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Heads up! Our parent watchdogs have scanned the upcoming agenda for Mentor Exempted Village. We found 7 items that need your immediate attention before the vote.
| 🚨 HIGH CONCERN (LEVEL 10) |
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School-Based Mental Health Clinics Without Parental Consent
The Board is approving a $265,580 contract with Signature Health, Inc. to place 7.4 full-time mental health staff in schools for ‘diagnostic assessment’ and ‘counseling.’ The contract states the vendor only needs the school’s permission to provide services, not the parent’s. This creates a school-based mental health clinic that can operate without parental consent or presence, and bill Medicaid for services rendered to your child.
Recommended Action Plan
PACK THE ROOM: We need moms at Tuesday’s meeting. Sign up for public comment. Email Superintendent Craig Heath at heath@mentorschools.org and call the Board at (440) 974-5222: ‘We do not co-parent with the government. The Signature Health contract in Item 6.B must require explicit, written parental consent before any student receives services. Vote NO until this language is added.’
💰 Taxpayer Impact: $265,580 per year, plus potential Medicaid billing.
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| 🚨 HIGH CONCERN (LEVEL 8) |
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Creating a Permanent Digital Dossier on Your Child
The Board is approving a $20,400 contract with SchooLinks, a ‘college and career readiness’ platform. This system collects extensive personal data on students to create a ‘State Individual Career and Academic Plan,’ tracking them through a ‘Key Readiness Indicator’ feature. This is a data-mining operation that builds a permanent digital dossier on your child, which is then shared with state-level databases.
Recommended Action Plan
DEMAND TRANSPARENCY: Email Superintendent Craig Heath at heath@mentorschools.org: ‘Regarding the SchooLinks contract in Item 6.B, who owns the student data collected? What specific data points are shared with the state? Provide the parental consent and opt-out forms before this contract is approved.’
💰 Taxpayer Impact: $20,399.50
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| 🚨 HIGH CONCERN (LEVEL 8) |
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Hiding Social-Emotional Programming in Student Handbooks
Buried in the approval of a dozen student handbooks (Item 6.B) is the formal adoption of the ‘Multi-Tiered System of Supports’ (MTSS) framework. MTSS is not about academics; it’s a system for behavioral and psychological intervention that collects data on students to sort them into tiers for targeted ‘support,’ often without full parental knowledge or consent. This embeds a social-emotional framework into the core operations of the school.
Recommended Action Plan
DEMAND TRANSPARENCY: Email Superintendent Craig Heath at heath@mentorschools.org: ‘The student handbooks in Item 6.B codify the MTSS framework. What specific data is collected on students for MTSS? What are the criteria for placing a child in Tier 2 or Tier 3 interventions, and what is the exact parental notification and consent process before any intervention begins?’
💰 Taxpayer Impact: Administrative overhead for MTSS data tracking and interventions.
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| ⚠️ NEEDS REVIEW (LEVEL 7) |
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Using School Resources for Political Lobbying
Hidden in the Consent Agenda (Item 6.A), the board is accepting a $13,618.60 donation specifically to fund their participation in the ‘Ohio Coalition for Equity and Adequacy of School Funding.’ This commits the district to a legal and political battle using school resources, potentially lobbying for policies that increase state control and implement ‘equity’ frameworks, rather than focusing on local academic priorities.
Recommended Action Plan
DEMAND TRANSPARENCY: Email Superintendent Craig Heath at heath@mentorschools.org: ‘I demand the donation for the Ohio Coalition for Equity and Adequacy of School Funding in Item 6.A be pulled from the Consent Agenda. The Board must publicly discuss and vote on using district resources for political lobbying. What are the long-term financial and policy commitments of joining this coalition?’
💰 Taxpayer Impact: $13,618.60 (Donation for Political Lobbying)
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| ⚠️ NEEDS REVIEW (LEVEL 7) |
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New Attendance Policy Can Lead to Juvenile Court
The Board is approving a new attendance policy (Policy 5200) that creates an ‘Absence Intervention Team.’ This is a key part of the Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) framework, establishing a formal structure for school officials to intervene with families over attendance. This policy gives the district the power to file complaints in juvenile court, escalating school attendance issues into legal problems for parents.
Recommended Action Plan
DEMAND TRANSPARENCY: Call the Board at (440) 974-5222 and email Superintendent Craig Heath at heath@mentorschools.org: ‘Policy 5200 in Item 7.A gives the district too much power to interfere with families. What specific training will the Absence Intervention Team receive, and what are the limits of their authority? Parents should not face juvenile court over attendance disputes.’
💰 Taxpayer Impact: Increased legal and administrative costs for family interventions.
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| ⚠️ NEEDS REVIEW (LEVEL 6) |
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Giving Big Tech Your Child’s Data Forever
The Board is approving a contract with Pearson Virtual Schools, a massive national education corporation. The fine print (Section 1.e.ii) allows Pearson to retain a copy of all student records and data generated through their online platform. This outsources a portion of the district’s education and gives a third-party corporation long-term access to sensitive student information.
Recommended Action Plan
OPT-OUT ALERT: Email Superintendent Craig Heath at heath@mentorschools.org: ‘Regarding the Pearson contract in Item 6.B, I object to the clause allowing Pearson to retain copies of student data. This contract must be amended to ensure all student data is deleted upon termination of the agreement. What is the opt-out process for this virtual program?’
💰 Taxpayer Impact: Undisclosed contract amount, paid for with student data.
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| ⚠️ NEEDS REVIEW (LEVEL 5) |
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Paying Teachers Extra to Push Ideological Agendas
Under ‘Non-Contractual Compensation’ (Item C-03), the district is paying teachers extra stipends to serve on various ‘Steering Committees,’ including a ‘Climate Steering Committee’ and a ‘Real-World Learning Steering Committee.’ These committees are often used to introduce and normalize controversial concepts like Social Emotional Learning (SEL), ‘school climate’ surveys, and ‘global citizen’ curricula, bypassing the normal curriculum review process.
Recommended Action Plan
ASK QUESTIONS: Email Superintendent Craig Heath at heath@mentorschools.org: ‘Regarding the stipends for steering committees in Item C-03, what are the specific charters and goals for the Climate and Real-World Learning committees? Will their recommendations be subject to public review and parental input before implementation?’
💰 Taxpayer Impact: Thousands in stipends to promote ideological initiatives.
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