Kenston Board of Education – Regular Meeting November 16, 2023
Meeting Details: The Kenston Board of Education met in a Regular Session on November 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 fourth grade student Haven Mekhael and Mr. Tom Manning.
Mrs. Troutman was experiencing some difficulty with hoarseness so she shared the leadership voice with Mrs. Gaskins for the evening.
Mrs. Troutman and Mrs. Gaskins took a few minutes to read a statement in which the board expresses sincere condolences to the students, staff and community of the Tuscarawas Valley School District. Members of the band were traveling to the Ohio School Board Association Capital Conference on Tuesday, November 14th to perform when they were involved in a very serious multi-vehicle crash. The fatalities include three students, one teacher and two parent chaperones. The Kenston Community is shocked and saddened to hear of this tragedy and sends their prayers and support to the Tuscarawas Valley Community.
Minutes: The Kenston Board of Education waived the reading of and approved the minutes of the Special Meeting of November 9, 2023, the Regular Meeting of October 16, 2023, and the revised minutes of the Work Session of October 9, 2023 here as recorded or corrected.
Commendations
Superintendent recommends that the Board commend the following:
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Timmons Elementary School - Dave Rogaliner, Principal - Step Up To Quality 5 Star Award
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Recognizes and promotes learning development programs that meet the quality program standards for preschool licensing, school age child care licensing and health and safety regulations. Mr. Rogaliner acknowledged the hard work of all preschool teachers, aides, OTs, SLPs, and the Special Education Director.
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Linda Nutter, Grade 2 TES Teacher - Military Family Liaison for Timmons Elementary School, organized Timmons Veterans Day program for 19 years. Due to her annual efforts, the school received the Military Family Liaison Purple Star Award which is awarded to schools recognized for showing commitment to students and families connected to our nation’s military. Mrs. Nutter is also a veteran herself.
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Noted by the Board that Superintendent Sayers was recognized at the BASA (Buckeye Association of School Administrators) Fall conference as one of five superintendents with 20 years of service as a superintendent.
Board Reports and Informational Items
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Special Education Department - Melissa Miller, Special Education Director
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Ms. Miller noted that in order to receive the Step Up to Quality 5 stars, the district needed to earn extra points. Kenston actually received the maximum amount of points possible for this award.
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15.86% of students in the state of Ohio are receiving special education services.
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10.4% of students at Kenston receive special education services.
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The largest 4 groups receiving these services are:
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Specific learning Disabilities-45%
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Speech & language Impairment-16.5%
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OHI (Other health Impairment)- 16%
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Autism Spectrum- 10.6%
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District Technology- John Molnar, Director of Technology will be presenting next month. Some of his accomplishments include:
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Replacing wireless access points
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Replacing printers and copiers districtwide. He was able to reduce usage of 67 printers down to 19 printers which is a cost savings.
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Secured an ECF grant (Emergency Connectivity Fund under the administration of the FCC) which allowed for the replacement of 640 Chromebooks and the removal of student technology fees, which is a nice savings for parents.
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Molnar is busy working on plans for closing KIS and moving the students to the other buildings as per the Rightsizing Plan. This will require significant planning and a lot of moving parts for technology.
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Policy- Discussion about the Capital Conference and advocacy for better school funding.
Hearing from the Public on Agenda Items- None
Financial Items were approved and can be viewed here by selecting Meetings Tab, then date, agenda, and category.
Certified Personnel Items were approved and are available to view here by selecting meetings tab, date, agenda, and correct category.
Classified Personnel Items were approved and are available to view here by selecting meetings tab, date, agenda, and correct category.
Supplemental Contract Items were approved and are available to view here by selecting meetings tab, date, agenda, and correct category.
Teaching and Learning Items were approved and are available to view here by selecting meetings tab, date, agenda, and correct category.
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Overnight KHS Baseball Spring Training Trip Teaching and Learning Items were approved and are available to view here by selecting meetings tab, date, agenda, and correct category.
Special Education Items were approved and are available to view here by selecting meetings tab, date, agenda, and correct category.
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Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, the Kenston Board of Education is being asked to approve a Funding Agreement by and between the Geauga County Board of Developmental Disabilities, the Berkshire School District, the Cardinal School District, the Chardon School District, the Kenston School District, the West Geauga School District, and the Educational Service Center of the Western Reserve to provide services to children with special needs in Geauga County for the 2023-24 School Year.
New Business Items were approved and are available to view here by selecting meetings tab, date, agenda, and correct category. Items to highlight includes:
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Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, the Kenston Board of Education approved the following Resolution to make provisional changes to Board Policies and Administrative Guidelines to comply with House Bill 33. See Resolution here .
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First reading of new/reviewed board policies. All policies are available to review in PDF in the New Business section of the agenda.
Hearing of Public on Non-Agenda Items- None
Treasurer’s Report
Superintendent’s Report
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The Family Ties night on November 7th went well. Mr. Sayers expressed a special thanks for the participation of local and family owned businesses such as Buckeye Chocolate, Cowboy, Buffalo Wild Wings, Sirna’s Kitchen, Romeo’s Pizza, Guido’s Pizza, and White Flower Cake Shop.
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The Silver Bells Holiday Boutique is Saturday, December 2nd from 9am to 3pm. There will be over 80 vendors.
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Mr. Sayers encourages all to attend the holiday choir and band concerts. All begin at 7pm and will be livestreamed on the Kenston website.
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6th grade choir and band on Monday, December 4th
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7th-8th grade choir and ensembles will be on Wednesday, December 6th.
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Middle school jazz band and 7th and 8th grade bands on Wednesday, December 13th.
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KHS choir and band on Thursday, December 14th.
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Mr. Sayers advised that the need for the PI Levy still exists and that the administrators will reassess and recommend next steps over the next 2-3 months. He reminded the Board that Kenston is one of only 13% of schools in Ohio without a PI Levy on the books, and the PI Levy is a key component of financial stability in the district’s strategic plan.
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Administration is in the process of planning for implementation of Rightsizing and, as part of this plan, KIS will be closed. The Rightsizing plan becomes even more critical with the failure of the PI Levy. There will be an approximately $1.2 million reduction in projected expenditures due to the closure of KIS. The District is doing its best to address the reductions through attrition but lay-offs are a possibility.
Mrs. Gaskins expressed congratulations to Tom Manning on his reelection and congratulations to Jim Henry (in the audience) for his election to the Kenston School Board. She expressed gratitude and wished all a Happy Thanksgiving
Observer Note: The following information was provided on the Agenda: Under Ohio Law, the Board may hold Executive Sessions to discuss personnel matters, litigations, purchase of property, negotiations, matters required to be kept confidential by federal law or state statutes, and details of security arrangements. 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.
A motion to enter into Executive Session to discuss pending or threatened litigation was approved at 7:58pm. Mrs. Gaskins advised that no action would be taken upon return and the video ended.
Next regular meeting: Monday, December 11, 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: 11/29/23
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