Schools

Larkin immediately asked Crowe for a moment of reflection. He announced that the day prior, a Roosevelt senior passed away after a long battle with a medical condition.

Also in the consent agenda, Heflinger proposed the removal of school fees, excluding extra and co-curricular activities. He additionally asked for approval for contracts to purchase ELA books, for pest control services with A-Best Pest Control and with the ESC for special services.

With a projected growth in revenue in 2027, the end balance that year is estimated to be $750,000. That number will continue to grow in 2028 to $1.035 million. At that point, revenue numbers will flatten out. He predicted that in 2030, the district “will need to pay close attention to their cash on hand.”

The district will be operating with a surplus for two years, which will quickly turn into a deficit by 2031. Plageman also updated the board on recent and pending state legislation that could impact these projects. “There is an uncertainty at the state level,” Plageman said. 

A year after launching Life Discovery, most area school districts that signed on are calling it a good deal.

Following the recent May and April bomb and gun threats at Stanton Middle School and Longcoy Elementary, the district is extensively reviewing how these situations were handled. Leaders are updating safety plans during the summer and anticipate hosting more theoretical drills with faculty throughout the school year.

Due to a desire to increase focusing, and social interaction skills, this fall all students and staff at Waterloo School District will be undergoing a 'Digital Diet.'

In addition to the closures of West Park and West Main elementaries, Ravenna City Schools might be introducing another building change.

After the Kent City School District was informed that a student was suspected of having a gun and Longcoy Elementary School was placed under lockdown, the police are investigating the situation.

Disappointed by May’s primary election results, school and city officials across Portage County know they have work to do before November.

Kent State University’s administration and police had intended to use license plate readers on campus, but reversed themselves after public outcry became apparent.

Kent City School District leaders hope voters will approve a 9.8-mill continuing levy in May. If approved, Issue 1 will generate $8,522,335 annually for the district’s general operating budget.

When the Suffield Elementary School principal job opened up in 1999, Shawn Bookman was hesitant to apply. At that time, Bookman was a fifth grader teacher in the Springfield City School District with two young children.

The featured program for the meeting was a walk-through of the Applied Engineering and Machining lab, which has been led by Mark Hamilton for the past 14 years.

A proposed Ohio bill would push school districts back onto the ballot more often, reversing years of work in some districts to stabilize funding and reduce voter fatigue. At the same time, recently passed laws mean schools are already dealing with changes to how revenue grows over time and how much taxes can grow in relation to property valuations.

The planning commission forwarded a resolution to Streetsboro City Council to put a 12-month moratorium on accepting applications for data centers and/or cryptocurrency centers.

May primaries are just around the corner, and Portage County voters will see a number of familiar names in dozens of uncontested races, as well as a few contested ones. On the ballot are candidates for state representative of Ohio’s 72nd district, Portage County commissioner, Portage County Common Pleas Court judges and Portage County auditor.

“We’re in an interesting place in terms of enrollment,” Heflinger said. He said that the district doesn’t have room in Brimfield to grow, adding that “if kindergarten enrollment goes up, we will be scrambling.”