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Talawanda board adopts Fair School Funding resolution, approves personnel and finance items; rejects new assistant IT hire
Summary
At its June 19 meeting the Talawanda City School District Board adopted a resolution backing full implementation of the state's Fair School Funding plan, approved multiple financial and personnel items including a new part'time public records position, and voted against adding an assistant director of technology amid statewide budget uncertainty.
The Talawanda City School District Board of Education on June 19 adopted a resolution urging the Ohio legislature and governor to fully fund the Fair School Funding plan and voted on a slate of finance and personnel measures, while declining to add an assistant director of technology until state budget outcomes are clear.
The resolution, sent to members of the Ohio General Assembly and the governor, said the board "expresses strong support for the continued implementation and full funding of the Fair School Funding Plan" and opposed proposals to cap districts' reserve carryovers (the transcript referenced a 30% House cap and a 50% Senate proposal). The measure passed unanimously.
Why it matters: Board members said the state budget now being negotiated could sharply reduce local revenue and force districts to revise five'year forecasts, jeopardize planned maintenance and debt strategies and affect credit ratings. Legislative liaison Matt Mead and other board members urged community contact with state lawmakers about proposed cuts, which they said could amount to millions in local revenue.
Votes at a glance (motions recorded in the meeting): - Approve agenda as amended — Outcome: approved. Recorded vote: Mead Yes; Wyatt Yes; King No; Otto Yes; Howard Yes. - Approval of May financials (individual approval) — Outcome: approved. Wyatt not present for May meeting (abstain). Recorded vote: Mead Yes; King Yes; Otto Yes; Howard Yes. - Approval of block financial items (5b'5l: appropriations, gifts, reports, contracts including BCESC behavior coaching) — Outcome: approved (motion carried). - Approval of property, liability, crime and cyber insurance renewals for 2025'6 — Outcome: approved. Discussion noted a $10,000 per'incident cyber deductible; board asked administration to notify the board before filing cyber claims when practical. - Approval of certificated/licensed personnel contracts and resignations (6A items listed on agenda) — Outcome: approved. Recorded vote: Wyatt Yes; Mead Yes; King No; Otto Abstain (recusal on spouse contract); Howard Yes. - Approval of classified personnel (6B) — Outcome: approved. - Approval of supplemental contracts (6C) — Outcome: approved; Otto abstained on the supplemental votes tied to a spouse conflict. - Request to add an assistant director of technology (6D) — Outcome: rejected. Recorded vote: Mead No; Wyatt No; King No; Otto No; Howard No. The board discussed waiting for the state budget (expected June 30 or later) before adding a $100,000+ recurring position. - Approval to hire a part'time, as'needed staff member (up to 25 hours/week) to process public records requests and related duties (6E) — Outcome: approved. Recorded vote: Otto Yes; Wyatt Yes; King No; Mead Yes; Howard Yes. Administration said the district logged roughly 242 staff hours (Jan. 21'May 31) just in Google Vault/Logical work related to records and argued the role is variable and can be scaled back if budgets tighten. - Approval of resolution of intent not to provide universal CTE for all grade 7 and grade 8 students (6F) — Outcome: approved. Administration described the request as a response to possible state changes that would remove a waiver and create an unfunded mandate. - Ratify/approve SWOKA security/endpoint proposal that replaces Carbon Black and locks in price — Outcome: approved (ratification done to lock pricing tied to previously approved equipment). - Approval of art-adoption resources up to $55,000 (6H) to bridge purchases postponed during the pandemic — Outcome: approved. - Adopt resolution supporting the Fair School Funding Plan and opposing carryover caps (board resolution presented at the meeting) — Outcome: approved unanimously. - Adjournment motion — Outcome: approved.
Board and administration comments: Superintendent Dr. Thoreau and board members described the uncertainty created by late state budget negotiations, including references in the meeting to a piece of legislation cited in public remarks as "House Bill 335" (as described during the legislative report) and the carryover cap language in the pending budget. Legislative liaison Wyatt described the potential local revenue losses and urged residents to contact state representatives.
Administration said it would bring the assistant IT hire back after the state budget is finalized or later in August if the legislature'to'governor process extends. On cyber insurance the administration emphasized that timeliness matters for incident response and that the district must sometimes notify carriers immediately; the board asked to be notified before claims are submitted when feasible.
Ending: The board scheduled its next regular meeting for July 9 and adopted the Fair School Funding resolution to send to state leaders.
