Board of Education Update — March 11, 2025 Regular Meeting

The March 11, 2025, meeting of the Board of Education included presentations on the following topics:

State champion recognition

Superintendent Robert Hunt, Ph.D., and Student Life Assistant Director Logan Erwin welcomed the Upper Arlington High School girls swimming and diving team, who clinched their second consecutive state championship — and 14th all-time — in Canton on February 22.

Additionally, the Board of Education will be welcoming the boys ice hockey team at a future meeting after they won their first state championship on March 9.
 

District highlights

Dr. Hunt shared the following district highlights:

• Coffee & Conversation: We have another coffee and conversation opportunity this month. Tomorrow, we will be talking about our facilities master planning process.  Join us from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. in the upper level meeting room at Giant Eagle Market District at Kingsdale.    
• UA Rotary Student of the Month: The Rotary Club of Upper Arlington has started a new honor, which will recognize a service-oriented junior or senior who also demonstrates admirable traits such as honesty, responsibility, courage and leadership. This month’s honoree is Noah G..  Noah is the captain of the lacrosse team, captain of the football team, a leader of the Bear Den, an active volunteer and a member of the orchestra.
• Upper Arlington Education Foundation recognition: Dr. Hunt welcomed and celebrated the leaders and board members of the Upper Arlington Education Foundation for all that they do to step forward and support students in the Upper Arlington Schools. 
• Central Ohio String Festival: Upper Arlington High School hosted the Central Ohio String Festival in February. The five Upper Arlington High School orchestras and two 8th grade orchestras from Jones and Hastings all earned superior ratings - the highest possible - for their performances. They also participated in workshops following their performances.
• UA Vocal Music accolades: Congratulations to the Symphonic Choir for earning Superior Ratings at the OMEA Large Group Adjudicated Event at Upper Arlington High School last weekend. This event featured 30 Ohio high school choirs.
• Human Connections Festival: Upper Arlington High School hosted the Human Connections Festival to bring together students and the community through both school-day and evening events designed to celebrate the cultures and traditions within and beyond our community. This was a student-driven and student-led effort to design and make this happen.
• Teacher Job Fair: Over 70 potential teachers were screened by our team on March 4, 2025. It was a combination of college seniors, former or current student teachers and applicants who were in our hiring processes around the district.
• 2025 Summer Academy: This year, the Upper Arlington Summer Academy will be undergoing some changes to both the program offerings and how the program is funded. For the past four years, COVID relief funds allowed the district to offer expanded, K-12 Summer Academy programming free of charge to families. With those funds now expired, Summer Academy will be returning to a family-funded model with select course offerings, similar to how the program operated before COVID.  The district will use this summer’s Summer Academy enrollment data to help guide future planning. 
   

Safety update

Chief Operating Officer Greg Thompson shared an annual update on safety and security in the district. He emphasized the importance of safety being everyone’s responsibility — “see something, say something.” He shared a reminder that safety information and plans are protected under Ohio law from any public records request, so this update was a high-level overview of safety. 

The safety update included an overview of best practices for school safety, as well as recent actions in the safety realm including continued security enhancements, safety plan recertifications, a safety audit of Upper Arlington High School, a multi-jurisdictional drill, and additional training for staff and first responders. Ongoing safety measures include safety drills; monitoring through the Stay Safe, Speak Up! safety hotline and the Lightspeed web filter; and mental health supports for students. Future initiatives will include additional and enhanced trainings; security enhancements; safety audits; and continued relationships with first responders. In addition, a new safety grant is available through the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, and the district has applied for both options that are available to school districts, potentially amounting to up to $40,000 for the district.
 

Facilities Master Planning update

Dr. Hunt shared an update following the conclusion of an online community survey on the initial draft options for phase two of the facilities master planning process, involving Burbank Early Childhood School, Hastings Middle School and Jones Middle School. The district received approximately 950 responses to the survey, which was advertised through emails to staff, families and the community; a UAiNSIGHT article published at the end of February; and social media posts and advertisements. Dr. Hunt reviewed the options for each school and an initial summary of the survey results. 

The feedback collected through the survey will be published at www.uaschools.org/facilities later this week. The feedback will inform any revisions to the options, and cost estimates and timelines for phasing and student placement will be developed. The volunteer building teams will review the feedback at the meeting in early April, and the community will have another opportunity to weigh in on the revised options, with cost estimates and phasing, at a round of community meetings on May 12 and 13 and an online survey following the meetings.

 

Teaching and Learning update

Chief Academic Officer Keith Pomeroy shared an update on the process to pilot and select a new English Language Arts resource for K-5. The pilot involved two resources — Amplify CKLA and Wit & Wisdom — and 36 classrooms, covering all buildings, grades and programs. Feedback was collected from teachers, students and parents/guardians on the piloted resources. Additional factors in the final selection included the alignment to Ohio Social Studies and Science Standards, customer service, professional learning support and cost. Based on all the feedback, Amplify CKLA is being recommended as the final selection. The Teaching & Learning Team will be coming back to the Board of Education with the final proposal and contract at a future meeting.

Policies

Deputy Superintendent Stephanie Siddens, Ph.D., presented three policies for second read and approval to the Board of Education. She also presented two bylaws and 14 policies for first read and two policies for discussion.
 

Board communications

The Board discussed two policies prior to a first read: 

• A revised PO 5223 Released Time for Religious Instruction During the School Day 

• A draft version of a Student Voice and Engagement policy.

Treasurer’s update 

Treasurer/CFO Andrew Geistfeld shared the monthly financial statements for February 2025. 

He also shared an overview of the process for school funding through the biennium budget. As of now, the governor has made his proposal, which is making its way through the State Legislature for review and revisions. The proposal as it stands now would continue the implementation of the Fair School Funding Plan. He reviewed how the proposal could impact the district — with the potential for an increase in state funding.  

You may visit our Upper Arlington Schools Board of Education page to access the March 11 meeting agenda and video. To view the meeting presentation, please click here. For meeting dates and more information about the Board of Education, please visit www.uaschools.org/board.