001I thought you told them to move my chair over. >> [laughter] [music] >> Good evening and welcome to the Akron School Board's April 13th meeting. Roll call, please, Treasurer. Ms. Hall. Present. Reverend Harrison. Present. Mr. Jirose. Present. Ms. Kelly. Present. Dr. Molnar. Present. Mr. Montgomery. Present. Mrs. Sykes. Present. All present and accounted for. We also have with us Gabriella Hood, our student board member. >> Present. Present. Welcome. Would you please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance? >> [clears throat] >> I pledge allegiance to the 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. >> [clears throat] >> Thank you. Uh, let me just note that as we pledge allegiance to the flag today, that we did it with
002the new flag. We appreciate you bringing it to our attention, Member Harrison, that it was time to replace our flag, and out of respect for not only uh, the school district, the city, the state, and the country, we wanted to make sure that we did that. So, thank you for bringing that to our attention. Is there approval of the previous minutes for the board? So moved. Member Jirose, uh, move. Is there a second? >> Second. Second, Member Harrison. Any discussion? Hearing and seeing no discussion, the Treasurer will call the roll. Mrs. Sykes. Yes. Ms. Hall. Yes. Reverend Harrison. Yes. Mr. Jirose. Yes. Ms. Kelly. Yes. Dr. Molnar. Yes. Mr. Montgomery. Yes. Motion carries 7-0. Thank you, Treasurer. Is there a motion to approve the special board meeting minutes from March 30th, 2026? So moved. So
003moved from Member Harrison. Is there a second? Second. Second from Member Jirose. Is there any discussion? Hearing and seeing none, Treasurer, would you please call the roll? Mrs. Sykes. Yes. Ms. Hall. Yes. Reverend Harrison. Yes. Mr. Jirose. Yes. Ms. Kelly. Yes. Dr. Molnar. Yes. Mr. Montgomery. Yes. Motion carries 7-0. >> [snorts] >> Thank you. Board members, tonight we are honored to have Gabriella Hood, who is a junior of the Akron Public School online. Uh, welcome. Hello. Hello. Thank Hello. Thank you. We're happy to have you here. You have a few statements that you want to make? Um, maybe kind of sort of. Uh, um, Is yes, yes. Oh, oh. >> [laughter] >> Yes. Okay. Thank you, Gabriella. >> [laughter] >> Hello and good evening, Madam President, Madam Superintendent, and honorable board members and guests. My
004name is Gabriella Hood and I am a junior at APS online. A few things about myself, I like to do digital art, create music, and write poetry. I am currently studying music theory and my main goal is to go to college to pursue music. I also have a growing following online. My school, APS online, started in 2015 as a program and became an independent school in 2021. Since its beginning, APS online has grown to be a welcoming place for students who may have been experiencing bullying at a traditional building, which is the main reason why I chose APS online. Students also attend APS online if they are chronically sick, have mental health issues such as anxiety, or struggle to be in a crowded environment. I believe that interactions with other students is a very important
005part of growing up. If I had to pick one thing that would help our students and myself, it would be opportunities to go on more field trips and possibly have in-person clubs or small group activities. Currently, we have scholar luncheons and meet at the Akron-Canton Food Bank to volunteer our time, which also serves as our OMJ silver requirement. One of the challenges that many of our students face is transportation to the events. Right now, our school does not have the budget to pay for buses, so we, the students, rely on our parents to get us to the events. Some families don't have cars or the money to pay for gas, so this keeps some students from participating. I am happy to say that the APS online staff is working on a plan to increase the
006number of clubs for next year, which will be a positive addition. One of the challenges of being an online learner is that we have to give up the interaction with a live teacher or tutor. While those opportunities are currently offered through our educational platform, Edmentum, I believe that some students would really benefit from working with someone one-on-one. I would like to suggest that Akron Public Schools think about placing one tutor at our building to work with those students that wish to come in once a week in person to receive additional assistance. Mental health is a very another very important part of growing up. Many of our students face issues such as anxiety, trauma, or the negative effects of bullying. It is very important that our students have access to quality mental health help. We have
007one school counselor and have access to Red Oak Behavioral Health. Please know that putting mental health supports in all of Akron Public Schools should be a top priority. I meet with my school counselor weekly and I also see a therapist. Life is tough right now and I am glad that they have people that I can talk with in addition to my parents. Overall, I am very happy with my choice to attend APS online and I believe that it is a great opportunity for other students that may not easily fit in at a traditional school. Thank you for listening and thank you for your time. >> [applause] >> Thank you, board member Hood. Are there any questions, comments, statements? Member Hall. Thank you, Madam President. I just want to say thank you for being brave enough
008to come here and um speak your truth. Thank you for being brave enough to talk about mental health cuz a lot of young people aren't talking about it out loud and they're also afraid to get therapy cuz sometimes people think therapy is bad. Um you know, therapists need therapists, you know, so just because they're doing the job, they still need someone, too. So I just commend you on that. Um also um saying out here on the floor that they need tutors, too. You know, just cuz you're online, you're still a child. You're still going to school, so you should still have all of the support as other schools. Um and then I know you and I talked about the dance, which I clarified um about the school dance, but you know, just like our STEM
009and um Akron Early um specialty schools, they have dances at their school, but they also play sports at their home school. So, you know, why should the online students miss out of going to homecomings or prom just because they're online? So, I would like to ask in the future or sooner than later if maybe they can go to be permitted to go to their home school dance or prom without having to be asked by someone that goes there. If they're able to play sports there, they should be able to go to the school dances, too. Um cuz they shouldn't have to miss out just because they're doing online classes due to things that's happened in their life such as she talked about bullying. So, um if that's something we could look into, that would be
010awesome. Thank you so much. And thank you again. Thank you, Member Hall. Are there any additional questions, comments? Member Harris. Thank you, Madam Chair. Um Miss Hood, just want to thank you for coming down and sharing your truth and um I want to just throw back. You look rough and tough with the afro puffs, so um >> [laughter] >> it is good to see um the even though you're online, it's good to see that the staff has come down to support you. Um and so when we talk about the supports that we have, um it's good to let everyone know um your truth and what you experienced and also let everyone know that there's still support for APS online. So it's good to see. Want to thank the staff for coming down and um you
011had an awesome message and that's the beauty of an instructor. You get stuck. They were directing from the back, so >> [laughter] >> um just want to thank you for coming down and sharing. Thank you. Member Molnar. Thank you, Madam President. Um I also want to say thank you for coming in. I want to take a moment to acknowledge how meaningful it is to have an online student presenting with us today. I think this is our first APS online board member to come to this board and present. So I really appreciate you being here. It's a great reminder that even when students are learning remotely, that they're still being prepared for real-world in-person experiences. Um so thank you for that. I um work during the day at the University of Akron with you, Akron online,
012and we have a catchphrase there that online doesn't mean on your own. And so seeing your um teachers here, your counselor, your principal here, um and hearing your need for tutors and um other people um is a great reminder of the support system that you have and that we can maybe help fulfill. I heard um I saw Member Hall walking around uh trying to find out about the dance and I hear about the dance. And so what I would love is if you would come to the Instructional Policy Committee because I am the chair of the Instructional Policy Committee and also um specialty schools is my um cluster. And so if you could come to Instructional Policy um when it's available to you, if you have time, if you can join us again and I'd
013like to hear more about the APS online program types of um things that you and as a representative for your school, what you would like to bring to the board um that we can um help with like going to dances and things like that because just because you don't want to be in the building 5 days a week doesn't mean that you shouldn't be able to participate in some of the social experiences of being a teenager. Um so thank you and then I did have a little conversation with you before this because there are some other in-person experiences that you've had with us before today. So um can you tell us a little bit more about your program and how you were prepared for today? Um for online um school about my program is um
014we We currently have spirit week sometimes. We um they give a list of things you do during the week. You can wear a T-shirt on camera or stuff like that or we would have small parties um that we um small luncheons that we had before if you had good grades. And we do talk to our counselor time to time, Miss Aboud, if we have any problems and we want to help with um like career career-wise or job-wise or any questions we have, she always helps us with it, so. Thank you, Member Hood. Are there any other additional questions or comments? Madam Superintendent. I would also like to thank Hood. She also sits on the superintendent's advisory and she is um very articulate. She shares her concerns even there, things that we can work on to
015make APS even better. So, I do thank you and the other students and Mr. Fletcher who oversees the group that gets them down there and helps stimulate ideas. So, we are working on several concerns that the students brought to us and definitely the dance is one of them. So, we can even report back with updates if you would like. Thank you. Hearing no other comments, uh we will move on. So, there is uh there does not appear to be anyone who has signed up to speak before the board either online. However, is there anyone here that would like to make a comment to the board? If not, then we're going to move on. Report from the superintendent. Thank you, Madam President. I would like to start with um a recognition. It is with a heavy
016heart that I report the death of Mr. Richard Rick Bowman. Mr. Bowman was a climate coach at Cyberlinks uh CLC and an exceptional individual. He was an APS um coach for us for over 5 years and he made a very lasting impression on [snorts] the students and the Cyberlinks CLC community. He was deeply respected and appreciated by both our scholars and our staff and he served as a dedicated mentor to students throughout his time at the school. We know his presence will be greatly missed. Outside of his role at Cyberlink, Mr. Bowman was also a devoted pastor, husband, and father and his loss is felt across both the school community and beyond. So, again, we would like to pay our respects at this time to Mr. Richard Rick Bowman. Uh moving on, I would like
017to ask uh Deborah Folk to come forth. I want to make sure that the board is aware of something that just recently came to my attention. But, some of you may have heard in the news, the city of Akron is proposing to redevelop, which we all pretty much know, the the Martin Luther King Boulevard uh Route 59. The picture that we're going to show on the screen is what I wanted to make sure all of our board members is aware of. So, the city is um proposing to um take some this recommendation to the city planning commission and I wanted Mrs. Folk to be able to explain the potential impact on 10 North Main and Helen Arnold CLC. And there is a meeting coming up on Thursday, so I thought due to the timeliness of
018that upcoming meeting, we should bring it to the board. Good evening, President Sykes, Vice President Molnar, member of the board, and Treasurer Bowers. Uh the picture before you is part of the redevelopment of the downtown area with the idea that this is a community project that has been in development with the city of Akron and it is part of the planning commission's meeting on April 17th at 9:00 a.m. and it is item number one, which is PC2026-11RP. And as you go through this particular uh recommendation that is going to the planning committee at this time on this particular day and read the development um of this. If you get to the bottom, the recommendation is they're looking for approval. So, the picture in front of you is the proposed redevelopment around this location. As you
019can see, the building Akron Public Schools noted on the picture is the actual 10 North Main site and the redevelopment is color-coded. The gold color is development of housing that would go along 59 and come down North Main Street and it would with the closure of 59 behind us over here start to come down that side and it would impact the parking lot located on this property. The lighter yellow color is behind that and it goes to that area um and this is again affordable housing and there is a slight uh if you see the red number one up there, it is also a little bit of um space for companies to come in, a retail space. The effect on this particular development and we're certainly glad that the community is being creative would be
020to literally affect the property um which we own and locate from here at 10 North Main to the parking lot that is along uh 59. As proposed in this particular picture, it appears that that parking lot would not exist. And we as the hub of the district have a number of reasons that we came here as we consolidated in here in 2019 from our old administration building at 70 North Broadway and the Odd Building on Steiner and we truly do support and need the 490 plus parking spaces that are located here for a variety of reasons. I just bring this to the board. I do ask Ms. Ottley and advise her I would at least attend the 17th meeting to listen to what is being proposed, but I just wanted the board to be aware
021that this is on the agenda this week at the planning committee. Thank you, Director. Thank you. Mhm. Superintendent? Thank you. So, just a a couple additional items before I close. I am pleased to share that Akron Public Schools has been awarded the Kindergarten Readiness Boot Camp grant in excess of $600,000 and this significant award will enable the district to serve approximately 500 incoming kindergarten students this summer, providing them with valuable early learning experiences to support a strong start to their educational journey. We'd like to thank Jennifer Douglas and Megan Manion who took the lead for writing the grant and we look forward to welcoming our youngest learners in August. Also, want to give a shout-out to our Attendance All-Star Challenge winners. Paying close attention to our attendance, Akron Public Schools hosted a district-wide Attendance All-Star
022Challenge from March 16th to the 27th and it was to mirror the NCAA March Madness Tournament to boost school attendance where they also the students competed bracket style in their competitions against other schools across the district. And so, these are our results. Our Attendance All-Star champions Forest Hill CLC, Niff STEM Middle School, APS on I'm sorry, that yes, Niff STEM Middle School and APS online. All of these schools will receive a banner, a trophy, and a pep assembly. So, congratulations to our Attendance All-Star champions. Then we had a category called Comeback [clears throat] Kid Award. The winners are Voris CLC, Hyre CLC, and Ellet CLC and they're being recognized for the largest overall attendance improvement in their grade band and they're going to receive a popsicle party. And then finally, perfect attendance winners for two
023to Urban Air Adventure Park. We have Malik Nelson from Windemere CLC, Carter Blackwell from Jennings CLC, and Sydney Lutz from Akron Early College. Overall, 28 buildings increased their average daily attendance rate and over 5,000 of our students maintained perfect attendance during the challenge. Wonderful. Wonderful. Wonderful. And that concludes my report, Madam President. Thank you, Madam Superintendent. All right, board member Hood. So, APS online, what do you think about that? You did pretty pretty good. Yeah. >> [laughter] >> Now, you have to speak. Remember, there's people listening, so you have to say yes. Yeah. Yeah. >> [laughter] >> We have to hear you. Yes. All right. Well, believe it throughout the meeting, I will keep messing with you. So, be ready. All right. Thank you, Superintendent. We appreciate that report. Was there one other item that
024you wanted to mention? I see here in the folder the Public Education Community Forum. I believe when um member Kelly Okay, you want me to Okay. So, um just thank you very much for the opportunity. Like many school districts across Ohio, Akron Public Schools is navigating a period of significant financial challenge. We want our community to be clear. This is not a reflection of poor financial stewardship on the part of our Board of Education or administration. Our leaders have worked diligently and responsibly to manage every dollar entrusted to us. The financial pressures we face are a direct result of decisions made in Columbus. Decisions that have impacted school funding across the state. We remain committed to advocating for the resources our students and schools deserve. With that being said, we would like to ensure our
025board and community is aware of the public education community forum that is taking place on Tuesday, April 21st at Firestone CLC. Doors will open at 5:00 p.m. and the forum will begin promptly at 6:00. We have invited elected officials. I see um our congresswoman our state representative Veronica Sims is here and I believe she is hopeful that she's able to make it. She's been a a very strong support for us and we want to thank her for her leadership. Um superintendents across Summit County have been invited, education labors, and school board members. Uh Patricia uh Pat, as we better know her as Pat Shipe, is also helping to co-chair this forum with me and the mayor. And so again, we are encouraging our community to come out and support of public education. We have superintendents
026and again elected officials coming from across the county. Thank you superintendent. All right. Committee reports. Finance and Capital Management Committee, Chair Montgomery. Thank you, Madam President. There is no update since the last board meeting. Our next committee meeting is this Wednesday, April the 15th at 6:30. 6:30? Yes, ma'am. Thank you. Instructional Policies and Student Achievement Committee, Member Molnar. Thank you, Madam President. The Instructional Policy and Student Achievement Committee met last Monday, April 6th and had many updates. Um first of all, it's state testing this week. Um and we reviewed uh the state mandate mandated three-year improvement plan, our one plan, and that's important to the context of data collection and our district report card. I'm also pleased to report a renewed chapter chapter in our equity policy work being led by Dr. Chapman, uh centered
027on four pillars, environment, instruction, curriculum, and professional development and support. Conversation to continue at our May meeting. And we had a uh community uh initiated conversation on student discipline, uh data, due process, and proactive systems from Dr. Lash. And we heard about our Stop School Violence Grant to reduce discipline, increase attendance through restorative practices, and expansion hopefully coming um to the board soon with a long-term goal to build internal capacity and scale the successful models to other clusters across our district. And we had a student board member uh present from the Summit County Youth Coalition, student-led organization, Students for Equity and Excellence, Jermaine from Bookdale CLC, and shared a mental health initiative featuring do now prompts and exit tickets designed to provide students with daily emotional outlets to ensure that the students feel seen and
028supported. And uh we are hoping the students come back to instructional policy because they said they have thoughts on to institutionalize relationship-centered practices. So, I look forward to hearing more about that. We also had a Bookdale Cosmetology update. Um I saw Signal Akron recently wrote an article highlighting our cosmetology program and boasting it as one of our most popular programs in the district. So, reminder to everyone, next week, April 25th is the annual hair show. Um and the um Let's see. And finally, Superintendent Outley presented uh to begin the conversation of understand uh the concept of building building consolidation. So, we are hearing neighbors like CMSD having similar conversations in their districts and so we're doing that here. So, our next instructional policy committee will be May 4th, 4:30 uh with exactly five minutes on
029each topic. >> [laughter] >> Thank you, Member Molnar. Legal and Contracts, Member Gerros. Yes, Madam President. The Legal and Contracts Committee will be meeting on April 15th, Wednesday at 4:30 in the Reverend Dr. Curtis T. Walker Boardroom. Thank you. Policy Committee, Member Harrison. Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, the uh Policy Committee met April 6th at 6:30. Um did she say five minutes on each topic? She did. She did. April 6th at 6:30 and we uh went over quite a few policies. Three Three of our policies have been moved to the Rules Committee for the second reading. Um our public records policy has been updated and moved over to the Rules Committee for the second reading. Our administrative leave, which is a new policy, um has um passed through our committee, the Policy Committee, and
030has been voted over to the Rules Committee for the second reading. A Procurement and Federal Grants Policy 6325, um that was also moved to the Rules I mean moved over to the Rules Committee from the Policy Committee. We have a couple of policies that are still in committee, Purchasing and Bidding 6320, and our Public Complaint Policy, Issues Management Policy 9130, is being worked on by Dr. Chapman, uh Member Carmela Kelly, and Superintendent Outley. We received an update on that. We also had a review of our nepotism policy and that policy will need to be reviewed and updated, so that will go into the rotation. Um so we had a robust policy meeting. We have three policies coming out and a lot more policies to look at, but robust meeting. So, that is the Policy Committee.
031Thank you, Member [snorts] Harrison. Rules Committee, Member Kelly. Thank you, Madam President. The Rules Committee met on Monday, April 6th where we discussed recommendations and solutions for the new agenda. We also discussed three No, excuse me, four agenda items for that fell under new business, which included Frontline Technologies, the resolution for the administrative reductions or reduction in force. Also, we reviewed the local 689 paraprofessionals reduction, and we also discussed the resolution for the teachers reduction in forces well. Our next meeting is scheduled for Monday, April 20th here in the Curtis T. Walker Boardroom at 6:30 p.m. Thank you. >> Thank you. Thank you, Member Kelly. Student Success Celebration Committee, Chair Hall. Hall. Thank you, Madam President. Um Student Success Committee Student Success Celebration Committee will meet on Wednesday um at 5:30. Okay. Thank you, Chair
032Hall. Let me before we go any further say to you if it feels a little warm in here, it is. >> [laughter] >> And we do apologize because it appeared that our air conditioner is not working. So, we did not find out that it was going to be 75° today. So, we're still working to catch up. So, hopefully at our next meeting we will find that the air conditioner is working. So, we apologize for any inconvenience. If you need have a need to take off your jacket, then please feel free to do so. Uh approval of consent agenda. Is there a motion to remove any item from the consent agenda? Is there a motion to remove any item from the consent agenda? Seeing and hearing no motion to remove any item from the consent agenda,
033is there a motion to approve the consent agenda recommendations? >> So moved. So moved by Member Montgomery. Is there a second? >> Second. Seconded by Member Kelly. Is there any discus Well, not on consent agenda. Seeing uh no uh objections, then the treasurer shall call the roll. Ms. Hall? Yes. Reverend Harrison? Yes. Mr. Gerros? Yes. Ms. Kelly? Yes. Dr. Molnar? Yes. Mr. Montgomery? Yes. Mrs. Sykes? Yes. Motion carries, 7-0. Thank you. Under unfinished business, resolution of student assignment adjustment, Jennings Relief, third and final reading. Is there a motion to approve the resolution? So moved. So moved Member Gerros. Is there a second? >> Second. Seconded Member Kelly. Is there any discussion? Seeing and hearing no discussion, the treasurer shall call the roll. Reverend Harrison? Yes. >> [clears throat] >> Mr. Gerros? Yes. Ms. Kelly? Yes.
034Dr. Molnar? Yes. Mr. Montgomery? Yes. Mrs. Sykes? Yes. Ms. Hall? Yes. Motion carries 7-0. Thank you. Resolution 24.2 administrative reductions in force. Is there a motion to approve the resolution administration reduction in force? Madam President, I move to approve resolution 26-054. Resolution member Montgomery, is there a second? Is there a second? For the purpose of discussion, second. A second from past from member Harrison. Is there any discussion? Member Monk uh Molnar. Thank you, Madam President. Um I'm going to talk about the three reduction items out um in one comment here, and I want to start with um Member Montgomery, member Molnar, we would need to go 24.1. 24 24.2, so we can take one at a time. Okay. Mhm. Um I agree that we need to reduce $11 million in spending. I appreciate the work
035that's been done to communicate that need from our levy and other committees. Um since February, I've had one consistent request, and it was to receive an impact analysis performed by administration in order to govern responsibly. I've asked for a report that connects the data, options considered, and resulting recommendations. And I'm not suggesting that no work has been done. Our district has worked hard and is continuing to work hard to communicate um what we need to do. Um We all saw the presentation that was given in this room. However, I have not received a report that explains how those conclusions were reached. And so this is not a asking for more information. This is a standard board oversight document, and these are difficult decisions. Reductions in force are always difficult decisions. So because of that, it's
036especially important that the community can be confident that when the board takes action, it's based on a clear evaluation of the available options, including the impact on student-facing and non-student-facing roles. So without that, I do not have sufficient basis to support the resolution. Is there any additional discussion? Member Kelly. I do share the same sentiment as Vice President Molnar. Uh I would like to start off by acknowledging the the effort that has gone into this, but I would not um I would not be making a decision responsible responsibly if I didn't feel confident in making a decision to move forward. I think we all are aware that this is something that has to be done. I just can't at this moment say that I feel confident making a decision. This is solely based off the
037fact that I've not received enough information. We as a board have not received enough information to move forward with this vote. Are there any additional comments? Member Harris. Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I too would like to thank the um superintendent for what um has been provided for us. We have received a great deal of information. Um I think the um the sticking point is the analysis portion of it. Um the um what I was prepared to do was vote for $11 million. I was prepared to vote one vote for $11 million. There were some things that I did not like in the $11 million. I um questioned some things, but um I know that we have to cut $11 million, but the process the process of cutting $1.6 million from the board's vote
038and cutting $9.4 million from administration is unacceptable. I think that the board has to look at what we are doing as a whole. Um And for the reason of process I can't support this. Um and again, my understanding was we were going to vote on $11 million reduction at one time. Those reductions would have been carved out by board vote. And so we're not going to change those. That's not going to happen. But I don't think that the uh from an administration point, you can add $9.4 million to the budget, and so I would say that you cannot subtract $9.4 million from the budget without a board vote. So I will not support the reduction of a portion of the $11 million without voting for $11 million. Thank you. Are there any additional discussions? So
039the question is whether or not resolution 24.2 administrative reduction in force shall pass. The treasurer will call the roll. Mr. Jaros? No. Ms. Kelly? No. Dr. Molnar? No. Mr. Montgomery? Yes. Mrs. Hall? No. Reverend Harrison? No. Ms. Sykes? Yes. Motion fails 5-2. 24. Thank you, Treasurer. 24.3 resolution local 689 APS O A OSB uh paraprofessional reduction in force. Is there a motion to approve the resolution for local 689 OSB? Madam President, I move to approve resolution 26-055. Motion moved by member Montgomery, is there a second? Second. Second by member Hall. Is there any discussion? Member Molnar, did you want to make a comment on this one? Um sure. Uh I will just say that as this reduction would have been included in the report um and no report was presented, I do not have sufficient
040basis to support this resolution. Is there any additional discussion? Hearing none and seeing done, the treasurer will call the roll. Ms. Kelly? No. Dr. Molnar? No. Mr. Montgomery? Yes. Ms. Hall? No. Reverend Harrison? No. Mr. Jaros? No. Mrs. Sykes? >> Yes. Motion fails 2-5. Resolution 24.4 teachers reduction in force. Is there a motion to approve the reduction the resolution of teachers reduction in force? Madam President, I move to approve resolution 26-056. Is there a second? Second. A second from member Hall. Is there any discussion? Member Molnar. Thank you, Madam President. And to reiterate, without a report describing non-student-facing roles that would have been evaluated compared to student-facing roles, I do not have sufficient basis to support this resolution. Is there any additional discussion? I will at this time say that I am very sorry that
041the members on the board feel that you have not received a sufficient information from the from the administration. I would respectfully disagree. I would ask each member each member if you have not received information that you need feel that you need in order to make an intelligent responsible decision, to please get that information and request to the superintendent and the staff. If you are looking for an analysis and you are not able to understand or appreciate the analysis that the administration have brought to you, then please provide the analysis yourself. I know that you are intelligent enough to do that. Provide the analysis. Bring that to the board. Explain that to all of us, including the community. This community has made a commitment that we will reduce $11 million to to the state auditors in
042a timely fashion. If we do not if we do not deliver this promise to the auditor, then we will find ourselves on academic watch. You as board members has a responsibility to make sure that you are doing your due diligence. And if you are not doing your due diligence, and if you say it is because you have not received the information from the administration, which I strongly disagree, then I would ask you once again to itemize those items, to say exactly what it is that you have not received, and if you have not received a proper analysis, then please provide the analysis for this community that you think this administration should provide. Treasurer, call the roll, please. Dr. Molnar? No. Mr. Montgomery? Yes. Ms. Hall? No. Reverend [snorts] Harrison? No. Mr. Gerose? No. Ms. Kelly?
043No. Mrs. Sykes? Yes. Motion fails, two to five. Item 25.1, new business. Is there a motion to approve the acceptance of donations? So moved. So moved by member Gerose. Is there a second? >> Second. Is there any discussion? Hearing and seeing no discussion, the treasurer will call the roll. Mr. Montgomery? Yes. Mrs. Sykes? Yes. Ms. Hall? Yes. Reverend Harrison? Yes. Mr. Gerose? Yes. Ms. Kelly? Yes. Dr. Molnar? Yes. Motion carries, seven zero. Thank you, Treasurer. Item 25.2, is there a motion to approve the resolution authorizing contract with parents for transporting their children to and from school for the school year 2025-2026. Is there a motion? So moved. So moved by member Gerose. Is there a second? Second. Second by member Molnar. Is there any discussion? Seeing no discussion, the treasurer should call the roll. Mrs.
044Sykes? Yes. Ms. Hall? Abstain. Reverend Harrison? Yes. Mr. Gerose? Yes. Ms. Kelly? Yes. Dr. Molnar? Yes. Mr. Montgomery? >> Yes. Motion carries, six zero one. Thank you, Treasurer. Item 23.3, is there a motion to approve the resolution for substitute teachers general fund? So moved, 25. Is there a motion? Is So moved. Um Montgomery, is there a second? Second. Is there a second? I second. Oh, thanks. Is there any discussion? Seeing and hearing no discussion, the question is should item 23.3 pass? The treasurer will call the roll. Ms. Hall? Yes. Reverend Harrison? Abstain. Mr. Gerose? Yes. Ms. Kelly? Yes. Dr. Molnar? Yes. Mr. Montgomery? Yes. Mrs. Sykes? Yes. There appear to be a reason to go into executive session, member Molnar. Um Madam President, I make a motion to recess into executive session pursuant to Ohio
045Revised Code 121.22G1 to consider the appointment, employment, dismissal, discipline, promotion, demotion, or compensation of a public employee or official, and 121.22G3, conferences with an attorney for the public body concerning disputes involving the public body that are the subject of pending or imminent court action. Is there a second? Second. Um member Hall has second. Is there any discussion? Seeing and hearing none, the treasurer will call the roll. Reverend Harrison? Yes. Mr. Gerose? Yes. Ms. Kelly? Yes. Dr. Molnar? Yes. Mr. Montgomery? >> Yes. Mrs. Sykes? Yes. Ms. Hall? Yes. Seven zero. We will adjourn into executive session, but before doing so, is there any additional items that the board members would like to bring to the board's attention? Member Hall. Thank you. I would like to bring to attention um the celebration of yesterday's birthday of um
046President Barbara Sykes. Um so, happy birthday to you. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Glad to be all. >> [laughter] >> That's just what I need to do, be reminded of another birthday. >> [laughter] >> I'm honored to be here, yes. Any additional information? Hearing none and seeing member Molnar. Thank you, Madam President. Um I have a quick update. On March 24th, I attended the OSBA state legislative legislative conference with several colleagues from around the table um and from across the state. And one of the key reminders from that experience is that as board members, we're not only responsible for governing locally, we're also continually responding to legislative and regulatory changes. I see our state rep here in the audience. Um And so, many of our policy updates, including those through NEOLA, are direct reflections of
047those state level uh changes. And so, it reinforces the important point. It's always easier and more effective to help shape the rules at the front end through advocacy and public input than continually adjust after the fact once the rules are already in place. So, with that in mind, I want to draw attention to the current public comment period for the Ohio Administrative Code Code Rule Updates. There are three um OAC Chapter 3301-3, Data Acquisition Insights, uh Chapter 31 3301-28, Local Report Card. Um and so, both of those are related to what we talked about in our instructional policy committee, student data and the report card. And then the third one is Chapter 3301-83, Pupil Transportation. So, these rules shape um how we manage data, operations, and student services. And I want to specifically highlight the
048pupil transportation as transportation has been a significant and ongoing topic in our district over the past few years. And we've experienced shifts in how transportation services are delivered, um the movement from independent contractor-based van services towards more formal vendor-based transportation models. Um so, as the state considers these updates, I encourage board members, families, educators, community stakeholders to review those proposed changes and submit public comments while the window is open. So, they can be submitted through the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce Administrative Code Rule Comment Page, home, about, link to comments under resources. And the comment period is open until April 19th. Um so, it's an important opportunity, and thank you. Thank you, member Molnar. Any additional comments? Member Hall. Sorry. >> birthdays. >> Listen, no more birthdays. Okay, you will have more birthdays. We're
049going to not say that. >> Not today. >> But >> [laughter] >> so, I was so excited about that, I totally forgot about something else exciting. Um the 12th annual N A S N A P S E, I'm sorry, the 12th annual N A P S E Midwest Regional Education Conference that's held on April 30th, they're having a parent summit. Um I know I spoke about this before a couple times, um you know, urging our parents to take part. Um today we have what, 16 spots left out of 50. So, thank you to the administration, Superintendent Autley. And [snorts] also, um there will be breakfast and snacks provided cuz it will be early morning travel. Um and thank you to Buckeye Logistics for their donation. Um again, there are 16 seats left. Let's fill the
050house. Let's represent Akron. So, member Autley, I'm sorry, um President Sykes, um just how can people um sign up? I know there's a flyer online with a QR code, but if they don't have an opportunity to see that flyer, are they able to call in or who are they able to reach out to? If any of our parents, guardians would like to attend, join us, they can just contact their principal, and their principal has a link that they can use to register uh send it to my secretary to register them. Thank you. >> You're welcome. Member Gerose. Thank you, Madam President. I just wanted to briefly recap this evening where we looked at the $11 million of reductions. >> Member Gerose, we need to have you have an announcement of any kind. >> Okay. So,
051out of order. >> I yield. Yes. Uh if there is no other comments, uh announcements, uh let me just say to our to our student representative here that we hope that you've enjoyed your time here, that we are now going to recess into executive session, and you don't have to have to go with us into executive session. >> [laughter] >> And we appreciate that, and we hope that you will come again, and that you will watch our our school meetings. And of course, you as board members have said, if for some reason you feel that there is something you want to share with us, please don't hesitate to do so. We are so proud of you. Congratulations. You are doing a fantastic job, and we look forward to seeing all the great great accomplishments that
052you are going to make in the future. Thank you. Yes, thank you. All right. So, the board will uh recess into executive session. There will be no action once we come out of executive session. We will uh it is 6:23 p.m. We should be there no longer than 1 hour. If we are, then we will come back to let you know that it is taking longer than an hour. Board is in recess. >> Mhm. >> Ready to begin this now. We're starting. Are we back on? Okay. We are back from executive session. It is now 6:44. Is there a motion to adjourn? So moved. Uh motion made by member Montgomery. Is there a second? >> Second. Seconded by member DeRose. The clerk can call the roll. Uh Ms. Kelly? Yes. Dr. Molnar? Yes. Mr. Montgomery?
053Yes. Mrs. Sykes? Yes. Ms. Hall? Yes. Reverend Harrison? Yes. Mr. DeRose? Yes. 7-0. Thank you. We are now adjourned, and our next board meeting will be Monday, April 27th, 2026. We are now adjourned. >> [music]