SMFCSD Board Meeting 2025-01-21

001Great. All right. Good. Good evening. Like to call to order the Wednesday uh January 21, 2026 special board meeting. Uh the board of education will now vote to call the meeting to order. Those in attendance are reminded that this is a meeting of the board of education conducted in the view of the public. Any person while being heard at the board of education meeting may be called to order by the board president or any member of the board for failure to be relevant to the business of the board for vulgarity and for or for personal attacks or persons of or institutions. I have a roll call please. >> Yes. Merleti here. Moyer >> here. >> Sheen >> here. >> Suladonic here. Whitaker >> here. Everyone could please stand for the pledge of allegiance. I pledge

002allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty for all. Everything we do is designed to provide a future ready student- centered learning experience for every single child. Our strategic plan for 2021 through 26 will help to accomplish this goal by considering every facet of a student's learning experience from curriculum to instruction I'm sorry to from curriculum to infrastructure to wellness, diversity and inclusion and everything in between. I will now entertain a motion to adopt tonight's agenda. >> So moved. >> Second. >> All right. And before we vote on that, I would ask for a motion I'm going to ask for a motion to amend the agenda as follows. One, to add um under the superintendent's recommendations um the

003approval of an extended field trip for our cheer team. and then two to slightly rearrange the order to move item uh item 5A. Then we're going to go 1 2 3 4 5 A seven and six which is the recess and then add our treasurer search recommend uh presentations and go onward from there. Um the reason for that is we have a board member who has to leave and we've got a and you know snow moved us out for a day. So, do I have a motion to to make that uh amendment? >> Just a quick point of order. Are we allowed to do that since it's a special meeting, though? >> We are. >> Okay. Make sure. >> So, moved a motion. >> All right. Unless there's any discussion. Roll call, please, on the

004motion to adopt the amended agenda. >> Merleti. >> I. Moyer. >> Yes. >> She >> Yes. >> Sula Donic. I >> Whitaker >> I All right. So that was I apologize. That was the motion to amend the agenda. So now if we can adopt the adopt agenda as as amended. Do I have a motion? I guess we already did that. So roll call please. >> Merleti. >> I >> She >> Sulaonic. >> I Whitaker >> I. >> All right. So now we'll move on to item 5A. our building report for Woodland Elementary and I'll turn it over to Dr. Gold. >> Good evening and welcome. Welcome to uh Woodland Elementary. I am now going to turn it over to Principal Katon and Miss Piland. Testing, testing. Good evening. Welcome to Woodland. We're very happy that

005you all are here this evening. Um, we welcome the board of education, Dr. Gould, and our interim treasurer and uh, members of the community. So, we are celebrating our 70th anniversary this year. Um, that's one of our, um, accomplishments. We're going to be celebrating it towards the end of the year with a an volunteer celebration. So, um I will invite you all back to our celebration later this year in May. Um we are a fourstar rated school based on the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce. Um we have 278 students currently enrolled and we have 26 certified, 20 classified and one administrator on our staff. We have an attendance rate of of 95.1% and our chronic absenteeism rate is 9.7% which we are working to lower by three percentage points this year. Uh our school

006houses our gifted self-contain unit for our fourth graders. Um and we are really excited to some of them are going to be helping me present this evening in achievement on the 20242 Ohio school report card. We had third our third grade English language arts students had a 74.2% passage rate and our third grade math students had a 72.6% passage rate. Our fourth grade English language arts students had a 89.3% passage rate and our fourth grade math students had a 96.4% passage rate. So um you're going to meet Miss Piland. She's our fourth grade math teacher tonight and she works really hard to help have our kiddos uh get that percentage passing. in early literacy. On the report card, we had 100% of our fourth graders promoted or 100% of our third graders promoted to fourth

007grade. Um, and our kindergarten, first grade, and second grade students uh in our fall of 2024 reading diagnostic all had a greater than 90% of them were considered on track to pass the third grade reading guarantee um when they hit that third grade. So, that's an accomplishment that our primary grades teachers are very proud of here at Woodland. Our presentation this evening is going to connect to mission seven, mission eight, and mission nine of our 2021 through 2026 Stoman fall strategic plan. Um, in accordance with public relations, staff and student wellness and opportunities for all students. Um, and I'm going to turn it over to Miss Pilin and Mrs. Marquette, our fourth grade student council adviserss and some of our fourth graders that are part of our student council. I'm gonna turn this way. [laughter]

008Anyway, I'm Nancy Marquette. Uh, this is my first year being a a student council adviser and believe me, these kids are making it easy. They are wonderful, wonderful kids to work with and they have great ideas. So, I'm not going to talk anymore. I'm going to let them do it. Good evening members from the school board, administrators, teachers, and guests. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to speak tonight. We are the fourth grade student council members from Woodland. We are here to share a project that is very important to us, the Good Neighbors Food Drive, and how it helped our community and brought our school together. Every year, schools across Stow Schools collect food for families in need. We are proud to say that Stow Schools is the largest contributor to the Good Neighbors

009Food Drive year after year and our school worked hard to be part of that success. This year, we joined together with Kimton Middle School and Riverview to collect donations. We even took a picture with former Woodland students who are now at Campton and continue to serve on student council as they move up through the grades. It was exciting to see how leadership continues from elementary school to middle school. This year, our school collected over 1,600 food and hygiene items, all donated by students and families who wanted to help others in our community. That's when you all go, "What?" >> To celebrate everyone's hard work and generosity, our school earned a special reward, a spirit week and minute to win it assembly for the entire school. During the assembly, teachers competed against students who were chosen

010randomly. The games were fun, exciting, and everyone cheered for both teams. Even Mr. Keading, just as Buddy the Elf, led the entire school in a game called Don't Be a Cottonheaded Nitty Muggan. As student council members, we helped organize the assembly. We made sure all games were ready, explained the rules, and assisted anyone who needed help doing the activities. Everyone had fun, and we felt proud knowing we are doing something worthwhile for our community. The good neighbors food drive showed us that when we work together and lead with kindness, we can make a real difference. The canned food drive wasn't the only thing we've done. The fourth graders are currently in charge of their own pause program. Instead of the teachers passing out pause tickets, fourth graders are allowed to give a deserving peer a

011bead with a P, a W, or S on it. Each grading period we celebrate these students or recognized by their peers. The students choose peers who practice kindness, act responsibly, work hard, and show respect. >> These are what they look like. What's next? Our student council voted on two goals we want to work on for the rest of the year. The first is to make a plan and present to Mr. Keing and our aids how we can choose our seats in the cafeteria while not getting out of control. The second is to try and get recycling back in our school. We are very passionate about this and we may need the board's help in making it happen. >> Did you hear that? Wink wink. All right. >> Thank you for supporting our pool. >> But

012wait, there's more. Hold on a minute. I'm going to get on stage because I don't know if the you've noticed these meetings aren't that exciting all the time. So, we're gonna make it exciting. We're gonna show you the game we played called Don't Be a Cottonhead and Nitty Mugggin. So, are you ready? Because you are all playing. Got it. I need everyone to stand up. Yeah. Yeah. Stand up here. Yeah. Nope. Doesn't matter. All right. I know you're like nervous. That's okay. We can do hard things. All right. So, I'm going to be behind a curtain in a minute doing a certain elf pose. Okay? And whoever does the same pose as me gets to stay in. Okay? So, we're going to practice the poses. Can you all do this one real quick? That's right.

013See, you're good. All right. This next one, the bashful one. All right. And then the one at the end, I can't see what it is. Is it the You guys are so good. All right. Do we have are those? And one more. No, two more. Oh, my favorite. And then the last one is He's like hunched in the little house. Okay. I am so proud of all of you right now. Thank you. All right. So, I'm gonna get down there. Are you ready to play? All right. Choose your code. Are they all there? >> Okay. Are you ready? One more. But that's [snorts] just to show you that they really do hard work and have fun at the same time. We find that balance and they are like they really did lead all of it.

014They explained all the directions. They were able to keep the tension of kindergarten through third grade in the entire school. Oh, well, fourth grade, too. The entire school for over an hour. >> It was amazing. So, thank you. >> And these are some pictures of our student council helping to load the canned food drive in November. So, we really appreciate Mrs. Marquette and Miss Piland's help with all of that. Thank you everybody. Um, another [clears throat] program that I'd like to highlight this evening is our Achieve Coffee Cart program. You may have seen this as you were walking in and and I hope we have a little short recess after this and they can stop by to get some um refreshments on your way out. Um, our adviserss are Mrs. Brookover and Miss Franciscus, two

015of our intervention specialists, and uh, they work with some of our special education students to help them learn life skills and counting money, building relationships. They go door todo to our teachers and present them with opportunities to purchase coffee and snacks throughout um a couple times a month and um the gives our students real life practice with things like saying hello, making eye contact that some of our students with special needs have challenges with. And we work with our youngest learners in kindergarten all the way through our fourth grade learners practicing this skill. Um so this matters because it's not just about coffee. It's about helping our students connect, grow, and feel proud of themselves. and it's a way to bring the school together and help our students um of all abilities shine. So, um

016as you're leaving this evening, stop by our cart on the way out and if you have a donation, we can give you some coffee, a water, or some cookies. Um we hope you can enjoy that. And here are some pictures of our students participating in um in the coffee cart program. So, I just want to say thank you for the opportunity to share with you some of the great things that are happening here at Woodland. And um if you have any questions, I'd be happy to to take any questions from you right now. >> Well, thank you for thank you for putting so much time into that and to our our kids for uh really really going for it. We we I don't think we're ever uh disappointed when we come to Woodland. So, thank

017you. The next item on our agenda is what's printed as number seven. It's the Bulldog Center Stage Awards. And I'll turn it back over to Dr. Gold. >> Good evening. We are here this this evening to share our January 2026 winners for Bulldog Center Stage. And we will begin uh with Lake View. And I'm going to ask the person to please come up and stand until we have everyone here and then we'll take a picture at the end. Starting with Deb Balman, sixth grade teacher. Over the last month, Miss Balman went above and beyond in planning classroom activities for her students as part of a buildingwide reads giving event celebrating literacy. She motivated her students to be some of the biggest contributors to the book drive associated with this event. She also recently incorporated unique

018opportunities to express creativity in ELA through a poetry slam. Thank you so much. Next from our bus garage, Dave Collins, bus driver. Mr. Collins or Mr. David, as his bus riders call him, consistently goes above and beyond his duties as a bus driver. He does not transport student he does not just transport students from point A to point B. He takes an interest in them and genuinely cares about them. He passes out treats. Uh-oh. On special occasions or holidays. When my daughter forgot her instrument on the bus, he didn't just drop it. He didn't just drop it off at the bus garage. He handd delivered it to me at the high school and chatted with me about what good kids my son and daughter are in a way that I could tell he knew exactly

019who they are. Who they were. Thank you so much, Mr. Collins. From Indian Trail, Ashley Cook, kitchen manager. Ashley has gone above and beyond by hosting a Thanksgiving feast for our students and staff, bringing joy through our holiday elf and its playful mischief, and providing extra sweet treats on special days that make school feel even more welcoming and fun. I'm honored to nominate our kitchen manager, Ashley Cook, for the Bulldog Center Stage Award. Ashley comes to work each day with a positive attitude, genuine excitement to nourish and care for the students at Indian Trail. Thank you so much, Miss Cook. From Woodland, Audrey Koy, kitchen manager. Audrey is a wonderful advocate for the nutrition services program and provides healthy, nutritious meals for our Woodland students every day. Let's congratulate Miss Cy from Highland. Briana Del

020Long, kindergarten teacher. Miss Dong has contributed to the success in our building, not only this month, but all year. She goes above and beyond for her kindergarten students to make sure that they are successful not only in kindergarten but also as they continue in their education at Highland. Miss Dong makes sure all her students needs are being academically met and she is has amazing knowledge and strategies for social emotional needs as well. Thank you so much Miss Del Long from Echo Hills. Jamie Delorenzo, fourth grade teacher. Jaime's commitment extends far beyond the classroom. She volunteered to present at the board meeting this year and dedicates her time to leading our math 24 club, inspiring students to develop their mathematical thinking and problem skills. It was with great enthusiasm that I nominate Jamie Delorenzo for this

021well-deserved recognition. Congratulations, from the district office. Matt Frame, custodial maintenance supervisor. Matt is not here this evening, but we'll still congratulate him. Uh, Fish Creek, Tiffany Harris, first grade teacher. Tiffany has gone out of her way to help our long-term sub get acclimated in the first grade classroom. She has given up time during her planning period to answer questions and train her on how to enter grades and set up groups and dazzle. She also meets with the teaching and learning department to understand her student data and finds ways to make adjustment to teaching so that all students have the opportunity to learn and grow. Thank you so much Miss Harris from Riverview. Alicia Patterson, second grade teacher. Alisia's not here. Okay. High school. Grayson Paula, intervention specialist. Grayson is new to our building this year

022and has quickly distinguished herself as an exceptional intervention specialist. Despite a demanding schedule that includes four levels of ELA and a case load of students with moderate needs, her ability to differentiate instruction is outstanding, ensuring all students receive the support they need to succeed. Thank you so much, Miss Puller. And last but not le least, Renee Stom Cook server from Kempton. Well, congratulations to her as well. >> All right, we'll take our photo. We will now move for a short recess of up to five minutes. Just long enough to let everyone clear out who would like All right. All right. Since all of the board is sitting down and no one's moving in and out of the room, I will call us back from recess here at 6:26. Move on to the next item on

023our agenda, which is the treasure search presentations. Um, as everyone knows, we um we have a very capable interim treasurer. Um, but we need to uh fill that spot permanently. And so we have uh four presentations of up to 10 minutes uh each uh plus a Q&A with the board members if we have questions or or superintendent or interim treasurer have questions. But we will go in order here and uh finding leaders. Mr. Pendleton turn the floor over to you. Okay, can you hear me now? All right. Uh, appreciate the opportunity to come and share with you about finding leaders and how our searches progress, how we go about this process. I'll give you a really brief history of finding leaders. Um, when I retired as a superintendent, my wife kicked me out of the

024house and said, "Go do something." Um, so at that point, um, I was working with an ESC superintendent and we had a call one day that said from an ESC superintendent in Southeast Ohio who said, "We have a board of education down here that they don't like each other. They don't work well together. They don't play well together. People don't like them. And they need a superintendent." and I that super ESC superintendent refused to do the search. Will you guys come down and do the search? So we said sure we'll do that. We did the search. It was really successful. Turned everything around. A good leader in the district. And then we began to think about how this really ought to be done. How do we go about this process of doing superintendent, treasure, principal,

025other kinds of searches? So we've developed this process. our we have I think 17 or 18 steps process steps in our um searches. I'm not going to cover each one. You [clears throat] have in your folder this document with a bunch of circles. I'd like to talk about this document. It's two or three back from the front, I believe. Gary, I think it's the next one. There you go. Okay, let me use this as a guide for talk summarizing our process. So, we start with the critical decisions. This is a meeting with the board of education that lasts 60 to 90 minutes only and we talk about all kinds of things. is what we're trying to do is help the board and help us understand a profile of the new treasur in this case. Well,

026we need to know the qualities and the characteristics of the treasur you are hoping to hire. Um, we develop this profile. We talk about potential candidates. We talk about um concerns, strengths of the district so we know a little bit better. We talk about residency. We talk about timelines for the search. Uh contractual issues, advertising data that we need to collect to help us advertise. That is the basis of the search. Um and then we do the announcement that will follow two or three days after the critical decisions. our announcement. Um, we have 19 consultants around the state of Ohio from here to Toledo to Cincinnati to Columbus and as along with the announcement, all 19 consultants will know that this job is open. We'll send them a special note and that's part of our

027networking. That's part of the success we have. We have a network of education leaders all over Ohio that provide input to us. They might text us back and say, "We know some people here in the Cincinnati area." In fact, we did a treasure search in east the east side of Cleveland. The lady came from Cincinnati. Uh in addition to that, we use our own website. We use the Ohio schools council website, 350 districts. We use BASSA website, OASBO website. We use frontline. You you guys may use front line. We use that as a uh advertisement also including uh k12 jobsspots.com. That's a national organization. So this opening will receive lots of attention, lots of networking, lots of advertising. Then we move into the engagement phase. That critical decision component, the very first step is part

028of our engagement. We were founded on the concept of public engagement. How do we involve people in processes? It's really important to us that [clears throat] a lot of people are involved. But that decision ultimately is up to you who you want involved and how many you want involved. Or is it just five board members? Um we oftentimes at the uh approval of the board will conduct some focus groups again that helps us understand the profile the qualities and characteristics a little bit more. It also offers some buyin from those individuals in the focus groups. Sometimes we will do a focus group with the treasure staff, sometimes with the administrators, sometimes if you have a comm community organization, sometimes we have business advisory councils or we have treasure advisory groups. Sometimes we'll do a focus

029group with them. again trying to engage people in this process, trying to understand from a really diverse group of people the kind of person um you all want and you all need. That moves us into recruiting. I don't know if uh other organizations here will admit this or not, but the treasure pool in Ohio is about this thick. Um, and it's our responsibility, our chore to turn over every treasure rock we can find and and recruit quality people, but those people who match your profile. It's really really important that these individuals that we bring to you meet the qualities and characteristics you want and fit into your culture. Uh so that net that recruiting includes uh the 19 consultants we have Ohio schools council BASSA we really close to BASA we're very very close to

030uh Katie Johnson from OASBO uh absolutely wonderful partner of ours and includes many many many phone calls and networkings from our consultants that's that's the secret to finding the best treasure possible. is the networking, is the advertising, is the turning over every treasure rock we can find in Ohio. And then it comes to interviewing. We will personally interview every candidate um who applies, who is licensed, and who meets meets your profile. We'll personally interview them. we will do our own due diligence before we ever talk to you about them. So, we not we're not going to bring you anyone who has baggage. We're not going to bring you anyone who doesn't meet your profile. Um, [clears throat] so we will recommend of the candidates a few that we consider to be the best candidates. Obviously,

031we're going to present all candidates to you. You will get to see every resume. You can choose whom you want to interview. We will make a recommendation, but if you want to interview four more, that's up to you. Okay. Um then we facilitate all of your interviews. We're there. Um we don't ask questions. We facilitate. We set them up. We make the arrangements. We do all the phone calls. We call even uh if they're not accepted into the next round. You don't have to do any of that. We look at this uh opportunity as a partnership between finding leaders and the board of education. Um so we are there unless you kick us out. I hope you don't but we look at this as a real partnership. Um and then we've done our vetting, we've

032done our due diligence. um we report to the board and then the we ask the board to interview a group of candidates. Hopefully they they will be the ones we we recommend or others that you might choose on the list of candidates. We will provide you with a group of questions. You can choose from those questions, add your own, delete from ours um and we'll go through that process. Usually that's depending on the number of candidates we have. It's usually a twoight affair. Perhaps three candidates one night, three candidates the next night. That's our hope at least in the treasures world. Sometimes it doesn't quite work like that. So [clears throat] we've asked the board to do uh the first round interviews. We're there. We're facilitating. We don't ask questions. We keep time. We say,

033"Hey, there's 10 minutes left in this interview process. Uh, let's wrap it up." Uh, we won't say wrap it up, but we say there's 10 minutes left. And then we ask you to do your own due diligence. We have a onepage suggested form that we ask you to follow. In that um in those due diligence activities, of course, you need to make phone calls from the employee employer of the person you're looking at and you ask questions like um what do you really like about this person? Do you have any concerns? We also strongly suggest you make a visitation. Two board members go to that district, take that person out to lunch or dinner. What you're looking for is not only the skills, you're beginning to assess that from their first round interviews, but you're

034looking for their personality and do they fit with the Stow culture. You're really looking for a fit with the STO Stow culture. Certainly, you're looking for someone who has the the skills, but can you work with them? Are they comfortable with you? Are you comfortable with them? That occurs over about a week period of time and then you come back for second round interviews. Again, we're there. We provide you with questions. You accept them, add yours, delete from ours. We are there. We facilitate those interviews. Usually, that's two people. Uh if you choose three, that's okay. If you choose four, that's okay, too. It's your choice. [clears throat] Those interviews are a bit more technical. We ask for a presentation. Um, we're asked for a presentation. Um, that's really a technical presentation. And by 8:00

035or 9:00 or 10 o'clock or 12:00, we hope you're ready to make a decision. They have already committed themselves to make a dis to accept the job if offered. They know the components of the contract. Not every detail, but they know the parameters of the contract. And so, moving on, when all of this is done, you meet within three days and hire the person, and we give you a free one-year transition plan, outlining activities we think needs to happen in that first year to make sure that person is successful, to make sure your relationships are really, really good. In addition to that, we offer we give you a um a free retreat working with that new person about roles and responsibilities and communications and how you work together. That's part of it. We have a

036guarantee as well. We guarantee if it doesn't work, we do it again without free free within a year. So maybe I've talked enough. I think I'm getting a notion from Jason. What can I answer for you? >> Yeah, I have a couple questions. What's been your experience on dealing with a midyear hire versus an August hire? >> Uh, that's interesting. Treasures now as of a few year years ago operate under the same um timeline, contractual timelines as superintendents. So, treasure contracts begin August 1st. However, um treasures are a bit more free to leave during the school year. There's been some attorney general opinions about indentured servants and we find that uh even though boards may not like it, treasures can leave during the midst of the school year. >> Yes. Um, and what at what

037point would these candidates how uh how would we engage the current staff? >> Good question. Um, we suggest we do a focus group with staff members that you identify whether that's the treasur staff or administrative staff or others. Uh, we do the focus group. Secondly, we suggest you offer the opportunity for at least the treasur staff to interview each final candidate. We also uh would facilitate the administrative team interviewing the final candidate, not to choose a person, that's your job, but to offer you input about what they like, what they might have concerns about each candidate. Uh, how long do you think this process will take? >> We like to have about three months. That gives us time to turn those rocks over. I talked about um we we we just started the church search

038of the early giving is five weeks and we said that's not enough. We like about three months if we can. um in your most recent searches about how many applicants have you gotten um in each time? >> Let me remind you the treasure pool in Ohio's about >> Yes, I'm well aware. >> We recently did a search in western part of Kyhoga County in a nice district. Base salary was $170,000 plus full pickup plus an an annuity plus some other things. We had 11 or 12 candidates. Okay. A few of them were not certified, were not licensed. I have one. Go ahead. >> You mentioned 19 consultants uh for our district. Who might we choose? How do you award which consultant goes with which district? >> Already done that. >> Okay. >> Um I will

039be playing a role. My son Ryan Pendleton, you may have heard the name around Ohio, uh will be playing a role. And Patty Clearary, a former superintendent from Summit County, will also be playing a role. There would be three of us involved. >> I'm going to ask the same question to all of them, all of you. Uh so, uh you know, we have in our district, I think anywhere from three to five retired and current school treasurers in other districts. Um, I think there's some desire potentially on the board to engage them as part of a a focus group. Would you recommend us letting you do that or would we be the ones maybe reaching out to our residents that that have that experience? >> We prefer to do it because we have the experience

040of hundreds of focus groups and we know how to compile that data. We know how to disagregate the data and report it to you. Do we have any other questions for Mr. Pendleton? >> All right. Thank you. >> Thank you. Our next uh presenter, Summit County ESC. >> Good evening. My name is Jeff Ferguson. I'm the assistant superintendent uh of the Summit County Educational Service Center. I want to thank the board for giving us this opportunity tonight. Uh our superintendent uh Joe Akona when the date got moved, he had a meeting with uh the Department of Education in Columbus that was unavoidable. So, uh but he he did want me to let you know that he would also be involved in in the search, but was unable to be here tonight. Uh so what we're

041going to do I also have with us uh Dr. Tina Dinklocker who also will be working with us on the uh search process should we be given the opportunity. So in a minute I'm going to turn it over to uh Tina and Dr. Dink Locker and let her kind of walk through the process. Then I'll come back up and I have a few other key key things that that I'll wrap with and then take your questions. So, uh, the first thing I I would say to you is, uh, you know, as an affiliated district with us and working with us, uh, we pride ourselves on the relationship and and I I feel like, uh, when we do a search, particularly for an affiliated district that we have a long history and a relationship with, you

042know, we have a vested interest as well in you getting an excellent treasurer. And uh just when you think about the relationships uh you know the three consultants that are going to be doing this project myself, Joy Aona, superintendent and and Dr. Dinklocker, we have intimate relationships of working in in Stowe and and partnering with Stowe and and I would say, you know, hopefully if you ask Dr. Gould, she would tell you that, you know, if she picks up the phone and calls, a she gets an answer and b it's usually a you know what, Dr. gold. I'm going to gather everything of the questions you have and I'm going to bring it over and and and come and meet with you and and walk through that. And I think that's part part of the

043relationship and an advantage that we're able to provide uh similar uh your interim treasurer when we found out the situation. We tried as quickly as we could and and Laura was gracious enough to uh you know step up and and do that. And again, it's part of that relationship that's so important to us that that we want to do that. And you'll see that the four people I just mentioned will be here pre, during, and also post. It will be a long ongoing relationship for that uh candidate that you select. So, at this point, I'm going to turn it over to Dr. Dinklocker, and she's going to kind of walk you through our process. Well, hi there. Good to see you again, and good to meet you if we hadn't met before. and I wanted

044to say hello to the audience uh this evening also and thank you for supporting public education on behalf of all the children uh in our schools. Uh this evening I'm going to refer you to uh the first page in your packet uh that uh describes the treasure search process and um I share uh with you as uh does Mr. Ferguson uh a parallel process uh that um Paul shared with you uh this evening as well. uh all of us as search agencies have a set of steps uh that we have used for many years uh to produce uh the individual that you would be seeking in your profile uh for your uh treasure. Um to the point made earlier of the timelines, our timelines are uh usually within eight weeks and uh we can go

045faster than that. we have uh especially during those times when uh there's a vacancy um unexpectedly in the middle of a year or not characteristically we start seeing uh notifications of vacancies around November or so because some of the superintendent and now treasurers because of the same timeline are declaring their retirements are perhaps going to other districts. So, uh it used to be um later in the spring that individuals would declare their intentions. Uh but now it's become pretty much a year- round business. We've had uh vacancies to fill as early as September uh in the school year. Uh sometimes due to illness and un you know unknown kinds of situations uh to the individual or to the district. So in any case um a strength that we offer um in addition to the relationship

046uh building process is that we run a class for treasures uh starting we started that back in uh uh because uh we knew uh that uh there would be fewer and fewer uh individuals that would be seeking a license or uh declaring an interest. Um so we uh go ahead to the universities also and ask for the opportunity to speak to accounting classes uh so that we build our profile and the interest um sometimes uh they're not as eager to do that and uh Mr. Ayakono and I literally stand in the hallway when the classes u change and hand out brochures and recruit in the hallways. Uh so we'll do anything we can to build our ranks. Um, as Laura can attest to, um, we have math teachers who are seeking, um, to retire and,

047uh, not finished contributing to education. So, they wish to train to be a treasurer. One just recently over the past few weeks has reached out to us, wants to, uh, find out how to get trained and and get in the classes and such. So, our track record with that is very good. All the candidates that have been in our classes have uh gone to districts uh successfully sometimes as assistant treasurer and moved up and uh the good news is they're good enough uh to keep moving. Uh if you're at the receiving end of that uh that's not so welcome. uh but we're happy that they're successful and able to go maybe from a small district less than a thousand and continue their career and go to uh larger places or other places uh near their

048homes or what have you. So in any case uh they are contributing to one district or the other and we hope it's you. So uh the process of uh seeking input is that of you make that as big as you want or as small as you want. Some districts would like for us to uh conduct a focus group internally uh with you as board members uh and superintendent and your interim treasurer. Others would like us to meet with various uh segments of the population uh your community, your internal population of support personnel, certificated um in some cases even student groups um to in this case as a treasurer students are not usually familiar with that. Uh although if we're smart with our classes, we ought to make them familiar with it, right? And get them

049early. Um but in any case, that can be as big as you'd like. Um and also uh our recruitment and uh processing uh happens a lot through word of mouth. Uh this is my 52nd year uh in education and u my doctorates in human resources. I specialize in uh the hiring process. It's always been my love. Um so um that helps a lot because after 52 years, you know, a lot of people um especially in Northeast Ohio. So um we use the the uh traditional recruitment processes of the postings with the associations and such. Um but quite frankly I just uh keep the oldfashioned rolodex and start making phone calls and building upon the relationships that have already been established because uh between the treasur and I we teach the classes. So, uh, we've known

050quite a few people over time that are continuing. In many cases, they are treasures, but they're seeking to make a change, uh, either again closer to home or, um, to a larger district if that's their desire or, um, a better fit with culture. The initial interviews are conducted, uh, at our end. Um, and uh, we've had in our most recent uh, treasure uh, search, we had 14 candidates, but uh, to Dr. Pendleton's point, a lot of them aren't um, certified. You know, you'll have people applying a lot of times uh, folks that are CPAs uh, and individuals that are out of the auditor's office. So they are, you know, certainly uh people that are qualified but not familiar necessarily uh with the school culture and school operation unless they are an auditor that works in

051schools. Uh so uh they sound like a fit, but then when you do the interview process, you might find that that fit isn't quite matching the qualifications and and the needs for the culture and the understanding of the school business uh that you would like. So, uh, when you get down to breast tax, you interview about eight and out of the eight, uh, about four of them are folks that look like they match the profile. So, we bring those individuals to you. We bring all individuals to you on paper and discuss each one with you and then, um, you deliberate in terms of what you think is your best fit based on what we've told you, what their paperwork uh, describes. So uh we will help you with the uh semifinal interviews. Uh we write

052the interview questions for you based on the profile that you've given us through our dialogue with you and also uh with the the focus groups uh if you so desire. We do the reference checks and uh do we call the references that uh the individuals list? we do out of courtesy. Uh but we check at least another half dozen more that uh they don't know we're checking quite frankly. Uh they are people who know people who know people you know kind of thing. So, um, we're very thorough about it and then we help you, uh, make an offer to the individual, uh, work through the aspects of the contract, uh, if that's something that you need our input on, uh, with various, uh, aspects. And, and of course, Laura's help with that as well. And,

053uh, then we keep the relationship going after you've made a contract offer to the individual. And, uh, we support them along the way. We're just around the corner, so uh, we can do that easily. So, may I take your questions, please? >> I ask you the same too there. What has been your experience on a mid a midyear hire? >> Uh, we've done close to 30 searches and I I would say that um about six or seven of them have happened mid year and that would include Mr. she and u superintendent as well as treasur searches and sometimes administrative searches too central office uh kinds of positions usually it's an unknown and an abrupt change in the district so >> so about 30% or so >> yes >> and uh the the second question how

054do you handle these candidates with the current staff >> with a focus group type >> um yeah I mean what do do as far as with the current staff in regards to the candidates >> seeking input from the current staff. Is that your question? >> Yes. >> Uh at uh at your request, we conduct a focus group with the populations that you wish for us to speak with. >> Please. >> Yeah. Um wi with the the midyear um process, how is that unique? um more challenging perhaps than a traditional search if at all. >> Uh that's that's an excellent point, Mr. Moyer. The uniqueness of it is that uh many candidates who might likely make a change during the summer months or prior to August 1st are certainly reluctant to be thinking about doing that

055now. uh family reasons, school district reasons, uh don't want to take a chance on being in a search and alienating their board and interfering with the the good relationship that they have now all of a sudden maybe isn't so great uh because of that uh especially if they don't get the job. Uh so why take a chance quite frankly, you know? So that that is a challenge. valid point. >> Excuse me. So, you're saying that it's more difficult for us to find somebody with experience coming from another district because the time of year we're doing this? >> Yes. >> So, maybe we would be wise to take longer to do this. I mean, how long can we have an interim treasurer? [snorts] [laughter] >> Sorry, Laura. >> I mean, I understand what you're saying exactly

056and so I don't know. >> Um, >> well, I understand, Mrs. Merleti, um your thinking on that and it's something that the board has to deliberate on because there are certainly advantages to waiting depending upon how well you can be served realistically with an individual doing two full-time jobs, you know, I mean really. And what are the options for that? And does that work to your advantage? uh or do you want to um go quickly? You know, regardless of what agency you decide uh to choose this evening, you know, um to adjust your timeline and and make it happen, knowing to your point, you know, Mr. Moyer, that you don't know when you cast that net. Um but uh you know I certainly can't speak for other agencies but you know we start making phone

057calls right away any of us would um to say okay you know um you've told me before that you'd like to make a jump but here we are January would you like to make a jump now or was the conversation we had in July applied to July you know so we don't know till we start casting that net out there and making personal phone calls and following up with that rolodex so to So, your point's well taken though. >> Just a quick response to Miss Meritty that um the contract that we do have through the ESC um from from Ms. Molnar is only good for up to probably 6 eight weeks. We don't have her indefinitely. We can't have her for the till the end of the year as we are now. So, we would

058have to uh investigate a long-term interim going to the end of the year before we would uh work into something. So, it would it would be a decision to not just stay as we are and then do it in the summer. We would have to make a secondary a decision for a long-term intim first, which I I'm not sure that it could or couldn't be, Miss Molnar, but it's just another step in the thing in the process. >> I agree. >> Jeff, you had a >> Yeah, I was just going to say I had just a couple of the points I was going to close with for for us. you're kind of hitting on those as a question and and it's come up, but you know, one of the things that we like to tell

059particularly districts that are affiliated that we work with on a daily basis, uh, you know, we're not a search firm or a partnership with you throughout. And so if you do as you look to go down this path, you know what what we would prepare for you is if if you go down the search and and it's just not where you feel it should be, then we would work with you. Also, we have shared service uh Western Reserve ESC and and some SC we share a shared service group that that also does interim treasures. Um so so we would be prepared to help you with that process if if you uh either way if you decided not to do this search but wanted to go down that path of of uh certainly Laura's on our

060team uh and would be part of the search process but uh we also have I don't know have they met [snorts] uh Mr. So, so as part of that shared service, one of the roles we also fulfill is some interim treasurers. And then the last piece that I I was just going to share with you, uh also with this pool as as we've shared with you the state of this across the state, uh we also as part of the process would start to help you develop a transition plan. So we the last search we did was a firsttime treasurer shared two small districts. That person needed a built-in support plan that we helped with the board to kind of design that built-in plan versus we had another district search that we did. It was a

061veteran treasurer, but they were coming from a another county. So they almost needed, you know, they really didn't need the the intense treasurer support, but they need the relationship building and and the networking in Summit County and and Kenned. There are some nuances county to county in Ohio, the the the tax commissions and some of the things that district treasures face will be different county to county. So that treasure, we were able to work with the board and and again, it's it's one of the questions a good finalist will ask you is about their professional growth. They're going to ask you about support that that a district plans to provide. And that's something that we we will help boards with kind of look at different options. So, and my last my only question if everyone's

062done is is uh you know given the affiliation and the partnership and everything if there was a way that you can maybe encourage interim treasurers that perhaps already have a a you know knowledge of our district to maybe put their resume into the pool. >> That's it. >> We definitely could do that. [laughter] >> Thank you. Thank you. >> Our next we welcome the Ohio School Board Association. Well, good evening and thank you for having me. My name is Quinn Maseo. I'm a board and management services consultant with the Ohio School Boards Association and I thank you for uh allowing for me to come up uh and present on our treasurer search services. So before I begin uh the presentation there in your folder on the left side is the cover letter and behind that

063is the outline for tonight's presentation for you to take notes and ask questions about later on. Then on the right side is also a hard copy of our proposal. I believe Christie sent one along earlier ahead of time, but it's there also for you to reference this evening as well. Just a little bit about our team. I know you've worked with Terry Morgan in the past, who's our senior deputy director, uh who is also a former school board member. And then Christy Robbins, who you were uh commun Jason was communicating with, uh is our director of board management services, and she is also a former schoolboard member as long as I am also a former school board member. So we've all been in your shoes before looking for whether it be a new superintendent in

064this case a new treasurer. Uh so we are glad and ready read readily available to assist you all in this task. So just to begin this evening just going to work a little bit about what our general process and timeline is and then a little bit about what sets us apart as well. The first thing is the planning meeting with you all as the board of education and also including the superintendent where we would discuss mainly what the timeline is. you all are expecting. Typically the process is between 60 to 90 days uh depending on how long of a recruitment period you all would like to see as well. We also then get into the discussion about what your candidate profile your leadership profile you'd like to see for uh your incoming treasurer as well

065and then also talking about community uh or mostly staff input here with the treasurer and how you'd like to see that incorporated in the process too. In addition to that, we also have um some sample media releases that we would be able to assist you with to talk about you kicking off the search at progress during the search and then also once you have conclusion and appointment to the search. After that meeting, we'll discuss when we're officially launching opening will post and then I will start drafting or Christy, whoever is leading this uh search the brochure language and all that that comes in there. And it is uh made to your school colors. It includes your logo, everything about the school district, the community, also important statistics and demographics about the school district when it

066comes to staff and students as well. Also, that leadership profile that you've all developed uh in that planning meeting will be in there too along with the timeline that has also been decided. Once that is designed, then it'll be up to you all to give the final approval on the language, on the look, make sure everything uh is good enough to be advertised and marketed out there for the position. Then it gets attached to the job posting which is on our Rella website which is goes out to uh all the states that utilize Rella and also is on our website there at OSBA as well. Once that's posted online, then we go forth and do the recruitment and marketing activities utilizing our database that we have of over 3,000 administrators here in the state of

067Ohio to push out that. Also, we do a lot of statewide e alerts as well with the search uh to make sure that everyone in the database has that across the state of Ohio in addition to regional emails as well, utilizing you all in the northeast region and connecting with those treasurers that are here and also assistant treasurers that are already in the position too to make sure that they're aware of the position or if they know a colleague that might be interested in the position. closing date for applications will then hit. And then once that happens and you all have access to our Revelis website, we'll be able to go in and also start going through all of the candidates that have submitted applications. It's efficient for you all because you're not flipping through

068binders of paper. Instead, you are already there at your fingertips to be able to look at all of the candidates and also be able to take personalized notes there in that candidate profile, too. We'll also meet as an internal screening committee amongst us three as well and grade it against your profile that you all set up at the beginning of the process and provide those feedback comments to you during the screening meeting that will happen after that and then uh we will all discuss and go forth uh together on what your all thoughts are on the candidates that have submitted an application and their attachments as well. Once you've went through and reviewed everything, then you also discuss about who you want to select for a first round interview. Obviously, you've heard tonight about the

069pool of treasurer candidates. Typically, 8 to 10 is where you're seeing your pool at when it comes to uh a treasurer search and then going forth and seeing how many you want to proceed with and are qualified and meet that good fit for your leadership profile. When we head into the first round interview process, we'll develop a script that's based on your leadership profile that we began the process with and then give that to you all to utilize during that first round interview. So you can grade each candidate amongst the similar questions there. After those will then conclude, then you all will select who you want to proceed on to the finalist interviews, whether that be two or three finalists for the second round. And then and between that meantime, we'll then have the reference

070check-in period and also what they will complete which is called the achiever which I'll talk about that in a little bit. But references are then a combination of uh forwarded and non-forwarded references for each candidate. And then in addition to that, we also provide a script for you all when it comes to the reference calls as well. Then we'll have the second round in finalist interviews where you can include the staff into that as a part as well. Most recently, uh, in the treasurer searches, it's been a half hour spent with treasurer's office staff, a half hour spent with central office staff, and then an hour to hour 15 for you all for a finalist interview. And in each of those parts, we ask them to present the same presentation, but on typically your most

071recent 5-year forecast, which is now a three-year forecast. but whatever forecast you want to call it now. Uh but to talk about that and some of their knowledge on school funding as well. And then it's typically a town hall uh style format there that will be moderated by the consultant uh for the remaining of the time with the staff groups. And then you all will have that deeper conversation when it comes to meeting with them. any more follow-ups from the first round, anything from reference calls. The achiever also provides some sample questions and anything else when it comes to the contract details as well to discuss in the second round interview. Once that's done, you all deliberate later that night as well. In addition, we'll also if you go forth including those staff groups, we'll

072have feedback forms for each of those uh candidates and then those will be anonymously uh provided by the attendees and then also walk you through what those uh results are and the comments that are made from those attendees there. And then once you've all come together and have formed some consensus around a finalist that you want to go forth and offer a contract to, uh then you'll proceed forward and the board president will then go forth and uh work on whatever uh contract offer you all have come together with to offer that person. Then you'll go ahead and take official action to employ. Start beginning that transition whether that looks like obviously it's a midyear hire. We've talked about that earlier. what day you want them to start, you know, what's the transition with the

073current interim treasurer as well to kind of see how the books are and before they get in and uh take the job permanently uh for you all here at Stone and Row Fall City Schools. And also included in the value of the search is a new leadership team workshop, whether that looks like roles and responsibilities or it also can be a good time with a new person coming in. What are maybe some goals you want to see and to have a good conversation about uh what your school finances are? the state of them and then how you all fourth want to come together as a leadership team to proceed with the school's current financial state. So what sets OSBA apart when it comes to part of our marketing is also we're part of a group

074called NAS which means national affiliation of superintendent searchers but we also utilize that for our treasurer searches as well. So that's another uh scope for when it comes to marketing the position. It goes out across that network which is utilized by 39 state school boards associations. So it goes out to that network and has another layer of advertising in case someone is already in a business and finance office from another state is looking to maybe move back to Ohio or someone that had already previously been a treasurer and left for a different position maybe wanting to come back here as well. The achiever also evaluates finalists on what would be six performance skills and also 10 mental aptitudes and uh that is a good thing to utilize for you all to kind of see what

075kind of fit and their ways of thinking as well uh as they come in for the position too. As I mentioned, uh it's also going to include um behavior-based interview questions uh to go along with that and there are benchmarks that were made between superintendent and treasurers for the positions that the board of education works with. In addition to that, it offers some advice with some post uh uh appointment professional development areas and some goal areas to be able to utilize as the person heads into the position and accepts employment. Rellis also is our proprietary online application review and assessment platform. I know you all uh did your superintendent search with us, so you're familiar with Revelis. It's like Facebook. You have your own profile on there for each candidate to to have. And then

076they can add all their attachments, resume and cover letter as well to that for you all to utilize. In addition to that, all of our postings also go across the 15 state schoolboard associations uh that also utilize Revelis for that opening. It also provides you an opportunity to take notes on there. And including in there is also the background checks into our search cost as well. We utilize Baker Eubanks for that. It's completed for all of the finalists and it's a third-party company that also takes care of all the civil, criminal, traffic violations, educational credentials and also college transcripts as well. Once that's done, it's forwarded to the designate who's the consultant to let that go forth and given to uh you all to make sure that everything was cleared during the background check. And

077of course, we have a guarantee and we're here until if you once you sign the contract until you find a permanent appointment. It might take, you know, sometimes with the treasurer pool to find that right fit. It might right fit might take a second chance if we have to get to that point. But no matter where you are in the process and looking to get uh your next permanent treasurer, we're here until that final appointment is done. And you've been a member of us for 69 years and we are always looking to invest and always here to partner with our members to ensure that you find the best fit for the next treasure that you have here at Stow Monroe Falls City Schools. So, thank you for uh allowing me to speak this evening and

078I will take forth any questions and I expect that I'm probably going to hear about the midyear question coming from Mr. Shehan. [laughter] So, we actually just um had completed two searches mid year uh here in one in December, one in January uh currently. So that transition was uh someone had reti was going to retire actually December 31st. Um and then that search took place in the fall and um uh that person then appoint was appointed and started their position actually just earlier this week uh as well. So and that candidate pool was very strong. It was uh over 10 candidates that were there as well. But um I think that is uh something that we can definitely help you navigate. When it comes to time of year, actually we always say this is the

079best time for search season because this is when people are starting to think about, you know, the contract, school year, the fiscal year is ending. So they're starting if they're looking to make a transition uh that they are actually starting to peak their head up a little bit and see those opportunities there. Any other questions? I think we've probably everybody's going to say say some of the same things. So, unless [laughter] there are no more questions, we thank you for your time tonight and uh appreciate it. >> Yep. >> And last but not least, our fourth presentation is K12 Business Consulting. >> Thank you. >> Good evening. I'm Todd Puster. I am a search consultant with K12 Business Consulting and I am a licensed school treasurer in the state of Ohio and have been for

080the past 33 years. Just recently retired. And one of the things that differentiates K12 from the other firms is that we are trained as search consultants but all of us have licenses as either superintendent or treasurers and we have actually been in the positions. I know Miss Ingram personally I and um you know have a lot of contacts in the industry and that's one of the things we leverage to help the board in the search process. You know our you know the two we were are going to assign two consultants um to the search. I will be the lead consultant on the search. I just retired after 33 years in school business uh in most recently at Orange City Schools. I live in Streetsboro and served that district for 10 years. So I'm nearby and

081understand this community. In fact, several of my relatives are proud Stoman High Falls High School graduates. So and my assistant will be Randy Boroff, former president of FASA, who has well over 40 years of experience. So, and Chris Moore, our founder and president, is involved in all searches and he has 40 plus years in the school finance people. And one of the things that we do is leverage our relationships to try to get people who aren't necessarily looking for jobs to become interested in this position. And there's good reason for people to be interested in this position. in the larger suburban metroacran district. You know, it's there there are a lot of good things going on here, but people don't always realize that or they feel that they're comfortable where they are. And why would

082I take a risk to make a move? I've served five districts personally during my career. So I understand on a personal level what candidates are looking for specifically what red flags they may see and I can help you differentiate yourselves and try to avoid being red flagged by a candidate who otherwise would be very productive. Let me talk a little bit more in depth about the recruitment environment. Uh, Miss Hudonic talked about it a little bit. It's a very tough environment and you are looking for someone I believe who is an experienced person who sat in the chair, understands the technical jargon that we face on a day-to-day basis, is clued into the legislation that's going on in Columbus. And that's somebody who who m you know is probably very happy where they are right

083now. You know there are positions in this state that have gone unfilled for lengthy periods of times and that's not good for anybody and we will try to do our level best to avoid that. At the same time we recognize that you have to have the right fit. You know, I I may if I were a candidate here, I may not be your right applicant for for the job. Even though I've got vast experience in the school business profession, somebody down the road may be the ideal match. It's our roles to try to do that. You know, we understand probably as intimately as anybody out there what the challenges are that treasurers face because we've sat in the chair and understand, you know, the software. you know, if you use EFP, if you use state

084software, we understand those nuances and how that could actually affect the person who you who you might end up getting to be in this in this role and and I've worked with both systems and I have a strong preference of one over the other. So, and most treasurers do. It's the nature of the beast and you know, we have relationships with candidates. They trust us because we have personal relationships. You know, I we in our firm try to regionalize the searches because we believe and our experience tells us that 90ome percent of your candidates live within an hour of your board of education administration building. Treasuries don't tend to move across the state as much. There are a couple who will do that, but it's usually because they have some sort of tie to the

085region. And so I think that's important to understand. And the other thing to know, and I've been involved in my national professional organization for many years, Ohio is a unique animal when it comes to treasury searches. Things don't transfer well across state lines in this profession. Superintendent have a much easier time making the the transition as hard as it is for them than treasurers who have a very different environment when they go to Pennsylvania or they go to Michigan or heaven forbid the south. That's a completely different animal. So I think that's an important thing to do. We have a process that's six steps to to the search and we believe in strong staff and community engagement and that includes treasur's office staff. As a treasurer, I would not accept a job until I met

086the staff because I wanted to know whether I was the guy who could fit within that group of people. You know, most treasur's office staffs are seasoned and know how they want to do things and unless there's a problem, which hopefully I would know about, you know, you need to be flexible and malible enough so that you respect what they do and come to understand what they do and the value that those people add to the district because they're often unheralded folks. But yet, you know, they make sure the bills get paid and the payroll gets processed on a timely basis. Some of our value added um attributes, you know, we believe in detailed coordination. We will want to meet with the board very quickly. if we're the folks who are are selected for this

087position and talk to you hearttoheart about what you want in a treasurer. But we're also going to ask you some hard and difficult questions about what's happened with treasurers in this district in recent years because that will help us figure out who is the right candidate for Stoneman Road Falls. You know, every district has a history, some good, some bad, a lot indifferent. And that is going to be top of mind for potential candidates because like I said, you're looking for somebody who's experienced, who has knowledge in the chair. you you're a large district with a large budget and we need to actively recruit folks who meet the profile and the needs of that and we need to have answers when there are tough questions that the candidates have because this is a two-way street.

088a level for a candidate um has a level best candidate is going to ask probing questions of you. I've talked a briefly about our six-step process. We've got a couple options that you can do. You know, we we presented our base fee. We're happy to do and we encourage you to do on-site meetings because we think that's important for for people to get to know focus groups. We should have a meeting with community design, administrators, selected staff members so that we can can develop a good search profile that's comfortable. And the night of a second interview, we like to use a green room approach so that you get additional information about the candidate and key folks um have input into that that's useful to you. And I'll close with our search calendar. We usually take

089about 90 days to do this putting which puts us into the April May time frame. And you know in some cases a person can move quickly. In other cases they can't. If that person can't move quickly we can work on a transition plan. you know, I'm a licensed person if it comes to that, but we can we can we have a lot of resources that we work with to make sure that you have the best transition plan possible. And I'm happy to respond to any questions. >> Any questions? I think we've exhausted all of our questions. You all I think you got you guys started anticipating the questions as we came along. So, thank you all for your time. Um, and just to kind of since we're on this discussion item, I think the board

090is going to have some thought as to that process going forward. It's possible that we could end up, you know, doing some kind of special meeting uh so that we can vote. I think we all know that we're on a little bit of borrowed time and uh, you know, we certainly appreciate everybody coming and accommodating the weather having to move our meeting. So, thank you all for your time and I appreciate it. All right. All right. The next item on our agenda is our student representative update, which we will begin and conclude all at once because uh due to the meeting change, our student representative has a job. So, um we will hear from her next time, but uh that is on the agenda. All right. So, now we're on to item number eight uh

091which I will turn over to uh Dr. Gold. Yeah, just before she starts, as you mentioned earlier, because of the change in the date, um I had a prior commitment and has nothing to do with anything on the agenda. It was just a prior commitment that I need to leave and excuse myself now. >> Thank you. So, at this time, uh, I would like to recognize our school board because this is school board recognition month. And I'd like to, um, share a proclamation. Whereas, it shall be the mission of the Sto Monro Falls School District to provide all students with the best possible education. And whereas the school board sets the direction for our community's public schools by envisioning the community's education future. And whereas the school board sets policies and procedures to govern all

092aspects of the school district operation. And whereas the school board keeps attention focused on progress toward the school district's goals and maintains a two-way communication loop with all segments of the community. And whereas serving on the school board requires an unselfish de devotion of time and service to carry on the mission and business of the school district. And whereas the school board must respond on behalf of the community to the educational needs of students. And whereas the school board voluntarily accepts the above mentioned responsibilities. Now therefore, be it resolved, I Felicia Chetum uh Ghoul do hereby proclaim January 2026 as school board recognition month in Storow Fall City Schools. I encourage all citizens to publicly and privately thank the school board members from all school districts serving this community for their dedicated service to our

093children. And happy school board recognition month. And at this time, I would like to present you with a gift. And they're not donuts in this box. And so each board member is receiving a copy of the proclamation. They are also receiving a certificate. They will also receive a pen with their names on it, a book, the education of the school board handbook, and they are also receiving a heart of a bulldog lunch bag. Thank you to all of you for your service. Thank you. >> Thank you for all of that. Um, next on the agenda is a uh time for comments from the audience for voted items only. Uh, at this time in our agenda, we invite citizens to share their concerns about items on today's agenda that will be voted on only. Comments on

094non-aggenda items will be heard later this meeting. All comments must be directed to the entire board and be no longer than three minutes. We will listen to and consider your remarks, but there will be no conversation aside from clarifying questions. If you are seeking a direct response or further information, we ask that you submit your request in writing. Please begin your remarks with your first and last name. And for the sake of our treasure, I will hold you to that. So, do we have any comments for the uh from the audience for our voted agenda items? Seeing none, we will move on to our superintendent uh consent agenda. and I will turn them over to Dr. Gold. >> I recommend that the board of education approve the consent agendum items B and C. >> Do

095I have a motion to approve this consent agenda? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Any discussion? Dr. B. >> Uh I would like to read the names of the donors uh on the consent agenda. Uh Heather Caroneian Caron um donated school supplies. Ryan Cartright donated $80 to the girls volleyball team. Kristen Mitchum donated clothing to the Highland Elementary Clinic. And the stove blanketeers donated hatets, headbands, and scarfves to uh the school district. And we will be sending uh thank you um notices to all of them. >> The scarfs and hat that they're probably timely. Um, very timely. >> Uh, roll call, please. >> Merleti. >> I. >> Moyer. >> I. >> She is. Suladonic. >> I. >> Whitaker. >> I. Next item on our agenda is the uh set of superintendent recommendations. So, I will

096again turn it over to Dr. P. >> I would like to recommend the following personnel recommendations. Do I have a motion to approve those uh personnel recommendations as presented and attached to the published agenda? >> So move. >> Second. >> Any discussion? Absent discussion. Roll call, please. >> Merleti. >> I. >> Moyer. >> I. Whitaker. >> I. Next on the agenda is the title one non-public program pooling agreement for 2526 school year. >> Do I have a motion to approve item B? >> So move. >> Second. >> Any any discussion? This uh pooling agreement allows the Kent City Schools to provide properly licensed educators to implement the title one program uh serving Stomar Falls School District students who attend St. Patrick's School uh with the Kent City within the Kent City School boundary. >> Absent

097any further discussion, roll call, please. >> Merleti, >> I. >> Moyer, >> I. Suladonic >> I >> Whitaker >> item C. >> Next uh program of studies for 2627 school year. >> Do I have a motion to approve this item? >> So moved. >> Second. >> All right. Dr. >> Um this is something that the board has to approve uh each year. Uh what we have here is a list of courses uh for the high school. Some have been updated. Uh some have been removed. Uh and this is based on uh student selection. So even though they may be in the course guide, it doesn't mean that they all will be offered, but they are in a course guide selection for students to look at when they are scheduling. >> And there is an executive

098summary of the changes also attached. >> Any further discussion on these items? >> Roll call. Merleti >> I >> Moyer >> I >> Suladonic >> I >> Whitaker >> I >> Dr. Gold. Item D. >> Item D. I'm asking the board to suspend the following superintendent committees. Do I have a motion to do that? >> So moved. >> I have a second. >> Second. >> Any discussion? I'm asking the board to suspend the superintendent committees at this time as we go through the strategic planning process. We want to make sure that we have committees that are in line with the core values and beliefs that are coming from our feedback. >> And these are all five of the superintendent the current committees, correct? >> Yes, these are all five current superintendent committees. >> Any further

099discussion? Uh, >> roll call, please. >> Merleti. Moyer. I >> Suladonic >> I Whitaker >> I the last item of superintendent recommendations is our item E which was added by the amended agenda uh by vote earlier today. Dr. B. >> Uh yes this is an extended field trip. I'm asking the board to approve. >> Do I have a motion to approve this extended field trip? >> I move to approve. >> There a second. Second >> discussion >> uh high school cheer competition that will take place this uh weekend. Um they uh just found out uh their time and placement and so we had to uh quickly put this on the agenda. So thank the board for uh doing that. >> Congratulations to them for qualifying and I hope it's a little warmer this weekend and

100hillier than it will be up here. So >> I'm not sure. >> Best of luck to the to your team. >> All right. Roll call, please. >> Merleti, >> I. >> Moyer, >> I. >> Sulonic, >> I. >> Whitaker, >> I. >> Next item on the agenda is item 12, the treasurer's consent agenda, and I will turn it over to Miss Muller. >> Yes. Um, my first item um is to um approve the minutes from the last three meetings that we've had. um the organization meeting and then the two meetings um from December as attached. >> Do I have a motion to approve that item? >> So moved. >> Second >> discussion. >> I will just I want to add that there there might be a slight formatting change from what people are used to

101seeing um in past years uh going forward. Some additional information on there. Um, the published one has a a typographical error. My name, everyone misspells my name. So, that's being fixed from the typed uh one that everyone has seen published. >> And then there um the word resolution is on there a few times and that's not going to be in the minutes that we are being asked to approve. So, the the printed minutes do not have that word in it. So, with those said, unless there's any other discussion >> those Yeah, those changes or if there's anything else that you have questions on with the minutes or would like changed, >> right? Roll call. >> And those are updated. I'm sorry about that. >> It's okay. >> Roll call, please. >> Okay. Merleti, >> I.

102>> Moyer, >> I. >> Suladonic. >> Hi. >> Whitaker, >> I. And then my next um item is the financial reports um for the treasur along with the check register. Um those were given to you. Uh the December reports um the balances the checking savings or investments. Um it's our balances for the end along with the interest earned fees. Um and then also there's tables there for the comparison from last year versus this year. As you can see, we have increased our revenue receipts for the month compared to last to December of last year. Um, but our expenses have also gone up. Um, I included the cash report and the the check register for the entire month as well. Is there any questions about those or >> I just had a question on like the

103cash balance. I've noticed over the years like monthto month the cash balance fluctuates considerably. I'm just wondering what factors might be behind that. Some of that is when we receive our property taxes and that that's the cash balance that we like to to carry over and it was one of those things that um was in heated discussion about how what a percentage over our expenses that we can carry over and it's times like these in December and January with a lot of the school districts when we haven't received the property tax payment that um it starts to get low. Um, so we're just trying to get through when we try to limit our expenses. So it does eb and flow throughout the year as you see like in the beginning of the year we have

104a lot of receipts that come in as the students are paying the fees and we have the property tax at the beginning. So then it starts to slow down towards the holidays. Um, so there is es and flows and then in December too there's different payments that we have to make. Um, as far as like BWC, you'll see that on the check register stipens that we pay out. So there is the influx there whereas January it'll drop back down. >> I think I speak for everyone. We appreciate you kind of diving in and working with numbers that you did not necessarily work with and prepare when they were when they were happening. And so that's not easy whether the system is perfect or not. It's always tough to step in. So we appreciate that. >>

105I appreciate that. I'm going to keep working on it so it looks a little bit better because it is kind of a little basic right now. But I I'm going to work on it so everybody understands it. So I appreciate that too. >> Any other discussion? Uh, roll call, please. >> Okay. >> Merleti, >> hi. >> Moyer, >> I >> Suladonic, >> I. >> Whitaker, >> I. >> Next item on the agenda is uh marked as number 13, treasurer's recommendation, student wage adjustment for 2026. Do I have a motion to approve this item? >> So moved. >> Is there a second? >> Second. >> Uh, discussion, Miss Wolnar. >> Okay. Yes. this um recommending to the board the student workers pay scale due to the minimum wage increase that we have all seen from the

106state of Ohio increases it to $11 um and goes into effect January 1st 2026 if approved >> can I ask what what jobs what what are the jobs >> we sometimes will have student student workers in the in the buildings yeah even sorry >> um they may work in our IT department. Um that's where we hire a lot of our students. And then some of them are on our um building and grounds crews as well. >> And to give them experience. Yeah. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Just for anyone that is curious to and it doesn't have a copy of the agenda that they're looking at, the the increases are are relatively small. It's first year 1070 up to $11. Second year 1120 to 1150. Third year $11.45 $45 to 12. So, it's not not

107an extremely large increase um be dealing with. >> And I'll just share my appreciation for the TWE workers. So, as a former teacher, uh when I would run up against a technological issue, uh they were always timely and they fixed my problem really quick. And I'm not sure how much of it's their expertise or my lack thereof, but nonetheless, uh supply met demand. So, uh, I do appreciate their work. Thank you. >> Any further discussion? Sorry. Roll call, please. >> Merleti. >> I. >> Moyer. >> I. >> Sulaonic. >> I. >> Whitaker. >> I. >> Next item on the agenda is marked as item number 15. This is the period of time where we would re where we recognize comments from the audience. And at this time, we will welcome any additional comments or concerns

108citizens wish to bring before the board of education. All comments must be directed to the entire board and be no longer than three minutes. We will listen to and consider your remarks, but there will be no conversation aside from clarifying questions. If you are seeking a direct response or further information, we ask that you submit your your response request in writing. Please bring in your remarks with your first and last name. Seeing no one approach the uh the microphone, we will move on to item number 16 uh which is an executive session to conference with the public body's attorneys concerning pending court actions. Do I have a motion to enter executive session? >> So moved. Second. >> Absent. Any discussion? Uh roll call, please. >> Merleti. >> I. >> Moyer. I >> Suladonic I >>

109Whitaker >> I >> the executive session there may be action after uh but the executive session the board will be inviting its attorneys Robert McBride Gazelle Spencer and Ma Matthew Markling uh to that session and we are now in executive session at 7:44.