service and dedication to Kenston Schools and gave each of them a framed certificate of appreciation from the Ohio School Board Association (OSBA).
Board Reports and Informational Items
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A birthday book was given to Jennifer Troutman in honor of her birthday month. After she finishes the book, it will be placed in the MS library in her honor.
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Jeremy McDevitt spoke at length about the progress in restoring the 5th grade hallway in the intermediate building which was damaged when a boiler and accompanying pipes froze. He commended Paul Pestello (treasurer) and Dave Parker (lead maintenance) for their dedication and time. Teachers have work ahead of them sorting out materials to see what is salvageable. All porous services needed to be replaced and areas with remaining asbestos carefully managed. Air quality is continuously monitored as repairs go on. Intermediate school children are housed in other schools currently.
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Tom Manning reported that the Kenston Invitational Wrestling Tournament was successful and all thanks to Booster Club management.
Hearing of the Public on Agenda Items
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Michael Eisner stood and began by thanking Paul Pestello for doing a “tremendous” job. He went on to express his concern over a number of things. He wondered why the school’’s legal fees were so high, and why administrators are leaving the district. He questioned why Santilli left before the end of her contract and expressed concern about the lack of respect and decorum shown through the 2022 board meetings.
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Greg Poultis, a resident of Bainbridge and an employee of the district, wanted to publicly thank Paul Pestello for his service to the district. He went on to read several commendations and glowing reports about Paul from other district employees.
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Mark Fayerholm stood to commend Paul Pestello. He spoke of the success possible when all people are pulling together and working towards a common goal. He questioned what the district is doing to retain administrators and teachers and he suggested that this year’s goal setting include retention policies. He also expressed concern that the year’s legal fees as of December were $240,000, which he believes are five times the average of the last three years.
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Linda Coultis would like the information reported on policies be made clearer to the public. She says it is difficult at times to see if a policy was new, revised, or just reviewed. Neysa Gaskins advised that this is a system issue with NEOLA and if a policy was open and simply reviewed, it may still indicate revision. Policies can also appear but ultimately are not adopted. Observer Note: NEOLA helps school districts formulate policy. They were formerly called North East Ohio Learning Associates. See more information here: https://neola.com/about/mission-history/
Financial Items were approved as presented
Certified Personnel Items approved as presented.
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Beth Gaskins expressed concern that a lot of substitutes are resigning and asked if there were any plans to address this. Sayers said that they have taken some steps and increased the substitute pay to the point where we are competitive. The district has picked up some substitutes but it is an ongoing struggle as it is with many schools. He is also working with local universities to see if the district can pick up some recent graduates to act as substitutes. Jennifer Troutman advised that many of the In-Building substitutes on the resignation list are simply teachers who simply no longer want to sub during their planning periods, so all resignations are not quite as they appear.
Classified Personnel Items approved as presented.
Supplemental Personnel Items approved as presented.
Exempt Personnel-Non Bargaining Personnel approved as presented.
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This is a 2% COLA for certified Administrators, Supervisors/Directors and exempt Administrative Support Staff. Dennis Bergansky expressed concern that COLAs are given to people under agreed contracts who already have exemplary benefits such as fully funded pensions and medicare. He advised that he was initially in favor when he thought it would be a stipend, and especially to be given to exempt support personnel who are not under contract, have much lower salaries and no such benefit pick-ups. As a COLA, it is a much bigger benefit for those with agreed upon contracts that are already well-compensated and this benefit further compounds over time. He stated that he believes that COLAs are raises and raises generally are not given to people with term contracts unless negotiated ahead of time like the contracts of teachers and janitors who do not get pension pick-ups. He asked that we compare this to workers such as the nutrition support personnel above who are asked to drive in for 10 dollars an hour when much of it is lost in gas and taxes. He went on to acknowledge that administrators work hard and perhaps some should be paid more but he stated that he is against opening up contracts for these types of “raises”. He stated that it “sets a bad precedent as it’s out of contract” and he would be more comfortable with simple stipends as needed to address rising costs. He expressed concern about how this looks to taxpayers who rejected the last levy and that it might hurt the levy down the road. He requested to table this vote for further discussion about other options.
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Beth Krause responded and advised that Kenston is in alignment with how other districts compensate their administrators and we are competitive. She noted that these COLAs were voted down last time when teachers received their COLAs. She advised that this last turndown was led by the recently elected Jennifer Troutman immediately after the pandemic and was disheartening after the administrators worked so hard to get the children back in school. She advised that she doesn’t like the message that this sends to our school leaders.
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Tom Manning advised that every government organization has COLAs as a form of inflation adjustment. COLAs are a part of the contracts. They follow COLAs like those negotiated through teacher’s contracts. These are standard protocols.
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Neysa Gaskins advised that she stands by the decision made about the last COLA. The timing after the failed levy impacted the decision. We are in a better financial position now.
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Jennifer Troutman advised that she did not advocate for the no vote on the last COLA. She advised that she asked to table the vote until there was more time to see where the district’s finances were. There is an unwritten rule that administrators receive whatever teachers receive as a usual point of business and it is built into the budget, but when the levy failed, this brought this to a “screeching halt” and to the “forefront” for discussion. Later, Superintendent Sayers and the administrative team worked to bring a new viable motion to the board for COLAs. She went on to detail the changing percentages of the COLAs over the last decade or so and the administration’s careful examination of our current spending plan to justify the COLAs.
This vote was not unanimous. Dennis Bergansky voted no.
Special Education Items approved as presented.
Old Business –Motion to reconsider tabled policies approved. 2nd motion to approve all policies with the exception of 2220, 121, 142.3,145,154,155,165.1,175.1,2430.01 and 5310 which were removed was accepted.
Approval of New Business Items as presented.
Reviewer Comment - it is unclear what aspect of the open meeting law Dr. Krause feels has been violated.
Hearing the Public on Non-Agenda Items
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Michael Eisner expressed concern about what new evaluations for the superintendent and other administrators and teachers will actually look like. He highlighted Dennis Bergansky comments about supplementals/raises in this meeting and other meetings and further expressed concern about what message this sends to people looking at the district for employment. He also expressed concern for the number of people leaving, the amount of legal fees for a 6 month period, and the loss of stability if turnover becomes the norm in the district. He referenced teachers who give up their planning periods for $.72 a minute as being “nickel and dimed”.
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Jennifer Troutman advised that legal counsel cannot be public information.
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Neysa Gaskins advised that all legal fees are not executive session and disciplinary issues. A multitude of things going on in the district can require legal counsel including special education and taxes for example.
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Kathleen Bergansky responded to Eisner’s comments with her own. She advised that people actually want to come to Kenston School District, but people are not leaving so there are no openings. She feels that the district is commendable and people want to work here. She expressed concerns that the comments given are a “false negative”.
Treasurer’s Report
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Paul Pestello appreciates the outpouring of affection and thanks from the district.
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As of December, the budget is approximately $590,000 ahead of plan, and finance is working on utilization of the (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) ESSR funds. The long range plan is to “stay off the ballot with respect to operating funds” and the plan is right on target.
Superintendent’s Report
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Sayers expressed commendations for all those working to get KIS (Kenston Intermediate School) back in order. He thanks all levels of support.
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He also expressed concern regarding the PI (Permanent Improvement) levy as planned for May 23 and advised that “the consensus of the administrative team” is to “take a step back” and postpone the levy to November 23rd which gives the district more time to provide more info to the community about what a PI levy is and how it works. Regardless of when this levy is on the ballot, the earliest that the district can collect levy revenue is January 2024. He anticipates a first resolution in June of 2023 and a second resolution at the July meeting.
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The next Kenston Conversation will be held on January 25th at KIS( if the building is ready).
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Kindergarten team is hard at work preparing for next year’s class of 2036. A parent information meeting will be held in person on January 30th at 7pm with individual registration appointments and there is a link to this event on Timmons and District website.
Motion to adjourn at 9:03pm.
Next meeting: Tuesday, February 21, 2023 at Kenston High School in the Auburn Bainbridge Room.
More information here: https://kenstonlocal.org/about-kenston/board-of-education/
Name of Observer: Jacqueline Berger
Name of Editor: Gail Roussey
Reviewer: Shelly Lewis
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