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Superintendent highlights student leadership council, district to transition to ParentSquare; board briefed on kindergarten tuition proposal
Summary
Superintendent reported on a newly formed student leadership council and holiday activities; the district told trustees it will transition to ParentSquare for family communications and the board heard a recommendation to set full‑day kindergarten tuition at $3,255 for 2025–26.
Superintendent Mister Hook told the Forest Hills Board of Education on Dec. 18 that the district has begun meeting with a student leadership council representing secondary schools and that the district is preparing to transition its family communication platform to ParentSquare.
The superintendent said the student leadership council includes representatives from Nagel, Anderson and Turpin and that members discussed transitions between middle and high school, course‑selection guidance, time management and cell‑phone policies. “We just wanna make sure that we're trying to meet everybody's needs, help them make that adjustment so it's positive,” Hook said while summarizing the students' feedback.
The superintendent and other staff asked families to sign up for ParentSquare via the district website. The superintendent said the district will not drop prior platforms immediately but expects to be fully on ParentSquare by next school year; district staff highlighted features intended to streamline messages for families and speed emergency notifications.
Separately, a representative of the Forest Hills Foundation reported the foundation raised $121,000 at a recent Denim and Diamonds fundraiser. The speaker said the funds are designated for Sources of Strength, PBIS, child‑focused therapists, Nagle after‑school clubs and tutoring, and transportation for students.
In teaching and learning, the board heard a recommendation to set full‑day kindergarten tuition for 2025–26 at $3,255, an increase of about $90 from the prior year (just under 3%). The recommendation breaks tuition into a deposit and nine payments; the presenter said families who qualify for free or reduced‑price lunch will have the fee waived. Registration for the 2025‑26 kindergarten class was announced to open Jan. 21.
The board was also asked to approve winter track participants for state association competition and to approve three recurring overnight field trips; the presenter described those as routine, annual trips. The track and overnight trip items were presented as approvals the association requires so students may compete and travel in uniform.
No formal vote on kindergarten tuition was recorded in the meeting transcript; the tuition proposal was presented and discussed during agenda item 9.3.
Members of the public who spoke during comments also urged the board to streamline district communications and to provide updates on long‑term building plans; one commenter said facilities work remains necessary and urged earlier planning for future building needs.
