Hillsboro City Schools Board of Education welcomes new student rep Maddisen Mikkelsen

The Hillsboro City Schools Board of Education welcomed a new member to their ranks during their September meeting, with district treasurer Ben Teeters administering the oath of office to 2023-24 student board representative Maddisen Mikkelsen.

Mikkelsen, who is the daughter of Terry and Vicki Mikkelsen, was applauded by a crowd of Hillsboro students and parents as well as the board after taking the oath of office Sept. 18.

“We’re excited to welcome you on board,” board president Bill Myers told her.

Superintendent Tim Davis also congratulated Mikkelsen during his report.

“I want to welcome Maddisen,” Davis said. “I went and saw her today to kind of go over some roles and the things she does, so she is very well prepared for tonight's meeting. I’m very excited for you to be joining us.”

In a continuation from the student recognition held earlier in the meeting — where 15 students who received one or more perfect scores on the 2023 Ohio state assessment tests were honored (see: https://highlandcountypress.com/15-hillsboro-city-schools-students-earn…) — Davis’ report to the board included compliments to current as well as former Hillsboro students.

“I want to congratulate all of our students who were Highland County Fair winners and participants,” Davis said. “With the amount of time and effort to take things to the fair and projects, I also want to thank them for all their efforts.”

Davis said that he received thank-you cards from members of the HHS class of 1973, who toured the high school as part of their 50th reunion, but that he wanted to thank them in return.

“I gave them a tour of the high school over fair break,” Davis said. “They were very interested to see our facilities, they were very interested in all the activities that we have going on, and it's just great to see alumni and classes wanting to come back and and go through the building and see what's going on.

“I want to thank them for just, you know, wanting to be a part and to see what's going on with all the good things that we've got.”

Davis also recognized transportation supervisor Ron Ward and staff for passing recent inspections, as Davis also noted the district recently completed bus evacuation drills.

“We had a spot inspection where we had 10 buses that were inspected and all passed with minor infractions that were corrected before the inspection was over,” Davis said. “Great job to Mr. Ward and our Transportation Department, for having our buses up, ready to go and meeting all the compliance.”

For an update on the baseball/softball diamond construction at HHS, Davis said the Motz Group is finishing the work outlined in their contract in the coming weeks.

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.

“The block foundation has been completed on the four dugouts, so we're waiting for concrete in the floor, and we are preparing to plant grass,” Davis said. “Right now, the projected timeline for the delivery of our backstop and the poles and the netting system is September 29, so hopefully within the next three weeks that project — with the exception of the bleachers — should be completed and we have grass growing.

“It's been a very long process, and delays, but we're starting to see the finishing touches being put on.”

Board member Larry Lyons pointed out that the “netting, scoreboards and bleachers” will also need to be installed in the future.

“The bleachers have been ordered,” Davis said. “They will not be installed/assembled until probably the spring, is what the last time estimate was. But as far as getting in with what the Motz Group was contracted to do, that stuff should be done hopefully early October.”

Board member Walker asked about the bleachers’ seating capacity. Davis said he thought it was “100 each side, so baseball should have 200 seats, softball should have 200 seats. I think it’s a seven-row bleacher.”

Walker also asked if there is a “paved walkway from the ball fields” for those in attendance.

“Yes,” Davis said. “If you go out there right now, basically the entrance of the baseball/softball field will be over by the tennis courts. If you walk in the gate by the tennis courts, the gravel going down is going to be a concrete walkway from the tennis courts to the side of the softball field, which will take you to the baseball field as well.”

In response to another question from Walker, Davis said the walkway “does not” continue on to restrooms and concessions areas.

In other committee reports:

• Mikkelsen gave an update on recent and upcoming high school news in her first report to the board.

According to Mikkelsen, the Hillsboro High School “World Religion class recently finished their unit on African and Native American religion, and they created ceremonial masks that are displayed” in the school.

Earlier this month, some high school students also promoted the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support system and “school spirit” in a visit to Hillsboro Elementary.

“The marching band and cheerleaders went up to the elementary school to encourage school spirit and to encourage the PBIS reward system,” Mikkelsen said. “The kids really seem to enjoy that. They get really excited whenever we go up.”

In upcoming events, the HHS homecoming football game and dance are set for Sept. 29 and 30, respectively, with the theme “Jersey Nights,” Mikkelsen said. Also throughout the month, “the senior class is collecting donations for the homeless shelter,” she added, with a goal of at least “two to five items” per senior.

• Board member Beverly Rhoads shared updates from the Sept. 13 Great Oaks Career Campuses Board of Directors meeting, where Great Oaks’ ASPIRE Program was recognized for receiving two Chancellor Awards for Excellence from the Ohio Department of Higher Education.

Also discussed was a 12-percent increase in enrollment this school year compared to the 2022-23 school year, as 3,236 students were enrolled as of Sept. 11. It was noted that a planned ribbon-cutting ceremony for Live Oaks in October has been pushed back to to March 13, 2024 “because the building’s not quite finished,” she said.

The Great Oaks Board also approved various Advisory Committee recommendations and the creation of five different funds to account for career tech student organizations monies, according to Rhoads.

Rhoads reminded the board that the Ohio School Boards Association’s 2023 Southwest Region Fall Conference will be held Oct. 12 at Laurel Oaks and asked them to RSVP to herself or Teeters.

• Lyons briefly discussed legislative updates in his report.

“There's a lot of time being spent on the redistricting,” he said. “It really won't have a major impact on the school board, but it does have an impact on our representation, so the legislators are spending a good bit of time on that right now. trying to sort that out.”

According to the Ohio Department of Education, “House Bill 33 of the 135th General Assembly included several legislative changes impacting the Ohio Department of Education and State Board of Education. During the first week in October, the Department of Education will be renamed the Department of Education and Workforce and will become a cabinet-level agency reporting to the Governor of Ohio. Further, the legislation created a new agency, the Department of Children and Youth, to provide services more efficiently to children and their families in the areas of prevention, early education and support.”

“The State Board of Education and the Department of Education Workforce are still working through some of the responsibilities that will exist in those two different departments that were formed,” Lyons said. “Other than that, there's just a small handful of bills that are in that the legislators are looking at, but none of them have been passed.”

In other discussion:

• The board approved the 2023-24 Permanent Appropriation Resolution, which totals $41,810,933.72, including $30.1 million in the general fund.

“We usually do this in October, but the state auditors wanted me to move it up to the month of September,” Teeters said. “We'll assume some of the ESSERS (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund grants) money that was in the past, so that’s the reason why the general fund is at $30 million. The rest of it — what ESSERS money we have left to be spent out — has to be spent by December.”

Lyons asked for an update on the bond retirement, which is set at $1,700,342.74.

“2027 is when the buildings all be paid for, and then 2032 is when the leases for the bus garage and the extension onto the gym will be paid out by,” Teeters said. “The auditorium will be paid off in 2027.”

During his report to the board, Lyons said he felt “things are going well from a financial standpoint, both on the revenue side and the expense side,” for the district.

“You folks are doing a nice job in controlling expenses, and we appreciate that,” Lyons said.

• The board approved a client services agreement with Soliant Health, LLC for Sept. 18, 2023-May 22, 2024, marking a new contract for a school psychologist.

Davis said that they will be utilizing one contracted psychologist, who will be providing telehealth service, due to difficulties finding a provider locally.

“They are licensed through the state of Ohio, and they've been doing their work virtually,” Davis said. “We have basically an office set up for them to test students with another adult in the room, and they will be doing the reports, basically like they are in the buildings, except they are not.

“We have struggled to find another school psychologist for our 6-12 [grades] at the high school, and this is one of the options that we came up with. We are pleased to find someone, and we're kind of interested to see how this is going to go, how this is going to work for both us and them. This school psychologist has done this in the past the last couple of years, and it has worked out well and the references have checked out. We're very pleased to move forward with this and excited to see how it goes.”

• The board approved the financial reports as presented. Teeters reported a cash balance of $8,977,054 for August 2023, up from $6,871,571 in August 2022; expenses of $2,254,897, a slight increase over last year’s $2,176,290; and revenues of $1,795,532, up from $1,341,175 a year ago.

“We’re running equal to past years,” Teeters said.

• The board approved the following individuals for the contracts and positions indicated:
— Sub certificated: Hannah Allard; Vicky Beltz; Dorothy Countryman; Emma Horn (Malone), retroactive to Aug. 16; Heather Hughes; Lori “Krista” King, retro Sept. 11; Kelly Pavey; Sharon Riffee; Trista Strong; Katrina Williams; and William Wright.
— Volunteers: Jordan Allard, Dustin Barr, Heidi Barr, Brittany Boatman, Chelsea Campbell, Jaymara Captain, Rodney Captain, Mary Dixon, Shania Dornbusch, Michael Gaines, Allyce Horne, Jordan Hunter, Marylou Hutchinson, Patricia Hutton, Allisha Jeffries, Brenda Knisley, Sierra Mills, Brooke Perkins, Jordan Phillips, Seth Phillips, Emily Pohlman, Ashley Shaffer, Brian Stogsdill and Katherine Williams, HES; Lehua Cooke and Carolyn Magee, HES and HMS; Melissa Kelch, Dannen Morton and Rebecca Peters, HES, HMS and HHS; Rick Kelch, HHS; and Lowell Michael Page and Lucia Tomko, coaches.
— Supplementals: Amy Captain, HS varsity basketball and MS basketball cheerleading coach; Kristi Cluff, Lisa Hopkins, Heather Murphy and Sarah Weisner, LPDC; Jordan Clark, Jason Fox, Matthew Garman, Tanya Hendrix, Mandi Jones, Ben Miller, Josh Pohlman, Jessica Rhoades, Shannon Yochum and Tina Young, DLC; Nick Fite, equipment manager; Brandie Fenner, MS assistant basketball cheerleading coach; Bruce Messer and Jeremy Ratcliff, HS assistant wrestling coaches; Jeff Miller, HS varsity girls bowling; Ben Pence, elementary wrestling coordinator; Taylor Reed, HS assistant basketball cheerleading coach; Matt Schneider, HS varsity swimming coach; LaRue Turner, HS girls tennis coach; and Chad Vaughn, MS wrestling coach.
— Sub classified: Shania Dornbusch, aide, clerical, cook, custodian; Alison Hurtt, cook; and Tara Swift, aide, cook, custodian.

• The board accepted the resignations of curriculum specialist Carrie (Gast) Brewster, effective Sept. 18; LPN Kayla Hamilton, effective Sept. 8; paraprofessional Elizabeth Mahan, effective Sept. 22; and middle school girls basketball coaches Carey McBride and Jordan Walker, effective with the 2023-24 school year.

• The board approved the following donations; an anonymous $140 toward books for students; two separate anonymous donations, one for $150 and one for $508, toward elementary school supplies; $300 each from Connections IT Solutions, North Coast Church and Prospect Church, all toward elementary school supplies; and $325 from the Peace Lutheran Church toward the high school Indian Pride program.

“As always, these donations are greatly appreciated and definitely help out our elementary students and the various things that they go to,” Myers said. “We're just greatly appreciative.”

• The board approved an early graduate, Ashlei Hatfield. In a separate motion, the board approved diplomas and transcripts for Khadijah Payne and Kelsey Walker, per House Bill 64.

“House Bill 64 allows that if you complete the requirements and you live in that school district, then they will provide you with a certificate of high school completion,” Davis said.

• The board approved a $6,000 invoice to Finalsite for Core Communication Platform - SchoolPoint Conversion. The invoice is for the school’s website, according to Davis.

“It was an oversight on renewing the license, effective July 1,” Teeters said.

• The board approved an out-of-state field trip for the FFA chapter to attend the National Convention, Nov. 1-4 in Indianapolis, Ind.