At the beginning of the Crestwood School Board’s February meeting, Superintendent Aireane Curtis shared that the potential of Crestwood joining a potential new sports league is on hold for now. She noted that not enough schools committed to participate in a potential new league at this juncture. For now, Crestwood will remain in the Chagrin Valley Conference. She noted that based on the terms of their agreement with the CVC, Crestwood must provide two-year-notice in order to withdraw from the current league.
In other sports news, Ms. Curtis asked for Board approval to add an item to the March Board meeting agenda. She noted that Director of Athletics Troy Spiker requested to have the score table in the CHS gymnasium to be named in honor of Jerry Davis, a 1977 Crestwood graduate who has served the district in scoring and time keeping in a multitude of sports for 45 years. Ms. Curtis noted that the proposal was made at this time, since the front of the table needs to be refurbished at this time. Board member Todd Monroe stated that at decision was, “a no-brainer. He’s put so much time in,” Monroe continued, “He deserves this.” The motion will be placed on the March Board agenda.
Lastly, Ms. Curtis noted that based on the positive feedback from the Board at the January meeting, she moved forward on a potential agreement with the ESC of the Western Reserve. As was mentioned in the January meeting, the ESC inquired about the potential of renting space in Crestwood’s Central Office for the Social Acquisition of Interpersonal Language (SAIL) initiative, a special K-12 educational program. Currently located in Painesville, the organization would like to use four classrooms from Crestwood; they currently pay $5,000 per classroom.
Based on the positive response at the January Board meeting, Curtis discussed further details with the ESC as well as applicable Crestwood staff. She noted that the far hallway at the Central office could accommodate the needs of the program, while being separate from the rest of the building by security gates. The current security measures, which include building cameras and a security system to enter the building, are sufficient. The only additional costs would be for additional key fobs and classroom keys.
She noted that the ESC would hire the program director, teachers, and aids, and that Crestwood would only be responsible for maintaining the space. She noted that no custodians would be required during the day, so that Crestwood’s current evening custodians could continue to maintain the building. While the students would require food services for lunch, that cost would be billed to the ESC. Further, she noted that although students would be arriving from other districts in Portage, and potentially Lake and Geauga counties, the students’ home districts would be responsible for the transportation. The program would follow Crestwood’s school calendar, including calamity days.
She noted that the district has extra desks, tables, and other furniture currently stored in the building that can be used. She noted that as the district currently pays for utilities in the building, only water usage may increase. As for the walkers from the community who currently use the building for indoor exercise during inclement weather, they could access a modified route if the program moves into the building. Lastly, since the program would operate during school hours (estimated at 7 am until 3 pm), use of the gymnasium for Crestwood sports teams would not be impacted. The Board directed Curtis to work with district attorneys to draft a preliminary agreement.
The next regularly scheduled Board meeting takes place on Tuesday, March 11th at 7 pm in the Central Office.
