001[Music] so good evening and welcome to the June 12 2023 meeting of the Akron Public School Board roll call please Mr Atkins Mr Alexander president miss Autry president Dr Hall Miss Jackson present Mr Perry I am here Mr McKittrick here Dr monarch Mr Atkins Mr Alexander could you lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance and if you can stand please do so pledge allegiance to the Lord liberty and justice for all thank you Mr Alexander next on the agenda is community and school reflections any takers Mr Perry sure so a couple things I had a chance to go I'm sure we all did over the last couple of weeks to graduations and I went to I spoke at Garfield's about a week and a half ago at John S Knight Center I want to say
002congratulations to all 128 graduates of that class the inaugural class of the new building obviously they're very happy I had a lot of good attendance superintendent was there obviously and she spoke as well but congratulations congratulations to all the Garfield students this year the second thing is a bit personal um as you all know my two boys grew up and went through Resnick for the last handful of years and my youngest is now leaving Resnick he's going to our stem middle next year but I wanted to say thank you to all the Resnick teachers that they went through the last five or six years you know Miss Hathaway Miss Albanese Miss best weatherik uh you know Miss Ulrich Miss panko Mr Rocco all the teachers they had were just great and we're definitely going to
003miss Resnick but I want to to send a shout out to their the new interim principal Ms Angelo will be there starting next year Miss core did a great job when the time that she was there so thank you Resnick from the Perry family we thank all of you for all you did for our boys all these years and we'll definitely miss Resnick for sure so thank you thank you Mr Perry anyone else [Music] oh you don't have anything well go ahead go ahead Dr Molnar [Music] um yes I also got to attend two graduation ceremonies and it was very exciting for me because this is my first time attending graduation ceremonies as a board member and shaking hundreds of hands in a row twice in one week and it was so great just meeting
004so many students and most of all hearing all of the families hearing the family support we had so many cheerleaders there and lots of fan clubs for students I even heard some cowbells so it was very exciting also I had the chance today to visit a couple of Summer Camps so that was exciting too the year is ending but the summer is just beginning so the chess camp at stem today my son started that and he came back skipping so I think that's a very good thing thank you Dr molamar anyone else Miss Jackson thank you yes since the last board meeting I had the honor to attend the graduation at booktel CLC it was a wonderful and inspiring event it was very interjected energetic excuse me and millions of dollars those students that class
005received millions of dollars in academic and athletic scholarships and I think that's something that should be highlighted and is a wonderful thing when we think about the community a lot of things that we may have a lot of people have a perception I think a book though and so I think it's very important that we highlight the fact that great things are happening at 10 40. many students have four-year full-ride scholarships for both academics and Athletics and so I just want to say kudos to those families to the community I Am A Garfield Ram as you all know however the book door grips you know they would not let it go so in the crowd you've seen generations and when they started to sing your alma mater it was like a whole choir like the
006whole everyone in the place was singing superintendent was there and Mary outly she was there and she of course there she goes um they you can be 80 years old if you attended book till they are there in full force and they were singing and I thought that was just great to feel that community's support and I was very proud of our very own the essence Jackson who is a student board member the essence was a valedictorian she received the Womanhood award she also is going with heavy scholarships on to college and one of the things that I thought was great about um the essence and um for the previous board members who saw fit to even think to have a student board member I think that was Lisa Mansfield and Patrick Bravo paid a
007significant role with that I think that was a great foresight because it really is cultivating leaders and they are connected with not only their school Community but the Greater Community that helps supports them and the reason I want to say that is because the essence she definitely shouted out Miss dreamer Whitfield and how Miss Whitfield has played a major role in her life and in her success and so I just thought I would share that with you all because it was just my pleasure to be in the um a part of it I did speak there as well but just to be in the audience I was I felt like they were family and that's a great feeling to have Additionally you know Jason who was the Bailey brand he came and he presented to
008us as part of the restaurant program at bookstore he talked to us but he also was a student that I highlighted about having his own brand and it was just good to see him walk in the excitement in his face and so that was a great event I also attended the Monarch celebration at Mason Park CLC Miss Carter was there Angela Carter was there a lot of community was present and it was just great and I met a really wonderful second grade teacher and I just her Name Escapes me I know her husband is connected with the gar foundation and some capacity but what was interesting does anyone know what I'm talking about at Mason Park she was a second grade teacher at dark hair [Music] it might have been is okay I know I'm
009not sure I'm pretty sure she said her husband does something with the ga Foundation at North High School it could have been well anyway she was awesome she was second grade and I didn't know she was a teacher and I was just asking questions and she was so informative about everything you know I like when people have knowledge and information when you ask them questions especially when it's a teacher and they don't give your answers like I'm not sure I don't know because I just want them to be sure and she she told me about everything that was taking place because I said you know the Monarch celebration are they going to let out the monarch butterflies and what and so she gave me a lot of information but it was a great experience the
010kids seem to be having a wonderful time as well as the parents so it was a great Community event Miss Carter was having a great time you know she's always happy and bubbly so that was great I also had the opportunity I also had the opportunity to visit Helen Arnold and it was a great time to just I just figured I might as well swing by because I was coming from Mason Park and I got to speak with the principal Lamonica Davis Miss Wilkerson and other team members who were excited about the article in the Akron Beacon Journal concerning the school showing that they are accomplishing goals and that they are Educators who truly believe all children can learn and that putting in the work shows this because now the data begins to tell the
011story and so they were very grateful for that article as I was grateful because I think it highlighted and showed a great perception of what's happening at Helen Arnold and I know the teachers are proud and they're even more just it like kind of forward to Greatness right it was like another charge to keep it going so we want to thank the writer of the article the teachers and just the community and everyone who has supported those efforts I know Jan so thank you for that um that article because you did a wonderful job with that because it's good to be encouraged because a lot of times it's in vain right some people feel like they're doing it in vain so when you're highlighted and the positive is seen because so much emphasis can be
012put on the negative so thank you for that article from the staff um also visited Miss W's first grade class and I came by to deliver Donuts to them as I promised and the last time I visited many of them um wanted to hold me to the standard because I brought Miss wilkerson's kids donuts and so they said you're the don't um first grade can we get donuts and I said okay finish your testing and I'll come back so I brought them donuts and what was so awesome about Miss W's class they were out on the playground and so I'm like hey I have your donuts and one kid just completely unprovoked came up to me and said you know why I love school and I said no why you left school so I'm like
013oh this would be great to go on my page let me tape this kid I'm glad he didn't say nothing crazy let me take this kid and he said because I love my teacher my teacher is so great so then another kid said it and it was very genuine and I thought that those are the wonderful moments that you appreciate seeing when you visited schools um I also attended a ceremony in a superintendent you may can clean me up in this if I mix it up I attended the ceremony or a program at the Akron alternative Academy and it was involving the SAS participation and receiving their certification as a trauma skilled School oh tekka you were there so teca helped me out if I because I try to do all this from memory um
014for um receiving their certificate their certification as a trauma skill school and I believe they are the first school in the state of Ohio to receive such certification um and so I think that is something that to be commended um it was truly a pleasure to see and hear the passion of these Educators and their willingness to hold students accountable while also lifting them up with encouragement and the belief that they are able to achieve despite challenges that they have faced the principal on Janelle rasnick that'll say we'll do is oh green was awesome that's the principle so who is wrestling wrestling the assistant principal okay so they worked on a team I was I had um green here too because she got me the T-shirt they were greatly supported by the staff and um
015I think they aided over 70 students that might have not uh traditionally graduated and graduating and so that's something that we all can be proud of because 70 kids that matriculated and are able to take the next step in life it matters and so I just want to highlight the work and the efforts of all of those there at Akron alternative Academy and uh Rebecca green palata um again I want to thank her for my shirt and they all were wearing shirts that said accountability is love and I and I really appreciate that because I saw them wearing it I'm like yes I believe that you have to hold people accountable and she made sure that I had a shirt before I left so again I want to give a shout out to Akron alternative
016Academy for those seven students that graduated for their efforts and all that they're doing what a great team it was a great energy a great spirit you can tell that they were in one Accord and I was just happy to have been in attendance um also I had the pleasure to meet with Michelle Campbell the executive director of the eye of the LeBron James Foundation and she was speaking to me and um told me that they had about 20 kids 330 ambassadors this part of the um the I promise family high school students to travel to Nike and Beaverton Oregon to attend a program that Nike is having about innovation in different areas that you can work in Nike is almost like a mentoring program and I think that is really awesome for our children
017to have such experience we're doing great things in this district with our college and careers and just the different opportunities that the various schools offer also the seventh and 8th graders that I promised designed the I promise shoe and swim line so I thought that is something cool she was talking to me about that and lastly I attended 330 sneak Geeks at house 330 which is an event hosted by a young entrepreneur who's all happens to also be my daughter and there were so many entrepreneurs young entrepreneurs from the area the Bailey brand was there from bookstore High School Big Ape from booktore high school which is another brand was there um who was Mrs Grimes from booktube was there and Miss Wagner Miss Wagner from book till she was there supporting students Demi Barnes
018she graduated from Elliott high school she did in this recent class she was there selling things so we have kids doing great things and just shout out to house 334 for it in a space and opportunity for young people to do things in a safe environment Akron Police Department it was just a wonderful event so now that concludes my Reflections for tonight thank you Mr Love in This District so is there anyone else that has any reflections okay so also since we last met I also had the opportunity uh to visit Mason's Monarch celebration you guys didn't see me because I was sitting up on the hill in the shade it was a really hot day I saw all of you guys um and so but it was a great event a lot of families
019were out they had a live reggae band they gave away free uh slushies they gave away free books I was babysitting that day I was Grammy so I had my granddaughter with me and she just loves it she wants to go to that school and so but it was a really great event you know and it took place in their Outdoor Classroom which is graciously funded by the gar foundation and so I'm told that they received another Grant to sustain that Outdoor Classroom so that's really really good news and congratulations uh to miss coaches and the whole team over there at Mason CLC also I had the opportunity to attend several graduations when you're running for school board you don't really think about that part of things but it is one of my most favorite
020things because it makes almost almost all of this that we experience worth it when you see that end game and so Akron alternative Academy I was able to speak there at their graduation and they also combined their graduation with APS online we had our very first graduating class from APS online and it was held at Firestone High School it was a busy night because I think book tool and Firestone both had their graduations but that Auditorium was packed it's so beautiful I always get tearful because you see how proud these families are and not just the families the whole village the teachers everyone who works in those buildings that help those students get to that point you know we often hear negativity but obviously people show up and appreciate what APS has to offer and
021so they packed the auditorium and showed out that evening and congratulations to all of those young people I also had the opportunity to attend and speak at East Community Learning Center's graduation again a wonderful experience what I love is just seeing the different personalities of each cluster everyone has their own little Personal Touch and at East they had little videos that showed a baby picture and a current picture of all the students and just their goals and who they admired and looked up to so that was just really a great experience and I also enjoy watching all those young ladies trying to walk in those heels oh my goodness so that was uh nice to see and so also since I last uh had our meeting was able to attend the Maple Valley Merchants Community
022Festival this past weekend it was just really nice for that war for West Akron Community to get out I was able to hand out a lot of kindergarten information as well as our summer programming so hopefully you'll get an influx of uh folks wanting to sign up for kindergarten and also our summer programming and that concludes my community in school Reflections okay so moving on next on the agenda we do have two requests to address the school board today and so the first person is Miss Amy Kaiser if she can make her way up and as you're walking up I'll read the little Preamble participants will not be permitted to speak on matters related to vendors business matters formal complaints grievances specific students or Student Records Personnel matters and potential or pending legal matters please
023keep your comments to three minutes or less the board will not respond but will assign through the superintendent the appropriate person for follow-up thank you please feel free to proceed Miss Kaiser good evening my name like you said is can you hear me Amy caser I am a fourth grade teacher here in Akron and I just closed out year 25 in my classroom I come to you today to talk to you about therapy dogs but before I do that there are four different types of working dogs you have a service I should say Animal Service animal or service dog that would be one animal to one person usually it was something to do with medical whether it is a service dog for diabetic alert or seizure response something along those lines you also have an
024Esa which is an emotional support animal that animal is just what it says it's for emotional support it's one-on-one again the difference between those two is a service animal is permitted in any public place any public outing anywhere that my daughter goes her dog goes as well nesa is not you are kept at home and you're there for emotional support the other two are therapy dogs and a facility dog a therapy dog is one dog to many people to different locations a lot of training that goes into place with the therapy dog and that also has to do with a facility dog your main difference is one dog one location and many people as well so I'm coming to you this evening some of you know I've come to different people before since approximately 2020
025um with asking to really reconsider or to consider a therapy dog or facility Dog for our schools a lot of training that goes into a therapy dog it's not a class pet they go through obedience training Advanced obedience training Community Goods Citizen Community canine and then therapy dog training itself they have to pass a 19 Point test and they have to receive a 100 on that test to be certified as a therapy dog a lot of time goes in hundreds of hours along with thousands of dollars to train a dog or an animal to be a therapy dog I have one at home her name is Zia and some of you know that because I've approached some of you before on the sidelines here about her she is certified through bright and beautiful service dog
026or therapy dog training through Medina County's best Falls forward so you might wonder where she's gone she's been into nursing home she's been in colleges she's been in the classrooms not in Akron she's been in gymnastics facilities um and while she's there she Comforts she increases stress she builds relationships she decreases loneliness she provides comfort in a time of need and as a teacher at I promise I can't imagine the benefits we would have had with her the past few years of all the losses we've had she boosts social awareness and she sues fears and regulates emotions all of these which have to do with our SEL curriculum which comes from state of Ohio which all of us I think are very full of Pride that we our take in that social emotional learning um
027Cleveland Cincinnati Toledo Columbus Dayton Stowe Wadsworth Tiffin Newton Falls Marietta Mount Vernon Norton just to name a few all have therapy or facility dogs within their District within their classrooms um I have created a policy draft I know that Akron is very interested in having a therapy dog policy um I can be contacted if you would like a copy of that at AK sir apslearns.org and if you're interested in anybody piloting the program I'd be more than willing to do so in my classroom so I want to thank you for my three minutes and hopefully you can contact me or consider what I've said tonight so thank you thank you Miss Kaiser next we have Sarah Payne Hi how are you I spoke here once before I held up a picture of my daughter's face
028that was bruised um Annabella attended Rhymer from kindergarten to the fourth grade the Hat Sac weighing point it has come to my notice that during that time you have the third grade reading guarantee Annabella did not pass the state test for that she actually has never passed a reading and literacy reading and literacy portion of the Ohio State Testing actually she was passed on to the fourth grade without a meeting without an IEP without anything even though she was placed on a monitoring plan if that monitoring plan was any bit of effective they would have found out that Annabella suffers from this well I'm sorry she suffers from dyslexia she stopped improving at the second grade I'm wondering how is it possible with all these things in place that a child could sit here since
029kindergarten minus the pandemic time I'll give you that but how she can sit there all this time and no one noticed that she was suffering from a learning disability third grade reading guaranteed bypassed no meeting with the school principal other than that incident when we had and this report card pickup it was noted that Annabella was distracted at times I took her to the doctor had her put on medication but guess what it did no good because the child is dyslexic though my concern is how many other kids have sat there during that time period that have just gone under the radar and now here she's supposed to be in fifth grade I'm not going to obviously allow that she has to be retained in the school district that she is now in to give
030her IEP an adequate time to work thank gosh there's new dyslexia laws in place that would can guide them into helping her but my question is is that is that acceptable for you guys to have kids sitting there all that time going unnoticed of a learning disability bypassing the third grade reading guaranteed because you know if I knew that she was struggling that bad I would have done in my power at that moment like I am doing now for her maybe other parents aren't as proactive as I've been for her but somebody needs to take a better look at some of these kids that went on to the fourth grade during that time period and that's all I have to say thank you Mrs Payne okay so moving on in our agenda we have approval
031of the previous meeting minutes is there a motion to approve the previous meeting minutes I moved to approve second it's been moved by Mr Perry and seconded by Mrs McKittrick is there any discussion seeing none roll call please Mr Atkins Mrs Autry yes Miss Jackson yes Mr Perry yes Mrs McKittrick yes Dr Molnar yes Mr Alexander yes abstain [Music] thank you in the motion carries next is Personnel recommendations Madam superintendent [Music] prior to asking your approval I would like to draw your attention to item 5.4 the retirement of Larry Bender and also the retirement of Kathy McVeigh I would like to share a little bit of background regarding both of these employees Larry Bender is a graduate of Akron Garfield High School after graduating from college he was hired as a teacher for Akron public
032schools in September of 1988. Mr Bender spent his first 11 years with the district as a classroom teacher he then served as an assistant principal at Perkins middle school readinger middle school and Jennings CLC before being promoted to principal at Ritzman CLC July of 2006. he is retiring after 34 years with the Akron public schools as the principal of higher CLC Larry has been described as a no-nonsense kind of guy he will do anything that is needed to help his Scholars rather it is in or outside of the classroom he is respected by parents and colleagues he is cooperative and caring he models Integrity fairness and ethical behavior on a daily basis Mr Bender is a true leader who inspires all with his vision of school Success he is a great asset to the district
033and he has and always will be looking for opportunities to go the extra mile so at this time we would just like to congratulate Larry on his upcoming retirement Kathy McVeigh is currently the Executive Director of Human Resources Kathy has been employed by the district for almost 20 years prior to joining Akron public schools she worked in Private Industry for over 25 years first in the legal field and then human resources in 2005 Kathy left Summa Health System and joined APS as the manager of the benefits Department in human resources in 2009 she was promoted to her current position of executive director Kathy worked with her team to make positive changes in the human resources department several years ago she created art recruitment and retention department and began focusing on the diversity of our district
034through the recruitment of minority staff her efforts included having staff attend job fairs both in and outside of Ohio holding our own job fairs in the district and working with several outside companies to support our recruitment efforts through the Cleveland area minority Educators recruitment Association the district received its first scholarship to provide educational opportunities for our employees she also worked to create our grow your own program which provides educational and financial opportunities for current employees who wish to embark on new careers in the district in collaboration with the office of diversity equity and inclusion the district created our employee resource groups also known as ergs through which we have four separate groups Kathy has been an instrumental team member for the district's Union negotiations and this past year in the creation of the district 7th
035Union for our Safety and Security employees Kathy is known for treating all employees with fairness dignity and respect and for her strong work ethic honesty and integrity her hard work and dedication to the district are greatly appreciated we wish Kathy all the best that she embarks on this new chapter congratulations on your retirement Kathy [Applause] at this time Miss Autry I wish to recommend approval of the Personnel recommendations presented in categories 5 through 16. thank you is there a motion to approve the Personnel recommendations I moved to approve it's been moved by Mr Perry is there a second second it's been seconded by Miss Jackson is there any discussion I just like to say on behalf of the board thank you for your longevity of service Mrs McVay and also Mr Bender roll call please
036Mr Atkins Miss Jackson aye Mr Perry yes Mrs McKittrick no on 6.6 6.7 6.8 6.10 6.11 6.13 6.14 11.5 11.9 and 15.2 yes on the balance Dr monar yes Mr Alexander yes Mrs Autry yes and the motion carries moving on we are on the next item of business approval of resolutions and motions in the consent agenda is there a motion it's been moved by Mr Alexander and seconded it by Mr Perry is there any discussion there's no discussion I'd actually like to just acknowledge item 19.4 the summit education initiative Grant thank you for that Grant it is going to provide an opportunity uh for us to build and align our relationships for School Readiness between the district and preschools that feed into our kindergarten programs so I'm looking forward to that work thank you Summit
037education initiative and then also item 19.5 where we received a donation from United Way of summit in Medina County in the amount of a hundred thousand dollars and that is for a program at Garfield CLC and it's an incentive for attendance those students will get Ram cash and so it's a model actually after eclc's program through their Key Bank program over there so they will get incentives to have good attendance that they can use to getting games to get different prizes so I just wanted to acknowledge those two grants and thank you the roll call please Mr Atkins Ms Jackson hi Mr Perry yes Mrs McKittrick yes Dr Molnar yes Mr Lake Alexander yes Mrs Autry yes and the motion carries next we will move on to business affairs will entertain a motion to approve
038the business Affairs recommendations I wish to recommend approval of the business Affairs recommendations presented in category 23. is there a motion I moved to approve it's been moved by Mr Perry second it's been seconded by Mr Alexander is there any discussion seeing none roll call Mr Atkins Mr Perry yes Mrs McKittrick yes Dr Molnar yes Mr Alexander yes Mrs Autry yes Miss Jackson aye thank you and the motion carries next item on the agenda is superintendent's report Madam superintendent thank you this evening I would like to have Dr Thompson join us at the podium we would like to go over some options for you regarding our ltop and give the board an opportunity to revisit three of the options and have an opportunity to ask questions and there also is in addition for your consideration
039involving our stem High School so I'll turn it over to Dr Thompson at this time Miss Autry board Miss outly thank you for the opportunity to present um it's uh it's been geez at least two weeks since we presented I think I know you guys are all just fixated on ltop so here we go again so I just wanted to you should all you all are receiving a copy of this PowerPoint but you can see this is just important to note for the timeline that it takes to construct anything so know that once a decision is made there's four months of programming and design there are additional four months for design development construction documents take about four months to prepare then the bidding process begins and then construction's about 21 months in totality so that
040gives you a general idea of approximately how long it will take once the board makes a final decision and we initiate to move forward so instead of numbers this time to try and limit confusion I put a name so this one is Kenmore so think of this as the this option is choosing the development and build out of a Kenmore property in this option first I should say so phase one includes the following and these are consistent in both options closure of Ott Miller South Firestone Park pifer Stewart and Essex that remains consistent relocate stem High School in August of 2024 when we can no longer house the program at Central Howard to either a site on UA's campus which we're still exploring are potentially relocate to Garfield CLC and you'll notice the asterisk with
041retrofits there are two different retrofit options that we'll take a look at tonight construct a new Kenmore grades K-8 open and fall of 26. this would be relocating pifer grades K-5 to Kenmore and relocating the performing arts program or Miller South grades k through eight that would be on a location on the site of the existing Kenmore High School the decisions already been made and we've begun the preparation to move sixth graders in the East cluster to the eclc Middle School open new preschool programs in CLC Elementary buildings where space is available that work would begin in 2024 and construct a new athletic complex in phases on the former Kent Middle School campus that construction would begin in phases as revenue is available we would be seeking business partners and outside funding to support this
042project so there are a couple options on a stem Edition the first one I'm going to show you is the most expensive option it's 6.4 million dollars estimated cost and as you get a high view of the stem Edition basically what's important in no from this option is that it other than sharing of cafeteria and gym space there is no sharing of any space in the building but requires construction and you can see it also moves out into what is a very limited athletic space at Garfield High School as it currently stands the topography really only allows the expansion on that part of the property so this is a price breakdown that you're looking at now an estimate for that secluded entrance secluded area of Garfield High School so it would be a school within
043a school concept which is not unheard of or unique what is a little bit unique about this is that there would be very little Crossing of any with the exception of lunch or to the to a PE facility the second option stays within our current budget which is two million dollars for retrofits this is moving the program and it requires some movement of some other programs or Court classes but is doable so this is the shot of the second floor you can if I can pull your attention to the right of the page you'd have a reprogram stem school entrance a separate entrance they would be primarily isolated but not fully isolated but would be primarily isolated on the second floor of their programs they would have further to travel as you can see through
044the building to reach the Performing Arts Center for example or the cafeteria or the gymnasium but they're still fairly secluded but it would be remiss to say that REI would be remiss to say that it's not that it's totally isolated [Music] so the fa the impact of the finance or the financial impact of the Kenmore option the Deferred maintenance enclosure is very important in this calculation of 2.2 million dollars which I still stand by is a fairly conservative number but that number is really important that those that those uh deferred main that the Deferred maintenance and the Staffing reductions remain true or it changes the Outlook of the five-year forecast which I'll show you momentarily so what is the cost for this project 61 million dollars includes demo that builds a performing arts school and
045an elementary school attached by common areas in the center the athletic complex we're seeking additional funding so there's no Financial impact the north campus which is on phase two of this North High School there's not a financial impact that comes in phase two and then the retrofits for the stem High School assuming we choose the second option the second floor option is two million dollars so if we if if the boards were to desire the first option the 6.4 million dollar option obviously we'd have to add 4.4 million dollars to the cops deal in order to make that happen so the total budget cons uh understanding that it's the second floor option is 63 million that's a 35 million dollar certificate of participation or loan that's 13 million from sr3 or general funds 15 million
046in the lfi funds again the asterisk buy that is that that requires cooperation and consent from the city so the total funds available for this project are 63 million dollars the cops deal is estimated to be 2.22 million two hundred and eighty six thousand eight hundred twenty eight dollars that's per year consider it or think of it as your mortgage payment for 30 years that's the commitment the Deferred maintenance and Staffing reductions are 2.2 million so the annual impact on the general fund is 56 828 dollars so a lot of questions about well where did we come up with 61 million dollars so the abatement and demo is of the current Kenmore High School is 3.5 million the new um Elementary School is 21.7 million the performing arts school is 29.8 million the auditorium is
0476 million for your total of 61 million on that project [Music] Kenmore phase two is construct a new 912 campus with an estimated completion date of August of 28 that would require seeking a 1.75 mil permanent Improvement Levy in May of 2024 [Music] continue construction of a new athletic complex and phases again as we are able to generate that revenue and we seek that from business partners so the total impact of that of that option is 83.5 million for a new North High School funded by the passage of a 1.75 mil Pi Levy the funding would be completely cops 83.5 million that payment would be 5 million 339 260 a year annually over 30 years the pi Levy would be a continuing Levy meaning it lasts as long or longer than the duration of the
048loan we generate roughly 4.9 million dollars per year and leaving us upside down 439 260 dollars per year cost for Ken for a new North High School is our is to um uh demo the high school well it's got everything listed on here actually the new site you can see it it's towards the bottom new site is 80 million for 1100 students and then 3.5 million for demo of North High School so it would be the new North High School would be built by the current North High School remains standing and then that summer when the transition would happen is when the demo would happen so what you're looking at right now is our current five-year forecast and let me bring your attention first to revenue Surplus or deficit you can see that although the
049Administration has been working very hard to address that 6.5 million dollar number and we'll continue to do so you can see that we begin deficit spending in 2024 all the way to 2027 of 57 56 million dollar deficit spending and our five-year forecast goes red uh in fiscal year 2027 at 40 million 920 000 dollars so how would this first project impact that so the Kenmore with the Kenmore assuming that we maintain the savings and the Deferred maintenance and reductions in force that's two million two hundred thirty thousand dollars that's a total Savings of 8.9 million over the life of the forecast annual cops payment at 2.2 million beginning in fiscal year 24 as a total cost of 9 million 147 or 312 dollars over the life of the forecast that's a net deficit of
050227 thousand dollars and you can see the impact on the five-year forecast over a five-year forecast is fairly minimal provided those cuts remain in place so there are certainly impact on our Scholars which should be at the Forefront of our decision making some of the pros of this is Scholars will attend new or updated schools the sixth graders will have the same experience as the rest of our sixth graders it places an educational facility in the Kenmore campus there are cons however these plans do not address House Bill 110 concerns and declining student enrollment as a negative Financial impact places stem High School in an existing building off the UA campus plan still requires redistricting of North students in the north cluster and may require additional busing to name a few North High School will
051require significant repairs upgrades prior to being replaced a second option is to move with North First it basically takes the plan and flips North First prioritizes North over Kenmore again those all are all the same the closures remain consistent the difference here is North high schools built first completion in 2026 relocates the stem High School no change to the previous plan either on UA's campus or at Garfield CLC sixth graders move we open the preschool programs and we construct the Athletic Facility the reductions remain the same the construction costs of course goes to 83.5 million that includes the demo the athletic complex and the retrofits for stem remain the same so the total budget is 85.5 million the big difference is where the certificates of participation that number lands or finds itself this is 57.5
052million 13 million and Esser or general funds 15 million in lfi dollars that's an 85.5 million dollar project the certificates of participation again the yearly payment is roughly 3.7 million dollars with the 2.2 million dollars in reductions we're upside down one million four hundred and seventy thousand eight hundred and twenty eight dollars per year the second phase would build Kenmore re just exactly as it was on the first phase but it's predicated on the passage of the six point or excuse me the 1.75 Pi Levy which means that would be a 61 million dollar cop steal that's 3.9 million dollars 4.9 million in Revenue produced by the pi Levy leaves a revenue stream of six seven hundred forty thousand dollars to move to other buildings so the May forecast again is what you're looking at
053here um with the savings of 2.2 million dollars in deferred maintenance that's a total savings the same as before 8.9 million the difference is this cop's payment is higher so it's 3.7 million for a total cost of 14 million eight hundred and three thousand three hundred and twelve dollars over the life of the forecast the net effect on the five-year forecast is a negative 5 million 883 312 dollars if you tried to combine them and do them all at the same time the impact on the five-year forecast would be very detrimental making it or putting the board squarely in a difficult position to decide how to move forward and how to prioritize so some of those impact on those Scholars the scholars would again attend new or more updated buildings same is true with our
054sixth graders addresses the need for a new facility on North Hill the cons again we're not addressing House Bill 110 concerns or declining student enrollment has the negative Financial impact does not desire does not address the desire to place a school on the Kenmore High School site plan still requires redistricting in the north cluster may require additional busing and Miller South and pifer will require significant upgrades or repairs difficult spot so what I did try to do was create a document perhaps it will help you and your decision making but it lists the action steps important to note when you're reading through it is take a look at the date of completion so if you if you drop down to the middle box if your preference is to build Kenmore first then you would Mark
055yes and it tells you that that building would be complete in August of 26 and where the funding stream would come for from if you want to construct North High School by August of 26 one has to give one or the other so it just kind of keeps you focused on or may help keep you focused on the direction of um of where you need to go or where you hope to go any questions yes sir yes um let me find my pages here at the current Garfield High School Middle High School where we're talking about uh possibly adding on for stem don't we currently already have room for stem which we already talked about so we wouldn't have to but when we look at the new destruct Construction is that rolling over into the
056football space as well on the plan it looks like it is so now you're interrupting the football team in their practice which they didn't have a feel from day one and they should have had one so that affects them there [Music] but I think with the with this with the areas that we already have we could probably move students in there we're doing less less construction correct it will be less uh expensive for us yeah there's no question that uh the stem high school students can fit into the existing Garfield High School what this shows you if you want them to be completely isolated and never pass across it requires construction but if you're okay with some Crossing of students then obviously the second floor option the second option is your most economical option moving
057forward let me ask this question too with that construction do we have to do that right away because we maybe have the kids intermingling to a certain extent for a little bit but could we do that down the road and do that construction if we need to possibly gives us more time to see if we can get more Revenue yeah if we if we want to move the students out of where they currently are as if it's an option we're at the end of a lease it's not really an option we extended it once already um it's it would be very it would not be very difficult it would be impossible to have this Construction done on time for those kids to move into that additional space so we would there would have to be
058some period of time where they would be intermingled just right because construction wouldn't be completed and that's what I'm saying too is to to allow them to mingle for a while until we can have the funds to to cut them off I don't I'm just asking that question yeah would it be more cost effective for us as a board yeah there's no question that putting them on the second floor is the more cost-effective moves right because it allows us time as well to say okay we can get funds to go back and do the construction perhaps you know so we waited for a little bit maybe we could have those funds and do that my other question is I know North High School and I bit my tongue for a long time it's been bleeding
059to not say much about North because I don't want people saying I'm saying that because it's a school that I graduated from but wouldn't it be more wouldn't it be wiser for us to build a new North High School first because we're talking about safe dry and uh secured area of a school because those kids are looking at the building the way it is now I would be afraid if something happens then we would be a liable and everyone wants to be a liable just like we were at the old Garfield and how it was falling apart if something could have happened we would have been in some trouble so wouldn't it be wiser for us probably to do North First uh talk about Kenmore and and those areas as we move along let North
060be phase one if we want to work on Kenmore that could be phase two with that Miller South could possibly have some things done there with maybe can we put maybe a boiler system in there to hold them there for a few more years to give us some some time as well to keep them there before we have to move them out and move them to another place so I'm just thinking of all these things in my mind would those things be right because I I to wait on the Levee to have a school built like North I don't think that's that's why it's for us because we don't pass a levy then they never get to school so then what do we do we've spent our money we had and now we're moving in
061a direction we may not have a school for those kids up there in North Hill I I think that's why we presented two options so that you could have that discussion as a board and and make the decision about what your priorities are and where where you want to go and also the information so that you know the financial impact of each right um if if he were to say well which buildings are in worse condition well that's a the answer is all of the above is the answer Miller South is in bad condition Piper's in bad condition North High School is not in great condition so we know we're going to have to make invest whatever the decision is we know from the operation side of the house the superintendent we're going to have
062to shift resources into the other buildings to try to shore them up the next major opportunity passed a 1.75 mil or some millage for pi would be in 20 not until 2033 when the quarter percent income tax falls off and there's that presents an opportunity at that point to generate some revenue for building expansion but um that's still um nine and a half years away right yeah because I'm just thinking about all the things and we've done about phases I think we probably should have looked at phases from day one and say what are we going to do phase one would be this maybe phase two possibilities then narrow them down to where we possibly could go uh and from there so you make our decision and maybe it had us a little further ahead
063uh than where we're at right now because I just I just see is you know going back to North North and was it 2028 that means four years or five years that we'd have to have that school open 49 9. okay so that's nine years that school being open and we're gonna have to put more money in so we're putting money into a school that we really shouldn't be putting money into if we go ahead and construct it because that would be more of a priority I would think than maybe the others and I know that we want to do some something with Kim Moore and I'm I'm I'm in favor of that but sometimes we have to look at timing look at things that we need to do example is where our homes there
064may be two or three things are going on in our homes we prior prioritize what needs to be one what needs to be two what needs to be three and so forth that's what we probably need to do here to make sure that we're we're taking care of the kids first and making sure they're okay and then we can move forward from there I understand okay thank you thank you Mr Alexander is there any other questions or comments for Dr Thompson go ahead Mr Perry application purposes you know I do like the option of having the the stem high in the Garfield building I've been to that building several times very nice building and we can certainly decide whether to construct the new addition or whether to just do the second floor option but you
065talked a lot about the coupling mingling of the students they still have this they're separate entrances though right that's correct and we say co-mingling it's just for the for the lunch and the gym time or other times as well no my there there would be minimum mostly yes okay but there would be some times and there's a the Garfield students would still have to access that floor that are not stem students yeah for the scientist to reach the science labs so that's that's the co-mingling part okay um it's fairly minimal sure is there a real concern there though I mean it's all students right I mean I don't think there's a concern I don't want to speak out of churn I don't think there's a concern administratively yeah um the question would just be um
066you know the boards ultimately the board's concerned sure okay so so they I the the reason the 6.4 million dollar um option was presented was because um the board had asked for what would it cost to completely isolate there's your answer yeah and it sounds to me I mean and partly to miss Alexander's point you know if we're doing the the more economic option at Garfield putting the stem high on the second floor that leaves us some money then to put into other projects like North High School right it would certainly certainly help yeah because that money's got to come from somewhere a little bit of something would help sure okay no there's no doubt thank you anyone else Dr Molnar um I know in previous conversations we've discussed how schools don't age in typical
067building years we have hundreds of students walking through the Halls multiple times a day um so my first question is um for either of these options at what point were these new buildings see I'm you're on phase one I'm on phase 31. when will these buildings need repaired and if we're taking out these 30-year loans will we be repairing the buildings while we're paying for the new building I think that's very insightful our first clcs were built in 2007 so start thinking about the age of some of these buildings and we know we're going to start moving into roof issues heating system issues just general things that would happen to Mr Alexander's point to your own house those type of repairs will will definitely be coming so yes it that it is going to be
068challenging for the district moving forward as we're going to have to start really putting strong consideration into increasing some of our building maintenance funding because we're going to be taking on larger projects across the whole District or else are brand new buildings well not brand new but are I'll call them newer older build you know the buildings that are starting to age a little bit but are still new are going if we don't keep them updated and repaired then you know you know what happens if you let a leaky roof leak you know the the additional damage that that causes so certainly I think it has to be uh on the Forefront of your minds is not not just about the situation we face now but what do we face over the next 10 years
069and that is going to include additional funding for repairs of existing clcs any other questions or comments okay so if there are none um I do want to thank you Dr Thompson for accommodating us and presenting those several many options and educating the community on what we have facing us and I just wanted to you know share with the board that you know none of these decisions are going to be easy for us one message that Dr Hall did want me to share is that he's hoping that we can you know make a decision you know by our next board meeting it's not going to get any easier the longer that we wait um I was happy to see today's options essentially you know no matter which one we pick we're going to have to
070do maintenance on the other building and so I see it as the payment is going to be higher uh you know if we do North first then the payment's going to be higher but I also wanted to say I know there is a balance of being realistic and being optimistic and I just can't help but think of all the folks who have filled this room over the last several months and all the graduations full of folks who appreciate and support this district and at some point in time and I know I've said it before we have to continue to be our own best cheerleaders and advocate for our needs and I feel like the more we educate people the more support we're going to get you know I know there's Rumblings out there that we
071could never pass a levy and I know that is a possibility but at some point we have to believe in ourselves we have to be the ones who start that belief and so I just wanted to share that with everyone and encourage you to continue to look things over and solicit questions from our constituents and reach out to Dr Thompson as needed for any clarifying things that we need but this Board needs to be able to act and make some decisions moving forward so I just wanted to share that much with everyone and again thank you Dr Thompson 330. um earlier when under our 16.1 profession Personnel recommendations I did want to bring attention to Diane sardowski Diane was raised in Seven Hills and graduated from Normandy High School she earned her ba in education
072from Cleveland State University and was first and only in her family to graduate from college she later earned a master's in special education from Baldwin Wallace a dedicated educator for 44 years she gifted her compassion and sharp width to thousands of students and colleagues across several schools including Saint Monica's Union Elementary and eclc in June 2022 Diane retired from Akron public schools where she worked as an intervention specialist at eclc she returned to work part-time as an intervention specialist in the fall of 2022 after being recruited for a position at Summit County Juvenile Detention Center unfortunately Diane passed on May 23rd 2023 and we know that our sarcasm him and her sense of humor will be dearly missed by all that new and loved her and then on display is an uh part of our
073be kind 330 is to share with you what happened at Mason CLC our very own Mrs Kaylor from Mason CLC and a fourth grade student Alaya completed a stunning crocheted blanket for their Beloved School secretary Mrs Poole the beautiful colors and intricate designs of the blanket are truly a sight to behold in a testament to their hard work and dedication of both Miss kaler and the student Alaya but that's not all I have a little secret and this pool is no ordinary school secretary in fact she is a former APS student and now an integral part of Mason CLC she was my fifth grade student and then I had her again in eighth grade so I was very excited to see that she is well loved at Mason CLC so please join us in thanking
074Mrs Kaylor and Alea for spreading the be kind 330 message this is truly sharing an example of the power of kindness that's happening in our school Community thank you and that concludes the superintendent's report thank you madam superintendent and so next on the agenda is President's report and so I did share that message from Dr Hall I also just wanted to remind board members that this Thursday we have a meeting to review the applicants and select which ones we are going to be interviewing which will take place the following to Tuesday and Wednesday and then before the final round of interviews there will be a forum for our stakeholders to see the final candidates and that will be led by our executive Search team and then our final round of interviews will be on Thursday
07529th so I just wanted to remind everyone of that and that's all for president's report next on the agenda is treasurer's report no report thank you Mr Atkins moving on to committee reports legal contracts and board policy no report thank you Dr Molnar finance and Capital Management committee that would be me and that is also ltop moving on instructional policy and student achievement we do have a report the committee met on June the 5th all those who were present were Miss Autry Miss Jackson Miss McKittrick Dr caver and Angela Carter and it was a good discussion it wasn't a long meeting but it was good and information was good there miss Carter talked about a number of things once she started out with our elementary summer school and she talked about the kids going to
076summer school and the most important piece that they were talk she was talking about was our third grade reading um reading courses and she put in emphasis that they want to make sure that all of our kids are at the right place they should be that they would come to come to class they would come to learn and they have opportunity to take a test during the summer and again I think again is in the fall if I'm not mistaken to take this test to see where they're at they want to make sure that all the kids are are learning and hopefully they will get to a place that they can all pass the test also she mentioned that the statistics show that those kids who can read at third grade level are five times
077more uh amp to be able to go to college and get into a good career so she wanted us to to let everyone know that they talked about the target group the target group was group was those kids who they felt needed early intervention and they tried to capture those kids first so they can make sure they're in the classes and make sure they're getting the interventions that they need in order to help them get up to reading level third grade reading level she also talked about getting the parents involved how they want to make sure parents understood what was going on with the parents to make sure their kids are doing The Works that they're supposed to do at home as well as making sure that those kids are attending class they don't want
078the kids to miss because the more they miss the more they they miss out on learning she also talked about the i-Ready program and uh the the rip program reading Improvement and monitoring plan uh which they she had they have here at Akron public schools and uh that is dealing with the kids from K to two and e l a kids in the framework talked about the areas that they're looking for as far as them them being assessed and being able to be ready to take the test as well um she also talked about there were retentions and the retention piece was they were times that parents can request that their kids or be retained but there are some other reasons the kids can be retained such as being e s l students those who
079repeated the the same class uh for a second time and second year and some of the special ed kids who have cognitive delays uh then she went on to talk about the mystery camp and that is for grades one through five she talked about they are dealing with and they're coming to class and learning about reading and math instruction and as well as have those interventions for those kids and they she made a note that we had there's 242 kids that were signed up in 221 have I believe already correct me have already passed the test and already I'm sorry I already signed up for for a class this summer there's 242 kids who need to be signed up that they identified 221 who are signed up so there's a few kids who didn't get
080signed up and uh help me if I missed anything else okay all right just a reminder uh the slide deck for Ms Carter's presentation is linked under the IP agenda item and also the College and Career Academy updates the FRC updates and the stay in the game updates thank you instructional policy and student achievement committee next is equity committee Mr kitchen we met on June 5th and I'll start with our diversity officers report Dr Chapman and I passed out some information to you if you weren't at our meeting these two pieces of paper and if you look at this first one you'll notice it looks an awful lot like our portrait of a scholar and so the committee has been working after eight months of work these are what they've produced the portrait of a
081cultural responsive educator slash staff member in other words any adult in the district really um and these two documents um include mindset and approaches and the characteristics and a gentle reminder that all the adults in this District have a role and Dr Chapman stressed how critical self-reflection is in order to become the kinds of adults we want to be to model for our children the next steps are to get feedback from various groups in the district and to try and roll this out for the 23-24 Academic Year um and I should tell you that not that anybody will be surprised but that APS is leading the way with this work that nationally many districts have created culturally responsive school districts but as far as Dr Chapman knows APS is the only one that created something
082specific to the adults in a district so Bravo as always um and also the aps diversity team will present at the reimagining education summer Institute also known as resi at Columbia University this summer and they will also present at Chiefs for chains Equity officers Network in Boulder Colorado another update is the hip hop and change we have 33 students enrolled first aid turnout wasn't exactly what we wanted but there will be some Outreach to remind students about the program to help increase that and finally the 2324 instructional Improvement day training is being scheduled and this round will complete the first level for all schools with Next Level sessions beginning in Spring of 2024. and I think that's everything okay thank you thank you Mrs McKittrick and thank you Dr Chapman and team for all of
083the work you are doing and pursuing and keeping us ahead of the curve thank you so much and so moving on there is no unfinished business there is no new business and so item number 31 there is a need to recess into executive session pursuant to Ohio Revised Code one two one point two two G one for the purpose of considering the employment or compensation of a Public Employee or official of the school district is there a motion second it's been moved by Mrs McKittrick seconded by Mr Perry is there any discussion seeing none roll call please Mr Atkins Mrs McKittrick yes Dr Molnar yes Mr Alexander yes Mrs Autry yes Miss Jackson aye Mr Perry yes thank you and emotion carries and we are adjourned at 6 52. wow