The May meeting of the North Royalton Board of Education took place on Monday, May 10.
The Board appointed District Assistant Superintendent James Presot to serve as Superintendent, on an interim basis, effective June 1 – 30.
Accolades to soon-to-be-retiring North Royalton School Superintendent Greg Gurka were presented by Broadview Heights Mayor Sam Ali and North Royalton Mayor Larry Antoskiewicz.
Gurka noted that “I have stated continuously that we are lucky to have a great relationship with our cities.” He went on to say that “we can’t do the things we do with our schools without the support of the community, and when you talk about the community, it’s not just the PTA and the boosters, it’s the support of the whole community.”
A resident addressed the Board of Education regarding the 1619 Project, comprehensive sex education and critical race theory indoctrination, providing the Board with information on the subjects. (See Critical Race Theory article)
The Board approved the following 2020-21 appropriation adjustment: 004 Building Fund, from $3,207,147.00 to $3,776,954.20; 019 Other Local Grants, from $194,447.60 to $283,143.33
The Board approved the 2021 five-year forecast.
The Board approved a resolution that estimates the amount of active and inactive money of the district to be awarded for from July 31, 2021 through July 30, 2026 from eligible institutions who wish to serve as depositories. A depositary includes a bank or banks, a savings association or associations, a savings and loan association or associations or a savings bank or banks. The resolution states that, “This Board shall meet on June 14, 2021, or a later date determined by the Board, for the purpose of designating depositories for such active and interim moneys.”
The Board resolved to amend the classified substitute salary schedule to include the position of data entry clerk, effective June 1, 2021.
Gurka then reported that “it is amazing that we are at the end of the school year. . . the end of this school year is like no other.” He talked about the upcoming prom and commencement and thanked those who were involved for going out of their way to make the end-of-the-year activities special. “As the year comes to an end, I hope everyone enjoys these last few days and wish everyone a safe and relaxing summer.” He went on to say “in 2002, North Royalton said ‘hello’ and welcomed me to the family. To say that it was anything less than amazing would be a lie. Yes, there have been times when it was less than amazing, but in looking back at the past nineteen years, it has truly been the best years of my entire career. And there is only one reason why it’s been so great, that is because of the people.” He thanked the Board for allowing him to be a small part of the North Royalton community.
The Board approved the renewal of contracts for the following administrative staff:
• Erin Calabrese/Middle School Assistant Principal/effective8/1/2021 through 7/31/2024
• Kristin Hubbell/High School Assistant Principal/effective8/1/2021 through 7/31/2024
• Tricia Pozsgai/Director of Technology/effective 8/1/2021through 7/31/2024.
The Board also approved the renewal of a contract for the following non-teaching supervisor/coordinator position:
• Carolyn Batjer/District Health Coordinator/effective 8/1/2021 through 7/31/2024
• Brian Clark/Maintenance Supervisor/effective 8/1/2021 through 7/31/2024
• Kevin (Bo) Kuntz/Athletic Director/effective 8/1/2021through 7/31/2024
• Vincent Weimer/Network & Systems Coordinator/effective 8/1/2021 through 7/31/2024
The Board resolved to honor Cheri Rourke as the 2020-21 Teacher of the Year; Patricia Brauer as the 2020-21 Support Staff Person of Year and Nick Phillips as the 2020-21 Friend of Education.
The Board reviewed membership in the Ohio High School Athletic Association for the 2021-22 school year.
The Board approved an agreement with the Cavaliers Operating Company, LLC, for the May 28, High School graduation at the Rocket Mortgage Field House.
The Board approved services with the following: Peak Potential Therapy for special education ESY programs and summer services, 2021; LLA Therapy Stars and Stripes Summer Camp for special education ESY programs and services for summer, 2021; and Maxim Healthcare Services for health care services for the remainder of the 2020-21 school year, to include ESY services.
The Board granted continuing status as teachers to the following staff members, effective for the 2021-22 school year: Norman Armentrout, John Barlock, Jennifer Di Geronimo, Amanda Fulton, Dana Kesselem, Arynn Leety, Matthew Stricker, Lisa Walker, Kate West and Nicholas Wysocki.
The Board approved the following appointments:
Certificated Employees, Effective 2021-22 School Year
• Stephanie Henderson/Grade 5 Middle School:
• Valerie Hendrickson/Reading Intervention/RtI/North Royalton Elementary School
• Mariah Kleem/Grade 4/North Royalton Elementary School
• Mary Moroney/Small Group Instructor/North Royalton Middle School
• Lyndsey Orges/Intervention Specialist/North Royalton Elementary School
• Alison Smolinski/Intervention Specialist/North Royalton Middle School
• Bridget Zywiec/High School Assistant Principal/effective August 1, 2021 through July 31,2023, at an initial base salary of $85,729.47.
Certified Substitute/effective 2021-22 School Year
•Tammie Lilly, Michaella Poldruhi
The Board accepted the following resignations and retirements:
Resignations
• Caroline Glickberg/Aide/Albion/effective May 28, 2021
• Joann Helton/Classified Substitute/effective April 9, 2021
• Kayla Lopez/Information Management Specialist/Central Office/effective July 1, 2021
• Sean McGrotty/Technology Specialist I/effective April 20, 2021
• Joseph Mikolajczyk/Choral-Music Teacher/High School-Middle School/effective May 29, 2021
Retirements
• Lillian Bender/Math Teacher/Middle School/effective June 1, 2021
• Steven Kravec/Bus Driver/effective June 1, 2021
• Ronald Pudelski/Bus Driver/effective June 1, 2021
• Peggy Szabo/Aide/Middle School/effective September1, 2021
The Board approved the following changes of assignment effective with the 2021-22 school year or as indicated:
• Jonathon Demitro from Royal View Utility Custodian, to North Royalton Elementary School Head Cleaning Custodian/effective June 1, 2021
• Iosif (Dan) Muresan from Royal View Elementary Building Custodian to North Royalton Elementary Head Building Custodian/effective June 1, 2021.
• Alison Dietrich from Data Entry Clerk/High School to Information Management Specialist at a base salary of $60,811, effective July 1, 2021.
The Board approved a non-licensed supplemental employment of Ryan Holliday, Head High School Boys Basketball Coach, effective for the 2021-22 school year.
The Board approved an agreement with Guarantee Trust Life Insurance Company to enroll in the Voluntary Student Accident & Sickness Insurance Program for the 2021-22 school year; underwritten by Guarantee Trust Life Insurance Company.
The Board approved an increase in the rates charged for the use of District building and grounds by outside groups.
The Board approved a contract for testing and balancing services for the HVAC system at the Middle School for an amount not to exceed $42,260.
The Board approved a resolution authorizing a contract for commissioning services for the design of mechanical systems with Osborn Engineering in an amount not to exceed $38,040.
The Board approved the following trip proposals: North Royalton High School Boys Soccer Pre-Season Tournament – Columbus, OH (July 17-18, 2021); North Royalton High School Girls Soccer Pre-Season Tournament – Columbus, OH (July 17-18, 2021); North Royalton High School Girls Basketball Northwest Ohio Girls Basketball Camp, University of Findlay (June 9-10, 2021).
The next monthly Board meeting will take place on Monday, June 14, at 7 p.m. at the North Royalton High School Media Center.
By GLORIA PLEVA KACIK
Contributing Writer