Dear Community,
In the coming months, we will be working on revising our strategic plan. Our vision of identifying individual student needs and providing support of those needs as well as our mission of "inspiring and empowering learners" remains intact. Our goal areas of student achievement, communication, community engagement, facilities, finances and collaboration also remain the same. Our district leadership team will be refining the action steps and developing timelines to take us into the next few years. A survey has been released to the community to gather data to use in the refinement of this plan. I encourage everyone to take a few minutes to complete the survey so your voice can be heard.
CLICK HERE to complete the survey to help us redefine the next three years at North Royalton City Schools.
Greg Gurka
Superintendent
North Royalton City Schools
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DID YOU KNOW?
 A recent financial audit of the North Royalton City Schools by Auditor of State Dave Yost's office has returned a clean audit report. The district's excellence record keeping has qualified it for the Auditor of State Award with Distinction. "Good finance is important to everything government does," said Auditor Yost. "Sound budgetary decisions depend on clean and accurate books."
"The North Royalton Board of Education continues to be very proud of the district's long-standing history of outstanding financial reporting. Year after year, our treasurer and the entire financial department receive these types of accolades and that confirms that we are managing our taxpayer's money responsibly," said Board President Anne Reinkober.
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District Continues to Seek Grant Funds
North Royalton City Schools recently applied for a grant from the EPA's Rebate Program for bus replacement funds. More than 500 districts applied and 76 received funding. Unfortunately, North Royalton City Schools was not selected. "We want the community to know that the district is always seeking opportunities for outside funding and grants for our operations," said Superintendent Greg Gurka. "Even though we did not receive the grant, we will continue to seek ways to be as fiscally responsible as possible."
In fiscal year 2015, the district has received more than $1.6 million in grants.
LINKS to DISTRICT FINANCIALS:
Interested in reading more? District financial information such as our annual financial reports, forecasts, tax rates, etc. can be found by clicking here.
Biagio Sidoti
Treasurer
North Royalton City Schools
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Facilities Update: ROOF REPAIRS
North Royalton City Schools will be addressing roofing issues at the North Royalton High School and Albion Elementary beginning this summer. On January 19, the district published a request for contractors to submit bids on costs by February 4. A pre-bid meeting was held on January 28 at the board offices for those contractors who had questions or needed more information. The total construction estimate was $497,360. On February 4, the district opened the sealed bids and the lowest bid came in at approximately $417,000 for all of the projects. The Board of Education approved awarding a contract to Industrial Energy Systems Inc. at its February 9 meeting. The work is scheduled to start as soon as school is out in June and is to be completed by early August 2015.
The district has a 10-year roof maintenance plan that lists and prioritizes more than 65 sections of roofs (totaling 653,121 sq. ft.) that need to be fixed on the six district-owned buildings. It would cost more than $6 million to complete those repairs. Because the district is engaging the community through the NRSD Community Engagement Task Force to examine the needs of all the facilities, the roof patches at Albion are limited and short-term. Roof repairs at the high school will only address three of the 10 roof sections that need work.
At North Royalton High School, parts of the roof that will be replaced are above the band and choir area, family and consumer science room, art room, and main office. Cost is estimated at $397,000.
At Albion Elementary, only areas of the roof that are leaking will be patched. Cost is estimated at $20,000.
The district is still hopeful to sell a parcel of land on Edgerton Road and if that sale goes through, the proceeds will be used to offset the cost of this roofing project. The balance will come out of the permanent improvement fund.
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Superintendent Delivers State of the Schools Address to North Royalton Chamber of Commerce
During his State of the Schools address January 21, North Royalton City Schools Superintendent Greg Gurka credited a "culture of collaboration" for helping the district reach some lofty goals in the past year. Gurka spoke at Michael's Restaurant in North Royalton, where he told the audience that the Board of Education, administration, teachers and staff will continue to work together to help North Royalton become the "model district that our strategic plan speaks to."
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District Begins Discussion on Moving ECC Students to Elementary Schools Next School Year
The North Royalton City Schools' administration and Board of Education are in discussions to close the Early Childhood Center (ECC) and move Pre-K and Kindergarten to Albion Elementary, Royal View Elementary, and Valley Vista Elementary for the start of the 2015-16 school year. Superintendent Greg Gurka presented the idea to board members at the work session on February 5.
The discussion was initiated after review of the Early Childhood Center facilities and greater than usual retirements in the district. In addition, after examining elementary level enrollment for the 2015-2016 school year, the district is able to reduce elementary staffing through attrition and other methods. This in turn creates open classrooms that could accommodate the Pre-K and Kindergarten children at all three buildings, with the addition of a possible modular unit at Royal View Elementary.
The educational benefits of having the Pre-K and Kindergarten students return to our three elementary schools were a major factor in this decision. Driving factors in the decision-making process include:
* Students will have appropriate-sized classroom space for early childhood learning and also not have to transition out of one building to another at such an early age. Students will be in one building for five years, with the added benefit of being in a school environment surrounding by older peers and participating in all school assemblies and educational programs.
* Preschool and kindergarten students will be able to utilize the elementary school's technology and computer labs, as well as receive a more enriching opportunity for special classes such as art, music, and physical education in a gymnasium.
* There would be transportation improvements, such as reduced length of bus rides for preschool and kindergarten students, being able to ride the bus with siblings and consistent pick up/drop off times for families.
* Utilize the existing elementary food service program. There are limited kitchen capabilities currently at the ECC. All students will benefit from the full hot lunch program.
While the educational benefits are the driving force in this discussion, there is also a cost-savings of between $750,000 to $1 million a year to the district. "With the elimination of rent, transportation costs, and other items, this move can have a significant financial savings for the district," says Superintendent Greg Gurka. "But that is not the only reason for discussing this opportunity at this time. Even more importantly, it will solve the challenges of the Early Childhood Center's ability to deliver the highest educational experience possible for the district's youngest learners with no disruption to current programs and services."
Superintendent Gurka has had a discussion with Sam Alai, Mayor of the City of Broadview Heights and he understands and supports the move due to the positive educational benefits to the children.
"It is the responsibility of our administration and board to provide the highest quality education to all of our students, while at the same time be fiscally responsible to our residents," said Gurka. "I believe the timing is right. The benefits to moving out of the ECC, which when started in 2003 was only supposed to be a temporary situation, and into the elementary buildings next year are numerous and the right decision."
The board will further discuss this plan at their March board meetings.
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North Royalton Schools Begin Using SaferOH Tipline
North Royalton City Schools has begun using a new safety resource, SaferOH, for its anonymous tip line that is free of charge. The Ohio Department of Education and the Ohio Department of Public Safety established this service in response to Governor Kasich's comprehensive school safety plan. The tip line will accept both calls and texts 24 hours a day for registered schools. The district has cancelled its previous service and will save approximately $3,700 a year.
SaferOH tip line will allow students and adults to anonymously share information with school officials and law enforcement about threats to student safety-whether that involved a threatened mass incident or harm to a single student.
"Safety is one of the top concerns and priorities in our district and we do everything possible to keep everyone safe in our buildings," said Superintendent Greg Gurka. "Many times, it is easier and more comfortable for an individual to share information quickly with school administrators through an anonymous tip line or text than face-to-face. With SaferOH, our entire community can contribute to safe schools."
Calls or texts to 844-SaferOH (844-723-3764) are answered by analysts in the Ohio Homeland Security's Threat Assessment and Prevention Unit (TAP). When action is needed, the TAP unit immediately forwards information to local school officials, local law enforcement agencies, and others, if necessary.
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At North Royalton High School, we are honored to have a National Merit FINALIST...Katelyn Einloth. She was in the top
2-3% of all students taking the PSAT which is 1.5 million students!
 Also, North Royalton High School was named to the Advanced Placement Honor Roll, which is awarded to schools who have increased their AP offerings and student AP scores - we are one of 30 schools recognized in Ohio.
Other Useful Links for you . . .
to read the North Royalton City School District's Quality Profile.
to read the Winter 2014 North Royalton "Bear Way" magazine.
Click here for the NR Board of Education meeting minutes and agendas. Click here for meeting dates for 2015.
for a snapshot of our Ohio Department of Education Local Report Card.
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