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Chardon Local Schools Receives the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence 

in Financial Reporting for the Fifth Consecutive Year 

Chardon Board of Education Regular Meeting – July 20, 2026 

Meeting Details: The Regular Meeting began at 5:30 pm at the Chardon Transportation and Business Affairs Center at 400 Washington Street in 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. The Board meeting video is available here.  Agenda items are listed according to the time that they were discussed on the video.

 0:24 Min. Video Open/ROLL CALL AND WELCOME - Meeting was called to order. It was stated that this meeting is being held in accordance with Section 3313.15 of the Ohio Revised Code. 

Attendance: Board President Karen Blankenship, Board Vice President Andrea Clark and members James Midyette, Gordon Landies, Ash Galhotra (arrived via remote about six minutes into the meeting). Reviewer Note: Because Mr. Galhotra attended the meeting virtually, he was able to participate in discussions but was not permitted to vote under Ohio Revised Code 121.22.

Staff Attendance: Superintendent Dr. Michael Hanlon, Treasurer Deb Armbruster, and Intervention Specialist Kristen Sironen

2:15 Min. Adoption of the Agenda - Approved. 

The Board Presiding Officer led the meeting in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Mission Statement - Read by Dr. Hanlon.

2:59 Min. Hearing of the Public - Agenda Items Only - No speaker requests.

3:17 Min. Consent Agenda - The Board considered nine items on the consent agenda, including the Minutes from the Regular Meeting on June 25, 2026 here, and the Special Meeting of July 14, 2026 here.   All approved unless noted otherwise. All of these items 3.1-3.18, and associated documents/contracts can be found here, then select the meeting tab, date, agenda and number three on the agenda. Highlights that may be of interest from the Consent Agenda include but are NOT limited to:

• 2026-2027 Hilltopper Athletic Ticket Pricing here.

5:30 Min. Superintendent Report and Recommendations - Items and associated documents for 4.1-4.8 can be found here, select meetings, date, and number four on the agenda. All items, recommendations, and contracts were approved unless noted otherwise. Highlights that may be of interest from the Superintendent’s Report and Recommendations include but are NOT limited to: 

• Superintendent's Report

  • Dr. Hanlon gave a brief update on capital improvement projects as listed in his report.

  • Item 4.2 in the agenda: Designation of students impractical to transport. Dr. Hanlon advised that this list may yet change as some private schools have not met the deadline for notification to Chardon of students needing transport.

  • Pursuant to Board of Education Policy 0166, the Board of Education approved the attached agreement with Berkshire Local Schools available here.

  • CLSD Updated Organizational Chart

• Chardon Local Schools Board Briefing on Recent Changes to Ohio Law Regarding Mathematics Instruction and Advanced Mathematics Opportunities.

17:35 Min. Treasurer/Chief Financial Officer’s Report and Recommendations - Associated documents for 5.1-5.6 can be found here, then select meetings, date, and number five on the agenda. All approved unless otherwise noted. Some highlights of the presentation include but are NOT limited to:

• Records Commission - Met on June 25, 2026 with the Board President, Superintendent, and Treasurer present.  There were no new updates to report. The minutes from January were approved and are on the agenda.

• CSLD received the Certification for Excellence in Financial Reporting for FY 2025 from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) here for the fifth consecutive year.

• 20:31 Min June 2026 Financial Summary  presented by Ms. Armbruster. This is the last month of the Fiscal Year.

  • 47:20 Min. Topper FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions - available at the end (slides 14, 15, and 16) of the above June slide presentation). 

    • Dr. Hanlon advised that Chardon wanted to respond to a piece more recently published by the Cleveland Catholic Diocese that claims that public schools are receiving and spending record amounts of money.  Per Dr. Hanlon, this report indicated that Chardon’s per pupil expenditure was just over $18,000 in 2025. Dr. Hanlon advised that the methodology used to calculate this number was incorrect as it took into account the capital improvement expenditures for the Transportation Building Project. The per pupil spending is actually $15,000, which Dr. Hanlon stated tracks appropriately with inflationary increases and not inflated spending as the Diocese’s article indicates. Ms. Armbruster referred to the Ohio Checkbook which makes all public school spending transparent to illustrate how the money was filtered to Capital Improvement Projects.

    • 53:35 Min A Problem 50 years in the making- A link is provided to a Chardon webpage and a letter is set to go out to the community. Ms. Armbruster advised that this communication identifies and explains how various pieces of state legislation over the last five decades have gradually pushed the burden of paying for public schools from the state and commercial enterprises to the local property owner. Schools are not spending excessively more, but local property owners are paying more. 

      • Mr. Landes commented that a number of Fortune 500 companies left the state in the 50s and 60s due to unfriendly tax policies. There was further discussion about this topic.

• AI June 2026 Financial Summary  A quick “snapshot” AI presentation of May financials for CLSD created by Ms. Armbruster.

• Donations

• Pursuant to Board of Education Policy 0166, the Treasurer/CFO makes recommendation to the Board of Education to accept Federal Grant Initial Awards listed below. 

  • Federal Grant 2027 Initial Awards

• Pursuant to Board of Education Policy 0166,  the Board of Education approved the Fiscal Year 2027 Permanent Appropriations Measure as presented. 

  • Mr. Galhotra raised the question of having a future discussion about using Permanent Improvement funds to assess the placement of air conditioning in Park Elementary as a priority over parking lot improvements. Mrs. Blankenship advised that this is a full conversation that must be had at a later time, and she said that there are other considerations with regards to the needs of Park Elementary.

114:04 Min. Board of Education Reports and Recommendations.

• Chardon Schools Foundation- No report submitted. Mr. Landis continues to advise the community and the school to apply for available funds.

•  Legislative Liaison - No report submitted

• Ohio School Board Association (OSBA) Legislation Tracker Observer Note:  This item and the one below are usually noted in the Agenda but not discussed at meetings.

• OSBA Facts in a Flash

• Auburn Career Center Report  - Ms. Clark advised that Auburn Career Center is working with a number of Capital Project grants for innovation, new meeting centers, etc. They have a new hire from within to work as an enrollment specialist- an outward facing representative for the Center. Dr. Glavin will be presenting a new organizational chart in August 2026.

• Student, Staff and Liaison Report- No report submitted.

1:20.07 Min Item 6.5: Pursuant to Board of Education Policy 0166, the Board of Education makes recommendation to approve the attached BusRight Membership Services Proposal to provide an analysis of current transportation operations and suggest possible bell time scenarios as well as opportunities for efficiency. This proposal was not approved.

• CLSD  BusRight MS Proposal

• BusRightSolutions Board Deck CLSD
  

• Dr. Hanlon explained that BusRight is a transportation logistics company that would be tasked to work with the parameters prescribed by the district to identify the most efficient paths for transportation routes, bell times, etc.  A motion to approve the proposal was made and seconded. Discussion and concerns followed:

  • Board members expressed concern as to what the advantages were of using a consultant versus doing the work in-house.

  • Board members expressed concern that the process was expensive and required 12 months. Mr. Galhotra and Mr. Landis believed that this process could be done much faster.

  • Transportation Director Josh Nau uses BusRight AI software now. Can he provide the parameters and possible solutions as well as the consulting company can with the right support?  Dr. Hanlon advised yes, but that he had been tasked with finding a consultant which is the option currently being presented for approval.

  • Mr. Galhotra said that perhaps the Board should look to find a consultant with a wider scope than just transportation to find solutions in less time. He would like to know more hard facts about what the parameters and barriers to possible solutions are.

  • Ms. Clark questioned if administrative members could find the time to provide the same solutions as an outside consulting company with or without supplemental time. There were comments about the potential time crunch and cost of supplemental time versus consultant costs. Dr. Hanlon did note as an example that Josh Nau drives several days a week once school starts.

• Ultimately, the Board decided to form a committee of the respective administrative figures, board members, and community members to use known parameters to seek solutions as opposed to hiring the outside consultant. 

• A motion was made, seconded, and approved to withdraw the initial motion of approval, and the BusRight proposal did not go forward at this meeting. 

• Mr. Midyette questioned how community members would be found for the committee, and Dr. Hanlon suggested a community email would be sent.

 

• 2:04.02 Min Pursuant to Board of Education Policy 0166, the Board of Education approved the retirement of Treasurer, Deb Armbruster, effective March 1, 2027.

  • Board Members thanked Ms. Armbruster for her service to the district.

 

2:06.40 Min New Business- There was no new business.

 

2:06.50 Min Hearing of the Public on Non-Agenda Items- There were no speaker requests.

 

2:07.56 Min.  Pursuant to Board of Education Policy 0167.2, a motion was made and approved at 7:37   pm that the Board of Education of the Chardon Local School District adjourn to Executive Session for the purpose(s) of discussing:

• The employment of an employee

Mrs. Blankenship announced that there would be no action taken after the Executive Session, and the video ended at 2:07.55 Min. 

Board agendas and minutes are available online.

The next meeting is the Regular Meeting on August 17, 2026 at 5:30 pm. 

Virtual Observer: Jacqueline Berger

Editor: Gail Roussey

Reviewer: Sarah McGlone

Date submitted: August 4, 2026

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