Superintendent’s Corner

It has been a wonderful start to the 2022-23 school year! We are so excited for students to be back in classrooms. I want to share some exciting news this month, tell you about a few upcoming events and answer some questions related to the bond issue.

Award-winning programming: The National Diversity Council has selected Nordonia to receive its 2022 National Disability Inclusion Leadership Award. It will be presented during the National Disability Inclusion Summit being held in Atlanta, Georgia, in October. The purpose of the Summit is to recognize people and organizations that are leading the way in disability advocacy and inclusion efforts within the workplace and community, as well as highlight diversity, equity and inclusion best practices.

Award-winning teacher: Nordonia High School math department chair Samantha Fales has been selected for the 2022 Ohio Council of Teachers of Mathematics Buck Martin High School Award, awarded for excellence in mathematics teaching at the high school level. In other words, Mrs. Fales is the Ohio math teacher of the year. We are so proud of Sam for her success and grateful for her leadership of our math department. 

Community diversity meeting: The Nordonia Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council invites you to its annual community meeting, “Unity in the School Community.” The Zoom meeting will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 27, from 7-8:30 p.m. All Nordonia families and community members are invited to meet the leaders of the NDEIC and learn about the programming we provide for students and staff. There will be an opportunity to give ideas and suggestions about how we can better achieve our mission. You can register at tinyurl.com/NDEIC2022.

State of schools and open forum: The annual state of schools address will be held Thursday, Oct. 6, from 6-7:30 p.m., at Nordonia High School. After the brief address, the board will hold an open forum to answer questions about the bond issue.

Bond issue FAQs

How many mills is the bond issue? 7.75 mills.

What will it cost me? The annual cost is $271.26 for each $100,000 of valuation.

What would it cost to renovate our buildings instead of building new ones? Renovating our six current schools would cost approximately $135 million. 

How will the bond issue impact the need for future operating levies? Building new schools will delay the need for a future operating levy. Operational savings will begin immediately if the bond issue passes, because it will impact how the district prioritizes needed repairs and replacements to district systems. For example, boilers may be repaired instead of replaced, or roofs may be patched instead of replaced. Cosmetic issues like ragged carpet or peeling paint may be tolerated knowing a new building is only a few years away. After new schools are built, you will not see a need for major system replacement for 20 years or more. Because we will no longer need to spend general fund money on these items, the need for an operating levy will be delayed.

Tell us more about the two expiring bond issues coming off our tax bill soon. The district currently has two bond levies that will be ending in the near future. The retirement of these levies will remove approximately 2.86 mills from the tax rolls. One levy will retire after collection year 2025 (this is the bond from the 2000 renovations) and the other will retire after collection year 2030 (this is the bond from the athletic complex).

How old are our schools? Rushwood: 1970; Ledgeview: 1964; Northfield: 1963; NHS: 1961; Lee Eaton: 1954; NMS: 1928; Board office: 1916

How do our facilities compare to surrounding school districts? Most area school districts have constructed new buildings within the last ten years. In Summit County, Akron, Barberton, Coventry, Manchester, Springfield, Tallmadge, Norton, Green, Woodridge, Revere, Twinsburg and Hudson have had new construction. Cuyahoga Falls has passed a bond issue to build new schools. Brecksville, Wadsworth, Highland, Lake, North Canton, Parma, Streetsboro, Maple Hts., Cleveland and Euclid are other local school districts that have recently built new schools.

Will the new schools be air-conditioned? Yes, the new schools will all be fully air-conditioned. The days of sweltering buildings in which students are unable to concentrate will be a thing of the past.

What sorts of safety/security upgrades will the new buildings have? The most visible security upgrades in the new schools will be vestibules that filter visitors through the offices instead of into hallways.

Will new facilities allow us to change the early starting hours for Lee Eaton and NHS? Our expectation is if we consolidate buildings, we can have reasonable start times at all buildings. 

As always, thanks for supporting the Nordonia Schools, have a great month, and remember to follow me on Twitter @JoeSuperintend1. ∞