Board approves donations, contracts and routine items including SRO agreement and coaching contract

The Sycamore Board of Education unanimously approved a package of routine and operational items including donations, an executive leadership coaching proposal, a school resource officer agreement, transportation and field-trip approvals, a personnel consent agenda and renewal of the district’s Great Oaks board representative.

Donations and contracts: The board accepted donations including a gift from Sycamore Bridges and approved an executive leadership coaching contract with Mike Kliba. It also approved a school resource officer agreement with the City of Montgomery; board members praised SRO relationships with students and described the contract as a minimal increase over previous agreements.

Personnel and operations: The board approved a personnel consent agenda and motions to declare transportation impractical and to permit an out-of-town field trip. The body also renewed a three-year term for its Great Oaks representative and approved participation with Hamilton County ESC in the Greater Cincinnati Business Advisory Council.

Facilities and donors: Administrators noted ongoing capital projects: transfers and advances have supported roof replacements, a transportation facility, the natatorium and baseball/softball projects. A donor has proposed to cover 70% of lighting for the baseball/softball facility and is seeking a district contribution for the remaining 30%; the board said it will consider the request during upcoming capital-improvement discussions.

Procedure: Most motions were moved, seconded and approved by roll call with all board members present voting in the affirmative. Several items were informational and postponed for later consideration, including a 21-page policy second read.

What’s next: Staff will continue to track donor commitments and bring capital-improvement prioritization back to the board during a financial-capital discussion scheduled for an upcoming retreat.