Renda Cline returned to her familiar role as president of the Mansfield City Schools Board of Education Tuesday evening.
Ms. Cline, who is beginning her eighth year on the board, was elected president on a unanimous vote of the five-member board. She also served as president during the four-year period from 2014 through 2017.
Chris Elswick nominated Ms. Cline to lead the board for the coming year. There were no other nominations. Elswick also nominated Gary Feagin to be vice president for 2019. The only nominee for the position, he received a unanimous vote.
Feagin joined the board in June of 2016 to fill the unexpired term of Dina Davis who resigned. He was elected to a four-year term last November.
Also on the board are Judy Forney, who served as president last year, and Sheryl Weber.
In other business the board heard an initial presentation by Superintendent Brian Garverick for development of an overall strategic plan to chart the course of the district. Garverick said he will ask the board to approve, possibly in February, the hiring of Epic Impact, a Columbus-based consulting firm, to help develop the plan.
Creation of the plan will involve participation by parents, teachers, district administrators and various other elements of the community, Garverick said. It will encompass eight existing plans, some developed by the district, others required by the Ohio Department of Education.
“We will ask the community to help us focus on the one direction we want to go,” said Stephen Rizzo, the district’s chief academic officer.
Martin Linder, director of school improvement, agreed. “We must engage in purposeful, meaningful conversation with our community and hear from various groups,” he told the board. “I have always believed that the district should reflect the community’s values.”
Board members expressed general support for development of a strategic plan but agreed with Feagin’s emphasis on monitoring its progress. “One plan that has everyone moving in the right direction is what we need but monitoring the plan will be the key component. I want to be sure this will get us where we need to be,” Feagin said.
Mrs. Forney suggested that Epic Impact – if that firm is hired – meet with the board in a public work session to discuss how development of the strategic plan will proceed.
In other action the board decided to return to only one regularly scheduled meeting each month – at 5:30 PM on the third Tuesday. The board had scheduled two meetings a month last year. The next regularly scheduled meeting will be February 19 at the Reamelton administration building.
Source: Mansfield City Schools
