Board of Education Livestream - 08/25/25

001[Music] [Applause] [Music] Good evening and welcome to the Akran public school board meeting on August the 25th, 2025 at 5:30 um PM. Vice President Alexander, would you please lead us in the pledge of allegiance? Roll call. Oh, roll call. Roll call. My apologies to everyone. Roll call. Mr. Alexander, present. Miss Audrey, present. Miss Hall, present. Reverend Harrison, present. Dr. Jackson, present. Dr. Molar present. Mrs. Sykes present. All present. Now, Vice President Alexander, can you lead us? 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. Thank you, Vice President Alexander. Um, next we'll have recognitions. um our superintendent. We listen to those recognitions. Thank you, President Jackson. I would like to start with Children's

002Hospital and our CCAA partnership. Hello, good evening. My name is Dr. Thomas Jefferson. I'm the education program lesson at Akan Children's Hospital and I've had the opportunity to lead the hospital's partnership with Akan public schools uh since it inception well since I got to the hospital in 2018. Um so we are as you all know like we are up for renewal for our agreement. So just wanted to come by and be able to stop by some of the different things like that we have done and accomplished so far um in our partnership. Um so each year like we um have worked with the the students and staff over at North on a number of different things from our guest speakers to summer internships. Um throughout the course of the years we have um done paid

003summer internships for our for our North students um where they were able to work 20 hours a week, 15 hours, earn $15 per hour um over the the last number of different uh years. Um, we've also helped our students be able to earn CPR certifications um, where they um, get trained with their CPR certification through the American Heart Association with our um, simulation center. And our students, they really have had the opportunity to um get those real hands-on skills from learning how to uh put in a put in an IV to learning how to intubate a patient to be able to put on a neck a neck brace and be able to put on a backboard and and some of those different types of different things. Um so we really feel um like our partnership

004has been helpful. Um like we we still do take uh pride being the first named academy partner over at North High School. Uh where we feel that North is our school and and kind of our our baby. We feel like th those students are our students and anything like that we can do to uh help those students to succeed like we have always tried to um do that. Um during our partnership, we've tried to uh think out of the box sometimes and and not just wait for requests to come from the school, but also to be able to uh bring different requests to the school as well. Um one of those different examples that I know a couple of board members were able to come to uh this past year was our photov voice project.

005Um our photov voice project is where we gave the students the opportunity. We gave them digital cameras and we asked them what does healthcare mean to you? Um so like they went out into the community, they took pictures of good things, bad things related to health care. Uh they were able to write up a description and then those students were able to come to the hospital to uh present to our president and CEO like our vice presidents, our nurses and our doctors at Akin Children's Hospital. Um so we really do feel this partnership has been beneficial um for the students at North. And then over the last few years like we've also started to um do some other branching out at Jennings Middle School um east uh um CLC then also at CLC with the

006criminal justice pathway. So um again just wanted to stop to say thank you for allowing us to be a partner with you all and we look forward to continuing this partnership. Thank you Dr. um Jefferson. Tonight, we will ask our board members to approve their renewed agreement. This is the second time that they have renewed each time adding additional schools. In addition to being a named partner at North High School, they are a pathway partner at ECLC and Elllet CLC for the healthc care and criminal justice pathways respectively and a partner with ECLC Middle School and Jennings CLC. They are known not only for their dedication for our scholars to learn about their community, the world of work and themselves. This is particularly evident in their Viking scholars intern program which you just heard about

007which they have been offering every summer. So, thank you again to Akran Children's Hospital who first announced their partnership in May 2017 at our Ford NGL designation ceremony. [Applause] Next, we would like to uh spotlight the LeBron James Family Foundation and our partnership. I want to take just a moment to express our immense gratitude to the LeBron James Family Foundation for their incredible generosity. Their partnership with our district is truly one of a kind. Since 2018, the foundation and our board have worked together to create the I Promise School. Our goal has always been to build a nationally recognized model for urban public education. This collaboration has been productive and fulfilling, and it's a relationship we deeply value. Tonight, we want to formally thank the foundation for their latest donation of over a million dollars,

008which will be used to fund several key positions and provide professional development at the I Promise School. This contribution is truly a gamecher. It not only enhances our instructional efforts and daily operations, but also strengthens our ability to support our students and their families. The foundation's dedication to our community goes far beyond the walls of the school. They've consistently supported our families and scholars throughout the years. And their commitment to the whole child is evident in everything that they do. Their continued support allows us to provide a truly unique and exciting learning environment where we can instill the five habits of promise in our students everyday lives. both at school and at home. So, thank you again to the LeBron James Family Foundation for being such a committed and generous partner. We are grateful for

009your ongoing support and look forward to continuing our work together to make a difference in the lives of our students and our community. And I believe there is a representative if you would please stand. Mrs. McGee. [Applause] And our final recognition is uh we notice that we as a board as a uh Akran public schools we do recognize our partners throughout the year and we also I'm not sure if you realize we have a partner of the year award. So I'm asking Dr. Carla Chapman to please come up and she's going to hold that for us and then I'm going to read just a little bit and then we're going to ask Miss uh Stansancy Sykes to come up. 18 years ago, Akran public schools, the Akran Zoo, and leaders from Dominion East Ohio Gas,

010now called Inbridge Gas, came together to collaborate on how we could introduce families to the Akran Zoo and give students uh back to school supplies during our backpack adventure. And that's how it actually came to be born. It is a cherished back-toschool tradition led by the outstanding team including Judy Hill of Akran public schools formerly of Akran public schools, Sharon Connor with uh Goodyear right committee, Glenn Neville Dominion and Kathy Moranny of the Akran Zoo. Mariani, I'm sorry. Please excuse that. As a result of this wonderful collaboration, hospitality, innovation, and community spirit, the perfect setting has been created for this event. Each year with many dedicated volunteers from the Akran Zoo, Akran public schools and community organizations, our families have the opportunity to receive back- toschool supplies, meet their principles and other district staff, hear

011great things about our APS school bands from our APS school bands and get community resources in a relaxed and welcoming environment. This is truly an example of what we can see happen when the community and organizations come together as one in the name of education. Our ongoing partnership with the Akran Zoo and the dedication of everyone involved make Backpack Adventure a highlight of the year and a powerful way to engage our families before the bell rings. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the Akran Zoo for all of their years of dedication by naming them the recipients of the 2025 Akran public schools John S. Knight James L. Knight Community Partner of the Year Award. [Applause] So, thank you to the Akran Zoo for the 18 years of service to our students and

012families. This plaque hangs in our hallway outside of our boardroom and you will have your own plate for the backpack adventure partnership. And I believe uh the CEO uh Doug Pears is here and would like to say a couple of words. Well, thank you very much. You know, a couple of words is hard for me, so I'll just get that out of the way right up front. But thank you very much for this award and for honoring all the hard work, not just of the zoo because my team is here with me tonight, and without them, this wouldn't be possible, but also all of the other organizations who have grown to put their shoulder behind this work. Um, at the zoo, we're proud to serve our community through education, connection, and collaboration, and backpack adventure

013is a wonderful example of that. We're very fortunate to be able to bring the classroom programs and field trips to Akran public school students by inspiring them through that connection because our mission is to connect every life to wildlife while inspiring lifelong learning and conservation action. Everything we do is about accomplishing that mission and it's very important to us and we know it's important to you. This event is made possible by so many different generous partners. It extends these lessons by connecting students with animals while providing needed school supplies. It's amazing that we've been able to distribute over 33,000 backpacks across the life of this program. [Music] Backpack is so much more than school supplies. It's about people. It's about a place where students can see their friends, feel safe, spend time with their teachers

014in a fun setting, and their families to discover all of the resources this community has to offer. It is truly about community. What is community? It's standing with unity with one another. It's about advancing everyone with every breath that we take and every investment we make. Amen. While I'm accepting this honor on behalf of the Akran Zoo and we happen to host backpack, there are many individuals and organizations that are involved in the event. And if you don't mind, I'd like to ask all those in the room who are involved in any way in this event to please stand for recognition. Come on, guys. [Music] [Applause] And you will notice the hesitation. It's because it's from a place of humility that you serve a community. And just thank you all very much. Yes. Now, the

015last thing that I'd like to say is nothing happens without partnership. and Backpack Adventure is one way that the Akran public schools has partnered with the zoo on our mission. Thank you very much for this recognition and for all of the levels of partnership over my nearly 30 years at the zoo because I have personally seen them grow in breath and depth across that time and I can't wait to see what the future looks like. Thank you very much. And our lead for this year's backpack adventure was Dancy Sykes. And we'll give her the opportunity to give closing remarks. Good evening. So good to see everyone out. And I have a um special note to mention uh when I wrap up here. Um, so it's just such a joy to welcome our incredible friends from

016the Akran Zoo to our meeting this evening. For the past 18 years, Backpack Adventure has been a beautiful example of what happens when community and education come together, welcoming more than 64,000 people to the zoo over the years for this event. This year's Backpack Adventure welcomed 5,685 students and families, a record turnout. Oo, and more than 2,300 backpacks were given to our APS students. The Akran Zoo has been an invaluable partner, providing not only a space, but an experience where learning joy and community connection come together for our families. I've had the pleasure of working alongside the amazing staff here at APS, the amazing staff with the zoo, uh, under the leadership of Dr. Dr. Wanda Lash, Dr. Coller Chapman over the years to plan this event as well as numerous departments across our district

017and countless staff volunteers who give their time and energy to make this event possible each year and we truly could not do it without them. We are so grateful for this long-standing partnership and the way the zoo continues to show up for our students and our families. And so the special note I want to add is one of our family members from the zoo. She has a special occasion today. Her her baby started kindergarten at KCLC today. [Applause] So that's been so exciting being on that journey as we plan for Backpack Adventure, just learning and hearing more and more about it. He had a wonderful day, right? He did. He didn't eat his lunch, so I think it was a good day if he's missing food. Okay. Thank you so much. Thank you, Madame President.

018That does conclude recognitions. Thank you, superintendent, and thank you to all of the central office staff and our community partners for all that you do because surely we are better together and to build a stronger students and a stronger Akran community in Akran public schools. So again, thank you on behalf of the board for everything. Uh next we have uh eight people who have signed up to address the board. Um those of you who um were here for the recognitions, you may leave at this time if you like. Thank you so much again. Thank you, Superintendent. Participants will not be permitted to speak on matters related to vendors, business matters, formal complaints, grievances, specific student or student records, personnel matters, and potential or pending legal matters. Participants must speak on matters related to the business

019of the board. Please keep your comments to three minutes or less. The board will not respond, but will assign through the superintendent the appropriate persons for followup. Please state your name and group affiliations. Again, each person will have three minutes. The maximum time that's allowed for um the public speaking is 20 minutes total for the meeting. Uh the first person that we have to address the board is Darren Williams. [Applause] Good evening, board members and Superintendent Outly. It's uh an honor to be able to stand here and speak before you today. The last time I spoke was in May. I was very proud of the company that I work for which was Templeton Transportation given an opportunity to work with children. So today I come to paint a timeline for you. In May 27th board

020meeting, uh, Pastor Harrison made an intention of the board very clear by saying, and I quote, "And I think those two companies fulfill the needs that we have as a district as they have been now." Uh, Pastor Harrison went on to say, and I quote to the board, "My intention is that we employ all of the van drivers that we currently use." Pastor Harrison went on to say his intent, the board's intention clear by saying, and I quote, "So the intent is to employ, and I want to be clear with this, the intent is to employ the van drivers that we have now. So if transportation needs an additional company, a third company, I think that's reasonable." This was followed up by a clear intention from member Hall when she stated in regards to the

021third supplementary company, and I quote, "I would recommend that we not go into contract for the full 35 vans because that could potentially take away business from the other two companies." It was clear that member Hall was also concerned that all of the current van drivers and their ability to work in APS. All of this is to say it is clear that APS is not acting on the intentions of the board because as of today, Templeton Transportation has zero children, which means the intention to keep all drivers who were who worked for APS last year is not being met. In fact, 50 plus drivers who worked diligently, passionately in APS last year is currently sitting without jobs and no reasonable timelines that when they will have any. Templeton Transportation signed their contract with APS on

022July 22nd, 2025 when the good in good faith that APS would honor the board's intention and allow their drivers to have work. On 72425, the district delivered on their promises and gave Templeton 33% of the district's students to transport. This is in line exactly with the board's intention to have Templeton work as a secondary company, which is 49% or less of the workload. At this time, Templeton began to route and call parents to ensure that there would be no student left behind, no delays in transportation. On 73125, Templeton received the devastating call that APS was taking back the students. They were told that by Deborah Fault that they were advised by APS legal counsel that by giving Templeton students, they were going against the intention of the board. This led Templeton to have a meeting

023with Superintendent Outley on 8:14 2025. at this meeting and I'll reserve to come back, but I want to say this. As of right now, the 10 questions that were given to Superintendent Outley have not been answered. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Next, we have Alan Beers. Did I I hope I said your name correctly. Hello. Good evening. I'm Alan Beers. I'm with Templeton Transportation and I want to thank you all for listening to me today. What I have to share is something that impacts maybe hundreds of families and students across all of Akran. I'd like to share a statement prepared uh that's on behalf of Templeton Transportation because well I guess I'll just get into it. Um Dearra Templeton, the owner of Templeton Transportation, has asked me to read this statement for her since she

024is contractually unable to address the board directly. First, I want to thank you for believing in us and our company. It meant a lot when Mr. Harrison fought for us and made his intentions clear in the May 27th board meeting wanting Akran drivers to remain driving in Akran. I'd like to clarify our intentions as well. When I was asked to put in a bid on behalf of the district's independent drivers for the 2425 school year, my goal was to help the drivers, help the ones that I've been working alongside for years. I was a driver myself for Dara was drive a driver for 10 years and her mom was one for even longer. At the time, many of the district's independent drivers chose to stay with APS for one more year instead of joining Templeton.

025I understood that change can be scary, but since we had already committed to a contract to meet the district's transportation needs, the decision placed my company in a tough position. And as the year showed, the work that was provided by Templeton was invaluable. It was needed. Last year, we transported over 300 students with 42 drivers, and it was a mix of the district's independent drivers who came over, and it was new drivers and new faces that worked alongside um the independent drivers that became Buckeye Logistics. The data shows that there is plenty of work for all the drivers who served in Akran's family. And I want to be clear that our intention is not to take anybody's jobs away. Templeton is not asking for all of the students only to keep serving the students that

026they have already been serving. The students that they know, love, and have built trust with. For many of them, especially those with special needs or students that are experiencing homelessness, the rides to and from school are actually very critical transition points. It kind of sets the mood for going into school for the day, you know, from maybe even like an emotional regulation standpoint or just it sets the tone for the whole day and it even sets the tone for coming back home after school. So, disruptions in transportation create real harm for these students and their families and we believe that we can help prevent that. We respectfully ask that you allow us to continue serving Akran students because doing so best supports their stability and success. Thank you. God bless. Thank you. [Applause] Next we

027have Rachel Spati. Good day. My name is Rachel Spiterry. I'm with Tumbleton. Good evening members of the board. Thank you for the opportunity to speak. For my beloved Allan, who just spoke and myself, this moment is deeply personal. I have seen children with disabilities missing rides while Templeton drivers sit trained and ready. Routes that have that were indicated have not been assigned, creating hardships for families, drivers, and most of all, the children who depend on us. This hardship is especially real for Allan and myself because of the four L's we've navigated this year. Being let go from a job a dedicated job enduring labor trafficking facing lead exposure and now standing in limbo. Each of these happened because of our own disabilities were prayed upon. The four L's were not just our personal story. They

028are a mirror of what children and families are going through right now. Being let go, put in unsafe situations, exposed to harm, and left in limbo. Yet through it all of this, we have remained grounded in compassion, drawing on the tools we've nurtured over our whole lives. Waiting awaiting this position has taken unfathomable surrender. And our soul's intention to serve where our gifts matter most. In good faith, we purchased new vans relying on this opportunity. We have been unemployed while preparing sustaining ourselves through credit with uncertainty. This is not only a burden of the heart but potential financial collapse. Templeton invests months ensuring drivers are properly trained and reliable. That matters for children with disabilities. Disruptions are not small inconveniences. They can be traumatic and trauma stacked on trauma only makes their challenges greater. Proper

029training and consistency matter far more than speed. What children need most are drivers they can trust. Beyond training, we have devoted our lives to studying psychology and holistic practices to balance the challenges of our disabilities and enhance our gifts. From this lived experience, we have designed programming to help children begin and end their days with stability and care. So that they so they don't have to stand here advocating for themselves as I am today. Right now I feel we are at the fulcrum, the still point of the scales. Your decision can bring balance and clarity not only for the drivers but for families and children. disabilities who are awaiting. We are ready to be steady in that center and to serve with loyalty, honesty and respect. Gratitude. Thank you. Next is Gerald Fish. Fisher. Gerald

030Fisher. Uh first off, I want to say good evening to everybody. I do appreciate you uh opening this up for us to speak. Uh it means a lot. Uh so to start with, a lot of your faces already seen me last week. I see a few new faces, so I'm going to give a quick rundown of who I am and why I'm here. Uh Gerald Fischer, uh I lifelong Akran resident uh born and raised in Firestone Park. Garfield Graduate High School in 96. Um, I uh I I love my community. I love Akran. I rep it strong and hard and I'm very proud to be be that resident. Uh I am here on behalf of Templeton Transportations. Uh they uh they're as you've already seen they you know very strong and committed group. Uh, and

031uh, I've had two or three parents already call me in the last few days wondering when I was going to pick their kids up. Uh, and because I don't have, you know, I these are children that I had last year and because we're dealing with with different varieties of communities, uh, their communication, you know, varies. So, they may not understand what this situation is. And they're they message me like, "When are you picking my child up?" And all I can tell them is that I'm not I'm not their van driver. And I I'm sorry to tell them that. Uh hopefully maybe in the future that'll change. Uh but I pray for them and wish them the very best. And and I hope things, you know, progress forward. And I guess that's just a concern of

032mine. Uh, as I mentioned last week, uh, I'm concerned and and confused on where we are. Uh, as I I'm sure a lot of people are. Uh, so I don't have much past that. I just felt like that needed to be heard cuz the students are very important and if the parents don't know where their rides are, that's an issue. So, you all have a great evening. I appreciate your time. Thank you. Thank you. Next, uh Joshua Williams. Hello. As it was stated, my name is Joshua Williams. Thank you for taking the time to hear our concerns. I am also with Templeton Transportation. Um, as I was sitting here, um, one thing that stuck out to me, um, was that partnership is everything. And you guys have chosen to partner with two companies this year

033in transportation with Buckeye and with Templeton Transportation. We're not looking to push anybody out or start any problems with anybody. Um, we want to represent Akan public schools and these students. Um, with that being said, we feel like we are not being represented on our end to have that opportunity to represent you guys as well. Um, so really what we're asking for is just some clarifying answers. What are we guaranteed? What are we not guaranteed? There was uh there was an email sent out to one of our own I believe uh Miss Densson Little John that you cannot guarantee how many students we will have. Understandable. Can you guarantee when we will have students? Can't guarantee when we will have the ability to represent you guys and partner and thrive in harmony with Buckeye. Um,

034I don't see a reason why we all can't thrive together as we lift up the Akan public school community. Um, alongside of Buckeye, they can be lifted up as well. I think that there's plenty of work to go around. We've got 1,400 students who we love dearly. I've received text messages, emails, calls, um, stating that students don't have rides. It sounds like a necessity. Um, but who's making sure that the necessity is taken care of is the question. So, thank you again for allowing me to speak. Thank you again for taking this time to hear our voices and we just ask for, you know, some clarifying answers on what is guaranteed to us, what is not, so that we can move forward in the right way. Thank you very much, Joshua. Next, Crystal Corey Corey.

035Good evening, members of the board. My name is Crystal Corey. I am a Garfield graduate. I've been an independent contractor van driver since 2011. I am sure you are tired of hearing the van drivers in these meetings. And if these proceedings were going forward fairly, we would not be here. We would be at home preparing dinner for our families, but we're not because this is not happening fairly. Um, we're down here fighting for our jobs again. And I know that you think that Buckeye is the only ones that were down here fighting. We're all fighting. There's no reason that we don't all have jobs here. There are plenty of students. We're receiving calls from students from or from parents that their students still don't have transportation or their students are showing up 10, 20, 30,

03645 minutes late for school. that affects children greatly. These students have special needs. If they're missing breakfast, they're missing the pledge of allegiance. The administrators at these schools are saying the Buckeye drivers are overwhelmed because and they can't start any earlier because they have multiple routes before that. But we have 50 Templeton drivers sitting here not driving. There's no reason that these students are arriving late for school. We were told that both of these companies would be used and that we could choose either company. That's not what's happening. Um, I understand this other company is dealing with a lot. This is a lot of students for one company to be dealing with. I don't know who's regulating how these students are being routed, how they're being transported, but it does not seem fair. Um, there's

037no need for this to be occurring. And is it the intent for the board for the students to be late for school, for the students to not have rides at all? because that doesn't seem like a good intent for the board. Whose job is it to investigate the personal relationships between the board members and the members of these vendor companies? This is a difficult word, but it feels very glaringly obvious that there's collusion involved within this situation. I have full faith in my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and I know that he is going to provide jobs for our team. We have a very faithful team who believes in God and it's very sad for me to stand here and feel like I have lost faith within the members of this board. I've lost faith

038within the fairness and the decency and the honesty of the people who I'm standing before right now. It's very unfair for the students. It's very unfair for the drivers. These parents are concerned. They're concerned that their students are arriving late. Why are we still receiving calls? Why are we being told to direct them to Buckeye, not transportation? I don't work for Buckeye. Why am I being told to tell these parents who are contacting me directly to contact Buckeye? That's not my obligation. I'm telling them to contact transportation. They've contacted transportation multiple times. They're not receiving calls back. They're being told to contact Buckeye directly. So, who is pro who is overseeing this whole thing? It seems as if we have removed the transportation director and given it directly to Buckeye. [Applause] Thank you. Next we

039have Stacy Burgdorf. Hi, I'm Stacy Bergdorf. Um, thanks for hearing us tonight. Um, I've been an Aken Public Schools van driver for 25 years. This year, two companies were approved to transport students. Templeton, who provided excellent service last year, and Buckeye, a brand new company. The board's vote was clear both companies should be used so that all drivers could continue to work. But that's not what's happening. Templeton was initially given about 300 students, roughly 30% of the routes. Yet those students have since been reassigned to Buckeye. Buckeye insists on controlling all assignments, deciding what, if anything, is left for Templeton. The result, children are suffering. Parents are calling us because their children haven't been contacted for transportation. Teachers and case workers um are worried. Some students are being dropped off 45 minutes late. And these

040are not just my students. They are I'm sorry. These are not just any students. They are students with IEPs. An IEP is a legally binding contract. Transportation is part of that contract. When these children don't get to school, APS is out of compliance with federal law. Meanwhile, Templeton has 50 drivers fully ready to work. We spent summer paying for insurance, maintaining vans, and keeping our days clear of other jobs. Yet, we are being sidelined while Buckeye struggles to cover more routes than they have drivers for. Last year, APS had a system. New students needing transportation were posted daily to the ICOs and any student who was not claimed, Templeton placed them in a van within 24 hours. That system worked. This year, one company has been allowed to control all the work and children are

041being left behind. This district needs to step in APS, not Buckeye. Must divide routes fairly based on the number of drivers available, and both companies should be held accountable for the students they are assigned. Having two companies is smart. It ensures competition and better service. But giving one company all the power is not competition. It's a monopoly. And right now, that monopoly is leaving children with disabilities at home instead of in the classroom. After 25 years, I never thought I'd have to ask, should I get another job or even sell my van? But more importantly, I never thought we'd have to ask if children with IEPs will be left behind, literally at home instead of at school. [Music] [Applause] Thank you. Next, uh Lisa Densen. Hello. Hi. Since I last addressed the board, I've been

042working to try and uncover some answers to my questions. Um the questions that I sent in the email. And it's basically about assigning routes between the two companies and trying to get an understanding of how that's supposed to happen. Um I my colleagues have already mentioned that um that Templeton was a was given some routes and those routes were rescended and the answer that they received regarding the um when the routes were taken back was that um the transportation department was not acting on the intention of the board. So that to me is um where we need some clarification. What is the intention of the board? And some of my colleagues have already talked about that. But I you know my questions are I don't believe it was your intention to have one company acting

043as a monopoly. Is it the intention of the board to provide the primary company with total operating control without quality and compliance oversight? Is it the intention of the board for scholars with special needs and their families to be left home without rides to or from or picked up late? Is it the intention for the teachers to incur lengthy after school time waits? Um I know from experience that, you know, they're standing out there waiting for the van drivers to come and take those students at the end of the day. Um is it the intention of the board that everyone who drove children last year would drive for this year to provide consistency for scholars? And when that was stated, did that include everyone or what or did that just apply to Buckeye um ICOs?

044Um there are people with Templeton, as you've heard, that were also direct once direct ICOs and there are new drivers, but there are several drivers who have driven last year that aren't driving now. So what is the was it the intention of the board and this is an important one to saddle Templeton with the expense of training and certifying drivers only to have Buckeye with an unlimited amount of time to scale while they take drivers from Templeton because Templeton has no routes to offer. That's currently happening. Um, so I'm sure that when you, you know, ma made your vote, some of the logistics may not have been completely thought out, but it it's necessary that they be thought out now. So these questions remain, available drivers wait, and capacity failures reportedly persist. So we just

045ask that someone steps in and answers the questions. Thank you. [Applause] That does include our community um request to address the board and as we said uh the superintendent will follow up have the appropriate persons follow up u with you all to um answer the questions that's been posited here today. Um next we will have board member reflections. Yes, Miss Hall. Member Hall. Thank you, Madam President. Um, good evening everyone. Um, I will just like to concur with uh the Akran Zoo when they came today. They forgot to inform everyone that they have a community day, well, community month coming up September 1st through the 30th. and that's giving uh free access to the zoo. Um four tickets per household and free parking. So, make sure everyone gets out there to the zoo. Um since

046we last met um I know I had uh spoke um at our last meeting about the tumble together the event that the city was hosting and I wanted to report that um we washed over six tons of clothes. six tons. That's huge in the community. Um there were many people coming up um saying that they were so thankful for this that their kids did not have to go to school dirty. That meant the world to me cuz I know we struggle with those issues and we know kids do not show up at school because of um issues and things like that. So there were so many um people that were just so excited about the event. About 300 people came, 91 households washed clothes, everyone was fed, detergent was free, and even the uh the

047laundry services were free. You just had to wash your own clothes, of course. Um Aan Public Schools hosted a job fair. Um what was that? August 20th. Um remember Audrey and I came, but it was already over. But um just the excitement of um and I don't remember everyone's name but Larry Johnson and Dedra Norris were there and just the excitement in their faces of having all of these people come to apply for jobs. Over a hundred people came to apply and that's huge. People wanting to work for Akran public schools. Um also uh YSS had a convention uh last week at the library. Um there were a lot of partners, community members, elected officials and so forth there. Um just to listen to certain people wanting to make a difference in our lives. I

048know the Boys and Girls Club was there and they were just telling us different things that they do for our students, our kids um within the city of Akran and all of Southern County. Um lastly, um Superintendent Otley, you spoke about um I promise and I remember just what two years ago um I promise was here, you know, upset because of what was being said about our children. And when I go to the schools to the high schools and I see some of those children that graduated from I Promise in high school, they walk with pride. They walk with confidence. They are proud of who they are and they know who they are. And I just want to say shout out to I Promise, the LeBron James Family Foundation for doing the work, not being

049discouraged from what other people were saying about I Promise. Our children are smart, they're beautiful, they're loved, and I Promise doesn't just help the child, they help the whole family, and that's huge. So, thank you. Um, I Promise and LeBron James family. [Applause] Thank you, member Hall. U member Molnar, please. Thank you, Madame President. Um so, school has started this year, but I'm not quite ready for summer to be over. So, in the spirit of summer, I want to highlight um that I attended two major local festivals since our last meeting. Uh Highland Square's Porchrocker Festival and Akaran Pride. And you may not have seen me there because apparently Porch Rocker drew over 25,000 people and Pride brought in over 45,000 attendees and nearly all of them are were our local neighbors. Um I saw

050one of our APS scout packs I think from Miller South and they were uh recruiting scouts because a scout is kind. And um I also want to appreciate Smuckers I guess right here uh for getting me through tonight's meeting uh with my free Twinkies here. Uh, but I also want to offer an apology because as a board member, I was unaware that Akran public schools would not march or have a table at Pride this year as we usually have been. And so I want to say on behalf of myself, I sincerely hope that no staff members or potential future staff members felt that APS was stepping backwards instead of standing proudly. um especially since events like Pride and Porch Trucker are key staff recruitment opportunities. And so I want us and I hope we are

051able to talk openly about this at a committee meeting because of we've seen reported widely right now our job fairs and APS is facing more than 160 staff vacancies. I saw Channel 5 recently highlighted our hiring fair. Spectrum covered our staffing challenges. Um and a recent editorial uh urged us to continue exploring opportunities to attract diverse educators and uh hope more community partners join with the district to support these efforts. So I also want to highlight that even under that dear colleague letter that we received a few months ago and current federal guidance there is nothing legally preventing us from recruiting employees at cultural events. So my question is, as the sixth I think we're the sixth largest employer in Summit County, um what is our HR doing to ensure we don't miss critical staff

052recruitment opportunities? So if we can hear in a committee meeting who's currently leading HR, how decisions about our job fairs and community events are uh being made, and the process for evaluating uh the success of these events. Um, and so if administration could please um, email me the committee meeting date so I can be sure to attend and uh, receive this information because I think our students deserve and our teachers deserve uh, to understand um, people around them who understand their experiences, people around them who represent their communities. And also um while you're emailing me those committee dates, if we have a transportation information committee date um I think that is worth hearing as well. So please let me know that information too. Thank you. [Applause] Yeah, sorry. Member S. Yeah. Thank you, Miss uh

053Madame President, Madame President, members of the board. I tend not to say anything during community uh reflection, but since the community is here and they've been reflecting, I think that we should have some responses to what you've asked tonight. So, let me first acknowledge that you did appear before the finance committee on last Monday and I did appreciate your your comments there and uh I appreciate you being here and I am am I I I am am sincerely perplexed by the situation that we find ourselves in uh with your understanding of the contract that we have and while I am not an administrator do not want to be an administrator in Aken public schools I would encourage us to and what I can do as a board member and chair of finance committee is to

054look at what's happening with our contracts. But I think that once we uh we pass resolutions and the contractor signed then what's happening after that and that it seems to be a miscommunication of what is expected of the administration dealing with our vendors. for whatever is happening, it is affecting our community because these band drivers are all a part of our community regardless of what company they work with. And so what I want to do is to see what role we as a board can play in making sure that there is a clear understanding as to the communication, information, education as it relates to our contracts. If in fact the administration was given particular information as to how they are to proceed by the attorneys who are not judges but advisors and saying this is

055how we read this and this is how we think we should proceed then I understand how the administration has proceeded in the way that they have because they're taking the advice of the attorney but at the same time if it is not clear if we're not writing the contracts in a way that is very clear what our intentions are regardless of what we may say during discussions, we do have to make sure that we are abiding by what is in writing and what we have approved as it relates to our community because regardless of which side we're Templeton, Buckeye or any other contract, all of you are our community and we want you all to feel that you are treated fairly, equally, properly at all times regardless. and we want to employ everyone that we

056can employ. We we respect all of you and your families. And so I think that we have some work to do to make sure that that we know we can't please everyone all of the time. But I just want you to know I hear you. I respect you. I appreciate you. I am sorry that that we are in this situation, but I am willing to and we'll work to make sure that we correct whatever this issue is. And I can assure you the staff, I don't feel that the staff is in any way trying to misrepresent or do something that we did not say do. I don't believe that is happening either. I think we may just have miscommunications and that we need to just kind of figure out how we can proceed and kind

057of figure out what's happening here because my role and I think the role of this whole board, we want everyone to be as happy as we possibly can and we want everyone to believe in us as a school system. So I thank you for your goodness. [Applause] Thank you, member Sykes. Are there any other board member reflections? Uh, Vice President Alexander and then all three after Alexander. Vice President, go first. Ladies first, gentlemen. Thank you, Madam President. Thank you, Vice President Alexander. uh since we last met um I've had the opportunity to attend a few PTA meetings. Um and I have seen many back to school events. Kudos to the many many organizations that I saw supporting our students with haircuts, hairds, backpacks, everything you can need for school. Um it was very um nice

058to see PTAs preparing to support their schools and I just want to take another opportunity to encourage folks to look beyond the backpacks because that's important. But education is a complicated and ongoing process. Our schools, our administrators, our teachers, our staff, they need support yearround. So I'm encouraging everyone to find out uh when their first PTA, PTO, parent group, booster group, when they are meeting, come get engaged uh with your school. Find out what the needs are so that you can support them. Um again uh I remember speaking last meeting about the PTA school of excellence. PTA.org is where you can get information about that. That is the national PTA or Ohio PTA.org or which is the state PTA. Um, also since we last met, I had the opportunity to attend the village ball by

059the Akran Rights of Passage Institute. Um, and it was a fundraiser that is supporting the legacy building project and the African-American Cultural Center and Museum that I am looking forward uh to coming to fruition. It will be the first ever um in our city. Um, thank you again to the Akran Rice of Passion Institute for their leadership in this area. Um, and lastly, I would just like to share um, I did read an article about a ceasefire for this upcoming Labor Day weekend that I'm encouraging each and every person to get involved with this upcoming Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. And while this is not a solution, it is a call to pause, reflect, and reclaim community peace. Um, there going to be events taking place over the weekend. Um, that I read about, uh, the

060Hood Olympics at Perkins Pool and Joy Park. Uh, peace talks at Kerr Park, Whitney Park, and Mini Park. Um, and there's going to be a field trip to the Pro Hood Pro Football Hall of Fame. Um the organizations that are sponsoring this are the Akran Urban League, Freedom Block, Hype, Non-Stop Growth, and several credible messengers and other members of the community from each side of town. Uh so feel free to reach out to those various websites and organizations to see how you can get involved. That concludes my community reflections. Thank you, Member Autry. Vice President Alexander. Thank you, Madam President. Uh, I just have two things. I I this morning I was going to see my granddaughter off the school and to meet her and she just to kind of let her know that I

061was going to be there to support her. Uh, and they had a very warm welcome at Case Elementary School. Uh, it was nice because they met the parents, uh, everybody, the kids, but they also had a red carpet. They had a red carpet rolled out for every kid to walk down so the parents can walk down, take pictures. I thought that was really nice for some positive energy that was going on at the school and see what was going. Also saw Reverend Walker who was one of our past board members there with his granddaughter. So it was a very nice event. The energy was nice. The second thing was the convocation. Uh we had our convocation for Akran public schools and the energy there was so great. I mean, I love that energy and I

062want to encourage everybody, you know, here at the board, everybody in the city of Akran, we need positive energy. We need a lot of positive energy. We've lost the energy that Akran once had to to be a city that thrives and we have to regain that. So, I'm asking everybody in the city of Akran to think about this and come with positive energy and anytime we have to resolve some resolutions, let's come with positive energy, resolve those resolutions and be able to move forward. So, I'm I'm again hoping for this positive energy to continue throughout the school year, especially for our kids and our teachers because those are the ones who we really are here for. Those students who we need to get school and make sure they get taught as well as those teachers

063who need their support as well. Thank you, Madam President. Thank you, Vice President Alexander. Are there any more? Yes, Member Harrison. Thank you, Madam Chair. Um, I I first want to acknowledge um that that I hear you. Um, have received your your emails to the community with the van situations. I try to answer emails um but there's just so many that you can't answer all the emails. Um, but certainly um I concur with member Sykes. I hear you and I look forward to um re um I look forward to looking into this again. Um so thank you for coming down um and part of the community reflections. I agree with my colleague u Bruce Alexander about the positive energy um and what is needed in the schools but I it's not a butt. I also

064agree with Dr. Molnar. Um, as far as the cultural um our presence in cultural festivals, um, I I think that we need to re-examine the dear colleague letter and what does that mean to the district because that should not limit us from engaging all parts of the community wherever they are. It is our job to meet them as it's our job to meet the students where they are. I think we have to really look at where we want to have a footprint and if we want to have a footprint in all of Akran and we want to represent all of Akran I think we need to re-engage that conversation um because if we're recruiting there's no better place to recruit diversity than to recruit diversity from a diverse population and there's no better opportunity than

065all of the cultural festivals in the city of Akran and beyond the city of Akran because we want to bring um to our students you know not national recognition but we want to bring an international experience as well. So I think that this is an opportunity for us to look at some things that we um may not have gotten the results that we expected and this is an opportunity as we have heard from the community as we hear um and we read about the need for diversity. I think this is opportunity for us to look back at some of the decisions that we have made and uh re-engage those conversations. Thank you. Thank you. Member here is any that's everyone. All right, that concludes the board member reflections. Next, we'll have the president's report and

066just uh very briefly uh to concur uh with uh member Sykes and uh other board members as far as to uh try to rectify the situation. and um as best possible especially when you hear number and I'm speaking specifically for the van uh concerning the van drivers because I was just as I was looking over the emails I saw originally it said it was like 1 1500 students that were transported uh by van drivers and as I understood um a portion of those have been taken but not all of them so I think this is something that we can get out in front of and rectify hopefully um and as been stated we things are contractual and we can just follow what is stated in the contracts. Um, and so I wanted to let you

067know that although the board sits here, we're trying to be mindful of uh the decorum and protocol and sometimes it's a challenge especially for me as the chair. Uh, that's why I have to wait till I get to my report because I can't talk so much outside of that. But, um, that you are heard, that you are valued and um, respected as well. Uh, next I want to talk a little bit about um some things that's going on in the district. Uh, I went to the convocation and I thought it was great. And what I really loved too when you talk about the positive energy, I thought it was great energy. Um, I loved how we highlighted our student sav right who from Bookto High School uh recent graduate from Bookto High School who wants

068to go into the education. He'll be attending the University of Kent State Kent State University. He'll be attending Kin State University. But what's so um great about that is because we heard um Mr. Larry Johnson talk about the grow our own the grow your own program and um we've had I think it was like seven individuals from the district to receive scholarships for that and it's a really great program because not only does it give scholarship for tuition reimbursement but also it helps to prepare people who are connected with the district our students pair professionals to get prepared and the credential to then come and be educators within a district which is an extreme blessing and an opportunity that I would engage everyone want to take advantage of because oftent times um well I say

069often you teach first it goes heart head hand so you have to start with the teacher's heart and that that buil that's the character and everything which helps you then to bring it here and then execute it here right from a level of empathy excellence um and excitement and so I think when we see people such as pair professionals even though they may not have the degree yet even though they may not have the the pedagogical training It's an educational word. They are often excellent teachers and they can connect with the students. So it is a wonderful opportunity to look into the grow your own program for those who are hearing this. Those of you have needs, family members that you think that this may be a great opportunity for them. I see the clock

070is running but my report I don't have a clock. So just so you all know but um I want you to to uh really be mindful of that and also for our young people in the district. Um, also I ran into this uh since the last time we met. I was at the Maple Valley Library and I ran into a parent whose daughter now is at Bowling Green University and her daughter attended Firestone High School and she came up to me and said, "Miss Jackson, Miss Jackson, I got to tell you this and I'll come down to the board and I'll say it as you say on the mic." And I said, "All right." But she said, "I really want to tell you how wonderful that your college credit plus program in the district is

071and how it has blessed me and my family because my child was able to start school as a sophomore status because of the college credits that she received," she said. And that's saving us a lot of money. And and so these are some of the programs we talk about our college and career pathways, but college credit plus is also something for parents to look at. And sometimes just because you miss it in ninth grade, you can I know uh and y'all can clean me up if I'm wrong, but I think you also can look into it in your sophomore year in high school and still be able to take some college credit um classes to help you then be ahead and save money. And the other part, she was well prepared coming from Firestone also

072because she was admitted directly into our nursing program, which is a highly competitive program if you know about those programs. And typically you're not admitted uh directly into that. So, I want to just thank Miss Toyisa Wright for sharing that um with me so that I can share it with you all. Uh next, as member Altry, she spoke about some of our community partnerships and uh we talked about book bag giveaways and things of that nature. Uh, Dreamaw Wig was at Bookto High School um about two weeks ago on a Sunday and a graduate from Bookto High School I believe um the founder of that company is and also a entrepreneur within our community and she has a nonprofit where Dreamaw Wig I believe provides wigs for young people or cancer patients or people dealing

073with hair loss to some capacity from health and gave away book bags and things that the uh community needs and I want to really shout out Dream awig because that was excellent. Also, Carrington Financials generously donated football jerseys to students at BookTo and I believe CC. So, we want to send our gratitude um for their support and for reaching back into their communities. Um, also we've heard about the vacancies um, as far as teachers needed and vacancies in Afran public schools and as been stated by member Molar and also member Harrison as far as what is the district efforts I know at our last board meeting um, both Dr. Lash and um, Mr. John Larry Johnson had presented to other board about various strategies uh, that they were trying to employ. And I think as

074we've stated, as many things that we can do to try to get people in front of the district and um possibly employed, but we want quality people as well. And the more places we go and interact with people, we can find that. So again, just the continuation of expanding those efforts and knowing that Akran is being intentional to not only uh recruit and hire people that are currently ready, but also to grow our own. With that being said, lastly, I would like to highlight and um extend a sincere thank you to the city of Akran, the Akran Police Department, um our officer uh security director, Mr. Alan Jones, the superintendent central office leadership, and my board colleagues for their collaborative efforts in finalizing a new safety and security agreement which reflects the shared commitment to

075the safety and well-being of our students, staff, and families. We're very glad we reached this agreement in good faith and also to give the assurance to our families that in fact we did care about what they were saying in the unreiness and we were better together and we collectively came with the understanding that before our school doors welcome students we were ready and everyone we felt safe and got rid of the unreadiness. So that does con conclude the president's report and I thank you for the time. Next, we'll have the superintendence report. Thank you, President Jackson. I would just like to echo the sentiments of our board members who spoke about our 2025 convocation. I would like to give a special shout out to our chairperson, which was Dr. Carla Chapman. And [Applause] I'm sorry,

076superintendent. Yes, if I may. Yes. Because I I wanted to say this too about Dr. Chapman at the convocation when I talked about the energy being so excellent and you know if you were there, you know, it was a vibe, right? And so Dr. Chapman was running around. She had her her microphone. So at the end, you know, I told this was a great congregation. You guys did so well. Um Keith, wonderful job. You guys energy was so awesome. So I go to Dr. Chapman and I said, Dr. Sh you guys, this was like this and that. She said and I said, "You did a really good job." She said, "No, it's the team better together." Like she didn't even take, you know, it even if it would have been a simple thank you, but

077she really acknowledged and took the moment and said, "No, we this was a team effort." And when you see a large event like that and you know, logistically to make things happen, it is a team um effort. So, just thank you for your leadership and your heart to acknowledge people who work alongside you because again, we're better together. So I definitely wanted to say that. Um, thank you sir. No, thank you. Although you took some of my thunder. So now I would like to ask Dr. Chapman to stand and also all of our members of senior staff who was part of that work. All of our if you missed the video, we have some serious dance moves. Let's stand up. Yes. Thank you. I was at a school today and one of the teachers said,

078"Are you going to keep us posted on the students and their journey now that Kazaya Merryweather is going up to first grade and Savon Wright is going into college his freshman year. Will you keep us posted?" So, yes, we will make sure we provide updates on their journey. Um, also last Thursday was our first day of school. We welcomed back our first and second grade students. And I had the privilege of starting my morning not at a school, but actually at our bus garage where I was able to meet all of our dedicated bus drivers. and they are responsible for traveling many many miles picking up our students and getting them to school safely so that they can begin their learning journey at school. So I want to thank the incredible team members who are

079often the first faces that they see every day to school in offering a warm welcome and a steady presence and a safe ride. Their commitment sets the tone for everything else that follows. Also joining me was Gilby, our district mascots, as we traveled to Finley and Jennings, respectively, to help welcome our students and families. It was truly an honor to stand alongside our passionate staff as they greeted their students with smiles and hugs and reuniting of friends who have not seen each other over the summer. And the joy on our staff faces was nothing short of magical. The first day of school always brings a special kind of energy and this year was no exception. So, I'm excited for what lies ahead and proud of everything that this school year holds. And just please remember

080that our theme is forward, achieve, propel, sustain. Also, today was the first day of school for our preschoolers and our kindergarten students. On Saturday, I was privileged uh to attend an event along with members of our student services department led by Dr. um Wanda Lash to attend the community block party at the faith place. We had the opportunity extended to us to connect with many wonderful people from the community and to engage in recruitment for both staff and students. So again, we want to thank the faith police for extending that opportunity to us. Uh President Jackson, that concludes my report. Thank you, Madam Superintendent. Next, we'll have the treasur. Oh, sorry. Uh member Autry. Thank you, President Jackson. I just had one final comment about the convocation. I hope we're looking into this situation between

081Gilby and Zippy that I witnessed. You had to be there. Thank you. Um, Maltry, uh, Mr. Bowers, we'll now have the treasury report. Good evening, President Jackson, Vice President Alexander, members of the board. Tonight, I'm going to go over the July 2025 financial report. Um, I have it up here on the screen. Move down to page three. So this page is an overview of how our general fund financial activity added up in July. So keep in mind that this is just one month in our fiscal year which runs from July through June. It's not a calendar year. Um the first set of blue, yellow, and green tiles shows our uh July activity for revenues, expenditures, and cash balance compared to the July 2024 revenues, expenditures, and cash balance. And you can see that we are

082trending favorably in revenue, expenditures, and cash balance is low is lower than last year. The second set of of tiles is comparing this one month of actual data plus 11 months of projected data uh to the May 5-year forecast. And as you can see, there's also very little variance so far this year. Uh down below we have the uh blue and gray bar chart. Uh this shows the es and flows of our cash in the general fund over the course of two years. The gray bar represents last fiscal year. So 7124 to 63025. And the blue bar shows one month of this current school year plus 11 projected months. Um we're currently estimating our cash balance will be 81.5 million at the end of this fiscal year. I'm going to move on to page four

083here. Again, we're comparing the revenue from July of last year to revenue from July of this year, but in more detail. The largest variances compared to last year are due to uh the following. In section one, we see that we received 3.5 million more in real estate taxes, 177,000 more in state aid, and 3.2 million more in all other revenue. Uh the large increases represent collections from the new tax levy and revenue in lie of taxes. In section two, we see that because we're in the first month of this new fiscal year, our July revenue equals the total revenue received so far this fiscal year. Makes sense. Moving on to page five. Here's the same detail except for the expenditures. purchase services increased due to an increase in cost of property insurance including fleet insurance.

084The other expendit and the all other expenses category decreased from last year because we made a $2.8 million textbook purchase in the month of July that we did not make this year. And down below we again in section two we see that because we're in the first month of this new fiscal year, our July expenditures are equaling the total expenditures for the full year so far. And on the final page of the four of the monthly financial report, this is where we compare actuals plus projections to the May 5-year forecast. And as you can see through one month, there's very little variance as compared to the forecast. Revenues and expenditures are trending favorably. It's minimal, but we're still trending favorably. And each month we'll continue to monitor this as the year progresses. There any questions

085on the on the financial report? Okay, moving on. We have our monthly bank reconciliation. This is just attached to the financial report every month that shows our book balances versus our bank balances and that we reconcile this. This just ensures this we're being diligent in uh making sure we record all the activity of the month for the for the month of July. And attached to this there's also our um commercial paper um filing. We have to file this every year in accordance with Ohio Revised Code 135.142. It allows us to invest in commercial paper throughout the year, which helps us earn as much interest as we can on our short-term revenue. That concludes the monthly financial report. I think 8 point So in 8.3, I believe I'm going to defer to member Sykes. She is

086going to talk about the appointment of a public records custodian. Member Sykes. Madame President, may I? Yes. Thank you. Uh, thank you. Uh, as you see, we have a resolution here that would appoint a u uh a custodian and and or designate or appoint a custodian for our public records per Ohio Revised Code 149.43. I think in speaking with our new attorney, our staff attorney, we realized that we had we had not done this officially and so we wanted to actually bring in the resolution to do that. And that's what what this does. In addition to that, it also requires that that individual receive three hours of public record uh law training. So I did talk to our uh our inim treasurer about that. He indicated that he had started uh to look at taking

087that that time and and look looking forward to completing those hours pretty quickly. Yes, I'll get that done by the end of the year, which is the by the requirement. Yes. We want to make sure that we're following the Ohio Revised Code section 149.43 and that we are in in in in our uh that we are in compliance. But uh also what this does is that you know quite often if there is a request for public records and we have heard from the media and they want to know where should we go, who should we ask, how could we, what are we supposed to do and I think this kind of this answers the question. Uh, and so I would ask so my I would move that we uh that we uh support and vote

088to uh for this resolution to appoint a public record custodian. Second. It's been moved by member Sykes and probably second by member Harrison. Any discussion? Member Hall. Thank you, Madam President. Just for clarity, Wayne Bowers will be our custodian. Is that okay? Thank you. No problem. Okay. Any other discussion? Seeing hearing none, roll call, please. Miss Audrey, yes. Miss Hall, yes. Reverend Harrison, yes. Dr. Jackson, yes. Dr. Molinar, yes. Mrs. Sykes, yes. Mr. Alexander. Yes. Motion carries 70. Thank you. Next, we'll have uh the approval of the previous meeting minutes. Is there a motion to approve regular board meeting minutes for June 23rd, 2025? I make a motion to approve the regular meeting minutes um from August 11th, 2025. Second. Yes. think August I need to correct that August 11 said June 23rd 2025 please

089okay it's been moved by member hall properly second by member Sykes any discussion seeing hearing none uh Mr. Bowers roll call please Miss Hall yes Reverend Harrison yes Dr. Jackson yes Dr. Mr. Molenor, yes. Mrs. Sykes, yes. Mr. Alexander, yes. Miss Audrey, yes. Motion carries 70. Thank you, Mr. Bowers. Uh, next we'll have our personnel recommendations. Superintendent Outley. Thank you, President Jackson. Does the board have any questions about the personnel items for section 10, professional staff and administrators? Uh, yes. I was just going to say I have a point of correction, but uh, member Harrison. No, go ahead. I just had a comment. Okay. Um we did not the there was um needed to be a motion um for to approve the financial report of the treasurer and that um motion was not made. So

090I need the record to reflect that um uh is there a motion to approve the financial report of the treasurer? So moved. It's been moved by member Sykes. Is there a second? Second. It's been second by vice president Alexander. Any discussion? Seeing and hearing none. Roll call, please. Mr. Bowers. Mr. Alexander. Yes. Miss Autri. Yes. Miss Hall. Yes. Reverend Harrison. Yes. Dr. Jackson. Yes. Dr. Molinar. Yes. Mrs. Sykes. Yes. Motion carries 70. Thank you. And uh madame superintendent uh was on personnel recommendations and member hall I mean member Harrison uh did have a question. Member Harrison. Thank you madam chair. It's not a question, but I just want to highlight here in um the retirements uh uh Joe Vaselotti who will be retiring in um December of this year. Uh Mr. Vaselotti has been a

091long long time athletic I want to call him director um for Akran public schools and um I'm sure he has seen um Akran rise in his heyday of athletics uh probably back before um remember uh Bruce was like the great basketball star that he is um people don't know that Bruce Bruce great basketball star but yeah just want to um say thank you to Mr. Vaselotti for all of the hard work, all of the rainy track meets, the cold football games, the um indoor um the building of the facilities, the all of the things that uh goes into being an athletic director, hiring of coaches and finding coaches. Uh so just want to thank Mr. Vaselotti for all of his years of service and commitment to our students. Thank you, Member Harrison. I just want

092to say ditto to that. Thank you, superintendent. Uh, does the board have any questions about section 11, miscellaneous? Uh, section 12, supplemental contracts. Section 13, substitute teachers. Section 14, tutors. Section 15, support staff. Section 16, paraprofessionals. Section 17, child nutrition. Section 18, maintenance, operations, transportation. Section 19 is security. Section 20, students. If there are no questions, I wish to recommend the approval of the personnel recommendations presented in categories 10 through 20. Is there a motion to approve the personnel recommendations in categories 10 through 20? Move to approve the personnel recommendations. Okay, it's been moved by member Altry and second. Second by Vice President Alexander. Any discussion? Member Hall. Sorry about that. It was funny you guys were all looking at me ready for uh all these questions to be answered and I missed the beat

093on one. Um, so I do apologize. It was for section 121 regarding the varsity uh golf coach. Um, it's not really so much the coach. It's a lot of our schools kind of the same thing with Firestone, their swim team. Um, if most of some of our schools don't have golf teams, are students allowed to go to those schools to be a part of the golf team if they're not at that school? very similar to how we discussed with Firestone. Uh, superintendent, I I don't believe so, but I'm going to ask uh Michelle Marcus Karns, is that correct? They cannot do that. Correct. Okay. Thank you. You're welcome. Um uh um I well then a point of clarification for myself because as I understood it if it was not offered in the school which they

094attend and that was the only offering that they would be able to take that sport at another school which is what was posited um earlier to this body. I recall that if your school did not I'll be right with you Dr. Molinar. if the school, the current school did not offer a a certain sport or activity that then a child within APS could elect to sign up for said sport like just like swimming at another school. Um, so I'm I'm going to just put that there and we can circle back to it, but that is very fresh in my my mind, that statement. Dr. Yeah, Miss Col. I will miss uh Dr. Molinar will speak now. Thank you. Yes, I specifically asked this question at an OSAA um meeting at an OSBA event. So, it

095was when the Ohio High School Athletics Association was presenting to board members and the example that they specifically gave was golf because um golf is a sport that no one practices at their school. Like none of our schools have a golf course. everyone has to transport to a golf course to practice golf. Um, and so after this meeting, I I know there's a lot of confusion here. After this meeting, I would like if administration can give spec a specific email and reference to what that is aligned to. I think that is um going to be very helpful. Thank you. You're welcome. So, I did address this topic in Friday notes a couple of weeks ago. I put the followup with the OSHA links. So it um the at one point we were able to do

096that. As of now you cannot within a public school district even if your school doesn't have that. But if you attend a charter school you can attend you can play for another school within your district. So I did I put that in Friday notes with the links. So uh please feel free to follow up if there are more questions after that. We can republish that for you, Dr. Mullen. Yes. Thank you. Thank you, uh, Miss Cob, member Audrey, because that's Thank you, Madam President. Um, additionally related to that, because I did just recently uh have a community member ask me something similar, um, at a later time or in the Friday notes, if we could get information on if a school doesn't have a sport, like how many students does it take to show interest

097for said sport or activity to take place? For example, if someone if there were enough students at another school who wanted a swim team, how many students would it take? And is that something that we would empower? Um, but for any activity um because I understand that first dibs goes to our union members who would want a coaching position, but if there's no interest in that, then it should go to a community member. How are we letting community members know that, okay, even though we don't have a staff member who might be interested in being an adviser or coach? How do we promote that to the community? Because there's several community members who might be willing to come in and do the work to build up a team from the ground up. I know that's

098a lot of hard work to do that, which is what I think discourages folks. Um, especially if you're starting from the ground up. some of our students don't get exposed to sports such as golf and swimming um at young ages. So, if we could get some followup regarding that. Thank you. Thank you. And I I do know when we talk about community partners, Ty Town does an excellent job and they did build up the the framework at BookTo actually for golfing and so we do have certain community partners that can work to establish those. I think the key is then who will run with the charge after they build the framework, who's going to be the adviser to keep it going. Um, but we do have some great uh, like I said, Ty Town is

099an excellent community member, especially for our inner city schools and our young people because they have a passion and heart for it. Member Hall, thank you. Just one more thing. I noticed in 20.1 we have student workers. Super excited about that. Are these high school students working? And also I'm curious to find out what schools um these children are these young adults are working at. Um and is this offered to every single school to have at least one or two student workers? Yes, these are current students and the program uh may be through jog. Let me It says general fund so it's not through it. No, then it's through I would have to find out for sure. Yeah, these are you know Marcy workers cuz I see I I don't know. I want to call

100anyone up here don't know but when I see college career I see you look like y'all are having a conversation. I'm just saying yeah Judy would probably be the one to answer. These are existing positions in human resources in which we can hire our students for specific tasks. Thank you. So that's an existing job description. I think it's been around Yeah. for a very long time. So I know that kids have filled those roles in the past. Excellent. And thank you for saying that on the mic because I love when I asked about kids being employed. It was a lot of excuses a couple years ago. So I love to hear that. Thank you. And we are looking at ways to expand that as well through jog. So excellent. Any other questions? Yes. Sorry. there.

101No worries. Well, a followup on on the golf. Um, and yes, uh, Dr. Culver is right about the you cannot be on the team, but you can compete as an individual. And that's why golf was such a great example because you compete as an individual anyway in golf. And so, if a student goes to a different school, then they would practice with the other student from the other school. And you're your own team because in golf, you're your own team anyway. And that's why golf was such a good example for that. So I think the question would be if you have two students from two schools, do you need a different coach? If you would have had two students from the same school, would it have been a different coach? I think that's an internal

102issue and not an OS h a whatever issue. Thank you, member Molard. Member Harrison. Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I think that that presents a lot of different challenges. Um, and as I I did read the link and when you go to the website, it kind of says two of the same things, but it says it different. So, I think that the um I think the question would be better answered if our general counsel would reach out to the state and give us a clear answer um as far as what we're asking because we've heard two different things here and then the the link says something different than what we heard here. So, I think that would be a great opportunity to engage our council with the board and if the council can get

103a clear um and and maybe our questions, we can just email our questions directly to the council because I hear two different things and I read something different as well. Thank you, member Harrison. Any other questions, comments? All right. Seeing and hearing none. Mr. Bowers, roll call, please. Reverend Harrison, yes. Dr. Jackson, yes. Dr. Molenor, yes. Mrs. Sykes, yes. Mr. Alexander, yes. Miss Audrey, yes. Miss Hall, yes. Motion carries 70. Thank you. Next we'll have the division recommendations, resolutions, and motions. Superintendent, does the board have any questions about the division recommendations, resolutions, and motions for section 22? Member Hall. Thank you, Madam President. Um, section 22, well, resolution 22.5 where it talks about fresh fruit and vegetable program. I know that we voted back in was it June or so for two or three different

104companies that um provided fruits and vegetables. Um my question is this here is a grant that we received uh 572,000 for. How does that work? Because I know that the funding was back in June the fund the funding was coming out of general funds for the fresh fruits and vegetables from the other companies. Um but with this grant, does that offset some of the money that we had spent or we planned to spend this school year? Okay. We'll have Miss with your permission. Yes, please. That's why I think it was always a grant. Was it always a grant? I think Yeah, this one I thought. Okay. Correct me if I'm wrong. Good evening, President Jackson, members of the board, Superintendent Oddley. What you voted for in June was the regular meal program and that comes

105out of what is called the O6 account. That is dedicated federal and state funding. It is not general fund. Child nutrition is completely self-supporting which is unusual for school districts. This particular grant is an additional grant to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables to be served in between breakfast and lunch. These are other opportunities for the individual schools to participate in nutritious items during say in the between morning or slightly before the end of the school day. So like snack that would be like a snack. That's correct. You cannot use them as part of the regular meal program. Okay. Understood. Thank you. Thank you. Any other questions? All right. I wish to recommend the approval of the division recommendations, resolutions, and motions in section 22. Is there a motion to approve the division recommendations, resolutions, and

106motions in section two? So move. It's been moved by member Al Vice President Alexander. Is there a second? Second. It's been second by member Hall. Any discussion? Seeing and hearing none, roll call, please. Mr. Bowers. Dr. Jackson. Yes. Mrs. Molinar, yes. Miss Sykes, yes. Mr. Alexander, yes. Miss Audrey, yes. Miss Hall, yes. Reverend Harrison, yes. Motion carries 70. Thank you, Mr. Bowers. Uh, next is the business affairs recommendation. Superintendent Holly. Does the board have any questions for section 23? Member Harrison. Thank you, Madam Chair. Um, Madam Chair, in 2326, uh, the University of Akran tuition agreement with the, um, Akran Early College. If if we can get that agreement reattached, there's a, um, I'm not sure that that was the agreement um, that was attached. Maybe it was if we can just get that reattached.

107It's just the invoice. Are there any other questions? Did you did you want to hold off on voting on this? But this is an invoice so we can go. You just are asking me to send it to you later. Okay. Yes. Because we see what it is. Yeah. Thank you, member. Thank you, member Harrison. Any other questions? All right. Uh, roll call, please. Mr. Rollers, we already It was a motion. The motion. Yes. Is there a motion? Is there a motion to approve the business fair affairs recommendation? So moved. Section 23. Thank you. It's been moved by member Hall. Is there a second? Second. It's been second by member Harrison. Any discussion? All right. Seeing hearing none, Mr. Bowers. Roll call, please. Dr. Molenor, abstain on 2326. Yes. On the balance. Mr. Sykes. Yes. Mr.

108Alexander. Yes. Miss Audrey. Abstain from 23.1 yes on the ballots. Miss Hall. Yes. Reverend Harrison. Yes. Dr. Jackson. Yes. Motion carries on everything but 23.160 abstain. Uh everything on 23.2660 abstain. Motion carries. Thank you, Mr. Bowers. Next, we'll have our committee reports, legal contracts, and board policy. Thank you, Madam President. Legal, there's no report for this evening. Uh, we will be meeting on September the 15th at 5:30 here in this room. Legal contracts and board policy will be meeting September 15th at 5:30 in this room. Thank you, Madam President. Thank you, Vice President Alexander. Next, we'll have Finance and Capital Management, Member Sykes. Thank you, Madam President. Madame President and member of the committees uh we did meet finance committee did meet on August 18th and uh there were a number of things that uh

109we did uh discuss uh one in no particular order uh just want to bring to the board as a whole that we did have a discussion about the state audit performance uh and um I I think it is the report of the committee that we probably should proceed in allowing the uh interim treasurer to fill out the forms that would go to the state auditor and that way it would help us to determine the timeline uh the cost and the scope. Uh the superintendent who was present at the meeting stated that uh we probably could be would be able to find to use funds out of the U educational service center which we usually refer to as ESC but it's educational service center and there's usually allocation of about $600,000 per year and uh it

110is estimated that we probably would use at least $60,000 of that to pay for the audit and so I think the committee recommendation is that uh we should proceed with that. I think during the conversation a president mentioned that the last time we had an audit she graduated she was graduating from high school 1998. So I think it is time for us to do to to do a uh to do a real indepth and detailed uh performance audit. So that would be the recommendation. I don't know if we really need to have a vote or anything, but uh just just the report of the committee that we would recommend that we proceed with that. That also was a a a discussion on the construction update. Uh the first news is that the Kenmore uh building

111is now uh demolished. It is down. you know, if we've had driven by a month or so ago, it was you had big equipment out there and part of the building was still up, but but it's all down and level. So, we've towed. So, I know the community is happy to hear that. I am happy to hear that and we are proceeding with uh the Miller South Feifer building on that particular location. There were some discussions about what's happening with uh with the uh funding as it relates to the community learning center. You may remember that we did when we uh supported this project, we did say that this would be a community learning center which would means that that we would be able to receive the money that is now in the custody of

112the city. And uh my understanding is that they are still working to find out if there will be any penalty uh under the arbitrage uh uh language. Right now there's we we find that we are about $15 million in cost overrun. The money that the city has now is about 17 million. And so, uh, if in fact we can receive that total 17 million, I'm sorry I said seven, I meant 17 million, then that would leave us with a couple of million to do something else with. So hopefully uh the finance director at the city of Akran will uh let us know that as soon as possible. I think we've been waiting quite a while to find that out. Uh we heard from our director of uh of buildings of uh Miss Folk that the

113finance director indicated that he got a partial answer and that he was working to get a full answer which I'm I'm not sure what that means but anyway that he maybe he talked to them going through up to a certain time period and now he's asking for the last time period as to whether or not the city of Akan would be uh whether or not there will be any type of penalty. So if we will receive the 17 million or less, but that's where we are now. I recommend it to our treasurer, to our interim treasurer there that perhaps he wants to make contact with the finance director uh and try to figure out this too and what is the hold up because the sooner we find out how much money we have to work

114with then the easier it will be for this the superintendent and her staff and all of the consultants that we have to figure out how we can continue to proceed. But again, we have 15 million cost overrun. That's 17 million sitting there. So, if we can receive that funds, that would be great. Uh we also talked about book and what's happening there. Uh so, uh we heard that the amount is between $1.5 and $2 million as it relates to the concession stand. Um, member Hall asked if it also included uh a number of other items. And so I found actually what it says. It says in this official document that it will include uh uh in addition to the the uh press box, the uh it will include uh phase two would include the new

115restroom, concession building, site work, surfacing of the track, stormage, drainage and design of the future design stadium lighting, landscape upgrades and possible fences. this upgrade and the project may include more than one building dependent upon the final agreed upon design. So it's my understanding that uh the architect we're in the process now where where we are looking at selecting the architect for this and we will continue to ask uh someone to come before the finance committee to give us an update and we will keep the board as a whole updated on where we where we are but we seem to be on schedule and the idea is to have this project to begin in the in the spring of next year spring of next next year. So that's that's where we are are with that

116one. Uh I should also say there was something else about the Miller South that I want to say I'll remember and come back to it. But uh the other item under unfinished business, I did mention to you that we did have some uh some of our uh uh community uh leaders and members come be came before us to talk about what was happening with with the contract as it related to van drivers. And as I said, this is just a a bigger picture. Uh I think that we probably want to just kind of look at contracts and see if we can get contracts through committees earlier so that not only will the community have a longer time to look at think about what's happening with various contracts, but in particular the board, we have the

117responsibility to vote so that we'll make sure so that we can make sure that we are saying and doing in the contracts what we actually mean. And sometimes when we rush through these processes that uh uh the execution of what we expect to happen may not take place because we may not have taken the proper time to make sure that it was clear what our expectations were. And so with that, we will continue to try and keep up with what's happening with contracts. And it's not it's not just the van driver's contract. It's not just the uh contract with the police officers. It's not just it's just all contract within the city within this this system. We want to try to have as much time as possible to know what's happening with those and if

118there most of the contracts are annual contracts or by annual every two years if not every year so we know when they're coming up. So we could start sooner in discussing these and bringing these to the committees. I think that it will be advantageous for all of us as a community. And then finally uh well not finally but under new business we also talked a little bit about what's happening with it and ransomware and that the t state budget state language made it clear if we find oursel in a situation where we are our system has been taken over and we are asked to pay in order for them to release our system back to them. the state will not be responsible for any financial uh payments that we may find that we may have

119to pay uh if we find ourselves in this situation. However, we did learn also that our system is ahead of the games that various things have been done to put safeguards uh in and um perhaps we will, you know, we will I know we will continue to to work on trying to make sure that we're doing everything we can to make sure that we are not a victim of someone trying to or taking over our our software systems uh within the AAN school. And then with uh I do want to make a correction to with uh member uh you asked about the language as it relates to taking custody. Who's who's responsible for the um we just passed allowing our inim treasurer to be the person to have custody of our uh public records of

120our public records. Yes. So, this actual language does say the interim treasurer and name him. However, at the point that we select a new treasurer, a permanent treasurer. I will say that that madame president we probably need to come in with new language and maybe make it more general just to just say the treasurer of the school district shall be the person who has the custody of the language as opposed to actually putting a name in because every time we put a name in if that changed we'll have to keep coming back. So but for what we passed tonight it did and name the interim treasurer. Okay. Yeah. So that is the report. There was something else. I cannot remember uh what it was that I was going to say, but that is a report

121of the the finance committee unless there is something that one of the other members of the committee would like to to mention uh or not. Oh, final thing was that there there is a community meeting being scheduled for the Kenmore for the uh project with Millis Miller South Feifer that originally it was to take place sometime in the spring summer uh but that was delayed and now I think the meeting date is sometime in September. I don't know if the exact date has been determined but the month is September. So we want to let the community know that so that they we know they're all anxious about what's happening with the with the Millis Millisoft project. So in September that will be that will be you have any I don't know if if the superintendent

122has any idea when that will be announced when that me will take place? Yes, Miss Faulk just finalized the date. Okay. and we'll make sure the staff and the families are aware and also the uh council person. Yes, Miss F. We currently are looking at September 23rd from 5 to 7 p.m. at the community center. Okay. Um that will be um scheduled at that location. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. And and so we will announce that several times. We can do that during this during our board meeting as well as are you going to put it up on the website and all kinds of other places so that the community will know when that next community meeting is taking place. Thank you, Madam President. That's a report. Thank you, Member Sykes. Uh next we'll have

123instructional policy member Altry. Thank you, Madam President. Um, before I get into that, I just wanted to mention in regards to the BookTo project, I know I've mentioned it before. Um, and as they're proceeding on, I just want to remind them that the masonry program had a design that the class put together. It's probably been 10 years now. Um, so hopefully they'll take a look at that. Um, when young people are a part of building something, then they tend to value it a little bit more. um and hopefully they can have opportunities to work on a project. I know I've said that, but I just want to keep it in the forefront of uh everyone's mind as we move forward. Um there's no report for instructional policy. We will be meeting next Tuesday, September 2nd

124at 4:30 in this room and we will uh the bulk of the meeting will be about our preliminary report card data and also future agendas. We're going to be doing some deeper dives into our CCA. And so there's any um anything that my colleagues would like to see uh around that uh let me know because student achievement is what we're here for. Thank you, Member Altry. Uh currently there is no un Oh, sorry. Uh member Hall. Thank you, Madam President and Vice President. Um I just wanted to announce that student success the third the fourth um committee that um Dr. Molinar created um we'll be um meeting to plan this out and looking at September 29th to have our our first meeting at 4:30. Um, I know that there's two of us. So, we will

125need another person appointed if we have to have three or it can be two, however, with your pleasure. But, I just wanted to announce the um the date of the meeting will be September 29th at 4:30. Thank you, member Hall. Actually, I was looking at that the the policy the committee policy the other day and because since the president is uh facto on every committee I didn't know if that is why originally they had two and then because by default the president is a member of that committee um and so they may still be all right just as it was um because I was just looking through that like just for my own review. So we'll look into that but I think you'll be fine. Okay. Wonderful. Thank you. All right. Any other questions? All

126right. Seeing none, there is no unfinished business. I'm not aware of any new business. Is there any new business? All right. No new business. There is no need no need to enter into executive session. today. The next meeting will be on Monday, September 8th, 2025 here in the boardroom at 5:30 p.m. Is there a motion to adjurnn? So move. Okay, it's been moved by Vice President Alexander. Is there a second? It's been second by member Hall. Any discussion? Seeing hearing none, uh, Mr. Bowers, roll call, please. Mrs. Sykes, yes. Mr. Alexander, yes. Miss Autri, yes. Miss Hall, yes. Reverend Harrison, yes. Dr. Jackson, yes. Dr. Molar, yes. Motion carries 70. Thank you. We stand adjourned at 7:28 p.m. Thank you, Madam President. [Music]