Board Celebrates Retirees and Gives New RiseUp Award
Kenston Board of Education Regular Meeting –May 12, 2025
Meeting Details: The Kenston Board of Education (BOE) Regular Meeting took place on May 12, 2025, at 7:00 pm. The full video of the meeting is posted on the Kenston Website page here and on Kenston’s YouTube page here. View the agenda online and any attached documents here by selecting the meeting tab, the meeting date, and the agenda.
8:36 Min Call to order by President Tom Manning at 7:02 pm.
Board Attendance: President Tom Manning, Vice President Beth Krause, Ph.D., Jennifer Troutman, J.D., Dennis Bergansky, and Jim Henry
Staff in Attendance: Superintendent Bruce R. Willingham Jr., Ed.D., Treasurer Seth Cales, KHS (Kenston High School) Principal Tom Gabram, KMS (Kenston Middle School) Principal Adam Fender, TES (Timmons Elementary School) Principal Dave Rogaliner, and many other staff members noted in the commendations and awards below.
Pledge of Allegiance: Led by Callie Van Curen, TES 3rd Grade student, and Jim Henry
9:45 Min Regular Meeting Welcome and Roll Call: This meeting is being held in accordance with Section 3313.15 of the Ohio Revised Code.
10:45 Min Approval of the Minutes: The Kenston Board of Education approved that the reading of the minutes be waived, and approved the minutes of the April 14, 2025 regular meeting as recorded or corrected. The minutes of the meeting can be found here.
11:12 Min Commendations
Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, the Kenston Board of Education approved the following commendations:
Kenston's 2024-25 retirees, for their years of service to the district:
Central Office:
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Anita Dwyer, Administrative Assistant to the Assistant Superintendent
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Caren Vicich, Payroll Manager
Maintenance/Custodial Department:
Nutrition Services Department:
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Beth Angersola, TES Kitchen Manager
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Tina DeBonis, KMS Kitchen Manager
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Trish Galeti, KMS Nutrition Services Employee
Transportation Department:
Kenston High School:
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Shelly Affolter, Administrative Assistant II
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Chris Kofron, Radio Station Teacher
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Jim Selby, Social Studies Teacher
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Anissa Smith, Social Studies Teacher
Kenston Middle School:
Timmons Elementary School:
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Michelle Appell, Kindergarten Teacher
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Kathleen Bowers, Music Teacher
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Kris Welch, Administrative Assistant I
Dave Rogaliner, TES Principal, on behalf of Timmons Elementary School, recipient of the 2025 OAESA Hall of Fame School Award.
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This award was presented by Mark Jones, the Executive Assistant Director of OAESA (Ohio Association of Elementary School Administrators). Only 10 out of approximately 2,500 Ohio Schools receive this award.
2025 Ohio Department of Education and Workforce Purple Star designations:
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Adam Fender, on behalf of Kenston Middle School, for receiving a renewal of the designation.
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Tom Gabram, on behalf of Kenston High School, a first-time recipient of the designation.
KHS 12th Grade Students, 2024-25 Scholastic Art Winners:
Olive Hanson, TES 3rd Grade Student and Grand Prize winner of the Grades K-12 Young Entrepreneur Pitch Challenge at Young Entrepreneur Institute at University School.
The 2025 RiseUp Award for Outstanding Service to the District by a non-instructional service staff member (not in a leadership or directorship role) was introduced to the Board and the public as a collaborative effort between Principal Gabram and student William Eisner. William Eisner announced the winner.
**The Board breaks at 1:06.49 in the video for pictures in the lobby with retirees and award winners. Most of the additional staff (retirees and award winners) leave at this time. Video resumes at 1:18.53
1:19.04 Min Informational Items
1:29.16 Min Legislative Update: Dr. Krause deferred to Dr. Willingham’s and Seth Cales’ discussion of the potential impact of legislative policy on the district.
1:29.30 Min Dr. Willingham gave the Superintendent’s Report accompanied by slides. Highlights include:
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Rotary’s teacher of the year and runner-up were Timmons Elementary School teachers, Wendy Bularz and Rick Suba respectively.
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Dr. Willingham expressed thanks to all of the retirees and congratulations for the first RiseUp award winner.
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The commencement ceremony for the class of 2025 will be held on Thursday, May 22, 2025.
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Due to right-sizing plan, staffing updates, attrition, and other savings, there will be no deficit spending this year or next. Dr. Willingham gave a shout-out to the principals for the effort that went into this.
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Dr. Willingham introduced Josh Jakacki, Kenston Middle School teacher, who has been recommended to be Kenston High School’s new basketball coach. Observer Note: This was approved later in the meeting under supplemental staff.
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The building housing grades 4-7 will go to one bell schedule next year. Kinks and bus routes for grades 4-12 are still being worked out. Reviewer Note: An email sent to district families on May 18, 2025 stated that the district will be “aligning grades four through seven to the earlier start time (i.e., 7:38 am) at Kenston Middle School to better support instruction and student routines.”
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Dr. Willingham advised that with the budget as currently passed by the Ohio House, federal funding will not increase by much next year, but the district would not expect to see a decrease.
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Dr. Willingham spoke about Ohio’s new law requiring school districts to establish official policies governing cell phone usage during school hours. He is working with the high school and planning for conversations with parents about what the new policies will be going forward.
1:38.39 Min. Hearing of the Public on Agenda Items - There were no speaker requests.
1:38.47 Min Treasurer’s Report- Five Year Forecast May 2025 Update- accompanied by slides beginning at 1:38.48 in the video. The slides can be found here. Highlights include:
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Mr. Cales noted that the Five Year Forecast is a “dynamic fiscal management tool” that focuses “strictly on the General Fund.” He reminded the room that the Forecast is a “living document” that is and can be influenced by many factors, such as inflation, state funding formulas and budgets, interest rates, etc. It is a reflection of the current moment in time, updated twice yearly, and future projections are only estimations based on current knowledge. The forecast is developed in collaboration with key district personnel throughout the district. More information about forecasts and the assumptions can be found in the slides and on the website page here.
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Kenston enrollment has decreased year over year since 2020. This is not unique to Kenston and is happening for many reasons across Ohio.
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Kenston is heavily funded by local taxes, projected at 76% for 2025. State funding is estimated at 19% of revenues.
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Personnel costs are the largest expense and are projected to be 80% of overall costs and will continue to grow (not necessarily as a percentage) over time.
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FY 2025 projected cash balance (that is, remaining revenue after expenditures are accounted for) is expected to slightly increase over the November projection to $361,922.
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Expenses are increasing faster than revenues which will lead to deficit spending in FY 2027, 2028, and 2029, but the right sizing plan and the PI levy have slowed the process, allowing the district to push out a new operating level to approximately 2029.
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The cash balance will remain above or at the minimum required level (i.e., cash for 30 days’ worth of operating expenses according to Kenston Board Policy) through FY 2028 and then decrease below the required amount by 2029.
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It is estimated to cost $17,952 of General Fund dollars to educate a student in FY 2025. 62% of this cost is borne by residential property owners, and 38% is borne by federal, state, business, and other taxes.
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Challenges for the district in the future include deficit spending in the years 2027-29, a declining cash balance, declining student enrollment (state wide), the accompanying process of maintaining staff appropriate to enrollment, and the uncertainties of House Bill 96 as it moves through the Ohio Assembly. Mr. Cales noted that these are all things that can impact the forecast and will be monitored year over year. Reviewer Note: House Bill 96 addresses many areas; a summary can be found here. It has passed the House and is now in the Senate. One aspect would create a cap on cash carryover and would distribute any funds over 25% back to property owners; a figure of 30% has also been discussed. This could change before passage by the full Legislature.
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Mr. Cales noted in his conclusion that some of the things that Kenston will continue to do to bring costs down include maximizing grant opportunities and analyzing third party contracts to see where services can be brought in-house while controlling for quality.
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Mr. Cales advised that he was working in collaboration with Dr. Willingham to update and bring out a financial information webpage to answer more questions that the community may have regarding school funding and finance.
2:09.55 Min Agenda approval items 9-18 . As the Board President announced at the beginning of the meeting, these items have been reviewed by Board members before the meeting and most are passed quickly and without discussion. Any items of potential interest have been highlighted by this observer.
Financial Items - These are available here by selecting the meeting tab, meeting date, and 9.1-9.7 on the agenda. All Approved.
Certified Personnel Items - These items are available here for review by selecting the meeting tab, meeting date, and 10.1-10.5 on the agenda. All Approved.
Classified Personnel Items - These items are available here by selecting the meeting tab, meeting date, and 11.1-11.5, 11.6, and 11.7 (approved separately), on the agenda. All Approved.
Supplemental Personnel Items - These items are available here by selecting the meeting tab, meeting date, and 12.1-12.5 on the agenda. All Approved.
Exempt Personnel Items - None
Business Operations - These items are available here by selecting the meeting tab, meeting date, and 14.1 on the agenda. All Approved.
Teaching and Learning - These items are available here by selecting the meeting tab, meeting date, and 15.1 on the agenda. All Approved.
Special Education Items - These items are available here by selecting the meeting tab, meeting date, and 16.1-16.4 on the agenda. All Approved.
Old Business- None
New Business Items-These items are available here by selecting the meeting tab, meeting date, and 18.1-18.6 on the agenda. All Approved. Items of interest may include:
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Class of 2025 list of graduates here.
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Board Policies Approvals- The policies are available by number to read here- select meeting date, agenda, and 18.2. Notable policies include:
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Policy 7440.01, titled Video Surveillance and Electronic Monitoring, has been modified to “address emerging monitoring technology used to detect vape smoke and the like.” Note that restroom loitering and vape detection devices were discussed by Dr. Willingham at the previous Kenston BOE meeting, and the superintendent advised that there was a trial of one such device at the school.
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New Policy 7421 titled Restrooms, Locker Rooms, Shower Rooms, and Changing Rooms regarding permissible access of facilities by opposite biological sex. Reviewer Note: This policy appears to be required by Senate Bill 104. See the Ohio School Board Association summary here.
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New Policy 5780.01 titled January 2025 new Parents’ Bill of Rights.
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Revised Policy 5350 titled January 2025 Revised Student Health, Well-Being, and Suicide Prevention.
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Special Update of Policy 5223 titled, March 2025 New/Revised/Clean Released Time For Religious Instruction During the School Day. Reviewer Note: This policy reflects the requirements of Ohio HB 8 which was signed into law on January 8, 2025. See the Ohio School Board summary here.
2:14.50 Min Hearing of The Public on Non-Agenda Items
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Sue Damico, Kenston Schools Bus Driver and community resident, requested that the school allow members of the community to use the tennis courts for pickleball. She expressed her belief that the alterations for this usage would be minimal, and that there would be many benefits to allowing the older community members, who pay taxes to support the school, to benefit from the district’s facilities.
2:18.31 Min A motion was made and approved to enter into Executive Session to discuss the employment and compensation of a public employee. Motion Approved at 9:14 pm.
Under Ohio Law, the Board may hold Executive Sessions to discuss personnel matters, litigations, purchase of property, negotiations, matters required to be kept confidential by federal law or state statutes, and details of security arrangements. Executive Sessions are used for discussion only, no board action can be voted on in Executive Session. Ohio Revised Code Section 121.22 defines the Sunshine Law and matters for Executive Session.
Mr. Manning advised that no action would be taken after the executive session other than adjournment and the video also ended at 2:19.59. The observer did not remain.
Next regular meeting: June 30, 2025 at 7 pm.
More information here: Board of Education | Kenston Local Schools
Observer: Jacqueline Berger
Editor: Gail Roussey
Reviewer: Sarah McGlone
Date Submitted: May 21, 2025
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