Board welcomes new teachers and staff, school resource officers hired
by Laura Bednar
Aug. 28 board of education meeting
Sixteen new teachers and staffers have joined the Nordonia Hills City School district for the 2023-24 school year, and most introduced themselves to the board of education.
The new employees include: John Martin, Nordonia High School social studies teacher; David Testa, Ledgeview Elementary art teacher; Kara Putnam, family consumer science teacher at NHS; Kathy Sandberg, NHS freshmen counselor; Adam Salberg, NHS science teacher; Karlie Poole, math and science teacher at Lee Eaton Intermediate; Danielle Wilson, language arts teacher at Lee Eaton; Holly Gray, Nordonia Middle School intervention specialist; Martina Weems, NMS school counselor; Megan Carlson, Ledgeview Elementary first-grade teacher; Amanda D’Amico, Ledgeview first-grade teacher; Valerie Wynn, Northfield Elementary psychologist; and Colleen Nagy, sixth-grade science teacher at Lee Eaton.
Superintendent Dr. Joe Clark said the district eliminated seven positions through attrition, saving $1 million for the year.
School resource officers
The board approved 2023-24 agreements with Macedonia, Sagamore Hills Township, Northfield Village and the Summit County Sheriff’s Office for the school resource officer program.
Northfield Village will provide one part-time officer for $20,000 at Lee Eaton Intermediate. Summit County Sheriff’s Office will provide one full-time officer for $130,372 for both Northfield Elementary and Nordonia Middle School. One full-time officer from Sagamore Hills will be placed at Rushwood Elementary for $40,000. Macedonia will provide two officers, one for Ledgeview Elementary at $40,000 and one for Nordonia High School at $60,000.
Board President Chad Lahrmer said the district made cuts to offset the $300,000 cost to place an SRO in each building. The funds came from the district’s operating budget.
“This is a significant investment in security,” he said.
Said Business Director Casey Wright, “A collaborative effort involving the city of Macedonia, the Summit County Sheriff’s Department, and Nordonia Hills City School has been dedicated to securing a federal COPs grant, which has the potential to alleviate a portion of the SRO costs.”
Grant awards will be announced in October.
In other news
Lahrmer gave an update on the Nordonia Hills Scholarship Granting Organization, a nonprofit that seeks funds to cover the cost of tuition for all-day kindergarten. Those who donate to the SGO are eligible for a tax credit under the Ohio Revised Code. The credit is equal to the cash donation up to $750 for an individual and $1,500 for a married couple.
Since the organization’s inception in April, $17,000 has been donated, which covered tuition for five students. Lahrmer said the goal is to raise $375,000 by February of the 2024-25 school year. This equates to 500 donations of $750.
The district switched from using University Hospitals to Akron Children’s Medical Center for athletic training services. Clark said this gives the district two trainers instead of one, at no cost.
“We’ve been hoping to get a second trainer for a long time to help with our weight training and those sorts of things,” he said.
Donations
Nordonia received several contributions, one of which was a Bose L1-Pro 16 portable speaker, donated by the band Foreigner, valued at $1,899. NHS a cappella group, Synergy, opened for Foreigner at Blossom Music Center in July. Other donations included:
- Commercial Pepsi refrigerator, donated by John Pickering, valued at $500.
- Yamaha Upright Piano, donated by Joe Borzyn, valued at $12,000.
- Twelve Wenger platform risers, donated by North Royalton High School, valued at $15,000.
- Jim Haskamp gave $100 for a new flag at Boliantz Stadium. ∞