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ADVICE................. C7BUSINESS ........B4

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LOTTERY ..............A2MOVIES ............B2

OBITUARIES........A6OPINION .......... A4INDEX

W W W . M E D I N A - G A Z E T T E . C O M C H A T T E R A T W W W . F A C E B O O K . C O M / M E D I N A G A Z E T T E

Ed Powers on Friday’s story about Medina Councilman Bill Lamb switching his party affiliationfrom Democrat back to Republican: “Good riddance.”

Summa’s state-of-the-art Emergency Departmentat Lake Medina is open 24/7 and accepts mostmajor insurance plans.Easy access at 3780 Medina Road (Rt. 18).

No waiting. No worries.

L e a r n m o r e a t s u m m a h e a l t h . o r g / m e d i n a E R .

Buzzards sought on the Ides of March

A s they have every yearsince 1957, people gath-ered before dawn Friday

at Cleveland Metroparks’ Hinck-ley Reservation and scanned thesky.

They wanted to experience thereturn of the buzzards to thepark, which traditionally signalsthe beginning of spring in Med-ina County.

“You get a bunch of wacko,crazy people who like to wake upthis early,” said Jim Meinke, who’sbeen at almost every BuzzardDay since the celebration beganin 1957.

Meinke quietlyconfided that he’sseen the buzzardsin the area allweek.

But it doesn’tcount until theofficial buzzardspotter glimpses one March 15.As the legend goes, the turkeyvultures don’t return until thatday each year.

This year’s spotter was SharonHosko, who’s been attendingsince 1996, but was never theofficial spotter.

“I hope I find one beforenoon,” Hosko said about 7:45a.m.

Hosko replaced Bob Hinkle,who was the spotter for 16 con-secutive years before he retiredthis year.

Shivering and patient specta-tors — who came from as faraway as California — excitedlywatched every flapping creature,only to be disappointed by agoose or a crow instead.

Change from 2009 contract:“The Board also agrees to pay the costs associatedwith the Superintendent’s acquisition of pastacademic degrees as they relate to education.”

Boardflincheson levy

County brothers set national recordsH.S. HOCKEY C1

Pact piles on perks

READ THEM FOR YOURSELFThe complete versions of Stepp’s contracts are at medina-gazette.com.MG

Nick Glunt | The Gazette

See BUZZARD, A5

INSIDESee thecrowd ofbuzzardwatchers,A5

IN THE FINE PRINT

Sharon Hosko, the official buzzard spotter, saw the first raptor at 8:15 a.m.Friday, signaling the coming of spring. She spotted her second buzzard at

9:05 a.m. This was Hosko’s first time as the official spotter. She replaced BobHinkle, who retired.

Loren Genson and David KnoxThe Gazette

MEDINA — Taxpayers paid thousands morefor Medina Schools Superintendent RandyStepp’s education than his contract originallycalled for, according to a review of publicrecords by The Gazette.

While a clause in Stepp’s Feb. 16, 2009, con-tract provided reimbursement for collegecourses he might take “for the purpose ofexpanding his professional knowledge and

skill,” it wasn’t until November 2011 — nearlythree years later — that the pact was modifiedto cover Stepp’s “past academic degrees.”

Two months after the contract wasamended, Stepp took advantage of the newbenefit.

On Jan. 9, 2012, he directed the MedinaCounty Schools Educational Service Center tocut a check for $172,011.40 to the U.S. Depart-ment of Education to pay off his college loans.

See STEPP, A6

Stepp, board remain mum on why contract wasmodified to pay off superintendent’s college loans

“You’ve got the language (of the contract). We’vereally talked this to death. I hope we’ve given yougood information. We’re really trying to move on.”

Susan Vlcek, Medina school board member

Loren GensonThe Gazette

MEDINA — The Medina schoolboard agreed Friday to keep a5.9-mill levy on the May 7 pri-mary ballot despite heated criti-cism from teachers and commu-nity members of SuperintendentRandy Stepp’s new contract,which included an $83,000 sign-ing bonus.

Stepp last week agreed to giveback thebonus, whichhe received inJanuary, buthas not yetarranged to doso.

At a specialmeeting Fri-day, schoolboard Chair-man CharlesF r e e m a na s k e d ,“Should wedelay it (thelevy) until November and get ourhouse in order?”

Several board members saidthey favored continuing the levycampaign, saying the districtneeds the money immediatelyand the school’s financial pictureisn’t going to get better.

School officials said the districtfaces up to $4 million in cuts if alevy doesn’t pass by November.

“We put this thing on therebecause there was a need andthat need isn’t going away,” Steppsaid.

Freeman asked John Leather-man, president of the MedinaCity Teachers Association,whether the district could counton the support of teachers for thelevy.

Last week the teachers over-whelmingly ratified a tentative

See LEVY, A6

ON THEMAY 7BALLOTMedinaSchools hasput forth an5.9-mill issue,saying thedistrict facesup to$4 million ifone doesn’tpass byNovember.

ELECTION 2013

NICK GLUNT / GAZETTE PHOTOS

A6 Saturday, March 16, 2013 The Gazette

Obituaries

Eleanor Y. Boda, 96,formerly of Chatham,passed away Thursday,March 14, 2013, at PlumCreek Retirement Cen-ter in Brunswick. Shewas born July 18, 1916in Cleveland, to Georgeand Anna (Klooz)Walters.

She grew up in the Cleve-land/Parma area and mar-ried John Boda on April 20,1939. They moved to MedinaCounty in 1955, where sheworked as a cook for thePythian Home in Medina for20 years and later retiredfrom the Lodi CommunityHospital as cook, where shehad worked for 20 years aswell.

She had been a member ofthe Chatham Grange and theWest Salem 50+ Club. Sheenjoyed traveling and earlieryears at the Chippewa LakePark Ballroom.

She is survived by herdaughter, Barbara (Glenn)Fish of Lodi; two grandchil-

Eleanor Y. Boda

BODA

dren, Russell (Jenni-fer) Fish of Delaware,Ohio, Nancy (Charles)Eaken of Lodi; twogreat-granddaughters,Kimberly and LaurenEaken and two fostergrandchildren, Tasiaand Jacob.

She was preceded indeath by her husband, Johnand brother, George Walters.

Funeral service will beheld Monday, March 18, 2013,at 1 P.M., at the Parker & SonFuneral Home, 210 MedinaSt., Lodi (330-948-1122). Rever-end Donald Kuntz will offici-ate. Burial will follow at Cha-tham Cemetery. Visitationwill be Monday from 11:30A.M., until 1 P.M., prior to theservice at the funeral home.

Memorial contributionsmay be made to Lodi Commu-nity Hospital, 225 Elyria St.,Lodi, OH 44254.

Online tributes can be leftatwww.parkerfuneralhomes.com

In Loving Memory ofTODD JAY EDLING

March 16, 1964 - Nov.13, 2005Son, remembering you iseasy, I do it everyday, butthere’s an ache within my

heart that will never go away.Happy Birthday,

Love, Mom & Dad

Change from 2009 contract:“The sum of (the longevity incentive) is payable in full to theSuperintendent at the signing of this Agreement.”

LONGEVITY INCENTIVE REVISEDIN CONTRACT SIGNED IN 2011

Stepp earned three degrees at AshlandUniversity: a bachelor’s in science educa-tion in 1993, a master’s in education in1998, and a doctorate in education in2010, according to his personnel records.

Only the doctorate involved coursesStepp took at Ashland after he becamesuperintendent in 2006.

The loan payoffs represented aboutthree-quarters of the total $244,037 theschool board has paid for Stepp’s collegedegrees. The remaining $72,026 went forcourses at Case Western Reserve Univer-sity he took while serving as superinten-dent. He completed his master’s in busi-ness administration at Case in 2011.

The district’s payment of nearly a quar-ter-million dollars for Stepp’s educationbecame an issue last week in the growingcontroversy over his new contract thatincluded an $83,000 signing bonus.

At a public forum March 8 — inresponse to heated questions from theaudience of about 400 parents, studentsand residents — Stepp said he would payback the bonus out of his paycheck.

At the forum, school board member BillGrenfell said he approved giving Steppthe bonus to ensure he stayed in Medina.

Stepp has said he had other job offers.“I did it to protect our investment in Dr.

Stepp,” Grenfell said.Questions remain as to how and why

that investment was made.

Contract amendedThe board amended the 2009 contract

during a work session Nov. 7, 2011.The changes were approved by Charles

Freeman, Bob Grenfell, Susan Vlcek, whoserved as chairwoman in 2011, and for-mer member Mark Dolan. Then-boardmember Robert Wilder was absent fromthe session.

Why did the school board agree to payfor Stepp’s college debt?

Grenfell declined to answer, referringthe question to Freeman, who now servesas board president.

Freeman said he “honestly can’tremember” the details of the 2011changes in the contract.

Vlcek also declined to explain the rea-son behind the board’s decision.

“You’ve got the language” of the con-tract, she said. “We’ve really talked this todeath. I hope we’ve given you good infor-mation. We’re really trying to move on.”

The public record is silent on the issueof how the decision was made: Ohio lawdoes not require minutes to be kept atexecutive sessions, which are closed tothe public, and where Stepp’s contractwas negotiated. The minutes of the Nov.7, 2011, work session only show the vote.

When asked whether the board knewhow big the bill would be for Stepp’s col-lege debt, Vlcek did not answer directly,responding: “We did invest in the educa-tion of our superintendent of our staff.”

Asked whether he told the board thespecifics of the payments for his educa-tion, Stepp also declined to give a directanswer.

“It’s in my contract,” he said. “It’s aboard-approved contract.”

The board did not play a direct role inpaying off Stepp’s debt. A review of boardmeeting minutes fails to show anyauthorization of specific payments.

Check writtenIt was Stepp himself who directed the

treasurer of the county Educational Serv-ice Center to write the checks.

The center pools funds from all sevenschool districts serving the county tofinance programs providing servicescommon to all the schools, such as busdriver training.

Service Center Treasurer MichelleMcNeely said the money to pay Stepp’scollege debt and courses at Case WesternReserve came from an account main-tained for each school district containingoverpayments for programs.

McNeely said some districts apply themoney in the accounts to other invoicesfrom the educational center. But themoney also can be directed to pay otherbills.

“They will send us information saying,‘we have an expenditure,’ ” McNeely said.“We create a purchase order and wereceive an OK from them and we goahead and make the payment.”

Stepp first directed McNeely to write acheck to Case Western Reserve University

on May 13, 2010.“With the support of the board and per

expectations of me as are outlined in mycontract, I am going to be taking businesslevel course work at Case,” he wrote in anemail to McNeely. “I will need a check for$75 to apply and then, if accepted, acheck for a $750 deposit.”

Four more payments to Case Westernwere directed by Stepp totaling $72,026for his MBA degree.

In directing McNeely to cut a$172,011.40 check for his college debt in2012, the only documentation Stepp pro-vided was a computer “screenshot” of thefederal student aid website listing the“payoff amount” for three loans: $57,145,$105,842 and $9,023.

The screenshot does not indicate anydetails for what courses or degrees theloans were incurred.

Stepp said he didn’t provide a break-down for the loans because it was notrequired.

“It’s negotiated as part of my contract,”he reiterated about the payoff amount.

Nor is there a record of the schoolboard asking Stepp for an itemization ofhis educational or living expenses theloans paid for.

Second thoughts on levyAt a special meeting Friday night, the

board discussed whether to withdraw a5.9-mill levy on the May ballot in thewake of the public reaction to the contro-versy about Stepp’s contract.

Andrew Shea, the board’s non-votingstudent representative, said the levy haslost the support of many voters who con-sider the board to be guilty of “misman-agement of funds.”

Shea pointed out that the teachers haveagreed to concessions and students haveseen cuts in their programs in recentyears.

He said the superintendent’s failure tohave “taken any concessions appears tobe — maybe mismanagement of moneyisn’t the best way to put it — wrong prin-cipally.”

Contact reporter Loren Genson at (330) 721-4063or lgenson@medina-gazette.com.

Contact reporter David Knox at (330) 721-4065or dknox@medina-gazette.com.

STEPPFrom A1

David Knox and Loren GensonThe Gazette

In spring 2010, John Leatherman, pres-ident of the Medina Teachers Association,filed a public records request for Superin-tendent Randy Stepp’s 2009 contract.

It was a routine request. The union wasgetting ready to open contract negotia-tions and Leatherman wanted to handout copies of the contract at a March 25,2010, union meeting at Medina HighSchool.

He assumed the contract he was givenwas complete and accurate.

It wasn’t.The unsigned and undated document

left out a paragraph contained in the con-tract approved by the board in February2009 that called for paying Stepp “tenthousand dollars per year for each year”

of the five-year pact.The missing paragraph meant Leather-

man and the teachers didn’t know aboutthe bonus, which was designed “toencourage the superintendent to resistoffers of employment, for two more years— until the spring of 2012.”

Again, the union was preparing fornegotiations. But this time, Leathermansaid he requested copies of Stepp’s W-2tax forms because of rumors about theStepp’s bonus.

Stepp’s 2009 form showed he earnednearly $223,000 — indicating he had beenpaid the full $50,000 in the first year of hiscontract rather than annual installments.

Leatherman requested Stepp’s con-tract, which confirmed that the board hadagreed to pay the bonus in a lump sum aspart of a Nov. 8, 2011, revision of the pact.

Why did the board pay the full amount

of the bonus in 2009 — nearly three yearsbefore it was authorized by the revisedcontract?

Board member Susan Vlcek, who waspresident at the time of the contract revi-sion, did not offer an answer.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m not followingthe question.”

When pressed, Vlcek only repeated thereason for giving Stepp a bonus.

“We gave Dr. Stepp the incentive to stayhere,” she said.

Vlcek stressed that Stepp would havebeen required to pay back at least a por-tion of the bonus “if he chose to findemployment elsewhere.”

Contact reporter David Knox at (330) 721-4065or dknox@medina-gazette.com.

Contact reporter Loren Genson at (330) 721-4063or lgenson@medina-gazette.com.

Union given incomplete Stepp contract

agreement on the new contract that frozewages, except for time-in-service andadditional college coursework “stepincreases.”

But earlier, the teachers voted “no con-fidence” in the board and Stepp.

Leatherman said he couldn’t answer forall of the district’s approximately 400teachers. But he said that it was unlikely

they would support the campaign asstrongly as they had in the past.

“Right now, I couldn’t even think abouthow to send an email out about thatquestion,” he said.

Also Friday, the board postponed a voteon the new teacher’s contract until nextweek, when the board will meet to inter-view candidates for the seat vacated byretiring physician, Dr. Robert Wilder.

Following the public session Friday, theboard met in executive session to discuss

personnel issues for more than twohours, and excluded Stepp from part ofthose discussions.

About 8 p.m., four hours after the meet-ing started, Vlcek came out of the meetingto announce no action would be takenthat night.

The board called a recess until next Fri-day when it will meet to interview 17 can-didates for the vacant seat.

Contact reporter Loren Genson at (330) 721-4063or lgenson@medina-gazette.com.

LEVYFrom A1

AKRON — A Medina Countywoman was sentenced to 18months in prison Friday afterbeing convicted of posing as aveterinarian and causing thedeath of an Akron man’s serv-ice dog.

Brandi A. Tomko, 36, ofSharon Township, was foundguilty last month by SummitCounty Common Pleas JudgePaul Gallagher after a three-day trial.

Tomko, who waived herright to a jury trial, was foundguilty of two felonies — for-

gery and identity fraud — andseveral misdemeanor charges,including animal cruelty, andassaulting or harassing a serv-ice dog.

She had faced a maximumpunishment of 3½ years inprison.

Prosecutors said Tomkopassed herself off as a veteri-narian at a former Akron petclinic in 2011, with the resultthat many pets were maimedor died.

— from staff, wire reports

Fake veterinarian gets prison for killing dog

Lisa CornwellThe Associated Press

CINCINNATI — A Jesus por-trait that has embroiled asouthern Ohio school districtin a federal lawsuit has beenmoved from the middle schoolto a high school at the prefer-ence of a Christian-based stu-dent club that the district viewsas the picture’s owner.

Phil Howard, superinten-dent of Jackson Schools, saidFriday that the portrait wasmoved earlier this week at therequest of the Hi-Y club, whichput it up in 1947 in a buildingthat is now the middle school.

A complaint about the por-trait left the district in themidst of an ongoing nationaldebate over what displays ofreligion are constitutional. Thelawsuit filed last month againstthe district by the AmericanCivil Liberties Union of Ohioand the Wis.-based FreedomFrom Religion Foundationcontends the portrait uncon-stitutionally promotes religionat school.

Schools Superintendent PhilHoward said he is not surewhat, if any, effect moving theportrait might have on the law-suit, but he said the district hadno choice.

“We have to respect therights of the club,” Howardsaid. “Failure to do so mightopen the district to evenanother lawsuit — this time bythe H-Y club” — or violate theConstitution by “turning the

portrait into governmentspeech.”

Officials have maintainedthat taking the portrait downwould censor students’ privatespeech.

“It belongs to the club,”Howard said. “It’s studentspeech, not governmentspeech.”

The school board voted lastmonth to keep the portrait upwhile allowing other studentgroups to hang portraitsrelated to their focuses.Howard said that the boardpolicy created a limited publicforum at both the middleschool and the high school forstudent groups to be able todisplay portraits.

“The club has the right tohang it in either school,”Howard said.

Bob Eisnaugle, an art teacherand adviser to the Hi-Y serviceclub, said that the group ofabout 60 students decided lastweek to move the portrait tothe high school, where the clubmeets and where its currentmembers are students. He saidthe middle school buildinghoused the high school whenthe club presented the portrait,and it had just never beenmoved to the newer building.

Eisnaugle said the clubwants to keep the portrait upbecause “the club is Christian-based and it represents theclub and the Christian princi-ples that the club values.”

WARREN — Hundreds ofmourners flocked to the firstof six funerals for theteenagers killed when a speed-ing sport utility vehiclecrashed last weekend.

Media outlets reported awake and funeral services Fri-day at a Warren church for 15-year-old Kirklan Behner werewell-attended. Family andfriends say the ninth-graderloved to make others laughand was known to shovel snow

or carry groceries to help hisneighbors.

He and five more teensdrowned Sunday when an SUVstruck a guardrail and flippedinto a swampy pond in Warren

Authorities said the 19-year-old driver didn’t have a validlicense. Her funeral service isscheduled for today.

Four more teenage boys alsodied. Their funeral services areplanned between Sunday andTuesday.

First funeral in teen crash draws crowd

School movesJesus portrait

ROUNDUP

The school board agreed “to pay thecosts associated with the superinten-

dent’s acquisition of past academicdegrees” in a Nov. 7, 2011, modification ofStepp’s 2009 contract. But a clause added toStepp’s latest contract, approved by theschool board Jan. 7, also obligates the districtto pay “any tax liability that may result fromsuch reimbursements.”

So far, the district has not paid Stepp forany taxes stemming from the payments ofhis educational expenses.

Asked Friday whether the district mighthave to pay taxes Stepp might owe, schoolboard President Charles Freeman said, “Thatis what we’re looking into right now.”

He declined further comment.But Stepp indicated that’s what the con-

tract calls for.“If the liability occurs, the contract has

language to address that,” he said in anemail response Wednesday to a Gazette

Loren Genson and David Knox | The Gazette

T axpayers may be on the hook for tens of thousands in back taxesowed on a quarter-million dollars worth of educational expensespaid over the last three years for Medina Schools Superintendent

Randy Stepp, The Gazette has learned.Since 2010, the school district has spent more than $265,000 for Stepp’s

education, including nearly $172,000 to pay off his old college loans.

Nick GluntThe Gazette

BRUNSWICK — When a lovedone dies, Mark Bollinger knows thefinancial hardship of a funeral canbe overwhelming.

So he started Bollinger FuneralGoods and Services, where familiescan go to find less expensive cas-kets, urns, headstones and burialvaults.

“We offer something people needand want at half the price,” saidBollinger, whose family has been inthe funeral business for three gen-erations.

The only catch: He can’t host

services.Instead, families must find some-

where else to pay their final

respects — other funeral homes,churches, cemeteries or even athome.

He said the average funeral thesedays costs about $10,000. Using hisservices, he said customers cansave between 50 percent and 75percent, depending on what theyneed.

“You can get an urn or a casket, orboth if you need them,” he said.

Bollinger’s wife, Debbie, said theyoffer less traditional products, too.

“You can get your loved one’sashes put into jewelry or decorativepieces,” she said.

SUPERINTENDENT RANDY STEPP’STAXPAYER-PAID EDUCATION COSTS

I n the past three years, Medina Schools has spent more than a quar-ter-million dollars for graduate courses taken by

Superintendent Randy Stepp at Case Western ReserveUniversity and to pay off Stepp’s federal student loans forhis other degrees. Stepp has a doctorate and bachelor’sand master’s degrees from Ashland University and a mas-ter’s in business administration from Case.

2010$20,700 paid to Case Western Reserve University

2011$52,338 paid to Case Western ReserveUniversity

2012$20,700 paid to Case Western ReserveUniversity$171,872.25 paid to the U.S. Departmentof Education to pay off Stepp’s collegeloans (a single check for $172,011.40,dated Jan. 9, 2012, minus a $139.15refund)

Total: $265,609.85

SOURCE: Medina County Schools’Educational Service Center

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INDEX

W W W . M E D I N A - G A Z E T T E . C O M C H A T T E R A T W W W . F A C E B O O K . C O M / M E D I N A G A Z E T T E

ADVICE................. C7BUSINESS ....B3-4

CLASSIFIEDS....C4COMICS ........C6-7

LOTTERY ..............A2MOVIES ............B2

OBITUARIES........A8OPINION .......... A6

Eric McWilliams, of Medina, on Medina County Common Pleas Judge James L. Kimbler delayinga New York state resident’s arraignment after the man failed to listen to the judge’s explanationof his plea options: “So 800 miles of gas wasted because the guy was having a bad day. Boy, I bet thejudge has never had a bad day or been ‘rude’ to anyone. ... This is taking it too far.”

A4First budget in four years nears passage,MELTING IRON

Summa’s Emergency Department at Lake Medina:• Open 24/7 for adults and children• Most major insurance plans accepted• Easy access at 3780 Medina Rd. (Rt. 18)

There’s no waiting in Medina’s newest ER.

L e a r n m o r e a t s u m m a h e a l t h . o r g / m e d i n a E R .

READ THEM FOR YOURSELFThe complete versions of Stepp’s contracts are available at medina-gazette.com.

MG

“The Board also agrees to pay the costs associated withthe Superintendent’s acquisition of past academicdegrees as they relate to education, as well as any taxliability that may result from such reimbursements.”

Words in boldface added in 2013 contract

IN THE FINE PRINT

Easing the price of peaceStore helps mourners pay final respects at lower cost

See PEACE, A2

More than dozen hitin identity theft spree

INSIDECommentary:Board’s studentrepresentativecalls contract‘inappropriate,’ A6

Their response:Read the boardmembers’answers toThe Gazette’squestions, A8

Nick GluntThe Gazette

WADSWORTH — Police are investi-gating a series of identity thefts, whichhave cost thousands of dollars for cityresidents and forced many to canceltheir credit and debit cards.

According to police reports, 14 peo-ple within three weeks have reportedunauthorized use of their cards. Trans-actions, mostly in the United Kingdomand France, have cost the affectedWadsworth residents between $20 and$2,600.

Lt. Rob Wyrick said police are work-ing to identify those responsible.

“It’s a bit of a caper,” he said.

The biggest influx of reports cameMonday and Tuesday, when at leastnine people said fraudulent chargeswere made on their cards.

One woman said her account wasused for a $20 McDonald’s charge inFrance, and someone else said a $975charge appeared on her card fromPuerto Rico.

Police Sgt. James Wilcox said at thispoint, there are no leads.

See SPREE, A3

“It’s a bit of a caper.”Lt. Rob Wyrick,Wadsworth police

BOLLINGER FUNERALGOODS AND SERVICESOwners: Mark and DebbieBollingerLocation: 3325 CenterRoad, Brunswick.Services: The store sellscaskets, urns andheadstones at reducedprices.Contact: (330) 273-6001www.bollingerfuneral.com

Buckeyes rollover Iona, C1

MARINES SHOT AT BASE, A5

Latest contract adds college tax liability

District owesStepp’s taxes?

See TAXES, A8

LettersrevealThatcher’stime ofanger at allyReagan, A7

Budget battleforcing closureof airporttowers,including one inCleveland, A4

SILENCED

Board members: We didn’t know how much

M embers of the Medinaschool board acknowl-

edged Friday they didn’t knowhow big a bill SuperintendentRandy Stepp had run up to payfor his education.

In an email response signed byall four school board membersto questions posed by TheGazette on Sunday, they saidthey knew the district was help-ing to pay for Stepp’s educationbut admitted they didn’t know

the exact amount totaled morethan a quarter-million dollars.

“The Board of Education wasaware that Dr. Stepp was receiv-ing tuition reimbursement,” thestatement said. “The Board wasnot aware of the extent of thereimbursement or that it appliedto all degrees.”

Since 2010, taxpayers havepaid more than $265,000 for

Loren Genson | The Gazette

See BOARD, A8

A8 Saturday, March 23, 2013 The Gazette

Obituaries

Paula Ruth (neeHaske) Hollopeter,passed away peacefullyWednesday, March 20,2013 surrounded by herfamily at Hospice ofMedina County, after along and courageousbattle with Parkinson’sDisease. She was bornin Cleveland on September28, 1931.

She lived most of her life inMedina and graduated fromMedina High School. She wasa loving mother, grandmother,great-grandmother and devo-ted, compassionate, under-standing friend to all whocame in contact with her. Sheserved 20+ years as a nurse atBarberton Citizens Hospital.She was a long time memberof First Christian Church ofMedina. She enjoyed rollerskating, classical and rockand roll music and being a denmother with Cub Scout Pack3411. We will miss her smileand great sense of humor.

She is survived by her sons,Brent (Bonnie), Evan (Toni)and Reed (Lois); grandchil-dren, Brandon (Tara), Bryan(Jessalyn), Jamie (Matt)

Perez, Mike (Nikki),Sierra, Emry and Lan-don; great-grandchil-dren, Zachary, Lyla,Matthias and Liam;many nieces and neph-ews and her formerhusband, Sheldon (Shir-ley) Hollopeter.

She was preceded indeath by her parents, Dor-othy and Elmer Haske andher faithful dog, Laddie.

Visitation will be held Sa-turday, March 23, 2013 from 3to 7 P.M., at Waite and SonFuneral Home, 765 N. CourtSt., Medina. A funeral ser-vice will be held at 7 P.M.,following the visitation, withReverend Laura Fitt-Bairdpresiding. Private burial willtake place at Spring GroveCemetery.

In lieu of flowers, contri-butions may be made toHospice of Medina County,5075 Windfall Rd, Medina,OH 44256.

Online condolences may beleft at

www.waitefuneralhome.com

Paula Ruth Hollopeter

HOLLOPETER

Edith Frantisak (nee Egley),93. The beloved wife of thelate Frank J.; devoted motherof Donald (Marsha), Carol No-vicky (Michael), Kenneth (Su-san), Nancy Sayer (Robert),Russell (Joanna) and PamelaHanneman (Jeffery); lovinggrandmother of 17; cherishedgreat-grandmother of 14; deardaughter of Gabriel and Eliza-beth Egley (both deceased);dearest sister of Walter Egley(deceased) (Mary) (deceased)and William (deceased) (Hel-ene).

Friends may call at theFerfolia Funeral Home, 356

Edith FrantisakW. Aurora Rd. (Rt. 82), Sag-amore Hills for visitationSunday, March 24, 2013, 2 to 6P.M. Funeral service will beMonday, March 25, 2013, at9:15 A.M. at the funeralhome, with the Mass ofChristian Burial at 10 A.M. atSt. Basil the Great CatholicChurch, 8700 Brecksville Rd,Cleveland, OH 44141. Inter-ment will be in All SaintsCemetery.

The family suggests me-morial contributions in hername, to: The Seasons of LifeHospice, 9511 W. PleasantValley Rd., Parma, OH 44130.

Don L. Cox, 84, of Sharon Township, passed awayThursday, March 21, 2013. Funeral arrangements areincomplete and will be announced at a later date.

Don L. Cox

reporter’s written questions.But Stepp has not responded

to a follow-up question askingwhether he declared the pay-ments for his education asincome on his personal taxforms.

Jennifer J. Jenkins, a spokes-woman for the Internal Rev-enue Service’s Columbusoffice, declined to comment,citing federal disclosure law.

“I am not permitted to dis-cuss with a third party anyindividual’s tax matter with theIRS,” she wrote in an email.

Medina County AuditorMichael E. Kovack said fringebenefits usually are taxable.

“In general, anything that anemployer provides for anemployee is a fringe benefitand that’s taxable.”

But it is not clear whetherthe school district’s paymentsof Stepp’s educational costshave been reported to the IRS.

In the past three years, Med-ina Schools paid more than$93,700 to Case WesternReserve University, whereStepp earned a master’s ofbusiness administration in2010, to pay for his graduatecourses. In addition, the dis-trict spent nearly $172,000 topay off Stepp’s federal studentloans for his other degrees.Stepp has a doctorate andbachelor’s and master’sdegrees from Ashland Univer-sity. But none of the paymentsfor Stepp’s education appearon his federal W-2 tax forms,listing his annual income andtax payments, issued by Med-ina Schools.

Stepp and school officialsgave conflicting explanationswhy that didn’t happen.

At the center of the confu-sion is the unusual way theschool district paid Stepp’seducational bills and old debts:The payments didn’t comedirectly from the district — allthe checks were issued by theMedina County Schools’ Edu-cational Service Center.

Stepp directed the servicecenter’s treasurer to cut thechecks using money left overfrom district payments madeto the center for supplementaland support programs. Thecenter provides such servicesfor all seven public school dis-tricts serving the county.

Stepp said the W-2s were theresponsibility of the treasurerof the educational center.

“W-2s are handled by thetreasurer’s office. In this casethe ESC. Please ask them toaddress this question.”

But Treasurer MichelleMcNeely said she never issueda W-2 for Stepp because he did-n’t work for the service center.That was the responsibility ofStepp’s employer — MedinaSchools, she said.

“We did not pay him directly,so we don’t need to file (a taxform),” McNeely said. “Medinashould report it on his W-2.”

Medina Schools TreasurerJim Hudson agreed with Stepp.

“The payment didn’t comefrom us, so we’re not requiredto file anything,” Hudson said.

He added that neither he norMcNeely were tax experts andthat he wasn’t sure whether thepayments for Stepp’s educa-tion should have been declaredas taxable income.

“I don’t know if it’s accuratethat it would have to be on aW-2,” he said.

When asked whether heknew about the educationalcenter payments to Case West-ern or to the U.S. Departmentof Education for Stepp’s loan,Hudson said, “No.”

Neither did the schoolboard.

School board membersacknowledged Friday that theydid not know the total amountthat had been spent for Stepp’seducation until earlier thismonth.

Board members also saidthey weren’t sure whetherStepp’s new contract madethem responsible for any taxesowed on those payments.

That tax bill could be sub-stantial. If calculated at a topmarginal rate of 25 percent, thetax on the total $265,000 wouldbe about $66,000. If Stepp werein the higher 33 percentbracket, the tax could reach asmuch as $87,000.

Board member Susan Vlceksaid the district is seeking legaladvice on the issue.

“What we’re doing right nowis getting legal opinions just tobe sure where we are on allthis,” she said. “We are trying tobe sure we are clear before wemake a statement on that. It’scertainly one of the areas thatwe are trying to clarify for our-selves and everybody else.”

Contact reporter Loren Gensonat (330) 721-4063 orlgenson@medina-gazette.com.

Contact reporter David Knoxat (330) 721-4065 ordknox@medina-gazette.com.

courses Stepp took at CaseWestern University, where heearned a master’s in businessadministration, and nearly$172,000 to pay off his threestudent loans held by the U.S.Department of Education.

Stepp has three degreesfrom Ashland University: adoctorate and bachelor’s andmaster’s degrees in education.

All of the payouts weremade through the MedinaCounty Schools’ EducationalService Center, which providesservices to seven MedinaCounty school districts.

The money for the educa-tional payments came from a“carryover fund” the educa-tional service center main-tains for each school district.

Stepp personally directedthe center’s treasurer to cutthe checks.

The board members saidthey didn’t know the specificsof the payments.

“The past procedure forreimbursement was such thatthe Board was not informed ofthe payments/contracts

between the Board and theMedina County EducationalService Center (ESC),” theboard members said in theiremail response.

Board members promisedto change that policy.

“The district treasurer hasalready begun to work withthe Educational Service Cen-ter to put procedures in placethat will provide more over-sight,” the board said in theirstatement.

The board has been underpressure to respond to ques-tions surrounding the pay-ments since a March 8 publicforum, attended by more than400 parents, students, teach-ers and other residents.

The public outcry came inreaction to Stepp’s new con-tract, which provided an$83,000 bonus designed tokeep him from acceptinganother job.

The board approved thecontract Jan. 7 but didn’t issuea news release until March 1,after rumors of the bonus werecirculating.

At the forum, Stepp agreedto pay back the $83,000 bonusin installments.

But questions remain aboutwhy board members approvedpaying for Stepp’s educationand how those payments weremade.

In their statement, theboard said it did not ask for anitemization of Stepp’s collegeexpenditures until March 15— more than a year after thelast payment was made.

Board members said theystill don’t know the details ofStepp’s three federal loans.

“At the Board’s request onMarch 15, 2013, Dr. Stepp pro-vided the board with a sum-mary of his U.S. Departmentof Education loan history, notan itemization of his collegecosts,” the board said in thestatement.

John Leatherman, presidentof the Medina City TeachersAssociation, said the responsefrom the board is “too little,too late.”

“I guess it’s a start,” said thepresident of the union, whichrepresents the district’s morethan 400 teachers. “They’vecome clean by admitting theydidn’t know about the non-transparent spending spreethat was going on with the ESC

spending account.”Leatherman said he was

surprised and disappointedboard members didn’t learnthe full extent of the paymentsuntil March 6 — two days afterthe union made a publicrecords request for the docu-ments.

“I’m just puzzled as to howthey didn’t know,” he said.

The board promised tomake reforms aimed at pro-viding more accountability.

“We can certainly have bet-ter accounting of numbersgoing in and out of the ESC,”board member Susan Vlceksaid in an interview on Friday.

The issue will be discussedat the board’s next regularmeeting, scheduled for 6 p.m.Wednesday at the MedinaHigh School Distance Learn-ing Laboratory.

The board members endedtheir written statement with apledge to do better.

“Going forward, the board iscommitted to regaining com-munity trust and increasingthe transparency of our activi-ties,” the statement said.

Contact reporter Loren Gensonat (330) 721-4063 orlgenson@medina-gazette.com.

TAXESFrom A1

BOARDFrom A1

1. When the board agreed topay the cost of Dr. Stepp’s

past education, did you have ageneral idea of how large the billwould be?

The Board of Education encouragedDr. Stepp’s education and professionaldevelopment. The Board of Educationwas aware that Dr. Stepp was receivingtuition reimbursement. The Board wasnot aware of the extent of the reimburse-ment or that it applied to all degrees.

Board member involvement varies inregard to this issue due to the variedterms in which they serve.

The past procedure for reimbursementwas such that the Board was notinformed of the payments/contractsbetween the Board and the MedinaCounty Educational Service Center(ESC). However, the district treasurer hasalready begun to work with the Educa-tional Service Center to put proceduresin place that will provide more oversight.

2. When did you know the$172,000 cost of Dr. Stepp’s

college loan was paid by theEducational Service Center?

It is common practice to work with theMedina County Educational Service Cen-ter for the purpose of service contracts.This practice often results in significantcost savings for the district. The tuitionreimbursement came out of the ESCfund as there was a fund surplus fromservices not used. The Board learned ofthis expenditure on March 6, 2013, as aresult of the public records request.

As stated previously, the district treas-urer has already begun to work with theEducational Service Center to put proce-dures in place that will provide moreoversight. The treasurer will provide theBoard with an update on these proce-dures at the March 27th, 2013 publicmeeting.

3. Did Dr. Stepp ever provide anitemization of his college

costs? If not, did the board everask him to do so?

At the Board’s request on March 15,2013, Dr. Stepp provided the Board witha summary of his U.S. Department ofEducation loan history, not an itemiza-tion of his college costs.

4. Has the Board decided howthe $83,000 bonus will be

paid back? If so, how?As you know, Dr. Stepp is voluntarily

repaying his $83,000 incentive bonusand forgoing his merit-based pay thatwould have totaled another $36,000.

As he has in the past two years, Dr.Stepp is focusing on achieving the goalsenumerated in his contract, while notaccepting any merit-based pay forachieving those goals. Together, theBoard and Dr. Stepp identified the areasthey felt were critical to the advance-ment of the district.

Dr. Stepp will be paying $512.45 perpay period (162 pays) through the termof his contract for a total of $13,323.70 ayear.

In closing: At the time of these deci-

sions, the Board believed that Dr. Steppbrought value to the Medina City SchoolDistrict. Historically, Medina has had anassistant superintendent. In an effort todecrease administrative costs, since thesummer of 2010 he has agreed to workwithout an assistant superintendent.Data from low-spending, high-perform-ing districts (as classified by the StateAuditors Performance Audit group) indi-cates that superintendents receivingbase salaries within the range of Dr.Stepp’s, typically have an assistant super-intendent. On his watch, we havereduced our administrative costs to alevel that is among the lowest in thestate. We have also reduced non-person-nel expenditures by nearly $11 millionsince 2006. The district has continuallybeen recognized as Excellent by the stateof Ohio.

Going forward, the Board is commit-ted to regaining community trust andincreasing the transparency of our activi-ties. We continue to be focused on pro-viding our students an excellent educa-tion in a fiscally responsible manner. Wewelcome continued community engage-ment with the Board; our next publicmeeting will take place on March 27th,2013, 6pm, at Medina High School Dis-tance Learning Laboratory.

Medina City SchoolsBoard of EducationCharley FreemanKarla RobinsonSusan VlcekBill Grenfell

Statement from the Medina City SchoolsBoard of Education, March 22nd, 2013:

I n addition to the earnings shown on Medina Schools Superintendent Randy Stepp’s federal W-2 formfor 2012, the school district also paid $20,700 to Case Western Reserve for courses he took that year and

nearly $172,000 to pay off his federal college loans for his earlier degrees.

SUPERINTENDENT STEPP’S W-2 FORM

KarlaRobinson

GAZETTE FILE

Medina school board members Charles Freeman and Susan Vlcek attend a meeting March 15.

BillGrenfell

Loren Gensonand David Knox

The Gazette

In the last five years, MedinaCity Schools has spent$2.8 million from a fund main-tained by the county Educa-tional Service Center.

The total is nearly $1 millionmore than that spent by any ofthe other six school districtsserved by the county ESC.

While almost all of thespending by the other districtswas to pay bills involving ESCprograms, much of Medina’sfunds went for SuperintendentRandy Stepp’s education costsand for professional develop-ment for Stepp and the dis-trict’s other administrators,according to an analysis ofESC records by The Gazette.

The unusual policy of pay-ing Medina City Schools billswith checks cut by a countyagency is at the center of thegrowing controversy overStepp’s compensation, whichincludes more than a quarterof a million dollars spent onhis college education in thepast three years.

On Friday, Medina schoolboard members acknowl-edged they didn’t know howbig a bill Stepp had run up forhis education.

The situation has drawn theattention of Ohio State AuditorDave Yost.

“The auditor has beenbriefed about this and he’sconcerned,” said MichaelMaurer, spokesperson for theauditor’s office.

While no determination hasbeen made whether to take

any action, Maurer saidregional auditors “have beenmade aware of this and theyare inquiring with the schooldistrict.”

Stepp has been using dis-trict funds set aside by the ESCsince 2007 — the year after hebecame superintendent.

According to ESC invoices,Stepp has used the carryoverfunds for everything fromtuition to out-of-state trainingand iPads.

Stepp doesn’t have to clearthe spending with the schoolboard and Board PresidentCharles Freeman said recordsof money paid out of the ESCaccount are not included withother financial reports regu-larly given to board membersby district Treasurer Jim Hud-son.

ESC Superintendent WilliamJ. Koran said Stepp had directcontrol over the funds becausethe money belonged to theMedina District.

Koran explained that the“carryover” funds containmoney left over after districtspay the ESC for a variety ofservices, including schoolnurses, interpreters for thedeaf, bus driver training andcomputer specialists.

The surplus funds can berolled over to pay the next

year’s bills or returned to thedistrict, Koran said. But themoney also can go to pay billsunrelated to the ESC.

Koran said his agency waswilling to write such checksbecause “we always looked atit as that was district money —that wasn’t our money.”

Often it’s the district super-intendent who personallydirects how the funds arespent, according to ESC Treas-urer Michelle McNeely.

“We used to be an oversightboard,” McNeely said. “Now, aslong it’s a legal expenditure,approved by his board, wewrite the check.”

Koran said he favoredchanging the policy to providemore accountability over thecarryover funds.

“After the controversy thathas gone on, I probably would

suggest that,” he said.

Where themoney goes

Checks written on the carry-over account were issued asrecently as one month ago.Stepp directed McNeely to paya $59,225 bill for executiveleadership training providedby Mike Rao, “The GrowthCoach.”

Principals and other build-ing administrators in all Med-ina schools were required toattend the training, which tookplace last week.

According to emailsbetween Stepp and GaryKovach, a union representa-tive with the Ohio EducationAssociation, some teachersand administrators com-plained that the training tookthem away from their dailyduties at their schools.

“I find it odd that administra-tors would be participatingin professional developmentduring the busiest time of theschool year,” Kovach wrote toStepp. He also asked about thenature of the training and thecost.

In response, Stepp said the$59,000 cost of the programwas a bargain because Rao,whom Stepp met while servingon the county United WayBoard, gave the district a 37percent discount.

Stepp praised Rao’s training.“In this area of expertise

there are very few organiza-tions that can deliver the spe-cialized focus in behaviors,motivators, social and emo-tional intelligence, and leadersas coach,” Stepp wrote in hisresponse.

It wasn’t the first time Stepphire The Growth Coach. LastAugust, Stepp used the ESCfund to pay $17,500 for August

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MEDINA SCHOOLS SPENDING HIGHERIn the last five years, Medina Schools spent far morefrom its cash fund maintained by the county EducationalService Center than any other school district.

Source: Medina County Schools’Educational Service Center

Sunrise 7:23Sunset 7:44

Loren GensonThe Gazette

In October, Lauren Breck, an18-year-old freshman at theCollege of Wooster, signed upfor a visit to Rome as part of acommunity service program atthe college.

She had no idea her visitwould give her a front-row seatat the historic election andinstallation of Pope Francis.

Breck, a Medina resident andparishioner at St. Francis XavierCatholic Church, said she andher fellow students were able toattend the conclave Mass andjoin the thousands gathered atSt. Peter’s Square when theresults of the election wereannounced.

“When Pope Benedict

announced hewould retire, wet h o u g h t ,‘Maybe we’ll bethere whenthey choose thenew pope,’” shesaid. “But a lotof peoplethought it

would happen before we went.Then they kept pushing it back,and just before we left, we foundout we’d be there during thewhole thing.”

Breck said the visit to Romeincluded students from Woosterand Case Western Reserve Uni-versity and was sponsored bythe Catholic student groups atboth schools.

The goal of the visit was com-munity service work and incor-

porating the work with prayer,but with the conclave and elec-tion of a new pope, group lead-ers made time for them to visitSt. Peter’s Square. The studentswere staying in Rome and it waseasy for them to attend themajor events.

Breck said she and other stu-dents got in line for a conclaveMass at 5:45 a.m. March 12. TheMass didn’t start until 10 a.m.but because they arrived early,Breck snagged an aisle seat. TheMass was celebrated just beforethe cardinals met to elect a newpope.

“I was two rows away fromthe cardinals, it was just amaz-ing to see,” she said.

The next day, the studentshad just boarded a bus headed

to a prayer service when wordarrived that white smoke wascoming from the Sistine Chapelindicating the College of Cardi-nals had selected a pope.

“We hopped out of the busand got to St. Peter’s Square, Iwould say we were standingabout middle of the crowd,”Breck said.

She said the moment Cardi-nal Jorge Mario Bergoglio ofArgentina was announced asthe new pope, everyone cheeredwildly.

“The people from SouthAmerica, they all waved theircountry’s flags,” she said. “Therewere a lot of flags from SouthAmerica and they were really,really excited to see a pope fromPHOTO PROVIDED

Lauren Breck snapped this photo during a Mass at St.Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

An opportunity to view historyMedina’s Lauren Breck was at St. Peter’s Square when pope elected

Breck

Loren GensonThe Gazette

MEDINA — The Medina cityschool board has appointedThomas Cahalan to fill the spotleft vacant by Dr. Robert Wilderlast month.

Cahalan works as a personaltrainer at the Medina Commu-nity Recreation Center, and isthe formerowner of TLCPackaging Inc.Cahalan haslived in the dis-trict for 21years.

In a state-ment releasedSaturday, Med-ina school board members saidthey appointed Cahalan for his“independent thinking, a call-ing to serve the community,high integrity, and personalexperience relevant to thekinds of decision-making thatboards face.”

Cahalan was selected from afield of 13 candidates. Seven-teen candidates had filled outapplications for the position,but four withdrew their namesbefore the board conductedinterviews Friday and Satur-day.

In an interview Sunday,Cahalan said he hopes to helprestore faith in the board fol-lowing community furor overcontract benefits and bonuses

SchoolboardpicksCahalan

Cahalan

See CAHALAN, A2

Millions spent from county fund

See VIEW, A5

See FUND, A5

MEDINA SCHOOLS

State auditorsto makeinquiriesof district

DETAILS of MedinaSchools SuperintendentRandy Stepp’s majorexpenditures using fundsheld by the countyEducational ServiceCenter are available atThe Gazette’s website,www.medina-gazette.com.

training for himself, the districttreasurer, comunications direc-tor Jeanne Hurt and two otheremployees.

Stepp first used ESC carryoverfunds to pay for staff develop-ment in 2007, when herequested payments for air fare,hotel and meal expenses for atrip to New York for himself andHuman Resources director JimShields to attend a seminar atRadio City Music Hall.

Stepp and Shields spent atotal of $5,932 on the September2008 trip, including the registra-tion fee of $1,690 each. A yearlater, they returned to the semi-nar — this time the bills totaled$5,090.

Also in 2008, the ESC fundswere used to pay $4,782 for afive-day stay in Orlando, Fla., fora conference of the NationalSchool Boards Association.Records show four othersaccompanied Stepp, who saidthe group included at least threeschool board members.

Stepp had budgeted $1,600for the trip, according to anemail from McNeely directingher staff to increase the pur-chase order.

“Could you please change thePO we did for MedinaCity/Randy Stepp for confer-ence from $1,600 to $5,000?”McNeely wrote. “Apparently, theinitial amount is not going to beenough to cover the costs asso-ciated with his trip/conference.”

Stepp said the increasedspending was because the ini-tial purchase order was submit-ted without the hotel costsincluded.

More trips for staff develop-

ment are planned. In Decem-ber, Stepp directed the ESC toset aside $5,500 for a June work-shop on negotiations at HarvardUniversity.

IPads foradministrators

The ESC funds also paid forcomputer equipment for Steppand other administrators.

In November 2012, Stepprequested the ESC cut a check toApple for $17,959 for iPads. Allthe iPads were WiFi enabled andthree were top-of-the-line mod-els with Retina displays.

He also requested $626 in aseparate invoice labeled, “ipadfor Stepp.”

The payments for the execu-tive training and computers arein addition to more than$265,000 the district paid forStepp’s education between 2010and 2012:■ In January 2012, Steppdirected McNeely to cut a checkfor $172,000 to the U.S. Depart-ment of Education to pay off allhis college loans.■ Since 2010, the ESC fund alsohas paid out a total of $93,000 toCase Western Reserve Univer-sity to pay for Stepp’s master’s inbusiness administration.

Included in those bills was a$9,200 payment to cover thecost of a June 2011 trip to Chinaand Vietnam.

Stepp also directed the ESC topay a total of $1,012 for his pass-port, immunization and a flightupgrade to “economy plus.”

Stepp told the ESC and TheGazette that the course wasrequired for his MBA program.

Julie DiBiasio, events andcommunications manager atthe Weatherhead School ofManagement at Case WesternReserve University, could not

confirm whether the China tripwas required for the MBA pro-gram.

Case offers both part-timeand full-time MBA programs.The full-time program, whichStepp used, takes two years tocomplete and includes twospring and two fall semesters.

Stepp only took one summersemester at the university andcompleted his degree last year.

The district may face morebills for Stepp’s education.Twelve words added to Stepp’snew contract obligates districttaxpayers to bear the cost of“any tax liability that may result”from the education payments.

Stepp said he would includethe $172,000 payoff of his col-lege loans in his 2012 tax return,which will be filed this year.

“My accountant will deter-mine what portion is taxable asincome, if any,” Stepp wrote inhis email Saturday.

Stepp indicated he didn’t payany federal taxes on the 2010and 2011 payments to CaseWestern Reserve because theschool board required he get theMBA degree.

“Based on my understandingof tax law the Case WesternReserve MBA was a part of thejob requirement and thereforeshould not be consideredincome,” Stepp wrote Saturdayin an email response to aGazette reporter’s questions. “Itis professional developmentthat was supported and directedby the Board.”

Stepp’s contract with theschool board, however, does notinclude a requirement that heget an MBA degree.

When asked to document therequirement, Stepp referred allquestions to Medina CitySchools communications direc-

tor Jeanne Hurt.School board members also

said all questions should berouted through Hurt.

In an email Sunday evening,Hurt said no further responsefrom either Stepp or boardmembers would be availableuntil today.

Several Medina City teacherssaid the money spent from theESC funds could be better used.

Lori Berger, an intensiveneeds intervention teacher atHeritage Elementary, said shewould like to use more ESC-pro-vided services in her classroom.

Some of Berger’s students arenonverbal, and often act outphysically. Berger said she hasused Rachel Krauss, a behav-ioral specialist employed by theESC, to help her students. Thisyear, the hours the district pur-chased from the ESC for Krauss’services were kept to a mini-mum, Berger said.

“The whole special educationdepartment got an email askingus to handle problems with ourschool psychologist because weonly get Rachel for 30 days,”Berger said. She added that the30 days was for the entire dis-trict to share.

“I have high respect for ourschool psychologist, but she’snot a behavior specialist,”Berger said.

Berger said she was upset lastweek when she learned aboutthe $60,000 spent on staff devel-opment for administrators.

“There’s a time and a place,and now’s not the time, there’s

other bigger things the staff isconcerned about,” she said. “Isthis training what’s best for thekids? Not when there are otherthings we need.”

Not all districts run their car-ryover funds the way Medinadoes. Some districts apply car-ryover funds to the followingyear’s bill, and others bring themoney back into their district.

In 2011, Brunswick Superin-tendent Mike Mayell saidBrunswick’s school districtdecided to bring $600,000 inESC carryover funds back toBrunswick’s general fund to beused for construction and reno-vations at the football field.

Mayell said the district hasalso left carryover funds at theESC to be applied toward the billto come in the following year.But in 2011, he said the districtchose to spend the moneybecause the $600,000 carryoverwas large enough to be put to acapital use.

He said transferring themoney back into the school dis-trict makes it easier for his dis-trict to account for where themoney goes.

By putting the money in thepermanent improvement fund,the district was obligated tospend it on items that wouldremain in the district for at leastfive years.

“We didn’t want to use it forany other purpose,” he said.

Contact Loren Genson at (330) 721-4063 or lgenson@medina-gazette.comand David Knox at (330) 721-4065or dknox@medina-gazette.com.

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South America.”When Pope Francis was pre-

sented to speak, Breck said itwas amazing to see the squarefall silent.

“It was dead silent when hecame up to speak,” she said.“You’re surrounded by thou-sands of people, and it’s justdead quiet. It was an amazingmoment.”

Contact Loren Gensonat (330) 721-4063or lgenson@medina-gazette.com.

VIEWFrom A1

FUNDFrom A1

The Associated Press

CINCINNATI — A stormmoving across the Midwestbringing heavy snow andhigh winds to many areas onSunday was expected todump as much as four to 10inches in parts of Ohio bythis morning.

Some snow and rain werereported around the stateduring the day Sunday.

But Myron Padgett, a mete-orologist with the NationalWeather Service’s Wilmingtonoffice, said there was no sig-nificant accumulation fromthe first round of snow.

A winter storm warningwas in effect for parts ofOhio Sunday night withheavier snow amounts andtemperatures in the low tomid 30s predicted.

Padgett said west centraland southwest Ohio couldsee four to 10 inches, withabout one to four inchesexpected in northern Ohio.

Snow continuing into themorning hours was expectedto create problems for com-muters. Padgett said haz-ardous travel conditionswere expected due toreduced visibilities.

Heavysnowexpected

Summa’s state-of-the-art Emergency Departmentat Lake Medina is open 24/7 and accepts mostmajor insurance plans.Easy access at 3780 Medina Road (Rt. 18).

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ACCENT............... C1BUSINESS ........C4

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W W W . M E D I N A - G A Z E T T E . C O M C H A T T E R A T W W W . F A C E B O O K . C O M / M E D I N A G A Z E T T E

Christie Eve Frayser on the Medina Club Hockey team’s third-place finish in the nationaltournament last week: “Thank you for skating your hearts out on the ice! You’ve made all of Medinacounty and Ohio proud!! Special thank you to the coaching staff and all the dedicated fans thatsupported the team throughout the season.”

The Gazette

S tarting Monday, the Ohio Departmentof Transportation will resume recon-

struction of Interstate 76 between stateRoute 57 and the Summit County line.

The $17.7 million project began lastsummer with work on the eastboundlanes completed. The westbound laneswill be done this year, according to anODOT news release.

“Attempts will be made to maintain twolanes of traffic whenever possible,” thenews release said, “but motorists shouldanticipate travel to be at reduced speedsthrough the construction area, and travelin the eastbound lanes may be disruptedas well.”

The project will include reconstructionof the highway, ramp closings, and recon-structions and bridge improvements inWadsworth.

The eastbound entrance ramp on stateRoute 261 to I-76 and U.S. Route 224 isscheduled to close Monday.

Ramp closures are expected to occurthroughout the summer and fall, and clo-sures for the eastbound entrance and exitramps at state routes 261 and 94 areplanned for two-week periods.

For more information, visitwww.wadsworthcity.com orwww.ohgo.com.

Interstate 76 work

As markets set records,Americans are makingmore, spending more, C4

... But members ofCongress are feeling thebudget pinch in theiroffices, A6

Parma mancharged inburglary spree

Kiera Manion-FischerThe Gazette

LIVERPOOL TWP. — A Parma man faceseight felony counts in connection with a rashof New Year’s Eve burglaries in the area ofColumbia and Neff roads.

Kyle E. Roberts, 22, is charged with threecounts of breaking and entering and one countof theft, fifth-degree felonies; two counts oftheft (firearm), a third-degree felony; and twocounts of grand theft (motor vehicle), fourth-degree felonies.

Lt. Travis Colonius of the Medina CountySheriff’s Office said physical evidence at thescenes connected him to the burglaries butwould not elaborate.

“We’re still investigating whether or notother people may be involved,” Colonius said.

T he city’s outdoor pool atMemorial Park won’t open thissummer because of structural

concerns. Parks Director Tim Swansonsaid it was becoming too costly tokeep refilling the pool because ofcracks in the seal.

“It’s just old age, it’s cracking and sagging,”he said. “We were losing so much water that itwasn’t worthwhile to keep filling it in.”

The pool was built in the late 1950s andremodeled in the ’70s, Swanson said.

This summer, Swanson and Medina Com-

munity Recreation Center Director MikeWright are working on a plan to provideaccess to the center for residents who nor-mally would use the pool.

The outdoor pool usually opens in June, theweekend after school ends.

Swanson estimated it would cost “close to amillion dollars if not more” to renovate thepool.

Another option could be to build a pool,which could be more like a small outdoorwater park with water slides and other fea-tures, he said.

City Council’s Public Properties Committeehas been discussing the issue.

Councilman Jim Shields, Ward 4, chairmanof the committee, said Council members likethe idea of keeping the pool in the same placebut also are considering putting an outdoorpool at the rec center.

Shields said many decisions remain to bemade.

“Do we just replace the pool or do we createa little water park? We were very open to mod-ernizing it,” he said.

Council also plans to study how much itwould cost to build a pool as well as optionsfor funding it.

Contact reporter Kiera Manion-Fischer at (330) 721-4049or kfischer@medina-gazette.com.

GONEDRY

Residents won’t be able to swim here this summer ...

PHOTO COURTESY MEDINAPARKS DEPARTMENT

Kiera Manion-Fischer | The Gazette

See SPREE, A2

Paying old debt unheard ofDavid Knox and Nick Glunt

The Gazette

A survey of Ohio’s 33 largest schooldistricts failed to find an admin-

istrator’s contract with the most con-troversial fringe benefit awardedMedina Superintendent Randy Stepp— elimination of his old college debt

at taxpayers’ expense.Stepp’s three federal student loans,

totaling nearly $172,000, were repaidin full in January 2012 — two monthsafter the school board amended his2009 contract and agreed “to pay thecosts associated with the Superinten-dent’s acquisition of past academicdegrees.”

The payoff of his student loans andother educational costs by the district— totaling more than a quarter-mil-lion dollars in the past three years —are the focus of a continuing contro-versy over how Stepp was able to getthe board to agree to such generousbenefits.

The public furor prompted board

President Charles Freeman to resignearlier this week and dimmed hopesof passage of a 5.9-mill levy on theMay ballot.

Of 24 school districts thatresponded to The Gazette’s survey,none had contracts providing for pay-ment of student loans or reimburse-ment for tuition or other educational

costs run up by superintendentsbefore they were hired.

Stepp received two of his threedegrees from Ashland University — abachelor’s in education in 1993 and amaster’s in 1998 — before becomingsuperintendent in 2006.

Largest school distr icts asked about Stepp’s student loans

See UNHEARD, A2

A2 Saturday, March 30, 2013 The GazetteFROM PAGE ONE

WEATHER WATCHTODAY: Sunshine and patchy clouds ...................52/39SUNDAY: Morning rain then partly sunny............52/30MONDAY: A bit of snow and rain .........................38/22TUESDAY: Breezy with clouds and sun ...............39/24

CORRECTIONS & CLARIFICATIONS

KIDS’ VIEWS

Gabriella PetrocciCloverleaf Elementary

March 30, 2013, No. 77Medina (non-toll area).................(330) 725-4166

All other Ohio areas....... (800) 633-4623Copyright © 2013, The Medina Gazette

Material published in this newspaper is the property of Medina County PublicationsInc. Company and is not to be reproduced without permission.

EXECUTIVESPUBLISHER..........(330) 721-4040George D. Hudnutt

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EDITOR ................(330) 721-4065David Knox

SPORTS EDITOR (330) 721-4055Betty Szudlo

EDITORIALOPINION EDITOR

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POSTMASTER: Send addresschanges to: The Gazette, P.O. Box407, Medina, OH 44258-0407.

Send us your weather picturesThe Gazette is seeking weather pictures from areastudents. A weather form may be obtained byemailing lsheaffer@medina-gazette.com. Teachersmay submit pictures from their class. For moreinformation, call (330) 721-4060.

The Medina Gazette is committed to providing accurate news cov-erage. Call us at (330) 721-4060 to let us know about factual errors.

LOTTERY RESULTS

■ For more information about Medina’s new nursing home, theAvenue at Medina, call (330) 721-7001. A story in Thursday’sGazette included only a staff member’s telephone number.

The Associated Press

Today is the 89th day of 2013. There are276 days left in the year.

TODAY’S HISTORY:■ In 1981, President Ronald Reaganescaped an attempt on his life outside aWashington D.C. hotel, where he wasshot and seriously wounded by John W.Hinckley Jr. Also wounded were WhiteHouse press secretary James Brady, SecretService agent Timothy McCarthy, andDistrict of Columbia police officerThomas Delahanty.■ In 1135, the Jewish philosopher Mai-monides was born in Cordoba in present-day Spain.■ In 1822, Florida became a U.S. territory.■ In 1867, U.S. Secretary of State WilliamH. Seward reached agreement with Rus-sia to purchase the territory of Alaska for$7.2 million.■ In 1870, the 15th Amendment to theU.S. Constitution, which prohibiteddenying citizens the right to vote andhold office on the basis of race, wasdeclared in effect by Secretary of StateHamilton Fish. Texas was readmitted tothe Union.■ In 1909, the Queensboro Bridge, linkingthe New York City boroughs of Manhattan

and Queens, opened.■ In 1923, the Cunard liner RMS Laconiabecame the first passenger ship to circlethe globe when it arrived in New York.■ In 1945, the Soviet Union invaded Aus-tria during World War II.■ In 1959, a narrowly divided U.S.Supreme Court, in Bartkus v. Illinois,ruled that a conviction in state court fol-lowing an acquittal in federal court forthe same crime did not constitute doublejeopardy.■ In 1963, singer Lesley Gore, age 16,recorded her hit “It’s My Party” for Mer-cury Records in New York.■ In 1972, North Vietnamese forceslaunched their three-pronged EasterOffensive against South Vietnam. Thefighting lasted until the following Octo-ber.■ In 1986, actor James Cagney died at hisfarm in Stanfordville, N.Y., at age 86.■ In 2002, Britain’s Queen Mother Eliza-beth died at Royal Lodge, Windsor, out-side London. She was 101 years old.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Game showhost Peter Marshall is 87. Actor RichardDysart is 84. Actor John Astin is 83. Enter-tainer Rolf Harris is 83. Actor-directorWarren Beatty is 76.

ALMANAC

Amy, left, is a 1-year-old, female mastiff mix whowas found as a stray and has lots of energy. LittleAnn, right, is a 3-year-old, female hound mix whowas found near Medina High School. Both dogs canbe adopted at the Medina County Animal Shelter,6334 Deerview Lane off state Route 162 in LafayetteTownship. The shelter is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.Saturday. See the shelter’s selection of animals atwww.co.medina.oh.us/animal/animal.htm.

NEED HOMES

Scott Glover and Lisa GirionLos Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES — Despite efforts by lawenforcement and public health officialsto curb prescription drug abuse, drug-related deaths in the United States havecontinued to rise, the latest data show.

Figures from the U.S. Centers for Dis-ease Control and Prevention reveal thatdrug fatalities increased 3 percent in2010, the most recent year for whichcomplete data are available. Preliminarydata for 2011 indicate the trend has con-tinued.

The figures reflect all drug deaths, butthe increase was propelled largely by pre-scription painkillers such as OxyContinand Vicodin, according to just-releasedanalyses by CDC researchers.

The numbers were a disappointmentfor public health officials, who hadexpressed hope that educational andenforcement programs would stem therise in fatal overdoses.

“While most things are getting better inthe health world, this isn’t,” CDC DirectorTom Frieden said in an interview. “It’s abig problem, and it’s getting worse.”

Drugs overtook traffic accidents as acause of death in the country in 2009, andthe gap has continued to widen.

Overdose deaths involving prescriptionpainkillers rose to 16,651 in 2010, theCDC researchers found. That was 43 per-cent of all fatal overdoses.

The numbers come amid mountingpressure to reduce the use of prescriptionpainkillers. The U.S. Food and DrugAdministration is considering a proposalto limit daily doses of painkillers andrestrict their use to 90 days or less fornon-cancer patients. The proposal alsowould make such drugs available to non-cancer patients only if they suffer fromsevere pain.

“The data supporting long-term use ofopiates for pain, other than cancer pain,is scant to nonexistent,” Frieden said.“These are dangerous drugs. They’re not

proven to have long-term benefit for non-cancer pain, and they’re being used to thedetriment to hundreds of thousands ofpeople in this country.”

Among the most promising tools tocombat the problem, Frieden said, arecomputerized drug monitoring programsthat track prescriptions for painkillersand other commonly abused narcoticsfrom doctor to pharmacy to patient.Frieden said such programs should beused to monitor doctors’ prescribing aswell as patients’ use.

“You’ve got to look at the data to seewhere the problems are,” he said. “Youdon’t want to be flying blind.”

In California, officials do not use thestate’s prescription drug monitoring pro-gram, known as CURES, to proactivelyseek out problem patients or physicians.The state’s medical board initiates inves-tigations of doctors only after receiving acomplaint. Legislation awaiting action inSacramento would increase funding forCURES and provide more investigators topolice excessive prescribing, amongother measures.

Frieden, a physician trained at Colum-bia and Yale universities, said patientsafety should be placed above the con-cerns among some doctors aboutscrutiny of their prescribing patterns.

“We all take an oath to, above all, do noharm,” he said. “And these medicationsdo harm. You’re free to practice medicinehowever you want. But you’re not free todo things that hurt people.”

President Barack Obama’s drug czar, R.Gil Kerlikowske, echoed Frieden’s call foraggressive monitoring by state medicalboards.

“You can’t just sit back, have a big data-base and then say, ‘Well, we’ll wait tillthere’s a complaint that comes in,’” hesaid in an interview. “You have to use itproactively.”

Lynn Webster, president-elect of theAmerican Academy of Pain Medicine,said the new figures underscored the

need for further action, such as educatingphysicians to recognize patients who areat risk for abusing painkillers.

“This is not the trend anyone wants tosee,” Webster said.

CDC mortality data, culled from deathcertificates, do not detail how the dece-dents obtained the drugs that killedthem.

A Los Angeles Times analysis of coro-ners’ records published last year foundthat prescriptions from physicians playeda substantial role in the death toll. Of3,733 prescription drug-related fatalitiesin Southern California examined by theTimes, nearly half involved at least onedrug that had been prescribed to thedecedent by a physician.

Seventy-one doctors prescribed drugsto three or more patients who later fatallyoverdosed, the analysis showed. And sev-eral of the doctors lost a dozen or morepatients to overdoses.

The latest CDC figures predate a broadattack on prescription drug abuse andmisuse launched by the White House inApril 2011. The preliminary figure for2011 is down slightly but is expected togrow by at least 5 percent — exceedingthe 2010 level — when all death certifi-cates are in and counted, experts said.That’s what has happened in previousyears.

Kerlikowske, who heads the WhiteHouse Office of National Drug ControlPolicy, said efforts to hone the responseto measures that show results were frus-trated by the lagging mortality data. But,he said, anecdotal evidence and surveysof younger Americans suggest “there’s alot going on that’s moving in the rightdirection.”

He declined to predict when therewould be downturn in deaths.

“It won’t be overnight, certainly,” hesaid. “But we didn’t get here, with thesekinds of numbers of deaths and over-doses, overnight.”

He received his doctorate in2010.

Many officials voiced sur-prise that a school boardwould agree to pay for pastdegrees.

“I have never heard of aretroactive reimbursement,”said Steve Maag, treasurer ofBeavercreek City Schoolssoutheast of Dayton.

Beavercreek, with an enroll-ment of about 7,500, was thestate’s 27th largest district inthe 2011-12 school year.

Medina, with 7,066 stu-dents, ranked 34th in enroll-ment among Ohio’s more than600 school districts.

Treasurer Penny Rucker ofColumbus Schools — thestate’s biggest system withnearly 50,000 students — alsoknew of no other district inOhio that covered the cost ofold degrees.

Rucker added that shehoped that fringe benefitwould not catch on.

“Where do you draw theline?” she said. “I’d hate to seethe industry adopt that prac-tice as a whole.”

Stepp’s contract may beunique in the state.

Rob Delane, deputy execu-tive director of the OhioSchool Boards Association,could not cite a similar provi-sion in a superintendent’scontract.

“I could not point to anyother district that would havethat — not that it doesn’texist,” he said. “I’m just not

aware of any.”Theodore Kowalski, a pro-

fessor at the University of Day-ton and a national expert ineducational administration,said he did not know of anysuperintendent anywherewhose college loans were paidoff.

“I’ve done a lot of researchon superintendents, and I’venever come across this,”Kowalski said.

But Kowalski and schoolofficials who responded to thesurvey said it was fairly com-mon for school boards to payfor additional education oftheir superintendents.

Stepp’s contract also providefor that: Stepp earned an exec-utive master’s in businessadministration from CaseWestern Reserve University ata cost to the district of nearly$94,000.

The payments for Stepp’seducation have continued tofuel public protests that begannearly a month ago, whenrumors began circulating thatthe board had approved a newcontract for Stepp thatincluded an $83,000 signingbonus aimed at discouraginghim from taking another job.

Stepp has apologized forincluding the bonus in thecontract, which the boardapproved at a Jan. 7 work ses-sion without publicity. He also

has agreed to give back thebonus in biweekly install-ments through the end of thecontract, in 2019, and to forgo$36,000 in merit raises.

But Stepp has rejected criti-cism of the payments for hiseducation despite last week’sacknowledgement by boardmembers that they “were notaware of the extent of thereimbursement or that itapplied to all degrees.”

Nor did they know that theloans were paid off becausethe Jan. 9, 2012, check to theU.S. Department of Educationwas cut by the treasurer of theMedina County Schools’ Edu-cational Service Center andnot the Medina Schools treas-urer.

Stepp directed the paymentbe made from a “carryoverfund” containing districtmoney left over after payingfor services provided by theservice center.

The boards of the schooldistrict and service centerhave agreed to adopt meas-ures to provide greater over-sight and accountability overthe carryover funds.

But questions remain abouthow Stepp’s controversialfringe benefits — whichinclude a pledge in his latestpact to pay “any tax liabilities”resulting from his educationalpayments — got into his con-

tract.No lawyers are listed as

being present at any of theclosed-door executive ses-sions where the changes toStepp’s 2009 or his new con-tract were discussed.

An email sent Tuesday byThe Gazette to district spokes-woman Jeanne Hurt andschool board members askingwhether the board soughtlegal advice during the negoti-ations on Stepp’s contracts in2009, 2011 and 2013 had notreceived a response by Friday.

But an email sent last weekby Hurt to resident FloralynMorata provides some possi-ble answers.

“Charley Freeman asked meto respond to your questionregarding who drafts Dr.Stepp’s contracts,” Hurt wrote.

“When Dr. Stepp was firsthired as superintendent thesearch firm Finding Leadersdrafted his contract. Theywere then modified throughthe negotiations processbetween the Board and theSuperintendent.”

Reporter Kiera Manion-Fischercontributed to this story.

Contact David Knox at (330) 721-4065or dknox@medina-gazette.com.

Contact reporter Nick Glunt at(330) 721-4048 ornglunt@medina-gazette.com.

UNHEARDFrom A1

Painkiller deaths rising

“I could not point to any other district that would have that— not that it doesn’t exist. I’m just not aware of any.”

Rob Delane,deputy executive director of the Ohio School Boards Association,

could not cite a similar provision in a superintendent’s contract

Roberts was indicted March 4 andserved with the indictment Friday,the lieutenant said.

He is serving a sentence at theParma jail on unrelated charges,Colonius said.

A shotgun, a .22-caliber pistol andtwo pickups were among propertystolen from homes in a half-milestretch of Columbia and Neff roadsthe weekend of Dec. 31.

A homeowner in the 2600 block ofColumbia Road reported a 2004GMC Envoy was missing from agarage, along with a wallet, cellphone and .22-caliber pistol.

Another resident in the 2400 blockof Columbia Road reported a 1996Ford truck was stolen, along with asingle-shot shotgun, $40 in ammuni-tion, a pellet gun and more than 200tools.

Another neighbor reported a shedwas entered but nothing was taken.

Contact reporter Kiera Manion-Fischer at (330)721-4049 or kfischer@medina-gazette.com.

SPREEFrom A1

Ohio (Friday)Midday Pick 3: 9-1-9, Pick 3: 5-5-7,

Midday Pick 4: 3-6-7-3, Pick 4: 9-4-0-2,Midday Pick 5: 5-1-2-8-8, Pick 5: 3-2-9-6-6,Rolling Cash 5: 12-13-14-21-35.

Next Rolling Cash 5 jackpot is $147,000.Next Classic Lotto jackpot is $31.5 million.

Mega MillionsFRIDAY: 25-31-36-46-53, Mega Ball: 21, Megaplier: 4.

Mega Millions jackpot is an estimated $34 million.

PowerballWEDNESDAY: 7-37-43-48-52, Powerball: 16.

Powerball jackpot is an estimated $50 million.

Out of stateMICHIGAN (FRIDAY) — Daily 3: 0-9-9, Daily 4: 8-5-7-4,

Fantasy 5: 2-4-9-20-36.PENNSYLVANIA (FRIDAY) — Daily Number: 2-0-9, Big 4: 6-7-4-8,

Cash 5: 1-14-20-40-42.WEST VIRGINIA (FRIDAY) — Daily 3: 2-6-9, Daily 4: 7-8-4-7.

Tribe triumphant in opener, B1

F ive years ago this week, Medina Schools Superintendent RandyStepp turned a four-day national conference for school boardmembers into a weeklong stay with his family at Orlando’s

Universal Studios, with taxpayers footing most of the bill. ◆ Stepp wasreimbursed $4,782.89 that week — including two nights at a luxury hotelafter the conference of the National School Boards Association ended.

Cyan A1 Magenta A1 Yellow A1 Black A1

Cyan A1 Magenta A1 Yellow A1 Black A1

ADVICE................. C3CLASSIFIEDS....C1

COMICS ........C2-3LOTTERY ..............A2

OBITUARIES........A6OPINION .......... A4

WEATHER..........A2YOURTOWN ........A5INDEX

W W W . M E D I N A - G A Z E T T E . C O M C H A T T E R A T W W W . F A C E B O O K . C O M / M E D I N A G A Z E T T E

Sandy Albrecht-Sailer on Tuesday’s story about an Erhart/York Township firefighter whodonated her hair to raise money for cancer research: “My Friend is a cancer survivor and yournewspaper did a front page article on him 5 years ago & he’s ready to donate again !!! His hair is nowdown to his waist.”

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Reports rising overidentity theft spree

Nick GluntThe Gazette

WADSWORTH — Police areinvestigating reports from atleast 24 people who said theircredit and debit cards were usedfor fraudulent purchases inMarch.

Ten of the people have madereports since March 23.

“We’ve contacted some of thefinancial institutions to try tofind a common point of sales,”Wadsworth Lt. Rob Wyrick said.“But we haven’t had any realbreaks yet.”

Many of the charges are com-

ing from the United Kingdomand France, but some havecome from the Internet, Arizonaand Costa Rica.

Sgt. James Wilcox said many ofthe reports came in becauseGenFed Federal Credit Unionhad a policy that required peo-ple who thought their accountswere compromised to make apolice report.

Police are urging other resi-dents, too, to report any unau-thorized charges on their cardsand to be on the lookout for theunusual.

Kiera Manion-FischerThe Gazette

Members of the Medina High Schoolsoftball team arrived safely in MyrtleBeach, S.C., after they were delayedwhen their bus was part of a 95-vehiclepileup in Virginia.

Softball coach Jessica Toocheck saidthe team was able to get another charterbus to finish the trip.

None of the students were seriouslyinjured in what police said was a seriesof 17 chain-reaction crashes in the fog-shrouded Fancy Gap mountain area,about six miles from the North Carolinaborder.

Virginia State Police identified the

three people who died as a result of thecrashes Monday. They were: AndrewKatbi, 24, of Delphos, Ohio; William M.Sosebee, 33, of Allen, Ky.; and KathernWorley, 71, of Iron Station, N.C. Twenty-five people were injured.

Police said Sosebee and Worley werepassengers in different vehicles thatstruck the same tractor-trailer, whileKatbi was the driver of another vehiclethat rear-ended a tractor-trailer. All diedat the scene.

The softball team was scheduled toplay 2 p.m. Monday at the Grand StrandSoftball Classic tournament, but thatgame was delayed until 7 p.m. because

Softball team reachesdestination after crash

See SPREE, A3 See CRASH, A3

EARLY VOTING BEGINSFOR MAY 7 ELECTION

V oters now can cast earlyballots for local races and

issues for the May 7 election.The state’s top election official

said Tuesday that voters in74 counties will decide severallocal races and 355 local issues.Those local issues include116 school issues and a numberof local tax levies, bond issuesand charter amendments.

Ohio law allows voters to castearly ballots in person or by mailbefore Election Day.

Monday is the deadline toregister to vote for next month’selection. Voters have until May 4to request an absentee ballot bymail from their county board ofelections.

Loren Genson and David Knox ◆ The Gazette

Stepp billed the district $2,746.45 for five of sevennights he and his wife and three adolescent daughtersstayed at the Loews Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal Stu-dios.

He also was reimbursed $806.56 for two nights at theOrlando World Center Marriott, according to invoicessubmitted by Stepp to the Medina County Schools Educa-tional Service Center.

In addition, Stepp was reimbursed $186.24 for mealsand $1,023.64 for the 2,027-mile, round-trip drive toFlorida.

Three Medina school board members also attended theconference in Orlando — but at a fraction of the cost to

taxpayers.Board members Susan Vlcek, Dr. Robert Wilder and Dr.

Thomas Ebner stayed at the Caribe Royale hotel, where aroom paid for by Ebner averaged less than $200 a night forthe four-day conference.

Ebner was the only board member to request reim-bursement, according to a search of district financialrecords requested by The Gazette. His bill, which includedsome meals for all three board members, parking fees anda two-person suite — totaled $642.87.

Adding the $196.88 deposit for the room, which waspaid by the district, brings the total outlay for the threeboard members to $839.75.

The Gazette asked Stepp why he didn’t take advantageof the cheaper hotel rates provided by the conference.

“When I chose to attend NSBA (at the Board’s recom-mendation) the hotels available through the conferenceregistration were not available,” he said in an emailedresponse received late Tuesday afternoon. “I secured thehotels that were available at that time.”

But records show the district paid the $196.88 deposit toreserve a room for Stepp at the Caribe Royale at least twoweeks before the conference.

Asked about the deposit and reservation, Stepp did notrespond Tuesday.

See STEPP, A2

◆ Mileage to Orlando, Fla (2,027 miles round trip at $0.505 per mile): $1,023.64 ◆ Two nights, March 27-28,2008, at the Orlando World Center Marriott hotel (room, including tax and parking): $806.56 ◆ Two days,

March 27-28, 2008, parking at the Orange County Convention Center, site of the National School Board Associa-tion annual conference ($10 each day): $20 ◆ Five nights, March 29-April 2, at the Loews Portofino Bay Hotel,

shown above, (room, including tax and parking): $2,746.45 ◆ Food and beverages (14 receipts): $186.24 ◆

Total reimbursement (check issued April 15, 2008): $4,782.89

Stepp’s expenses-paid tripMEDINA SCHOOLS

COURTESY LOEWS PORTOFINO BAY HOTEL

Wadsworth’s Goddard is MVP B1GIRLS BASKETBALL

A2 Wednesday, April 3, 2013 The GazetteFROM PAGE ONE

WEATHER WATCHTODAY: Mostly sunny and chilly........................... 40/24THURSDAY: Partly sunny and warmer..............53/32FRIDAY: Plenty of sunshine ..................................48/24SATURDAY: Warmer with clouds and sun ..........55/45

CORRECTIONS & CLARIFICATIONS

KIDS’ VIEWS

Kylie BakerGranger Elementary

April 3, 2013, No. 80Medina (non-toll area).................(330) 725-4166

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Editor’s note: Fax public meetingnotices to (330) 725-4299 or emailareanews@medina-gazette.com. Paidlegal notices, which appear in theclassified advertising section of thenewspaper, should be emailed tolegalnotices@medina-gazette.com.

TodayChatham Township trustees,

special meeting on outdoor

woodburners, 7 p.m., townshipcommunity center, 6306 AvonLake Road.

Hinckley Township ZoningCommission, regular meeting,7 p.m., township administrationbuilding, 1410 Ridge Road.

Lafayette Township Board ofZoning Appeals, regular meeting,7 p.m., township hall, 6776Wedgewood Road.

The Associated Press

Today is the 93rd day of2013. There are 272 days left inthe year.

TODAY’S HISTORY:■ In 1973, the first handheldportable telephone wasdemonstrated for reporters ona New York City street corneras Motorola executive MartinCooper contacted Joel S. Engelof Bell Labs using a Motoroladevice that, according to anAP story, looked like “a small,domesticated version of mili-tary walkie-talkies” andweighed less than threepounds.■ In 1776, George Washingtonreceived an honorary doctor oflaws degree from Harvard Col-lege.

■ In 1860, the legendary PonyExpress began carrying mailbetween St. Joseph, Mo., andSacramento, Calif. The deliv-ery system lasted only 18months before giving way tothe transcontinental tele-graph.■ In 1869, Edvard Grieg’sPiano Concerto in A Minor,Op. 16, premiered in Copen-hagen.■ In 1882, outlaw Jesse Jameswas shot to death in St.Joseph, Mo., by Robert Ford, amember of James’ gang.■ In 1996, an Air Force jetlinercarrying Commerce SecretaryRon Brown and Americanbusiness executives crashed inCroatia, killing all 35 peopleaboard.

PUBLIC MEETINGS

ALMANAC

No oversightVlcek remembered Stepp attending the

conference, but said she did not knowhow much he had been reimbursedbecause the $4,782.89 check was issuedby the county Educational Service Centerusing district money held in a “carryover”fund.

Stepp’s use of the ESC carryover fundwith no oversight from the school boardis at the center of the continuing contro-versy about unusual fringe benefits.

Since 2009, Stepp has negotiated con-tracts requiring the school board to payfor the cost of his “past college degrees,”“any college coursework completed forthe purpose of expanding his profes-sional knowledge,” and “any tax liabilitythat may result form such reimburse-ments.”

So far, the district has paid more than aquarter-million dollars for Stepp’s educa-tion, including nearly $172,000 to pay offhis federal student loans and nearly$94,000 for an executive master’s in busi-ness administration from Case WesternReserve University.

Board members had encouraged Steppto get the MBA degree, but said they didnot know the total cost of his educationbecause they don’t see the financial state-ments of the Educational Service Center,which issued all the checks.

$550 a nightStepp submitted receipts to the ESC

treasurer requesting reimbursement forthe 2008 conference, which was sched-uled for Saturday, March 29 throughTuesday, April 1.

Stepp checked in at the Marriott inOrlando on March 27.

Linda Embrey, a spokeswoman for theNational School Board Association, said itwasn’t unusual for conference attendeesto come a day early for the meeting of theassociation’s board of directors and otherpreliminary events.

Among his receipts were parking feesfor March 28 and 29 for the OrangeCounty Convention Center, where theconference was held.

On March 29, the day the conferencestarted, Stepp moved from the Marriott,which cost him about $400 a night for histwo-day stay, to the Loews Portofino BayHotel at the Universal Orlando Resort,where his room cost an average of about$550 a night, including taxes and parking,for the five days he was reimbursed.

The hotel’s website bills the Portofinoas a “luxurious hotel” that “recreates thecharm and romance of the famed seasidevillage of Portofino, Italy, right down tothe cobblestone streets and outdoorcafes,” canals and gondolas.

The hotel also features live musicnightly and a “skip the lines” pass at Uni-versal Studios. When guests at PortofinoBay purchase regular admission to thetheme park, they can “skip the line” atUniversal attractions, a perk valued at $89each, according to the hotel website.

Stepp stayed at the Portofino hotel forseven days, from March 29 until April 5,but only requested to be reimbursed forthe first five nights.

Medina school district records showthe only vacation or personal time Stepprequested in March and April of 2008 wasone day — April 25.

Stepp was asked how many days heattended the conference.

“I attended the entire conference,” hesaid in his email response. “The confer-ence dates were March 29-April 1. Beingthat the conference was in 2008, I cannotrecall the exact sessions in which Iattended. However, I believe they weresessions focused on Board governance,community relations, board and superin-tendent relations, running board meet-ings, use of technology in schools.”

Stepp submitted 14 receipts for mealstotaling $610.80. But he requested reim-bursement for only his portion of thebills, which came to $186.24.

Included on his tab were a $23.70salmon dinner at the Hard Rock Café atUniversal Studios, a $31.70 mahi mahidinner at Fulton’s Crabhouse at the WaltDisney World Resort and a $26 dinnerthat included a shrimp pasta dish at Trat-toria, a restaurant in the Portofino BayHotel on April 2 — one day after the con-ference ended.

Stepp also submitted a mileage reim-bursement of $1,023.64 for the 2,027miles in driving he did to the event. Withhis reimbursement request Stepp wrote“driving avoided rental car cost and air.”

Asked why he chose to drive ratherthan fly, Stepp said it was because he andhis family already had planned theirOrlando trip before he was asked by theboard to attend the conference.

“It was spring break and I had plannedon vacationing with my family prior to

committing to attend the conference,” hesaid in an email. “When I was encouragedto attend the conference I rearranged myfamily’s vacation plans. We drove as afamily to Orlando. My family vacationedwhile I attended the conference.”

The Gazette’s records request turnedup no flight or mileage expenses for thethree board members, Vlcek, Wilder andEbner.

Paying own wayMedina Schools Treasurer Jim Hudson,

said it has been common practice forboard members to pay part of their wayto attend conferences.

“In the past, several board memberswould pay for some or all of their trip,”said Hudson, who became treasurer lastyear. “For example, a board member mayhave the district pay for the hotel buthe/she may pay for the car rental.”

School board members took advantageof low-cost room rates offered for theconference. Embrey, spokeswoman forthe National School Board Association,said her organization works to keep costdown for the attendees.

“We negotiate a very low rate that isreasonable,” she said. “Our goal is to havea much lower rate than the prevailingrate. I’d call it a conference rate.”

The Medina district originally reservedthree rooms at the Caribe Royale — forStepp and two board members.

But Hudson said he was able to find arecord of one room used. He believes thedistrict got the deposits back for theunused rooms.

Vlcek stayed at the Caribe Royale onlyon the first night, March 28, according todistrict records.

Ebner and Wilder arrived the next day.Ebner paid for the room and severalmeals using his personal credit card.

The reimbursement check to Ebnerwas paid directly out of Medina Schools’funds through the district’s treasurer’soffice — unlike Stepp’s reimbursementscheck from the ESC.

The room was a two-person suite andit’s possible Wilder shared it with Ebner.

But neither Wilder nor Vlcek requestedany reimbursement.

Vlcek said she stayed at a timesharecondominium with her family at theirown expense. Vlcek said her timesharewas next to a conference hotel, and shecaught the shuttle to the conference withthe board members.

“We have our own timeshare and I justwent to the conference during the day,”Vlcek said. “I went to three full days of theconvention.”

Vlcek’s only cost to the district was onemeal she shared with Ebner and Wilderon March 30 following a day at the con-ference.

The conference was during a springbreak, she said. After it ended, she stayeda few more vacation days with her familybefore heading back to Ohio.

Vlcek said the conference was helpfulbecause it provided an opportunity tonetwork with other school board mem-bers across the country and try new ini-tiatives.

“I got the idea to have a student repre-sentative serve on the board from thatconference,” Vlcek said.

Tightening purse stringsThe school district paid $3,300 in con-

ference registration fees for Stepp andfour board members. But one member,George Marquis, didn’t attend because heresigned the board in February 2008.

Vlcek said the 2008 conference was oneof the last attended by a Medina schoolboard member because of budget cut-backs.

Ebner and Wilder, who no longer are onthe school board, did not return callsseeking comment.

Last week, Vlcek and the school boardmembers apologized for the lack of over-sight concerning the ESC carryover fundsand pledged to adopt new procedures.

The “carryover” funds include moneyleft over after the district pays the ESC fora variety of services, including schoolnurses, interpreters for the deaf, busdriver training and computer specialists.Leftover money can be applied to futureESC expenses, but can be used for otherpurposes at the direction of the superin-tendent.

Under the proposed changes, expendi-tures less than $10,000 from the carryoverfund would require approval of the super-intendent, district human resourcesdirector and the treasurer. Expenses morethan $10,000 also would require the sig-nature of the school board president.

Stepp was the only Medina Schoolsofficial involved with his reimbursement.

Request doubledOn March 21 — six days before arriving

in Orlando — Stepp directed ESC Treas-urer Michelle McNeely to create a pur-chase order, setting aside $1,600 in thedistrict’s carryover fund for his trip.

But on March 31, two days after Steppmoved into the Portofino Bay Hotel, theamount was more than doubled. In anemail to another ESC employee, McNeelyasked that the amount on the purchaseorder be increased and directed theemployee to notify Stepp’s secretary ofthe change.

“Could you please change the [pur-chase order] we did for MedinaCity/Randy Stepp for conference from$1,600 to $5,000?” McNeely wrote.“Apparently, the initial amount is notgoing to be enough to cover the costsassociated with his trip/conference.”

Contact reporter Loren Genson at (330) 721-4063or lgenson@medina-gazette.com.

Contact David Knox at (330) 721-4065or dknox@medina-gazette.com.

STEPPFrom A1

An image of the reimbursement check issued to Stepp

TIMELINE OF THE 2008 NSBACONFERENCE IN ORLANDO, FLA.

Thursday, March 27◆ Medina Schools Superintendent Randy Stepp checks in to theOrlando World Center Marriott in Orlando, Fla., with his wife and threeadolescent daughters.

Friday, March 28◆ School board member Susan Vlcek arrives in Orlando and checks into the Caribe Royale hotel in Orlando.

Saturday, March 29◆ The National School Boards Association conference officially starts.◆ Stepp checks out of the Marriott and checks into the Portofino BayHotel at Universal Studios Orlando with his family.◆ Vlcek leaves the school board’s hotel room at the Caribe Royale andmoves to a timeshare with her family. (She does not request areimbursement for her family’s timeshare.)◆ School board member Dr. Thomas Ebner checks in to the CaribeRoyale. It’s unknown whether he shared the room with Dr. Robert Wilder.Wilder may have paid his own way for the trip. Only one hotel room wassubmitted for reimbursement to the district.

Sunday and Monday, March 30-31◆ Conference continues.

Tuesday, April 1◆ Conference ends.◆ Ebner checks out of the Caribe Royale.◆ Stepp remains at the Portofino.

Wednesday, April 2◆ The Wednesday night hotel costs are the last night Stepp submits forreimbursement by the Medina County Schools’ Educational ServiceCenter.

Saturday, April 5◆ Stepp departs the Portofino Bay Hotel.

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