Board Update

Good Evening:

Again, welcome back! I hope everyone’s first few days of school are off to a great start!

If you are a constituent living in the North Royalton School District, you are
invited to attend my next monthly constituent coffee this Tuesday, August 30th 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.

LAST WEEK IN YOUR SCHOOL BOARD

On August 23rd attended Valley Vista Elementary School Open House. It was great seeing all the students, parents, and staff! For the 2011-2012 school year I will be serving as the School Board Building Liaison for Valley Vista.

Attended the North Royalton Stadium Foundation’s Donor and Supporter Recognition Night on August 25th. Wow the new stadium looks amazing! Although the night recognized all the special donors. I just want to again express a personal thanks to the North Royalton Stadium Foundation, all the generous donors, City of North Royalton, City of Broadview Heights, district administration, and everyone in the community who helped make this dream come true. If you have a chance please stop by and check the stadium out and of course come to one of the many events or games that will be held there this year.

On August 27th met with State Representative Mike Dovilla during his District Office Hours at the Strongsville Library. I expressed concerns regarding the governor’s plans to create a new school funding model and the possible negative effect it could have on district’s like North Royalton. It was very positive to learn that a bipartisan, bicameral Suburban Caucus in the legislature was recently formed to advocate for the interest of suburbs. I believe this is a very positive step forward and I plan to see what ways local school districts like ours can benefit from such lobbying efforts.

State Report Card Results
The North Royalton City School district has earned the designation of “Excellent” for the 2010-1011 State School Report Card from the Ohio Department of Education. This is our eleventh year getting an excellent rating which is a great achievement for our school district. I would like to note that the district’s performance index score of 105.9, is the highest its’ been in six years. In 2009-10, the performance index was 105.3. This score reflects the achievement for every enrolled student. Our district met all 26 state indicators on the report card. I think it is important to note that 74% of all district students scored “accelerated” or “advanced” on assessment tests. If you like to see the full state report card check it out at:
http://media.cleveland.com/northroyalton/other/North%20Royalton%20Report%20Card.pdf
Need your Feedback on Audio Recording Special Board Meetings
The North Royalton School Board meets typically twice a month with a Special Board Meeting and then with a Regular Board Meeting. All these meetings are open to the public. It is the Special Board meeting or also known as Board Work Session that the majority of all the major discussion of the board takes place. The Special Board Meetings are rarely attended by the public but in my opinion they are the most important meetings of the board that the public should be aware of. Recently many of you have urged for me again to get the board to audio record all of the Special Board Meetings and podcast them online just like we do of our Regular Board Meetings which can be found at: http://www.northroyaltonsd.org/page.php?loc=district/boardmeetings/bdmeetings2011.
However, a majority of the members of the current school board are against audio recording Special Meetings of the Board. Many of them do not believe me when I tell them that the public wants the board to be more transparent by audio recording these Special Meetings and podcasting them online for the public to listen to. The Board already records its’ Regular Board Meetings and should do the same with the Special Board Meetings. To give you a little more background into this issue. Since taking office back in 2010 I fought very hard for increased transparency of the board and drafted Board Bylaw 169.3 which requires the audio recording of all regular school board meetings. Prior to coming on the board there was no such requirement. I was able to get this bylaw approved unanimously by the whole board in March 2010. Here is a link to the bylaw: http://www.neola.com/northroyalton-oh/. During the Special Board Meetings of January 7,2010; February 4, 2010; November 11, 2010, and April 6, 2011 I have brought up for board discussion that all Special Meetings of the Board should be audio recorded and have been shot down by the majority of the board. Please know I am trying my best to get increased transparency but I am only one out of five members on the North Royalton School Board. I work for you and I am hearing you all loud and clear. Most importantly I agree with you all that there should be increased transparency. I plan to bring up the following board bylaw I have drafted for Board discussion at the upcoming September 8th Special Board Meeting and will try to get a formal vote on this at the September 12th Regular School Board Meeting. Here is what I am proposing:

All special meetings of the Board, except executive sessions, shall be recorded on audio. Audio recordings will be labeled and maintained in the Central Office under the supervision of the Treasurer. All audio recordings will be posted online on the district’s website. All recordings shall be maintained according to the Board's records retention policy.

As I stated I am trying my best to make sure your voice is heard in this matter but I need your help now. If you want increased transparency of the North Royalton School Board and want all Special Board Meetings to be audio recorded. Can you please take a few minutes to write, e-mail, or call the other members of the Board and share with them what you have been telling me since I took office. Only then maybe they will listen. Also if you would like to speak to the whole board at the September 12th Regular Board Meeting I am attaching a copy of the public participation form that you will need to fill out before the meeting in order to able to address the board.

Here is the contact information for the entire School Board

North Royalton School Board
6579 Royalton Rd.
North Royalton, OH 44133

Anne Reinkober - Board President
Email: anne.reinkober@northroyaltonsd.org
Phone: 440-582-3281

Len Reinhard - Board Vice President
Email: len.reinhard@northroyaltonsd.org
Phone: 440-237-3674

Heidi Dolezal - Board Member
Email: heidi.dolezal@northroyaltonsd.org
Phone: 440-237-8258

Cheryl Hannan - Board Member
Email: cheryl.hannan@northroyaltonsd.org
Phone: 440-652-6561

Dan Langshaw - Board Member
Email: dan.langshaw@northroyaltonsd.org
Phone: 440-596-0078



THIS WEEK IN YOUR SCHOOL BOARD

This week there are various meetings and events.

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 August 30th 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.

September 2nd Inaugural High School Football Home Game at Serpentini Chevrolet Stadium @ 7pm, North Royalton vs. Revere.

September 9th Labor Day NO SCHOOL

Got Transportation Issues?
If any issues come up with your student’s bus stop or transportation please contact our Director of Transportation Joe Marcinowski at 440-582-9051.

Weekly E-mail Updates
If you have any friends or neighbors who would like to receive my weekly e-mail updates please let me know and I will be sure to add them to my e-mail list.

Follow me on Twitter or on my Blog
You can follow me on Twitter @Langshaw4board. I also have a blog at http://votelangshaw4board.blogspot.com.

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”