Kenston Board of Education – Regular Meeting October 16, 2023
Meeting Details: The Kenston Board of Education met in a Regular Session on October 16, 2023 at Kenston High School, 9500 Bainbridge Rd, Chagrin Falls, OH 44023, in the High School Auburn Bainbridge room beginning at 7:00 pm. The meeting was live streamed and is available here and on Kenston’s YouTube page. View the agenda online and any attached documents here by selecting the meeting tab and then the meeting date.
Board Attendance: President Jennifer Troutman, Vice President Neysa Gaskins, Dennis Bergansky, Beth Krause, and Tom Manning.
Staff in Attendance: Superintendent Steven Sayers and Treasurer Seth Cales.
The meeting was called to order by Mrs. Troutman at 7:00 pm. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by third grade student Derek McCallen and Board Member Mrs. Gaskins.
Minutes The Kenston Board of Education is being asked to approve that the reading of these minutes be waived and to approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting of September 18, 2023 and the Work Session of October 9, 2023 as recorded or corrected.
Commendations
Superintendent recommends that the Board commend the following:
Board Reports and Informational Items
Kenston Building Update from the Director of Nutrition Services, Andrew Mendez.
-
Staffing challenges continue to make consistency difficult.
-
Supply chain challenges and inflation are returning to pre-Covid levels.
-
Covid funding is slowly diminishing.
-
Future goals include sourcing more food locally, increasing usage of in-house gardens and scratch-made items.
-
Try-Day Friday is continuing at Timmon Elementary.
-
Beth Krause commended Mendez for his prompt actions to relieve food insecurity for many families during Covid.
Update from Ken Abbarno, Co-President of the Bomber Elite, reviewed the goals of this parent organization.
-
Men of Character
-
Community
-
Program Stability
Committee Updates
-
Policy met on October 11, 2023 and new/updated policies for consideration will be available at the next Board meeting. Dr. Krause mentioned policy turmoil as the Governor disbands ODE (Ohio Department of Education) and works to set up ODEW (Ohio Department of Education and Workforce) despite a temporary restraining order from a Franklin County Judge. Reviewer Note: See summary here of this change.
-
Legislative met and Mr. Bergansky made mention of House Bills (HB) now in discussion, such as HB 206 which details expulsion rights for schools, HB 183 regarding single sex bathrooms in schools and HB 47 requiring defibrillators (AEDs) in schools.
-
Kenston Inc. will meet next on November 9th and the community is invited.
Hearing from the Public on Agenda Items
-
Mr. Brett Moss posed a number of questions: How will our kids’ social and emotional development be considered as the Rightsizing plan is implemented? He expressed concern that grouping 4th and 5th graders with middle schoolers will exacerbate exposure to things too mature for our younger children.
-
Mrs. Troutman explained that hearing from the public does not allow for a back and forth dialogue, but she referred the speaker to the emails that they had exchanged and advised that Mr. Sayers would discuss a few more details when he speaks later in the meeting, but most of the transition details still need to be addressed when the transition team gets together at a later point. She advised that the administration will be engaged with each grade’s needs, and she expressed assurances to the speaker that 4th and 5th graders will still be treated as 4th and 5th graders.
-
Mrs. Christa Moss addressed the deficit and its connection to the PI Levy. She stated that based on the numbers shared, the PI Levy passage would make the actual deficit estimate approximately less than 1 ⁄ 2 a percent of the operating budget. She questioned then, “why is Rightsizing the right answer now?” Mrs. Moss also noted that the Rightsizing plan was new information to them a week ago and requested to know more specifically what types of community groups or committees had been engaged to provide feedback on this plan in advance of the vote. Mrs. Moss would also like to hear additional details about the plan as she among others have concerns about the consolidation of schools.
-
Mr. Carlo Calibrese questioned whether the development of the Geauga Lake Property and the accompanying tax agreement has been taken into account with regard to the deficit. He commented on a past homecoming dance in Mayfield in which 8th graders attended with high schoolers.
-
Mr. Matt Warnock questioned how the KIS building would be utilized once the students were moved to KMS. Will the gyms still be used? Will the playgrounds be traveled to and from? He also questioned where specifically the $1.2 million in estimated savings will come from during the Rightsizing plan. Mr. Warnock also expressed concern about the severance plan and the potential loss of experienced teachers.
Financial Items were approved and can be viewed here by selecting Meetings Tab, then date, agenda, and category.
-
Treasurer Seth Cales discussed how the five-year forecast here indicated that Rightsizing and the PI levy were necessary at this time. He further explained how the five year snapshot was just that, a snapshot estimate based on current assumptions and represents only what we know now and does not take into account the PI Levy or the Rightsizing plan as we do not know the outcome or the exact impact respectively yet. Mr. Cales spoke to the “baseline” piece that accounts for what we know at this time. Mr. Cales utilized a series of powerpoint type slides beginning at 56:20 in the video to more clearly explain the forecast.
-
Mr. Cales first spoke about the six-year reappraisal by Geauga County and how this will impact both the taxpayer and the school district. He explained how the inside millage can increase money to the schools should property values increase. He said that prior to HB 187 (not yet law), the increased revenue would have been $1,264,703. However, he forecasted that HB 187 would pass before January 1, 2024 and that the net effect of this will be that Kenston will receive only an increase of $421,568, which he said was 1% of revenue. Reviewer Note: See estimate of increase inside millage for Kenston on the Auditor’s website (page two) which is similar to the amount projected above before taking into account HB 187. The estimated increase by the Auditor is $1,117,487. HB 187 has passed the House in Ohio and has been introduced in the Senate. It is not clear if this legislation will pass before the revaluation goes into effect on January 1, 2024 or if the calculations set forth by Mr. Cales would be correct. Should the windfall be over $1 million, it is also not clear what impact that would have on the rightsizing or the severance plans, as this has not been addressed by Mr. Cales or the Board.
-
Mr. Cales explained that the amount of tax collected by the Permanent Improvement Levy remains the same as what was advertised for the levy even if property values increase (which they will due to the revaluation). HB 920 (passed in 1976) does not permit the school district to receive additional monies beyond what was approved by taxpayers on the ballot. He said that the amount collected would remain the same because the millage would have to be adjusted down to maintain the amount voted upon. Reviewer Note: It was independently confirmed by Auditor Walder that it appears to be the case that the millage will be adjusted and revenue remain as predicted in the ballot language.
-
Treasurer Cales stated that declining enrollment can result in decreased funding, but declining enrollment does not always coincide with declining employment needs and costs.
-
It was noted that $3.8 million in deficit spending is projected by 2028. The district will no longer have the required cash reserves on hand.
Certified Personnel Items were approved and available to view here by selecting meetings tab, date, agenda, and correct category.
Classified Personnel Items were approved and available to view here by selecting meetings tab, date, agenda, and correct category.
Supplemental Contract Items were approved and available to view here by selecting meetings tab, date, agenda, and correct category.
Teaching and Learning Items were approved and available to view here by selecting meetings tab, date, agenda, and correct category.
-
Mrs. Gaskins commended the overnight field trip activities, but mentioned the need for individual parents to take charge of some of the driving involved and questioned that proper paperwork was completed for this to occur.
-
The Baseball Overnight field trip in this category was amended to the agenda of next month’s meeting.
New Business Items were approved and available to view here by selecting meetings tab, date, agenda, and correct category. Items to highlight include:
-
Resolution for Building Restructuring and Future Plans here.
-
Before the vote, Mr. Sayers encouraged continuing commentary and questions from the community on this Rightsizing Plan. Mr. Sayers went on to note that something frequently asked is why Kenston is consolidating now instead of waiting until 2029 when the Bond expires. Mr. Sayers stated that the school must take advantage of the opportunity to save approximately $1.2 million a year by consolidating now. He also addressed the reasoning for placing the 4th grade at KMS instead of at Timmons. Timmons is at or near capacity currently. Placing these students at Gardner would not generate the same level of savings. Only the Board Office and the gym will be maintained at KIS for the moment. Mr. Sayers stated that the current restructuring allows Kenston to build operating efficiency while maintaining academic, arts, music, and athletic programs.
-
Finances for this plan were addressed by Mr. Cales in his presentation mentioned above.
-
Mrs. Troutman expressed the desire to make this a positive experience for Kenston students.
-
Mr. Manning expressed his view that this step may be an opportunity for the Kenston District to “improve ourselves” and his hope that parents will be fully included in the transition events.
-
Vote - Unanimous - Approval - at 1:56 minutes
-
The Administrative Contracts of Jeremy McDevitt, Assistant Superintendent of Business Operations and HR, and Julianne Walker, KIS Principal, have been suspended, effective in summer of 2024. See resolution. Approved 2:01 minutes
-
Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, the Kenston Board of Education is being asked to approve the Resolution, here, adopting a Memorandum of Understanding with Kenston Education Association to implement a severance plan for the 2023-2024 school year.
Hearing of Public on Non-Agenda Items- None
Treasurer’s Report see above and refer any further finance questions to Seth Cales.
Superintendent’s Report
-
38 students were inducted into the National Honor Society.
-
The first choir concert occurred last week, and Mr. Sayers encouraged the community to check out all the upcoming holiday concerts.
-
The Fall Play, The Outsiders, will take place on November 9-11, 2023.
-
Tuesday, November 7th, is Family Ties Night, so there will be no homework or athletic events after 5:30 to allow for a restful family evening. He suggested local restaurants may want to offer specials or discounts for eating out.
-
He commended the Kenston Fall sports season thus far.
-
A Kenston Conversation will take place on Wednesday, November 29, 2023 at South Franklin Circle and is open to the community.
A motion to adjourn at 8:59pm was approved.
Next regular meeting: Thursday, November 16, 2023 in the Kenston High School Auburn Bainbridge Room.
More information here: Board of Education | Kenston Local Schools
Observer: Jacqueline Berger
Editor: Sarah McGlone
Reviewer: Gail Roussey
Date Submitted: 10/21/23
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.