00117 at 6 o' I would like to call this regular board meeting to order. Mr. Acriman, can I get a roll call? Mrs. Powers? Yes. Mr. Wilson? Yes. Mrs. Chestnut? Here. Mrs. Mason. Yes. Here. Can you please stand and join me in saying the pledge of allegiance? I aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, liberty and justice for all. I need an approval of the agenda. So moved. Second. Can any discussion? Can I get a roll call? Mrs. Powers? Yes. Mr. Wilson. Yes. Mrs. Chestnut. Yes. Mrs. Mason. Yes. I now need an approval of the minutes of the board meeting for March 20th of 2025. Can I get a motion? Second. One tiny detail. March 18th. They're usually we have
002them the it's listed correctly in the sub in the category but not the subject. Thank you. Can I get a roll call? Mrs. Powers? Yes. Mr. Wilson? Yes. Mrs. Mr. Chestnut. Yes. Mrs. Mason. Yes. And now I'll hand it over to Josh for our featured artist presentation. Thank you, President Mason, Superintendent Spicer, Board of Ed. Love to recognize our fine featured artists from Patterson Elementary if they could come on up. I'd also like to thank uh the fantastic Mrs. Huggin and Dr. Dunn for all the incredible work they're doing down at Patterson to help support our young student artists. We've got 10 featured artists from Patterson tonight. 10. So, we're going to uh recognize them. And uh students, you're going to be receiving this is a pin that we had made. So, all of our
003featured artists get this. So, you are only the second school to get these. So, pretty special, pretty cool. So, um we've got a certificate and a pin. We're going to recognize a couple sixth graders first. Caitlyn Dorbecker. The artwork is actually on the other side of the room. So, we're gonna do a little back and forth and we're gonna go left to right. So, Caitlyn has the uh the record that has been decorated. I'm sure Mrs. Huggin had to explain to students what a record does and so congratulations. We have Parker Drake. Parker, there you go. Then Parker has the second album over there, right? Do you remember the artist on it? The musician. That's okay. Putting you on the spot. That's okay. I do not remember. She didn't know there would be a test.
004Congratulations. Congratulations. All right, we have Titus Lincoln who has the watercolor landscape perspective. Third from the left over there. Titus. Nope. I just couldn't make it tonight. And we've got some baseball rain outs that are being made up and some different things. Graham Farllo with uh the landscape uh watercolor perspective over there. Congratulations, bud. There you go. We have Olivia Leisure who has the beautiful sunflower painting right in the middle over there. Oh, we have Reese Wman who has Reese's artwork is Where's Reese at? Right here. There. Reys has the papier-mâché vase that's actually on the table on the end over there. Congratulations. Beautiful. Beautiful. Brody B Champ. Did I get it right? All right. I told him he could he could hit me in the side if I got the last name right. Brody
005has the watercolor landscape bridge. Congratulations. There you go, bud. Maxine Stowe, who has the woven uh artwork, third from the right over there, Maxine. Congratulations. McKenzie Harour has the watercolor still life. Second from the right. Congratulations. And finally, we have Joey McRoberts who did the beautiful jewelry necklace on the end. Congratulations, bud. Congratulations to our student artists from Patterson. Thank you, Mrs. Huggin. You can clap for that. Moms and dads and grandparents, uh, I'm going to highlight a couple other fine arts things, but we're going to meet our kiddos in the back and we're going to get a picture. So, um, if you want to start moving that way while I recognize a couple other things. Um, I do want to highlight we've got our junior high musical coming up, uh, May 16th and 17th.
006or junior high students have been working uh really hard on 13 Junior. Uh they've been working so hard they actually got a shoutout video from Broadway star Ally Trim. Ally was in the original 13 Junior production and she is currently Glenda in Wicked on Broadway. So she sent them a personalized video wishing them well which is pretty cool. Uh we have our third annual fine arts signing day which will be May 2nd 5:00 pm in the Zoodio theater followed by our fine arts fair which is uh May 2nd and 3rd. We're going to have over a thousand pieces of artwork from throughout the district. And the last thing I'm really excited to share um and it's kind of a call for for help to the community. Um we know a lot of our our you
007know graduates from our high school Milford's such a great community. They stay in the community which is a wonderful thing. So I'm hoping we can kind of reach that. We on our May 6th uh band concert, we will be kicking off our celebration of 100 years of Milford band. The Milford band has just turned 100 years old. So, that's pretty cool, right? That's pretty cool. We want to tell that story and we want to recognize our alumni that have gone on to participate in music or music's been a part of their life. uh if you know of any alumni of the Milford High School band who either have a story to share about their band experience um or they've continued to pursue music, maybe they're a band director, maybe they um are a performer somewhere,
008but music is somehow a part of their life currently. Uh we want to capture that and recognize that in a new alumni wall outside the band room at the high school. So, uh those can be emailed to me directly. Check us on social media and we've got some contact information about that. But, uh over the next 12 months, we'll be sharing ways that we're celebrating the 100th birthday of Mford Bands. something. Thank you. Thank you, Josh. Dr. Rob Dunn, right? Dr. Rob Dunn from Patterson. You're up, Dr. Getting used to the new arrangement over here. Um, good evening. Hello. Um, thanks for having me. I am the principal at Patterson. It has been an unbelievable honor for me to return to Patterson as the principal. Not only was I a teacher there years ago, my
009son went through Patterson and ultimately graduated at Milford High School. So, it has been a great return for me. It's been good for the soul and spirit. Um, the students are amazing. The families, they have just engaged this year. We have been able to exceed everything we tried to do with fundraising and our events are the signup genius. We have to keep adding more people and adding more people because we have more people who want to volunteer than we have spots for them. So, it has been an amazing year. We always focus on our pillars at Pison, which is respect, responsibility, and problem solving. Had a nice time today helping some second graders work through some problem solving on how they pick a captain and who gets to make the first pick for their game
010outside. So, we definitely practice those skills every day and everybody does an amazing job with that. Um, we're looking for more opportunities coming up this year. Our carnival, I was I want to say forced, but I definitely offered the dunk tank is going to return. So, I'm going to have to get ready for that as we get ready for the return of the dunk tank to Pison that was there years ago. I dunked in that tank many years ago. So, we'll be doing it again. And I just appreciate everything all the staff and students have done, the support from the families, and look forward to many, many, many more years at Pison. Bless you. The polar plunge should help you practice for the Dun. Oh, I will make sure that the water is warm. And
011but I was told I have to go last, which feels a little icky, but I'm going to do it. Thank you, Dr. Dunn. Uh we are we we are elated that uh Rob is back at Pison and and just he's in the right spot and I I can see the glow when I come see you. Rob never felt better. [Laughter] All right. Uh the next uh item uh for presentations I'm going to turn it over to MJ. Uh we have some uh some updates from MJ this month. All right. Hi, I'm MJ Oski. I'm the district's mental health coordinator. First, thank you to the board and superintendent Spiser for allowing me to speak today. Actually, I'm just going to take this out um to speak today to give a um mental health update and just
012a brief overview of our services. Um I to be respectful of all of our time, I'm going to try to keep it as brief as possible. However, um I've asked if these slides can be uploaded online. So if you have questions, if you'd like to have further dialogue or conversations about anything that I've covered, feel free to reach out and I'm always happy to have a further conversation. So let's start by just kind of talking through um what services we have at each level. So, at our elementary level, our middle school, and our high school level. So, you can see here listed that we um have the support of our school psychologists, and our school counselors providing one-on-one and group services. Um we've been very grateful to have child focus prevention and case management at
013all three levels in our schools. Um an additional mental health service that we provide is called group centered therapeutic education. So this occurs five days a week at the elementary level and three times a week at the middle school level. We also are fortunate enough to have mental health interventionists working in all of our buildings. So they are providing individualized care supporting students in their social, emotional and academic needs. Um and our highest security service is our school-based day treatment which is a educational placement. But within this placement, they are essentially receiving two hours of group therapy a day and a supplemental weekly um individual therapy session. Additionally, we have been lucky to have child focus this year as a therapist two days a week at the middle school and we have a um best
014point behavioral health provider five days a week at the high school. So just a little overview of some of the layers that we have. Um so currently in our services we have 474 students that we are actively serving. So this means that um students this is reflective of a student who has a weekly or bi-weekly appointment. It may be a student who is in maintenance um for a monthly session and it is not reflective of students who receive services with our school counselors or school sites a crisis related service or um our number would actually be higher. We just discharged 31 prevention clients after having a child focus um staff member resign. So that is our current um current number um with kids in care. Another initiative that I'm really proud of this year um
015is we uh transitioned away from hope squad and we piloted our sources of strength peer leaders program. Um sources is a upstream suicide prevention program. They just published some groundbreaking research stating that sources has been successful in reducing suicide attempts by 29%. If you have um a few minutes, I would click on this link when it's um published and it will do a really good job of capturing what sources is and how we are utilizing it in Ohio specifically. It's about a 4minute video. So this year was our first year piloting sources. is we trained 229 peer leaders this year across our district. We do this in support of one and five which is a local nonprofit. Um they support us with training needs and fidelity of following through with our campaigns. We also had
016the support this year of our Claremont County Mental Health Recovery Board. We were awarded a mini grant that provided resources so that we can carry out our campaigns effectively. Um, sources of strength is also an approved program for House Bill 123 or what is referred to as the SAVE act. So, you can see here the four campaigns that we are running this year. We are ending out our year um with the what helps me campaign which is focused on student coping and what gives students strength. So, that's going to align with May being mental health awareness month. So, we are really excited for that last campaign. our adult adviserss and our peer leaders have done a really wonderful job this year in all of the buildings. Um I'm not going to cover this, but I
017just thought it would be worth sharing as far as the Ohio evaluation results in regards to improved connection and um decrease school avoidance, decrease in bullying. So just so you could see how sources is improving Ohio schools. So take a look at that if you'd like. And then most importantly, we don't do this good work alone. So, we are very fortunate in Milford to have some really good local community partners. So, um again, when you click on the PowerPoint, you will see links that I've included here, but Mindpiece is actually a standalone nonprofit. They are housed in um Cincinnati Children's Hospital. They actually started as a group of volunteers who just cared about students receiving mental health in schools and reducing barriers. So we work with Mindpiece um to make sure we're providing best practices
018and also to ensure that everyone has access to care. So if we can't provide it here then they are helping us to link and make sure that students are served um and again removing those barriers. So other partners that I've already referenced would be child focus one and five our crisis team our best behavioral health providers I had to put circle tail because our beloved facility dogs right they are a part of our team. We will talk a little bit more about Gaggle here in a second. Um, parent guidance is also a link I would encourage anyone to click on. This year, uh, this is a new partnership. Milford was actually awarded a $30,000 grant, um, from the Children's Appalachin Coalition in partnership with the Cook Center. And this allows all Milford families to receive
019free parent coaching all year. So, this could be a neighbor, an aunt and uncle. Um, and also if you don't have a smartphone or access to the app, they actually have a landline where you can access the parent coaching, which I think is really great. Again, removing barriers. Um, and there's some really good resources on their website. So, if you have um trouble navigating this or signing up for parent coaching, please let me know and I'm I'm really happy to assist you in that. Um, Benway is another initiative in our secondary level um, where we are acknowledging students for certain characteristics and then recognizing them. So, Gaggle is a partner of ours. So, Gaggle is a software that is analyzing algorithms for student well-being. So, we asked Gaggle to analyze Milford's data from July to
020the end of March. And you can see here at the top tier as far as the imminent threat. So from July to the end of March, we have had 56 incidents that have been deemed imminent threats to a student's well-being. So what does this mean? This means that our administrators are being promptly notified. It doesn't matter what time or day. It doesn't matter if it's Thanksgiving or Christmas. This is where we are working with families quickly and we are working with um local law enforcement to ensure welfare checks and to ensure that parents um are aware and that students are supported. Um the content categories that they're assessing, you can see here I've listed out for the sake of this presentation I pulled the suicide or self harm. There were 395 instances right that were
021caught with gaggle under the suicide or self harm. If you want to read more about Gaggle, I did link their case studies. They actually just published a really good article in March of this year um highlighting Gaggle in three other Ohio districts. So, please take a look at that. So, why mental health, right? Why do we have all these services? Um and I feel very fortunate um to be a part of Milford's team as a community member, as a mother. I think we we really try to do a good job of providing students care. So, what do we know about mental health? Right? We know that suicide, unfortunately, is increasing across the country. It's increasing in Ohio. We know that suicide is the second leading cause of death in our youth, aged 10 to 24.
022We know that suicide is the leading cause of death in adults ages 18 to 24, which also touches our students, right? Um, so the OSFP quoted that 20% of our high school students essentially had serious thoughts of suicide and that 9% have actually made an attempt to take their own lives. So why the increase, right? And I could go on for hours talking about risk factors and warning signs, but I want to just highlight briefly um you know, the National Institute for Health and the Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation is really starting to analyze and speak about social media use of minors and the increased link in depression and suicidality. Um and and so why why would social media increase suicidality in our youth, right? Well, if you think about brain development, um our brains aren't
023fully developed till we're in our mid20s. So unfortunately our young people are illprepared um to decipher or interpret or really to think maturely about content that might be harmful. It might be predatory or it just might be addictive in nature, right? Um so that's just something to call out. I reference this because the Sarah collaborative which is through children's hospital, it's the suicide education research advocacy um group and they actually sent out an article this year by Dr. Dr. Dan Nelson who's a psychiatrist in Cincinnati with us talking about suicide contagion um and suicide clusters and really talking through that there might be a rise in intensity due to po the popularity of social media and adolescence. So, you know, unfortunately suicide contagion is a real concern. Um, sadly our neighbors in Boone County, if
024you're not aware, had five youths die by suicide since November of 2024 and they had multiple attempts on top of those completions. So, um, it is unfortunately a very real and prevalent thing. Um, I did include here some best practice guidelines for reporting suicide with the media and that that pertains to social media as well. So, what do we do here at Milford, right? How do we take care of this? Um, if we are aware of suicidal ideiation, it could be active ideiation, it could be passive ideiation, including hopelessness or other risk factors, it could be non-suicidal self-injury, it could be other self harm behaviors. Um, but if we're aware of it, we are going to address it. This is actually a specific slide that I took from a training that I attended with um
025Mindpiece and Children's Hospital this fall and I felt like it did a really nice job of capturing just appropriate steps. Um so when we are assessing for risk here in the school, we are using evidence-based practices, we're going to use the Colombia, we're going to use the ASQ and most importantly we're going to work with families, right? We're going to work with families to safety plan to ensure that they have access to resources. um we're going to provide re-entry care for if they were in the hospital and support them in that regard. It's not really a parent resource, but if you've never taken a cognitive processes class, um it's more of a clinician resource, but it just does a really nice job of capturing what cognitive processes look like in suicidal ideiation for adolescent. So,
026if you are seeking to learn about that, it's a nice resource just to start with. So, continuing with service delivery, right? If we're taking it one step further from um crisis intervention, let's talk about crisis response. Let's talk about post vvention and what what we do here at Milford and what we have done and what we will continue to do. So I really want to stress that in any student death and any type of student death the focus is going to be on healing education and if relevant then suicide prevention and preventing the the ripple effect or you know what we know to be suicide contagion. So, these are just some of the steps that we have taken and that we will continue to take, working with the crisis team, crafting to support our um
027staff to make sure they're educated and aware of what services we're providing so that they're aware of what acute stress symptoms might look like in their students and allowing for that healing time in that space. And you know, even one step further, something that we do here at Milford and will continue to do, if we know there's a death date or an anniversary, then we are going to work with partners um like we have in the past to bring in services to support our youth if they're in need. Um so these are just some of the things that we do unfortunately if we have a student death for post vvention from the mental health lens and the school lens. Um, I did include a couple of resources that we utilize when thinking about our best
028practice post vvention. So, talking about graduation, right? So, obviously graduation is a time of a lot of mixed emotions. Um, and we're talking about student death, we're talking about postvention. Unfortunately, this is a very real thing. We're talking about suicide. Um, you know, so I want to stress when we talk about graduation or any procedure here at the school as it pertains to mental health, our driving force is the safety and well-being of all of our students. We not only are reading the research, right, but we are consulting and talking with local and state and national experts, right? We want to again support and respect the well-being of all of our students. Grief is very complex as an emotion. Grief is as unique as your fingerprint. Some people grieve quietly. Some people grieve loudly. There
029are considerations clinically with grief related to disenfranchised grief and complicated bereiement. Um, and I, you know, I I really want to um clarify that we do not suppress grief in our school district. We really work hard to create meaningful and personalized experiences for our students to provide support that are respectful of all of our students. Um even in our procedures and our considerations for graduation, we have spoken with the students. We've allowed space um to talk with our students to hear them out to create understanding and mostly to provide support to them in an ongoing way. So we we are doing that. We will continue to do that. Um so these guidance this guidance is from Mindpiece which is one of our community partners. They are their best practices. Um again if you want to
030talk at uh greater length about this I'm happy to. If you want to talk about depression, if you want to talk about cognitive constriction, we can. But if you want to talk to the vice president of Mindpiece, her name is Nicole Fearman. Her contact information is here. um and she's welcome to any call as well, but she's an additional resource on top of me if if you want to speak through what these considerations look like. But again, I just want to stress that um you know, our driving force really is the safety and well-being of all of our students. Um my contact information is linked here. If you would like to transparently look at our mental health processes and our referral procedures, please do so. Um, and again, I'm I'm open to further dialogue and
031I appreciate the time today. Thank you, MJ. Any questions? I do have one quick question. Um, I know we switched I know we switched to sources of strength uh this year and I was just wondering um so how do you pick the student leaders? That's a great question. So there is a um student nomination process. So we are working with the um school employees to nominate students, but outside of that process, if there are students that want to be involved, we're not turning them away. Sources is unique in the sense that they're really seeking a diverse group of students because the goal is to reach as many students as possible. So we really have a diverse group of students. Um, we had an adult advisor training and Katie Kaiser from one and five came and
032spoke to us about the importance of that diversity and if there are students that want to be involved, we're not going to turn them away. We just want to make sure they have the appropriate training and resources to do so. We actually have QPR coming in this month um for our sources leaders. I think we have two days scheduled just to give them even additional support and training. Thank you. You're welcome. one question to when we have a kid that's not on your guys's radar. So, uh how how are the parents um contacted once a student raises concerns of anxiety or depression or anything with a leader in our district? If a student brings up a concern where they're seeking additional help or need, then for any of our services, parent consent is required. And
033there I mean you you guys know your kids best, right? So, we're going to want to work with the parent um to explore what services are most appropriate. So, if you know if a student is identifying with the school counselor that maybe their anxiety is increasing, maybe they're experiencing more distress in one or more domains of their life, then the counselor is going to reach out to the family and to talk through what services we have available because we have a lot of different services, right? And really making sure that the level of care is appropriate. Um, and so once we have that consent, then we would figure out what service to pair them with. Okay. I'd imagine these services are probably saving our community money, I'd imagine, right? Because without them, there would only
034be one option of finding a provider that may or may not take your insurance. I mean, obviously, if there's a certain level of care that we probably couldn't take care of that, but on most cases, we we're probably saving our community a lot of money. We we are. And actually, I mean, I I really Milford has done an amazing thing in hiring internal staff because we do not bill and we do not charge um for our services and I and and coming from working in nonprofit even when I had families who could afford it with a high deductible insurance plan it often was still a barrier or it was taken from something else in their family and then they were having to pick and choose between services for their kid or something in their home.
035So yeah, we we don't bill. There are no uh there's no billing. There's no insurance. Like we were just providing um evidence-based care and support and these services through the district. So it's it's really unique and I I wish I wish there could be more of that for more districts. Yeah, I think it's important to highlight those soft touches of care that we have because like I know I I I did some work on this recently for um I was working with the city of Cincinnati public schools and working with Toledo public schools as well on um with their various types of engagement where they do early screening. You know, not Cincinnati yet, but Toledo does. And by having those soft touches with with students inside the district along with parent involvement obviously I would
036imagine there's many kids that don't when you don't understand mental health it can get you into a position where all of a sudden now you do need more higher assistance from a doctor. Maybe now you have to start taking medication because you don't understand it right as a kid. But with the soft touches, I can only imagine that educating the kids on on mental health keeps them from growing into somebody who has that tagged to them for the rest of their life. Absolutely. And even thinking about like post um Milford, I mean when I have students who graduate, like part of our role is also helping them if they need continued care, helping them access that. If it's um even if it's the role of just advocating, you know, if we talking about medication management,
037have they done a gene site test? Do they feel heard? you know, are the services they're providing working for them? Do they need something different? So, we wear the, you know, mental health um where we're providing individualized services, but we do a lot of advocacy um and just support of our families as well. You know, I know my team's been involved in IEP meetings, 504 meetings for recommendations. I, you know, doing threat assessments in the district. I mean, so we we really wear a lot of hats and um my providers are really a part of their school communities and again we're we're really just trying to provide student support the best that we can. Um thank you. Wait, one more thing before we move on from this. Um MJ, so thank you for being here
038this evening. Thank your team, all of our MHIS, our school counselors that are here supporting you that support our students. And thank you, Will Kates in the back, who was our our first mental health uh coordinator here at the district and really started all of this uh for us. And thank you to the board and to the general community for allowing us to to as MJ said, bring bring folks in so that there's no billing. When you're billing, you're also taking away time from your patients, right? So, um thank you for all of you for being here and for all you do for us. Thank you. All right. Uh, moving on to mission moments. Um, tonight we are honoring Mnest Snell. She embodies our portrait of a staff member quality of being student centered. And
039I'm going to read um something that Tina Reynolds, who is our director of nutrition services, wrote about MNA. Mete has been the kitchen manager at McCormick since August 12, 2020. And her passion for cooking as well as her deep compassion for our students has grown stronger with each passing year. During the pandemic, her empathy shown brightly as she worked tirelessly to ensure every student was fed, preparing weekend meals and keeping up with the growing number of students needing breakfast and lunch. MNA continually introduces new and creative meals that spark curiosity and encourage students to explore food in exciting hands-on ways. Her commitment to building student- centered relationships led to the creation of McCormick's very first baking club, a space that's grown into something truly special and something she has dreamed of from the beginning. She's
040expanded the club to include guest speakers like representatives from Fork Farms, our high school chef to teach essential cooking skills, and our own assistant kitchen manager, a former baker at Buskins, who shares cake decorating skills. She also collaborates with McCormick's very own PE teacher, Carrie G, to create simple, healthy recipes students can try at home. Mnet has even introduced friendly food competitions, challenging students to cook with mystery ingredients or creatively substitute missing ones, including teaching flexibility, problem solving, and fun in the kitchen. Her selflessness, her daily kindness, and her relentless dedication teach our students that food isn't just fuel, it's a life skill. And MNA is leading that charge with heart, joy, and inspiration. So, we're very, very happy and proud to have her. Tina, come on. You gota get up to the microphone a
041little bit. Come on now. Tina's our food service director. Laura, you can join her if you want. Um, but we're we're uh we're we're super just super proud and super happy of you and certainly all of all of our food service folks, but MNA, especially this past week, you know, having the opportunity to go to McCormack and be a part of the food club. And that was fun. I mean, that was super fun. And um our our students certainly learned some life skills there. Most importantly, the best food is made with love. It absolutely is. I mean, learning does not stop in the classroom. We keep on going. So, so I was at the high school today for AP presentations and I heard we have fire roasted pizzas now. Fire smart mouth pizza is what
042it's called. Yes. Okay. I was bought raving about it. The the kids and the teachers that I was with. So, I was I was surprised when I heard about that. I was like, that's Yep. Fresh made every day. takes us about five hours, but our participation, we're a nonprofit, so all the money goes back into the kids. Wow. They love their pizza. And much grain. Paul noticed it was whole grain. Paul noticed it was whole grainy. Where is he? I I'll just say I got to judge at the McCormack contest. It was a lot of fun. The kids was 25 or 30 kids in there. I sort of felt hives breaking out because I couldn't I couldn't believe those two teachers were just letting them cook and cut things with a knife and everything else.
043They got along great. And MNA had a really special relationship with the kids. It was really impressive and delicious. She really does. She does a great job. I mean, I don't think a lot of people brag about the nutrition services at their school, but we we really are lucky to have you all. I just think that you're doing so many creative things and I mean I went to the Harry Potter feast which was so fun and I just this is really really great. There's a lot of kids who also love culinary experiences so this is a great way to get them interested in that early. And we started growing our hydroponics today as well. So we're growing our own lettuce. Shh. Don't tell the kids either. Oh, we appreciate you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank
044you, Tina. All right. Do we have any public commentary? Not for the first round. No. Okay. All right. Um, we will be moving on to the treasures reports and I think Michael has an update for us. Yes. So, we'll do the finance committee update real quick. uh mainly focused on the you know the House bill the House budget bill moving through Columbus right now as we've been focusing on at our last few meetings. Um so on our website right now there's three areas that you can look at if you want to get a little bit involved which we would uh appreciate that from all of our community members. So if you go to the website you can go to the more tab and then you can go to the treasures page. So, it's not too
045hard not too hard to find. And then there's three areas. There's a get involved area. And that get involved area is the one that we recently put up that provides some guidance, provides the contact information that you need for our local uh representatives, and then a template that you can use. There's two updated tabs. One that explains to you what the fair school funding is. Um, so you can understand that. Um because as the current bill that's moving through, our district would lose a million dollars over the next two fiscal years, I believe, Doug. Um so so that's there. So it's good to understand that and and read that page. And then there's a second page, and this is the one that's far more egregious than the first. So House Bill 96. And for this
046one, I'm just going to go ahead and just read what we have on the website. Um, I know other people I know I could tell you just to go read it, but I would just rather read it out loud here rather than just try to explain it since we put this together as a as a district. So, um, House Bill 96. So, school districts across the state, including Milford, um, are facing renewed challenges due to the long-standing inequities in how Ohio funds its public schools. One of the most pressing concerns is House Bill 96, a proposal that threatens to penalize districts that have maintained their finances responsibly. Instead of rewarding careful careful planning and community trust, the bill would strip away locally approved funding from its districts that maintain healthy cash reserves regardless of the
047reason or necessity for those savings. Um, and this is a good point to interject that even though the Milford has been going through financial challenges and we haven't had uh we we failed two operating levies, our budget still sits above the threshold that there that that I'm going to discuss here. So, the fact that we do still have some longevity here while we continue to try to uh work with the community and and do our performance audit to uh uh you know build the confidence of the community to get them to pass a levy. We're still above this threshold. So, that kind of gives you a good um understanding of how low this number is. So, House Bill 96 requires school districts to reduce their cash reserves if they exceed 30% of their annual spending.
048It penalizes districts that save strategically to stretch levy dollars and prepare for rising cost. Could force schools like Milford to return to the ballot more often, asking taxpayers for new levies just to maintain existing services. Um, House Bill 96 would punish districts that plan ahead. Milford works hard to save money so we can avoid asking our community for new tax levies too often. These savings help pay for teachers, classroom materials, technology, extracurriculars, and more without needing to go back to voters every few years. But this bill says that if we save too much, we could lose some of that money, even if we're saving it for good reasons, like covering rising costs or protecting against emergencies. If this bill becomes law, it could force us to ask families for money sooner than planned just to
049keep doing what we're already doing. So, our impact for Milford, House Bill 96 result in potential loss of 19 or 10 to$19 million funding that has already been responsibly saved and built into our long-term financial plan. This would come on top of the potential loss that I mentioned about the fair school funding plan of $1 million, placing even greater pressure on uh our ability to serve our students. Since our last operating levy was in 2013, Milford has taken pride in fiscal responsibility, strategic planning, and maximizing every tax taxpayer dollar. House Bill 96 would make that approach unsustainable. We could be forced to return to voters more often, not to invest in the future, but simply to preserve what we already have. This unfairly shifts the burden to local residents who have long supported strong public
050schools. In addition to increased levy pressure, we may also face deeper cuts to staffing, programs, and essential services, further straining our schools and students. So why do reserves matter? So due due to House Bill 920, nearly 80 89% of Milford's millillage is outside of the 20 mil floor, meaning we do not receive additional revenue when property values increase. That's why we're expected to save early in a levy cycle and spin those reserves down gradually at a as costs rise. Milford is respons uh Milford believes in responsible financial management, transparency, and honoring the trust of our community has placed in us. House Bill 96 undermines those values by threatening to override the careful decision made by our local elected board of education in our voters. And then uh we urge lawmakers to reconsider this proposal, protect
051local control, and support funding solutions that reward not punish districts that plan for the future. Um, so I wanted to read all that just so people could understand uh, you know, the level of uh, worry that we should all have for that. It does return money back to the taxpayer. So, we don't really know how that would even be done. Um but ultimately you would be faced with levy after levy and you would have districts that um really can't sustain at the level we do with extracurriculars and the things that we do in our area. So, uh, very important for people to read that, understand it, and if you are against it like I am, and I know the rest of our board and our administration are, um, it would be good to write the
052right Columbus, write the local write your local people, but also write the, um, what's the because it's going to the Senate now. So, you had to write the education committee. Senate Education Committee, Senate Finance Committee, uh Senator Terry Johnson, um is our senator here for Milford schools. Yeah. So, it's already So, just so everybody understands, the governor puts forward a budget that went to the house. The House changed it. The governor's budget did not include this. Then it went to the House, the House changes to this, and now it sits with the Senate. So, um you know, it could be only weeks before it passes the Senate. We should know something within a month and after the Senate debates then it usually goes to a conference committee and then they make a decision on what's
053going to happen. Yeah. So it has to be enacted by uh or signed by the governor uh by June 30th, July 1st and then it takes effect 90 days later. Yeah. So so I don't think anybody would argue that it's not, you know, good for the legislature to discuss different ways for school funding. Um, but rushing through something like this that obviously wasn't even in the governor's bill. Nobody had ever even heard of it before the house put it into this one. Um, doesn't seem like it's it's going to be good for school districts across the state. So, I do think that the part that really doesn't make sense to me is the 30%. I think that's really really it it just doesn't make sense. Um, I know in business um that's sometimes how budgets
054are decided like you get a certain amount of budget per year and then at the end of the year if you don't spend it you don't get that money for the next year. Well that ends up with a lot of people spending money really irresponsibly because they're like well we have to spend that money before next year otherwise we won't get that in the following year. And I can only imagine what it's going to do to schools because, you know, unlike a business, we have to have a five-year forecast twice a year. And we have to be able to plan. And if we can't have some kind of reserve, we really can't plan for what our next one year is going to look like, much less five years. It's just really difficult. Yeah. Yeah. to
055to give you another example of how this would hurt us is we have a bond rating and we were fortunate that you passed the levy and thank you for that. Um, but what happens is when they look at your bond rating, it's very similar to when you go and get a loan from the bank. They want to see how much money you have, how much money can you put down. So, they're looking at your fund balance. And if your fund balance is where they want it, they will give you a better bond rating, which means you get a better interest rate, which means you don't pay as much in taxes. If the fund balance goes down with this 30% cap, then you don't have as much. Your bond rating goes down, interest rates go up,
056which means we have to ask you for more money. But the thing is is you're not voting on it because you already did. So that's what's difficult. So, this is a fight throughout the whole state of Ohio. Um, there's many, not only superintendents, but treasures that believe it's it's a 50-50 split. It will or will not happen. Um, nobody wants to act impatiently. However, there's only a couple months and you have to do something. Um, so reaching out to the Senate is a perfect opportunity. I know that's what all the districts are doing. We've invited people here just to talk to them, speak our mind, speak our peace, uh, ask for help. Uh, because this is money that you've already said yes to us. That's what's being taken away. It's nothing new. And then you
057get into a cycle where if you tried to run a levy because they're taking levy dollars away, well, guess what? You just pass something again. They're going to take it back. So, what do you do? So yeah. Yeah. So you can again you can look at our website and I also last thing I want to point out is Lovelin. You know our partners over at Lovelin with our ex treasurer John Esby over there. They have a really nice page too that's on their website called lobby and and you know John does a very nice job at explanations too. So if you want to look at more than just our website our neighbors and lots of districts across the state have information on this. So all right. Well that's my update. I know it's I know
058I'm always long, but I feel like right now we're in an important moment for our finances as we always are. So, it is it's important. Um, so I need a motion to approve the board reports. So moved. Second. Okay, Doug, you're up. Okay. So, I'm not going to let that get me down. I am a half half glass full kind of guy. So, we're going to be positive. Things are good. Things are great actually. Um, but we have some teaching moments. So, as we begin with our cash reconciliation, if we scroll down, we can see that we are balanced, which is keep going there, Steve. We are balanced. So, our operating and our uh so our fund balance in inside the accounting system and our operating account match, which is perfect. So then as we
059slide down to the next, we see that we this is our investments. And we can see that uh I know it's hard to see. I apologize. There's $298,000 that we earned for the month of March. And then year to date, we've earned approximately 4.2 million. Now the 4.2 million is spread across many funds. A good portion of them, of course, are the uh the bond funds and the um the middle school project. So then as we scroll down to the next slide. Now this is an important slide. This here and I show it every month. This is our five-year forecast. So this is a monthly update of your five-year forecast. So this column right here is what we presented in November. Now we present this twice a year, November and May. So one is coming
060up. This is what we did as far as uh revenue and expenditures for the month of March. And then this column here is a snapshot as of March 31st where we stand. So if you scroll all the way down and this is the teaching moment. This is where things become difficult after you just listen to the uh presentation by Mr. Wilson. So we predicted in November that we were going to deficit spend by roughly $39 million. I have to look at my cheat sheet. I apologize. So we had a month where we overspent which is going to happen because we don't make anything and we don't sell anything. So here you show a snapshot where if we stopped we're at a ne we've over spent for the year $11 million. Now that mean that's not
061good. We need to be fiscally responsible. That is my goal. We are going to be fiscally responsible. We are not going to overspend. However, what everyone doesn't always know, if you scroll back up, Steve, all the way back to the top, property tax revenue, which is what we were just discussing. So, first line, we have forecasted around 38 million. To date, as of March 31st, we've only received 17 million. We haven't received our second half settlement yet. That second half settlement will put us into a positive position for the year, which means everything that we're doing right now is working. If the substitute House Bill 96 is enacted, well, this is a good example. And again, I'm a half glass full kind of guy. This is what it would look like because we would get
062half the money. So, um, and when are we expecting that next payment? Because I know what you Actually, it came April 1st. Okay, good. Yes, we will see it cleared up next month. So, it will we will see it next. And so, that's what's great is and and you're going to go through these months where you don't have money coming to you. You're not receiving anything. You're not posting any revenue. So, it's why you have to have cash. Another reason you have to have cash to support yourself. And I know everybody knows that. It's the same at home. You have to have cash, especially after Christmas, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Where's that cash? So, but this is a great slide and I love this because it gives us a snapshot of the five-year forecast and where
063we stand. So, and then if you go to the next slide now, this kind of shows it in a graph form. So, you'll see that our local revenue is where we just discussed. It's not to that point yet because we've not been able to post the receipt yet. Um, then you have your state revenue which is up just a little bit. And then of course your uh all other revenue and you can see it's down just a little bit but that's going to happen because of various uh receipts that you receive through the year. And then the next slide now the next slide is our expenditures. This is what we try to not try. This is what we need to control. So salary and benefits are always going to go up. That's going to happen
064because every year the union bargains for raises and this is what what occurs. uh purchase services on the other hand is down. That's what we can control and we're doing a very good job of that. And then you've got all other expenditures and we're doing the same thing. So I'm very proud of us for that. And then the final slide is just a different bar graph where it kind of shows it a different way. Sometimes when I look at graphs, I can see things and I can't depending on the way it's situated. So again, you got salaries, benefits, purchase services, and then everything else. But you can see that we're down just a little bit. So, um, one thing else that I wanted to mention, if you if Steve, can you go all the way
065back to the the actual agenda? So, we have two tabs right here. Now, Mr. Wilson mentioned that we are working on changing the uh, treasures page. I want you to be able to go in there and find things right away. I don't want it to be a difficult situation. So, and I try to put on there as much as possible and try to have links to various things. Um, we switched software back in July. So, unfortunately, when you do that, you have to have approval from the treasur of state in order to utilize the Ohio checkbook. So, and when I say that, it's a free service, but it has to format to your software. So, we've been working on that. and he doesn't have to hit it, but this link right here will bring up
066all the reports. And one of the reports it brings up is I put post every month all the checks that are written uh on a monthly basis. And if you wanted to look at them and see what they are if you don't have access to Ohio checkbook, it's always right there. Um we should have all our data updated with Ohio checkbook uh probably within about three weeks is what they told us. Um and then we'll be able to do it on a quarterly basis. I would like to do it on a monthly basis. They're not sure if they can handle that yet. So, more to come with that. So, any questions? Uh, so just an update too, next month we will be doing five-year forecast. We will. We will. And one other thing that no
067one's sure if we like this or not, but with the substitute House bill, the five-year forecast will go to a three-year forecast. Not sure if that's good or bad just because we don't know what's going to I and I'm a old school kind of guy so I like to see five years down so I will still present that but yeah it's it's going to make it a little more difficult. When you look at a forecast, your first three years are really what you're viewing. It's the last two years, they're going to be all over the place. And you really don't want to look at the last, you know, the fifth year because things can happen between years one and five. So, um, when you look at it, just it's very simple. Go to to two
068lines. Are you overspending? And how what's your fund balance? Then you know if you're doing a good job. So, and I'm very proud of what this school district is doing. So, and uh just a reminder too, we are going through our process of independent audit um which we voted on at the beginning of the year just for transparency and to look at our finances and make sure that we're doing everything correctly and see where there were areas that we could improve. And um I think they said that would take until like September or October. They said late October, early November. Okay. Yes, that's still the goal. So, and they don't give you regular updates, so we just know they ask for a lot of information. Okay. Uh, any more discussion or questions? All right. Please
069call the role. Mrs. Powers. Yes. Mr. Wilson? Yes. Mrs. Chestnut? Yes. Mrs. Mason? Yes. Now I need a motion to approve the below vendors. So move second. Any questions, comments? No. Please call the role. Mrs. Powers? Yes. Mr. Wilson? Yes. Mrs. Chestnut? Yes. Mrs. Mason? Yes. Um, now item three. We have a couple of contracts for approval and I need a motion to approve them. So moved. Second. Please call the role. Mrs. Powers, yes. Mr. Wilson, yes. Mrs. Chestnut, yes. Mrs. Mason, yes. Now, we have a bunch of donations. Um, can I get a motion to approve those? So moved. Second. Any discussion around this? I would just say I think it's wonderful that so many people are donating in honor of Peggy TR, a longtime teacher in the district. I think it's quite a
070testament to what she did for the district. Yeah. Yeah. And I read about her at the meeting last month because there was there was uh stuff coming in. So everybody, you know, really wants to go back and hear me talk back to last month. I'm just kidding. I I I would just like to say not as the treasurer of the district, but as a resident, I'm very proud and impressed what's happening with our donations. It it it's on a regular basis. So, thank you. Yeah. And we're very grateful for the boosters um and them helping out our athletics program. Yeah, absolutely. Um any other comments? Please call the RO. Mrs. Powers? Yes. Mr. Wilson? Yes. Mrs. Chestnut? Yes. Mrs. Mason? Yes. Now we're moving on to superintendence business. Thank you, President Mason, members of the
071board. Mr. Johnson is here to talk about the middle school. So, things continue to go well uh with our middle school project. Um we are still on uh schedule for our August 1st update. Um this here's a picture of the front of the building. It's kind of hard to see, but windows are going in the gymnasium. Um they've put them in the um they've put them in the front of the building right here and then they're working their way around and they're getting ready to finish up the brick work um on the gym. Uh this is a science room. You can see some of the casework um sinks and and floorings in case works going in. And this this room in particular is is one of our science rooms. This is an ELA space. So,
072you can kind of see the the lighter flooring is the the pathway, if you will. Um, and then these ELA spaces are extended learning area. Uh, there'll be furniture in there where teachers can take students out into. We've got lockers obviously been installed. Um, there'll be like stools will go along here uh with that countertop. It's really hard to get a good picture of of the courtyard. Um, this is actually taken from a third floor window. Um, so they've poured kind of from here all the way around the outside back to this side. Um, they'll be connecting that and then continuing on to pour concrete. It's it's alternating colors of of concrete. And then there'll be a walkway, if you can kind of see it's formed up here, that'll be kind of standard concrete. So,
073um, there's a lot of work goes into that because they're very small pores because of the changing colors. Um, so it's not like they can't do it in just one big pour. They're literally pouring like this section right here. And there's a section over on this side was all they poured uh the day before. Again, another view. Got our lockers. This is from standing kind of inside the ELA space looking out towards um the lockers. Uh doors have been being installed on the second and third floor as well. This is our main gymnasium. Um again, it's a little bit dark and hard to see, but basketball hoops have been installed. Um we've got our scoreboard. Um our red wall. Um the ceiling's been painted, the walls have been painted. Um actually the wood for the
074gym floor will be delivered before our next board meeting. Wow. Can you talk about that a little bit, Jeeoff? the wood and how it has to acclimate. It has to acclimate. So, one of the things we've been spending a lot of time on is is working on starting up our HVAC system. Um, all winter long we've had torpedo propane torpedo heaters heating the building so that we can, you know, paint and put flooring in and put finishes in. But as the spring starts turning into summer and we get humidity and higher temperatures, we've got to get cooling into that building. So, we've filled and are currently flushing our HVAC system. Um, we've started up our pumps. Uh, we'll be ne next weekend or next week, we'll be working on starting up our boilers. And then
075the week of the 28th, so a week from Monday, we'll start u working on starting up the chillers. So, we're hoping by the 1 of May, we're actually able to push some some cold air and get humidity out of the building. Um, so that's important because we got wood casework um that's already been installed and as I said earlier, we've got to bring the wood for the gym floor will come into the building and we'll sit and and acclimatize I think for two weeks before they'll actually start laying the floor down. Um here you see the elevator is going in. Um, so the doors have that that's been an open area for probably a year, maybe more. Um, but they they've started installing the elevator, so they're able to come back in and put the
076block around the elevator doors. I think that's the um I think that's the second floor, but they've got it installed on all three floors. Is that it? So, again, things are going are going great. Um, I'm taking the academy staff on a tour tomorrow morning. Um, and then May 6th, which is election day, when our students are not in session, um, all the middle school, um, staff will get an opportunity to go through the building at that point in time, which will probably be their last time seeing it until we move in in August. Awesome. Thank you. Thanks. Thank you, Mr. Johnson. Uh, item two is our legislative update. Michael really hit on a lot of House Bill 96 that I was going to talk about, but I would also just like to reiterate that
07790% of our students in the state of Ohio go to public schools. And I think that's very important for um for folks. Um you know, one thing that we haven't really touched a lot on here are vouchers. Uh my message to um our legislators are was we're not afraid of competition. Uh, I think we have a great product here and um I think our our students and families are here for a reason. 97% of the vouchers that have been taken thus far this year, they already took them. So, new new opportunities for students is not happening. Uh, and so, uh, if you live out east in a rural area, what are your voucher options? You don't have any. Uh, and so I think that um just just wanted to add that piece. I think it's
078important to continue to uh reach out to Senator Johnson. Let's not forget Representative Schmidt and um Representative Burr to to our south and east um who is also on the Senate Education Committee and has listened to us. They have actually listened to us um and we appreciate uh the time that they've given us. So that's that's my legislative report this month. Yeah. And the one point to point out on vouchers if you are going to write the legislature is is that there was a billion dollars that went to vouchers last year a billion and then there's another 1.5 earmarked in this bill or at least over one billion dollars earmarked for it this year. So, with 90% of Ohio students going to public schools, and if you search, there's plenty of different uh outlets out
079there that have done maps of the different private schools that are available to kids in Ohio. And you can see that there's not even enough of them to uh give the level of education that our public schools are given all across the state. So to defund um or lower the funds uh greatly to the public schools all the while giving a billion dollars plus to private corporations that our community members won't have any say so over like you guys are sitting here today listen to us and talk to us. Um it's something that's important when you write them. It's just something for you to think about as you write them and you think about the way that the money is being allocated across the state. And the vouchers are being given to families that they
080are not needs-based. That's right. Yeah. You can be wealthy and taking tax dollars to pray pay for the private school. Yeah. So, yeah, thank you for that, John. I've been trying to focus on the one thing. I appreciate you bringing that piece up. All right. On to um policy. We have the first reading for the following policies listed. We'll bring those back next month for approval and these were all addressed in our committee. And just so you know, this is the time of year that we get a lot of policy updates. We are always working with OSBA to make sure that we're compliant with all new legislation. So that's why you'll see like a lot of um policies all at once. All right, item four. We do have some policies for approval. Bringing them back
081this month. First reading was last month. Asking for your approval of those policies. Can I get a motion to approve the policies? So moved. Second. Any discussion? Please call the role. Mrs. Powers? Yes. Mr. Wilson? Yes. Mrs. Chestnut? Yes. Mrs. Mason? Yes. Uh, moving on to human resources business. Um, I would like to give a little update before we go into this, um, from our personnel committee. Um, as the school year winds down, we're continuing to monitor our staffing needs and fill open positions across the district. We expect only a small number of new hires for the 2526 school year. Um, all current openings are posted on the district website under the employment tab. We have officially closed the all day kindergarten lottery. We had 192 families enter and although five were not selected for
082their for first choice building, every family was offered a full day kindergarten spot somewhere in the district. Kindergarten registration still open for both full day and half day options. And also the search for our next Milford High School principal is underway. Um we're partnering with K12 Consulting to gather input and build a profile that reflects what our students, staff, and community are looking for in a new leader. So this is what the process is going to look like for that. Um from April 7th to 16th we had a community questionnaire um that went out where we could have feedback and collect that feedback. And um then today we had four focus groups. Um the first one was held with Milford High School students um and then there was another one with Milford High School staff
083and then we just went to one with the district staff and board members. And then there's one currently going on right now with members of the community. So we expect to bring a hiring recommendation to the board of education at the May meeting. So very quick timeline, but we definitely wanted uh to get a lot of input from the community and the people who work in our district and our students because this is a very important position to fill. um for the high school principal. So, moving on um to our human resources businesses. I need a motion to approve theou with the MEA. Are we doing these as consent? Are we doing all the HR? Yeah, it's all consent. Okay. So, we will do items G1 through G6. So moved. Second. Any discussion? Yes. Yep.
08420 years of service for uh Renati Van Holly. Like to thank her. Uh and also like to thank Dr. Arnold who is here this evening for giving us uh four years. Um you during our um time, you know, talking to our consultant, if we can get five years or more, um we're doing pretty well. Um the high school principal is no question the hardest position in the district u to be the face of um that high school. And so thank you Dr. Arnold. Appreciate you. Yeah, absolutely. All right, moving on to curriculum and we need to vote. Yeah, vote. Sorry, totally miss that. Please call the role. Mrs. Powers, yes. Mr. Wilson, yes. Mrs. Chestnut, yes. Mrs. Mason, yes. I didn't want to interrupt that right there with our kindergarten numbers. Are the numbers similar
085to what we had last year? They're a little bit lower. Lower. Yeah. Uh now moving on to curriculum and instruction and Emily has an update for us. Yes. So we had curriculum instruction last week. Um we had some good conversation about student fees and we'll be approving those tonight. Um but the overarching goal was really to keep the fees as flat as possible um for families um who are experience we're all experiencing inflation. So it's a balance of you know what the school district can take on and what we expect families to take on. Um there was also a really good technology conversation as we move towards um phasing out bring your own devices and we get onetoone devices for um all the students in the district. Um, we do have math curriculum that is
086currently being evaluated and they're scheduled to present the two final recommendations tomorrow and we anticipate approval of the final in May. Um, the summer reading program has been finalized with the lists um very similar to choices from last year. Um, and the um committee reviewed data from Portrait of the Eagle walks and data drive. Um and the focus was on critical thinking and data and next steps. Next steps are going to be shared in the teaching and learning newsletter coming out next week on the 24th. Um and that's uh we also have some good technology happening uh with under Emma's Emma's leadership really looking at um amping up the technology that we need uh at the high school to support all the devices we have there and server upgrades. Um security is really really important
087as we see schools are getting targeted more and more um for cyber attacks and that sort of stuff we need. That's my updates. Great. All right. Um I need a motion to approve the curriculum pay as listed. So move. Second. Any discussion? Please call the role. Mrs. Powers. Yes. Mr. Wilson. Yes. Mrs. Chestnut. Yes, Mrs. Mason. Yes. Now I need a motion to approve the school fees for the 2526 school year. So moved. Second. Discussion. Are these going to be posted for families? Oh, Mr. Daniel, we'll let Paul get in. Yes. Couldn't give him a You got to have an opportunity. Always got jokes. Um, I will first want to thank our department chairs and our building teacher leaders and our secretaries and our part-time secretaries um at the elementary, new, middle, and high school.
088They really work hard on behalf of our families. So, all of these will be posted. They are currently posted here. We will work we will work hard after you approve them to get the one pagers done and most likely in our uh back to school guide. What you will see for high school, Steve, if you want to just I'm not going to go through those. We have 14 reductions. Um they're really small, but um and then we have 17 increases between a dollar and $2. The district does not make any money. Uh we are a pass through entity for AP. So any of the AP courses each year they go up a dollar or two. Um we are a pass through. If you are on free or reduced lunch, we are we wave those. The
089college board does. So for access there are 16 other fees between $3 and $30. Most of those are because we are experiencing the same inflationary pressures that our families are experiencing. We're seeing it in a rising cost of printed materials. So for a good example of that would be a a lit book and a lit circle. They're averaging anywhere from $2 to $3 more. And then we did add um fees to courses or change names. So probability and statistics is a good one. We changed the name and just applied the same fee uh for EMIS purposes. So and we have ASL 2 and three. They'll charge the same fee as ASL1. So um the entire department chair and admin team at the high school worked really hard uh to make sure that our families were
090not gouged. Um, and we continue to hear from families that while we are tech heavy, they want print materials for our children. That that is important to be reading and writing and annotating in all of the subject areas, which is why AP Psych actually uh added a $30 book um this year that that will be passed on. You know, they find that book to be very valuable on top of the uh AP, you know, hardback book that we buy. And we don't buy those every cycle. Some of our AP books because they stay relevant can be used anywhere between 10 and 15 years. So two adoption cycles we can get out of those. Um at the middle school um you'll see that we have some additions because we're bringing on sixth grade. Uh we do
091have two reductions in music where we're not going to record. We haven't. And then a reduction in French. We are very happy with uh the math adoption. We're only going up a dollar. So moving from Envision to Desmos, we are a dollar more than we were five years ago. And when a district when the district signs that five-year agreement, we are locked in for the period of five years at that amount. So we're very happy um there. And you'll see that we continue to, you know, when we add courses there. Um, and the one to one, uh, moving the one to one is important because families were paying $30, $350 twice. They'll just move to $50 per year. And we mitigate our cyber risks by not being one to one anymore. Um, that was something
092that we've continued to hear. So, we'll be phasing out our bring your own device over many years. And second, it will allow us to be one to one in elementary. So that's a big deal for the district. And then finally for elementary, the curricular items are mostly reduced. Uh we did raise the tech fee to $25. However, you know, because we were able to reduce our exposure in the consumable area, we're seeing anywhere from 17 to $40 and the increase in tech fee for fifth grade was 50. So, we were able to reduce, again, working really hard um as a district to make sure we're not saddling our families with with extra expenses. So, we're able to continue to move forward, continue to innovate, continue to be really focused on our families and making sure
093that we are passing along the savings that we get to them. Paul, I would agree. I know parents do appreciate still getting the work uh the paper products because if you are want to help with your child or or whoever you don't even know what they're working on because you you haven't seen the digital program that's being used and I remember parents would regularly ask for paper copies of things. Thank you. All right. Is there any more discussion? Okay. Please call the role. Mrs. Powers. Yes. Mr. Wilson. Yes. Mrs. Chestnut. Yes. Mrs. Mason. Yes. Now moving on to business operations. I'm going to need a motion to approve the HCC category 2 equipment proposal. So moved. Second. And Jeff, can you tell us about this? Um, yeah. You, it was mentioned just a little bit
094ago about technology particularly in the high school. So this is to upgrade our wireless infrastructure at the high school. Um, generally this should be updated every four to five years. Where's Emma? Four to five years. And we're on like eight, seven or eight years. So, um, we're kind of we're we're behind the eightball getting it. And just what every year goes by, there's more and more tech usage and and things like that. Um, so this will be to upgrade the the switches, the access points, and as well as the cabling in the high school for our wireless infrastructure. Um it was bid through -ate. So we we will get 40% of that will be be reimbursed to the district um after the project's over. Great. And this will happen over the summer. Yes, this will
095happen over the summer. Awesome. All right. Any more questions, Jeff? Okay. Please call the role. Mrs. Powers? Yes. Mr. Wilson? Yes. Mrs. Chestnut? Yes. Mrs. Mason? Yes. Now moving on to concluding items. Do we have any public participation? We do. Okay. Um I just want to read the statement about public involvement at board meetings. Individuals will be permitted three minutes to present to the board of education. Complaints against the school employee are not permitted in public session until the defined lines of communication have been met. Each person addressing the board will give his her name and address. Public participation may be extended by a vote of the majority of the board. And with that, we can have our first participant. Sure, Julie. Do I need to repeat my name and address? Okay. Good evening. My
096name is Julie Masten. I'm here as a mother whose daughter Kaylee died by suicide in 2023, but also as someone speaking up for every student who has died and been quietly erased. Tonight, I'm asking you not just to honor Kaylee with a graduation chair, but to create a policy that allows any student to be publicly remembered at graduation if their classmates and families want that. Whether it's suicide, cancer, or a car accident, grief deserves space. No one should have to fight this hard for something so human. There has been claims that recognizing Kaye could promote suicide, but that's not backed by real evidence. In fact, organizations like the Suicide Prevention Resource Center, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and Postvention, researchers like Wexler, Swanson, and Coleman, whose work has been published as recently as 2022,
097all support safe, thoughtful memorials as part of healing and prevention. These experts emphasize that acknowledging a student's death when done carefully reduces the risk, builds connection, and supports those left behind. If the district had followed the full scope of recommendations from the National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement, including their own guidance on grief, support, and prevent postvention, there would already be a policy in place allowing memorials like a chair. I spoke to the director of the NCSCB myself. Even their own guidelines encourage schools to work with families and students to create meaningful community supported ways to acknowledge death. A chair placed quietly and respectfully fits that guidance when it comes from the community. Milford has removed flowers, torn down posters, and ignored students efforts to grieve. What message does this send? That students are
098disposable? that their lives only matter if they didn't struggle. Right now, Milford has no policy for this, no protocol, just silence. And in that silence, flowers are removed, posters are torn down, and kids are left wondering if their grief matters. That's harmful. We need a written, transparent policy, one that affirms how this district will support grieving students, how it will honor those who die, and how it will make space for healing. And that goes handinhand with a deeper issue. This district needs to invest in better mental health resources, real postvention plans, and long-term support for students who are actually struggling. A guidance counselor and a hotline are not enough. That's reaction, not prevention. Over 6,800 people have signed the petition supporting Kayle's chair. And it's not just about her. It's about the past students that
099have been buried in silence and for the future ones who deserve better. This is not about glorifying suicide. We are not asking for a spectacle. We are asking for basic compassion in a structured, respectful way to grieve. It's about honoring life, allowing grief, and supporting students who are still here. If you won't change the policy now, that's fine. I'll keep showing up until you do because students deserve more than silence and families deserve better than a locked door. Thank you, and long live Kaylee Masten. Did we have another? We do. Uh, Louisa. Oh, God. Thank you. [Music] State my name and address. Yes. Louisa McQueen, 1259 Holland Drive, Mulford. I am really deeply deeply saddened by being here today in support of Julie and Kaye. I can't even believe we're having this discussion. Recently, Biden
100had a speech on TV and he said, um, it's dignity. Simple dignity. Everybody deserves dignity. I am originally from South Africa and I moved to this country because it was patriotic. And when we are not honoring a student that killed herself at a graduation, this is unamerican. I came here to be in the best country in the world, to live the best life that I could for me and for my children and for my grandchildren. And when this board decides not to honor a student, I don't even believe we're having this discussion. We might as well throw away the flag when we bring home our soldiers and we drape the coffin with the flag and salute. We might as well just throw it away if that's where we're going to start at this level. Not
101to honor student that has died. we might as well just put it in the trash, burn up the flag because that's what you're doing. You are setting precedence for the future. You are setting precedence for these children when they become adults. I hope and I pray that you guys make the right decision and I thank you today for allowing me to speak. And do we have anyone else? That's it. Okay. Um, first of all, I wanted to thank both of you for coming and speaking tonight. I also want to thank the entire community for your engagement and care for our students and families. I think it's really important. I'm going to read a statement from the board. Um, concerning this, we know this is a deeply emotional issue because the loss of a student, a
102friend, and a daughter can never be anything but heartbreaking. As board members and as parents and community members ourselves, we have felt the weight of this loss alongside you. We want to especially acknowledge Kayle's family tonight. We recognize how hard it is to sit here and hear these conversations and we are truly sorry for your loss. Because this is so emotional, we feel it is our responsibility to lead with care and with evidence. Our job is to support every single student, especially those who are quietly struggling. That is why before finalizing our graduation procedures, Milford schools consulted with the National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement, researched university research, reviewed university research, and listened to mental health professionals. The Claremont County Mental Health and Recovery Board has also reviewed, discussed suggestions, and approved the language
103and intent of our plan. While we understand that there is a petition circulating with many signatures, we also want the community to know that we've been listening to a wide range of voices. We've heard from mental health professionals, staff, parents of graduating seniors, and other community members on both sides of this conversation. This issue has touched many and the perspectives we've received have helped us better understand the complexity of the situation and the impact that our decision is not only on Kayle's family but also on students, parents, and even other districts. We understand that to many placing an empty chair may seem like a simple compassionate gesture, but experts in adolescent mental health are clear. Public memorials during events like graduation, especially symbolic ones like an empty chair, can unintentionally increase the risk of suicide
104contagion. That term refers to when one suicide influences others, particularly among young people who may already be struggling. It may seem counterintuitive, but researchers, including those cited in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, have found that well-meaning tributes can sometimes lead to more pain, not healing. Students may see the attention surrounding a memorial and feel that suicide is the only way they'll be remembered. We cannot take that chance. As painful as it is, we must follow the guidance of professionals to protect our students. We will not make different decisions depending on how a student passed away. We do not place empty chairs for any student because doing so selectively would be unfair and unsafe. That said, it's important to know we have, we are, and we will continue to recognize
105Kaylee and every student that we've lost. At graduation, we will read her name aloud with the other graduates. Her name will be printed in the graduation program. Her family will receive a diploma privately and the yearbook will include an im remembrance supplement to honor all students who passed away during their time at Milford. We will continue to support our seniors and all students through this. In fact, just last week, our mental health coordinator and high school leadership met with seniors to provide a space to talk and ask questions. We've hosted events like our kick the stigma soccer match held in partnership with organizations like 1 and5 988 Best Point Behavioral Health and Child Focus. That's what we want for our students. A community where no one struggles alone. Where grief is honored, but so is
106healing. We will continue to listen. We will continue to provide support and we will continue to make every decision with the well-being of all of our students in mind. Do we have any discussion before um we end the meeting? Nope. Okay. I I do want to say um that we are going into executive session um and it will be for the purpose of discussing the employment of a public employee. We will be returning to ajourn in here um but we will not be making any decisions or voting on anything. So I will need a motion to withdraw to executive session. Um, really quickly, can we announce our next board meeting while we still have people because the room will be quite quiet when we get back. Yes. Um, I was going to do this and
107then go into discussion and next board meeting. So, uh, can I just get a motion to withdraw into? So moved. Second. Okay. Um, and a vote. Mrs. Powers? Yes. Mr. Wilson? Yes. Mrs. Chestnut? Yes. Mrs. Mason? Yes. Our next boarding board meeting will be May 5th, 2025. It will be here at the board of education administrative building at 1099 state route 131 at 6 pm. And we will now adjourn to executive session.