001Good evening. Thank you for attending the December 15, 2025 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 available for you at the back of the room or you may find the agenda on your mobile device by connecting to the district's website at www.wcso.org. Click on our district link, select board of education, and then follow the board docs link to our current meeting agenda. There will be one opportunity to address the board this evening and agenda item 5.01. There is a signup sheet located on located on the table in the back of the room. Each speaker will have three minutes to address the board. A timer will be shown on the screen. And with that, Miss Marshall,
002will you please call the role? >> Mrs. Alman, >> here. >> Mr. Heckleman >> here. >> Mrs. Valentine >> here. >> Mrs. Leand will be late. Mrs. Meyer >> here. Would you please join us in the pledge of allegiance? >> I pledge algiance 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. >> Thank you. Um, and next up we're moving to district highlights and recognitions. Um, and I would like to uh call up my colleague Louise Valentine um to recognize Dwight Huckleman. So, as everybody is assembling, this is Dwight's last board meeting with us. So, we have a few comments uh that we'd like to read to thank our colleague Dwight Heckleman for his service to
003the board. So Dwight joined the Westerville City School Board of Ed in April and from the moment he began his service, he brought a student centered approach to every discussion and decision. During his time on the board, he provided guidance and insight to ensure our instructional programs remain strong, relevant, and responsive to the needs of our students. Dwight also played a significant role in supporting the long-term fiscal stability of the district. His greatest contribution was that he served as chair of the communications subcommittee for the Yes for Westerville Schools campaign, dedicating his time and expertise to helping our community understand the importance of that November 2025 ballot issue. His leadership was instrumental in its successful passage. Because of that work, Westerville City Schools can continue to preserve academics, art, extracurricular programs that make this district
004exceptional, which we are all very thankful for. uh we can continue providing these services that meet unique learning needs of our students and maintain staffing levels that are necessary to support safe, supportive and rigorous learning environments. So on behalf of the board of education, uh our superintendent who is unfortunately sick tonight and our treasurer, we want to express our deepest appreciation for your service to the district and outstanding leadership and thank you for the role that you helped to play in creating and maintaining these excellent educational opportunities for all the children in Westerville community. So we are very grateful and thank you for the commitment. All right. Okay. Well, um, thank you so much. So, next up, we're moving on to reports and our, um, 4.01 superintendent's comments that will be delivered by Mr. Reeds.
005Welcome. >> Thank you. Good evening. And if you hadn't noticed, Mrs. Hamburg is not here today. And so, uh, she gave me a statement with which to read to those in attendance tonight and to the community. So, I will be speaking on Mrs. Hamburg's behalf. I apologize for missing the last board meeting of the calendar year due to my son and I both being sick. And I want to thank Scott Ree for filling in for me tonight. I did not add that. She actually wrote that. As we wrap up the first semester, I want to take a moment to thank our entire community for a fantastic first half of the year. Thank you to our students and families for making our school community a special place to learn and grow. Our students have accumulated many
006accolades already this school year and we look forward to continuing to celebrate them throughout the new the new year. I would like to give a special thank you to our dedicated staff members for their hard work every single day. Public education is the foundation of our society and it continues to be under attack. This constant propaganda against educators takes its toll and makes a challenging job even harder in today's controversial world. We are fortunate to work with an exceptional community whose citizens value education and continue to support us. On behalf of our entire staff, I thank you for this continued support. It is due to your ongoing dedication that we are able to accomplish much together for our students. Next, I would like to thank Dwight Heckleman for his service to the board of education.
007I am so sorry that I was unable to be here for your last meeting, but I appreciate your service to our students and wish you the best of luck. I hope to run into you at South Plays or other events in the community. Finally, I would like to wish our community a safe and happy new year. We look forward to a fantastic 2026 together. >> Thank you. >> Um, okay. Moving along. Wow, fast tonight. Public comment. Oh, okay. There are none. So, moving along to board meeting minutes. May I have a motion to approve the minutes of the regular board of education meeting held on Monday, November 24th, 2025. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Any comments or changes? >> Seeing none, would you please take the vote? >> Mr. Hackleman? >> Yes. >> Mrs.
008Alman? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Valentine? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Levian? >> Yes. Mrs. Meyer? >> Yes. And may I have a motion to approve the purchases in accordance with Ohio Revised Code 5705.41D1 in board policy 6320. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Miss Marshall, will you talk to us about these um purchases? >> Yes. Thank you. So these are what we call then and now purchase orders. This is where we have a purchase order that's dated um after an invoice date and where the amount exceeds $3,000. Requires board approval in order for us to pay it. Um we have three in front of you. Um we have one for Mosley Elevator as a vendor. We had late billing for previous charges and the purchase order that we had open was not enough to cover those
009full charges. And then Prime Tours was due to the club being formed late and they received an invoice when they requested the quote. And AI for All LLC was a misunderstanding of a grant process. Um and uh the everything was budgeted for um it was just a matter of timing of getting those purchase orders open. So I would uh recommend that the board approve these so we can get them. >> Thank you. Are there any questions or comments? All right, seeing none, would you please take the vote? >> Mr. Hackleman, >> yes. >> Mrs. Alman, >> yes. >> Mrs. Valentine, >> yes. >> Mrs. Levian, >> yes. Mrs. Meyer, >> yes. And is it okay if we take personal personal consent agenda as one? Great. May I have a motion to approve the personal consent
010agenda 8.01 through 8.12? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Um, and Mr. It's kind of weird that you're I'm like wait >> kind of weird. If it's okay I'll present from here. >> That's fine. >> Like the movie from up there. I can certainly >> I was a little disoriented. >> So good evening again. I'd like to present to you for your consideration tonight's personnel consent agenda along with the regular action items. There are a few items to note and it's like our meeting tonight pretty short and straightforward. For resignations, we have one classified and no licensed resignations this evening. two supplemental contract resignations for the board to consider. Leave of absence and contract status changes. We have one classified and one time frame extension to a previously approved licensed LOA to approve this evening
011or leave of absence. We have just four classified contract status changes accounting for schedule adjustments and experienced credit adjustments for the board to consider this evening. Employment and one-time pays. We are happy to recommend the hire of seven new classified employees and one new math teacher for Westerville North High School who will assume the classroom of a teacher retiring at the semester. Most of the winter supplemental contracts have been settled, but the board will see a small number of requests as vacated positions are filled or contracts are split to add additional coaches to the staff. The board will also notice this evening an increased amount of one-time pay requests, mostly coming from Manurva, France Elementary School, utilizing their federal title funds for family engagement activities. Retirements. The board has one classified and one licensed retirement
012to approve this evening. Mary Simmons, better known as Peggy Penny Penny, will be retiring as a food service worker after 34 years of service. and Kate Mantine will be retiring as a fifth grade teacher at Wilder Elementary. Kate has served Westerville schools in several roles for 26 years. All told, those two dedicated educators served Westerville City Schools for 60 years or the diamond anniversary since their beginning. From the end of the school year in 2026, the collective service of our retirees would take us back to the year 1966 when the first ATMs were introduced, emptying bank accounts forever. The average home price was $14,200 and a gallon of gas cost 31. The temptation sang ain't too proud to beg. While the mamas and the papas were California dreaming, Vietnam saw a major escalation in troops,
013while the civil rights movement saw major escalation at home in America. And closer to home in Westerville, 1966 saw the end of the first school year in our first standalone junior high school, Walnut Springs, which opened in the fall of 1965. Be happy to take any questions you may have. >> Any questions or comments? Thank you for that history lesson. That was pretty cool. Um, Miss Marshall, will you take the vote? >> Um, yes. >> Oh, did she did she >> I mean, we need her to vote. >> Yeah. Okay. >> Um, yeah. Can we come? >> You want to take a recess? >> Yeah. Can we just take a five minute recess? Do I need a motion? Okay, thanks. Sorry. Okay, back. >> Yep, we're back. >> Thank you. >> Yeah, >> Mr. Aleman.
014>> Yes, >> Mrs. Lee. >> Yes, >> Mrs. Alman. >> Yes, >> Mrs. Valentine. >> Yes, >> Mrs. Yes. All right. Um, can we take old business as one, two? All right. May I have a motion to approve old business 9.01 through 9.04? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Any questions or comments? I just have one. Have you heard anything further about any of these? >> Nope. We received no feedback that I'm aware of on any of these. Okay. >> Policies. >> Great. Will you take the vote, please? >> Mr. Aleman, >> yes. >> Mrs. Valentine, >> yes. >> Mrs. Alman, >> yes. >> Mrs. Lee, >> yes. >> Mrs. Meyer, >> yes. Um, next up, we have new business and and we have quite a few. Um, so I know you're going to be
015talking about all of these. So, would you um do us a favor and talk to us about 10.01 through 10.13? be my pleasure. It's quite a lot, but it's actually not as much as as we think. I'm going to start off with uh recommendation for changes uh for policy 5200, which is our attendance. And that's a and I'm going to give you a summary. This is a an outgrowth of House Bill 96. And there are actually several changes to our attendance policies from that House bill uh that I'd like to share. Um, talking about attendance intervention and notification, schools are no longer required, if this policy passes, to create uh individual truency intervention plans or assign students to absent intervention teams. Each district, however, must establish at least one district-wide absence intervention team to work
016with students at risk of becoming chronically absent in and their families. Districts must also notify parents when a student misses a designated number of hours. The threshold set by the local board cannot exceed 5% of the state's minimum hours of instruction. We notify our parents. Uh now in accordance to the law uh modified definition of habitual truency. A student defined as habitually truent if they are absent without legitimate excuse for 30 or more consecutive hours or 42 or more hours in one school month or 72 or more hours in one school year. The district attendance officer must file a complaint in juvenile court against any student who is habitually truent unless the district determines the student and family are making satisfactory progress to improve the attendance. The complaint must allege the child is unruly for
017being habitually truent and that the parent guardian has violated Ohio Revised Code 332138 for compulsory attendance. Other updates. Excused absence for driver's education. Students may now be excused for up to eight hours total to attend driver's education course with a limit of two hours a day up from 4 days. Um these absences cannot occur during core curriculum time. So study hall, lunch or or other other times. School districts may no longer report truent students to register of motor vehicles. That's something that for almost two decades we've now been required to do that. No, that requirement is no longer there for us and districts are required to adopt a new policy reflecting these changes no later than July 1, 2026. However, the law took place um beginning at September 30th. This is us making that requirement
018in this first reading. Now, >> any questions? >> Uh I just had a brief one. So I see language in here like determined unruly and I I see language in here uh to the effect of uh you know cease to continue making progress which is in itself is kind of ambiguous. Um, is this wording uh what the state has proposed or do we have policies that clarify when we would determine a student meets the unruly bar or when a student meets the making satisfactory progress in improving attendance bar? >> That's a great question. A lot of policies and laws sometimes are written vague enough for districts to be able to make some of those decisions which we would then outline in administrative guidelines on how we uh implement that. What I can do is I
019can take a look at the Ohio Department of Education and Workforces. They have a whole strategic plan on improving attendance for students in the state of Ohio to set and if I were to take my guess, they probably have guidelines of what they mean to be uh truent andor for a student to uh meet satisfactory improvement. But I'll take a look for you. >> Um go ahead. I I'm curious. So, we we learned right that um the state in the report card uses even excused absences against us. Now, they're allowing um driver's ed as an excused absence, too. So, is this counting against us as well then in the report card? >> That's a great question that I would if if they're requiring us to allow students to leave, we shouldn't be dinged for that
020uh requirement for them to leave. I can get clarification on that uh for the board uh and put in an update of whether we're or report back on the second reading to say here's what we found out about this. >> That'd be great. Yeah. Thank you. >> Um Mr. Reeves, this is one that um you know, you weighed through it and you think maybe you know what it means, but I think for a lot of families, you know, it's maybe not entirely clear when you're talking about well, when you get into the weeds here. So, I'm wondering um just in terms of getting public feedback or people having questions um you know, is there a way that we can make that maybe a little even more seamless than we usually do? Like, can you clarify
021what the best pathway is for people to to reach out with questions because I suspect there might be some or maybe we can even put out a little something that kind of interprets it um for folks. If you'd like for me to um put something together prior to the second reading, which won't happen again until January, I can work with Nick Mwane. A lot of the attendance falls within in his department, and he and I can work together to put something out that's easy to understand and makes sense to families to say, "Here's a policy we're considering. That's a part of House Bill 96 that we're required to, but but here's what that means for you." >> And so, yes, I can work with Mr. McCain and we can put something out to parents. That
022would be great if you'd be willing to do that before the next Yeah, I'd appreciate that. I think that will help a lot of folks understand because it looks when you look at it, it looks like a lot of changes, right? And yet >> that's probably not exactly the case. >> Yeah. And it probably looks a little bit more convoluted before because we've always notified parents for years and years and years and we have worked um to try to to get kids back in school and put plans together. And it actually relieves the schools from doing some of the things that we have been working. It doesn't require us to to not continue to work with uh families as a buildingwide intervention team like we have before. It just relieves us of that pressure to
023do so. um turning students into the juvenile court, turning students into the Bureau of Motor Vehicles is something we've had to do for quite a long time. They've just changed some of the verbiage like unruly and added some other things in there. So, it's probably not as much change other than the driver's ed and relieving us, but um we'll certainly get that clarification out to our families. >> Okay. Yeah. Thank you so much. >> Thank you, Mr. Reeves. And I do have one question. In the policy, it does state that the district would have to establish at least one absence intervention team. And so could you kind of speak to what we're already doing in terms of having personnel address chronic absenteeism or are we looking at hiring potentially new personnel to assist with this?
024>> No, typically what we already do is do it at the building level and we have whether it's counselor, social worker, administrator work with kids who are chronically and habitually truent. Um we don't have to do that at a building level now. That can be consolidated at the district level and as I shared Nick Mane and his department kind of oversees that. I could see something um broader where the folks that have been involved at the building level are now involved at a macro level, at the district level, but at the end of the day, the touch is going to be where the kids are. And I don't see an abandonment of directly helping and supporting kids and families at the building level. >> I had one uh more tactical question. You had mentioned that
025we're no longer we no longer need to notify the Bureau of Motor Vehicles or whatever of student absences, but it doesn't look like that's struck out from the policy. It still has that listed on page um five as something that we have to do. >> Okay, I'll take a look at that for clarification. >> Thank you. Are there any other Okay, thank you for putting that together for Okay. >> Okay. The next 12 policies I am going to attempt to do together instead of reading them all and explaining them um individually. And so if there are any questions uh when I finish feel free uh to ask if you want to separate those out. And so uh we we are making a significant update to three policies. Policies 1422, 3122, and 4122. And the main
026goal is to make our policies simpler, clearer, and and more consistent across the entire district. Um, instead of having several separate policies that cover similar topics, the recommendation is to merge them into a unified and comprehensive set of policies. We have three different policies we're really talking about changing. As I said 1422, 3122, 4122 to become the non-discrimination and equal employment opportunities policy. But we are updating three specific policy numbers, but there's only one set of language because the text in all three is identical. What you have in the different numbering system in our policy manual is that the 1,00 series policies are for administrators, for example, 1422. 3000 series policies are for licensed teaching staff, 3122, and 4,000 series policies are for classified staff, policy 4122. What this means is whether you're a teacher,
027an administrator, or a classified staff employees, the rules, the definitions, and procedures for non-discrimination and anti-harassment are the same. So what's consolidated? The new unified policies 1431 and 4122 replace and absorb the content of previous sets of policies. We already have on the books policy numbers 1422, and 4122. You will see as three choices for those policies to be deleted. The reason the original policies are set to be deleted is because the updated policies will keep the same number system but change to the updated language. So the old language needs to be deleted. That's three policies. The non-discrimination based on genetic information. Those are policies 14220 4122. and the anti-harassment uh just in general policies 1662, and 4362. All those six policies are being consolidated into the new updated policies and therefore the recommendation is
028to resend those policies because we no longer need them because they are in the updated policy. And the benefits are just clear consistent definitions that are consistent aligning with major federal laws like title 9 and title 7 um in across whether it is administrative teaching classified it's a single grievance process the steps for filing a complaint the investigation the decision and any appeals that are now standardized and consistent for all complaints and all staff members across a more consolidated policy. So it's really a simplification and there fundamentally is no new or additional language. It's really a just a almost an efficient and grammatical fix like we see from policies from time to time. So that's all 12. >> Any questions or comments? >> I was just curious if you happen to know when the last
029time since the language like you said hasn't really been >> uh added or uh deducted from. Do you know the last time we went through a major evaluation of this policy and made any major adjustments to those languages? I I'm thinking in particular as it relates to our our LGBTQ plus communities and transgender communities. When was that updated? Uh do you know how long that's been? Well, when you look at policy 1422, the ones that are being deleted and updated, and you can see on on our by line, the last two times we've had major renovations to the non-discrimination and equal o equal opportunity and and some of those have been 2015, 2019. So a lot of times those coincide with any major changes to civil rights legislation, any major judicial decisions or Supreme Court
030decisions that have fundamentally changed uh the context of of various protected classes and groups, that change trickles down to our policy. So I couldn't tell you exactly what those changes were because I've had to, you know, get into the archives to see, but you can see on our policies the progression of when those policies were changed. But it's fair to say it's probably been 10 years since a major revision has come across. >> At least the last big one was probably 2020. >> Okay. >> I know that was big for 2266 Title 9. >> Thank you. >> You're welcome. >> Any other questions or comments? Okay. Well, um moving along. Thank you for moving through those 12 policies. Um, we're moving to 11 recommended action standing business. And may I have a motion to appro
031Jennifer Alman as president promp from January 1st, 2026 until the election of the next board president on January 12th, 2026. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Um, any comments? I'm scared to open that up for Jen to say no. So, um, can we take the >> Thanks, >> Mrs. Lee? >> Yes. >> Mr. Aleman? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Altman? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Valentine? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Meyer? >> Yes. And thank you. Um, next up 11.02. May I have a motion to approve payment in lie of transportation? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Welcome, Mr. Snyder. >> Good evening, everyone. Before you this evening is a resolution declaring impracticality to transport the identified students before you. Ohio law allows for public schools to determine the impracticality of transportation after considerations of several factors such
032as the cost of providing transportation and the number of students to be transported. This past July 9th, 2025, the board passed a resolution declaring eight students in practical for transportation. And before you this evening is a list containing 162 additional students deemed impractical to transport for the 2025 202026. Our department of purchasing and lossistics has evaluated each listed private school, non-public school or community school student permits of section 3327.02 of the Ohio Revised Code and declared the listed students impractical to transport. Total of 162 students from 31 different schools before you this evening and approving this resolution would allow the district to offer payment in lie of transportation as provided in Ohio revised code which the department of educa the Ohio department of education and workforce determines the amount of payment in lie for this
033transportation for the FY26 the current school year uh that amount will be $67.15 and for reference last year for FY25 it was $58386 6 cents. I'd be happy to answer any questions that you might have this evening. >> Anybody have any questions or comments? >> I was just curious, is this number in line with last year's numbers in total at this point or higher or lower? >> The last few years we've averaged around 400. It is noted tonight a number of these students have moved between either fifth to sixth grade or 8th to 9th grade, which requires a new resolution when they move between from one building to another or one school to another. Thank you. >> Any other questions or comments? All right. >> Seeing none, would you take the vote, please? >> Mr.
034Aleman, >> yes. >> Mrs. Zman, >> yes. >> Mrs. Valentine, >> yes. >> Mrs. Leian, >> yes. >> Mrs. Meyer, >> yes. And may I have the motion to approve the resolution approving the purchase of school buses? >> So moved. >> Second. >> And Mr. Snder, will you talk to us about this? >> Certainly, I would be glad to. Ohio law requires that school boards of education pass a resolution to purchase school buses. The current capital improvement plan includes a 14-year replacement cycle for the school buses that are currently in use today. I'm going to refer to them as the sweet 16. The 16 buses on this resolution tonight are part of the meta consortium bus bid and a total of 40 districts participated in this bid. Cardinal bus sales was identified as the lowest
035responsible B bidder that met our specifications which includes a propane engine. These 16 buses will be equipped with integrated safety seats to serve identified students with special needs like our preschool program. This is the third year of this specific updated specification. Few notes of reference. In the FY20 or 2019 2020 school year, the cost of one school bus for that year was 85,894. Last year in 2024 25, the cost of one single bus was 140,872 and again referencing the increased cost there then for this year is 148,940. Mr. believes in um recognizing the historical conversations that we have from time to time. Um when I started in school transportation early 2000s, the average cost of a school bus was around $50,000. So, as we continue to see that cost increase um from year to year
036to year, the Westerville City Schools has also applied for a grant from the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce in the amount of $18,960 or $6,810 per school bus to offset the local permanent improvement funds utilized for the purchase of these school buses. So, the total for these 16 buses on this resolution before you this evening is $2,383,40. I'd be happy to answer any questions that you might have on this resolution tonight. >> Thank you. Are there any questions or comments? >> I was just curious as I mean I know we saw we've seen jumps, you know, progressively year over year over year. Uh but from 2020 to 2025 to 2026, >> it's about 60 70 60 60% or so. >> Um, do we do we have any insight into is this a result of
037us equipping the buses differently as a part of the cost or is that cost strictly across the board? I'm just curious as to why I mean that's that's not your fault. I'm just like why is it so much for a bus compared to say the cost of automobile which I doubt jumped 60 70%. Mhm. Um some of its technology within the vehicle itself. Um the control systems from the engine control as well as the body control. Also the price of steel when we think of how much steel is in a school bus itself to build the chassis and the body. Um certainly there's steel costs that are involved there as well. Um and just overall labor costs and um I'm going to use the term inflation, but just recognizing that the pieces and the parts
038that go onto the school bus are also experiencing increasing costs as well. Thank you. >> I have one quick question. Um >> so when we um when we decommission buses, >> what's happening with them? Uh there have been periods of time where we've either placed the buses on gov deals or we've also traded the buses in to the local vendor such as Cardinal Bus um for a trade-in value and then the buses are then sold by the the vendor or the dealership if you will um for additional use and that can happen through all different places of the country. Um and even years ago we knew of a gentleman who purchased a bus that was going to take it out of the country. >> All right. Well, thank you Oh, I I was going to
039ask that same question. So, thank you, Jen. Um, do you have like a dollar amount you can provide in terms of what we're generating um when we do sell those uh buses? >> You have around $3,000 per bus. >> Thank you. So, just as I'm just curious, actually, I have a different line of questioning. Um, yeah, that's a little insane. Um, uh, these buses are run by gas, diesel, >> propane. that. Okay. Thank you. >> Yes. And it's a much more environmentally friendly uh fuel as well as it's a more economical fuel when we talk about the um contract that we have with our fuel provider to save additional dollars through that um bulk purchase if you will. >> Thank you. My environmental heart thanks you too. All right. Any other questions? All right. Thank
040you so much. We take the vote. >> Mr. Hackleman. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Alman, >> yes. >> Mrs. Valentine, >> yes. >> Mrs. Lee, >> yes. >> Mrs. Meyer, >> yes. And may I have a resolution to authorize a contract with Garland DBS Incorporated for the fisc year 26 roof and masonary project. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Welcome, Mr. Schwarz. >> Thank you, members of the board. Mr. Reeves, Treasurer Marshall. So the resolution before you as it says is for a contract for the FY26 Westerville City Schools masonry roofing and roofing repair project with Garland DBS Incorporated or Garland Roofing is kind of their nickname in the industry. This is a project that was bid through what's called a council of government similar to the meta that Randy just referenced. So we don't publicly
041advertise it ourselves. a group called a Qualis group does it on our behalf if you will and we have access through your membership or the district's membership in that cooperative purchasing group uh for those unit prices. So that's what we've utilized. Uh the scope involves work at central south and north as well as Hanby and Whittier Elementary. So against portions of roofs on all those buildings, we track every roof area by warranty by and inspect them annually and make that determination as part of our asset capital repair replacement program. The work would take place next summer and with a substantial completion date, dare I say, outline of August 7th, and is a project funded from the permanent improvement fund. Uh with that, I'm happy to answer any questions. Any questions or comments? >> All right.
042And seeing none, thank you. >> Mr. Huckleman, >> yes. >> Mrs. Alman, >> yes. >> Mrs. Valentine, >> yes. >> Mrs. Lee, >> yes. >> Mrs. Meyer, >> yes. Thank you so much, Mr. Schwarz. Um, may I have a motion to approve the outofstate overnight field trips? >> Some moved. >> Second. And welcome, Mr. Cooper. This looks exciting. >> Yes. Good evening. Thank you for the time tonight. On the agenda this evening are eight uh overnight trips, five of which are the annual DC trips for our middle schools. And then um on top of that, we have two wrestling tournaments for Central High School and North High School and then a state thespian conference for the three uh high schools and our students there. So requesting your approval this evening of those eight overnight trips
043and happy to answer any questions you may have. >> Do have one quick question. When when school buses are being used to transport kids to let's say this thespian conference, how does that get paid then? Because there's no cost to the district. How does that get paid? >> And then Treasure Marshall, if you want to take that one there. Uh yes. So we uh our transportation department does billing for any special trips that they have from the groups. They build the groups or they build the departments depending on what it is. >> Okay. Thank you. >> I just have a curious question. This looks like the first time in a couple of years maybe or maybe ever that some of these middle schools will be in DC at the same time. Is that >> Yeah.
044So typically middle schools and quite honestly around central Ohio several middle schools are there uh at the same time as us and and others. Um so you'll see um you know some of our actual schools are there at the same time. Manurva Park, Genanoa and Blendin. Uh whereas Heritage is there about two weeks later and Walnut Springs right in the middle there. So um that does happen from time to time because all of those trips are generally taken in that end of April to end of May time period. Okay, thank you. Hopefully they'll get to meet some of their congressional members and talk to them and share their thoughts, too. >> Okay, any other questions or >> That's okay. Thank you so much, Miss Marshall. Take the vote. >> Mr. Ecklman, >> yes. >> Mrs.
045Leean, >> yes. >> Mrs. Alman, >> yes. >> Mrs. Valentine, >> yes. >> Mrs. Meyer, >> yes. And next up, we have board comments. Who would like to start? I am happy to start. Um want to as always congratulate our retirees um and thank them for their service. And um I just want to say to all of the students and staff, hang in there. You're so close. Um so close uh to the end of this first part of the year. And just a as always a huge thank you to the staff. Everybody from those who make sure kids get to and from school to make sure they get fed to keeping them safe to having schools be clean to teaching them. Um just really appreciate your work every day. So thank you very much. And
046then um I also want to say thank you to Mr. Heckleman to for stepping up to fill a board vacancy. Um, and you know, I've served on the board, what is this, six years now? And some people make a huge impact by the length of time they're on the board. Um, and they, you know, I get to sort of see a long-term vision through. And some people are the exact right person at the exact right time. And that's how I feel about your service. So, thank you so much for joining us and making things better. go next. Those are all the things I was going to say, Jen. Um, yeah. So, Dwight, thank you so much for serving. It is um it's a special kind of person that actually puts in an application to join
047a very public board during a time when uh school boards are sometimes um uh under a lot of duress based on funding and numerous other things. So, thank you so much for stepping up to do so. We appreciate your service. Um likewise, the retirees, congratulations. the educators and the staff. I've heard from several uh staff and educators who are like the kids are nuts right now. Again, hang in there got through the end of this week and then maybe some grading to do. But thank you so much for uh everything that you do for the students um in whatever capacity you are working in. Um, I also want to say just as we're closing out the year, a another thank you to our community and our voters for uh approving the income tax, the voted
048income tax this year to keep our schools running efficiently, effectively, and making sure that our students have the opportunities that they deserve in this district. Um, and lastly, just happy holidays. I'm going to leave it at holidays because there's lots of holidays happening, New Year's and Christmas and Quanza and Hanukkah and all the things. So, happy holidays for whatever you are celebrating. >> I will go next. Thank you so much. Um, I think you both have covered most of what I wanted to say. I really just want to begin by thanking you Dwight so much. Um, honestly, I think that you stepping up to serve on a board is one thing, but just being intentional and, you know, showing up even outside um of the district um with the campaign, I think was really important.
049You know, as someone who also served on the board for a short amount of time as well, it was really just um important seeing you step up at moments and ask questions that um I felt, you know, weren't being asked or maybe just didn't come to mind. I know it was certainly for for me. So, thanks so much for being like a strong voice on this um board along with everybody else. I too of course want to wish everyone a happy holiday um all the great holidays that are coming up. But in um I really just wanted to I guess say whether it was recognizing Westerville staff this year, all the incredible retirees or students, I think we had a really strong start to this year. Um, and of course I think some of my
050favorite highlights has been just returning to the buildings again and kind of seeing students' faces light up. Um, and so it really shows me that we're doing something very special here in Westerville. And so we should all be very proud of the work that we're doing together. Um, and of course I want to thank the community as well for approving this very important um, ballot issue. Um, and just lastly, as we get ready for winter break, it I truly do enjoy hearing from all of you. And so over the break, if something comes to mind, please just remember you can reach out to your board members. I had a student email me the other day about extending recess time or, you know, improving a a playground project. So, please um continue to reach out to
051your board members as well um as a community. And so, with that, I will turn it over to whoever wants to go next. >> I'll go next. Well, you have the last word. Um, yeah. uh those I've been hearing from students uh like uh can you cancel school and can you put in a good word with Miss Hamburg but uh yeah um definitely love hearing from our community. I want to wish uh our retirees the best of luck um and really thank you for all their service. our staff as well. Um, thank you for all that you've done as I think Miss Alman really elaborated quite well all of the ins and outs of how this uh district runs. Um, it's really important and you all are a very vital uh piece of that puzzle.
052Um, and to the families and students, hang in there. I'm actually can't wait for the break either. So, and I don't even work in the school district. Um, but um rather on the board. Uh, happy holidays to everybody. Um, and then just to Dwight. Um, really thank you for your service. Uh, I think you know, yes, it's been a short time, but you left a really big impact on this district and making sure that it's fiscally stab stable. and I really truly appreciate all that you put in over the past couple of months and it's been a pleasure getting to know you a bit better, too. I hope that you'll stay engaged in our schools. I have a feeling you probably will, but I hope so. So, um I just want to extend my gratitude.
053Thank you very much. And to everybody, I hope you have a wonderful holiday season and uh get some rest, relaxation, and I don't know about you, but I really want some snow. So, I'll keep asking for the snow. Then I'll turn it over to my colleague debate. >> Well, in typical fashion, I have nothing prepared. Uh but uh I'll just I'll start by saying uh congratulations to the retirees. Echo that sentiment. Uh, you know, I look around the room here and I see transportation and I see buildings and grounds and I see communications and I see representatives from our teachers union and I think, you know, the best thing I can say about serving on this board is, you know, you probably go to bed at night and you don't think a lot about the
054school board. Most people don't. Um, and that's great. I think that's the way it should be. So, thank you. >> Okay. Well, I'm sympathy crier and I'm not crying, so that's good. That's a plus. Um, so this board will meet in or in our organizational regular session on Monday, January 12th, 2026 at 6 p.m. at the Early Learning Center, which is here, 936 East Wind Drive, Westerville, Ohio 43081. And with that, may I have a motion to adjurnn? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Would you take the vote, Mr. Aleman? Yes, >> Mrs. Zman. >> Yes, >> Mrs. Valentine. >> Yes, >> Mrs. Lee Ban. >> Yes, >> Mrs. Meyer. >> Yes. With that, we're adjourned. >> 648.