Our Local Schools: Briefs from the Northmont City School District

District cuts $500K from 2015-16 budget

At a recent Board of Education meeting, Dr. Sarah Zatik recommended to the need to place a levy on the ballot in March 2016. The district will make $500,000 in cuts to the 2015-16 budget and will continue to find ways to save on operations. Due to property revaluations, the district has lost $1.5 million in the last several years. “Most districts go to the voters every three or four years, but Northmont has gone six years thanks to staff reduction in the past five years, salary freezes, and paying for medical insurance,” said Zatik.

Barnhill inducted into Ohio Thespian Hall of Fame

Mark Barnhill, Northmont High School choir director and music department chair, has been inducted into the Ohio Educational Theatre Association Hall of Fame. Nominator Jodi Paul of Strongsville, Ohio, cited many examples of Barnhill’s service to the OhEdTA, including two years as All-Ohio Show music director. Serving as coordinator of the Ohio Individual Events competition, Barnhill has created 15 of the 22 categories involved in that competition, writing rules and judges’ critique sheets. Many of those forms serve as the basis for the National Individual Events Showcase. He is the third Northmont inductee of the 56-member hall, joining Drama Club Advisors Carl Krauskopf and Jennifer Krauskopf.

2015 Roll of Recognition honorees chosen

The Northmont Education Foundation has chosen the 2015 recipients of the Roll of Recognition as Dr. Jaideep Chunduri, Marjorie Strader, and Dr. Sarah Zatik.

Chunduri is a 1991 graduate of Northmont and is a Board Certified Orthopedic Surgeon specializing in spinal surgery with the Beacon Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine group in the Cincinnati area.

Strader came to Northmont in 1979 as an English and communications teacher. She re-invented the Northmont Drama Club, which is now Northmont High School’s biggest club, boasting over 100 members.

Zatik became the district’s interim superintendent in 2010 with the intention of staying for the remainder of that year. Now in her fifth year, she has successfully transitioned the district into a new PK-K-1 elementary building and will open a new high school in the winter of the 2015-16 school year.

Blizzard wins National Recognition

Senior Sam Blizzard will captain Team Ohio in this year’s National All-Star Academic Tournament. This will be Blizzard’s third year representing Team Ohio. Blizzard was named National Freshman of the Year and National Sophomore of the Year and as a junior he was named first team All-American by PACE, the Partnership for Academic Competition Excellence. Northmont’s Academic Challenge team has won the Brain Game State Championship three times and the NAQT State Championship four out of the last five years. Blizzard is also Northmont’s team captain and will be joined on Team Ohio by sophomore Kara Combs.

Kleptz Early Learning Center Earns Awards

Northmont’s pre-K-K-1 building, Kleptz Early Learning Center, has received silver LEED certification. The building was built as a partnership between Northmont City Schools and the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC) and opened at the beginning of the 2014-15 school year. App Architects designed the school and Shook-Touchstone was the general contractor. The Kleptz Early Learning Center and App Architecture were also recognized by the Ohio Masonry Association with a 2015 Award of Excellence.

About the Author