August 26, 2024 Board of Education Meeting

001thank you for attending the August 26th 2024 meeting of the Westerville City School's Board of Education this evening's agenda will be displayed on the screens in the front of the room printed agendas are available for our guests or you may find the agenda on your mobile device by connecting to the district's website at www.wcsoh.org click on the our district link select Board of Education and then follow the board docs link to our current meeting agenda there will be two opportunities to address the board this evening the first being agenda item 6.01 the first set of comments is relative to agenda item 7.01 through 11.02 please State the agenda items you're referencing at the beginning of your comments and then the second opportunity is agenda item 12.01 there's a signup sheet located on theable in the

002back of the room each speaker will have 5 minutes to address the board a timer will be shown on the screen and with that Miss Marshall would you please call the role Mrs Davidson here Dr D Baker here Mrs Valentine here Mrs Alman here Mrs Meyer is absent yeah she regrets she's not here but she's ill this evening so okay so moving on to agenda item 2.01 please join me for the Pledge of Allegiance I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liy and justice for all all right and moving on um to three District highlights and recognitions um we love love love love love this one um agenda item 3.01 is summer graduation we are so

003thrilled to have some summer graduates with us so I'd love to pass it off to miss Baldwin thank you good evening vice president Altman members of the board superintendent Hamburg and Mrs Marshall I have the honor welcoming you and our visitors this evening to the Westerville City School's summer 2024 graduation ceremony we are excited to recognize these students who have recently completed their graduation requirements and will be receiving their high school diploma this evening after our superintendent confers the diplomas each of our high school administrators including Westerville Central's assistant principal Eric Nichol Westerville North assistant principal Shaina Wade Argus and Westerville South principal mikenzie will come forward to congratulate and recognize graduates from their building graduates as your names are called you'll come up and be recognized by our board and audience this evening all

004right and that will have the conferring of the diplomas vice president Alman and members of the Board of Education honored guests and proud families of the graduates of Westerville Central Westerville North and Westerville South High Schools the state of Ohio establishes in law two requirements for earning a high school diploma number one the successful completion of a rigorous academic curriculum and number two successful completion of all state Ohio graduation requirements the administration of Westerville City schools has verified and the board of education has unanimously approved their candidacy earlier this school year for graduation and so it is with great pleasure as superintendent of Westerville City schools that I confer to each graduate a Westerville City School's high school diploma thank you [Applause] I feel weird talking this way but um we'll do this hey I'm

005Eric Nicholl I'm one of the assistant principles at Westerville Central High School uh tonight we wanted to thank um superintendent Hamburg and uh treasur Nicole Marshall and our board of education for allowing us the opportunity to celebrate our students uh that have tried so hard and have now completed um that trail of graduation at Westerville Central we basically we have a Warhawk blueprint uh that we survived by and that is to purs pursue greatness daily be better together and to own it uh those are our three pillars that we survive on and all three of our graduates uh that are graduating this summer are definitely examples of all three of those I'm going to specifically talk about Kion Heyman very quickly uh just because he is here I had the pleasure of being his admin

006uh when we were at Central and I tell you there's not a person at Central that survived through those pillars than Kion uh Relentless pursuit of growth every day came and fought and got through adversity and found ways to get it done and which is awesome anytime he needed help better together he came and got help and he would just rely on the people around him to get through all this and the last part was own it a lot of people give up and they don't finish and Kion owned it and that's why he's here today so thank you so much for letting me speak on his behalf and thank you [Applause] [Music] [Applause] vice president Alman m members of the Board of Education superintendent Hamburg good evening my name is Shaina Wade Argus I

007am the assistant principal at Westerville North High School it is my pleasure to a to be able to publicly say congratulations to all of our graduates tonight and wish um them luck on all that they do in the future to our graduates on behalf of the entire Westerville North learning community and all our other District employees that have affected your life please accept our congratulations for your accomplishment we are very proud of all of the Central warhawks North Warriors and South Wildcats who are becoming alumni this evening I encourage you to continue to push yourself and keep moving forward regardless of the obstacles sometimes failure is an opportunity sometimes it's an opportunity to grow or get better and it will teach you how to succeed always keep the Warrior Way in the front of your

008mind once a warrior always a warrior congratulations again and please know how proud We Are of you great work it is now my pleasure to introduce you to our new graduate Aiden Christopher for Duran [Applause] good afternoon everybody I'm Mike heny the principal at Westerville South High School and I'm here to recognize Westerville South's graduates neither of who could be here this afternoon superintendent Hamburg Treasurer Marshall and members of the board of education thank you for inviting us to recognize our graduates this afternoon and to all of our graduates from Central north and south today on behalf of the staff and students at West South High School we are proud of you for demonstrating perseverance in your efforts to earn your high school diploma not only have you challenged yourself to meet the rigorous requirements

009set forth by the state of Ohio and Westerville City Schools but you have done it through difficult circumstances never losing sight of your goals an education is something that lasts a lifetime and a high school diploma is something that you can never lose we look forward to seeing what you accomplished in your next chapter of Life congratulations and although neither could be here tonight I did want to read the names of South's graduates they are Nur abashir and Ahmed new thank you [Applause] this time our grad our new I should say our new alumni and your families are welcome to join Miss Boss out in the lobby for photos and you're welcome to come back after if you'd like to stay for the rest of the meeting but you're also welcome to enjoy yourselves and

010celebrate the rest of the evening thank you so much for being here [Applause] okay moving on to agenda item I have to look 3.02 the recognition of Dr Nancy Nester Baker okay so this is a moment that you have to have some notes for because Nancy has done so many things so forgive me but I have some notes we wanted to take time to recognize Dr Nancy Nester Baker who after 25 years of service is bidding farewell to her career as a board of education member for the school district tonight few things about Nancy Nancy is the longest serving female board member in the history of the district ser serving on the board from 1991 to 2005 I do sometimes like to point out I was in high school when she started not young and

011from 2014 to now during that time she has served six terms as board president and four terms as vice president she's also a product of the district having lived most of her life in Westerville she graduated from Westerville High School in 1974 I won't say that's the year I was born and I did graduate early well there you go there you go so uh and as an honored member of the Westerville South Alumni Hall of Fame Nancy your passion your dedication and your commitment has made a significant impact on this district and our community including all of us who've graduated from Westerville schools so thank you thank you for all you've done to make Westerville City Schools a place where everyone belongs we're excited for the new adventures that lie ahead of you and wish

012you all the best in your next chapter so thank you Nancy we have a small small token of appreciation because um this is a 25th anniversary um it is espcially chosen for that silver so for the silver anniversary [Applause] and we would love to hear from you so I'm going to step aside thank you all so very much and thank you all oh my goodness a sign and another sign thank you all so so very much and other oh my goodness so I don't have a flowery speech um I kind of put it off and now it's too late so what you will hear is what's on my heart right now in the last two weeks so many people have come forward to share a thought a memory good wishes a smile a hug it

013has been utterly flabbergasting to hear from so many of you and I thank you forever for every smile for every hug for every word they mean the world you know we we talk a lot about this being a school system that's simply not sufficient this is a a place of people without all of the incredible people the variety of people the wonderful passion of people there would be no system it is the people who make up the schools who make up the system it is all of us together a lot of people have said oh my goodness you must have seen a lot of change in the time that you've been on the board yeah there has been a lot of change much of it wonderful some of it very challenging but there is much

014more much deeper that hasn't changed we are still who we have always been we are still a community that cares deeply about its children about its students about its schools about the lifeblood of its Community whether we agree on this thing or that thing or we don't it is us and that doesn't change so our Bedrock remains solid and I hope that it does for many many years to come it has been a joy to be part of all this to be part of you and I thank you I thank you all and that's enough [Applause] getting my work out tonight okay moving on to four reports we have 4.01 the employee Wellness Plan and Miss Bishop is here to tell us about that thank you so much for joining us this evening good evening

015vice president Altman members of the board superintendent Hamburg and Mrs Marshall thank you for allowing me to present the district's employee Wellness Plan for the 2024 25 school year the employee wellness program is an initiative to improve and promote the health and well-being of our employees we recognize the benefits of Wellness initiatives for the employees of Westerville City Schools and aim to provide information and opportunities that can improve their physical mental and Financial Health the employee wellness program is funded by a credit of administrative fees by Anthem our health insurance carrier and all funds are run through the district self-insurance fund not through the general fund before you is an overview of the programming available to our staff for this school year opportunities are available at no cost to staff and some opportunities have a

016have an incentive offered for completion uh using feedback gained through two survey sent to staff during the 23 24 school year we are working to highlight the topics of interest to our employees increase our available challenges and Westerville education day offerings and provide more information about General Wellness or Insurance programs and our employee assistant program off offerings and at this time I'm happy to answer any questions you may have thank you Miss Bishop any questions great thank you so much for your great work on that um I think it's really valued by our employees so thanks um and then moving on to 4.02 we have the superintendent report M HG thank you very much vice president Alman I just have a few items this evening I'd like to start by congratulating our new graduates and

017also a big congratulations to Dr Nester Baker on your time served on the board I didn't get to work with you very long obviously but um appreciate the support and the time that I was able to spend with you in that role um do have a few thank yous I'd like to thank our staff and our students and all of our families to for a great start to the school year um it's hard to believe our last meeting two weeks ago we hadn't even had the first day and now it feels like we've already been back at it for a while um I do want to address we did have to do a modified schedule today um due to some Transportation issues and so I just wanted to share um you know that's always a

018challenge for us when we have to do that I know um our transportation director just presented on this last meeting and we talked about how that's something we try to avoid um but unfortunately due to the the shortages that we have sometimes doing that early release at least Keeps Us in school and keeps us from having to cancel school or from having to scale back um to the state minimums on Transportation so we appreciate everyone's patience on that as we continue to um do our best to try to get those routes covered and then I wanted to point out we had some handouts at the back um we do have a ballot issue on I know we've presented on that different times but that is November 5th there is information on the back table if

019you didn't see that when you came in and we also have our website up and running for the ballot issue so I would encourage you to check that out there's a button right on that main page as well as information there about our community forums that we will be having over the next month if you have any questions please feel free to reach out on that and that's all I have tonight thank you great thank you so much and so we're going to move on to I might need my glasses here so I can read this uh to 5.01 one um may I have a motion in a second to approve the minutes of the regular Board of Education meeting held on Monday August 12th 2024 still moved second any changes comments edits okay Miss

020Marshall would you please call the role Dr n Baker yes Mrs Valentine yes Mrs Davidson yes Mrs Atman I'm GNA abstain because I wasn't here although I did watch it thank you great thank thank you okay and moving on to 6.01 our first set of public comments um we do have one person signed up for those so for for this set of public comments uh comments offered at this point on the agenda are reserved to relative to agenda items 7.01 to 11.02 each speaker will have 5 minutes to address the board please State the agenda item that you're referencing at the beginning of your comment a timer will be shown on the screens and Mr Dorne will call time when 5 minutes has elapsed as always please keep your comments professional avoid the use of

021inappropriate language and refrain from identifying individuals in the event of a complaint please address your comments to the board and not to the audience and so we have one person signed up and that is Phyllis magold okay please come to the podium and um please just make sure that the um the microphone is on there's a little if you it says push right there if you'll just if the green light's not on hello hello okay yeah thank you thank you um I wasn't sure whether I'm appropriate for the number on the agenda but uh the assistant superintendent told me I could talk so um I'm so happy to be here tonight Dr Baker to honor you and to thank you for 25 years of service to the students and parents and staffs of Westerville City

022Schools your stamp is on every major success that the school district has achieved over the last three decades four new school buildings awardwinning curricula Community Cooper cooperation passage of levies inspirational and motivational speeches to students and faculty steering us through contentious redistricting all of these were done under your watch most of them were a result of your leadership your legacy of success and dedication will be unmatched for many years to come you and I have often disagreed on District issues remember yes I true sometimes vehemently but never ever ever have I doubted your integrity and your commitment to the students of Westerville City Schools I have always viewed your actions and I have viewed all of them to be ethical and intelligent now here it comes knowing all of this imagine my shock as I

023watched the school board meeting last year when two School born members stared at you with oh so selfish righteousness and indignation as they accused you of being unethical and good Lord they even implied she committed a felony a felony I have observed and been active with many school boards over the years and I will tell you that I have never heard anything more stupid at a Schoolboard meeting so miss m I'm just going to remind you um I didn't mention any names no I know just well you know appropriate language and not name calling I didn't mention any names thank you thank you and now I lost my place um well I'm going to continue um okay as I watched the video of the meeting I realized it was not only what I previously said

024I believe it was vindictive I believe it was mean I had always hoped that Westerville would not be touched by the malevolent environment that has seeped through political discourse but that school board meeting showed me that we are not above that evil fry just to be clear for those who may not have been aware Dr Baker cast a yes vote for contracts awarded to a list of people people as it happened a family member was on that list the motion passed unanimously that means that Dr Baker's vote had no bearing on the outcome it would have passed without her vote only takes three votes there were five and yet despite Dr Baker's 25 years of service without Scandal or a hint of unethical Behavior despite the fact that her vote had no bearing on the

025outcome of the contracts members of the board decided to go after her and they filed a breach of Ethics complaint with the State Board of ethics and made sure that news venues covered the story to include the possible and ridiculous accusation of felony and how did you handle the situation Dr Baker you handled it like you have handled every single conflict and issue that you have come across in the past 25 years you handled it with Grace and dignity you spent your past year as a board member doing what you had always done working endlessly for the betterment of Westerville schools I took a look at your Facebook page and began to read the hundreds of people who expressed their gratitude one of them stood out and I'd like to read that Dear Nancy I

026don't know of anyone who so exemplifies the spirit of Westerville as you have for these many years you have given selflessly to not only our kids through our schools but our entire community and we are a better City because of you I don't know of anyone who so deserves to retire knowing you did a job well done and I also don't know of anyone who will be missed more I join Nancy with the hundreds of people who have messaged you with the many people here tonight and the thousands thousands thousands not hundreds thousands of people who have voted for you and placed their trust in you throughout the years we know you we appreciate you and we acknowledge the outstanding Legacy of success and dedication you have achieved thank you Nancy Nester Baker for your

027impeccable ethical behavior and contributions to Westville City [Applause] Schools I don't think so okay thank you okay thank you and we are going to move move on to seven our financials 7.01 um could I please have a motion and a second to approve the financial report and Investments for June and July of 2024 so moved second Miss Marshall yes thank you vice president Alman members of the board so we have two months to go over um this month because we only had one meeting uh last month month uh so for the June 30 which is actually the end of our fiscal year uh 2024 for the general fund we had year-to-date receipts of 27.4 million and year-to-date expenditures of 2 35.7 million we ended with an unencumbered general fund balance of 156.000 for year-to-date uh

028receipts for all funds we had 334.12 dat expenditures of 345.8 million and we ended with unencumbered fund balance for all funds totaled uh million uh for the month of July which is the first month of the new fiscal year fiscal year 2025 for our general fund our general operating fund uh we had year-to-date receipts of uh I'm sorry this is I have this 42.4 million and then year monthly expenditures of 72.2 million uh we ended with an unencumbered fund balance of 168.75 .2 million and year-to-date expenditures for all funds of 23.7 million and we ended with an unencumbered fund balance for all funds totaled 231.50 Mrs opman yes okay and then moving on to 7.02 may I have a motion and a second to approve the purchases in accordance with orc an invoice date um

029anything in excess of $3,000 requires board approval in order for us to pay it we have two presented to you this evening uh one is for our food service department for an annual fee for the point of sale service through Titan software and uh this was just a case of where the vendor changed the billing date it had historically been in July and they moved or had been in August and they moved it to July so that uh purchase order was opened later and we do have the funds budgeted for that out of our food services fund and then our uh we have one for the Franklin County Board of Developmental Disabilities uh for our preschool department and this was for transportation for out of District placement for some of our students and the original

030purchase order just was not enough to cover the full purchase we ended up having a greater need than what we anticipated uh the funds again were budgeted um but just not put into the purchase order in time so I'm happy to answer any questions you have okay there any questions no ready to take a vote thanks Dr ner Baker yes Mrs Valentine yes Mrs Davidson yes Mrs opman yes it's approved and then moving on to eight the Personnel consent agenda um could we take 8.01 to 8.09 or do we need to pull any sections out okay to take it okay can I have a motion and a second to approve 8.01 through 8.09 so moved second okay and Mr Cooper Welcome yes good evening vice president Alman members of the board Miss Marshall and Miss

031Hamburg this evening's Personnel consent agenda includes action items with regard to resignations contract status changes onetime pays and other employment related decisions I have an exceptionally short uh presentation for you this evening but just wanted to take a moment to thank each of our coaches advisers and volunteers for the work they're doing this year to provide extracurricular and co-curricular opportunities for our students so many individuals as noted in the approvals this um under item 8.09 this evening given incredible amount of hours of their time to our students and student athletes and I just wanted to take a moment to extend our gratitude for the work that they do at this time I'm happy to take any questions you may have other questions none for me no great thank you so much Miss Marshall Mrs Davidson

032yes Mrs Valentine yes Dr Nester Baker yes Mrs Atman yes and moving on to number nine old business we have 9.01 uh may have a motion a second for the uh approval of this is the final reading on policy 2266 non-discrimination on the basis of sex and education programs or activities so moved second are there any comments or questions or Okay can call the RW Mrs Valentine yes Mrs Davidson yes Dr Nester Baker yes Mrs Alman yes and then 9.02 we need a motion in a second uh this is the final reading for policy 51110 one homeless students so moved second any comments or questions okay ready for vote Mrs Davidson yes Dr Nester Baker yes Mrs Valentine yes Mrs Alman yes and moving on to 10 uh new business we have none this evening

033so we move to 11 standing business 11.01 may I have a motion and a second to approve [Music] donations so moved second Miss Marshall you have anything to Yes uh so I sorry I'm don't I do not have a pull up in front of me but we have a total of 16,000 8935 uh so far this year and again first month of the year so great um last year prior total received was $3,669 15 just we have a very generous Community very thankful for yep thank you okay ready for vote Dr Mr Baker yes Mrs Davidson yes Mrs Valentine yes Mrs opman yes and 11.02 can I have a motion and a second on the settlement agreement so moved second any comments or questions please call the vote Mrs Davidson yes Dr Nester Baker yes

034Mrs Valentine yes Mrs Salman yes and moving on oh thank you pages okay okay now we are moving on to section 12 public comments um let me myself reorganized I have a lot of papers up here okay this is the second set of public comments ments um and so for this set of public comments each speaker will have 5 minutes to address the board a timer will be shown on the screens and Mr Dorne will call time when five minutes has elapsed um please keep your comments professional I like to remind myself to speak as I would in front of children um avoid the use of inappropriate language and refrain from identifying individuals in the event of a complaint please address your comments to the board and not to the audience um we do have

035a lot of people signed up tonight um it's oh I don't know some number of pages that is something like 3 four five um we would be here for hours if everyone took their whole five minutes so I'm just going to stay that up front um so what we're going to ask is that if a speaker before you has already expressed what you plan to say um please feel free to get up and let us know that you agree with that speaker give us your name your address let us you agree with them and feel free to just take your seat and we will note that that's um the opinion that you wish to express on that so also if you have handouts please give them to Mr Dorne um he will get them to

036us he's got a nice little folder to put them all in and we also ask that uh just because we have such a we have a long list here we want to keep order um that you refrain from shouting out or expressive noise so that we can hear the speakers and so that we can move quickly okay so that said we are going to get started and I will try not to lose our place on here um please forgive me ahead of time if I have trouble reading your writing so if I ask you to help me pronounce your name please understand that's um uh I'll appreciate that help so okay so our first speaker is Ashley fishbach and please correct me if I pronounce your name in correctly thank you good evening Vice president

037Altman members of the school board and superintendent Hamburg thank you for your time I look to you with respect and as prominent and important leaders in our community my name is Ashley Fishback I have called Westerville home for 40 years I attended Westerville City Schools K through 12 and my husband and I now have two boys who are on track to do the same over the years I have been an Elementary classroom mom a Kings Island band trip chaperon a career day Pres presenter and a concession stand helper I am a cardiac ICU nurse and I love my profession that takes care of any human being that comes through our doors I share these things to hopefully provide context additionally I am the assistant director of LifeWise Westerville as part of my role I observed

038all 30 LifeWise classes that serve 297 students last year these classes are wholesome uplifting and fun I we highly esteem our team and only approve of team members that I would feel comfortable and confident working with my own children or my nieces and nephews I have lost track of how many students have told me their LifeWise day is their favorite day of the week I am personally addressing the board tonight because it is a matter of public record that one of our school board members openly shared her regret of the LifeWise Westerville program the implication of such a comment puts the release time for religious instruction policy at risk the RTI policy was adopted by the school board in 2009 and revised in 2016 lifea Western did not require board approval to begin the program

039in 2022 because the RT Pro policy was already in place and we operate soundly under Ohio law I value the district's RTI policy and it would be damaging to the Westerville Community at at large if it was rescinded I'd like to draw your attention to the fact that LifeWise Westerville aligns with the goals and purposes of Westerville City Schools and its strategic plan the basic purposes of public schools are outlined on your Westerville Schoolboard website one of these purposes is and I quote to help each student develop an appreciation for personal worth LifeWise absolutely does this complimentary to this is the fourth dimension of the Westerville school's strategic plan it says this community parents students and staff are engaged as partners LifeWise aims to be a positive and peaceful partner in our community and an

040optional engaging choice for parents and students it is important to remember that we can hold more than one thing in our hands I hold in my hands respect and love toward all people I also hold a strong personal belief that Jesus is Lord his birth death resurrection and promised return matter to me on a daily basis because I can hold more than one thing if you do not agree with my personal belief that is okay in response I still extend respect and neighborly love this is what we teach in our LifeWise classrooms I have been perplexed with how LifeWise have been portrayed recently there is no hidden agenda the LifeWise character trait of Love is defined as this choosing to support and care for others whether or not they deserve it and the LifeWise character

041trait of respect is defined as recognizing the worth and value of something handling it with intentional care it is also important to remember that we can have Unity without uniformity I am unified with the school district's motto to be a place where you belong by its very nature longing demands diversity my family is an international family 50% of my family a for hold to citizenship I value diversity I see it as a strength to Westerville and it is something I look for in a school district where you belong will not look the same for every student but I too want every student to have their special place of belonging one student may find their belonging at LifeWise while another student finds their belonging in music or art or sports or elsewhere I celebrate that and

042I urge you to do the same thank you thank you very much uh next on our next on our list we have Ross adman is that correct otan ottoman sorry that's fine that's an eel got it I answer to a lot of things um vice president superintendent Bor thank you for your service it's an honor to speak to you today my name is Ross otman I have had the pleasure of being the lead pastor at Quest Vineyard Church for the last 15 years uh the majority of my congregation is Westerville uh school district and they have asked me to speak on their behalf tonight uh additionally I am the one who brought the pastors of Westerville together to actually begin LifeWise Academy in Westville and I know you've heard many negative opposition comments uh of

043late to LifeWise almost entirely misunderstood must misunderstandings misrepresentations of what LifeWise is teaching and honestly misunderstandings of constitutional principles as you sift through these voices of conflict I urge you to focus on the central issue at hand it is the heart of democracy democracy is founded on protecting the people's voices to express their beliefs and their and and and and say it without penalty this freedom is safeguarded by the separation of church and state ensuring that state neither imposes a specific relig religion nor does it impede the exercise of Faith the Supreme Court has clearly repeatedly affirmed that release time religious instruction like LifeWise does not in any way violate The Establishment Clause instead RT programs justly respect the rights of parents who voluntarily choose to have their children participate it's voluntary no one's forced

044with the state's role being one of accommodation not endorsement in other words the state's role is to actively work to protect these rights these freedoms and to not take sides and that means a certain amount of administrative cost is involved in the state's duty to protect these rights and without that administrative cost these rights will not be protected as someone that extensive theological education in including two master's degrees and a doctorate from regionally accredited top 20 institutions I can assure you that the concerns about LifeWise as a cult of some have said or as a smokes screen for a political agenda are unfounded and completely disconnected from reality the curriculum used is used by one of the most prominent Publishers in America there are somewhere between 100,000 and 200,000 churches in America who use this

045curriculum regardless of whether they fully agree or from different streams of Faith within the credition Christian tradition additionally I personally witnessed um students who would typically ignore classmates with disabilities or social awkwardness who because of LifeWise teaching on loving your neighbor as yourself now actually active Reach Out actively reach out to them and we have some of those people who are in our church now who before were isolated and now they are actually included in meaningful loving caring relationships I can't think of a a healthier form of inclusion than that still with all that said and all the noise this decision comes down to one Central issue namely upholding the Supreme Court and the State of Ohio's wellestablished guidelines is a legal obligation if not a moral one of this board to strip the freedom

046from 14 churches in Westerville who support LifeWise and the many other churches whose Children and Families have chosen to have their children go to LifeWise representing thousands of Voters and tens tens of thousands of people in our community would be tanont to not denying them their constitutionally protected choice and would raise serious questions about the board's commitment to democratic values see ultimately this isn't about whether you and I share the same beliefs it's about protecting all citizens rights including those present who oppose LifeWise to strip the right would set a dangerous precedent it would mean whichever power comes to P whichever entity comes to power in this board could strip whoever they disagree with of their right to free freedom of religion and freedom of speech so I respectfully urge you to maintain the religious

047release time instruction policy allow LifeWise and any other institutions that want to do the same thing to thrive within our community in the future regardless of their beliefs because that's what protecting freedom of speech and freedom of beliefs is about it's not about what beliefs are expected it's about the ability to protect those thank you for your time for your consideration thank you Mr Adelman and next we have Don green y'all can hear me Don green okay good evening vice president Altman Schoolboard and the superintendent Hamburg my name is Don green and my kids attend Westerville City Schools I wanted come to speak to you today because of the misinformation that was brought to the last board meeting two of my children have attended LifeWise for the past 2 years my son is in a

048specialized learning unit and at first when I went to sign up my daughter for LifeWise I questioned them and was like I don't know if you'll take him because he special needs but they open they welcomed him with open arms and he definitely does have a different communication style so his sister was not at the same time but they still allowed him to come and he thrived in this program so I can definitely say that LifeWise is very inclusive the following Year my son stayed in the program but unfortunately we had to move my daughter back to her home school one of the biggest reasons my daughter didn't want to go back to her home school is because it did not have LifeWise and every week I listen to both of my daughters ask me

049when LifeWise will be in their school even though LifeWise is biblically biblically based it teaches great character traits that I believe every child should be displaying in school whether they are Christian or not like love respect compassion honesty forgiveness and kindness I can also say that my children are friends and interact with non-believers others with other religious beliefs and members of the LBGTQ Community we have also hosted foreign exchange students in our home for the past two years and I am very adamant to include anything that they that inclusivity is very important to me and it is important for me for them to respect and understand others that see things differently than them if any other organization would do something like LifeWise does by transporting children to an outside organization to practice their religious rights

050during nonacademic time I don't think it would be questioned so why are we questioning something that has been in place since 2009 way before LifeWise even existed I really hope that you take heart the good that LifeWise does in our community and continue to let it thrive in Westerville as an opportunity for students thank you so much for your time thank you Miss green and next we have Becky leech Seymour we go welcome good evening my name is Becky leech Seymour I am a resident of Westerville and the parent of a four-year-old who will be entering kindergarten in 2025 my spouse spouse and I are both from Central Ohio and after living abroad for a number of years we moved back to Ohio to be near our family when we were house hunting Westville was

051one of the only suburbs that we considered buying a house in because we were very excited about it diversity and the excellent schools my family loves to travel and learn about new countries people and cultures in addition to spending five years living abroad my daughter and spouse are dual citizens of both the United States and Italy we were very excited to learn that Emerson Elementary a magnet school focused on developmentally developing globally aware and responsible World citizens is just a short walk from our new home we plan to enter our daughter into the lottery for Emerson when she reach his first grade when it was announced that Emerson Elementary would be one of the first schools in Westerville to allow LifeWise Academy to remove students during the school day for Bible class I immediately began

052paying attention I was raised Evangelical Christian and I attended private religious schools here in central Ohio for almost all of my education so I am very familiar with the Evangelical Christianity that guides LifeWise Academy and I'm very concerned I'm concerned because LifeWise Academy was not created to serve Christian families it is first and foremost an Outreach Ministry evangelizing a specific brand of Christianity to children at a time when their parents and Guardians are not present the LifeWise website says that their work is to and I'm quoting directly from the website reach unchurched public school students with the gospel this is further reinforced by the many examples we have of a aggressive recruitment at community and school events and children who attend LifeWise being encouraged to recruit their classmates with Promises of candy ice cream and

053pizza parties and I don't know about you guys but there's not much my kid wouldn't do for any of those things our Public Schools should be safe spaces for students and families of all faiths instead LifeWise is turning them into their mission field I'm concerned about the children whose families do not send them to LifeWise I am sadly not surprised by the stories that we are hearing of students using what they have learned at LifeWise to bully others particularly our lgbtq plus students and staff my own family has experienced this particular trauma firsthand my brother came out when he was in high school when my family chose to embrace and affirm him our Evangelical Church community shunned us we were no longer welcome in our community and I am very grateful that he found a

054safe space with his friends and teachers at a public school many of our Westerville students come from non-traditional families or are themselves members of the lgbtq plus community and they deserve to feel safe and accepted in their schools the final concern I would like to share today is for our magnet schools family choose families choose to enter their children in a lottery to attend a magnet school as an alternative to their assigned school I'm concerned about families choosing Emerson and Hami not for their unique educational experience but because they want their children to have access to religious training how does that impact the culture of our magnet schools are we turning them into the district's unofficial Christian Schools this possibility has led our family to reconsider entering our daughter in the lottery for Emerson in

055favor of her assigned Elementary School which does not yet offer LifeWise I believe it's important to learn about many faiths and Rel religions that are practiced in our community and around the world I believe it's important for our public schools to respect and allow for the practice of each student's Faith but I don't think it's appropriate to allow an organization to have access to our schools with the goal of converting unchurched children their words to their religion thank you next we have Alyssa Jones Alyssa Jones thanks hello vice president Alman members of the school board and superintendent Hamburg thank you for your time my name is Lissa Jones I'm the parent of two children in Westerville City Schools a fifth grader and a third grader next year we'll add a kindergartner based on a board

056member's recent comments about LifeWise I'd just like to share my experience when our family first moved to Westerville I was pleased to discover that since 2009 the district has had a release time policy allowing students to be dismissed during the school day for religious instruction this is great news as it reflects Westerville City School's commitment to recognizing and accommodating the diverse needs of the families it serves from a neutral position so thank you by maintaining a release time policy the school board acknowledges that every family is unique you are welcoming families of all backgrounds and empowering parents to make choices that best align with their values and beliefs I see tremendous value in my children attending Public Schools where they form friendships with and hear new ideas from people who don't look like them who

057don't think like them and who don't worship like them as a Christian parent I see a tremendous benefit in having the option for my children to leave school during the day and legally attend Bible classes once a week we've chosen LifeWise Academy as our means for this religious instruction and we've seen our children's personal growth in biblical qualities like truthfulness humility gratitude and forgiveness despite what you my rate on the internet LifeWise has no hidden agenda and it's not a political movement LifeWise simply provides parents with the ability to choose religious instruction for their children during school hours the expectation should not be that release time is only permitted if the religious instruction is diluted to the point where it becomes generic and inoffensive to those who hold this who do not hold the same

058beliefs release time programs are a non-compulsory option providing meaningful religious education based on the beliefs of the participating families to remove a release time policy simply because not everyone believes in a specific Doctrine or to do so in response to misinformation and fear tactics would be a slap in the face to religious families like mine to do so is to take a radically anti-religious stance I unashamedly follow Jesus but I want to be clear that having a release time policy is not just about LifeWise it's not just about Christianity release time is a long standing and legally protected opportunity that's embraced by 75% of school districts across Ohio protecting not only Christians but our Jewish Muslim and Hindu friends too I ask that you continue to honor religious liberty and respect the diversity of Westerville

059families by upholding the release time policy thank you thank you Miss John and next is Drew [Applause] cut I hope that's corrects Kuts got it Mr Kuts thank you I have to hold this up a little bit thanks Bor um I don't really have a speech um I heard about this yesterday and thought I needed to speak I wasn't born in Westerville I never attended schools here wasn't even born in this country but um I have two sons and two stepsons who uh came through this school district and they loved it thanks to all of you had a piece of that and you too so they they got a real jump start into life and they're doing great and you all can sleep well at night knowing that there's thousands of kids that you've done

060that and my my two kids are are very autistic as I think I am I've never been diagnosed but asked my friends and family they say yeah probably a autistic so John um not to say his name but he's he's barely verbal he can speak a little bit and he loves um the Lord he just lights up when I ask him about Jesus he he just loves it my son David my oldest is gay and he doesn't believe and both are fine they're I love them to death we have some very interesting questions David has stumped me more than once well he's such a smart kid he's so much smarter than I am he reminds me all the time but uh they're definitely included and uh and he has nothing against uh religion especially not

061against Jesus now I have as many problems with some Christians as the lady mentioned earlier rightfully so we have our our piece of that uh blame uh for people not acting Christlike and not being inclusive and and I know a lot of the people LifeWise and I volunteered there I I love it they uh they have one period that they can the the parents allow their kids voluntarily to go and get some Biblical teaching I was also a single dad with two autistic children and any single mom or parent can tell you you're you're just tread in water you're by yourself I learned um that the planning of the week is so much more taxing than the actual going shopping and making food it's it's the burden of that never goes away so really didn't

062have a lot of extra time to do Biblical teaching with my boys I was just trying to get them fed and get them to bed and get them up and have their supplies and just just keep my sanity um as any single parent would know it's it's a tough way to go so having something like this program where a lot of single parents and there are thousands in this school district that volunteer to send their kids there it's not just the 297 number there's lots of life wises around and thousands of parents choose to send their kids to give them a little bit of of the light of Christianity and the inclusion there's nothing more inclusive in the world than Jesus saying everyone's welcome every single man woman a child gay straight doesn't matter slave

063free you're all welcome um to come with me and it's a great organization um the organization is perfect um the accusations there's always a little bit of Truth and and what they say but it it can easily get twisted a little bit to to seem Insidious but I I definitely back as a a single parent with kids who've come through this District I live here now but I'm not from here but I I do recognize that it's something that is a net good um as every even secular the secular scientists and secular education people in the Academia will tell you that Christianity is a net positive to any Community there are definitely Christians that act poorly and it's Christians like many of the ones who are here the majority in this room that would be

064the first ones to call them out on their brothers I have a few racist friends and I plead with them every day that what you're doing is evil it's evil because God made the person and God made their ethnicity so it's a double dose of evil that you're doing with that and so I I really plead the board to allow this to continue uh I'd love to keep volunteering myself and that's that's about all I have to say thank you for your time thank you next we have Virginia [Applause] Davis Virginia Davis and just a reminder because we have such a long list if you feel like someone has said what you already want to say please just let us know that and then feel free to take your seat again thank you thank you

065for having me here uh I am uh not currently a resident of Westerville however I did grow up in Westerville I graduated from Westerville South High School in 74 and uh um I currently don't live in Westerville but I do want to tell you that I'm the director for LifeWise in whiteall and um been doing that for three years now going on our fourth year and um I completely agree with the speakers that have been here uh before me and I'm not going to spend a lot of time but I do want you to know that we had start we started uh three years ago with 15 students with one Elementary we added the second Elementary we've just ended our third year with twoe elementary schools and they are we had uh 598 students we

066served this year and those parents of all those students signed them up and we are in contact with the parents we're improving our parents uh um communication all the time and um we love those kids and we would never do anything to harm them so LifeWise is there and what I would like to do is just anybody in the room that would like to have a um firsthand look at what we do please contact me contact Jennifer jury who's the director here in White in Westerville and we would love to have you come and spend a time a little bit of time just watching what we do so thank you very much thank you okay thank you next is Colin Heasley Colin Heasley most of what I said has already been said so I will

067be very short um I just want to start by saying thank you superintendent school board for all that you do I don't envy what you do I know it comes with a lot of responsibility to make difficult decisions something my wife and I are finding out we have two under two and we're realizing that there are a lot of difficult decisions that come with parenting children with that being being said I recognize that today's educational system has grown and developed Beyond just the public school system parents have countless options with which to educate their children of course I can see how this would present new challenges to you as Schoolboard members as superintendent to this District so I appreciate again all that you do and the decisions that you make I recognize the weight and

068responsibility as I said that comes with parenting and how we choose for our kids from example who they spend their time with to the activities that they're involved with and ultimately the school that they will attend which is why I want to thank you again for allowing something like release time for religious instruction in Westerville City School District I was recently informed that there have been some misunderstandings um as we've heard this evening regarding the LifeWise Pro program so I felt it was important for my voice as a community member to be heard um I actually have been involved with LifeWise for about several years I've sat in countless programs across this state and in other states and it is absolutely amazing to me to hear the positive feedback that not only comes from parents

069to sign their students up from the students but also even from the public Educators within those districts as they have been able to see the things that they're teaching within their classrooms from the character qualities that have been mentioned earlier then are reinforced in a LifeWise program and then how those things are enacted within the classroom and again it is overwhelmingly positive and to me that is something that's remarkable um that a program could have so much positive feedback on that I'm also here because I understand why not every parent would would want to choose something like LifeWise for their student and that's okay however the beauty of release time is twofold number one as has been mentioned it is inclusive it allows any religion to participate in central Ohio there have been another of

070public schools uh one that comes to mind is Upper Arlington in years past has actually had a group of Muslim Students who've been able to utilize release time uh the second thing that makes release time so unique is that it is a choice of each parent whether or not they want to decide for their student to participate so even if there were 30 release time programs a parent can say no to every single one of them there's no doubt in my mind that having the parental choice for release time an inclusive option will continue to strengthen our schools and community and to help reinforce many of the qualities that our public educators are already sharing with their students again I want to thank you for what you do and I also want to thank those

071from the LifeWise program because I recognize that to start something like this they have had to sacrifice their time their talents their finances to make something like this continue and to continue to impact this community for a positive thing thank you thank you and next we have Doug [Applause] ksky thank you I'll give you a little break I'm not going to talk about LifeWise so either way but I am going to talk about the levy that's coming up uh which I'm sure is near and dear to everybody's heart um I am going to say I'm disappointed not unexpectedly uh but nothing's changed in terms of redoing the projections or transferring back the $30 million back to the general operating fund um all that based on student population is down revenue is up um this Levy

072is asking for a 16% increase in our school property taxes a 34 % increase in salaries a 57% increase in benefits on top of the highest inflation the highest interest rates seniors that can't afford to live in the houses that they're at they're going to be asked to spend even more on public schools I like public schools I'm a fan of public schools but to me this one goes Way Beyond where it needs to be if the projections were revised down to what the union contracts are currently en forced for at approximately 3% increases with Benefits that's fine nobody has to lose a job but I think the projections need to come down transfer back the $30 million and we can use that in the operating fund to fund the school system unfortunately because the

07330 million has not been transferred back I've opened up conversations with my state legislators about closing the loophole on being able being able to transfer money from the general operating fund to the capital fund I think it's a loophole that needs to be closed it's received a warm reception and it's going to be another one of those things where Westerville is going to lead but I think in the end I hope that we close that loophole and any other transferring that's allowed to take place because I think it's wrong I think when we vote for a levy to be spent in a certain area it should be spent there it shouldn't be transferred when it's convenient and you want to make a change so I'm just going to State the facts that's what I'm working

074on and I'm going to work real hard to get that changed on top of we've now formed a nice little group to oppose the levy to defeat the levy and I know it the battle has begun which is fine but uh let's just keep it civil and I will see you at the next meeting thanks for your time okay next is Kathy bowler and once again we're just we are just maybe under a quarter of the way through this list so if someone has already said what you'd like to say please feel free to keep it short I will thanks good evening vice president Altman members of the school board and superintendent Hamburg congratulations Dr Nester Baker uh thank you for serving the families of Westerville I appreciate the hard work and diligence it takes

075to lead our district I'm Kathy bowler my husband and I have been in Westerville for over 25 years we have three children that have attended Westerville City Schools from kindergarten through graduation with honors from Central my family loves this community I am here to talk about LifeWise Academy throughout their years in school my children took advantage of the many programs clubs and sports that were offered programs like Lego robotics German club future city chess club to name just a few they learned of these programs from their friends or Flyers posted at school however these programs were not sponsored m managed or funded by the district like LifeWise these programs and clubs were privately funded and managed to the benefit of our children these types of programs were important to my children and many others in

076in their development into young adults programs like these not only help them develop skills for chess and Robotics but more importantly they help them develop their character in areas like respect kindness compassion and confidence it's these character qualities had an enduring positive effect on my children and it's these character qualities that the LifeWise program also teaches I've witnessed this firsthand as a LifeWise volunteer in this District the children who attend LifeWise learn respect honesty and compassion as you've already heard and it's done in the context of Bible stories we're open about that they practice these traits with one another in a fun and loving atmosphere and I have seen shy quiet students at the start of the year they blossom into smiling confident children and as a parent I understand the value of that confidence

077for a child I'm happy to be volunteering in a program that helps other families just like the volunteers who helped my children many years ago in their various extracurriculars and let me tell you about the volunteers teachers and staff child safety is our number one priority volunteers and teachers undergo thorough background checks we're required to complete video and in-person training in a variety of classroom bus procedures Etc to keep the children safe there are strict procedures for transitions from school to LifeWise and back and forth and how to handle any health and safety emergency and I can tell you over the last 20 years volunteering not only in this District but in area programs the training I received as a LifeWise volunteer is much more extensive than any other training or instruction that I am

078received elsewhere I'm certain there are many parents in our district that value the LifeWise program and can see the benefits for their children you've heard from many of them they appreciate having the choice to send their child to learn about the Bible and to learn character qualities it's a program of choice parents must provide permission and it's choice that we're asking you to to maintain thank you very much thank you next is Becca meum good evening board members and attendees my name is Becca meum my family and I reside here in Westerville my son is um actually a preschooler here at the ELC and I'm here tonight to speak about LifeWise solely in regard to students with special needs or behavioral challenges I would like to start by addressing what LifeWise says about students with

079special needs attending their program I'm actually going to Veer away from this because we heard they are inclusive they are happy to have everybody we've heard Amazing Stories even um with children with special needs and that is awesome I'm here more to talk about the qualifications um of the teachers and I'm glad to see the LifeWise claims they are happy to accommodate we've heard that here tonight they're accommodating students with special needs but the truth is they are just simply not equipped to do so classroom teachers and intervention Specialists go through years of education and complete a college degree to be prepared and qualified to work with the students they serve LifeWise teachers only need 2 years of classroom experience and that is classroom experience in a school or a church setting Church setting being

080Sunday school that alone demonstrates that they are not equipped to handle situations that may arise with special need students in their care once a child walks out of the doors of their school they are no longer protected by the policies of that school that were explicitly written to keep students safe in fact liability switches from the school to LifeWise and therein lies the issue LifeWise makes it clear that they are not affiliated with the school and that is the reason they are legally allowed to implement their program during school hours as long as it is off campus and as an unaffiliated third party LifeWise also does not benefit from using School resources as their own when behavior issues would arise once LifeWise assumes liability for students in their program they do not get the luxury

081of the school resources I would like to quote from the LifeWise teacher h book and I quote before possible Behavior conflicts arise determine if there is a school principal counselor or other Personnel who would be willing to receive non-compliant students inform his classroom teacher Andor parent or guardian and explain the situation if a student refuses to follow the rules after being removed from the classroom or becomes non-compliant the student should return to school if the student is non-compliant call the school and ask for assistance to escort the student back to the office uh my my immediate thought was some of them are walking but some of them are busing and how is there kind of enough time for that um LifeWise also has um written in their handbook that their teachers should reach out to

082various members of the school for help should such um situations arise again LifeWise is an unaffiliated third party operating off of school grounds to be so bold as to write about the presumption of school intervention in any way in their handbook is audacious and problematic this would further gray the area between the school and LifeWise as separate entities per Life wise's own claims of being separate from schools resources unavailable to them would include the following students AIDS attending the program with the student communicating with teachers or other school staff regarding children's IEPs 504 plans or other personal documents and collaborating with the school principal about children's behaviors during the program this line is already becoming blurred in a school here in Westerville where a student's Aid spent the last school year attending LifeWise with them

083this Aid is an employee of the school not of LifeWise it is not their job to provide support or time attending a program that is off- campus and unaffiliated with the school and their job title this was very troubling to hear to the matter at hand does LifeWise have protocols for dealing with behavioral issues according to their website like LifeWise class and I quote LifeWise classrooms prioritize the safety and access of each student behavior that compromises either student safety or success is addressed through our Redemptive Behavior policy and two adults volunteer in each classroom with any behavior issues mind you volunteers only need to pass a background check in order to work with students the volunteers are the ones primarily there to help children with special needs yet they hold even fewer credentials than the

084teachers this is extremely concerning in addition this Redemptive Behavior policy was nowhere to be found on their website at least it was not named explicitly however a be Behavior strategy I did find in the teacher handbook States the first approach a teacher should use is to and I quote ask prayer warriors to pray for students with significant behavioral challenges for the LifeWise teacher and the students public school teacher time thoughts and prayers are not a suitable method for dealing with children with special needs thank you next we have Lauren Moore Lauren Moore going to make an additional offer that if you have written comments and you want to abbreviate your verbal comments you can feel free to hand Mr Dorne your written comments and we will read them good evening board members thank you for

085this opportunity to speak on behalf of LifeWise today my name is Lauren and I'm a parent of a third grader and sixth grader in the district I grew up in Westerville and I'm a proud graduate of Westerville City Schools I had the distinct honor of working as the lead interior designer on Wester Village the playground area and the administrative offices in this very building I worked with a team of Architects on all building improvements throughout the district I am deeply invested in Westerville City Schools not only as a former student and parent parent but also as a professional who has contributed to the district I grew up in and remain actively involved with today I first heard about LifeWise in May of 2022 and wanted to learn more so I attended one of the LifeWise

086101 meetings I would encourage anyone with questions or concerns to attend one of these sessions during the informational session I learned that LifeWise teaches and encourages character traits using the gospel such as confidence kindness compassion responsibility love and patience I understand that the district values and believes in the worth and dignity of every person recognizing their right and ability to learn and contribute the district also upholds the principle that every student should have equal opportunities to access and participate in all educational offerings additionally um the district values fostering opportunities embracing diversity and the importance of lifelong learning from from and with each other LifeWise provides a unique a unique opportunity for all children offering them a moment in their day to focus on what they believe and value alongside peers who share similar beliefs and

087values LifeWise is inclusive and welcomes all students with their parents' permission in my opinion LifeWise program comes alongside the district in their mission vision and values my family has been praying for LifeWise to be available at our children's school I have witnessed firsthand the success of LifeWise at other schools in the district and believe it enhances the social and emotional well-being of the students who attend these students are learning through God's love to be kinder more loving and compassionate what if the result is that they are filled with more hope and joy what if they develop greater patience and self-control I believe the impact could be that more students have a positive experience during their school day because they are learning to love each other better I wholeheartedly support LifeWise in its mission to nurture

088the hearts and minds of our youth thank you thank you next is Mary Milton Sanchez hope I'm reading that correctly going to assume it's you have a long walk yeah yeah thank you to the board of education and the administration for the opportunity to speak this evening my name is Mary Mitten Sanchez and I have lived in Westville for 10 years I have bachelor's and master's degrees in education have served as a public school teacher for a decade and have served Ohio principles in an educational nonprofit I currently work as a stay-at-home parent to my three children ages 4 2 and 1 education and the care and development of young people has quite literally been the bread and butter of my life I'll never forget the evening my husband and I first toured our home

089and when we walked through the row of Hedges at the back Gates our yard opened up to the playground of an elementary school that was the moment I was sold I could imagine our future children playing out there and going to school one day last year that dream became a reality when my son began attending Westerville Early Learning Center at Point viw Elementary I'll also never forget the day I saw a Big Red Bus pulling up to the school that said Bible education during the school day consider my curiosity peaked however the more I learned about LifeWise the more questions I had about a program about how a program like this could be the best thing for the students in our school Community my first issue is perhaps our most basic guaranteed to families that

090their children will be safe while they're in our care this program leaves too many questions about the safety of our students safety drills secure entrances locked doors Public Access medications epip pens uncredentialed instructors liability and mandated reporters are just a couple of things that come to my mind when I think about the regularly sending students off campus to a place like this there are just too many questions about the facilities and facilitators to put our students at risk in an unmoderated off-campus environment the second question is regarding the timing and Logistics as a person who supervised many field trips it's difficult for me to understand how we could plausibly and safely transport a group of students off- campus have meaningful interactions and then safely return them to school within the allotted time if we aren't

091missing instructional time do we have maybe an hour or an hour and half tops the disruption of the day is a logistical headache for attendance secretaries and office staffs in our schools and most importantly the potential for loss of instructional time and special time particularly in the postco era is too great Westerville is lucky to serve a vibrant diverse student population to remove students for a religious club which could easily be held outside of school hours chips away at the separation of church and state that is Paramount in American public schools it also creates the potential for students of different faiths or no faith at all to feel ostracized and unincluded our Educators work so hard to cultivate relationships and school community and our policies as a board and as a school district should support

092those efforts removing students from the school Community for something like LifeWise disrupts these efforts and leaves our students of different religions vulnerable to baying harassment and ostracism I implore our Administration and board to reconsider the allowance of a program such as this into our schools with our most precious of resources please suspend this program before it starts in September it's not too late to curb the risks that are posed to students this year and please from the bottom of my heart I ask you to do your duty and do what is best for kids thank you so much thank you next we have Paul bow is it [Applause] Bowa sort of you'll have to correct me apologies I get it all at that how how do you pronounce your last name sir want to make

093sure I get to the right place here Boza Boza okay thank you you know the big OSU football players almost the same anyway uh School Board Schoolboard members superintendent good evening my name is Paul Boza a Westerville uh resident for 20 plus years with three children that have went through the Westerville bu school system I have a few points just real quick uh from the best research I could do out on Google many years have passed since 1952 when since the US Supreme Court ruling which allows our children to have the option upon request to receive religious training along with their regular public school day just to be clear I want to pose for rhetorical questions no public school funding is consumed by this activity correct no public school facilities are used for this activity

094correct no public Personnel are involved or impacted by this activity correct this is solely a personal decision for the student and their parent or legal Guardians therefore no public school officials should have the right to restrict this private citizens activity or is this school board trying to make Rel religious decisions for our children I have a grandchild that may soon I have a grandchild that may soon be attending school year I pray God will allow me the strength and ability to pick him up and get him to any personal activity that he and his parents decide is best for him in closing with Ohio House Bill 445 currently being considered for approval should this decision be delayed as it may need to be overturned shortly after it is enacted thank you for your time thank

095you Mr next we have Albin [Applause] pheny good evening um I'll try and make it quick uh you know I'm a two-year Vietnam combat veteran and if I was really honest when I heard about this a few days ago the first thought that came in my mind was the 18 and 19 year old kids that died right next to me and it really really bothered me and the reason it bothered me is they fought for everybody's right to their own opinion and that's fine if people people don't want LifeWise that's fine it's voluntary you don't have to have it but they fall for the right of the ones that want to have it to have it it's as simple as that and I've coached kids for 42 years now basketball baseball soccer all of it

096I hang around children and dogs I got issues with adults but children and dogs are good and uh you know I think I have a pretty good read on kids and I've been in a lot of organizations the YMCA you know all sorts of coaching and I can just share my opinion I have never seen more loving people and caring people than the people in LifeWise and I don't know how this all started I don't know the background I just heard about it so I just came to give my Spiel but the bottom line is these people love these kids they would do anything for these kids the characteristics they teach them are all beneficial to every other student in the district because they can learn from the kids that are going to the program

097and I'll just finish with this in a perfect world I'd like to see the 300 there's a bunch of adults here throwing things back and forth I like to see the 300 kids sitting up here and ask every one of them what they think of life wise and I know it would be unanimous thank you thank you next is Tobias [Applause] Gordon good evening thank you for listening to me today um uh my name is Tobias Gordon I am a grad uate of Westerville schools K through 12 my wife is as well went to Ohio State moved out of state a few years came back here I have a second grader at here at Hanby uh who is thriving there a preschooler who will be starting at Alcott next year and I have two 18-month

098old twins almost 18 months uh who should be um I hope to be going through Westerville City Schools as well um I moved back here because I love Westerville I love the school district I am deeply invested in the area I volunteered in the classrooms it's an um I volunteered with the first robotics one year as well um I am extremely concerned about LifeWise um the impact it's having at my school uh at at my child's School uh and elsewhere in the district um I've will gloss over a lot of I'll skip a lot of points but the ones I wanted to make is uh my son has received uh material from LifeWise several times at school um the way it was presented it appeared to be school school sponsored uh he has also received

099um encouragement from other students and I to join which I understand to some extent is somewhat natural that if someone's excited you want to share something with you but I am concerned that they are using students encouraging them to proze for their religious beliefs in the school setting which I find deeply concerning and deeply upsetting uh I have spoken as best I could with my child to explain what the situation um and my view of the um my view of it and my wife's view um and I when I've tried to look into more details of LifeWise I understand that uh well it is incredibly difficult to find the their information without providing a good bit of your information yourself you their website you are apparently able to request their curricula which I understand is

100a relatively new thing after certain lawsuit that is currently in uh but my view is that if there is something I I would like to be able to see what is being offered to my child more than vague pla udes on their website without having to provide them my information there's a extreme lack of transparency here that I find also concerning for something that is occurring on school time I would like to be able to see what they are talking about what they're addressing whether or not my child is involved I I can't give an I cannot provide an informed Behavior Uh informed decision for myself and my child's best behavior without uh best uh without understanding what they are uh without knowing what their curricula stated as H thank you for your time thank

101you next is ingred [Applause] Beerman good evening Bard and thank you for allowing me to speak with you uh my name is ingred Beerman a was resident of Westerville a certified teacher um during my education training I had several placements within the Westerville school system I substituted for Westerville for uh a SE about half of a semester and um I am concerned with LifeWise um I went to look up their information on the internet and through YouTube and I have witnessed and watched several um example lessons particularly one that was given uh on August 25th I'm happy to email that video to you all to give you an example of what the students are being told um in this video an instructor of LifeWise is sitting with a group of several children from first to

102fifth grade in years of age and and they are discussing God's um well let's say wrath the instructor asks him what happens what is the consequence and what should happen if you disobey God and three children very enthusiastically scream death this is a LifeWise lesson the instructor then goes on to reiterate that in several different instances and in just an un understandable in incomprehensible way of how this Christian value of Jesus and God love you but they want you dead when you missbehave doesn't it just doesn't make any sense and the instructor in this video himself even admits that he is not qualified to teach he has coached swimming but he is not qualified to teach his excuse for that is God qualifies those who feel the call so just because he feels like he

103should be teaching about Jesus automatically makes him qualified um this is confusing for children if my child had sat through this they would be completely shocked and very concerned that they themselves for doing anything wrong them would would be condemned to death this is a child who lost two very important people to them at a young age he is very aware of death and its consequences so I can only imagine if he is hearing things that like this from the LifeWise staff or children bringing it to the school because you know the kids are going to talk and that is what they are told to do is take what they have learned in LifeWise and bring it into the school it is what the LifeWise directors and leaders of the program have shown in various

104videos that you can watch on YouTube and read in their own documentation um so I have trouble with the idea that this is coming into our schools and and will be affecting our children I'm sure some of the kids love it because what kid doesn't love having candy thrown at them at the end of a of an instruction period uh as a teacher we do that sometimes and it makes everyone happier but the appropriateness and the lack of training that these instructors have is very concerning also coming from my teacher experience um if they're just if LifeWise is pulling kids out of school just for lunch and recess I am curious as to how often this disrupts the continuing education of the students once they reared is LifeWise always on time because as in my

105personal experience any time that there was any differentiation from the routine of the school day it has caused issues and it will and it can cause issues so I'm asking the board if you haven't already go into the schools ask the teachers ask the principals ask the administr or ask the other staff there what their experiences are have they noticed any issues in delay of um starting backup classes after LifeWise has returned or has it caused them issues to get everyone collected onto the buses so thank you next is joanni [Applause] Campbell hi my name is joavan Campbell um I won't be for you long I'm a little nervous and I don't have a long speech um my daughter is a second grader at Point View this is this will be her second year um

106attending LifeWise um she she's really excited about it Thursday is LifeWise day we always make sure we have her t-shirt ready um she has nothing to say but positive things um as far as disruptions um all the students that are going to LifeWise they head down either grab their lunch or it's packed and then they head straight there's been times where I was trying to make sure that I made it time made it on time to lunch to make sure she had her lunch box there um and this was my first time actually seeing them actually like get together to go um it's a smooth ride she's also never ridden the bus so when we talk about the big bus that's really exciting for her because that's the time where she's actually able to ride

107um they go down to the office they're able to go get their things and then they ride to the school um there's never been any mention of anything being disrupted when it's time to get back into the class um and she's never said that she's missed out on any lessons or anybody got started without her um so I think that the biggest thing is um kind of Westerville um saying of where you belong and it's any different than someone playing sports or having an after school activity or for something during the school um that choice is the biggest thing that anybody's able to make and I think that it would be different if there were parents that had complaints about flightwise um or their students attending um but if there's complaints that are coming from

108outside people that don't know what goes on on the in inside and that they're not necessarily aware of how things operate then that's something to consider too um because the biggest thing is the choice and I think that if you take away the choice um and then option for students to be able to participate in something then that says a lot too so um just like you sign up for the YMCA you sign up for any other Camp whether it's U the Boys and Girls Club this is a place where you can belong and if you feel like that's something that's best for your child to participate in and the child wants to um then they simply don't and I would like to just lastly say that um LifeWise has such a freedom to it

109that there's been days where my daughter didn't feel like going no one harassed her no one said hey what do you doing she wasn't felt condemned not to go she just simply didn't want to go and then the days where she did um her and her other classmates would go along too so I think it's just a matter of choice and that just boils down to Everybody's Free right to decide what they do want to do or don't want to participate in thank you okay next is Todd Lots [Applause] good evening Dr Chapman School Board staff and other members and attendance my name is Todd lson I am a proud seventh grade parent of a student at at manova Park Middle School as well as honored to be called to serve as the vice president

110of rptsa first off I want to thank you Dr Nester Baker for your 25 years of service with we've we've had some good conversations in the past and and you know we've come to mutual respect and and obviously in life not everyone's going to agree on everything so I want to thank you for for your part in making this District the best District in Ohio the main part of my speech and I was reminded of where you belong is what I observed two weeks ago that unfortunately wasn't able to but I did watch and what I've listened to and observed is uh the speech is the conversation is going on and I'm kind of trying to put a different spin on it and honestly what I found was embarrassing cuz I felt really feel like

111on regardless of what side of the fence that you're on this about the students it's not about us as adults being selfish greedy and say because we don't agree with a certain lifestyle or whatnot and I'm saying this out of spirit trans of transparency one I'm a follower of Christ I'm not perfect and neither is anybody else number two I have relationships I I am a uncle and have brothers and sisters that are of the Jewish faith number three I have friends at work and throughout this area and around the country around the world that are many faith and lifestyle groups I love them just the same I'm proud to be a parent that cares about seeing not only our students achieve but also try to do my part to make our district the best

112in Ohio which I believe to this day and I've said it before in private conversations we are the best District in Ohio but what I have seen to me I'm and I'm trying to say this in a respectful manner was embarrassing full of hate and discrimination that does nothing but punish our children of all ages doesn't matter Elementary Middle School or high school so let me pose this question uh something to think about if this were any other religion beside the three-letter word which is a d which is a forbidden word more and more in this country or a cult or a lifestyle anything outside of Christianity would we be say would be would we be getting up in arms or singing a different tune my prediction is no something to think about something from

113different as I continue to read a certain post the day after the last board meeting It's Just Amazing Just how much it was more adults acting more like younger than our children are and all the hate and I posed a question in this chat that just something to keep in mind knowing that there is now a opening on on our school board simply the question was basically pertaining to for those who were complaining and there were a lot if you want to make a positive difference there is an open board position and let's run put your name in for consideration so something to think about I anticipated a bunch of responses I got no responses to that from either side yay or nay what I've chosen to do is is try and make a positive

114difference at least in my child's scho school as best I can not being perfect by any stretch one by getting involved I'm outside my comfort zone serving as a vice president of PTSA because that's not in my wheelhouse seeing in a you know choosing to encourage all kids supporting all kidss regardless of race age sex Creed across the board doesn't matter if you're Hindu Muslim a child of God we all love the same something that we we as adults and I'm guilty of that as well have have failed over the years um in closing I just want us as adults and as a board in to think about these things one is our constant hate animosity biases that we are exhibiting really helping our students or punishing them and I'm speaking to both sides those

115that are pro-life wise and those that are anti-life wise number two if we have this much passion for something then what are we doing to put our money where our mouth is and become a positive differenc maker to all of our students and as adults we all must do better we all must set an example and I'm speaking myself as well we all must take responsib responsibility for all our faults and shortcomings and we all must be better or else all we're doing is punishing our kids and showing them that west of schools is not where we where they belong thank you and next we have Jennifer [Applause] jury good evening everyone my name is Jennifer jury and my family and I have lived in Westerville for almost 15 years I have a bachelor's degree

116in education and I served in Westerville City schools for several years as a substitute teacher State facil State Testing facilitator and Student Success coach before accepting my current role as the program director for LifeWise here in Westerville I'd like to address several points of misinformation and some misconceptions about LifeWise that have been stated by members of the public in this and the most recent uh board meeting on August 12th I'd also like to note that all the points you've heard were from those without an actual student in LifeWise programming or any personal firsthand experience with the program itself it has been said that programs like LifeWise violate the separation of church and state and I won't belabor that point because as you've heard LifeWise Westerville has operated for the past two years in legal compliance

117with the RT policies of our district and despite what a alarmist on social media would have us believe RT RT is neither new nor controversial in Ohio and 75% of all school districts in the state have an RTR policy in place students expressions of Faith at school are safeguarded by the first amendment in fact while I was employed in Westerville City Schools I commonly saw students religious beliefs and practices being respectfully accommodated in the school building during the school day without any controversy or questions from the community for example during the roughly 30 days of Ramadan special accommodations were made for students who wish to practice their religious observances during their lunch or music classes similarly any students enrolled by their parents in LifeWise classes this year will attend roughly 30 lessons but outside of

118the school building during their lunch to participate in religious conversations and activities they will not miss any instructional time at school and they'll be engaged in activities that support their fames religious education choices I'm confused why there's any question about whether all students and all families should be afforded such a choice it has been said that LifeWise is an extremist organization with a hidden political agenda word choices like these incite fear and unwanted division in our school Community LifeWise is very transparent about what we teach and why we teach it we have have no political agenda it's been said that LifeWise students are prone to bullying or shaming of peers from non-religious or non-traditional families this flies in the face of everything LifeWise values we agree that if there were incidents of bullying that occurred

119it would be imperative that those be addressed what I'm having trouble figuring out though is the fact that our LifeWise Westerville program did not receive a single email email or phone call regarding any bullying incident this past school year either they weren't reported by a parent or a principal or they didn't actually happen of course we know that bullying is different from peer-to-peer conversation as noted earlier students have the right to engage in conversations with their friends regarding their faith at all times the tone taught and modeled in the LifeWise classroom is always one of extending love and respect to all people in regard for the concerns that students sometimes enthusiastically share invitations uh with their peers to attend LifeWise or talk about the things that they've learned in our classroom we've decided this year

120to discontinue using any paper handouts or invitations for our students and so nothing will be sent home with the students when they return Our Gospel centered character focused LifeWise curriculum is fully accessible for public review on our website or we invite anyone to contact us anytime to schedule a visit in our classroom or come and talk to us about what's being taught I'd also like to point out that lgbtqia a plus topics have never been part of our LifeWise curriculum and all students are welcome to be enrolled in LifeWise classes last week the father of two HBY students who attended LifeWise last year asked me why LifeWise is suddenly being portrayed as controversial he told me that every week he read the emails we sent out outlining his children's lesson content and talked with his

121children about what they had learned in LifeWise based on what he saw and heard he considers LifeWise to be a group of people that love Jesus and want to teach kids good character he's right we love Jesus and we love the gospel the good news that through Jesus we have access to a free gift of eternal life and a restored relationship with God and because of this we want to teach kids good character in light of these facts which I'm also going to share with you via handout I'd like to invite you to please consider only what is true about LifeWise thank you again for your time next is jacqulyn [Applause] crley hello um I want to speak to those today who say or sorry I'm Jacqueline fry I am the mother to a first

122grade student at Ambi I'd like to speak to those who say this is a choice that you only get this if you sign up for it however we know that life night wise will not just stay within the classroom at LifeWise the goal is to to spread what is said into our schools and I want to speak to how this affects children who don't attend attend LifeWise because they belong to a different Faith bribery something that causes undue influence today I saw a video of a Del LifeWise director of wson Ohio discussing how it bugged him that only 50% of the students were enrolled and his plans for recruitment I will save the time of trying to play the audio for you and send it to your emails the video showed the director that he

123was unhappy he gave them business cards which I'm happy to hear will supposedly not be passed out this year to students here he also told the students that if they brought a total of 90 other students from the school they would be rewarded with an ice cream party I would like to share a personal story last night at bath time because that's where all good conversations happen with your 5-year-old my daughter looked at me and said Mommy when I'm older I still want to be Jewish I looked at her and said well of course and I asked her why she decided this and she said because at Hanukkah we get gelt for those that don't know gelt is a traditional gift of chocolate gold coins given to children at Hanukkah my daughter is five and

124she wants to be Jewish because she gets chocolate not because of the stories and rituals or deeply held Faith displayed to her by others I mentioned to the board at the last meeting my concerns of co- verion for attendance and the risk of future bullying that can occur with my child and other children because of the LifeWise program to quote an earlier speaker this evening the tenant of LifeWise is love the person whether they deserve it or not the here's the thing the LifeWise program is teaching these students who those Sinners and those who do not deserve the love are the speaker last week spoke that bullying has already occurred with her own child and of course I have heard tonight that there is a chance that this wasn't reported so it was made up

125a story that has often been used by women and they there were no briberies or methods deployed at LifeWise this program here States it doesn't happen but how does anyone know what's going on LifeWay states that bullying isn't tolerated but as earlier mentioned they teach that those who believe that they are wrong the lesson you will see emailed to you by the other speaker are going to hell and death to those who disobey God I ask again on the families of the District of children of not of Christian faith to suspend the affiliation with the LifeWise program to change the RT rues so that children are only released with a parent or Guardian to attend such programs so that parents and Guardians may very closely observe what is happening in these programs with their children

126life why has the choice to continue with students to give the same choice to students of Education the same choice to give these students the same opportunities as an after school program LifeWise has chosen to refuse to do so thank you thank you um so at this point excuse me at this point we still have a number of speakers um remaining we've been doing this for about an hour and a half so I'm going to go ahead and call their names but I really encourage you if you're going to repeat what other people have said come up say I agree with so and so or this is my position and then you know please move on so uh next is Alex Mech good evening Madam chair members of the board superintendent treasure uh I'm here

127to talk about something that I'm sure everyone would love to hear about which is legal liability please don't fall asleep um when you review the LifeWise waiver it um indicates that you're waving from LifeWise their responsibility for acts omissions negligence that could result in all risks of injury disability death you also covenant not to sue for any injury pain suffering temporary or permanent disability or death okay so what Alex like liability waivers we sign them all the time well the Ohio Revised Code provides that in order for the district to permit a reserve time for religious instruction program and this is true under the current law where it says the board May and it would be true under the proposed law which would require the board to do so the board must still make sure

128that the program assumes liability for the students life wise's waiver does not assume liability for the students what does this mean if a child's hurt it LifeWise I'm not saying that has happened but it could happen it could happen in any program right if a child is harmed who's going to be sued parents have already agreed not to they've already waved liability as to LifeWise well What entity let LifeWise take possession of the children without assuming responsibility the district did so my question is who's responsible for the children if they get hurt thank you next is Kevin kinin hi Kev kinin thank you so just two points to I have real quick I'd like to answer that because of being an attorney uh negligence is not part of any waiver that's for the district that's

129for any outside whatever you're still legally responsible the second thing is the right and the choice we want to choose and we choose we choose to go to Westville schools well we don't I live in Westerville but I can decide I can go to St Paul I can go to somewhere else but we choose so we're choosing also what to let our kid do and ultimately I'm the one responsible so people can be unhappy about the safety but thing I tell my two boys every day and actually one of my boys doesn't go one of them does so they got a choice but I tell them every day I'm the one in charge of your safety so I'm decide in then I'm the one liable thank you thank you Brenda [Applause] Jefferson hi there good

130evening my name is Brenda Jefferson I'm just a mom I have three young kiddos um I Echo a lot of what the folks that in this room just said about LifeWise um under the 1952 Ohio Supreme Court it's upheld RT um and like other programs it offers for the holistic well-being of students who attend um it gives families the option to participate in the program um the program promotes love joy peace patience kindness goodness faithfulness self-control I think we can all attest that those are positive virtuous attributes that every child should possess regardless of what religion um for families such as my own we hold Jesus at the center of our home and in our hearts um and we are busy we are a busy family three young kiddos involved in multiple activities two full-time

131working parents it gets chaotic and to have this as a resource is so encouraging um like the other gentleman stated it is privately funded off school property requires parental consent all of this upholds separation of church and state um I there's been commenters saying that they host well they host pizza party and give out candy well name me a club that doesn't I mean this is child engaging um so this is not this is not new this is not novel and if you as a parent don't agree with those things or um just have different beliefs um or you don't think that the teachers are qualified then by all means don't send your students and don't sign that consent form um it's it's a pretty simple Choice um lastly I'd like to State just a

132couple of data points that support LifeWise as you might see on the website too you can see that attendance actually goes up for those students who participate in LifeWise violence goes down which is an end result of decreased disciplinary action and lastly academic performance actually goes up thank you you next is deja [Applause] Dunning um good evening members of the Wester board and superintendent um thank you for allowing me to speak today about the importance of the LifeWise program um the importance of we as we heard um to the our community as a whole so I'm a resident of Westerville as as well and a graduate from Westerville South High School and I have two children attending Westerville City Schools uh my son on the track K through 12 um but my daughter's a recent

133transfer from a private school who now attends Hami um so as a parent and a self-proclaimed lifetime learner um holding a master's and recently a doctoral candidate I deeply value the educational choices available to my children um one of these important choices is that LifeWise program so LifeWise operates legally by offering parents again I want to put the emphasis on the option to provide religious instruction to our children during school hours should they again choose um this program is entirely voluntarily voluntary allowing parents to decide what aligns best with their family's values and beliefs so removing LifeWise as an option would limit this Choice effectively narrowing the educational opportunities available to my family and others in our district um for many families including mind the ability to choose again LifeWise has a significant factor in

134keeping my child enrolled in Westerville City School schools um again as my daughter's a TR she transitioned um previously from a private school so the option of LifeWise provides a balanced approach allowing my child to receive both a strong public education and religious instruction without needing to leave the district um moreover programs like LifeWise support um the Westerville School Westerville City School's commitment again to that diversity equity and inclusion um our school Community is made up of students from a wide range of backgrounds and beliefs So Pro by providing options like life wise the district demonstrates a respect for the diversity ensuring that every family's needs and values are considered um this inclusive approach enriches our schools and helps create a more accepting and understanding environment for all students my child has been able to

135utilize values learned from the program and not only her school environment but home and church environment is provided her with a unique perspective on diverse School environment um to have a happy help happy open and loving heart and to give all of those around her grace and remembering to her neighbor as she would herself she's so excited to attend school knowing that she has LifeWise to look forward to so by allowing this program to continue you're supporting not only parental choice but also the diverse fabric of our community removing this option will be a step backward limiting educational choices and potentially driving families away so in conclusion the LifeWise program is more than just an option for religious instruction it's a reflection of our District's values supporting again that diversity equity and inclusion by respecting

136the various beliefs of families thank you guys for allowing me to speak today and next we have Amy Louise talking don't worry um I decided to talk tonight um because I did not come to talk about likewise Academy but I I wanted to talk about religious freedom so I am from a very tiny religious tradition and um I grew up in several places my dad was a career army officer and then um my husband had a job that involved moving all over but in the west it was common in El school to have um students who were a Mormon have a place right beside campus where they could go after school um likewise when I was in junior high there were several Jewish students they always got released for their holidays and when they came

137back and had missed class that was not considered a burden and so I mean I I grew up seeing that but of course it didn't affect me because nobody had even heard of maybe my point of view or my background um then I I went to school in Idaho and Oregon became a high school English and foreign language teacher and taught in rural um communities in Oregon and the or Supreme Court decided that a teacher who was seek could not teach in the schools in Oregon because he was required to wear a turban in class uh and I remember thinking whoa where's my religious freedom then um then I went on to homeschool my children which helped a lot with all the different moving because I never had to look and see if I could

138afford to live in this good school district I could know that they were safe and what they were learning and um in various school districts but notably in Ohio I did my homework I read all the homeschooling laws with the state I knew what I was required to do and was very much prepared to do that so when I arrived in the school district in Southern Ohio um I wrote to the school superintendent and you know said that we were excited to be here Etc and that I was playing on homeschooling I got a letter back telling me that they were going to oversee every single thing I needed to do and I would need to go and turn things in and I very politely replied thank you so much for that offer but I'll

139just live by Ohio law stating the um actual laws from the code and um I kept my distance seeing that that person in fact did not want to give me my freedom my legal Freedom within the state to teach the way I wanted to that went all the way through high school with my students um and so I learned that even though I had legal rights to do certain things I would have to be able to articulate why I expected those rights to be upheld I would need to be aware of my rights um as an American and in order to I guess practice my religious beliefs and expression and then I went to Ohio State age of 57 and got my Master's Degree in Social Work and discovered that in those classrooms my religious

140beliefs were actually very much at the bottom of the gene pool in the sense that it was quite common for comment for people to make uh derogatory comments and hateful comments and things about what I believed um because we all know this traditionally reliefs and and what's popular and unpopular within the United States and other countries swing it's a pendulum you taught school in the 70s taught school in the 80s we went from do anything be all exciting in English to back to the basics and then I'm sure it's gone back and forth since then but the point is I learned that I couldn't even comfortably join um the National Association of Social Workers because there were political statements made as a member of this group that I didn't agree with in fact that were

141quite disturbing to my religious points of view so I couldn't be part of that I just want to point out that in my life I have seen that there are many times when I don't get recognized my rights don't get put on the same level as other people's and one of the things I value about being an American citizen is that we're supposed to have this Freedom so when I heard about this discussion I just wanted to bring that up because it's been a struggle in my life to be able to do my job teach my children um and I guess exist and live at peace with the same rights as other people as far as religious points of view and so I encourage you to abide by the law and give people the opportunity

142to do that thank you okay and so I'm just double-checking the list I believe everyone has had their opportunity to speak thank you for your comments um and so at this point we move on to 13 board comments 13.01 um do we have any board comments this evening I do and I uh I can go first um I'm going to ask everyone I move that we amend the agenda to consider a motion to suspend board policy 5223 absences for religious instruction until the next uh meeting of the board okay so we would need a second second sorry second any comment or conversation or should we just move to a vote I think we got to say why okay why just change the agenda so I can make a motion for something else that's what y

143just for the agenda change this is just the agenda order of business may be altered in the items added at a regular board meeting by the majority vote of the members present okay please call the vot on the agenda change yes correct amending the agenda okay Mrs Davidson yes Mrs Valentine yes Dr n Baker yes Mrs Alman yes thank you and then secondly I move that the board suspend board policy 5223 absences for religious instruction until the next meeting of the board um I'm saying this for some compelling reasons um first we've received new guidance from the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce that we cannot provide meals purchased or free and reduced lunch for our students to consume off-site part of any program um also the administration is working through some issues to determine

144if LifeWise program meets all of the require all of the requirements included in our policy as well as the statute that allows release time for religious religious instruction okay um Davidson sorry could I just clarify the guidance that we received was it it has to be curricular related for school programming thank you and so that was the motion yep we would need a second can I talk you want to make a second a second then we can open yeah second okay and then we can have conversation now right yeah please if you had that no I so I just joined the board in January I was not here for RT implementation or the start of LifeWise but based on conversations that we have had new information like you mentioned about USDA that has been brought

145to our attention I do have some outstanding questions and the more that I've learned about the RT policy and LifeWise I don't believe that it would be prudent for us to proceed without more information we need to cross the te's dot the eyes and this is true for any religious group this is not LifeWise just happens to be the one that we're talking about right now I personally don't care if you're a Christian Muslim Hindu or you prayed the Dust Bunny under your fridge I do not care um you do you but we as a board have to make sure that any coordination is going to be safe and compliant for the sake of the students the parents the district um you know and unlike other kind of camps or extracurricular this does happen in

146the middle of a school day and not after so there's some extra emphasis here on making sure that we get it right so other comments so let's um let's be really clear about what suspending the policy means so if we suspend the policy then we are saying that LifeWise will not be conducting its program at this point in time is that correct correct I just want to make sure that we're really clear so that everybody understands what's on the table so the issue is toy can you turn your mic on oh the green light is not lit I'm sorry about that what I was asking was what suspending the policy what what it would mean for LifeWise if we suspended the policy and we are only permitted as I understand it to suspend a policy

147for the space of one board meeting correct so suspending a policy doesn't mean that you suspend a policy at infinitum it has a very strict time limit that's one piece piece number two then is if the board were to vote to suspend a policy and we have voted to suspend other policies in the past if we were to vote to suspend this policy for the time period of one meeting during that time period LifeWise would not be permitted to operate its program in the school correct correct so that's what is on the table for discussion so as I understand it I think I understand it correctly we are looking predominantly at two areas of legal compliance One deals with food service correct the other deals with waivers correct those are two but there could be

148more yes those are the two that we are aware of at this point in time right so what suspending a policy for the space of one meeting would do would be to provide a two- week time period during which those issues would need to would be resolved because the policy would then come back into effect at the next meeting correct I think we would come back with some more information to be able to make a better decision yeah but if we could only suspend for one meeting then the policy goes back into effect unless we would suspend it again correct ah multiple suspensions no I'm not saying that's going to happen say I never thought about that that we need time to get our ducks in AOW and continue to talk to our attorneys and

149make sure the kiddos that we are responsible for are being fed and are safe so that's where I'm at yeah and I don't think anybody would anybody on either side of the question would disagree with the need for the children to be well cared for and safe um but what I do wonder is what the impact is in doing this on the LifeWise program setting aside the issues that we do need to look at we need to consider those issues ises what is the impact on the program I do not know does anybody have thoughts about that Angie um I would say that if the policy isn't in existence they would not have excused absences for the religious instruction um and I think the parents would have to directly come sign their kid out okay

150okay and I also wanted to add just on the because there's a little bit of confusion around the um lunches so I just wanted to provide the board with a little this is an evolving thing um so we were it was brought to our attention that we were not able to provide the lunches as part of the USDA requirements so our food service director reached out to the state to ask they initially told us it was fine and then when they followed up and checked with the federal level with the USDA they were told no that we can't but that the state still has on their um website so I just want to add that clarification because if you look so they are still checking on that so they could not give us a definitive

151answer um which was one of our areas of concern of how to move forward with that so we are waiting to hear back from the state um but my last understanding is that it's not permissible unless it's related to a curricular activity for an off-site meal so what that means is if we were to take our students on a Westerville field trip for a history class for example then they could eat off site but if it's not related to a curricular trip that they're not able to SO waiting on confirmation we don't know the exact answer on that but that's the latest that we've been heard and I think the board's aware that um previously they have been able to take meals from the cafeteria including the ones that are free and reduced with them

152into go containers so that's kind of one of the issues at stake so basically in this two we time period assuming there is not a multiple suspension and and I I won't be here to to deal with that but in this this next two week time period then as I understand it the impact on LifeWise would be in order to continue the program as it um as it somewhat exists parents would have to come to the school and sign their children out parents would also have to pack a lunch set so basically that's what it would be okay so that would place um at least a two we crimp in the program's operations correct I don't have the exact date but I think they were planning to start in September around the time of our

153next meeting maybe the week before so uh okay so it wouldn't be a full two week correct issue ah all right so it could result in say possibly a week delay I'm just trying to work all of these things out because I want to be fair to these hundreds students I want to be fair to um the construct of what we're doing and I also understand that it is a requirement for us to make sure that we are operating legally um I think that the issues of legality and the issues of food service can be resolved fairly quickly um we would need I would hope that we would be working not only with our attorney um around those issues to develop appropriate language that meets the law but also that we would work with LifeWise

154in order to ensure that they are engaged in helping to create a situation that works as well so in delaying LifeWise implementation in September for approximately a week in order to make that palatable to me this evening um I would want to know that we're going to engage with LifeWise on coming up with a solution we have met with them previously and board president Meyer was with us in that conversation so happy to schedule another meeting after this to talk through what issues are um on the on the lunch peace can you just talk about um very briefly um I think it's really important that we take the time to figure this out right um can you talk about we were contacted by USDA correct and so it was USDA and then we reached out

155to the state I just want to make sure I have that no thank you for asking that let me clarify so it was brought to our attention that from a Community member that they weren't sure that that was legal so we wanted to look into that and there was a little confusion because it was legal during Co times they kind of suspended some of the requirements yep around serving lunches in a non- congregate setting so um we were able then to look into where it was now are back in place that didn't exist and quite frankly the people at the state had to check because they were like that's a great question we haven't had that question in a while so they reached out then to they and then told us it was okay and

156as they kind of dug in a little bit more came back and told us it wasn't but that doesn't align with what's on the website so that's what we need to figure out we don't have clear guidance right now yep okay thank you I want to make sure we straighten that out and kids get fed yeah so the motion is to pause right to pause for two weeks so we can do some more investigation and make sure like I said before all of our Ks are being fed and taken care of that's the idea okay any other comments I'm still concerned about I'm still concerned about the possibility of multiple suspensions that worries me on a policy a policy approach to say well we'll suspend then we're going to suspend then we're going to suspend

157to me that's a good way to um whether it's this policy or any other policy to provide a de facto way to stop something from happening and I want us to be open and I want us to be very transparent I want to be really fair about people's rights under the law and people's expectations for the way the district handles its policy so I'm I understand exactly what you're talking about I don't disagree with the need to look deeply into what's going on to answer the legal questions that we have that's incumbent upon us but I do want to be sure that and answering those legal questions that we protect the rights under law that others have okay so that's where I am yep duly noted y other comments or questions okay Miss Marshall you

158can call the vote Mrs Davidson yes Mrs Valentine yes Dr Nester Baker no Mrs opman yes um thank you I have one more thing if that's okay part of my board comments so uh Greg V BR could you please come up here so Greg vbrs has been in our district for 18 years and has um been doing Communications gig for a 35e career and this is his last meeting uh before going south and we in more ways than one probably I wasn't going to say that um but I just would like everyone to see you to know like when you are receiving communication from our district it's written by Greg he takes a lot of time and he cares about this community and our staff and our kids and um you will truly be missed

159so we really appreciate your 18 years and your time here at Westerville he is also the one that um started the saying where you belong so that's Greg and this is where you belong Greg so good luck to you [Applause] app that's it for me okay thank you other board comments I was going to say something about Greg too Greg you'll always belong here you know that Hilton Head may call but you always belong here okay um thank you thank you Greg um we do know where to find you so just remember that um and I just want to thank everyone for coming I appreciate that in this community we can have multiple opinions expressed and everyone stayed very civil so thank you for that thank you for being kind and compassionate grownup people who

160come and share your opinion respectfully so and moving on to 14 date times and locations of next meetings to continue the fun um the board will meet in regular session on Monday September 9th 2024 at 600 p.m. at the Early Learning Center here 9:36 east1 Drive Westerville Ohio and then 15 um we are moving into executive session so 15.01 can I have a motion and a second to move into executive session to discuss the appointment of a public official in employment and compensation of public employees so moved second Miss Marshall Mrs Valentine yes Mrs Davidson yes Dr Nester Baker yes Mrs Atman yes so we will move into executive session uh no decisions will be made in executive session we will come back here to adjourn but there will really be no further business at

161that point so thank you 831 okay we have returned from executive session and I need a motion and a second to adjourn the meeting who Moved second this Marshall this is Davidson yes yes Mrs Valentine yes Mrs Alman yes we are adjourned 916