Chardon Schools’ Board of Education is committed to revisiting the long-term facilities planning process in regards to its aging buildings.
Community Input Sought
Chardon Schools’ Board of Education is committed to revisiting the long-term facilities planning process in regards to its aging buildings. In line with this commitment, the district is conducting open-to-the-public, educational visioning sessions in order to gain community input on the development of a facilities plan. The sessions will be facilitated by ThenDesign Architecture at no cost to the school district and will give consideration to facility repairs, renovations and replacement, as well as any combination thereof.
In an effort to accommodate both weekday and weekend schedules, Chardon Schools is offering two visioning session dates from which community members can choose: Feb. 22 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Feb. 26 from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
The sessions are not designed as drop-in events, and registration is required. Chardon Schools kindly asks registrants to commit to one full six-hour event, as participation in an entire planning session is important.
Registration is available online at bit.ly/Register_EdVisioning or by calling the board office during school hours at 440-285-4052. The sessions will be held at the Geauga County Public Library Administrative Center Meeting Room at 12701 Ravenwood Drive, Chardon. Coffee, beverages and a light lunch will be provided.
To learn more about the purpose and format of educational visioning sessions, Chardon Schools invites the community to visit the Facilities Plan page of chardonschools.org. Resources on the page include a link to session registration as well as a link to an overview video on educational visioning.
Questions regarding the upcoming sessions can be emailed to communications@chardonschools.org.
Transportation Director Welcomed
Chardon Schools is pleased to welcome Michael Gatrell as the district’s new director of transportation. The hiring of Gatrell follows the Jan. 10 resignation of Chardon Schools director of transportation Mark Desmond who accepted a similar position with Twinsburg City Schools.
“We wish Mark well in his transition and thank him for his dedicated service to Chardon students”, said Chardon Schools Superintendent Dr. Hanlon.
Karen Paktinat, who has considerable experience with Chardon Schools’ transportation department, was subsequently approved by the board of education to serve as the district’s interim transportation supervisor. In a recent communication to the community, Hanlon expressed appreciation for Paktinat’s willingness to step up and help fill the gap as the district continued to search for a replacement for Desmond.
Gatrell was officially brought aboard on Jan. 30 as Chardon Schools’ full-time director of transportation.
“Michael brings an extensive background in school transportation and was most recently serving as the transportation director for Ashtabula City Schools,” said Hanlon in an email communication to district staff. “I know you will join me in welcoming Michael to our team.”
In a recent interview, Gatrell noted that between all the schools, vocational runs and each tier, Chardon Schools’ transportation department operates over 50 vehicles that sustain over 120 different routes each day, and he emphasized student safety as his utmost priority.
“I have been in transportation for several years, and I love nothing more than ensuring students are getting to and from school and school-related events safely,” added Gatrell. “And Chardon just feels like home to me.”
