Chardon Board of Education – February 20, 2024
Meeting Details: Meetings are held at the Chardon Board of Education building adjacent to the Chardon Middle School at 428 North Street, 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. Board meeting videos are also available through Chardon Geauga TV (GTV). Topics discussed will be noted by the time that they appear in the GTV video for easy reference.
Attendance: Board President Karen Blakenship, Vice President Todd Albright, Board Members Andrea Clark, James Midyette, and C.J. Paterniti
Staff Attendance: Superintendent Michael Hanlon (appeared virtually) and Treasurer Deb Armbrewster
2:16 min Adoption of Agenda - All Approved
2:49 min The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Tiny Topper student Claire Clark. She was presented with a certificate.
3:51 min Mission Statement- Read by Michael Hanlon
4:59 min Hearing of the Public on Agenda Items: No public comments.
Observer Note: In order to comment at Chardon Board of Education meetings, members of the public must sign up to do so before the meeting starts. There are two opportunities for public comment. The first one on Agenda items and the second one not restricted to the Agenda.
4:02 min Consent Agenda:
-
Approval of Minutes (1/16/2024 and 2/8/2024) - All Approved
-
Approval of Warrant List (checks) Report - All Approved
-
Approval of Agreements with ESCNEO (Educational Service Center of Northeast Ohio) for Student Services - All Approved
-
Approval of College Credit Plus Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Between Chardon Schools and Cuyahoga Community College - All Approved
-
Approval of MOU between Chardon Schools and WKU-Student Teaching Agreement - All Approved
-
Advertising on School Property FY24 - All Approved
5:36 min CHS Student Liaison Report- Student liaisons T.J. Decipeda and Ryan Dvorak delivered the student report and shared updates on the following: February at CHS and the success of their carnation sale, attendance of a model UN conference, attendance at a City Club event, and the success of Chardon’s Academic Decathlon Team. A student was highlighted for placing first in the Ohio DECA Program at Auburn Career Center. An update was provided on the Buckeye State Delegates team. They highlighted a CHS student that is participating in the Youth Olympics and an upcoming musical called “Into the Woods” taking place March 14th-17th.
10:24 min Superintendent’s Report and Recommendations- Students in grades 4-5 were recognized for their participation in the Ohio Music Education All State Children’s Choir (OMEA) and a state-wide concert in Columbus. Each student was presented a certificate. Two CHS students were recognized for achieving the Girl Scout Gold Award, the Girl Scouts’ highest honor, and were presented with certificates. Dr. Hanlon then recognized the Geauga County Prosecutors Office for providing a professional development day on the subject of Child Sexual Abuse Recognition and Reporting Requirements for Educators. Dr. Hanlon stated that the training is mandatory under SB 288 and that the staff has a typical training that they go through as well, but this was in addition to that and helped the School Board to meet the mandates. Finally, Dr. Hanlon reported that district personnel have been completing Construction Manager At Risk Interviews relating to projects for the Washington Street Transportation Business Operations Center, CHS Security Vestibule, Memorial Field Restroom/Concession Project (a possible but not currently approved project), and any additional projects identified by the district.
23:53 min Building Showcase - Chardon Early Learning Center (CELC) - Principal Andrea Ryan and Intervention Specialist Kristen Sironen, both from Chardon Early Learning Center, discussed updates on students and programming and the “portrait of a tiny topper.” CELC currently has 141 enrolled in kindergarten, 96 enrolled in preschool, and their annual referral average is 50. CELC has maintained its 5-star Step Up to Quality rating from the State this past year. CELC staff explained the 6-C’s that they focus on and shared examples of how they address these areas (Communication, Continuous Learning, Creativity, Collaboration, Commitment, and Critical Thinking). CELC staff stated that they have a commitment to becoming a model site for literacy.
35:36 min Administrative, Certified/Licensed, Classified, Supplemental, and Non-Contractual Personnel Compensation - All Approved
36:12 min Approval of Program Studies for the 2024-2025 School Year - Dr. Hanlon stated that this approval is for the program of studies at both CHS (Chardon High School) and CMS (Chardon Middle School)for this year and that he would have a brief comment following the motion. Following the motion, Dr. Hanlon stated that these outline course opportunities for students at the high school and middle school, they are reviewed annually, they were reviewed last week by a committee of the board, and are now presented to the board for their consideration. Mr. Midyette asked how the programs of studies help the school to meet the state law requirements. Dr. Hanlon replied that the program offerings are essentially the school’s response to the state requirements, allowing students to graduate with all the “boxes checked.” Superintendent Hanlon specified that the state requires that students graduate with 20 units of credit, but that typically students graduate with more than that. Ms. Clark commented that she looked through the offerings today and was happy to see the expansion of CPP (College Credit Plus) classes especially because she will soon be sending her own kids “up there.” Ms. Clark stated that she also noted the change of Weighted Grades that begins in Fall 2024. She stated that this was how she graduated and it is not a problem for her, but she wanted to point out that it was coming and when it would take effect. Dr. Hanlon stated that there were pros and cons as to which way the school began using the weighted grades and they ultimately chose to allow the weighted grades to roll on as students took the courses. Ms. Clark noted that the school would use both weighted and unweighted data for colleges on student transcripts. Ms. Blankenship stated that she had a parent contact her to express appreciation that the board was moving to a weighted grade system. Reviewer Note: The description of the weighted grades for honors, AP (Advanced Placement), and college credit plus can be found on page 15 of the Curriculum guide for Chardon High School here. -All Approved
40:23 min Approval of Amendment to the LGCA Service Contract - Hanlon discussed that what the board was approving was early termination of the internet service provider contract as they are folding into another company. -All Approved
41:55 min Resolution 2024-04: Stronger Connections Grant Award – Mr. Midyette stated that he calculated that 32% of the funds in the grant were going to St. Mary’s and Notre Dame, which Dr. Hanlon confirmed. Mr. Midyette wondered why public schools are passing funds to private institutions and asked “are we required under state law to have this partnership?” Dr. Hanlon stated that there are a number of grants that flow from the public schools to the private schools that are in the communities that they serve, and this is one of those grants. Superintendent Hanlon stated that there is an amount earmarked for the non-public schools, and it is a requirement for the school to flow those funds through and the private schools control those dollars. Ms. Armbruster added that the public schools are in charge of compliance for these grants. -All Approved
44:03 min Resolution Authorization for Ohio Schools Council (OSC) to Advertise & Receive School Bus Bids – Mr. Midyette asked a two-part question: 1. What is the benefit of the district to enter into these partnerships, and 2. Are these new buses only? Dr. Hanlon stated that these are new bus purchases, and that each year Chardon Schools get 2-3 buses and get to build their specs and send them in, and then OSC does the bidding. Dr. Hanlon stated that OSC does the bidding on many things for the district, such as natural gas, and noted that this gives a large savings to the district and the taxpayers. Ms. Blankenship added that they are very lucky to be able to purchase these buses; this way they can cycle out their fleet and keep relatively new buses. She stated that she assumes that the size of the district is the reason they put a lot of miles on the buses. -All Approved
47.41 min Approval Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Chardon Association of Classified Employees (CACE)- Amendment of Article 27 B-4- Dr. Hanlon stated that the district has been operating under the terms of this MOU for some time now, and it was an oversight to not bring it to the board originally. -All Approved
48.34 min Board Policies- Second Reading and Approval- All Approved
49.22 mins 6.1 Treasurer Report/ CFO Report- Ms. Armbruster gave the January report and reported that the Records Commission recently met and the minutes will be approved at the next meeting. Ms. Armbruster stated that the financial summary report for January shows they ended the month with $29,230,702.19 on the books/in the bank. She stated that the Cash Summary report looks standard and the only thing in the negative is the TAN (Tax Anticipation Note) Loan, which is expected to be in the negative until March. Ms. Armbruster reported that YTD revenue is $308,977 (favorable compared to the forecast) and current YTD expenditures are $1,216,760. She reported that the district is under budget $1.2 million but will catch up. Mrs. Armbruster reported 147 True Days of cash, which will drop before the expected March settlement. She also reported that they collected $1.2 million of revenue in January and expenditures were a little over $2.7 million, which is under average. Ms. Armbruster reported that Food Service had similar numbers to last year, and that insurance spending saw a bump in January. The board had no questions for the Treasurer. Reviewer Note: A link to the Financial Report can be found in the Agenda and also here. For more of the discussion, see the point on the video noted above.
57:00 min Donations - All Approved, Ms. Blankenship thanked everyone for continuing to donate to our schools.
57:53 min 6.3 Equipment Disposal - All Approved
58:49 min Final Appropriations Measure- Fiscal Year 2024 (Amendment #4)- Ms. Armbruster stated that these include new grants ($20,000 Each Child on Track, $11,400 Skills Trainer, $30,000 General Security Grant, and $5,000 adjustment for past due fees). Mr. Midyette asked how they (the BOE) learn of new grant opportunities and ensure that they maximize potential? Ms. Armbruster stated that the administrative team, teachers, Dr. Hanlon, and others all work together from the whole district to research and write grants and that they also have to report on the grants afterwards. - All Approved
1:01:00 min Correction from January 16, 2024 Agenda- Transfer from 022-9300 (Athletic Tournament) to 300-9001 (Athletics High School)- Ms. Armbruster stated that this was a correction to a past motion. Mr. Midyette asked if the BOE was taking advantage of money market accounts and others to maximize investment opportunities. Ms. Armbruster stated that the district has restrictions due to the money being taxpayer dollars, but that they do utilize district treasury accounts and have seen yields. Ms. Armbruster stated she finds we are making better investments on these accounts, but we can utilize other accounts. She added that the district has $10 million invested. Ms. Clark stated that the district carefully planned and saved to invest the money and that they do run at a deficit. She further stated that they are hoping to use this money to put off the need for a levy. -All Approve
1:03:50 min Chardon Schools Board Report- Andrea Clark had no report this month. Todd Albright provided a legislature report in which he discussed 16 bills that have come before the state for consideration, and it is a light year. Mr. Albright stated that it is a lame duck year and there is a primary coming up, so he thinks it will be slower than usual. He indicated that there are a lot of legislature seats up for grabs, and it is a good time to reach out to your representatives to ask about school needs. Mr. Albright gave a summary of SB 49, SB 162, SB 168, SB 29, HB 2, HB 183, HB 214, and HB 250. James Midyette reported on the Tax Incentive Review Council. He stated that he represented the school board at the annual meeting. Mr. Midyette explained that, when a new development comes into the city, they will do a tax abatement and they will not collect property taxes; this means that the district will then not receive tax monies in that manner. However, the city will reimburse the district for the lost funds and so they break even. Mr. Midyette stated that this meeting is to review the state of the tax abatements annually. Ms. Blankenship added that Chardon does reimburse the school for the lost funds, but not all cities do. Mr. Midyette then went on to present the Student/Staff Liaison Report. He noted that enrollment for the 2024-2025 school year is underway and shared that the Chardon Schools Resource Officer Jasen Elam was honored on National Honor a Safety Officer Day on February 15, 2024. Also members of the Chardon Police Department and the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office were honored for all that they do to protect students. Mr. Midyette reported on different projects from around the district, including the Tiny Topper lava lamp activity, the celebration for the 100th day of school, updates on the PBIS Wheel of Fun, a 5th grade Astronomy Workshop, a microplastics lesson at the middle school, the 3rd Annual Arts and Sciences Fair, and a ZOOM call and project completed by the CMS in which they connected with and assisted a school in Uganda.
1:30:10 min Approval of Reimbursement for Capital Conference Expenses for Board of Education Members James Midyette and Andrea Clark. Both Mr. Midyette and Ms. Clark thanked everyone for the learning opportunity and stated that they found the experience educational and valuable. -All Approved
1:33:41 min New Business- none
1:33:53 min Hearing of the Public on Non-Agenda Items- none
1:34:00 min Recess to Executive Session to discuss the appointment, employment, dismissal, discipline, promotion, demotion, or compensation of an employee or official.
The meeting ended at 8:03 pm.
Board agendas and minutes are available online.
Next regular meeting is scheduled for March 18, 2024
Observer: Jessica Martin
Editor: Gail Roussey
Reviewer: Sarah McGlone
Date submitted: 3/5/2024
The League of Women Voters of Geauga is a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan political organization that encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy. They do not support or oppose individual candidates or parties. Learn more about the LWVG at www.lwvgeauga.org.