Westlake City School Board elects officers, affirms 2026 calendar and approves routine organizational resolutions

The Westlake City School Board of Education on Monday elected Liz Purnott as board president and Brad Lamb as vice president during its Jan. 12, 2026 organizational meeting and approved a series of standard organizational resolutions to govern the coming year.

The board opened the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance and a reading of the district’s mission and vision. An unidentified speaker read the mission: "Our mission is we educate for excellence, empowering all students to achieve their educational goals, to direct their lives, and to contribute to society." The board then moved, seconded and approved the meeting agenda by roll call.

Nominations for board president produced a single nominee, Liz Purnott; the board recorded affirmative votes and performed a swearing‑in at the flag. For vice president, members nominated and elected Brad Lamb, who repeated the oath of office including support for the U.S. and Ohio constitutions.

The board approved the district’s 2026 meeting calendar, which generally keeps meetings on the second and fourth Mondays with exceptions for Memorial Day and a June 30 fiscal‑year meeting. Board members discussed the timing of the Ohio School Boards Association conference and noted that meeting dates may be adjusted if needed.

Among the routine organizational resolutions the board approved:

- Authorization for the treasurer to file Form 904 with the county board of elections (the board corrected a member’s mailing address before filing).

- Establishment of a board service fund to cover travel, conference and related professional development expenses; a member noted the proposed fund was increased from last year’s $4,000 to $6,000 while mentioning that a statutory or customary maximum of up to $20,000 could apply.

- Appointments of representatives and liaisons: Alex was named OSBA delegate with Brad as alternate; Alex and the president were named legislative liaisons; Brad was named student achievement liaison. The board also named members to serve as business advisory liaison, district safety council liaisons, and the West Shore CareerTech district liaison.

- Designation of official newspapers for district legal publications (the Plain Dealer/cleveland.com and a local paper named in the meeting were selected).

- Approval of standard delegations and standing authorizations that allow the superintendent and CFO/treasurer to handle routine operations (pay bills under established appropriation levels, accept resignations, sign specified contracts), with board members given the option to reserve specific approvals for the board if desired.

- Financial authorizations: the board authorized the treasurer to request advances of tax collections from the county auditor to improve cash flow and allow short‑term investment before final settlement in March, and approved a resolution authorizing transfers among district funds (with transfers to be reported at the next regular board meeting).

- Legal and governance matters: the board approved a slate of law firms to handle property, bond, construction, general counsel and health‑insurance matters and reaffirmed the district’s vision, mission and board belief statements. The board also reaffirmed operating guidelines for the board‑superintendent‑CFO team.

- Compliance and operational appointments: the board appointed purchasing agents (amending wording to name the superintendent or business manager explicitly — Scott Goggin or Adam House were referenced in discussion), a public records training representative (Scott Goggin), prevailing wage and asbestos coordinators, Title IX and other hearing officers, and records retention and ADA compliance officers.

- Risk and cash controls: the board approved a standard fidelity bond (discussed in meeting as $20,000), higher liability insurance limits, petty cash funds limited to specific uses (transportation, limited site petty cash) and change‑drawer funds for athletic and cafeteria events. Members briefly discussed whether E‑ZPass could be used for bus tolls and asked staff to research feasibility.

Board members also approved routine membership renewals in organizations such as the Ohio School Boards Association and the Alliance for High Quality Education.

All listed motions were moved, seconded and adopted by roll call where recorded; the chair announced each motion carried. The organizational meeting adjourned at 6:46 p.m., and the board planned to reconvene shortly for a special meeting after restarting the livestream.

Votes at a glance: the meeting record shows unanimous roll‑call approval for the agenda, officer elections, calendar adoption, the board service fund, the slate of delegates and liaisons, standing authorizations and the various operational, legal and financial resolutions put forward during the organizational meeting. When individual roll‑call names were read aloud, members responded 'Yes' for each motion.