Board Update

Good Morning:

Its official I am a member of the North Royalton School Board! I was just sworn into the Board, last week at our Organization Meeting held on January 11th. I am truly honored and humbled at this opportunity to serve all of you. This is a historic moment in my life but most importantly a historic moment for all the Broadview Heights and North Royalton residents who live in the North Royalton School District. I look forward ensuring that our students and community are always put first for the next four years as a member of the School Board. If this is the first time you are getting my e-mail updates; my previous updates can be found on my blog at
http://votelangshaw4board.blogspot.com or check out my website www.danlangshaw.com for regular updates on coming events and meetings as well. If you have a friend, neighbor, fellow PTA member who would also be interested in receiving my e-mail weekly updates please have them e-mail me at danlangshaw4schoolboard@yahoo.com and I will be sure to add them to my e-mail list.


LAST WEEK IN YOUR SCHOOL BOARD

January 11th the Board had both its’ Organizational and Regular Board Meetings. At the Organizational Meeting:

Oath of office was given to newly elected board members: Heidi Dolezal, who has served on the board for the last 12 years was re-elected to a 4th term and me, Dan Langshaw newly elected to serve my first term. Special guest State Representative Matt Patten administered the oath of office me.

The Board elected by a 5-0 vote Mr. Len Reinhard as the New Board President.

The Board elected by a 4-1 vote Mrs. Anne Reinkober as the New Board Vice President.
(Note each year the board elects its President and Vice President)

The Board also approved various regular annual resolutions and policies required by law.

After the Organizational Meeting the Board went straight into the Regular School Board Meeting. At the Regular School Board Meeting held on Jan 11th :

Board President Reinhard made Board committee assignments for the year 2010. I will be serving on the Policy, Wellness, (City) Earth Energy Environment Committees. I will also be serving as the Board alternate for the City Recreation Board. In addition I will be filling in as the Valley Vista Building Liaison for the remainder of the school year.

Treasurer Richard McIntosh held a brief tax budget hearing.

The Board approved by a 5-0 vote the Tax Budget for the 2010-2011 Fiscal Year.

The Board approved by a 5-0 vote Board Member Mrs. Cheryl Hannan as the new Cuyahoga Valley Career Center Representative.

Superintendent Ed Vittardi proclaimed January as School Board Recognition Month in the North Royalton City School District.

The Board approved by a 5-0 vote, the 2010-2011 school year calendar. Note that we along with most if not all other CVCC Districts will have a March 28- April 1 spring vacation along with Good Friday and the day after Easter. The rationale for this decision is due to the very late Easter (April 24th), and the conflict with statewide Ohio Achievement Testing. We like many other districts consider this a one year decision due to the uniqueness of next year but will be open to comments from our school community regarding this change. (Attached is a copy of the 2010-2011 school year calendar)

The Board approved by a 5-0 vote a resolution to request a wavier for all day kindergarten from the state of Ohio. The district has shared previously its’ intention to request a waiver for ADK for the 2010-11 year. A change of this magnitude takes time to plan and implement successfully and we believe this to be our best course of action. The district has taken several steps for consideration of potential implementation such as an assessment of available physical space. It is our hope that the Ohio Department of Education continues to work with school districts to give us the time and energy to explore all possible options while also considering the value of our present programs and services that could be impacted with the mandates of ADK and the significant financial implications.

The Board approved by a 4-0 vote with 1 abstention appointments-certificated/licensed and classified employees.

The Board approved by a 4-0 vote with 1 abstention appointments-personal service contracts. (Note I was the Board Member who abstained from voting on both of these supplemental contracts because I was not given the rate of pay or salary schedules for these contracts. At the January 7th Board Work Session I had introduced a resolution to approve a supplemental contract transparency policy which would require the Director of Personnel to give board members the rate of pay of all supplemental contracts. Currently the board has not been getting this information. In addition my resolution would require that the rate of pay of all supplemental contracts to be included in the Board’s meeting minutes and open for public viewing. The Board decided to table this resolution for more study. However, board members will start getting information at least on the rates of pay for supplemental contracts that are up for a vote to the board starting in February. Once that information is made available I will be comfortable in voting on these contracts).

The Board approved by a 5-0 vote to adopt various policy updates.

The Board approved by a 5-0 vote insurance endorsements.

The Board approved by a 4-0 vote with 1 abstention to award a roof replacement bid on high school 100 level/88 addition and alternate bid 1A to Industrial Energy Systems, Inc. base bid $227, 170.00 and Alternate 1A bid of $4,100.00. (Note I was the Board Member who abstained from voting on this contract bid because I requested additional information on the IES, the contract, and other cost. Only minutes before the meeting was the information I requested provided to me. A contract of this size in my opinion should not be rushed and I respectfully abstained).
I had the honor of introducing myself to the members of the Royal View PTA at their Jan 14th meeting and hearing about all the great work they are doing for our students and staff. I would like to note that the Royal View PTA raised several thousands of dollars to help purchase SMART Boards for various classrooms. Because of the great work of our various PTA’s the district is able to do things like purchasing SMART Boards and other projects at no cost to taxpayers.

H1N1 Update
The Cuyahoga County Board of Health was in the district for two days last week administering the H1N1 Vaccination at all of our buildings. It appears that it all went well.

Congrats to 2009 North Royalton High School Football Team
2009 Football Team was recognized last Friday night as one of the 20 best academic teams in the state. The top 22 lettermen from each team are averaged and ranked. Only 20 of the 715 eligible high schools throughout Ohio have earned this coveted honor of ACADEMIC ALL OHIO.

Strategic Plan Update
Our strategic planning process is moving along with our next big step on February 1 and 2 with a two-day retreat. This retreat will include members of the community along with district staff. The results of this meeting will be the development of our vision and goals. I look forward to working with our Superintendent Ed Vittardi, staff, members of the community, and my fellow Board Members on this exciting effort!


THIS WEEK IN YOUR SCHOOL BOARD

(OSBA) Ohio School Board Association New Board Member Workshop
January 16-17, 2010 I have been at New Board Member Workshop held at the
Embassy Suites in Independence; sponsored by the OSBA. Thus far the workshop has
been very informative in covering the topics of boardmanship, communications, labor
relations, and policy. Also worth noting I had an opportunity on Saturday to meet other new board members from across the state of Ohio who are also the youngest elected to their School Boards as well; such as: Jackson Local School Board Member Kathryn Knowles (18years old) and Boardman Local School Board Member John Landers (27
years old). Later this morning I will be driving back for the conclusion of the conference.

Coffee with Dan Langshaw, North Royalton School Board Member
If you are a constituent living in the North Royalton School District, you are invited to attend my monthly constituent coffees. I hold these coffees in order to stay in touch with fellow residents and get feedback on how we are doing on the School Board. Feel free to stop by. The next coffee will be held on:
When: January 21, 2010
Time: 6pm-8pm
Where: French Quarter Cafe
5540 Wallings Rd.
North Royalton, OH 44133
If you have any questions, please contact me at 440-785-4240. Hope to see you there!


This week is a short school week with NO SCHOOL for the following two days:
Monday, January 18, 2010 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Friday, January 22, 2010 Teacher In-Service Day

Financial Advisory Committee Meeting
When: January 20, 2010
Time: 7pm
Where: @ Board Office Conf. Rm
6579 Royalton Rd.
North Royalton, OH 44133
If you’re a business leader, financial expert, or just an average citizen concerned about the North Royalton School District’s finances than you might want to attend this upcoming committee meeting.


Have a great week!

Dan Langshaw

North Royalton School Board Member

440-785-4240

www.danlangshaw.com



“Putting Students First”


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If you no would longer wish to receive these updates or have a friend who would like to sign up for updates please e-mail danlangshaw4schoolboard@yahoo.com. Note that any views expressed represent my own personal viewpoints and do not necessarily reflect the views of the board or of fellow colleagues on the board.