Kenston Board of Education –September 18, 2023
Meeting Details: Kenston Board of Education met in regular session on September 18, 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.
Public Comment Policy: available at two points of each meeting as detailed in 165.1 Regular Meetings and 165.2 Special Meetings. From the menu on the right, click on Policies and then bylaws, then 165.1 and 165.2. Note that comment cards MUST be submitted prior to the start of the meeting.
Board Attendance: President Jennifer Troutman, Vice President Neysa Gaskins, Dennis Bergansky, Beth Krause, and Tom Manning.
Staff 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 KMS 8th grade student, Grace Klar.
*Motion approved to accept an addendum (green packet) to the regular meeting agenda.
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 August 21, 2023 and the Special meeting of September 11, 2023 as recorded or corrected. Approved.
Board Reports and Informational Items
High School Principal, Tom Gabram, introduced National Merit Commended Scholars and National Merit Semi-Finalists for Board Commendations.
Transportation Department Director, Christine Illner, gave a status report on her department. The department has two new drivers starting and three additional drivers currently in training. All vehicles together drive 2600 miles daily. Ms. Illner has been driving routes daily as well. She advised the board that her current goal is to acquire four more contracted substitute drivers.
Kenston PTO Council President, Megan Hartfelder, reported on the functions of the PTO at each of the district’s schools. She noted that the After Prom is their biggest annual event.
Administrative Committees
The Finance Committee met with Treasurer Cales for an overview of the Purchase Order System and an overview of his goals for the year.
The Legislative Committee examined the investigations into bus safety issues and there was a brief Board exchange pondering the possibility of a school bus seatbelt mandate in the future.
The Curriculum Committee met on August 28th to discuss how to incorporate new mandated programs into health classes. The district has four Fulbright Scholars this year. There is a new truancy officer provided through the Educational Service Center.
Hearing of the Public on Agenda Items None
Financial Items approved and can be found here by selecting Meeting Tab, Date, Agenda, and relevant topic.
*An additional addendum item included approval of Petty Cash and Cash funds: $3000 to KHS Athletics for ticket sales.
Also of note under Financial Items:
The Kenston Board of Education is being asked to authorize the Treasurer to transfer $535,000 from the General Fund (001-0000) to the Permanent Improvement Fund (003-0000) pursuant to ORC Sections 3315.18 and 3315.19 related to the set-aside requirements pertaining to capital and maintenance expenditures and to transfer $65.00 from the Class of 2022 (200-9022) and $19,681.60 from the Class of 2023 (200-2023) to the Class of 2024 (200-9024).
Certified Personnel Contracts approved and can be found here by selecting Meeting Tab, Date, Agenda, and relevant topic.
Classified Personnel Contracts approved and can be found here by selecting Meeting Tab, Date, Agenda and relevant topic. The agenda addendum included contract changes for ten bus drivers and two proctors (not listed on the standard agenda) and was also approved.
Supplemental Contracts approved and can be found here by selecting Meeting Tab, Date, Agenda and relevant topic. Mr. Manning wanted to commend Ronnie Continenza, who was resigning, for the great work that he did on Kenston’s website.
Exempt Personnel Contract approved and can be found here by selecting Meeting Tab, Date, Agenda and relevant topic.
Teaching and Learning Contracts approved and can be found here by selecting Meeting Tab, Date, Agenda, and relevant topic.
New Business items can be found here by selecting Meeting Tab, Date, Agenda, and relevant topic. Two items of interest might be a change to the 2023-2024 school calendar found here, and Mrs. Troutman will be volunteering as the KHS Mock Trial Coach.
Hearing of the Public on Non-Agenda Items None
Treasurer’s Report
Mr. Cales reported that his team has been busy tightening the internal controls for the P/O (purchase order) approval process. In response to a concern raised by Dr. Krause about teachers being able to get what they need in a timely manner, Mr. Cales assured Board members that the process has been to streamline rather than overcomplicate the process, utilizing modules that will make the process more efficient. He also advised that each stakeholder has received a written document detailing all policies and procedures for clarity. His team is also working on the five-year forecast and they hope to have it completed by the October 16th meeting.
Superintendent’s Report
This week is Start With Hello week, a program from the Sandy Hook Promise Foundation. This programming addresses social isolation and works to make the school and community a friendly place “with one hello at a time.”
Students will be celebrating the International Day of Peace on Thursday, September 21, 2023.
The Quality Profile should be available electronically in the next week. This profile is produced each year and highlights information about school quality above and beyond test scores.
The Kenston Fall newsletter should be in the resident’s mailboxes by the week of October 9th.
Homecoming activities will take place the week of October 2nd. Many activities are planned and the week culminates with the Homecoming Dance on Saturday October 7th. **The high school committee is still in search of convertibles to carry participants for the parade. Thanks go to the student council for their planning and organizing efforts.
Mr. Sayers advised that he was asked to present what might happen if the Permanent Improvement levy on the ballot for November 7th, 2023 fails to pass. He reminded the room that Kenston is one of few, (as few as 13%,) of the schools in Ohio that do not already have a permanent improvement levy on the books. Without the levy, the administration will continue to need to transfer approximately $575,000 a year from the general fund. He stated that this amount, going forward, will not continue to suffice and more will be required from the general fund.
There will be an administrative work session on Monday, October 9th during which Dr. Poe will provide an overview of the district’s state report card. Kenston received a five-star rating on this report card, one of 75 districts in Ohio to receive that rating. This team will also work on sharing a plan with the Board that they believe will put Kenston on a path to financial stability.
Dr. Krause commended high school principal, Tom Gabram, for orchestrating the rock decoration at the school entrance. She was pleased that they featured 988, The National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, in order to draw important and necessary attention to mental health care. Mrs. Troutman highlighted that the next planned speaker for the PTO will be addressing suicide prevention and mental health, something so relevant to the student population. Mr. Gabram pointed out that the messaging was organized as part of the Girl Scout Leadership project of student Sammy Sunderhaft who, with a small team, organized events around the topic of self-care culminating in a speaker.
There was no executive session. A Motion for adjournment was made and approved at 7:53
Next regular meeting: Monday, October 16, 2023 in the Kenston High School Auburn Bainbridge Room.
More information here: Board of Education | Kenston Local Schools
Observer: Jacqueline Berger
Editor: Anne Ondrey
Reviewer: Shelly Lewis
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