School Board Meeting: Cuyahoga Falls Schools Boundary Changes, Wellness Plan, New Campus Updates

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CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio – Cuyahoga Falls City Schools’ last regular board meeting of 2025 was packed with emotion and big decisions, as the Board of Education approved new elementary boundaries, heard an in-depth wellness and MTSS update, and reflected on the community’s response to the new 6–12 campus. The meeting took place Dec. 10 in the Cuyahoga Falls High School media center and centered on Cuyahoga Falls schools boundary changes and the district’s broader “culture of caring” work.

Board members present were President Ms. Alecia Coco, Mr. Anthony Gomez, Mr. A.J. Harris, Mrs. Carrie Schaefer, and Ms. Patrice White, along with Treasurer/CFO Ms. Kristy Stoicoiu and Superintendent/CEO Dr. Andrea Celico, according to the published agenda.

Top Tigers, Staff Stars And A ‘Friend Of Education’

The night opened with recognitions that underscored the district’s emphasis on character and service.

Staff Star Award
Instructional Services Director Allison Bogdan introduced the December Staff Star honorees:

• Amanda Cairns, school van driver (unable to attend due to illness)
• Kim Brillhart, school van monitor

Cairns and Brillhart, who transport some of the district’s most medically fragile and neurodivergent students, were praised for their patience, empathy and the trusting relationships they’ve built with families. Brillhart told the board she “just loves these kids” and feels she’s “right where I should be.”

Friend of Education Award – Alecia Coco
The board then surprised President Alecia Coco with its Friend of Education Award, recognizing her years of advocacy even before she ran for office, including her “Legos of Love” project that provided individual LEGO kits for elementary students during pandemic-era indoor recess.

Speakers noted Coco’s four years of leadership, her focus on keeping students at the center of decisions, and her willingness to make difficult calls that impacted students and facilities. Colleagues emphasized her compassion, her emotional investment in board work, and the sacrifices her family made while she served as a board member and president.

Top Tigers Recognition
Superintendent Dr. Andrea Celico and representatives from the Cuyahoga Falls Schools Foundation & Alumni Association honored December’s Top Tigers—students selected for leadership, kindness and academics. The foundation helps sponsor the program and also funds scholarships and teacher grants across the district CFSFAA.

December Top Tigers included:

• Cuyahoga Falls Preschool – Bodie Goodson
• DeWitt Elementary – Aubree Anderson, Lucas Clayton
• Lincoln Elementary – Aria Broderick, Jenson Starcher
• Preston Elementary – Kevin Curtis, Avon Johnson, Nicole Wanjiru
• Price Elementary – Leo Broyles, Mayahri Guest
• Richardson Elementary – Brandon Atkinson, Sophia Guevarra
• Silver Lake Elementary – Wyatt Whaley, Violet Yaceczko
• Cuyahoga Falls Middle School – Mason Coletta, Madelyn Folk
• Cuyahoga Falls High School – Dylan Good, Carly Treash

Students were recognized individually for traits such as perseverance, academic excellence, leadership, and kindness toward peers and staff.

Wellness Presentation Ties SEL To Academics

Mrs. Holly Merkle presented the district’s annual Wellness and Success & Wellness programming report, connecting student wellness to the new strategic plan’s “culture of caring” and academic goals.

Key points:

• Integrated MTSS/PBIS+ system:
  The district has moved from treating academics, behavior and social-emotional issues separately to an integrated MTSS model, branded locally as PBIS+ (behavior, attendance and SEL together).
• Care teams and data days:
  Multi-disciplinary care teams in each building meet twice a month, reviewing data from Panorama SEL surveys, attendance and behavior to identify students needing Tier II and Tier III supports. Elementary “PBIS+ Data Days” bring teacher teams together twice a year to match students with evidence-based interventions.
• Panorama SEL results improving:
  Students in grades 3–12 complete SEL surveys twice a year. Merkle highlighted:
  • Emotion regulation, long the weakest domain, has improved across buildings after a laser focus on co-regulation, explicit SEL lessons and small groups.
  • Sense of safety scores have risen since 2023 at both elementary and secondary levels.
  • Some measures—like labeling feelings at the elementary level—dipped slightly and will be revisited.
• Research link to academics:
  Merkle cited new large-scale research showing students’ social-emotional skills, particularly self-regulation and executive function, are strongly associated with improved reading and math performance, reinforcing that wellness work is academic work too.

The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce has shifted away from the traditional MTSS triangle graphic toward a more holistic integrated model, and Merkle noted that Cuyahoga Falls’ current work already aligns closely with that state framework.

Districtwide PBIS Recognition And Family Center Growth

Merkle also celebrated district PBIS milestones:

• Six of nine buildings received state PBIS recognition:
  • Lincoln Elementary – Gold
  • Richardson Elementary – Silver
  • Silver Lake Elementary and Bolich Middle School – Bronze
• Because a high percentage of schools were honored, Cuyahoga Falls earned district-level PBIS recognition for the first time.
• On the state report card, the district was able to report full PBIS implementation in all nine buildings.

She closed by highlighting the impact of the Black Tiger Family Center, staffed primarily by district social workers. Since opening in September 2024, the center has supported hundreds of families with clothing, hygiene products, food and other essential items—more than 6,700 donated items within six months, according to follow-up comments from board members and administrators.

Boundary Map Vote Finalizes Cuyahoga Falls Schools Boundary Changes

The board’s most consequential action of the night was adopting Scenario 3-3, a new set of elementary boundary lines that will take effect with the 2026–27 school year, tied to the closure of Preston Elementary and the opening of the consolidated 6–12 campus.

Board members unanimously approved the revised Cuyahoga Falls schools boundary changes after months of work sessions, public feedback and map revisions.

Capacity and class-size concerns
Superintendent Dr. Celico and her team explained that their top priority was keeping each K–5 building at a sustainable enrollment level:

• A practical cap of about 400 students per elementary school to avoid overwhelming principals and staff.
• Special education capacity and room usage factored heavily, especially at Silver Lake Elementary, where the state-rated capacity (around 313) doesn’t match the reality of classroom space.
• The new scenario aims to:
  • Keep Silver Lake around 231 students
  • Keep Price Elementary near 285 students, because that attendance area is growing
  • Keep Richardson around 359
  • Allow DeWitt and Lincoln to be close to, but not significantly over, 400

Administrators said these numbers preserve dedicated space for art, music and special services, and should avoid the need for assistant principals at the K–5 level under current financial constraints.

Neighborhood feel vs. long-term stability
Board members acknowledged that some families—especially in the Price and DeWitt areas—will be reassigned to different schools. They emphasized:

• The map preserves key revisions requested by large groups of Price and DeWitt families at a Nov. 20 work session, while still keeping enrollment manageable.
• The goal is to create sustainable maps that will last for years, rather than making short-term fixes that force another disruptive redistricting in a few years.

Transition supports for students and families
Several board members stressed that Dec. 10 should be the start, not the end, of the conversation about impacted students:

• Administrators will send detailed maps and letters home, and plan to allow students to visit their new schools during the school day before the end of this year.
• Intra-district open enrollment will be available, but:
  • Parents will be responsible for transportation.
  • Swaps must typically be grade-for-grade to avoid overloading specific grade levels in a building.
  • Timelines will likely be moved up so families can plan.

Dr. Celico said she hopes to send boundary information to families before winter break or shortly thereafter, with more detailed open-enrollment guidance to follow.

EPA Testing Approved At District Property

In amended board business, members approved a consent agreement allowing the Ohio EPA and the City of Cuyahoga Falls to access a district-owned property at 2222 (Chapel Hill/Chenery site) for environmental testing.

The city is pursuing grant funding for assessment and potential remediation of the site before a future sale or redevelopment. The consent allows contractors to perform soil, groundwater, soil gas, indoor air, surface water and sediment sampling without disrupting school operations.

Finances: Tight But Stable, Food Service Under Watch

Treasurer/CFO Kristy Stoicoiu presented November financial reports and amended FY2026 appropriations.

Highlights:

• General fund cash flow is following the forecasted pattern, with late fall as a low-revenue period ahead of upcoming property tax advances. The district expects to end the fiscal year with a slim, but positive, cash balance.
• Food service fund is currently running a deficit of just under $100,000, due in part to timing of federal reimbursements. Stoicoiu and the food service director will dig deeper into costs and reimbursements after the holidays.
• Athletics are stable, with strong ticket sales at the new stadium offsetting transition costs.
• Board members asked for regular reporting on the new building’s permanent improvement (PI) fund, including how much has been collected and how it will be used for long-term maintenance of the 6–12 campus.
• The state has shifted five-year forecast deadlines to February and August, which Stoicoiu said will make the February forecast more like a traditional November “working” document—without full knowledge of insurance and certain year-end costs.

She also noted four bills at the Statehouse that could impact school property taxes are now on the governor’s desk, with a decision window that runs into late December.

New 6–12 Campus: Tours, Moves And Expectations

Superintendent Dr. Celico reported that:

• Students in grades 6–12 have already toured the new 6–12 campus, walking their future schedules and exploring the collaborative spaces.
• The district’s movers completed a first round of transfers from Bolich Middle School to the new building.
• Dr. Celico held assemblies with secondary students to set clear expectations for respecting the brand-new facility, including:
  • A strong reminder that vandalism will carry serious consequences.
  • Families will be billed for intentional damage, which could become an unexpected and significant expense.

She thanked staff, community relations coordinator Christine Stewart, and the entire team that planned the December ribbon-cutting, calling it an emotional milestone that capped years of work on the levy, design and construction.

Board members echoed those sentiments later in the meeting, describing the community’s excitement at the ribbon-cutting and the sense of pride in finally opening a modern campus for Cuyahoga Falls students.

Program Of Studies, Filming Waiver And Policy Services

Other actions included:

• 2026–27 Program of Studies – The board approved the high school’s updated program, which includes a mix of honors, AP, College Credit Plus and career-technical offerings.
• Filming waiver – The board approved a waiver agreement with alumnus Dylan Bowe to allow independent filming on district property, conditioned on signed risk waivers for all participants, as recommended by the district’s insurance carrier.
• OSBA policy hosting – The district renewed its agreement with the Ohio School Boards Association for policy hosting services on a new, ADA-compliant platform so that board policies remain accessible to the public.

The board also elected Mr. Anthony Gomez as president pro tempore to preside over the Jan. 14, 2026 organizational meeting, where a new board president will be chosen.

Looking Ahead

In January, the board expects to:

• Recognize fall athletes with all-league, district, regional and state honors.
• Formally honor PBIS-recognized schools.
• Begin public discussions about the next operating levy, including type, timing and amount.

The next meeting is scheduled for Jan. 14, 2026, starting with the organizational meeting at 5:15 p.m. in the high school library, followed by the regular session.