Board approves personnel items, authorizes parking-lot repairs at Southview; Nazario records dissent on personnel

The Lorain City School Board on July 29 approved multiple agenda items including personnel matters and parking-lot repairs at Southview properties.

Personnel: The board considered items 9.01–9.04, listed on the agenda as personnel matters. After brief discussion about current staffing levels and ongoing vacancies in math and special education positions, the board approved the personnel items on a roll-call vote with four members in favor and one opposed. Vote recorded: Mister Sergio — yes; Doctor Ballard — yes; Mister Ferguson — yes; Missus Nazario — no. The transcript does not specify the mover or seconder for the personnel motion beyond the generic "So moved. Support." The superintendent said the district remains actively recruiting for math instructors and teachers of students with disabilities and noted paraprofessional roles remain challenging to fill.

Parking-lot repairs: The board also approved agenda items 10.01 and 10.02, which concern resurfacing and repairs at Southview Middle School and a second Southview site. District staff explained that during a planned mill-and-resurfacing at Southview Middle School crews discovered failing base material under the asphalt, water intrusion and "whale backing," requiring undercutting and replacement of the aggregate base before resurfacing. The district characterized the work as necessary remediation of an original installation that lacked a proper base. The motion to approve the additional repair work passed on roll call (board members present voted in favor; specific roll-call entries in the transcript include Mister Sturgill — yes; Doctor Ballard — yes; Mister Ferguson — yes; Missus Nazario — yes). The transcript does not record a final total cost for the additional repair work or identify a vendor; staff said they had completed some of the remedial base work and were holding final completion pending board approval.

Other: At the meeting the superintendent announced the district would close the following day in solidarity with the city in response to a recent death involving a local law-enforcement family; that closure was presented as an administrative decision and not recorded as a formal vote in the transcript.

Votes at a glance - Personnel (Items 9.01–9.04): Approved; roll call: Sergio — yes; Ballard — yes; Ferguson — yes; Nazario — no. - Parking-lot repairs (Items 10.01–10.02, Southview): Approved; roll call entries recorded as yes by members present (transcript includes Sturgill, Ballard, Ferguson, Nazario voting yes).

The board set its next regular meeting for Aug. 11, 2025, at 5 p.m. in the board room at Lorain High School.