Votes at a glance: Nordonia Hills board actions March 18, 2025

The Nordonia Hills City School District Board of Education took the following formal actions at its March 18, 2025 meeting. Vote tallies and available roll-call records are shown as recorded in the meeting transcript.

Votes at a glance

1) Approval of agenda — Passed (voice: unanimous) Motion: Approve this evening's agenda. Outcome: approved (no recorded roll call beyond assent).

2) Acceptance of staff buyouts/retirements — Passed (5-0) Motion: Approve acceptance of listed staff buyouts and retirements. Roll call: Mr. Kearney — Yes; Ms. McKinley — Yes; Mr. Larimer — Yes; Mr. Tidmore — Yes; Ms. Votich — Yes.

3) Reduction in force (teaching staff) — Passed (5-0) Motion: Approve board resolution to proceed with RIF for teaching staff. Roll call: Kearney Yes; McKinley Yes; Larimer Yes; Tidmore Yes; Votich Yes. Notes: Administrators said two high-school teachers (math and Spanish) have no placement and will be laid off.

4) Reduction in force (nonteaching/support staff) — Passed (5-0) Motion: Approve board resolution to proceed with RIF for nonteaching staff. Roll call: Kearney Yes; McKinley Yes; Larimer Yes; Tidmore Yes; Votich Yes. Notes: Administration will coordinate with the union on recall and transfer options.

5) Remove transportation reduction plan from the table (procedural) — Passed (5-0) Motion: Remove the transportation reduction plan from the table for discussion. Roll call: Kearney Yes; McKinley Yes; Larimer Yes; Tidmore Yes; Votich Yes.

6) Vote on proposed transportation reductions (reduce to state minimum) — Failed (0-5) Motion (from prior meeting): Implement proposed transportation reductions to state minimum service. Roll call: Larimer No; McKinley No; Kearney No; Tidmore No; Votich No. Outcome: motion fails; current transportation service levels remain in place.

7) Consent agenda (policies, trips, donations, overnight travel) — Passed (5-0) Motion: Approve consent items including second reading of board policies, donations, field trips and overnight travel. Roll call: Kearney Yes; McKinley Yes; Larimer Yes; Tidmore Yes; Votich Yes.

8) Approval of strategic plan — Passed (5-0) Motion: Adopt the five-year strategic plan. Roll call: Kearney Yes; McKinley Yes; Larimer Yes; Tidmore Yes; Votich Yes.

9) Ohio School Council resolution — Passed (5-0) Motion: Approve Ohio School Council resolution related to energy or consortium participation (board packet). Roll call: Kearney Yes; McKinley Yes; Larimer Yes; Tidmore Yes; Votich Yes.

10) Contract with Townhall II Integrated Health Network — Passed (5-0) Motion: Approve contract for pupil services (substance prevention services) with Townhall II Integrated Health Network (administration said the vendor shared grant savings; district cost presented as $20,000 net). Roll call: Kearney Yes; McKinley Yes; Larimer Yes; Tidmore Yes; Votich Yes.

11) Competitive bid / E-rate allocation for technology upgrades — Passed (5-0) Motion: Approve rebid and contract award for network infrastructure replacement and apply for E-rate funding (administration expects ~40% reimbursement on eligible costs). Roll call: Kearney Yes; McKinley Yes; Larimer Yes; Tidmore Yes; Votich Yes.

12) Certified and classified personnel items (appointments, retirements, reductions, supplementals) — Passed (5-0) Motion: Approve certified and classified personnel resolutions as presented. Roll call: Kearney Yes; McKinley Yes; Larimer Yes; Tidmore Yes; Votich Yes. Notes: Several retirements and voluntary reduced assignments were filed following the buyout announcement.

13) Approval of tax rates for fiscal year 2025-26 (statutory filing) — Passed (5-0) Motion: Accept and authorize tax rates for 2025-26. Roll call: Kearney Yes; McKinley Yes; Larimer Yes; Tidmore Yes; Votich Yes. Notes: Board and administration highlighted a scheduled reduction tied to past bond retirement, resulting in a 1.42-mill reduction to taxpayers over the next year.

14) Filing of complaints against property valuations (three resolutions) — Passed (each 5-0) Motions: Authorize complaint filings for specified commercial parcels for tax year 2024. Roll calls: Kearney Yes; McKinley Yes; Larimer Yes; Tidmore Yes; Votich Yes.

15) Agreement with Julian & Grube for Medicaid school program procedures (agreed-upon procedures) — Passed (5-0) Motion: Approve agreement with Julian & Grube to perform agreed-upon procedures for Medicaid school program claiming. Roll call: Kearney Yes; McKinley Yes; Larimer Yes; Tidmore Yes; Votich Yes.

16) Adjournment — Passed (voice) Motion: Adjourn the meeting; date set for next regular meeting April 22, 2025 at 7 p.m. at Northfield Elementary.

Notes: Several items on the agenda were discussed at length (strategic plan, buyout and RIFs, transportation), while other consent and contract items proceeded with little debate. The transcript records roll-call votes for many motions; where roll-call was provided above the article reproduces that record.