Board Update

Good Afternoon:

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LAST WEEK IN YOUR SCHOOL BOARD

On November 11th attended Valley Vista Elementary School’s Veterans Day Celebration. Students and staff recognized Veterans in the community through nice patriotic songs and presentations to honor their service to our nation. Ms. Jan Merrick and Mrs. Presot gave a presentation on the Honor Flight program which Valley Vista has been raising money in order to give WWII Veterans in the Cleveland area an opportunity to fly them to Washington, DC to see the WWII Memorial that is dedicated in their honor. Present at the event was one of the WWII Veterans who was able to go to the memorial last year because of the generosity of our great students and staff at Valley Vista through their donations to this program. On a personal note being a US Army Veteran, I was extremely touched by what a great job Valley Vista did to honor veterans in our community. Again thank you to all those who have served or are currently serving in the U.S. Military! If you like to learn more about Honor Flight Cleveland you can check out their website at: http://honorflightcleveland.com/index.php




The School Board met on November 11th for its’ Board Work Session. The Board got an update on the status of the fundraising efforts for the stadium project. The district will use a grant to study ways to improve efficiency of central office staff. Work on the district’s new website is coming along. Treasurer Mcintosh provided the board with copies of the district’s 5 year forecast. As a result of the recent political changes in Ohio and the $6-$8 billion dollar hole to fill in the next state budget, the district will be much more conservative with our own budget and filling future openings in personnel. The Board went into executive session to discuss personnel matters. The Board also completed its’ evaluation of the Superintendent. The Board reviewed the November Regular Meeting agenda items, and such other matters that came before the Board.

Talk begins on next state budget!
This week there was a lot of discussion around the state about the upcoming state budget and what it means for funding education here in Ohio. I am not going to lie this next state budget is going to be extremely rough and it is important that we are all actively engaged in the process to ensure that state funding for education is not cut! This will be something you will be hearing much more about in the next several months and I will keep you all posted. Below are two articles that I found very interesting and wanted to share with you:

Plain Dealer: Ohio Voters turn down tax hikes for schools, while state cuts loom
http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/11/ohio_voters_turn_down_tax_hike.html

Columbus Dispatch: Schools unlikely to escape budget ax
http://blog.dispatch.com/dailybriefing/2010/11/schools_unlikely_to_escape_bud.shtml

Winter Weather FYI
As the weather is quickly changing towards winter, please remember that it is policy that all children must be at their designated bus stop ready to board the bus at least five (5) minutes prior to their pick up time, even in rain and snow conditions. If your child is not out waiting at his/her designated stop when the bus arrives, it will unfortunately continue on and will not be able to make a return trip. Students cannot be waiting in garages or cars, but must be visible at their stop ready to board. This policy was established for safety reasons as well as to make the routes run as efficient as possible. If the bus is constantly being held one or two minutes for students who are running up the street or not waiting at their designated stop ready to board, it adds unneeded additional time to the run and forces those children who are out on time to wait longer than what is necessary.
Click here: http://www.northroyaltonsd.org/public/files/winterreminders.pdf to read the letter from our transportation department.

THIS WEEK IN YOUR SCHOOL BOARD

This week there are various meetings and events.

November Regular School Board Meeting on November 17th at 7pm @ NRHS Community Rm, 14713 Ridge Rd., North Royalton, OH 44133.

Stuff The Bus Event
Sponsored by the North Royalton High School Football Players. Please help the NRHS Football Team stuff the school bus with gently worn coats and cash to benefit the kids of Northeast Ohio on Saturday, November 20, 2010 9:00am– 2:00pm @ North Royalton Board Of Education, 6579 Royalton Road. If you have any questions please call 440-610-3412.

Monthly Coffee with School Board Member Dan Langshaw
If you are a constituent living in the North Royalton School District, you are invited to attend my next monthly constituent coffee on November 24th at the French Quarter Café located at 5540 Wallings Road in North Royalton from 6pm to 8pm. I hold these coffees in order to stay in touch with fellow residents and listen to their feedback one on one. There is no appointment necessary. Simply stop by and talk to me. Hope to see you there!

Make a donation to the North Royalton Food Bank
For anyone that would like to donate food to the North Royalton Food Bank, you can take it directly to the Food Bank at 14900 State Road on the following Thursdays between the hours of 10am-Noon: November 11, November 18, December 2, December 9 and December 16. Volunteers will be there to assist you.

My Contact Info
If you ever have any questions or concerns please feel free to give me at call at 440-596-0078 or e-mail me at dan.langshaw@northroyaltonsd.org.

Have a Great Week!

Dan Langshaw
North Royalton School Board Member
440-596-0078
www.danlangshaw.com

“Putting Students First”