Facility Focus
Vol. 3, Issue 3 (January, 2026)
Approximately 700,000 square feet of academic facilities. 200 acres of land. One goal: Support an "ALite" education for each student in the Avon Lake City School District.
What's going on in our schools from a facilities and support staff standpoint? What projects are we working on in the Operations Department? Our quarterly facilities newsletter is a great way to stay up to date!
District Always on the Lookout for Funding Opportunities
Within the last year, here are some examples of grants the Operations Department has applied for and been awarded, and what we spent the money on:
Ohio Attorney General's Formula-Based Grant: Based on the number of enrolled students. Awarded $15,700.41.
- Security camera purchases and upgrades, including more coverage on the high school campus (exterior cameras)
Ohio Attorney General's Program-Based Grant: Based on specific safety and security projects. Awarded $40,000.00.
- High School bollard project at North and South commons entrances
- All first year costs to purchase and implement the Raptor Emergency Management Suite (technology-based emergency management system for staff)
- Exterior door and panic bar replacement
- Security camera purchases and upgrades
Bureau of Worker's Compensation Safety Intervention Grant: Based on specific safety interventions implemented for staff health and safety purposes. Awarded $9,060.00.
- Two e-Pacer gait trainers (with sit-to-stand electric lifts) for students at Troy and Learwood, purchased to help with safe sit-to-stand transfers for our students and support staff.
We are currently waiting on the results of the next round of the formula-based grant from the Attorney General's Office (for 2026) and a Bus Safety Grant that we applied for in the fall.
How Can YOU Help with an Upcoming Project / Funding Need?
We are currently preparing to renovate a classroom at the high school in support of the new Family and Consumer Science course: Adulting 101. We are accepting monetary donations and actively seeking individual/corporate sponsorships for this program. We need to renovate the following in this space:
- General classroom exhaust / HVAC work
- Plumbing and electrical upgrades
- Window, wall, and door work
- Ceiling tile replacement
- Floor tile replacement
- Cabinetry
- Appliances (e.g. ovens/stoves, microwave(s), dishwasher)
- Miscellaneous finishes and equipment - everything from classroom seating to kitchen utensils
We are looking to create a first-class space for our students to learn valuable adulting skills, and will be purchasing new, not used, equipment for this space. If you are interested in contributing your time, talent, or treasure (especially your treasure!) to this project, please reach out to Dr. Lauver at the District Office: (440) 933-6210 x1512
Transportation Department Launches "Stop Finder" Tool
Sue is, of course, Sue Cole, our Transportation Supervisor and Avon Laker extraordinaire. Along with Transportation Assistant Ashleigh Votruba, our transportation department strives to maintain safe and timely routes to school every day. As communication technology and requests from families continue to evolve, we recognize that the time has come when the district needs to bolster the "Call Sue!" method (or the "being emailed by Sue" method) with additional tools for parent/guardian communication.
To that end, the district is launching a parent/guardian app called Stopfinder that will allow parents and guardians to accurately track their child's school bus in real time. This user-friendly app is secured so that only authorized users will have access to school bus information.
Initially, we will pilot this app with the families of our Troy Intermediate and St. Joseph bus riders. After this initial roll-out, the families of the remaining bus riders in the district will receive an email invite to enroll in the Stopfinder app. Please watch for further email communications to follow.
Stopfinder, created by the district's routing software company, Transfinder, is free for parents and guardians and allows users to customize when they receive alerts about their child's bus location. The app is also a communication tool, providing parent(s)/guardian(s) with an easy way to receive instant communication from district transportation staff - like Sue!
Because Stopfinder works seamlessly with the district's routing software, Routefinder Plus, district transportation leaders can target communications to specific areas of the transportation network. For example, if a road is closed and a bus will be late, only the parent(s)/guardian(s) of students affected by that road closure will be contacted.
Yes, you can still "Call Sue!" whenever you have a question (or just want to hear a friendly voice!), but we also encourage parents and guardians to sign up for the Stopfinder app when they receive the invite via the email address on file with the district.
The Anatomy of a Calamity (Day)
It's a tale as old as time... all of Northeast Ohio is abuzz... local meteorologists are all over Cleveland media talking about SNOWMAGEDDON and "a 92% chance of a snow day" for area schools... "As much as 6 or 7 inches could fall at daybreak!" they say... children dance around their living rooms, pajamas inside out, ice cubes having already been disposed of in the nearest commode, anticipating that most glorious of childhood events: THE SNOW DAY.
Inevitably, someone (no names, please) from the District sends out THE OFFICIAL INCLEMENT WEATHER DECISION MATRIX (the bureaucracy loves really official-looking titles), which usually looks something like this:
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ALCS Decision Making Considerations for Inclement Weather Days
The District references www.weather.gov to help make its decision to close school. When this decision is made, a phone call will go to all families and an alert will be posted online. Our local broadcast media will be given updates as well. Whenever possible, the decision to close school will be made the previous evening, but may be announced as late as 6 a.m., depending on a variety of factors.
- Though there is not a specific temperature policy for the schools, we do use the National Weather Service Wind Chill Chart as a guide, based on their methodology found at the National Weather Service.
- Road conditions are another important factor, since this impacts the ability of our buses to run on time.
- The District will most likely have school if the temperatures remain in the lightest blue color on the chart and transportation is uninterrupted. It is not uncommon for us to close when the wind chill is -15°F or colder for a sustained period-of-time, particularly during key times when students may be outside going to and from school.
- Staff and student safety is our number one priority when deciding to cancel classes due to inclement weather.
Keep in mind that when Avon Lake City Schools are closed for weather, all evening activities at the elementary schools, and Troy are canceled. Learwood and High School activities may take place depending on the weather throughout the day.
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Pfffffffft. Nobody has time to read all THAT. Tell us how it REALLY happens!
So here it is: An actual, honest-to-goodness, behind-the-scenes look at how a snow day is typically called. So hop into the DeLorean, rev that baby up to 88, and let's go back to our first snow day of the school year, called in the early morning hours of Tuesday, December 4th.
Overnight: The maintenance staff and building head custodians planned their work based on the weather forecast, battling the storms while everyone else was sleeping. They pre-treated, then plowed and salted drives, lots, and sidewalks, trying to stay caught up as the weather was coming down, simultaneously, at all school campuses and the bus garage.
4:30 a.m.: It was a "morning of" call, so District staff were driving around, looking at real-time camera footage, and talking constantly - we assessed road conditions in the city, road conditions outside the city, the overall condition of the school properties, and more. Regional communication between the Superintendents was also taking place (it's almost always a continuation of communication from the night before). Here's roughly how it went, with zero embellishment whatsoever:
Superintendent #1: "We're not closing yet. You go first."
Superintendent #2: "No way. You go first."
Superintendent #1: "Nuh-uh!"
Superintendent #2: "Yes!"
Superintendent #1: "No!"
Superintendent #2: "Flip you for it."
Superintendent #1: "Ok."
Superintendent #2: ::Flips Coin:: "It's heads."
Superintendent #1: "I didn't call it."
Superintendent #2: "Joelle, I mean Superintendent #1, you're so difficult sometimes."
5:00 a.m.: It's crunch time. The timing and amount of snowfall has been analyzed. The potential for icy conditions has been discussed. The forecast for the rest of the day has been considered. And yes, Avon Lake and "South" have talked, because when the snowpocalypse is nigh, we're all in this together.
In this case, Avon Lake, South, and North Ridgeville were having the most last-minute conversation about whether or not we could have school, but the timing of the snowfall, which might not have been as much of an issue had it arrived at 11 p.m. the night before, created dangerous road conditions during peak travel time for the schools. This would affect buses, but more concerning was the impact on walkers, car riders, and especially all the student drivers at the high school, which is not always mentioned on social media when the criticism starts rolling in, but is 100% a factor in our decision making.
At the end of the day, calamity day calls are part art, part science. No decision-making process is flawless, but we try to make the best decision possible with the information available, and always in the best interests of our students and their families.
