Residents debate Lifewise program safety and request RTRI policy changes during public comment

During the public-participation portion of the March 20 meeting, two residents spoke about outside organizations that run in-school programs and about Lifewise, a community program that places volunteers in schools.

Sherry Ulmer of 366 Hickory Drive urged the board to modify the district’s RTRI policy, seeking several specific changes she said other boards have adopted. Ulmer asked that sponsoring entities certify that any person working with district students in RTRI programs have passed FBI and BCI criminal background checks; she asked that sponsoring entities prohibit people convicted of offenses that would disqualify them from employment in Ohio public schools; that sponsors be prohibited from providing promotional items to students; that board members and staff refrain from promoting or discouraging RTRI programs; that RTRI programming be limited to one day per school quarter (no longer than 30 minutes, during lunch only) and not permitted at open houses, book fairs, parades, trunk-or-treat events, dances, field days, sporting events, music performances or other assemblies. Ulmer also told the board she was concerned about proposed legislative changes that could allow Bible studies on school grounds.

Christine Wheeler, who identified herself as a resident of 309 West Ninth Street, spoke in detail about Lifewise’s internal safety measures and program operations. Wheeler listed screening and safety practices she said Lifewise uses: liability insurance, background checks using pro‑screening, reference checks and interviews, random drug testing for bus drivers, annual fire and state-bus inspections, daily pre- and post-trip driver inspections, teacher‑certification processes, mandated-reporter and child‑abuse awareness training, CPR and emergency-response training, incident reporting and classroom‑management training. She said Lifewise maintains a curriculum, attendance tracking, policy manual and adult-to-student ratios of 1:10 and that no adult is permitted to be alone with students except their own child.

Wheeler provided summary statistics for the current year: 267 students participated; five elementary schools had enrolled students; 64 team members served the program; 20 churches were involved; and 15 of the team members were parents or grandparents of Lifewise students. She closed with a success story about a family who connected to a church through the program and reported improved family circumstances.

Board members asked clarifying questions about Lifewise’s volunteer screening and said the district would take the public comments under advisement. The board’s formal votes later in the meeting did not change district RTRI policy; the comments were recorded during the public-participation segment.

Why it matters: The speakers asked the board to clarify and possibly tighten the district’s rules for outside programs that interact with students and raised questions about volunteer screening and where such programming can occur.

What the district said it will do: Board members and staff said they would consider public input and that Lifewise offered to provide more information on request.