Little Miami board approves contracts and personnel actions, hears policy review and schedules earlier summer meetings; enters executive session over student-m­

The Little Miami Local School District Board of Education on its April 2025 meeting approved a slate of contracts and personnel actions, including a two‑year agreement with the Little Miami Teachers Association and several retiree‑rehire resolutions, directed staff on meeting start times for summer months and moved into an executive session to discuss a confidential student matter.

The actions matter because they affect operations and staffing across the district, touch on benefits and retirement practices that the board discussed earlier in the meeting, and follow public comments about discipline and protections for students.

Among the formal votes, the board approved the March financial reports and a list of contracts and service agreements presented on the agenda. The contracts package included special‑education and therapy services (occupational therapy at $85 per hour and nursing services at $70 per hour were listed), a transportation arrangement not to exceed $1,300 for a parent transport agreement, two contracts with a vendor labeled in the agenda as Gifted Healthcare Education at $60 per hour for therapists (35 hours per week listed), and a data‑collection software contract listed at $32,760 for 2025–26. The agenda also listed a roofing contribution by Ray St. Clair Roofing described in the meeting as an in‑kind trade with an estimated value of about $32,560 to replace the concession stand roof and two ticket booths. The board voted to approve the contracts as presented.

On personnel matters the board approved a package of routine personnel items, including resignations, hires and the list of coaches for May summer athletic camps. The board accepted the resignation of Ryan Cherry from his position as middle‑school principal; the superintendent noted Cherry intends to return to classroom teaching after 14 years as principal. The board also approved the 2025 graduating class list (399 students, pending fulfillment of graduation requirements) and set graduation for May 18 at the Nutter Center at 6 p.m.

The board approved a ratified two‑year contract with the Little Miami Teachers Association (LMTA). The superintendent said negotiations began in January and the agreement was ratified by LMTA members before board approval. "We collaborated nicely with LMTA and we've come to a final agreement," the superintendent reported during the meeting.

The board adopted several retiree‑rehire resolutions on the agenda. The board approved Resolution 25007 to rehire Bridal Burke as a middle‑school math teacher and said rehiring retirees at step 5 (rather than top step) yields district savings while allowing those rehired staff to collect their retirement. The board approved similar resolutions for Kevin Rose and another middle‑school staff member, and authorized a 25‑010 advertisement to begin the retiree‑hire process for Chad Conkle (central‑office staff). The superintendent and staff clarified that when rehiring after retirement the district has followed past practice of paying the retiree’s pickup (retirement contribution) and rehiring at a lower salary step; the board discussed but did not change that practice during the meeting.

The board considered a request from the Business Advisory Council (BAC). Mark Souza, identified as chairman of the BAC, briefed the board on two topics: compiling and comparing district fees across nearby districts, and the district’s practice of "pickup" retirement contributions for certain administrators. Souza summarized the BAC’s view that the district should be competitive in administrator compensation: "I think that's the probably the important thing at the end of the day is you have to be competitive to attract and retain those people," he said. He also reviewed the district’s emergency levy history, noting the original emergency issue passed in 2011, repaid state obligations and has been renewed periodically; he told the board the emergency levy now raises the same total dollars but at a lower millage (the millage has fallen from 13.95 mills to about 5.9 mills because of growth in property values and new taxpayers.)

Board members discussed timing of regular meetings and agreed to shift standard start times earlier for the summer. By consensus they said June and July meetings will start at 6:00 a.m. or 6:00 p.m. for summer months (the board agreed to begin meeting at 6:30 p.m. going forward starting in June for regular meetings, with June and July summer meetings discussed to begin at 6:00 p.m.). (No formal roll‑call vote changing the bylaws was recorded; the board implemented the change as a scheduling direction.)

The board also received a report from the board policy committee. The committee has completed first readings of the first 52 Neola policy recommendations (board bylaws) and will continue administrative policy sections at future meetings. Committee members reported they are comparing Neola language with existing OSBA policies and Ohio Revised Code and plan to pull individual policies for discussion as needed.

During public comment, residents raised two issues: a parent urged the board to protect students and requested a follow‑up on an incident at the middle school; and a resident, Mandy Labovitch, said a Little Miami resident is facing a lawsuit for speaking at a prior board meeting and called for preservation of free speech. Mandy Labovitch told the board: "Right now, another little Miami resident is being hit with a lawsuit for speaking up at a school board meeting. It's an assault on one of our most fundamental rights, the right to free speech." Another community member, identified as Shelton, asked that the board adjourn into executive session after the meeting to discuss details of a student matter with the superintendent and counsel present.

The board moved into an executive session, approved by roll call, to discuss "matters required to be kept confidential by federal law or regulations or state statutes" (the superintendent indicated this referred to privacy protections for a student matter). The board’s motion to enter executive session passed on roll call with the majority voting yes and one board member recorded as voting no.

Meeting minutes show routine roll‑call approvals for the amended agenda, minutes, financial reports, contracts, personnel items, athletic camp listings, the graduating class, the LMTA agreement, and the listed retiree‑rehire resolutions. The board’s discussion included questions about coding of positions for state reports, potential miscoding on EMIS reports and an intention by staff to review coding practices for accuracy.

The board did not take additional public actions after entering executive session. The next regular meeting was announced for May 20, 2025.