Columbia

Local Schools

Board of Education

Wayne Brassell, Member

A lifelong resident of Columbia Township, Wayne attended the Columbia Local Schools graduating in 1973, and then went on to earn a BA from Walsh College, majoring in History and Secondary Education. Wayne and his wife, Debbie, reside on the family homestead on Station Road where Wayne was born and raised. He retired from Kokosing Construction Company where he was employed for 28 years as Vice President. Wayne is a founding board member and current President of the Columbia Community Foundation and serves on the Board of Directors for Southwest General Hospital’s Systems and Health Center. Wayne was sworn in as a Board of Education member on January 9, 2014. [email protected]

COMMITTEES: Buildings and Grounds (chair), Finance and Audit, Personnel, Communications/Community Action (chair).

Megan Champagne, Vice President

Megan and her husband Shaun have three children, all proud attendees of Columbia Local Schools. Megan graduated from Columbia High School in 1995. She earned her BA in English from Ohio University, her teaching credentials from John Carroll University, and her MEd from Baldwin Wallace University. Megan is currently Associate Principal at Lorain County Joint Vocational School in Oberlin, Ohio. [email protected]

COMMITTEES: Policy (chair). Mrs. Champagne serves as the Board representative to the Columbia Endowment.

Stephen Coleman, Member

Stephen and his wife Pamala have three sons, all graduates of the Columbia Local Schools. A Columbia resident since 2007, Stephen retired from the U.S. Navy with over 20 years of service. Stephen is President of Northstar Contracting Inc., a general contracting company located in Cleveland. Stephen is an active member of the community, involved Columbia Youth Football and Columbia Youth Basketball, and is a member of the Columbia Zoning Board. [email protected]

COMMITTEES: Buildings and Grounds, Transportation (Chair), Extracurricular (Chair). Mr. Coleman is also the Board's representative to the Lorain County Joint Vocational School Board of Education.

Blanche Nemeth, Member

Blanche and her husband, Fred, came to Columbia in June of 1980. Their six children all graduated from Columbia High School. Fred passed away in September of 2020 after a long illness. Blanche worked for the Columbia Schools as a bus driver for 20 years. She is active in the community as a reporter for the Rural Urban-Record, covering the Columbia Board of Trustees meetings. She is also a member of the Columbia Township Board of Zoning Appeals and a member of the Columbia Historical Society. [email protected]

COMMITTEES: Personnel (chair), Transportation. Mrs. Nemeth also serves as the Board's representative to the Columbia Historical Society and the Board's legislative liaison with OSBA.

Shawn Ondrejko, President

Shawn Ondrejko and his wife Katie have two children, a daughter and son attending the Columbia Local Schools. A Columbia resident since 2011, Shawn is Senior Vice President of Commercial Banking at one of the country's largest banking institutions. Shawn earned a BSBA in Economics & International Business and a Masters of Business Administration, both from Bowling Green State University. He has been active in the community and also serves on the Board of The Columbia Community Foundation. [email protected]

COMMITTEES: Finance and Audit (chair), Extracurricular, Policy and Communications/Community Action.

Board Meetings

The Columbia Local School District appreciates having residents, staff, students, and all interested persons attend its meetings. Time is provided near the beginning of all regular meetings for questions and concerns from the public. In order for the Board to fulfill its obligation to complete the planned agenda in an effective and efficient fashion, a maximum of 30 minutes of public participation may be permitted at each meeting.

At their regular meetings, the Board considers matters pertaining to the entire school district. Questions concerning individual students or personnel should be discussed privately with the administrator or teacher closest to the situation.

Copies of the board agenda are furnished the evening of the regular meeting. The meeting content may vary slightly from time to time, depending upon circumstances. Guests may secure a copy of the agenda from the table directly outside the room. A sign-in sheet is available so we may include the names of our guests in the official minutes.

In the event of an unusually large attendance there may not be enough agendas for everyone in the audience. Interested citizens may call the Superintendent’s office to arrange for a copy to be picked up the following day.

Meetings begin at 5:30 p.m in work session, and regular session begin at 6:30 p.m.

Order of Business

Ohio law permits the Board to hold executive sessions during their meetings. During these sessions, the Board may discuss personnel matters, purchase of property for public purposes, pending or imminent court action, negotiations with employees, matters to be kept confidential by federal law or state statute, and specialized details of security arrangements. Executive sessions are for discussion only. The Board is not permitted to take any action during executive session.

Board Membership

The Columbia Board of Education consists of 5 publicly-elected members. It is their duty to establish policy which is to be administered by the Superintendent and staff, evaluate the educational program, and determine whether worthwhile objectives are being accomplished.

Remuneration for board members has been set by Ohio law at $125 per regular meeting. The Board annually elects a president and vice president from its membership.

The educational goal of the Columbia Board of Education is to provide every child in the school district with the maximum educational experience which he or she can absorb, subject only to the limitations of each individual and the financial support which the citizens of the school district are willing to provide.

Board Policy KBA - The Public's Right to Know

The Board supports the right of the people to know about the programs and services of their schools and makes efforts to disseminate appropriate information. Each building principal is authorized and expected to keep the school's community informed about the school's programs and activities. The release of information of District-wide interest is coordinated by the Superintendent.

Business of the Board is discussed and decisions are made at public meetings of the Board, except such matters as are properly discussed in private executive sessions.

The official minutes of the Board, its written policies, its financial records and all other public records are open for inspection in the office of the Treasurer during the hours when the administration offices are open.

Each Board member attends public records training every term for which he/she is elected to public office. However, the Board may designate one or more persons to attend public records training on its behalf. If so decided, the Board appoints a designee whenever the composition of the Board changes.

The District may ask that the identity of an individual requesting information and the reason the information is sought be in writing. The District first informs the requester that such disclosure is not mandatory, unless the request is for student directory information. The District also informs the requester that providing such information in writing enhances the District's ability to identify, locate or deliver the records sought. The District may also ask that the request be put in writing, but notifies the requester that it is not mandatory to do so.

Any individual who wants to obtain a copy of a public record may request to have the record duplicated on paper, on the same medium on which the record is kept or on any other medium the Superintendent/designee determines reasonable. If the request is ambiguous or overly broad, the District informs the requester of the manner in which records are maintained and accessed in the ordinary course of business and allows the requester to revise the request.

Records pertaining to individual students and other confidential materials are not released for inspection. Only that information deemed "directory information" may be released from an individual student's file, and only after complying with the regulations prepared by the administration for the release of such information. Student directory information is not released for profit-making purposes or when parents have affirmatively withdrawn their consent to release in writing. Student records that consists of "personally identifiable information" generally are exempt from disclosure.

All records responsive to the request are made available in a reasonable period of time. The District makes the requester aware of any information that is exempt from disclosure requirements by notifying the requester of any redacted information or by making redactions in a plainly visible manner. If a public records request is denied, the District provides an explanation with legal authority for the denial of the request. This explanation is provided in writing if the request is made in writing or if the Superintendent/designee determines written explanation is necessary.

The Superintendent/designee transmits the information sought by mail or by any other means of delivery requested, if the method is reasonably available. The number of requests physically sent by mail or another delivery service to any one person is limited to 10 a month unless the person certifies, in writing, that the records nor the information in them will not be used for commercial purposes. If the District provides public records on a free and accessible website the number of requests delivered in a digital format to any one person may be limited to 10 a month unless the records requested are not provided on the website and the person certifies, in writing, that neither the records nor the information in them will be used for commercial purposes.

A fee may be charges for copies and/or delivery. The District may require the fee charged for copies and/or delivery be paid in advance.

The Board's public records policy is posted in a conspicuous location in the central office and in all other District buildings and employee handbooks provided by the District. The policy is distributed directly to the records custodian and receipt of the policy by the custodian is acknowledged. A copy of the records retention schedule is maintained and readily available to the public in the central office.

Current practice codified 1980
Adopted: Date of Manual Adoption
Revised: December 15, 1999
Revised: October 16, 2001
Revised: October 16, 2007
Revised: June 19, 2013
Revised: August 17, 2016

LEGAL REFS.: Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act; 20 USC, 1232g
                        ORC 121.22
                                    149.011; 149.35; 149.381; 149.41; 149.43
                                    3319.321

OAC 3301-35-03; 3301-35-04

CROSS REFS.:

      BDC, Executive Sessions
      BDDG, Minutes
      EHA, Data and Records Retention
      GBL, Personnel Records
      GBS, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
      IGBA, Programs for Disabled Students
      JO, Student Records
      KA, School-Community Relations Goals
      KKA, Recruiters in the Schools

Columbia Schools, Columbia Station, Ohio

Requests for public information should be sent to Patricia Eddy, Treasurer, Columbia Local School District, 25796 Royalton Road, Columbia Station, Ohio 44028 or to [email protected]

For more information, please call Mrs. Eddy at 440/236-5008

2024 Meetings

Select the Date to view the minutes from the meeting. All meetings are held on the 3rd Wednesday of the month in the Columbia Community Foundation STEAM Room at CHS unless otherwise noted.

January 10 - Organizational Meeting, Budget Hearing, Regular Meeting (5:00 pm) Agenda

January 17 - Special Board Meeting (10:00 am), Administration Center Agenda

January 17 - Work Session, (4:00 pm) Agenda

February 5 - Buildings and Ground Committee Meeting (7:00 am Administration Center)BOE minutes 2.21.24.pdf

February 8 - Audit and Finance Committee Meeting (9:00 am Administration Center)

February 21 - Work Session (5:30 pm), Regular Meeting (6:30 pm) Agenda

March 20 - Regular Meeting (6:30 pm) Agenda; Policy Committee (6:00 pm) cancelled

April 17 - Regular Meeting (6:30 pm); Agenda Policy Committee (6:00 pm)

May 15 - Regular Meeting (6:00 pm)

June 12 - Regular Meeting (6:00 pm) 2nd Wednesday

August 14 - Regular Meeting (6:00 pm) 2nd Wednesday

September 18 - Work Session (5:30 pm), Regular Meeting (6:30 pm)