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Parents Urge School Board Not to Renew

Girls’ Basketball Head Coach Contract 

Berkshire Board of Education – Regular Meeting, June 8, 2026

Meeting Details:   The meeting was held in the Auditorium of the Berkshire Local Schools complex, 14155 Claridon-Troy Rd, Burton, Ohio 4402. A video of the meeting is posted here. View the agenda online and any attached documents here by selecting the meeting tab and then the meeting date.  The notation of minutes refers to the time posted on the video for the discussion of the item listed.

 

Board Members Attendance: John Manfredi, President, Linda Stone, Vice President, and members Dan

Berman, Brandon Townsend and Bryan Wadsworth

 

Staff Attendance: Superintendent John Stoddard and Treasurer Beth McCaffrey

 

Opening of Regular Meeting - The meeting was called to order at 6:00 pm by Mr. Manfredi who led the Pledge of Allegiance. The roll was called.

 

Approval of Agenda – Approved unanimously without discussion.

 

Approval of Minutes – Minutes for the Regular Meeting May 11, 2026, were unanimously approved without discussion. Minutes are available through Board Docs here by clicking on the Meetings tab. The minutes are available in the detailed Agenda for the meeting following the meeting in question.  

 

2:00 Min. Public Participation – Four parents urged the Board to reconsider the contract renewal for the girls’ basketball coach, Dave Albert, citing “toxicity issues,” “aggressive behavior toward players,” “regular degrading remarks” and an “overall discouraging atmosphere.” The Board was given letters from players who expressed frustration with unproductive practices, lack of conditioning, and dismissing ideas not his own, among other problems. Parents also said they had communicated their concerns to the Athletic Director Brian Hiscox.

Later in the meeting, the Board voted to table Mr. Albert’s contract renewal until the July meeting to consider parent feedback and solicit input from Mr. Hiscox.

14:45 Min. Treasurer’s Report

Financial Statements

The Treasurer submitted a statement to the Board and the Superintendent showing the revenues and

receipts from whatever sources derived, the various Appropriations made by the Board, the

expenditures and disbursements, the purposes, and the balances remaining in each fund. The financial

statements for the period ending May 2026 were submitted subject to audit and include Financial

Summary, Appropriations and Revenue Summary, Check Register Recap, and Bank Reconciliation per

ORC 3313.29. Observer Note: See Financial Statement details in the meeting agenda available online.

Donations – The Board unanimously approved without discussion the following donations: 

 

 

Financial Amendments – The Board unanimously approved without discussion the following financial amendments:

 

Permanent Appropriation FY2027 - Totaling $27,484,957.00

Observer Note: See Financial Amendments details in the meeting agenda available online.

Property Insurance Renewals – The Board unanimously approved without discussion the following 2026/2027 Property Tax and Cyber/Crime Insurance Policies:

• Ohio School Plan (Property/Auto): $99,049.00

• Travelers (Cyber/Crime): $16,500.00

Burton Property 2027 Tax Budget – unanimously approved without discussion.

The budget estimated a yield of $422,869 from a 1.7 mills levy.

 

10:05 Min. Superintendent’s Report

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) – unanimously approved without discussion.

Dr. Stoddard presented three MOUs for approval:

• The school and Berkshire Education Association (the teachers’ union) agreed to allow the district to eliminate the permanent substitute position which will help the school reduce expenditures to move out of fiscal caution. Observer Note: See the Berkshire BOE LWVG Observer Report for May 11, 2026 for more information on the Berkshire Fiscal Caution Plan.

• To allow two teachers to share a single position which will save the district one set of benefits.

• To change the language for the Ohio Teacher Evaluation System to define skilled and accomplished teachers as comparable.  

Personnel - The Board unanimously approved all but one of the personnel actions for Administrative, Certified and Classified staff as listed on the meeting agenda. Before the vote, the Board voted to table the contract renewal for girls’ basketball coach Dave Albert to review parent feedback and get input from Athletic Director Brian Hiscox. Observer Note: A complete list of Personnel actions is available in the meeting agenda online.  

 

Medication Administration – The Board unanimously approved nine staff members to administer medication at ESY (Extended School Year) Camp 2026, contingent on completion of required courses. Observer Note: A complete list of staff approved to administer medication is available in the meeting agenda online.

 

Volunteers – The Board approved 4-0, with Mr. Wadsworth abstaining (Mr. Wadsworth is a volunteer coach), the volunteers listed below:

 

 

Contracts – The Board unanimously approved without discussion contracts for:

• Future Plans, Inc. (for career assessment, coaching, and related career-connected learning services for students)

• Proactive Behavior Services (for a student with an Individual Educational Plan)

• Cardinal Local School District - ESY Services (3 students)

• Re-Education Services, Inc. (special education and individualized programming)

• Future Plans, Inc. - MOU Extension

• Chagrin Falls Exempt Village Interdistrict Contract for Educational Services 2026-27 SY (School Year)

• Addendum to Settlement Agreement (Student Specific)

Observer Note: See Contract details in the meeting agenda available online.

Class of 2026 – The Board unanimously accepted the graduate list for the Class of 2026.

Observer Note: See Class of 2026 student list in the meeting agenda available online.

 

23:30 Min. Old Business – Earned Income Tax Levy

Mr. Manfredi proposed the Board consider a 0.625% earned income tax increase for the November ballot. He explained that the uncertainty over the budgetary impacts of Ohio House Bill 186 and the short timeline for the Board to decide caused him to recommend this amount “in the middle.” Observer Note: At the May 11, 2026 Berkshire BOE meeting, the Board approved a request for certification of estimated taxes rates of 0.5% and 0.75%. 

Mrs. McCaffrey suggested the Board approve a resolution to formally request a certification of 0.625% earned income tax rate from the Ohio Department of Taxation which will give them flexibility in deciding among the three earned income tax rates under consideration for the November ballot. She reminded the Board that the calculation from the State about the revenue impact of HB186 was originally promised by April 20.  She said she understood that the county auditors have received the formula and are working to “get it into their software system and they have no idea how it’s going to work right now. All the county auditors farm out the software on their real estate system. My understanding is that none of the big software companies know how to do this calculation right now.”

 

Mrs. McCaffrey added that the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) announced last week that they would again consider “piggyback” tax exemptions outlined in HB96. She said that, if enacted, the exemptions would equate to a loss of $200,000 next fiscal year, “in addition to the $3.2 million that we’re going to be losing over the next three years.” She noted that when the “piggyback” exemption was considered last time (in 2025), Berkshire wrote a letter to the BOCC and would do so again. Observer Note: At the November 18, 2025 BOCC Meeting, the BOCC unanimously voted not to adopt “piggyback” property tax exemptions. At the June 16, 2026, BOCC meeting, Dr. Stoddard joined other county school administrators in urging the Board not to implement the “piggyback” tax exemptions. Reviewer Note: At the June 23, 2026 BOCC meeting, the Commissioners agreed not to proceed with the “piggyback” property tax exemptions.

 

Mr. Manfredi emphasized, “that’s more money that’s being taken away from the school that people have already voted on to give us, but it’ll be taken away if your commissioners make that vote.” He continued, “That’s why this number that we propose in November, that’s why it’s moving because we don’t have the information that we should have had in April to be able to make that decision. But we can’t wait….” 

Mrs. McCaffrey noted that August 5 is the filing deadline for ballot issues.  

Mrs. Stone emphasized that “probably 90%” of Ohio schools are experiencing the same budget issues and that Berkshire has been “very financially responsible to our community and to our students.”

 

The Board unanimously approved a resolution requesting a certification from the Department of Taxation for a 0.625% earned income tax rate. 

 

30:35 Min. New Business – Dr. Stoddard commented that the state is in a strong fiscal position with FY (Fiscal Year) revenues having exceeded projections by about $1.5 billion. He suggested “the easy way” the state could provide greater relief for local property taxpayers would be increasing its support for schools from its current 30% share and therefore not force schools to “go back to the ballot” to make up the difference. 

 

32:25 Min. Board Discussion 

Next Regular Meeting Dates – July 13, 2026 and August 10, 2026, at 6 pm in the Auditorium of the Berkshire Local Schools complex, 14155 Claridon-Troy Rd, Burton, Ohio 44021.

33:10 Min. Meeting Adjourned

Observer: Rooney Moy

Editor: Gail Roussey

Reviewer: Sarah McGlone

Date Submitted: June 18, 2026

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