Board Update

Good Evening:

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.

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.

LAST WEEK IN YOUR SCHOOL BOARD
On Oct. 19th Superintendent Ed Vittardi delivered his Annual State of the Schools Address at the North Royalton Chamber of Commerce luncheon. He shared the district’s recent achievements which include ranking of Excellent for 11 consecutive years from the Ohio Department of Education and its placement on the Forbes.com “Top Education Towns” inventory. He also gave fiscal report, and presented an update on the district’s strategic plan progress, student achievement, and success stories from each of the school buildings. You can also check out the Sun Newspaper Article about his full address at: http://www.cleveland.com/north-royalton/index.ssf/2011/10/address_recounts_north_royalto.html
NRHS students receive National Merit Honors
Special congrats to Kathryn Altizer, Julianna Coleman, Emily Hrovat, Jennifer Pilat and Joel Roggeman who have all been named Commended Students in the 2012 National Merit Scholarship Program.
On October 22nd, I held my Monthly Constituent Coffee at the French Quarter Café. I just wanted to thank those who stopped by to give me their feedback. I hold these monthly coffees in order to stay in touch with fellow residents and listen to their feedback. There is no appointment necessary. Simply stop by and talk to me. I will keep you posted when my next monthly coffee in November will be.
Also on October 22nd I met with State Representative Mike Dovilla during his district office hours at the North Royalton Library to share concerns regarding HB 136, the Governor’s upcoming new school funding model, and to get an update on pending legislation that could impact our school district.

HB 136 Update
Back on Sept. 21st, the House Education Committee passed HB 136, a proposal that would offer vouchers to students in every Ohio school district, regardless of the district’s academic performance. The bill passed 12-10 primarily on a party line vote, with Rep. Nan Baker (R-Westlake) and Rep. Marlene Anielski (R-Walton Hills) voting against the measure along with Democrats. Now that HB 136 has been reported out of committee, it will move to the floor where it will be voted on by the full House some time after the November 8th General Election. HB 136 has the very real possibility of stripping even more state funding from the high performing school districts like ours. This is especially confusing given the public backlash against state budget which cut millions of dollars from local districts already fighting to control costs and deliver a quality public education
HB 136:
• Expands vouchers to students in all school districts, regardless of the academic report card rating of the school building or district. The only qualifier for eligibility is household income. Students whose family income is less than $95,000 would qualify.
• Allows students currently enrolled in private schools to be eligible for the voucher (phases in over four years).
• If the private school tuition is less than the voucher amount, it allows parents to bank the excess dollars for college tuition and textbooks at any private school or college in Ohio.
• Deducts funding for the voucher from the resident school district’s funding (aggregate amount deducted from district cannot exceed a district’s state aid funding.)

Please continue to contact our lawmakers in Columbus and share with them your concerns about HB 136 and to tell them to vote No!

State Senator Tom Patton
24th Senate District
Senate Building
1 Capitol Square, 1st Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
(614) 466-8056
SD24@senate.state.oh.us

State Representative Marlene Anielski (Broadview Heights portion of our school district)
17th House District
77 S. High St
12th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215-6111
Phone: (614) 644-6041
Fax: (614) 719-6956
district17@ohr.state.oh.us

State Representative Mike Dovilla
18th House District (North Royalton portion of our school district)
77 S. High St
12th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215-6111
Phone: (614) 466-4895
Fax: (614) 719-6957
district18@ohr.state.oh.us

Vote by Mail
The Cuyahoga County Board of Elections will no longer automatically mail Vote by Mail Ballot Applications to voters. To vote by mail for the November 8, 2011 General Election, you must fill out a Vote By Mail Application. You can click on
http://boe.cuyahogacounty.us/pdf_boe/en-US/Applications/absenteeApplication2011.pdf
or use the attached form. Franklin D. Roosevelt said it best “Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves and the only way they could do this is by not voting.” Please make sure you vote!

November 8th General Election
The upcoming election features a RENEWAL operating levy for the North Royalton City Schools. This levy WILL NOT increase taxes and passage is vital to allow our district to maintain current programs and services. Originally passed in 2002, and renewed in 2006, the levy will continue to generate $4,395,000 annually. Your vote counts and will go a long way to ensure that your child has every opportunity while growing up and attending the North Royalton City Schools.

Citywide Holiday Food Bank Collection
The North Royalton Food Bank is asking for donations of food for our Holiday Food Box program. Families in need will be given a food box for Thanksgiving and one for Christmas. You can help by donating nonperishable foods as listed on the attached description of needed items. If you wish to donate money to the program, checks are made out to the North Royalton Food Bank Trust and mailed to the Office on Aging, 13500 Ridge Road, North Royalton, OH 44133. Please include your name and address so we may send you a letter of thanks for your kind donation. See the Food List attached.
Thanksgiving/Christmas Food List


THIS WEEK IN YOUR SCHOOL BOARD

This week there are various meetings and events.

Transportation Committee Meeting on October 26th at 9:30am @ North Royalton Middle School Media Center Loft,14709 Ridge Rd., North Royalton, OH 44133.

Wellness Committee Meeting on October 26th at 1:00pm @ North Royalton Middle School Media Center Loft,14709 Ridge Rd., North Royalton, OH 44133.

Partnership for a Healthy North Royalton Meeting on October 26th at 2:45pm @ North Royalton Middle School Media Center Loft,14709 Ridge Rd., North Royalton, OH 44133.

Financial Advisory Committee Meeting on October 26thth at 7:00pm @ North Royalton Board of Education Office Conference Room, 6579 Royalton Rd., North Royalton, OH 44133.

You are cordially invited to attend the North Royalton Health, Wellness & Community Expo featuring the 11th Annual 5K Bear Run/Walk and so much more this year! Saturday, October 29, 2011 8:00 AM - 1:00 PM. Festivities begin at 8:00 AM with free Pancake & Sausage Breakfast provided by Mayor Bob Stefanik, 5K Bear Run will jump start the expo at 9:00 AM. From 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM - Health & Wellness Expo with a variety of Health, Wellness & Fitness Exhibitors. Free Health Screens, Kid’s Turkey Run/Walk & Play Area plus Presentations for All Age Groups. For more information check out our district website at www.northroyaltonsd.org

The North Royalton Stadium Foundation and the North Royalton Educational Foundation will be holding the Taste of North Royalton. The event will take place on Thursday, November 3, 2011 from 5:30PM - 8:30PM at Carrie Cerino's Main Ballroom. For ticket information, please call 440.582.2820 or 440.652.6143. Please click on Taste of North Royalton to see the many restaurants who will be participating in this event.

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”