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Board approves 2025-26 program plan after debate over administrator "pickups"
Summary
The board approved the district's 2025-26 program plan but several members pressed for a review of administrator supplemental-pay "pickups" and bonuses; one member voted against the plan citing concerns about public messaging before a renewal campaign.
The Little Miami Local School District board approved the 2025-26 program plan after a lengthy discussion about funding priorities and supplemental pay for administrators known locally as "pickups." Superintendent and board members described the vote as approval of the staffing and program plan that allows the district to recruit and proceed with hiring; individual personnel hires will come to the board for separate approval.
Why it matters: the program plan sets hiring priorities and program allocations for the coming school year and signals how the district will spend operating and grant funds. Board members said the plan is part of the district's approach to staffing and service expansion ahead of the fall levy renewal timeline.
Board discussion focused on supplemental-pay "pickups," described by board members as additional payments for certain administrative positions. Board members said the district currently pays pickups to about 40 administrators and that last year pickups totaled "about a half a million dollars"; this year the amount was expected to be slightly higher. One board member explicitly opposed continuing that practice for new hires and asked the board to consider phasing pickups out or eliminating them for future hires to signal fiscal restraint to the community ahead of a renewal effort.
Several board members argued that consistency and equity must be maintained across existing employees and that unilateral removal for a single position could create legal exposure; others said the district could stop offering pickups to new hires moving forward and study a broader plan for changes. A board member asked that the topic be added to a future work session so the board could weigh options and develop a consistent policy.
Board action: The board approved the 2025-26 program plan. During the discussion several members said approving the plan does not immediately authorize all hires; individual personnel actions will come back to the board for approval. One board member recorded a dissenting vote based on the pickups/bonus concern.
Ending: Board members agreed to schedule further discussion about pickups at a future work session so the board can develop a uniform approach before future hires and levy-related public messaging.
