Board of Education

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Board of Education

The Cuyahoga Valley Career Center School Board is a policy-making body and is legally responsible for the educational functions of the school district. The School Board formulates operating policies concerning the employment of all personnel, educational programs, district finance, building programs, instructional materials, and public relations.

Our board is comprised of delegates from each of our eight associate school districts plus a rotating member from one district, eliminating the possibility of a tie vote. The School Board desires to be responsive to the needs and concerns of community members. Questions or concerns from the community should be directed to the Superintendent or School Board President. You can reach the Board of Education president, Gary Suchocki, by sending an email to Email Mr. Suchocki; or the superintendent, Dave Mangas, at Email Mr. Mangas.

The School Board meets once a month, typically on the last Thursday of the month, at 6:30 PM. Parents and residents are cordially invited to attend school board meetings. Click here for meeting dates.

Members serving for 2023 include Board President, Gary Suchocki, Cuyahoga Heights; Board Vice President, Ashley Thomas, Garfield Heights; James Gilbride, Brecksville-Broadview Heights; Russell Fortlage, Independence; James Virost, Nordonia Hills; Jacquelyn Arendt, North Royalton; Mike Kahoe, Revere; Bobbie Beshara, Revere (Rotating Member); and Robert Felber, Twinsburg.

Name:	James Gilbride
Email:	Email Me
Regular or Rotating Member:	Regular
District:	Brecksville-Broadview Heights
Term Expires:	December 31, 2023

About Mr. James Gilbride: Mr. Gilbride is a successful business executive and entrepreneur. He has built several companies, and worked in a variety of organizations from start-ups to large corporations. Currently Jim is Area President for FocusCFO which provides fractional CFO services to middle market businesses throughout Northeast Ohio. In this role, Jim provides business leaders with hands-on resources and strategic guidance to help them reach their business and personal goals. In addition to FocusCFO, Jim is a Mentor with Jumpstart's Burton D. Morgan Mentoring program, active in the Medina county Economic Development Corp, and is also a member of the Greater Akron Chamber.

Jim holds BS degrees in Finance and Marketing from The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.

He and his wife, Paula, are 20+ year residents of the school district and have three sons, Jackson, Troy, and Joe.

Name:	Gary Suchocki, Board President
Email:	Email Me
Regular or Rotating Member:	Regular
District:	Cuyahoga Heights
Term Expires:	December 31, 2025

About Mr. Gary Suchocki: The Suchocki family has been part of Cuyahoga Heights Schools for many years dating back to the very beginning when his mother, Geraldine Kreger, entered CHHS in 1938 as a freshman.

During the past 30 years, Gary and his wife Kathy have been quite active in the Cuyahoga Heights schools. Gary served on multiple financial and levy committees from 1985 through 2011. He also participated in the community plays, assisted with student music recitals, and was a guest instructor for the enrichment program.

Gary has a B.A. in Mathematics Education from John Carroll and a M.Ed. in Educational Media from Kent State. He has spent 11 years in secondary and adult education. In 2014, Gary retired after a career of 31 years in various technical and management positions in Information Technology and Human Resources. Gary has served as a church musician since 1975. He has been involved with the Boy Scouts for over 50 years, including volunteering as Chairman of Pack 28 and Scoutmaster of Troop 28. He has been active in the Brooklyn Heights Men's Service Club since 1993, and served as its president for six years. He led the effort to establish the 501 (c)(3) Brooklyn Heights Service Clubs organization and held the position of president from 1995 through 2002. He was elected to Brooklyn Heights council in 1997, a position he held for eight years.

Gary has been a member of the Cuyahoga Heights Board since January 2012 and is serving his third four-year term.

Name:	Ashley Thomas, Board Vice President
Email:	Email Me
Regular or Rotating Member:	Regular
District:	Garfield Heights
Term Expires:	December 31, 2025

Name:	Russell Fortlage
Email:	Email Me
Regular or Rotating Member:	Regular
District:	Independence
Term Expires:	December 31, 2023

About Mr. Fortlage: A retired commercial banker, Russell Fortlage is a Director of Independence BancCorp, a member of the Independence High School Athletic Hall of Fame Committee, and a member of the IHS Alumni Club.

Russ served on the Independence Board of Education for 36 years, including 15 years as Board President. He was a member of the CVCC Community Finance Committee from 2010 through 2017. He attended Bowling Green State University, The National Commercial Lending Graduate School in Norman, OK, and the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin. He is a lifelong resident of Independence.

Name:	James E. Virost
Email:	Email Me
Regular or Rotating Member:	Regular
District:	Nordonia Hills
Term Expires:	December 31, 2025

About Mr. Jim Virost: Mr. Virost worked his way up from auditor at the public accounting firm, Arthur Young & Company, to Controller at Atlas Copco Jarva, MB Dynamics, and The Robbins Company. At The Robbins Company, he advanced to Secretary/Treasurer and retired from there as Chief Financial Officer in 2010. He is a graduate of Benedictine High School and earned his BBA Accounting from Cleveland State University. He is a Veteran and served as an Infantry 1st Lieutenant at DMZ in Korea.

Jim's volunteer activities include being Treasurer and Member of Board of Trustees of the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad, Treasurer and Member of Board of Directors at Hattie Larlham Community Services, Member and Chairman of Sagamore Hills Board of Zoning Appeals, President of the Western Reserve Community Band, and Member of Nordonia Hills City Schools Board of Education.

Jim and his wife of over 40 years are long-time members of the Nordonia Hills community. They have three daughters, Stephanie, Theresa, and Sarah - all graduates of Nordonia Hills High School and MAC Universities. They have twin grandsons and two granddaughters.

Name:	Jacquelyn A. Arendt
Email:	Email Me
Regular or Rotating Member:	Regular
District:	North Royalton
Term Expires:	December 31, 2023

About Ms. Jackie Arendt: The North Royalton Board of Education has appointed Jackie Arendt as its new representative to Cuyahoga Valley Career Center school board. Jackie and husband, David, have raised four daughters, all graduates of North Royalton High School. Jackie is a 1982 graduate of North Royalton and holds a Bachelors' Degree and Master's Degree in Sociology. She teaches courses at Tri-C and when needed at several other local universities. Jackie has served as a president, chairperson and trustee for NRAGT and NREF. She has been active in PTA for over twenty years serving on dozens of committees, as committee chairperson, and several officer positions. Jackie currently serves as the Director of Advocacy on Ohio PTA's Board, National PTA's Federal Legislative Committee, Ohio Department of Education Committee of Practitioners, and several other state organizations. Jackie was the recipient of the Ohio PTA State Achievement Award in 2003 and Cleveland State University's Sociology Department Distinguished Student Award in 2006.

Name:	Mike Kahoe
Email:	Email Me
Regular or Rotating Member:	Regular
District:	Revere
Term Expires:	December 31, 2023

About Mr. Mike Kahoe: Mr. Kahoe was elected to serve on Revere's Board of Education in November of 2019, while a senior at Revere High School. As of January 2020, Mike is the youngest elected official in the state of Ohio. He has lived in the district and gone to Revere his entire life.

Name:	Robert Felber
Email:	Email Me
Regular or Rotating:	Regular
District:	Twinsburg
Term Expires:	December 31, 2025

About Mr. Robert Felber: Mr. Felber is serving his third term as President of the Twinsburg Board of Education and has been a part of the Board since 2014. He is a past president of the Twinsburg Chamber of Commerce.

Rob is a 30-year resident of Twinsburg and is President of Felber Public Relations and Marketing in Twinsburg. He also serves as a firefighter and paramedic with the City of Pepper Pike since 1983.

Rob received his BS in Education from Kent State University. He and his wife Sheryl, have twin daughters, one being a graduate of CVCC.

Name:	Bobbie Beshara
Email:	Email Me
Regular or Rotating Member:	Rotating
District:	Revere
Term Expires:	December 31, 2023

About Mrs. Bobbie Beshara: Mrs. Beshara, a long-time resident of Richfield, is a graduate from Kent State University from which she holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Elementary and Special Education. While studying at Kent State, Bobbie volunteered with Hattie Larlham Center for children with disabilities. Upon completion of her degree, Bobbie taught at Roberts Middle School and later at Tallmadge High School, and Sylvan Learning Center. While raising a family, Bobbie invested herself in serving her community on Richfield Village Council for 15 years, until 2012, when she was elected Mayor of the Village of Richfield, serving two consecutive four-year terms.

Currently, she is the City Manager for the City of Rittman and again serves on Council for the Village of Richfield. Bobbie also serves as Vice President of Freedom House for Women. Freedom House assists women who are in recovery with counseling and housing.

In her free time, Bobbie loves spending time with her adult daughters, Julie and Lexi, enjoys cooking and baking, cross stitching, bicycling, and is a fan of our Cleveland and Akron area sports teams.

Professional affiliations: Wayne Economic Development Council, Wayne County Land Reutilization Board, Freedom House for Women, Vice President Northeast Ohio Mayors and City Manager's Association, AMATS Policy Committee

Find CVCC:
PHONE:
(440) 526-5200
ADDRESS:
8001 Brecksville Rd
Brecksville, OH 44141

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Serving 8 School Districts
Brecksville-Broadview Hts. Schools
Cuyahoga Hts. Schools
Garfield Hts. Schools
Independence Schools
Nordonia Hills Schools
North Royalton Schools
Revere Schools
Twinsburg Schools

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