Berkshire Schools’ residents voiced their concerns about traffic delays and safety in the new all-grade school during an open forum held by Berkshire Schools Board of Education and administration April 10.
Berkshire Schools’ residents voiced their concerns about traffic delays and safety in the new all-grade school during an open forum held by Berkshire Schools Board of Education and administration April 10.
More than 50 people, including students, employees and administrators, attended the forum. Some commented on shortcomings they perceived on campus and asked board members and Superintendent John Stoddard what is being done to resolve the problems.
First up was a parent of a first-grader who suggested putting a traffic light at the intersection of the school drive and Claridon Troy Road just north of Burton Village. Also, an additional driveway would alleviate the problem, he said.
About 300 cars drop off students in the mornings and pick them up in the afternoons, causing traffic to back up along Claridon Troy while the school resource officer directs inflow and outflow at the intersection.
“We’ve discussed a traffic light. It’s better to have a traffic director,” Stoddard said, adding an engineer was consulted about that matter.
“We don’t have access to create any other roads in or out,” he said. “A 10- to 15-minute wait is common for every school that has drop off and pick up.”
In light of recent school shootings and threats — including a West Geauga High School student being arrested last week for bringing a gun to school with reported plans to shoot multiple students — a resident noted if the SRO is directing traffic, there is no security in the school.
She also wanted to know how emergency vehicles would get through the traffic if a situation would develop.
While the school has not had any emergency drills while traffic is thick, Stoddard said there has been a discussion with the Geauga County Fair Board about allowing emergency vehicles to go through the fairgrounds adjacent to the school property.
There is also a gravel driveway from the Kent State University – Geauga campus along the north side of the school that could be accessed from the north, he said.
“We can certainly work with the fire department to do a drill during drop off or pick up,” Stoddard said. “We do invite police and fire to our lockdown drills.”
Board President John Manfredi said the SRO is paid from the school budget, not through a grant.
“We were never happy having only one (SRO) for three buildings. It was one reason to build a new school. We’ve never put safety on the back burner,” he said.
A high-tech program called ZeroEyes has been installed at the school. According to the website, it is a human-verified proactive gun detection and situational awareness software that integrates into existing digital security cameras to stop gun-related violence.
Other topics discussed included the shortage of substitute teachers, early bus routes, additional recess time and maintenance of the baseball fields at the old campus.
Stoddard said he is talking to KSU about leasing an additional 5 acres for new fields near the school.
When asked why Berkshire is underperforming in the state tests compared to other school districts, Stoddard said those tests are not a priority.
“We decided state testing is not a focus for us – career pathways are the focus,” he said. “Testing is still important, but we don’t feel like it is a benefit to just teach them how to take a test or drill for a test.”
During the board meeting before the forum, the STEAM Club presented a hands-on mirror-and-laser program and challenged the board to work in pairs to arrange the mirrors so a laser beam reflects back and forth and finally hits a target. No prizes were given.
STEAM is for science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics. The club meets after school and teacher Amy Hochschild directs their activities.
Last Monday, the students who sat in the board members’ chairs and answered their questions about STEAM were Billy German, Lexi Jackson Ayva Redfern and Sydney Grossman. Hochschild showed slides of the various projects the club carried out.
