12/1/2011 - West Side Leader
     

The Revere Local Schools Board of Education approved a contract Nov. 22 that will see the addition of advertising to the district’s website but questioned what to do with the money it generates.

Treasurer David Forrest said several Northeast Ohio districts currently work with Scholastic Sponsors Association, an Independence company that sells advertising and places the ads on school websites.

“This is a nontraditional way to generate additional revenue for the school district,” he told the board during its monthly meeting. “They have done this successfully with other districts.”

He added the district then would receive 45 percent of the cost of the ads from Scholastic Sponsors in quarterly payments. The goal is to have 20 ads rotating on the site within a year, he said, which could generate about $1,000 a month for the district.

The district is responsible for reviewing all advertisements before they are put on the website, Forrest said. The contract also has a 45-day cancellation notice requirement if the district decides not to participate for the full two years.

Board members were not opposed to participating in the program but did ask what the district would do with the income from the ads.

Forrest said he thought the money would be added to the General Fund or could be used for professional development costs. Board member Mario Bonacci asked if it could be put toward the stadium turf initiative project.

The board voted to approve the contract, but members said they would like to revisit the issue in the near future to determine what to do with the money that comes in.

Also, Forrest noted in his report to the board that Summit County has not yet released tax valuations and the associated millage for the district. He added he hopes to have that information the first week of December.

Forrest also said there has been no action taken on House Bill 136, a proposal to allow parents to use vouchers to attend private schools regardless of the performance of their school district.

In his report on Cuyahoga Valley Career Center, Bonacci said the center’s officials wanted to thank the community for its support of its recent levy renewal. Bonacci added the school is partnering with Lorain County Community College to offer general education classes for college credit and is seeking to also work with Cuyahoga Community College.

Board member Claudia Hower said she recently attended the Ohio School Boards Association conference in Columbus with newly elected board members Diana Sabitsch and Dana Appel. She added it was a positive experience and she looks forward to attending next year.

In his report, Kevin Matowitz, the district’s coordinator of business services, said the district is looking into making improvements to facilities in the coming months. The high school building needs roof work as well as tuck pointing and additional attention to the brickwork.

With GPD Associates, the district is compiling a report on needed improvements, which Matowitz said would be done at the end of December or January. He would like the district to seek bids starting in January.

In other business, the board accepted donations, including Bath Elementary School PTA’s donation of $21,976 for the purchase of an iPad wireless technology lab for student use and $464 for an interactive whiteboard for one classroom. Mr. and Mrs. Norman Detrick also donated $2,420 for a student response system for one classroom at Revere Middle School.

In personnel items, the board accepted the resignation of Revere Middle School Assistant Principal Melanie Timco, effective Nov. 28, and the retirement of Revere High School foreign language teacher Kate Lutz.

In addition, the board approved a trip for the softball team to the Grand Strand Classic in Myrtle Beach, S.C., for April 9-13.

The board also commended students for achievement, including:

• National Merit Scholarship semi-finalists Adam DeLong, Samuel Kuo, Yi Sun and Edwin Zhang and Commended Scholars Claudia Konstand, Alexsandra Kovacevich, Daniel Li, Nicholas Seman, Xintong Lin and Leon Zhang;

• members of the Revere Marching Minutemen, who received a superior rating at the Ohio Music Educators Association competition for the first time ever this fall; and

• members and coaches of the Revere High School boys soccer team, which earned a record of 18-1-4 this year and made it to the state championships for the second year in a row.

The Revere board will combine its December work session and meeting into one meeting Dec. 13 at 6:30 p.m. in the Revere High School Library, 3420 Everett Road.

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