Board Meeting Recap for October 2023

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, October 18, 2023 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.

Special Recognitions

The Forest Hills Foundation for Education highlighted its 15 years, 15 days, $15,000 fundraiser, which is an acknowledgement of the organization’s history serving students in Forest Hills. Donations can be made here. You can learn more about the organization and its commitment to students and public education by visiting fhfe.org.

FHFE also discussed its recent recognition of Distinguished Alumni and an FHSD Staff Member. You can see the list of the 2023 honorees here. Additionally, the organization invited community members to join them at the annual Fall Soiree, which will be held on November 11, 2023 at Ivy Hills Country Club. You can learn more about the event and find registration information here.

Superintendent Update

Forest Hills School District Superintendent Larry Hook began the meeting with a moment of silence for the loss of a Turpin High School student that happened earlier in the month. He reminded the community that additional resources are available on the district website for anyone who might be struggling with this loss.

In his later update to the Board of Education, Superintendent Hook celebrated all nine FHSD schools for earning state recognition related to Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports. This is the first year all FHSD schools have been individually recognized for excellence in their efforts to practice the PBIS model, which has been shown to improve student achievement, student behavior and school climate. You can learn more about the honor in this article.

Superintendent Hook also provided a legislative update on the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce, House Bill 187 and a recent meeting with Representative Rachel Baker to discuss possible funding opportunities through the state capital budget.

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

• 7.1 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

• 8.1 Business Operations Update
  
  • Director of Business Operations John Eckert did not have items that required a vote, but he did provide an update on the following topics:
    
    • OFCC grant efforts
    • The upcoming Technology and Facilities Committee Meeting on October 24 at 6 p.m.
    • Efforts to share information and awareness related to School Safety Month in Ohio
    • An upcoming district safety team meeting that will be held in December with community leaders, law enforcement and safety partners and district officials to discuss school safety efforts

Teaching and Learning/Curriculum

• 9.1 Overnight Field Trip Requests
  
  • This item approves the overnight field trips requested by Turpin High School. You can view the requested trips here.

Teaching and Learning/Student Services

• 10.1 Resolution to Contract Cincinnati Occupational Therapy Institute, Inc.
  
  • This item approves an agreement between FHSD and Cincinnati Occupational Therapy Institute, Inc. (COTI, Inc.). COTI will provide appropriate Occupational Therapy Services, per the students’ Individualized Education Plans, at Mercer Elementary. The contracted time period of this agreement began on September 24, 2023, and will continue through June 2024. The contracted time in the school will include a full-time therapist (OTR/L and/or COTA) at 40 hours/week. 
  • Cost:  $84.00/hour = $104,160.00 for the remainder of the 23-24 school year (31 weeks). This contract replaces the originally approved HCESC contract for the Occupational Therapy portion that was approved on June 28, 2023.
  • You can view the agreement here.

Treasurer Update

• 11.1 Workers' Compensation Settlement
  
  • This item approves the Bureau of Workers' Compensation settlement agreement. This is a worker’s compensation settlement in the amount of $4,000 dollars. This settlement has been reviewed by legal counsel and a third party administrator. This settlement will resolve this claim and precludes further legal action arising from the employee’s employment with the District.
• 11.2 Treasurer's Report
  
  • Treasurer Alana Cropper’s October report provided information on the following items:
    • Donations
    • Statement of Board Accounts
    • General Fund Receipts
    • General Fund Expenditures by Function
    • General Fund Expenditures by Object
    • Permanent Improvement Fund
    • Monthly Bank Statement
    • Permanent Appropriations and Amendments
    • Employee Benefits

Committee Reports

Board Members provided updates on the committee meetings listed below.

• Teaching and Learning Committee
  
  • Board Member Katie Stewart updated the full Board about the Teaching and Learning Committee Meeting, which was held on October 2, 2023. The meeting provided a general update on curriculum items and discussed a state law concerning dyslexia training for staff members.
• Policy Committee
  
  • Board President Linda Hausfeld updated the full Board about the Policy Committee Meeting, which was held on October 5, 2023. This meeting was held to discuss the NEOLA policy updates from Volume 42, No. 1 and those updates were brought to the Board for a first reading. You can read the policies here.
• Human Resources Committee
  
  • Board Member Sara Jonas updated the full Board about the Human Resources Committee Meeting, which was held on October 16, 2023. The meeting discussed the annual overview of the FTE reconciliation between the 22-23 and 23-24 school years.

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.”

• Special Meeting - September 11, 2023
• Regular Meeting - September 20, 2023