Cleveland Heights-University Heights Board of Education meeting highlights 8-21-12

August 21, 2012

• Sixth grade pilot facility
• Lease agreement for ABLE
• Library bonds reissued
• Facilities planning

All board members were present.

Sixth grade pilot facility

The board met at Roxboro Middle School and viewed the sixth grade pilot facility, where the sixth grade staff explained how they would utilize the facility. They plan to group students based on need, switch teachers, use smart board technology, and emphasize project-based learning and the team approach.

Lease agreement for ABLE

The board authorized a lease agreement between the school district and 15811 Investors LLC. This lease involves a storefront rental in East Cleveland on Euclid Avenue that will house ABLE (Adult Basic and Literary Education). This office, which is close to the old office, will have larger square footage and more services for the same rental price.

Library bonds reissued

The board approved a refinancing of bonds. The board will recall old bonds and reissue new bonds at lower interest rates. This will save taxpayers $1.5 million over the life of the bonds. These are library bonds, and funds go to the library.

Facilities planning

The board discussed the process for revising the facilities study, the establishment of a lay facilities advisory committee, and the timeline for putting the bond issue on the ballot.

The members decided that plan C must be revised with consideration of the “big picture.” Items discussed included renovations vs. large projects, location of the schools that will remain open, budget, funding for the project, and community support. Questions included how much square footage was allotted to each student, how much the district can afford, whether the bond issue should be limited, and whether the district should establish a budget or follow a vision and finance a riskier project.

The board believed that November 2013 would be the best time to submit the bond issue to the public, although there was discussion on whether the chance of approval would be greater in May 2013.

Discussion of the proposed lay committee included its tasks and goals and member selection. They decided that each board member would submit names of potential members by Monday, Aug. 27. Karen Jones, board president, would sort the names and begin to develop a selection process. Suggestions for a 15 to 20-member committee included city officials; representatives from FutureHeights, the Alumni Foundation, and the teachers’ union; PTA officers; older voters; and board of education members.

LWV observer: Lillian Houser.

These meeting summaries are abstracted from LWV observers’ written reports. The summaries have been edited and prepared by Anne McFarland, Charlene Morse, and Maryann Barnes. To receive e-mail postings of full reports, send an e-mail to mbarnes9515@gmail.com or join through Google groups using “lwv-chuh observer reports” as a search phrase.

These reports contain member observation and selected highlights of public meetings and are not official statements of the Heights Chapter of the League of Women Voters Cuyahoga Area. This disclaimer must accompany any redistribution of these reports.