Committee/ Council Observed: Kent City School Board

Date of Meeting: 11/16/2021

Format: Virtual

Meeting Summary:

Roll call was taken, new members welcomed & the Pledge of Allegiance said. Minutes of the last meeting were approved. A parent expressed her opposition to continuing the mask mandate in the schools, claiming that it is a form of child abuse. She expressed her displeasure with forcing kids to wear medical devices. She felt that since we now have a vaccine for children and since there is a low incidence of the virus among children, the mask mandate should be reversed. Superintendent, George Joseph responded by expressing his support for parents who take the time to attend board meetings to voice their concerns. He then handed out data from the Portage County Health Department showing that there has been no change in our numbers in the last four weeks; in fact maybe a slight increase in numbers. Based on this data, Mr. Joseph said that masks are still necessary.

Kent was the first school district in the county to offer a vaccine clinic for children ages 5 - 11. From Field, Rootstown & Kent, 579 children were vaccinated. 456 of these children were from Kent. The second vaccine for the kids will be offered on December 6 and the booster will be offered for staff on Friday, November 19th. So far, 268 staff members have signed up. It is not known how many children & staff have received their vaccines privately. Since there is a 14 day waiting period to have the full effect of the vaccine, the mask mandate will not be reevaluated until Winter break.

Debby Krutz presented the financial report. On December 1st the last payments will be made on the bond issues. There is a deficit in food service while the district waits for federal reimbursement. She also stated that 50% of the funding for the general fund comes from property taxes. Kent remains solvent & there have been no levies since May 2013.

Personnel issues were addressed. There were some retirements & resignations. Pat Harper, a 1st-grade teacher at Davey, was mentioned & praised specifically. There were no requests for leaves of absence. A number of substitutes were approved

The Board Handbook from 2014 was revised. The new one will better inform board members of the school district’s policies.

The Medical Mutual contract for those who are privately insured was renewed.

A 5-year forecast is beginning to be formulated. Much of the planning depends on what the state funding will be. The Ohio legislature has proposed the School Funding Plan. Basically, it will reduce revenue but also reduce expenses. More details will follow soon. The district has not been in deficit spending since 2015 but maybe in a deficit in the near future.

In 2022 wages for pool &student workers will go from $8.80 to $9.30.

Discussion followed about trash & recycling contracts. Comparisons are being made between Republic & Waste Management Services. Waste Management seems to be the cheaper option.
Portage County Head Start’s contract for summer school at Central School was approved
Title 1 allocations are based on the number of qualified children residing in the district. In the future, Akron & Streetsboro schools will be providing funding for the St. Patrick’s Title 1 students.
Chrome book purchases will be made & they are necessary for the curriculum. Two new school busses will be purchased (usually 3 are purchased) after all bids are reviewed but it appears that one company has presented the best offer.

Donations of $17, 632.20 were received.

There were students from Kent State present & the superintendent explained to them that board members receive packets with the details of the upcoming meeting on Friday so that they are able to review all the items to be presented at the meeting.

Meeting adjourned.

Which members of the board/council were present: Mr. Boykin, Mrs. Kulis, Dr. Dorsey (by phone), new board members, Colin Boyle and Ms. Moore. All present but the two new members were not included in any votes

Was there a public notice of the meeting that included the time and place of meeting: Yes

Was an agenda of the meeting or handouts available to visitors: Yes

Are minutes from previous meetings posted/available: Yes

Name of Observer: Mary Myers