Bob morehead

Herald Staff Editor

The Barberton school board moved forward on April 28 with two resolutions sealing a deal to turn the former Johnson Elementary School into a special needs center.

As part of the deal, Johnson is now ChanceLight Barberton and the building is leased to Ombudsman Educational Services Ltd. ChanceLight will serve students with developmental or behavioral issues that cannot be properly addressed in a traditional educational setting.

“And it’s not just for Barberton,” board chairman David Polacek later told the Herald. “They will bring in students from all over the region.”

Polacek said the amount Barberton pays for Ombudsman services is based on the number of students enrolled, with discounts for more students.

The council meeting that evening was brief and ended in about 14 minutes. In other cases that evening the board approved a new three-year contract with the teachers’ union. Polacek said the new contract “just cleans up the language, makes it clearer.”

“It’s very fair for both sides,” Polacek said.

The board also approved a few grant applications. One of them goes to the Barberton Community Foundation for $ 999.63 to help pay for the Calculating Success program in college. The other is in the program of the Catherine L. & Edward A. Lozick Foundation for machine technology, $ 62,500 for 2021 and $ 52,800 for 2022.

The board voted for a contract with Skechers Direct to purchase shoes for employees who receive a shoe allowance.

Council accepted the donation of 10 Easter baskets to Barberton Big Lots West Elementary School; a case of disinfectant spray, also in the West, by Vanyssa Thomas; plants from Karen Edington and Barco Sons Inc. for the high school garden club to use to make planters for fundraising; $ 50 from Jodi Dietry for Elementary East for a classroom Easter party; $ 100 in Dog Shisler golf clubs for the golf team and Lisa Davenport masks for East.

“The generosity of this community is incredible,” said Polacek.