Berkshire Schools Breaks Up with ESCWR
On the eve of Valentine’s Day, love was not in the air for Berkshire Schools’ relationship with the Educational Services Center of the Western Reserve.
On the eve of Valentine’s Day, love was not in the air for Berkshire Schools’ relationship with the Educational Services Center of the Western Reserve.
On Feb. 13, the Berkshire Schools Board of Education voted 4-1 in favor of a two-year contract with the Educational Service Center of Northeast Ohio, despite pleas from half a dozen people to delay the vote.
Those who spoke supported the district’s continued relationship with the ESCWR, which includes districts in Geauga and Lake counties.
An ESC provides a variety of programs for students, particularly for those with disabilities, and charges the districts for those services.
ESCWR board member Ken Burnett said the deadline for the vote on the contract with ESCNO was June 30 and he urged the Berkshire school board to vote no.
“Do your homework like I have done. I have learned some things. As a board, you need to put that effort in. Think this through before you act,” he said. “We have a long-standing relationship we want to keep. Let’s sit down and collaborate and work this out.”
Burnett said there are 47 school districts in ESCNEO, which is located in Independence and covers many districts in Cuyahoga County. He argued Berkshire will not be represented in that ESC.
Three board members on the ESCWR live in Burton Township, he said.
The home-schooling community in Geauga County has been very satisfied with the ESCWR, said Vickie List, who is part of that community.
“Western Reserve has worked well with homeschoolers in the past and has a great track record,” she said, asking how Berkshire will cover the additional workload if the new ESC cannot.
“Why are you leaving? Nothing is enough to warrant this change,” she said. “Why move to an organization that has significantly less dollars per student? You will have no say in Cuyahoga County.”
Berkshire Superintendent John Stoddard said any additional work the ESCNEO does not cover, Berkshire would pick up, and the district would continue to partner with Auburn Career Center.
“There is no scenario where we could leave Auburn Career Center,” he said.
However, the district’s relationship with the ESCWR has not been satisfactory, Stoddard said, adding the administration has been dealing with this dissatisfaction for at least four years and it has not been resolved, despite assurances from the ESCWR.
“ESCWR does have programs but not what we want for our students. We essentially have no say in the programs,” he said, adding research shows districts of similar sizes compared to Berkshire have superior programs and professional development opportunities through the ESCNEO.
Chardon and Kenston school districts contract with ESCNEO, he said.
Another ESCWR board member said the board was “blindsided” by the news Berkshire was considering the change.
Stoddard repeated he has tried for four years to work with the ESCWR administration.
“It is not appropriate for me to approach the board members of another organization. It’s up to your superintendent to tell you,” he said. “You shouldn’t direct your ire at me — you’re supposed to direct it at the person not informing you.”
Berkshire board President John Manfredi said a former board member, the late Jim Koster, investigated moving to ESCNEO before Stoddard came on as superintendent. Koster was in favor of the change, but the district got tied up in planning and funding the new all-grade school and then COVID-19 hit.
“There was never a time during those years (to make the change) because other things took precedence. If you think there wasn’t discussion — there was plenty,” Manfredi said, adding secluding students with special needs from the rest of the student population is an injustice.
The district’s students with special needs have been removed from the ESCWR program and included in regular classrooms at Berkshire, he said.
“We made it clear we were going to get our kids out of that program. Those kids deserve it, as do our other 1,400 kids. We have to look at what’s best for them,” he said, crediting Stoddard and Treasurer Beth McCaffrey for finding the solution for that student population.
Mary Hipp, a Berkshire board member who voted no, said she was in favor of tabling the vote, so there would be more time to hear from the community.
“That’s not because I don’t have faith in our administrators,” she said. “We should table it simply because you all took the time to come here.”
