001All right. So, welcome to our board meeting. If you want to go ahead, Mr. Mr. Henry here, Dr. Cross, Mr. Mrs. Thank you. All right. Thank you. Um, Mr. Manny, as we end business, so um, to kind of call get us going here tonight, I'll start by saying that this meeting is being held in accordance with section 3313.15 of the Ohio Revised Code. Um, welcome to our regular meeting. Prior to this meeting, each board member received for their review and consideration that agenda and materials associated with each agenda item via the electronic board of education agenda system or docs. Board members have the opportunity to call the superintendent and treasurer for information concerning agenda items and to request additional information if needed. As a result, voting at the meeting may appear rushed and without. This
002is because the board has thoroughly reviewed the agenda items from their research and arrive at the meeting ready to vote. This meeting is a meeting of the board of education in public for the purpose of conducting the school district's business. There are two opportunities for public participation during the meeting as indicated in agenda items designated as public participation. The first is hearing of the public of agenda items where the board will listen to comments from the public on any item on tonight's agenda. This is at the beginning of the meeting so that the board can hear from the public prior to any voting. The second opportunity is hearing from the public on non-aggenda items. During this portion of the meeting, the board will hear from the public on any topic rel relevant to the business
003of the district. All public comment follows the guidelines included in our board policy 0169.1. All right. So, we will move on to >> Oh, we do the [clears throat] >> um we will now uh do the pledge of allegiance. turn. I think John is doing it, but I'll turn you to introduce uh to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for God, indivisible. With liberty and justice for all. She's Thank you very much. >> Apologies for almost forgetting that. Um, now let's move on to approval of minutes. Can I have a motion? We have one set minutes to approve. Can I have a motion to approve the minutes? >> Jim second. >> Mr. Bansky. >> Yes. >> Mr. Henry. >> Yes. >> Dr. Cox. >> Yes. >> Mr. Manny. Mrs.
004Ch. >> Yes. >> Yep. Um, we'll have Mr. Gabriel come up. >> Thank you, Dr. Willingham. Members of the board. Good evening, everybody. >> Tonight, we proudly recognize two outstanding seniors who have achieved the prestigious rank of Eagle Scout. What makes this even more special is that both students chose projects that will leave a lasting positive impact on our school campus. Becoming the school is the highest honor awarded by the Boy Scouts of America. It reflects years of hard work, dedication, and perseverance as well as a strong commitment to service, leadership, and making a difference in the community. Senior Eagle Scout Coast wanted exceptional initiative by designing, leading, and constructing more than 40 birdhouses with 30 of them installed along the Kston running trails. The brick house is strategically placed both within the wooded areas
005and open fields were mounted on metal teaost to create safe, sustainable, and longlasting habitats for local bird species. The goal of the project was to enhance the biodiversity of the trails while also enriching the natural beauty and the appeal of that area. Our second senior, Eagle Scout, Jack Miller, helped establish the foundation of an outdoor classroom at constructed five weatherprotected picnic tables. These tables are solid, durable, and safeguarded from the elements by multiple coats of timber oil. The temples provide a lasting resource for KMS students and the school community. Located behind the middle school, the area offers a change of scenery and a flexible space for hands-on learning. Tables also or the tables allow students to engage in lessons outdoors, improving focus, reducing stress, and encouraging physical activity. Additionally, students can develop a greater appreciation
006for nature and environmental awareness, which will enhance their overall learning. Both projects have demonstrated exceptional leadership, communication, and organizational skills. They also leave a tangible impact on both the natural environment and the Kensson community. We congratulate Colin and Jack on their Eagle Scout accomplishments. Congratulations. Honored to recognize the achievements of three Kensson High School senior students. National merit scholars designated as commended rank in the top 5% of more than 1.6 million students. represent a group of students with a strong foundation for future success in their chosen career paths. Congratulations to our National Merit Commended Scholars, Alan Buchanan, Deon Masuga, and Jackson Lin. >> Additionally, Jackson Lin has been named a national he will advance the next round. academic transcript, records [clears throat] of community service and leadership, as well as any recent honors. A finalist
007later this year, Jackson will be considered a school of his choice. Good luck. Congratulations to all three outstanding students. Thank you. Great job. I'll leave it with you next. >> All right, so uh we have a little group with us this evening. So we have our Kensson Center stage that's going to talk about the fall play. >> There right there. Stop. Wait, no. >> Okay, so he start off. >> Hi, my name is My name is >> I'm Bill. and I'm angry. My name is I play number six and my kid is nine and my best my best days are far behind me. [laughter] Hello, I'm Tommy Haj. I'm a very person. >> Hi, my name is number 12 and I just want to get out of here and he's been in college for you.
008think he's guilty. You can convince me if you talk FOR A 100 YEARS. >> I don't want to convince you. Just what are you saying? >> This boy's been kicked around all his life. You know, living his mother since he was nervous. [clears throat] Because we knock him over the head once a day every day. Right. It's hard. Sure. But everything I got, I fought for. I worked my way through college. That was a long time ago. And perhaps you can forget. I fought. Yes. I never killed. >> I fought too. And I never killed nobody. >> All right. Thank you so much. at 7:00 and Saturday at 2 p.m. So hope to see available on the website. >> Thank you. >> Next we have Cheryl Thanks for having me here tonight. We basically try
009not to break everything. We fund teacher grants and um uh teacher uh sorry senior scholarship and teacher grants. Um so um um this year I guess um last year we had over 30 uh scholarship listings um that had 90 applicants that applied for 565 scholarships. So we had a lot of cover the amount of kids that were scholarship. Um this year we're hoping to add at least three to five vast majority of kids that are applying. Uh we plan on having the applications go out again sometime out in February. So, and then we'll be contacting all of the previous uh scholarship um donors summer January time frame. >> See, John, I'm not the only one. >> Maybe because I dropped it. Um, for as far as teacher grants, um, la last year we gave over
010$11,000 in grants um to to teachers to help supplement uh their teaching programs. Um, we um grants out to teachers in every building. Um we opened the uh teacher grant applications uh for this year last month and we will be um discussing them and probably voting on them at our next board meeting uh later this week. Uh we had 12 um teachers apply for grants. Uh they all look actually really [clears throat] good. I already looked at the their applications. Um and um again we had uh teachers apply from all of the buildings. So, we're hoping that we are able to do whatever we can to help supplement um some of their teaching uh requests uh for this year. Um just our community involvement. We try to do whatever we can. Um this was actually
011last year's picture family fun night this year. The uh uh And we had them make little snow things and it was actually really um fun. And the kids ran out of supplies before the end of the night. So that's the first time that's happened. But it was really fun. They had a good time. And coming up, uh [clears throat] save the date on your calendar. Uh we're going to have our second annual um first bingo event. Uh it'll be March 14th at Adam Hall. This helps us raise um funds so that we can um support uh the teacher grants and the and the senior scholarship. So if you're able to come and and and if you guys know of anyone um so any any help would be appreciated. Thank you so much. >> All right.
012Thanks. >> Next on the agenda is a legislative update, but I know you're going to speak to a couple things in your report. So, I will leave that to I will turn back to you for superend. I just have a few things tonight. [clears throat] First, I wanted to give just an update um on PI. Last year, I told you that we our PI levy timeline would be a lot different than it was last year. Just have a good night. [laughter] Yeah, >> mics are all messed up on the live stream. stop us again if you need to keep working. >> So again, last year with the uh levy just passing in November, the the timeline was a little different. Um so we we did get back together end of September, beginning of October. Um
013really began looking at some of the things that we wanted to do as part of our strategic facilities plan, but then also things that we would prioritize. So um Seth and I have been, you know, meeting with our our department leads and we have meeting coming up in November. So for the board, I would expect to see um recommendations for PI projects at the December meeting. Um regarding House Bill 96, um recently Seth and I Commissioner Brady and to um County Auditor Walder. And you know, right now they're in the midst of of hearing and deciding whether or not they are going to do some expansions to the homestead and owner occupied credits. Uh Mr. Kales is going to show you kind of financially what things would look like in the district. Um obviously we're
014asking them to oppose uh we're opposed to that, asking them not to take advantage um of additional cuts. You know, the the one thing and and we'll be sending more out to our community very soon. You know, the biggest thing is I I think we agree with everybody that property taxes are definitely out of control. Um but just getting rid of them, just taking those away completely. doesn't do a whole lot for your schools and it doesn'tffect the services are affected by that. So, we'll be sharing a lot of information regarding that. But the the first step with House Bill 96 is is really, you know, we we would lose to the tune of about a almost a million dollars um which would be a lot different for us. You know, we in that letter,
015we prided ourselves on the fact that at the county budget hearing last January, Mr. Manning, Mr. Kales and I with the commissioners with the um auditor and at that time they commended Mr. Kales for um the percent uh deviation between what his uh forecast showed and what spending was. So basically commending him um on really doing a great job with our finances. And they said to us, you know, worried about your cash. >> You should really, you know, work on trying to build that cash balance. Well, we did that. Uh we made some some some tough decisions and uh made some changes and saved about $700,000 last year, which would be completely taken away. Um so again, that's a little frustrating for us, but um you know, we're going to continue to lobby and and
016try and get some of these things um addressed. The other thing I wanted to bring attention to is Mr. Dr. Gab has been working with his team and Dr. Poe um on making sure that our program of study at the uh high school will be updated and and ready for the as well so that we can get moving with um you know timeline for scheduling uh at the high school. I know that seems a little off for people but we we have been working on this for quite some time because um we got to jump on this right away. So but outside of that that's that's all I have specifically on any of these Thank you. >> Thank you. >> As Dr. William mentioned, um, House Bill House Bill 966 could uh potentially negatively impact.
017>> Now what is House Bill 96 and what is a concern for the residents? So it does provide some property tax relief to res. So and it's it focuses on those residents who have property tax credits. And essentially what it does, I don't want to say it, you know, doubles them up, but it gives them um additional piggyback tax exemptions to supplement the existing homestead. Now, that's great. That is great for the homeowner, right? And those individuals who have because it does provide that additional property tax relief. However, it's important to note that it does come at a cost not only for school districts but also the townships and municipalities and and various other um entities located throughout J. So if this piggyback tax exemption is you know acted upon and enacted um the same
018amounts for all tax levies. So this includes both inside and outside marriages and they are re they're basically going to be reduced to cover the cost of these. So I wanted to highlight here these two graphs. If you look at the top 14 October and as Dr. We took to heart what the budget commission had told us at the last budget commission in February. They said, "Hey, you guys got to do as much. cash initial. in our cash balance and how quickly that is reduced from the October forecast that I did to the impact this piggyback tax exemption would have on us. Essentially, what would happen is we would deplete our cash balance reserve much sooner, approximately two 2 and 1/2 years sooner, cuz it's $500,000 to a million dollars a year if if they
019chose to enact it each year. And that would push us to the ballot about two two and a half years earlier than we originally anticipated. So, that's a very important thing to say. How does it impact? you're trying to save the taxpayers a little bit money, but you know, you force uh school districts, municipalities, they would be burning to shoot through their cash quicker and typically would have to go back to the um taxpayers to say, "Hey, we need some up to two and a half years earlier than what we planned for and anticipated." So that's a potential impact. That's how it will impact. You can see So this I think is a very good visual which highlights the blue line highlights without the piggyback exemption that was my original October forecast. Now if this
020piggyback exemption is enacted again the assumptions are it would take effect on January 1 of 2026 and we continue throughout the holiday forecast. You can see how our cash balance quickly dwindles and would put us on the ballot. >> The impact that this piggyback exemption would have on sure that it would also impact many other school districts and municipalities in a similar fashion. Um because you know it's it's close to a million dollars a year for us. Um, so you can just kind of visually see that steep drop off. And again, that would just require us to go back to the taxpayers to say, "Hey, you know, we tried So I just wanted to highlight that it's on the it's on the square um shortened square. Um so I would encourage everybody um Dr. Willingham
021and I have we worked on a letter um I think we can share that letter um you know you can copy and paste some of the verbiage, right? If you wanted to kind of send a letter to uh Mr. Walder and also the commissioner just say this is the impact that it would have on school district. it will push us to the ballot sooner and have the opposite intent which would mean we have to go back savings but then you're taxpayers earlier than anticipated to try to get them operating. So, um you know share um you can always find it on the county auditors as well just to say hey you know please think this through um was welcoming feedback prior to their meeting. So if you know we can encourage individuals to reach out
022to them and say let's think this through because it would have an impact not only in Kston but as well as other school districts in municipalities and whatnot would be impacted throughout. Hopefully this is a good illustration. We will post this to our website tomorrow so that you can see the impact the direct impact this pick exemption would have on us. And if you have any other questions please reach out directly to me. Um I'll always take a call. losing my voice slightly, but uh I'm glad to talk you through all this. So, thank you. >> We are going to be sending out the the letter itself that way the community knows what we've said with contact information if anybody is interested. >> All right. Thank you. Next on the agenda is hearing of the
023public on agenda items and we do not have any. All right. So, we will move on to financial items. Uh we have items uh 1 through seven. So I can have a motion for one through seven. Thank you. All right. Comments, questions, anything you want to point out. There are idea B are um