001Union Hill Board of Education meeting. This is the first meeting of the year. So, welcome everybody and happy new year. Uh, with that, I see we have two young girls here. Uh, Leah and Alisa, can we ask you to please come forward and help us lead the pledge of allegian? Perfect. Yeah. Yeah. I pledge alce to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, without liy and justice. >> Thank you. Good job. >> With that, can we move to the roll call? Mr. Davis. >> Certainly. Mr. Marks. >> Mr. Schwiker >> here. >> Mrs. Singh >> here. >> Mr. Tullus >> here. >> Mr. Warfl >> here. Let's leave that open. >> Seconds. Okay. All right. Then we have a group of
002orchestra kids here. Dr. Stewart, can you walk us through? I will be happy to. I'm happy to announce that January is board of education recognition month. And we could not be more thankful for each of you. In your pile of papers, you're going to find a little certificate that says, "Thank you for your service." But beyond the certificate, we wanted to say thank you in a different way by showing you the talent of these incredible students. So, who we have with us today is Shaye Shaw, Juliana Rodriguez Perez, Cameron Woo, and Reed Delanc. And they're here to present you with a little treat to say thank you for all of your service as board members. We're ready whenever you are. Oh, hey. Heat. Heat. Thank you. Thank you. Good girl. Thank you for coming here.
003And I don't think there could have been a better way of starting 2026. with the presentation like this. Thank you. We really appreciate you guys coming here and performing for us. >> Thank you. And thank you, Mr. Bowden, as well. Thank you. >> Yeah. >> So, with that, I we would I would like to take a moment to welcome our new board member, Mr. Timard. And with that, I would ask Mr. Davis to start the oath ceremony for him. All right. Um, so I will read the oath. You repeat after me, please. We'll start with Mr. Schwher. I, Tim Schwiker, do hereby swear or affirm that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Ohio. I, Tim Schwiker, do hereby swear that I will support the Constitution
004of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Ohio. and that I will faithfully and impartially perform the duties of my office as a member of the board of education of the Indian Hill Exempted Village School District, Hamilton County, Ohio. And that I will faithfully and impartially perform the duties of my office as a member of the board of education of the Indian Hill Exempted Village School District, Hamilton County, Ohio, >> to the best of my ability and in accordance with the laws now in effect. and hereafter to be enacted during my continuence in set office and until my success successor has been elected and qualified >> to the best of my ability and in accordance with the laws now in effect and hereafter to be enacted during my continuence in said office
005and until my successor has been elected and qualified. >> Thank you to your duty and service to the Indian Hill V Indian Hill Exempted Village School District. We're very proud of the uh the the effort and the uh time that the board of education puts into the governments of our district. >> Thank you, >> Mr. To. Uh do we have to do it for >> have to do two more? Yep. >> Yeah. So, we will go ahead with the other two board members who are returning. Uh Mr. Nolan Marks and Beles. >> So, we'll start with you, Mr. Marks. Sure. >> I, Nolan Marks, do hereby swear or affirm that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Ohio. >> I Nolan Marks do hereby swear that
006I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Ohio. >> And that I will faithfully and impartially perform the duties of my office as a member of the Board of Education of the Indian Hill Exempted Village School District, Hamilton County, Ohio. and that I will faithfully and impartially perform the duties of my office as a member of the board of education of the Indian Hill Exempted Village School District in Hamilton County, Ohio, >> to the best of my ability and in accordance with the laws now in effect and hereafter to be enacted during my continuence in set office and until my successor has been elected and qualified >> to the best of my ability and in accordance with the laws now in effect and hereafter enacted during my
007continuence in set office and until my successor has been elected and qualified. >> Mr. Marks, thank you for your service and dedication to the Indian Hill Exempted Village School District. >> Mr. Tullus, >> I Barrett Tullus, >> I sorry. >> Oh, go ahead. >> I Barrett Tullles. >> Do hereby swear or affirm that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Ohio. >> Uh, do hereby swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Ohio. and that I will faithfully and impartially perform the duties of my office as a member of the board of education of the Indian Hill Exempted Village School District, Hamilton County, Ohio. and that I will faithfully and impartially perform the duties of my
008office as a member of the board of education of the Indian Hill Exempted Village School District, Hamilton County, Ohio, >> to the best of my ability and in accordance with the laws now in effect and hereafter to be enacted during my continuence in set office and until my successor has been elected and qualified >> to the best of my ability in accordance with the laws now in effect and hereafter to be enacted during my continuence in set office and until my successor has been elected and qualified. >> Mr. Mr. tell us thank you for your dedication and service to the Indian Hill Exempted Village School District. That concludes the oath of offices for this evening. >> Thank you, Mr. Davis, and welcome to all the members. With that, we need to adopt the agenda. Can
009I have the motion to adopt our organizational meeting agenda? >> So moved. >> Second. >> All in favor? >> I. With that, we would move next to the election of officer for 2026, president and vice president. Mr. Davis, can you walk us through? >> Certainly. >> So, for each of these elections, we'll do them one at a time. Um, we can we need to nominate potential um officers. You can anybody can can nominate any board member at any time. There's no need to second a nomination. Uh we will ask if there's any more nominations and then close that period. After that, each board member will be asked to vote for one one nominee or to abstain from their vote and I will call that role. Any questions before we start? >> Go ahead, Nikki. >>
010All right. With that, I'll take any nomination for the president of 2026. >> I'll nominate Mr. Tolles, Mr. Waffle. Any other nominations? >> Any other nominations? >> All right. >> Mr. Marks. >> Yes. >> Mr. Schwer. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Singh. >> Yes. >> Mr. Tullus. >> No. I don't like doing it by myself. Yes. >> Mr. Warville. >> Yes. Thank you. That will mean that Mr. Tulles will be the president for the calendar year 2026. Mr. Tullus, it's your floor. >> Uh, thank you. We need to take nominations for vice president. >> I'll nominate Mr. Warfl. Any further nominations? With that, we'll close nominations. As I read the role, please uh select the member that was was e that was nominated or abstained from the vote. Mr. Marks, >> yes. >> Mr. Toyer, >>
011yes. >> Mr. Singh, >> yes. >> Mr. Tuls, >> yes. >> Mr. Warfl, >> I guess I can make it unanimous. >> Mr. War, you will ser you will serve as the vice president for the 2026 calendar year. Congratulations. >> Thank you. Uh we got a couple housekeeping items to roll through. Um I'm going to take a picture and then we'll adjourn and come back and do our starting our new meeting. Uh but right now we'll start with our consent agenda. Um we just take a motion to approve that we need to get through. >> I thought we were I thought we were pausing on the on the >> we will we will stop at the end of the organizational meeting and we'll yeah this this goes very fast. Are there any questions with the
012consent consent agenda? >> Yeah, just one note for the public. The June meeting may change based on some public content as soon as we know on that. >> Yep. >> Yeah. Otherwise, if there's no comments or questions, I'd ask for a motion to approve the consent agenda. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Mr. Warfl. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Stain. >> Yes. >> Mr. Marks. >> Yes. >> Mr. Schwiker? >> Yes. >> Mr. Tullus? >> Yes. Uh next item of housekeeping is to set up and establish our committees for the following school year. Uh we operate with four separate committees and then two additional positions uh above and beyond the the board service. Um the committees we we do kind of have a stated goal of having the committees meet a little more regularly this year.
013Uh so you the public will be information about that. Um I believe I'm just appointing them correct me. Uh so with the for the instruction and technology committee uh we're appointing Rob Warful to serve as the chair and singing to to serve on the committee. For the operations committee appointing Nolan Marks to serve as the chair with Tim Schwiker to serve in the committee. The personnel and professional relations committee appointing Nikki Singh as the chair and Tim Schwiker to serve on the committee. The finance and audit committee myself as the chair with Nolan Mark to serve also on the committee. uh Rob Warful to fill in for to serve as a legislative liaison and to continue serving with the Indian Hill Foundation, Nikki Sin. Um we will be having information committee meetings in the coming
014future. Uh those will be open to the public and as always we invite and encourage our friends to come and share their thoughts. Uh with that we will take a adjourn briefly uh of the organizational meeting. Yeah, we need a motion to take a quick picture um and then we'll call back into order the regular meeting and get going on the meeting. So that do we have a motion to adjurnn? So moved. >> Yes. All in favor >> I >> All right, we'll be back in two minutes. >> Okay, thank you everybody. Apologies for that brief pause. Um you're all entitled to a free copy of that picture if you would like it. I know it's exciting. Uh, at this time we are happy to call to order our first regular meeting of the 2026
015school year. Uh, Mr. Davis, could you lead us in the roll call, please? >> Yes, I will. My computer's present and I've got a presentation. Mr. Marks >> here. >> Mr. Schwer >> present. >> Mrs. Singh >> here. >> Mr. Tullles >> here. >> Mr. Warfl >> here. >> Thank you. At this time, is there a motion? I'll take a motion to adopt the regular meeting agenda. >> Still moved. >> Second. >> All in favor? >> I. >> Uh, Mr. Davis, any public commentary? >> None this evening. >> Um, we will move into next to recognition, correspondence, and announcements. But before we do, um, not to start on a somber moment, but I think it's appropriate to acknowledge a lost colleague. Um, Barb Watson passed away uh, a week or so ago. Uh, she's served
016the school since 1988 for nearly 37 years. Um, I had the privilege of having her as my teacher. Um, and my children had the privilege of having her as as their teacher. Uh, we were blessed tonight with some music of our high school students. That passion for music in this district starts early and starts primary school and I can't count how many thousands of kids started their career with their music passion with Barb Watson in her class. Um, she will is is irreplaceable. She will forever be missed. She will ever forever be remembered in this district. Um, you know, it's we're very proud of our arts of our arts activities here, our arts programs. Um, and the success of that program, it's no secret of what it starts with what the foundation is and that
017love of music she instilled in in many, many kids and many families. Um, over the past couple weeks since her passing with an announce, I've had countless families reach out to me, you know, expressing their their their sadness, their loss, wanting to know what they can do to honor her. uh we are working with her family and we will um at the appropriate time uh have a celebration of life life for uh Mrs. Watson. Um I don't have any exact details on that yet, but it is coming. Um but you know, this school district is a special place and we're blessed to have a lot of really longtime people uh grace us with their talents. Um we had Denny D of the athletic hall of who's been there 50 something years. Um, and it it's
018it's moments like those when you you kind of know why we all do what we do and put so much effort and passion into the schools because we have great teachers who who do it, too. Uh, so so we will move forward in her honor this school year. We'll always remember her. We always think of her and thank her for all of her service. Uh, so just wanted to to not start the year on a down note, but certainly wanted to make sure we recognized and acknowledged her. Uh, so with that, we will now move into recognition, correspondence, and announcements. I'm sorry. Is I able to add anything, please? I don't need to. Yeah, >> Dr. Stewart, >> thank you. We would like to start with our usual video at the start of the board
019meeting, >> Braves Nation. Welcome. I'm your campus life coordinator, Latif Johnson, and I am so excited to welcome you to this next episode of our district student ambassadors newscast, and you are in store for a great episode that I'm sure is going to put you in the holiday mood. As a way to conclude our last video for 2025, of course, we're talking all things student leadership. I'm at the primary school here and they have been diving into habit number two, begin with the end in mind. You guys tell us more about that and what does that mean to you? >> Beginning with the end in mind is setting a goal perhaps like basketball. I I'm I got to train to get to the championships. Setting a goal helps motivate me to help me know what
020I'm working toward. If I start a project and I don't know what the end is going to be, then I won't stay focused. But if I know what the end of my project is going to be, I'll stay more focused cuz I want to get it done. And how do you guys practice this habit at school? >> I use this habit cuz I want to be a good a good student. And to be a good student, I have to study at my house. At home, I like to practice lacrosse with my dad so I can be a little better and be one of the best people on the team. >> Well, you all have shared great insight on habit number to begin with the end in mind. Thank you all so much for doing that.
021I know that this is one of the habits that is so important to building strong leaders in the future. So, keep doing what you're doing. Can we send it off to the elementary school? >> Welcome to the Indian Hill Elementary School. We are talking about habit one, being proactive. I'm here with two of my friends from Brace Postal Service. Tell us more about it. One of the ways we're being proactive is sending messages around the school. Kids write messages to their friends that they can't see during class time. And the point of the messages is to be kind and thoughtful. The goal of the brace postal service is to make sure every kid in the elementary school gets a positive note to make them feel good about themselves. How do you guys track your progress?
022We check our progress by this gigantic board that has um percentages right over there and um all the grades names. This helps us become good student leaders by teaching us to be positive, kind, and caring to others. Thanks for talking with me today. Let's send it off to the middle school. >> Welcome to the middle school. I'm here with students from Braves Council and we're here to talk about the clothing drive. So Anna, what is Braves Council? Braves Council is a club where we get together and plan um upcoming events and spirit weeks. Ma, what was the clothing drive? So the clothing drive was for this place called Freetore Food Bank. Freetore Food Bank is a place where they help people in need and we thought it was a great time to do a clothing
023drive for them since it was winter time. So, we got like a lot of students donated. We went over to free store food bank and we gave them the clothes. We like helped them sort out all the clothes, put them in sections, and the manager of the clothes was like, "This is like the most fun I've had in like a long time." which I feel like was a great compliment to all of us who went down there because it made us feel proud of what we did. To make this drive a success, we went around and communicated um consistently talking to advisors and putting up flyers. We donated 31 total bags, which is the most bags donated since the pandemic. We collected the clothes in the village green. We had four tubs, one for each
024house. And the kids would bring their clothes up to us and we would mark them off and we were trying to find which house had the most participants donating clothes. This drive helped us to become leaders by leading students to take an initiative in the community. Well, that's awesome guys. Great work. Now, let's head to the high school. Thanks, middle schoolers. Welcome to the high school. As student leaders, we know that hard work is super important, but we also value time to relax and bond with our friends. As seniors, we recently went on our senior trip to Chicago. Let's hear more about it. >> Chicago was a great time and it was one of the most memorable moments of uh my high school career. And I really enjoyed spending time with all my friends and
025exploring the city of Chicago. >> The Chicago trip was extremely special because it truly showed how much our teachers care about us. They planned an amazing itinerary, including going to a comedy show where we had so much fun. >> This trip was a great time forming new relationships with people you don't normally get to hang out with outside of school. For me, it was really memorable because I got to strengthen my relationships with my friends. I thought it really brought us together because we went to like the bean and we also went to the sky. It was just really fun. My favorite part was the dinner cruise on Lake Michigan. It had great views and a ton of fun music and dancing. Thanks so much for sharing your experiences. Let's send it back to Mr.
026Johnson. >> Thank you, high school. And thank you to all of our ambassadors and amazing students from all of our schools. This is a reminder. We have one more week of school left and then we are on winter break until January 6th, 2026. Braves Nation, it's my hope that you have a wonderful winter break. Rest, relax, and have fun. And as always, lead now, Braves. Just going to throw this out there in case my kids are watching. We do have school the next two weeks. This is yeah this is an example of our ambassador program. I had the pleasure of actually working with them today. Highlight of my day for sure. And I think it's a great example of how our students really can lead. Like we don't need adults always to tell our story.
027Our students are very capable of deciding what's important and telling our story as well. So, and just lastly, I want to say to know Mr. Johnson is to love Mr. Johnson. How about that enthusiasm? He's pretty incredible. All right, we'll continue on through the agenda. Indian Hill High School student athletes took center stage at the Indian Hill High School gym for a celebration on Wednesday, December 10th to commit to continuing both their academic and their athletic careers beyond high school during a college signing ceremony. Participating students included Violet Cooper, Aya Dow, Jim Libel, Ashley O'Brien, and Sophia Thomas. And since he is here in the audience, we will also say thank you to Brian Phelps for putting on such a tremendous event for our students. We are proud to announce the inaugural inductees of the
028Indian Hill Arts Conservatory Hall of Fame, honoring alumni and educators whose achievement and contributions have strengthened the legacy of arts excellence in the Indian Hill community. Inductees were selected for three different categories of recognition, including the Rising Star Award, the Distinguished Alumni Award, and the Legacy Award. The debut inductees include Sailor Betts, class of 2020, Tom Tushia, class of 1990, and longtime educator Steve Strider. Everyone is invited to attend a public recognition ceremony taking place at the high school during the premiieres concert cabaret at 7 p.m. on Saturday the 24th in the Sue Harter Memorial Performing Arts Center. Because cabaret is a ticketed event, guests must purchase tickets and plan to attend the full performance as inductees and their families will be present for the entire evening. A private induction ceremony will precede the event
029at 5:00 p. p.m. You're all invited. We celebrate Indian Hill DECA students who delivered an outstanding performance at the DECA district event held on December 9th and 10th at the University of Cincinnati, earning a record number qualifications for the state competition. A total of 160 Indian Hill High School students competed with 102 students qualifying for the DECA State Career Development Conference to be held in February. I just have to say that's so impressive. students demonstrated exceptional preparation, professionalism, and leadership across a wide arrange of competitive events. We would like to congratulate 14 Indian Hill Middle School student musicians who have been selected to participate in the Ohio Music Education Association, District 14, Junior High Honor Ensembles, recognizing their talents, dedication, and hard work. Congratulations to those students. And I am so pleased to say we
030want to congratulate Indian Hill High School head girls soccer coach Amy Dunlap for being named the 2025 National High School Girls Small Public School Coach of the Year by the United Soccer Coaches, one of the nation's leading soccer organizations. The prestigious National Honor recognizes Dunlap's exceptional leadership, sustained excellence, and lasting impact on student athletes over more than three decades at Indian Hall High School. And that doesn't even count by all the students lives that she has touched academically as well within her math curriculum. Congratulations to Amy. >> And do you want to say Mr. Phelps? Do you want to say something? >> No, you don't get those two stars for doing nothing. >> Okay. Super excited to be able to congratulate Amy Dunlap on an unbelievable season. Uh we lost to one team this year
031and we were a two to one game away from truly being state champions. So >> players is in the room. >> It it was a year I thought that we would be pretty good and we have good players. There's a lot of young talent coming um to the top over the next couple years. And I think this was one of those years that although we knew we had a solid group, the coaching this year really uh took us to the level that uh we got to this year, Amy also hit 350 wins uh this year, which is an unbelievable accomplishment. So congratulations Amy. Um although she leaves tomorrow, I have the privilege to fly to Philadelphia to help celebrate and honor her at the soccer convention for her award. And kind of a fun fact,
032alum Annie ising will also be uh recognized as a fivetime >> all-American. So Annie attends John's Hopkins University. So a nice little reunion for both coach Dunlap and Annie Esing. Congratulations. Am I supposed to say something? >> You can if you'd like to. >> Um I I said it today. I had a little interview with uh the Braves Beat crew and um it's a tremendous honor to receive this award and definitely 4 days posttop of a knee replacement. I got the phone call and uh said, "You need to be in Philly in four weeks." And I said, "Are you sure?" And he said, "Yes." And I said, "Okay." Um somehow I'll get there and I'm doing good. So that's good. Um, but it's an award that has my name on it and that I'm honored
033to receive, but it truly is a reflection of our coaching staff. Um, I've got tremendous coaches that work with us, tremendous coaches that used to work with us and still follow us and support us. Um, administration that's absolutely over the top amazing. And then players like CR, Caroline, and the entire team made this possible. It really was a special, magical year. and um the leadership of our senior class was just over the top amazing. So, thank you. >> And Mr. Phelps, if I remember correctly, um Brian Daniels received this same recognition last year, and I have to believe we have to be the only school district that have this type of back-to-back recognition. >> Yeah. As we remember, last year our boys uh were undefeated and state champions. And although we do not we haven't
034confirmed this, I I just can't imagine that backtoback years we've had the small school national coach of the year. So pretty unbelievable. Yeah. Like I was trying to think of the last time when Brian wanted last time a coach from Cincinnati has won. So that's >> so I would say the Indian Hill Braves are doing some good things and led by great people. >> You all are kind of making this a habit. It seems like seems like every one of these meetings we're celebrating some national something here. So pretty remarkable. >> A lot of honors, right? If it's okay, we'll go to the last item under this part of the agenda. And I think that we have Mr. Damado and Mrs. Richardson here with some students to talk about the the experience program. >> So,
035a few notes, but luckily it's not to do a whole lot. Nick, I think there's a presentation. Is this use my good hand? Figure this out. Maybe let's try to turn it on maybe. >> There we go. >> Yeah. So, uh, first of good evening everybody, honored guest, those that are watching at home, really for the last year and a half, myself and our team have had the opportunity to share information um, regarding some really innovative programming opportunities for kids. So with the department of leadership and career development, whether that is sharing the story of the inception of an entrepreneur center and all of the things that it entails, whether it's about building and sharing a three-phase strategic plan and what these opportunities would look like for students K through 12, and also really focusing
036in um on four major areas for all kids, experiential learning, career pathway development, really thinking about their futures, leadership development, which continues to be a theme. You've heard it from coaches to athletic directors to administrators, what it means when we talk about student leadership and of course the world of entrepreneurship and what does that mean? Um, but what's really cool tonight is tonight you get to hear the story of impact from the stakeholders voice that matters the most, which is not mine, which is not our team, but is our students. And so uh in a moment I'm going to pass a metaphorical microphone to two incredible four incredible young ladies who have agreed and I'm very grateful to share their personal story of impact through the work that is uh under the umbrella of the
037entrepreneur center including the experiences program student leadership team uh and all that it is entails. So without further ado it's yours. >> Good evening everyone. My name is Charlotte Pikton and I'm a junior here at Indian Hill. I've been a part of the experience program since my freshman year and without question, this program has been the most impactful part of my high school career. Experience is more than just a program. It's an opportunity. It gives us real world exposure, professional skills, and access to opportunities that many students don't experience in college, let alone high school. Indian Hill has created something truly rare. Through this program, I have had the chance to job shadow at internationally recognized companies like Deote, Proctor and Gamble, PL Marketing, Gorilla Glue, and more. These experiences have allowed me to step
038into professional environments, ask meaningful questions, and see real work being done, helping me discover what I am passionate about, what is and what is possible for my future. One experience that stands out to me was business at breakfast where I connected with professionals from MSA design and design, two similar fields that I am very genuinely passionate about. After just brief conversations, both professionals gave me their business cards and invited me to visit their workplaces. I followed up with an all-day job shadow at MSA Design back in December where I toured their downtown office. I spoke with interns, observed active projects, and learned how all of their departments work together. I also went to lunch with three of their employees where another experience opportunity came full circle. Earlier in the program, I attended a professional etiquette
039lunch where we learned to navigate a formal meal. I used every single one of those skills during that lunch and the employees were so impressed that they even invited me back for a full week in the summer. This is especially meaningful since MSA doesn't offer internships or other job shadows to students who aren't in college or beyond. Today, these experiences have led me to a marketing and event planning internship through the Indian Hill Foundation, where I will be helping plan alumni focused events to expand our alumni network. Experience has also helped me discover programs like Cincinnati Leadership Youth, an eight-month cohort of students across greater Cincinnati, focused on personal growth, networking beyond our school, and stepping into leadership within the community. What is especially meaningful is seeing how far this pro how far this program
040reaches beyond Indian Hill. Students from other schools follow our experienceship social media pages because they are inspired to see what all we are doing. A junior from St. X, who previously attended Indian Hill back in middle school, has recently invited me to come speak at school's at his school's freshman event after following my experienceships journey. Most people never get opportunities like these. Yet, we have them right here at our doorstep. Experience has shaped who I am, how I carry myself, and what I believe is possible for my future. And I'm incredibly grateful to be a part of something that truly prepares students for what comes next. Thank you. Good evening. My name is Caroline Ranala and I am a current senior planning to double major in marketing and psychology with a minor in cognitive science.
041And it's crazy to say that's within the next six months. But outside of school, I am also a part of the women's soccer team, DECA, LLS, and the National Honor Society. And after this, Charlotte and I are headed to Wreck basketball practice. So, I like to say that I've lived very many lives throughout my high school career. And today, I'm very excited to be here to talk about Experianships and its impact on me. As an experience student advisory board member, I am part of the marketing team that highlights the experience program and all that it has to offer. Throughout the summer and into the first quarter of the year, I was beyond lucky to have the opportunity to intern for one and five, a nonprofit organization championing mental health. one and five aligned not only
042with what I was looking for in an internship but also with my values as a person. As a marketing intern, I encouraged teen participation in one of one in five's largest events, the warrior race, which aims to increase mental health awareness and education about mental health issues. During this time, I hosted a bead the change event, gathering over 25 teens and leading a group of 15 ambassadors from various schools in creating and managing teams for this race. Watching the collaboration, support and overall openness towards mental health from everyone around me was the far most rewarding part. This experience led me to gain new skills as well as foundation the strengths of the ones that I had already acquired. I grew in various areas, strengthening my leadership and communication skills, handling real life projects and seeing
043how marketing made a difference in this space. I found that marketing is not solely about creativity or posting online. It is about understanding others and their values. This semester, I am very excited to be working with Charlotte and the Indian Hill Foundation to help market our alumni network as well as job shadow the executive director of the flywheel social enterprise hub, Mrs. Donna Xaring, for my senior project. This experience alongside the multitude of opportunities the experience program has offered me and my classmates has led me to feel securing secure in knowing that the marketing and psychology path is the right path for me and has infinitely shaped my future endeavors. Even when I wasn't 100% sure in knowing what I wanted to do, the program has offered me a plethora of resources and allowed me
044to not feel alone in this process. I gained the confidence to step outside my comfort zone, explore new opportunities, and use my voice to make an impact. I feel eternally grateful for the experience program and proud that I'm highlighting it today. My favorite saying has always been, "Be where your feet are." and I'm I feel especially blessed that my feet are here today speaking about this wonderful program. Thank you. Hello everyone. My name is Jane Hullbrook and I'm a junior here at the high school. I've been a member of the entrepreneurship center since my freshman year and now as a junior I'm proud to serve on the board as and co-lead the district connections team with my friend Jay here. Um, additionally, I've been part of the student leadership team, um, which you'll hear more
045more about later. Now, there are so many wonderful things I could talk about when it comes to the entrepreneurship center, but today I want to focus on a few main points. First, my experience. When I was a freshman, I didn't know what career path I wanted to follow, and I knew I had an interest in law or business, but I didn't know what it looked like in the real world. Um through experience I started attending you know career connection speakers site visits ranging from PNG um to law firms and the city mayor's office. Each experience helped narrow my interests and time after time I started to discover a really strong passion in law and that led me to apply for an opportunity I found through experience which was the Hamilton County Youth Court and I
046was accepted and for the past two years I've served as juror baith um foreman and defender in youth procedural hearings. Um, this experience has been incredibly eye- openening and has really uh strengthened my interest in law and advocacy. And from there, going into my junior summer, um, I took that passion further by interning at division's maintenance group and their downtown Cincinnati office. DMG is a national facilities company and I worked directly with their legal team alongside their senior corporate council. And for most people, they think of like internships getting busy work like giving, you know, your boss coffee or something like that. But my colleague and I um Ja, we analyzed and scored over 2,000 contracts um and using an AI based system that is up and coming in many legal offices and I even
047got a certification in it. We wrote an extensive memo on lean law um helping the company make real business decisions and when I've talked with many people in legal fields, they say, "Wow, lean law." And I'm like, "I don't even know what that was, you know, coming into the summer and now and now we know a little bit more about it." And I was even fortunate enough to work on overdue invoices that ultimately helped recover hundreds of thousand dollars for the company after identifying a breach of contract. So through this internship, I really gained an insight into what corporate law looks like and in practice and it confirmed that this is a field that I want to pursue. And my second point here is a student takeaway, not just something that I've done, but I've
048seen in many other students. And one of the most valuable lessons I've learned through this experience center is that an experience you dislike is just as important as experience you like. Every opportunity helps clarify what you want to do and what you don't want to do. And for example, I love my work this summer at DMG. I thought it was super fun and some people thought think it might be boring looking at contracts, but this solidified what I wanted to do. However, some other people I worked with were like, "This isn't exactly what I want to do, but it shown me what I could do in other fields. So, it's just as valuable either way." And this realization um allows many students to experiment, reflect, and refine their goals for the future. Um, and just
049to put this into perspective, my little brother's in sixth grade and he has no idea what he wants to do, just as he should. And every day he says like five different things that he wants to be when he's older. But once he gets to high school, I'm hopeful that this will still be blooming and further opportunities being available for him. So, you know, when it comes time for him to narrow what he wants to study in college or do postsecary, he'll know what he wants to do and have those opportunities. And thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Richardson for these amazing opportunities. Um, I'm, you know, lucky enough to have more opportunities coming up this summer. Um, I've applied for many experiences or internships and we'll see where that takes me. So, this program is
050truly unique as you've heard from Caroline and Charlotte. You know, many students from other schools say, "I've never heard of something like this." You know, I've spoken with people in around the region, even nationally, and none of them have anything like this. It's the one one of the major major reasons why I love this high school, and it has played a defining role in shaping who I am and where I'm headed. Now, I'd like to hand it off to Ja. Hi everybody. I'm Ja and I have been part of Experianships ever since I could first get involved, which I believe was the summer after my freshman year. I did an internship with Blue Ocean Solids, which is a sustainability um small business that they create sustainable um water treatment alternatives for industrial water treatment. and
051I've always been interested in sustainability and environmental action and I wanted to make a difference in whatever way I could. So, I saw this as my first step in that. But I'm here to talk more than just about um Experianships. I'm also supposed to be talking a little bit about the student leadership team. I have been involved in that as well since my freshman year. I was invited to it. I believe that was the first year that it launched. And between student leadership team and experience ships, I have done I've completed two internships. um DMG and Blue Ocean Solids. I have done several career connections, job shadows, site visits, lunch and learns. But towards the beginning of student leadership team, I was one of the student reps that met with the building leadership team to
052present feedback on school policies, things like the bell schedule, teaching methods, and other problems that we students see at school. And I think this was so empowering because it was my first opportunity to be able to use my voice to create change that I want to see in the school. And this isn't it wasn't something like student government that already exists. This was a brand new thing. We chose what issues we wanted to talk about. We created our own plan to feel out feel how we wanted to address those issues. We came up with several committees um over the past couple years. Spirit community um service interdist leadership professional development and recruitment. And those are all committees that we created on our own. This is over the past four years along with presenting to building
053leadership team along with lots of seminars and speakers we've been able to apply this leadership learning to leading real initiatives in the school and in the community that are taking place. Our committee me and Jane um you're on braves leading braves right? Yeah. We are working with administration to implement a district-wide leadership program that's going to be a pen pile type of mentoring program for students at right now I think it's going to be the elementary school. We've been bouncing back and forth, but even though it's been a bit difficult working with administration, what that has helped I was going to say what that's helped me do is learn how to navigate roadblocks and be very adaptable, be very flexible. And that's not something that I've had to um really apply hands-on. A lot of
054the times even in in these kind of experiences that you have at school that are safe safe leadership and you're not going and creating something new, you don't get that chance to work around these roadblocks and navigate these new obstacles that you've never experienced before. So that was that's been a huge learning experience for me. That's still a work in progress, but it's actually been very exciting to see how that's developed. and across student leadership team and experienc um there's been two common threads and that is Mr. Namadeo and Mr. Richardson and I want to recognize them because their mentorship has been the most important thing to me in every one of these pursuits since my freshman year and they've helped me grow as a leader as a speaker and as a human being. Knowing
055that I have these two incredible adults here who believe in me and support me has given me the confidence to take advantage of all these tunities opportunities and to step out of my comfort zone. And I wouldn't have been able to do any of the things that I've done without their support. So hopefully I'm not the only person that can say that and I'm sure I'm not because these people are the most incredible people that I have met here at Indian Hill. I came here as a freshman. I was not in the primary school and elementary school or middle school and instantly they made me feel welcomed. As Mr. Richardson told me today, she's my cheerleader. Mr. Damado and I were having a talk about college and it was very very supportive. Obviously very stressful
056process. Me and Caroline are both going through that right now. But these two have been probably the most impactful part of both of those programs to me. So, I wanted to shout out to them. But yeah, I'm going to hand it over to Miss Richardson to close it out. She didn't tell me she was going to do that and then I was going to have to speak. Um, I think as you can all see, waking up every day and coming to work and being in the roles that we're in are incredibly fulfilling because we get to work with students like this. And I and I mean that. I think you get a snapshot of of their academic and professional pursuits, but who they are as human beings, I cannot say enough about. And again, I
057think that's shaped in the community that that we're all in. Um, but I will say some exciting news um just in terms of the program and things to come are is the program as of last week is the largest that it has ever been in history. Um, we have 170 students um at the high school actively enrolled in the program, finished on boarding. We are um set to break the record for the most students ever RSVP to business at breakfast. Um in two weeks we have our global week in partnership with the global parent group. Um we're five students away from breaking the the all-time record. So that's another one coming. And then um in February we'll really start um the pursuits for summer internships again for these students that being able to hear the
058stories and the impact and being able to apply everything they've learned with incredible teachers um that we have here in the district. It's it's worthy of the time and worthy of the effort to to bring those opportunities to them. And and I think it's fun that we have in the room tonight Melissa Burgess and um Amy Dunlap because they have also participated in the experience program. Amy visited Vixive, a local startup um STEM startup doing um very groundbreaking CAD modeling last year to learn about how calculus is applied in that setting. And uh Mrs. Burgess uh went out to Gorilla Glue with us this year to experience what kids learn and and I guess see what industry looks like on a site visit. So I love that you're both in the room tonight as high
059school faculty. We have high school faculty saying I want to come and learn too. So again, girls, we're so proud of you. I can speak to both of us. Um there's not enough words to explain again what what is ahead of you is we can't wait to watch. I'm sure all of us can say that. So thank you again for all of you for the time you've given us throughout the course of the year to share our story. Thank you. >> No, just just thank you to to no offense at all also to the students. Um, as this program continues to grow, one of the things we we've challenged Jeff and Lauren with is growing it internally with our younger students. And I love hearing that there's concerted efforts to get the middle school and
060the elementary school students involved. Um, and you all are now stewards of the program. So as you go out into the public, whether it's with DMG, MSA, you know, any other company you're working with, you're the reflection of Indian Hill and their willingness to have students in the future is going to be tied to their experience with you. And I am so confident, you know, seeing you're all poised today knowing how you're representing the school when you're off this campus. That will lead to the growth of this program and that will lead to and I've heard from my friends who have been involved in this program of, man, I had a kid N Hill with me. was a really fun, cool experience and that that's leadership in its own way and that develops this program.
061So, thank you for coming and filling us in on what you've done. You all have tremendous poise. Uh really excited to see where you all go and where this program continues to grow. >> Thank you. >> Okay. Let's continue. >> And uh with that, we will move on to the superintendent report. Dr. Steuart. >> Thank you. Um, item A is resolution declaring the impractability of transportation and offering payment to parents in L of transportation. Item B, we have three overnight field trips to approve. Item C is personnel actions which include approval of substitutes, approval of classified staff contracts, resignations, approval of supplemental and personnel service contracts, and tuition reimbursement. >> Uh, thank you. Any questions for Dr. Stewart? >> None. Could I get a motion to accept the superintendent's report? >> Yeah, I'll make a
062motion to accept the superintendent's report item 15A through uh C5J. >> Second. >> Mr. Marks, >> yes. >> Warfl, >> yes. >> Mr. Schwiker, >> yes. >> Mrs. Singh, >> yes. >> Mr. Tullus, >> yes. >> Thank you, Dr. Thank you, sir. And thank you for arranging the music for tonight. That was quite lovely. Uh, next we'll move on to the treasury report. Mr. Davis, >> under the treasur's report for this evening, I have the approval of the minutes of the December 9th, 2025 regular meeting. Approve the financial reports for the month ending December 31st, 2025. Uh, there is one now and then to approve. There's a resolution to purchase roofing uh roofing replacement services for the Indian Hill High School through OC AEA. Uh there's a contract listed there. That's for services through the
063consortium. Um and then you'll also see under the attachment the cost of the two sections of building that will be uh having roof replaced on this summer. Item E is to approve the following contracts for the 202526 school year. Uh there's three of those this evening. Uh one's for a virtual server for the Xel Expel cyber security solution. It's an annual renewal and then for the annual purchase of our technology 720 Acer Chromebooks uh for students. Item F is the acceptance of a donation from Tamara and Eric Cantor uh for the boys basketball team of $1,000. As always, we always appreciate the kindness of our our members of our community. Uh it's a it's for these reasons we're able to do the wonderful things that we are when they supplement these programs. Um with that
064I'll ask if there's any questions under the treasures report for this evening. >> Mr. Davis, I just have a quick uh clarification uh question on the roofing. So when is this project going to be taken care of? Is it during the summertime? >> It will be during the summertime. Um we anticipate that they'll begin moving materials in um as soon as school is over. >> Okay. >> Um that will be the week of I believe Memorial Day week. Uh they'll begin to move they'll begin to move um equipment and materials in and then they'll get started shortly after that. Um starting tomorrow with the approval of this I will notify uh Embus Roofing that they've successfully won the contract. they will reach out to us to have a premeating uh give us a timeline of
065what that's going to look like and that will give us the ability to uh make sure we're using all our facilities to compensate for loss of the gymnasium over the summer if we need to. Um right now we don't know exactly what that timeline looks like but we'll have that soon. >> Okay. Thank you. >> And just to to point out too, we are in the process of doing a map of all of the sections of building in the district. um with recommendations on replacement uh reconstruction or uh whether we just need repairs. And we're going to lay that road map out for the board of education as we receive it. Um look forward to that in the operations committee. Um and that will give us an idea of how we're going to schedule those
066into our capital improvements each year and to give us an idea of how we want to tackle the ongoing facilities uh things that need to be done throughout time here. It's worth noting that while you have some new buildings, we also have some old buildings and some old portions of buildings and roofs are a thing to maintain. >> And it is important to note too, we think of the elementary school and the high school as new buildings. They are 25 years old and getting close to it. So that's the time that roofs start to expire, that HVAC equipment begins to reach the end of life. So there's a lot of things we're going to be talking about uh facilities wise coming up as far as those buildings go. Any questions, further comments? If not, I'd
067ask for a motion to approve the treasury report. I'll make a motion to approve item 16, treasury report, item A to F. >> Second, >> Mrs. Singh. >> Yes. >> Mr. Warfl, >> yes. >> Mr. Marks, >> yes. >> Mr. Schwer, >> yes. >> Mr. Tullus, >> yes. Thank you. >> Uh Nick, do you want to go over the fiscal year tax budget hearing? >> Yep. Uh this is an annual procedure that we do um for Hamilton County. What this is is that we are asking to approve um all of our outstanding levies, including the bond levies that we have uh to be able to collect on the property taxes, levy those property taxes, and then be able to collect them. Um for us it's a very simple process. Uh 85 to 90% of our
068revenue is collected through property taxes in one way or another. Um we are currently uh running deficits for the upcoming fiscal year. So we ask that the county may the county uh prove that we get all of the uh the taxes that are levied to our property owners and able to collect those for the district's revenue. Um, in addition to that, I just want to go over a couple of the property tax um, issues that have come through legislature lately. Um, there is there is some effect to our district. Um, the first one that doesn't affect our district but changes the way that uh, taxes are levied um, in with relation to the 20 mil floor. Um, if you have a fixed sum levy, it will now count towards the 20 mil floor. So, the
069districts who are out there who are collecting fixed sum um fixed sum levies will now have that counted towards the 20 mil floor and will no longer be able to increase their property tax revenue through inflation. Um second, there is um some items out there that collect t that collect property taxes in addition to um inflation for past levies. So, for example, when the reappraisal was done uh three years ago, our district uh made it to the 20 mil floor. So, we did not reach the threshold that they're looking at for inflation. So, they're not clawing back any money from us. Other districts who were at the 20 mil floor at the time and got significant increases will receive some clawback uh from their assessments. So, fortunately, we are not going through that process. Um,
070we are going to be affected by a an inflationary measure where they are capping the uh the amount that a district is allowed to increase uh property taxes. That'll be 8.5%. Um, when we see our reassessment, no matter how much the property taxes go up here in our district, we'll be capped at 8 1.5%. So the way they are going to manage that is they're going to continue to uh lower the factors for property taxes, bill those out and then give t tax own tax payers a credit. Um we do not know how that credit will go will look moving forward. We do know it is forever or until you sell the home. um we do not know if that credit will decrease for example if property taxes went down or property values went down.
071So there is some some unknowns I think to some of these laws. Uh the other item that'll affect our district is that they're capping the inside millage infla with inflation again to that eight and a half percent. And the unique thing about that is they're not going to continue to um they will take away that I'm trying to say the best way I can think of to explain this. They will take away those mills. Um so we will decrease below what we have now in inside millillage and we will fall below the 20 mil floor. So they are actually now going to be allowing districts to be under the 20 mil floor. So we will no longer make up those dollars when those when that falls below the 20 mil floor. So it an already
072complicated property tax system is becoming more complicated almost daily. But we still have the unknown of a potential um constitutional amendment out there where the folks are trying to abolish property taxes in Ohio. Um our legislature is working hard to try to enact some uh relief for folks to try to avoid having that constitutional amendment come to fruition. So with all that, are there any questions about property taxes that I can make it more confusing? >> No, but I'd like to make a statement. I think it's important for the families that are that currently there's a lot of legislation that in my personal opinion is attack on public public education. Um you know currently in in working through the court system is over a billion dollars of public dollars to be transferred through vouchers to
073private schools. Um that if that got through it would actually be able to transfer more money than we even received from the state. There's been many many many many um bills that have been enacted that are putting us in a financial situation that's going to be untenable um for most schools especially folks like us that receive the bulk of our you know finances through the real estate. So I think it's important that um the families that are listening reach out understand the negative impacts these are going to have on public education. the majority of Ohio receives their education through public education. And if uh if families aren't enacted and informed and talking to the legislators, we are going to face a substantial issue um with how do we fund our public education moving forward and
074specifically for Indian Hill Schools. It will have probably a greater impact on us than almost any because of the percentage of monies that we receive through through uh through real estate taxes. So I I just think it's a very important issue for people. A lot of these bills have been passing and no one's really there's a small portion of folks that are out there pushing these um because people do want some property tax relief but not realizing the catastrophic impact that it can have on public schools. >> Thank you. That's a great point. >> I'm I'm wondering I I agree uh that that's really important. Should we be doing something from the communication standpoint to get that out in front of people so that they can contact their legislators? >> I think that's I mean
075it's I think I think it's important, Tim. I think you bring up a a really good point. I mean, I think the lay person does not fully understand how our schools are funded, especially in our community and these issues that are currently in the legislature or getting soon to be presented in the near future. I mean, I think it's a really big deal. And if we if we don't if we don't do anything, we're going to wake up with significant losses um that are not tenable. I mean, to the point where it's not like, hey, can we cut a little bit here? It's we're talking massive impacts on our >> And we looked at this gosh, last summer into the fall. um it actually took the rare step for us in sending out to the
076community correspondents about the pending legislation and we try very deliberately to stay out of politics um not fully commission but I think providing people education on what the impacts are. I mean, everybody wants to say, "I want to pay less taxes," right? Who doesn't? Um, but things do cost money, and it's honestly, it's not just the schools. It's any entity that receives public dollars through the real estate tax system. Um, as the state has contributed less and less, taxes have gone up and people are looking for relief. So, it's it's important, you know, it's it's important on a couple things. One, it's important we do what we can to tighten our belts and make sure we're, you know, spending the resources that are provided to us. in as responsible way as we can while continuing
077the investments in our students in things like the entrepreneurship um the arts programs um all the while making sure that folks we talk to it's always very exciting to talk real estate taxes and school funding out at events but making sure people know these things are important local elections are important um most of our elected officials I've reached out to generally get back to within a day or two and they do listen um and it's important the more they hear from us and people the more you know we can protect this this structure and the system. >> Mr. Davis, can you share and and I'll stop, but can you share ballpark? Right. We receive different pockets of money. We have real estate. We also have some state funding and there's federal funding >> for special
078different groups that identify whether that's special education or high poverty students. But excluding the federal funding share just ballpark the amount of dollars we receive per student um >> from the state of Ohio. from the state of Ohio. >> Um I would say it's about $300 per student. >> Yeah. >> And you know, it's actually gone up a little bit because we are getting funding from transportation, but as far as the individual funding of students, we receive very little. >> Yeah. So, I just I just want to put that in perspective, right? I mean, our class we try to keep our class sizes small. Um but if you think about $300 times 20 students, that math is $6,000. That means $6,000 for one classroom. That's what we get from the state. The rest, the majority
079of it is coming through real estate. So to think about that, it's catastrophic. I I don't think most people have those numbers in their head. That's limited amount of money that we're getting um because of the funding formula. So, >> and it is important to note too, I think, that in Hamilton County, we have the lowest millage of any school district in the county. And you know, that's important. You know, a couple of reasons to keep our tax taxes low. We have a large residential base here. We also have a large a large commercial base over in Kenwood that we have to think about as well. And keeping those taxes low for those folks, you know, that that could be the difference of whether a Kenwood mall is in business or not in business. So,
080you know, we provide a great service. We keep our taxes low, but at the same time too, you know, we we face the same difficulties that any public school does. That was a fun impromptu discussion on the listing taxes. Uh, with that, let's make a, if anybody's willing, make a motion to adopt the fiscal year 2027 tax budget. Um, and then we'll make a few more comments and let everybody get out of here. make a motion to accept the fiscal 2027 tax budget. Uh >> second, >> Mr. Marks. >> Yes. >> Mr. Warfl. >> Yes. >> Mr. Schweaker. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Swing. >> Yes. >> Mr. Tullus. >> Yes. >> Thank you. Um, unless anybody else has any other business board administration comments, I want to make just a couple comments about moving forward.
081Um, for those still here, uh, listening at home, um, despite the challenges we have coming at us from the tax side, um, we're starting this year. I'm hopeful on an optimistic note. Um, we've had a lot of time to reflect the past few months about the school and where we're going, and I'm really excited and encouraged for for what's coming. Um, we've got an opportunity here with the uh departure of Kirk and Melissa gracefully serving as the interim superintendent to take a step back and you know I think anytime you have change it's a good opportunity to take a step back and say what are our priorities what are the main goals we have stepping forward and I we're going to um see some new changes some new efforts coming out of the board this
082year uh the start is we'll be having a few work sessions here in the coming weeks weeks slash months to really we want to hear from the community and we want to set the kind of the new framework and the goals for the school board moving forward. What are the big picture things that we need to tackle? What are the things we want to tackle? What are the district's financial needs? What are the wants? Um really making sure we're setting the kind of the big picture milestones for the administration to work to. Um you know there's a lot of change out there, right? The the taxes are difficult. the it's a difficult climate and we think, you know, being intentional and slowing down a bit as to where we want to go and setting those
083goalposts is is a worthwhile exercise. Um, we haven't really had a chance to do that the past few years. Um, so I think this is a good chance to to really reset and say where do we want to go, you know, the next as we're coming out of the strategic plan, working through pushing that on, you know, what is the next thing we want to accomplish. Um, to to that end, we also uh just want to hit briefly on the superintendent search. We we talked about it last meeting. Um we're not in any huge rush at this point. Uh we are in more than capable hands with Dr. Stewart serving as the interimm administrator, the interimm superintendent. Um we will be getting out some correspondence about setting up some meetings. We do want to get
084public input on what the next superintendent role looks like. We want to hear from the public. What do they want to hear? What do they want to see? What do they value in a superintendent? Um, no doubt it's an important position and we want to make sure as we we go through this process that we hear from the public as to what they've had. Um, and so we don't have anything definitive to announce on that tonight. Like I said, we are, you know, while this is, you know, a very important hire. It's not one we're just going to rush through. Uh, it will be a deliberate methodical process and there will be public involvement in that process. Um, we have all the confidence in the world for Dr. Stewart and our team to to lead
085us through um, this period of time. Um, so that's all I have today unless somebody wants to chime in or add a comment on that. Um, like I said, I'm looking forward to, you know, getting the school year, the new board year started. Um, like I said, we've got, you know, I sometimes kind of take a step back and say how lucky we are to to be in this district. Uh, how lucky I feel to have my kids in this district. I know speaking to my other board members to say I know they feel the same way. Um, and we're excited for for getting to work and starting off the new year. Anything else with that? Is there a motion to adjurnn to go home? >> I'll say yes to that. >> I'll second the
086motion. All in favor? >> I. >> Thank you all. >> Exclusive coverage on the Indian Hill Television Network has been a copyrighted presentation of the Indian Hill High School video department.