Parma launches inaugural Safety Town at Green Valley Elementary with $25 fee for 2025

Parma officials approved an inaugural Safety Town this summer, authorizing a memorandum of understanding with Parma City Schools and setting a reduced $25 per‑child fee for 2025 to launch the program quickly.

Safety Director Bob Corey told the council the four‑day program is designed for pre‑kindergarten children entering kindergarten and will cover fire, pedestrian, bicycle, school bus and railroad safety, stranger danger, identification kits and 911 instruction. "Safety Town is designed to help children gain a better understanding of the importance of safety in their own lives," Corey said.

The city and the school district will share responsibilities under the memorandum of understanding. The school will provide the site at Green Valley Elementary School (2401 West Pleasant Valley Road), classroom access, a school bus and driver, and will build permanent program structures beginning in 2026. The city will provide electrical connections and any needed grading or retaining walls, hire and fund staff to prepare and deliver the curriculum, and publish program materials. Corey said the council has provided a $40,000 appropriation that "is sufficient to cover all of our current costs, and there's no need for any additional appropriations." He also said the city expects to contract with Parma City School teachers as independent contractors at a rate of about $35 per hour.

Councilmembers pressed staff on program operations during the meeting. Corey said the inaugural schedule will run July 7–August 7 with Monday–Thursday sessions. Each four‑day class will run two sessions per day (for example, a morning session and an afternoon session), with a maximum class size of 20 students and a maximum enrollment of 200 children across 10 sessions. Typical daily session times offered as examples were 08:30–10:30 for morning and 11:30–13:30 for afternoon. Corey said the city will maintain a waiting list and contact families as openings occur.

Eligibility was clarified: priority for 2025 is pre‑K children who are Parma residents or pre‑K children enrolled in Parma City Schools (this includes Parma, Parma Heights and Seven Hills pupils enrolled in Parma City Schools). Corey said the first year is the district partnership's inaugural offering and the city will evaluate broader eligibility in later years. Councilmembers discussed expanding eligibility in future years to include private or parochial students who live in Parma.

Corey told council the city will market the program this week and planned an outreach meeting with the police department public information officer; he asked that marketing materials be routed through Kristen Saben so councilmembers can share them. "We will get something out to the public, no later than this Friday," he said.

Council voted to adopt Ordinance 93‑25 setting the 2025 Safety Town fee at $25 (the Safety Director said the fee is expected to be set at $40 in 2026 once permanent structures and full program infrastructure are in place). Council also adopted Ordinance 95‑25 authorizing the memorandum of understanding with the Parma City School District to operate the program.

Corey said volunteers (including Parma City School volunteers and community high school students seeking service hours) and police personnel will support the classes; Patrolman Bob Curtin was named as one of the officers helping implement the program. Council members and staff said they will coordinate volunteer recruitment and that marketing materials will include registration and waiting‑list instructions.

The program is scheduled to begin July 7 and run through August 7, with registration details to be released publicly by the end of the week. Councilmembers and staff said they intend to review the first year and consider expanding eligibility and sponsorship opportunities for 2026 when the school builds permanent structures that could host sponsored exhibits.