001We call to order the Cleveland Heights University Heights City School District Board of Education meeting for February 3rd, 2026. Thank you for joining us. This is a regular meeting of the school board and all items that will be discussed or voted on have been posted as required by state law. We are here to conduct the business of governing the district, to set goals, to hear reports from the superintendent and treasurer, to approve budgets, contracts, and personnel items, and to make policy for the district. We are not here to make management decisions or solve the problems of individuals. Management is the responsibility of the administration. Our colleague uh board member Heints will not join us this evening. Miss Leam, will you please call the role? >> Mr. Trimbo >> here. >> Mrs. Krenshaw >> here. >>
002Mr. Hashkus Lily >> here. >> And Mrs. Howard Prime >> here. >> I will now turn the meeting over to our superintendent for the awards and recognitions. >> All right. Well, good evening and welcome everyone. Tonight we begin with our Tiger team members of the month for January. Their peers have recognized these CHU staff members for going above and beyond to contribute to the culture of excellence in our district continuously. Your colleagues who nominated you for this recognition have shared these heartfelt words about you. From Bombgardner Middle School, Anise Pigniski. You would not think that Miss P is a first year teacher if you saw her in action. Friendly, fun, and extremely hardworking. She rel she she relates well with the students and has definitely picked up the curriculum like a seasoned pro. from the
003board of education and bus depot, Vanessa Banttom. Vanessa is always responsive to requests related to transportation and serves the district with friendliness and professionalism. From Boulevard Elementary School, if there's anyone here from these schools, please come up. I don't see anyone, but I just want to make sure. Uh Karen Spinx. Karen is someone who consistently goes above and beyond to support others, whether working with students or assisting staff. She is always willing to step in and ensure everyone feels supported throughout the school day. From Canterbury Elementary School, Loretta Herd. Miss Herd is always a team player. She is willing to help whenever needed and she is wonderful with students and a kind and caring co-orker. From Fairfax Elementary School, Darnell Sephus. Darnell is our amazing attendant staff assistant and football coach. He has been a
004wonderful addition to our Fairfax team. from Gity Laura de Lambo. Nurse Laura is a conscientious school nurse who provides quality nursing care for all her students in a caring professional manner. Her attention to detail and follow-through ensure student safety and well-being. From Heights High School, Samantha Green. Miss Green always displays exemplary co-eing along with colleagues and student support. From Noble Elementary School, Deborah Elwell. Deborah is a second grade team leader and a true master teacher. It is a pleasure working with her because she is open, calm, and wants the best for students. From Oxford Elementary School, Tiana Banks. You will know Miss Banks by her infectious laugh and her quiet smile. Her kindergarten room is organized and exciting in the place where magic happens every day. From Roxboro Elementary School, Karen Hodson. Miss Hudson is
005a knowledgeable, dedicated, and caring teacher. And from Roxboro Middle School, Andre Callaway. Miss Callaway has brought joy, life, and energy to her team. She is embracing TCI and providing meaningful learning experiences for our students. She is supporting her ELA counterparts by reinforcing content and social studies. And she is doing it all with an open mind and caring heart. So although our winners are not here, let's celebrate them, please. [applause] We'll make sure they get their plaques. And that concludes our recognitions for this evening. I am happy to bring back Jesse Bolan from the Superintendent Cadway for our report for January. Uh, good evening, Board of Education members, Superintendent Kirby, and Miss Leam. Uh, before I actually get into anything, I want to uh apologize in advance for my attire. Um, as uh Mr. Rob Swagger
006can attest, we just got back from the EMT uh CCP course, and I didn't have much time to change. Um, >> all good. >> Thank you for being here. >> Of course. Of course. Uh first off, my name is Jesse Bowling. I am a sophomore at Hi Thai. Uh as a member of the superintendent's cadre, I am here to give a brief report about what's happening at Hi Thai. I am honored to be here this evening. Thank you for the opportunity. First, I would like to tell you about our athletics teams and provide an update about several upcoming events at Hay Thai. For the athletics, boys basketball, coach Bremer recently earned his 100th win as men's basketball coach. Girls wrestling took second place at Austintown Finch tournament. Boys wrestling uh went 1 and three this
007past weekend at the Shaker Duel mix tournament. Boy, boys and girls swimming, both the teams earned senior night victories over West Giaga last week. And girls basketball earned a convincing win over rival Shaker Heights, their second over the Red Raiders this season. Quick round of applause for them. Uh and then now a few uh important events that are happening at Hi Thai. Uh for the month of January, the High Thai Drama Club held their 15th annual oneact festival on January 22nd and January 23rd. The festival featured eight eight student directed plays performed by 40 different students where the audience was able to sit on the high school stage to see the students talent, enthusiasm, and theatrical ability. The Heights High men's and women's barbershop ensembles traveled traveled to Pasadena, California at the beginning of the
008month to attend the annual Barberhop Harmony society's next generation barberhop festival. Both received outstanding ratings and were given the presenters award. The women's ensemble also received the Plateau AAA award, the top award given to an ensemble of their member size. The Freaky Bobs and the Pitches uh high ties two studentled barberhop quartets submitted video auditions in the fall and were invited to compete in the top 15 competition at the mid-inter convention. Both quartets scored outstanding ratings in their competition. For the month of February, the High Thai guidance team is hosting a college credit plus in Heights High scheduling information night on Thursday, February 5th in the high school's auditorium. Families of current 6th through 11th graders who are interested in learning about College Credit Plus uh can attend the session at 6 p.m. High scheduling
009and expectation portion are for current 8th through 11th grade families will take place at 7:00 p.m. The IMD will be hosting their mid-winter concert on February 11th and 12th at 700 p.m. the uh in the auditorium and it's free to the public. The Wednesday concert will feature performances by symphonic winds concert in symphonic band and jazz ensemble. The concert the Thursday concert features this year's senior soloist Celia Lifford on cello. The high symphony strings concert orchestra Philarmonic strings and the eighth grade orchestras from Bumgardner and Roxboro Middle School. Hi Thai's Roxboro Middle School uh High Thai and Roxboro Middle School's Chinese language programs uh invite the community to attend their Lunar New Year performance on February 20th. The event is free to the public and will take place from 4 to 7:00 p.m. in the
010main auditorium. Thank you for your time. >> Thank you, Jessie. >> But [applause] can you tell us a little bit about the EMT program that you are in engaged in? Um well today was the first day uh and so far we learned how to give proper CPR and uh work with ambo bags. Uh next week we expect to learn about um AEDs. Uh and then the course will actually give us the ability to uh be certified uh entry- level EMTs. >> Awesome. >> Thank you. >> Of course. >> Thank you. All right. Well, it doesn't look like we have any statements from the audience. Um, so we will move on. May I have a motion to consider the consent agenda? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Is there any discussion? Um, so I'll just say
011uh I I think it's great um that our DECA program is going to compete. Uh is DECA part of CTE? >> Yes, it is. >> Okay. That probably um maybe they can come share with us one day. >> They come back from the competition. >> Yeah. Okay. That would be a great um any other discussion >> um with all of the VMD uh highlights that Jesse shared with us. Uh great to see Alicia Burkel um converting from her probationary period to her vocal music parapro permanent status. Uh also um just a question um on the POS, where would they go? And this could be for Angel, could be for Sam. Also, the um World Fuel Services Inc., the amount was pretty big for buses. Is that like a lump sum that happens on a quarterly
012basis or? >> Yes. And that's to fill the tanks out. >> That they that everyone seemingly on the U side of uses at this point to fill our tanks out here. Yes. But we do we do bill other [laughter] >> I wasn't aware. Yeah, >> we don't have funding that we build quarterly and we go through everything and it's the police, it's fire, it's uh our people, it's grounds, it's >> all the entities supported by our tax dollars, our property taxes. Yeah. >> Yeah. For the for the recording at home, uh other entities use our pumps uh that are located behind the board office. And I had asked a question about uh gasoline purchases uh and so EMTs, police fire, other groups use that and then we charge them for that. >> Thanks Sam. >>
013Thank you. Any other discussion? >> No. If no further discussion, Miss Leam, will you please call the role? >> Mrs. Howard Primes, >> here. >> Mr. Trimble, >> here. >> Yes. [laughter] Oh, yes. I'm sorry. >> Yes. Sorry. I'm a follower. Follow you. Don't follow me if you [laughter] go Kathy. >> Miss Mr. Hashis Lily. >> Yes. >> Miss Grinshaw. >> Yes. >> We will now have our superintendence report from Miss Kirby. Okay. Let me get set. We're going to look. [laughter] >> Moving right through. >> See what happens when when Mr. Hines isn't here. [laughter] >> 20 minutes. So, hold on. I'm gonna get us get I was just in then and I bounced out and I I am back again now. [laughter] Um we are um as always we this report aligns with
014our strategic plan goals. I am in the meeting. Um and it's been a wintry January month. Let's just say that for sure. But still lots of really great things happening in the district. So, I'm going to share my screen [snorts] um and go through the update for January. All right. So, um I started the report just with some pictures from some real fun events that um were happening. I was able to attend even amongst all the snow. So you'll see um those first two pictures are actually from the one act place that Jesse Bowling shared. They were really good, like really good. And even though the attendance was a little low because the weather was colder, um it was a it was a decent crowd, but what was cool is that the students who are
015seniors direct the plays, pick the cast, do all the the practicing, rehearsal, and then and put them on. So it's kind of you know your senior year we have like the musicians you know who do their final solo pieces um singers too but also um those kids who are in theater. So uh this was a really really great show. It was funny. It was dramatic um and just I was just so impressed by what um what the students did. So that was cool. And then on the right side are um the students from Roxboro who placed second and seventh grade for the power of the pin tournament. I just have to shout out Miss Nelson who is the coach at Roxboro um just for a wonderful job and she put it on. She did such
016a great job last year that they requested that she host again this year. So it was just really great event. Bomb Gardner also does Power of the Pen, but they're in a different region for I don't know why why how it's set up that way, but um so they had a tournament as well. Um but this is um this is the one that just happened this past weekend. So super proud um of the students and there is a student there who was one of the first students I met when she was a kindergarter, Ruby from Boulevard. >> Um so she also um it was a winner. So it was really cool. And then the next slide is um from the Grog Shop. Um and I know we have some board members out there. So students
017who performed there throughout the afternoon on the 24th. Jesse actually also was a performer there as well doing lots of events. Um but it was a cool event. It was a fundraiser but just a nice opportunity for the kids as as mentioned to have um you know a different venue to showcase their talents. There were some kids who are alums from the program who came back as well. So it was really awesome um to be able to see the kids in that space. We are also in the season of the uh winter reading challenge. So we are going to be going through the month of February. I need to get out and promote this a little bit more. I was in a first grade classroom though and a first grader told me that he wasn't
018going to participate cuz he already had a bike. He had like two bikes so he didn't really need the bike. [laughter] I was like, you know, they're gift cards. There's other things you can get. Um, so at least there's some awareness. You know, some of the kids said, "You're the reading challenge lady." Like, "Yeah, that is that's me." Um, so, uh, we want to keep promoting that, keep pushing reading. So, uh, that is continuing through the end of the month. Um, we also are starting to roll out the gun safety awareness, um, initiative, which we talked about in the last work session. So, we sent out a notice to parents in the weekly [clears throat] bulletin and it will be incorporated in the upcoming PBIS activities that are happening in the schools with um some
019some additional programming uh happening in the future with our city partners. So, um we are excited about that. Um as it relates to college and career readiness, we are back uh with our Trimco rising stars program and the annual ice box challenge which I think we won last year, didn't we? you won there last year. So, um that has um you see some examples here. Actually, I'm going to ask Bob, can you just talk about what the ice box challenge is if you don't mind? I mean, you know, I have time, so >> yeah, it's only [laughter] 7:17. >> So, can you talk just a little bit about the ice box challenge? You can do it way more than I can and also a little bit about the trim cup. >> Sure. >> You got
02030 minutes. >> Exactly. [laughter] >> We we can go to the three minute timer and that'll pay. Um so really this is students have the challenge of how long can they keep um or they can they build something that insulates this piece of ice. So um we have the ice that we put inside these boxes. They spend a couple weeks fabricating and designing and really trying to think about it's got a good seal on it. Um so not only is it about keeping it cold, but then as the ice melts, it turns to liquid and their box should still also contain the liquid. So, it's really about waterproofing, weather proofing, um using some of the materials and the techniques that they've learned through the Rising Stars program. So, as you can see, they've got some
021um foam insulation there at their joints. They've put some of the Great Stuff foam expander. Um some of the students actually even created a a top that would try to be almost um sealproof or weatherproof in order to keep the cold inside the box. So, uh, we had four different entries. So, all of the students in the heights programs, they did one, um, they each created an entry about teams of three. And then, um, this team actually, uh, won because their ice did not melt. And even when, you know, the mel the ice melted, the water still stayed within the box. So, that allowed them to have the the longest, coldest um challenge. They won that. And so now what will happen is there are three other sites uh for the uh Trimco program. They're
022in Brooklyn, they're in um Charlotte, they're in um Chicago. >> Is it Texas? >> I wasn't prepared to talk about all those, but there's four sites nationwide and I think that they're all on the East Coast. Um and so now our winner will go up against all the other winners. So that's how we won last year is that ours maintained its cold the longest and was weatherproof. So um and really a lot of this it goes into some of the same construction techniques that they're learning as they're working through this program. Um so even before they created this they talked a lot about like what is a a sill you know what is um you know a footer, what's good about ventilation and so how understanding those principles you can actually design a really weatherproof
023box. So yeah, they're actually applying some of the things that they are learning in the program. So this is an example. The students uh were very excited that they made such a weatherproof [clears throat] box. And actually, if anybody's experiencing ice daming, you probably should talk to the kids in this program because they probably know how to fix it um better than anybody else. So >> before you go, can you also talk about the CCP to EMT >> um opportunity? Yeah, as as I've talked to the board and I know I've got some maybe some upcoming opportunities to talk talk about the CCP program, but we really talked about um using our programs to help kids earn those industry credentials, not just the the college credit that comes along with some of those programs at
024TRIC. So, we're really excited. I'm really glad we have 11 students, including Jesse, um who are doing this EMT basic certification. Um, and TRIC really worked with us because we're such a good tri like partner for CCP. They were like, "Well, what else can we do?" Like, "What can we do to get kids interested?" So, they're actually running a program specifically just for Heights kids. The 11 students in this program um out of their health and human services uh building over at Trice East. Our class runs from 4:00 until 6:00 and it's just Tuesday afternoons in February. So, we leave at 3:15, we're back at 6:00 um 6:30. Um, and that way our students can also earn some credentials. So, it's not really competing with other things. Um, 4 weeks is a pretty small time
025frame, but we really are valuing both the college credit plus that comes along with it as well as the industry credentials that help our students really just um become more marketable. So, it's a great example. We have sophomores, juniors, and uh we actually will run this again during senior project week. So, this is another opportunity for students who are ending their high school career and are thinking maybe EMT, fire, paramedic, something in the nursing field. This would be a great way to get them to jump into that next phase of their life. So, we're really excited to partner. Um, we were hoping to have somewhere between 10 and 14 kids this um February and then we'll be able to run a similar program for about 14 students um during that first week of senior project.
026So >> that'll be the first week in uh May. So we're looking forward to that. You know, Bob, what's really interesting to me is uh that there was an article, I just saw it today, might be a day or two old, um uh that uh a a number of economists statewide were interviewed uh and asked the question about uh our um Ohio schools preparing students for the the Ohio job market. Uh and basically the the kind of the crux of of the article was that you know statewide uh divestment in public schools uh meant that you know they weren't we aren't preparing as a state students and so when I hear things like what you're sharing it's kind of flies in the face of that at least at the the local level at least you
027know in town here. Uh so that's that's really heartening to hear that you know in spite of uh you know the the headwinds that we're we're facing on the funding front. Uh we're doing everything that we can to make sure that kids are ready for job markets. So >> and that's a I think it's a really important thing and I know that that discussion is happening statewide. Um and even some of the rhetoric that's coming out of our state house is u maybe even demonizing some of these industry credentials that are really entrylevel industry credentials. Um, and I would encourage any of our legislators at the state level to talk about what entry level industry credential they earned when they were 18 >> because it would be zero. So, >> minus pizza delivery. >> Exactly.
028[laughter] But when we think about customer service and retail, we talk about um CPR and AED and being able to save a life. Like those are really important things. And maybe not for someone who's a a seasoned veteran employee. You might look for something like, oh, it's too basic. But when we're talking about transitioning from high school to employment, I think it's really important that we keep the context of these are really the driver's license is also a really important first credential that our students can earn. So, as long as we make sure that we keep that as part of the conversation, I think that um we'll keep letting our legislators know that these are really important to entry level work and in college and career. So, we're excited to keep our students moving in
029that path. >> Thank you. All you do to bring such wonderful opportunities for kids. There's always I'm not surprised TRIC reached out to you [laughter] because they already know that you're going to make it happen. So, >> it's a great program. Yep. Thank you so much. >> All right. Many work session. Okay. [laughter] >> Also during January, we had our third session of the clarity cohort where uh both first year and second year teachers came back to share best practices to um deepen their understanding of clarity and plan their next steps. So, it's um great to see this work continuing and we are definitely starting to see the clarity work within classes as we do uh walkthroughs and work with teachers and TBTs. Um recently we had our principal meeting in the month of January
030where we talked about lots of things um college and career readiness. We were looking at map data from the winter looking at um the work that principles do with their teacher based teams. um talking through our MTSS uh process where students are supported for the needs that they have. Uh we also had a uh training from the curriculum department with the focus on our math high quality instructional materials um and resources for teachers to support them in their work. The curriculum department will share more about their work in the upcoming work session. Um assistant principles also had a meeting uh shortly after that, a shortened version that uh Rachel Coleman led them through. Also, we had our monthly DLT meeting on the 28th where we looked uh very closely at our winter benchmark data, winter
031map data, and then teams from every school shared their reflections from the day-to-day that we had um in January. We decided to do that virtually because of weather. That was like the first day of that really crazy snowstorm. Um so, we still able to have that time for teachers to collaborate with each other. I'm also excited to report that the quality profile is available. We have physical copies here in the building, but also mailed copies are going out and then there's a digital copy available at that link as well. So, thank you Kath and Kavanagh for working to u make sure we have a way to showcase uh information about the district and all the great things that uh happened uh within the past year. In terms of our family resource center, it's been a
032very very busy time. uh two open shopping days last month um an increase in visits from the HRFC and Nancy shared some of that information at our most recent uh work session. Uh under goal four last last month uh we had schoolboard appreciation month and also security appreciation day. So thanking board members for your leadership and service and our security team for the work they do every day to keep um our students and our staff safe in our schools. And then some reminders. Uh lots of stuff coming up in February. So we have some things that have to be rescheduled due to the weather. So this week we will have the college credit plus night at the high school at 6:00 p.m. Um here there will be information um for kids in grades uh 7
033to 12 who are eligible to attend college while they are in high school taking those courses. Um, we want to really make sure if a child in grade 7 to 12 is going to take a CCP CCP course, they come to that night to get all of the information that they need as they get ready for their course selection for next year. Um, and then coming up at the end of the month, uh, we are returning to a during the day state of our schools address. So, we have not done this for a while. It will be February 27th um with refreshments starting at 8:30 a.m. and the program beginning at 9:00 a.m. It will be held at the Cleveland Heights Community Center. So, thank you to Mayor Petrus for allowing us to use that
034space uh to have our state of our schools. Um and in the month of February, many many many activities happening across our schools for Black History Month. We'll have that information posted on social media and also in our weekly updates. Um, [snorts] this week is National School Counseling Week. Um, I already mentioned College Credit Plus. We have the IMD winter concerts coming up on the 11th and 12th. Uh, we do have a teacher independent work day on the 13th. So, we have an upcoming long weekend next week. School resource officer appreciation day is on the 15th. Um, and then we have the Luna New Year Ramadan beginning and our February 17th work session. So that concludes my report for the month of January. >> Thank you, Superintendent Kirby. We will now have the treasures report
035from Miss Leam. >> Do we have a final reading of >> Oh, do we have any policies? >> Did I go Oh, did I policies? >> Final reading of policies. Yes. >> Sorry. >> And the first reading of the district calendar. So, we'll >> Correct. >> I'm moving a little too fast. >> That's okay. [laughter] Uh so tonight is the final reading the third and final reading for our board policies um for that was uh uh that we had issued um the next round um is coming shortly. So Neil had just uh sent us new updates and so the board uh policy committee will be meeting and reviewing that and then presenting those to the board shortly after. Uh Mr. Mr. Trumble, you had a question about policy 7541 related to our potential new scoreboard
036and related to that. Um, and speaking with Mr. Damato and also with David Bogner through our CTE consortium, they're in the process of talks of working through that process to uh potentially make that program part of a either a CTE program or working through the high school. And so actually the work on that policy would actually align into a different policy which is 2210 which is our curriculum policy. And that policy is more that 7541 was more related to uh school safety and the technology piece. Perfect. Okay. Any other questions? Awesome. >> Have we made the adjustments for the kindergarten entry policy? >> Yes, we are. Um and I'm working and so that's House Bill 114. Uh we have met as a committee on that and we are there there is a an update on
037that and then we are working as a committee. >> Yes. And then we will have that for the February meeting at the work session to present to the board about the potential changes to House Bill 114, which is policy 5112. Got them all memorized. [laughter] >> Okay. >> Thank you. >> May I have a motion to approve policy group A? >> I motion that we approve policy group A having done three readings. I second the motion. >> Miss Leam, will you please please call the role? >> Mr. Tremble, >> yes. >> Mrs. Howard Primes, >> yes. >> Mr. Hodkas Lily, >> yes. >> And Mrs. Krenshaw, >> yes. >> Okay. Um, the calendar committee um on the board agenda tonight is the proposed calendar for the uh 27 or 2627 school year. Uh the calendar
038committee has um there's a couple things that we need to do. First, we need to present that to the board. Uh we will post it on our district website based on the policy which is 80 8210. Um that policy or the related in that policy is that we have to notify our public for 30 days of the proposed changes in that calendar. Um and so uh and then the board can take action after the 30 days which will take place in our March meeting. the policy or the calendar committee uh team members which is the next slide consists of all of our um union leadership members from ESPAC to 102 to 795 to 617. It also included uh David Bogner who is our uh college or our Heights Career Tech um consortium leader uh as
039well as Sharon Royer uh Chief uh Coleman as well as Chief uh Jenkins were also on the team as well as our board members u Miss Krenshaw and Mr. Trumbull. Uh the committee had met three different times to review the pro uh the proposed changes on that. The big thing is that we try to align our proposed calendar working with our consortium districts. Um, so we're able to align our district and the start date is actually if the district approve or the board approves our calendar, the start date will be the same through all four districts in the consortium. And so there are actually only like two or three days that may be different through our calendar versus the other. and there was a heavy emphasis on helping to support that because of the transportation
040and the alignment of our consortium districts and really working through that process. Um so our calendar would be very the proposal of the calendar is that we would just actually start very similar to our current school year this year. I think the start date would be August 19th. Last year this year we started on the 20th. Um we would have the full two weeks off during winter break. we would have a week off and another an extra day um based on our spring break and spring break next year is earlier in 27 based on the uh the calendar and then our calendar uh we would allow our students and our staff to end before Memorial Day and so that would be give basically the the breakdown from that calendar. Okay. Um everything will be posted
041on the district website for review and then any changes that we may make or come back to the board as well. And then the key thing is also looking at our calendar as our calamity days because obviously that's a big kind of focus especially when we have a winter currently where we're under as well. Uh right now the state of Ohio has changed our calamity days. It's not really calamity days, it's actually based on ours. And so based on this current structure of our um for the calendar proposal for next school year um we would have over 26 days in our elementary um seven days for um our high school and eight days for our middle school. And this making sure that this also the caveat this is that we would end on the last
042day that includes like the high school pro um graduation as well as eighth grade promotion. If we line those days in there, then it would still follow through those um potential calamity days going forward for next school year. Okay, any questions? >> Not not questions so much as a comment from just from the discussions. And you you brought it up, but I think I just want to reiterate the point of the importance of of starting and stopping um with our consortium districts and sort of what that means in practice. So, what we're talking about just for the the community's understanding is um the the us and the three other school districts that um that our calendars are in alignment so that we don't have students who um for CTE programs that we send to other
043school districts so that those students if we're if we're starting if we're opening up our school year uh a week late uh compared to uh our other districts in the consortium that there those students aren't missing that opening week uh or if we were to say start uh a week early that those students aren't sitting around hightai with nothing to do uh because their program would be starting you know uh say at Warrenville uh you know a week later um and then at the tail end of the school year you know there's the flip side effect of of having out of sync calendars and all of that same thing with with holidays and all of that so the the more that we can do to stay in alignment uh the better for our CTE students.
044So, it's just uh a benefit to those those kids. Great. Y >> I think it also strengthens our our partnership with those uh other districts and schools. Um also moving to end the semester before the break I think supports uh college readiness um for our seniors who you know um may be collegebound may not be um but you know things end at the semester um you know so I think it that it supports that as well. >> Great. I heard from a number of parents that it'd be really nice for winter break to be able to un truly unplug at winter break and not have to be worrying about I've got to get this final thing turned in or I've got this project I've got to tie some loose ends up on and to actually
045be able to, you know, spend time with family and recharge. And so I think being able to afford that opportunity to our >> kids and families and I failed to mention that, but yes, thank you for both bringing that up. that is the the semester would end at winter break and we've also looked into the um the the seat time requirement and we are would well within our um allowed time or what the requirements we would be well within that range to support that as well because also for the audience and folks at home um the discussion in the calendar committee that what that does is it actually has an unbalanced first and second seme uh second semester by four or five days um And part of the discussion in the committee was with state
046testing and you know winter weather uh and just endofear uh field trips and other celebrations and things that happen on the second semester. Um the uh having extra days in second semester isn't necessarily a bad thing. Uh and so it we thought it lent itself to having a slightly imbalanced uh first and second semester and having the clean break at winter break uh sort of works itself out nicely. So thank you very much. >> And and do we know where we are with the calamity days? Um are we close to um not having enough hours or um and then if we get close to that I know Dr. Jenkins mentioned um what virtual learning could look like. >> Correct. So, we are very close at our high school and our middle school. Obviously, our elementary
047has a few more days obviously based on the number of hours. We do have contingency plans that have been shared out with the building as well as um the leadership in 795. So, we've had those discussions and we'll have that piece if necessary if we do need to close any further days. But we're very we're coming up close very to our uh a lot of time >> but plans are in place. >> Okay. >> And how many do we need? Three readings for the calendar or just the 30 days? >> Just the 30 days. Okay. Yep. >> All right. >> Thank you. >> Dr. Jenkins, can I ask you a question briefly? >> We just we're just swimming in time. So yeah. [laughter] um when you sent that email out which was I know mandated
048by the the state that we have that plan and uh uh did you receive any feedback from families or anything just as >> honestly I [clears throat] didn't really receive a lot of reply from families about that I think um >> you know I I we tried to open it up to you know all the avenues of feedback both like as um Sean had mentioned you know the union uh we even feedback from principles of course and then um yeah from the community. So sending that out. I don't know if Kathan I don't think she would have >> forwarded messages and questions um you know to me so I didn't receive anything. So I think we're >> I didn't hear much and so I I was just curious like if any like COVID blowback of
049like we're not doing the >> I was having no I was having a little bit of you know when we were like going through and just like how would this look in terms of a virtual day. Um, you know, of course, we had to pull out all the COVID protocols and all those kinds of things. So, um, but I think we're in good shape. Um, you know, I think we have a good plan. Uh, we, you know, are really, you know, of course, using Google Classroom, Google Meet, uh, like we did in the old days, right? Um, and, uh, you know, people have plenty of time to prepare. So, we've given them that lead time. So, as, um, Chief Patton mentioned, uh, we are getting very close. So, uh, it is warming up out there,
050I think. Right. [laughter] So, we'll see. >> It's 30, I think. 30. Yeah. >> Yeah. But it is it is just the beginning of February. So, um but I think we'll be well prepared. I I do want to say that uh keep in mind the state provision for uh doing a virtual day in place of like calamity is three three days. So, um, like I don't think we're going to have more than three different clammy days, you know, like when we have to engage in this, but if we do do, we'd have to look at other options in terms of adding instructional time, uh, to make up for that. But let's not let's not go there, right? We'll just try. >> Virtual calamity is measured in days, but the other calamity is measured in hours.
051>> Yes. So, uh, the way the hours work is, um, the state, uh, the provision they they put forth is in hours per elementary, per middle school, and per high school. So, that's what they would say required instructional time. So, we um compare that to our calendar. Any overage we have when we add up our instructional time by hour would be the amount of calamity time that we would have in excess of the required instructional time. I don't know if that making sense. But um basically uh when that's used up with Calamity um and we get close to like that required instructional time is when they kick in. Okay, you can do three of those days virtually if people have if it's safer of course to stay home. but then after that third day. Um,
052but yes, to answer your question, it does seem that they they they they measure that in units of days, >> yet we're given hours of instructional time. So, I get I get what you're saying for sure. >> Thank you. >> You're welcome. All right. No problem. >> All right. >> Now, everyone knows we can put them on the spot. Everyone in the room, >> we're all on [laughter] notice. >> Cold. Uh we will now have the treasurer's report from Miss Leam. >> Thank you. Good evening. Um so as part of the treasurer's report tonight, um I want to focus on three important things related to the financial forecast. Um so um these aren't just uh technical updates, but they explain how the state now looks at our finances and how we communicate financial health um
053to the public. So this presentation directly supports goal five of our strategic plan which is informing and educating stakeholders about district finances and school funding in Ohio. Um transparency um and understanding are essent are especially important given recent changes at the state level. So, the first key change um is Ohio's transition to a four-year reporting model under House Bill um 96, which was passed um at the beginning of this year. Um districts no longer submit a traditional five-year forecast. Instead, we now submit the current year plus three future years, which we refer to as the 3+ one model. Um the goal is more immediate state oversight using um refresher data which is why the submission deadlines have shifted to August and February. Keep in mind that um submitting this type of information um in August,
054we don't um have plans on what the county is going to do with reappraisal and so there is oftent times a delay with the the data um but we are able to update that in February. I will have the forecast um for approval at our next board meeting. Um, another important piece here is increased attention on carryover funds. Um, specifically the carryover fund balances. Um, if reserves exceed certain thresholds, um, the county budget commission, which I spoke about at our last meeting, um, may have authority to reduce property tax collections. Um, so maintaining responsible but not excessive reserves um, has become even more critical. Um the second item I want to talk about is transparency specifically um the required notes and assumptions. So the state is very clear that numbers alone don't tell the whole
055story. So we must explain why our figures change whether it's due to expiring grants, negotiated um salary schedules, enrollment trends or levy activity. Um so those these narratives are publicly posted alongside um the forecast on our state websites. Um meaning our forecasts are re are reviewed not only by auditors but by residents analysts statewide. So this process helps identify risks early and ensures dis district districts are not overlooking um key financial factors that could lead to future deficits. And then the last item um is how the state uses the forecast um as early warning system. Um, [clears throat] specifically the auditor of state tracks a series of financial health indicators which is published on the auditor of state website. Um, and you can consider that kind of like your your financial health check or um
056financial vitals. Um if a forecast shows a projected deficit within the reporting window, um a district may be placed under fiscal caution or fiscal watch. At the watch level, the district is required to submit a formal recovery plan within 60 days. And the intent here is to um prevent the is the prevention um or to address um financial challenges as early as you know them um before they rise to the level of like fiscal emergency. So, in summary, um these changes place greater emphasis on timely data, clear expl explanations, and proactive oversight. Um I'm happy to answer any questions, and additional information is always available on the district finance web page, >> but as the forecast goes out, then the carry out carryover balance decreases. >> Correct. specifically when we are deficit spending um which
057we entered into last uh fiscal year. And so um the more we deficit spend or spend in excess of what we bring in um we erode our cash balance. That's correct. >> Any other questions for Miss Leam? No. All right. Well, I'll now give the president's report. Um, so as we begin a new semester, um, I want to welcome our students and staff back and thank our families for their continued support. As Superintendent Kirby mentioned, there were many great things that happened during the month of January. Um, but I also want to thank everyone for their flexibility and understanding during the recent school closures, uh, due to cold temperatures and snow. um as our as the safety of our school community remains our top priority. Um and so this month the board we've continued to
058focus on supporting student achievement, maintaining fiscal responsibility, uh and ensuring everyone is safe and warm and welcome in our learning environments. Um and so again, we just appreciate the dedication and resilience shown across the district. Uh and we value our partnership with the community. Um, so I will also just roll into our committee reports. Um, I had the opportunity to attend a fundraiser for Leila Edwards um, who is a hockey player um, from Tiger Nation um, now playing for the United States um, in the Winter Olympics. Um, and so the Heights Athletic Boosters were able to host an event for her family to help them u make their way to see her play. Um, and so good news, they raised enough fund and were able to do it. Um, and so we're excited to uh
059see her play um and represent Tiger Nation. Um, also the calendar committee meant met as Mr. Patton mentioned um and so we have been working diligently on that. Um any other committee reports? >> Um well committees are >> are assigned. Yes. >> Hot off the press to this to this new group. Um so let our our new folks off the hook a smidge and Mr. Hines is um is uh absent today. Um safety committee continues to meet. Um thank you Sam for leading that group. Um although no nothing new um to report there. Um PTSA is uh holding a um prom closet uh collection drive. Uh there is a large bin at the Lee Road Library and I I believe another one right out here in the lobby of the board office uh where um
060um dresses, tuxes, formal wear can be dropped off uh donated um and then it'll be repurposed uh to kids who need it. Um also monetary donations are being accepted. There's flyers um around both bins and locations uh where um electronic donations can be uh given uh so that uh kids in need can have a fun prom. >> I think I have some things I can donate. >> Also, the PTA is having a bonree basketball tournament. >> So on the 28th, do you have that? I had it up and I dropped it. So, it's on the 28th. It'll be at WY in the WY gym. So, anyone at the the board, we're gonna you're gonna have a team. Anyone interested in doing a little threeon-ree basketball? >> That's what I was going to ask. Who is
061it? Is it parents verse? >> It's school versus school and department versus department. So, the board in and of itself, board of education, which could be everyone who works here, is going to be a team, but certainly board members, too. >> So, you're playing? or something. [laughter] I'm terrible at that, but I'm because it'll be comic relief, trust me. [laughter] Um, so yeah. So that's and there it's a fundraiser for all the PTAs, so it should be, you know, a cool event. You know, I don't think we've I know we haven't done this, you know. >> I don't know if we ever done this. >> This will be an inaugural [laughter] PTA three on three CH Tiger Nation basketball tournament. So >> we we might need Jesse on standby with all of his new equipment.
062[laughter] I know. I don't want to twist anything. >> A bamboo bag, AED. >> Yeah. All of it. >> Yeah. [laughter] >> So, that's coming up. We'll And we'll help promote that, too, as well. So, >> Okay. Well, thank you. Uh, do we have any new business? Any unfinished business? This is record time. I'm an efficient effective record. you are [laughter] are to be celebrated for that. >> Are there any correspondence or announcements other than what we've mentioned? >> Well, believe so. >> If there's no further business, may I have a motion to adjourn the meeting? >> So move. [laughter] >> All right. >> Miss Leam, please call the role. >> Mrs. Howard Primes. Yes, >> Mr. Hodkins Lily. >> Yes, >> Mr. Treble. >> Yes, >> Mrs. Krenshaw. >> Yes. The meeting is now
063adjourned.