Superintendent says state budget preserves Forest Hills funding guarantee; district readies new routing software and mental-health partner

Superintendent Rob Hook told the Forest Hills Local Board of Education that early conference-committee language in the state biennial budget appears to preserve the district’s funding guarantee and that staff are continuing to analyze details that could affect how carryover balances are calculated.

"We still have the guarantee, which for Forest Hill is is critical," Hook said, summarizing the district’s initial read of the committee report. He told the board the conference committee had released a document of more than 1,000 pages and that district staff would circulate a more detailed analysis once the text had been digested.

Hook said the district’s initial calculation showed a first-year increase from the conference version of roughly $1,093,000 and an additional roughly $500,000 in year two — figures he said amount to about 1% of the district’s total budget but are still important to local state-aid projections. He warned that the final impact depends on how the state totals are defined (for example, whether certain debt-service funds would be excluded) and said staff would update the board as more detail became available.

Hook also updated the board on an early court ruling in Franklin County that found the Ohio EdChoice voucher program unconstitutional but stayed the order so the vouchers continued to operate while the case proceeds through appeals. "There's a ways to go," he said, explaining the expectation of further appeals.

On mental-health services, Hook and staff said Cincinnati Children’s Medical Center will provide services to the district’s secondary schools beginning Aug. 1, while NECCO will continue to provide preschool services. Teaching-and-learning director Tim Moore confirmed to the board that Children’s would provide school-based therapists under an open-referral model and that billing would be handled through families’ insurance; Moore said Children’s also offered pointers to public resources and that the district could use grants or benefactor funds to support families who lack insurance coverage.

"They are" providing therapists in schools, Moore said in response to a board question. He added that district staff and the provider had discussed resources for uninsured families.

Hook also described the results of a recent family survey the district fielded this spring: nearly 500 responses across grade levels, with generally positive scores on academic experience and school climate (many items reported at or above 90% agreement). The survey highlighted a parent interest in more information about services to support learning and behavior (about 63% requested more information on those topics), Hook said; administrators plan to break results out by building and grade when staff return in August.

On operations, Hook said the district is switching its transportation routing software to Transfinder to enable real-time routing updates, turn-by-turn directions for drivers and enhanced vehicle monitoring; he said the system will provide real-time alerts for mechanical and safety issues. He also flagged work on the district’s radio network to improve communications in emergency scenarios and summer projects including roof repairs, chiller and boiler replacements and work to place building envelopes under warranty.

Hook summarized by saying administrators would continue to refine the budget analysis and circulate updates to the board as more legislative language becomes final and as legal appeals on the voucher program proceed.