Board Meeting Recap for April 2025

Forest Hills School District is utilizing these articles as a way to communicate specific action taken at regular Board of Education meetings throughout the year. The Board of Education met on Wednesday, April 16, 2025 at Mercer Elementary School to discuss a variety of topics relevant to students, staff and the community.

The official agenda and related attachments for this meeting can be found on the FHSD BoardDocs page here. You can watch a full recording of the meeting on YouTube here.

Nomination and Election of Board Vice President

The FHSD Board of Education voted to approve Wendy Strickler as its Vice President. She will serve in this role through the end of the current calendar year.

Special Recognitions

All nine schools in Forest Hills honored an outstanding volunteer who has gone above and beyond in service to their community. FHSD is grateful to have such an engaged and dedicated community to help improve the educational experience for students and provide unmatched opportunities in and out of the classroom. The following volunteers were recognized for countless hours and passion serving their school:

• Judy Pavlik, Anderson High School
• Mana Hale, Turpin High School
• Stefanie Brown, Nagel Middle School
• MegAnn Wolff, Ayer Elementary
• Kelly Werner, Maddux Elementary
• Kelly Ruther, Mercer Elementary
• Kim Davies, Sherwood Elementary
• Victoria Adamkosky, Summit Elementary
• Sarah McGough, Wilson Elementary

Sherwood Elementary School students delivered a presentation on their “Arrows of Kindness” service initiative, which has included a community “Rake and Run” project, a Family Service Night and other activities to give students an opportunity to serve the Sherwood Community.

Turpin High School student Hayden Meyers was celebrated for his recent state championship titles! Hayden placed first in both the 200 IM and the 100 Backstroke at the OHSAA Swimming and Diving State Championships, and he also earned the honor of Male Performer of the Meet.

The Board of Education granted a diploma to Anderson High School student Anthony Thacker, who has completed all of the necessary courses and requirements to graduate early. Congratulations to Anthony on this accomplishment!

The Forest Hills Foundation for Education celebrated a Mission Moment by sharing information about the 2024-2025 district-wide grant to support Positive Behavior Interventions and Support. This $32,500 grant has been able to impact all students in the school district.

FHFE also encouraged community members to register for the annual FH5K! The community celebration and fundraiser will be held on Saturday, May 10, 2025, and individuals can register to participate by visiting the race website here. Individuals are encouraged to support the FH5K by also participating in the following events:

• 5K Pre-Party at Fifty West - Thursday, April 24 from 5-8 p.m.
• Dine to Donate at Wandering Monsters - Thursday, May 1 from 5:30-10 p.m.

Additionally, FHFE is encouraging current juniors at Anderson and Turpin High Schools to participate in a College Essay Writing Workshop on Friday, June 6 at Nagel Middle School. You can learn more and register for the event on the Foundation website here.

Superintendent Update

Superintendent Larry Hook celebrated several Anderson and Turpin High School students who received impressive recognitions at the Regional Science Day held at the University of Cincinnati in March. The following three student projects advanced for participation in the State Science Day:

• Project Title: Optimizing Vertical Axis Wind Turbines for Urban Settings
  
  • AHS Students: Siya Patel, Shiv Patel, Sur Patel
  • GE Engineering Project Award - 1st Place
• Project Title: Load-Bearing Capacity of a Da Vinci Bridge
  
  • AHS Students: Anna DiSylvestro, Maryaam Vashi
  • GE Engineering Project Participation
• Project Title: Clorox vs Generic Cleaning Products
  
  • THS Students: Madelyn Schrand, Kylie Howe
  • Excellence in Public Health Science Award - Superior Rating

The superintendent also provided a detailed update on the state biennial budget process, including recent updates from the Ohio House of Representatives. After reviewing initial budget recommendations from Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, the House has since passed its own version of the budget bill that includes some key changes.

Superintendent Hook explained that members of the public can visit a dedicated page on the district website to stay updated on the biennial budget process, learn more about potential impacts of the Governor’s budget recommendations and the House’s version of the budget, find information about how to contact state lawmakers to share their voice and much more. The new webpage is located at the following link: https://www.foresthills.edu/resources/school-funding/ 

In a recent letter to members of the Ohio Senate Education and Finance Committees, Superintendent Hok laid out key priorities for FHSD in regards to the ongoing budget discussions, which include:

• Protect the “Guarantee”: Based on the initial proposal by Governor DeWine that reduces the guarantee funding levels, FHSD would lose approximately $850,000 over the next two fiscal years. Over the span of the next five-year forecast, the district could see a reduction of approximately $2.8 million.
• Fully Implement the Fair School Funding Plan: FHSD is asking state lawmakers to fulfill their commitment to the bipartisan Fair School Funding Plan by continuing its implementation with updated base cost inputs. Without updating these inputs, FHSD and other districts will lose money because the funding formula would not account for inflationary increases in those costs.
• Increase the State Share Minimum: The State of Ohio currently sets the minimum per-pupil state share of the base cost at 10%. FHSD currently receives the minimum level of funding, and is joining other school districts to ask lawmakers to increase the minimum state share to at least 20% to    ensure that public education remains a shared state and local responsibility.

Board Action

The Board of Education often reviews and votes on a variety of actions that impact different departments throughout the school district. The following action items presented by department representatives were voted on together as part of the “consent agenda.” For specific information about any of the following items, you can find the meeting agenda and attachments here.

The following items in the consent agenda were approved by the Board of Education.

Human Resources

• 9.1 Human Resources Report
  
  • The report covers a variety of topics including retirements, resignations and appointments of different staff members. You can view the report here and related attachments here.

Business Operations

• 10.1 Resolution Authorizing Advertisement and Solicitation of Bids (Turpin Football Locker Room)
  
  • This resolution authorizes the school district to advertise and solicit bids for the Turpin Football Locker Room Project. This project has a total estimated cost of $105,000 and is being funded jointly by the district and the Turpin Athletic Boosters. You can view the resolution here.
• 10.2 Resolution Declaring Impractical Transportation (Revised)
  
  • This resolution lists certain non-public schools where transportation has been declared impractical. Families of students attending those schools will be offered payment in lieu of transportation, pursuant to state law. You can read the resolution here.

Teaching and Learning

• 11.1 International Travel Handbook
  
  • This item approves a new handbook relating to International Travel in the school district. You can read the handbook here.

Technology

• 12.1 E-Rate
  
  • FHSD is eligible for E-Rate funding to offset 40% of the cost of infrastructure improvements. The bid presented is to authorize the purchase of equipment and services. You can view the purchase quote here.

Treasurer Update

• 13.1 Treasurer's Report
  
  • Treasurer Alana Cropper’s March report provided information on the following items:
    
    • Donations
    • Five-Year Forecast
    • General Fund Revenue
    • General Fund Expenditures
    • General Operating Cash Balance
    • Permanent Improvement Fund
    • Investment Income Snapshot
    • Past Month Reconciliation
    • Permanent Appropriations
    • Amendments to Permanent Appropriations
  • You can find the March cash position report here.

This completes the consent agenda.

Federal Funding Review

Treasurer Alana Cropper presented an overview of federal funding and how it is utilized by Forest Hills School District. Some areas that benefit from federal funding are special education services, school safety, homeless programs, preschool programs and more.

You can view the presentation slides here for a detailed breakdown of funds received and what those funds are used to purchase.

Committee Reports and Additional Action

Board Members provided updates on the committee meeting listed below.

• Policy Committee - Policy Approval
  
  • The FHSD Board of Education Policy Committee brought a policy update for a second reading and Board approval. The policy update includes NEOLA Volume 43, Number 2 and Special Update, which the Board voted to approve during the April meeting. You can read each of the updated policies here.
  • The Board decided to not make any changes to Policy 5120. The existing policy can be found here.

Board Members also reviewed and adopted updated special education model policies and procedures. You can view the approved document here.

Later, during Board Discussion, members considered an updated Resolution in Support of the Fair School Funding Plan and Testimony for Senate Education Committee. Board Vice President Strickler made edits to the items that had previously been approved at a special meeting on March 22. The new version of the Resolution and Testimony include information about the Ohio House of Representatives budget bill that has since been approved by that body. Board President Bibb, Vice President Strickler and Member Bell all voted in favor of both the Resolution and the Testimony, passing the measures. The documents will be added to this article after they are made available.

Board Discussion

Board members welcomed Mark Bell as the newest member to the Board of Education and thanked all individuals in the community who expressed interest in serving in this role. Mr. Bell introduced himself to the community and expressed his interest in learning more about how the district can operate more efficiently while maintaining the standards of excellence that the community has come to expect. He also thanked community members who have reached out to share their perspective with him on topics related to the school district.

Board Member Sara Jonas raised the topic of potentially creating a community committee or similar group that could come together to discuss topics like declining enrollment, facilities, spending and more. She expressed a desire to gather information and explore potential scenarios related to these topics. The other board members indicated they were in general agreement with this sort of process, and the Board and Superintendent indicated that they will consider potential options for how to move forward.

Additional discussion was held concerning enrollment and potential ideas to improve student retention, specifically at the high school level.

The Board also discussed a variety of individual celebrations for different school buildings related to reading initiatives, performing arts achievements and more.

You can click the following link to view the full discussion period, which begins at 2:51:54 during the meeting livestream.

Approved Minutes

The Board of Education approved minutes for the following meetings, which you can view by clicking the link associated with each meeting. After clicking the appropriate link, you will need to then click “View Minutes” under Agenda Item Details, next to the category titled “Minutes.”

• Human Resources Committee - March 6, 2025
• Teaching and Learning Committee - March 10, 2025
• Policy Committee - March 12, 2025
• Finance Committee - March 13, 2025
• Special Meeting - March 17, 2025
• Special Meeting - March 19, 2025
• Regular Meeting - March 19, 2025
• Special Meeting - March 22, 2025