001We're just going on. Good evening. Welcome to the April 7th, 2025 West Claremont School Board Meeting. Mr. Romano, please take role. Mr. Patton, present. Mr. Rudy, present. Mr. Chumley, present. Miss Samborn, present. Mrs. Spencer, present. All present. Thank you. Please join me in 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. Next up, we have the motion to adopt the agenda. Would someone like to make a motion? Some move. Thank you, Mr. Rudy. Is there a second? Second. Thank you, Mr. Chumley. Is there any discussion? Roll call, please. Mr. Rudy, yes. Mr. Chumley, yes. Miss Sanborn, yes. Mrs. Spencer, yes. Mr. Patton, yes. Five, yes. Next, it looks like
002we have Dr. Folultz. Good evening, everyone. Uh we are pleased to recognize Mary Huffford and some of her eighth grade students tonight. So if everyone uh being recognized would please come forward. Eighth grade students in Mrs. Huffford's English language arts class researched AI grading methods for the Ohio State test, analyzing score patterns and developing AI tools to understand how writing is evaluated. Their work sparked contra uh conversations about assessment fairness and empowered peers to navigate digital evaluation systems. They have presented their findings at district and state conferences and were invited to publish in the Ohio Journal of English Language Arts. This past week, they met with Representative Adam Bird to advocate for changes in state writing evaluation practices. What a great example of how West Claremont Middle School makes learning come alive. So we're proud
003to recognize Mary Huffford, Ava Kapaldo, Josh Carper, Samuel Ehass, AJ Ellswick, Kendall Hines, Rory Hinkle, Will Johns, Will Lions, Jagger Miller, Abigail Mosley, James Rap, and Grayson. Thank you so much. Congratulations. Thanks for all your hard work. Just a small token of our appreciation. I appreciate you. Thanks for coming back. Congratulations. Appreciate you. Thank you. Congratulations. You did a great job. So, where where do you want them for? Okay. So, I'll just say a few words for this group. So first th this started as a question in the language arts class from the teacher posed with the students. And so what you see here is an example of teacher not just disseminating information to students but becoming co-learners with the students. And so that's what they've done so masterfully is that the question was so
004inviting to them, so interesting that they dug in and started researching and writing. And a lot of times you guys did things and it wasn't even homework, right? you just because you were so into it. And this the question that they asked was really about the state tests and how um just a few years ago the state test changed to machine grading instead of human grading. And so they were really questioning, okay, if if schools are under so much pressure to perform on these assessments and they're writing for a machine to grade it, is that really the best kind of writing that you're going to find in life? Is that the kind of writing that matters for humans? And so they really asked a a deep deep questions about what makes the best human and
005what kinds of skills and abilities do we want our students to have? And so it it really falls in line with what we're passionate about which is the portrait of a graduate. Um ensuring that kids can communicate, they can collaborate, that they're resilient and adaptable. And I've seen you all in action. They've presented um at the Ohio conference up in Columbus for uh English teachers. based on their performance there, they were asked back to meet at a national conference. So they came back up. So that's a kudos to the parents and and to um Mrs. Hubard of course. From there they've been asked to publish in a journal. So they're even more writing for like an audience that is a national well international audience really with some really sophisticated writing where they have to incorporate
006their research. They met with uh Representative Bird as as was mentioned and you guys just did such an excellent job with him. He uh he commented just on your professionalism and how passionate that you were. That really inspired him. And he's currently he he he told us at the meeting that he would like to invite them up for a committee meeting so that they could meet other representatives. And we've also talked about um connecting with the department of education and workforce. And so this group really exemplifies like the kind of West Climat student that we are trying to inspire and and build here. And their communication skills are top-notch. The way they carry themselves, the way they prepare, the questions they ask, the way they work with each other. They kind they argue with each
007other a little bit sometimes, but they push on each other. Um, but you can tell it's always in the pursuit of excellence. And so I just couldn't be more proud of a group of students and the fact that they've sustained this. This also speaks to the kind of work we want to have for our students. This shouldn't be about an assignment on Tuesday that you turn in on Wednesday. This is about real work in the world that makes a difference. And so I imagine as you guys continue and and go through our system, you're going to still be talking about this probably as seniors and you're going to be looking back seeing how you impacted what happened in the state of Ohio. That that's that's my wish and my dream for you. and uh well
008plus much more. So would any of you like to just say a word about the experience um to represent the group before we um before we get you know another picture of you? I know you've been taking your picture like every week or every week the last couple months I put you all on the spot a lot. I know. Do we have a taker? I knew who I could look at. Okay. All right. What do you want to say? ask what you said about that ever. So, um it's very eye opening and um it's very and just spending time with them. I've had a few little pockets of time that I've gotten to spend with them. It just gives me such hope for the future. So, congratulations again. I'm looking forward to seeing the article,
009seeing the research, getting you connected back with um Representative Bird and hopefully with the the Department of Education as well. So, congratulations again. [Applause] Thank you again. Moving on, we are the Citizens Advisory Commission video. Yeah, and that's kind of perfect uh that we are sharing this video tonight. Although the citizens advisory commission hasn't been given a new research project since the development of of of the strategic plan and the study of purpose and design of schools um we wanted to highlight them tonight. This has been a key group. They were started as a group I guess it was now four years ago if I'm doing the math right and they were a group of citizens who applied um to work on your behalf and research several topics. So up to this point, they've researched
010the start time and what's developmentally appropriate at the middle school. They've researched safety and security and made recommendations. And then their last project was really studying purpose and design of school. And they would be so excited to hear about this eighth grade story. And I I know this is one story of many in our in our school system, but this is exactly the kind of learning that they talked about. They tal a lot of them, you know, they they have professional um jobs. They're not all educators and the kinds of things they talked about doing in their work are the kinds of things these students are doing in class. And so this video highlights their passion uh their work over the last couple years and and just gives you a sense of um voices beyond
011um you know beyond the cabinet leaders beyond people that you normally hear in this arena um telling the West Coat story. [Applause] [Music] West Claremont strong. Those words say a lot about our students, our staff, and our entire school community. We've come a long way in the last decade, overcoming obstacles, showing remarkable resilience, and achieving a level of success we can all celebrate. It It's a great story of just being able to overcome obstacles. And I think this is a story that every single student at West Claremont um between the students, the staff, the community needs to understand is just how far the district has come. Um, and yeah, it it is it's really resilience against all obstacles. Clara is more than a proud West Claremont parent. She's also making a difference on the Citizens
012Advisory Commission, the CAC. The CAC has been an important part of the district's community engagement efforts. This group exemplifies the real meaning of collaboration. Appointed by the board of education to represent the various stakeholders in our school community, the CAC has devoted time and energy in an effort to look into the future and make recommendations about how we can make our students future ready. The work of the CAC is focused, deliberate, uncompensated, and often quiet. CAC members do this work because they care about the future of West Claremont and its students. They work behind the scenes during the school year. They have met at least once a month to review and discuss various data points relevant to the problem or challenge the board of education has asked them to address. In 2024, their focus was
013on the purpose and design of school. Our mission is to research and brainstorm and propose new um solutions uh to create a modern education system um as we move forward into the job market as it develops today. To me, the role of the CAC really just serves as a platform that includes all stakeholders in our district from all different walks of life and gives them a voice in terms of district initiatives and things that impact our most important stakeholders on a daily basis, which is our students. And you know, the role of education is rapidly changing with the evolvement of technology and several other things. And I feel like classrooms need to keep up with that. And it's it's a difficult process because you have to consider many stakeholders. Whether you were in school 10,
01420, or more than 30 years ago, the school experience today is different than what you experienced. Rapid changes in technology and our society require us to think differently about how we educate students and the learning environments we put them into. I think that um you know when when public school systems were originally designed, the world was a much different place. Um most people were prepared to enter some kind of job right out of high school, whether it be a service job or um uh a factory position. And and the world just isn't the same place as it was even 50 years ago. Um the jobs that we have now are so much more varied and and there's so many different skill sets that uh could be needed for all of those various different um um
015careers and we need to be able to respond to that so that we can prepare kids um to be able to to step into those roles. I mean even in the last 10 years of teaching the changes that have come about in terms of using technology using um the materials that you use the change in materials the accessibility to information you know when I was in high school we used card cataloges now Google has everything at your fingertips or you can use AI you know there's all sorts of possibilities so it's an everchanging world and in my opinion we are as teachers setting kids up so that they can make choices and be able to determine what's good information, what's bad information. I think that there will be major changes to the learning environment because
016years ago, we focused on a content based environment, which as we all kind of are learning now, content is more readily available. When I was younger, it was available at the library and then it was available by doing research on the computer. now it's available by asking you know the little machine next to your desk the answer. So I think that we really are going to see schools trying to modernize themselves not just in facilities but they're going to try to modernize the curriculum so that students will be able to learn content on their own and then put into practice that content in a structured environment which will teach them the durable skills that are so important in the future. One of our district's top priorities is to make our students future ready. Ready for
017college. Ready for technical, manufacturing, and service jobs. Ready for enlistment in the military. Ready for anything. Employers are looking for more than just academic skills. They're looking for these durable skills, communication, fortitude, leadership, collaboration, all of these things that used to be a byproduct of academic achievement in the classroom, but that's no longer the case. These are skills that need to be explicitly taught to our students. And if our portrait of a graduate is going to be what it truly is, we have to explicitly teach these skills to make them future ready. But ultimately, the end result is going to be a more robust portrait of a graduate that makes them future ready, no matter what pathway they are on after high school, whether it's military, employment, enrollment, whatever it is that they want to
018do after high school. I think with the workplace um even a generation before me, it was super common to be in a job or profession for a majority or even your entire work um career. And uh for myself and and and folks that are in uh my generation, the changing of jobs and careers is more frequent. And as we look at uh statistics and research, that's changing even even quicker. And so knowing the ability to be able to hold a job, be able to hold one in a career that you have passion for, that you have interest in, being able to stay in that, and then also be promoted and have professional growth is important. So we need to be able to have education and training to help our students be able to step into
019career fields not only that they can work for 12 months or 24 months, but the work a lifetime. I think we're looking at a change in making the students making it more student centered so that the students are the ones that are initiating and engaging in the learning. They're not being fed the information. They are looking for it. They're expanding on it. They're being able to communicate it to others for the others benefit. And then this way we are producing creative thinkers who have resiliency and adaptivity and the ability to succeed no matter what career choice they make or what life choice they make. It's incredibly important for students and actually everybody to have durable skills these days. In fact, they're more in demand in businesses than even expertise and technical skills were years ago.
020I mean 20 years ago the entire workforce landscape look completely different today and the changes are coming on exponentially and in order to keep up it's not so much that you need to know the technical information it's that you need to be able to adapt think creatively and also um critically. We have a lot to celebrate at West Claremont and we've come a long way. While the future can never be as clear as the past, we know we can look forward and together we can learn, lead, and succeed. We can blaze new trails because we are West Claremont strong and the future is ours to conquer. We are West Claremont strong. What is your WC strong story? I think having this video up against hearing the story of these kids tonight uh just punctuates what
021we're trying to do here in West Claremont. So, first it starts with a teacher like Mrs. Huffford who is willing to stand alongside of her teachers, not be the sage on the stage and take some risks. It takes a lot of courage to do what she has done. And it's it's not it's not natural. It's not how we were all necessarily trained um to facilitate learning and her putting herself in that position opened up lots of doors for these kids. It's also the partnership with the parents. The parents have been along this journey every step of the way. Um offering suggestions, writing, you know, providing transportation, like all the things the parents do to encourage and um get them looking professional for their their visits with with, you know, high high um officials in our
022government. And then it's the curriculum. Um, Mrs. Hoverard's ability to be able to modernize that curriculum to be able to make it more questionbased curiosity and take the standards that she's expected to teach but not hold on to them so tightly that they couldn't go in all these different avenues that they've gone. And so it and it takes a learning environment. They had computers at their at the ready on their fingertips so that they could access information um research and media center do whatever they need to do. And all those things come together are the things that we're trying to modernize. We're trying to modernize our workforce, modernize our curriculum and programming, modernize our facilities and the learning environments that we have and um modernizing our partnerships. It's a different role parents have to play
023today. And I I just want to shout out to all the parents that are here tonight who have been playing that role quite well and it is opening doors for these kids and thanks to the CAC again. They're they're fabulous. Thank you, Miss Adams. Next up, it is public speaking at the board meeting. Visitors who wish to address the board are asked to state their name, address, the school organization. Remarks must be addressed to the board and should be brief approximately three minutes into the point. Speakers may offer such objectives as criticism or suggestions regarding school operations or programs. The board will not hear personal complaints of the school personnel or against any person connected with the school district unless those complaints have first been addressed through individual departments or administr administration involved. Uh first
024up, it looks like we have Miss Trisha Lions. I uh came straight from a baseball game, so apologies. Literally still watching it. Um JB's up seven to two. Go Wolves. And um I may have asked all the parents and students to stay. Um and I may need just a smidge longer than three minutes, but I'm speaking on behalf of everyone. So is that okay? Can I take a couple extra minutes? Three minutes, unfortunately. Okay. All right. I'll that story. Um, okay. So, I represent the dozens of eighth grade parents and students in attendance this evening when I say that Mrs. Huffford deserves to hear how much of an impact she's had on on the students, our children, being recognized by the board for their incredible research and advocacy. In a world where teachers don't hear
025it enough, I want to thank her for all the ways in which she's gone above and beyond to create an environment for these students to develop and refine every single one of the attributes outlined in West Claremont's portrait of a graduate. through their collaborative work as part of this unique student- centered project. Thanks for her thanks to her educational leadership and the trust she's placed in the middle school students they can and I go on to list all of the attributes literally every single one in the portrait of a graduate. So I'll cut that everybody can go to the website. Um when asked other parents had this to say about Mrs. Huffford. Mrs. Huffford has empowered our children by giving them an opportunity to grow, constantly supporting and encouraging them while also allowing them tremendous
026autonomy. Because of Mrs. Huffford, our children have been afforded unique and authentic experiences to demonstrate executive functioning skills that many college students and even some professionals lack. We are so grateful for the genuine level of care and interest Mrs. Huffford continues to show not just in the subject matter of the project team's research, but also in the students themselves, witnessing them develop and thrive in the unique learning environment she has created for them. In addition to the ELA standards through this project, Mrs. Huffford has taught these students skills such as teamwork, collaboration, communication, and perseverance that will be useful to them in any college and career and or career path they pursue in the future. She is building our children up to be successful lifelong learners and productive adults who can help to support and
027change their communities for the better. Mrs. Huffford demonstrates an extremely impressive commitment to the craft of teaching. We feel so lucky that our children have had the opportunity to work with and learn from her this year. In the words of one of her students, Mrs. Huff is such a great teacher. She uses a lot of different teaching methods to ensure we understand all the material. She's really supported our group in this project and made made this opportunity possible for all of us. As Mrs. Adams said, it all started with a question born out of student curiosity. A question about the use of artificial intelligence technology to assess their OST essays for quality, about the logic and fairness behind it all. It would have been easy to guess at a possible answer to pacify her students
028and redirect back to the lesson at hand. But Mrs. Huffford challenged these young adults to keep asking questions, to perform their own research to see where it led. She created a learning environment for them to collaborate, lean into their individual and collective strengths, problem solve, refine their research, and use their voices to report out. And boy, did they. Ultimately, you unfortunately hit the three minutes. I've got two two more sentences. I promise. I'm so sorry. I apologize. No worries. Thank you, Mrs. Hers. I will share with the boy who sent me to the board. Okay. Thank you so much. I'm sorry, Miss L. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very um next up it looks like and I'm going to be so sorry. The last name I'm probably going to pronounce it wrong. Alex Lander.
029Am I close? Okay, I appreciate you. Thank you. Um okay, it looks like Consent. Consent agenda. Yeah, I'm sorry. Yeah, looks like consent agenda. Um, okay. Dr. Boltz. Okay. In front of you is the personnel agenda for April 7th, 2025. On the agenda today, we have the retirement of Christina Burnheimer, a second grade teacher at Ameilia. She has been with the district for 24 years. Mary Hutchinson, the campus coordinator at West Palm High School, who's been with the district 23 years. Cynthia Wright, par professional aid at Holly Hill, who's been with the district 28 years. And then Kathern Reid, St. Veronica teacher, um, who was really an employee of ours, has been with the district for 34 years. So, we wish them all well on their next adventure. The resa we also have the resignations
030of two teachers at the end of the school year and two secretaries. This agenda also includes the proposed hiring of one athletic director secretary at Westmont High School. Um, we also have the proposed transfer of Larry Cox from interim athletic director at Westcart Middle School to permanent athletic director at Westclar Middle School beginning the 2526 school year and Jennifer Hall from pair professional aid at Westclar Middle School to principal secretary at West Claremont Middle School. The agenda we uh we have the proposed approval for supplemental contracts for the insurance committee uh evaluation review team, CCP instructors, home tutors, insurance committee, and multiple coaches. Also included in this agenda is the proposed approval for multiple unpaid leave of absences and multiple school volunteers and student teachers. And finally in the work beyond the contract section are
031the proposed approval for cooperating teachers. This concludes the review of the personnel agenda submission for your consideration. Thank you Dr. Folz. Next up good evening. This evening, uh, I'm requesting approval for the overnight field trip for, excuse me, for our West Clare High School DECA organization. Uh, we have five students who have qualified to complete to compete at the international career development conference that's taking place in Orlando, Florida. Um, at the end of the month, um, Great Oaks handles the cost um, the associated cost of the transportation um, meals, lodging, etc. uh for those students. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Item 7.03 is request for approval of the minutes. Those for uh that was for the meeting of March 17th, 2025 was a regular business meeting. So the uh request for the consent agenda agenda
032is item 7.01 through 7.03. Thank you, Mr. Romano. You've heard the recommendation. Would someone like to make a motion? So moved. Thank you, Mr. Rudy. Is there a second? Second. Thank you, Miss Spencer. Is there any discussion? Uh, yes. Dr. uh, Folultz, could you tell explain to me what is the CCP instructor? Yeah, that's a college career plus. So, that's our, uh, teachers are teaching college prep, college level courses for our kids. And the insurance committee is for we it's part of the negotiated contract is that insurance committee meets periodically throughout the year and they discuss our our insurance costs and and what we what we provide and and how our premiums are being used. Okay. Thank you. Is there any other discussion? Thank you. Roll call, please. Mr. Rudy, yes. Mrs. Spencer, yes. Mr.
033Patton, yes. Mr. Chumley, yes. Miss Sandler, yes. Five, yes. Looks like we're on the superintendent business. Mr. Lefat is going to share the summer projects. Good evening. Um, M. The uh Mr. Romano and I finalized the budget for summer projects. So, here's a list of several major projects that we're going to do this summer. First of all, some massive um asphalt repairs at um the older buildings just to try to save those parking lots that'll be taking place when school's out in Jul in June and July. Furniture purchases because of broken furniture or programming changes in furniture were approved by Mr. Romano and we're going to save some serious dollars by having all of the orders delivered at one time, one place at the high school and then our maintenance guys with the trucks will
034disperse the furniture to the buildings. So, that'll happen in June. Um, again, that was an idea that maintenance and I came on with or decided on in order to try to cut down on the delivery charges and the assembly charges for furniture. Next is plumbing repairs. We already did several um at club, for example, got the water turned on from a freeze that happened in the winter. We had to close that building. There's other projects like painting and plumbing. We're going to assess all of our roofs once again and um patch some. We've already had two major leaks, patch one, another one's going to get done probably tomorrow as a result of the rain. And then I just want to say as an editorial to this, it's really gratifying in my experience to be on
035this side of the educational spectrum knowing that what our guys do support in a small way enable teachers and students to have the success that these eighth grade kids demonstrated tonight and the principles as well. So it's it's a pleasure doing this job. Thanks. Any questions? Uh, is the furniture for the new building as well or just for the existing building? It's a variety of buildings there. There might be five chairs of Cluff, two desk, I'm sorry, five trapezoid tables at the high school, that kind of thing. When I asked for the summer projects, most of it was furniture orders. And um, it's a lot. So in order to facilitate that we we're going to bundle everything but it's not for any one particular building. Okay. Thank you. And and the other thing is about
036the furniture. It was bought knowing that it can be moved new buildings. It's going to be new furniture obviously but it's very functional rather than student desk. Some are going to be on tables on couches. They're easy for a science teacher art teacher to use. I guess the difference is we're we're not starting like room by room. replacing furniture. These are just individual sporadic needs. Office furniture, desks that have fallen apart or drawers won't open. So, one other aspect of buying the furniture like we did, we were able to get severe or significant discounts on some furniture because it really sometimes the color doesn't matter a lot as long as it's functional. So, we got some discounts on furniture that was already in. Did you buy us ugly furniture check? Is that is that what
037your way of telling? Often I said I don't care what color you got. Just send it to us. Just checking. So hopefully the teachers like it right. Any questions? Did you put out bids for this this furniture that you're getting? How did you obtain furniture? Yes. Yes, ma'am. We have three furniture companies that we deal with and the furniture company that we went with. The advantage to going with them, they're an educational they are in an educational co-op. So we get it at state bid prices. which is a big savings. Okay. But you didn't share that with the board, correct? Pardon? You didn't share the bids with the board, correct? No, there were no bids. There were just quotes on furniture. There were no like if if the high school needed five desk, I got
038a quote for five desk from three different companies. Okay. Okay. But there were no there were no public bids because the cost of the furniture didn't dictate that. That's a total package. Yeah. bids are just for a certain like dollar amount be different if you were replacing an HVAC, correct? Or a chiller or something. It didn't approach the threshold of $7,000 where you should get a public bid at all. Okay. That's what I was wanting to find out. No, it didn't even come close. Okay. Thank you. I just wanted clarification. Yeah, that's good. Anything else? No. Thank you. Thanks. Thank you. Um, next up we have the statement of facts. This is just to remind everybody that the statement of facts are available on our website. When you click on that on the on the
039bond information page, it's chocked full of information. There's videos, FAQs, one pagers that answer pretty much anything about um the bond project that will is on the ballot for April or sorry for May 6th. I will note today on on the front of our website it says the deadline to register to vote for the May 6th primary or special election is April 7th and um early voting begins April 8 and runs through May 4th. So that's timely information considering today is um April 7th and uh we have been look you know every week if we if we get info at Westclair questions um we incorporate them in as as needed and we just really aren't getting a lot of questions right now. Um so I don't know if if the information is just um suitable
040and is working for everybody or if we'll start getting um flooded here over the next couple weeks since we're getting closer to May. I'm not sure. But we'll continue to to evaluate those questions that come in and as we answer them, if we think it's something that's really like not a very specific question, but something that more people might want to know, we'll incorporate that into our website. So it's sharable and findable by anybody. So you have anything else you would add? No, but it looked like I had a timer on you. So sorry about that. That wasn't okay. We'll put that on. We'll put that on the next We'll put that on the next. Yeah, you can tell I just ignore timers. I already have a timer. I have several timers out there. I've
041been invited by um most of the PTO's if not all of them. Uh some of them we've already um done to visit them over the course of the next uh couple weeks. So I'll be visiting um our PTO's. I have superintendent articulation meetings coming up with the staff. So, a lot of April will just be getting more and more um time to interact with people, answer questions, and um if anybody else wants to invite us out if if there's groups of people that have questions and and want to sit down with coffee, soda, whatever, um we're happy to provide that information for people as needed. There's times on my calendar available for that as well as Mr. Romano's. We don't have any town halls. We we finished those for the year. So that um will
042just be something to look forward to for next year and we will be in the next week or so be sending our West uh connect us community newsletter. So it will be our um third one for this school year to just continue to educate uh we it's a focus on state of the schools and our financial update as always. That's all I have. Do you guys have questions for me? Okay. Thank you, Miss Adams. Looks like we're going on to treasures business. Start the timer. Yes. That was good. That was really good. Okay. Advocacy update. Okay. Um, so passed on there to that. So, what I want to briefly do because I know I'm being timed with it, but it it it really is important. Um, the board's aware, administration's aware, people are aware that
043House Bill 96 was the governor's um bianium budget was the original proposal that was out there. Um, we discussed that at a couple of our board meetings. Um it was um pretty enlightening for the superintendent, myself, uh Miss Sambour and Mr. Spencer to go down to Columbus on legislative day with other educators and talk to our area legislators. We did meet with Dr. Johnson, Senator Johnson, Representative Bird, and Representative Schmidt. Um, and I was glad that when the substitute House Bill 96 bill came out that um, it seemed we were listened to and actually responded to. So, what I just wanted to go over tonight is substitute House Bill 96 and really just focus on a couple points that really impact West Claremont schools finances. Um, so we'll give that update. It's really about the
044revenue impact. There's another provision that was added in there which is about a cash balance restriction and then really talk about what is our message back to our area uh representatives and then also to other representatives. It's important now as the substitute high excuse me the substitute house bill goes through and then things go over to the senate side and then senate starts their version um in response to that and from there it can go to uh conference committee I believe it goes goes on so um as you know when the bills are put forward and likewise with the substitute house bill 96 there's different simulations that are run and it was um it pleasing to see that with the substitute bill um where in the prior House Bill 96 we stood to lose because
045there was um the guarantee from the state funding that this district has been on for years except for one year. Um uh it was going to be reduced and so as that guarantee gets reduced we lose money. Um and in this simulation and the provisions that were put in place um we actually get a little bit of a tick up. Our request to our area representatives and to others is that we keep the guarantees in place. In other words, we are held harmless of any loss of revenue. Um so in this simulation where in the comparison from House Bill 96 we stood to lose almost $2.1 million. In the substitute bill, we stand to gain 220,000. So there's there's basically a swing of almost $2.3 million um with the House Bill 96 to substitute. So
046again, very appreciative to um our local legislators or representatives in in putting that provision in there. There is however one other provision that uh was put in place um and there's some complexity around it of who it does impact and who it doesn't impact but um in short that provision is if the cash balances of a school district at the end of the year are greater than 25% of the total expenses of the prior year. then the county auditor could reduce the taxes to bring that cash balance down in the ensuing years to 25%. The problem with that language is and and I I I don't know if I'm not going to try and interpret or read into why that was put in place, but I know there's been discussions over the past several years
047that school districts have been increasing their cash balance. Um actually I think it was about seven or eight years ago I wrote an article as to why those balances were increasing and part of the reason why is because school districts were being a little bit more prudent more conscious uh basically because of their five-year forecast and and what li lie ahead of them. Um but there were several reasons you know that was put in place. One of the other things is you know people were trying to figure out where did the 25% come from. Uh there was a white paper put out by one of the associations that said that school districts should keep at least a 90day cash balance on hand. Well that 90 days take 90 divide by 365 calendar days is 25%
048plus or minus right. And so we think that's how the 25% got there but nobody's really sure how that got there. But that 25% in the white paper was a trigger point. It basically said that's the minimum. If you start falling below that 25%, you need to be concerned because you're headed towards fiscal distress. Okay? It wasn't the maximum. It was really a minimum. So, we don't know if that was misinterpreted or not either. But then if we we really go specifically to West Claremont and and where are we at within that provision to do it. So, um, one of the things that I was glad to to see that in all of our presentations with our five-year forecast, we went back and and started talking about, and I'm actually going to advance to that
049slide, we start talking about cash balance is really a function of stairstep revenues placed against an inflationary expense line. And so we gain revenues really, you know, in very minimal ways. One is the state gives us more money, which that hasn't happened since I don't know when. I know we're still operating off a 2019 funding level. The other way is if it passes a levy, which we did in 2020. The third way is if there is growth in either property values or new construction. Okay? And in this district, because we're at the 20 mil floor, when the valuation increases, we do get an increase. Okay? And and we fully recognize that, we fully admit it, and we let people know that happened twice in the last in the five years I was here. It happened
050in 2020. There was a valuation increase um at the uh trienal and at the 23 reappraisal, the senial for collection in 24. That is when there was that significant increase. That is when we basically put a stake in the ground that said, "Hey, we can now advance from going back to voters in 24, which we said in 2020 with that levy. We can advance that to at least 26 and we'll work harder going forward." So, I I put this chart back up and that came from our five-year forecast um presentation, but that similar chart was also it was in November. It was also in May of 24. It was also in the prior one, and it really talked about why do we increase in cash balance and why does that cash balance eventually get depleted
051as we move forward. So, the provision that was added to substitute House Bill Code 96, it it went in and it actually the simulations that were provided um that were provided actually listed out what our cash balance was as well as 600 and some other school districts in the state and it basically said what percent um are we over or under that 25% level. So, what would we need to reduce? What I want to show is if we look at and go back to our november 5-year forecast, and we're we're pretty much on track with that forecast as we go forward. Never going to be exact or perfect, but it's a pretty good uh prediction of the future of where we're going with the information that we have on hand. And the these are the
052numbers from our forecast. The cash balances drove from, you know, a minimum in 2022 of about $12 million. We still get the levy collection. We still had the valuation increase. In 24, we had uh six months of an increase. 25 we had the full year of the the 24 uh collection of that. And then what happens, right? Revenue stair steps, inflationary expense line, cash uh the cash balance or or difference between revenue received, expenses made. Okay, it goes from a surplus to a deficit. Our cash balances start going down. Okay, if we had to reduce our revenue, okay, two things happen. Okay, a we have to question our ability to move a levy from 26 to 27 is severely hampered. Number one. Number two is if we have to reduce our cash balance or we
053or we receive less revenue because the taxes are reduced because of that. Do we have to come back with a higher millage rate to make up for that? So they reduce the tax rate now. Are we going to be asking for more because we're looking out into the future to do it? I have a third concern that um I have to sign along with the superintendent along with the board president. we have to sign our fiscal certificates. If if a contract goes out more than one year, okay, to do that, what is that ability? If we have to sign something that that we have a contract for three years, it diminishes the ability to do those, we'd have to do it for a shorter period of time. It it really the provision really didn't look
054at how schools are funded. So they're funded at a point where we stair step our revenues against an inflationary um expenditure line to do that. Okay, that's what this chart shows. Um you know, as Mr. Patton identified, I think it's the first year here though the the true days of cash balance on hand. Okay, somewhere between 60 and 90 days is what we really shoot for to get. Okay, we can attain that when we have those surpluses, but then again again when that cash balance goes down, our ability to keep to keep a number of days of cash balance on hand that starts to erode away to do that. So um our I guess message again as we do some advocacy following substitute house bill 96 is we're pleased that that has has that we're
055you know we were responded to about holding the revenue line that we don't have a loss in revenue that those are secured that was accomplished we want that to stay not only here but even on the Senate side and then two I guess the a request to remove that 25% cash balance restriction because that would significantly hamper our ability to really plan for more than one or two years into the future. Okay, it really restricts that. If the intent of that was really to look at um uh taxpayer relief, um I think the request is take that out of here. Go back to uh the study, go back on property tax reform, go back to different bills that are out there uh for different uh applications and focus on those. Not too sure if it
056really needs to be in a benium bill that's really focused on state funding that that provision be added to that. Okay. So I don't know what the time clock in the audience there but the front row says to me but I I I want to make sure everybody understands that that the second one any appreciation that we that we went and spoke and and they did respond to it. And I know some of the board talked to some of the legislators too even after that and and you know we're very happy that they listen to that. And then secondly, if there's a future message we need to give is is on that 25% restriction, we really respectfully request that that be removed. So I sent that message today, a thank you plus our advocacy points
057um to both Jean Schmidt and Adam Bird as as well. I sent it to Senator Johnson, too, just as a heads up as it moves over to the Senate. So any questions I can answer on that or give information to? So, we got to keep So, I just we have another point in here is that it it seems in this latest rendition of House Bill 96 that they're working to focus on school funding at the same time provide taxpayer relief, which we're all for. We want to have taxpayer relief. The problem is how it counter bound how it counteracts it. And so, doing this 25% cash balance, all it does is going to cause us to come right back to our people more often and probably for higher amounts. And so although it because the
058state portion just keeps getting smaller and smaller and smaller and smaller, it was about 5050 when I first came to West Claremont and it's continued to um the local has continued to have to grow. And so that's seems to be the the part that we're missing. So, we're asking them to fund Ohio students first, then work on property tax reform that doesn't undermine the formula. If I can if I can add one more thing, you know, typically when we you know, there's some intent behind this, right? Okay. They're not just putting out there for that. One of the things that um we thought of from our district is that there's already mechanisms in place if cash balances are getting too high. So the five-year forecast is done twice a year by every school district. It's
059um required to be filed with the department of education and then from the department of education is it is also reviewed by the state auditor's office. There's there are metrics that are looked at, there's indicators that are looked at. Primarily they are there for fiscal distress. So if someone's cash balance is getting too low, the state department had the auditors auditor of state's office going to ask us to hey what's your plan so you don't get to zero or go negative. Okay to do that same mechanism can be used if cash balances are getting too high. The same indicators, the same metrics can be used. So there's already um a format in place, a mechanism in place um to to review high cash balances. State Department of Education, the auditor's office can send a letter
060to that school district. The same vein if it's sent, you know, if it had a low cash balance, say what do you plan to do with the excess cash that you have on hand? How do you plan to utilize that in the future so it doesn't keep accumulating? So our belief is that that measures are already in place to control excessive cash balances if that's what we you know that's what it's perceived to be and it's really what's the intention to use those balances for. We already know through our plan right how it's being used. We know that that that expenses rise and we just have enough cash balance two three four years up the road to cover that. So we don't want to just say take it out and we not offer a solution.
061And I think the solution's already in place. Thank you, Dan. All right. Thank you. Do you have any further comments or anything? I'm good. Okay. Uh, moving on to board comments. I'll start with Mrs. Spencer. Well, I enjoy the kids. I think that's great to see them work hard and come up with their own question that really is something very relatable, something that they are going to have to work with in the future about the testing and the AI. I think that's amazing and that teacher has enough leadway and she has autonomy to do that in her classroom to encourage the kids to answer questions like that and then to present it to moving forward. And I think it's amazing and it looks good for everybody, the parents, the the staff, all of us. It
062makes us makes the district look really good and that we are moving forward and working working with the kids and stuff and encouraging them to critically think on stuff that they're going to have to deal with, you know. Um, but I I do appreciate that and um I appreciate um everybody's work getting and Dan doing the we did enjoy our time up there. I learned a lot. I was in awe of Columbus and the Capitol building and the whole thing. And I think it's very very intriguing to watch people work and do that kind of thing and um and be willing to listen to what we had to say and then kind of went back and tried to try to help some of the problems that we were having. So I enjoyed it and I
063appreciate the opportunity to go out there. Thank you. Uh I had the opportunity to go to the how the moon. Uh we went with Mr. Patton, Mrs. Spencer, Miss Si and Mr. Mrs. priests and me uh had a great time. Mr. Superintendent and the treasure. Um Mr. Collins, he can sell anything. If he can sell two signs for over $1,000, he sold two parking spots for over $1,000. And Mrs. Spencer almost bought one. Yeah. So, but that was that was we had a wonderful time and um I hope you made a lot of money for the school district and for the athletic department. Uh the next thing I got to go to was the state legislative conference and it started out the morning with Howard Leer um from the Ohio Education Policy Institute. Uh he
064really delved into uh House Bill 920, Senate Bill 271, and House Bill 96. And there were some other House bills that he also talked about. So, those are the three thing three House bills and a Senate bill that we really need to keep an eye on to see where it's going as far as moving forward. I see that there's more legislation regarding property taxes and the possibility of um vouchers for charter schools and homeschooling and so that's kind of concerning as well. So, but I'll keep an eye on all that and see where that leads. Um after lunch we met with uh Representative uh Senator Snyder. Um he really listened to what uh Mr. Romano and Miss Adams said. I really think that he understood um fair school funding and he understood stotood our school
065district and the advocacy that we uh presented to him. He really, you could tell that his wheels were turning and he was really listening to what was being said and he really wanted to be engaged and wanted to know more. Um, the next person we went and saw is Representative Adam Bird. Um, he said, "You don't have to talk to me. I already know all about it." Um, he's the former superintendent of the New Richmond Exempted School District, and he told us we needed to go to other representatives and senators and talk to them. And so I hope that uh Miss Adams and Mr. Romano have an opportunity to do that so that we we have a lot of people at stake and a lot of stakeholders that looking not just at their school district
066but also West Claremont School District. Um we all we met with Representative Jean Schmidt and I could tell when Miss Adams started talking to her I said I thought to myself because I'm sitting across from her she really doesn't understand fair school funding. she doesn't understand uh what we're trying to do and advocate for. And so I I really thought about that for a while and then um something amazing happened. I had an event at the Oasis Golf Center and over the weekend with VC Ram Swami and she was there along with Senator Snyder and Adam Burn. They all were there. Pardon me. They were all there and uh when I got ready to leave, she's like, "Hey, Tina, come. I want to talk to you." So, I went and talked to her and then
067Senator Johnson came up and he said, he goes, "Tino," he goes, "I'm glad you came to my office." He goes, "You know, you can talk when you come to my office." And I said, "Well," I said, "I thought it was more important that Mr. Romano and Mrs. Adams talk to you versus me talking to you." He said, "But I like to hear from board members as well." Well, he said, "So, the next time if you get an opportunity to come and see me," he goes, "you're more than welcome to speak." And I said, "Okay, thank you." And then, um, Mrs. Schmidt, she really didn't say anything, but I could tell she was thinking. And so being the good board member that I am, I just picked up my phone on Saturday and I called her
068and I said, "Um, is there anything that I can offer you or help you to understand the West Claremont School District and our fair school funding and advocate for my school district? Is there anything that you need from me that I can get from Mr. Romano or Miss Adams?" She says, "No, I I have everything I need." She goes, "Funny thing, Tina." and she goes, "Representative Bird came to my office with another representative and they went detail line by line the fair school funding and they went detail about West Claremont and they even she they even had the website up showing our five-year forecast." And she said, "I really understood exactly what West Claremont is going through." And she said, "Now I understand education more than I ever have since I've been up here in
069Columbus." So, I thought that was kudos that I got an opportunity to reach out to her, but kudos that she was willing to listen to Representative Bird and her the other colleague that came to her office to speak and talk to her so that she would understand what she was going to be voting for in the near future. So, thanks and I'll stop at that. I usually don't interrupt, but I'm I'm gonna ask, do either of you want to give an update on the committees that we had earlier today since we haven't had committee meetings in a while. anything you want to share about that? Um, sure. Uh, I had an opportunity to meet with Mr. Gapard on policy. Um, I thought that the booklet is I didn't understand it at first. I didn't know
070what kind of booklet. I thought, well, is this a district booklet or he and he's like, "No, it's for like new board members." I'm like, "Great. I wish I would have had this booklet when I first became a board member because I had all kinds of questions about the school district and just in general, you know, and um I I really like the booklet. I hope that we continue to use it for years to come and anyone that's, you know, becomes a new board member will have an ready handy opportunity to look at it and read it and ask questions and once they've read it if they don't understand. So, I really appreciate all the time that he's put into seeing this through. I know it's a lot of time around his physical therapy. Yeah,
071I think that I think the uh I think West Claremont board will benefit from having this board this board booklet for any new member because I was r I'm new I'm still new. This is my second year but just questions that I just didn't know who to ask and how to go about it. and it's very for informative and it gives you like the organizational chart and how to find if you don't know how to find it and how and how the um even how our um meetings are ran and who does what during the meetings and why they do that and that kind of thing. So the booklet I think is going to be very helpful and be very informative. Of course it'll have to be updated but I think it's going to be
072kind of like a living article and it will just keep moving and getting better and better every year we use it. Thank you. Thank you guys. Mr. Ch, I hope everyone had a uh more relaxed spring break than I had. Um I really appreciate Miss Huffford. It's one thing to get like the students on board and engaged and um for them to love and respect you like she obviously had, but to see the parents as involved as they were, that's something special I think. She has a gift, it seems, and I'm glad that she's blessing our our district with that gift. And um it's just awesome to see that. Wish we could do that every week. Um and I want to thank our advocates for um going to Columbus and um speaking on behalf of
073of us. Um it's really cool to see that have a positive effect. You don't see it at times, so it's really cool when it happens. So, thank you guys. Thank you, Mr. Ch. Mr. Rudy. Um, I was excited to meet the big kids today because Mrs. Huffford's been telling me about them for months. I think it's wonderful. And a lot of people probably don't know this was a career change for her. And she's a little bit older. I can say that because she and I are good friends. But to adapt to what she to what she has done is phenomenal. I there's not a word to describe it just like the work of the kids. And I would also like to thank you too for making this the bills easier to understand for once. I
074really understand it now. So thank you very much. Do either of you have a committee update from tonight? Anything? Is there anything to share? I just don't want to forget that since we don't nor we don't normally have the committees. Boring numbers. Boring numbers. Okay. All right. We'll work on entertaining numbers. Do you prefer I prefer the boring? I did not have a policy or a meeting tonight. So, I was um Yes. I also kind of since I always go last, I kind of echo what everybody else has already said. Uh I do appreciate um the the presentation tonight with the the eighth graders. I think they did a great job and again it just shows really what West Claremont is doing and how we're trying to move in in in the correct direction. Um
075I also want to piggy back what Mr. Chambi said as far as I appreciate you two going up to Columbus and representing the school board. Um I I truly appreciate that. I appreciate you two going up and also representing the district. Uh and it does sound like it has not fallen on deaf ears. So that's that's very important. Um I always tend to forget to broadcast, but our next board meeting is um looks like April the 21st at 7 PM here at the Civic Center. So again, that's April 21st here at the Civic Center. And again, as always, I appreciate everyone that showed up. I appreciate any guests that we have coming and speakers. So I think the involvement in our district I appreciate. So it does with uh that being said, it does look
076like we do have a reason to go into executive session uh for the purpose of considering the appointment, employment, dismissal, discipline, promotion, demotion, or compensation of a public employee and to consider the investigation of charges or complaints against a public employee, official, lency, or student. I will put that out in the form of a motion. Do I have a second? Second. Thank you, Mr. Chumley. Is there any discussion on that? Thank you. Roll call, please. Mr. Patton, yes. Mr. Chumley, yes. Miss Sanborn, yes. Mrs. Spencer, yes. Mr. Rudy, yes. Five, yes. There will be nothing that we need to vote on. There will be nothing that we will be coming back out of once we're done with the executive session. Thank you guys.