Hillsboro City Schools 'gearing up' for upcoming school year

In their final regular meeting before the 2023-24 school year kicks off, the Hillsboro City Schools Board of Education heard updates on upcoming back-to-school events and made numerous staffing approvals Monday, July 17.

Although superintendent Tim Davis said there has not “been a lot going on” since the board’s June meeting, the passage of the Fourth of July holiday means that “summer’s over” for the district as they are finalizing everything for the 2023-24 school year.

Davis reviewed upcoming important dates, including: new staff orientation, Aug. 3-4; District Day, Aug. 8; open house, Aug. 10 from 4-6 p.m. (middle school/high school) and 5-7 p.m. (elementary); and the first day of school, Aug. 16.

“Currently, we have about three positions to fill — two teachers at the elementary and a paraprofessional — and then we'll be at full staff,” Davis said. “Administrators will be back in the buildings starting the last week of July, and we'll be gearing up and ready to go.”

Both the superintendent and school board president Bill Myers also credited the district’s custodial and maintenance staff for their efforts in getting the district buildings ready for the upcoming school year.

“Our maintenance crew and custodians have done an outstanding job of cleaning, and the buildings are looking good,” Davis said.

Myers pointed out that the elementary school is approximately 20 years old and still looks “brand new” thanks to the staff’s efforts.

“With the painting and the waxing and everything else, you walk in those buildings and they still look brand new,” Myers said. “My hat's off to the groups that do all that stuff, because the maintenance that's put into that just helps our district.”

On another back-to-school topic, board member Jerry Walker shared his gratitude to groups and individuals helping purchase school supplies for local children.

“Thank you in advance for all the organizations in our community that will provide back-to-school stuff,” Walker said. “I know different organizations are doing that, and I know that our local stores are giving discounts.

“I wanted to say thank you to the churches and organizations that are going to be doing this, not only just for Hillsboro, but it'll be a countywide effort.”

The superintendent’s report also included an update on progress on the athletic complex at the high school, as Davis said construction has been “slow” over the past month.

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 Fords have done some leveling of the softball field,” Davis said. “We've got some materials coming to kind of get that retaining wall up. We did get permits from the city for the dugouts, and hopefully concrete is going to be starting to be poured tomorrow. We've had a week delay on that.”

In other committee reports:

• Board member Beverly Rhoads recapped the July 12 Great Oaks Career Campuses board meeting, which included announcements of Great Oaks campus leadership teams, construction project updates, grant approvals and a discussion of the state budget review and other legislative changes.

The Board also approved several new programs for the upcoming school year, including: Agriculture Science at Washington High School, Culinary
Foundations at Clinton-Massie Middle School and High School, Digital Graphic Design at Miami Trace High School, Gateway to Technology at both Wilmington Middle School and North College Hill Middle School/High School, HVAC at Scarlet Oaks, Heavy Equipment Operations & Engineering at Scarlet Oaks, Project Lead the Way – Engineering at Mason High School, and Paramedic and Practical Nursing for Adult Workforce Development program.

Rhoads also noted that the Great Oaks Education Foundation golf outing in June raised $40,000.

• Walker thanked district staff members for their recent efforts to help out in two situations involving students facing “difficulties,” he said.

Walker told the board he had “many meetings” at the central office with staff discussing both situations, where he saw firsthand the “heart to serve and a heart to help kids” that district employees have.

“I got to witness [Director of State and Federal Programs] Diane Michael going to great lengths to assist a student to meet her goals that she had stated that were relevant to our school system, and we had a very pleasant, very happy outcome,” Walker said. “There's another situation where another student under tragic circumstances, no fault of her own, is looking to continue her education. I think Hillsboro is going to help facilitate that happening.

“It’s a testimony to the humanity that we have, the sensitivity, the desire to help. It's easy to just say, ‘I’m sorry, my hands are tied, I can’t,’ but it's also very encouraging to see people say, ‘Well, let's find a way. Let's see if we can make it work.’ I think in these two occasions, we got to see the board personnel, central office here, and the counselors and building administrators involved — they made it work. To that, I say, kudos to our administrative team, our personnel here and I know that continues on down to the staff.”

Also during Monday’s meeting, the following motions were approved, each by a 5-0 vote unless otherwise indicated.

• The board approved the financial reports as presented. According to Teeters, the district had a general fund cash balance of $8,986,493 for June 2023, up from $7,249,983 in June 2022; expenses of $2,495,192, down from $2,794,171 last year; and revenues of $1,923,917, an increase from a year ago ($1,795,113).

“Revenue was up a little bit and expenditures were down, so that’s a good thing,” Teeters said.

• The board approved a $50,000 line item transfer for each month of fiscal year 2024. Teeters said that is a standard annual resolution for the district’s “payment for the auditorium” at the high school.

• The board accepted the following resignations, all effective at the end of the 2022-23 contract year: teachers Erin Bramley, Cyndia Inlow, Robert “Alan” May and Matthew Sexton; and head cook Stephanie Thompson.

• The board approved the acknowledgment of a contract refusal for middle school boys cross-country coach Brandon Ballein, whose hiring had been approved by the board in May.

“He didn’t return the contract,” Davis said.

• The board approved the following individuals for the contracts and positions indicated.

— Sub classified: Jennifer Aslip, Krystal Hannah, Brittany Holsinger, Rebecca Peters, Cindy Smith and Robert Warden (aide, clerical); Samantha Crawford (aide); Brandi Fleming (aide, cook, secretary); James Florence, Phil Loudin and Bret Malone (bus drivers); Brandon Haines (custodian); Lili Hunt and Dorothy Porter (cooks); Randi McCoy (cook, custodian); Linda Roush (aide, clerical, cook); and Nicole Shawhan (aide, custodian, secretary).

— Phonics/dyslexia training (12.5 hours), retroactive to May 31: Macy Anderson, Paige Anderson, Shellie Anderson, Hannah Barnett, Colleen Barney, Danielle Bice, Kyleah Brey, Susan Burnett, Shawna Collins, Madison Crouch, Courtney Daniels, Mary Lee Daugherty, Tara Davis, Kim Fouch, Olivia Fulton, Tara Garman, Tiffany Gelter, Joe Gobin, Tiffany Gobin, Chad Haynie, Lisa Hopkins, Kim Ison, Debbie Jenkins, Jessica Jordan, Sandra Kniffley, Heather Murphy, Rodney Newman, Brittany Oxley, Olivia Page, Beth Purtee, Trista Rhodes, Verona Roush, Matt Sexton, Barbara Simbro, Christine Snyder, Maria Snyder, Marissa Stone, Amy Vance, Lindsey Wagner, Kristen Wait, Alyssa Walker, Kristin Walker, Marlene Whiting, Tara Williamson, Laura Wolf, Ellie Wright, Shannon Wright and Kellie Yochum.

— Certificated: Chaise Hall, intervention specialist, one-year contract; and Chelsea Seeling, special education supervisor, two-year contract, step 6.

— Volunteer: Jessica Messer, coach.

— Christian Academy tutor, 2023-24 school year, and summer tutor ($30/hour), retroactive to July 6-Aug. 11: Megan Magie.

— Sub certificated: Ronna Achor, Sara Allen, Kaylynn Bell, James Burton, Lindsey Burkhart, Henry “Bud” Burwinkel, Baylee Carey, Maggie Chaney, Angela Crabtree (Herlinger), Jessica Cochran, Kimberly Cochran, Randi Conover (Mifflin), Lisa Creditt, Katherine Dunn, Melissa Elmore, David Evans, Brenda Fishback, Emily Foster, Rick Garrison, Stephanie Harper, Robin High (Reilly), Paula Homan, Linda MacLeod, Tara Malloy, Donald Marsh, Brian McCord, Randy McFarland, Allyson McKeehan, Kimberly Miller, Sandra Nartker, Kimberly O’Brien, Mark Peters, Katie Purdin, Patricia Reinholz, Logan Reynolds, Brian Robinson, Dee Robinson, Mekenzie Seaman, Rebecca Shawhan, Deborah Shuler, Deborah Smith, Lindsay Snavely, S. Veronica Stewart, Gage Summers, Ethel “Jean” Tedrick, Rebecca Waits, Shane Walterhouse and Lindsay Wilson (Bloom).

— Supplemental: Katie Condo, HS assistant volleyball coach; Megan MacIvor and Bruce Messer, MS volleyball coaches; Ben Miller, fall weight room supervisor; and Ben Pence, HS varsity wrestling coach.

— Classified: Carol Brown (custodian, retroactive to July 16); Ronni Burton and Christel Dalton, secretaries; and Elizabeth Mahan and Rebecca Puckett, paraprofessionals.

— In a separate motion, with Myers abstaining, the board voted 4-0 to approve Crystal Myers for phonics/dyslexia training.

• The board approved the following changes of status for staff members for the 2023-24 school year: Tracy Cremer, from cook step 0 to cook step 24; Brandie Fenner, from MS assistant football cheerleading coach to MS football cheerleading coach; Tiffany Gelter, from MA to MA+15; Brian Hughes, from BA step 0 to BA 150 step 9; Kelly Perkins, from HS assistant volleyball coach to HS reserve volleyball coach; and Fran Poole and Karin Yakimow, from MA+15 to MA+30.

“Some of those where they’re starting at step zero, that's when we've approved them, and then we find out their status as far as with STRS,” Davis said. “Others are dealing with education. They've upgraded themselves and their masters from a 15 to a 30. They've turned those things in, and then a couple of the supplementals have changed.”

• The 2023-24 bus routes were approved as presented.

“There's a few changes, but nothing major,” Davis said. “It’s something we do every year to approve and get those out. Mr. Ward will be making any phone calls for the stops that are adjusted.

“Dealing with dead-end roads and how far we can go back, and dealing with turnarounds, are a few of the changes.”

• The Board approved a memorandum of understanding between the board and the Hillsboro Police Department for the placement of one school resource officer for the 2023-24 school year.

Davis said they are “very excited” to continue working with the HPD for another year.

“Zach [Burnett] has done a great job, and we appreciate the partnership and continued support from the Hillsboro Police Department and the City of Hillsboro,” he said.

• The Board approved Gracie Cox as a graduate of the class of 2023.

• The Board approved the Local Government Services with the Auditor of State.

“This is the GAAP [Generally Accepted Accounting Principles]  reports that they're starting to do for this coming year,” Teeters said. “It’s a contract that we do every year with the State Auditor's Office to fulfill that duties, and after that, the state auditors come in and do their part of the state audit.”

• The Board approved seeking sealed bids for the disposal of a 2003 Bluebird 84-passenger bus, with 229,779 miles.

“It was going to be a spare, but we had to repair some of the flooring in it,” Davis said. “Once we got in there, it was a little bit more in depth than what we wanted to put into a bus with this many miles and this age, so we are looking to get rid of it.”

• The Board accepted an anonymous $1,000 donation toward the high school varsity volleyball program.

“We just appreciate, again, the community and how they constantly are supporting us in various ways and proud of their school,” Myers said. “Thank you for that.”

• The Board approved an annual memorandum of understanding between the district and the Highland County Board of Developmental Disabilities regarding the Transition Training Project. Davis said it involves career placement and other services for special-needs students.

• The Board approved the district’s use of the Southwestern Ohio Educational Purchasing Council to advertise and receive bids on the board’s behalf for the cooperative purchase of school buses.

“This is just in case we do want to look to purchase any school buses,” Davis said. “It doesn't mean we're going to right now, but we want to make sure we get it approved in case we do.”

• The Board approved a contract with MVECA for VOIP services for July 1, 2023-June 30, 2026. According to Teeters, this agreement will “cover all telephones in the school system” and is a standard contract.