Dayton Board of Education elects officers, approves personnel actions and waives 48‑hour notice; board rejects one resignation package

The Dayton Board of Education elected Cassandra Alexis Goodwin president and Dr. William Bailey vice president and approved a series of organizational resolutions and personnel actions during its organizational meeting.

Board members voted unanimously to elect Goodwin and Dr. Bailey to the leadership posts. The board also appointed Mr. Walker as parliamentarian and approved routine organizational resolutions — including meeting dates for 2025, renewal of memberships in the Ohio School Boards Association and its Legal Assistance Fund, and authorization of signature use for 2025 — as part of the organizational package.

The meeting included a series of personnel votes. The board voted to waive the 48‑hour rule to consider several personnel recommendations and approved retirements, classified resignations, supplemental and athletic appointment lists, and recruitment and referral bonuses. One separate recommendation — to approve the set of resignations listed as effective after July 10 — failed by a 6‑to‑1 margin.

Why it matters: the organizational votes set board leadership and committee schedules for the year; the personnel approvals and 48‑hour waivers finalized multiple staffing and supplemental assignments that affect schools’ operations and extracurricular programs.

What the board decided

- Election of officers: The board voted to elect Cassandra Alexis Goodwin as president and Dr. William Bailey as vice president. Both elections carried with the board reporting seven affirmative votes. Mr. Walker accepted appointment as parliamentarian.

- Organizational resolutions: The board approved the resolutions establishing board meeting dates for 2025, renewing memberships in the Ohio School Boards Association and its Legal Assistance Fund, authorizing use of signatures for 2025, approving the certificate of enrollment and establishing a service fund. The motions were moved, seconded and adopted with seven yes votes.

- Committee schedule changes: The board agreed to move the Finance Committee meeting time to 3:15 p.m. and to schedule the Policy Committee on the first Wednesday of the month (to avoid recurring Tuesday conflicts). Those changes were approved as part of the organizational package.

- 48‑hour waiver and personnel approvals: The board approved a motion to waive the 48‑hour rule so personnel items could be voted. With the waiver in place, the board approved multiple personnel items including retirements, classified resignations, supplemental and athletic appointments, and recruitment/referral bonuses. A motion to approve retirement bonuses was addressed with staff noting the retirement bonus is provided under the DEA negotiated agreement and that employees must notify HR by Jan. 10 to be eligible.

- Failed approval of resignations after July 10: A recommendation to approve a set of resignations effective after July 10 failed on a roll call vote: President Cassandra Alexis Goodwin — no; Mr. Smith — no; Ms. Wicks — no; Ms. Reinhart — no; Mr. Lacey — no; Dr. William Bailey — no; Mr. Walker — yes. The chair announced the tally as six no, one yes and moved to subsequent agenda items.

- Contracts and agreements (for review): The superintendent presented contracts and agreements for review, including agreements with Acumen Therapeutics (mental health services at one high school), Antioch Shrine Center (Dunbar prom), Keiser University (clinical hours for occupational therapy students) and Montgomery County Juvenile Court (Title I programming). The board reviewed these items and invited questions from members.

- School resource officers and staffing counts: Chief Wright confirmed two new SRO hires, naming Coy Hastings and Julius Lattimore as the newly hired SROs, and told the board these are new positions. "Those are 2 new SRO employees," Chief Wright said. He also discussed the district’s SRO staffing numbers during questions from trustees.

Process notes and corrections raised on the record

Board members raised procedural and clerical concerns about the personnel agenda: multiple entries contained incorrect dates (several personnel lines showed December 2025 when staff said they should read December 2024), and trustees asked staff to correct those date errors. A member requested that the personnel agenda explicitly show items "for a vote" at the top going forward so public comment opportunities occur before votes, and staff agreed to make that change.

A board member asked that the PhD portion of a bonus resolution be pulled until after executive session. The request was noted on the record; the board subsequently voted on the broader resolution as presented.

Executive session

Pursuant to Ohio Revised Code Section 121.22(G)(2), the board voted to go into executive session to consider the appointment or dismissal of a public employee. The motion to enter executive session passed on a 7‑yes roll call.

Ending

After the votes and votes to go into executive session, the board recessed for the executive session. Several board members and staff asked staff to correct personnel-document errors and to continue the practice of clearly labeling personnel agenda items as being "for a vote." The meeting record shows multiple routine personnel and supplemental approvals alongside one failed motion to accept resignations listed as effective after July 10.