Whitehall Copley board approves consent agenda, tax exonerations and multiple committee items

The Whitehall Copley School District Board of Directors approved a series of consent and committee items during its regular meeting on Aug. 25, 2025, including minutes, fiscal items, tax exonerations and multiple education, operations and personnel measures.

Key votes and outcomes

- Minutes: The board approved the minutes of the July 28, 2025 regular meeting and the Aug. 11, 2025 special board and committee meetings (motion moved and seconded; voice vote recorded as aye and motion carried).

- Treasurer’s report and bills: The treasurer presented the report and requested approval of the treasurer’s report and bills and salaries. The board voted (roll call) with eight yes votes; motion carried.

- Per-capita tax exonerations and refunds: The board approved the Whitehall Copley School District per-capita and real-estate tax exonerations and/or refunds as listed. The packet referenced 144 exonerations, including deceased taxpayers, duplicates, nonresidents, taxpayers over age 72, full-time students and minors; the transcript states the reasons but the detailed attached list was referenced rather than read aloud. The finance motion (to approve exonerations/refunds and a waste-management contract) passed on a roll-call vote of eight yes, motion carried.

- Waste-management contract: Approved as part of finance committee matters alongside the tax exonerations; vote recorded as eight yes.

- Education and student-activities items: The board approved a set of education items (letters a through m as listed to the board), including the 2025–28 comprehensive plan (noted as proposed), software updates for 2025–26, additional courses to the curriculum maps for 2025–26, Title I/TSI non–Title I school plans (retroactive 2024–25 and 2025–26), unified bocce for 2025–26, the Whitehall High School ski/snowboard club trip proposal, spring musical contract for The Wedding Singer, a middle-school fall musical junior contract, the 2025–26 student handbook, and agreements for staffing, ABA support services and translation services. The motion to approve letters a–m carried on a roll-call vote with eight yes votes.

- Operations and transportation: The board approved the 2025–26 school bus runs and stops, closed out the credit changeover for the new K–1 elementary school project, and approved structural and masonry repairs at Steckel (Stecco/Steckle referenced in transcript). The motion carried on a roll-call vote with eight yes.

- Personnel and administrative matters: The board approved personnel agenda items (letters a–f), recognized salary adjustments and tuition agreement for an employee and acknowledged residency and homebound instruction items. A roll-call vote recorded seven yes and one abstention (Doctor Hartman abstained); motion carried.

- Substitute addition: The board noted an addition to the personnel agenda—Zachary Hartman to the substitute list—and approved personnel items as presented during the meeting.

How the board voted

Roll-call tallies were recorded for multiple items. Where roll-call was read aloud, the transcript records the following members voting yes on many motions: Missus Gogler, Doctor Hartman (voted yes on several items but abstained on the personnel block noted above), Missus Cromer, Mister Kubat, Mister McCool, Mister Saloom, Mister Shields and Mister Williams. One member, Mister Fonzon, was absent.

What was not decided or discussed in depth

No new policies were adopted on topics raised in public comment during this meeting, and there were no recorded formal motions directing staff to change attendance or program-uniform policies in response to the public comment.

Next steps

The board’s next committee meeting was announced for Sept. 8 at 4 p.m., and the next regular board meeting was set for Sept. 22 at 7 p.m.