Board Update

Good Afternoon:

It is hard to believe we are only weeks away from the end of the year 2011 and that I have been serving on the North Royalton School Board for almost entire 2nd year now. It seems like so much longer than that. I must say this has been a great year and it is an honor to continue to serve as a member of the School Board. I am happy to announce that I have been recently appointed along with my fellow Board Member Mrs. Dolezal to serve each 1 year terms as Board Representatives for the North Royalton City School District on the Cuyahoga Valley Career Center Board. I look forward to this additional leadership role next year and working with the new Board Members on our School Board as well after they are sworn in at our organizational meeting in early January

I just want to wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Please keep in your thoughts and prayers all those serving in the U.S. Military who will be away this holiday season from their families to keep us all safe.

SINCE MY LAST SCHOOL BOARD UPDATE

The School Board met on December 12th for its’ December Regular School Board Meeting. Some highlights from the meeting. Several high school students were recognized for various achievements. A group of NRHS Football players who start the district’s Annual Stuff the Bus event for Coats for Kids were recognized. Also the NRHS student Kelly Semple who got a perfect score on the ACT was recognized. In addition out going Board Members Hannan and Reinhard were formally recognized for their service on the North Royalton School Board. The Board approved time and place for the 2012 Organizational Meeting and Tax Budget Hearing for January 9th at 7pm in the NRHS Community Rm. An appropriations adjustment was approved. The Board appointed Anne Reinkober as President Pro Tempore for the Board Organizational Meeting. Board approved the establishment of an All Day Kindergarten option for the 2012-2013 school year. This is such a great thing to have available in our district. The 2012-2013 School Year Calendar was approved by the Board. Board Member Mrs. Dolezal and I were appointed as Representatives to the Cuyahoga Valley Career Center Board of Education for a one-year term effective January 1, 2012 through December 31, 2012. Board unanimously approved a resolution of opposition to HB 136 School Choice Bill pending in the Ohio House of Representatives. The Board accepted several retirements. The Board approved also various other agenda items, and such other matters that came before the Board.



Here is a link to the Audio Recording of the December 12th Regular School Board Meeting: http://www.northroyaltonsd.org/external/audio/121211RegMtg.mp3

On December 18th, I held my Monthly Constituent Coffee at the Espresso Pit. 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 January will be.

North Royalton City Schools to add All Day, Every Day Kindergarten
Parents of kindergarten students within the North Royalton City School District will have the option for the 2012-2013 school year of putting their child in all day, every day kindergarten classes. There will be two classrooms designed for the all day program. The all day program will be able to accommodate 46 students. The all day programs will be a tuition-based option, with tuition estimated at $2,500 for the year. The district will provide an option of reduced tuition costs for those families with a financial need. Selection for the classrooms will be determined through a lottery system. A balanced number of children will be selected from each quadrant and from each gender. A waiting list draw will also be conducted for those interested in the option, but not selected on the first round. To be placed in the lottery draw, parents must begin the registration process on one of the kindergarten registration dates (March 6, 7, or 8, 2012) and have completed all online INFOSNAP registration components no later than April 20, 2012.

2012-13 Calendar Approved
Please see the attached 2012-13 North Royalton City School District calendar that we approved at our Board Meeting early this month.





UPCOMING MEETINGS AND EVENTS

North Royalton City School District will be on winter break starting Dec. 21. Classes will resume on Jan. 3.

Special Board Meeting on January 5th at 6pm @ North Royalton Board of Education Office Conference Room, 6579 Royalton Rd., North Royalton, OH 44133.

Organizational Board Meeting & January Regular School Board Meeting on January 9th at 7pm @ NRHS Community Room, 14713 Ridge Rd., North Royalton, OH 44133.

E-mail Updates
If you have any friends or neighbors who would like to receive my e-mail updates please let me know and I will be sure to add them to my e-mail list. They can also click on this link on my website to sign up at: http://www.danlangshaw.com/contact/e-mail-newsletter-sign-up/

Stay In Touch with me through Social Networking and the Web
If you like to keep in contact with me you can also check out my Website at www.danlangshaw.com or follow me on Facebook or Twitter at Langshaw4board

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”

Board Update

Good Evening:

If you haven’t had the chance yet please check out my new and improved website at www.danlangshaw.com. Communication with constituents is very important to me and on my website you will see that I have centralized a lot of useful information about me, the school board, and district. You can also like me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter too.

LAST WEEK IN YOUR SCHOOL BOARD

The School Board met on December 6th for a Board Work Session. Board got department updates from Curriculum Director Bruce Bradley and Personnel Director Greg Gurka on the various things their individual departments are doing in the district.
The board got an update on next year’s school calendar. The board had more discussion about doing a pilot program for All Day Kindergarten in the school district. Students would be selected by lottery process and the district would charge an estimated tuition of about $2,500-$2,700. On Monday’s Regular Board Agenda there will be a formal resolution to start All Day Kindergarten for the 2012-2013 school year. Board got an update on the school district’s enrollment and demographics. The Board also had discussion about the state of Ohio’s new accountability and ranking system that will be in place for school district’s next year. Board had discussion about the impact of HB 153 and how some SB5 items were snuck into the state budget that mirror SB5 that school district will have to deal with. Treasurer McIntosh gave the Board a summary on the final Stadium Renovation Project cost and figures. The stadium project finished $422,800 under budget. Total cost of the project was $4,657,228. Here is a total breakdown of expenses and revenues:

The Board also discussed plans for Board Development and setting Board Goals for 2012. Board had discussion about board compensation and setting a board policy for board members to rotate serving as the CVCC Representative. There was also discussion about the two CVCC Appointments, Committee Assignments, and Board Officers for 2012. The Board reviewed the December Regular Meeting agenda items, and such other matters that came before the Board.

On December 9th I had the opportunity to attend the IT for Girls Luncheon at the Cuyahoga Valley Career Center. I also got a personal tour by Superintendent Celena Roebuck of the entire CVCC campus and met with various CVCC staff to learn more about all the exciting things going on there for our students.


THIS WEEK IN YOUR SCHOOL BOARD

Upcoming meetings and events:

December Regular School Board Meeting on December 12thth at 7pm @ NRHS Community Room, 14713 Ridge Rd., North Royalton, OH 44133.

Financial Advisory Committee Meeting on December 14th at 7pm @ North Royalton Board of Education Office Conference Room, 6579 Royalton Rd., North Royalton, OH 44133.

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.

Stay In Touch with me through Social Networking and the Web
If you like to keep in contact with me you can also check out my Website at www.danlangshaw.com or follow me on Facebook or Twitter at Langshaw4board

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”

Board Update

Good Evening:

Hope you all are staying warm on this cold rainy evening! If you haven’t had the chance yet please check out my new and improved website at www.danlangshaw.com.
Communication with constituents is very important to me and on my website you will see that I have centralized a lot of useful information about me, the school board, and district. You can also like me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter too.

LAST WEEK IN YOUR SCHOOL BOARD

North Royalton City School District Performance Index Information
The Ohio Department of Education (ODE) is giving parents, educators, and taxpayers a preview of a new approach for comparing academic performance among schools and districts. Effective September 2012, House Bill 153 requires all school districts and school buildings to be ranked using the Performance Index (PI) score. Such rankings will provide parents and taxpayers a new way to evaluate how local schools are performing while allowing educators to compare their performance with peers. The school district list will include all city, local and exempted village school districts as well as joint vocational school districts, community schools and STEM schools. The school building list will include all schools that are part of city, local or exempted village school. Each school is ranked using a PI score based on test scores from the 2010-2011 school year for the Ohio Achievement Tests (OAAs) and the Ohio Graduation Tests (OGTs).


North Royalton City Schools Performance Index Rankings

Middle School 94 of 578 84 percentile
High School 81 of 900 91 percentile
Elementary Schools:
Albion 13 of 1878 99 percentile
Valley Vista 70 of 1878 97 percentile
Royal View 60 of 1878 97 percentile

DISTRICT 70 of 1002 94 percentile

*Calculating the Performance Index
The performance index rewards the achievement of every student, not just those who score proficient or higher. Traditional school districts and school buildings, including community schools, earn points based on how well each student does on all tested subjects in grades 3-8 on Ohio’s Achievement Assessments and on the 10th-grade Ohio Graduation Tests. The higher the students achieve, the more points the district earns on the performance index. In fact, 74% of our students scored in the accelerated or advanced range. All assessments have five performance levels that include: advanced, accelerated, proficient, basic and limited. The percentage of students scoring at each performance level is calculated and then multiplied by the point value assigned to that performance level. The points earned for each performance level are totaled to determine each schools performance index score, where applicable. This all great news for our school district!


Ohio School Boards Association Joint Press Release on HB 136
I just wanted to share with a Press Release that was sent out by the Ohio School Boards Association on December 1st regarding HB 136 that you might find of interest.

Expanding voucher system would prove costly to taxpayers, public schools
COLUMBUS — Three statewide education management associations, the Ohio School Boards Association (OSBA), the Ohio Association of School Business Officials (OASBO) and the Buckeye Association of School Administrators (BASA), today released an analysis estimating costs for implementing proposed House Bill (HB) 136. HB 136 would dramatically change Ohio’s school voucher policy, a program that uses public tax dollars to subsidize private and parochial school tuition.
The analysis, conducted by ETPI consultants William Driscoll and Howard Fleeter, determined that HB 136 could create approximately $480 million in NEW costs for Ohio’s education funding system as the bill’s provisions are phased in over a very short period of time. The additional costs would come as students who already attend private schools suddenly become eligible for taxpayer-subsidized vouchers.
A bill touted by supporters as another education “choice” option for parents and students, HB 136 provides subsidies for parents who will not be making any new choices. The analysis found that the $480 million in new costs would result from the current private school population (based on 2010-11 school year enrollment figures) that would qualify for vouchers and continue as students in a school they were going to attend anyway. So, even if no public school students moved to a different educational “choice” by using a voucher, the state would need to find a way to cover this potential new expenditure.
—more—
Expanding voucher system would prove costly 2/2/2/2/2
The ETPI analysis uses U.S. Census Bureau data on Ohio's distribution of family income to estimate how many current private school students could qualify and their voucher level. HB 136 has varying levels of voucher subsidies — from $2,313 to $4,626 — based on family income. Students from families with incomes of up to $95,000 would be eligible. The analysis breaks down the percentage of students that could qualify based on each income category. The $480 million estimate represents the total amount that private school students from all voucher levels could receive.
Ohio already has another statewide voucher/private school subsidy program for students based on the low performance of the public school building they would otherwise attend. About 15,000 students currently receive this subsidy, which costs taxpayers more than $71 million annually. (The $480 million cost is in addition to existing voucher expenses.) In July, the state dramatically increased the cap on how many of those vouchers it would subsidize to 60,000 for the 2012-2013 school year. The new program proposed in HB 136 would also be subject to the 60,000 cap, but the bill provides for that cap to be automatically increased based on student demand in any given year.
The analysis projects that by the 2016-2017 school year the cap could increase enough to include the nearly 140,000 private school students that ETPI estimates would be eligible for a subsidy.
The $480 million figure does not account for any additional students leaving public schools to attend private and parochial schools with the proposed new voucher subsidy, though the bill would allow students in any school district — regardless of the district’s academic performance — to attend a private or parochial school with taxpayer money.
Driscoll and Fleeter indicated that there is no way to predict the exact costs of implementing HB 136 and the actual number of students who would qualify. However, they are confident that their assumptions could closely resemble the effects of the bill if it passes. With the phase-in that allows current private school students to receive vouchers, it is clear there will be significant new costs. If a family’s income qualifies, the assumption must be that it will seek the voucher/subsidy.
With current economic conditions, Ohio’s scarce resources and recent state school-funding cuts, OSBA, OASBO and BASA are concerned about where the additional hundreds of millions of dollars would come from. The state would either need to find revenue to cover the new costs for students not currently in the funding system or pass the costs along to school districts. The associations said that neither of those options bodes well for Ohio’s public education system and its remaining students.
The three organizations have worked hard to mobilize their members around the state in advocacy efforts against HB 136. They have received copies of board of education resolutions and letters opposing HB 136 from nearly 200 school districts, with more coming in every day. The information in the ETPI analysis was commissioned to help school district leaders educate their own legislators about the negative effects HB 136 would have on Ohio public education.
BASA is a nonprofit professional organization of school system leaders, specifically, superintendents, central office administrators, building-level administrators, higher education administrators and faculty, graduate students and other educational personnel.
OASBO is a not-for-profit educational management organization dedicated to learning, using and sharing the best methods and technology of school business administration.
OSBA leads the way to educational excellence by serving Ohio’s public school board members and the diverse districts they represent through superior service and creative solutions.
— 30 —

Keep Contacting Lawmakers on HB 136
Please continue to contact our lawmakers in Columbus and share with them your concerns about HB 136 and to tell them to vote No! There is still an effort to bring this to a vote in the coming months and we need to stop this bill!

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


THIS WEEK IN YOUR SCHOOL BOARD

This week there are various meetings and events.

The School Board will meet on December 6th for its’ Board Work Session at 6pm @ the North Royalton Board of Education Office Conference Room, 6579 Royalton Rd., North Royalton, OH 44133. The Board will be reviewing the December Regular Meeting agenda items, and such other matters that may come before the Board. (All North Royalton School Board Special Meetings, Board Work Sessions, and Regular Meetings are all open to the public to attend).

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 stay in touch on my website
You can follow me on Twitter @Langshaw4board. You can also check out my website at www.danlangshaw.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”