08-26-05 Question 92: Everyone's life is full of challenges-granted the degree varies greatly from person to person, family to family. The important thing is to learn from these experiences-hopefully become stronger, better educated, better informed and strive for a positive result. This process is not always an easy one or achieved in a timely manner. Part of the journey is knowing what can be changed and what cannot, knowing where compromise is required and where it is unacceptable. Being the parent of special need children or as most people would say disable children catapults you into a world of challenges. Challenges that the unaffected population cannot begin to imagine. Sure they have moments of wondering what their lives might be like-but as the saying goes..... "Until you walk in my Shoes." I might also add that I am blessed to have these special children in my life for I have learned right along with them. I consider myself a level headed, fair minded, caring and educated person. I do not begrudge anyone their happiness of their typical "going according to pan" life. I celebrate "mainstream" children's accomplishments, achievements and opportunities. For my tax dollars and support of the school system I expect & assume that all "Mainstream" teachers are properly educated, trained and qualified to be in the classroom. The children deserve nothing less. I'm sure you would accept nothing less for your own children. After all "KIDS FIRST" as our schools website states. My question to you is..... Why doesn't this school system adhere to the same high standards and principles for its special need children? Quite frankly, I am appalled and sickened by the recent turn of events involving the hiring of inexperienced, unqualified personal to the positions of Special Ed Director and a Teacher in the Structured Language Unit. It is the duty and the obligation of the school system to be dedicated to children. ALL CHILDREN. We entrust our children to you and they deserve your RESPECT. We as parents are our children voices, now we must also be your conscience. I feel you are Morally obligated to correct this inexcusable action. According to all studies Autism and other learning disabilities are on the rise and its a fact that early intervention and consistency are crucial in achieving a higher functioning life. The Autism unit position was filled in June! Months ahead of the new year and the beat candidate for the highly specialized position is a Football Coach/Gym Teacher!! I'll be extremely curious to examine your methods of searching for the best qualified, experienced person. Working in a group home that had a couple of Autistic clients and attending one week of TEACCH program- a program that itself states that the program alone is not enough-additional experience is needed to implement the program properly in the classroom-would hardly put anyone, at the very least at the top of my baby-sitting list. If said "Coach" this area is to be your new calling- I applaud him- But go learn your craft, get the Proper Education and experience, volunteer-then come back and teach if you are serious about this type of position. (this is not a personal attack on this coach). But quiet honestly my children and the other children don't have the luxury of time to be you guinea pigs or lab rats. Every hour, every day counts and this Autism unit has been lacking for long enough. This situation must be changed. These issues will be pursed until they are made right. Surly teachers hired in Mentor should be hired for what they know not who they know! This is not a money issue it's a moral issue. Reply from Dr. Hoynes: 08-26-05: We can not discuss personnel issues because of confidentiality laws. But, we will assure you the personnel we have hired all have the proper certification/licensure and are considered highly qualified by NCLB standards. We would welcome the writer of this question to give us a call so we can correct some of the misinformation he/she has. Jacqueline Hoynes

08-25-05 Question 91: According to Dan Wilson the Mentor Public Schools under spent 4.1% of the budget. He went on to say that this was due to "careful and prudent spending of the superintendent and the administration". This was in the same week that I received a mailing from the high school containing information about picking up my child's schedule. The mailing contained a list of fees for the current school year. I was able to see what classes my child was taking and determine what the fee was for that class. A few days later I was mailed a more personalized letter that told me how much my child was being charged in fees. This was a computerized letter. Why did the district need to send this second mailing? We already had the information. How much did the second mailing cost?---man hours and postage to every high school student. That is not careful or prudent spending. The school district has decided to use identification numbers to identify employees in place of social security numbers. This will happen later in this school year. School will start in less than a week. The employees were mailed this information via the U.S. Mail. Why wasn't this sent to each employee via their school mailbox? How many households still have glossy calendar that was mailed to them? We flipped through ours to see if we knew any of the kids pictured, then tossed it. How much does it cost to produce this. I would much rather see this money spent on educating students. I may consider voting for a levy when I see the constant waste disappear. If the vote was this year, I'd vote no. Where is the teachers union? Why is the superintendent permitted to place anyone she wants in administrative positions? These positions should be posted. I wish all of the appointees good luck. How much experience does a twenty seven year old have? I understand that the new principal of Ridge was in the superintendent's son's wedding. Does that make her qualified to be a principal? Where did she come from. Rumor has it she is from Auburn Middle School where she taught with the superintendent's son. How long has she been a classroom teacher and what is her administrative experience? Let's not forget that the schools are where they are right now due to a windfall of cash that came in the form of a tax levy. Prove to the citizens of the community that you really can manage this money. I have my doubts. Reply from Dr. Hoynes & Mr. Wilson: 08-25-05: 1.The calendars were sent in response to community members asking for them. We sold ads to pay the entire cost of printing and mailing them. 2.Administrative jobs are usually posted, but because of late resignations we had to take a different approach. (After July 10th, districts do not have to release teachers from their contracts.) Mr. Dennis Holmes, assistant superintendent of HR, conducted the search for the Ridge principal position and recruited Mrs. Kinsey. Mr. Holmes worked with her in Painesville Township and witnessed first hand her leadership qualities and traits. Mrs. Kinsey taught for one year in Vermillion, three years at LaMuth Middle School and served one year as an assistant principal at Riverside HS. Mrs. Kinsey was so highly thought of in Painesville Township, the Board members were very reluctant to release her from her contract as reported by The News-Herald. I feel confident that the Ridge community will quickly see how competent and qualified she is for the position. (While she did work with my son she was not in his wedding.) 3. Issuing employee numbers was in response to IRS regulations and a request by both unions not to use social security numbers on payroll forms. Since we improved the use of our financial software to identify staff by these new employee numbers, it was necessary to make sure our staff had the numbers before school started. 4.We are continually monitoring our expenditures, including postage costs, but some postage costs are the cost of doing business and actually save us money in the long run. In previous year, collecting fees in our district has been difficult and there are additional costs incurred in trying to collect unpaid fees. We mailed the fee statements believing we will get a much higher return in collecting them. The higher collection of fees will easily offset the cost of postage. The high school mailer included much more information for our high school students than just the amount of fees. Hope this helps to address your questions and concerns. Feel free to call me with any additional questions or rumors you might be hearing. Jacqueline Hoynes Dan Wilson

08-25-05 Question 90: There is a rumor surfacing that another elementary school will be closing due to declining enrollment. Can anyone speak to the truth or fallacy of this? The "information" came to my ear from a Mentor elementary school teacher working in the building they suspect is slated to close.? Reply from Dr. Hoynes: 08-25-05: There are no plans to close another elementary school. A facilities task force is being formed to look at the grade configuration of our buildings so we can make the best use of our buildings. If a community member is interested in serving on this committee, please let me know at 974-5220. Sincerely, Jacqueline Hoynes

08-22-05 Question 89: Regarding the latest State Report Card: Dr. Hoynes states on the Mentor Schools Web Site that the rating of 'effective' instead of 'excellent' this year was due to the fact that special ed students are not making 'adequate yearly progress'. The solution will be "to adjust goals and plans" on the student's individual education plans. Is this legal? Were the students given the supports they need to meet their goals this year, or is it that the supports or accommodations need to be changed in order for the students to meet their goals this coming school year? Doesn't 'changing goals' really mean lowering expectations for these students? Thank you Reply from Dr. Hoynes: 08-22-05: We were rated effective because we met 18 out of the 23 indicators. We were rated "at risk" because of we did not meet AYP with our high school special education students. Not making AYP tells us our special education students are not making the progress the federal government believes they should. Since we did not meet AYP we need to look at the IEP's of our students. I do not think that means we are lowering expectations, but rather we need to raise them. We need to look at goals, as well as support and accommodations, to make sure we are meeting the needs of each and every child. We need to raise expectations, while giving the children the support they need to reach the designated benchmarks. But, while we are examining benchmarks, goals, and objectives, we need to make sure we are balancing each child's needs with the AYP benchmarks. While our district's goal is to make AYP, we need to make sure we are being realistic and setting goals that match the child's needs and abilities. I was a special education teacher most of my career and have a deep interest in this subject. If anyone would like to discuss this further, please give me a call at 974-5220. Dr. Hoynes

08-01-05 Question 88: The following paragraph is from a Fairport Harbor Public School Levy mailing: “Fairport Schools receive $2,288 from the State for each full time resident student. We receive $5,400 for each open enrollment child. We currently have 450 resident students and 160 open enrollment students.” “Open enrollment students come to us from Painesville City, Painesville Township, Mentor, Willoughby, Cleveland, Euclid, Ashtabula and Madison. As long as we do not have to add additional staff, open enrollment is quite profitable.” My question is do we also have this open enrollment? What are these figures (dollars/number of students) for Mentor Public Schools, for the 04-05 & 05-06 school years? Also, what are the numbers of our local students that attend schools outside of Mentor? Reply from Dr. Hoynes: 08-09-05: There are pros and cons to having open enrollment, but at this time we do not have an open enrollment policy. We send between 40-50 students per year to districts with open enrollment policies.

06-01-05 Question 87: Could we have an update on how the full-time kindergarten pilot is going? Here are my questions: Has all day kindergarten been successful? Are you offering it again this year? What is the cost? When will it be rolled out to all the school locations? Does the closing of Reynolds impact every school offering full-time kindergarten? Where can we see future updates on this? Reply from Judy Zaczkowski the Curriculum Director 06-10-05: Has all day kindergarten been successful? We believe that it has been successful. This year we used four short assessments (letter naming, segmentation, nonsense words, sight words) given throughout the year to determine achievement in the all-day class and the two other typical kindergarten classes at Garfield. At the onset of the school year, base line scores were relatively the same for all three groups. For all four assessments the medians (middle scores) were highest in the all day class. However, for me what was of significance was the lower end of the ranges of scores. In all cases, the all day kindergarten class demonstrated significantly higher scores at the lower end of the class range. For example, for the Nonsense Word assessment, the all day kindergarten range was 12 – 70 words identified. For the other two half/day groups the score was 0 – 45 and 0 – 75 nonsense words identified. In the area of sight words, the median score for the all day class was 46 words identified by sight; the median scores in the two half/day classes were 33 and 32. Further, according to Mrs. Skapura, the teacher, at least half of her class can read an early reader. While she has not conducted any comparative math assessments, Mrs. Skapura believes, “our math program is perfect for the all day program! These children were able to spend enough time with different math investigations to develop an understanding of concepts. They have gone beyond rote memory of naming shapes and numbers.” Are you offering it again this year? Yes, we are. In fact, we are six students away from having a second program. We are also experimenting with a Title I Reading all – day every day kindergarten program for next year. Unlike our other program, this can only be housed at schools qualifying for Title I reading services based upon socio-economic status and will specifically be for students who are identified as potentially being at-risk. Because we are using Title I funds to pay for this program, this is free to qualifying students. What is the cost? $2,125.00 When will it be rolled out to all the school locations? We are looking at this as part of our strategic plan. Does the closing of Reynolds impact every school offering full-time kindergarten? No. Where can we see future updates on this? What types of updates would you like? We can certainly provide some on our web site. www.mentorschools.org If you have any more questions about kindergarten or any of my responses, please feel free to email me at Zaczkowski@mentorschools.org Judy Zaczkowski

03-12-05 Question 86: I see in the Legal Notice section of the News Herald that Mentor Schools are accepting bids for building and repair. I'm curious what this is all about. Thanks. Answer by Dr. Hoynes: 03-13-05: New windows at Shore.

02-18-05 Question 85: Is the work session between the city and the Mentor School Board, next Tuesday evening, Feb. 22, open to the public? Answer by EyeOnMentorSchools: 02-18-05: Yes, the public my attend this joint meeting.

01-03-05 Question 84: I have been studying the projected enrollment figures. How long have these numbers been available? Why was this not discussed prior to the levies? To me, wouldn't it have been possible to tighten belts, deal with somewhat larger class sizes for a number of years and let the attrition help to reduce costs? All things being equal, 2000 fewer students would amount to $20 million less being required annually. In only 4 years you are projecting 1000 fewer students in the system. At approximately $9,800 to educate each child in the district, having fewer students in the system should mean that the district needs to find ways to operate most efficiently. Answer by Mr. Wilson: 01-07-05: The May 10, 2004 Updated 2003-2004 Budget Estimate and Fiscal Projections for 2004-2005 through 2007-2008, the school district indicated that to pursue the goal of restoring fiscal stability, it was important to manage to long term plans. Among the long term plans was enrollment projections. As we began to incorporate fiscal planning with strategic planning, the need to update and more personalize enrollment projections became obvious. As a result, the Superintendent commissioned an enrollment study that was completed and provided to the school district in November. This information along with other school district data was utilized for purposes of the presentation at the December Board of Education meeting.

12-28-04 Question 83: Is the State Audit Report out yet? Answer by Dr. Hoynes: 01-04-05: We are hoping it will be released in February, but we have not been given a definite date yet.

12-28-04 Question 82: Do you know yet when the first day of school will be in the fall? Thank you. Answer by Dr. Hoynes: 01-04-05: The district calendar committee meets Thursday, January 6th. They decide on two calendars and then those calendars are presented to the entire staff for a vote. The final recommendation is made to the Board of Education at their February meeting.

12-18-04 Question 81: If the Kirtland district is at capacity, couldn't the Mentor district move the Brentmoor (by the mall) elementary kids to Center Street and lease the Brentmoor building or sell the building to the Kirtland district. This could eliminate 1 facility expense within our district? Answer by Dr. Hoynes: 12-20-04: Thanks for the suggestion. We are looking for a way to use the building within our district if we can. Brentmoor’s enrollment is 364. Center Street School does not have the capacity to hold Brentmoor students plus the students living in the original Center Street boundaries.

11-30-04 Question 80: When will the performance audit be made public? Many times the administration stated that the audit would recommend that another Mentor elementary school be closed. Which one? Answer by Dr. Hoynes: 11-30-04: We still have not received word as to when the performance audit will be released. While the performance audit was being conducted we had several debriefing sessions. During those sessions it was indicated another elementary school should be closed. They would not recommend a specific building.

11-23-04 Question 79: Regarding question 76: When does the facility group of the strategic plan committee meet? Are there any representatives from the Center Street School neighborhood helping to decide the building’s future? It is their neighborhood that has been negatively affected the most with the Mentor Schools financial disaster. They certainly deserve to have their input included. Answer by Dr. Hoynes: 11-23-04: Yes, a member of the Center Street community is on the committee.

11-22-04 Question 78: When should we expect an answer to question 75? It seems the Center Street School could still have a purpose in our district. The community and citizens want this as well, will someone listen to us? Answer by Dr. Hoynes: 11-22-04: The strategic planning group is meeting but are in the early stages of the planning process. Our goal is to make sure the building does have a purpose and stays intact.

10-29-04 Question 77: I would like an update on how the pilot for Full time Kindergarten at Garfield is going? How much was the cost? Will it be offered next year? Anything else you are willing to share would be great. Answer by Dr. Hoynes: 11-01-04: The teacher and principal are very satisfied with the all day/everyday kindergarten at Garfield. We are benchmarking their scores with the scores of several classes of kindergarten students who are in the two and one-half day program. The cost to the district is none since the additional cost of the teacher was how we calculated the cost to the parents. Ideally, if we have the funds, I would like to have all day/everyday kindergarten for all of our students in the future.

10-28-04 Question 76: I noticed in a recent News Herald article that the Mentor School Board is still looking into selling property for additional revenue. Does this mean that the Center Street Building is up for sale? Thank you Answer by Dr. Hoynes: 10-29-04: The decision about Center Street will be part of the facility section of the strategic plan. That group is now identifying critical issues and not to the point of developing strategies or making recommendations.

10-27-04 Question 75: Since the Center Street Elementary building is closed for the time being, it seems the district could use this building for other purposes. The district could offer a pre-school program self-funded by those parents enrolling into the program? Will the district consider such options vs leaving the school empty? Question forwarded to Dr. Hoynes, Mr. Wilson & the School Board: 10-27-04:

10-25-04 Question 74: While exploring other school systems web sites I came across a very informative public school site that made a copy of the attached "Annual Financial Report" available for the people of the school district to examine right on-line. Will you be providing a detailed version similar to this one on the Mentor Schools Systems web site? This report was extremely informative. Also, I very rarely see any updates on the Superintendent's and Treasurer's pages at www.mentorschools.org, will any new information be posted on the pages soon? The last update was August 31, 2004? Thank you Answer by. Mr. Wilson: 11-01-04: We are including communications through our website in the update to the strategic plan. The goal is to have an informative and easy to use website. We will be including much more financial and school district information. The calendar year 2002 annual financial report reference is the required format in Indiana. The Ohio Department of Education provides a great amount of financial, staff, and student data that can be accessed at www.ode.state.oh.us

10-12-04 Question 73: Will the elementary guidance positions ever be reinstated? Is it true that the funding for the elementary counselors came out of the County? Is it true that the County is funding the current Mentor Athletic Director position? Answer by Dr. Hoynes: 11-12-04: Our goal is to bring back elementary guidance counselors. This will be part of the human resource piece of our strategic plan. It is true the funding for the elementary counselors came from county funds. With our fiscal crisis we had to reallocate our spending for salaries and staff development. While the Athletic Director is paid out of county funds, they are not the county funds that were used for the elementary counselors. Separate county funds entitle us to have three supervisory positions, separate from the funds we used for the elementary counselors. The three supervision positions are our career-technical supervisor, a curriculum specialist, and our Athletic Director.

09-27-04 Question 72: Have the results of the Performance Audit been received yet? If not when are they expected and how do I go about obtaining a copy? They were expected to be released back in August of 04. Answer by Dr. Hoynes: 09-29-04: I called again to see when we could expect the results from the performance audit. I was told we would receive them in "about a month."

09-27-04 Question 71: In regard to question #70, why would the state auditor want a district in fiscal emergency, such as Mentor, to spend $34,000 on a bus routing system? Who recommended that purchase? Did the school board have to approve that purchase? How much money has really been saved with all of the current transportation problems? When will these problems be solved? Do the bus drivers have a list of children with their addresses so they don’t forget anyone? If not, they need one soon… Answer by Mr. Wilson: 10-02-04: The Board of Education and the Financial Planning and Supervision Commission both adopted a resolution to approve the purchase of a computerized busing routing system. The purchase was made based upon the recommendation of the Ohio Department of Education and the Auditor of State. The new software does create rider lists by route. The new computer software expense is mostly a one time budget item to ensure more efficient routes for many years into the future.

09-15-04 Question 70: Five SPECIFIC questions: 1) How much money was spent (including man-hours) on the new computerized transportation system? 2) Where did the money come from to purchase the system? 3) What is the average salary for a bus driver? 4) What steps are being taken to correct the transportation problems? 5) Why do I see busses coming down private streets dropping off a single child right at the driveway of their homes? These are full size busses, not the special handicapped ones? Answer by Dr. Hoynes: 09-16-04: 1) The Versatrans computerized routing program cost $34,780 with regular scheduled staff being utilized to implement the program. 2) The money to purchase the program came from the General Fund. We anticipate the state auditor is going to request that our school district utilize a routing program for transportation. 3) The salaries of bus operators start at $16.44 per hour and rise to $20.86 per hour at the top of the scale. 4) Mr. Holmes, Assistant Superintendent of Business Operations, gave a presentation at the Board Meeting on September 13, 2004 regarding the corrections that are being made. You can feel free to contact him at 974-5225. 5) Mrs. Bischoff, who is the Supervisor of Transportation, can give you individual route information at 974-5261.

09-06-04 Question 69: Many of us would like to know if there is truth to the rumor that items in Center Street School are going to be appraised. If so, what items are going to be appraised and are they going to be sold? Does this involve items that may be significant to the history of education in Mentor and the Center Street building itself? What is the future plan for the building and its contents? Thank you. Answer by Dr. Hoynes: 09-06-04: We have not made any plans to appraise Center Street items. I am in the process of forming a committee to consider what should be done with items at Center Street. I am looking for parents and community members who are interested in serving on this committee. I will also ask someone from the Historical Society to be a member. The Center Street building and land will be discussed in the facility sub-group of the Strategic Plan Committee.

09-06-04 Question 68: This is a question for Dr. Hoynes. In explaining why the junior high schools and high school are listed as 'at risk' , you stated it was because the special education students had failed to make AYP--annual yearly progress. What changes are planned in methods of instruction, class offerings, tutoring, etc., so that more of these students can make AYP? And, are these students measured in terms of progress toward goals listed in their IEP's, or in progress in the general curriculum? Thank you Answer by Dr. Hoynes: 09-06-04: The students are measured by the same tests as the other students, not by IEP goals. We are doing the following to make sure more of our special education students make AYP. (All the initiatives are funded through special ed flow through money or grant money. 1. Linda Tilton will be conducting in-services on Differentiated Instruction for all special ed and regular ed teachers and administrators. 2. The Kurzweil Program has been purchased for special ed students. This program translates text into an auditory presentation for students. 3. Co-Write and Write Outloud has been purchased for K-4 special ed students. These programs translate writing into an auditory mode for students. 4. The role of tutors is changing. Tutors will be further trained in reading techniques to help their students improve their reading levels.

09-01-04 Question 67: Dr. Hoynes, With other districts invoicing the state for reimbursement of state funding, will our district do the same? Answer by Mr. Wilson: 09-01-04: The Ohio Department of Education has previously researched the issue of the validity of invoices from school districts. They have determined that there is no statutory authority to issue payments. The district's that have issued invoices are doing so to gain publicity on the deficiencies in the funding of public education in Ohio. Mentor has chosen to work through the legislative process to deal with public education funding issues.

08-29-04 Question 66: Why does Dr. Hoynes frequently indicate that she is waiting for the performance audit to indicate to her what action she should be taking? It is my understanding that all of the information for Mentor and comparable districts is, and has been, available to her and the administration on line all along. They could have easily gathered and reviewed this information for themselves months ago??? Answer by Dr. Hoynes: 08-30-04: I have not received all the information from the performance audit all along the way. (I believe you are confusing the performance audit and the staffing analysis completed by the Ohio Department of Education.) I receive performance audit updates, but they are not specific. They are comparing us to three other districts, and it is taking them months to receive the information from other districts. Their information is much more specific than the ODE staffing analysis. We do not have the manpower the collect that information ourselves.

08-29-04 Question 65: It appears that the brick walk in front of Center Street School is becoming overgrown with weeds. Many of these bricks are engraved with names, dates, etc. and were purchased by Center Street families and alumni when the walk was installed. It would be appreciated by many of us if it could still be maintained. The weeds need to be eliminated before they get out of control and we can’t read any of the bricks. Thank you. Answer by Dr. Hoynes: 08-30-04: I understand your concern and will forward your message to Dennis Holmes.

08-27-04 Question 64: It is my understanding that Lake Catholic will be using Mentor High school’s football stadium as “Home Field” this year. What is the agreement between Mentor schools and Lake Catholic as far as revenue. Does Mentor schools get a cut of the admissions or are they just being charged a flat fee? Where is the additional money going to go towards? Answer by Dr. Hoynes: 08-30-04: We are charging Lake Catholic our standard usage fee for the stadium. You can contact Dennis Holmes at 974-5225 for specific fee information. Those fees go into the general fund at this time. We are currently analyzing that practice.

08-26-04 Question 63: Mr. Wilson, Regarding your answer on the teacher's annual raise; what percentage is the teacher's raise for the school year 2005-2006: 2.25%, 4.25% or 6.5%? Regards Answer by Mr. Wilson: 08-26-04: The teacher's salary schedule increases 2.25% for the 2005-2006 school year.

08-25-04 Question 62: Per an article in today’s Plain Dealer, Mentor High, Ridge, Memorial and Shore Junior High Schools all are listed as at risk schools among many others. What specifically are the reasons our schools are in this at risk category? Answer by Dr. Hoynes: 08-26-04: As you know we are responsible for making adequate yearly progress by disaggregate groups, such as minority students and special education students. Mentor High School's special education students did not make annual yearly progress (AYP) in reading. Since ninth grade (which is considered high school) is at the junior high schools, they grouped our junior high schools with Mentor High School.

08-24-04 Question 61: Ms. Hoynes, Would you allow your children, including a 5-year old Kindergartener, to stand out on Route 306 to catch a bus a 6:35 A.M. for school that starts at 8:10 A.M.? Answer by Dr. Hoynes: 08-24-04: Please call me at 974-5220 and I will try to help you with your transportation concern.

08-21-04 Question 60: Referring to Question 58: Doing the math from your figures, you end up in the black (hopefully) with $49,886. How are these profits then distributed within the school systems finances? I’m ready for the most used response of “General Fund”. I also find it hard to believe when you say, “We are comparing ourselves with our peer districts across the board.” Those other school districts you are comparing us too weren’t in the red 17 million dollars asking the property owners to bail them out. Thank you Answer by Mr. Wilson: 08-27-04: The costs of extra-curricular activities including football are more than just coach's salaries. We also have expenses for game officials, ticket takers, security, uniform repairs and cleaning, cleanup, transportation, etc. The participation fee assists in covering these costs in addition to coaches salaries.

08-19-04 Question 59: Dr Hoynes: Your response to question #40 (dated 07-20-04) indicated that "closing another building will force us to do some extensive redistricting on the north side of the district." Am I to assume that redistricting on the "north side" could possibly impact the parents and students living in Mentor-on-the-Lake, Mentor Headlands, and the area (of Mentor) immediately south of Lakeshore Blvd? Given that support of school levies in these areas has been historically lackluster, is this merely coincidental? Why the northside, and what school do you anticipate closing? Reynolds, Dale R. Rice, Lake Elementary, Headlands? Finally - When? Answer by Dr. Hoynes: 08-19-04: At this time we are waiting for the performance audit. We will then compare our data with their data. We will then make a decision. I mentioned the north side because that is where we have open seats. The schools on the south side are operating at capacity or near capacity.

08-19-04 Question 58: Mr. J. S. gave an extensive justification of why excesses are O. K., even in a critical financial situation that the Mentor Schools are currently experiencing. Just because others are doing it, I guess we have an excuse for doing it too. No way Mr. S.! Trim that staff because everyone that speaks to me is saying the same thing too. It is up to Dr. H. to straighten out this excess. Will you straighten out this excess Dr. H? There was no answer as to how much we pay these coaches. Are they volunteers? Do they get paid? How much? Approximately half of the voters did not vote for the levy and you are spending an unreasonable amount of their money for an extracurricular activity. Apparently the decision makers have no sensitivity for the "strapped" people in the community. Please exercise control while you have the opportunity to do so and make this cost saving action known to the community. By the way, I do not expect Dr. H., MR. J. S. and others to do anything on this issue. Why, because the levy passed and they can do what they want until the next levy. I hope that I am wrong and they do something to eliminate some of these outrageous, non-mandated costs. In closing, my father told me to be wary of a long explanation for a simple question. It is suspicious, and volumes of words do not preclude substance. Sorry, I did not buy into the explanation and neither do others who worry about their daily existence. Answer by Dr. Hoynes: 08-19-04: We will be paying football coaches $57,114 this year. Football players will be paying $37,000 to pay to participate and we expect gate revenue to be at about $70,000. We are comparing ourselves with our peer districts across the board from number of teachers to number of extracurricular activities. We are making cuts when we are in excess of other districts. We did cut a football coach this year but we have to make sure our kids are safe. I believe our community does want our students to have extracurricular opportunities which is why we went to pay to participate rather than eliminate extracurricular opportunities.

08-16-04 Question 57: People in the community are telling me that there are 10 (ten) coaches for the high school football team! I don't believe it! Dr. H, is this true? Tell me it ain't so! If it is true, do they all get paid an extra stipend for coaching? Also, if it is true that we have 10 coaches, can't we save money for the taxpayers and cut the number down to 3 to 5 people? How many people "coach" the marching band? Answer by Mr. Joe Spiccia: 08-18-04: Mentor High School has seven assistant varsity football coaches and one head coach for a total of eight. The number of coaches compares favorably with other schools in our league. Euclid, Garfield Heights, and Maple Heights all have eight coaches. Lakewood has seven coaches and Cleveland Heights has six. It is important to note that all of these schools, including ours has about the same number of total football coaches (Grades 9-12) and the difference in numbers of varsity coaches comes down to how the coaches are distributed among the freshmen, junior varsity and varsity teams. It is important to note that many high schools employ many more varsity coaches than does Mentor. For example, Lakewood St. Edward has a large varsity staff, and Massillon will be bringing 14 coaches to the scrimmage we having with them. Numbers of coaches for a particular sport are determined by many factors. These factors include the skills that need to be taught, the different positions that need to be learned, the need for supervision of the members of the team, the size of the team, and safety issues. Football is a sport in which there is a significant risk of injury if players are poorly taught, supervised, and/or conditioned. The Mentor Football Program typically has about 150 players participating; therefore, the need for qualified coaches is paramount. The staff does an excellent job of teaching the skills and techniques the player need to be safe and successful. The coaches also do an outstanding job of conditioning the players so that the risk of injury is reduced. Finally, please be aware that at a game there are more than just the coaches on the sideline. There are a number of volunteers who participate in the program in some manner or another (volunteers, statisticians, equipment managers, scouts, coaches from the junior high or freshmen level...). While it may appear that there are many "coaches" on the sideline, please remember that many of the people seen are not paid varsity coaches. Every activity has different needs with regard to adult leadership and supervision. To compare the number of marching band coaches to the number of football coaches is not reasonable, as the demands are different. Our goal is to provide the number of quality adult leaders needed to help our students learn, grow, enjoy, and be successful in the extracurricular activities in which they participate. I hope this is helpful. Joe Spiccia

08-16-04 Question 56: With the passing of the levy confirmed, how many administrative positions will be brought back? Answer by Dr. Hoynes: None

08-08-04 Question 55: Considering that the provisional votes totals will not be released until the 17th and then the requested recount will most likely not take place until 6 business days after the 17th, being the 24th or 25th before a final verdict of the vote is secured, when will parents of young elementary age children know for certain regarding the start times and busing. If the final vote determination is delayed until August 30, will there still be time before September 8th for the reinstatement of teachers, busing and such? Please provide a definitive date, or the procedure which will be followed, so that we will have sufficient time to arrange our childcare needs and work schedules. Answer by Dr. Hoynes: The recount is going to be done the afternoon of August 18. That timeline will allow us to reinstate teachers and busing if the levy was successful.

08-08-04 Question 54: Sometimes easy questions are the hardest to answer unless someone is trying to find a way to soften the blow of the "Truth Being Known". Repeat the questions: What in the percent of the "Step" increases for teachers each year? This is in regard to the 14 years of step increases. (This raise stayed in place). The teachers received a 2 percent increase this year which was characterized as taking a reduction in this year's negotiated settlement. Please confirm that the balance of the the original negotiated increase was deferred to next year. (Either 2 1/4 % or 2 1/2 %). How can anyone say that the increase was given back! Ouch! Let's clear up this misconception fast & get on with other things. Answer by Mr. Wilson: 08-17-04 As a part of the 2002-2005 Negotiated Agreement between the Board of Education and the Mentor Teachers Association that became effective on August 22, 2002, the teacher’s salary schedule was to increase 4.25% for the 2004-2005 school year. The school district and the teacher’s association reopened the previous agreement and reduced the salary schedule increase from 4.25% to 2.00%. Both parties agreed to extend the current contract one additional year and increase the salary schedule 2.25% in 2005-2006. The interim bargaining agreement also included an annual reduction of one day’s pay, a significant change in the healthcare program, and a correction to the timing of paydays. The total reduction to the 2004-2005 school district budget, as a result of the interim agreement, is $1,508,000.00. The additional year with a 2.25% increase in the salary schedule provided some certainty to future budget needs. The budgeted increase for 2004-2005 of the 2.00% salary schedule increase for teachers is $777,400.00. In addition, the school district has budgeted $583,000.00 for step increases which are estimated, on an average of, 1.5% of total teacher salary payroll. The budget was also reduced $212,000.00 to reflect one less contract day included in the interim bargaining agreement. The budgeted teacher pay expense for 2004-2005 is $31,230,000.00. The savings from the negotiated changes in the healthcare plan for 2004-2005 is $220,600.00. In addition, the school district’s insurance committee recommended changes to the healthcare program that was approved by the Board of Education and resulted in an additional reduction of $172,308.00. Finally, the interim agreement provided for a retirement incentive program that provided additional savings of $365,500.00. There are different ways to view the value of the actions taken. The school district has represented that because there was a legally binding contract in place, that was negotiated in August, 2002, any reduction resulted in a budget savings. Additionally, as identified, other provisions of the interim collective bargaining agreement provided other budget savings, as well as some deferral of payroll expense into future budget years. The State of Ohio mandates a minimum salary schedule that includes step increases. The collective bargaining agreement with our teachers provides for annual step increases for years one through 14, with varying individual values from 3.4% to 7.2% for those with a Ph.D. Generally, the value of step increases decline each year from one through 14 and then remain constant until a longevity payment after 20 years and a second longevity payment after 25 years. Currently, approximately 30% of teachers are eligible for any step increase. Daniel L. Wilson Chief Financial Officer

08-07-04 Question 53: Will the sixth graders have the opportunity to go to camp as they have in the past? Answer by K. Buckley, K-12 Director: Yes, sixth grade students will continue to be able to participate in the sixth grade camping program. Parents will pay $150.00 fee for their student to attend this program.

08-06-04 Question 52: Well, it looks like there are some people out there who think the teachers gave up part of their raise. Thanks for the article to read from 08-06-04 LO-37 (3-18-04 Teachers Approve Deal). No wonder.....It just says that teachers went down to 2% for this year's raise. They forgot or did not understand that 2 1/4% went to the next year when the contract was extended for one year. I did research this point and am disturbed that the public was not clearly informed on this deferment. Question to Dr. H or Treasurer: When the raise was reduced, was the balance of the raise moved to the following year? Answer by Mr. Wilson: See Mr. Wilson’s response to question 54

08-06-04 Question 51: How much of a percentage (%) of the teacher's pay is given each year? Also, how many total dollars does this amount to each year for all of the teachers (approximate lump sum)? This pay increase (step) was not frozen so that means that this type of increase will go on & on even if the levy fails? Answer please. Answer by Mr. Wilson: See Mr. Wilson’s response to question 54

08-05-04 Question 50: Someone told me that teachers receive automatic wage "step Increases" every year. Is this true? If it is true, can we now assume that it is frozen for the next few years? Also, there is a rumor going around that one of the recently appointed board members wants to eliminate this type of increase. Is this true? Can it be done? Answer by Dr. Hoynes: Teachers in Mentor, as well as most Ohio school districts receive an experience step for their first 14 years. Those steps have not been frozen. The salary increase was decreased. I don't have any knowledge of the second part of your question.

08-04-04 Question 49: The Continuous Improvement Plan names three elementary schools specifically to target for improvement. Why has the "reopening" of Center Street been left off the CIP? We were told at the time that the district hopes the closing of the school would be "temporary" and that "there are no future plans for selling the property". Now that the levy has (hopefully) passed, will the district include reopening on the CIP? Answer by Dr. Hoynes: We believe the performance audit will be recommending the closing of a second school because of decreasing enrollment. The official report is expected to be released later this month. We do not have any plans to sell Center Street school, but while we are in fiscal emergency I don't believe we can reopen the school unless we have a surge in enrollment.

08-02-04 Question 48: I understand that with the passage of the levy, bussing will be brought back but the bus stops will be consolidated to save money. I would like to know, it wasn’t mentioned anywhere, will all children, elementary, junior high and high school be bused the same as in the past or will there be a distance within the radius of the school, as like within a mile of the school, the child will have to walk and not be bused unless there are hazardous roads to cross? Thank you. Answer by Dr. Hoynes: Most of the children that were bussed this year will be bussed next year, but with bus stops being consolidated. This year we did pick up children living very close to schools because of parental requests. In most cases, if you were bussed this year you will have bussing if the levy passes. Parents can call Dennis Holmes at 974-5225 with specific questions.

08-02-04 Question 47: My question relates to all busing. If the levy does not pass will there be bussing for sports teams and the marching band, or is that sort of busing not affected by the school levy passing or failing? Answer by Dr. Hoynes: If the levy does not pass bussing for sports teams has been included in the increased pay to participate fee.

08-01-04 Question 46: Has the increase in property tax that was passed in November, 2003 been included in published figures of taxes? If not, why not? What is the additive total of last November's tax increase and the projected August tax increase? Thank you. Responce from CFO Mr. Dan Wilson: The November 2003 levy has been included in the five year forecast, the 2003-2004 budget, and the 2004-2005 budget. The tax was included in the published tax rates for tax year 2003 to be collected in 2004. The tax was first collected in the January and June 2004 tax bills. The November 2003 3.0 mill levy increased a homeowner’s tax bill by 91.88 annually for a $100,000 home. The August 2004 7.9 mill levy will increase a homeowner’s tax bill by $241.94 annually for a $100,000 home.

07-27-04 Question 45: I heard from an internal source at the Mentor School Board, that the superintendant and the new board members are remodeling their office... where did that money come from? Answer by Dr. Hoynes: The board members do not even have offices at the board office. There are no plans to remodel any offices at the Board office building.

07-29-04 Question 44: As a parent of a soon to be high schooler, I was told by someone in the adminstration offices, that even if the levy passes, there is still a good chance that there will still be no bussing for high schoolers anyway. They aren't publishing that information, though. Is this true? Answer by Dr. Hoynes: If the levy passes there will be busing for high school students.

07-27-04 Question 43: Will any of the elementary school media specialist (librarian) positions be restored if the August levy passes? Thank you! Answer by Dr. Hoynes: Four media specialists will be recalled.

07-23-04 Question 42: Just a quick suggestion--- We need to get the word out about the rally on August 1st. The only building I saw with information about it was Reynolds Elementary. Can we get other the schools to post the information on the signs outside of their school buildings? Just a thought. Answer by Dr. Hoynes: The Citizens Committee is mailing a postcard to all parents informing them about the rally. This information will be posted on all sign boards. Thanks for the suggestion.

07-23-04 Question 41: Regarding question 33 below, according to an News-Herald article dated 10/29/2003 (The link to this article can be accessed on the news page of this site, click on the article dated 10-29-2003) the operating budget for 2002-2003 was 115 million. To quote the statement within the article. “When the school board voted to put a 3-mill levy on the Nov. 4 ballot this summer and Hoynes slashed $2.2 million from the district's $115 million budget based on information from Metz that suggested the district would face a $7.9 million deficit next year.” This is quite a difference from the 83 million quoted in question 33. Can you please clarify the 22 million difference in these figures? Answer by Dr. Hoynes: Question 33 asked about our operating budget which is the budget that is supported by most of the property tax levies. The News-Herald article is using the total budget amount which includes all funds such as the bond retirement fund. The permanent improvement fund, the food service fund, the uniform school supply fund, athletic fund, student activity, as well as state and federal grants.

07-20-04 Question 40: If the performance audit is recommending another school to be closed why didn't the district close this school for the 2004/2005 school year as they did with the Center Street school. Given that the Center Street school was the smallest school, the district could have saved a considerable amount of money and expense here while also reducing the amount of the August levy? Answer by Dr. Hoynes: We believe the performance audit will suggest closing another school. When we closed Center Street we were able to do so without redistricting. Closing another building will force us to do some extensive redistricting on the north side of the district. Redistricting takes time as well as careful planning. Another consideration when closing another building is the placement of special ed and preschool classes. We would not be able to redistrict, move special ed and preschool classes, and prepare the community by the beginning of the 2004-2005 school year. Also, we are staffed so tightly right now that closing another school would not result in significant savings because we would not be reducing many, if any, teaching positions.

07-18-04 Question 39: I was watching the Lakeland channel this evening; they were interviewing the Wickliffe Public Schools superintendent and treasurer. It was mentioned, (I believe they were discussing tax abatements) that the City of Wickliffe is willing to share income taxes with the Wickliffe Public schools. Has the City of Mentor been approached on similar funding for the Mentor Public Schools? Answer by Dr. Hoynes: Yes, the Mentor Public Schools receive a share of the city income tax for some tax abatement approved by the city. Last year we received $214,850.

07-18-04 Question 38: How, specifically, will the TPR change at Hopkins elementary with the passage of the levy? As I understand it, there are no additional classrooms available and each classroom already has an avg. of 25 kids in each class. The art and music rooms have been converted into classroom spaces. In other words, since Hopkins has absorbed Center Street, how does the passage of this levy improve my child's education? Answer by Dr. Hoynes: There is room to add one more classroom at Hopkins which we will add if the levy passes. The average TPR at Hopkins right now is 25.4. With an August passage it will decrease to 24.4. These numbers are in line with the other average TPR's in the district, although average TPR is difficult to explain. We are currently using 32:1 as our starting point for TPR's but it does not always work out at 32:1. For example, it there are 64 students in a grade, we would form two classes of 32 students rather than three classes of 21. But, if there are 38 students in a grade we would form two classes of 19. The biggest advantage to your student at Hopkins if the levy passes would be in the area of related arts. If the levy passes he or she would have art, music and physical education taught by a specialist every week. Also, elementary band, orchestra, and gifted education would be reinstated.

07-17-04 Question 37: Cleveland Magazine's June 2004 edition which ranks the suburbs lists the top 15 with respect to lowest property taxes. Mentor is ranked #1 at $1,268 per $100,000 valuation. The highest 15 are from $2,850 to $2,090 per $100,000. I know Mentor's low tax rate has been mentioned before, but this is an independent publication noting the fact we are THE lowest. I strongly suggest someone on the levy committee or school administration use the Cleveland Magazine chart to promote the levy. I believe this is a powerful statement. Can and will this be used in an agressive way to promote the levy? Mentor residents have been getting a deal with the low taxes in the past and have probably been underpaying for the quality education given to our students in the past. If I were on the fence, this article in Cleveland Magazine would make me lean to vote for (not an issue with me, I am voting for it). Thank you for taking time to answer our questions. Answer by Dr. Hoynes: Thanks for the note. This fact is included the literature that is being mailed to registered voters. We actually use Cleveland Magazine as the source.

07-17-04 Question 36: I noticed that special education is said to be the third highest cause of money problems for schools. How much has the Mentor district spent on litigation regarding special education in the past five years, and is that sum included in the cost of special education? Thank you Answer by Ron Patrick: First, over the last five (5) years we have had one case that went into litigation. It was a Due Process Hearing and resulting appeal to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio Eastern Division. The case span from February 2000 to November, 2001. The cost associated with that case was $300,000. There has been no other litigation that the District has been involved in regarding special education. Those costs were paid out of general funds by the District. If I can help in any way please feel free to contact me. Ron Patrick Director of Student Services Mentor Exempted Village Schools

07-16-04 Question 35: I was reading the levy information being presented to the public on the Mentor Schools television channel. Will the parents still be responsible to pay these course fees if the levy passes? It really doesn’t say one way or the other. Thank you. Answer by Dr. Hoynes: There have always been course fees for some courses at the junior high and high school. If the levy passes, the course fees will still have to be paid.

07-16-04 Question 34: I was reading through the comments on the Discussion Boards of the EyeonMentorSchools web site. I came across this statement “It's important to remember that the financial stability of the district will rely on this levy and another one in just another year or so (data published in Mr. Wilson's presentations)” Is this statement true? If the emergency five year levy passes the school system will within a year or two turn around and ask the votes for an additional permanent operating levy also? Responce from CFO Mr. Dan Wilson: With the passage of the August 3, 2004, 7.9 mill five-year emergency levy, we will be able to pay back the $17,000,000 advanced from the State and balance the budget for the 2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07, and 2007-08. Unless the State of Ohio changes how public schools are funded, we will need a new levy in 2007 to be collected in 2008 to maintain future balanced budgets. Copies of the Board approved and State approved five-year forecast are available in the Treasurer's Office (440-974-5230).

07-15-04 Question 33: What was the operating budget for the 2002-2003 & 2003-2004 school years? What is the project budget for the upcoming 2004-2005 school year figured with and without the additional $15 millon a year the emergency levy would bring in yearly for the next five years? Thank you. Responce from CFO Mr. Dan Wilson: The 2002-03 operating expenses were $83,888,237 and the 2003-04 operating expenses were $88,272,595. With the August 3, 2004, 7.9 mill five-year emergency levy passing, the 2004-05 operating budget will be $83,214,002. If the levy does not pass, the 2004-05 operating budget will be approximately $74,344,208.

07-13-04 Question 32: This question is for the school board, who oversees the contract negotiations for the employees. As such, Dr. Hoynes, as an employee, is not in the proper position to answer it. Please direct only to the school board. The teachers and classified workers are entering their third year of a three year contract. When do negotiations for the new contract begin and end? In consideration of the current large debt, are wages currently frozen for employees outside of those contracts? Will wages essentially be frozen for all employees throughout the next contract period or, at minimum, until the district is completely debt free with recommended back-up financial reserves? Finally, what are the priorities, in order of importance, in allocating the revenues gained from this temporary levy? Thank you. Answer by Gwen Corban: In March, The MTA extended their contract for one year so their negotiations won't begin untill 2006. Negotiations can begin as early as January of 2006, but historically begin in the spring. The MCE agreement ends in 2005. Negotiations for their contract will begin in the spring of 2005. There isn't a designated "end" date but ends when a settlement agreement is reached. There are only eight exempted employees who had the same pay cut as MCE. The administrators did take a pay freeze. The next contract negotiations will be based on the money available. If the levy passes the state loan will be repaid, 58 of the 194 MTA position that were cut would be brought back and phase four cuts would not be implemented. For more specific information, you can review the five year forcast which the board has approved and you can contact the treasurer's office for a copy.

07-07-04 Question 31: The June 23, 2004 article in the News Herald listed several items that the administration said would be implemented if the August levy did not pass. A couple of these items stood out to me. One referred to unused property at Headlands, Bellflower and Rice elementary schools (est. savings $2 million). Another was "putting into effect possible performance audit recommendations, for savings of $2.3 million." Why not realize these savings regardless of the levy outcome? I thought we were having the performance audit done so that we could identify areas where we could save more money. I'm confused, please clarify. Thank you. Answer by Dr. Hoynes: Selling unused land is a one-time savings. The monies acquired from selling the land can't be used for general fund purposes. It can only be used for permanent improvements. The "putting into effect possible audit recommendations" will be done regardless of the outcome of the levy with the exception of transportation. Unfortunately, most of the recommended savings were in the area of transportation by going to minimum standards.

06-30-04 Question 30: Dr. Hoynes,There are so many rumors out there, could you please confirm if it is true that 220 of the districts teachers will not be back next year because they were laid off? Is that really 1/3 of the district's teachers? How will this impact the students at each level (elementary, jr. high and high school)? Many people I've talked to think this "rumor" is a joke or a ploy to get the levy to pass. Is this in fact a reality? Answer by Dr. Hoynes: We have reduced 194 out of the 711 teaching positions we currently have. If we pass the levy we will recall approximately 58 teachers. The recalled teachers would allow elementary students to have art, music, and PE taught weekly by a specialist and bring back elementary band and orchestra. We would also bring back developmental reading and an exploratory foreign language at the junior high level. At the high school level we would have more flexibility to allow students to take more classes. We would be reducing the teacher pupil ratio at all levels.

06-23-04 Question 29: Is there any truth to the rumor that Mrs. Gawronski will receive a substantial retirement benefit from the state for all her years of serving if she lasts just one more year? Answer by Charleen R. Gawronski: I am not sure to whom I am responding, but the answer to your question is NO. Board of Education members would have to be on boards for something like 70 years and meet twice a week or something similar to earn retirement. I only found that out recently after someone else asked the question of Mr. Wilson. It has never been an issue with any board member I know. The only reason for serving on a Board of Education should be a passion for kids and education. Retirement is not even a consideration; neither is the $80.00 they receive per meeting since most board members turn all they earn back to students, scholarships, or other student needs . I'm glad you asked the question because I am sure it cleared the issue up for others too.

06-23-04 Question 28: Per todays news story, "Certified staff reductions totaling $10.6 million." Could someone tell me what kind of positions these are? Thanks. Answer by Dr. Hoynes: That is a reduction of teachers in phases I and II. The jobs range from elementary to high school teaching positions.

07-07-04 Question 27: The June 23, 2004 article in the News Herald listed several items that the administration said would be implemented if the August levy did not pass. A couple of these items stood out to me. One referred to unused property at Headlands, Bellflower and Rice elementary schools (est. savings $2 million). Another was "putting into effect possible performance audit recommendations, for savings of $2.3 million." Why not realize these savings regardless of the levy outcome? I thought we were having the performance audit done so that we could identify areas where we could save more money. I'm confused, please clarify. Thank you. Answer by Dr. Hoynes: Selling unused land is a one-time savings. The monies acquired from selling the land can't be used for general fund purposes. It can only be used for permanent improvements. The "putting into effect possible audit recommendations" will be done regardless of the outcome of the levy with the exception of transportation. Unfortunately, most of the recommended savings were in the area of transportation by going to minimum standards.

06-30-04 Question 26: Dr. Hoynes, There are so many rumors out there, could you please confirm if it is true that 220 of the districts teachers will not be back next year because they were laid off? Is that really 1/3 of the district's teachers? How will this impact the students at each level (elementary, jr. high and high school)? Many people I've talked to think this "rumor" is a joke or a ploy to get the levy to pass. Is this in fact a reality? Answer by Dr. Hoynes: We have reduced 194 out of the 711 teaching positions we currently have. If we pass the levy we will recall approximately 58 teachers. The recalled teachers would allow elementary students to have art, music, and PE taught weekly by a specialist and bring back elementary band and orchestra. We would also bring back developmental reading and an exploratory foreign language at the junior high level. At the high school level we would have more flexibility to allow students to take more classes. We would be reducing the teacher pupil ratio at all levels.

06-23-04 Question 25: Is there any truth to the rumor that Mrs. Gawronski will receive a substantial retirement benefit from the state for all her years of serving if she lasts just one more year? Charleen R. Gawronski: I am not sure to whom I am responding, but the answer to your question is NO. Board of Education members would have to be on boards for something like 70 years and meet twice a week or something similar to earn retirement. I only found that out recently after someone else asked the question of Mr. Wilson. It has never been an issue with any board member I know. The only reason for serving on a Board of Education should be a passion for kids and education. Retirement is not even a consideration; neither is the $80.00 they receive per meeting since most board members turn all they earn back to students, scholarships, or other student needs . I'm glad you asked the question because I am sure it cleared the issue up for others too.

06-23-04 Question 24: Per todays news story, "Certified staff reductions totaling $10.6 million." Could someone tell me what kind of positions these are? Thanks. Answer by Dr. Hoynes: That is a reduction of teachers in phases I and II. The jobs range from elementary to high school teaching positions.

05-20-04 Question 23: Is it true that former treasurer Mr. Metz is suing the district? And if he were to win, where would the money come from for a settlement (and legal fees)? Would it come from the general fund, any future levy monies or is there insurance policies for that sort of thing?. Answer by Dr. Hoynes: I am not able to discuss any potential lawsuits because of confidentiality issues. Generally speaking the district does have liability insurance.

05-15-04 Question 22: If the levy is passed in August will I still have to pay a “pay to participate” fee for my children to participate in vocal/instrumental music and sports programs? If yes, what will be the approximate “pay to participate” fees for each? Thank you. Answer by Dr. Hoynes: If the levy passes in August there will still be a pay to participate but it will be less than what we are currently planning to charge. The committee working on a recommendation for the cost has just about completed their work. We will notify parents as soon as we have the final cost amount. Reply from EyeOnMentorSchools: 05-25-04 Unconfirmed, the participation fee will be $300.00 per child/per program. Once we are notified of the confirmed fees we will post them on the site.

04-23-04 Question 21: What if anything is being done to address an increased traffic flow and the parking situation at Mentor High School in the event the levy fails in August? I would think these fixes would need to already be in place before the August levy? We can’t build new parking lots and add additional lanes on Center Street in the time frame of August 4th and the first day of school, September 7th. Answer by Dr. Hoynes: Obviously, we can't afford to build new parking lots. Parking passes will only be sold to groups of students willing to car pool. We have worked with Mentor Police on a traffic pattern. We plan to have a trial of that traffic pattern before this school year ends.

04-23-04 Question 20: I watched the telecast last night of the April 5th board meeting on the Mentor Schools TV Channel. The audio was of very poor quality, and hard to follow. I have a few questions I’d like to ask the school board. The May 10th board meeting, once again is being held at Memorial Junior High School, will you be looking into improving the audio quality of the taped meeting? I am home bound and unable to attend meetings. I depend on keeping up to date on the schools by watching these monthly broadcasts. There was talk about the funding of the special levy that will be on the August ballet. What is the projected cost for the issue to be on the August ballet vs. the November ballet? Also, who will be absorbing the cost? Thank you. Answer by Dr. Hoynes: We are doing the best we can with the sound quality from Memorial. It is difficult because we do not have the proper equipment to broadcast from a room that large. The cost is in the neighborhood of $40,000. The district is absorbing the cost as it is considered the cost of doing business. Update: 05-10-2004 (per May 10, 2004 board meeting cost is $60,000.)

04-22-04 Question 19: Will the levy in August still be an "emergency" levy or will it be a "new" levy like the one that was passed in November 2003? Reply from EyeOnMentorSchools: It will also be a five year Emergency Levy, the same as the levy back in March of 2004.

04-20-04 Question 18: Before the big deficit news was public, I was watching the school board meeting--this was probably in August or September. The people who had done the community survey to see if a levy would be supported were giving their report. At the end, they said they had also asked respondents if they would support a bond issue for a new school in the Newell Creek development which would take the place of Center Street. The board was warned that there was a deep pocket of opposition to that plan in the Center Street area, and they were also warned that when there is a deep, localized pocket of opposition, such a bond issue is difficult to pass. They said that scattered deep opposition was much easier to overcome than this localized pocket. Then the big deficit news, and Center Street was at the top of the list of things to go if the levy didn't pass. Is this a way to get around the opposition to building a replacement building? Seems to me that closing the building may have been in the plans, but this is the easy way out, and a good excuse to ignore the wishes of the community. I do intend to vote for the operating levy in August, but do want the answer to this question before I do. Thanks so much! Answer by Dr. Hoynes: There is not a connection to the survey and the public opinion survey. We have to close a building because of the excess elementary space we have.

04-16-04 Question 17: What kind of benefits do board members receive aside from their $80 ($125 new members) per meeting? How do these benefits change as they add more years of service? Answer by Mr. Wilson Please be advised that the Board of Education policy limits compensation to $80 per meeting attended regardless of years of service or date of election or appointment. The Board of Education did not opt to increase compensation to the newly authorized maximum of $125 per meeting. The only benefits received are from mandatory participation in the School Employees’ Retirement System which requires a fourteen percent school district contribution and a ten percent employee contribution.

04-14-04 Question 16: One of the stated reasons for the August levy and for a delayed start on the school year is to reinstate teachers. What measures are being taken to ensure the reinstatement of our current, experienced teachers within their current schools? Also, when will class assignments for the elementary schools be made? Are all of the elementary school division lines being reevaluated or just those in the southern region of Mentor to accommodate the closure of Center Street school? Thank you. Answer by Dr. Hoynes: The current Bid Day process ensure the current teachers remaining in their buildings. If we pass in August that guarantee is not there. Our remaining teachers need to know where and what they will teaching in September so they can prepare over the summer. Class assignments for elementary students will be made in mid-June. School division lines will be in place for Center Street students by the end of next week.

04-13-04 Question 15: How long will Mrs. Gawronski remain President of the school board? I know she was "re-elected" in November, but how long does her position as President last? Is the President of the board reappointed each year? Answer by Dr. Hoynes: The president is appointed at the January organizational meeting for a one year term. Mrs. Gawronski was appointed in January, 2004.

04-13-04 Question 14: What will the TPR (teacher-to-pupil ratio) be if the August levy is passed? What renewed efforts are being made to ensure that we pass the levy? How can everyone get involved to help? Answer by Dr. Hoynes: Our goal would be to eliminate the phase III cuts. We would go from 32:1 to 28:1. Our levy committee is holding the first meeting of this campaign on Tuesday April 20. I'd be happy to let you know how everyone can help after that meeting. Our big focus from now until July is to get people registered and for vacationing voters to get absentee ballots.

04-6-04 Question 13: Is there ongoing discussions at this point in time about the need to close more than one elementary school? If so, when will this decision be made? Answer by Dr. Hoynes: Right now we do not have plans to close another school. We will ammend that decision if the performance audit recommends it. The performance audit is expected to take 120 days. (They started it two weeks ago.)

04-1-04 Question 12: When is the deadline to register to vote for an election that is held in August? What efforts can the school undertake to contact those who may not be registered before this deadline and encourage them to stop by their child's school office to register? The street captains called parents to remind them to vote. Could we have a similar effort making calls to suggest that anyone who isn't registered do so before the deadline? Reply from EyeOnMentorSchools: The deadline to register to vote on the August 3, 2004 special ballot is July 6, 2004 (per the Lake County Board of Elections) Answer: The deadline to register is July 6. The levy committee is formulating strategies to contact unregistered voters.