West Geauga Board of Education Regular Board Meeting with Executive Session - 2/26/2024
Meeting Details: The West Geauga Board of Education met on February 26, 2024 at 7:00 pm in the Board Office Community Room, 8615 Cedar Road in Chester Township. Meetings are open to the public and media. The meeting agenda and minutes are available online. Look for the Meeting tab in the right
hand corner. Pick the meeting you want to review and then click on “Agenda.” A video recording is
available here. The report notes the minute mark where each topic is discussed.
Board Attendance:
- Christina Sherwood, President
- Dr. William Beers, Vice President
- Pam Claypool
- Mary-Michelle Coleman Walsh
- Kathy Leavenworth
Staff Attendance:
- Richard A. Markwardt, Ph.D., Superintendent
- Karen Pavlat, Treasurer
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order, roll call was conducted and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
Minutes: Minutes for January 22, 2024 and January 31, 2024 were approved as part of routine matters, without comment or edit, and will be posted online in the meeting area.
0:51 Additions and/or Changes to the Agenda: Resolution 56a to approve Student Activity Statement of Purpose and Budget was added to the agenda.
Program Reports and Presentations - The Board received updates on these matters:
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1:24 Student Recognition: Mr. Ryan Patti, Principal of West Geauga High School, presented the new Governor’s Merit Scholarship Award to Sam Taurasi (also named a US Presidential Scholar), Lina DiFranco, Andrew Elias, Mikayla Herbst, and Bridget Bellett. Awardees not in attendance included Kurt Liedtke, Myra Utterback, Natalie Taiclet, and Paige Trentanelli. The recipients of this award will be granted a $5,000 scholarship if they choose to attend university within the State of Ohio.
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8:35 Baseball Club: Mrs. Andrea Milnar, a mom to several boys in the West G School District, presented the proposal for a Middle School Boys Baseball Club. She reviewed the benefits of extracurricular sport participation, explaining the club would be active between March and May, with a cost of $125-175 per student for uniforms and equipment. Mrs. Claypool asked about how students with financial hardship could participate. Dr. Markwardt and Mrs. Milnar noted there are mechanisms in place, such as anonymous donors, to handle such circumstances.
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13:55 Winter Athletics: Mr. Brandon Stewart, Athletic Director at West Geauga High School, updated the Board about some winter athletics and presented information about two Myrtle Beach Overnight Field Trips for the Baseball and Softball teams. He provided details on transportation, chaperones, and benefits of the trips.
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19:40 Window Project: Mr. Scott Amstutz, Director of Operations and Technology, presented updates on the Summer Projects, including the Window Project and the Well Project, as well as a change to the Visitor Management System. He explained that Capital Aluminum and Glass Corporation (CA&GC) made a bid on the Window project. $550,000 had previously been budgeted to replace the windows in the Middle School Building (which would be kept and renovated regardless of whether or not the Facility Master Plan is approved by voters in November). CA&GC bid $388,600 to replace the windows. Alternate additions to the project included replacing the North and South doors of the building. CA&GC bid $151,000 to replace the North Doors, and $54,700 to replace the South doors, for a grand total of $594,000 to replace all windows and doors. The Board posed some questions about the process of acquiring the bid and voiced concerns about acquiring only one bid and it being substantially below the budgeted amount. Mr. Amstutz and an unnamed colleague provided answers and details about the process.
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30:22 Well Project: Mr. Amstutz provided a handout detailing the costs of the Well Project. The first page outlines the estimated costs for well installation and water treatment for the main campus as it exists now. The second sheet details the costs of well installation and water treatment if more students are migrated to the main campus (as would be the case in the Facility Master Plan). The estimates include the cost to drill and install the well, treat the water, build a structure to house equipment and include a contingency. The Board asked for clarification about the contingency costs, location choices (as seen on this schematic), timing of the well renovation, and details of the cost estimates. Mr. Amstutz and an unnamed colleague provided information in answer to the Board’s questions. The steps of the project were spelled out by Mr. Amstutz and Ms. Pavlat.
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48:16 Visitor Management System: Mr. Amstutz indicated Raptor Technologies was selected as the provider for security services. He reviewed the benefits of the Raptor system, including checking parents’ and visitors’ status on the sex offender registry by scanning IDs, having a live database of who is on the campus, the potential to create a secondary list pertaining to issues such as custody, and other use-cases.
53:09 Public Remarks: - A local man gave his feedback and vocalized his grievances on the Master Facility Plan and Well Update, repeating “You should appreciate what you have here.”
58:06 Routine Items: Ms. Pavlat reviewed the January 2024 Financial Statements, by walking the Board through a Financial Highlights Presentation. Mrs. Claypool requested clarification on the transfer of funds to various accounts. Ms. Pavlat provided information.
1:05:43 Financial Resolutions: The Board approved:
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Numerous financial matters, including warrants for January 2024, donations and increasing the Substitute Daily Rate to $140/day. Ms. Pavlat responded to Dr. Beers’ request for additional information about the Substitute Daily Rate.
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Student Activity Statement of Purpose and Budget.
1:08:45 Personnel Resolutions: The Board approved:
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Numerous personnel matters, including an unpaid leave of absence, a certified long-term substitute assignment, a change in classified staff contracts, an extension of a probationary period for a classified staff employee, and supplemental and service contracts for the current school year.
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Chaperones for both an overnight Disney band trip in March 2024 and Camp Fitch in 2024. Ms. Sherwood abstained from the vote on chaperones for the Disney band trip because she is one of the chaperones.
1:13:03 Policy and Program Resolutions - The Board approved:
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2024-2025 West Geauga Middle School Program of Studies. Mrs. Claypool specified that this is a vote on programming rather than curriculum. A discussion ensued surrounding who decides the school-wide curriculum, what a curriculum is, and what the Board responsibility is in reviewing the curriculum. Mrs. Claypool insisted that one of the clearly defined responsibilities of the Board of Education is to approve the curriculum. Other members, and Dr. Nancy Benincasa, Assistant Superintendent, offered their perspectives. There was consensus that 1) the district’s total curriculum is massive, as it consists of each subject within each grade level, making it difficult to review in its entirety due to the sheer size of the undertaking and 2) all of the district’s curriculum aligns with State standards. Reviewer Note: This was a long discussion and there is more detail on the video at the minute mark noted above.
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Baseball and Softball field trips to Myrtle Beach in Spring 2024.
1:23:29 Business Resolutions - The Board approved:
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College Credit Plus Partnership Memorandum of Understanding with Cuyahoga Community College for the 2024-25 school year
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Amendment to the Agreement with Lake Geauga Computer Association. Ms. Pavlat specified the amendment is to shorten the length of the agreement.
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Contract with Capitol Aluminum and Glass Corporation for the Window and Door Replacement
1:25:04 Board Resolutions - The Board approved the:
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Middle School Boys Baseball Club Sport for the 2024 Calendar Year
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Student Graduation for the 2022-23 School Year. A student who had not met the requirements for graduation last year has now met them and can graduate.
1:25:59 New Business - Dr. Markwardt updated the Board about:
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Exit Interviews - He explained that most staff leave for professional advancement, retirement, reductions in force, non-renewal, and termination for cause. He explained that in most circumstances the reason for leaving is clear, making Exit Interviews unnecessary. Mrs. Claypool voiced her perspective that Exit Interviews would be beneficial to the school district, allowing the administration insights into the working lives of their employees. Dr. Markwardt agreed that in the case of resignation, Exit Interviews may be useful.
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Digital Newsletter’s publication - Dr. Markwardt explained that the media did not publicize the Digital Letter’s publication upon the first announcement and that the media will be notified again in time for the publication of the second Newsletter in about a week.
1:38:30 Superintendent Report - Dr. Markwardt provided his report on West Geauga Athletics and called attention to Darren Prince-Wright, a West Geauga Student who won first place in the Geauga County Spelling Bee. Darren will proceed next to the Tri-County Spelling Bee.
1:39:38 Enter Executive Session - Reasons for Executive Session were listed as “conference with legal counsel” and “negotiations.” Reviewer Note: We presume the Board is referring to ORC 121.22(G)(3) Conferences with an attorney for the public body concerning disputes involving the public body that are the subject of pending or imminent court action, and ORC 121.22(G)(4) Preparing for, conducting, or reviewing negotiations or bargaining sessions with public employees concerning their compensation or other terms and conditions of their employment.
3:03:01 Exit Executive Session - No action taken. Motion to adjourn.
Next Meeting: 3/18/2024 at 7:00 pm
Observer: Dina Dean
Editor: Shelly Lewis
Reviewer: Sarah McGlone
Date Submitted: 3/3/2024
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