Mantua – At the October meeting, Superintendent David Toth provided Board members with a substantial update on the District’s Strategic Plan. The plan includes eight key areas, which include: communications, culture, infrastructure, technology, finances, HR and business opportunities, programming, and Board relations. Among the details shared, Dr. Toth highlighted several new ways the district communicates both internally and externally to keep internal staff as well as the surrounding community informed and engaged with what the School District is doing. Toth also highlighted several methods employed, including a vitality program to support physical and mental health, as well as District and Building Leadership teams aimed at engaging with, encouraging, and supporting teachers and staff. Toth provided lengthy updates on each of the eight key areas highlighted in the Strategic Plan. To see the plan in more detail, visit crestwoodschools.org and click on ‘Strategic Plan’ in the lower navigation. For an update on how the district is addressing each goal, click the ‘Board Docs’ tree icon and select the October 11th Board regular Board meeting to view the Dr. Toth’s entire update to the Board.
At the September meeting, the Board approved a motion to employ Kathryn Hoffmeister as Treasurer of the Crestwood Local School District. At the October Board meeting, Ms. Hoffmeister presented the Board with financial reports from the month of September. She also updated Board members on some key changes in the Treasurer’s office, key among them including streamlining the requisition process and transitioning a portion of District funds into investments to earn interest for the district. Lastly, Hoffmeister noted that auditors will be in-house beginning the week of October 17th; she’ll keep the Board apprised of their progress.
In Public Comment, resident Rich McIntyre congratulated the Board on the work done on the Strategic Plan. He referred to his presentation at the September Board meeting where he spoke on the needs of the district’s sports facilities and proposed the Board consider a proposed bond issue. Next, resident Hillary Snider addressed the Board first on the topic of exit interviews being utilized to address staff retention issues, which she was pleased to learn were highlighted in the Strategic Plan. She also shared her concern about the intervention process, sharing that in the instance of Title One intervention, once a child is identified to receive intervention upon testing during a specific school year, that designation only follows them through the end of that academic year. Once the child advances to the next grade in a new school year, they must be tested again in order to qualify for intervention assistance, which resumes after the first quarter of the new school year. She implored the district to do better for its students.
Crestwood teacher and Liaison to the Board spoke next, highlighting Crestwood’s progress in filling open positions amid a teacher shortage resulting from many teachers finding higher paying jobs outside of the field of education. He commended the district for filling all open positions prior to the start of the school year, something he noted not all school districts were able to accomplish. Lastly, he addresses Ms. Snider’s comment about intervention, noting that while interventions happen every day throughout the school campuses, he was unfamiliar at the processes and stipulations of the Title One program, and would need to look into the issue.
In the consent agenda, the Board received a donation for $5,000 for a life skills room from the Portage County Board of Developmental Disabilities. The Board also approved providing financial support for educational opportunities including Safety Town, HS biology and writing office hours, peer tutoring, art club, freshman mentoring, Destination Imagination, and Power of the Pen.
The next regularly scheduled Board meeting takes place On Tuesday, November 8th at 7 pm at the District’s Administration Building on John Edwards Drive.
