Meet the Nordonia Hills City School Board candidates

In November, Sagamore Hills voters will select two Nordonia Hills City School District members. The Sagamore Voice sent the candidates a questionnaire. Each candidate was limited to a maximum of 200 words.  Here are their unedited answers.

1. What are your qualifications for this position?

Lahrmer: Board member since 2014; Certified Public Accountant

McKinley: Bachelor of Science in Education, The University of Akron; Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction, Ashland University; 20 years of teaching experience; serve as the Board’s Legislative Liaison; 15 year resident of Macedonia and mother of four.

2. What is the most pressing issue facing the Nordonia Hills City School District?

Lahrmer: Because of the way Ohio funds its schools, the most pressing issue for any school district is always funding.  Currently, Nordonia is in a pretty stable financial position since we passed a levy in May of 2019.  We will be fiscally conservative and stretch these levy dollars as far as we can while providing our students with as much opportunity as possible, so Nordonia can be competitive with the top districts in the State but at a lower tax rate.

McKinley: School funding is an issue for all school districts. The passage of the levy in May stabilized Nordonia’s economic situation. However, the school-funding model must be changed. The Board of Education will continue to work hard to be fiscally responsible to stretch these levey dollars beyond current projections.

3. While the district scored an overall B on the state report card for 2018-2019, it received Ds in four areas: indicators met, gifted value-added, improving at-risk K-3 readers, and prepared for success. How can the district improve these scores?

Lahrmer: The State report card is a flawed measure of success for our students.  For example, 508 out of 608 districts in Ohio received a D or F on their report cards in the prepared for success category.  By that measure, 84% of our schools in Ohio are failing their students.  I don’t believe that to be true for Ohio and I especially don’t believe that to be true for Nordonia.  I am of the belief that Nordonia is doing an excellent job educating and preparing our students.  That being said, the administrative team has been analyzing the results of the report card and are organizing professional development to address these areas.  

McKinley: 83 percent of districts received a D or F for prepared for success leaving this newer section of the report card highly flawed. Nordonias’s 98 percent graduation rate is composed of college bound and workforce ready students. The district was very close to earning a C in indicators met. There will be a focussed, comprehensive effort to increase student performance. Gifted instruction will incorporate teaching that increases students’ depth of knowledge, rigor, and expectations. Lee Eaton gifted math students will receive specialized instruction. Finally, Nordonia has increased Advanced Placement courses at the high school. Nordonia is more directly aligning professional development, resources, and interventions to meet students’ needs and improve the K-3 literacy score.