Akron.com

APS board to meet in person again



DOWNTOWN AKRON — Students, teachers and staff of the Akron Public Schools (APS) are heading back to their classrooms, in-person and virtually, and based on a resolution approved at the March 8 meeting of the APS Board of Education, board members will resume face-to-face meetings as well.
The board will meet at the Sylvester Small Administration Building, 10 N. Main St., beginning March 22, almost a year to the day it voted to suspend in-person meetings due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The board has been convening virtually and livestreaming its meetings and committee meetings, and depending on its comfort level, board members can either attend in-person or continue participating virtually.
“We’ll look at some other options with cameras in some other rooms, where we might have to extend if we get in-person visitors,” said Superintendent David James. “But I’ll have a little bit more on that later in the week.”
During these meetings, health and safety protocols will be in place, including physical distancing and mask wearing.
The board also voted to endorse the renewal of the Akron-Summit County Public Library’s 1.9-mill operating levy on the May 4 ballot.
Pamela Hickson-Stevenson, the library’s executive director, spoke to the board about the library’s “mutually beneficial” relationship with APS and asked permission to place levy signs on school property.
“There’s not any additional fund[ing] being asked, and it’s also not even a replacement [levy], which would take advantage of the new property values,” she said. “So it’s basically the same dollars that the public approved in 2015.”
APS Athletic Director Joe Vassalotti commended the district’s outstanding winter sports teams, including the Firestone Community Learning Center (CLC) girls bowling, swimming and wrestling teams; and the Buchtel CLC girls basketball team and its boys basketball team, which is expected to play today, March 11, at 5:30 p.m. in the Division II regional semifinal at Elida High School.
He also recognized student-athletes, including:
• Buchtel CLC junior Chris Livingston for leading the school’s basketball team to regionals;
• Firestone CLC girls swimmers Tera Brilmyer, Abbie Kmet, Emma Moore, Mia Nagel and Molly Rogers; and
• Firestone CLC boys swimmers Mason Brady, Dominic Gasper, Daniel Green, Jonny Marshall and Davis Pickett.
Vassalotti also thanked winter sports participants for their patience in adhering to COVID-19 safety protocols, and with that in mind, the board approved a resolution to restart the following spring high school sports: girls and boys track and field, boys tennis, softball, baseball and boys volleyball, as well as these spring middle school sports: soccer, volleyball, girls and boys basketball, softball, and girls and boys track and field.
During the meeting, Debra Foulk, the district’s executive director of business affairs, called COVID-19 protocols during the winter sports season “a very successful testing program.”
“Students were very positively impacted by being able to be tested,” she said. “ … And I do commend Mr. Vassalotti because that testing schedule got to be very creative as we moved our testers from location to location multiple times on one day, depending on which sport was playing within the timeframe that we needed to. … We got through it, and we are very successfully going into postseason.”
She also said the athletic programs approved at this meeting are “considered noncontact sports, so the testing will not need to take place for the sports during the spring.”
When questioned about spectators at spring sporting events, Foulk said a March 2 order from the Ohio Department of Health allows indoor seating at 25 percent capacity and outdoor seating at 30 percent capacity. Physical distancing, mask-wearing and sanitization procedures are still required.
James said he is working with high school principals on potential venues for prom and graduation to ensure they are large enough and safe for attendees.
Board members also approved the following:
• an agreement between APS and Cleveland Clinic Akron General to partner in support of the Academy of Community Health and Safety serving as a clinical rotation site for the Emergency Medical Technician Training Program at Ellet CLC;
• the purchase of hand sanitizer for district-wide distribution from The Fred W. Albrecht Grocery Co. and the purchase of electrostatic sprayers and disinfectant for district-wide use in school buildings by physical education staff from Alco-Chem Inc. Mandala Products;
• a contract with former school board member the Rev. Dr. Curtis T. Walker Sr. to provide consulting services to the board to assist with the district’s strategic planning;
• donations from individuals and organizations, including a desktop PC built for gaming and for virtual and augmented-reality use, valued at $790, from Dennis Andrew to Buchtel CLC for use in the MakerSpace; and 150 pillowcases, valued at $750, from Blue Barn Quilt Shop to Project RISE to support students experiencing homelessness;
• the establishment of a chief diversity officer position, with a salary range of $125,686 to $152,083;
• the employment of 18 substitute educational assistants, four substitute teachers, Hannah Hoffman as a Title I tutor, Lindsey Chapman as a lifeguard/instructor at the Firestone Natatorium, Jessica Schmidt as a secretary, Patrick Pullum as a temporary custodial worker and Jazmine Ross as a school safety team member; and
• the retirement of Annie Alexander, Paula Bard and Charles Wiley.
The next APS board meeting is scheduled for March 22 at 5:30 p.m. at the Sylvester Small Administration Building, 10 N. Main St. The meeting will be in-person, and for more details, visit bit.ly/2V8oNVk.