MINUTES OF THE MARGARETTA BOARD OF EDUCATION (BOE) REGULAR MEETING OF DECEMBER 12, 2022.

Margaretta Board of Education met in regular session at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, December 12, 2022 at the Margaretta Board of Education, 305 S. Washington Street, Castalia, Ohio.

Regular Board Meeting
Mr. Sutorius, Board President, then called the regular meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. requesting roll call by Mrs. Keegan:

Mr. Hula:
Mr. Schoenegge: Mrs. Tucker:
Mr. Warner: Mr. Sutorius:

Present. Present Present Present Present

The Pledge of Allegiance was then recited after roll call.

Approval of the Minutes
Motion by Mr. Warner, and seconded by Mr. Schoenegge, to approve the minutes from the Regular BOE Meeting held on November 21, 2022; Roll Call: Mr. Schoenegge: aye, Mrs. Tucker: aye, Mr. Warner: aye, Mr. Hula: aye, and Mr. Sutorius: aye.

Board and Staff Reports
Townsend Community School’s (TCS) Report and TCS Margaretta Sponsor’s Report
Mr. Ryan Bohn, TCS Principal and Superintendent, stated that the current TCS student enrollment was 522 and has already had 20 graduates this school year. They are also completing end of course testing now through December 21st. Mr. Bohn also stated that Townsend is beginning the process of remodeling the building to improve the safety features of the building. Architect proposals are due back by December 16th, with the project completion approximately in August, 2023.

Mr. Steve Keller, TCS Compliance Officer, was excused from the meeting and Mr. Kurt did the report out for Margaretta. He stated that we had our monthly sponsor meeting with TCS last Thursday. He stated that we will begin discussions about TCS busing for next year shortly and with driver shortage, may need to go back to two bus routes next year, which will limit our ability to provide all TCS busing needs, so more to come. Margaretta also finished our annual high stakes review with Mr. Keller, Mrs. Keegan and Mr. Kurt last Friday. He also stated that Mr. Bohn, Ms. Kromer, Mr. Kurt and Mrs. Keegan went on December 2nd to a legal update for community schools sponsored by ODE.

2022 Consolidated School Report
Mr. Kurt read a required statement to the board that the school district in the 2021-2022 school year did not report their October, 2021 free or reduced data, due the all students receiving free lunches due to the pandemic and the Summer Seamless Program. This report will again be prepared for the 2022-2023 school year given we no longer have free lunches school wide.

Mr. Kurt also stated that Mrs. Carrie Keller and a team of administrators have done a very detailed job of trying to identify all free or reduced families this year to accurately report our families’

1 of 6

numbers. However even with all the efforts, our free or reduced percentages are down from the pre-pandemic period.

MS/HS Update - Dr. Jennifer Theis
Dr. Jennifer Theis then presented an update of the activities occurring at the MS/HS building. She spoke about: staff collaboration; Building Leadership Teams; Interdisciplinary Teacher Based Teams; Adolescent Reading Specialist, Rachel Daniels, training about Discourse and reading, writing, talking every day and every subject; STEAM and PBL; Staff Care; STEAM Careers Exploration and Finance and Career Connections; the Seneca Caverns fieldtrip; The First MS/HS Turkey Trot; the expansion of the Academic Challenge Teams and the Robotics Teams; You Science; Kindness Campaign; Walleye Hockey Game Incentive Trip; the Winter Band and Choir Concert and Art Show; the recent MS/HS Book Fair; the new MS/HS Library space created; and the winter Toy Drive activities for Project Share.

Public Participation
Mrs. Diane Jacoby asked if there will be a dedicated library space in the new school. Mr. Kurt stated it is the plan to have a library on wheels, where books by grade level are on carts to be used for a given grade level and advanced students will have access to the carts for advanced grades. The design of the new MS/HS library space is a scaled down version of a traditional library and we will see how that goes.

Mr. Gary Smith asked if a community member wanted to get ahold of a board member, he asked what the easiest way was. Mr. Sutorius stated that they should start with their school email address (that is on the Margaretta website) or call the board office and they will get the message to the board member.

Introduction of Additional Items to the Agenda
Mrs. Keegan stated there were two additional items under her informational section to the agenda

The Financial Report and Schedule of Bills Informational:
Excess Cost billed for nonresident students:
Mrs. Keegan described the process of billing back the open enrolled in students resident district for any costs Margaretta has incurred over the students state funding amounts. She stated that there are two ways to bill them, per capita (which is just a school district wide average cost per student or student specific. With the help of Mrs. Kathy Hall, Special Education Director, Mrs. Keegan was able to determine each open enrolled students actual services they received and charge that students specific cost instead of just a school average. In doing the student specific approach, Margaretta was able to bill an additional $104,348 of cost to their home district for a total of $391,936 for the fiscal year of 2022. Mrs. Keegan also stated that our resident students that are open enrolled at other schools will have the same ability to bill us, however that cost is not yet known. However, Mrs. Keegan reminded the board that we have more open enrolled students ‘In’ to our district than open enrolled ‘Out’ of the district.

Five year forecast letter from ODE:
Mrs. Keegan then reviewed a letter received from ODE on our current five year forecast and that we need to be cognizant of our projected low balance in the general fund. Mrs. Keegan reminded the board that if needed we will have to not transfer as much to the new school facility reserve if necessary.

2 of 6

ESSER Funding Uses of Funds Report:
Mrs. Keegan stated as we did last December, we are communicating where we are on all COVID Pandemic related funds received and where it was spent. Mrs. Keegan shared a detailed report of the uses of the funds and all the detailed breakdown by each awarded funds. Mrs. Keegan stated that all COVID related funding has all been spent out except for the ARP ESSER funds that are available until September 2024. Mrs. Keegan stated that we received a total of $1,742,788 and have spent $1,486,775 to date, leaving $256,013 to spend. She stated the details of the spending for all Pandemic funds was handed out to the board members and will also be posted on the schools website. She referenced that the major spending has been on the school wide literacy initiative, disinfecting supplies, one-to-one Chromebooks initiative, and new replacement school buses.

Additional Grants Requested and Received
Mrs. Keegan stated that there has been a healthy competition between the Administrative Staff members for making application for available state and local grants and acquiring the additional school funds. She reviewed that this school year to date the Margaretta team has made application and majority received the following grant dollars for Margaretta schools:
-	Reaching all Students Through Literacy-Received $200,000 -	Wightman Wieber Grant for HS Library-received $5,000
-	OFCC Safety Grant for more security window film and two way radios-Received $50,000
-	Shared Transportation Grant for routes between Western, Bellevue and MLSD to ALC and EHOVE-Received $10,000
-	ADAMHS for Leader In Me-Received $11,405
-	Battelle for VR headsets at MES-Received $5,000
-	HPS for Kitchen warming cabinet and portable coolers-awaiting confirmation -	Federal Mental Health Grant-awaiting confirmation
-	Mylander Grant for the MES Book Vending Machine-Received $4,200
-	Battelle Grant for HS Ohio STEM Learning Network grant-Received $5,000
-	Mylander Grant for Kids Read Now Summer Reading Program-Received $14,384

This School Year to Date we have received $304,989 in written grants requested. She also stated that last 2021-2022 school year the Administration team applied for $507,420 in grants and received $107,708.

Mrs. Keegan presented the schedule of bills, bank reconciliations, fund balances, etc., that were included in the Board’s packages for review. Mrs. Keegan reminded the board that we are reviewing November’s results (the fifth month of the 2023 fiscal year). She stated that the revenue was a total of $7.6M and expenses of $7.9M resulting in a decrease to the general fund balance of $(0.3)M. The beginning cash balance in the total general fund as of July 1, 2022 was $0.6M and the five months of the year generated a final General Fund cash balance of $0.3M (or $(0.7)M, without the general fund reserve of $944K).

Treasurer’s Report New Business
Motion by Mr. Warner seconded by Mr. Hula, on Resolution number 22-23-25, to approve an agreement with ESC of Lorain County with a Literacy Specialist for professional development of MS/HS teachers for 2022-2023 school year; Roll Call: Mrs. Tucker: aye, Mr. Warner: aye, Mr. Hula: aye, Mr. Schoenegge: aye, and Mr. Sutorius: aye.

3 of 6

Motion by Mr. Hula seconded by Mrs. Tucker, to accept resignation for retirement from Edward P. Kurt as Superintendent, effective at the end of the work day on December 26, 2022; Roll Call: Mr. Warner: aye, Mr. Hula: aye, Mr. Schoenegge: aye, Mrs. Tucker: aye, and Mr. Sutorius: aye.

Motion by Mr. Warner seconded by Mr. Schoenegge, to employ Edward P Kurt as Superintendent from January 1, 2023 through July 31, 2025. Mr. Schoenegge referenced Mr. Kurt’s contract and was questioning the language referencing Board Paid STRS and annuity language and eligibility. Mrs. Keegan stated that this is standard language and benefits for a retire/rehire contract; Roll Call: Mr. Hula: aye, Mr. Schoenegge: aye, Mrs. Tucker: aye, Mr. Warner: aye, and Mr. Sutorius: aye.

Superintendent’s Report Old Business
Motion by Mr. Warner seconded by Mrs. Tucker, to approve the Neola Policies: PO1520-Employment of Administrators, PO1617-Weapons, PO2220- Adoption of Courses of Study, PO2266-Complaints of Sexual Harassment, PO2280-Preschool Program, PO2413-Career Advising,PO2430-DistrictSponsored Clubs and Activities, PO2431-Interscholastic Athletics, PO3120- Employment of Professional Staff, PO3120.08- Employment of Personnel for Co-Curricular/Extra-Curricular Activities, PO3217-Weapons, PO4120- Employment of Classified Employees, PO4217-Weapons, PO5111-Eligibility of Resident/Nonresident Students, PO5335-Care of Students with Chronic Health Conditions, PO5336-Care of Students with Diabetes, PO5460.01- Diploma Deferral, PO6700-Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), PO7217- Weapons, PO7440-Facility Security, PO7440.03-Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems, PO8210-School Calendar, PO8320-Personnel Files, PO8330- Student Records, PO8600-Transportation; Roll Call: Mr. Schoenegge: aye, Mrs. Tucker: aye, Mr. Warner: aye, Mr. Hula: aye, and Mr. Sutorius: aye.

Mrs. Keegan reminded the board that they can have direct access to the draft of the board policies online and she will resend the electronic instructions for the board. Mr. Kurt stated the board are only ones able to see the drafts until they are board approved and then they are released into production on the Margaretta website.

New Business
Motion by Mrs. Tucker seconded by Mr. Hula, on Resolution number 22-23-26, to approve the renewal of its sponsorship of Townsend Community School. Mr. Warner questioned that he thought we had recently approved the TCS renewal. Mrs. Keegan reminded the board that that previous approval was for the ODE/Margaretta contract to continue to sponsor TCS for the next ten years. This resolution is to allow Mr. Kurt to negotiate a contract renewal between Margaretta as the sponsor and TCS; Roll Call: Mrs. Tucker: aye, Mr. Warner: aye, Mr. Hula: aye, Mr. Schoenegge: aye, and Mr. Sutorius: aye.

Mr. Kurt introduced the first reading of the Neola policy 5460 Graduation Requirements, which is transitioning from 22 credits graduation requirement to 20 credit requirement. Mr. Schoenegge had several questions for Mr. Kurt about the transition and trying to understand the benefit. Mr. Schoenegge asked for a copy of the policy.

Motion by Mr. Warner seconded by Mr. Hula, to approve the North Point ESC student handbook for 2022-2023 school year; Roll Call: Mr. Warner: aye, Mr. Hula: aye, Mr. Schoenegge: aye, Mrs. Tucker: aye, and Mr. Sutorius: aye.

4 of 6

Motion by Mr. Warner seconded by Mr. Hula, the following North Point Educational Service Center employees listed below to be authorized by the Board of Education to suspend students from North Point programs should their behavior/activities be severe enough that merit said response: Karen Ruf, John Ruf, Julie Riley, Andrea Smith, Dwayne Arnold, Brandi Goodwin, Brandi Perkins, Kristen Graham, Lonnie Rivera. Mr. Schoenegge had several questions about the discipline process and who has ultimate responsibility of discipline. Mr. Kurt stated these are Margaretta students that follow the NPESC handbooks and authorization for NPESC employees to discipline; Roll Call: Mr. Hula: aye, Mr. Schoenegge: aye, Mrs. Tucker: aye, Mr. Warner: aye, and Mr. Sutorius: aye.

Informational Items
Nexus Settlement Update & New Facility Update
Mr. Kurt stated that the site and utility work is scheduled to be completed by December 23rd. Mr. Kurt also shared the legal document filed on November 30th from the Nexus legal team stating that Lorain County Auditor does not have the authority to appeal this settlement and raised multiple points against his ability to appeal. Mr. Kurt then read an email that he wrote to David Moore, the Lorain County Commissioner, about the impact of the appeal on Margaretta. Mrs. Tucker asked if there were more fences going up. Mr. Kurt stated yes.

Current Facility Update - Matt Smith
Mr. Smith gave the board an update of some of the building issues that the maintenance department has been repairing and trying to manage the district’s costs on the aging facilities. Mr. Smith also reviewed future repairs that need to be addressed. Mr. Kurt stated that we are trying to minimize our repair costs, in lieu of the new building plans, and balancing that against maintaining our existing buildings.

Personnel Actions
Motion by Mr. Warner seconded by Mr. Schoenegge, to approve FMLA and unpaid leave requests; Roll Call: Mr. Schoenegge: aye, Mrs. Tucker: aye, Mr. Warner: aye, Mr. Hula: aye, and Mr. Sutorius: aye.

Motion by Mrs. Tucker seconded by Mr. Hula, to hire Noah Villareal and Seth Stanley, EHOVE students as bus garage student mechanics for the 2022-2023 school year, pending completion of all state and local requirements; Roll Call: Mr. Schoenegge: aye, Mrs. Tucker: aye, Mr. Warner: aye, Mr. Hula: aye, and Mr. Sutorius: aye.

Certified: None

Classified
Motion by Mr. Hula seconded by Mr. Warner, to hire Holly Yetter, effective December 12, 2022, and Amanda Lowis, effective December 1, 2022, as Cooks for the 2022-2023 school year, pending completion of all state and local requirements; Roll Call: Mrs. Tucker: aye, Mr. Warner: aye, Mr. Hula: aye, Mr. Schoenegge: aye, and Mr. Sutorius: aye.

Motion by Mr. Warner seconded by Mr. Schoenegge, to hire Jennifer Kuns as cashier for the 2022-2023 school year, effective December 5, 2022, pending completion of all state and local requirements; Roll Call: Mr. Warner: aye, Mr. Hula: aye, Mr. Schoenegge: aye, Mrs. Tucker: aye, and Mr. Sutorius: aye.

5 of 6

Motion by Mrs. Tucker seconded by Mr. Schoenegge, to hire Audra Rooker and Stephanie Mayse as kitchen subs for the 2022-2023 school year, pending completion of all state and local requirements; Roll Call: Mr. Hula: aye, Mr. Schoenegge: aye, Mrs. Tucker: aye, Mr. Warner: aye, and Mr. Sutorius: aye.

Motion by Mrs. Tucker seconded by Mr. Warner seconded by Mrs. Tucker, to hire Audra Rooker, effective December 12, 2022, as a part time bus aide for the 2022-2023 school year, pending completion of all state and local requirements; Roll Call: Mr. Schoenegge: aye, Mrs. Tucker: aye, Mr. Warner: aye, Mr. Hula: aye, and Mr. Sutorius: aye.

Motion by Mr. Warner seconded by Mr. Hula, to hire Karli Ried and Jennifer Lowther as athletic event workers for the 2022-2023 school year; Roll Call: Mrs. Tucker: aye, Mr. Warner: aye, Mr. Hula: aye, Mr. Schoenegge: aye, and Mr. Sutorius: aye.

Motion by Mr. Schoenegge seconded by Mr. Warner, to accept the retirement of Marilou Neil as elementary head cook effective December 31, 2022. Mr. Kurt thanked Marilou for her 31 years of service with the district and the board members echoed the sentiment; Roll Call: Mr. Warner: aye, Mr. Hula: aye, Mr. Schoenegge: aye, Mrs. Tucker: aye, and Mr. Sutorius: aye.

Motion by Mr. Warner and seconded by Mr. Hula to enter Executive Session to discuss the appointment or employment of public employees; Roll Call: Mr. Hula: aye, Mr. Schoenegge: aye, Mrs. Tucker: aye, Mr. Warner: aye, and Mr. Sutorius: aye.

The Board entered Executive Session at 7:58 p.m. with Mrs. Keegan, and Mr. Kurt remaining in the Executive Session.

Motion by Mr. Warner, seconded by Mr. Hula, to return to open session; Roll Call: Mr. Schoenegge: aye, Mrs. Tucker: aye, Mr. Warner: aye, Mr. Hula: aye, and Mr. Sutorius: aye.

Motion by Mr. Warner seconded by Mr. Hula, to adjourn the meeting having no further business to come before the Board; Roll Call: Mrs. Tucker: aye, Mr. Warner: aye, Mr. Hula: aye, Mr. Schoenegge: aye, and Mr. Sutorius: aye.

Adjourning at 8:30 p.m.

Next Meeting will be the Organizational Meeting, which is scheduled for Wednesday, January 4th, 2023 at 6:30 p.m. at the Margaretta Board of Education, 305 S. Washington St., Castalia, Ohio

Respectfully Submitted

_________________________ Brian Sutorius
Board President

______________________ Diane Keegan
Treasurer

6 of 6