Committee/ Council Observed: Kent City School Board

Date of Meeting: 3/15/2022

Format: Virtual

Meeting Summary:

The meeting began at 6:00 pm, opening with the Pledge of Allegiance and introduction of those in attendance by the assistant superintendent, Tom Larkin. The minutes from the last meeting were approved.

SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT
Only 1 covid case has been reported in the last two weeks. The superintendent attributes the district’s decrease in cases and the ability for the schools to remain open all year to the mask mandates that have been in place since the beginning of the school year. At this point, the mask mandate has been removed.

School calendar. The 2022-23 school calendar was presented with a 76% approval by staff. The August 27th start date is later than previous years due to ongoing construction projects that will not be completed until then. The new calendar has 4 staff development days built into the calendar for Roosevelt and Stanton Middle School. The elementary buildings will also have 4 days that can be used for staff development but may be different than the ones at the high school & middle school.

The district will be using a pilot program by the name of Acadiance to monitor and access reading performance.

CHILDREN’S ADVANTAGE.
Mary McCracken, a representative from Children’s Advantage, gave a presentation about the services the agency has been providing to the school district since August. Case managers have provided invaluable mental health services: consultation with 90 students, counseling 24 students, 41 students with trauma issues. Some of these students have been suicidal or suffering from depression and many are middle school students. The program will continue through the summer and case managers can meet with the students in their homes. Covid has impacted staffing at the agency, but they are hoping this will improve.

FINANCIAL REPORT
As of February 28, the general fund had 9.2 million in tax advances, up from 7.2 million last year. Retirement fund has $743,000. Permanent Improvement Fund has $774.00. Food Services has $251,000. Revenue from Real Estate is estimated at 9.2 million. More funds are anticipated from personal property taxes. More investments were made in the form of certificates of deposit which are seeing an increase in interest rates; upward to .23%. Municipalities within the district are seeing increases in their tax rates which will benefit the district financially.

PERSONNEL
Several retirements and leaves of absence were approved. Transfers and various appointments were accepted. More substitute teachers will be approved upon completing background checks.

COLLEGE CREDIT CLASSES
Ashland and Miami University of Ohio were approved for college credit classes.

ATHLETIC DIRECTOR
Ben Dunlop was appointed and welcomed as the new athletic director.

TECHNOLOGY
Several buildings are in need of various upgrades and additions to their technology. Among them are switches at Walls Elementary, replacing access points at Davey Elementary. Not all the quotes & bids were in, so agreements will be finalized and approved at the next meeting.

JOB DESCRIPTIONS
Some of the job descriptions, which were created in 2003, will be revised. Two secretaries are retiring, so those positions will need to be filled.

CHANGE ORDERS
Some additional alarm devices for the new gym and field house at Roosevelt are needed as well as more exterior lights there and at Walls Elementary.

RELATED SERVICES
Star Services has been providing occupational and physical therapy services for the last 3 years and this contract has been extended for another 3 years.

SUMMER PROGRAMS
Clients from Coleman Professional Services have been providing worksite services during the summer. These services include cleaning the busses and other maintenance jobs. The clients are supervised and the program seems to be working.

OHIO MEANS JOBS
Abigail Watkins works with students who are providing community service as an alternative to court appearances. This program seems to be successful and the board approved continuing the program.

The Children’s Advantage contract was renewed and approved.

No field trips were requested

DONATIONS
$30,600.00 in donations were accepted from a very generous community. These will be distributed among the various groups for which they were earmarked.

ADJOURNED

Which members of the board/council were present: Brian Boykin, Colin Boyle, Pam Ferguson, Tiara Moore & Rebekah Kulis. All present.

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