SMFCSD Board Meeting 2026-04-27

001Good evening. I would like to call to order today's board meeting on April 27th, 2026 at Highland Elementary at 6:00 p.m. Mr. Hammond, roll call, please. Here. If everyone could please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Do I have a motion to adopt tonight's agenda? So moved. Second. All right. Uh Dr. Bull, real quick. Just want to apologize to our families and the community um due to um the person whom we uh utilize for our board policies and meeting agendas, they had a um building power outage today, and so people were not able to access the board agenda. And so, we tried to put

002it online and make an attachment for everyone. So, again, I apologize. Thank you. Uh roll call, please. I. All right. Next item on our agenda is the building report, Highland Elementary School, and I'll turn it back over to Dr. Bull. Good evening, everyone, and welcome to uh Highland. We are going to turn it over to Principal Kish and the wonderful students and staff that we have that will be presenting this evening. Good evening everyone. Good evening. Welcome to another lovely day at Highland Elementary. Fourth grade choir, who's got it better than us? Nobody is right. It's great to see all your smiling faces out there. My name is Nick Kish. I am honored and privileged to be the principal here at Highland this year. It has been an awesome year. Loving the staff, loving the

003kids, and just I'm honored to to be a part of this Highland family and the Stow Monroe Falls community. Oh, I forgot my little clicker. I was fighting it. Thank you. Were you messing with me? That's my daughter Stella, by the way. Maybe. I'm off to a great start, Dr. Goldau. All right. First off, I just want to take a moment to celebrate and honor the wonderful Megan Graziano, who was my predecessor here at Highland. She's officially retiring this year. Uh Megan Graziano is a fantastic leader. She's done so much for our school and for our community. I've learned so much from her. She has really built a foundation here for learning and love of learning and the staff camaraderie, and she helped to build all of that. So, I got to walk into an

004awesome awesome situation thanks to Megan Graziano. So, could we please give Megan Graziano a round of applause. For our presentation, we have the delightful and extremely talented fourth grade choir here at Highland Elementary. But first I want to talk a little bit about Highland Elementary. At Highland Elementary, we smile together. We bundle up together. We make music together. We love and appreciate all our teachers and staff members together. Mrs. Ingles getting a big hug. We use our stuffies to learn about the Iditarod together. Then we actually Iditarod together. We celebrate family together. We dress up like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on random Tuesdays in February for no apparent reason together. Our teachers and staff always go above and beyond together. We Winter Olympics together. We dominate Ohio State Testing together. But we also dominate chalk

005drawings together. We science fair together. We slam poetry together. We bring our families to school together. We excel at math, even on the weekends, together. We packed the house together. We low-key flex together. We wear bird feet because we can together. We stare in total disbelief together. I have that look often throughout the day. We celebrate inclusivity together. We learn to ride bikes together. We celebrate birthdays together. We run club together. We field trip together. We lose an absurd amount of teeth together. We theater together. Without too much drama together. We get very excited for Uncrustables together. I see you back there. Especially Mrs. Drobinski. We earn stuffy and PJ days together. We embrace our community together. And our community embraces us. We PTA together. Greatest in all the land. We celebrate reading together. We

006honor our veterans together. We fire safety week together. We holiday together. We help our neighbors together. We recess in beautifully inclement weather together. We master math facts together, Mia Evans. We take care of one another together. We build resiliency together. We celebrate our positive behavior together. We put safety first together. World's youngest crossing guard. He's cheap. We act responsibly together. We work hard despite minor head injuries together. Big part of our elementary life. We golden table together, big reward. We show kindness and respect to one another together. We care about our Ohio Department of Education report cards together. But we also care about playing cards underneath the table together. At Highland Elementary, who's got it better than us? At Highland Elementary, who's got it better than us? Together. All right, thank you, friends. Now, it

007is my honor and privilege to introduce our musical maestro, Mrs. Engle, fantastic, and our fourth grade, fantastic choir. Thank you. >> Good evening. Thank you for the invitation to showcase our Highland choir members of our Highland choir. This is not the entire group. I'm Emily Engel. I've been a music teacher in this district for 30 years. I currently Oh, thank you. I currently split my time between Woodland and Highland. Um I have had the privilege of teaching kids of all ages and abilities in all nine of our buildings over these years. And I'm honored to be a part of a music department that has won the Best Communities for Music Education Award from the NAMM Foundation for 16 years consecutively. I'm proud to be a member of this music staff and the Highland and Woodland

008teams and all that we bring together to this together to this community. Um tonight we feature a few short songs from members of our Highland fourth grade choir, a group that I am very proud of. Our choir meets once a week before school for rehearsal during the two quarters that we have music class. The other two quarters they have art class. Our choir presented a fall concert, a spring concert, and recently sang the national anthem at an Akron RubberDucks game along with two other elementary school choirs. And they knocked it out of the park. Our spring concert was a musical called Cinderella, If the Shoe Fits. I'm going to have the kids introduce themselves and the characters that they played in this musical and then we'll sing a few short songs for you. Thank you.

009Hi. I'm Lexi and I'm a messenger and a villager. Hi, I am Nora and I am Pearl. No one can have too many pearls, pearls. I'm Lily. I play Gertrude. Gertrude is Cinderella's evil stepsister. Cinderella, come make my bed now. Hi, I'm Arya. I play um Cinderella's evil stepmother. Cinderella, get over here. My name is Brielle. I play Cinderella and my family is always annoying me. I'm Abby. I play the Fairy Godmother and I'm sometimes the beggar woman. I'm Fallon. I'm sometimes a messenger and a villager and I hope the prince find the princess's shoe. I'm Naji. I'm also the king and I'm the one who said the idea, "Let's all palace at the ball." I'm Anna. I'm a villager, a narrator and an animal. I'm Mora. I'm a narrator, animal and villager. Hello, my

010name is Will and I play prince and come dance with me 1 2 3. Once upon a time, very long ago, all the girls in town were busy looking for a beau. Yes, there was a prince at the masquerade. Each and every maiden thought, "Why don't I go?" picked me. Once upon a time, once upon a time, listen as we tell the tale with rhythm and with rhyme. Once upon a time, join us as we dance and sing once upon a time. Once upon a time, very long ago, lived a fair young maiden with a voice as pure as snow. Wore a tattered dress, sweet as she could be, shining warm to one and all. Just listen and you'll see. Once upon a time, listen as we tell the tale with rhythm and with rhyme.

011once upon a time, join us as we dance and sing once upon a time. Once upon a time, listen as we tell the tale with rhythm and with rhyme. once upon a time, join us as we dance and sing once upon a time. A time. >> If only I could leave this place. If only I had my own space. If only my new family was more polite. Not full of spying eyes. That's so Now it seems I feel so small. I feel so small. I feel so small. Fix my hair, mend my gown, certainly I'll win the crown. Press my dress, find my jewels. Daddy coat must be bright. Shoes will have to shine just right. Hurry up, can't you move? I will catch his eye. I will catch his eye. We will dance the

012prince and I and surely catch his eye. We'll surely catch his eye. To the garden you go for a pumpkin. Make it round and as plump as can be. Then a golden coach you see when you bring it back to me. Now you see it, now you don't. Listen to my words now. Listen very well. Nothing's as it seems when I finish my spell. Now you think you see it, now you think you don't. Never say the words couldn't, shouldn't, or won't. Soon as mice shall turn into fine horses. That's of course it's quite hard to believe. And the cats at your side soon will be a coach's guide. Now you see it, now you don't. Listen to my words now. Listen very well. Nothing's as it seems when I a spell. Now you think

013you see it. Now you think you don't. Never say the words could, should, or won't. Never say the Never say the words could, should, won't, won't. That's That's a wrap. Thank you so much. Thank you, choir. Thank you so much. Uh and also the Highland choir has also sang at the Rubber Ducks uh stadium. So, we don't want to forget that as well. So, thank you again. Next item on our agenda and and thank you again, Mr. Kish, for um taking over so ably for Mrs. Graziano and and and shouting her out was a really classy thing. So, we appreciate that. Um Dr. Gould, uh turn it over to you for the Bulldog Center Stage Award. I skipped ahead. See, this is what happens when I don't have the same one that I'm used to.

014All right, next item on our agenda is a resolution for staff appreciation. I apologize for that. Dr. Gould, to you. Yes, we have a resolution uh this evening for staff appreciation week, which will be held May 4th through the 8th, 2026. Whereas the education of youth is essential to the future of our community, state, country, and world, and teachers mold future citizens through guidance and education, and classified employees are the backbone of our public education system, and our country's future depends upon providing quality education to all students. And classified employees work directly with students, educators, parents, volunteers, business partners, and community members. And teachers spend countless hours preparing lessons, evaluating process, counseling and coaching students, and performing community service. And whereas our community recognizes and supports its teachers in educating children of this community, and

015depends upon the trust classified employees to serve students with their diverse talents and true dedication and nurture students throughout their school years. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Stow-Munroe Falls Board of Education proclaims May 4th through the 8th, 2026, to be Staff Appreciation Week. And be it further resolved that the Stow-Munroe Falls Board of Education strongly encourages all members of our community to join in this observance recognizing the dedication and hard work of these individuals. Acts that this be adopted on the 27th day of April 2026. All right. Do I have a motion to approve this resolution? So moved. Second. There's a motion and a second. Uh roll call, please. Hamman. I. Now, we are on to the Bulldog Center Stage Awards, uh which is item 6A on your agenda. And I would just

016like to add that when we say teachers, uh in that resolution, that includes counselors, psychologists, and all of our support staff, as well. At this time, we are acknowledging our April winners for the 2026 Center Bulldog Center Stage Awards. Uh starting first with the Kempton, we have Rochelle Aukman, a special education assistant. Rochelle is truly amazing. She goes above and beyond to care for students in our specialized resource room. She is always kind, gentle, and positive. She's willing to do anything and everything to support our students. Rochelle can be counted on to help students de-escalate in moments of crisis and push students to reach their full potential in the most loving way. She She brings joy and happiness to our classroom every day. Let's give Rochelle another round of applause. Next from our high school,

017Megan Bake Baker, our family and consumer science teacher. Since joining our family and consumer sciences department, Megan has been an incredible addition. Her passion for student growth and her dedication to excellence are evident in everything she does. One of the most impressive accomplishments has been leading our FCCLA program. Under her guidance, our students have achieved an outstanding milestone last summer by winning the national level in Orlando, an achievement that speaks volumes about her leadership and commitment. They have They also just placed at the state competition in Columbus. Megan just had 12 students qualify for nationals this school year. Congratulations, Megan. And from Lakeview, we'd like to recognize Ms. Deborah Boyce, our crossing guard. Recently a parent of of students within our district experienced a medical emergency on our school grounds prior to school when Miss

018Boyce was at her post as a crossing guard. When the child alerted Miss Boyce, she took swift action in going to the parent and calling 911. She accompanied the child and stayed with the parent until medical assistance arrived. Her ability to stay calm and take the proper action in the emergency is to be commended. Thank you so much, Miss Boyce. And next from Fish Creek, Sarah Bradshaw, educational assistant. Sarah is a fantastic educational assistant. She works with our students daily and really does a great job of getting to know our students personally. She is a great relationship builder and has a special skill set with some of our kiddos who need a little extra TLC. Additionally, Sarah is a huge asset to the office team. She is always willing to help a hand and help

019out at the front desk whenever a need arises. Thank you so much, Miss Bradshaw. And next right here from Highland, we have Tyler Buckwalter, PE teacher. Tyler heads up our Bulldog boys program. These young men that need adult influence and support really feel special because Tyler works to get them involved involved as role models in the school and community. He also assists with our Excuse me. With our daily run clubs to work out some energy that our high-spirited kids arrive each morning with. As a PE teacher, he works hard to allow student to allow student many experiences that they could take along with them throughout life. Thank you so much, Mr. Buckwalter. And from Woodland, Melody Hayduke, educational assistant. Melody is always a team player and is open to suggestion and ideas to make things

020better for kids. Melody is willing to help out wherever needed and has taken on the leadership role as our safety patrol advisor the past few years at Woodland. She works with the fourth grade students to make sure they are showing leadership traits on a daily basis. Melody is a true example of what it means to have a heart of a bulldog. Congratulations, Ms. Hayduke. From our transportation department, this is going to sound really weird. Dave Hemlick, substitute driver. And also high school teacher. He has helped when we have been short-staffed. His qualities include amazing communication, thoughtfulness, respect, commitment, and teamwork. Always willing to help out whenever possible from driving a route to dropping students off for after-school events. Thank you, Mr. Hemlick. And next from Indian Trail, Principal Nicole Marconi. As you can hear from

021her staff, Nicole is amazing. Well, she is the wearer of many hats. She does whatever she needs to be done for the benefit of her staff and her students. She steps up to help in in any situation that arises. You can find her on the playground in the cafeteria opening ketchup packets, teaching lessons of kindness in the classroom, rolling her cart from room to room to check on teachers' well-being, supporting difficult student behavior years in her office, outside during dismissal monitoring students' safety. There is nothing she won't do for this job and the people she cares about. Thank you so much, Ms. Principal Marcolini. From Riverview, Michael Rosa, custodian. Mike recently moved from nights to days for team Riverview. He's always been willing to do whatever he is asked. He knows our building well and

022attentively cares for it. Not only does he care for the building, he is also willingly taking takes time to help any staff member who is in need. He has been working endlessly as we are working to fill his former position. So, thank you so much, Mr. Rosa. And last but not least, from Echo Hills, Laura Swensberg, school counselor. She makes Echo Hills an inviting atmosphere for all. Always thinks of new ways to engage students and staff. She is our ray of sunshine. She is an out-of-the-box thinker and the kids love it. Thank you so much, Ms. Swensberg. And now we'll take a photo. All right, next item on our agenda is a recognition for four three of our high school students and I'll turn the floor back over to Dr. Poole. So we are very

023excited. We have three students that we would like to recognize this evening. The three students are Cameron Martin, Presley Allendorf, and Carson Wilhoit. So we'll start first with Cameron and I'll ask her to come forward. Cameron is a standout member of the senior class, has earned national recognition as a recipient of the prestigious Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished American Scholarship. Selected as one of just 105 students nationwide, she was awarded a $25,000 scholarship in addition to ongoing mentorship and access to exclusive networking opportunities including the National Scholars Conference in Washington, D.C. This honor reflects her exceptional dedication, perseverance, and academic excellence. Cameron, who will likely finish first in her class, plans to attend Duke University next year, where she will continue to pursue her academic and personal goals. Let's give Cameron a big round of

024applause. Next to join her is Presley Allendorf. Presley Allendorf has been named the recipient of the prestigious Franklin B. Walter All-Scholastic Award, an honor presented by the Summit Educational Service Center to one of our outstanding high school seniors in the county. As Student Council President, Presley has demonstrated exceptional leadership while also excelling academically and giving back to her community. She is also enrolled in the Criminal Justice Sixth District Career Program, where she is pursuing her passion for the field with aspiration of becoming a detective one day. This recognition highlights her education, character, and the positive impact she has made both in and out of the classroom. Let's give Presley a big round of applause. And now we'll ask Carson Wulff to join them. Carson has officially set the new Ohio High School Athletic Association all-time

025record with an incredible 2,536 and counting career assists. Described by his coach as a true coach on the floor, Carson Carson has been a dominant force since his freshman year, maintaining an impressive average of nearly 27 assists per game this season as he wraps up his final weeks with the Bulldog and prepares to head to the University of Kentucky this fall to study math education. We want to recognize the incredible legacy he is leaving behind. Congratulations, Carson, on an outstanding high school career. And I will ask Principal Murray as well as board member Whitaker to join me for a photo. The next item on our agenda is an executive session pursuant to revised code 121.22 G1 to consider the appointment and employment of a public employee or official. Do I have a motion to go

026into executive session? So moved. Do I have a second? Second. Uh roll call, please. Aye. We are in executive session at 6:36 p.m. and we obviously will be back to conclude our agenda afterwards. >> Mhm. >> All right, thank you for your patience. We are back from executive session at 8:02. Next item on our agenda is a presentation regarding open enrollment and I will turn the floor over back to Dr. Ghoul. Good evening everyone. We are back before the board this evening to discuss open enrollment. At the last meeting the board charged the administration to look at some different scenarios as well as the one that was proposed and so this evening we'll share with you those scenarios and some things regarding board policy and administrative guidelines. So, going to turn it over to Christie

027Proff. All right. Thank you for inviting me back. Try not to stand in front of everybody. So, we've discussed a lot of things about open enrollment. I did not include any slides that we've already gone over. Those are available for the public. Um so, we're going to just kind of hop right in. So, one of the questions that we've been um looking at is state funding reduction. So, under Ohio's school fair funding plan, our guaranteed funding could be reduced if open enrollment increased or open enrollment is decreased by at least 20 per students 20 students or a 10% decrease. So, um the reduction um per student is going to equal that statewide average base cost. So, we know for FY25 it was $2,073.02. So, and based on this the fair school funding act that we

028expect that number to be fairly static. It has been over the last few years. Um and then the number of students lost above the threshold. So, for us um 10% students is more than 20. So, um our threshold will be 314, but we would already project that we would be below that number um for open enrollment just based off some of the other um factors that we've already considered and looking at our current class sizes. So, um for every student that's reduced, we do anticipate having that reduction in our state funding. So, that being said, we wanted to give you a couple options. So, all of the options that we're presenting tonight have an assumption that we are not going to accept any new open enrollment applications. So, um just keep that in mind as

029we move forward. So, our first option um so, and you'll see um we'll have a cost and a savings and a net gain or a net loss for each of these slides. So, um right now um we know we have 334 students that are open enrolled, um but we backed out the number of students that are um children of our staff because we remember our our staff that are um part of our negotiated um agreements or bargaining units are allowed to open and enroll their students according to contract. So, um we our state funding loss estimate, so you'll see there's two separate numbers here. So, the 429,000 represents um the 228 students minus the 21 students that are participating in our career tech programs outside of Stow. As we talked about in our last meeting,

030we only receive half of their state funding. So, those 21 students are represented in that 21,766 dollars and 71 cents. So, that's why there are two separate numbers on that slide for our our state funding loss because we already know that we're losing half of the funding for those students. So, overall we anticipate a state funding loss of 450,000 dollars. Eight well, 450,881 dollars and 85 cents. So, that's what we would anticipate losing in state funding. So, then we look at what are savings. So, um as I mentioned before, we have 21 students that are participating in our CTE programs or career tech educational programs outside of the district. We know that we have an 8,766 dollar fee for each of those students, so that's 184 dollars and 86 184,086 dollars. Um we um are

031currently and these are next year's CTE numbers, not this year. So, we already that seating has already been done, so we've already looked at the students. Currently, we anticipate having about 19 students that are open enrolled participating in our uh college credit plus program. That number could change a little bit um an average of six credit hours uh for each of those students. Um so, that could potentially be 18,986 dollars and 70 cents. So, a new cost we didn't talk about last time, CCP textbooks are expensive. So, if you have a child in college um as I do, um textbooks are expensive. So, we anticipate around 5,000 dollars of textbooks for those um for those students. Um based on elimination of open enrollment, we um anticipate being able to reduce two additional staff for savings

032of $216,000. Another cost per student, so and this is a number that comes from our um our finance system for the state, we spend about $258.37 per student for instructional supplies, paper, markers, you know, art supplies, all those kinds of things. So, $58,908.36. We have a lot of student licenses for our students for assessment and for instruction. So, looking at a reduction around a little over $12,000 for those. Um our Neonet student fee, so Neonet is our our our information technology center. So, they um that's who we buy our student information system from, Progress Book. Um we have other things that we get, final forms, so those kinds of things. All those things are on a per student fee, um but just for what we get through Neonet, our per student fee is uh $23.60.

033So, we anticipate about a $5,000 savings there. We are in the process of um we approved and we're in the process of finalizing our purchase for an ELA adoption for the high school and the middle school. If uh we eliminated open enrollment prior to making that purchase, we could look at reducing our footprint at the middle school especially, um and it would be $2,415, and that would be each year for 7 total years over that that purchase. We spread that purchase over 7 years, so we realize that savings each year. Things that are difficult to quantify as far as savings, we know that we have 49 students that are open enrolled that are accessing transportation. So, under our current policy, if you can get to a stow bus stop, we will pick you up and

034we will bring you into school. So, if those students weren't on transportation, it's possible we could look at changing and reducing routes, it's possible we couldn't. So, you know, that's a that depends on so many other factors just besides those students, including our incoming kindergartners. Um we have students that are open enrolled that access some of our intervention services through Title 1 and EL. And they have students that participate in athletics, arts, and extracurriculars. So, um but we anticipate that um just based off of the savings that we have listed there, that would be $503,000, um a little bit over that. So, a net gain, um modest net gain of a little over $50,000 if we had no open enrollment at all. Before you move on, so that $503,000 positive number, does that include all

0357 years of the ELA adoption savings? >> No, that just includes 1 year. Yeah. Yeah. I didn't feel it was fair to multiply that over seven and count it next year. All right, option number two. So, this was based off of the um the proposal that was on the table at the last board meeting was just to eliminate open enrollment for grades K through 10, allowing our rising 11th and 12th graders to stay. So, under that we would lose 169 students. So, you can see what that state funding loss would be a little over $350,000. So, all of the other um savings that I talked about, those numbers just shift as as we lose students um by grade level. So, you can see a lot of those fees are are similar. Um they just they

036change as as we lose students. We do know we have 41 students that are K through 10 that are accessing transportation. Um and still you have athletics, arts. Um the potential savings there would be $277,000, a little over, um which is um at this point uh a little bit of a net loss for the district, a little over 70 72,000. Option number three would be to have no open enrollment for grades K through 8. So, we anticipate 128 students would be affected by that. So, our state funding loss, uh over $265,000. So, we would still be able to maintain those two additional staff reductions. And then you can see um a lot of those costs, you know, they're the same costs, they're just shifting as we as we look at each individual grade level. So,

037notice a lot of those student licenses um are really focused in the K-6 level, so that number doesn't drop a whole lot, um, as we, um, as we, um, include high school, um, back in the open enrollment number. So, a lot of those licenses are focused really at the at the upper at the lower grade levels. So, we do see an anticipated savings, um, of a little over $264,000. So, a net loss on this one projected at $746.20 at the moment. All right, option number four. So, this is still the proposal that was on the table last time, so allowing our 11th and 12th graders to stay as open enrolled. So, again, our rising 11th and 12th graders, um, but looking at a tuition model for grades K through 10. So, it's important to note

038that the open enrollment policy and the tuition policy are two separate policies. So, if we had tuition, we would still have to deny students under the open enrollment policy because it is separate. Um, you're not allowed to charge tuition for a student that is open enrolled. Um, so, just to have an apples-to-apples comparison on some costs, um, between this slide and the next, um, or well, in on the revenue on the slide. Sorry, we combined it into one slide. Um, so, um, if we estimate that 25% of our current students that are open enrolled would stay under the tuition policy. So, on that 25% of each grade level, that's a total of 43 students. So, again, that's, you know, just a uh a guess, an average, um, just so that we would have some numbers

039to take a look at. So, we would anticipate losing $261,000, a little over, in our in our state funding. Um, you can see the savings, um, equaling out to around $254,000, almost 255. So, still currently at a net, um, loss on of $6,000, but then you would also have your tuition revenue. So, as a district, we have the option to look at revenue, um, from our our state tuition, um, two different ways. So, you can do the ODE ODEW um tuition rate, which for us we talked about last year for fiscal year 25 was $10,688.99. So, that would allow the district to collect the maximum amount of possible from tuition for all of our students. If we had 43,000 or 43 students, we would have a little over $459,000 in revenue um to offset some

040of the costs. So, we also wanted to provide propose um a tiered tuition. So, this would allow the district to recover cost to educate kids, but also to reduce the burden on our local tax dollars, but maintain access for some of our families. So, just based off of our cup report, looking at our expenses and some of those um other factors that we've already talked about, uh we would suggest um grades K through 4 being at $5,000, uh 5 through 8 being 6,500, and 9 through 12 being at $8,000 uh tuition cost per families per year. So, and that would um have us be a net gain of that $262,000, but would also help capture um and recover some of the costs from some of our high school students. Um where we're spending a lot

041of funding for them to um participate in some wonderful programming. So, and again, that proposed tuition could be could be modified. We're just not allowed to go over that $10,000. So, option number five. So, if we allowed open enrollment to continue with the high school, and we proposed tuition just for grades K through 8. Um so, um you can see that the um we do have a net gain prior to our tuition revenue, and you can see what the gains would be there for state tuition is $396,000, and our proposed tuition would be around $241,000. Dr. Gold. And so, as we look at the different options uh based on the board's recommendation or um what they're uh what wants to consider, if we look at our board policy based on open enrollment, we would have

042to add some additional language there uh considering uh which grade levels. Uh if we look at tuition, we would have to actually add a tuition policy. And um so, that's something that we don't have currently uh as part of our board policy. And then um three things to think about uh in the administrative guideline uh would be the tuition changes if the board approves. Uh we need to have administrative guidelines to go along with that tuition policy. Uh as well as uh adding staff language uh changes um regarding staff who have retired uh from the district and students who are still here um that may be open enrolled. Uh and another administrative guideline is adding language regarding um staff or that do supplemental contracts but are not on our on our teaching staff or employed

043with us and uh they're not part of the bargaining unit and their students uh being in more open enrolled, uh is there a tuition cost for for us to look at them in the open enrollment process as well. So, no matter which policy we choose, we still need to keep an open enrollment policy for contract staff until we have the next contract negotiations. Correct. We have open enrollment with our staff currently. Okay, yes. We would still be required by the state also to have open enrollment for military families. That was a change that we made last year. It seems like most of the savings that are in the upper grades when you were uh showing the first couple slides. So, did we did you show a full tuition option for all Okay. I mean, that

044because it just seems to me that a lot of the savings are for the high school. That's where we really see the the positive numbers is when we get to the high school level. So, and that could be an option, too. And and what do you mean by positive numbers when you say that's where we see the positive numbers? In her in her calculations, um even with you know, some of the cuts and whatever, we still end up with a in the negative. We're not really seeing actual savings at the end of the day because the state funding is cut. I I think everyone up here recognizes that uh you know, the students that are bulldogs that have been open enrolled here from kindergarten up to whatever grade they're in, um you know, eliminating that

045option, um however prolonged that process is is a I don't know if traumatic is the right word, but it's certainly very difficult for those families and not something that we're we're looking to make. You know, we're we're trying to look at like all other other districts, look at what our budget is going to look like and where are those strains on the budget, where can we save money for our taxpayers, and I know for me, I'm not interested in being performative here. I'm not looking to say that I did something just to say that I did something if it's not going to help the families and it's not going to help our taxpayers. And because of the way the state doing some of this, it almost seems like the the fairest thing to do for

046everyone, again, not talking about our contractual obligations to our our staff, which we're not touching. But, it almost seems fairest to everyone to completely end open enrollment and replace it with a fair a more affordable version of the tuition, not necessarily even the numbers that have been listed here. You know, I don't think anyone up here is looking to I think we're looking for a budget neutral. You know, I think we're looking to to for a way to allow our existing Bulldog students to make their way through matriculate through the system, graduate as Bulldogs without costing our taxpayers additional money because we're trying to find ways to save that. And so, if there's a way for us to come up with a cost neutral approach that doesn't harm our family, and also doesn't require us

047to look at our homeowners and say, you know, you're subsidizing this this education uh for other uh you know, other school people that live in other school districts. To me, that seems to make more sense because you start looking at the first couple of options, and the state has basically taken away that financial incentive to cut open enrollment. And so, you end up losing all of that funding, and they take away all of the the savings. And so, I I think I mean, for me, I I would like to find a way to kind of give back to our taxpayers, but also not harm the families that have entrusted their kids with us for however many years. I make a motion, please. I I'd like to make a motion that the board directs the superintendent

048to begin the process of eliminating our current open enrollment with the exception of our rising seniors, and to develop a tiered non-resident tuition program. I second that. I hope it's open discussion. What we're all on the same page or what we're I know maybe some of us are back and forth on the seniors, but I I personally have a a strong uh opinion that I think allow our rising seniors to stay tuition-free. Any other thoughts? Yeah, I was just thinking of um two things that matter. Um one is that that the trend statewide when it comes to school funding has been more and more of the burden in our district on local taxpayers funding our schools. So, I want to be sensitive to the ask of our taxpayers to subsidize non-residents. Uh and the second

049thing you know, Mr. Whitaker, you mentioned about the cost-neutral piece of that of while still allowing our our Bulldog families to be part of our family like they have been. So, it's a balance for sure and and to the to your motion um of of ways that the the administration could try to keep those two things in mind as we look at a tuition model and and no longer be open enrollment model. Thanks. Definitely eye-opening to me to see the way that a a a reduced tuition could help impact the decision and you know, potentially keep some of those you know, some of those students here where you know, where they want to be um and also be within within the cost-neutral. I'm not even necessarily suggesting the same everything that you guys said. Not

050not necessarily even that the cost that's up up there projected. I I I it's important for us just But there was Tina Tina second it. I think yeah, it's just important for us to start moving a little bit on this so that you know affected parents and students what decisions might happen should be vote. And I think given the time constraints, given that we are getting close to May I think the message might be to anyone watching or or looking at this or listening to it afterward is that there is a possibility that the board could have something to vote on at its next meeting on May 4th that to allow our families to have that clarity going into next school year, you know, that there may be a consideration that the board would declare

051an emergency and waive the three reading requirement and so to allow everyone, you know, I think we'll work as quickly as we can to get information out to people but certainly, you know, if there's feedback for that process, you know, we want to make sure that everyone understands that our at our May 4th meeting we may well be in a position to consider something involving open enrollment and tuition without prejudging anything, I think you have a motion and a second that we're going to vote on here but I think the goal is to be as transparent and open as possible and understand that if you watched our last couple of meetings, there's been a lot of data that we've asked our administration to collect and they've done that and they've done a lot of math

052and the goal here is again not to just wave our hands as they were doing something that something has to be worthwhile for our taxpayers and our students and I think we're trying to arrive at that so I I'd like to add to as part of part of what I think I would like to see is a full phase out timeline and a draft tuition program with proposed rates and eligibility along with I'm pretty sure it's been reviewed by legal counsel. To make sure that we're fully ready to see we're able to discuss. As well as a fiscal impact analysis that has the same as You've got a lot of stuff to to look at with your Hammond. Um All right, do we I'm I I wrote some notes out for myself here so I

053could remember what I wanted to say. So if you want it Any further discussion before I call the roll? Mr. Hammond, roll call, please. Aye. This time is our first session for comments from the audience. Uh please limit your comments. I'm sorry. Oh, we have one more part of this presentation. I did it again. Uh I I jumped the gun. Um Good luck. Thank you. Perfect. Awesome. Uh thank you. I'm I'm Mike Love, HR director for the district. Um so I wanted to be here just talk a little bit more about staffing in the school district, what that looks like as we our process for that and and just again what that looks like each and every year. So this is the time of year where typically I'm doing a lot of interviews. I'm talking

054to people and I they always ask me, "What sets What sets Stillman Rock Falls apart? You know, why do you Why do you love to be here?" And truly, uh for me, I student taught here. I've only really ever known Still. Student taught here, taught here, principal, assistant principal, HR director. Um and I love it here and I love the community here and I love the community of staff. And what makes Stillman Rock Falls special is our staff. Um with our staff, uh we have 347 teachers. That includes uh support staff such as like school psychologists, our counselors. Um we have 13 tutors. We have 279 classified staff members. Our classified staff members are are really just everything else. They they do um, secretaries, noon time aids, cafeteria workers, bus drivers, um, crossing guards, all

055these different positions that that truly make uh, the day the day go and helps make a difference for our students. Uh, we have 29 administrators and we have 11 exempt staff members. Typically our exempt staff, that is like our our administrative assistants at our central office location. You know, with our staff, they have a lot of experience. Uh, they do um, they they've been here in Sto for for quite a long time. Um, a lot of times Sto-Mineral Falls is not the first place that a staff member works. Typically they come to Sto-Mineral Falls with a little bit of experience. Uh, but I did want to share just the average teaching experience that our staff has um, in each of our our areas in the district. Elementary you can see is 12.43 years and again,

056that's in Sto. Uh, Lake View is 13.13, Kempton 13.64, and then the high school has 12.81. Uh, so with that, they our staff has seen a lot of families go through. Um, they've had brothers, sisters, cousins, all those different things. And again, uh, what makes our staff special is just that emphasis they put on helping our students and helping our students to be successful. Our classified staff, the average years in the district is 7.37. Um, and really that can be misleading because we have had bus drivers that have been here for 40 years, you know, in these different positions. Uh, again, they know our community, they know our kids, um, and they function just so well as they're doing that. So, what we do each and every year and and we start this we start

057this really in August. Uh, we analyze the enrollment numbers. You know, our contracts talk about, you know, an average class size in K through 4 as 24 to 1 and we use that as guidance for us. Um, for 5 through 12 it's 28 to 1, that's student to teacher ratio. Um, and we look at our our average attendance, we look at our enrollment, and we break it down. We break it down not only on building and grade level, but we also look at individual classrooms. And what we do throughout that and every month we kind of advance it to what it's going to look like next year. So we're not surprised that oh, hey, now all of a sudden we're seeing a lot more first graders or a lot more third graders or a little

058less second graders, different things like that. We're looking at throughout the year so that again we're not we're not surprised. We also look at our special education numbers throughout uh throughout the year. For us in special education again, we provide a lot of different opportunities for our students. We have inclusion classrooms where there's a general education teacher and uh an intervention specialist. We have resource room. We have specialized resource room. We have our emotional behavioral support units. And what that looks like is there there's different models for how many students you can have in those classrooms. So that can kind of dictate, you know, how many emotional behavioral support units you'll have in a grade level or in a school and different things like that. So again, we will look at that throughout the year

059so that we can make decisions so that again we're not surprised, you know, when the next school year starts and we don't have the students that we thought we'd have. Um we also take a look at uh and we look at and this time of year really starting in January, we look about um our our attrition. You know, and that's called reduction by attrition. Like is there a possibility um that maybe based on those numbers we may not need a current position or different things like that. And there's really three phases of that and they really kind of go together. Um the first part is retirements. You know, we look at our staff who are retiring and we are sad when our staff goes. We're happy for them, but we're sad when they retire because

060we're losing uh great individuals that are a part of our team. But with that, that kind of creates some different holes in our schedules. So with those retirements, we look at, okay, do we need to replace this position? If we do, are we able to take a position elsewhere that maybe we no longer need due to enrollment numbers? So we can make some shifts, we can make some uh transitions using those retirements. We also look at our intent forms. You know, our certified staff members, our teachers, they fill out an intent form of what grade they'd like to teach or maybe what building they'd like to be at. Um and we do try to honor that when we can. We can't always. Uh it depends on kind of the process, depends on every situation, but

061we do try to honor that because again, we we want our staff teaching the content area that they love. Um we want them in the grade level, the building that they want to be in. And also with that with is our transfers. And that's kind of what I highlighted earlier as far as the retirement piece is maybe like again, when someone retires, we may need um still need that position, but again, we may not need a position elsewhere. So, we look at every licensure area for a staff member and we see what else can they teach and we use that intent form, we use the transfers uh to fill in some of those holes. So, we started doing that really last year as far as our process. Perfect. And so, at the end of last

062year, what we did is we ended up uh going through our reductions. We reduced eight and a half teaching positions, one tutor position, and one administrator position. Also, in that process, we added three elementary school counselors and one fourth grade teaching position. You know, with all that being said, um kind of that balance, we ended up saving $714,081.70. Um with that with when you see those eight and a half teaching positions, the tutor, all those different things, what's important to highlight for us is there was really only one true reduction in force. Um with all those different transfers that allowed it to us to have just really move people around so that it wasn't um causing us to have to reduce more staff members, which is really important to us. We love our staff. We

063we want to keep them here. We love that they're here. So, that goes into this year, looking at what we want to do. So, for this for next upcoming school year, what we're looking at right now, um you know, based on enrollment numbers, based on the numbers that we've continued to analyze and calculate, reducing seven teaching positions, reducing two paraprofessional positions, one exempt position, and then two administrator positions. Um with that, we have a savings of $1,291,578.80. $1,291,578.80. Um again, similar to last year, that's truly only one reduction in force. So, all that is being done uh with the help of our staff, with the transfers, the different things, thinking creatively with um and continuing to provide opportunities for students. You know, through this process, we think it's so important. We want our students to

064have opportunities. We love that students here um can can do the different things that that they're able to do in our school system, and we want to continue to provide that. However, with that being said, we want to continue to be fiscally responsible. Um so, that's why it's just important to share what we're looking at with those analysis and and how much we are able to save um based on those last few years. That my presentation. Thank you. Now is the time for our first uh section of comments from the audience at this time. Uh please uh approach the board. Uh direct your questions to the entire board. There won't be any back and forth. Um you do have 3 minutes. This is typically on voted items only. Uh so, if you have any public

065comments on any of the items that we are about to vote on, now is the time. So, please approach. Uh 3 minutes a piece. are to be voted on. There was one more section, ma'am, after that. All right. Seeing no one approach the podium, uh or I guess at least the microphone, we will move on to our superintendent's consent agenda, where I will entertain a motion to approve that agenda? So moved. Second. All right. Dr. Bull. At this time, I'm recommending the Board of Education to approve consent agenda items B through D. Any discussion on these consent agenda items? All right. Back over to the gifts. Yes, the following was donated to Stow-Munroe Falls High School uh Black Student Union Club by Laura Payne, $20, and Dennis and Mary Yager, $40. Other donations included Jean

066McDaniel donated $20 to Student Council, and Molly Quinn donated two books to the library at Highland Elementary. Thank you all for your donations to support our students. Hammond, if you could do a roll call, please. All righty. Aye. Moyer. Aye. Fielding. Aye. Riddickur. Aye. Thank you. Next item on our agenda are the superintendent's recommendations. The first is a personnel recommendation. Do I have a motion to approve? So moved. Second. Dr. Bull. I would like to recommend the following personnel recommendations. Any discussion? Hearing none, uh roll call, please. Everybody. Aye. Moyer. Aye. Fielding. Aye. Riddickur. Aye. Next item is an administrator personnel recommendation for Troy Spicer as athletic director. Do I have a motion to approve? So moved. Second. Any discussion? Uh this recommendation is to hire Troy Spicer as the athletic director to replace uh

067Mr. Felman, who is retiring uh this year. Uh we did ask Mr. Spiker to um come to the board meeting. Unfortunately, he is doing athletic director duties, so he's going to try to come at our next meeting. Oh, he's here. Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see I'm so sorry. Again, thank you, Mr. Spiker. I'm sorry I didn't see you sitting back there. Any Any further discussion? Uh roll call, please. Everybody? Aye. Moyer? Aye. Phil Donahue? Aye. Riddick? Aye. Welcome to board, Mr. Spiker. Next item on our agenda is the non-renewal of permanent substitutes, title one tutors, English language tutors, reading intervention tutors, home instruction tutors for the 25 That'd be for the 20 Oh, the end of the 25-26 school year. It says 25-26 or are you 26-27 school year? Do I have a motion

068to approve this item? So moved. Is there a second? Second. All right, give me a first. Any Any discussion? Uh this is a recommendation to non-renew employees uh in these positions. Without these non-renewals, these individuals um um have to look at their employment due to it being federally funded. So, this is something that happens uh each year. So, this is done yearly. And I'll be abstaining from this vote due to a family member being in one of these positions. Thank you. If you haven't seen this before, this is not a reflection on the performance of any of these individuals. This is just a matter of waiting, making sure that that federal funding shows up next year, right? Yes, and they are not part of that reduction that we just talked about. Any further discussion? Uh

069roll call, please. For Rebate? Aye. Moyer? Abstain, please. Uh sorry about that. For Villadonik? Aye. For the Clerk? Aye. Next item on the agenda, item D, supplemental pupil activity contracts held by others, not members of the Stowe Teachers Association, for I think it will be the '26-'27 school year. Do I have a motion to approve this recommendation? So moved. Second? Dr. Poole. Again, this is done uh yearly. Uh this is a recommendation asking for non-renewal of these employees in these uh supplemental contract positions. Roll call, please. For Rebate? Aye. Moyer? Aye. For Villadonik? Aye. For the Clerk? Aye. Next item on the agenda, item E, contract for services, Wings of Change service agreement for the '20 I'm sorry, 2026-27 school year. Do I have a motion to approve? So moved. Second. A contract for when

070we have students placed in these uh facilities. Uh roll call, please. For Rebate? Aye. Moyer? Aye. For Villadonik? Aye. For the Clerk? Aye. Next item on the agenda is contract for services for LearnWell services agreement for the '25 I'm sorry, 2026-27 school year. Do I have a motion to approve? So moved. Second? This is for students who need placement due to their emotional behavior. All ready? Moyer? I. Rhodenhurst? I. Riddick? I. All ready? I. Next item on the agenda is Neola Policy Special Update Food Services for March 2026. I believe this is our third reading. Do I have a motion to approve this policy update? So moved. Is there a second? Second. Uh this is uh for the board to approve these policy policies which have gone through their three readings. Uh roll call, please.

071All ready? I. Moyer? I. Rhodenhurst? I. Riddick? I. Item H, uh Neola Policy Volume 44, number one non-discrimination, August 2025, another third reading. Uh is there a motion to approve? So moved. Second? All ready? I. Moyer? I. Rhodenhurst? I. Riddick? I. We are now to our Treasurer's Consent Agenda, um which would include the minutes and financial report. Is there a motion to approve the consent agenda? So moved. Second? Uh Mr. Hammond. All ready? I. Moyer? I. Rhodenhurst? Rhodenhurst? I. Riddick? I. Now the next two items on the agenda are listed as Treasurer's comment, and I will turn it over to Mr. Hammond. Thank you. Just uh been planning working with this agenda tonight. Uh I wanted to make the board aware that we have several layoffs coming up at the end of the school year.

072Some happen every year. Uh I don't know what those numbers but I wanted to make you aware of this at the 500,000 between break. Of course, the Um I would also like to I know at some point in the past few years find a bank over the dollar. I would like to I want to with we will part of the I think it's 515 the quality benefit you'll see a motion probably not so much most of the I think have board of I would Let me go to another state. For you guys, because I think it's important to the public to hear it. I will My one of my action items is for the you you need directions to pursue getting a capital levy on the November ballot. And a couple questions was the current

073emergency levy that we have on the 4,735 will expire at end of this year. That is a 3.24 mil levy. And we're looking to I believe based on my personal report to cover that loss of revenue and possibly to fill it up a little bit for additional the increased expenses. And that's coupled with what you did earlier when you were talking about open enrollment, trying to get some of the the expenses and also for the things and staff assignments that cost the district. Uh and another question for me was the clawback. What do we expect to see happen on that for The clawback seems to be a firm for now. It is a excess real estate taxes provided in the cap. Do we want to move on to number 14 then? Um which would be

074the levy resolution. Yeah, okay. Um Yes, for the purposes of opening discussion, um is there a motion to approve the treasurer's recommendation on the levy resolution? It's listed as item 14A. So moved. Second. Right. Damn it. We're ready. Wait, wait, wait. So we're now we're we're on we're on the resolution. Um I'm not sure what it says yet. Um So there is a there's a blank in here and that's not something we have to fill in today, correct? No, that's that's what it was really to be there for discussion to give me some guidance, some direction. Um And so that's that's kind of what I'm looking for. And just in general a 1 mil levy would bring us about 1 million 460. A 4 mil levy would bring us about 5 million 840. A 7

075mil levy would bring us about 10 million 320. Uh the other part of that or there's two things that we need to consider. Approximately how much do we want to raise? And number two do we want that to be a I'll call it a firm limit. I E a 5-year renewable. Or do we want that to be a continuing series of How long was the one that we're replacing? 5 years. Fine. And it was renewed in 20 20. Do we I know we have several on the horizon? Um There's three I think that expire in '31 and one in '32. >> '32, and '33 if I remember right. I think it's the same order if that's right. No, I think there's three that expire one in '31, one in '32, and one in '33. If

076my memory is good tonight. >> Yes, so you got the one for '26 '33, '31. Uh '32. I'm seeing one in '31, one in '32, one in '33. So if we were to do a 5-year this would be it would be also up in 32. Yeah. So, this this one would be if we did a 5-year, then we would be effective for 27 collection through 32. So, as a point of discussion, it's all discussion. Um We don't Do we have recommendations from the treasurer's office, so to speak, as to what is necessary, you know, I think that in the current climate, they're winning. And in the, you know, the fact that we have taxpayers looking for relief. And we have the state and and the governor trying to provide some of that relief. Um I

077I I It's going to be a difficult discussion with our community to undo any of that in a sense of sense, from a practical standpoint, where there there there's thought, hope, feed of reduction of that bill, and then the school district comes in and says, "Well, we need more than what we had going right now." Um I'm concerned that if the ask is either any combination of too much or too long, that it's going to be a difficult a more difficult conversation with our community. Personally, I would be comfortable with a collection of the same amount that's about to expire. Perhaps putting it on a different cycle, you know, I'd hate to have all of this coming at the same time, you know, we we have just Mr. Love gave a presentation where we're talking

078about reduction of, you know, 1.3 million dollars this year, which then carries over for the next however many years. And so, the hope would be that there's other things that we are continuing to do that might help right you know right the ship financially um even though we are in a situation where our state government is kind of set up this cycle to where school districts have to keep reevaluating and coming back to the taxpayer all too often. And the goal would be to not have to do that, but I'm concerned about a revenue stream that's about to end. And if the ask of the of our community is an amount greater than that revenue stream that's already ending in this climate that we're going to struggle. That's my personal thought. That's that's where I

079am. I think I I mean I understand where you're coming from, but I think the problem with that line of thought is that it's already not enough. That inflation has hit over the last 5 years so much that the amount that we're getting like you can look at our past past 5-year forecast and even with cuts every single year we continue to you know we had two two good years and that's it. It's going to continue to go back the other way. And I just I I I would be concerned that we would be if we ask for the same amount that we already have, that's actually asking for a reduction. And I hear that. I I I mean I would rather go back to the to the taxpayer and say look, we're not asking

080for any more than what we already have and if that's still not enough, you know, we're going to have to come back, but we have all of these things in the works as far as trying to find ways to to create room. Um I just if whatever the board decides to vote on fails you know, that this the the dire straits as far as what those finances look like next year is worse than what it looks like now. And so I I would struggle to approve more than what we've already collected. I think I need to see from from Mr. Hamman what that looks like. How soon we're out of money if we just renew essentially renew we can't even The other problem with that is we can't even position it as keeping the same

081amount that we've already been going for. That's not even legal anymore. So, like being able to tell the community we're not asking you for any more, we're just continuing to ask at at at this get you in trouble cuz that's illegal. Well, no one's putting it as a renewal. We we just understand what's expiring and we are asking for a new amount that could equal what's expired. I understand that, but if you put anything in writing that says this is equal to what it is before, then you're getting yourself into legal trouble with what the the rules are. I mean, it's just it's very specific I think that we need to be very careful with that kind of positioning um just because of what the proposal very strict rules are that have just come down.

082I I I realize we are between a rock and a hard spot. I I struggled with this over the weekend because I knew we were going to have this conversation. I had a conversation with the county auditor today. Um they could not give me a solid number on what I can expect on that reduction of collection for this summer's real estate bill. Um best guess is what we've already had, which is about 2.1 2.2 million. So, I'm sorry. And and that will be what we lost through the summer. So, and so that will start us out a little on the low side. And then if I just use the numbers that have been projected in past, then subsequently, we're going to lose million four fiscal 27 and fiscal 28. So, it it makes it difficult

083for me I understand your plight because you're asking me and it's difficult for me to to recommend. I hate to see you go back to your district with the urgency levy at some point. And you don't want to do that. Uh and yet you don't want to ask more than what you need. Uh if I just if I look at the 4.7 that we're currently collecting, which we'll only get half of that because that levy expires in December. The other half of that is next year. Um but we we we reduced internally. We're just restructuring. I think it was about 800,000 last year. And now we're projecting another 1.3 for for the upcoming year. That'll make up for one of those years that that are reducing our collection. Um if I would just look at

084the 4.7 that we currently are out there, and if I just look at a I look at a four mil, that gives me about 58 5.8 million collection, which is is a shade over or a five mil, which is 7.3 mil. So, from my perspective, I would probably look for somewhere between and four and a five mil. Feeling fairly confident that we still have some money that we we out of the district justifiably. So, four and five mil. We We have a 3.2 for our currently. That would mean Yes. So, question then. Um Just looking to the future. I don't see wanting to do three in a row again, either. Is there a way to figure a way to not do the 2031 levy or try and reduce that so that maybe we have this

085one and maybe one in five or six years and try and not do so much all in a row or all at one time. Here's what I'm not certain of. If If we did this for three years knowing that we will have another levy on the ballot three years. And maybe at that time is just the opportunity to look at what our need is then. And This is the legal part I don't know. Can I retire that 31 early? Wrap it in and get rid of that emergency levy due to the our 31 and or 32. So, we wipe one of both of those out? When we go back 3 years, 3 years gives you a chance to work on the internal process, trying to tighten up as much as we can. Uh Now, maybe

086it's a good faith estimate, but we'll see. But I I think 3 years gives you time to see where we're at, see what's going on with faith. That's That's it. I mean, that's 2.1 or 1 million clawback. That's something anybody in this room has anticipated. See, I was thinking the other way, like make it longer. Like cover Because otherwise, the renewal of this one's going to run into three others. And then, we're really going to be in a pickle. So, that's why Here's my concern, only because I've experienced it. If you promise it to your district, yes, we're asking a little more now, but we're going to let that 31 issue expire, and be true to yourself. Let it expire. I think the problem with continuing to do expiring levies is that you're just pushing

087the problem down the road and hoping for a that someone down the road is going to figure out the problem that you can't figure out today. That's why we have that three back-to-back right now. Yeah, I'll just add that, you know, formerly we used to do renewal levies. We can no longer call it a renewal levy. So, it has to be framed differently. Inflation is there, and then you mentioned about the clawback. So, the General Assembly said basically to school districts, you collected too much money in fiscal year '23, '24, and '25. So, you have to give some of that money back to taxpayers. That's roughly $2 million that we're going to lose this August. That combined with increasing prices for everything that we all experience, um I'm wondering the wisdom of having a renewal

088levy or a levy, I should say, in November matching that exact same exact uh same amount. Um unless we can do reductions to to make up that difference, but I'm not so sure that that's possible. I think we need to make people aware, though, that a lot of our levies are a stagnant amount of money and that most of that property tax increase that happened over the last 6 years went to the state and to the county general fund. We did not get that money. So, it's not like we got some big increase. And I don't think people understand that. They're all they saw is their property taxes went up, but we didn't really get that money because most of our levies the millage is what it is at the time when it's passed. And

089it doesn't go up each time your property tax bill goes up. So, we're not seeing any benefits out of the property tax values going up. And so, the only way for us to adjust that number is do a levy. And they really put us in a sticky spot cuz the taxpayers just see their bill going up, but they don't realize that the schools aren't getting that money. Well, if if I could reframe part of what you said, so let me give you an example. Let's say I put a 4 mil levy on the ballot, and that 4 mil levy is going to raise $5 million for me. Property values go up, but I can't collect more than $5 million. So, then your effective village rate drops. And that's what he's talking about. Yeah, I might

090have had a 4 mil out there, but maybe my effective millage today would be 2.2 because I cannot raise more than what the taxpayers voted. But, and I guess that to that point, not that's not quite I mean, the taxpayers would say it's not quite right because if you go back and look at the November 21 forecast, you know, the district was projected to collect anywhere from 55 to 60 million dollars in each fiscal year for the next 4 years. What ended up happening is that it was 65 and then 75 and then 76, and so it did that the revenue did increase. The revenue needed to increase, but the revenue did increase by about I think over four fiscal years 60 or 70 million dollars for our general fund. And so, we did get

091an increase. And so, my my My concern is on on a lot of levels is that you have you know, you have a bill out there an attempted referendum out there to remove property taxes. And the reason that it's there is because our taxpayers are feeling the strain. And so, when the governor says, to Don's point, you collected an extra when the state government says, we think you collected an extra $2 million, you got to give it back, you have taxpayers who you're expecting to get that back. And then when the school district says, "Well, wait a minute. We need that back and and more." I I mean, I I would like to find a workable, passable solution here, and I'm concerned that if we ask for more than we are currently collecting, we're going

092to be asking for a problem in November. That's just my thought. But you have seen five year forecast that shows us running out of money with that amount. So, I don't know I don't understand how we could go and ask for an amount that that we know puts us underwater. Well, we've talked about possibly reducing our building footprint, and we we're going to go forward with that uh discussion, continue to go forward that discussion, and that may help rectify some of these issues. And so, and that discuss those discussions are not going to pause. So, if the board today says, "We want X number of We want to to submit a levy for X number of dollars." And then continues to take steps to reduce its expenses, then whatever we've asked for may seem to

093the taxpayer to be too much. Because we've asked for a certain amount of money based upon what our what our forecast looks like, and then we're going to almost before even election day continue to take steps to talk about reducing our expenses going forward. That's my like the Those things have to happen at the same time. So, again, I I'm happy to be uh I'm liable to be overruled here, but my thought would be is that the money that we need to ask for in order to potentially be successful in that ask has to be what we have now. That's just my thought. I mean, I I understand, but I think that there's a small portion of the community that's going to vote no matter no no matter what. And there's the same the same

094people that's spread misinformation about how the money is being spent and how the district is being wasteful on things. And there are There have been cuts for as long as I've been on this board. There's been deep cuts happening and there's going to be a certain amount of people that are going to just misunderstand and misrepresent no matter what. And I think that it's important for us to look at the actual numbers that we've been presented by our treasurer and by our superintendent and look at those numbers and make the decisions based on how we can actually afford to run as well. I think it's important to be honest with numbers, not just with the presentation that's um for some some community members misrepresent. I think we also need to be a realistic and know

095that we are not we can't depend on the state of Ohio at all. I mean, they've already we're 2 million short this year because of them and they're um never going to correct the funding formula. They don't want to correct the funding formula and so we're going to have to figure out a way to do this ourselves. And uh I I truly hold out zero hope for them to fix any of this. So, we need to at least leave ourselves some kind of realistic cushion um so that we can continue to um educate the uh our children without making cuts to the classroom. So, that that's my concern is that we need to have some kind of realistic expectations based on inflation since the millage that we'll be asking for will not increase with inflation.

096So, we need to make sure that the amount we're asking for is going to cover it for the length of time that we're asking. And what I hear you saying is based on that is reducing building footprints might allow us to ask for the same amount of money and still realistically meet our financial obligations in the long term. That's what I hear you saying. I'm not sure we can get there, but it seems like that's your path. Well, and my thought would be my path is it Look, we say look, taxpayer, you know, whatever, 3.24 mil, if that's what we have currently for 3 years. And as we over that time period work to reduce our build our building footprint, if it's not enough, I would have no problem talking to the to the taxpayer

097again about another about another levy to make up that difference, but if it is enough, again, you know, what we're seeing is is that every extra dollar that that is asked for, I think reduces the likelihood that you're going to get it and my my concern would be you know, we all have our same responsibility to our staff and our children and everyone here that's in our school system. And if if if I my belief is is that the if we ask for four or five, we're going to struggle to pass that. And if that's what the ask is and it fails, the conversations that we're going to be having in December are going to be rough. Right? I mean, if that if we ask for if we get zero, that's going to There's going

098to be some bad >> Steve, if you don't get a levy passed at some point, the conversation's going to be rough. I mean, I think the situation is that the that the the fair school funding has not put, you know, accounted for inflation for the last several general assemblies. It's made every school public school district suffer in the way that their funding and and and ultimately funding reduced for every school district I think. We are hit in particularly hard because of we are considered to be a wealthy school district. And that means that we are expected to have a higher local percentage, which means we are forced, you know, the state forces us to go back to our community more often and ask for more money and I don't foresee that changing in any near

099future. And if we go for a small amount and then you bring up, you know, what we could go back and ask for an emergency later if it's then then that puts us another one with a 31, 32, and 33, you know, expiring. That would be That would be this one. That's four and then make it five in like the next seven years. That's like I I can't even imagine asking for three from our community back-to-back, much less five. And those are And then there's the question That's what we don't know is can you cancel one early? Can you roll one in? We don't know that if if it's today. And I don't know if we I don't know what time frame um So, our goal when we were looking at the levies was to

100try to roll these together so that we would not have to go back to taxpayers three times like they are. Unfortunately, with the new house bill, we can no longer do that. So, we got to remember we have legislation that is putting us into a box as well. That's where the clawback is coming from and all of those things that are that are happening to us right now. I mean, there's a movement to remove property tax completely. So, you have a certain percentage of the people that don't want to pay anything and getting the difference between a 3.24 and a four no for that person no matter what. That's what I think. We have to come up with something I suppose. I I definitely think that I'm not I wouldn't be prepared to vote on

101it until I would see an analysis on what it looks like. I I just wouldn't be prepared to vote on a on a on a levy amount until I would see the specific uh uh projections on what it would look like and how soon we run out of money. And and that would be fine. I know we've got a first to May board meeting coming up. Uh I mean is over the uh thing. And I don't say that to pressure you. Uh I just want you to just be thoughtful about it. Cuz it's And I don't I wish I had a wish I had a good answer for you. Reality of it is with the situation stated for the town it's hard to give answers with confidence. Like I said the other day I Colleagues,

102do you feel comfortable voting? Do you have a number that you would Well, I mean I Are we Do we have to vote on a number tonight or do we have to to vote that yes, we want to put it on the ballot at some amount? I don't know how this all works. What the resolution tonight does is neither way to go to the county to get certified numbers to raise X number of dollars. So, if if there was a motion made tonight I would need a number and whether it's 3 year, 5 year, or the 10 year period. Those are the two pieces I need to have through a resolution before I can take it through the county auditor and move forward. So, it would affect without being able to put those two pieces

103in this resolution, there's nothing I can do with the resolution. Just that I need to put either a mill in or a dollar amount in and a period of And then if you're comfortable with those giving a number Yeah. I don't want to be a hold up if any if everybody else feels comfortable moving forward. >> quite honestly, I'm comfortable if you want to pull it off of the agenda tonight or we want to move forward. Either way works for me. Yeah, I I need to know what also So, if we're looking at you said four or five mill, what does that mean to the individual taxpayer, what that that increase would look like to a homeowner, you know, we need to have that that kind of data. Um so that you know, first of

104all, I want to raise a realistic amount of money. Um but also, you know, we need to know what that really looks like and to the taxpayers. So, every mill for a hundred thousand dollars property is thirty-five dollars. So, if we did take five mill at thirty-five, that's I'm fine. I'm not doing it. Would that be a $700 increase then? I'm sorry. So, 5 mils for a $400,000 home would be 4 * 5 * 35 then, right? Yes. So, it's $700 a year. That would be $700 um instead of less than that at 3.24. At 3.24 it'd be $453. So, it'd be a $250 increase for a $400,000 house with 5 mils. Is that right? And and that's tax value, not assessed value of the whole tax. So, yeah, having those numbers >> helpful. That

105is the rate of the fair market value of the property. Because it's assessed at 35. That's how I can tell you that 1 mil for 100,000 of proper value property value is worth $35. So, a $200,000 home would see a $70 $70 for a for the year for us to go from 3.24 to 5. $70. There are very few $300,000 homes left in Stowe. Okay, I don't know if we have very many $500,000 I'd say probably somewhere between 2 and 3. Maybe 2 and 350. 150 and 350. And they have a lot of them there. Yeah. Uh well, 3 3 mil would be $105. For 1 Do you know what the average price homeowner average home value is in Stowe? Well, if we did 250, that'd be 2.5 * 35 * 4 mils. Mhm. Mhm.

106That would be $350. That can be for a year. 280 is the average. How much? 280. Okay. 280 fine. Median price 250 to 280. I'm just going to keep saying number. Well, that that was a lot bigger. Um That would be $400 a year. But that's the You said $35 for every hundred for every mill additional and we'd only be going for 1.75 additional mills. Right? What we are? >> Yes. So, that would be If you're just doing 1.75 That would be the increase to go to five. >> So, that would be an an extra $172 a year. For that for that $280,000 house. That's what 35 * 1.75 is. 35 * 1.75 * No. 2.8 2.8 * 1.75 is 35. That's about 400 bucks a year. Yes, that's $400 a year for the average

107homeowner. So, so 1 and 3/4 mills for $100,000 is $1. So, take a $400,000 house is cost 350 bucks. A 250 incremental if it's a $100,000 home. Instead of 300 A $300,000 home. Okay. Yeah. A $300,000 I'm just saying $300,000 home would see an average increase in $250. Okay. I don't know if I need to make a motion that we not um get um recommendations from you at at a 3.24 mill and a and a four a five and just can you give us some numbers between now and next meeting and we can vote on one of the three? All right. Are you going to table? I am moving to table this discussion. Second. Well, I guess we'll call on the motion to table. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I mean, I've My priority with the

108agenda is that we really could just Okay. You want to remove it and then put it back on next week, that's fine, too. And you understand the I mean, we can talk through requests, but 3.24 mil a 4 mil and a 5 mil at a $280,000 home. Plus plus negative 300. Okay. That would be helpful. Well, it it makes your community easier to 300 easily divisible with. Okay. I trust you. Thank you. Good. It makes simpler math. Hey. Okay. Thank you. All right. So, that one's gone. The next treasurer recommendation is a payroll bank account with Huntington Bank. Is there a motion to approve that recommendation? So moved. Second. All right. Any discussion needed on that, Mr. Hammond? Uh No. Self-explanatory. All right. All right. Uh roll call, please, then on that. Morley. Aye. Warrior.

109Aye. Mr. Durnik. Aye. Mr. Kurtz. Aye. Thank you. All right. We have three items to vote on um next. Um had something that I I ran by legal that I was going to kind of read. Um at this time the board is being asked to approve several documents resolving case number CV 2019-03-1182, a litigation matter that has been pending since 2019. The resolution is one that permitted all parties in that case, including the board and Ms. Soye Koi, to resolve their differences by agreement appreciative of the inherent costs and risks of litigating cases to trial. Although the board was confident in its position and willing to take the case through trial, this agreement puts permits all parties to put this issue behind them and ends any future future potential litigation. Importantly for the board, it

110provides clarity and eliminates uncertainty and risk. And transparently for our taxpayers, the board's attorney's fees and litigation costs were paid for by our insurer, and the insurer is contributing half of the settlement amount that we're about to talk about. So, the first amount of the first item uh is a approval of a resignation letter of Ms. Soye Koi effective July 31st, 2019. Do I have a motion to approve that resignation? I'll move. Second. We'll call you reader. I. I. Lawyer. I. Phil Adorney. I. Roderick. I. The next item is a settlement agreement and release between the board and Ms. Soye Koi. Uh do I have a motion to approve that item? I'll move. I can second it. I'll second. And and just for clarification sake, these items are all attached to the agenda that's on

111board docs, assuming that agenda opens back up tomorrow. Um they were visible over the whole weekend after the board went uh the agenda went live. And as uh Dr. Gould indicated earlier, the um the diligent is the um company that runs it is having a server outage or or power outage, so they will be back available as soon as that goes back online. Absent any further discussion, uh roll call, please. Everybody? Nay. Moyer? Aye. Friel Donahue? Aye. Ritter Kurtz? Aye. Last item up for approval is a resolution uh excuse me, a resolution amending prior resolution 37-19 uh relating to Ms. Soykoy, which was the resolution of the 2019 board uh non-renewing her contract. Um that resolution would be amended to recognize her resignation that the board has already approved and deeming the non-renewal as moot.

112Do I have a motion to approve that resolution? So moved. Second. Any further discussion? Absent discussion, um Everybody? Aye. Moyer? Aye. Friel Donahue? Aye. Ritter Kurtz? Aye. On to the last item on our agenda prior to adjournment, which is our second uh session of comments from the audience. Um this is the time if you have comments uh relating to school district, you can bring those comments to the board. Please step to the microphone uh beginning with your first and last name, and you do have 3 minutes. Good evening. My name is Sue Fair Huff. Do I need to spell it or not? Mr. Huffman may be thrilled if you would spell that for him. >> Okay. Hold that thought for just a second. Thank you. Suheir Kahhook S U H A I R and last

113name K A H O O K. Yes. Good evening and thank you for the opportunity to speak. My name is Suheir Kahhook and I'm a resident in Tallmadge. I would like to share some context about our family's long-standing. I'm here to speak in regards of the topic of open enrollment, which I might be a bit early um on that topic. Um our family's long-standing connection to this community. My family has resided in Stow from 2013 to 2023 and I taught in Stow at Echo Hills Elementary during that time. My son attended kindergarten and first grade at Echo Hills and then he is finishing his fourth grade year at Woodland. He started there in second grade. Woodland was our home school at the time. He's had great experiences at both schools and my family is very

114thankful for the community in each of the school buildings that they have brought. Beyond the classroom, our family has remained deeply involved in the Stow community. For the past 3 years, I have volunteered as a basketball in Stow Parks Rec coach for my son. My husband has a business here in Stow and has been there for the last 17 years. Both as a parent at Echo and Woodland, I have served on the PTA board volunteering my time and giving back any capacity that I can. My husband has donated to the Stow Munroe Falls High School football team for the last several years um for their summer meals and has also partnered with the Women's Art Club and has artists come hang their art in his business. We have made a very conscious effort to invest

115our time, energy, and resources into this community because we believe in it. Our family contributes not only as residents and parents, but as active participants working to make Stow a better place for children and families. For these reasons, I will respectfully ask you to consider to allow students to attend Stow schools that do not live in the community. Denying this opportunity will not only impact my son, academically and socially, but it will also send a message to our families who actively serve and support the community that our contributions are not valued in return. My son has built such positive relationships in Stow and has built a foundation within the district. And I believe continuing his education here would be in his best interest. With all this being said this evening, I do understand that a

116large part of this decision could be based off of finances. I am not one to come up here and speak against as I am as I am an educator at heart. And let's say I feel very passionate about this topic as you can see that I do because my son has enjoyed his time here. While we would have loved to remain and reside in Stow, believe me, we looked and house hunted for a very long time. Unfortunately, that was not not the case for my family. Thank you for your time, your consideration, and your commitment to the students and families that you all continually serve. Thank you. Any further public comment? My name is Marty Simpkins and I have a short In 2021, a 5-year forecast showed this district was outspending the amount received. In

1172022, a new emergency levy was passed. In 2023, all of our properties saw the value jacked up 30%. In spite of all the increases, the district was still overspending. After looking at the expenses, it became apparent that Watton waste was occurring. Watton was allowed to keep his at superintendent pay and sit in the $10 million field house. A want-to-be treasurer who couldn't pay the bills on time and was overpaid. No matter how much was brought to the attention of this district, very little has actually been done. Now the state shows up and says we sent too much money and we want it back. Also, you cannot renew emergency levy. Now the panic starts. The ideas that have been presented, a new bigger levy, pay-to-play, and let's get rid of the band teachers. I want to

118hear that you are condensing your assets, reducing your staff, starting with the administration. Not one voter is feeling sorry for this school district. This is the problem you have created. The greed and wasteful spending has brought you to this problem. I can see that Stow is not the only district with these problems, but the same mindset caused the same issue in every other school district. So now your choices are going to be slim. Majority of the voters, you have no leverage over us. We have no children in the schools. Cutting off bussing, canceling extracurricular activities, charging pay-to-play will not affect us. We will feel very sorry for the children, but not enough to continue to put our homes in jeopardy of being taken for taxes. Now is the time you need to start working on

119significantly reducing your spending. You have three more emergency levies that cannot be renewed. You are also looking at a short timeline before the state steps in and you do if you do not decrease your spending or pass a levy. Thanks. One more. Melanie Merritt. Um good evening. I understand why eliminating open enrollment is being considered. Um funding and the ability to plan effectively are all important for our district, but I also want to make sure we don't lose sight of the students behind this policy. If this change moves forward, I strongly encourage the board to consider the impact on those already enrolled here. Transitions should be thoughtful and not disruptive. Students who built relationships, joined teams, and found stability here should not feel like they're being pushed out. This doesn't have to be an all

120or nothing decision, and there are many ways to protect the district's district's stability while still honoring the commitments made to current students and families. Um I'm also in support of the levy that's possibly being placed on the ballot and ultimately supporting our schools. There's been a lot of conversation around the cost of the levy, and that's fair, but what doesn't get talked about enough is the cost of doing nothing. It's critical that we maintain funding for our schools. In districts like ours, where families move here because of the schools, underfunding doesn't just affect students, it affects the entire community. It impacts the strength of our schools, and it directly impacts our property values whether we have children in the district or not. Strong schools require consistent investment. They keep our community desirable. When school quality

121declines, home values and demand tend to follow. Protecting our schools is also protecting one of the biggest investments most families have here, their homes. We can't expect to maintain strong academics, programs, and support systems if we're not willing to fund them appropriately. I trust that this board is bringing this forward because there's a real need and I believe our community is capable of stepping up when it matters. Thank you. Thank you. Any further public comment? Seeing no one approach the microphone, I will entertain a motion to adjourn. So moved. Second. Roll call, please. Everybody? Aye. McWherter? Aye. Thurmond-Donaldson? Aye. Whittaker? Aye. We are adjourned at 9:31.