Regular Meeting

Board of Education Meeting Summary

September 17, 2025

A regular meeting of the Brecksville-Broadview Heights Board of Education was held on Wednesday, September 17, 2025, at 6:00 p.m. The meeting was called to order by Board President, Mr. Mark Dosen. All board members were present: Mr. Mark Dosen, Mrs. Ellen Kramer, Mrs. Lisa Galek, Mrs. Tish Kwiatkowski, and Mrs. Eva O'Mara. Also in attendance were Superintendent Jeff Harrison and Treasurer Craig Yaniglos. 

President's Announcements

Mr. Dosen began by reminding the community of the upcoming November election, where two Board of Education seats will be on the ballot. He noted that board members serve staggered four-year terms. The seats currently held by Mrs. Kramer and Mrs. Kwiatkowski are up for election. Mrs. Kwiatkowski is seeking re-election, while Mrs. Kramer is not. Three other candidates are also running. Mr. Dosen encouraged all residents to evaluate the candidates and participate in the election. No items were requested to be removed from the consent agenda.  

Board Areas of Responsibility

• Legislative/OSBA Liaison (Ellen Kramer): Mrs. Kramer had no formal update but noted that Treasurer Yaniglos would be discussing property tax-related issues later in the meeting.
• Cuyahoga Valley Career Center (Eva O'Mara): Mrs. O'Mara reported that CVCC had a busy start to the school year. She highlighted a meeting with the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce focused on increasing student participation in career and technical education. She proudly announced that CVCC remains a five-star district based on its latest report card. Adult enrollment stands at 380, including over 70 students in the new Adult Practical Nursing Program. School-age enrollment is at 928 students.
• Curriculum (Tish Kwiatkowski): Mrs. Kwiatkowski mentioned the district's new state report card was released on Monday and deferred further comment, as Director of Teaching and Learning, Dr. David Martin, was scheduled to give a full presentation on the results later in the meeting.
• Finance (Tish Kwiatkowski & Mark Dosen): No updates
• Transportation (Mark Dosen): No updates
• Board Policy (Lisa Galek & Ellen Kramer): Mrs. Galek stated that the policies on the agenda were for a second and final reading. Superintendent Harrison added that the fall update packet from NEOLA has arrived and will be reviewed soon.
• BBH Schools Foundation (Tish Kwiatkowski): The foundation welcomed Vanessa Caslow as a new trustee, who will serve as the social media chair. The board also received a financial investment update from Raymond James to ensure the continued health of the foundation's grant programs.
• Safety (Eva O'Mara & Lisa Galek): The safety committee met and discussed two main topics: the ongoing development of the new driveway onto the Hilton campus and plans for the district's next large-scale safety drill.
• Sustainability (Eva O'Mara & Ellen Kramer): Mrs. O'Mara shared that a PSO parent has volunteered to help create a more robust sustainability program, with a potential focus on involving the elementary school cafeterias.
• PSO (Lisa Galek): Mrs. Galek reported that all three PSO units have held their first meetings of the year. She announced that the PSO will host a "Meet the Candidates" night for the school board election on Wednesday, October 1st, at 7:00 p.m. in the middle school auditorium. She also explained the "no-fuss fundraisers" and encouraged community support, as 100% of the donations go toward student and teacher programs. She highlighted the overwhelming parent engagement at the elementary school, where 248 parents applied to be room parents.
• Co-curricular/Extracurricular (Tish Kwiatkowski & Lisa Galek): The high school hosted a naturalization ceremony for 25 new U.S. citizens, an event organized by social studies teacher Mr. Jonah Pichette. Board members described it as a moving and valuable experience for students. Mrs. Galek promoted the Athletic Department's car raffle fundraiser and gave a detailed overview of CAPA (Community Awareness and Prevention Association). She shared its mission to prevent youth substance use and praised the leadership opportunities it offers students through programs like Huddle and SADD.
• Permanent Improvements/Facilities (Mark Dosen & Ellen Kramer): Superintendent Harrison provided updates on two major projects. The Hilton Driveway project was temporarily pulled from the bid agenda to make budgetary adjustments in collaboration with the City of Brecksville's engineer. The project is expected to go to bid in November, with construction scheduled for spring and completion by the end of July 2026. Mr. Harrison also addressed the premature cracking on the three-year-old tennis courts. The district is working with the original installation company to have the top asphalt layer replaced during the summer of 2026 to avoid disrupting the boys' and girls' tennis seasons.

Superintendent Communications and Presentations

Superintendent Harrison turned the floor over to Dr. David Martin for a comprehensive presentation on the 2024-2025 District Report Card.

Dr. Martin proudly announced that the Brecksville-Broadview Heights City School District has once again earned an overall rating of five stars, signifying that the district "significantly exceeded state standards". He noted that no district in Ohio achieved five stars in all six measured components this year.

Highlights of the report card include:

• Achievement (5 Stars): The district's Performance Index remains strong and stable at 106.4.
• Progress (5 Stars): The district showed exceptional growth, with a growth index of 20.5. This was primarily driven by outstanding performance in mathematics. Dr. Martin noted that in some areas, like 5th-grade science and 8th-grade ELA, achievement was very high, but progress scores were lower because students did not meet the state's ambitious growth predictions.
• Gap Closing (5 Stars): The district successfully met state goals for the academic achievement of student subgroups in ELA and math. While growth in ELA for subgroups is an area for focus, growth in math was excellent.
• Early Literacy (5 Stars): This is the second consecutive year the district has earned five stars in this crucial component.
• Graduation (5 Stars): Both the four- and five-year graduation rates have increased since last year.
• College, Career, Workforce & Military Readiness (4 Stars): Dr. Martin explained this rating is largely due to clerical and data tracking challenges rather than a lack of student preparation. He outlined a plan to improve the year-over-year tracking of students to ensure every student's readiness is accurately captured by the state's metrics.

Following the presentation, board members and Superintendent Harrison praised Dr. Martin, the teaching staff, and students for their hard work and outstanding results. Mr. Harrison emphasized that the district's deep analysis and passion for continuous improvement are what make it a destination district.  

Treasurer's Communications

Treasurer Craig Yaniglos presented two main items. First, he shared a new property tax analysis from the Ohio Education Policy Institute (OEPI), which details how state tax policy changes over the last 20 years have shifted the school funding burden onto local residential property owners. Superintendent Harrison mentioned that this topic is also the focus of the district's latest podcast episode.

Second, Mr. Yaniglos provided the monthly financial report for August 2025. For the fiscal year to date, revenues are slightly above forecast, and expenditures are tracking about $205,000 below forecast. The district is still projected to deficit spend approximately $727,000 for the year, as planned. The projected ending cash balance is $18.5 million, equivalent to about 112 days of operating cash. The new financial forecast will be presented at the October board meeting.  

Hearing of the Public

Ms. Karen addressed the board as a representative of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). She provided the board with informational packets detailing opportunities for students and teachers, including numerous multi-year scholarships, essay contests, and a $500 classroom grant for teachers.  

Consent Agenda

Superintendent Harrison provided context on several personnel items, including the first retirement notice of the year from Mr. Bielak, a middle school physical education teacher with 31 years of service. He also highlighted the retirements of two dedicated bus drivers. A question from Mrs. Galek led to a brief explanation of the district's teacher mentor program from Assistant Superintendent Brian Wycuff. The consent agenda, including personnel recommendations, the check register, donations, and minutes from the August 20, 2025 meeting, was approved unanimously.  

Superintendent's Recommendations

The Board of Education approved the following resolutions:

• The final reading and adoption of new/revised board policies.
• The annual Ohio Model United Nations trip proposal.
• A service agreement with PSI to provide substitute health services personnel as needed.
• The annual Career Technical Education (CTE) waiver for the middle school. This will be the last year for the waiver, as new legislation will require the district to offer CTE-coded courses at the middle school level starting next year.
• A resolution declaring transportation impractical for certain students attending schools of choice, providing families with a stipend in lieu of transportation.
• The 2025-2026 Title One Handbook.
• A service contract with the Educational Service Center (ESC) of Northeast Ohio for specialized positions, including a gifted coordinator and intern school psychologists.

All recommendations were approved with a 5-0 vote.  

Closing Items

Mr. Dosen announced that the next regular Board of Education meeting is scheduled for Monday, October 13, 2025, at 6:00 p.m. This is a date change from the usual Wednesday to accommodate the state's deadline for the treasurer's financial forecast presentation.

The meeting was adjourned by a unanimous vote.