Board holds required hearing on 2025–26 special-education and federal program budgets; board approves by roll call

Madam President and members of the board held a required public hearing Aug. 14 on the Mentor Exempted Village School District’s proposed 2025–26 budgets for federal programs including IDEA (special education), Title I, Title II-A, Title III (LEP), Title IV and preschool early childhood funds. Chief financial officer Mr. Wade presented the budgets and invited stakeholder comment; no members of the public offered remarks during the allotted hearing period.

The hearing was presented to satisfy Ohio Revised Code requirements for public notice and comment on the district’s use of federal grant funds. After the presentation and a brief opportunity for comments, a board member moved approval; the motion was seconded and the board approved the item by roll call (five votes in favor, none opposed). The board did not record additional conditions or amendments at the vote.

Why it matters: federal grant awards and IDEA allocations fund programs and services that directly affect special-education staffing, intervention services and supplementary programming in district schools. The hearing is a required step before the district finalizes how it will allocate those federal funds for the coming fiscal year.

Details from the presentation: Mr. Wade said the purpose of the hearing was to “elicit input feedback from our stakeholders for the use of these federal funds.” No changes to the budget allocations were proposed at the meeting and no public comments were offered before the board moved to approve.

Next steps: The district will proceed with the planned use of the grants as presented; any further adjustments would come through future board agenda items or required amendment processes.