Mantua – At a recent School Board meeting, 2018 Ohio History Teacher of the Year, Angus McDougall was recognized by State Coordinator Christian Pascarella from the the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. The Institute’s mission is to promote the knowledge and understanding of American history through educational programs and resources. Pascarella noted that McDougall was selected from over two-dozen applicants from around Ohio. Pascarella noted that McDougall’s mission of helping his students, “think like historians,” use primary source documents and contribute in hands-on activities including frontier reenactments and interaction with elementary students made McDougall stand out to judges. College professors and history teachers from around the State judged applicants. Former students and colleagues nominated McDougall for this history-based award. Commenting on the award, McDougall shared, “This is more a testament to the kids, and all the work they have done during the year or two of the program,” he explained. “I wish they could all have their names on it.” Crestwood High School Principal Dave McMahon added, “This is an example of our teachers working outside the box, shining a light on CHS.” He continued, “We simply don’t have enough opportunities to praise our teachers for the efforts for all they do.”
In other news, Superintendent Dave Toth shared that the district is now offering simple ‘grab and go’ breakfasts for students to eat in classrooms. The goal of this program is to provide the opportunity for children who would otherwise go without to eat breakfast while remaining on schedule. Toth noted that a variety of studies, including one by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) point out the correlation between breakfast and school performance among children. These findings show that children who do not eat breakfast at home or at school were less able to learn. He noted that hunger might lead to lower math scores and attention issues, as well as behavioral, emotional, and academic problems.
Lastly, Mr. Toth shared his concerns with the board about the District’s financial condition. He stated that 22% of the District’s current budget is based on 2008 enrollment figures, which have declined considerably. He also noted that the state has cut the district’s budget by an average of 2.5% during each bi-annual budget period. He shared that “serious discussions” continue regarding the need to phase out the State’s Guarantee initiative, which would greatly affect the funds received by the Crestwood School District. He noted that a reduction of only 5% would equate to the loss of the salary and benefits of six first-year teachers. Toth noted that 326 districts within the state are currently on some level of guarantee, which means that according to the state’s currently funding formula, those districts receive guarantee funding over and above what is deemed to be necessary by current enrollment.
Toth noted that 127 districts are capped, meaning they receive less funding than the state’s formula deems appropriate due to enrollment increases. Toth noted that the next state bi-annual budget is scheduled to be released on July 1st, 2019. Mr. Toth reminded the board that the district’s Emergency Renewal could be placed on the ballot in May 2019 or November 2019, but that passage would not increase the funds collected from taxpayers. He noted that a Permanent Improvement Levy could be placed on the ballot in November of 2021 or any ballot in 2022 to provide funding for facility updates and improvements. He noted that the board recently held a preliminary meeting to discuss the district’s goals. He noted, “Now is the time to make difficult decisions for the future of our students, staff, and facilities.”
In other news, Mr. Toth shared that the Security Assessment was in progress; he will share the results with the board as soon as the report is available. In similar news, Toth noted that Police Chief Urso recently held a security procedure refresher training class during a recent Professional Development Day for teachers and staff. Later, the board discussed the tentative schedule for the 2019-2020 school year. As proposed, students would return to school on August 26th, 2019. The school year would conclude on June 3rd, 2020.
The next regularly scheduled Board meeting will be held on Tuesday, December 11th at 7 pm in the CHS Library.
