Web page has instructions on how to apply for Orange school board vacancy

PEPPER PIKE, Ohio – The Orange City School District now has a page on its website that provides details and instructions for those interested in applying for the vacancy on the school board.

The web page is orangeschools.org/BoardVacancy.aspx.

At the school board meeting Monday (April 26), board member Deborah Kamat announced her resignation, effective May 3. Kamat, who has served on the board since January 2018, resigned for personal reasons.

Those interested in applying for this unexpired term to serve on the school board must submit a cover letter and completed application as an email attachment to [email protected] by 4 p.m. on May 7.

For those without access to email, hard-copy applications will be available at the Central Office on the Orange Schools campus from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on school days.

The board will begin interviewing candidates soon and plans to name and swear in a replacement for Kamat at its May 24 meeting.

The newly appointed member will serve through Dec. 31. If the appointed member desires to continue serving, he or she must run in the next general election in November.

Board President Rebecca Boyle said the board will review all applications. Interviews will take place between May 16 and 19.

According to Ohio law, people serving on Ohio school boards must be at least 18 years old, district residents and registered voters.

COVID-19 update

The Orange School District continues to have low COVID-19 case counts, despite a recent uptick in Cuyahoga County cases.

Superintendent Lynn Campbell told the Orange Board of Education Monday (April 26) that according to the district’s COVID-19 dashboard, updated that day, the district has only one active student case and no staff cases.

The dashboard also shows four students and no staff members in quarantine.

“So even though there’s been an uptick (in COVID-19 cases) in the county and the area over the last few weeks, I’m very happy to report that there’s not been a huge uptick in our hallways and among our staff and students,” Campbell said.

Campbell noted there also has been a slight increase of cases in the three primary ZIP codes the district draws from, but it’s under 2 percent.

“So it’s very manageable compared to where we were back in November,” he said.

COVID-19 test kits available

Campbell said as of Monday (April 26), the district had distributed 12 COVID-19 test kits to families.

Campbell had told the board on April 12 that the Cuyahoga County Board of Health has allotted 660 test kits for the district. He said making these test kits available to families could make it a lot more convenient for them to have students tested.

“Testing isn’t required, but under certain circumstances it’s very helpful to know if a student comes back quarantined and a family would like to test their child, and if they’re symptomatic in the home of a child or a staff member, you can test,” he said. “So the test kits are here, waiting to be requested.”

Campbell said school nurses have received positive feedback on how easy the kits are to use. He added he was not aware that anyone from the 12 families that requested the test kits had tested positive for COVID-19.