'Busy month' recapped at Hillsboro City Schools Board of Education meeting

The Hillsboro City Schools Board of Education heard updates on both recent and upcoming activities, including academic, athletic and arts events, during their Monday, Oct. 16 meeting.

Superintendent Tim Davis said the district has had “a pretty busy month,” as both he and student representative Maddisen Mikkelsen gave board members an overview of those activities in their respective reports.

Beginning in September, the Ernie Blankenship Memorial/Indians Victory Bell at Richards Memorial Field and its stone planter were recently refurbished by Hillsboro City Schools bus drivers Jason Young and Mike Page, as previously reported by The Highland County Press.

“I want to thank our bus drivers Michael Page and Jason Young for help cleaning up the Ernie Blankenship victory bell,” Davis said. “That was before our homecoming game a couple of weeks ago, and they took that upon themselves. It looked very good, and I just want to thank them for that.”

Davis added that both the “homecoming game and the dance were a success,” as those events were held at the end of September.

Also previously reported by the HCP was the National Honor Society’s induction ceremony, which was held Tuesday, Oct. 10 for selected Hillsboro High School students. Davis congratulated Mikkelsen, who was among the inductees this year.

“We had 21 new members,” Davis said. “I want to thank our current members; Mrs. [Cindy] Asmus and Mrs. [Stephanie] Haines, the advisers; Mr. Alex Butler, who was our speaker, and also Mr. [Joe] Turner [HHS principal]. It was a great ceremony.”

In athletic updates, Mikkelsen and Davis said that senior night was held Oct. 13 before the varsity football game.

“The seniors who are involved in fall sports were recognized at the football game against Miami Trace,” Mikkelsen said. “It was a really great night, and it was a really exciting game, winning 14-13.”

“We had a large crowd, and I want to thank all of our seniors, and especially not only our seniors, but our senior parents,” Davis added. “The last four years, they put a lot of time and dedication into our programs. To see those kids walk across the fields, it's a great group of leaders and great role models for our younger students, so they will be missed.

“They've done a great job as far as leading and being those role models, not only in classroom but also on the field and putting in a lot of time and paving the way.”

Davis also spoke about the Indians’ win against Miami Trace in their Week 9 football game.

“We had a pretty awesome halftime show,” he said. “The band performed ‘Thriller.’ I think all of our kids enjoyed that with the dance and the song, and something new and different, so that was awesome.

“It was a great finish that we had, and I want to say congratulations to Coach [Nathan] Horne. We have basically one [regular-season] game left at McClain on Friday.”

For a recap of other fall sports winding down, Davis said that HHS had one All-FAC golfer in Emma Yochum. The boys golf and girls golf, tennis and volleyball teams have completed their seasons, while boys and girls soccer were scheduled to play in sectionals Oct. 18 and Oct. 19, respectively.

“I want to wish them the best of luck,” Davis said.

The varsity and middle school cross-country teams had success at the conference meet and are looking to continue that in the postseason. FAC honors for Hillsboro runners included individual FAC championships for Corbin Winkle (varsity) and Alex Read (middle school); FAC runners-up Taylor Thoroman (varsity) and Mason Rinal (middle school); All-FAC runners Rason Brunck and Jailyn Williams; a conference title for the Lady Indians varsity team and the Indians middle school team; and team runner-up honors for the Indians.

Davis also congratulated transportation director Ron Ward and his department “for having our buses up to speed and ready to go,” as 12 buses passed inspection Monday.

In other news, Davis provided an update on the construction project on the baseball/softball fields at the HHS athletic complex. As of Monday, Davis said “construction is hoping to end in November, but it keeps getting pushed back monthly with the delays."

As previously reported, in July 2022, the HCS board authorized the $2.7 million purchase of artificial turf and its installation through Southwestern Ohio Education Purchasing Council from The Motz Group, LLC, upgrading the soccer field to a turf field and installing turf baseball and softball infields at the HHS athletic complex.

“Our concrete is complete out there,” Davis told the board Monday. “The outfield fence is almost complete. We are still waiting on backstops, gates and the net in front of the dugouts. The dugouts are in process. We have one completed pretty much with all the block. The other, the softball dugout, is being done. The bleachers have been ordered, and assembly is set for February. We do have grass growing, so hopefully that grass will hold.

“The poles were delivered last week, so now we're waiting on the netting system to be delivered. That's supposed to be put in this week.”

Even more ongoing and upcoming activities were outlined by Mikkelsen in her report to the board.

According to Mikkelsen, the HHS senior class is organizing a service project, “collecting unopened bags of candy to donate to the bus garage, since they go down for Boo Fest every year.

“You can drop the donations off at the school,” she said.

For arts activities, Mikkelsen reported that “the high school drama department is presenting the play adaptation of ‘Little Women’ on November 10, 11 and 12,” with tickets available online or at the door.

“It should be a great performance,” Davis added. “They're already putting in a lot of time for the set and starting to do practice there.”

In addition, “the District 16 OMEA [Ohio Music Education Association] honor choir concert is happening on November 18,” according to Mikkelsen.

“It involves elementary, middle school, and for the first time in about five years, high school as well,” Mikkelsen said. “There's Hillsboro students in all three choirs, and the concert includes students from Highland County, Brown County, Ross County, Fayette County and Pike County.”

In other committee reports, board member Jerry Walker praised Hillsboro “students, parents, grandparents and families” as well as the district administrators and staff for their efforts reflected in the state report card.

As previously reported, the 2022-23 Ohio School Report Cards were released Thursday, Sept. 14. As a whole, Hillsboro City Schools received a four-star rating out of five possible stars. Overall school grades included Hillsboro Intermediate School, five stars; Hillsboro Primary School, four stars; and Hillsboro Early Childhood Center, Hillsboro High School and Hillsboro Middle School, three and a half stars.

“I spent some time going through that,” Walker said. “It shows a definite tracking of where we want to end up. We're headed in the right direction.

“To Tim, congratulations to you and our administrative team. We want to keep the priority what the priority is, and that's education, and that's preparing our young people to be successful. Although kind of distantly, I'm pleased to be part of the process to see our students being equipped, experiencing success and improving their prospect for the future. Well done — now, do it again.”

Board member Larry Lyons agreed with Walker.

“The improvement that we've been seeing is impressive, because it continues,” Lyons said. “It’s not just a blip on the computer screen, it’s kind of a trend. We appreciate that. Kudos to all the staff who's involved in making that happen, and the students and their families.”

Lyons also discussed some legislative updates in his report.

“The past month has been filled with a lot of discussion on property tax valuation,” he said. “That's been the big issue. There's a bill that is being floated around right now that would change some aspects of property tax valuation, moving it from the Tax Board to another entity.

“There’s still a lot of discussion on school finance, and that continues to be ongoing constantly, and it doesn't seem like we're making a whole lot of progress getting that nailed down.”

Board member Beverly Rhoads discussed the Oct. 11 Great Oaks Board of Directors meeting, where it was announced that Great Oaks received five stars (the highest possible score) on the state report card. The board also reviewed the 2023-24 strategies for Great Oaks President/CEO Harry Snyder and Treasurer/CFO Brian Rabe; authorized a change order for a new window at the Diamond Oaks campus; and approved the acceptance of several grants.

“The next night [Oct. 12], I went to the Ohio School Boards’ Southwest Region meeting,” Rhoads said. “The superintendent attended with me. It was a very nice meeting.”  

Board president Bill Myers added that the OSBA Capital Conference is also coming up, on Nov. 12-14.

In other business:

• The board approved an educational affiliation agreement between the University of Cincinnati, on behalf of its College of Nursing, and the district for the use of Hillsboro facilities by the faculty and students.

Davis explained that through this agreement, UC nursing students are able to complete clinical hours at Hillsboro schools, assisting with school nurses. The agreement is for “a maximum of five years,” he said.

Walker asked about the nurses’ qualifications.

“They are students, but it’s in their clinical part, where they have to get so many hours,” Davis said. “It’s not for pay.”

Walker asked if the students will “pass background checks” and what sort of work they will be doing.

“We did not background check them,” Davis said. “The university takes care of that part.

“They do different things, like hearing screenings — things to help Katie [Greer, district school nurse], mainly with a lot of screenings that she's doing for kindergarteners and different things. They've been a big help.”

• The board approved revisions to the following policies: 2623.02 Third Grade Reading Guarantee; 3120.08 and 4120.08, both Employment of Personnel for Cocurricular/Extracurricular Activities; 5113.01 Intradistrict Open Enrollment; 5320 Immunization; 5330 Use of Medications; 6700 Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA); 7440 Facility Security; 8120 Volunteers; 8210 School Calendar; 8330 Student Records; 8600 Transportation; 8650 Transportation by a School Van; 9160 Public Attendance at School Events; 9211 District Support Organizations; and 9270 Equivalent Education Outside the Schools & Participation in Extracurriculars for Students Not Enrolled in the District.

“Some of these changes deal with changes in legislation of dealing with some of the requirements, such as coaches and sudden cardiac arrest and different things that they are now mandating,” Davis told the board. “Some of the other ones are just minor changes.

“They changed home instruction from ‘homeschooling’ to ‘home education’ as one of the changes, and then also the Department of Education and Workforce is a change, for the initials DEW.”

Myers asked what was changed with the Third Grade Reading Guarantee policy.

“It basically says that it's there, but then there are stipulations to how the parents ultimately can trump that,” Davis said. Then there's other things that have to be done, once they go on to fourth grade.”

According to Megan Henry of the Ohio Capital Journal, “A parent will now be able to request a student be promoted to fourth grade — even if they are not reading at grade level, according to the state budget that Gov. Mike DeWine recently signed [in July 2023].  Now a student’s parents must consult with the reading teacher and principal before a decision is made, and the student would continue to receive reading intervention until they are reading at grade level.”  For more, see Henry’s story at: https://highlandcountypress.com/ohio-budget-changes-policy-holding-back….

• The board accepted the financial reports as presented. Teeters reported a general fund cash balance of $11,333,359 for September 2023, up from $9,235,486 in September 2022; expenses of $2,397,585, up from $2,148,556 a year ago; and revenues of $4,753,890, also up from last year’s total of $4,512,471.

“Our expenditures are a tad bit more than they were this time last year, and the revenue’s more,” he said.

• The board approved the minutes for their Sept. 18 meeting with corrections. According to their October agenda, “Amy Captain was recommended and approved [as] MS cheerleading basketball coach in error. Brandie Fenner was recommended and approved for the MS assistant basketball coach in error and should have been recommended and approved for the MS cheerleading basketball coach instead of Amy Captain.”

“It was written down wrong, so we approved her for the wrong position,” Davis said. “Amy Captain is our head cheerleading coach, not the middle school coach, and Brandie was hired as an assistant. She is the head coach for the middle school.”

• The board approved the following individuals for the contracts and positions indicated:
— Classified: Shania Dornbush and Tiffany Gotherman Keidel, paraprofessionals; and Beth Watts, RN, for LPN position, retroactive to Oct. 5.
— Sub classified: Samantha Crawford (cook, custodian, secretary); Atlanta Harris (clerical, cook); Ben Miller and Amber Roades (van drivers); and Surina Potts-Deeter (clerical, cook, custodian).
— Supplementals: Gary Breeden, HS varsity softball coach; Jason Dearmon and Bobby Thornburgh, HS assistant softball coaches; Brandie Fenner, HS basketball cheerleading coach; Nathan Horne, winter weight room supervisor; Shane Ison, HS boys varsity bowling coach; Megan MacIvor, HS reserve softball; Ben Miller, HS reserve softball; Larry Scruggs, MS girls basketball coach; and Heather Storer, female open gym coordinator.
— Volunteers: Katie Basford, Kelli Cooper, Adam Ferris, Christy Mountjoy, Carrie Pence and Leah Rose, HES; Atlanta Harris, coach, HES, HMS, HHS; Patricia Johnson and Melanie Short, HES, HMS, HHS; Mallory Parsons, coach; and Surina Potts-Deeter, David Satterfield and Cari Sharp, HES, HMS.
— Dyslexia Online Training (18 hours), Bernadette Attinger and Jennifer Howland.
— Sub Certified: Rachel Cline, Shelbie Cowman, Paula Kiser, Alexis Lennert and Rebecca Sanderson.

• The board approved a change of status for the following staff, both for the 2023-24 school year: JC Captain, from female open gym coordinator the MS girls basketball coach; and Lauren Purtee, from BA 150 to MA.

• The board approved a leave of absence for teacher Rebecca Weiderman, including FMLA leave from Oct. 20, 2023-Feb. 2, 2024 and then leave without pay from Feb. 3, 2024-end of school year.

• The board accepted the resignation of paraprofessional Alana Clemons, effective Oct. 13.

• The board approved the awarding of a diploma to Ian Kronenberg, a resident of the district who completed the Ohio Department of Education’s requirements per HB 64.