Middletown City Schools board approves SRO contract with city, adds staff pay item to HR consent agenda

The Middletown City Schools Board of Education approved a school resource officer (SRO) contract with the City of Middletown and agreed to add administrative non‑step staff pay increases (cost‑of‑living adjustment plus 2 percent) to the HR consent agenda during its meeting.

The SRO contract was presented under business/transportation as “the school resource officer SRO contract between the Board of Education and our city of Middletown.” A motion to approve the contract was made, seconded and carried after board members voted yes: Board member Todd Moore; Missus Schiefer; Dr. Erso; and Board member Tara Ramsey Hunter. The meeting record states “Motion carries.”

Board members also approved adding a separate motion to extend administrative staff raises for non‑step employees — described by a board member as “the cola plus 2%” — to the HR consent agenda. That motion was moved during agenda approval and was added by unanimous voice vote to be considered on the HR consent agenda.

Separately, the board approved its consent agenda, which included multiple routine contracts and personnel items. The superintendent’s summary of consent‑agenda contracts noted agreements with Bestpointe Education and Behavioral Health; Maxim Healthcare Services for 1:1 nursing; Montgomery County ESC for gifted support days; Central Ohio ESC for a high school teacher cohort; and three transportation vendors for services including transportation of homeless, foster and special‑education students. The consent agenda also included approval for the district’s annual CCIP submission to accept federal funds under federal guidelines and an extended field trip request for about 120 marching band students to travel to Sandusky (Cedar Point) for a contest.

During public comment, Cora Thompson, president of the Hittletown Teachers Association, welcomed teachers and staff back to the buildings and described the first day of staff work ahead of students’ return, saying, “This is why we do what we do for the kids.” Mark Ewing, representing the Ohio School Boards Association’s Southwest Region, announced a $1,000 scholarship for seniors with a Dec. 1 application deadline and invited board members to the regional conference on Oct. 9 in Wilmington.

Board members also presented three 10‑year‑service certificates to Anita Shushworth, Chris Urso and Todd Moore. The meeting concluded with routine committee scheduling and encouragement to attend open houses next week, with Central Academy noted as open from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday.

Votes at a glance: - Approval to add administrative non‑step staff raises (COLA + 2%) to the HR consent agenda — motion moved and seconded; voice vote to add item carried. (No roll‑call tally specified in transcript.) - Consent agenda approval (contracts, personnel, CCIP, extended field trip) — motion moved and seconded; voice vote carried; roll‑call responses recorded as yes by Tara Ramsey Hunter, Todd Moore, Missus Schaeffer and Dr. Erso in the meeting record. - Approval of SRO contract between the Board of Education and the City of Middletown — motion moved and seconded; recorded yes votes by Todd Moore; Missus Schaeffer; Dr. Erso; Tara Ramsey Hunter; motion carries.

The board did not discuss specific dollar amounts for the SRO contract or the consent‑agenda contracts during the recorded exchange; funding sources for those contracts were not specified beyond the CCIP item, which the superintendent described as the district’s annual submission to accept federal funds under federal guidelines. The meeting record does not show a separate discussion of contract terms, termination clauses, or implementation timeline for the SRO agreement.