001All right. Well, thank you everybody for being here tonight at the Oakwood School Board uh Board of Education public meeting April 14th, 2025. Uh Miss Aubbert, could we do the role? Miss Dorenzo, here. Dr. Middleton, here. Mr. Ryder Garcia, here. Mr. Wilson, here. Would you all please rise and join me in our pledge of allegiance? I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. Please be seated. Can I get a motion, please, to adopt tonight's agenda? We did second. Miss Saber, Mr. Ryder Garcia. Hi, Miss Dorenzo. Hi, Dr. Middleton. Hi, Mr. Wilson. I Next is Next up is, and I'm looking at the wrong page. All right. Is the approval of
002Oakwood Board of Education meeting minutes on March 10th, 2025. Can I get a motion? So moved. Second. Miss Saber. Dr. Middleton. Hi. Miss Dorenzo. Hi. Mr. Ryder Garcia. Hi. Mr. Wilson. Hi. Next up is uh reports and public comments. Oh, there we go. Okay. Uh good evening everybody. I'd like to start with an introduction to Melinda Briggs. Melinda, if you just want to stand, please. Caught you off guard. Uh Melinda Briggs is uh uh joining us as an interim um in for our director of community relations. Amanda Brown, our community relations coordinator, uh had resigned. And um so really just appreciate Melinda coming in to help us uh during this time. She's has more than 15 years of experience runs her own business uh for her last five years helping other districts across southwest Ohio
003including Ketering Lean and Milford schools. Uh the plan is for uh whether to continue to help us uh and uh in the coming months as we identify and on board a replacement for her. Um she actually uh knows well m much about Oakwood schools as we went through our district website overhaul re rebrand refresh. Um she did a lot of the work along with Amanda and so she gets to put some names with faces and probably we'll see a lot of the students uh a little bit later too that that she helped be a part of. So just appreciate her. I just wanted to kind of put a little name with the face for some people to know her. So thank thanks Melinda for being here. Thank you so much. This is my first meeting
004so my apologies. [Applause] Um, I'm gonna go ahead and have uh Sam Keys come up. Uh, Sam Keys is uh uh with us. I um go ahead and stand right here. We'll get you in a second. But Sam Keys uh is a a wrestler for us in addition to the many other things that uh he does uh for Oakwood Schools. We actually got a lot of our winter athletes uh at the last board meeting uh to be recognized and uh the season just happened to go I think just a couple days maybe even a day or two after the meeting uh that that he had qualified. Um so uh Sam is a T had a tremendous wrestling season. He stood out as a leader and a captain on the wrestling team as a junior this
005year. Um he's won he was a state qualifier and he finished fifth in the swivel championships sectional champion and fifth at districts. Uh he finished the season with 36 wins to only eight losses. Uh so I thought we'll go ahead and present him with that. Would you like to present a an honor for him? We'll get a picture. Perfect. Yes. [Applause] Uh we've got a number of students that are here tonight and so starting with Sam, students, you can stay for the whole board meeting. Uh it it's uh riveting and you're going to love it. Uh at the same time, I understand if you've got homework and other responsibilities that if you want to slip out, we I won't be offended at all. Stay as long as you want, but if you need to get
006to other things, that's okay. Just because see a lot of students here, I just want to make sure they know that. Um I'm going to ask uh Mrs. forest uh to come up to the podium uh to to introduce and talk a little bit about the academic dathlon students. Up over here to the podium. We have a nice podium over here for you. Yes. Yes. We'll hand them out outside. Yep. Do you want them to come? The academic students that are here, if you guys want to come up while I'm speaking, that would be great. Yes. Yes. Academic decathlon students come up right there. It's fine. It's fine. I just want to start first with a thank you to the board for having us here, Dr. Gupta and the community for recognizing the achievements and
007accomplishments of this academic decathlon team this year. And I would love to give a big shout out and thank you to the community for their wonderful support yet again as this team is actively fundraising to go to nationals in a couple of weeks and we have so appreciated all of the support that outpours from the community each and every year. So thank you very much on behalf of myself and the entire team. Uh this year has been another exceptional one for the academic decathlon team. We started in the fall with a multi-state Irving Invitational competition competing against more than 70 of the best teams from around the country. Um, and we finished third overall amongst all schools at that uh competition. Within Ohio, the team has continued its legacy of excellence by securing both first
008place finishes at the regional and the state competition. So, we've earned our 15th consecutive bid to the national comp national competition. At this state competition, Ty Fischer, Gabriella Le Pearl, and Ian Brooks each earned a golden eagle for achieving the top individual score in their respective GPA categories. And then at the state competition, the team and all the individuals, we have 33 individuals total on the team that compete, they're earned um over 50 gold medals for first place subject area scores. So quite an achievement just at the Ohio level this year. The team will be traveling to De Moine, Iowa, April 30th to May 3rd to compete at the United States Academic Decathlon National Competition. This year is a little different um and it'll be a different little new story coming out for us um
009because the national competition introduced a new divisional structure where divisions are based upon score and not school size. So, with that being said, we are the only school small school competing in the division one bracket this year, competing against schools that average about 5 to 6,000 students in the high [Applause] school. But having earned previously 13 division 3 national championships, the team is very well prepared for what promises to be a highly competitive national competition this year. and they are very excited about the challenge. Um this year 33 students total in the class participated in the regional and state competitions and of those we have nine students that comprise the state champion team and five additional students who received invitations to compete at the national competition as individual qualifiers due to their high scores. The
010nine member team this year representing Oakwood are Isaac Autri, Joseph Hong, Ty Fischer, Gabriella Le Pearl, Sia Zois, Daniel Wang, Ian Brooks, Julian Yulman, and Aiden Horton. So congratulations and thank you once again for having us. Okay. To to to save a little time, we've asked them to go out uh to get a picture in front of the artwork uh to get a a better backdrop photo sort of thing. Families, if you'd like to go and get a picture with them, you can. Um and then you could go from there if you'd like or come back in for the rest of the meeting, that's fine, too. Okay. And at this time, I'd like uh Mr. Stanley and Mrs. Lee to come up uh to the podium uh on behalf of our speech and debate students.
011My name is Linda Lee. Students, come on. Yep, you're fine. I'm a math teacher here in uh the open middle school. How many more facts? Yeah, that's right. That's great. I originally went to Stow High School where I competed in speech and debate and then Bowling Green State University. I started the program at Wayne High School four years ago and I'm glad to be here in the Oakwood system. I didn't know that one. My name is Steve Staley along with Linda Lee. I'm the uh one of the two head coaches of the Oakwood speech and debate program. Of course, this is a program that has a very long history uh in Oakwood. It's one of the uh nationally known and and recognized programs. We've been doing this for a very long time. I'd be remiss
012if I didn't introduce Matt Deers to you who is a coach of the team for quite a long time. Uh and and uh is part of the success that we have had here that you see tonight. Uh these students in front of you, I won't try and tell you all their names. Actually, I do know them. Uh were members of our state championship team this year. For the very first time in Oakwood's history, uh we won the state championship and the team sweep stakes in the Ohio Speech and Debate Association. Of the 59 uh Oakwood students who are members of the uh speech and debate program at the end of the year, 31 of them attended the state speech and debate tournament and every single one of them contributed points to our 1 and 12
013point victory over Hawkins School out of about 400 points. Um every single kid contributed to that win and all of these kids in here deserve your applause again. I will introduce to you uh several people who had uh really outstanding records at that state tournament. Tristan and Robert, this is Tristan Williams and and Robert Einhorn. They were the co-ch champions of the Lincoln Douglas debate program. One of the most competitive things that exists in Ohio High School uh competition. Uh Henry Henry Henry Alman finished third in humorous interpretation. He wanted to perform for you here tonight but man schoolboard meeting takes too long. And uh Lizzy Stack and Charlotte Schnell who finished fourth in duo interpretation as firstear competitors in that event. just about everybody else is a semi- finalist or a quarterfinalist and it'll
014take too long and we don't want to make this meeting go on too long. So, uh the uh this is the single most outstanding year in Oakwood's long speech and debate history. It's all as a result of these young people right here. Uh we will be taking 16 of them, some who are here, some who are not, to the national tournament, which also happens to be coincidentally in De Moines, Iowa this year. uh we go in the middle of June and it's a record-breaking number of kids competing in the national tournament from Oakwood. Uh and we had a great year last year. We expect to do even better this year. So, thanks very much. We appreciate all the support we get from the school board and and sup and superintendent. Uh it's a great program
015that will continue to give benefits back to all of these young people the rest of their lives. Thank you. Go do whatever they tell you to do. Okay, as the students file out, I'm going to stall a little bit uh because I have some National Merit Semi finalist that will be coming back in for a picture. So, just make sure you come back. Okay, at this time uh we later in the agenda, uh we'll be approving u the hiring of of three new educators to Oakwood schools. Uh they are here tonight. They're there four actually that we're we're going to be recommending. I'll be recommending, but three are here tonight. I'm going to have them um all three come up to the podium and one at a time if you'd want to share a little
016bit about yourself. Um Braxton Campbell is heading up uh to the microphone will will be the at Oakwood High School as an intervention specialist. Grace Saul uh will be Oakwood High School math and Lauren Henline um Oakwood High School [Applause] French. And if Yeah, if you'd like one at a time, just take just say a few words. All righty. Well, first I'd like to thank Board of Education Dr. Gupta. Sorry. Uh, talk about icebreaker. Uh, and then I'd also like to thank, uh, the rest of the Oakwood administration for the opportunity. This is huge for my family and I. Really looking forward to it. Um, together, together we learn. Together we achieve, together we prepare our students for tomorrow and looking forward to upholding that and putting my best foot forward and doing what what's
017best for the students. So, thank you guys. Hello, my name is Gracie Sa. I'm really excited for this opportunity. I'm going to be teaching math at the high school and I met some people over there already, so I'm really looking forward to a great year. [Applause] Thanks. I'm a little shorter, so just bear with me for a sec. Uh, hello Oakwood community. My name is Lauren Henline. I'm honored and thrilled to have the privilege of joining the Oakwood Junior High team next year to teach French. Um, don't worry, the speech is in English, though. You're fine. I was drawn to Oakwood for its tight-knit community, extensive opportunities for student growth, and its priority of being united for the betterment of all students. Teaching for me is a vocation where I work with staff, students, adults
018at home, the board, community members to create a safe and supportive environment that fosters academic, social, and emotional growth. A space where each person belongs, feels valued, and learns to take risks. I'm beyond excited to continue pursuing that vocation together in Oakwood. Thank you. Thank you. Um, a little bit later, we'll be officially uh be officially recommending uh for your employment here. Um, you can stay forward if you'd like to or I'll give you the same uh chance and opportunity as our our students to depart. I'm sure you've got lesson plans and other things that you need to take care of. Um, I also say it's a good chance for your family to take you out to Grers Ice Cream and try check out the butter pecan or, you know, black ras strawberry chocolate chip
019could be good too. So, that would be okay if you do that, too. But thanks for being here. Okay. Something uh updates that I want to share um uh are things I think that are a little bit less joyful uh to talk about uh the the state budget and uh just go through the state budget process right now. Um it continues to unfold and I want to provide an update on the ad our advocacy efforts. So, as outlined in a blog that I wrote in March entitled Advocating for Fair School Funding, the government proposed budget reductions to Oakwood School State Funding by approximately $314,000 in FY26 and another $313,000 in FY27. Uh this reduction comes as part of a broader shift in the fair school funding plan which proposes reducing the guarantee level for funding
020for to 95% in FY26 to N and 90% in FY27. While Oakwood has been a a guaranteed district, this change puts our predictable state funding at risk and shifts our financial responsibility to our local taxpayers. So, two weeks ago, that was the governor's proposal. Two weeks ago, the House introduced a substitute version of the state budget that includes our some modest improvements over the governor's original proposal. However, a new provision in the bill proposes uh or poses a significant concern. districts with more than 25% of their annual operating costs in reserve would trigger a reduction in local property taxes. Last week, they subsequently uh voted on on Senate Bill or substitute uh House Bill 96, which included amendment to raise the cash balance cap to 90 sorry to 30%. While framed as a taxpayer relief,
021this provision penalizes districts like Oakwood that practice conservative financial planning. Maintaining a strong cash balance is critical not only to navigate economic uncertainty and avoid frequent levy cycles, but also to qualify for higher bond ratings, save taxpayer dollars in the long run. If passed, this measure could make long-term financial planning unrealistic, increase levy fatigue, and compromise our ability to meet rising costs with reliable revenue streams. A third major area of concern is the state voucher program, which continues to expand its scope and cost. I'm learning more about the broader implications of vouchers on the overall state budget. It's important to clarify that Oakwood schools does not directly lose funding from our state share when a student chooses to use a voucher. However, as the state allocates more funding towards private school vouchers, we remain concerned
022about how the shift may affect the resources available for public schools in Ohio. There is a lawsuit that some districts in Ohio have joined to oppose the vouchers. We as a board and as a uh administrative team had have had no formal conversations about joining this lawsuit. I want to be clear that I've received emails and spoken with community members who are on both sides of joining the lawsuit and against it. We continue to monitor the issue at the state level and will still stay engaged in these important conversations. As always, I'm committed to working closely with our treasurer Laura Saber and our administrative team to stay informed, to share accurate information, and advocate for fair school funding. I'm incredibly proud of the work happening across Oakwood schools. Our staff is doing remarkable things for
023students every day. And that said, I'm also feel a deep sense of responsibility and tension as we plan for the future. Our community expects and deserves a top tier education system. We must continue to ensure that we have the resources to meet those expectations today and in the years to come. Um so that concludes my part of the the the financial update that I wanted to give. Um I wanted to stall long enough. I got them back again. I want to uh bring up our national merit sorry finalists. I I said semi-finalists, right? Did I what did I say? Semi-finalist. Okay, sorry. Come on up. Uh tonight I have the privilege of recognizing a group of exceptional Oakwood High School students who have distinguished themselves on a national level through their hard work, their dedication,
024and their academic excellence. It is my pleasure to announce that all seven of our National Merit semi- fininalists have advanced to finalist status in a highly competitive 2025 National Merit Scholarship program. These remarkable students have demonstrated a level of achievement that places them among the top 1% of the high school seniors nationwide. This accomplishment is no small feat to become finalists. These students not only excelled on the PSAT at MSQT, but also submitted comprehensive applications detailing their academic success, leadership abilities, community involvement, work experiences, and awards. Their dedication and commitment to excellence are truly inspiring. As national merit finalists, they now have the opportunity to compete for 7,140 scholarships worth a total of $26 million. Their journey reflects Oakwood High School's commitment to fostering talent, preparing students for success, and opening doors to opportunities on
025the national stage. We are incredibly proud of these students for their achievements, and for representing Oakwood High School with this distinction. They exemplify the values of hard work, commitment, and excellence that we strive to instill in all of our students. And at this time, I'd like to to go ahead and congratulate them uh on their success. [Applause] and we'll take the same thing. We're I'm going to go ahead and and uh have you file out get a picture uh for that. We got uh certificates for you if you want to walk them out. So, thank you. Congratulations. Congratulations. Okay. And with that, that concludes my uh superintendent update. Um uh next up is curriculum report ruling our experiences or also known as rocks. Yes. Check if they're going up. Dr. Lang. Yep. Dr. Lang is
026going to introduce them. Yeah. It is my pleasure tonight to introduce you to one of our um one of our leaders of Brocks which is Bridget Fiori. and she and all the other leaders and our girls that participate are going to explain to you a little bit about what this is and um how great it is for our girls and their confidence and um we're just so proud of you and we're glad you're here. So Bridget, could you come up and tell a little bit more? I don't want them in front. And then these you guys can see right here. Yeah. So I am Bridget Fiori um Oakwood School social emotional learning interventionist and I'm really excited to be a part of the rocks program which is now two years in. So, Rox, as um
027they said, is ruling our experiences. It's a national um group based on evidence that um puts together a program with girls in our district from fifth grade, we've got to 11th grade with amazing female leaders who dedicate a lot of time and emotion um to really building up the confidence of our girls throughout the district. Um so, I don't want to talk a lot. I want them to talk and tell you a little bit. So, I'm gonna have these ladies tell you a little bit about the Rocks program and then we're going to show you in pictures and words what it really means. I'm Megan Moore. I'm with Rocks at Harmon. I also teach fifth grade. Um Rocks trains teachers, school counselors, social workers to become program facilitators. Um facilitators lead a 20week evidence-based curriculum
028that's updated every year um a small group of girls anywhere from 8 to 15 and girls learn how to effectively communicate, develop healthy relationships, support other girls, form healthy body image, navigate social media, manage stress and pressure, and stay safe and defend themselves, plan for college, career, and become overall great leaders. Um I'm Jesse Mallister and an intervention specialist at Harman and Rocks facilitate facilitator at Harmon. Um and like we said rocks is research driven. Um they have the girls index which was last updated in 2023. And in that 17,52 girls shared their thoughts, beliefs and perceptions and experiences in this. And one of the um facts that we they found was 66% of girls don't speak their mind because they want to be liked. Um so in rocks girls learn effective skills to manage
029conflict. They learn to communicate their needs to others in healthy ways. They learn different types of communication styles and practice this using healthy assertiveness and their interactions with others. Girls learn healthy ways to address drama to foster supportive and collaborative relationships versus those competitive relationships. I am Amy Mullins. I'm the art teacher at Smith and I put together this video for you. Can you hit There we go. [Music] And it's time to brea now and then I get [Music] inseure so I am beautiful. [Music] words can bring me down. I am beautiful in every single way. Yes, words can bring me [Music] down. Don't you bring me down today. [Music] Are your friends so consumed in trying hard to feel the emptiness? The pieces gone. Left the puzzle undone and the way it is. You
030are beautiful no matter what they say words can bring you down. No, you are beautiful in every single way. Yes. Words can't bring you down. Oh no. [Music] So don't you bring me down today. No matter what we do. No matter what we do. No matter what we do. No matter what we say. Yeah. And everywhere we go and everywhere we go. [Music] We are beautiful. No matter what they say, [Music] Amy, nice work. Uh, bringing it. Um, I just can't tell you how honored I am to be part of a community and to be part of a team, the board for supporting this kind of program. And I want to end today with these brave women, right? Brings me a little emotion. These brave women who are coming here. They didn't know they were
031going to be in front of all these people when they signed up. I promised them that there was no one at the board meetings, right? But here they are sharing some words to you and their words. And I want you to listen to these words carefully. This is Maline Montgomery. She's a ninth grader. Yep. And Koko Fiori Quinn Buddy um who is a sixth grader at Harmon and Maddie Florendo who is also a sixth grader of Harmon. So listen carefully. relationship. How does important. [Applause] So, in conclusion, you'll find your self worth. Did you hear that? That that just brings me so much um pride and joy, and I'm so proud of these girls for being here. um sharing and being in front of the stage. Those were their words. I just wrote them um
032down into a nice type script for them. And thank you to these are just some of the women who lead these groups 20 weeks during their lunch most of the time. And thank you to all of you for supporting it. Um give them a round of applause. All right. Thank you very much for coming out uh and sharing about uh what all the great things that are going on with rocks. It's such important stuff. So uh next up is public comments. We have six folks that have signed up for public comments and our first one is Leanne Pulford. So and as you go on up um since we have a lot of folks here, it's always a good reminder that um this is the board's meeting in terms of like our public meeting. And so
033we do offer opportunity uh for folks to make public comments. They're three minutes long and we have a total window of 30 minutes for public comments. So, Leanne, it's all yours. Okay, here I go. Thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight. Joe and I have lived in Oakwood for 38 years and we've raised three children who attended Oakwood schools from preschool through college. We love our schools and the staff who worked with our children are like family. In fact, we still exchange holiday cards with many of them. Uh Joe and I also had the pleasure of being substitutes for many years in the classrooms and the school bands and we also volunteered in schools, chaired parent organizations, served on many superintendent advisory committees, helped the school and decisions regarding facilities, academics and administrative hirings.
034We've been around. So, uh Joe and I are a rare breed though because we haven't moved out of Oakwood since our children graduated like many of our peers. And we hope to be lifelong the residents because we love our neighbors. We love our library uh and the relationships with the shots of the Oakwood. And we think we have a lot left to give back in our golden years. Because of our love of our schools and our community, I am here tonight. Oakwood is reaching a tipping point. The property taxes on our homes are becoming unsustainable. School vouchers are exacerbating a heavy load on all of us. retirees, young families, landlords, business owners, you name it. We're siphon off siphoning off muchneeded dollars from public school budgets. Ed choice voucher use has increased a whopping 283%.
035However, private school enrollment has only increased 4%. Because Ohio has universal vouchers with no income caps, our tax dollars are subsidizing tuition of families who have the means to pay their kids private school tuition. And the worst part is after paying over a billion in tax rebates to wealthy families, we're then taxed again through levies to maintain our public schools that are steadily losing money to vouchers. So in Oakwood that means more levies maintaining all that we love about our schools, our historic buildings, the low teacher student ratios, the variety of academic and athletic programs. And thanks to Pratt vouchers, we will be asked to support our schools more often and at some point Oakwood will be in the news because we're the unthinkable is going to happen. We're not going to pass a levy.
036Um that's scary folks. So people argue that ed choice allows families in underperforming districts to have a choice in their children's education. However, approximately 90% of ed choice vouchers uh recipients are not lowincome students. And this program is not providing a way for poor students to escape low performing schools. Why is that? Because even with the vouchers, most poor families can't afford those schools. the remaining cost of that pro private tuition bill if their children were to be accepted. And unlike public schools, private schools are selective with their admissions. Whereas public schools accept all children and provide the services, IEPs, enrichment programs, ADA adaptations, everything that a child needs to succeed. Leanne, don't get us wrong. You have about 10. Okay. Don't get us wrong. We're more than happy to pay our fair share in
037taxes. However, this system of vouchers is broken, unfair, and poorly executed. And on top of it, it's not helping its target. All of us need to stand up for the community, and Oakwood Schools needs to join the vouchers hurt Ohio lawsuit. Ohio Oakwood is in the top 2% of Ohio schools, and people take notice of what we do. And what are we doing? Not enough. Too much is at stake to not speak up out and and out on this important issue. Thank you. And sorry, I went over. Thank you, Leanne. Next up is Masha Kaisle. So, hi everyone. My name is Masha Kle. Um, I've lived here with my family in Oakwood for 13 years and I'm also an educator and I think that public education is one of the greatest gifts we can give
038to our children. Um, and I'm here today to urge the Oakwood school board and the superintendent to also join the vouchers hurt Ohio lawsuit. I don't want my tax dollars going to schools that are not required by law to accept all students that are not required to provide a quality education and that are not even required to provide all students with medical intervention and education intervention. So, I'd like to share briefly my personal experience with public and private schools. Um, so we went, my husband went to public schools. I went to a private school part-time and I went to a public school. So, we wanted to check out our options locally. And one thing I want to tell you is that um, one of my children is a type 1 diabetic. So, a condition that
039requires vigilance and basically 247 surveillance. Um, so he needs medical staff to be able to go to school. And um as we explored local options, we're actually shocked that private schools were not required to have medical staff. And they were also not required to accommodate our child with testing, with field trips, or with extracurricular help. And so we realized that for us, uh private schools were just not an option. Um I also wanted to say how grateful we are for Oakwood Public Schools. They took amazing care of our child. then I might cry because his uh kindergarten teacher is here. Um and she was so amazing uh taking care of him and I've just felt like he's been included in everything. He's had every opportunity to go on every field trip to do extracurriculars. Um
040he has never been discriminated because of his disability. And so yeah, I I just want to, you know, share that and say that the vouchers hurt Ohio lawsuit uh gives us an opportunity to stand up for our most vulnerable kids. um who might get rejected from a private school simply because of their medical needs. And um you know there are over 300 other districts in Ohio who have already joined the lawsuit and I urge the school board and the superintendent to join them as well. So thank you so much. [Applause] Thank you Masha Kle. Next up is Jay Lane. [Applause] Good evening. Uh, my name is Jaylen, live at 438 Carlton Drive, 27year employee of Oakwood Schools, 27 year resident of Oakwood. I'd like to thank the board and administration uh, for allowing me to
041speak tonight. Uh, welcome to the parents. Students are all gone now, it looks like, but most especially uh, my colleagues who are here. Thank you. As my retirement from the classroom nears, I wanted to share public comments with the board and with my colleagues, reflecting upon my years in Oakwood schools. I feel a great deal of gratitude for the opportunity to work at Oakwood High School since 1998 and leave with a great deal of pride for how I have contributed to Oakwood's history. While my time has not escaped some trials, there have been many more tribulations. Recently during the interview process for superintendent, one of the candidates asked me what made Oakwood school so special. The community and par parental support is certainly a positive characteristic. Students prepared to learn are an advantage many schools
042don't have. But for me, staff members are the factor that Oakwood's excellence could not occur without. They're outstanding, dedicating their lives to the education of young people. what I have watched occur during my career, the expanding role of technology both in positive and negative ways. Uh the eroding support of public education combined with the postco COVID challenges remind me of how difficult it is to be an educator anywhere. This staff has risen to the moment every time supporting students and each other and adapting to the latest education trends, implementing best practices in their classrooms. They have provided advice and support to me. They have challenged me to want to be a better teacher. Research indicates that one of the most significant factors in a student's success in school is the connections they have with their
043teachers. Many connections, excuse me, making connections was easier when I was a younger man. It has become increasingly challenging for me to establish those connections as student interests outside the classroom have changed. No matter how many times an educator fails, I hope they continue working to build those connections. We often have no idea the true impact we are having on a student, but we can make sure they feel safe, seen, supported, and stretched in our classrooms. Oakwood educators are giving their best effort in the classroom every day. They sacrifice time with family and hobbies, and sometimes personal health in order to plan the next lesson, grade the most recent assessment, or write an email sharing information with a parent. For many, it is an all-consuming focus. Thinking about the classroom before they go to sleep,
044waking up thinking about the day's lessons, and often waking up in the middle of the night with a new and better idea. I thank the Oko administration for their support throughout my career. I especially thank all of my colleagues who have contributed to my development as an educator. So many of them had tremendous influence on my children who spent their entire K through2 years in open schools. I depart feeling a tinge of sadness but feel fulfilled by my experience. Thank you. [Applause] Thank you, Jay. Your service uh in the classroom and also as a leader in the district uh is much appreciated. Uh next up is Ellie Baker. [Applause] Good evening everyone. My name is Ellie Baker and I'm honored to serve as a high school social studies teacher at Oakwood. When I walked these
045very halls as a student a decade ago, many of you would have known me as Ellie Randall. At that time, I never imagined I would one day stand here as an educator. I knew I had a deep love for history and a passion for helping others, but teaching was not yet on my radar. As I contemplated with my family the first two years of college about what I wanted to do with a history degree, I kept thinking back to my time as a student at Oakwood. It became obvious to me that I was always meant to be a teacher at Oakwood High School. The final nudge and sign I needed was a call from beloved retired teacher Barb Aker. She called me my sophomore year of college and said, "Hey, I just wanted to make
046sure that you switched your major to education. That is what you were always meant to do." I share this story for a few reasons. First, because it was a revelation. How could I not want to follow in the footsteps of the very people who had inspired me the most? I remember sitting in my interview for this position, looking into the eyes of department chair Mitch Miller and my favorite former teacher, Jenna Hill, and saying with absolute certainty, "I want to be you. I want to be all of you. I want to inspire students the way you all inspired me during my most formative years of life. Secondly, I share this story because Barb Aker was right. I wake up each morning with the profound certainty that I am exactly where I am meant to be.
047As an Oakwood teacher and alumni, I feel the tremendous honor of helping shape the minds of some of the most important people in the world. And finally, I share this to highlight part of what makes Oakwood truly special, its educators. This school is not just a building. It is a community, a place where students are seen. Every day I look into the eyes of my students and I see limitless potential. I see freshman Ben Barentine with his infectious energy and passion for learning and I know one day he will make an incredible historian. I see Jane Middleton whose dedication to dance and unwavering kindness will empower her to change the world. I see Cat Shannon, a graduating senior whose voice will champion social change for those who cannot always speak for themselves. I see Kate
048Autri, a quiet yet profound leader who may not yet realize the magnitude of her own capabilities, but I do. We all do. That is what we do as educators. We recognize, nurture, and believe in the potential of every student who walks through our doors. I will leave you with this. Bill Gates was interviewed a couple of weeks ago saying that in 10 years time, AI and robots will replace teachers. Clearly, Bill Gates has never stepped foot inside Oakwood schools. Clearly, he has never witnessed the magic that unfolds within these walls every single day. AI and robots may replicate knowledge, but they will never replace the human ability to truly see students, to know their dreams, their aspirations, their struggles, and their potential. Students will always know when they look into the eyes of their Oakwood
049educators that they are believed in, valued, and capable of greatness. And nothing will ever replace that. Thank you. [Applause] All right, next up is Rob Ross. Thanks so much. And start the clock. Uh, I'm Rob Ross. I live at 1500 Devro. Uh I didn't mean to say this but I actually am an AI expert. I work on computer vision and I completely agree with the last speaker where I don't know where you went but there are some of the few jobs that won't be replaced are the ones where being a human matters and and being a teacher is one of those jobs where being a human actually matters like teacher, therapist, coach, mentor like those are the roles. So I wouldn't worry yet. U but I I came actually to just speak about three quick
050things. Appreciation, an observation and a request. So, um, appreciation just, um, for the thoughtfulness and the steady, uh, competence of of this board. Um, I I was sort of floored by the by all the presentations that took place before we got to speak. Uh, my wife and I moved here in 2019 from Philadelphia. We accidentally lived in Philadelphia for 15 years. And when we came here, we had, you know, our choice of of the area, uh, and and looked at all the area school districts, thought long and hard about it, uh, and wanted to come to a place where not just the football captain would be special. Um, that person would be special, but also the debate captain would be special and and all those other roles. And and we just sort of see that
051blossoming here. And that's great. And I think that's about the teachers, it's about the community, it's also about your leadership. So, thank you for the leadership that you provide. Um, the observation, I've been working on um the the bond that's that's coming up. Uh, and I've been having lots of conversations about it. Uh, and I uh am heartened by those conversations. Uh, I think it's well, I'm not allowed to say I think it'll pass, but I think it'll pass. I think we But, uh, but I also think there's um, you know, it would be great to to see it pass by a lot. You know, as I look out at this community, I think almost everyone who lives here either lives here because someone they care about is in school or because someone they care
052about used to be in school, right? So, it's like 100%. I don't know anyone who moved here not for the schools. Uh, and so I looked at the last couple of bonds. Uh, the one in 2019 passed by 55%. The one in 2023 passed by 58%. the Dayton Daily News said these are incredible wins like way beyond the other uh districts and I think to some degree that's true. Um but I also think um everyone here believes in education and so I'd love to see that get above 60%. And I think like how how can we get how can we make voting for school taxes like something everyone says yeah I'm ready to do that. Uh and that's where I get to my request which is to just continue pushing for as much transparency as
053you can. um continue to share as much data and information with the community as many ways as possible as you can. I know uh having been I used to have a job where I was trying to get people to learn things and so I'd send them emails and then I would send them emails about the emails and then they would say you never told me about this and so I get the difficulty of that but as much as possible if you can you know publish minutes and publish reports and point to them via Facebook I think that will help people uh be able to uh say yes I now understand why these hard decisions are being made and I'm completely for it because I Thanks. [Applause] Thank you, Robert Ross. Next up and final is
054Jeff Box. Hello. My name is Jeff Box. I live at 335 East Drive. I'm actually going to talk about the bond as well. It's be hard to follow Rob because I didn't really write anything down, but um on uh so the bond is on May 6. It's a 4.74 mil bond. Uh, it's going to raise about $40 million. That sounds like a huge number, and it is a huge number. About 85% of that is going to go to Smith and Harmon schools for HVAC, electrical, plumbing, and everything like that. Um, none of that stuff's really been updated for a hundred years. The school Harmon was built in 1908. Smith was built 1928, 1929, and there hasn't been any major renovation to those schools since then. There's been little of this, a little of that, fixing
055this, fixing that, but there really hasn't been any renovation, and it's time for that. Um, the high school and the junior high got the same treatment in 2019 with the bond passage. Um, so I'm just here to to it's a huge number, $40 million. Um, some in the community have asked, is it possible to build new? Absolutely, it's possible to build new. Is it practical? Absolutely not. It's about two to three times more expensive. Um, you can look around at other communities around uh in in Ohio. Um Wyoming down in Cincinnati just passed a bond that was about double double what ours was going to be to build three new uh elementary schools, but they were all going to be about smaller. They were going to handle smaller amount of students. Um so it's really
056the most cost effective way to to take care of our schools, keep our buildings, keep the community. Um so again, the bonds May six. Hopefully you guys can get out there, make a plan to get out there and vote for it. Thank you very much. Thank you, Jeff. Uh at this time we are going to take a brief pause. Uh if anyone who came in to make public comments, if you would like to step out at this time or believe me, you can stick around and hear about a lot of things that we're going to do um like board reports and things like that. But okay, thanks so much and thank you for all the teachers and the educators who came in in your red shirts. Uh you're certainly visible, you're recognized. Thank you very
057much. is always appreciated and always nice to have educators here in the room. Okay. To clear a room. Yeah. apparently sucks. Boy, give people the opportunity. And there they go. Okay. Um, next up is item number three, board reports. Do we have any board reports today? No. Okay. Uh, no board reports. That takes us to number four, budget and finance. Miss Saber. Uh, budget and finance. Letter A is March 2025 uh, monthly financial report. Uh, we are running right on target with both revenue and, um, expense estimates at this point in time. We have about 25% of the fiscal year to go. Um we've not received our final uh estimate on property taxes yet. That's probably going to come this week. Um that's always a big piece to know where we're going to land um
058for the year. So, uh maybe a little bit more information next that uh we did hear a couple of people speak about issue 12, but I just do want to restate the facts for the community. Uh issue 12 is on the May 6, 2025 ballot. It's a bond issue to complete phase two of the master facility plan. The majority of that work will be at Smith and Harmon elementary schools and that's uh 4.74 mills uh not to exceed 33 years. Very good. All right. Um letter B uh for me then is um a revision that we're making to the FY25 appropriations. All right. Can I get a recommendation for item excuse me? Can I get a motion for item 4B? So moved. Second, Miss Sabre, Dr. Middleton, hi. Mr. Ryder Garcia, hi. Miss Dorenzo, hi.
059Mr. Wilson, I And then item 4 C for me is a revision to the certificate of estimated resources for fiscal year 2025. Could I get a recommendation for item 4 C, please? Second. Miss Sabre. Mr. Ryder Garcia. Hi. Miss Dorenzo. Hi. Dr. Middleton. Hi. Mr. Wilson. Hi. Number five is any unfinished business before the board. Is there any new business before the board? Uh that takes us to number seven, administrative reports and superintendent recommendations. Yes, thank you. Um number seven, letter A, is justformational just to let you know that this is a first read essentially of our elementary and then our secondary or Oakwood High School and Oakwood Junior High student handbook uh that are updated. We'll go ahead and um bring that forward at at the May 12th board meeting for actual approval. Uh
060letter B is alsoformational. It's the uh two field trips. One is for the Oak High School academic decathlon students. Uh they're heading uh from April 30th to May 3rd uh to De Moine, Iowa. You just heard that from them uh earlier. And then also our uh Oakwood Junior High School Power the Pen students are returning back to the state tournament at Ash University on May 21st to the 22nd. Number seven, letter C, uh is a recommendation um for a three-year contract for athletic athletic training services uh with Ketaring Health. They're our current provider um but just seeking a contract uh uh for them. Contract is uh attached also and it's their gold package which uh provides the same level and then a little bit more services uh that we currently have to provide the safety
061for our our kids. Can I get a recommendation? Excuse me. Can I get a excuse me? Can I get a motion for item 7 C please? So moved. Second. Miss Saber. Miss Dorenzo. Hi. Dr. Middleton. Hi. Mr. Rder. Garcia. Hi. Mr. Wilson. I. Number seven. Letter D is technical change and a res uh resolution for compliance officer policies. Uh we had to update uh just the contact information of our compliance officer uh based on the policies that you see uh below. Uh this is just an action. Um, all it is is just because of a title change with an administrator. Uh, so it just is in line with our current practice. So number 7D, a recommendation to approve the technical change to update the compliance officer contact information for the following policies. Can I get
062a motion for 7D, please? So moved. Second. Miss Saber. Dr. Middleton. I, Mr. Lorenzo. Hi. Mr. Writer Garcia. Hi. Mr. Wilson. I. Number seven, letter E, uh is a recommendation to approve the uh policies from the winter uh Neil updates as presented at the March 10th board meeting. Can I get a recommendation for item 7E, please? So move. Second, Miss Saber. Mr. Rder Garcia. Hi, Dr. Middleton. Hi, Miss Dorenzo. Hi, Mr. Wilson. I uh so with that approval, I just wanted to make sure you know that in addition to all the policies, the one probably that uh our our community, our families, and even our students care about most is uh personal communication devices. And so I can tell you that um our our two elementary schools, Smith and Herman, have already been uh instituting
063the practice of um of uh no devices uh during the instructional time. uh the junior high and high school has been communicating with students and families uh about the the pending recommendation and approval for tonight. And so tomorrow we'll be sharing information out there and and beginning to kind of start into that phase of implementation. So just to let you know that number eight, uh personal personnel items, resignations, non-renewals, I'll take them under one motion. Number eight, letter A through C. I'll read them. The resignation of Amanda Brown, uh letter A. Letter B, the resignation of Michelle Kramer, and letter C, the uh to amend the resignation date of Braden Short. Can I get a motion for items 8A through 8C, please? Second. Miss Sabre, Miss Dorenzo, I. Mr. Ryder Garcia, hi. Dr. Middleton, hi.
064Mr. Wilson, I. That takes us to number nine, personal items recommendations. Yes. I'll go ahead and take uh number nine, letter A through N under one motion. I'll go ahead and read each of them. Number nine, letter A, employee Marissa Shockley. Letter B, employee Lauren Henline. Letter C, employee Braxton Campbell. Letter D, employee Gracie Saul. Letter E, employee Riley Lupkey. Letter F, the supplemental contracts and volunteers for 2025 to approve the uh them as listed supplement supplemental contracts and volunteers for 2024-25. Letter G are flexible contracts uh recommending the approval for flex flexible supplemental contracts for the 2425 school year. Letter H is the uh the recommendation for a continuing contract issued to Kelsey Jackson. Letter I is a recommendation for a continuing contract to Alex Brohard. Letter J is the employment of Michelle Kramer.
065Letter K is um recommendation to pay for uh the following staff members for overnight duties for the Washington DC trip. Letter L is the recommendation uh to approve the attached list of seasonal workers pending completion of required documents. Letter M is uh a list of substitute teachers uh effective 20ou April 14th, 2025 pending completion of the required documents. And then letter N is the extended days uh uh recommendation for Amanda Brown for 10 extended days per attached hourly rate. Can I get a motion for items 9A through 9? Second, Miss Sabre, Dr. Middleton, I Miss Dorenzo, I. Mr. Rder Garcia, hi. Mr. Wilson, I. That brings us to uh letter number 10, executive session. uh recommendation is made to enter into executive session for the specific purposes of considering the employment of public employees or
066officials and to review negotiations of bargaining sessions with public employees concerning their compensation or other terms and conditions for their employment. Can I get a motion for 10, please? So moved. Second. Miss Auburn. Miss Dorenzo. I Mr. Rder Garcia. Hi. Dr. Middleton. Hi. Mr. Wilson. I thank you all for coming out. That concludes our public portion of the meeting.