001good evening thank you for attending tonight's meeting of the Westerville City Schools Board of Education the agenda will be displayed on the screens in the front of the room and you may also follow along by connecting to the district's website at www.wcsoh.org click on the our district link then select Board of Education and then board Docs agenda and select this evening's meeting there will be two opportunities to address the board this evening the first being agenda item 8.01 the first set of public comments is relative to agenda items 9.01 through 15.08 please State the agenda items you're referencing at the beginning of your comments the second opportunity is agenda item 16.01 there are signup sheets loc at on the table in the back of the room and each speaker will have 5 minutes to address
002the board Miss Marshall would you please call the role Mrs Davidson here Mrs lean here Mrs Meyer here Mrs Valentine here Mrs Atman here please join us for the Pledge of Allegiance un States okay so moving on to agenda item 3.01 um I would like to ask for nominations for the office of president I would like to nominate christe Myers thank you a nomination for Christy Meyer do we have other nominations okay hearing no other nominations um may I please have a motion and a second to close nominations for the office of president of the board of education for 2025 motion second call the RO please thanks so this is a vote to close the nominations Mrs leean yes Mrs Davidson yes Mrs Meyer yes Mrs Valentine yes Mrs opman yes and then miss Marshall
003would you please call the role to vote to elect the president okay and this this question is for christe Meyer to be president for calendar year 2025 m Mrs Davidson yes Mrs leean yes Mrs Meyer yes Mrs Valentine yes Mrs Alman yes congratulations President Myer [Music] all right and all right and may I have nominations for the office of Vice President are there any nominations I would like to nominate Ana lean any others okay may I have a motion to close the n ntion I move to close the nominations uh for Ana lean as the vice president of the board for second will you call the role please M Marshall Mrs Amman yes Mrs Valentine yes Mrs Davidson yes Mrs lean yes Mrs Meyer yes and then congratulations okay oh wait we need to I'm
004sorry we need to vote my bad sorry right now we will do the vote yeah sorry for Mrs leean Mrs opman yes Mrs Davidson yes Mrs leean yes Mrs Meyer yes Mrs Valentine yes congratulations sorry congratulations again all right um may I have a motion to enter into executive session for the purpose of discussing the employment and compensation of public employees so moved second M Marshall will you call the r Mrs Valentine yes Mrs Alman yes Mrs Davidson yes Mrs leean yes Mrs Meyer yes we are going to um come back shortly but we're going to part uh depart for executive session 6:06 P.M okay we are back thank you for hanging in there um 5.01 there are no District highlights or recognition so moving along to 6.01 the superintendent's comments yes thank you I
005just really quickly wanted to share some information about the power school School data breach that we had um last week we found out that our data was compromised as part of a global uh cyber security event with Power School uh several Central Ohio school districts were part of that data breach We are continuing to monitor the situation would like to thank uh Tim Stiffler our director of Technologies done an outstanding job of spent a lot of time monitoring looking into that um continuing communicate with meta who houses our servers for power school and so um it's really important just a few a few key things that I wanted to highlight here so power school does store both student and staff data for us but it's not our common practice to store student Social Security numbers
006in there so we did have a handful that were in there there were over 80 some thousand records that were were breached um mostly it would be a lot of things it would typically be directory public information so names addresses but um we were grateful that we did not have all of our students or staff's social security numbers in there um there we are anticipating we've been asked about if there would be any type of credit monitoring so we are anticipating that that will be available through power schools and um we don't have that information yet so just important to note we wanted to get something out as quickly as we could but knowing that we didn't have all the information yet so we will continue to update families as we receive more information from
007Power School including what type of credit monitoring might be available especially for the handful of folks that may have had additional information that was compromised so again big thanks to our it time it excuse me team who have been working with meta with the Ohio cyber security reserve and Power School along with the other districts to kind of remediate the situation anyone have any questions on that I had a quick question for the handful of folks whose Social Security numbers were included in this a why why were their social security numbers in there and um I guess the second piece of that is have they been specifically notified yet so we're working on that most were inactive former long time ago so these are records it's important to note these were not just current students
008but former as well so it's going to take some time to work through it's easier to notify our current families and students than obviously ones that we don't have contact info for yeah so we do have some former okay so those were like really old records most of them yes okay yeah all right thank you thanks thank you moving along to 7.01 may I have a motion to approve the minutes of the regular Board of Education meeting held on Monday December 16 2024 so moved second any questions or comments all right did you take the vote Mrs leean yes Mrs Valentine yes Mrs Alman yes Mrs Davidson yes Mrs Meyer yes and we have no public comments so moving along to 9.01 may I have a resolution to suspend Robert's Rules of Order so moved
009second will you take the call yeah just to note that this is a suspension just for the work session portion of this meeting sorry sorry Mrs Valentine yes Mrs Alman yes Mrs Davidson yes Mrs leans yes Mrs Meyer yes so we're going to move into our work session now we could have our other team members come up and join us at the table right and then Nicole I know you have some scenarios we've been working as a team um since the levy failure in November on two different routes one is um in what ways are we able to make some reductions through austerity measures through tightening the belt um and then obviously looking at what does our Revenue look like moving forward so both of those things are happening at the same time time um
010just a reminder that we are on a somewhat challenging timeline when it comes to the revenue side of that so the election was November 5th we had um multiple holidays in there and then the filing deadline um that we would need the board to make take action on two different resolutions for Nicole to be able to file that in time is February 5th so with that we're on a pretty tight timeline if the board would like to be as we've discussed previously on the ballot in May um we do need to take some action tonight as well as at our 2nd January meeting on January 27th for us to be able to get those things filed um for Nicole to do that so just want to kind of remind the public of that as well
011that we are looking at two things so we have been working with our team we shared at the last meeting um but we were able to reduce 4.8 million out of our budget for this year um committed to making those reductions moving forward throughout the life of the forecast and then we're also continuing to work with the team on some recommendations on other places where we can make some reductions we're trying to do that primarily through staff attrition um when there are opportunities through retirements and other movement um are there positions we cannot fill can we ask other people to pick up those responsibilities Etc so we are continuing to work through that I know Nicole has prepared some scenarios capturing the 4.8 million that we've already reduced out of the budgets as well as
012um some additional austerity measures that we think we can make moving forward and then what that would look like uh with some potential ballot issues so Nicole do you want to kind of talk through those uh sure so what you have in front of you are three separate scenarios and if you see the blue writing on each spreadsheet um so we have estimates with reductions with no additional Levy estimates with reductions with a 4.9 additional Levy in 2025 collection 26 and then estimat with reductions with a 5.9 mil additional Levy in 2025 collection 2026 so I just kind of want to go through each one starting with the no additional Levy um what this is our November forecast that has been updated since with the reductions that we saw um in the budgets for the
013Departments and buildings the 4.8 million that Angie was referring to and assuming that that that would be our new base projected going forward based on those with those reductions in place um we also have eliminated the permanent Improvement transfer out in the forecast so we were transferring $65,000 a year into the permanent Improvement fund for Turf replacement to build up a balance for Turf replacement in the future this eliminates that transfer it also reduces the transfer out in the forecast for the um Food Service fund negative balances so uh the Food Service fund can't carry negative lunch debt so we have to absorb that debt into the general fund we've allocated $100,000 previously in the forecast year-over-year um that's coming in around 60 to 70,000 so we've reduced that down to 70,000 in these scenarios
014um in addition to that we also have a Target s estimate for salaries and benefits reduction for personnel costs with tier one measures of $3 million approximately $3 million so that's what the Target that we're looking at and that as we project out in the forecast um with cost avoidance in the future the cumulative total savings when we're looking at 2030 uh is about $17 million impact to the forecast that final unreserved fund balance which is what we're looking at so just talk through this a little bit we have the total revenues uh for the forecast period which goes through 29 currently and then once we um pass June 30th we'll be coming back in November and then 2030 will be added to that so I just wanted to include that here for illustrative purposes
015total expenditures and then our revenues over and under our expenses and again um I just want to remind everybody this also we've moved that $30 million back into the the general fund that's why it looks like we do not have def deficit spending in the current year but we are projected to deficit spend um quite significantly this current year fiscal year 2025 that we're in and then you can see the year-over-year uh the revenues over or under expenses um going forward on that next line and then our cash balance July 1 cash balance June 30 our reservations so we have a budget reserve of a half% which is was um in statute for previous year's revenues as a budget reserve for things that might come up that were not uh we don't have planned that
016sort of thing and then also any outstanding purchase orders we carry about $5 million at the end of the year and outstanding purchase orders that we have to reserve into the next year and so you can see the unreserved fund balance in days our Target for each year of the forecast is 90 days per board policy and so you can see we fall below the 90 days even with the reductions without any additional Levy um in that last year of the forecast and you can see what our Target unreserve Fund balance is based on that 90day um number and then the deficit spending millage equivalent for each of those years uh and that's just if you look at that revenues over or under expenditures line what uh millage would it take to make a up
017that deficit spending as the years go forward for each year and then um just I had been asked so I just wanted to add for informational purposes what our average uh cost per day is so for fiscal year 2025 it's about 63 it keep it costs us about $634,000 a day to operate the district um and that is projected to be about 732 th000 by the end of the forecast period period 73 3,000 if you round up so if we go to the next um projection and again I can't stress this enough these are estimates based on what we know today uh this also assumes that the state will continue to phase in the fair school funding plan um there have been a lot of comments made by the speaker of the house that that
018is not on his priority of things to do so we will be going through a BM budget in the spring the state will let us know what the next two years will look like in state funding our property values will continue to impact any calculation for a state and local share as we've discussed um as property values have increased we look wealthier as a community to the state so the state says that our community is responsible for more of the cost for education in our community so the next uh sorry to get off track there so the this one looks at a 4.9 mil additional Levy um based on the austerity measures that we have in place and the and the targeted tier one in Personnel reductions um you can see where we fall with
019that uh we will have additional conversations as we're coming into the um middle to end of February we'll be discussing next year's budgets with departments and buildings and so there will be additional opportunities for conversations around savings and things like that just want to not that because we did ask them to make some decisions after we were well into the school year so it was probably pretty difficult for them um to be able to cut things once we had already started and so you can see the outcome of what a 4.9 mil Levy looks like and then if you go to the next page a 5.9 mil additional Levy and what that looks like um and again I I added that 2030 for illustrative purposes as we're looking at that for next year I will
020bring back a forecast for the board to consider at the March 17th meeting once we get through the budgets the budget process we have an optional spring update window with the state um through March 31st so we'll be bringing that back to the board um prior to um the May update those was a lot in a short amount of time I apologize so please tell let me know if you have any questions about that or if anything wasn't clear gu I know people can't see what you've given us right and um but I think it's really telling that even with uh a levy of 4.9 or 5.9 that we still are running a deficit in 2026 um and so I I think that's important for our community to know I I think also reiterating your
02190 days right we the 90 days is really important because we can't sign contracts right if we don't so the ability for us to sign contracts is based on the cash balance um when we talk about an unreserved uh balance policy it's what's responsible for an organization to have for operating in the future um and that's typically around 60 to 90 days we worked with the finance committee to develop that policy and that was what we put in place based on the size of our district and and again we're spending you know $634,000 a day yeah I think an important thing I want to highlight Nicole kind of mentioned this but just to reiterate um she said this is based on um the fair school funding formula continuing to be phased in even if it
022is phased in um we are projecting flat revenue for the majority of this forecast um which is pretty much unheard of but is based on the information we have from the state right now so I think that's really important to share so we are doing what we need to do on our side to say you know what can we do without how can we tighten our belt but it's really important to note that we do have a a revenue Challenge and I just want to continue to reiterate that it's not normal that we would be seeing flat funding but because we are looking at being cut from the state share it is making our overall funding projections flat so just as we think about you know operating a district just like you would operate your
023household just the basic inflation increases in utilities Etc um it's hard to have the same number of services and project the same revenue for five years so that's kind of where the challenge is and I just want to make sure we continue to keep that in the Forefront that um we're going to continue to do what we need to to try to reduce some things so that we can stay within that Revenue but when we're not projecting Revenue growth because of where the state has our funding that's very very challenging as we look at just natural inflation across the board um so um can you remind us miss Marshall I think it's about $4 million per Mill 4 something it's about 4.2 million per M that we gener right okay based on our current values
024okay and um should the board approve a resolution of necessity this evening uh we would submit that to the county auditor and the county auditor would actually certify what that amount is what the total amount would be rates for it right I'm just doing some fast math up here could be terrible math um but at about 4.2 million 4.9 additional Levy that's about 31 days of operating so just that's just another way to think about that that's what we're asking for it's like one month right of operating at the average i' use the 2026 number for average cost per day 651 th000 so if my math is right Mr Doran can check me on that um you know that's when I look at 4.9 is what we had asked for before so that's why I'm
025choosing that one to plug in it's about it's about a month and just to note that this doesn't include anything with the bond portion or anything like that I know we've had some conversations previously but is there any additional information that would be helpful for you or anything that our team could answer at this point and we've had a lot of conversations over the last couple months but just trying to recapture some of those ideas just to remind especially if people are just tuning in for the first time um that we have had ongoing conversations about it um we have looked at these scenarios previously the good news is Nicole was able to update them with some of the austerity measures we've had which puts us in a little better situation but as as we
026um shared even with the reductions you know we're still looking at a revenue shortfall um yeah I have a question about the unreserved um fund balance in days so you know we have in policy getting to 90 right 90 days so since not everyone can see this here on the estimates with 4.9 additional Levy um the way you know this all the caveats right this depends on state funding and so on are that we could stay above that level if we if a 4.9 additional Levy were to pass collecting in 2026 and Beyond we could stay above 90 days through 2029 and then it's showing in 2030 we go just under that to 64 days but that's going to move on to the five year that 2030 is going to move on to the five
027year right relatively quickly here so um I think you know again a lot of things will change in the next five years we know that's not actually where things will end up but um it does mean that we need to really think about that that in the fifth year you know as the model shows we're falling under the 90 days with a 4.9 but it's close so 64 days and we need to get to 90 this makes me feel like you know as we build austerity measures in and buildings are really tightening down and we're you know that that's something we might be able to make up is that wildly inaccurate no I think and I appreciate you saying all the unknowns because I know Nicole's emphasized multiple times we have two banum budgets that'll
028play into this forecast but um you know I feel the the closer it is the the more reliable the data is as we get out into that fifth year and we continue to make austerity measures and evaluate how we're doing things um looking for efficiencies I absolutely think that's doable okay and that's what our board policy prompts us to do as we're looking at the forecast we update it twice a year so we do our original in November um and then we have our spring update in May and anytime we would submit a forecast where any year of the forecast Falls below that 90 days that prompts all of us to start having a conversation it just make sure that we're paying attention to that balance and um planning based on that I always have
029more questions if that's okay so in the process of looking for austerity measures now I mean obviously like you said it's mid year so that's that's kind of tough to do but um can you just talk a little bit from a process point of you about sort of how that looked as a process and then like how that might look moving forward right taking that mindset on a little more Yep so I think two big areas one is we talked about the budgets and so as we look at our our supplies and these would be more of our um non- Staffing costs um like Nicole said when we did that we we were already in halfway into the year so certain things had already been spent but as we get into the budgeting process here
030actually next month we'll start that in February we'll be meeting with all the Departments and all the buildings um really trying to dial down and and get to a little more critical needs based on what do we need to do so what that looks like is there may be some nice to have things that we've done in the past that we just won't do um there may be some some activities some units some different things that we've done just because you know people like them they're they're a nice addition to our programming but maybe not a necessity so we'll be looking at what are those areas that we can eliminate we're we're going to be constantly looking for efficiencies across the board but then the big one is we are a service organization and so
031the majority of our cost comes from Staffing so um because we're a large organization we have opportunities as people retire or leave the district to look at do we have to fill that spot right now so that'll be twofold one um do we need it at all is it just nice to have or do we absolutely need it is it Mission critical and then um can we absorb things in the short term for a while can we shift work around can we restructure so um with all the positions that open that's something that we're going to be looking at okay so we already have some some ideas and some things that we think we're able to do for next school year um and at this point you know trying to look as as much as
032possible at a nutition in those moves but how can we do things more efficiently I think it's important to note that um every position we have was added because there's a value that that position gives to our kids and our community and so we don't take that lightly um we know that all positions have value but because of where we are fiscally just looking at are there ways to do things differently yeah thank you and um I this be my last one for a little bit I promise um so in the in the austerity measures that have been identified thus far I just want to make sure I'm understanding that the amount is something we feel we can sustain right this isn't a onetime correct so we'll have to constantly so we're we're committed to
033the amount but we know as our student needs change and District needs change different mandates Etc um where that amount comes from Shi around so you know part of our job obviously is to continuously assess what the student needs are and what we're required to do and then how we get there might look different okay thank you and you don't have to have questions for them but I did ask the rest of our team to come up so if we have any questions as we think about facilities or oop sorry teaching learning any of those aspects um they're available so if there are any other questions we can answer I do actually have a question with regards to facilities because the bond issue was part of what didn't pass in nov November we will not
034be at this time looking to put the bond issue back on the ballot so what is going to happen with those projects that would have received funding from the bond so in terms of that second phase of the facility master plan um all of those larger projects are put on hold um we will continue with our preventative um maintenance programs and plans or Capital Improvement plans those things will continue so you'll still see hbac projects you'll still see Roofing projects um as the permanent Improvement funds allow but the large scale projects will just be on pause until um we decide that we're ready for further conversation in the future I think right now we need to focus on um securing the funding for the everyday expenditures I think one of the things we talked about
035too is so as we shift and take different things out of the permanent Improvement money we may see um for example um some of our parking lots are in really bad shape we were able to do full Replacements so shifting back to more of the patchwork quilt fixes versus being able to do a full replacement so just trying to stretch those dollars a little bit further and and again take care of what needs to be taken care versus maybe where we would like some of those things to be um safety will be a priority with the bond project uh with the facility projects I should say so um if there's something that is creating a safety issue that would have priority over other types of projectss that we might want to do with limited funds
036I can't remember the answer to this question I'm wondering I know at one point we talked about um you know voting and we don't really have a say in where those voting um places are but we have two right and Mark Twain and Robert Frost and they have open gyms um is that still on the agenda for that is correct so we do see that as a safety piece um for those buildings they do still have open concept gyms those two locations do um so we are looking at a project this summer um those projects will come to the the uh board for approval at the time using permanent Improvement funds not General funds um and or potentially 2019 bond funds that may remain um to complete those projects just for anybody who may be
037watching this video later can you explain the difference between the permanent Improv Improvement in the general fund take that Nicole anybody yes so uh voters um uh several years ago approved permanent Improvement levies um so we receive tax funds through a permanent Improvement Levy that goes specifically into a separate fund outside the general operating fund and those funds are restricted specifically for things um that are permanent improvements so something that lasts longer than a 5year use life and those sorts of things so you'll see a lot of facilities work with them and that sort of thing there's also the ability to pay for technology with some of those funds school buses we pay for buses and so it's a completely different like pot of money specifically for things that will outlive you know the five
038years they're not consumables they're not for salaries yeah correct yes and it is outside of the general fund yeah thank you um I miss hamburger maybe Mr Reeves I I'm just hoping you could talk for a minute about like my goal and I know I don't usually speak for everyone but I think everyone um probably feels this way is to have the least impact on kids learning right so in the austerity measures that um you all have been discussing especially you know that might impact sort of the teaching and learning side of the house um is there anything that well that you feel will have a big impact on student experience or are we really I'm just looking for reassurance that we're really trying to make the least impact on kids and their learning is
039that I mean it's really broad but I just feel like we need to talk about that yeah no I think that's important I think um we're looking at things like are we able to absorb through attrition um general education positions where maybe we just have we're still good class sizes but maybe we're able to offer a class three periods instead of four for example so we're looking for those types of efficiencies versus we're cutting programs y I think is what you're getting at so sure um you know certainly as we look at what would our recommendations be if we're not able to secure additional funding we would start looking at programming but at this um level one we're really trying to look at um you know are we able to make adjustments within a schedule
040at a high school level for example where we're still offering classes but maybe they're they're larger class sizes especially at some of those higher level classes for example so looking at those types of things um versus cutting programming thank you I appreciate that thanks and if you anything else any of you to add to that okay so I think what you guys are looking for tonight is some guidance from us what do we think the community it will what will be palatable to our community so we just lost a levy right that was 4.9 and we had the millage in there or the bond money in there and we have decided or what is being presented to us tonight is not a bond option on top of it so I think what we need to
041decide as a board is what will the community support um we've made some austerity measures we've talked about some of the cuts Ang's talked about tonight the community is going to start to feel them unfortunately we're trying our best not to impact our students and staff um and make these cuts that make sense through attrition which I deeply appreciate so I think the conversation tonight needs to be where do we want to go as a board so does everyone want to take a turn like where what are we thinking I I want another question for Nicole as we're talking about the amounts so we've got a 4.9 and a 5.9 kind of projections in front of us if we were to pass a 4.9 reasonably when would we need to be back on the ballot
042um I think we would be looking at 2028 okay and with depending on again lots of things can happen between now and then and what the state legislature does with the next finan budget and the ones after that but I think uh the five to me it's the difference between revenues and expenses I think either way we have to be back on in 2028 I think it is just dependent on how much does 20 what does 2028 look like if things play out as projected in this forecast so how close do we want to cut it m okay um well I'm happy to start off I uh think we should go back on the ballot and I think we should go in May um I think given that uh we just failed a levy at
0434.9 and operating we took out the the bond I think 4.9 would be a reasonable ask although I realize I just want to say that with looking at both of these numbers 5.9 and 4.9 we still run out of deficit so I think that's really important um but the like our community said this was too much so I'm comfortable with the 4.9 um I'm I'm in the same place I think I appreciate you putting together the 4.9 and the 5.9 um but with pulling the bond off and the fact that again these are estimates with a 4 .9 when we get to 2030 we're really close to that 90 days like I comfortable that that's the right direction keeping it as small as possible I don't I I think that's as small as we can
044go yeah but I think we need to go back on right away in May and I I wanted to add on I also think that we should be back on in May and I know that we have had some individual conversations around May versus November and if we're back on in May and we know whether we pass or not we can start better planning for the next school year as opposed to waiting until November and hoping things work out in November so I'm also in the boat with 4.9 for May as you two have mentioned the community thought that it was too much last time so taking that bond issue out will decrease the cost to our taxpayers and unfortunately we're going to have to be back on the ballot probably in 2028 either way
045so I do want to point out because I know we mentioned this previously but we have received um confirmation since the last board meeting so just to share for the public um one of the things that was kind of up in the air previously was whether or not May would be a special election or if it would be a general and so because the state of Ohio is definitely on the ballot we've received confirmation for a public works project that allows us to go on and it's not the cost of a special election so I think that's important when since you were mentioning the timing I just wanted to point that out yeah and I am also in the camp that I think we should uh proceed with uh potentially 4.9 mil I think with
046a district of our size and knowing that about 30% of our students are economically disadvantaged you know it gives me some pause knowing that there's going to be a lot of challenges down the road um but I say that to say just making sure and I know we're really doing our best but the more that we can really uh communicate with the community um and be as transparent about this process I think um is something that I would like to see I just want to mention it's 43% economically disadvantaged thank you for clarifying that 43% so uh I I agree with all of you um I think we definitely need to be on in May um I appreciate you bringing us these scenarios Nicole it is very interesting uh to look at all of them
047I hope we can get them out to the public as soon as possible um 4.9 I think is the absolute lowest we can go um and I think we need to listen to the community and they've told us that that along with the bond was too much so I'm hoping that they can support it and um support our kids so we need a motion right yeah so you have a resolution um in board docs yep that doesn't have a millage amount so if um if the goal was to be on the ballot in May then uh someone would need to make a resolution or a motion for the resolution with the Mills included so it's 10.02 yeah I I can make a motion to yeah I can make I'll make a motion to approve the
048resolution of necessity of Levy of a tax in excess of the 10 mil limitation and to submit the question of the same to the electors at a rate not to exceed 4.9 mils is there a second second second who was the second I'm not sure who was me and Louis at the same time either way take your Pi can you take the all yeah Mrs Meyer yes Mrs Valentine yes Mrs Alman yes Mrs Davidson yes Mrs lean yes just want to I know it's been said but just thank you everyone this has been a lot of hard work going into this I knew even over the holidays a lot of people were working and it's not been easy to have these conversations and any part so just really appreciate the work that's been going into
049it all right figure out where we are so moving along to 11 .1 um may I have a motion to approve participation in all state and federal fund programs available to the district for calendar 2025 so moved second Miss Marshall I'm assuming this is you yes so for as long as we have Federal funding no I'm kidding I hope I'm kidding um so this is part of the organizational meeting we do this every year this is not an exhaustive list as things come up and we actually operate on a fiscal year and um not a calendar year so I think um this is more just for informational purposes for the board and for the community um but these are this is a list of what we currently participate in any questions or comments I just
050would add I know we continue to get questions about what is happening with the Federal Department of Education and so I think it's important to note that um we don't know so BAS done uh the information so there has been conversation around that but from our professional organizations um we're not getting any information yet so we are told to assume that we're going to have these Federal programs moving forward um the talk is that if that would change that these funds would go flow through the state and at that point we would need to work through what that looks like but it's important to note a lot of these funds um that we get from the federal government are funding our students with special need our preschool School Etc so they are important programs reading
051instruction Etc I'll just build on that I know late last year I um mentioned that there was a piece of legislation that was introduced to abolish the Department of Education so we'll if it hasn't been already reintroduced we'll see it again so this is something that's really actively being talked about you ready to vote yeah Mrs leean yes Mrs hman yes Mrs Davidson yes Mrs Meyer yes Mrs Valentine yes and may I have a motion to approve re requests from the treasurer CFO so moved second Miss Marshall can you talk to us about what this is uh yes so this is a whole list of things again part of the organizational part of our meeting um this allows us to make purchases as necessary for uh the business as uh within the limits of the
052annual Appropriations that the boards that the board approves um transfer outstanding stale data checks to the general fund uh execute all contracts within the normal course of business within the annual appropriation limits as well uh Advance funds as needed and we bring those back to the board um also if we need to do that uh continue our investments as we're able to under Ohio law and uh sign payroll checks accounting checks and all of those things uh request am am certificates and estimated resources from the County Auditors so Franklin and Delaware County and uh request and execute uh on behalf of the board all tax advances um that are available from the county auditor and then uh it's a notice to municipalities that we would like to be informed of any um tax abatement notifications
053that they are required to under law and uh we will file a copy of that resolution with the tax commissioner of Ohio and it also uh waves the requirements for reading the minutes at each board meeting because the board ex receives those minutes in advance of the meeting and so you have an opportunity to review and um make any corrections that you need um at the next board meeting yeah I'll just Pro procedural stuff thank you any questions comments All right we take the vote Mrs Lee ban yes Mrs Alman yes Mrs Davidson yes Mrs Meyer yes Mrs Valentine yes and may I have a motion to approve a resolution to establish a service Fund in accordance with Ohio Revised Code 33.1 15.3 I'm sorry 33155 3515 wow I can't read reading's hard tonight for
054me for the board of education's participation and membership in service activities in accordance with law so moved second Miss Marshall will you talk to us about this so uh this allows the board to conduct its business um with community service and all of those things so we will participate in the Ohio school boards Association legal assistance fund um that helps some of our legal costs U when we reach out to them versus uh calling our general counsel and um we have our participation in the Chamber of Commerce uh Westerville Chamber of Commerce that we do yearly and then our annual membership dues to um osba the Ohio school boards Association and then we'll have other things that come up of trainings that are required and things like that um that this covers thank you any
055questions or comments all right Mrs Davidson yes Mrs lean yes Mrs Alman yes Mrs Meyer yes Mrs Valentine yes I may I have a motion to appoint a delegate and an alternative delegate to the 2025 annual Ohio school boards Association business meeting so moved second you need to name someone yeah we do sorry in your misstion please oh um okay I know we haven't really talked about this usually have the new people do it we usually have the new people do it okay and then Louise would you be the alternate okay um may I have a motion to appoint Ana Bon and uh as a delegate and Louise Valentine as the alternative delegate to the 2025 annual high school board's Association business meeting so moved second thank you it will be my comment it's actually
056great yeah I I've enjoyed it I was there this year yeah yeah I I've done it before too okay Mrs opman yes Mrs Valentine yes Mrs Davidson yes Mrs leian yes Mrs Meyer yes you may I have a mission to approve the purchases in accordance with Ohio Revis code 5754155740 this uh yes thank you president Meyer so uh this is not part of the organizational meeting this is what we like to call then and now purchase orders where we have a purchase order that was opened after an invoice date uh we have one for um capital projects that was opened originally out of the general fund but with a shifting funds from the general fund to the building funds we closed that purchase order and opened it out of the o4 with the Hami kitchen
057project because it was part of the bond funds um that we could use use those dollars and then we had one added late earlier today um that was late to the board agenda and it was for Blendon Athletics it was for football helmets and it's actually from a couple of years ago um the vendor for whatever the purchase order got missed and the vendor for whatever did not uh follow up with an invoice and um Middle School athletics is an interesting place so um so the we do owe the vendor I'd like to get them paid um we they do a lot of reconditioning for our helmets and things like that and so in order for them to recondition the helmets we have to pay for them first yeah okay thank you any questions or
058comments okay you take the vote Mrs Valentine yes Mrs leean yes Mrs opman yes Mrs Davidson yes Mrs Meyer yes and is it okay if we take personal consent as one okay may I have a motion to approve the personal consent agenda 12.01 through 12.13 so moved second welcome Mr Cooper all right good evening and happy New Year by the way VI uh president Meyer vice president leeban members of the board Miss Hamburg and Miss Marshall tonight's Personnel consent agenda is pretty quick here but includes action items with regards to resignations retirements leaves of absence contract status changes onetime pays and other employment related decisions we have two staff members who have announced their retirement on this evening's agenda Linda Canon will be retiring at the end of the year with 26 years to the
059district and uh Holly Hughes Carroll after 22 years of service to our district so we certainly appreciate all they've done for our students and staff in the community and wish them the best in their years ahead at this time I'm happy to take any questions you may have no questions just congr ulations to the retirees thank you yep Mrs leean yes Mrs Alman yes Mrs Davidson yes Mrs Valentine yes Mrs Meyer yes um moving along to Old business 13.01 may I have a motion to approve policy 01 69.1 public participation at board meetings so moved second I just want to thank um the work that went into this I want to thank everybody for working on this any comments or questions okay Mrs lean yes Mrs Alman yes Mrs Davidson yes Mrs Valentine yes Mrs
060Meyer yes and may I have a motion to approve policy 2265 protections of individuals beliefs affiliations ideals or principles of political movements and ideology so moved second um any questions or comments Mrs Davidson yes Mrs leean yes Mrs opman yes Mrs Valentine yes Mrs Meyer yes and may have a mission to approve policy attendance so moved second any comments questions all right let take the vote this is a yes Mrs Valentine yes Mrs Davidson yes Mrs lean yes Mrs Meyer yes and may I have a motion to approve policy 5500 student conduct so moved second any discussion okay and take the vote Mrs leean yes Mrs Atman yes Mrs Davidson yes Mrs Valentine yes Mrs Meer yes and next up we have new business for .01 the first reading of policy 5780 student parent rights
061and welcome Mr Rees thank you very much good evening and happy New Year president Meyer vice president Lee ban members of the board superintendent hurg and Mrs Marshall I have two policies for first reading for consideration this evening policy number one is policy 5780 student parent rights this is an existing policy so this would be a revision due to a change in law the first section of policy contains mainly grammatical edits for example changing his/ her to students you see a bunch of that in the first part the legal change schools are required by Senate Bill 29 to provide parents and students with an opportunity to inspect a complete copy of each technology provider contract because these contracts are typically public record it's reasonable to treat the SE these requests the same way as we
062would handle any other public records request on our District's website under the resource tab at the top right of our homepage there is access to make public records request and you can find that there any redactions still required by law we would make to to those contracts and so that is uh changed it has no fiscal impact um no other policies referred to um and it is a compliance with Senate Bill 29 so the recommendation would be to consider that in your on your recommendation thank you anybody have any questions okay um next up is 14.02 the first reading of policy 75409 AR artificial intelligence and 75409 this would be a new policy and this is addresses the use of AI by District staff and students um and one of the things that we anticipate
063that this policy will evolve as the technology evolves and we know more about it it authorizes our district for the use of AI specifically the use that's consistent with our goals and missions as a school district um this policy also connects itself to seven different existing policies to make sure that we include our acceptable use policies for students and staff we um include our student privacy Student Records non-discrimination on the basis of sex and education programm and activities all of those policies are incl included and to give it a test I let AI write what I'm saying tonight so uh which is why it's much shorter there is no fiscal impact um and I would uh recommend the board to approve as presented when it's that time thank you any questions from Mr re before
064we let him go all right thanks so much um oh well next up we have 15.01 out of state overnight field trips in Mr EES yes thank you we have one overnight field trip coming up for your consideration this evening our Westerville Central Warhawk wrestling team uh is set it's set to compete in a two-day tournament in Napoleon Ohio on January 17th and 18th coming up this weekend and so um I'm happy to answer any questions you have with that but that's a routine part of their uh their regular sched schedule I realize I need a motion to approve out of state overnight field trips so moved second any questions about this all right will we take the vote Mrs Atman yes this is Davidson yes Mrs Valentine yes Mrs leean yes Mrs Meyer yes
065and may I have a motion to approve the early graduate candidate who has completed at local in all local in state requirements so moved second Mr re thank you uh I'm pleased to share that we have uh another candidate for graduation on the agenda for your consideration this student as you've uh just alluded to has been able to complete all of their graduation requirements before their cohort this spring and is eligible to receive their diploma upon the approval of their candidacy and this student would like to do that and and continue on with the next chapter of their Liv so I'm happy to answer any questions you may have with that just congratulations yeah all right Mrs Valentine yes Mrs lean yes Mrs Alman yes Mrs Davidson yes Mrs Meyer yes thank you all right
066may I have a motion to approve the resolution to establish the 2025 Board of Education meeting calendar so moved second I do have one comment here here um I have a conflict for July 7th and I'm wondering if I know we have to have a board meeting before July 10th right is it possible that we're able to move it to the eth or 9th I also may not be here on the 7th so okay I know our team had checked the ninth when you mentioned that um as a possibility and that works for us if it works for the rest of the board but you're correct we do have the July 10th deadline as a reminder if um staff members for for employment that's kind of the magic date in Ohio that to get out
067of a contracts we like to take action by July 9th or I'm Sorry by July 10th is that a conflict for people of July 9th you good okay all right so wanted to mention a couple of things yeah same time sorry would that be the same time if we moved it to July 9th just wanted to confirm I just wanted to make a couple notes on this is that okay yeah um so we have we cancelled the January 6 meeting we noticed it so we went ahead and included it on here but that was canceled due to weather uh we have a joint meeting with the city council um on January the 23rd at 7.m it's an off cycle so looks a little L on there and the other thing I wanted to note is
068on April the 14th we have gym Awards so uh this has historically been sort of um presented as a board meeting it's not really a board meeting the parent Council holds the gym Awards and the board participates the same as you would any other ceremonial um but there's no official action that's taken or votes on these um so I just made a note there that this is for informational purposes and not a school board meeting and the same thing with um commencement um so Nicole since you did it that way just to clarify we wouldn't need to call roll do all the things we did last year is the idea right we wouldn't be doing that in this case does that make sense yep MH I just want to note that on the January 23rd
069joint um city council and board meeting I have a child who's performing in a one act at one of our at Westville South High School so I likely will not make most or all of that meeting apologies to our Council colleagues I know to go see my kid perform and uh commencement is also not a school board meeting and neither is capital conference so these are just listed for informational purposes to the community so yeah it's start for if you look at this later it's there's asteris next to the ones that are not official board meetings all right so we might still want those as meetings the gym Awards yeah okay so people show up yeah I think it's nice like it's the only District event where really we do have all of us right
070um it is nice opening it because we have not only you know we have business people there we have each of our school buildings there um I like the ceremonial part of it I would just request that we keep that okay yeah yeah I just thought it was confusing to people when we because we hadn't always done it sure like that um well really because since I've been here we've done that I think it's just by habit that's how it it we weren't doing official roll call and all that when I started with the district oh yeah okay I mean we noticed it and we did all of that stuff but yeah I mean there's that we can keep it as an official board meeting if that's what the board would like to do that's
071nice okay I'm f with that and we can update that to take the asterisk off but commencement and capital conference are not school board meetings so I just want to make sure that was clear on this yeah okay so we'll make that with the change with your approval here tonight okay so do we need a motion to approve the the the calendar has changes changed with the changes with the changes okay may I have a motion to approve the resolution to establish the 2025 Board of Education meeting calendar with the changes we just discussed so moved second right that means your original motion's died just so you know yeah okay Mrs leian yes Mrs Alman yes Mrs Davidson yes Mrs Valentine yes Mrs Meyer yes yes and may I have a motion to approve a
072resolution to appoint the board Desy as public records officer which would be Miss Marshall so moved second thank you so this just means that uh I will participate in public records training yet again for any uh anyone that starts a new term on the school board thank you thanks I appreciate you sure I took the training at osba conference this year just for funsies yeah just for fun for funsies uh the whole leadership team took it with me in my office I would not use the word fun to describe it though it was nice team bonding but it was not fun funny all right we did it online so yeah ready yep Mrs opman yes Mrs Davidson yes Mrs Valentine yes Mrs leean yes Mrs Meyer yes you may I have a motion to approve
073the resolution to app point Linko Council for the board of education so moved second and Miss Marshall will you talk to us about this uh this is also part of the organizational meeting so was the uh calendar and the design for records official but um so we work with Bricker Gren formerly Bricker and Eckler as our general counsel say they advise us on pretty much all matters um outside of uh Board of revisions and property tax exemptions in which case we work with Rich and Gillis for that okay sounds good I mean all right you can take the vote Mrs opman yes Mrs Valentine yes Mrs Davidson yes Mrs Meyer yes Mrs lean yes and may I have a motion to approve the agreement with Triad Architects for design and construction administrative Administration services for
074the Genoa Middle School track replacement project so moved second wel Miss Dennis well good evening president Meyer uh vice president Le ban members of the board superintendent Hamburg and Treasurer Marshall I am going to at least speak to 15.06 and 15.07 together because they are uh similar project agreement resolutions um these resolutions in front of you this evening are authorizing approval um of an agreement with Triad Architects to provide design and related construction Administration services for the Genoa and Walnut Springs Middle School track Replacements um these capital projects are in alignment with the district's facility's preventative maintenance and repair plan and the approved scope and purpose of the pr permanent Improvement funds say that five times fast um it is recommended that the Board of Education approved these resolutions for triot Architects to provide design
075and related construction Administration services for both the Genoa and Walnut Springs Middle School track Replacements and I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have just as a reminder how old is the wet Springs track right now now you know we were actually looking at that just prior to the board I have not been able to locate a date for it right now so so I could have been there it's possible last time I was I do provide top coating patching as necessary so please understand that we do take care of these services but it is time to replace this and that was just a thing I wanted to to ask you to emphasize so um this when we look at Trace track replacement it's a safety issue so obviously they have been patched
076but when they get to the point of needing replaced um when kids are running on them we're really trying as we talked about those um Capital Improvement projects earlier really examining is this something we need to do right now or is this something that can be put off and these were ones that when they had a professional assessment done of them felt like they really needed to be done at this point for safety reasons correct that is correct and um to understand too that we looked at um bringing these to you at last school year um and ended up doing some patchwor um to get them through the beginning of the season and um wanted to make sure that we got them to you as soon as we could this year great thank you any
077other all right will we take the vote for that one Mrs Valentine yes Mrs Alman yes Mrs Davidson yes this lean yes Mrs Meyer yes and may I have a motion to approve the agreement with Triad Architects for design and construction administrative services for the Walnut Springs Middle School track rep replacement project so moved second Mrs lean yes yes Mrs Mrs Valentine yes Mrs Alman yes Mrs Davidson yes Mrs Meer yes and may I have a motion to approve res the resolution um for approving an agreement with Gandy and Associates for abatement consulting services for the wet Springs Middle School renovations project Hawthorne Elementary School kitchen renovation project Hami Elementary School kitchen renovation project and woodier Elementary um School kitchen renovation project so moved second and Miss Denis will you talk to us about this
078yes good evening again so this resolution in front of you this this evening is authorizing an agreement with Gandy and Associates um to provide abatement consulting services for the kitchen renovation projects at the three elementary schools listed to include Hawthorne Han and woodier elementary schools um as well as a new Ada accessible restroom at Walnut Springs Middle School the scope associated with the three kitchen projects is in full alignment with the phase one of the district's facility master plan um and the approved scope and purpose um of the associated 2019 bond funds so I just want to make sure we differentiate between what was recently on and what we've previously been approved before um The Design Services for these three schools will be also funded from the 19 bond funds the Walnut Springs project is
079being funded out of permanent Improvement funds and is a part of our overall District facilities planning initiative to provide an ADA accessible restroom um in all program related schools throughout the district it is recommended the Board of Education approved the resolution for gandan associates um as the firm has been determined best qualified to per perform these services for the projects and I'd be happy to answer any questions related to this one any questions um can you just briefly state with the the kitchen renovation projects what the needs are there because we're yes so uh you'll be looking at replacing uh flooring ceilings lighting um the Whittier and Hawthorne kitchens used to be full service cooking kitchens and we are looking to restore some of those services within those kitchens as well handby as part of
080the uh Safety and Security initiatives with our um secured entry projects uh we put that in what was forly in that building and remember what the original um use of Han Elementary School was was in a lower level that took the kitchen space um from that building so we are creating a space in the current U cafeteria space um designated for this and given the age of the buildings we will need somebody to make sure that they um are compliant with abatement as necessary great thank you anything else all right will we take the vote Mrs Leia thank you yes Mrs Alman yes Mrs Davidson yes Mrs Valentine yes Mrs Meyer yes and 16.01 we have no public comments so moving along to board comments who would like to go first I'll go ahead and
081um go I prepared some updates from lame duck uh out of the general assembly I know that we've been talking about some of these things both at the state and the federal level but wanted to provide an update for anybody who may not have been paying attention as closely as we were we have something wrong with us um the 135th General Assembly bills that have been signed into law coming out of December lame duck that affect K12 public Ed so hb8 is the so-called parents Bill of Rights or don't say gay Bill depending on which side of the issue you fall um parents are required to be notified of and be allowed to pull their children from any sexuality content in the classrooms this requires schools and teachers to notify parents about any changes to
082their child's mental physical or emotional being such as if they were to seek out counseling if they're questioning their gender identity or identifying as lgbtq plus uh also includes a provision to require public schools to allow kids to leave class to go to religious instruction um the legislature did not set a Statewide law around this but it is leaving it up to individual districts to put a policy in place that will follow uh and allow for this so um civil rights Advocates have informed various media Outlets that they do plan to file a lawsuit against this new law so we will keep an eye on that but in the meantime we've got about 90 days um before those take effect from when they were signed HB 206 uh was a that was passed the superintendant
083have now been given authority to suspend a student indefinitely based on quote eminent and severe endangerment um to be reinstated the student must go through psychological evaluation and even after that the superintendent can deny the student re-entry if they don't think the student has been quote unquote rehabilitated enough uh the reevaluations would occur every 90 days and once again the specific policies around this are to be set by each district um and then HB 571 requires schools from K12 up through University level to include the National Suicide and crisis Lifeline phone number on student ID cards student planners and electronic portals um the Ohio Department of Health has noted suicide is the second leading cause of death for kids ages 10 and up which is shocking um so if you are someone you know uh
084seems to be at risk there are many resources out there one that is specifically for kids teens and their parents is called bpresent ohio.org um and then the last uh thing that I wanted to mention the 136 General Assembly uh was sworn in last Monday so anybody who is newly elected and those reelected were sworn in on Monday um there are already as I think have been mentioned some telling signs that K through2 public education is going to be in the crosshairs of this General Assembly um our new Speaker of the House Matt Huffman who is coming off of a term limited tenure as the Ohio Senate President did tell media Outlets last week that the current bipartisan method of funding our state's Public Schools sometimes known as the fair school funding plan or the
085cup Patterson plan that has been used in the past two banian budgets is quote unsustainable uh so the fair school funding plan when it was implemented in 2021 and I know that um Miss Marshall has gone over this in past sessions uh it was to be set up in three phases each phase covering a 2-year budget cycle over the next six years 2021 on so the 2025 budget should include the third phase of the funding increase to the full prescribed levels per the formula however speaker Huffman has been quoted as saying I don't think there is a third phase to cut Patterson I think those increases in funding are unsustainable we have to look at whether the these dollars are being spent wisely in some districts so that is probably a harbinger of things to
086come from the state legislature uh does not look like they're going to be prioritizing funding for public EDS so with all the talk about us needing to go back on the levy again this is just one more thing that is likely not going to get better with who we have put in place at the state legisl so it matters who sits in these roles um and I think that was it on my legislative updates um I think that's it I might just add call your legislators and educate them about how this could impact our school district but I'll just say uh thanks to everybody for you know again one more time pouring a lot of time and effort into developing materials to help us figure out how how to you know reduce given that the
087community made that request of us and also figuring out how we can move forward so thank you I just want to wish everyone a Happy New Year I hope everyone had a very restful and wonderful holiday break um I too want to thank the community and our incredible team here for working very hard to provide feedback um and further guidance um really looking forward to finishing this Academic School year off wonderfully um I think we've been having a lot of difficult ongoing conversations but just know that we are truly here to listen um and I look and I'm thankful for the appointment this evening to serve as vice president thank you I was gonna also thank the team and say congratulations to the two of you thank you for serving I have one more Shout
088out to make and that is to the um transportation team for dealing with all of the snow yes last week and making sure that our kiddos got to school safely on Tuesday and throughout so welcome welcome back to Winter everybody all right well the board will meet in special session with the City of Westerville on Thursday January 23rd which I think it's this Thursday right oh sorry I don't even know what day it is anymore 20:25 at 7:00 p.m. at at the Early Learning Center in regular session on Monday January 27th 2025 at 6 p.m. at the Early Learning Center which is here 936 East Wind Drive Westerville Ohio 43081 and may I have a motion to adjourn so moved second this Alman yes this is Davidson yes Mrs Valentine yes Mrs leian yes Mrs
089Meyer yes we're Jed thank you