In Lakewood, the Board of Education usually holds two regular Board meetings per month. These meetings are usually held on the first and third Monday of each month, but the Board can change meeting dates, times and locations. Regular Board meetings have an agenda prepared in advance and sent to each Board member. This agenda is also circulated to media and any other interested parties. The Board usually reviews all items at the first monthly meeting, but takes no action on most items. At the second monthly meeting, most items are acted upon by the Board.
Special Board meetings can be called anytime by the President of the Board, the Treasurer of the School District, or by two members of the Board. The agenda as presented must be followed unless altered by the Presiding Officer. All special Board meetings are open to the public. Executive sessions may be held to consider such items as personnel, purchase or sale of property, negotiations, conference with attorneys, details of security arrangements and matters required to be kept confidential by federal law.
The Board my adjourn or recess at any time. If the adjourned meeting is reconvened, it shall take up its agenda at the point where the motion to adjourn was acted upon. The same is true if the Board recesses the meeting. A recess is usually called for a shorter period of time than an adjournment, which can be reconvened at a future date.
The Board and its committees can meet privately in executive session to discuss one or more of the following issues exempted from public session:
A. consideration of the appointment, employment, dismissal, discipline, promotion, demotion, or compensation of a public employee, official, or student;
B. investigation of charges or complaints against a public employee, official, licensee, or student unless such employee, official, licensee or student requests a public meeting; except that consideration of the discipline of a Board member for conduct related to the performance of his/her duties or his/her removal from office shall not be held in executive session;
C. consideration of the purchase of property or sale of property at competitive bidding, if premature disclosure or information would give an unfair competitive or bargaining advantage to a person whose personal, private interest is adverse to the general public interest;
D. discussion, with the Board's legal counsel, of disputes involving the Board that are the subject of pending or imminent court action;
E. preparing for, conducting, or reviewing negotiations or bargaining sessions with public employees concerning their compensation or other terms and conditions of employment;
F. matters required to be confidential by Federal law or rules or State statutes; and
G. specialized details of security arrangements where disclosure might reveal information that could be used for the purpose of committing or avoiding prosecution for a violation of law.
No official action may be taken in executive session. An executive session can be held only at a regular or special Board meeting. After the Board meeting is convened, any member of the Board may make a motion for an executive session, and must state the purpose or purposes of the session by citing one or more of the reasons above. Upon receiving a second to the motion and a majority roll call vote of those present and voting, the Presiding Officer shall declare the Board in executive session.
Public comments addressed to the Board are taken after the Discussion of Agenda Items portion of the meeting. No sign-in is necessary. The President will call for statements from the audience. An individual must be recognized and must state name, address and subject for discussion. Comments should be relevant and concise. The Board President will be the judge of time and relevancy of the remarks.
It is not possible to answer all visitors' questions immediately at the meeting. In instances where additional information may be required, the matter will be referred for study. A school official will then get back to the individual as soon as possible.
The Treasurer of the Board shall notify and provide agendas for regular Board meetings to the media and all interested parties who have requested notification no later than two days in advance of the meeting. Notice of meetings shall include the time, place, and purpose of the meeting.
Notice of special Board meetings shall be at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting specifying time, place and purpose of each special meeting.
Emergency Board meetings, which require the immediate official action of the Board, shall result in immediate notification of the media and interested parties by the member(s) calling the meeting specifying time, place and purpose of the meeting.
If you would like to be put on a mailing list to receive notice of all Board meetings, please contact the Treasurer's Office at 216-529-4096.
Michael J. Callahan is a lifelong Lakewood resident. Mr. Callahan and wife Kristyn (Kadow) have three children. The oldest, Liam, is in eighth grade attending Garfield Middle School. Their second child, Kenna, is in sixth grade at Garfield and their youngest, Mary Frances, is a first-grader at Emerson Elementary.
Mr. Callahan has worked most of his professional career in the parks and recreation field, and is currently employed full time with the City of Bedford, Parks & Recreation Department. Mr. Callahan is a Certified Parks & Recreation Professional with the National Recreation & Park Association and a member of the Ohio Parks & Recreation Association.
Prior to working with the City of Bedford, Mr. Callahan worked for the Orange City Schools Community Education & Recreation Department. He also worked for the Lakewood City Schools Community Recreation & Education Department for nearly 10 years in a full-time capacity and many more years part-time. During that time he served in different roles managing aquatics and athletics programming for the department. Mr. Callahan also spent several years working in the banking industry.
Mr. Callahan has served the community in various volunteer capacities including a seat on the City of Lakewood Active Living Task Force (2014-2016), as a volunteer youth sports coach, and a city block club leader.
Mr. Callahan earned an MBA from the University of Akron in 2015. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Ohio State University. He attended St. Edward High School.
As a hobby and part-time job, Mr. Callahan serves as a public address announcer for various collegiate sports teams in the area. He also enjoys running, having completed several marathons, and competes in triathlons.
Ms. Beebe, a graduate of Kent State University and Cleveland Marshall College of Law, taught for 16 years, including three years of English in History in Dundee, Scotland, and 11 years as a substitute teacher with the Lakewood Schools. She currently practices law in the Lakewood area. She is a member of the League of Women Voters. She belongs to several professional organizations including the Cuyahoga County Bar Association and the National Association of Elder Law Attorneys.
Ms. Beebe was the recipient of the 1992 Northeast Region All Ohio School Board Award and the Cox Cable Citizen Spotlight Award. In 1998 she received the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce Business Person of the Year Award.
Ms. Beebe has two children (Aaron and Megan) who are graduates of Lakewood High School. Ms. Beebe is serving her ninth term on the Board and was also president in 1987, ‘92, ’97, 2002, ‘07, '12 and '19 and has served on all standing committees.
Emma Petrie Barcelona has been a Lakewood resident since her family moved to Ohio in 1985. She attended Lincoln Elementary, Horace Mann Middle, and is a 1995 graduate of Lakewood High School.
Growing up in Lakewood gave her the benefits, among others, of taking dance and theater classes at the Beck Center and swimming with LRST. While a student at Lakewood High School, Ms. Petrie Barcelona swam for the swim team (participating on state qualifying relays for 2 years), ran track and cross country, and was an active in the orchestra and choirs.
She completed a BA from St. Mary’s of Maryland majoring in Economics, History, Public Policy, and Political Science in 1999, after which she returned to Lakewood to work in economic research for the Cleveland Growth Association (now the Greater Cleveland Partnership). She then worked for the Federal Reserve Bank in Research and Community Development, the City of Lakewood as Development Officer in the Planning & Development Department and was Deputy Director of the Northeast Ohio Sustainable Communities Consortium.
Ms. Petrie Barcelona completed her MS at Cleveland State University's Levin School of Urban Affairs in Urban Studies with a concentration in Economic Development in 2003 as was awarded the Howard Bruce Award. In 2006, she was honored by Crain’s Cleveland Business' inaugural class as one of Cleveland’s Twenty in their Twenties. Currently, she is the Director of Compliance for Emerald Development and Economic Network, a Cleveland non-profit that provides, operates and advocates for affordable and permanent supportive housing for low-income persons living with disabilities or special needs and experiencing homelessness. She is also on the Board for the Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Cleveland.
Ms. Petrie Barcelona has shown her strong commitment to Lakewood and its schools as a former Lakewood Recreation Swim Team coach and Trustee and Treasurer of the Lakewood Alumni Foundation (now the Lakewood Rangers Education Foundation) for a number of years. She has lived in three of Lakewood’s four wards as both a renter and homeowner over the years.
Ms. Petrie Barcelona and her husband, Rob, have two daughters who both attend Lakewood High School.
Ms. Petrie Barcelona is serving her third term on the Board. She has served as Board president in 2015 and 2020.
Nora Katzenberger has lived in Lakewood for a total of more than 20 years, first renting from 1996-2004 before moving to Los Angeles with her husband. She moved back to Lakewood in 2011 with her family and bought a house in 2012. Ms. Katzenberger grew up in Parma and graduated from Valley Forge High School in 1988. While a student at Valley Forge, she participated in choir and numerous clubs, and earned a National Merit Scholarship.
Ms. Katzenberger went on to University of Pennsylvania, where she graduated in 1992, earning a BA in English with a concentration in Creative Writing. She was editor of Penn’s literary magazine and worked with the alumni relations department. While living in Los Angeles from 2004-2010, she earned a certificate in screenwriting from UCLA Extension.
After moving to New York City in 1992, Ms. Katzenberger worked in Corporate Communications for the Bank of New York, where she produced all of the employee communications. She then worked in Public Relations for New York University’s Stern School of Business, where she coordinated a CEO speaker series and served on the admissions committee. She moved back to Cleveland in 1996 and worked in Development for University Hospitals, where she edited “Legacy,” the hospital’s donor magazine, produced Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital fundraising telethon, and planned the cancer center’s Five Star Sensation fundraiser. In 1999, she began working at Progressive Insurance in Public Relations, then led the Web Creative Group, producing the progressive.com website.
Ms. Katzenberger has served on the boards of the Lakewood Ranger Education Foundation, the Lakewood Foundation, the Lakewood Council of PTAs, the City of Lakewood Citizens Advisory Committee, Theater Alliance of the Beck Center. She has also served as PTA president of Horace Mann Elementary, is a LakewoodAlive volunteer, and is a member of Lakewood City School's Gifted Services Committee, School Branding Committee, Makerspace Committee, and numerous other committees and focus groups. In 2020, Ms. Katzenberger chaired the District's school levy campaign, which passed with 77% of the vote.
Ms. Katzenberger resides in Lakewood with her husband, Kim, and their two daughters, who both attend Lakewood High School.
Ms. Katzenberger was elected to the Lakewood Board of Education in November 2021 and is serving her first term on the Board.
Mrs. Shaughnessy graduated from Lakewood High School in 1965 and received a Bachelor of Science in Education from Ohio University in 1969 and a Master of Business Administration from Cleveland State University in 1987. She is retired after a successful career with UH-St. John Medical Center.
Mrs. Shaughnessy is a past president of the Lakewood Alumni Foundation (now the Lakewood Rangers Education Foundation) and served as a member of the Lakewood Public Library Board of Trustees prior to her election to the Lakewood Board of Education. She has been active in PTA, serving as Vice President and President of both Lincoln Elementary School PTA and Horace Mann Middle School PTA. Mrs. Shaughnessy is a member of the Lakewood Foundation, Lakewood Chamber of Commerce, and League of Women Voters. She is a past member of Lakewood Kiwanis and Project H.E.A.L. She has also served as the Board representative on the Buildings and Sites Committee, on the Education Committee, and on the Citizens’ Advisory Committee. Mrs. Shaughnessy has also participated in the Youth Master Plan.
Mrs. Shaughnessy and her husband Charles have a son and daughter, both Lakewood High School graduates. Mrs. Shaughnessy served as president in 1996, 2001, 2006, 2010, 2012, 2017, 2021 and 2022. Mrs. Shaughnessy has served on all standing committees. She is serving her eighth term of office.
