001Good evening. Uh prior to the regular school board meeting, we have a district records commission meeting. It's a very brief meeting. Uh so, we're going to go ahead and get started with that. Um I'm going to go ahead and call the meeting to order. It is 5:50 p.m. And our members are present. Angie Hamburg, superintendent. Christie Meyer, board president of the schools. And Nicole Marshall, treasurer CFO of the schools. Uh can I have a motion to approve the minutes of the district records commission meeting held on Monday, June 9th, 2025? So moved. Second. Uh any discussion or changes? No. >> All right. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. >> I. I. Any opposed same sign. All right. Um next we are going to review the district's records retention schedule. And really it's
002just here for discussion. We have no changes or anything to approve with that. Um Unless anybody has anything on it. Um this is just per policy, so we're just looking at it. We don't need to Okay. Yeah, no updates to that. Okay. All right. And then uh item 4.01 approve the district records destruction. So moved. There's the I was going to say there's the RC3 form in there. >> Yep. For review. Second. And any discussion about that? Nope. Looks pretty standard. All right. All those in favor signify signify by saying I. I. >> I. Any opposed same sign. And that passes, so we will move forward with the records destruction as per the agenda. And may I have a motion to adjourn? So moved. Second. All those in favor? I. We are adjourned. Good job.
003All right, that's the end of the Records Commission. We will start the regular school board meeting at 6:00 p.m. Thank you. Good evening. It's nice to see such a packed room tonight. And thank you for joining us and attending the May 11th, 2026 regular meeting of the Westerville City Schools Board of Education. This evening's agenda will be displayed on the screens in the front of the room. Printed agendas are in the back of the room, or you may find the agenda on your mobile device by connecting to the district's website at www.wescoh.org. Click on our district link, select Board of Education, and then follow BoardDocs link the BoardDocs link to our current meeting agenda. And with that, Ms. Marshall, will you please call the roll? Ms. Altman? Here. Ms. Brown? Here. Ms. Levan? Here. Ms.
004Meyer? Here. Ms. Valentine? Here. Would you please join us 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. All right, we're going to move along to three, and district highlights and recognitions. But before we do, we're going to um ask for a motion to approve the resolution of recognition for the Westerville North High School boys basketball team and the 50th anniversary. So moved. Second. Jen. Ms. Altman. Um Ms. Brown. Yes. Ms. Altman? Yes. Ms. Levan? Yes. Mrs. Valentine? Yes. Mrs. Myer? Yes. And next we're going to move into the fun part of the night. All right. Well, I'm going to start out this evening by actually reading the
005resolution that we just approved um for the Westerville North High School boys basketball team. So, whereas the Westerville North High School varsity basketball team coached by Shawn Trustly ended the 2025-26 season with a 26 and two record, a new school record for wins in a season. And whereas the team set a new school record for wins in a regular season with a 21 and one record. And whereas the team were repeat OCC district and regional champs. And whereas on March 22nd, the team were state runners-up runner-ups after their overtime game against Massillon Washington High School during the Ohio High School Athletic Association's Division II State Boys Basketball Championship. And whereas 17 students received academic awards. And whereas five students earned all-district honors. And whereas three students earned all-state honors. Whereas senior Elijah McCray was named
006the 2026 OCC Capital Division Player of the Year and the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association Division II State Player of the Year. And therefore, be it resolved that the Westerville City Schools Board of Education and Superintendent commend the 2025-26 Westerville North Basketball team along with Coach Trustly and his assistants for an exhilarating and historic season of play and thank them for representing our district and community with pride and distinction. >> [applause] [applause] >> All right, so at this time we'd like to invite coach Trustly and the following students to join us up front. Tyson Perkins Okay. >> [laughter] >> Tony Cornett >> [applause] >> You just have a and stand over here. Nate Roman >> [applause] >> Elijah McCreary Tyson Cornett >> [applause] >> Jericho Reimschneider Damien King Jacob Medhane Ethan Stewart >> [applause]
007>> Jared Wilson Max Scotty Jude Bromley Ben Hopkins Noah Hale Desmond Okantey and Micah Stein. >> [applause] >> Yeah, come on coach. Come on coach. >> [laughter] >> So we are recognizing the Westerville North boys basketball team this evening for competing, like we mentioned, in the Ohio High School Athletic Association's Division Two State boys basketball championship this year. They returned to the championship for the second year in a row and were state runner-ups in a dramatic overtime finish. I personally would like to say I was very sad that I couldn't make it this year. I was there last year, but congratulations. So very exciting. Uh there was so much to be proud of this season. As we read in the resolution, overall record of 26 and two with a new school record for wins in
008a season. Repeat OCC district and regional champions. They won 21 games in a row. 17 students with academic awards, seven with all league honors, five with all district honors, and three with all state honors. That is a lot of accolades. Um we are so so proud. So senior Elijah McCray, you want to give everybody a wave? Yes. Was named the 2026 OCC Capital Division Player of the Year and Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association Division Two State Player OF THE YEAR. >> [applause] >> SO WE KNOW THAT THIS WASN'T THE ending that we had all hoped for, but one game obviously doesn't define the journey to get there. You represented your school, this community, and all of each other uh with incredible heart. We're so proud of what you accomplished in yet another historic season,
009and looking forward to next season already. Uh we also want to acknowledge Westerville North Principal Kurt Yancey and all family members who are here in attendance with these wonderful athletes and students tonight. So thank you so much. >> [applause] >> You guys can go ahead and get I think I've got a little more for you. All right. I'll announce it after they're done. All right. So we have resolution four. Okay. And as our wonderful basketball players are uh exiting the lineup here, if you can head out there already heading out to the uh lobby to get a group photo. Thank you so much. Let's give them one more round of applause as they're exiting. All righty. Next up, I would like to invite Westerville North High School Principal Kurt Yancey to join me in the
010front. >> [applause] >> We're here to recognize Westerville North on its 50th anniversary. On September 4th, 1975, Westerville North first opened its doors, making history for Westerville as a first Columbus suburban district to add a second high school. Westerville North sits on a 100-acre land that was purchased from retired WCS cafeteria worker Una Day in 1973. And it was built as one of the district's open-space concept schools, where classes were grouped in pods with partial walls and no doors. During the energy crisis of 1977, Westerville North remained open because of its economical heating system and supported Westerville South, Blendon, and Walnut Springs alternating mornings and afternoons and every other Friday until the crisis ended. The building has undergone multiple renovations, as we know, since its opening, including the addition of a new media center, guidance
011and administrative offices, an auditorium, and the auxiliary gym, as well as permanent walls to create separate classrooms. As much as the landscape has evolved, the soul of the school remains anchored in its history. The Warrior Way, the school's creed developed by retired Principal Jim McCann in 1992, still carries strong. On April 23rd, more than 400 members of Westerville North, past and present, joined the school to help celebrate its 50th anniversary. And I know many board members attended, um, and that was a wonderful evening. We want to congratulate the Westerville North school community for 50 years of excellence in educating children and providing them with an outstanding environment in which to grow, learn, and succeed. And so, I will now read the resolution. For recognition for Westerville North High School. Whereas the Westerville North High School
012varsity, excuse me. Nope. Whereas the Westerville North High School, which annually educates more than 1,300 students, first opened its doors on September 4th, 1975. And whereas Westerville North sits on a 100-acre that was purchased from retired WCS cafeteria worker, Miss Day, in 1973. And whereas during construction, a pond was constructed to form the Larrimore land lab for outdoor education. And whereas Westerville North was built as one of the district's open space concept schools where classes were grouped in pods with partial walls and no doors. Whereas during the energy crisis of 1977, Westerville North remained open because of its economical heating system and supported Westerville South, Blendon, and Walnut Springs alternating mornings and afternoons and every other Friday until the crisis ended. Whereas Westerville North has undergone multiple renovations since its opening, including the addition of
013a new media center, guidance and administrative offices, an auditorium, and the auxiliary gym, and permanent walls to create separate classrooms. Whereas the Warrior Way, the school's creed developed by retired principal Jim McCann in 1992, still carries strong. And now, therefore, be it resolved that the Westerville City Schools Board of Education and Superintendent extend to Westerville North High School's principal, staff, students, parents, and volunteers its congratulations for 50 years of excellence in educating children and providing them with an outstanding environment in which to grow, learn, and succeed. Yes. Could we please have all of the staff please join us in the front? Thank you so much at this time. >> [applause] [applause] >> Wonderful. Thank you. And you may make your way over to receive your presentations. Thank you. >> [applause] [applause] >> Okay. Let's move
014on to our Global Scholars Scholarship this evening. We'd like to invite Anna Leslein to join us up front. >> [applause] >> Is it Leslein or Leslein? Leslein. Leslein. Leslein. >> [snorts] >> Um so we are recognizing Anna tonight for receiving a scholarship from the Columbus Council on World Affairs for her Global Global Scholars Take Action Project. The Westerville North senior was one of two students in Central Ohio to receive this scholarship. And for her project, Anna created a Pronounce with Purpose Database where students could record the phonetic spelling and audio of their names. Haha. [laughter] Making it easier for teachers and all of us probably to learn and use them correctly in class. She collab collaborated with counselors, teachers, and staff at North presenting her work to the school staff. She has been working with
015district leaders to integrate a phonetic name feature into PowerSchool to support accurate pronunciation. Lesline plans to attend Kent State University to study animation and game design. She hopes to bring her project with her to see if the university is in need of a similar tool. So, congratulations, Anna. Your project shows an exceptional and unique balance of innovation and genuine compassion for your peers. It's inspiring work. We cannot wait to see what you do next from Kent State. We also would like to acknowledge again Westerville North Principal Curt Yancey, uh, as well as her family members who are here in the audience tonight. Thank you so much. >> [applause] >> All right, for our next award, I would like to call Gerdy Glass to the podium to talk about this year's Civitan Award. Good evening, President
016Meyer, members of the board, Superintendent Hamburg, and Ms. Marshall. Tonight, I am pleased to welcome representative from the Westerville area Civitan Club, an organization that has been a valued partner to our district since 2017. Through their continuous support and commitment to service, they help recognize the outstanding work of our special education staff and the positive impact they have on students every day. Their partnership has been a meaningful reminder that the work happening in our schools extends far beyond the classroom walls and is truly valued by the community. The recognition they provide shines a light on staff members who go above and beyond to support students with compassion, dedication, and care. We are grateful for the Civitan Club's continued partnership and their dedicat- to celebrating excellence in education. At this time, I would like to invite
017Ms. Klein forward to present this year's Civitan Area Special Education Professional Award. Hi. Thank you for giving us this time to during your meeting to honor a special young woman. We're here representing the Westville Area Civitan Civitan Club as Ms. Glass said. We're a small group locally, about 30 members, but Civitan is an international organization whose goal is to find ways to help our communities. Part of our mission statement says our clubs are dedicated to serving individual and community needs with an emphasis on helping people with developmental disabilities. In support of that goal, we've organized events such as spring dances and Easter egg hunts at the Westville Community Center, especially for those with such disabilities. We initiated the Special Education Professional Award to honor those who work with children with special needs. Donna DeTray, one
018of our members, proposed this award, formed a committee, and brought the project to fruition. Ms. Glass then solicited nominations from within the district, and this individual was nominated. This is an excerpt from the nomination letter about the person who is selected. This individual has an incredible ability to bridge the gap between a standard curriculum and the diverse needs of her classroom. Whether she is modifying sensory materials, incorporating functional communication supports, or redesigning a task to meet a student's specific cognitive or intellectual needs, she ensures that all of her students have access to the curriculum. In her classroom, every milestone, no matter how small, is celebrated. We announced on May 6th at the Early Learning Center that the recipient of our Special Education Professional Award is Ms. Angela Maron. We presented Ms. Maron with a framed
019certificate at that time. Ms. Maron will also be recognized at a Westerville City Council meeting on May 19th, to which you're all invited to support her. At that time, we'll present a plaque and a small gift, as well as a plaque for the district that displays the names of all recipients of this award. We'd like to thank Ms. Glass for all of her help in this process. And thanks to everyone who took the time >> [snorts] >> to submit nominations. We look forward to seeing you at the City Council meeting. >> [applause] [applause] >> Congratulations. >> [snorts] >> Another round of applause. CONGRATULATIONS. >> [applause] >> NOW, I'M REALLY EXCITED FOR THIS ONE. Before we begin, let's start by saying congratulations. We are thrilled that we can recognize our retirees in person and share with
020you how important your contributions are to our district. Although it makes us sad because we are losing such great employees, we can rejoice in knowing that this starts this is a start in a new chapter in your life. Collectively, the Westerville City School District is losing over 1,650 years of a district combined experience from its licensed and classified staff. Mhm. Yes. Regardless of where this face phase of your life's journey takes you, please know how proud we are of the work you have accomplished during your time here. Your legacy will be treasured for many years to come as the students whose lives you've touched and guided move on to become successful adults. In addition, you have touched the lives of your peers. Seeing the results of your work firsthand provides us with an optimistic outlook
021on the state of our schools, the state of our community, and the state of our country because you have touched the life of a child and have taught our future leaders well. We wish you a long, healthy, and happy retirement. Yours will be a big shoe to fill. This year's retirees will be honored much like a graduation. Each retiree in attendance will be called upon to the podium, and we ask that you stand facing the audience as we will share three words that your co-workers say best describe you. You will then proceed down the receiving line. And with that, let's begin the celebration. >> [applause] >> Okay, I I didn't have Anna's tool in advance, so forgive me if I misspell anybody's name. >> [laughter] >> All right. Uh we're going to go ahead and
022begin with Donna Dixius from Amherst. And the three words that best describe her are diligent, witty, and organized. >> [applause] >> The second retiree is Bradley Blankenship from Blendon. He was described as devoted, ambitious, and charismatic. >> [applause] [applause] >> Our next retiree is Mark Lovett, Buildings and Grounds. He is reliable, proactive, and adaptable. >> [applause] [laughter] >> All right, our next retiree is Amy Ferris at Westerville Central, and she is described as kind, welcoming, AND TALENTED. >> [applause] [snorts] >> WE ALSO HAVE MARY Ann Blankenship from Cherrington, described as dedicated, kind, and nurturing. >> [applause] [clears throat] >> Next is Deborah Austa at the ELC, described as loyal, nurturing, and authentic. >> [applause] >> We have several from Genoa here this evening. We have Catherine Finnegan, who is described as compassionate, motherly, and empathetic.
023>> [applause] >> From Genoa as well, we also have Tonya Holman, >> [applause] >> who is described as hugging, flexible, and uplifting. >> [laughter] [laughter] >> All right, next we have Tracy Jados, ALSO AT GENOA. >> [applause] >> AND HER THREE WORDS ARE GUMBY, FUNNY, and inspiring. >> [laughter] >> She Both of my boys had Ms. Jados and she has lots of Gumby, the figure, in her classroom. >> [laughter] >> She herself is not Gumby, maybe. Also from Genoa, WE HAVE JAMIE YEATER. >> [applause] >> AND SHE'S DESCRIBED AS ENERGETIC, INNOVATIVE, and invested. >> [laughter] >> All right, next we have um We have Marjorie or Diane Blaine from Minerva Park. >> [applause] >> AND SHE IS DESCRIBED AS HARDWORKING, WISE, and devoted. Also from Minerva Park, we have Jill Huck. >> [applause] >> And
024Jill is described as impactful, dedicated, and supportive. Next up, we have James Brady from Westerville North. >> [applause] >> And he's described as illustrious, diligent, and astute. Congratulations. >> [laughter] >> Also from Westerville North, we have Eric Nelson. >> [applause] >> And he was noted as being dedicated, passionate, and patient. All right, next we have Kimberly Iatonna FROM ROBERT FROST. >> [applause] >> OKAY, KIMBERLY MIGHT BE ABSENT this evening, but she was described as loving, intentional, and the kid whisperer. Also from Robert Frost, we have Katrina Turner. >> [applause and cheering] >> And she's been described as welcoming, justice-minded, and purple-loving. >> [laughter] >> Me, too, girl. Me Me, too. >> [laughter] >> All right, from Westerville South, we have Donna McColley. >> [applause] >> AND DONNA, YOU'VE BEEN DESCRIBED AS THOROUGH, ORGANIZED, and thoughtful.
025Next, we have Kimberly Mason FROM WALNUT SPRINGS. >> [applause] >> KIMBERLY'S DESCRIBED AS ENERGETIC, CARING, and personable. And then last, but certainly not least this evening, we have Beth O'Reilly FROM WILDER. >> [applause] >> AND SHE IS STUDENT-CENTERED, DRIVEN, and an advocate. Let's give a huge round of applause to all retirees. >> [applause] >> Okay, for all of our retirees, congratulations. And if you could please make your way to the lobby, we would like to grab a photo. Thank you. All right. We'll give them a minute to clear out. Congratulations again. >> [laughter] >> Yeah. >> [laughter] >> Okay. All right. Well, we'll move along to 4.01 and um we're going to talk about the 5-year forecast and Ms. Marshall, will you please talk to us about this? Yes, so this may be the most
026brief presentation I have given in my career. I'll just give you a give you a heads-up there. So, we actually updated the forecast in February, so this is just another update to that update that we did in February. This is not a required update. Uh the state changed when the forecast was due. Um we actually updated it in January, but for the February uh filing deadline. So, uh we are just going over the changes as we're coming into the end of the year. Um this is our forecasted revenues. I thought it'd be helpful because I've been getting a lot of questions about what percentage of what percentage our revenues are made up of. We have total state sources of like 26.1% and local sources and other things of 73.9% for general operating fund. Uh so,
027this is our overall revenues. The only change um from February to now is we did get our first earned income tax payment from the Ohio Department of Taxation. It was a little bit higher than the amount that the Department of Taxation was estimating and that's just due to timing. They're not updating their overall estimates. So, it's about 575,000 more uh than what they had estimated originally. So, we are showing that reflecting in the current fiscal year, fiscal year 2026 and we've subtracted it out of fiscal year 2027 if that makes sense. So, overall, the bottom line, it doesn't change over the forecast period. Uh we also have general property tax collections. We've reduced those estimates slightly based on what we've gotten with our settlement sheet from Delaware County. Um we have not received our settlement
028sheet from Franklin County. Uh Uh, it is required by the end of March, which is well past at this point, but there's some updates with their system, so that they've yet to get that out. What that could impact, um, I'm not sure when we'll get our final settlement for Franklin County Auditor, uh, from the Franklin County Auditor, but what that could impact is our state reimbursement that we get for, uh, homestead and rollback, uh, because that typically is sent out after the settlement. So, that may, and that would be in that line, um, state share of local property taxes. So, this line here, the 14. 83 million that we receive, that may be significantly less this year, in which case it would be pushed into fiscal year 2027. Does that make sense? So, I don't
029know if we'll see that payment before June 30th, based on where we are right now with things. Um, I should also mention, with all of the property tax reform changes that they've made, I think that's why we're seeing, uh, delay in some of the settlements, um, being made around the state. So, just something to keep an eye on, overall. So, overall, not a big change to the forecasted revenues. And then for current year, uh, expenditures, so, forecasted expenditures, the new law change, uh, as part of the state's budget bill, requires that the current year, fiscal year 26, be reflected as the current year budget. And then we show, um, three projected years. So, we added fiscal year 30 to keep the five-year forecast in place, uh, but we, um, wanted to get this a little
030bit closer to where we are as entirety of budgets don't get spent for the year. So, we might just see a shift in that timing in the future. So, overall, a decrease of approximately 480,000, uh, mostly due to timing. So, not a big change there, either, when you think of the overall budget. Nicole, really quickly, can you remind us, and maybe anybody who is um watching or out in the audience about the 5.01, the operating transfer out. Oh, yes. So, the operating transfer out um we if you go back and watch any of the older presentations around this, uh that was moved out to create a capital projects fund, and we moved expenditures out of the general fund in the forecast along with that to be paid for out of that fund. It's really just
031an accounting piece, um but that's why you see that reflected there in fiscal year 2025. And why did we do that? Because our state lawmakers felt like we needed to be more transparent with how we're reflecting our expenditures, and so that was a recommendation as they were going through some of the um provisions that Governor DeWine vetoed as part of the budget the latest state budget bill. Um so, it was meant to it was meant to be more transparent so that people can see that these are what we're spending these at severance payments this part of it, and then capital projects as well. Um so, that's all accounted for in a separate fund now. Okay, thank you. Mhm. Any other questions about expenses? Okay, and then this is just the updated not not a big
032change from what you saw in February. Um so, this is our updated uh we have 3 years of actual and what's projected for the next 5 years for revenues, expenses, and then uh changes in the unreserved ending fund balance. Uh you know, the red line is expenses, the green line are revenues. Uh we do like to see those stay in line with each other. So, as we get further into the years, um we don't really know what the state budget's going to look like uh with state funding and all and property tax reform and what all of that looks like. So, there's a lot of variables that could go into changing what this picture looks like in the future. So, we'll continue to track and um make sure that the board and the community is
033informed as we review that. See? Told you. I mean I It's a record. I'm telling you. Um >> [laughter] >> Really? Who's clapping? Is that David? Is that you? Anyway. Uh but I do want to mention uh we are we are working on uh forming a legislative committee um for the district administrative legislative committee to help um educate our community on legislative matters that impact public education and how it impacts public education funding, education policy, and all of those things. So, uh Mrs. Mrs. Hamburger and I are working on getting that together just so the board's aware. All right. Yeah. Go for it. All right. Well, thank you, Mrs. Marshall, for all of that information. Um I just had a few things to share. Obviously, I'd like to congratulate our retirees, uh the North Boys
034Basketball Team, Westerville North, on their 50th, which was um the highlight of that for me was getting to hear Mr. McCann speak. I think that was the highlight for everybody there. Pretty cool moment. Um got to hear Anna speak, and I'm not going to attempt her last name, but got to hear Anna speak at the Global Scholars graduation about her project, and she also was featured on the news. So, we're very proud of her. And got to help surprise Ms. Meron with her Civitan award. So, great evening of recognizing all of those folks, and we appreciate everyone coming out for that. Um we are in the thick of award season, so we had South's Evening of Excellence last week, and we get to recognize our North and Central seniors at their evenings of excellence the
035next 2 days. So, excited to be a part of that. And speaking of celebrating, we are excited to share that the district was recognized by the Westerville Area Resource Ministry, finally known as Warm to many of us, with the 2026 Hand Up Award, which recognizes individuals or groups each year for their innovation, initiative, dedication, and compassion in serving the Westerville community. So, I'd like to thank Chad Maxeyner, who's executive director of Warm, for uh recognizing us with this award. And also Ernest Clinckscale, who is our Hawthorne principal and Warm board member, Jessie Martin, our director of student well-being, board president Kristi Meyer, for receiving the award with me on behalf of the district. And also want to thank Charlie Bossard for being there to take pictures. We're excited to work with Warm. Um they help
036us serve many, many students and families and help with food scarcity. And we are very, very grateful for that partnership. Look forward to continuing to work together for years to come. And then I wanted to share finally um we know there's a lot of conversation going on out in the community about development projects. And sometimes, just like when we have things going on like our ballot issue, people get confused and think that um that's the city of Westerville. So, anything that has to do with development, because we are getting some questions on that, I just want to share that would be the city of Westerville. Um they've done a great job of posting information about that. I would encourage you to check that out and engage as part of their um community involvement process if
037you're interested in that. And then just want to close by saying we look forward to celebrating our graduates on May 23rd at the Celeste Center. And please see our website for additional information if you'd like to join us. That's all I have tonight. Great. Thank you. Um moving along to public comments. So, and the Board of Education welcomes public comment on any educational issues of interest to our school community. The board does not discriminate based on the identity or viewpoint of the speaker during our public participation. However, the board president may limit comments that are obscene, abusive, or harassing. And to protect the privacy interests of our students, the board asks that speakers not identify students um by name during their comments. Persons having public complaints about district personnel, programming, or operations will be referred
038to the process set forth in board policy 9130. And finally, the board reminds speakers that their student that their statements should be directed to the board as a whole and not to individual board members. Each speaker will be given 3 minutes to address the board. A timer will be shown on the screen, and Miss Daniel or Miss Dennis, sorry, will call time when 3 minutes has elapsed. Our first speaker this evening is Miss Misty Patterson. Welcome. Good evening, board mem- um Westerville board members, district members, and community members. My name is Misty Patterson, and I am secretary of OPSEU Union Local 719, Westerville bus drivers and mechanics. On behalf of our union, um I we would like to present the district with a check of $432 to go towards any negative senior account balance. And
039that will be all. Thank you. Thank you. >> Thank you. IT'S VERY GENEROUS. >> [applause] >> UM THANK YOU AGAIN. THAT'S VERY GENEROUS. Um and next up we have a Mr. Mac Taylor. Welcome. Thank you very much for your time this evening. Uh my name is Mack Taylor. I live at 89 East Park Street, which is if you do your geography it's kind of between Hamby and Emerson and Whittier. Uh somewhere down the Hamburg giving a perfect jumping off point. I do understand that the school district is not developing these 60-40 East Walnut project. Uh I'd ask you to oppose it though. Uh I live adjacent to it and I believe that your bus you know the bus transportation center is directly across the street essentially. Whittier's around the corner. I think there's serious safety
040concerns for the students there. I think operationally it'd be very difficult for the bus operation at that time if that project goes through as it's presented. Uh and now's the time. Uh I think I know. I know. Councilman Grimes is in the back there that these things have a way of getting going. And the time to oppose it is now. I understand you're not responsible for it, but I ask the board to consider a resolution opposing the project. Um again, I have a daughter who goes to Whittier and I think the parents and students there are very concerned about what's going on. I don't think the city has engaged in a true public process at this point. Seems like there's already a contract getting ready to be signed and the open house hasn't happened yet.
041Um so I'm obviously very concerned about what's going on and I think now is the time for the board to step in and oppose it. Should be at very least be an agenda item in your future uh future meetings and you should definitely oppose the project. Thank you. Thank you. There are no more public comments this evening. So we're going to move along to six and 6.01. May I have a motion to approve the minutes of the regular Board of Education meeting held on Monday April 6th, 2026. So moved. Second. Any um comments or Jesus. Nope. Seeing none, would you please take them? Mrs. Brown? Yes. Mrs. Valentine? Yes. Mrs. Altman? Yes. This is Lehman? Yes. This is Meyer? Yes. And moving on to 6.02, may I have a motion to approve the minutes of
042the um Board of Education special session held on Monday, April 13th, 2026? So moved. Second. And any comments or Just Okay. We're ready. Yeah. This is Altman? Yes. This is Valentine? Yes. This is Brown? Yes. This is Lehman? Yes. This is Meyer? Yes. And moving on to the financial, 7.01, may I have a motion to approve the five-year forecast? So moved. Second. And any additional questions or comments? Okay. This is Brown? Yes. This is Altman? Yes. This is Lehman? Yes. This is Valentine? Yes. This is Meyer? Yes. And moving on to 7.02, may I have a motion to approve the financial reports and investments for March 2026 and April 2026? So moved. Second. Ms. Marshall, will you talk to us about these? Uh yes, thank you, President Meyer. Members of the board, uh so we
043have March uh month ending March and month ending April. Uh so for the general fund for March, we ended March with year-to-date receipts of 179 million, year-to-date expenditures for the general fund of 168.3 million, and an unencumbered fund balance for the general operating fund of 121.8 million. For all funds, we had year-to-date receipts of 238.4 million, uh year-to-date expenditures of 230.4 million, and ended with an encumbered fund balance for all funds of 217 million. Just a reminder reminder all funds includes all funds buildings and building projects and all those things. Uh and then for April uh general fund we had 189.8 million in receipts year to date and year to date expenditures 187.2 million year to date. We ended with an encumbered fund balance for the general fund of 114.5 million. For all funds we
044had year to date receipts of 254.5 million year to date expenditures of 254 million and we ended with an encumbered fund balance of 207.5 million. And then we have our investments uh that we not a lot of changes with our investments overall. So I'm happy to answer any questions. Any questions? Does not look that way. So Is that one? Yes. This is Leavengood? Yes. This is Brown? Yes. This is Valentine? Yes. This is Meyer? Yes. And moving on to 7.03 may I have a motion to approve the revised appropriations for fiscal year 2026? So moved. Second. Thank you. And Miss Marshall will you talk to us about this? Yes. So as we um update the forecast we also adjust our appropriations so those that first year is our budget that has to match for the
045general operating fund. So we're updating that and then we have um several allocation changes um for grants and some budget request changes uh that are part of this as well. Okay. Any questions? Doesn't look like we have any. No. This is Brown? Yes. This is Leeb and Yes. This is Altman? Yes. This is Valentine? Yes. This is Myer? Yes. And may I have a motion to approve the purchases in accordance with the Ohio Revised Code 5705.41D1 and Board Policy 6320. So moved. Second. And Ms. Mitchell, will you talk to us about these? Uh yes. So, just a reminder, this is what we call then and now purchase orders. This is where we have a purchase order that was opened after a the date of an invoice or when goods or services were ordered. And so,
046we have four in front of you today. Um the uh we have one for secondary teaching and learning for the Ohio Health Corporation. Um there was uh some confusion about the timing of when the purchase order needed to be opened. Uh the they it was only open for a half a year. It should have been open for a full year. The full purchase has been budgeted for. Uh so, I do recommend its approval. Technology for Meta Solutions. Um and that was billed earlier than what it had been anticipated to be billed. And so, again budgeted. And then Walnut Springs uh the music showcase festivals. Um this is uh being paid for out of several different funds. And so, the confusion about opening the purchase orders, but the budget it had been budgeted for. And then
047Westerville South International Tours. Um again, this was they had to update based on the tips that they collected the money they collected for tips and had to update that budget for it. So. Again, all budgeted. I do recommend the board's approval so that we can get these paid um because we can't pay them without the board's approval at this point. Thank you. Any questions? Okay. Mrs. Oatman? Yes. Mrs. Brown? Yes. Mrs. Valentine? Yes. Mrs. LeBlanc? Yes. Mrs. Myers? Yes. And any objection to taking personnel consent agenda as one? All right. May I have a motion to approve the personnel consent agenda 8.01 through 8.15? So moved. Second. Mr. Eaves, welcome. Thank you. Good evening, everyone. Uh you will notice that tonight's consent agenda is quite large, uh which is not unusual for this time of
048year. So, for efficiency of time, I'll give a brief high-level overview of tonight's agenda. Resignations, we have 13 classified, 14 licensed, and four administrative resignations for the board to consider this evening. We wish them well in the next chapter and thank them for their service to Westerville City Schools. I know that I speak for all of us when I give a heartfelt offer of condolences to the family of teacher Kelly Oakeltree, who passed away a few weeks ago. Kelly devoted 13 years of wonderful service to Westerville City Schools and impacted thousands of students and staff, and she will be missed. She is listed on tonight's agenda as deceased to ensure that there are no issues with our financial obligations to her estate. And I just wanted to share that. Non-renewal, there is a recommendation for
049the non-renewal of a contract for of a classified employee for the board to consider. We have one classified and six licensed unpaid leave of absence to consider this evening, and six classified contract status changes due to work schedule adjustments. It is summer training and professional development planning time, so there is a slew of one-time pays recommended for the board to approve as we are ready readying ourselves for summer training and professional development. It's that time of year also where our contract renewal recommendations are presented to the board for approval. There are quite a few of both licensed and classified staff and administrative contracts listed on the attached documents for the board to approve. We are happy to recommend the hire of seven new classified, 12 new licensed employees, and two licensed and one new classified
050administrator. And with us tonight is our new coordinator of curriculum and instruction, Kristen Ketelhut. >> [applause] >> And our new Westerville North Assistant Principal, Megan Wong. >> [applause] >> Megan's family with her. And the new Westerville South Athletic Director, Hannah Bleekamp, is unable to join us this evening. She is facilitating championship games for her current school, Whetstone, in Columbus. She was going to try to make it, but she did she has, you know, pretty high-level things to do. Supplemental hiring, we also have our roster of summer school staff for the board to approve. Believe it or not, with less than 2 weeks of school left for students, that's right around the corner. The board has only two retirements to approve this evening, one classified, one licensed. We also have bus driver Michelle Sohl, who submitted
051her retirement and changed her mind to stay with us a little longer. So, we're happy about that. Theodore Paxton is retiring as a custodian at Huber Ridge with 9 years of service to the district. And Kelly Moff is retiring as a fifth grade teacher at Ann Hurst Elementary with 16 years of service to the district. And if you add all of that up, that their service to the district is 25 years. And easy math takes us back to 2001 and to make it quick for our long agenda tonight. 2001 gave us the Xbox, Shrek, Harry Potter, Wikipedia, iTunes, the first pizza delivered to the International Space Station, and of course, we'll never forget September 11th. Happy to take any questions. Any questions? I think you did speak on behalf of all of us our deepest
052sincere uh sympathies to the family. All right. Thank you. This is Valentine? Yes. This is Altman? Yes. This is Brown? Yes. This is Levan? Yes. This is Meyer? Yes. And moving along to old business, 9.01, may I have a motion to approve uh policy 6152, student fees, fines, and charges. So moved. Second. And have we had anybody reach out about this? >> Um we have had a couple of questions. I shared an email with the board about some information. Um just a reminder that this is allowing an option for um another collect another option for collecting fees, outstanding fees, and balances, and things like that. Uh it doesn't require that we do anything and the district is um going through the process of reviewing outstanding balances and what that looks like and the processes that
053we have for uh helping to remind families that those are owed. And I think I also asked one of those questions in terms of like just for my own purposes and maybe for people at home, too, about how much in uh from our like do we run on average in debt from student fees and fines? Um so it's a couple hundred thousand dollars in total between the two um that we run. Yeah. Thank you. I do have a, um, question as well, um, could you, because I know I don't have a child in the district, so I know you have to be able to see how much, you know, students owe. Could you, two questions, first, kind of share the internal process um, we follow in terms of really engaging families and reminding them and
054letting them know when a student owes the dollars. Um, and then the second question is, before jumping, um, in the before considering, um, going to the direction of collections, could you kind of share with me what types of hardship reviews, what things we take into consideration, um, going back into the process so that Sure. Sure. Um, so we have board policy and it's state law that if a family qualifies for free lunch, then instructional fees are waived. As part of that process, the family has to agree to share their, um, free lunch status with other district personnel so that we can facilitate that process. Um, and that that is a question when, um, families are registering in PowerSchool, uh, at the beginning of the year if they're comfortable sharing that with, um, other folks so
055that they we can help provide resources where appropriate. Uh, our board policy also provides for a 50% reduction in fees, instructional fees, for, um, families that are on that qualify for reduced, uh, lunches. And so that is part of the, uh, federal, uh, school lunch program. It's through the US Department of Agriculture. So that is not something that we set, but that's a federal guideline that's set. And so we are then reimbursed for those meals, um, for those families that qualify through the school lunch program. It's national national school lunch program. Uh, in addition to that, uh, we have a lot of community groups. I I think, um, everyone has heard about the large donation we recently received to help address some of the outstanding balances we had for our seniors who are graduating this
056year. Um the buildings so we assess fees at the beginning of the school year. Uh parents can see those fees in PowerSchool. They are able to pay them at the building themselves with cash or check or they can pay online through the PaySchools um system. There is an administrative fee that is included in that. Uh we had historically picked up that fee. We stopped picking up that fee after we felt our ballot issue in 2024 because it was a large expense to the district in the community. And so um the buildings all work with families if they have a hardship and they can set up a payment plan. Um they get multiple reminders. My office sends out one fee statement a year in January for anyone that has an outstanding balance. Uh and then there
057are some situations where students may not be able to buy like a homecoming ticket or a prom ticket or something like that if they still have outstanding fees um when that time comes. So uh we really want to look at putting making sure that it's clear that the responsibility isn't on the student. Um we we don't think this is a kid problem. We want to make sure that uh the responsibility lies where it belongs. Um but yeah, we our buildings continue to work with families if they have a hardship and they'll work with our community partners and um we have very generous community that's helped out a lot of situations with a lot of different things. And thank you for that. >> asking. Yeah, as we just saw too, right? They just came to give
058us a check and and I think that's really an amazing um thing about Westerville's the Westerville City School District. They're consistently looking at the needs. I would also just add that um students can or families can send a check in with their student for like lunch so they don't have to use or even to the school for any fees or fines or anything so you don't have to use PaySchools and pay that additional fee. >> Yes. I'm I'm just going to add one quick thing cuz I know I've been in this situation as a parent. If you look at PowerSchool on your mobile device, it might show a balance that you've already paid. So if you really want to see what your up-to-date balance is, you have to log online through the web portal of
059PowerSchool. >> Yes, and I think that's a matter of a timing glitch that we have between the mobile app and the website. The website is the most up-to-date balance and so if you log in from a computer, a desktop or or laptop or something like that, not on the mobile app, you will see your most up-to-date balances. And if you have a question, you're always welcome to call. I would encourage you to call your building your first your school first. If it's food service, you can reach out to food service and ask questions. And then my office is always happy to be a support as well if there's any questions about that. Anything else? Yeah. Thank you. Yeah. Mrs. Brown? Yes. Mrs. Altman? Yes. Mrs. Lehman? Yes. Mrs. Meyer? Yes. Mrs. Valentine? Yes. Thank you.
060Moving to new business, 10.01 our first reading of the 2026 this is really hard to even say 2027 student handbooks. Mr. Macleane, thank you for joining us. You are welcome. You're telling me it's getting tough to say. Thank you, President Meyer. Thank you, Ms. Hamburg, Ms. Marshall, members of board. It is my pleasure to present to you the elementary, middle, and high school handbooks for the 2026-2027 school year. Can't believe it, time's flying. I know. I know. Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers up here and mothers in the crowd and watching at home. The kids keep getting older, but we've got to make sure our handbooks are aligned to make sure we meet the needs of what our students need. So, every year the handbooks go through a district committee review and then they
061are approved by the Board of Education before the start of the next school year. We have gone through a very extensive district review and now we are ready to present these changes to the Board of Education. A lot of people to thank for their work on this committee this year. In the back of the room, Mr. Kyle Lewis for our new handbook covers. Thank you, Kyle. Good man. >> [laughter] >> Members of the Parent Council, Ryan Hilperts and Shannon Lancione for their inputs and their time on this project. WA President, Molly Wesmoth and the members of the elementary, middle, and high school WA members for their insights and their input. We had administrators from the elementary, middle, and high school levels as well. So, we want to thank them for their time and their efforts.
062We also had Mrs. Bussard, my secretary, and her insights and attention to detail with this project. So, very instrumental in what we're doing. We can't thank her enough for that. And last but not least, want to definitely call out Mr. Alan Hunt from our Westerville City Schools Transportation Department. He always is very inclusive in this process and working with his team to make sure our handbook is up to date with all the new school vehicle rules. So, thank you to Alan for his efforts as well. As you can see, this is a very inclusive process across the district and a lot of people spend a lot of time on this and we can't thank them enough for that. With each of the three handbooks, there is kind of like a menu of changes that you
063have been presented to take a look at and I'll be more than happy to answer any questions that anybody might have at this time. I don't have a question at this time, but I want to thank you for all your work, too. Thank you. Thank you so much. Yeah, thank you so much. I'm really happy to hear that we had various different types of stakeholders including children provide their feedback as well. Um, my with all of our policies, I really like to focus on the engagement piece. So, we have the handbook, we reviewed all of that. Could you maybe share with us what the plans are in terms of educating students about the responsible use of those personal communication devices to prevent issues [clears throat] like bullying, harassment, and academic dishonesty because you can take
064devices away, we can have the guidelines, right? But I've seen firsthand as you may be aware of instances where students at the end of the year still using devices for things that they were not supposed to be using it for. Kind of help me understand what we're doing to get ahead of really making sure children understand these policies. Yeah, and that's where it becomes definitely an inclusive process. It's not just the building principal or system principal, it's the work with the parents, the families, the EO parent meetings, the special education parent meetings that we hold. Our mental health specialist is something that going through these changes and as the handbook evolves everybody working together to stay up-to-date with these changes and working to educate our students on how to use technology, how to interact, and
065how to behave on school vehicles. It's really all-encompassing and something that isn't just a one-shot deal. It's something that continues throughout the school year. And and also the students have to sign that they have read it. Yes. And the parent, I believe I had to sign that I've read it, too. And so, I think it's a good opportunity for parents, I know myself sitting down with my students and talking about these changes in the the handbook. Yep. We have those linked in PowerSchool and that's part of the back-to-school forms for each of the students and the parents each school year. Yeah. Um, thank you so much. I know this is a ton of work. They're they're like 100 pages long in case you haven't had the fun of reading them yet, please put them by
066your bedside. >> [snorts] >> I just There's one section I just wanted to call out because I think people get tripped up on attendance. So, I just really encourage everybody There's some changes in the attendance related to state law. So, please make sure that you soak that up and if you have questions, you know, ask your building because I think people get caught unaware sometimes. Yeah, and that's a lot of the like you said the state legislature has come up with a lot of new rules and a lot of things have changed. So, we've got our board policy is now in alignment with that and now we have our handbook in alignment with that board policy. So, that's important. Thank you. Anything else? Well, thank you for all this work. I appreciate it. >> Appreciate
067it. All right, moving along to 10.02, the first reading of policy 6423, use of credit cards, Ms. Marshall. Uh yes, thank you. So, um the state of Ohio has uh added a lot of emphasis around fraud, waste, and abuse. I think as we've all heard a lot. Um and it should be important to note that we have always thought about those things and we don't need the state to tell us that we need to be looking for fraud, waste, and abuse in our district, in our finances, and all of those things. Uh but there's been a a lot of conversation around um payments for penalties and interest and late fees uh being paid with public dollars. And so, the auditor of state has put out guidance that that is not a proper public expenditure and
068that we should not be paying for late fees, penalties, and interest with public funds. So, and really they're looking at is there a like habitual late payments where some entities aren't maybe their fiscal person turned over and really I am we had the deputy state auditor at our association annual workshop this past April and she did share with us that of all of the entities that the outer state audits schools actually have less than 2% of the instances of one of the the findings and things that they see for these sorts of things. So it's not really a school problem. I've asked them specifically to provide me with that data with their logo on it so that I can share that out. I have not got that yet but I'm still working on it. So
069with that conversation, sorry, this is I know it's taking me a while to get here but with that conversation the question of credit card convenience fees came up and the guidance that we got from the state auditors was that credit card convenience fees are only a proper public purpose if we have a board policy that says that it is in order to create efficiencies and because of timing and all of those things. If you remember from the credit card report we did last month or the month before, I can't remember now. We very we use our district credit card in a very limited situation. We pay our Bureau of Workers Comp payment with it to pay it faster and to get the rebate that comes with it. And then in cases where we are not
070able to write a check or issue a purchase order for a payment. So it might be like conference registration or something our director Stiffler of IT finds on like for a technology piece or something like that. They just don't have the ability for us to send them a check. So it's very limited. So we might pay credit card convenience fees at times depending on if the vendor charges it. So that's just if the vendor charges a fee for that, passes it along. Um So, we're adding that paragraph so that we can be in compliance with the auditor's guidance um about this. Just more things for us to do. Thank you. Any questions? Okay. Thanks for that explanation. Um moving along. Um Oh. Oh, I'm moving way along. Sorry. So, moving on to 10.03, the first
071reading of policy 4162, drug and alcohol testing of the CDL license holders who perform safe safety sensitive functions and are subject to DOT Department of Transportation testing. Welcome, Ms. Dennis. Good evening, President Myrick, Vice President Altman, and members of the board. Before you this evening for the first reading of changes to board policy 4162, this policy has been revised to reflect changes to the qualifications of drivers of alternative vehicles or non-CDL holders, including the need um to expand the listing of current testing pools to our job coaches and athletic coaches who drive our vans. Um it was updated according to the expansion process outlined by House Bill 96 last October, and um will come before you with an update to the name of the policy as well at the second reading. Um and I would
072be happy to answer any questions you have. Any questions? All right. Thank you. And um don't go far. Nope. Uh so, um 10.04, first reading of policy 8500, food service. You talk to us about this, too. Yes, also before you this evening is the first reading of changes to board policy 8500 for food services. This revision is in response to the requirements of House Bill 10. The act requires each school district Board of Education to adopt a policy to prevent the purchase of cultivated protein food products or food misbranded as a meat or egg product. And I'm being very specific with that. The board may continue to purchase vegetarian or vegan food products as long as they are labeled correctly. Um lovingly referred to as maybe fake meat. Um things that present that way. We
073can continue to buy like black bean burgers, things like that. But we just have to make sure they're labeled appropriately. And I'd be happy to answer any other questions. So is this like I think it's called the Impossible Burger or whatever it is that's sold you wouldn't be able to call it the Impossible Burger, you would have to call it like bean burger or plant-based burger. It would be correct okay. >> Yes, yes. I believe that was what they were going after as part of this bill specifically without being brand specific. Okay. Yes. Any other questions? All right. Thank you. All right, moving along to 11 recommended action standing business and this is a really nice part of the evening too. 11.01 may I have a motion to approve the donations as presented. So moved.
074Second. Ms. Marshall, will you talk to us about our very generous community? Yes. So for this current request value, it is $13,490.46. That brings our current fiscal year-to-date total to $260,574.40 from our very generous community. It's very nice. Any questions, comments? Okay. This is Brown. Yes. This is Weebin. Yes. This is Valentine. Yes. This is Altman. Yes. This is Meyer. Yes. And moving along to 11.02, may I have a motion to approve the resolution for online day plan for school year '27. So moved. Second. And Mr. Cooper, will you talk to us about this? Sure thing. Good evening. Per section 3313.482 of Ohio Revised Code, school districts are required to adopt plans to provide online instruction to make up any lost hours due to an allowable events, such as hazardous weather conditions, damage to a
075school building, utility failure, law enforcement emergencies, and other such events. These plans must be adopted by August 1st of each year. While it is required to adopt a plan each year, the use of an online instructional makeup plan remains optional for school districts. So, in the event that a building or multiple buildings are expected to need to make up hours of instruction, the Board of Education will determine whether those hours will be made up in person or through this online plan. Before you Before you this evening is a resolution for your consideration to adopt the online plan for the '26-'27 school year. And at this time, I'm happy to take any questions you can you have. Anybody have any questions? Um I you sort of said it, but I just want to point out people
076are always wondering this does not mean that every time we have a school day that there's going to be online learning, right? Right. We know [snorts] with the number that we had this year, too, we just want to clarify this isn't going into effect this year. This is just kind of like a little insurance policy that we're required to have in place. What would be some of the determining factors to decide between doing in person versus using the online plan? Yes, so at the time depending on the number of hours that need to be made up, as well as which buildings. Um, so for example, half-day kindergarten is where we're always the closest in hours because they go the fewest amount of hours. They're also required to have the least amount of hours per state
077regulations, but that is really close. In the event that we would have to make up some half-day kindergarten hours, we have the option to go online, but my assumption would be that we'd want to look at some in person or and our recommendation would be to look at in person hours for students. Those can be as simple as just extending the school day for a period of time until those hours are made up. It can also be extended days beyond the typical school year or on a date that would be otherwise designated as a holiday. So, we would come at that point when we would recognize that hey, we think we're going to be reaching this point that we need to discuss this and or we've passed the point depending on when a calamity event
078would occur a route for a week or so of school depending on the weather and then we would um have that discussion with the board and discuss the recommendations at that time. And this would be more for like an a catastrophic event. Obviously, it came into play during the pandemic. If we had a secondary building that the roof fell in. I'm just making that up. We don't have any bad They're taking care of all of our our roofing needs throughout the district, but um, that's why we have to do all these big contracts to continue to patch our roofs, but it'd be more you know, a big unforeseen. It's not just a typical like hey, we had a couple snow day type things. And to Mark's point, it's nice now that we can make up
079hours because in the past you had to make up days. So, now we can actually lengthen our day and take care of a a of that if we need to. We typically go about 12 to 15 extra days beyond what the state requires. So, like this year we had multiple days of calamity, um but we're still within our our limitations of what the hours are required. So, we there would be no need to make up anything for this year. I can imagine a student watching this and saying >> [laughter] >> Now you start getting emails. I can't imagine students watching this, but if they were [laughter] they'd be contacting you. >> Yeah. They'll laugh, yeah. Very true. Any other questions? Okay. Thank you. Thank you. This is Altman. Yes. This is Valentine. Yes. This is
080Brown. Yes. This is Leavens. Yes. This is Myers. Yes. Moving along to 11.3, may I have a motion to approve the resolution authorizing an agreement with um Byrne and Jones Construction for the fiscal year 26 parking lot restoration project. So moved. Second. Welcome, Mr. Swartz. Good evening. So, as you read, this is a to award a contract to Byrne and Jones Construction in the amount of $1,037,432.80 for $432.80 for the FY26 parking lot restoration project. That involves work at several of the board-owned facilities throughout the district, including Central High School, South High School, Heritage Middle School, the transportation parking lot. This is the bus parking lot off East Walnut. And some of the areas around that, not only the stalls, but some of the other areas such as the refueling pad and other areas with
081the My Vans. And then most importantly, when I call out Walnut Springs Middle School and Cherrington, if approved, this would bring both of those school sites up to 100% renovated or restored, similar as you see ELC here. Roughly 2 years ago, Hawthorne last summer. The goal was to eventually finish all schools in a roughly 8 to 10-year program that we've mapped out. So, hopefully we'll we'll get there. That's the plan. Um with that, it is a permanent improvement funded project, as well as uh Millstone. And I'm happy to answer any questions you may have. I just want to clarify when you say it makes the sites of those schools 100% done, we're talking about the parking lots, not necessarily any additional cuz some of those I know were on our original work. Correct. So, this
082is strictly like Walnut Springs and Cherrington, it's their entrance drive, their exit drive, and all public parking. In both of their cases, it's all at the front of the school. Uh this does not include though if they have a playground that may need um paving down the road. So, this is strictly parking lots, entrance and exit drives, parent drop-off, that type of thing. Um my question is, I know you just mentioned all these renovations are part of the 8 to 10-year uh program. When were the last renovations and how frequently um are are we doing this? So, the plan is to do some portion of it every summer. It kind of ebbs and flows. For instance, if we move forward as we are with uh design here in the future with South High School, that's
083all funded from um permanent improvement. So, if and when that's awarded, it will utilize a large percentage of the dollars. So, that'll be a lesser amount that year. Future years will will up it a little bit to try and stay on pace. Again, that's why it's an 8 to 10-year model. Uh inflation, other projects that come up, that type of thing. We also addressed some as part of the 2019 bond issue. Some of the parking lot resurfacing. Yes, there was some funds prior to spend through the bond issue, the the 04 funds, if you will. Obviously, Minerva Park, Minerva France got new lots. Um there's the uh competition gym parking lot on the west side of South. So, there have been other lots, if you will. This isn't a one and done or a one
084funded element, if you will. Any other questions? Thank Thank you for doing the work. Yeah. Mrs. Brown? Yes. Mrs. Altman? Yes. Mrs. LeBlanc? Yes. Mrs. Valentine? Yes. Mrs. Myer? Yes. And moving along to 11.04, out of state May have a motion to approve the out of state overnight field trips. So moved. Second. They look really fantastic. Talk to us >> They look pretty amazing. Um, so tonight I have three overnight trips for to present for your consideration. The first trip is a trip proposed from Genoa Middle School. However, it will be open to all middle school students. This trip will provide students with the opportunity to travel to Italy in the summer of 2028 from June 6th to June 16th. The second trip uh, is proposed from Westerville South High School. However, that trip will
085also be open to all high school students. This trip provides students the opportunity to travel to New Zealand in the summer of uh, from May 31st to June 10th. And then the final trip will also be open to all high school students. And this trip provides students the opportunity to travel to England, France, Switzerland, and Italy in the summer of 2028, popular travel time, from June 1st to June 17th. Uh, given that the proposed trips play take place during the summer, students will not miss school, and there will be no cost to the district. Each of these trips is organized through EF Tours, and I'm happy to answer any questions. Any questions? All right. Seeing none, thank you. Mrs. Valentine? Yes. Mrs. Altman? Yes. Mrs. Brown? Yes. Mrs. LeBlanc? Yes. Mrs. Myer? Yes. And um,
086moving along to 11.05, may I have a motion to approve the early graduate candidates who have completed at all local and state requirements. So moved. Second. And Miss Asha, will you please talk to us about them? Yes, tonight I have two students requesting from the Board of Education approval for early graduation from Westerville South High School contingent upon the completion of all remaining requirements. Me. Question. >> Congratulations. >> I do have a quick question for you. So, obviously graduation for seniors is coming up in like a week and a half. So, are these students juniors that are looking to graduate early? >> they're both cohort 2027 students who will be graduating this May. Okay. That's great. Wow, good for them. >> [snorts] >> Okay, thank you. Yep. Ms. Zaman? Yes. Ms. Valentine? Yes. Ms. Brown?
087Yes. Ms. Libyan? Yes. Ms. Smeyer? Yes. And moving along to 11.06, may I have a motion to approve student candidates for 2026 graduation from Westerville Central, Westerville North, and Westerville South High Schools pending completion of local and state requirements. So moved. Second. And Ms. Hamburg? Yes, this is probably out of all the great things tonight, our biggest celebration on here. You might recognize one of the names on one of those lists, Ms. Smeyer. We're excited to again celebrate our graduates May 23rd at the Slate Center. So, you're approving their candidacy for graduation. Our counseling offices will be going through all of these to make sure they have met all the legal requirements to get their diplomas on the 23rd. Any comments or questions? Excited for them. Yeah. >> I Remember to get there a little
088bit early, traffic, you know. Yeah, yeah, yeah. There's always There's always somebody running at the last second, so. >> Yes. Yes, especially if you're the second or third graduations, um with the construction down there. And there's also, um I think a women's soccer game over at the historic Crew Stadium. Is that it? Something's going on there. That might not be it. Columbus Crew 2 Aviators football, excuse me. Um so, we know there's just a lot going on in that area in general. So, especially if you're the second or third graduation, uh please plan accordingly. And to find out what's going on, we have that information on our district email. Our website, yes, thank you. Okay. Mrs. >> Yeah, this is hard for me. Mrs. Valentine? Yes. Mrs. Brown? Yes. Mrs. Altman? Yes. Mrs. Lehman? Yes.
089Mrs. Myer? Yes. All right. Well, I'm moving along to board comments. Who would like to go first? I'll go ahead and get us started. Um congratulations, obviously, to all of the retirees. Uh like my uh colleagues mentioned, this is awards season. There are lots of different things happening at the end of the year. Lots of great academic awards being given out at the different high schools, the middle schools. I'll be at Genoa's tomorrow night, um or in two nights. Um get out, see some plays, some theater. There are choir concerts, band concerts, so many amazing things that the students are doing across the district. So, check out the district website, find out where something is happening near you, and uh pop in. Um I think that's it for me. And congratulations to all the graduates
090that we will be seeing in a week and a half. Um I also echo those remarks. I don't want to spend too much time. Congratulations to all of our amazing retirees. Um Um and of course, thanks as always for the donations. Um not just what we received tonight, but the community coming together to ensure that families get meals and that we're helping them pay off their debts. That's always amazing. Obviously, this week was Teacher Appreciation Week and so a big thank you as well to our wonderful educators throughout the district. Um I am very excited um to participate in my second graduation this year. Um but also our pre-K graduation as well um in a few days. I'm so excited. It's always lovely um seeing families and our little ones get their, you know, congratulations
091as well. So, I'm very excited um to participate. Um it is definitely a time of congratulations and also thanks. Um so again, all the many congratulations and a thank you to our staff. I know that for a lot of the students, um they're they're feeling like, especially the high schoolers, feels like a long time between now and uh next week when they're done. But just hang in there. And um I just wanted to take a moment to, I know it was mentioned earlier, but I just wanted to um express my condolences to Kelly Oak Tree's family. Um we're really thinking of you all and the impact that she had on so many. So, just hold them in your hearts. Appreciate that. Um I'll just obviously echo all of the comments of congratulations from my colleagues
092and I just want all of our teachers and our staff members um bus drivers, everyone, I hope everyone feels very supported and appreciated in the last few weeks of school. Um what you do is just how we keep our kids safe and happy and healthy and it is very much appreciated. So, I hope that you are feeling that in the last few weeks. Um I won't repeat. I'll echo those comments too. Um, I do want to just say, uh, I know the next time we meet, we will be out of school. So, we're in the home stretch. I know I have a senior myself who is, um, it's a struggle sometimes to get her out the door. So, thank you to, uh, the staff. A big, huge thank you. I know it's a lot sometimes
093at this uh, time of year. Everybody's getting ready. They want school to be out. There's a lot going on. Um, but also families and students. And I hope that everybody really enjoys their summer. Um, there is one thing though I was thinking about, um, as we were talking about some of these policies and the warm, um, you know, uh, award that we got. Something that struck me when we were at that, um, celebrate the national prayer um, award ceremony too, is that they talked about how many more backpacks they're giving out than in the past. And one can think, yes, I mean, my groceries continue to go up. You know, everything continues to go up. And so there is a really big need in our community. But what's even more heartfelt and warming to me
094is how this community rallies around our students and our families. So, just a um, deep gratitude. So, thank you. Um, and for those that want to attend graduation, it is probably one of my most fa- favorite things. Um, it's on May 23rd as mentioned. It's at the Westerville South Center. And North is at 10:00 a.m. And Central's at 2:00 p.m. and then South's at 6:00 p.m. So, get there early and fight so you don't have to fight all the traffic. And with that, um, the board will meet in regular session on Monday, uh, Ju- June 8th, 2026 at 6:00 p.m. at the Early Learning Center. And that's 936 East Wind Drive, Westerville, Ohio 43081. Um, and that's the building that we're in, and uh may I have a motion to enter into a executive session
095for the purposes of considering negotiations, discipline, and compensation with public employees. So moved. Second. All right. Mrs. Valentine? Yes. Mrs. Altman? Yes. Mrs. Brown? Yes. Mrs. Lehman? Yes. Mrs. Meyer? Yes. We will return 7:32. And may I have a motion to adjourn? So moved. Second. Ready. Uh, Mrs. Altman? Yes. Mrs. Lehman? Yes. Mrs. Brown? Yes. Mrs. Valentine? Yes. Mrs. Meyer? Yes. 8:58.