Olmsted Falls board names Phil Eckenrode president, approves calendar and routine resolutions

The Olmsted Falls City School Board unanimously elected Philip Eckenrode president and confirmed a slate of organizational items including Kelly Walker as vice president and legislative liaison, the board’s 2025 meeting calendar and two annual resolutions covering expedited consent procedures and tax‑exempt property reporting.

The nominations and votes took place at the board’s organizational meeting. After nominations, the board held roll‑call votes and approved each item by recorded yes votes.

Why it matters: organizational items shape board leadership and set administrative processes for the year. The expeditious‑transaction resolution lets the board combine routine items on a consent agenda; the annual tax‑exempt property notification is a required reporting step so the district and county track properties that claim tax‑exempt status.

The board began by accepting nominations for president. Madam Proteck nominated Philip Eckenrode; the motion was seconded and carried on a roll call with unanimous approval. The board then swore in Eckenrode and continued with nominations for vice president; Kelly Walker was nominated and approved by roll call. The board also appointed Walker to serve as the district’s legislative liaison for 2025.

Members approved the district’s 2025 board calendar and an “expeditious transaction” resolution that formalizes the use of a consent agenda for routine items. The board also adopted the annual resolution to notify the state about properties that may hold tax‑exempt status, a recurring administrative step to ensure the county’s records reflect any new applications.

Votes at a glance: - Election of Philip Eckenrode as board president — motion to accept nomination; outcome: approved (unanimous roll call). - Election of Kelly Walker as vice president — motion to accept nomination; outcome: approved (unanimous roll call). - Appointment of Kelly Walker as legislative liaison — motion to appoint; outcome: approved (unanimous roll call). - Adoption of 2025 meeting calendar — motion to approve calendar; outcome: approved (unanimous roll call). - Expeditious transaction resolution (consent agenda) — motion to approve the 2025 expeditious transaction resolution; outcome: approved (unanimous roll call). - Annual property tax‑exempt notification resolution (Item 10a) — motion to approve annual tax‑exempt reporting; outcome: approved (unanimous roll call). - Consent agenda items (grouped motions covering routine approvals identified on the posted agenda) — motion to approve; outcome: approved (unanimous roll call).

Board members recorded on the roll calls included (as read during votes): Mister Funk, Missus Walker, Mister Perez, Missus Newman, Mister Eckenrode, Mister Walker and others present on the roll calls. Specific yes votes were recorded in each roll call and the chair announced “motion carries” after each vote.

Administration said the expeditious‑transaction resolution is the district’s annual reaffirmation of using a consent agenda to handle routine business; the tax‑exempt notice must be submitted annually so the county will inform the district monthly of properties newly placed in tax‑exempt status.

The meeting then moved on to the regular agenda and presentations later in the evening.

(Reporting note: the board used roll‑call voting for organizational items; motion texts and vote tallies are summarized from the roll calls recorded in the meeting transcript.)