Milford Exempted Village board elects leadership, approves calendar and routine authorizations

MILFORD, Ohio — The Milford Exempted Village Board of Education on Jan. 16 elected its officers for 2025, approved a revised 2025–26 academic calendar and adopted a package of routine administrative and fiscal authorizations during its annual organizational meeting at the district administrative office.

The board nominated and approved Emily Mason as president and Michael Wilson as vice president. The board also approved a revised 2025–26 academic calendar that keeps the same start and end dates but moves a September date from Sept. 26 to Sept. 12, shifts an October fall break by roughly two weeks, and changes spring dates in March to March 5–6.

Why it matters: These routine organizational actions set leadership and operational parameters for the district for the coming year — determining who signs district checks, how temporary hiring is handled, and the schedule that governs the school year and board meetings.

Most of the meeting consisted of standard annual resolutions that the board votes on at the start of each fiscal year. Key approvals included authorization for the treasurer to invest active and interim funds at the most productive interest rate; authority for the superintendent to employ temporary personnel as needed between board meetings; designation of the president, vice president and treasurer as official signers on board accounts (with one of the three required on each check and facsimile signatures permitted for the president and treasurer); and authorization for the treasurer to use "then and now" certification for invoice timing provided funds are in board-approved appropriations.

The board established a $15,000 board service fund intended to cover member professional development and conference registration costs such as OSBA conferences. It also appointed Jeff Johnson as the superintendent's designee to serve as the district purchasing agent and reauthorized the superintendent to be the signatory on student activity accounts, with a requirement that the superintendent present those programs to the board annually.

On legal and financial administration, the board reappointed legal counsel and bond counsel (as listed in the agenda) and authorized the treasurer to provide information to the Clermont County Budget Commission in lieu of a formal tax budget so the commission can issue a certificate of estimated revenue for fiscal year 2025. The board also approved a resolution authorizing the advanced payment of property tax distributions from the county and adopted a Section 125 plan to be administered in accordance with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as referenced in the meeting.

Other routine items: the board approved the list of PTA/PTO and booster organizations to be active for fiscal year 2025, confirmed student activities for the year, renewed membership in the Ohio School Boards Association (OSBA), approved a resolution for travel related to official duties, and set board compensation at $125 per meeting with a maximum of 12 meetings per year.

The board also adopted meeting dates and locations for 2025 (regular meetings at 6 p.m., with most on Thursdays and one scheduled on a Tuesday) and finalized board designations, liaisons and committee assignments for the year — including finance, buildings and grounds, personnel, curriculum and instruction, communications, policy and records, fine arts/extracurriculars and an ad hoc audit committee. The board discussed committee scheduling and agreed on a configuration of morning meeting times for committee work intended to improve public access and member attendance.

Votes at a glance (each recorded by roll call): - Elect president: Emily Mason — outcome: approved (5–0). - Elect vice president: Michael Wilson — outcome: approved (5–0). - Adopt revised 2025–26 academic calendar — outcome: approved (5–0). - Authorize treasurer to invest active/interim funds — outcome: approved (5–0). - Establish $15,000 board service fund — outcome: approved (5–0). - Authorize superintendent to employ temporary personnel as needed — outcome: approved (5–0). - Designate superintendent as signatory for student activity accounts and grant authority to approve/modify student activity budgets — outcome: approved (5–0). - Authorize listed PTA/PTO/booster groups to be active for FY2025 — outcome: approved (5–0). - Designate president, vice president and treasurer as official check signers; allow facsimile signatures for president and treasurer — outcome: approved (5–0). - Authorize treasurer to exercise then-and-now certification (within appropriations) — outcome: approved (5–0). - Appoint Jeff Johnson as purchasing agent (superintendent designee) — outcome: approved (5–0). - Appoint legal counsel and bond counsel as listed on agenda — outcome: approved (5–0). - Authorize treasurer to provide information to Clermont County Budget Commission in lieu of tax budget — outcome: approved (5–0). - Approve resolution for advanced payment of taxes — outcome: approved (5–0). - Adopt Section 125 plan (ERISA and IRC references) — outcome: approved (5–0). - Approve student activities for FY2025 — outcome: approved (5–0). - Set board compensation at $125 per meeting, maximum 12 meetings — outcome: approved (5–0). - Approve OSBA membership and travel resolution — outcome: approved (5–0). - Adopt 2025 meeting dates and locations and approve board designations, liaisons and committee rosters — outcome: approved (5–0).

What was said and next steps: board members discussed logistics for committee meeting times and agreed to schedule many committee meetings in morning hours to improve member availability and public access. The board indicated committees will report out to the public to increase transparency. The next regular board meeting was set for Jan. 16, 2025, at 6 p.m. at the district administrative office.

No formal policy changes or contested votes were recorded at this meeting; all actions were approved by unanimous roll call votes.