Board of Education Update — November 11, 2025 Regular Meeting

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

Veterans Day performance

The Board of Education welcomed the Greensview choir to perform two patriotic songs in honor of Veterans Day. This continued celebrations across the schools this week and last week to thank those who have served.

State championship recognition

The Board of Education honored the girls water polo team for winning the state championship in October. This is the girls water polo program’s 22nd state championship overall. 

District highlights

Superintendent Robert Hunt, Ph.D., shared the following district highlights:

• Golden Bear Highlights: In addition to the girls water polo team, it has been an incredible fall season for the Golden Bears. The girls soccer team just won their first state championship and will be honored at a future Board of Education meeting; girls field hockey and boys water polo were state runners-up; the girls tennis team came in third in the state; and the girls cross country team finished sixth in the state.  
• Election Day Professional Learning: On November 4, staff from across the district, from both Classified and Certified, participated in professional development sessions. Professional learning for our staff is a key part of our strategic plan, and these sessions reflected that commitment to continuous improvement and ensuring that all of our staff has the resources needed to support our students and our schools. 
• 8th Annual Hour of Code Across UA: Hour of Code Across UA was back for its 8th year! More than 100 UAHS students teamed up with our Elementary Explorations teachers to spark curiosity and creativity as K-5 students across the district dive into fun, hands-on coding and computer science activities — both online and offline.
• Coffee & Conversation: This month, we will be hosting our third Coffee & Conversation event of the school year. These monthly coffee chats are held at the Bob Crane Community Center. Designed to foster meaningful dialogue, each session features updates from the district, a spotlight on a specific area of the district and open questions and answers. The October event will be Friday, November 21 at 9 a.m. and will focus on district finances and the Upper Arlington Education Foundation.

Dr. Hunt also recognized the UA Rotary Student of the Month — Finn F., a senior and the founder of both the UnPlug Club, which teaches students how to protect themselves against the downsides of social media.  He is also a founding member of the Sustainability Club, a singer in Camerata and a guitarist for the Jazz Ensemble. Finn has spent many hours volunteering for the Civic Association and the Upper Arlington Public Library.  He also enjoys volunteering for 6th grade camp. Finn hopes to have a career that helps him leave the world a better place - and notably hopes to continue his work helping young people understand the dangers of social media.  

Profile of an Engaged Learner Survey Update

Chief Excellence & Engagement Officer Denise Lutz, Ed.D., and Director of Well-Being, Prevention & Intervention Cathy Ely, Ph.D., shared an update on the fall administration of the Profile of an Engaged Learner Survey. This survey aligns to the district’s Profile of an Engaged Learner, an important focus in the district’s Excellence & Innovation 2030 Strategic Plan. The Profile of an Engaged Learner Survey is administered in the fall and spring each year. The district also typically administers a winter survey, but will be pressing pause on that this year to allow the new student voice committee, Amplify, to provide input into that survey to provide better insight into school culture and climate.

Dr. Ely offered an overview of the Profile of an Engaged Learner results in grades K-2, 3-5 and 6-12 from fall 2025. She also offered an overview of the results looking back at previous administrations going back to fall 2023 for grades 3-5 and 6-12. New this year is a free response option on the survey, added based on student feedback, for students in grades 3 and up. Dr. Ely offered some examples of the responses that were received.

The survey results have been shared with building principals, and conversations are continuing about the data at a building level. Some next steps include high-level information for families on the building-level data, classroom conversations and individual student follow-ups as needed. 

Policy updates

Deputy Superintendent Stephanie Siddens, Ph.D., shared 15 policies up for first read by the Board of Education. Most of these updates are a result of changes in state law due to the budget bill.

Athletic training agreement

Dr. Hunt shared a request for the Board of Education to approve a continued agreement with Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center for athletic training services.

Facilities master planning update

Dr. Hunt shared an update on phase two of facilities master planning. The work right now is focused on gathering additional community feedback through focus groups and a scientific community survey this fall. 

The next full community feedback opportunity will come through a community engagement session on November 19 at 6:00 p.m. at Upper Arlington High School, 1625 Zollinger Road, and an online survey open to the whole community following the meeting. 

Understanding property taxes in Ohio

Dr. Hunt introduced an overview on property taxes in the state of Ohio. There is a lot of conversation around property taxes right now, so this overview is intended to offer a picture of the facts and myths related to this. Dr. Hunt acknowledged and recognized the property tax burden on families, senior citizens and homeowners, and the need for conversations around property tax reform. He also noted the importance of understanding the implications of any changes on local services, such as police and fire, and schools.

Treasurer/CFO Andrew Geistfeld shared that the school property tax burden on homeowners and farmers has increased — from 47 percent in 1991 to 70 percent in 2023. Some factors that have impacted this include the elimination of business tangible personal property tax in 2005. The state also previously covered 12.5% of an individual homeowner’s property tax bill (known as rollback). Even though schools receive more in property taxes, community services such as EMS, fire, police, libraries and parks also depend on property taxes. 

There are four House Bills, already approved by the House and now pending in the Senate, related to property taxes. Signatures are also being collected for a proposed constitutional amendment to eliminate property taxes. 

Dr. Hunt recognized that something must change, and the district wants to be part of the solution so that we can continue to provide the excellence in education that our community expects. He encouraged community members to talk to their legislator about this.  

Treasurer’s updates

Assistant Treasurer Laura Mickens shared the monthly financial statements for October 2025. 

You may visit our Upper Arlington Schools Board of Education page to access the November 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.