Hamilton City School Board elects Shaquila Matthews president, approves 2026 calendar and FY2027 tax budget

Hamilton City — At its Jan. 8 organizational meeting, the Hamilton City School District Board of Education elected Shaquila Matthews as board president and elected Doctor Ashley Hopkins as vice president, approved a revised 2026 meeting calendar, and approved administrative budget items including a $10,000 service fund for fiscal year 2027 and the district's fiscal year 2027 tax budget.

The board convened at 533 Dayton Street, Hamilton, and began the meeting by administering the oath of office to members returning or newly seated for the term. Doctor Kopas nominated Shaquila Matthews for president; after a named vote Matthews received three votes to Mister Davidson's two and was declared president. Matthews then presided over the remainder of the meeting.

Board members also elected Doctor Ashley Hopkins as vice president following nominations for that office. One member abstained from a self-vote during that election; the chair announced Hopkins as elected vice president.

The board reviewed and approved the district's draft 2026 meeting calendar. The draft shifts regular meetings from the second and fourth Thursday of the month to the second and fourth Tuesday, with exceptions in November and December for holidays and in May for graduation. All regular meetings are scheduled to occur at 533 Dayton Street unless otherwise noted, and the president may change meeting time and place with notice to the treasurer and media.

On finance and administrative items the board approved establishing a service fund beginning July 1, 2026, capped at $10,000 for fiscal year 2027 (the transcript records prior years' limits at $20,000). The board also approved a consultant agreement and $250 annual payment to the Ohio School Boards Association Legal Assistance Fund for 2026.

The board voted to continue using Bricker Graton as the district's primary legal counsel for 2026. During discussion a board member asked whether the district had solicited competitive bids for legal services; administration responded that hourly rates “depend on the actual attorney that works on each individual issue” and that the district has not solicited bids since a firm change around 2017–2018. Mister Davidson was recorded as the sole dissenting vote on the counsel authorization.

The board approved the fiscal year 2027 tax budget, a required document the district will file with the Butler County budget commission. The treasurer explained the budget commission includes representatives from the Butler County auditor, treasurer, and prosecutor and that filing the approved tax budget is the first step in requesting tax revenue to support district operations.

Other routine appointments approved included the district's representative to the planning commission (Mister Davidson), the district representative to the Butler Tech Board of Education for a three-year term (Miss Mancuso), and a representative to the TV Hamilton board (Lawrence Sprague).

The meeting concluded with announcement that the board's next meeting is scheduled for Friday, Jan. 16 at 9:00 a.m. at 533 Dayton Street in Hamilton.

The decisions recorded above reflect the motions and roll-call votes taken during the Jan. 8 organizational meeting; specific vote tallies and the sole recorded 'no' on legal counsel were read into the record during the meeting.