[{"_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",6143077,"mediaKeyId","5536070-c095ec1980cac74b15594d662accd5b4","parentId",5536070,"title","Board adopts new student cell-phone rules and a resolution allowing employees' children to attend tuition-free; policy 5111 set for further review","audioSeconds",947,"startMs",3493000,"endMs",4440000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5536070-c095ec1980cac74b15594d662accd5b4&start=3493&end=4440","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5536070-c095ec1980cac74b15594d662accd5b4/thumbnail_3493000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6143077/Ohio/Board-adopts-new-student-cell-phone-rules-and-a-resolution-allowing-employees-children-to-attend-tuition-free-policy-5111-set-for-further-review","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6143077-9c82e6e4de8e3412ae303a5784e4339a/orig.mp4?Expires=1775955071&Signature=YR1GyLsg~Yu6LrkkdQpcT1fL7DgAoHvEqg8yvYoRu2euMOT3O4JCluIIgkWibEtpOYzsEpDlK5OVNWT85abT6Hp~OLDOvqfLH7IiznI9b708Izvgv5uMj8P-zxF7SOFvjhGuHr5XDRweseBH0bBO268ust7XhpZXq7VkhsqkYclY645OBt5apXZU1f-xbZSsP3psoUaFgDLlBgNCUFwa4RBwGSa-ZBqw4YnkYATfZXzPbU81fTIrvWvfY2XrwF07AC~cBomwNPcPcBZRG~GWf3~zxubxgM~hqRET9gzVVlfTqaUdDW~lRgHrX9bXjtqzf9vLppD~jaxaBT5frRDXJA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Lakota Local, OH ","date","2025-08-06T15:53:43.487Z","article","The Lakota Local Schools Board of Education at a work session on Aug. 5 approved a set of policy changes aimed at starting the school year with updated rules and administrative contacts, adopted a new student cell-phone policy, and approved a resolution permitting children of district employees who do not live in the district to attend tuition-free. Board members also directed policy committee review of the district’s admission policy for staff-family enrollments before the next formal reading.
The cell-phone policy was adopted in one reading because administrators said state legislation and timing required the district to have guidance before classes begin. Under the new policy (5136), students may possess personal communication devices on their person but devices must be silent while in district buildings; the district anchors its definition of “instructional time” to the attendance definition used for counting instruction minutes. Staff said that means devices are not permitted for use during class periods (instructional time) and that 7–12 grade students will be expected to place phones in a pouch on the back of their classroom door where the school uses that practice. During non-instructional periods — such as lunch, passing time and other social periods — students may use devices unless the use disrupts the learning environment.
Administrators said the policy leans on student-issued devices for classroom instructional activities and contains an explicit safety caveat: students may use cell phones in an emergency as long as such use does not interfere with crisis-management protocols. The district also provided a discipline flowchart to principals; administrators said their goal is to use progressive, teachable responses rather than suspend students for phone violations. Typical steps described in the flowchart are teacher verbal warnings, teacher-to-parent communications, teacher detention where feasible and office referrals; permanent confiscation of personal devices was not recommended by staff.
Separately, the board approved a resolution to permit tuition-free attendance by children of full-time district employees who live outside the district. The board and administration discussed a specific, time-sensitive case of a staff member whose child lives in Northern Kentucky; board members asked whether the district would receive state funding for such a student and were told that because the child is out-of-state the district would not get state per-pupil funding for that child. Administrators said the resolution and the policy change would reduce legal ambiguity and allow the district to accept the student without charging tuition in this limited instance. Board members asked administration to take the admission policy (5111) back to the policy committee to clarify the language around staff-member children, tuition and any long-term implications; the board amended the agenda to make policy 5111 a first read and scheduled follow-up policy work before the next regular meeting.
Votes and procedural steps recorded at the meeting: the board voted to resend its internal procedural policy 0131 for Aug. 5 only so the single-reading actions could proceed; it then approved a batch of technical policy changes to update compliance-officer names; it adopted the cell-phone policy 5136; and it approved the resolution allowing employees’ children to attend tuition-free. The resolution passed by a 3–2 vote. Several trustees said they were sympathetic to the individual staff member’s circumstances but wanted the admission policy clarified in policy committee before final formal adoption of the 5111 changes.
Administrators told the board they plan a broad communications rollout if the cell-phone policy is implemented for the start of school: parent notices, building-level reminders, teacher talking points and loaner devices for classes that may need them temporarily. Staff said they will monitor implementation, track discipline referrals related to phones and return to the board if legislators change the underlying state law.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Lakota Board of Education Work Session: August 5, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","The Lakota Local Schools Board of Education at a work session on Aug. 5 approved a set of policy changes aimed at starting the school year with updated rules and administrative contacts, adopted a new student cell-phone policy, and approved a resolution permitting children of district employees who do not live in the district to attend tuition-free.","taxTitle","Lakota Local, School Districts, Ohio","taxId",14477,"location","Ohio","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},6143082,"Lakota narrows master facilities options; trustees, staff press for clearer site maps and outreach",3312,168000,3480000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5536070-c095ec1980cac74b15594d662accd5b4&start=168&end=3480","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5536070-c095ec1980cac74b15594d662accd5b4/thumbnail_168000.jpg","/articles/6143082/Ohio/Lakota-narrows-master-facilities-options-trustees-staff-press-for-clearer-site-maps-and-outreach","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6143082-ebd91dd192076fbfac44bf02cf7e7ab7/orig.mp4?Expires=1775955071&Signature=mGA8MpK6bbPnVPTmYzVsZuT-WWKc7pMTlhGp5rmc7NPgegWEShN9mvNC6rwgDdqpNq7tR6RwditP3tlRHSThGredJw59eq-UF4aVirxvBU0Md0QDjuFUaeyoAp3ETNRoKAgsul0vHEXK-e9tumNvs6FOpmMBuBuFrUbYeYmTTlCvuqevDk4NHEjmUUF7y6489EAuCBo2C1Kzw~Mfmo28WJwyRoiLoWKQgSby1aOTEP7OYQ2wEUjSXPw79TTGzr~6qxBzkI9BiWdvFszI8iWtV-3fUaYSPNpWwoTmuT9KDJeser1dSA4Ia~eRQ-ihI057aqYnRED5Tj1dzmHNDVaEIw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","At a work session on Aug. 5, Lakota Local Schools staff and their planning team reviewed candidate sites for a districtwide master facilities plan, outlined criteria used to score properties and set a goal to finalize site recommendations by September so the district can begin detailed public outreach ahead of a proposed bond issue.
The discussion matters because the locations under consideration affect student bus times, which neighborhoods keep neighborhood schools, what vacated school properties would become, and how construction can be phased without disruption to students. Staff said they intend to provide community maps and more frequent public briefings so residents can see how proposed closures and new buildings would change travel and neighborhood access.
District planners and consultants presented site-selection criteria — constructability, safety, environmental constraints, utility access, usable land area and expansion capability — and described four main site groupings still under consideration. The district said the criteria are scored numerically and weighted; planners said final scores will be updated once enrollment projections are fully factored in. The sites discussed, and acreage figures given during the meeting, included: a transportation/central campus parcel of roughly 26 acres; a Hopewell complex of about 56 acres with roughly 31 acres classified as buildable; a pair of Westchester-area options (labeled in materials as West Freshman/Creekside and Heritage) with roughly 43 total acres and 19 buildable acres for West Freshman versus about 16 total and 6.25 buildable acres for Heritage; and two neighborhood sites — Shawnee (about 22 acres, 11 buildable) and Adena (about 14.5 acres, 3 buildable). Planners noted the state’s guideline of roughly 7.5 acres as a minimum elementary-site footprint and said that most sites exceed that minimum, which opens possibilities for fields or other community uses on vacated land.
Staff also said they will factor near-term and long-range enrollment scenarios into the scores, including uncertainty tied to local development (the meeting repeatedly referenced potential growth tied to the Milliken interchange). The team recommended prioritizing sites that allow future expansion and minimize operational disruption during construction. The district also announced that Skanska will serve as the construction manager at risk (CMAR) partner; staff said they will present the formal partnership to the board in a regular meeting later in August and that the CMAR will contribute construction-phasing recommendations.
Trustees and staff reported that Westchester Township officials raised three concerns at a recent briefing: (1) perceived loss of local facilities in their township if several buildings are decommissioned, (2) increased student ride times if schools move farther from existing neighborhoods, and (3) the need for clearer public messaging separating bond-funded capital projects from operating-levy questions. Administrators said those concerns informed their decision to place site maps and more detailed enrollment overlays at the center of upcoming public engagement efforts.
Staff described a stepped engagement plan: information at district convocation for staff, an “administrator training” with talking points and FAQs, building-level staff presentations, a short informational video, and a schedule of parent and community meetings and site visits. They also plan tours of recently built junior-high and high-school facilities so trustees and staff can judge scale and program adjacencies.
On cost and size, planners offered ballpark guidance for building square footage and how cost varies with program: elementary buildings use fewer square feet per student than junior highs or high schools; high schools can approach about 180–200 square feet per student depending on extra facilities. Staff said exact cost estimates will depend on final program, site grading and phasing requirements and will be refined once sites are selected.
Next steps: staff said they aim to finalize site options by September to allow the public at least a month to review maps before the district advances a bond measure (staff discussed a November timeframe for a possible ballot measure). The planners will refine scores to reflect final enrollment inputs and provide recommended phasing and traffic mitigation for chosen sites. The board did not take a formal vote on sites at the work session.","At an Aug. 5 work session, Lakota Local Schools staff and consultants reviewed a narrowed set of candidate sites for school replacements and consolidations, outlined site-selection criteria and timelines, and said they will intensify community engagement before a planned bond vote this fall.","actionData","errors"]

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Board adopts new student cell-phone rules and a resolution allowing employees' children to attend tuition-free; policy 5111 set for further review

Lakota narrows master facilities options; trustees, staff press for clearer site maps and outreach