Madison Local board swears in new members, elects Jean Sensi president and Brian Horvath vice

Three new members of the Madison Local Board of Education took the oath of office at the organizational meeting and the board elected its officers for the year.

Benjamin Thomas Holt and Jessica Martin each repeated the oath to support the U.S. and Ohio constitutions and to discharge their duties as board members. After roll call confirmed all members were present, the board moved through its annual organizational business, including leadership elections and committee appointments.

Jean Sensi was nominated from the floor and elected board president. The vote was recorded as four in favor, zero opposed and one abstention. Brian Horvath was nominated and elected vice president with a similar roll-call outcome. The board also reviewed and adopted a calendar of regular meeting dates after discussing scheduling conflicts and options for virtual participation.

The board appointed a district representative to the tax incentive review council, a panel that reviews local tax abatements and verifies whether participating firms meet agreed commitments; the board voted to appoint Jean Sensi to that role. The board also selected Benjamin (Ben) Holt to serve as the Ohio School Boards Association (OSBA) legislative liaison at the upcoming conference and named Jessica Martin the OSBA student achievement liaison.

Board members framed the public-participation policy discussion as a priority for the next meeting; proposed changes included a sign-in sheet, a requirement that speakers list their topic at arrival, a total public-comment window (a suggested 30 minutes total) and typical speaker time limits (three to five minutes), with an option for the board to allow additional speakers in exceptional circumstances. The board directed staff to draft a proposed policy for the next meeting.

The meeting closed after routine consent items and organizational actions were approved by roll-call votes.