Legal, Contracts & Board Policy Committee meeting
Akron Board of Education
Education
Monday, Aug. 19, 2024
5:30 p.m. — 6:30 p.m. EDT
10 N Main St, Akron Akron, OH 44308 (Directions)
Sylvester Small Administration Building, 102, Board Room
The Akron Board of Education has four committees that meet on Mondays when there isn’t a regular meeting. The committees are: The Instructional Policy and Student Achievement Committee; The Equity Committee; The Finance & Capital Management Committee; The Legal, Contracts & Board Policy Committee.
Reporting
Edited and summarized by the Akron - OH Documenters Team
Live reporting by
Wittman Sullivan
Resident asks committee members about grievance process for complaints about district-contracted vendors
Wittman Sullivan
@WittmanSullivan
Hey everybody, I will be documenting Mondays Akron Public Schools (APS) Board Legal, Contracts, and Policy Committee Meeting at the Administration Building (10 N. Main) with #AKRDocumenters and @SignalAkron
02:06 PM Aug 23, 2024 CDT
Rene Molenaur said there are no policies to read and no discussion items She said there are no items in old business and there are 5 items in new business
A staffer said policy 8860 would update an existing policy that allows the district to use private vehicles in accordance with NEOLA updates They said parents are not allowed to transport their kids to field trips except for certain circumstances neola.com/state/ohio/
neola.com/state/ohio/
A staffer recommended not moving policy 3120 forward. The policy would use NEOLA standards for unlicensed substitute teachers, which the district does not use anymore Staffer agreed to not follow up on the policy at all beaconjournal.com/story/news/edu…
beaconjournal.com/story/news/edu…
A staffer said policy 5136 addresses HB 214 by banning student cell phone use on campus. She said this changes language in an existing policy prohibiting cell phone use on school campuses . govtech.com/education/k-12…
govtech.com/education/k-12…
Molenaur asked if exceptions will be made for students in Akron Early College who need their cell phones to multifactor authenticate in class A staffer said there are exceptions for students with medical needs and when authorized for classroom use by a teacher
A staffer said this policybans all personal students devices including smart watches, laptops, cell phones, and pagers Molenaur said the policy will be voted on during the August 26th Board Meeting
A staffer said HB 214 requires the district to post a policy against using statements encouraging beliefs or ideals, and requires that districts have a policy to accommodate students' religious beliefs including 3 excused religion expression day absenses legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/13…
legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/13…
Molenaur asked when a draft policy would be available Michael Robinson (superintendent) said it will likely be available in September Molenaur asked for a placeholder to discuss HB 214 for the September 16th Board Meeting
A staffer said SB 29 limits what data districts and vendors can collect and store and how a district can monitor school devices. It also prohibits vendors from selling data and requires the district to have a policy for data breaches
Molenaur asked when they want discussion on the item Robinson asked that a placeholder is placed in September and that this item is prioritized
A community member said the district needs to communicate student safety to parents in emergencies now that students will be unable to communicate with their parents in school
He asked that the shared tax agreement between the City of Akron and APS to build Community Learning Centers be made public. He said any of the money leftover is for APS and not the city. He said voters approved the taxes to support APS
He asked that the agreement to buy 10 N. Main (APS Administration Building) from the city is made public before the district pays $5 million the city for the office building
A community member said there needs to be a process for people to state grievances about vendors She asked if administrative fees are charged to all vendors and said there are fees being charged to van drivers that driver are not aware of through a contract
A community member said "things have been falling short" for van drivers with things like administrative fees that have caused confusion. She said the district is not following the law with contracts and vendors signalakron.org/changes-to-akr…
signalakron.org/changes-to-akr…
Molenaur said the board needs to review what they do and don't have in writing regarding nepotism, anonymous complaints, and how independent contractors and vendors interact with the district She said these are suggestions made in the transition report signalakron.org/akron-schools-…
signalakron.org/akron-schools-…
Robinson said he is not sure what Molenaur is asking for Molenaur asked that policies around these issues are more specific
A staffer said a policy around vendors and independence could be similar to existing policies around volunteers and interns
Robinson said the transition report was done before he joined APS, but there have been discussions about how to address and build policies about nepotism. He said he wants to ensure a sound policy around the issue
The meeting ended at 6:30 PM. The next Legal, Contracts, and Board Policy Meeting will be September 16th at the Administration Building (10. North Main Street). For more coverage check out Akron.documenters.org
Akron.documenters.org
Have a question, think we got something wrong? Send any questions about this meeting or these tweets to documenters@signalakron.org
Agency Information
Akron Board of Education
The Akron Public Schools Board of Education is the official body representing the citizens of Akron on all matters of public education. The board is non-partisan and non-sectarian. Its members are elected at-large for four-year terms.
Documents
No documents available