Streetsboro City Schools Board of Education Regular Meeting
March 13, 2025
5:45 p.m.
Streetsboro High School Auditorium
8585 state Route 14
Streetsboro, OH 44241
Attendance:
Superintendent Cynthia Deevers, Treasurer Brian Haines, Athletic Director Randy Tevepaugh, Chief Business Officer C.J. Scarcipino
Board members: Kristin Bedford, Sara Scott, Tonia Epple, Tracy Campbell
Summary:
Several head coaches received awards and chose students from their respective teams to receive awards in honor of a successful winter season. Several Streetsboro High School athletes received district and conference honors and sophomore Jarreau “RoRo” Walker won the state title in wrestling.
The Math 24 Club at Henry Defer Intermediate and Streetsboro Middle schools was also recognized for their increasing participation and performance at a recent tournament.
Director of Teaching and Learning Brett McCann announced a new Governor’s Merit Scholarship Banquet for the top 5% of each senior class.
Treasurer Brian Haines explained that the district is expecting an $85,412 reduction in funding for the 2026 fiscal year and a reduction of $103,911 in 2027 if the state budget passes as in its current form. Other pending state government decisions could take away $1 million annually from the district. Haines and other officials are continuing to monitor government decisions that could impact Streetsboro City Schools.
The board approved a motion to extend the district’s contract with P4S, or Power4Schools, to secure lower locked-in rates for the energy bills. Since becoming a member in the 2021-22 school year, the district has saved $689,000 in electricity costs and more on the gas bills.
The board approved a $75,000 project to sealcoat, stripe and repair cracks in several parking lots throughout the school district.
The board approved the hiring of Taylor Bojc as the assistant principal at Henry Defer Intermediate School starting in August of 2025.
Documenter’s Notes:
Public Comment
No members of the public signed up to give comments at this month’s meeting. The minutes from the February 13 regular meeting were approved.
Winter Athletic Programs Celebrated
Athletic Director Randy Tevepaugh introduced several coaches to the board to talk about the success of the district’s winter sports teams this year. Each coach was also given the opportunity to recognize at least one student on their team or teams. The students and coaches were then presented with awards for their achievements this school year.
Varsity boys and girls bowling Head Coach Matt Stump, who is in his first year at that position, said he was pleased with the progress of his teams, especially since it’s a newer program for the district. He added that because bowling is so new, many parents and community members are not aware Streetsboro City Schools has teams.
Stump first recognized junior Connor Stevens, who competed at the district-level tournament. Stevens had an average score of 210 this season and was named first team All-Metro Athletic Conference.
Kendall Clark, who also advanced to the district tournament, was also recognized.
Stump added that he was proud of both teams, but especially the varsity girls team, who had a winning record of 10-4, placing 3rd overall in their conference. He said this was especially impressive because this school year is the first in several years that there has been a varsity girls bowling team.
Stump invited students interested in the bowling team to contact him, because several members of the team will be graduating this year. They practice every other Sunday at Kent Lanes.
Varsity boys basketball Coach Nick Marcini said the team had an extremely successful year. They broke three separate school records as a team, tied the school record of 21 wins in a season, won their 9th conference title, won their 2nd sectional championship in a row and were the runner-up district finalists. The basketball team also had the 3rd best defense in division IV, five players received all-conference honors, and three players received all-district honors. Jack Batten was recognized for earning MAC Player of the Year.
Varsity girls basketball Coach Carl Singer commended his team, who were regional runner-ups this year. Six of their players made the all-conference team. An award was presented to Naomi Benson, who won MAC Player of the Year and All-Northeast Inland District Player of the Year.
Wrestling head Coach Mark Skonieczny, who is in his second year leading the program, commended his students for the hard work they put in all year long training for wrestling season. Cohen Klimak has 140 wins, qualified for state three times, is a three-time MAC champion and was named MAC Wrestler of the Year. Jarreau “RoRo” Walker was presented an award and a banner that will hang in the school for his long list of accomplishments despite only being a sophomore. Walker won state champion at the youth and middle school levels, has a 65-1 record in high school, is a two-time MAC champion, was ranked 5th in the country this year and won the 2024-2025 division II state title. Skonieczny added that he believes Walker could have won the state title if he competed in the next highest weight class, too, because he had already defeated both the champion and runner-up in that class this year.
It was also noted that the Streetsboro cheerleaders won 7th place at the state tournament.
Math 24 Club Recognized
The teachers leading the Math 24 Club for students from Henry Defer Intermediate and Streetsboro Middle schools delivered a presentation to explain how the “Math 24 Game” gets kids excited about math. The game requires them to find a way to get to 24 by adding, subtracting, multiplying and/or dividing with four different numbers, and they compete against other students to find the solution the quickest. The club had eight members last year, and now has over 30. Students grades 4 through 8 competed on March 13 at a county-wide Math 24 tournament against nine other schools, and one student from Streetsboro was a semifinalist. The tournament T-shirt this year was also created by a student from Henry Defer, who entered and won the annual shirt design contest.
Banquet Announced for Top Students
Director of Teaching and Learning Brett McCann announced a new initiative for the high school. To celebrate the top 5% of each graduating class, which will be eight students this year, they will hold a Governor’s Merit Scholarship Dinner at the Hilton Inn in Twinsburg on April 6. The banquet will be sponsored by several local businesses. The inspiration for the dinner is the Governor’s Merit Scholarship, a program started by the state of Ohio last year that awards $5,000 scholarships to the top 5% of each school’s graduating class. This banquet replaces the valedictorian and salutatorian honors, which the school has stopped giving in recent years. Students are also welcome to invite a teacher who has made an impact on them at any level K-12 to the banquet.
Communications Update
The board explained the communications update will be included in the quarterly newsletter, which they expect people will receive in the mail at the end of March. Wednesday, March 19, a meeting will be held to go over survey results related to the development of a new strategic plan to guide the school for the next several years.
Policy Updates
Updates were made to the policy “Dangerous Weapons in the Schools, Bomb Threats, and Violent Conduct” to give more power to the superintendent to appropriately handle a dangerous situation created by a student. The revised policy was approved by the board at the end of the meeting.
Since the state made religious instruction release time mandatory by law, there were updates made to the existing policy, which already allowed students to leave campus for religious classes. A section was added to require the groups running these programs to be subject to background checks. The revised policy was approved by the board at the end of the meeting.
Treasurer’s Report
Haines explained the general fund review. This month, the school received the majority of their tax advances in February, bringing the monthly total up to $7 million, $2 million more than the same time in 2024. The March number will be lower because of those funds that came in early.
The state government recently heard public testimony regarding the budget. Currently, they are expecting an $85,412 reduction in funding for the 2026 fiscal year and a reduction of $103,911 in 2027. The state is trying to phase out a guarantee. If there are no changes to the current budget, Streetsboro City Schools would lose $1 million each year.
Haines also shared the Levy FAQ with the board and community to review and send to others. Streetsboro City Schools Levy Facts – Streetsboro City Schools
Chief Business Officer’s Report
C.J. Scarcipino asked for board approval for a few items. First, he explained the P4S, or Power4Schools program, which allows Streetsboro City Schools to be locked into cheaper energy rates. Since becoming a member in the 2021-22 school year, the district has saved over $689,000 in electricity alone and more money on their gas bills. The board approved the request to extend the agreement to remain a member and maintain the locked-in rates.
Scarcipino emphasized that the district is doing everything they can to save money in light of the current funding situation. He added that he does not believe federal orders or legislation would impact this deal, but he will keep the board informed if there are any changes.
Several parking lots in the district will be sealcoated and striped and have cracks filled. The business manager asked for approval to accept a bid from Holland because it offered the lowest price. The board approved the project with a budget of up to $75,000. There will be $3,800 in grant money from the state applied to this project, which is estimated to cost a total of $66,000.
Scarcipino explained that he applied to two different grants recently, one for the parking lot work, and then a generalized grant for $8,500 that can be put toward several different projects like school resource officers, safety improvements and a virtual hall pass system. He added that he has saved the district $400,000 overall because of grant funding.
The district also accepted new bids for food service management. They began the bid process back in December. Three different vendors submitted bids after attending a meeting. Scarcipino was given board approval to finalize the bid from The Nutrition Group, who the school currently works with. He said their products are affordable without having to sacrifice quality.
Scarcipino explained that every year, the district tries to do something special for the students for graduation. The class of 2024 had fireworks and music. This year, they contracted a former Streetsboro City Schools employee to construct a brand new wooden podium for the price of the materials used, which came to $500. He said that typically, a custom podium would cost around $5,000. The new podium includes the school logo and a piece of wood from the old desk of the district’s longest serving superintendent. Previously, they were using a low quality particle board podium.
Board Reports
Tracy Campbell said she would be meeting with the mayor of Streetsboro soon. She also provided an update about the Streetsboro students at Maplewood. Ten students had perfect attendance, and 44 juniors and seniors made honor roll in the first two quarters. Maplewood also has 36 total students who will be competing in a state skills competition.
Tonia Epple said that 8th graders took the PSAT exam, and the 11th graders took the SATs recently. Grades 3 through 8 will have state testing in April, so she reminded parents to make sure their students are present on test dates.
Sara Scott said that the band performance on March 12 was very well attended and that the high school band will be performing at OMEA on March 14. A band show is being planned for August 2025.
Scott also explained that because of an Education Foundation grant, an author will be coming to Henry Defer Intermediate to speak to the students. Another enrichment program coming up is a scavenger hunt in the community that will give students the opportunity to meet local organizations.
The board thanked those who have made donations:
- Streetsboro Police SRO Fund donated $300 to the Defer One Book One School program
- Streetsboro VFW donated $1,000 to the Defer One Book One School program
- The Lakeside Terrace Social Club donated $500 to the school lunch donation fund
- Chipotle donated $168.68 from the dine-to-donate event for the 8th grade Washington DC trip
- Streetsboro PTA donated $300 to the 8th grade Washington DC trip
- Streetsboro PTA donated $75 to SES, $25 to Defer and $50 to the MS for the Skip the Line Fundraiser
- Streetsboro PTA donated $1,200 to the SES One Book One School program
- Jack D’Amato, owner of Blasiole’s Pizza, donated $200 to the Defer One Book One School program
- Blasiole’s Pizza donated $338.59 from the dine-to-donate event to the Defer One Book One School program
The board also acknowledged the retirement of Jeanie Utz and Connor Yeager and thanked them for their work.
Superintendent’s Recommendations
The board approved the recommendation to hire Taylor Bojc in the newly created position of assistant principal at Henry Defer Intermediate School. This role became necessary because 3rd grade was added to the building and the administration was in need of extra support. Bojc is currently a teacher in Columbus and will begin working in August 2025.
