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Tallmadge board combines personnel items, approves hires and records elimination of eight positions
Summary
The board accepted multiple personnel actions including retirements, approved several new teachers and intervention specialists, and recorded elimination of eight teaching positions for 2026–27; public commenters raised concerns about lost upper-level science courses and social media policy.
At its June 17 meeting the Tallmadge City Board of Education combined personnel items 5.1–5.14 and approved a slate of staffing actions that included retirements, new hires and a recorded elimination of eight teaching positions for the 2026–27 school year.
The board announced the district is eliminating eight positions overall: three at Tallmadge Elementary, two intervention specialist positions at the high school, and one each in ELA, math and science at the high school. The meeting also accepted retirements from long-serving teachers Becky Miller (over 30 years) and John Bryant, and approved new hires including intervention specialists Rachel Pinowski and Janette Finocchio and elementary teachers Brooke Whiteman and Vada (third grade).
"We will miss her dearly," the meeting chair said of deceased science teacher Michelle Einan earlier in the meeting, and later praised departing staff and welcomed new employees. New hire Rachel Pinowski and Janette Finocchio each gave brief introductions, and Brooke Whiteman said she is excited for her first full year of classroom teaching.
During public comment, resident William Layman asked whether hiring balanced the reductions; the chair replied there will be eight fewer certain teaching positions next year. Barb May asked whether upper-level science courses identified in a teacher’s social post (for example, anatomy and physiology) were cut for low enrollment or shifted to College Credit Plus (CCP). A board speaker acknowledged alternatives exist but said, “I think some of our kids will be missing out on opportunities because of those cuts.”
The board recorded the personnel actions as adopted in a combined motion. The district plans to onboard new hires ahead of the school year and will complete placement and scheduling as staffing changes are finalized.
Next steps: administrators will finalize assignments for the coming year and the board will maintain oversight of staffing and scheduling implications for course offerings.
