001All set. >> Okay. >> Call to order the Weslake City School District regular board meeting for February 23rd, 2026. Roll call. >> Pier >> here. >> Lynn, pleased to be here, present, and accounted for. Ro >> here. >> Penukan >> here. Crush here. If >> everyone will please rise for the pledge of allegiance. >> We have a group of students here today, so we're going to go ahead and let them lead the pledge of allegiance. Ice flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> We always like to start our meetings by going through the mission and vision statement for Westlake City School District. Our mission statement is we educate for excellence empowering all students to achieve
002their educational goals to direct their lives and to contribute to society. And our vision statement is the Westlake City School District will provide a dynamic student centered learning environment. Our district will be characterized by high achievement, actively engaged learners, mutual respect, shared knowledge, pursuit of new skills and capabilities, collaborative learning, willingness to take action, a team commitment to datadriven continuous improvement through our strategic planning process, and tangible results. We have a wonderful group here tonight. Thank you all for coming out on this somewhat still snowy evening that we're having. Um, is there a motion to approve the agenda? >> So moved. Second. Any discussion? >> Roll call. >> Raph, >> yes. >> Brown, >> yes. Lamb, >> yes. Pa, >> yes. >> Motion carries. >> And I'm going to go ahead and turn it over
003to you, Dr. >> Sounds great. Um, very happy tonight with uh the the students and staff we have with us um from Dover Intermediate School. We're really excited what's happening in our 56 building. And it's always nice to get um not only uh staff but the kids here to kind of tell us a little bit about that. So without further ado, I think I have uh Mr. Miller, Miss Miss Brickman, and Mr. Heddings. I don't know who's coming up to speak first, but the podium is yours. All right. Well, thank you uh for for having me tonight. Thank you uh to our students and our parents uh for coming. Uh the best thing about DIS is our students. So I was going to let them uh do a little of the talking tonight. Um really
004excited uh about this group uh called Demon Leaders. Uh I'm going to allow them to share with you uh what their role and what their function is. Um but just developmentally at this age group, we have kids, they're getting older, um looking to assert their independence, looking for opportunities to be leaders, uh and be involved throughout the school. And that's really what Demon Leaders is all about. So, um, our school counselor, uh, Miss Carrie Brickman, uh, runs our demon leaders group. Um, and if there was a Mount Rushmore of school counselors, Miss Brickman would certainly be on it. Uh, she works really, really hard with this group of kids and they're involved with a lot of different things throughout the building. They're they're incredibly helpful. Um, and not only do they do a lot of
005great things for us as a building, um, but I think and and hope that they, uh, get a lot out of it as well, developing their skills as leaders. So, uh, I'm going to call our demon leaders up now and I'm going to have them tell you a little bit about what they're involved with at DIS. You guys can just come on up over here. Here's the microphone. So, this will pick you up. Yep. They're going to walk us right through our our slideshow here. Yeah. Okay. All right. >> Good evening, members of the Westlake Board of Education. We are some of the demon leaders of Dover Intermediate School and we are excited to share with you the ways that we support our school and help make DIS a welcoming, positive, and spirited place for
006everyone. We are all current sixth graders. We were selected by our fifth grade teachers at the end of last year because we demonstrated leadership, kindness, responsibility, and a positive attitude throughout our fifth grade year. Our teachers saw us as role models among our peers. And being a demon leader gives us the opportunity to take on special responsibilities and make our difference in our school community. We're proud to be part of this program and excited to show you what we've been working on this year. At the start of the school year, demon leaders help with a variety of activities to make the transition easier for new students. A new student orientation day welcomed new fifth and sixth grade students. We greeted them, introduced ourselves, gave them a tour of the school, helped with the locker, and
007answered any questions to make them feel confident and comfortable. During fifth grade locker setup, we welcome students and families, help them find their lockers, and answer questions. Each student received a card with their locker number, code team, and home room teacher. And we posted welcome cards on lockers to help everyone feel excited and ready for the school year. During the fifth grade open house, we showed students around the school, help them help them get familiar with the classrooms, and assisted with the final touches on their walls position. Starting a new school can be exciting, but also a little overwhelming. At DIS, Demon Leaders help make this transition smoother for new students starting in the middle of the year. From the moment they arrive, new students are welcomed with posters created by demon leaders on their
008lockers. We provide tours of the building and introduce students to their teachers and assist with walkers. We review their schedules, help them navigate the lunch line, and follow up a week later to see how they adjusting. We even walk them to their buses to make sure they know where to go. Through these efforts, demon leaders help new students feel supported, comfortable, and at home. This is how we make DIS a welcoming and inclusive place for As Leaders. We help make DIS a welcoming and spirited place. We take on important roles that support our school, show pride, and help events run smoothly. Every day, we raise the flag to show our support for our country. During home room, two students are in charge of raising the flag. And each month, we switch so everyone gets a
009turn. It's a small job that helps start the day with pride and respect. We also paint the DIS rock to show our care for our school and celebrate our team spirit. Keeping the rock colorful and updated is a fun way to show that we love and take pride in our community. For the quarterly distinguished demon day assembly, we serve as ushers to help parents find their way and make the event run smoothly. >> At EIS, we have a program called helping hands. In this program, students spend time in classrooms with students who have disabilities. They interact, play, and help with activities like morning meetings. We created an informational video about the program and how to sign up. In this video, we also talked about how to have a better understanding of people with disabilities and
010how to help them feel included. The demon leaders used their skills to make the entire video themselves to inform all the students about the program. Oliver volunteered to be our cameraman taking charge of both recording and editing the video. We also have demon leader photographers Anna Hill and Emmy Vulman who have been capturing photos all over the school. Our job is to capture photos that highlight the special events, celebrations, and activities happening around DIS. We photographed the fun and excitement of Distinguished Demon Day, Halloween celebrations, and even the moment when our principles were taped to the wall to support the Dover Depot fundraiser. In December, we hosted a hot cocoa delivery service for our hardworking staff. Demon leaders took cocoa orders and delivered cups of holiday cheer directly to classrooms and offices as a way
011to say thank you for everything our staff does to make the is amazing. Problem solving is one of the demon leaders's most important roles as we notice problems and figure out ways to fix them. For example, during our first meeting, the group came together to debrief about the beginning of the year activities. The leaders shared that they didn't feel very helpful because visitors didn't always know that they were here to assist and the tour didn't go as smoothly as hoped due to the large number of people. One of our goals was to create a more interactive and engaging experience for parents and students. We decided to create a scavenger hunt style map inspired by the Cleveland Art Museum. Parents and students follow clues to important places around the building. And once they reach each location,
012our demon readers there to give them a stamp. This will make the future orientations fun, interactive, and a great way to explore DIS. Another idea was to wear neon green t-shirts so the parents and students can recognize us as people that can help them at orientation or other school events. These ideas show how demon leaders turn problems into solutions and make DIS a better place for everyone. As demon leaders, we help make DIS a welcoming and spirited place. We take on important roles that support our school, show pride, and help events run smoothly. As demon leaders will visit W to share with fourth graders what DIS is all about. Schedules, activities, and tips help them feel excited and confident for their first year of intermediate school. Demon leaders are also helping tidy, organize, and improve
013our shared storage areas so they are easier to use. We'll continue working to keep these spaces neat and accessible for everyone. This includes the Hammeups closet. Demon leaders will keep finding new ways to make DIS an even more positive and remarkable place for everyone. From helping students feel welcome to supporting staff and improving our school spaces, we are committed to making DIS place where everyone can thrive and feel proud to be a part of our community. Thank you for taking the time to learn more about what we do as Demon Leaders. We're proud to represent our school and help make Dover Intermediate a friendly and positive place for everyone. From welcoming new students to showing school spirit, we enjoy making a difference each day. We appreciate the chance to share experiences with you tonight. >>
014That was it. >> They take questions. >> Absolutely. They can take questions. Yeah. Awesome. >> Bring them back. >> Yeah. Come on, you guys. Come on over here. >> Awesome. >> Um I don't know if you caught. Can you turn around for me? So, our t-shirts are new this year, but we've got Ask Me Anything. I'm here to help. >> Can you have him come on the side of the board? Thank you. >> You can see on the camera. >> Yeah. So, that was one of the things they wanted to change this year was just that visibility piece. So, >> one of the things you mentioned uh think about um students that are new to the school and how you embraced them and um really shared their new school now uh your school with them.
015How did they feel as you kind of embraced them and and and then coming in stayed feeling a little uneasy? >> Um at the start it was like a little bit like hard and rocky for them. >> Sure. >> But usually throughout the weeks they have an improvement and they like talk to people and make friends. >> So I have a question. when when you were think way back when you were coming to DIS. Um what were you most and multiple people can answer. What were you most concerned about going from fourth grade into fifth? >> The lockers. >> Lockers. >> That's what we hear a lot. Was there anything else? Like any other things that concerns you? >> Probably like being late to class. I'm sure most kids like are like scared of like
016being in front of the whole class. >> Yeah. Like a class change because you did that a little bit probably in fourth grade. Maybe changed for a subject or two, but not every subject like you do in in fifth grade. >> Tell me how it feels to be a leader in your school. >> Feels good. >> Yeah. Why? Well, it's like if anybody needs help, you're there to help. And like it's not you're not some random kid walking along in the halls. You're like a leader who people look up to. >> Anyone else? >> Are there things that you didn't know that you learned along the way about yourself or even about the school? >> Yeah. examples. Well, you learned how to open a locker >> and how to teach someone how to open how
017to teach someone how to open it. >> Um like how to like show people like what to do and like how to like help them. I can imagine when you when you first make the transition, especially if you're not from West Lake, um finding someone who to eat lunch with. >> Oh, yeah. >> Hang out with um those are all very scary times as well. When people are coming up from the elementary, it's not as bad because there's usually a group of people with them. But you you play a great role for those people that are coming in from outside uh to make them feel very welcome. >> So one thing I'm wondering since you're talking about different changes and things you're wanting to implement, what's the biggest change that you're wanting to do at
018DIS? Um the like when we were talking about like the lockers at the like orientation at the start the scavenger hunt uh because like we weren't just there to help. We were basically just standing there and doing nothing and we wanted to help them like get across the school and nowhere to go cuz you on the first day we just didn't want them to feel lost. >> Yeah. And like we felt that like the way that we like set up um how the kids get their new locker. So it's like a little confusing cuz like they didn't end up finding out their home room like they found out after the locker set up. So it was like confusing some kids while we were like touring them and showing them what locker they were at. Um
019so we changed that so that like on the little card that we give them like that tells them their locker number and combination also like their home room and their teeth. Thanks. Good work. >> So, a few things that I'm just watching you guys and you're just so impressive. And to the parents, I mean, just looking at these kids and and when each student came up to speak, they all did awesome. It was almost like you're wondering is there is there a public speaking class you're taking or all of you just really uh uh have that ability to step up to a podium in a room full of adults and be able to talk like you did is just so impressive and so impressive. But you know two other things that I want to point
020out. Number one, when I I love the fact that you're talking about problem solving outside of the classroom. So, it's not about solving a problem in a textbook or something like that, but solving a problem that you or one of your classmates may see in your environment inside your school. And I think just creating that skill, like you talked about it before, identifying a problem, brainstorming, and going through that. And even as you're saying, you you put that in place from that orientation where you weren't helpful and you have shirts and you actually talk about being able to solve a problem. That is a great skill to take with you um on through not only your school career but your life in general. And then the last part is I don't know if being sixth
021graders you'd quite understand yet when you talk about the word community on how big of a role you're actually playing because we can buy new desks, we can buy new books, we can do all these kind of things, but really the greatest thing about our schools are the people inside the walls and the fact that you're doing so much to build that community is just very impressive. So, thank you for doing that and thank you. I agree, Mrs. Brickman. Mount Rushmore counselors, you know. So, great job, Mr. Addings, Mr. Miller. Any other questions or comments from the board? >> Thank you for coming out here. >> You know, families, you're always more than welcome to stay. Um, but uh you may have other things to do like homework and other type of things that you
022have going on. So, please feel free uh uh to not stick around for the meeting. You know, we're not as exciting as the kids, but um you're you're more than welcome to stay, but please feel free to go. And thank you for bringing this evening. like he blew me away. Came up and just crushed those she said. Wow. And while reading let alone reading public >> I think his photo is being incorrect. >> All right. >> Okay. >> One more. >> All right. Continuing on. Uh Dr. Dr. Gav, do you want to give us >> I'll keep it very short because I know um we we dedicated the time to our demon leaders and rightfully so. Um just a couple things. Uh earlier today we had uh Mr. Danchenzo from Ohio School Council came in
023and so the community knows we do tabletop exercises for safety uh reasons. Um earlier today we actually had a bunch of principles and uh first responders and other folks sitting right inside this room. Um and what it is is uh this gentleman from out of the district came in. We have no idea what um uh situation he's going to pitch to us and then we have to talk through and then we'll identify where we felt um we were strong and where we need to improve. And so when you're going through this, a lot of times we look at a lot of the safety um protocols differently about like keeping people out and doing that. Well, it was I I loved that the the person from the outside came in and his scenario was a tornado.
024So a lot of time, you know, just something that and and it was great to kind of have all of us talk through that. And we did we do have and as Pep Foy, one of our resource officers said, you know, in general, they believe we're on the tip of the speech that we're we're really uh far ahead in a lot of our safety thinking, but it's good to be able to sit back and and and say we don't have weather radios anymore, >> you know, and and so something as simple as doing that first, like, okay, well, you know, you you become so reliant on the phone and all those uh technology type of things, but a simple weather radio to alert you to that issue so you know to go look just in
025case you don't get an alert. So, it was a really it was a really great exercise to be able to sit down and and and I liked having someone else come in because we end up talking about kind of the things we talk about, but to have somebody walk in and to be able to do that is was was really good. So, we that was wonderful. The only thing I'll say is really looking forward to Thursday, Founders Day. Founders Day is a celebration um within our PTA and school community where um you know uh people get awards and and that sort of thing, but it's really a celebration of of volunteers and our relationship with our PT and it's one of my favorite things of the year. And that's this up Thursday. The rest of
026my comments I'll keep until my agenda items. Any questions? >> Tabletop. Will that come up in because I've only my first uh council safety council. Will that come up in safety? >> It was mentioned that we were going to be doing it. We can we'll definitely we'll circle back. >> Yeah, we'll circle back and have a conversation about that. Yep. >> Yeah. >> Mr. Hopkins, >> thank you. Um I want to take a few minutes tonight. Uh we have uh later on in my recommendations, we have a forecast. Again, it's a little tough because I'm stumbling because I like to call it the five-year forecast because pretty much my whole career has been a five-year forecast. Uh as the board is fully aware, uh earlier uh this year, I think the changes to the budget
027bill in January 25, uh this is the first year that it's become uh referred to as a state as a financial forecast, and it is this year plus three years in the future. So they locked a year off of it. So it's a little bit different. So forgive me if I say five. Um I will be very frank uh with the board and community. Uh I had a conversation uh with my members who uh work with me as a my treasured advisory committee and um this is a tough piece. So typically uh forecasts have done been done historically in uh November. It was October, then they moved it to November, and then you would do an update in May. Okay. This year, because of the changes, we did it in um I think it was
028September we had to do it, and then we're doing it now, right under the statute here in Becky. And the piece that we're facing right now specifically is um in May it was fairly easy to do an update because really at that point we were close to our actuals. Okay. Our revenue the vast majority of our revenue is generated through uh property taxes and it comes in over two payment centers. one in your July, August, September time period and then again um your second half taxes in your January, not February, March time period. Um as you're probably aware as uh uh homeowners uh here in the district, tax bills went out what I would consider exceptionally late this year. And so um whether you pay it or your mortgage company pays it or you know
029uh if you want to pay mine you can do that as well. But how whoever pays it um they came out very late and part of that is uh there were a lot of changes to the law this year. There was a lot of changes with uh how assessed valuation was happening. Um and so they sent it to the the state late uh the state took a longer period. Um, all in all, it went up and so when I'm expecting 20 plus million dollars over this second cycle of collections, I'm sitting at around three million right now. Okay. So, as of well, earlier the end of last week, I only have about $3 million in collections. So, I have a lot of unanswered questions. Now, there's a a handful of of uh Kaga County treasures
030uh that I'm included with. Uh I think we're up to about 15 or 18 of us that uh we've kind of banded together and we're trying to get answers to this as we work with the county. And I'm not this is not a negative piece about anyone at the county or anything like that. I know they're under a lot of, you know, work and stress that they're trying to to deal with. But we're we're also trying to come up with answers so that we can present forecasts and we can give information to our board and our community. And so some of those questions are going to be is what do we expect the March payment to be? Is it going to be a settlement like it typically would be or are they going to do
031another advance? Okay. Are they going to delay it even more? We're fortunate in our district because we do have a relatively sizable cash reserve. Now, we invest that trying to do what's in the best interest of our community, but we're going to be getting to the point here very quickly, uh, that I'm going to need to go to our investment advisor and say, "Here, we better start selling some of our investments." Uh, because we have a I call it a burn rate, but we use about $5 million a month uh as we uh have payroll, insurance, purchases, uh, uh, invoices that come in. So, we we spend about $5 million a month, and right now I'm only sitting on about $5 million uh in our liquid uh uh assets. So, as I look at it
032and say, "Okay, I've got the the next payment is supposed to come, I think, uh March 14th, uh somewhere around there." So, I've got about three weeks and I've got, you know, the end of this month payroll, another payroll that will hit right around the the the 15th of the month. Uh, I have insurance that uh is a monthly $900,000 payment. Uh, and then we have our check runs that we we work through. I may be getting really close on. So, the reason I go into that detail is we're trying to get answers from uh the county to see how it will play out. Additionally, normally if they are going to act uh and do a settlement in March, you know what if not a large number of collections are are in by that March
033period. Okay, so we typically have a historical collection rate of about 97%. What if only 80% is paid to them? Are they going to give us a special advance or a a secondary settlement in April or May? Uh or do I have to wait until the next cycle in July uh to collect that money? So there's a lot of unanswered questions and and for that and getting back to tonight's uh uh agenda item is I am going to ask the board to approve the same forecast we approved it was the amended one we did in November but the amended one with moving the the money that we had moved out the $75 back in. So um I'm asking you to reapprove that same forecast. Okay. It's the uh the same forecast we approved same assumptions.
034At this point, I can go in and I can tweak some numbers, but I don't feel confident in making assumptions uh making significant changes to those assumptions or those numbers and have that going forward when we're not even at the point where we've collected, you know, we're barely at, you know, 10% or 15% of our tax collections that we expect for this uh half. And until we have those numbers come in, um I'm just kind of struggling. And so I think ultimately I'm asking the board to approve the uh forecast that just resubmitting the forecast that we did before and then I will report back to the board in our community when we have some more answers to this. Unfortunately, with new statute, I need to have the board approve a forecast here in in
035February and I need to submit it to the state. So that's kind of where I'm at with it. I'm happy to answer your questions about it. I know it's unusual and I apologize for that, but um you know, right now we're with all the changes, we're kind of in some unusual times with state funding and our schools are the workings of school funding. So um yeah, I guess I I'll just say if you have questions, I'll I'll try to answer them. the group of treasurers, treasur offices as as you gather and and you're you're putting your heads together and you're communicating then with the county as well. We have uh and again I want to keep this as above board as as poss um has been kind enough to volunteer and has taken the lead
036on this. He has reached out a couple times requesting information and meetings. um we're not getting the responses that uh would be the best possible uh uh uh solution that we're looking for. Um but I know uh the county is also under uh time frames of stress and there's a lot going on for them. So um I wish we could get some more information, but uh at least as the information that's been shared with me, uh we're not getting as much information here. Um, let us know if you need us to reach out to our family. >> Sure. Or um, electric. >> Yeah, this is a this is a strange one and and um, this has impact on other entities as well because you're you're taxing entities um, you know, the the school's not the
037only property tax entity in uh, that you pay um, as a taxpayer. case to the library, Port Authority County, uh Metro Parks, uh there's, you know, a handful of them, uh that are in there. Um and so it's impacting a number of organizations. Uh again I I will say to the credit of the leadership of the board of education uh and superintendent administration you know we are sitting on a good cash reserve and I feel for the districts that are not as they're making of more difficult decision just having to potentially sell investments. So it's a little more challenging >> to that point. I know we discussed um in our uh meeting with the treasur uh think about those investments that we may sell and in particular because we have a new board member we
038had talked about having our investment man speak uh briefly at a board meeting. Would that be a good choice? Yeah, we were running a a wonderful investment firm uh Red Tree uh Investments out of uh their home locations in Cincinnati, but they do uh they exclusive exclus exclusively work with schools and uh they've been great to work with and I'm happy to uh ask them to come up and they've offered in past so they'll be happy to join us. >> Thank you. Moving on to the hearing of the public. Is there anyone wishing to speak? Okay, moving on to approval of the minutes. Everybody had an opportunity. All those in favor of approving. >> I >> All right. Any opposed? >> And moving on to your recommendations, Mr. Hopkins. >> Thank you. Um I think
039I only have three in front of you tonight. Um we've gone over the financial forecast piece. If you have questions, I'm I'm happy to answer that. I also then have some then and now a handful of then again I always like to point out the really really large ones uh you know Lakewood uh city schools there that's our vocational education tuition the way that's structured and and you'll see under Dr. Gogggins recommendations is our contract with Lakewood. Um >> I know and I might steal a part of I apologize. >> There are several ways that school districts can provide vocational education. You are required under law to provide vocational education. Uh of those ways you can provide it inhouse. There's a number of of districts that do uh in-house vocational education. Uh you can do
040it through a joint vocational. Uh so that would be uh like Lorraine County JBS, Polaris JBS, um Kyhoga uh can't think of Kaga Valley uh career center. Those are an option as well. And then you can do it through what's called a career technical planning district, CTPD. And that's what we do uh with uh Lakewood who heads that up. Um and then also with us is Rocky River and Bay Village. of the four districts. Uh we are in a a compact that we um have vocational uh education services provided through that. Um in here the then and now. The reason we do a then and now on this is they give us an estimate uh for the year. And so while we had a PO uh in place for that, the final billing comes in
041after the first of the calendar year as they go through and they true up their numbers because as part of our agreement you pay on actual expenses. So they drew that up. So it's a little bit higher than what our PO was in place. So that's going to trigger it as a then and now for all of it. But you know, we typically plan on expenditures of 900,000 to a million or a million one uh for vocational education. Now, that's a lot of money. Okay, but let's put that in perspective. Um if the district said, "Okay, hey, I don't want to pay a million dollars for vocational ed. I I want to join a JDS. Let's look at, you know, joining a JDS." Uh by law, minimum millage uh for JBS is 2 mills. Some
042districts are anywhere between that two and three mills uh range. Uh as a JDS district, uh for us, just as a reminder, one mill right now generates $2.1 million. So a minimum of two mills, let's say you were allowed to enter into the Lraine County JBs, which is uh two mills, that would be $4.2 $2 million that would be charged to the taxpayers of Westlake compared to right now paying a million dollars. So, it's pretty sizable. Other ones, you know, you'd be closer to the five million plus range um on what you would uh do. There's some benefit of doing that. you know the district would not pay it directly but our taxpayers US taxpayers of course would pay it but uh right now I the the cost uh benefit analysis would be hard to
043justify at least under my recommendation too. So, uh, that's where I do want to point out because that is a very large number. >> And I I do want to point out also the fact that while it is a million dollars and there's a difference between a four and five million, um, the students are serviced through the program with Lakewood and we are definitely able to meet the needs of what our students are looking for. >> We absolutely meet the needs of our students. Uh, in fact, uh, I will give credit to uh, it's called the Westshore Career Technical Planning District. Uh, the Westshore group of those four districts. Um, you know, I was at a meeting when we were looking at this contract uh where we know the contract. They're actively looking uh for
044ways to uh find programs that our kids are interested in. And I know Dr. Gagan has spoken, you know, extensively uh to you talking about the new welding program or the MEMS program um the microchips and and pieces like that. So, they're looking for ways to uh get students involved in these different programs. We know the state has a very big push for vocational education and so we are very supportive of that. But uh no, I don't believe that our students are necessarily missing out because uh we're with this program. I I do give credit to uh Lakewood and the leadership of uh Westshore uh providing program that our students are using. >> We said this is an actual excuse me an actual amount per student. So >> not per student, this is an actual
045amount for our district to cover our students who we sent. >> Okay. So, and then if we were part of a JBS, it's just an overall dollar amount that doesn't matter how many kids you have. >> You could send one kid, you could send 3,000. Uh it doesn't matter. Uh the way JBS's are set up different. >> Okay. Thank you. >> And then I also have uh letter C is I'm asking the board to consider um joining Ohio Schools Council to bid out uh for some new buses. um working with uh Adam House, our business manager, and Quinton Banks, our transportation uh director. Um we are looking, now this is no not a commitment to buy, but we're looking to bid uh two uh conventional uh 78 passenger buses and then uh one um 18
046passenger bus and I apologize uh Adam 18 passenger was that a smaller >> Okay, but I'll I'll lift it all on it or >> uh >> No. Okay. So, just a a smaller bus, a lower capacity bus uh to uh handle when we need to transport less students. So, uh that's what we are asking for there. Uh depending on how bids come back, we will come back to the board uh and uh ask uh the board to move forward with the purchase if that's how we choose to move forward. So, this is just committing to the bid. >> Uh 5A separate. >> I would ask for 5A to be separate. Okay. >> And then you can combine uh B and C if you so desire. Is there a motion to approve 5A, the financial forecast?
047>> So move. >> Second. >> Any discussion? >> Thank you for explaining why we're doing it this way. >> Certainly. And again, I apologize. It's not my preference. I just don't know what else to do in this situation. >> And again, please keep us informed. And if we do need to reach out to um and I'm blanking on his name right now on the county commission. No. >> Yeah. Pat. Yeah. Happy to reach out. >> Thank you. >> Uh, any other discussion? Roll call. >> Craft. Yes. Vukan, >> yes. >> Brown, >> yes. Lamb, >> yes. Pure, >> yes. >> Motion carries. Thank you. >> Is there a motion to approve 5B and C? >> Some move. Second. >> Any discussion? Roll >> call. Lamb. >> Yes. Ron, >> yes. Manukan, >> yes. >> Graph,
048>> yes. Piran, >> yes. >> Motion carries. Thank you. >> Moving on to the superintendent's recommendations. >> Well, I left Mr. Hopkins report because it took away this section of what I had written because on my recommendations and 6C is actually the approval of the Westshore contract, which is something that we are supposed to have um done uh either prior to or in March of each year. Um, so it is on our agenda for tonight. Um, the only other one I really wanted to mention was uh 6B when it came to the preschool academic calendar. There is a change in that um from what our current practice has been. I'm not a recall if that's something we've discussed here at a board meeting or not, but this was something and I think it was uh
049Mrs. Morris uh who first said it to me and was talking about how we currently run our preschool program um Monday through Thursday and then Fridays are the days where we would do play-based assessments. So students showing up would be Monday through Friday. Well, this was one of those where, you know, those palm to the forehead type of moments where they're like, "Well, why don't we um have the kids come Tuesday through Friday because there are so many holidays and days off on Mondays to where, you know, you of course you need time to do those play-based assessments, but you can manage that a lot better having that um if there's less of those. So, I love the idea. So, the difference you're going to see in the preschool calendar is the student week is
050not going to be Monday through Thursday anymore. It's going to be Tuesday through Friday. So, we think that's going to give more time uh to the children to actually come in and be able to participate in the preschool program. And again, it's one of those things where it's like, well, why didn't we think of that earlier? Because I thought it was a wonderful idea. Um, but that's that's what we have in there. The rest of the items, uh, a lot of annual stuff like, uh, authorizing membership to OSA. Um, I do have the Westshore contract on there like I mentioned a moment ago, but I think Mr. Hopkins covered that thoroughly and then some employments um, and supplemental uh, items on the agenda as well. So, I I I am fine uh, A through N.
051There's really nothing that I think would stand out from there. And if you want to do that and just ask me questions, I'd be happy to take. >> Is there a motion to approve superintendent's recommendations 8 through N? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Any discussion? >> Thank you, Mr. Hopkins, for explaining me. >> Didn't mean to steal steal his report there. No, no, you're good. You did a great job. Um, I do appreciate the thoughtful move of the preschools week from Tuesday to Friday instead of Monday through Thursday. It It makes sense. >> If we have another winter like this one, you know, gives a little more leeway and not having to >> It really does. >> Yeah, >> because those are those half-day programs are the ones that really cut it close and
052and you're right. Other comments or questions? >> Great to see Rick Kyle on here for softball. He's uh great coach. Really good coach work with uh I know my daughter enjoyed that last year. >> And I'm also happy not to see my name in the band. >> Maybe not. Sure. >> But how about speaking of band, how about Mr. Fidali? >> Oh yeah. >> Yep. That's >> very exciting. >> Yeah, it is exciting. It is exciting. >> Other thoughts or comments? Roll call? >> Ref? >> Yes. >> Lynn? >> Yes. >> Ron? >> Yes. >> Pukan? >> Yes. >> Motion carries. >> Moving on to our next hearing of the public. And then finally on to board comments. Um, while we've all been, I'm sure, living the Olympic hype and seeing all the wonderful things
053that American athletes have been doing, including the US women and men's hockey team, I think it's worth noting the Westlake hockey team won the Baron Cup and semifinals. >> I am tomorrow. >> They won something yesterday or over the weekend. I thought >> they did. They're playing Tuesday. >> Yes. >> The district finals. Okay. >> Is it against Rocky River? Maybe. >> Yes. is a beat avoning. >> It's come a long way. >> Yeah. >> From being a club sport to where it's at today. >> Exactly. Which is why >> it's for the district, right? District championship. >> Other board comments. Uh we all may have read the article um yesterday in the plane dealer and there are a number of articles about them uh regarding STOs scholarship grant organizations uh the opportunity for income
054tax credits and is there an interest in the members of the board um those of us that meet with the treasur from time to time to have a more in-depth conversation about that? I think it would be a wonderful opportunity to find ways because there's not as many public school entities that are taking advantage of it. Yeah. >> And I think especially for income tax credit and was there a way for I think it's definitely something to look at. >> And I do think Cleveland Heights is looking to do something also, but I don't think they've got it set up yet. But I will find a follow up on that. I had the pleasure of uh working the concession stand at the wrestling tournament last not this past Saturday but the Saturday before. Um they're
055always looking for volunteers to help out with the concession stand. So >> what was going on at the high school this weekend? Because I have never seen the parking lot as full as I did on Saturday. There was a line parked out restate on Sunday. >> It might have been Sunday even. I don't It might have been Sunday actually. >> Okay. >> There's like six or seven buses when I was there >> because there was quite literally a line parked in the entrance which I have I don't think I've ever seen since we built the new high school. >> Yeah. Any other thoughts? >> Um, all right. Is there a motion to adjurnn? >> So move. >> Second. >> Discussion. Roll call >> to adjourn at 6:46 p.m. Graf. >> Yes. >> Penukin, >> yes.
056>> Brown, >> yes. >> Lamb, >> yes. >> Pir, >> yes. Oh, she cared son. We are journal.