001foreign all right everybody ready as soon as this comes up I'm ready all right here we go good evening everybody and welcome to the Forest Hills School District Board of Education meeting on Wednesday September 20th call to order Mr Bibb here Dr Rasmussen here Mrs Stewart here Mrs hosfeld here Mrs Jonas is absent this evening item 1.3 everybody stand for the Pledge of Allegiance [Music] item 1.4 we have safety briefing the doors that you all came in uh is an exit and we have two down here at the bottom 2.1 to have a motion to adopt the agenda I'll make a mission to adopt agenda a second Mr Bibb yes Mrs Stewart yes Dr Rasmussen yes Mrs hosfeld yes item 3.1 we have the approval of the minutes of the teaching and learning committee on
002August 7th I'll make a motion to approve the minutes from the teaching learning committee meeting Mr Bibb yes Mrs Stewart yes Dr Rasmussen yes Mrs hosfeld yes item 3.2 is the approval of the minutes of the regular meeting on August 16th of a motion make a motion to prove the minutes from the media on August 16th after Bibb yes Miss Dr Rasmussen yes Mrs hosfeld yes item 4.0 we have special recognitions this evening uh we have first up we have National Merit Scholarship program presented by Kyle fender all right gonna need to go up even higher Mountain yeah each year in the fall semester both Anderson High School and Turpin High School students administer the PSAT to all sophomores as well as a select group of high achieving Juniors approximately 1.5 million students across the
003nation take the PSAT each year and top scoring individuals move forward in What's called the National Merit Scholarship program as achieving either commended semi-finalist or finalist status we are extremely proud of the students who will stand before you this evening of their hard work their determination in academic Excellence we are so thankful for the parents many of whom you have been able to join them here this evening and we want to say thank you to the parents who have done uh for all they've done over the years to guide instruct teach in a firm their sons and daughters and the importance of hard work in the classroom I am Andy jados principal Turpin High School and we are about to recognize some truly incredible students the top 50 000 students qualify as committed status representing
004the top three percent of all students Nationwide who took the exam they are leaders in the classroom and are highly involved in other activities throughout the building the following students have achieved this status so for Turpin High School Grace osterlin Jimmy Roberto mccle and even Fiji from Anderson High School Chad bowling Anna elfers Carson gerding Samantha Howard Christina Johnson and Gianna valpano we ask that those students please come down to receive their letter of combination thank you okay everybody good at this time the superintendent recommends that the board commend the following students for their achievement and distinction for having been named commended students in the 2023 National Merit Scholarship program and and present a certificate accommodation to them it's listed as two separate and make a motion to commend the National Merit Scholarship program students
005that were commended on the list below Mr Bibb yes Dr Rasmussen yes Mrs Stewart yes Mrs Hospital yes congratulations I know we're going to get a photo op out in the lobby as well so students and families want to head out that way for more photo opportunities but we're not yet done celebrating our awesome students we have another group here to celebrate as part of the National Merit Scholarship program the top 16 000 students qualify for semi-finalist status representing the top one percent of all students Nationwide who took this exam out of this group there's a process these individuals must do in order to be considered for finalist status so we're in the process of working through that and hopefully we'll be back at a future meeting to celebrate that as well the following students
006have achieved semi-finalist status at Anderson High School Jade O'Brien Whitton pan and Tyler Surrey [Applause] and for excuse me for Turpin High School Patrick Carraway and Anjali Rahman [Applause] the superintendent recommends the board commend the following students for their achievement and distinction for having been named semi-finalists in the 2023 National Merit Scholarship program and present a certificate of coming Commendation to them I'll make a motion to come in the students listed below is National Merit Scholarship program semifinalists thank you thank you yes Mrs Stewart yes Dr Rasmussen yes Mrs hosfeld yes congratulations [Applause] congratulations to all of students and their families moving on over to 4.3 we have the governor's Thomason Edison awards for excellent in stem education 22-23 good evening we have lots of positive things to share tonight so I'm very excited about
007that and I know there were a couple meetings ago where Larry stole my thunder and mentioned something about a report card and I told him not until it's final well it's final and it's good stuff and he will go over it later but I rarely have the opportunity as the assistant superintendent to take the microphone and say the things that are on my heart I first of all want to recognize the students and their amazing work that they do but this Excellence also doesn't come out of nowhere it comes from the hard work that come from the teachers who are in the trenches with their kids every day but we also have administrators my teaching and learning team the things that you do each and every day Betsy was crazy enough to hire me a
008couple of years ago with the sole focus of focusing on Gap closing and sister we're doing it we're we're doing some really great things so I'm just very proud of the work that we're doing and I'm also very proud of our community and the work that we do for all of our students and I do believe wholeheartedly when when we focus on student outcomes and making a positive difference in their lives we do amazing things one of which includes this next award the governor's Thomas Edison awards for excellence in stem education I believe um Corey Mullins is here tonight if Corey Gail if you want to come on up friends from our science departments in both high schools Alex Bove if you're here I'm going to read everybody's name off but if you're here I
009know your high school principals will be joining you here in a second so you're aware the Ohio Academy of Science and Technology division of the Ohio Department of development once again recognizes Anderson and Turpin High schools with the 2022 Governors Thomas Edison awards for excellence in stem education there were only 45 schools in Ohio and 491 teachers who received this award the criteria for this Award of Excellence are to conduct a local science fair with 12 or more students and have two or more of these students participate in the 22 virtual District science day or have six or more students participate in the 2022 virtual District science day when no local has been conducted and students must participate in one more Youth Science opportunity beyond the classroom the Ohio Academy of Science defines stem education
010as both the Mastery and integration of science technology engineering mathematics for all pre-k through 12 students I think it's a fair assessment that we had more than six students participate Bob do you remember we had oh boy Laura may remember we could pull it up here in a little bit it's a lot but I would like if you all would like to join did anybody else come from your department tonight it's okay we have teachers who are coaches and doing lots of other things afterwards but if you'd like to come um Corey if you would like to accept this on behalf of your Turpin science teachers Bill bankin Aaron Burling Beth Brill Lindsey Burton Gail Garza James Glazer Brett Granger Peter Hoying and of course yourself and then Alex Bove if you would like to
011come up and accept on behalf of your department I'm gonna go ahead and shake your hands with this to you that includes Alex David Brandon Caitlin Calder Allison Cassidy Justin good Jeffrey Granger Lewis Luis keep Corey larris and Holly Louden Paige Orrick Jeff Rodriguez Courtney Snyder and Troy Spitz Mueller so and again as far as the work that our teachers do there's a lot of work around what you might hear plc's or professional learning communities the science departments at both high schools are models for the work that we do in the rest of the district they do amazing work and provide real life opportunities on a regular basis for our students so I thank you very much thank you [Applause] next up is the reports to the Board of Education First we have the Forest
012Hills Teachers Association Chris Preston hello and good evening the school year is off and running and I have one brief message for you I've had the pleasure of visiting four of our buildings thus far since the beginning of the school year to say hello to our staff I've been to Turpin in Anderson High Schools Nagle middle school and Wilson Elementary I found it interesting that as different as the buildings are there is one common theme in all of them our teaching and support staff engage with students in meaningful ways I witnessed our staff laughing smiling guiding coaching teaching and also witnessed our students being engaged focused and in many cases also smiling and laughing too I'm thankful that when daily distractions can come from every direction our teaching and support staff remain dedicated and focused
013to provide students with the opportunity to research question explore experiment and problem solve the Forest Hills Teachers Association is committed to working with the Forest Hill School District community members and Board of Education to continue to provide conditions that help achieve the district vision of striving to ensure success for all students thank you for your time thank you item 5.2 we have the Forest Hills foundation for Education Stacy Gilliard good evening on behalf of the Forest Hills Foundation we have some exciting things coming up I love when we can share fun upcoming events as we continue to support the kids so I first wanted to stop start off with last meeting I did share that this is the 15th year of the Forest Hills foundation so it was founded in 2008 and since that time
014um clearly I've learned recently even a lot of the historical information about what transpired when the foundation was first started and how it was actually voted in and approved by the school board which I thought was fantastic and one of the things that stood out to me to even tonight listening to all the National Merit Scholarships is that the foundation actually in 2011 came to the district and said hey we really want to fund and pay for pre-act and ACT Testing and also additional college prep work interviewing skills and all of that and so I bring that up because through the years in the last 15 years there's a lot of things that are donors when you support the foundation you actually are really impacting directly on the students and so whether it was Nagel
015after school which was the first thing to the pre-act which over forty thousand dollars was spent on that now that specific program is funded and funneled through the district now but it just showcased how we have really worked to find the needs of students and what they are today and so moving into 2011 2017 we focused a lot of our efforts on stem and starting in about two 2017 to the Pres to the present was around wellness and so since that time I'm proud to share that the foundation has donated over 2.8 million dollars in our community four children four our commitment to being student focused and Community Driven so for all of you that are listening and here tonight a couple things that are coming up how many of you I'm sure well I
016will speak for my family who are big FCC fans tomorrow night we actually are honored that the Anderson autographs is hosting an event at Goodfellows from 5 30 to 7. um Nick hagland who is one of the current FCC players will be there for signings and photographs and so if you have some time you can even just stop by real quickly I know I'm doing that with my own children and we appreciate one that Nick took the time to do this and more importantly that all of the proceeds actually go back to the Forest Hills foundation and so for the kids the other thing is to stay tuned we are going to be doing our 15 days and raising fifteen thousand dollars starting October one in honor of our 15-year the other thing too is
017I'm proud to also share that we had two alumni that actually will be giving matching gifts if we reach fifteen thousand dollars so Michael Brandy who graduated in 74 from Andrew and Bruce Hellman who graduated at Turpin in 78 so thanks to both of them for seeing a need wanting to continue to give back they don't actually live in Anderson anymore they do not have kids in Anderson anymore they truly believe that the experience they had in high school has shaped who they are today and want to give back and pay it forward which is great and then the last one is you're invited it was supposed to stay invited um the false foray which is our big Gala event that we have will be on Saturday November 11th a plug if anybody wants to
018be a host let me know um this event has been super fun the last few years it's not as dressy we have a lot more younger parents coming so it's a really great event as we continue to raise money for the kids so the last thing well two things one is um October 12th I forgot to include that in our slides we have partnered with the district as one of our district grants this year for Parent Academy and we are helping fund the academy this year we believe it's important to invest in parents so that they are knowledgeable and continue to do have good relationships with their kids and support their kids and so the first one is on October 12th um and then the last thing too I always like to bring it back
019to the kids because um every day that's kind of what I wake up and think about not only my own children but also all the kids that are represented and attend Forest Hills and just hearing the impact that you are making when you give to the foundation whether it's stem focused or more books in the classroom your dollars are directly impacting thousands and thousands of students across the community so thank you and then the last thing I'm just going to share is that tonight around my dinner table which was maybe 10 minutes because my kids were running around is we talked about the importance of listening and I bring this up because one for those that know me I do like to talk a lot however I I think that it's tonight and moving forward
020I was a reminder to my kids and to myself as an adult of the importance of when we are all together what it means to listen to each other and respect each other and so I just I share that tonight I appreciate everybody that continues to support the foundation we're looking forward to another great year and thank you for your time thank you next up item 6.0 we have the superintendent update also Echo Chris Preston's thoughts uh happened to be with about a month in um at school we've been to all the the buildings uh and it is amazing to watch the interaction between our students our great teachers our Administration and are just their staff members a lot of Wonderful uh news one of them I want to share right out of the gate
021and I'm hoping he's here I haven't seen him but I'd like to introduce our new school one of our of two now school resource officers there he is you can't miss him he's a big guy so uh officer Jeremy Dwyer's our newest school resource officer and and he joins he joins officer SRO Ryan Wolfe in that critical position and they'll have their hands full I mean it's it's a big territory for two two but uh we're excited to have you I think something else is pretty cool this is Officer Dwyer's first day at school and you know he's got his Star Wars lunch box and uh thank you thank you honey right thank you Mike for that one but uh we're excited about it officer wolf and officer Dwyer both attended Maddox his his children
022and our members of the community and so we're very excited to have you aboard thank you for your service and we're glad you're with us thank you and that's that's just one example of our partnership with Anderson Township that I think is really a special one for us and so we look forward to many years with those guys um I also wanted to mention we just got word that um Brian Lee our associate principal at Turpin high school was nominated for the 2023-24 assistant principal of the Year award in Ohio by the Ohio Association of secondary school administrators so that's pretty exciting so I don't think Brian's here maybe he is I'm not sure nope but I think that's a great shout out to him for for what he's accomplished um he's one out of
02311 in the state of Ohio so it's pretty pretty cool and so I've gotten to know him over the this past year and and he's the real deal a wonderful human being and a great assistant principal for us thank you um you probably already realized but this all happened all of this has happened since our last board meeting that the U.S news and World Report rankings both Turpin and Anderson are now are ranked in the top four percent of schools in the entire state of Ohio out of more than a thousand high schools across the entire state right now we have Turpin that placed uh 14th and Anderson at 39. um outstanding that's just outstanding work on their their parts a lot of things go into it there's probably seven or eight categories um obviously
024academic performance is is key with it um Turpin was ranked seventh in all of this area Southwest Ohio and 12th uh by Anderson so fantastic job again making uh U.S news and World Report rankings but I won't spend a lot of time on the Excellence in stem because that was already recognized but there's a lot of people that this isn't an easy thing to accomplish this is this is a lot of energy and a lot of work by teachers and kids that have a passion for stem which is science technology engineering and Mathematics they've just done a bang-up job and I'm so proud of of what we give our kids in the area of stem and as was mentioned but I just think it's worth remembering that um they're just 48 schools in Ohio that
025qualified for this so we're in rarified air so congratulations again to both those science programs uh at Anderson and Turpin as well um again the National Merit Scholarship I'm just that's just amazing how how far we've come the finalists will be announced typically those are February I believe um but it's it's obviously very small group of semi-finalists so it's a it's a three-year process before you get into um you know the National Merit finalists possibilities but you know you're talking about semi-finalists that are in the in the top one percent one one point two percent of students that enter into this journey so you're talking about the best of the best and you saw a huge group of them today and I just think that that's um amazing I think they've done a wonderful job
026preparing those kids um yeah I tried to not we didn't have a for sure until last late last week so but it was it was close we kept watching it making sure it didn't change on us uh but what I want to share is is that we received five stars across the district Forest Hill School District and wow I happened to I sent an email out it kind of took a day to dive into the information and try to really see what we'd been doing and and um it was amazing so to all of our teachers and it's not just teachers it's Administration it's it's everybody that touches our kids you know that's that's all important just a fantastic job you not only um the state calls it significantly exceeding state standards it crushed it
027they absolutely crushed it across the board only 75 districts earned five stars out of the 600 and whatever it is this year 614. you know give or take one or two um also within those that was the overall rating but there are we also earned five stars in the components sub-components of achievement early literacy graduation rates and GAP closing under the achievement component we had a 93 percent and from what we could find that's the highest in history and Forest Hills it's it's a combination of a couple of things but specifically the one is that uh really hits home for me is the performance index uh well above you know into 101.8 we are above pre-pandemic standards and the highest standards in history of Forest Hill School District uh so again kudos for the achievement
028of our students and this is all students you know this is all of our students um early literacy was also a five-star um early literacy is kind of special to me because if you don't kids aren't reading early they're not reading by third grade fourth grade we have some significant issues um and our teachers and it and even though it Compares a couple of things promotion rate to fourth grade as well as scores in Reading in third grade this is also indicative of what our preschool kindergarten first grade second grade and third grade teachers do with these kids because they come to us at all different levels and getting them up to the ability uh to read at that level is is amazing I think that when you look at some of our scores and
029you use the comparison to districts that are like us which the state uses we are second only to Solon School District up in the Cleveland area which is again just absolutely crushed it and um kudos to our teachers and and staff and students that just really got after it that's I that's just absolutely amazing um graduation rate was also we believe right now that Anderson also hit the highest graduation rate in their history as well overall 96.2 percent within graduate within four years and 97.1 percent in five years and that's determined when a kid enters as a freshman the clock starts um now we've had some discussion with the state about how they they actually um compute that because we encourage our kids that that wanted to fur their diploma that have special needs to
030do so because they can receive Services up until their 22nd birthday and so um that should be rewarded not hurt you know it shouldn't be so I'm just it's just fantastic to see what's happening in the final one I've wanted to mention was Gap closing um Gap closing is about easiest way is is a Year's growth in a year's time that's kind of what it is also what it means is how are subgroups the state puts if we have a certain number of kids within particular subgroups identified and we have six seven sub-groups spec Ed gifted multi-racial Hispanic black economically disadvantaged and then an overall score as well again five stars they just absolutely absolutely crushed it and um just a superb job I just want to I just really think that that's something we
031don't want to lose track of how how wonderful our kids are doing and um that's what I have um I did attend the Southwest legislative meeting at the Hamilton County ESC last Friday with probably a dozen of our area House Representatives and a couple of senators and just going over the budget bill each one had it different perspective as you can imagine but it was a good it was a good meeting and getting to know those people so but very good thank you um Larry yep you made a lot of wonderful comments about the awesome work our students are doing I don't want that to be overshadowed tonight or anytime but I want to take a moment to make sure you see all these students in the audience they deserve acknowledgment I see them foreign
032let's see also um item 6.2 is our annual membership to the Ohio High School Athletic Association I have to do that every year to be included in State Playoff programs and competitions Etc so we need that approved as well do we have a motion I'll make a motion to approve the Forest Hills School District's continued membership in the Ohio High School Athletic Association for the 23-24 school year Dr Rasmussen yes Miss Stewart yes Mr Bibb yes Mrs hosfeld yes thank you Mr hook um we have item number seven which is public commentary the board is committed to conducting its meetings in a productive and efficient manner to assure that meeting is completed in a reasonable amount of time but also recognizes the importance of a fair and adequate opportunity for public input the board provides
033public participation will be a total of 30 minutes each speaker will have a three-minute time limit if there are more than 10 speakers individual times will be adjusted down to fit within 30 minutes the board does not discriminate based on the individual content of the speech or a Viewpoint of the speaker if several people wish to speak on the same topic the time limit may be adjusted at the president's discretion speakers are asked to speak from the podium and address the board and are also asked to start by clearly stating their name and address we have 20 speakers this evening each at one and a half minutes uh first up is Rodney tiemann thank you very much Rodney thiemen 6091 Crittenden Drive I first wanted to step I want to congratulate the National Merit finalists
034as well as the stem and Edison Award winners that's wonderful and I came also to congratulate the board on a couple items securing the six hundred thousand dollars in safety grants that's very very very nice the increase on the sports medicine partnership from two hundred thousand to a million bucks and the one I found most interesting was trying to increase more of internships and shadowing I think it's a great I think you all call it experience ship or whatever but great opportunity I think as kids go from college thinking or high school to college earlier in life that they can actually better understand what they want to do by shadowing other people maybe it is in college maybe it's going to the trades as an example so I think that's a very good thing too
035the other thing I want to talk about something I think that's very divisive in the community on it on both sides is the diversity I for one believe diversity is Paramount it's very important but one thing that I always try to do is look at the issue and something that keeps coming back to me is I want to share a story of a clinic in England it's called Tavistock gender Clinic t-a-v-i-s-t-o-c-k opened oh I think I'm done opened in 1989 and 2022 was shut down due to the fact that a thousand of those patients sued the school 89 wish they did not transition which they didn't have the gender of affirming drugs so wait till puberty thank you thank you thank you very much up next is Mr Paul McKibben I'm going to go ahead
036and announce the next two speakers and then they can come down over here and stand on the sideline we have the next step after Mr McKibben is Ava Morse and then Erica nomaland and I apologize if I pronounced her name wrong hi my name is Paul McKibben 1489 verdale drive I'm a Nagel and Sherwood parent I'm appalled about what has occurred to the Nagel mural that students created Mr bib is on tape voicing his opposition to it Mr hook has failed to explain why he ordered it removed did some board members pressure him he did not respond to my email you work for me I'm a parent in this District I have zero confidence in you sir I am deeply disturbed by the complete failure and incompetence of Mr Bibb Miss housefeld Miss Jonas Emma
037Stewart your tenure on the school board has been won self-inflicted embarrassing wound after another for our district it's a new school year and there's another Forest Hills School Board controversy it's obvious that Mr Bibb Miss housefeld Miss Stewart and Miss Jonas do not value quality public education our quality Public Schools are no place for your senseless culture wars you should resign enough is enough thank you thank you next up Ava Marsh [Applause] um my name is Ava Marsh my address is seven zero nope yep 7047 Old Chapel Drive I'm a senior at Turpin High School and I helped paint the mural that just got covered up I've been in this district for nine years and have seen the bullying problem firsthand I've seen my friends get picked on for being different races different sexualities and
038religions and not enough is being done about this me and four other classmates spent 45 minutes every day for three months painting that and now you've covered it up and I hope you're happy with what you've done because now more than ever it is getting recognized is getting put out there and people are talking about it to all the parents in the community and all of the adults that support the covering of this we have so much more community and we we need to um sorry we really need to just build the community more to all the parents that are talking bad about this online you were talking about children these are children in your community we need to nurture a community full of love and not hate the Forest Hill School District needs to
039do better at this and the Board needs to do better at this I hope you know that people loved this mural and we are willing to fight for it and I am willing to fight for it vote in your local elections thank you Erica namaland is next I'm gonna call the next two speakers here we have representative Rachel Baker Valerie Nash and then Tom Hagedorn hi my name is Erica numland that was my daughter Ava her and four of her friends created that mural for a gifted education class the theme was inclusion not segregation Bob um and they did an excellent job and they they really are advocates for representing people from different races sexuality genders that thing exists you guys can fight it all you want with extreme rhetoric it's going to keep existing
040um I just want to tell my daughter and all those four other young ladies I'm extremely proud of you you guys are great Advocates you should be really proud of yourself for representing the people who are being stomped out and to the kids who felt represented by this mural and since Larry hook can't look at them I will turn around and say you were going to face many walls and you're going to look at them and you're going to think you're facing them alone but turn behind you and you have an army willing to tear down that wall for you and you're all loved valued in a part of this community in Forest Hills is inclusive and they accept diversity thank you Rachel Baker's next [Music] [Applause] thank you my name is Rachel Baker and
041I'm an heir and Anderson parent and also the state representative representing this District as a new state representative my office reached out to every community and School Board in District 27 and requested time on their agenda to discuss the upcoming capital budget that funds projects up to several million dollars for things like roofs and pool Renovations I made it onto the agenda of all groups except one you all my office has contacted you over eight times eventually resulting in Mr Hook meeting with me and letting me know that the board president will not allow me to be on the agenda because I'm an elected Democrat I am shocked by the political games being played by this board and I wish that the board would value the interest of students over their own personal political agendas
042I want to bring resources to our teachers staff and students but I cannot do that without being allowed in the room I want parents to be aware the offer was made and the reason our district may miss out on Key State resources is solely due to this board's refusal to work with anyone who is different than them please know that as the state representative for this District I would love to collaborate with anyone from any political party who wants to make things better for our community and our children thank you thank you [Applause] Mr Tom hankadorn she was next okay but she's uh yeah Tom Hagedorn 26-26 Royal Woods I want to thank the four for Forest Hills board members that were elected two years ago some of them some of their supporters and other
043conservatives have faced a pattern of really nasty behavior from some who just don't like the results of that election terrible emails about harm to family members glitter bombs and mailboxes veiled threats to people's businesses and livelihoods even taking creepy videos of them in a private social Gathering shame on them some even cheered on a mass student walk out last spring and recent vandalism of school property that's no example for adults to give to District students I was however disappointed that you four were not more proactive about the remnants of The CARE program and the canceled diversity Day last year but I'm also disappointed that you voted to put the levy on the ballot it was way too much and way too early I'll have more to say that say on that in January taxpayers sit
044down for the shock of your life when you get your next bill have two requests for the three of you who will be returning since you bear responsibility for the levy first be very frugal with districts uh spending the administration works for you not the other way around perhaps we can lower Staffing to get in line with the smaller number of students that we have now because of the levy we have huge cash balances for years to come please make sure the treasurer is getting the best safe return that we can get thank you thank you we have a Miss Valerie Nash up is next and I'm going to call a couple more here we got Melissa Walters and Wyatt lamineck could you please line up over here on the on the stairwell just short
045and sweet here my name is Valerie Nash 6250 Autumn Leaf Lane I just wanted to say thanks for all your hard work for following policy and for all your educational improvements that's it thank you thank you Melissa Walters good evening I'm Melissa Walters I live at 70 51 and a half Beechmont Avenue my daughter is the one who cut that board off to show that Merrell you don't understand these kids go to school every day facing all kinds of things you don't know what they're facing that mural didn't just stand for their sexuality their religion if it was missing something something else could have been added to it we could have asked the artist that did it in the first place if we could add something instead you covered it up and ever since it's
046been covered my daughter has struggled every single day she has mental health issues you don't know what these kids are going through she's been bullied at your school it's been reported nothing has happened she almost committed suicide because of that bully in November but that mural helped her to go to her classes and yet you were asked to see how many students were out here you never even turned your head could you please explain why it was covered up or if there is something else that we can replace it and my daughter used to fist bump that mural to go to her next class to give her the strength to make it past that bully in the hallway thank you Wyatt laminack and the next two we have Jessica Cunningham and Ursula cherry hello my
047name is Wyatt laminack and I live at 6958 Turpin View Drive I would like to give this from the perspective of someone who never went to Nagel but I'm currently in Forest Hill School District from third grade to eighth grade I attended a small Parochial School and when I say small I mean there were 30 people in my grade when I was in fifth grade rumors started to spread like wired Wildfire about the only openly gay student in the school Apparently one of some of the teachers had pulled him aside and had threatened to expel him if he didn't act in line when I was in eighth grade one of the teachers a legend allegedly told her class that no gay no gay person friend or family would be ever allowed inside of her home
048what do you think comments like this would would affect me I started questioning my sexuality when I was in sixth grade and so from that point on all I heard were other students and teachers talking about the only openly gay student so restore the mural because it means a lot to a lot of people and I know next up Jessica Cunningham [Applause] I said Jessica Cunningham and then the next couple of speakers is Ursula cherry and Tara Byrne could you please come to the stairwell 2011 Forest Crest Way um segregation segregation is the action of separating people historically on the basis of race and or gender segregation is the physical separation of people in everyday activities and phys and professional life and in the exercise of civil rights violence was also a part of systemic
049segregation thousands of African Americans and minorities were brutally maimed tortured and murdered by white Vigilantes lynchings occurred every week and were Justified underestablished law that codified white supremacy raise your hand if segregation sounds like rainbow hearts religious symbols and celebrating coexistence and unity anybody anybody up here no so what about children creating a beautiful mural out of love and acceptance now still now well we can teach our children all the Reading Writing and arithmetic but if they don't know how to go out into the world and interact with others who don't look like them or practice the same religion we're setting them up for failure Mr hook I am deeply disappointed that you chose to prioritize a hateful political agenda instead of our children that is a sad Legacy to be known by excuse me
050that's sad vote November yeah next up Ursula cherry [Applause] hello my name is Ursula cherry and my pronouns are she her I am an lgbtq plus identifying student I realize this in Middle School like others I have encountered homophobia from students and strangers that's assault from unkind words to stereotypes and blatant ignorance throughout times in my life I felt crushed and despaired as a result of the social stigma hold just a second hold on a second okay can you hold on hold on okay hold on a second one we'll let the police officer escort the lady out and we'll focus back down here on on the podium please and give her some respect here give the speaker some respect okay can you back up just about a couple paragraphs or something and start okay thank
051you she's she was well into her speak she can back up please I will let her decide and not you decide for her go ahead man hello my name is Ursula Cherry my pronouns are she her and I am an lgbtq plus identifying student I realize this in Middle School like others I've encountered homophobia from students and strangers from unkind words to stereotypes and blatant ignorance throughout times my life I have felt crushed and despaired as a result of the social stigma I felt like I couldn't tell other people about my sexuality for fear of being ridiculed I was in eighth grade when I first saw the mural I walked into the staircase I saw it and I cried not tears of sorrow but tears of comfort of relief I saw that pink yellow and
052blue heart that represents my sexuality and I felt seen I finally felt like I could belong a feeling that was similarly felt by many of my fellow peers with the removal of the mural kids are deprived of that feeling of acceptance not just lgbtq plus kids but kids of color and of different backgrounds this mural serves as a symbol of Hope for many and I implore you to restore the mural thank you thank you next stop is Tara Byrne and if I could ask the next couple of speakers to come and stand on the stairwell we have Jeff Nye Luciano marotti and Mike Herman good evening my name is Tara Burke 8242 Eastdale Drive I have three kids in this District actually only two one just recently graduated I'm here today as many of us
053are to talk about the beautiful diversity mural this is not political this is personal the first time I heard that the mural had been covered by a vinyl banner I thought certainly once we can talk about this once we can have a conversation and explain to leadership what this mural means to our students we can work this out because through conversation I mean that's what reasonable people do we can work this out without a media Firestorm shining yet another negative light on our community and more importantly I thought we could work this out before our students and our families were hurt so deeply after all there are many blank walls at Nagel middle school so after reaching out to Mrs Brennan because I thought that was the appropriate thing to do I reached out to
054Mr hook and left a message I was very sad to learn that that mural was painted over before I was able to speak with him and more importantly without any public dialogue without any public board discussion or vote there are many blank walls at Nagel thank you next up Jeff Nye [Applause] Jeff Nye 1000 eversole um usually I like to talk to the board but today I want to talk to the administration and just say how disappointed I am Larry and you personally for your handling of this mural issue I think it's one thing to say culture is not a document you hang on the wall as you stand in front of a document you've hung on the wall but especially when that document talks about uh supporting others and respecting each voice to then
055paint over a mural art that was by kids for kids I don't know if there's any better expression of culture than that and yeah I know that a seventh or eighth grade kid 12 or 13 year old years old damage that banner and that's unacceptable and it should be punished but before that happened you had an opportunity to reflect and take action to Value the feedback you received to lead by example to lead with humility and say I made a mistake I shouldn't have put it there but you didn't you doubled down you didn't act like a leader you acted like a kid you took your ball and you went home and I am incredibly disappointed thank you next up Luciano marotti hi I'm Luke muratti I use he him his pronouns and I am
056a gay and transgender student from Turpin High School I have been in the Forest Hill School District going on 13 years as a junior and I would just love to express how utterly disappointed I am at the decision to cover up the mural in Nagle Middle School anyone who's been through Middle School will tell you that is some of the hardest years you will experience as your life in your life you don't know what you're doing and people are trying to tell you who and what to be and the last thing you want to do is listen anyone who has been through Nagel will tell you that Nagel middle school does not make that experience one bit better I was in eighth grade when I saw that mural for the first time and it gave
057me a feeling that that school had never given me before acceptance and Hope and I want you to know that by covering that mural you are denying all prospective Nagel students those feelings of acceptance and hope and I'm in the middle of my marching band practice right now I shouldn't have to be here expressing to the people responsible for my well-being and education my disappointment I should be on the field having fun with my friends getting ready for performance at the homecoming game but here I am telling you what we need because you can't listen to us first or the mural thank you very much thank you Mike Carmen next up after that is Kevin mishak Molly mctai Nora Burke Wagner and then David colonic if you could please come over to this to the
058stairwell over here go ahead yep my name is Mike Harmon I live at 1689 Summit Hills um I'm a new Resident to Anderson I have a kindergartner and then I have a kid that's getting ready for preschool this upcoming year I don't want to take away from what everybody's bringing to the table here I'm actually here for Public Safety though I do believe this ties in with Public Safety I think everybody needs to feel included and safe here at the school district so I'm learning a lot of new things I'm seeing a lack of leadership from the school district just my perception so far as a new Resident I've just moved here I think we're mishandling the public safety incident from last week where there was a unexpected person that walked into Anderson High School
059we saw communication come out from that I feel like we're just trying to move on from that and it was in the news it is something that was prevalent Public Safety is my background I've been in public safety forever a decade I'm seeing some shortcomings there's not enough of these gentlemen here we saw a need for them during this meeting just now you're not going to be able to have enough of them we're going to need to put some safeguards in place in the school district for me to feel safe for my children to be here I know funding's coming in but I can't stress that enough make people feel safe included there's no reason I this is new to me the mural but there's no reason we couldn't have a mural either I don't
060understand that but thank you thank you [Applause] my name is Kevin mishak I live at 84 33 Holiday Hills Drive I like to commend the the staff I moved here seven years ago with my young children um we've lived through a lot of distractions construction remodeling levees mascots diversity fights at Nagel fights after football games lot and lots of distractions I can hardly wait to see what the next one will be but I like to commend the staff the teachers the students for remaining focused on academics I moved here seven years ago for the education for my children all right mine wasn't so great growing up I made many sacrifices to be in this community I put up with a lot from this community about things that are not important to my children's education okay
061yeah everybody's got their view we should all get a mural on the wall no these are schools it's academic education and to that point I'd like to commend your affiliation with Great Oaks my child had a horrible experience at Nagel 2. all right but he rose up we found out from a counselor at Anderson High School about Great Oaks thank you very much next up Molly mcday hi Molly mctai 1745 Kingsway Court I'm a parent of a fourth grader in kindergartner at Sherwood Elementary School and a mural artist I worked really hard to help get the levy passed in the capacity that I was able to offer at the April school board meeting my eight-year-old spoke to you in support of the levy already understanding the importance of her school being supported by the whole
062community it's really sad how many people voted against the levy I want to have a strong a solid argument against their stance that the district wastes money and is inefficient I wonder if the levy if the levy had failed if you had had the time and money to spend on your new cultural blueprint plan unfortunately it has no value and is a waste in light of your authorization to remove the student mural at Nagle Middle School the artwork was not abstract expressionism it was not a Rorschach ink block ink block test where one at one's interpretation of it is as valid as any other we know that because the artists told us what the meaning of the mural was which was to make kids feel seen and to promote kindness and inclusion it's a travesty
063that our district leadership is making decisions based off of one interpretation of that art that is unequivocally wrong if you had had more thought and been more thoughtful and informed you would have learned that the mural is actually completely in line with what your supposed cultural blue plant blueprint stands for thanks thank you [Music] next up Nora Kirk Wagner [Applause] hi I'm Nora zellen uh I'll be using Miss Wagner's time create a safe and inclusive learning environment where everyone feels heard seen and valued that quote was taken directly from forest Hill's new culture blueprint the school district supposedly believes in student voice but painting over student artwork sends the opposite message the mural was painted for students by students and you erased it the Nagle mural allowed students of every gender religion race and sexuality
064not to mention the students on the autism spectrum and those struggling with depression to feel seen the mural exhibited a safe and inclusive learning environment yet it was painted over that this action shows thoughtlessness a lack of authenticity and calls into question if the school board and superintendent wants some students erased restore the mural and uphold your commitment to the students restore the mural thank you thank you David colonic [Applause] hello David kalanick 7894 Meadow Creek Drive I'm a father of two kids in the Forest Hill School District that mural meant a lot to my daughter Scarlett and many students in the district it was a lovely way for her and others to feel represented board and administration knew fully the impact it would have despite the risk to the students and their Mental Health
065our teachers shouldn't be alone in their efforts to support inclusivity for all students this community deserves better from the board the administration and each other thank you thank you [Applause] next up we have human resources Mr Rob fellows good evening to the board um pretty straightforward agenda this evening from an HR standpoint although I would like to point out and thank some incredible individuals who have announced their decision to resign for the purpose of retirement Michelle Hicks Linda leggeman Sue Yates and Edie Zimmerman all for outstanding Educators collectively nearly a hundred years of service to the Forest Hills district which is outstanding so we certainly wish them the best but we get them for at least the next several months we're excited about that I would draw your attention to a couple items at the
066back of the report particularly item n is the mou this is in relation to our negotiations over the summer wrapping up that from June conversations with fhta as we transition in a couple areas particularly around Severance and item o is the resolution of intent um this is very similar to what we passed last year to continue to provide the district an opportunity to expand to the greatest extent possible uh the pool of candidates for substitute teachers that's in line with kind of following covid and the house bill 583 and Governor dewine's efforts to help expand opportunities there I would remind also the board that we have an HR board committee meeting scheduled for October at which point we will be doing the full-scale ffte reconciliation that's scheduled for the 16th at four o'clock at central
067office and we have not yet begun our consent agenda for this evening so this is a standalone any questions before we proceed superintendent recommends the board approve the human resources report as presented we have it we need a motion for the human resources report I'll make a motion to approve the human resources reported as presented second okay um second I can't you can't second why Katie second yep Dr Rasmussen yes Mrs Stewart yes Mr Bibb abstain Mrs hosfeld yes thank you next up we have business operations Mr John Eckert good evening this will be the star of the consent agenda at this point with items nine one and nine two these are no new item new items for the board really they're new items but the first one is to authorize us to have EPC
068uh bid out for new buses which we've had in the past and the second is a similar resolution to the one we had last year and so 9.2 is the revised resolution for payment in lieu of Transportation as we just have to update that as we have more students involved does anyone have any questions at this time you have no questions at this time I would recommend that the board accept items 91 and 92 as part of the consent agenda thank you thank you item 10.0 we have teaching and learning curriculum hello again I'm here for efficiency purposes I'm going to present the first 10.1 on behalf of Mr Hartley the administration of Anderson and Turpin High schools are requesting approval for the attached proposed for overnight trips it is a list of just all
069the travel that we plan to do for our athletic teams including any of those unexpected but expected tournaments that we hope to see later this year um for 10.2 we are bringing back a child focus contract for the remainder of this year earlier this year we participated in a request for proposal so that we could evaluate all of our systems look at the supports we have for our students and really look at what are what are opportunities to expand and enrich our programs for students our contract with child focus currently expires on September 30th and so this would renew that contract and help us continue to support the needs of students my guest Chrissy Myers is probably watching she sometimes watches our board meeting she's been amazing I do want to say that our our
070folks with child focus have been awesome as we have worked through a couple of hurdles this year with some folks that they they left unexpectedly and so we're hoping to restore services in some of those schools with this contract and again with this and with this process we wanted to also take a look again at while that programming with child focus is fantastic we're consistently looking for ways to improve we know that there are at times gaps and we want to ensure that we are looking at any any feedback that we have the school connection survey is one piece of the pie but we want to work with mind peace as a new partner they also partner with child focus to help us kind of look at some of the needs that we have from
071student feedback but also to also talk with stakeholders in our community so that we can ensure that not just for kids who are in crisis but how do we provide supports before kids get into crisis and so this is an opportunity I know that there's been many questions our sole purpose is to look look at how we can really wrap our arms around and provide a Continuum of Mental Health Services for our students so um it is the recommendation 10.2 to approve the addendum to extend the service agreement previously set forth in 2022 between child focus and the Forest Hill School District as shown in our attachment and then also with the support of Mind piece we would like to continue to support that partnership by looking for opportunities to expand with 10.3 mind piece
072again if you're not aware is a non-profit organization focused on providing a seamless system of mental health care for children and adolescents their mission focus is the Improvement and expansion of school-based mental health services and we're very excited about that opportunity any questions okay thank you item 11 point oh teaching and learning student services good evening 11.1 is an agreement with the Cincinnati Center for Autism for Behavioral consultation and the assignment of a bcba and or behavior specialist to support our students in consulate with consultation and behavior support for the district the effective dates of this agreement is beginning October 1st and ending May 31st of 24. this Behavior specialist just has some added information would be assigned to Forest Hills four days a week this is a partnership that began with funding that we
073received through coveted relief funds referred to as our ARP funds we used as an initial need for consultation it involved into a great deal more formal support for our students and staff across the entire district and it has led into some pretty significant um um service and and um a great Improvement in a number of programs that we have in the district such as our Rise program so I we're very very pleased to have this partnership so it is recommended that the board approved the Cincinnati Center for Autism behavioral consultation no questions moving on to item 12.0 treasurer's update the treasures report as always begins with donations over the past month donations over the past August uh total just over 34 000 and of course you can view the specifics of those donations on board
074docs or we're going to have them up on the screen here in just a minute and I've got blue screen technology is a little slow if we're having a little trouble um the best page there we go so if we could leave those up just a few minutes to give everyone a chance to view them moving on the next item in the treasures report is the statement of board accounts which presents offense activity for our current fiscal year of course tonight's report has two months of information since July and August are the first two months of our new fiscal and school year 2023-24 item C presents the general fund our five-year fund receipts for the month of August in our fiscal year to date August is typically a higher cash flow month as we receive
075advances against the summer tax collections so at this point in the year revenues are tracking as expected items d and e percent expenditures both by object and by function in the general fund for the month and the fiscal year to date expenditures in the general fund are very stable and are generally spent evenly throughout the year with a couple months into our new new school year we have spent 15.7 million so again Appropriations are tracking as we would expect at this point in the fiscal year the August 31st bank reconciliation and Investments are presented in agenda item f and agenda item e lists the permanent Appropriations by fund for our current fiscal year 24. these Appropriations are within the limits set by the May 5-year forecast and the appropriation measure is required to be by
076the Ohio legislator required to be passed by September 30th of each school year these Appropriations are necessary to operate the district throughout our current school year Mrs Jonas called me a little bit earlier or sent an email actually and requested that I give a sh I share a short description of what each of the funds are established to account for so I'm going to quickly run through each fund and explain what the purpose of the funds are keep in mind that I always like to put the fun numbers up there because those are required by the state of Ohio and every school district in the state has to use the same fund number so that way um the state then once they collect all of our financial data can put out those comparative benchmarks that
077we talk about from time to time so starting with um fund001 the general fund the general fund accounts for and reports all Financial Resources not accounted for or reported in another fund the general fund balance is available to the school district for any purpose that is provided it is dispersed and transferred in accordance with Ohio law we primarily use our general fund for operational purposes and 85 percent of the general fund Appropriations are spent on employee compensation with the remaining 15 percent being spent on purchase Services materials and supplies capital outlay and Debt Service 002 is a Debt Service fund Debt Service funds are used to account for and Report financial resources that are restricted committed or assigned to expenditure for principal and interest our debt service fund accounts for the annual tax proceeds from
078the bond issue that was passed in 2014 and funds the debt services that is related to the district's 103 million dollar construction project um 003 the next fund permanent Improvement this fund is provided to account for all transactions related to the acquiring construction or improving of such permanent improvements that are authorized by the higher Revised Code chapter 5705. within our permanent Improvement fund we have nine special cost centers we have a main Pi fund that records the activity of our permanent Improvement tax revenue and interest earnings that are spent on projects throughout the district in addition we also have eight smaller Pi funds that are used to accumulate funds for specialized projects such as Turf replacement Auditorium updates and building specific projects of four is the fund number that the state requires to be used
079for the receipts and expenditures related to all special bond funds in the district all proceeds from the sale of bonds must be paid into this fund expenditures recorded here represent the represent the cost of acquiring Capital facilities including real property land this fund is where the proceeds of the debt issued due to our 2014 bond issue were placed the expenditures for the new Wilson Elementary and the renovations to the other eight buildings were recorded within this fund over the past several years since 2014. 06 is pretty straightforward the Food Service fund it's used to record Financial transactions related to our food service operation and I'm proud to report that our suit our food service operation is self-sufficient with state and federal grants and student fees supporting the operations and the transfers necessary from the general
080fund which is not true in all school districts so very proud of TS shout out to Tia Strauss and her her financial management there fund007 it counts to accounts for scholarship where both the principal and interest are awarded to students fund008 accounts the scholarship where only the interest is awarded in the principal remains year after year to earn interest 009 is what the state calls the uniform school supply fund kind of a odd name but its purpose is to account for all academic student fees and to account for the collection of those fees as well as the expenditures and purchase of the necessary school materials supplies and equipment with those fees fund 018 official name is public school support it's commonly referred to as the principal's fund it's a fun to account for specific local
081Revenue sources for example profits from vending machines sale pictures small fundraisers within the building that are restricted to specific purposes set out by board Pros board resolution such expenditures can both be curricular and extracurricular so they can account they can be spent on either of those o19 is a fund used to account for the proceeds of specific Grant sources except for state and local grants um these grants are legally restricted to expenditures for specified purposes in their local grants and to give you an example neediest kids of all would be something from a not-for-profit grant that we would put in o19. fund o27 is a workers compensation self-insurance fund this fund of course accounts for our self-insured workers compensation plan as you know and again just last month we did transfer 150 000 that's an
082annual transfer from the general fund into this fund and expenditures out of this particular fund would be any legal expenditures third-party administrative expenses and claims pertaining to our workers comp program fund 200 this is where we account for our student managed activity funds this these particular clubs have students involved in the management of the program some examples here would be the language clubs student council yearbook basically all clubs and activities that our students participate in except for music and Athletics music and Athletics are in the 300 fund series so the 300 funds have student participation in the activity but do not have student management of the programs so again 300 athletic and music two hundreds all other Student Activities and clubs the remainder of the funds that I'm going to go through on this appropriation
083schedule are all state or federal grants state grants are designated with a three-digit number that begins with the number four federal grants are designated with a three-digit number that begins with the number five even we have federal grants even though all federal Monies to school district flows through the Ohio Department of Education so all of our grant wires are received from ode moving on to our state grants 401 the auxiliary service fund this is a fund that is used to account for money which provides services and materials to pupils attending non-public schools within the school district for our district the money you see in fund 401 is money that we have received from the state that is for expenditure by IHM they follow the same purchasing procedures that we have in our own school district
084and as the Public School treasurer I'm required to make sure that they make their expenditures of State funds in accordance with state laws for your knowledge a non-public school that resides within the school district can decide whether or not they would like this um School Public School treasurer to be their Fiscal Agent and IHM has chosen to send their money through US Miami Valley does receive their money directly moving on to state fund 451 that's our data communication fund and this is a fund that accounts for money appropriated for the Ohio education computer network connections we use these funds to fund internet service at our school buildings and then the state also sets up a miscellaneous Grant fund because most of the funds I've mentioned before are annual type funds so that we pretty much
085get the the grant funds every year but from time to time the state sets up specific Grant funds that are available only for that year or for several years in a row but anyhow as I said we do put the we are told by the state where what Grant number the or what fund number to use for the grant we currently have two miscellaneous state grants within 4.99 the first is a safety Grant and we've talked about that before that is a 565 630 of that appropriation and of course it's being used for when the security film video surveillance systems and and safety Provisions within our building the second miscellaneous Federal grant that we have Appropriations for here is a little bit under 20 000 which was the electric electronic connectivity Grant and it was
086a to be used for data plans for computer for devices moving on to the federal funds which again are federal dollars that fall flow through the state the First Federal grant you see listed there is 507. and that is the elementary and secondary school emergency relief fund commonly referred to as Esser and of course its purpose was to provide emergency relief grants to school district related to the covid-19 pandemic allow allowable expenditures include providing for the coordination of preparedness and response efforts to covet training and professional development of staff planning and coordination during the school closures that we had early on in the pandemic and purchasing technology for students and staff supplies and materials necessitated by the pandemic continent continuity of services and services to homeless students so there was quite a list of reasons
087and ways that we could use 507 Grant funds as you can see there we have very little left we got over 5 million over the last few years in 507 and as you see we've got just under 29 million I'm sorry 29 000 left to spend there um moving on to 516 516 is an annual Grant and it's used its purpose and must be used to provide an appropriate public education to all children with disabilities so it is limited it is limited to be spent in ways that supplement our special ed programs 551 is the limited English proficiency Grant fund and these bunnies must be used to develop and Carry Out Elementary and secondary school programs including programs at the preschool level to meet the educational needs of children who have limited English proficiency fund
088572 is to provide financial assistance to schools to meet the special needs of educationally disadvantaged children so again we must spend these funds on Staffing programs materials and supplies for educationally disadvantaged children 5 84 fun 584 purpose is to provide a discipline disciplined environment conducive to learning by preventing violence in and around schools and strengthening programs that prevent the illegal use of Alcohol Tobacco and drugs These funds can also to be used to involve parents and coordinate with related federal state and Community effort and resources to provide the the drug alcohol-free environment Federal fund 587 is the preschool grant program so IT addresses the Improvement and expense expansion of services for handicapped children ages three through five so it has to be spent on handicapped preschool children age three through five fund 590 improving teacher
089quality those are funds that are used to provide for Teacher professional development most of the money is spent on purchase Services bringing in professional development from the outside to Aid in the training of our staff members a little bit of the funds are also used for supplies that are involved in that training so I tried to run through those uh quickly I know it's already been kind of a long night I don't know if you have any questions on any of the funds before we move on to our last report I do on the on the 401 the money that passes through for IHM we have to manage that yes we reimburse you for the time that you spend on it or not we are we are allowed to charge a small amount for fiscal
090handling which which we do foreign moving on to our last report it's a new item and it was also suggested by Mrs Jonas this is in preparation for starting this January when we start to receive a bit more tax revenue and permanent Improvement so we've added a detailed report so you're going to be able to see the monthly and fiscal year to date revenue and expenditures in our main Pi special cost center I don't know that concludes the treasures report for tonight I don't know if there are any further questions if not thank you for your attention and I respectfully request that the board approved items 12.1 a through 12.1 H as part of the consent agenda which begins with item nine through 9.1 through 12.1 h uh I'll make a motion to prove consent
091agenda items 9.1 through 12.1 H second Mr Bibb yes Dr Rasmussen yes Mrs Stewart no Mrs hosfeld yes next up 13.0 we have board correspondence would anybody like to take the floor I'm sure I have a few things I want to go over first I want to start by addressing the blueprint and you know I had a conversation last week with somebody in in central office who was part of the Coalition of Educators in our district that work together to draft that and it it was insight and it helped me realize like these are our teachers these are the people that make our schools incredible that despite the actions going on over here keep our schools running and unfortunately I think a lot of things that have happened have kind of overshadowed their work in
092that area and as it was explained to me is that is their vision for what education and the culture in our district should look like and they're the ones in the rooms with our kids so I just wanted to take a minute to acknowledge their work and and just the fact that that does mean something to them despite what else has been happening um I also wanted to address safety because that has come up obviously we may not agree on the board often but what I can tell you is I I know that we unifiedly care about safety in this district and I was personally very upset and shocked to see the video my bigger concern is the lack of communication surrounding it in that transparency if if we're going to say we're transparent then
093we need to be transparent and that includes Mr Hook's communication to the board um I found out more details at a council's meeting that should not happen um that should be something that is communicated clearly um and in a in a very timely fashion um I also want to take a moment to acknowledge and thank all of the students that came out tonight and had the courage and conviction to come speak in what is certainly an intimidating room at times um they spoke from their heart I caught myself tearing up several times I'm a parent myself I have no idea what it's like to raise a middle schooler yet but I can tell you my fifth grader scares me and um it just it hurts it hurts to the core to see that they are
094hurt um and on that end I want to read an email from a student that really touched my heart and this is a Nagel middle school student who was not comfortable coming tonight so I asked to read the email gear Force dear School Board of the Forest Hills School District I want you to know that the mural meant so much to all of us at Nagle Middle School the mural made so many people of different races religions Sexes Etc feel like they belong the mural celebrates our diversity the mural is a sign that means we will accept you even if you are different the mural represents that who we are is who we are and no one has the right to ridicule bully or abuse anyone but most of all it shows the world it
095shows that the world shouldn't stay separate because we are one people who will grow together live together and learn from each other and if and if you can't accept that then why are you even here sincerely and the student sign their name um that's a little kid that that's a kid that's not much older than my daughter and I felt it was really important to share their words tonight Mr hook you've stated that you want to make good decisions for students and that it's all about the students but you will not answer student questions about why the mural was really destroyed instead you said it didn't fit with your blueprint you have not answered my questions either the response you've given is an insult to the intelligence of our students and to myself and to
096our community and you and I both know that that's true you know that's true Larry and I wish deeply that I could explain to the students and to the community members that have emailed that have stopped me at Kroger that have come out to this board meeting I wish I could explain to them why the mural was actually destroyed but I don't but I don't know what I do know is that the week prior I spoke with Mr hook and asked how can we remedy this situation if if that sign needed to go in that place fine but what could we do to preserve that art it was it wasn't just a small piece of paper it was absolutely a symbol and something that was special to Nagle middle school but if it had been
097covered up can we come to the table and find a way to meet in the middle figure out a way to just simply preserve the student artwork in fact I said much like we did at Anderson High School when it rebranded there were photographs and things like that taken of the content and Mr hook suggested we take a photo of the mural and perhaps share it somehow we were talking out loud on a phone call brainstorming um and the next thing I know that was out the window and the decision instead was made to destroy the mural Larry said earlier it's amazing to watch the interactions between staff and students we heard some very wonderful news tonight this is my fourth year on the board although it feels like 10 sometimes every year every year
098I am amazed at how many National Merit Scholars we have and I hope one day that my kids will be up here too Kim Tinsley shared about the amazing things we're doing when we focus on student outcomes that's what she said focus on student outcomes she shared awards that our teachers have won and all of the great work that they have done we have two of the best high schools in the state of Ohio and that's what we should focus on not these other things this board also ran on a promise to leverage creative ideas to finally fix the pool at Anderson High School instead we have the board president on record as saying you think you can trust your administrators and teachers but you can't we just heard from our state representative who helped
099whose help was rejected for capital projects do everybody in this room do you know what a capital project is a pool that is leveraging creative ideas that is collaborating that is making Partnerships if we say that we care about the students then why have we been careless with the students if we say about Larry I'm talking to you specifically if you say that you care about honesty then why have you been dishonest if you care about transparency but you refuse to answer questions even mine my questions you want to take this Arrow but your actions need to match your values that's why their people are here that's why the Myriad of emails are coming through saying this is hypocrisy the blueprint actually does matter to people to our teachers the ones that are in the
100rooms keeping our schools the successes that they are and that is damaged because of leadership's choices not because of what teachers have done we have a board policy 12 30. that outlines Larry Hook's duties and you can not look at me and you can scribble just like you did when people were talking to you all you want it does not change the fact that that policy exists and if you want I'm happy to pull it up and read it right now because what you told me is counter to what this policy states you do not work for just the majority you work for the board you're the first thing in this policy says that you are to keep the board informed of school operations by present by preparing and it goes on to list all
101of the other things you have not done that in fact you have taken a stance against against that policy and I'm very concerned what that means moving forward for our community and for our students what I would like to see is actual care for our students perhaps you should reach out to the students that came and spoke to you and shared their feelings about your decision and how it hurt them that's a that's a sign of a strong leader a leader that can say you know what I messed up I misspoke Etc and and repair those relationships because those kids matter I would also like to improve communication I would like you to follow policy 12 30. and I would like to see honesty and transparency we do not have to agree but it and
102that's okay but it does not mean communication gets shut down because you want to play some kind of game or politics or whatever we are here to do the business of the board and it's time to get back to doing the business of the board to keep these to stop overshadowing frankly what our teachers are doing and what our students are doing today was or tonight was a wonderful display of all of the amazing things that happen and instead we've got like five news crews here I implore you to get back to the business of the board we had an opportunity to really actually maybe to make some traction with this pool situation not just for Anderson High School but maybe district-wide that I mean that is truly something that we should have capitalized on
103and I'm frankly kind of stunned to learn that that help was rejected um so I hope that you will reach out to those students and I hope that every student whether you're here you've gone home you catch the story on the news whatever it is I want people to know especially those students that paint erased that mural but it does not erase you and there are there's an army of adults behind you cheering you on and it will not stand for this and we have your backs [Applause] yes are you done for now yes okay Bob do you have anything you'd like to add or I just wanted to thank everybody for the the top rating and all the awards we've won you guys are doing a fantastic job um I do have a security
104question is is there a way to get alarm Triggers on the door so if it's open for longer than five seconds I don't know that tells us this door's propped open we are actually looking into that um I think John just started that that process and so we'll be able to have some more information on not just that but maybe other options too sure thanks Bob Katie yeah I had a few things I wanted to talk about um so I kind of put a little speech together so there are many things that keep us divided politics racial issues gender sexual identity theology Etc we as a school district should strive not only for Unity but for harmony not divisiveness we must use wisdom and discernment not our emotions when engaging with each other as we
105focus on uniting our community it is important to look at our similarities and not our differences we are Forest Hills we are Anderson Township no Society thrives when its Community incites anger and Division I can't speak for everyone but I believe most people don't want to be divided by race or gender religion nor should we want Unity of thought each person is truly unique and every student should feel welcomed and valued in our schools and community we don't all have to agree but we should share in a common goal of living together peacefully and freely I know many people are upset about the mural being taken down um that said there are people who believe it never should have gone up to begin with uh Public Schools may not permanently display religious symbols or messaging
106that has been clearly stated over and over again and I'd also like to add that uh I don't know that artwork was meant to be permanent and the vandalism uh obviously became a distraction so I don't necessarily feel that it wasn't time for it to go I I think that it was distracting to the classroom and the environment I don't think you get to throw a temper tantrum by having banned by causing vandalism and then expect to get your way I don't think that sends the right message I think we need to make policies that are based on thinking critically not based on emotion and doing what's best for all of our students in this district and um I agree with Paul mcgibbon culture wars have no place in our schools we're not here for
107social justice platforms and we need to be focusing on education in the classroom and um Ava said something earlier today about nothing being done about bullying and this is something that really speaks to my heart I've had many students go through these schools and and had bullying issues and I've had my kids get in very low places because of the bullying here and I I agree we need to be building our community and and I I think we need to be doing something about bullying there there were many students that had mentioned that same situation over and over again of of bullying in these schools and nothing being done about it I I have parents stopped me I had somebody stop me today at the YMCA talking about the same thing and they pulled their
108kids from this school and I I think that that the culture here needs to change and we need to be doing something so that all students in this school feel safe and all students feel welcomed and and I don't think parents should have to worry about sending their kids to these schools and being bullied or picked on or hurt or any anything like that happening um and I know I personally get very emotional when we talk about bullying because I've seen it with my own kids here and and it breaks my heart to hear other students talking about their same experience and and nothing being done about it and and I just feel like we really need to put our foot down and do something about it thank you Katie so I want to make
109a comment about um representative Rachel Baker here who came on to to um basically attack somebody on the board here and spread a lie about not wanting her to come here because she's a Democrat I think she represents all people so I'm not sure why she said that and if she truly had something to come to bring to the district these two people right here would be the person the people that she should talk with she complained that she didn't get time but she's here speaking about it so I'm really confused about where she was trying to come from I can clarify it I talked to hold on a second it wasn't a lie I didn't say because she was a Democrat no if that is a lie you said did you say that we
110need to bring a republican if we bring a Democrat no I didn't say that why would I say that that has nothing to do I'm telling you I talked to Larry about it when I found out that we had rejected okay thank you but it's I'm talking right now Leslie so thank you I gave you your time you can give me my time thank you obviously yeah let's clarify that I did not say that thank you thank you so if Rachel Baker would she never reached out to me personally never got an email so if she really truly has something that she would like to bring to the district why doesn't she email somebody I I've never received an email from her thank you I received the emails I did not get an email from
111her she may have spoke with Mr hook I don't even know if she reached out to our treasure if she truly has something that she wants to bring well thank you nothing says that she can meet with them and bring something to the district if it was that important we would have loved to have seen it so thank you very much and as far as Larry and all of the staff that is Underneath Him and our teachers um regarding the security piece um you know I know you guys tried to act as as quickly and as urgent as possible um board members did get a text from Larry um so I'm not sure if anybody is saying that they didn't but I received one and then Communications came out afterwards and now here we are
112fast forward and I believe that with our second resource offer that officer that brings us a second level even more of a level we have this gentleman right here who says this he's an expert we'd love to hear from you and hear some comments and if you could reach out to our district that would be extremely helpful so we're all here to make this um District better and move forward and make it the best that we can so thank you moving on to 14.0 oh I have the adjournment um one last comment before we adjourn I just want to thank you for clarifying that and for extending the offer to Rachel Baker our representative to come meet with the district about these opportunities because from my understanding and conversations with her it could be very
113valuable so thank you for clarifying that and extending the invitation adjournment um on 14.1 we have the next scheduled meeting of the board of education on October 18th at 6 30. do I have a motion to adjourn second Mrs Stewart yes Dr Rasmussen yes Miss Mrs hosfeld yes