Marlington board hears data showing absenteeism decline, enrollment shifts and new culinary CTE cohort

Superintendent reported at the Sept. 11 Marlington Local School District board meeting that district data from the Ohio Education Management Information System (EMIS) show chronic absenteeism fell from roughly 26% in 2022 to about 14% in 2024–25, and outlined enrollment and staffing trends and career-technical education expansions. "Every minute, every moment, every memory," the superintendent said, describing the district's focus on student engagement.

The data snapshot came from the district's secure data center, which the superintendent said draws live data from EMIS and will be updated when the Ohio Department of Education posts preliminary report cards on Sept. 15. The superintendent said chronic absenteeism is defined by the state as missing 10% or more of the school year and added, "That's the law," when describing the threshold that triggers family intervention efforts.

Board members were shown school-by-school absenteeism trends: Lexington Elementary, Marlboro and Washington elementary schools and the middle and high schools all registered year-to-year reductions in chronic absenteeism, with the districtwide figure dropping to 14%. The superintendent credited building principals, administrators and staff for the change and said the district has invested in climate and culture initiatives to make students want to come to school.

The superintendent also presented enrollment snapshots comparing June and September counts. He said the district overall was down about 15 students from the end of last school year through the September count, with the high school accounting for a decline of 19 students while the elementary and middle school were each up by about two students. He attributed part of the elementary enrollment shift to a decision to close open enrollment at Lexington to preserve class sizes and staff allocations.

On staffing and FTEs, the superintendent described how the secure data center separates classroom teacher FTEs from student-support FTEs (school psychologists, speech pathologists and counselors). He noted that contracted services such as the school nurse and some SRO coverage do not appear in the district’s payroll FTE totals.

Separately, the superintendent reviewed a newly launched culinary program developed through the district’s compact with Alliance and Salem. He said Alliance secured a $3,400,000 grant to build the regional culinary project; 17 students participated in the program’s first year and five of those students are Marlington students. Marlington will continue to run buses to Alliance as part of the compact, and the superintendent said the district plans future expansions to include horticulture and related CTE offerings.

Board members asked about the timing of hard enrollment counts (Oct. 1) and when finalized report-card measures would appear; the superintendent said the district would have additional, updated counts next month. He said secure data center snapshots will be revisited monthly to show trends and to validate staffing changes against FTEs reported to the state.

The presentation closed with a short calendar of outreach events and superintendent public meetings scheduled through October.