[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6263484,"mediaKeyId","3104918-5622a7207aef4a7ce72a5de46a992c4b","parentId",3104918,"title","Fort Thomas board approves Tower Park change order, $926,778 pay application and submits district facilities plan draft to KDE; authorizes tech surpluses","audioSeconds",1081,"startMs",3275000,"endMs",4356000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3104918-5622a7207aef4a7ce72a5de46a992c4b&start=3275&end=4356","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3104918-5622a7207aef4a7ce72a5de46a992c4b/thumbnail_3275000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6263484/Kentucky/Fort-Thomas-board-approves-Tower-Park-change-order-926778-pay-application-and-submits-district-facilities-plan-draft-to-KDE-authorizes-tech-surpluses","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6263484-465b8a68bab42664b8bdd928c4d1c440/orig.mp4?Expires=1775299448&Signature=K2SuYPg~DuJMPjrBGPEtr9i1BvGi7BnWfrOOpRKqgJ5pflc5s2AbF-thKqCVQ-M0ap0-tG2LHz3DESiJxs0f7KVXxfEtSHICLP9TFapVb759S1qPHEhXmGKVzp4AhKUx6EnMp~SUrF~-AdqPukqLhuu~PTlnRy0JSpBjA6zDtk-h67rc8Al0BMwRXypOCuQfr~f40-R7bC7jssLJkrfdUWMcJSkVfhIcvT0i1~gv~Q7v84l~UBh~Zz0Oo7ZSC9ZqJV0dL5udGfe5Nmxn0ygSbLS7AGikq7QMwEOqvW5qfd8mIxg7D~OpyQVaSJ8d5LKYNisUOqO7kryhIxAVQNVQpA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Fort Thomas Independent SD","date","2025-04-24T05:04:27.907Z","article","At its meeting, the Fort Thomas Independent Board of Education approved a $38,570.70 change order and a $926,778.15 pay application for work at the Highlands Athletic Complex at Tower Park, voted to submit a second draft of the district facilities plan (DFP) to the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) and appointed Jerry Wissman as hearing officer, and authorized surplus and bid plans for district technology and other equipment.

The board approved change order number 3—a collection of previously reviewed change proposals—adding $38,570.70 to the Morrell Construction Company contract for the Tower Park project. The board also approved pay application No. 9 to Morrell Construction for $926,778.15. Both motions were seconded and carried by voice vote.

The district presented a second draft of its DFP for board approval to send to KDE. District staff described priority 1 recommendations that include constructing a career and technical center (CTC) to serve existing career pathways, roof and kitchen renovations at Highlands High School, limited classroom additions at Woodfill Elementary (up to four standard classrooms), and improved ADA access at the high school, including a possible elevator column on the south building. Staff said KDE reviewers suggested several refinements and offered creative options—such as addressing an aging plaza over a parking garage at the middle school under later priorities—that raised the district’s unmet need to a little over $30 million.

Jerry Wissman was named the public hearing officer; staff said KDE requires a public hearing before final DFP approval. \"Once you had the opportunity to ask questions and vote on recommending that, we have to appoint a hearing officer because KDE requires a public hearing,\" staff said.

On technology, the board authorized declaring surplus 1,650 MacBook Air M1 (2020, model A2337) units and 1,275 iPad 8th-generation devices, and directed staff to solicit bids for the lot. Technology staff said the district will refresh student iPads and MacBooks this summer to obtain expanded storage, four-year warranties and lower repair costs; staff intends to retain some returned devices as loaners and put the remainder out to bid. \"Putting them all out together should ensure that we would get more opportunities for bids,\" Mr. Johnson said, adding that the RFP would require bidders to remove devices from Apple School Manager, remove asset tags and collect equipment on-site.

The board also approved declaring other operations items—classroom furniture, cafeteria equipment, sewing machines and assorted fixtures—as surplus and authorized sale or disposal, noting the items have been in storage and some sit idle after program changes.

Other votes included board approval to continue an employee wellness incentive (district-paid registration and T-shirts for employee participation in the YMCA Firecracker 5K) and approval of a requested shortened-school-day waiver for one student after an Admissions and Release Committee review. The meeting concluded with unanimous approval of the consent agenda.

Next steps for the DFP include a public hearing scheduled before the next board meeting, final board action and then KDE review; surplus technology will go to bid per the district’s procurement process.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","April 14th, 2025 Board of Education Meeting","oneSentenceSummary","At its meeting, the Fort Thomas Independent Board of Education approved a $38,570.70 change order and a $926,778.15 pay application for the Highlands Athletic Complex at Tower Park, voted to submit a second draft of the district facilities plan to the Kentucky Department of Education and appointed a public hearing officer, and authorized surplus and bid plans for district technology and other equipment.","taxTitle","Fort Thomas Independent, School Boards, Kentucky","taxId",58944,"location","Kentucky","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6263479,"Highlands students, teachers and programs honored: TSA state winners, spelling bee qualifier, forensics champion and Knight Society showcase",494,790000,1284000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3104918-5622a7207aef4a7ce72a5de46a992c4b&start=790&end=1284","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3104918-5622a7207aef4a7ce72a5de46a992c4b/thumbnail_790000.jpg","/articles/6263479/Kentucky/Highlands-students-teachers-and-programs-honored-TSA-state-winners-spelling-bee-qualifier-forensics-champion-and-Knight-Society-showcase","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6263479-f3aaa07eedb22e30accff23bf36bd5b5/orig.mp4?Expires=1775299448&Signature=WhBKfsFWtp0GFRQK57ZSJ3nXAL9RZye5c2913QfvVfrVhyD-GqHcs~QWY3VpsIuMg2dGPLhXZ2ygLLF7BDOHyT3ZMPhttQToWYPYKO4NfIlayLf~RgVZ-L-X1XNMwkNhiI9Kw4eLUp0qKNYX6Gc9rXfgyZfvNNbq443fGIk7OW20QPCTL4YahWGduVtYITy~UKYrT13-YavzTKJN7j1cUPS2Bu8Z-mC5BptOFwZ~1sRLEQ-vToyVfWpf2K~2Y3c2tLC9T9gSB837KdqCw3MTaVL76xgU6pJtgKdDSZjo-KL8hQlu~9~UiFlZzWrgbJ35yoYkzBltchz5~z4Q4cGdHg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Fort Thomas Independent trustees spent a portion of their meeting recognizing student and staff achievements across academic and extracurricular programs, including state-level titles in Technology Student Association competitions, a regional spelling bee winner heading to the Scripps National Spelling Bee, a state forensics champion, and a student showcase from the Knight Society 3D-printing club.

Ron Roselle, Highlands High School engineering teacher, introduced state-level Technology Student Association (TSA) winners. Elizabeth Clark took first place in photo technology engineering after a regional portfolio and a timed-state prompt. \"I placed first out of those club,\" Elizabeth told the board, describing a 24-hour, on-site portfolio task and an interview stage at state competition.

Two students, Gabe McDermott and Isaac (last name not specified in transcript), won first place in the music production category. Gabe summarized the team’s process and said the prompt required original music for a blacksmith setting in a video game; the pair advanced from regionals (second place) to win at state and expect to compete at the national TSA conference in late June. \"We turned it into state, and we were completely shocked when we won,\" Gabe said.

The board also recognized George (last name not provided), who won the regional spelling bee and earned a place at the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. The board noted the scale of the national competition and congratulated him on advancing from regional rounds.

Alyssa Davis, the district’s forensics coach, introduced Charlotte, who won the Kentucky state championship in informative speaking. Charlotte described researching and producing a roughly 10‑minute original speech about the U.S. funeral industry and creating presentation boards and props. \"It was a wonderful experience,\" she said, adding that teammates and coaches were central to her work.

Elementary and middle school students from the Knight Society 3D‑printing program presented examples of their design work and described learning the design process, file conversion to STL and printer preparation. Students described projects including dice holders, cookie cutters and custom charms; mentors emphasized resilience through iterative fixes when prints did not fit as expected.

The board also presented teacher and staff recognitions: Becky Brady, a first‑grade teacher at Moyer Elementary, was nominated by parent Corey Pazinski for a district award; Mr. Pazinski cited individual outreach and classroom support as reasons for the nomination.

Superintendent-level remarks and board applause accompanied the recognitions. Staff noted that several student groups will attend upcoming state and national events and that the board will welcome future reports on their national results.","Students from Highlands High School and district elementary and middle schools were recognized for state and regional achievements in TSA, music production, photo technology, spelling, forensics and 3D printing at the Fort Thomas Independent Board meeting.","actionData","errors"]

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Fort Thomas board approves Tower Park change order, $926,778 pay application and submits district facilities plan draft to KDE; authorizes tech surpluses

Highlands students, teachers and programs honored: TSA state winners, spelling bee qualifier, forensics champion and Knight Society showcase