Chardon Board of Education – 9-18-2023
Meeting Details: Meetings are held at the Chardon Board of Education building adjacent to the Chardon Middle School at 428 North Street, 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. Board meeting videos are also available through Chardon Geauga TV (GTV). Topics discussed will be noted by the time that they appear in the GTV video for easy reference.
Attendance: Board President Karen Blakenship and Board Members Todd Albright, Keith Brewster, C.J. Paterniti and Dr. Guy Wilson.
Staff Attendance: Superintendent Michael Hanlon and Treasurer Deb Armbrewster. (Assistant Superintendent Steven Kofol was not visible in the video and his presence was not mentioned; therefore, whether or not he attended is unknown)
3:35 min The Pledge of Allegiance was led by 2 students and certificates were presented to the students once they completed the pledge.
3:50 min Public Comment on Agenda items- No public comments. Reviewer Note: In order to comment at Chardon Board of Education meetings, members of the public must sign up to do so before the meeting starts. There are two opportunities for public comment. The first one on Agenda items and the second one not restricted to the Agenda.
4:40 min Item 3. Several items included: approval of minutes, increased Infinite Campus fee, 3 banners to advertise, Aquatic Center, Transportation, Marching Band field trip fee, participant agreement with John Carroll University.
Dr. Wilson had a question about the aquatic center.
Superintendent responded that there were various agreements for practices and events.
7:25 mins Item 4 - Presentation of Student Liaison Report.
8:20 mins There was a PowerPoint presentation of different student activities presented by a CHS student. She reported on the club fair, band bash, fall sports, state of schools events, and homecoming. This presentation is visible on the video.
11:38 mins Section 5 - Superintendent’s Report
Chardon High School was recognized in the U.S. News as a top high school and Chardon Middle School was also recognized. The Ohio Department of Education released its annual rating report, which is available here. Chardon received an overall 4.5 (out of 5) rating.
15:30 mins Maker Space (Chardon Creative Center) Collaboration with Geauga Public Library shared-use Maker Space at the Chardon High School is close to completion. They are using a prior physics classroom. They are working on finishing the store front at the school. Teacher leaders underwent 2 days for training.
16:12 mins They are working with a Community Group in collaborating on Memorial Field construction on concession stands and restrooms.
17:00 mins Superintendent states that he will be talking for Assistant Superintendent Dr. Ed Kline and reading the slides regarding the local report card from the State (see the link above for a copy of the report card)
Student Achievement: 5 stars, which is an increase from the prior report.
Progress: 3 stars (at 26:35 mins, the Board came back to this topic) Areas to focus on to bolster this score include 5th grade English Language and 6th and 8th grade Math.
Graduation: 4 stars this year (previously 5 stars). Two students who live in the Chardon School District but attended a community school not in the district graduated in five years, which adversely affected this rating. 95% of Chardon students graduate within 4 years.
Early Literacy: 3 stars Superintendent mentioned this tracks students from Kindergarten to 3rd grade. If the District identifies less than 10% needing intervention, the score is calculated differently, so how they track this creates “a bit of an anomaly.” The district identified more than 10% needing intervention, which means that the State uses a more rigorous calculation in order to get 5 stars. The district is reviewing how they identify those needing intervention in Kindergarten.
32:40 Min. Questions by Board Members after the scorecard presentation:
Mr. Albright: Questions about assessment and whether additional resources will be required.
Dr. Wilson Question: Is the Literacy Grant still available? Answer by Dr. Hanlon: The district received $1.4 million in 3 years that is now coming to an end.
Mr. Albright Question: Do you anticipate this will take further grants or resources moving forward? Answer by Dr. Hanlon: We have relied on grants to get this far. Hard to predict, but we know those grants are going away.
Mr. Albright Question: Any indications of a State funding increase? Answer by Dr. Hanlon: There are state grants coming and we will be aggressive to get those grants.
Dr. Wilson Question: What is the rationale for including students from community schools in the graduation rate? Answer by Dr. Hanlon: Legislation in the report card system required that there needs to be a landing spot for these students.
Mrs. Blankenship Question: Does this score include private schools? Answer by Dr. Hanlon: Those schools do not count towards our rates.
38 mins Section 5.3 Contracted Staff. Approved all.
38.27 Min Transportation: When transportation is impractical, the State provides that the school can decline to transport.
Dr. Wilson mentioned that within the resolution, it gives a reason why it is impractical. Dr. Hanlon added: there are 6 reasons why they can decline transportation. The resolution now includes which reason is being used.
Observer Note: As stated in the Agenda these are the reasons available as identified in Revised Code 3327.02
-
The time and distance required to provide the transportation
-
The number of pupils to be transported
-
The cost of providing transportation in terms of equipment, maintenance, personnel, and administration.
-
Whether similar or equivalent service is provided to other pupils eligible for transportation
-
Whether and to what extent the additional service unavoidably disrupts current transportation schedules
-
Whether other reimbursable types of transportation are available
Further, within the resolution it states which reason is applicable for each of the 8 students listed.
40 mins Preschool Consulting Services provided to Notre Dame Elementary School were discussed.
Dr. Wilson question: Is this essentially sharing a person within the district to assist Notre Dame? Answer by Dr. Hanlon: Full time Special Education Supervisor was hired and the cost for the consulting services is a cost offset for this staff member.
41:26 mins Section 6 Treasurer Report
Government Finance Association (GFOA) Awards given to four staff members
Crystal King-Morrison - Payroll/Benefit Specialist, Lauri Zampino - Accounts Payable Specialist, Jennifer Mismas - Assistant Treasurer (Not Present), Dianne Farizel - Accounts Receivable/EMIS Data
They received Excellence and Achievement in Accounting and Financial reporting. This is the Second year they received these awards.
43:40 mins Financial presentation. Treasurer reports that the presentation is available in “Ohio Checkbook” (Note: this is an interactive dashboard on Chardon School District Funds and the presentation). Ms. Armbrewster explained that city tax is paid quarterly and that, compared to last year, cash balance numbers are up because of increased tax and interest amounts.
54:00 mins Financial Reports all approved
55:03 mins Ask for Approval of Financial appropriation, which includes funding for the Park Elementary tunnel.
Dr. Wilson Question: Does this include the canopy for the walkway? Is that still happening? Answer by Dr. Hanlon: This is still in the Design phase and is still to be decided. Right now, just covering the walkway is proposed.
The appropriation was approved.
57:10 mins Board Reports - Section 7
-
Chardon Schools Foundation : No report
-
Legislative Report: No report
-
Auburn Career Center No report
-
Student/Staff Liaison Report by Dr. Wilson Powerpoint available on video. He reviewed scholarships that have been awarded (students currently in college). He reported the success he has seen with STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) at the Elementary & Middle schools. As early as the second day of the school year, students at Park Elementary were already engaged. He presented about CELC Promethian Boards (an interactive computer screen in classrooms to help students to listen) and also discussed CREW, which is a career counseling collaborative program. CLSD (Chardon Local School District) had a booth at the Geauga Fair.
1:03:00 mins New Business - none
No public comments because no one signed up beforehand.
1:04:00 mins Motion to adjourn. All approved
The meeting ended at 7:34 pm.
Board agendas and minutes are available online.
Next regular meeting is scheduled for October 16, 2023
Name of Observer: Penny Paxton
Editor: Sarah McGlone
Reviewer: Gail Roussey
Date submitted: 10/08/2023
The League of Women Voters of Geauga is a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan political organization that encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy. They do not support or oppose individual candidates or parties. Learn more about the LWVG at www.lwvgeauga.org.