001a board of education is called to order please rise for the pledge I to FL FL of the United States stand and justice for all Mr bison please call the role Mrs mahalis here Mrs Schneider here Mrs click here Mr aam here Mr sski all right we begin tonight's meeting with special reports and recognitions tonight we are recognizing two students from Harmon Middle School they are Grace Nei and Matteo Hernandez as rotary students of the month may I have a motion please second Mr bis please call the rooll Mrs Schneider yes Mr sabulski yes Mrs mahalis Mr AUM yes Mrs quck yes would the students please come forward and get your certificates get mrov pleas introduce the students thank you m mahes two individuals today that are outstanding representatives and faces for Harmon Middle School
002our first up is going to be Grace Nagi uh one of our teachers said that knowing when Grace receives this award or earns that award she's going to just say okay thanks and and not because she doesn't care but Grace's Mantra or belief is that that's just what she does every day she's going to she's not looking for the Rewards or lades she's an outstanding young lady in the classroom the way she treats individuals just makes everybody around her better at all times so you're going to hear more about Grace at this time so Grace n good evening my name is Grace n and I'm an e8th grader at Harmon Middle School I would like to start by thanking the Board of Education the staff and the Rotary Club because without them I wouldn't be
003here tonight the Rotary Club is an amazing organization that makes our world a better place which I'm honored to be associated with I would also like to mention and thank my mom Jen and my dad Steve who are huge supporters of everything I do and are always there for me and they have shaped me into the person I am today in my day-to-day life I try to make a difference in my community and enjoy doing acts of service for others I enjoy volunteering with kids at our local schools and libraries whenever possible volunteering brings me so much joy and I love to give back to my community because I know they've done so much for all of us I also enjoy participating in various activities such as theater choir and dance dance I was recently
004in the Harmon Musical and made some great memories and experiences from doing so I've also been in the choir at Harmon all 3 years and take voice lessons as for dance dance has always been a part of my life ever since I was little I've always had a passion for performing so when I get knocked down or mess up I know I can rise up again in school I'm also involved in Beta Club Beta Club is a junior National Honor Society that does service for RO schools and our community we get involved in any way we can and to try to make a difference some of my favorite ways we've done this are writing letters to kids booing the school which was secretly providing treats and adopting a family during the holidays in my school
005life I've built strong relationships with all of my teachers even some teachers I never had for class I take pride in my school workor and enjoy my classes that I take especially Spanish I've always been excited to take Spanish in school because I want to know more about the culture behind it and found Spanish to be a new challenge for me to take on I've also really enjoyed my class and teacher which made this year even better I've been in Harmon for 3 years now and it's probably been the best three year school years I've ever had before coming to Harmon we got hit with Co and it took a toll on everyone and everything I had gone online for the last part of my third grade year and my entire fourth grade year which
006was really difficult for me at first it was nice to stay home but I found it hard to keep up with my schoolwork and learn anything I never realized how difficult it was to learn at home rather than in person with the teacher I found that human connections were what was missing for me I needed to see and talk with my friends and interact with my teachers beyond what the screen allows while there are many days that I long to take school from home in my bed I'm always grateful for what imperson schooling can do for us the more that I think about school the more appreciative that we have it because school will help me lead to my future plans even though I'm still deciding what I should do with my life because I'm
007still a teenager I currently hope to become an Interior Designer I have always had an interest in art and make enjoy making a room having personality this form of art allows me to Make spaces unique and special for others this career has been something I've wanted to pursue for the past couple of years but whatever I decide to do in the future I hope that I find success in it and I know my time in aora schools will help me with that Journey thank you again I'm very grateful for this opportunity that I've been given and it's a great honor for me to be nominated for this thank you Grace and now the next one up Mato Hernandez one teacher said about Mato Mato is always going to be himself and say whatever he feels
008and wants to say now understand that's not in a disrespectful manner in any way Matel is just one who is always has a solid opinion respectful opinion and also at the same time wants to help every single individual in their class Matel is an individual that me personally I've been able to coach and be around since he was this big I used to be bigger than him and stuff but um and and also you know without a doubt um the third you know the best of the three individuals that have come through here so I'm kidding Liam this is like a Hernandez tradition I think this is the third one that has earned the rotary award and it's it's awesome to see like as we vote for these individuals as a staff and then their
009names come up and and definitely have earned it Mato is one that is the most positive individual from the start of the morning to the end of the afternoon um and that's infectious throughout his classes and the activities that he's a part of uh it's a wonderful opportunity to be around him in any of those facets so you're going to learn more about Matel Hernandez good evening my name is Matteo Hernandez and I am an eighth grader at Harmon Middle School I would like to thank the Rotary Club of Aurora and the board of education for presenting me with the honor of becoming the rotary student of the month for March of 2025 I am very thankful for this opportunity and for everyone who has inspired me to be a good person I would first
010like to talk about my immensely supportive family my dad Bob and my mom Becky have taught me the most about how important it is to be the best version of myself wherever I am and to always challenge myself my dad works as a mechanical engineer using problem solving skills and teamwork day in and day out my mom works part-time at at a dayare as a helper in the office and the classrooms she uses patience and kindness to work with children taking their first shots at learning these two people have led me down an excellent path and I forever thankful for the support and love they have shown me throughout my life I also have two older siblings a brother Liam who is a junior at Aurora High School and a sister Ava who is a
011sophomore at the Ohio State University they have both guided me through life's fun and taught me things only kids can understand they are wonderful companions in my life I also enjoy spending time with my 8-year-old dog Hazel at school I play the trombone in the band and I and I plan to continue playing in the marching band in high school I have also participated in the Harmon musical all three years I've been doing a show recently in which I help young adults with special needs perform a collection of Disney songs and dances the program is called Broadway buddies and it has been an excellent experience through working with my my buddy Cooper who has a autism I learned how to interact with those who communicate differently the show was yesterday and it was amazing to
012see them perform in front of others I also run on the school cross country team as well as track and field running hurdles one strong thing that I've had a passion for ever since I knew what it was is music music has played a substantial role in my life and it has been the focus of my interests in recent years I have been working to create my music on certain platforms and have been using skills that I been taught through research and music classes over the years years I would love to continue making and producing music another hobby of mine is been learning how to fly an airplane my grandpa is is a pilot and has been sharing his passion for flight with me I have had the opportunity to to take control of the
013airplane and it is always an exciting experience to be able to fly in the future I want to go to the Ohio State University to study music business and Aviation I love creating and exploring these paths will allow me to do both the education that Aurora School has provided me with has developed a strong foundation for my future years the experiences and things that I've been able to do through this school district have been amazing I hope to continue this and learn even more as I start the next chapter of my life high school thank you again for this incredible honor I appreciate everyone who has inspired me and helped me along my journey I would like to leave you all tonight with one final message a quote that has helped me me push through
014every situation in life Success is Not final failure is not not fatal it is the courage to continue that counts Winston s Churchill thank you students those were excellent speeches of an artist and a musician amongst us um and thanks to the families for coming and anytime if you'd like to leave throughout the meeting just feel free to do that all right next we will move to hearing of the public on agenda and non-agenda items individuals wishing to comment should have registered on the comment signup sheet that was placed at the entrance to the board meeting this period is this period of the meeting is a maximum of 30 minutes and each speaker will be limited to a total time of three minutes the board Treasurer will keep the time each person addressing the board
015is requested to provide his or her name and address upon being recognized and the treasure will include that information in the board meeting minutes so first we have April Sakura April Secura 1064 East Boulevard this week March 16 through the 22nd is the 20th anniversary of sunshine week which highlights the need for government transparency and accountability the League of Women Voters of Northern porage county maintains year observers of many local public meetings uh to listen learn and make accurate and fair reports of the proceedings observers are knowledgeable about the Ohio Sunshine laws which are used to ensure transparency between the school board or the city council and the constituents that they serve the League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan organization that encourages informed and active participation in govern government and educates to increase understanding
016of major public policy issues the northern Portage County League will be hosting a democracy Dialogue on property taxes Bond issues and levies on April 16th at 6:30 p.m. in this building for the public to gain Clarity and um on those important Financial issues I have some flyers if anybody's interested in attending thank you thank you okay then we have um Ken and I can't read the last name is it IL uh thank you my name is Ken IL I live at 310 Beach Court um I'm addressing an issue that's not on the board agenda tonight but soon will be and it involves what the acronym is RT it involves releasing students during the school day for religious instruction and the reason I'm here is because this board uh by Statute I believe will have to
017come up with a policy um prior to April 9th that addresses how students will engage with that process um as attentive as um Aurora parents are uh over their kids many of you here might say overly attentive um the fact is that we seed a huge part of childhood development to the schools and as our elected representatives we elect and reelect you as long as those schools are great and they are um but what we have not done is conferred upon you the authority to subcontract out to other entities that childhood development and protection and many school districts around the state have not taken that job seriously that when an organization approaches them to set up a program to pull kids out during the school day for religious instruction um most boards have not um
018developed a policy that in my view protects our most precious asset our children so I'm here tonight and we'll be back when this is on the agenda to ask for some for this board to take this very seriously if we are going to allow our children to leave the protection of the schools to go and um get instruction from another entity we I believe believe that it is incumbent on this board to develop a very specific policy that reflects the rules the guidelines and the philosophies that have made this District great and so there are three things that I would like to insist that this board develop as part of that policy one is that um there should be background checks available for review by this board to any person that is involved in that
019that program that seems on its face to be pretty common sense but too many districts in this state have abdicated that responsibility and so number one we insist I insist that any policy this board develops involve background checks for the people that are being entrusted with our children the second is um the curriculums and guidelines that that organization uh conducts its instruction should match as closely as possible the the guidelines of this District the guidelines that have made this District great that should be reflected in the policy and finally um there should also be a policy reflective of this District's policy of anti-harassment anti-bullying if we can get at least those three things in a policy involving um pulling our kids out of schools during the school day then we will be better positioned than
020almost any other school district in the state so I have to say like I said I'll be back when this is formally on the agenda but thank you for hear me thank you very much all right next we will move to the approval of minutes from the special meeting of February 19th and the regular meeting of February 24th May I have a motion please second are there any comments edit all right Mr bison please call the RO Mrs click yes Mrs Schneider yes Mr sabulski yes Mrs mahalis yes Mr aen yes right minutes are approved as written and now we will move on to uh the superintendent's report and I know you you are um giving your time to Mr Abramovich correct first going to give us an update on okay long time no see
021okay thank you m mahalis and Board of Education uh so we know what this year we're doing is a presenting our goals to the board and then reviewing them as well so going through a review of the of our goals and an update as far as where we are at and what we are doing right now at Harman middle school so we said before what Harmon values obviously that's not one of our goals but that's just a given of who we are at Harmon Middle School so our goal is going over again uh providing opportunities for win win is what I need uh this is uh different than the high school has it uh at Harmon we have it in eighth grade for uh certain individuals on a daily basis in sixth and seventh grade
022what we did is develop it this year for on Tuesday um for part of our sixth and seventh grade science classes and then on Thursdays for our sixth and seventh grade social studies classes we started out at the beginning of the year at 10 minutes uh and then worked it up to about a it's close about a half an hour right now classes are an hour long and during that time again students are able to do a multitude of things but they know walking into those classes at that time that if they do need to work on something they do need to get work done or go see a teacher or check in and see what is um missing from them they can at that time we also have been taking advantage of it uh
023with our guidance counselors um amongst other things as far as that's a great time for us to meet with those classes without having to interrupt them any further sort of like what the high school does with a time but obviously not as on a not on as Grand of a scale aligning areas for a focus of our Gap um we have aligned this year without a doubt and with and and we've centered on our social emot with without a without a doubt during our Gap meetings um our social emotional needs are growing ever so um I I'm fortunate that I'm constant in touch with about 30 to 35 other Middle School principles and it's overwhelming that that is their number one need as well we also have a focus on what is called kid talks
024and I'll come back to that in a little bit and then programs and speakers for our students to not only help make good choices but to help us going forward our integration of the six competencies um it is something that I couldn't you know and the three Harmon pillars be respectful be responsible and be kind uh I couldn't be more proud as we go into classrooms uh my goal every day is to be in classrooms minimum 10 classrooms a day um and throughout the week I would say I hit that goal three or four times in a week um and and the amount of times that we are talking about the six competencies is fantastic it's not something that I can say well here's a piece of paper um that this is how many times
025our teachers I heard them talked about it this week but it is integrated in and embedded in to our teaching on a regular basis uh it's not something that's hokey and brought up and say oh by the way make sure we remember these six things it is part of our genuine teaching that takes place regularly we've also had faculty meetings where I've had activities such as uh faculty would sit amongst each other in different individual you know different grade levels and mixed in of how do you integrate in your classroom how do you do it so that others are learning from each other and taking ideas off of each other we've done that a couple times and I have seen those get past from one to the next the collecting data on the competency uh
026Continuum uh this is actually a springtime activity that we're doing with our wrapup um and eighth grade is going to use it as like a writing opportunity uh for during our English classes and then the sixth and seventh grade during their wi time uh We've now had our cenes for several years now all of our students in at Harmon and they're now even in the high school have been around these um and I know when we developed these years ago our goal was that when a kid graduates and student graduates from Aurora City Schools they are um the this type of learner and surrounder surrounded on excuse me centered on the six competencies um I you know that was our goal way back when when we helped develop these uh I could say that now
027when they leave Harmon Middle School without a doubt that they have a clear understanding understanding of of what those things are um which is really neat when so enhancing our mtss process um we've done a lot with our kid talks our kid talks um what those are are we have faculty uh grade level meetings twice a month and during that time we talk about kids but it's not understand for layman's terms it's not a session to just complain about how Johnny's always chuning his glum loud in class or so and so Sarah's walking in late all the time no it's kids that are brought up with a purpose each kid that is brought up to our um counselors psychologists or myself or Mr bont deism principal we then create a folder on them and those
028teachers are able to add to the folder so that we have a consistent amount of data that is being collected on a student then we could go back and Target how to help those individuals uh it is very uh organized and put together during our our Mt mtss practices and it's very concise that during our time um one of the biggest things was was that we are able to use our time very efficiently when we have our grade level talks our increased professional development through teacher obser OBS observing of colleagues um that is something that I will say that I am and I know Mr Roberto Mr mil Dr mtit we are very big on it hasn't gone over the mount as as much as I wanted to and it's not because our teachers are
029against it our teachers are teachers they don't want to leave their classroom at times which I don't blame them they are outstanding in what they do um and so what I need to continue to do is find more times to be creative to be able to get them to see others because our teachers benefit greatly uh when you're able to watch others it doesn't mean a math teacher has to go watch another math teacher or a science teacher a science go around and be able to see each other I stress that to our every student teacher it's one of the requirements I have when we have a student teacher at Harmon I've done it for many years is is that you need to go and see teachers of other contents because we have a lot
030to offer have we done it yes we've done it without a doubt um and we continue to meet as instructional leaders of how we could do that more it's just one of those things like I always call it as cheap professional development right but you have to be creative in how to do it because I don't want to pull a teacher out of a classroom and then Lo lose the instruction from th for those kids to be able to see someone else but it's something that I know that we could continue to work on to do uh continuing to Define PBIS within the framework work in of our day um it's definitely our one of our initiatives was a kindness month initiative uh we we've had um incentivizing attendance for instance and we have really
031good attendance at Harmon don't get me wrong on that we're in the high 90s but I always say that I would like to get close to 100 because or even closer to 100 because of when kids miss a day right it's you can't replace that and so we have such outstanding teaching going on I need them there all the time to be able to make that work uh we do a lot of work on in our PBIS practice uh projects together our PTO has been instrumental in terms of what they provide for us we have random snacks throughout the day uh throughout the year that they will give to us we have trivia times that they come into our lunches during the week we have this current week that right now we're in we have
032a spirit week we have Team days all of these that when we talk about positive behaviors um and interventions is that exactly that that kids are need to be rewarded and found out to do something just once in a while it's things that we do together to continue to grow that culture to be in an environment that is enjoyable comfortable to be in and yet at the same time promotes learning our staff meeting focus and that's you know one that we have done as our staff as I've done excuse me Mr bman and I have done per the you know with our staff is that we've increased every one of our staff meetings includes professional development um a further review of our PBI updating and increasing our communication uh that I do throughout the day
033or week with our staff going over policies what does that mean like policies here's our policy if uh a kid is not doing this or a student needs to do this we want to keep everybody on the same page so that all the school is consistent on how um we treat and react to situations and then an open form of proactive check-ins is that I don't you know just like I tell a teacher on an observation that this is not the only time that you and I talk about your teach teaching is that if something's going on throughout the building we have that we check in and we talk to each other ahead of time to be proactive with it and then we address things together as a staff um and so overall the goals
034are I think are moving in the right direction we still have uh a couple months left to be able to finalize a few of them and then so they're ones that also that what we really like is that they're not finite at the end of the year they can they're all things that could be expanded on and built upon come next year and Beyond so we probably be seeing some of these things again but at a different level anybody have any questions for me to to find anything no thank you board appreciate but I was going to say you you have some big staff changes coming up a few teachers yes we have uh just at Harmon alone we have about a 170 years of of uh education you know and experience that is going
035to be retiring um individuals that um will be sorely missed but it's something that we've been preparing for and I could guarantee this guarantee on August 15th when school is open August 14th we'll be ready to go with an outstanding staff so we'll be ready for it thank you thank you right next is thank you Dr mtit for your time tonight and letting us speak um good evening to the uh Mrs mahalis and the school board um and we we thank you for allowing us to share some exciting news about our 2025 special education profile uh Aurora city school district has made incredible strides in special education meeting 14 out of 16 indicators and and that's a testament to our staff's dedication student progress and strong programming success in special education is a collective effort
036aligning with our district strategic Vision here's how our progress reflects the key competencies of our strategic Vision Innovation our team continuously adapts and implements Creative Solutions embracing new strategies to empower Educators and students collaboration inclusive learning thrives through teamwork our professional Learning Community better known as PLC Fosters collaboration among intervention Specialists general education teachers and Par Educators empathy we create learning environments rooted in compassion respect and understanding of diverse student needs resilience challenges do not deter us we teach growth mindset Foster positive relationships and encourage self-care and healthy risk-taking in our in our learning environments balance academic success is just one piece we ensure students develop socially and emotionally creating well-rounded individuals and critical thinking we refine our programs through stakeholder feedback design teams an ongoing reflection to drive continuous Improvement so we'd like to
037get into to our uh the actual special education profile report and I'm excited to share our progress in preschool transitions an essential foundation for our students educational Journey our preschool team developed 14 IEPs for students moving from early intervention services achieving 100% compliance to ensure timely tailored support additionally we conducted 14 initial evaluations based on parent referrals bringing the the total preschool transitions last year to 28 with a deep commitment to early childhood development and the unique needs of each child our preschool team collaborates closely with families intervention early intervention Specialists Help Me Grow Community preschools and other outside providers to create smooth individualized transitions these strong Partnerships ensure each child is well prepared for their next steps in learning a couple of years ago I was fortunate enough to be on the State team
038that created the alternate decisionmaking tool we piloted this tool in our district and it has not only decreased the number of students participating in the alternate assessment over the last couple of years but it has also facilitated team discussion centered around making the best decision for each individual student with that said this year we have successfully met our alternate assessment part participation Target with fewer than 1% of our student population participating in the alternate assessment for students with significant cognitive disabilities this is a significant accomplishment as it reflects our commitment to ensuring that only students who truly require this form of assessment or placed in it while other students are supported through appropriate assessment methods that meet their needs I'm pleased to share our our progress in ensuring fairness and discipline for student students with
039disabilities we are committed to equity and equal opportunities for all students this past year we met all indicators ens ensuring students with disabilities are not suspended or expelled at disproportionate rates we also made strides in ensuring fairness across all racial and ethnic subgroups with our population of students with disabilities our success is driven by prevention early intervention and restorative practices recognizing that behavior is influenced by disabilities social emotional development and environmental factors we use inclusive empathetic dis discipline strategies to address not causes to address root causes and provide the support students need to thrive in the state of Ohio the state set forth a graduation rate for students with disabilities of 67% in 2022 69% in 2024 and 70% in 2025 as a member of the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce Office of exceptional
040children's guiding Coalition I'm very familiar with these standards and I say that to say this here in Aurora our kids are graduating at an exceptional rate this is directly attributed to our kids resilience and determination teaching and learning provided by our staff on a daily basis and the investment of Education through our Fai families equally important our dropout rate is just 2.9% with only one of 34 students dropping out this indicates that the vast majority of our students are not only staying in school but they're succeeding in reaching their educational goals this speaks volumes of our commitment to supporting students through challenges whether academic social or emotional to ensure they reach graduation our resilience is evident in many strategies that we've implemented to help students stay on track including personalized support mentoring and early intervention
041we continuously seek out Innovative and Creative Solutions to reduce Dropout rat which includes utilizing Alternative Learning methods providing flexible scheduling and collaborating with Community Partners as does the a as does the a work ready program to ensure students have the resources that they need to be successful before we talk about the post-graduation indicators I'd like to briefly discuss indicator 13 which is in the profile indicator 13 focuses on IEP transition plans which leads to the post-secondary graduation indicators as a district we met 100% compliance of having appropriate transition plans in place for those students aged 14 and older this is a huge accomplishment for some of our Middle School intervention Specialists and all of our high school intervention specialist to ensure that those plans are appropriate and in place for our students with disabilities our
042commitment to students with disabilities extends beyond graduation we focus on preparing them for Life After High School this past year we achieve a 75% response rate on our district follow-up survey with a 58% Target responsory that was thanks to Mr Torres picking up the phone and calling several of our students to make sure that they responded um this information provides valuable insights into postsecondary or postgraduation outcomes for our students with disabilities I'm proud to report that we met key indicators for students who were enrolled in higher education or post-secondary training programs and or who secured competitive employment within a year of leaving High School these results highlight the progress of our students with disabilities that they're making and securing meaningful postgraduation opportunities setting them up for success in their future careers and academic Pursuits while
043we've seen positive outcomes we are focused on growth with these indicators we're looking to increase enrollment and Higher Education and Training through expanded support for our students with disabilities and expanding employment opportunities by strengthening Pathways to competitive employment we continue to explore Innovative Partnerships with colleges vocational programs and local businesses to ensure our students have the opportunities and skills needed for academic and Career Success all right compliance is directly attributed to the expectations and the standards that we set within within our department I'm excited to share some fantastic news regarding evaluation timeliness timeliness is essential for ensuring that our students with disabilities receive the services and supports they need as quickly as possible and I'm I'm proud to report our success in this area this year alone we've achieved 100% compliance in completing All 48
044initial special education evaluations within 60 days of parental consent this accomplishments demonstrates our dedication to timely and accurate assessments ensuring that no child is delayed in receiving the special educ ation services that they require these evaluations are crucial as they determine the educational needs of each student and by completing them on time we can ensure that services are implemented as soon as possible giving students the best chance to succeed in their learning as part of our ongoing commitment to ensuring equity and special education we focus on our rating for disproportionality representation which reflects how students with disabilities are represented in specific subgroups this year we were rated met but at risk for the disproportionality representation of students with disabilities in certain subgroups specifically the risk ratio for black students identified as having a disability is
045slightly above the 2.50 threshold which was at 2.55 for the 2023 24 school year well this indicates that we are at risk for proportionate representation we are already focusing on targeted strategies to address this issue we're committed to reducing this risk ratio by implementing strategies that enhance Equity ensure that students from all backgrounds receive fair and appropriate Support over the next year we will be focusing on developing more inclusive practices refining our approach to data analysis to prevent any over representation of any specific subgroup and fostering learning environments where every student is valued and supported we are grateful to have had the opportunity to present the 2425 special education profile this evening which highlights the hard work expertise and unwavering commitment of our staff this profile showcases the positive impact our school district's efforts are
046putting forth on our students and our families at the the core of our work is our mission to provide high quality education and support for all students this Mission drives everything we do and is reflected in the progress that we've made both in the academic and personal growth of our students we look forward to continuing our work together to ensure that all students regardless of their challenges receive the quality education and support that they deserve in closing Victor and I just want to thank um Mr Roberto Dr Milich all of our principles for their support the general education teachers intervention Specialists our related service staff our school psychologists and the enre entire Aurora Community for the support that they've provided to us as the special education department in addition we'd like to extend a thank
047you to the Aurora City School Board of Education for your ongoing support of the office of special services our continued success in special education is a direct result of the Aurora City School District commitment to Excellence and you know we feel that we're on the right path and we will continue to push forward to doing what's best for our students so at this time if you guys have any questions about the special ed profile first congratulations on meeting 14 of those 16 indicators and I wonder could you just expand a little bit on what our responsibility is for students who graduate you said we had 100% graduation rate correct once they're out of our walls what what is our responsibility that point what's incumbent upon us because I know you looking at things so um
048that indicate the two indicators that we missed were new indicators on our special ed profile this year um they were indicators that were not clearly identified to us so we knew that we had to reach out to students with um the surveys the graduation surveys to make a determination of what they were doing if they were employed if they were going to college so we did that we answered the questions and puted the information into the state reporting system so what we found out was based on those responses there were three additional indicators so the first indicator was getting the responses which we met the second indicator was identifying the number of students who were either in college or employed we met that but what the problem we had was in our responses we had
049two students with disabilities respond that they were in college and that caused us to not meet the other two indicators and we know that we have we had more graduates with disabilities that were in college we just didn't get that information from our students so part of what we're going to do next year is make sure that we're targeting all the students that are out there and really pushing to get those responses um you know I had conversations with the uh director of the special education department from the Department of Education about a month ago and I said to her I go I don't know how we could be held accountable for the decisions of a student after they leave us we give them the skills that they need to be successful but now we're
050being graded on their responses of what they're doing so and not only that it sounds very time consuming and it's time taken away from the students who are still inin our walls she said it wasn't changing so okay we'll continue to gather the information yeah it won't change until it does okay thank you any other questions um I appreciate the explanation of um of how you're talking to meet that at risk R and to lower that at risk ratio um do you have any examples of like what like an inclusive practice would look like and how some of those strategies um would play out do you want to talk about it or you want me to and Itor uh answer a question um what I did mention was I I I believe our overarching belief
051that our students with disabilities being educated in the general education classroom with they're typically developing peers would be the probably the most impactful inclusive practice that we currently have in addition to that with the risk ratio of our subgroups is that what it was saying is that we are overidentifying a certain subgroup so one of our our practices is the mtss process and making sure that we're putting the supports in place and seeing if a student responds to those supports prior to making an identification of a disability so maybe providing more supports and making sure that we're really making the right decision before moving to that suspicion thank you thank you for that report we will move on Mr bison's report okay thank you Mrs mahalis uh this evening I have two um resolutions for
052your consideration and I'll start with the uh general fund financial report this being for the month of February and in the month of February revenues exceeded expenditures by about $9.3 million um um increasing our general fund cash balance about 18.7 million eight months into the fiscal year revenues were 54% greater than projected and expenditures are about 1.7% greater than projected uh the big thing on the revenue side we had four tax advances totaling $12,500,000 from the Portage County auditor and the amount was about 4.6 million greater than projected uh but we don't have to get too excited because uh you know as as we mentioned in the past it's the tax collection rate how the taxes are coming in so what you're going to see is when we got our final settlement uh probably sometime
053in March uh it'll be lower than projected so things will start to even out um expenditure wise everything's still running within normal variances uh for this time in the fiscal year so thus far for the fiscal year revenues are about 4.5 million greater than projected again mainly as a result of the tax is being being so much larger and then our expenditures about 152,000 greater than projected so overall right now we have a favorable variance about $4.4 million 8 months through the FIS so that is the uh February Financial reports all right exhibit D1 resolution to approve financial statements and reports May I have a motion please comments or questions for Mr bison all right then please call the rooll Mrs mahalis yes Mr aam yes Mrs C yes Mr Schneider yes Mr s yes
054reports are approved second resolution is a resolution to approve an advance this is from the general fund to the athletic fund so um we're advancing them now we may running overall the athletic fund has a negative cash balance um so we have to advance in the money now uh we'll see at the end of the fiscal year if we have to advance more or not and then obviously being in advance it be paid back to the to the general fund at the beginning of next FIS Year all right exhibit D2 resolution to approve transfers and advances may I have a motion please moved chair seconds any comments or questions Mr bison please call the rooll Mr Schneider yes Mr sski yes yes Mr a yes Mr yes all right reports are approved I conclude your
055report okay all right moving on to new business we have um exhibit e1a which is a resolution to accept accept gifts and contributions ja worldwide donated $250 to the athletic department for jerseys uh doer flowers cookies and more donated $20 to the wrestling program and Paul Celli donated $300 to the track program may I have a motion please yes and could someone turn the light second all right um thank you for the donations anything else Mr bison please call to Mrs C yes Mr a yes Mrs mahalis yes Mrs Schneider yes Mr s yes all right under Personnel resolutions we have exhibit E1 B1 which is a resolution to accept resignations and retirements may I have a motion please second all right I would just like to say there are several um retirements on this
056list that I would like to make mention of one is Sandy Petty who served 30 years in the district as a district nurse we have um Kathy finel 41 years of service to the district currently she's at the high school is the head cook um and then we have several teachers and an interventionist we have Ken Brown a science teacher 28 years Linda Proctor an interventionist 33 years um Lauren seleski 27 years that accounts for oh and then the frankman Paul and enie frankman they're they total almost 50 years so there are some of marks 174 whatever he said he's losing um so we we thank them all for their service and as they Bid Farewell to to school bells and school calendars and lesson plans and meal plans and all the things they've been
057doing for decades we wish them all the best in their retirement any other comments or questions yeah I just kind of want to second that over the last couple of months there's been several retirees here that I know have touched my life um when I was going through the schools my brothers um even though it was just a couple years ago um colleagues of my parents and it's just awesome to see all this dedication to this district for so many years thank him all right Mr bison please call the RO Mrs Schneider yes Mrs mahes yes Mr a yes M yes Mr s yes all right then with that objection I'll take E1 B2 through E1 B8 as a group um I'll read through them first uh E1 B2 is a resolution to employ licensed
058substitute teachers for this current school year exhibit E1 B3 is a resolution to employ long-term substitute teach for this school year exhibit E1 B4 is a resolution to award supplemental activity contracts to District Personnel exhibit E1 B5 is a resolution to award a teacher a one-year limited contract exhibit E1 B6 is a resolution to approve the introductory appointment of support staff exhibit E1 B7 is a resolution to employ support staff and exhibit E1 B8 is a resolution to award supplemental activity contract to non-district Personnel may I have a motion second any comments or questions on those resolutions Mr bison please call the RO Mr a yes Mr sski yes Mrs Schneider yes Mrs click yes Mrs Mah yes resolutions are approved exhibit E1 B9 is a resolution to award two new administrator contracts um one
059is to Chris wingler who has been with us for some time but she's now she's taking on a new role we congratulate her and the other is Brian sheral May I have a motion for for um have a motion please first so move second all right so I jumped the gun there on Chris thank you for being here and congratulations and then uh to Brian shaly happy to um welcome you officially and publicly tonight we were very impressed with your preparation through the interview process and your knowledge and your experience and having worked in different kinds of districts than ours and we were also very impressed with your enthusiasm very enthusiastic for a numbers guy so we welcome you and if you'd like to take just a moment first we'll vote let's vote Mr bis
060any other comments before we vote all right Mr Schneider yes Mrs mahalis yes Mrs click yes Mr sski yes Mr yes all right you're in and now if you'd like yeah I just want to thank the board for this opportunity ex people at home can hear um again thank you to the board uh for this opportunity uh Mr Vols and Mr mtit for being part of the interview process um I am very enthusiastic about getting started here um from everything I've I've done a lot of research and it seems like an amazing Community I've been up here a number of times since uh even just applying for the job so um I'm excited to get started here in August um kind of get to know the community even better get to know the staff better
061it's been fantastic being here tonight seeing so many people in the audience and participating in the in the board meeting um it's truly great to see so I really am excited to to get up here and uh get to work with everyone here so thank you all very much I appreciate it thank thank you and thank you for bringing your wife and your dad that's nice and Mr bison we'll have more to say about your leaving as we get closer to all right uh we'll take exhibit E1 B10 through E1 B12 as a group E1 B10 is a resolution to approve leave of absence requests yeah uh E1 B1 is a resolution to employe support staff substitute for this school year exhibit E1 B12 is a resolution to employ part-time support staff may I have
062a motion for approval any comments or questions Mr bison please call the role Mrs mahalis yes Mrs click yes Mr sski yes Mrs Schneider yes Mr a yes resolutions are approved um isab e1c is a resolution to approve an out of state and overnight trip for the choir may I have a motion please moved all right are there any comments or questions we have all the pertinent details oh sorry any comments or questions yeah okay all right Mr bison please call the RO Mr sabulski yes Mr a yes Mrs Mrs Schneider yes Mrs M yes exhibit e1d is a resolution to approve payment in lie of in lie of what our regular Bus Transportation uh may I have a motion please second any comments or questions Mr bison please call the role Mrs mallis yes
063Mrs C yes Mr aam yes Mr sski yes Mrs Schneider yes ex exhibit e1e is a resolution to authorize electricity purchasing agreement which I think Mr bison is going to talk to us about okay oh can I have a motion so moved second all right Mr uh yes our um electricity uh contract is coming up this year uh previously we were with uh the house schools Council group power for schools and we kind of been with them for for a good while now um and we got received your proposal from them but we also went out through uh in conx this is a company that goes out and bids uh the electricity contract separately um uh different school districts have utilized them among them are Solen Mr AUM Works uh brefi uses them uh Riv
064omad Falls there's a number of school districts in North Easter Ohio that use that so through the process um they came up with a price we have a fixed price which is lower than what we'll receive through the Ohio school council and it'll be through um smartest energy uh they're based in uh Syracuse New York I believe um the contract that is attached to it and overall this is going to save us uh nearly $199,000 over a threeyear period so uh not a you know a decent amount of savings and $19,000 is obviously a decent amount of money that we could save on the electricity purchase uh if you want to compare it to uh what we have been paying for the last uh um school year this this technically would have saved us over
065uh threeyear period nearly $70,000 based upon what we currently have been paying so so the price is good and even in comparison to what our current price is in in a time when the electricity prices are rising so uh that's why we kind of kind of get this together here at the at the last moment because prices are kind of changing on a a relatively quick basis in the utilities Market okay thank you any questions no questions just a comment I just wanted to thank uh the administration for their willingness to look outside the traditional savings program I think that can be a scary proposition sometimes but um I think this is a smart decision um that'll allow us to save some important dollars as we as we continue to move forward so thank you
066sorry please call the r Mr sabulski yes Mr aob yes Mrs CL yes Mrs Schneider yes Mrs Mahal yes exhibit e1f is a resolution to approve the purchase of fening for veteran Stadium may I have a motion please chair seconds um did you want to say any you I know you told us about this yeah just to clarify uh you know typically and this will actually lead to the discussion so it's probably good to mention it uh you know typically if we have something that's a bit under or it's cost under $25,000 we don't come to the board for that you guys have given us that permission to do so and that's where where this project started um last week folks were coming in and working on it and there were a couple things that
067as we talked to uh it's great northern fencing that we wanted to do extra Beyond which took us over the 25,000 which is why we're here to get your approval for for this resolution to cover that difference one of the things is is basically clean up and a removal of some of the uh the fencing that ended up being uh upgraded I guess in some areas so we're not only adding fencing but we're improving some of the fencing around the the stadium uh the fencing that we're adding under there by the way is is set to help us um uh not only uh protect the the stuff that is stored under there but uh to keep to be honest keep the kids out from behind the stadium during football season uh and it's worked we
068had temporary fencing earlier and now that're we're using the permanent fencing after like two years of temporary fencing uh that we've used the other is to put in um uh they're they're called um they're what are they called winds slotting uh in the fence so it'll make it look nicer you're not seeing through the fence but it's just like blocking so the things that are behind there plus it protects what's there and it keeps curious uh eyes out from you know be be there uh behind there so those are the two things that did take that over the $25,000 level which is why we're here for resolution okay any questions so then this um 33,000 amount that's for the total price and not additional correct yes that takes us for our total which is over
069the yeah right Mr Bon please call the RO Mrs Schneider yes Mr a yes Mrs Mahal yes Mr speak yes this is cor yes all right we have a discussion item uh which is board policy djc bidding requirements which we will vote on next month tiet did you want to say anything about it yeah just to kind of clear up uh with this so uh there when we when we upgrade our policies one of the things that we'll do is we'll put in green some of the things that we're adding and you'll see there's like three or four pages of green on this particular policy um part of the reason we did that is as we were working with this policy looking at it and then comparing it to other districts we noticed that a
070lot of districts were putting a lot of their uh other policies which mentioned bidding all in one place and so that's kind of what we did we actually took about nine different policies and put them all on this one which is why you're you you'll see there there's like two or three pages but it'll include things like you know the then and now certificates or the soliciting of bids or the lease purchase agreements that sort of thing so they're all under one policy so that's one of the reasons you're seeing uh that extension the other is related to actually what we just talked about uh the state has raised the cap of what uh we were allowed to go from 50,000 to 75,000 we've always been below that cap we were around 25,000 when the
071state was saying 50 what we're recommending in this uh uh update to the policy is to raise that cap from 25,000 that we have to 50,000 so when we have a case like defense in this case uh that pops over that 20 we won't necessarily have to come back to get your uh you know approval for something like that which might hold up a job or or or something of that nature so that would be that something that the board would want to um uh discuss and and decide for next month on on approval of this resolution to allow that okay so we need to think about that and read through this all right are there any board items is Mr IL here before I adjourn I'm going to ask you if you'd come up
072after the meeting and give me either your email address or your phone number so somebody can conect you and if April's still here I know how to get all right may I have a motion for adjournment second Mr bison please call the RO Mrs C yes Mr Aon yes Mrs Schneider yes Mrs mahalis yes Mr s yes meeting is adjourned thank you all for coming 802 y