A Goodbye From Longtime Administrator Ted Hall & More: School Board Quick Takes

North Canton City Schools Board of Education met Wednesday evening in the Hoover High Media Center. Here's a recap of what happened:

• The Board approved resignations for retirement for Carol Green, Beth Fromholtz and Ted Hall, dean of students at the Mary L. Evans Early Childhood Center. "I've been blessed with working with 35 graduating classes at Hoover High School, starting in 1977 and ending with the current class of 2012. ... (Superintendent Michael Gallina) has sort of given me the nickname of 'The Ambassador' since he's been here. So I guess to finish, I'd like to thank Mike and the North Canton Board of Education for giving me the opportunity to be an ambassador for North Canton City Schools, and that's not going to end June 30 — because I will always be an ambassador for this district and this community."

• Bill Strohmenger of the spoke about the and the need for school officials, parents and other community members to get involved. Community members created the master plan through a set of meetings, beginning in July and ending in November, and the goal is to better the community through site development, beautification and other aspects. "The plan is only as good as the execution," Strohmenger said. "So we're going to need people to get involved." He encouraged everyone to visit the Master Plan website to learn more.

• Superintendent Michael Gallina led a short discussion about videotaping the board meetings and airing them either on TV or online. He said the cost to do that (taping the show with only a camera and no Hoover High video production students) was $2,400. Board members expressed interest in saving money and seeing if the students are willing to film the meetings for publication.

• The Board discussed the recently-launched Unified Elementary Design website, which contains information devoted to the reconfiguration of the kindergarten and elementary schools after the implementation of all-day, every-day kindergarten in the 2012-2013 school year. Gallina said the site will host more information as the district continues its discussions about the Unified Elementary Design. It also will contain an FAQ page as questions arise.

• Business Manager Todd Henne spoke about the 2012-2013 school start and end times, which were altered as a result of the Unified Elementary Design. School start and end time are as follows: Hoover High School, 7:20-2:28; North Canton Middle School 7:25-2:25; Clearmount Elementary and Northwood Elementary, 8:55-3:30; Orchard Hill Intermediate (now Orchard Hill Elementary), 8:20-2:55; and Greentown Intermediate (now Greentown Elementary), 8:45-3:20.

• The Board authorized Henne to negotiate a lease agreement with the North Canton Heritage Society, which  in the fall as a result of the Unified Elementary Design. The Charlotte building, which also houses the North Canton YMCA Childcare Center, will be razed. The district is looking at giving the society an initial three-year lease in the Portage building, where Portage Collaborative Montessori School is. The lease would move to five years if any capital improvements of more than $50,000 are invested in the building.

• Hoover High Principal Tony Pallija discussed Hoover High Summer School fee increases, which are shown in the photos section of this update.

• The Board set its next meeting for 6 p.m. April 25.