BOE Meeting Highlights- March 2018

March 2018- Board of Education Meeting Highlights

1. Opening of Meeting

A. Roll Call

B. Approval of Agenda

C. Pledge of Allegiance

D. Welcome to Visitors and Public Participation:

• Dr. Barnhart, Oxford resident, shared his concerns regarding the new Kramer design, specifically with the style of windows and accessibility concerns.

• Casey Waddell, Director of Oxford Parks & Rec, thanked the board for shared facility use and a successful season with youth basketball.  Approximately 130 hrs worth of Saturday games (287 players).

• Cathi Hainline, Oxford resident and mother of 4, President of TBFA, shared information regarding “Community Unified for the Advancement of Talawanda Athletics”.  The group is interested in changes in the athletic program, collaborations between youth programs and THS, and collaboration with the Board of Ed. Among the concerns...is the numbers of student participants, community support at events, and performance of coaches.

• Mike Wright, Hanover Twp resident, read aloud the district policy for interscholastic activities.  He is concerned that the board/district has not been giving enough emphasis/attention to the athletic program.  He is concerned about the culture in the community regarding the athletic program. He requested a district evaluation of the THS athletic program.

• Brian Price, Oxford Twp resident, shared his love for the community and youth sports, he is concerned about the “poor athletic culture”.  He has already had a conversation with Mr. Butterfield and had a meeting with Mr. York regarding this topic. He is concerned about the surplus funds the district has in the bank and is concerned that TSD is spending in a comparable way to neighboring districts in the area of athletics, but is experiencing less success in this area.  He also compared the number of participants...THS numbers are low. He shared his expectation for athletics to improve, or the group is willing to take steps to repeal funding to TSD via a ballot issue.

• Brenda Wright, Reily Twp, President Classified Union & David Annable, President Certified Union, are concerned about the present cleaning services being used at THS & Kramer.  They have made a request to not continue with this service and return to utilizing district custodial services.

• Mike Dittman, Hanover Twp resident, he is concerned about the per pupil expenditure (PPE) at TSD.  He is asking for the board to share a plan to lower the PPE in TSD.

2. Resolutions/Presentations

A. Information Technology Update - Joan Stidham, Andy Zimmerman & Mary Ruppert- Talawanda has just signed a commitment with University of Cincinnati for a 9 course technology program, which will allow acceptance to UC for every student that completes the program (plus freshmen year credits).  Ryan Barter, TSD STEM Coordinator shared information regarding the STEM Task Force, including an elementary STEM educator, engineering courses, and outdoor environmental education, MakerSpaces at TMS, K-2 STEM buddies, and other K-12 STEM initiatives. The presentation ended with a video of student work.  

B. Drug-Free Community Student Survey Results - Amy Macechko, TSD Wellness Coordinator, leads our wellness program to address non-academic barriers to learning.  

Highlights of the Drug Use Survey (alcohol, drugs, tobacco)

• TSD student use peaked in 2005, and we have experienced declines in use overall since then.

• Still work to do...as we still have some students using.

• Alcohol use is the #1 concern...higher use in this college community.

• Marijuana is perceived as the least harmful...higher use in this college community.

• Age of onset is 13.5 years to use substances...and the focus is increasing this age of onset.

• Students are using at home or at a friends on weekends.

• TSD students use less tobacco and prescription drugs than other students in this region.

• The local coalition will conduct listening sessions in this area around marijuana.

• 16.5% of TSD students are utilizing a vaping device, and only half of students feel this is harmful to their health.

• We need to celebrate that MOST TSD students are NOT using and maintaining a drug/alcohol/tobacco free life.  Substance use is decreasing overall.

• TSD has a variety of protective factors and prevention education that assist with TSD students.

• TSD is currently submitting a grant to assist with funding for the programming we have in place and for additional programs.

3. Reports

A. Legislative Liaison Report - Pat Meade

• HB 512- Mr. Meade recommends contacting local legislators on this because the bill proposes the near elimination of the Department of Education and combines this department into others, and is ultimately led by the Governor of the state and his appointees.  This could be detrimental to the state education system.

4. Report of the Treasurer

A. Approval of Minutes- Block A-G- Approved 4-0

B. Approval of Gifts

C. Approval of Financial Report for February 2018

D. Approval of Appropriation Modifications

E. Approval of Appropriation Increases/Decreases

F. Approval of Then & Now Over $3,000

G. Resolution Accepting the Amounts & Rates as Determined by the Budget Commission and Authorizing the Necessary Tax Levies and Certifying Them to the County Auditor for FY19

H. Construction Project Updates- Update on Kramer (struggling with projectors)-

• Heapy Engineering representative shared that he is trying to troubleshoot the issues we have been experiencing with the Hitachi projectors.  He has been on site with our IT team and is trying to address the issue with a fresh set of eyes. He is trying to work with the manufacturer.  The issue is with the firmware and the drivers and how they interact with the Mac computers. Heapy has opened a case with Hitachi Tech Support.  We are waiting for new information from Hitachi. Hitachi has always claimed they are MAC compliant, but the district continues to have major issues.  The BOE would like to push for a resolution quickly.

• LEED Silver was achieved by Kramer.

• Robertson Construction will lead the work on the NEW Marshall project (low bid).

I. FY17 Auditor of State Award

J. OHI/BHP Update

K. OASBO Annual Workshop

L. May 2018 Five-Year Forecast

M. Other Matters

5. Report of the Superintendent

A. Approval of Certificated/Licensed Personnel- Block 5A-C- Approved 4-0

B. Approval of Classified Personnel

C. Approval of Supplemental Personnel

D. Request an RFP for a New Custodial Cleaning Company- Members of the BOE discussed the pertinent areas regarding the benefits of outsourcing janitorial services.

E. Informational Items-

• Community Advisory on March 27th with Senator Bill Coley.

• Only 36 districts received an “A” on the state report card out of 618 total districts.  This is a concern.

• State Graduation Requirements are still being discussed.

• Safety Officials meet again on April 13th.

• Complete planning on the August safety drill.

• Still looking for an Alternative School teacher and Freshmen Academy Social Studies teacher

6. Items From the Board Members

A. Items From the Board Members

• Pat Meade thanked members of the public for coming forward to speak about their concerns.  He appreciates the opportunity to listen. He shared his concerns regarding families living in poverty.  He also raised the question about the possibility of videotaping meetings and Mary Jane Roberts shared that the BOE would need to discuss this further due to the cost associated with this initiative.

• Mary Jane Roberts shared that there is a report available from Butler Tech each month.

• Mike Crowder would like a work session/sessions to discuss construction, school safety, mascot, SRO’s, mental health, cleaning issues, and athletics so that the board can determine their primary goals.  He questioned whether the athletic program as a whole is actually suffering or performing poorly, or if it is just a couple sports. We have data that we can collect for a more total picture. Mary Jane Roberts agreed that discussions are needed and possibly multiple work sessions.

• Kelly Spivey suggested a committee with the district and athletic boosters to discuss the issues raised tonight regarding athletics.

7. Close of Meeting

A. Future Board Events- April 16th

B. Adjournment- 9:29pm