The Riverside Local School District Board of Education voted Dec. 15, 2025 to schedule a termination hearing under Ohio law (RC 3319.16) for Dr. Christopher J. Ratino on Jan. 4, 2026, at 9 a.m. in the district board conference room at 585 Riverside Drive in Painesville.

The resolution, introduced in open session after a prior executive session, notes a Dec. 12, 2025 written demand from Dr. Ratino and directs the district treasurer to provide the named party, the Ohio Department of Education and the relevant workforce office with notice of the hearing and to request that a referee be appointed to hear the matter.

The board approved the resolution by unanimous roll call (Mister Fischel, Mister Keeney and Miss Brewster voting aye). The resolution cites RC 3319.16 as the statutory mechanism for a superintendent termination hearing; no additional details about the reasons for the demand were stated on the record during the open session.

The hearing is scheduled to be held before an appointed referee on Jan. 4, 2026 at 9 a.m. at the Riverside Local School District board conference room. The treasurer was directed to complete statutory notice steps on Dec. 15, 2025.

No vote or decision on the substance of the termination was taken at the Dec. 15 meeting; the board’s action was limited to setting the time, place and notice steps required by the statute.