Board of Education Update — November 12, 2024 Regular Meeting

The November 12, 2024, meeting of the Board of Education included presentations on the following topics. Due to technical difficulties, a live-stream of the meeting was not available; however, a recording of the meeting is available at this link.

 

District highlights

Superintendent Robert Hunt, Ph.D., welcomed the Upper Arlington High School students who were selected for All-State choir and orchestra, as well as the Ohio Music Education Association’s South-Central All-Region Orchestra. This is a huge honor for the students and recognition of the excellence in the district’s performing arts programs.

Dr. Hunt also recognized Dawn Brown of Cardinal Transportation, who as a bus driver for Hastings Middle School’s seventh grade Pittsburgh trip kept students safe when their bus was cut off and forced off the road by a semi-truck on I-70.

Dr. Hunt also welcomed Logan, who with his sister, Giggi, were Superintendents for a Day earlier this month. He shared all the activities they did that day, starting with a behind-the-scenes tour of Jones Middle School and a visit to the UA Hub. Giggi and Logan also went to Barrington Elementary School, where they gave flowers to their favorite teachers. They then went to the high school, where they had lunch and attended meetings with Perkins + Will architects and the Board of Education president and vice president. The Superintendent for a Day was an auction package available at the Golden Bear Bash this fall to support the Upper Arlington Education Foundation.

Dr. Hunt then shared the following district highlights:

• Eastern States Consortium Visit and PEN Conference: It’s been a busy month with having visitors in Upper Arlington and two very large events. The first was the Progressive Education Network national conference, with more than 280 educators coming together at a conference hosted at Wickliffe Progressive Elementary School. Many staff members participated in planning for this conference. At the end of October, the district hosted a site visit for the Eastern States Consortium, a group of more than dozen school districts that meets twice annually to share innovative practices. More than 50 educators were part of that visit.
• Ohio School Board Association Conference: Dr. Hunt acknowledged the Board of Education for attending the OSBA conference this week. Students were also at the conference - with UAHS Symphony Strings and the Jones Middle School eighth grade choir performing and two students from Tremont Elementary School kicking off the conference by saying the Pledge of Allegiance. 
• Veterans Day and Service Learning: The middle schools, Wickliffe Progressive Elementary School and Upper Arlington High School hosted veterans for their annual Veterans Day recognition events. 
• Hour of Code Across UA: This is the 7th year for Hour of Code Across UA, which was launched by Upper Arlington High School teacher Diane Kahle as a way for high school computer science students to introduce and expose younger students in our district to STEM and coding activities. Hour of Code has grown and evolved over those years, most recently joining forces with the Elementary Explorations team and with students in the new Teaching Pathway at the high school. This year, approximately 100 high school students led the activities along with the Explorations team, reaching nearly all 3,000 elementary students in the district. 
• Coffee & Conversation: The Coffee & Conversation series continues this week with an update on district finances on Thursday, November 14 from 9 to 10 a.m. at Kingsdale Market District.

 

Profile of an Engaged Learner survey update

Director of Well-Being, Prevention and Intervention Cathy Ely, Ph.D., shared an update on the Profile of an Engaged Learner survey administered this fall to students in grades K-12. The survey was aligned to the Profile of an Engaged Learner, which is an important focus of the whole learning priority in the district’s current strategic plan. The Profile of an Engaged Learner reflects the vision for all Upper Arlington learners, at every stage and every grade. Developed with input from students and all teachers across the district and solidified by a districtwide work group of educators, this document articulates the skills and characteristics that we believe will prepare our students to serve, lead and succeed in Upper Arlington and beyond.

Dr. Ely reviewed the fall results for grade bands K-2, 3-5 and 6-12. Students will again have an opportunity to take the Profile of an Engaged Learner survey in the spring, which will provide the district with an important comparison point in the data. In the winter, students in grades K-12 will have an opportunity to take an additional survey that focuses on the topics of safety, school climate, teacher-student relationships, and cultural awareness and action (grades 6-12 only).

Dr. Ely outlined how the district is taking action based on student voice through the survey. The results of these surveys drive conversations at the district level and the building level to inform programming and building goals for well-being. 
 

Other updates

• UA GenAI Committee: The newly formed UA GenAI Committee held its first meeting on November 1 and will be meeting quarterly. This committee of 26 administrators, teachers and students will be working to develop guidance on the responsible use of AI, ensure compliance with relevant policies and build the capacity of all stakeholders to understand AI and use AI effectively. 

• Softball facility improvements: The softball boosters are leading an upgrade to the current hitting and pitching facility. This will be funded by the booster and in-kind work. The new space will be fully enclosed for four-season use. Work will begin this fall, and the goal is to have the facility ready for the season in March.

 

Strategic planning update

Dr. Hunt shared that the district is moving forward with the development of an implementation plan for the next strategic plan. The district will host a community town hall meeting to share an update on the strategic planning process on November 19 at 6 p.m. at Upper Arlington High School.

 

Facilities master planning phase two 

This fall, the district launched phase two of facilities master planning involving Hastings and Jones middle schools and Burbank Early Childhood School. It has been almost 10 years since the launch of the first phase of the facilities master planning process, which addressed the elementary schools and the high school. 

The first community meetings were held at the end of October and had a great turnout from the community. The next community meetings of phase two are coming up on: 

• Tuesday, December 3 from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. in the Hastings Middle School cafeteria, 1850 Hastings Lane
• Wednesday, December 4 from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. at the Graf Center, 2020 Builders Place

These meetings will include updates on the physical and educational adequacy assessments of those three buildings.

A number of volunteer teams will also be formed during the process, including building teams and student teams. More than 60 stakeholders have already signed up for building teams for each of the three schools. These teams will hold their first meeting in December. To sign up, please visit www.uaschools.org/facilities prior to Thanksgiving break. Community feedback will be essential to every step of the process.

In addition, the Board of Education approved the district’s recommendation to enter into an agreement with Turner Construction as an owner’s representative for phase two of facilities master planning. 

 

Treasurer’s update 

Treasurer/CFO Andrew Geistfeld shared monthly financial statements for October 2024 and the November 2024 five year forecast, a legally required document that is presented to the board for approval and then filed with the state of Ohio. The five year forecast covers three years of actual financial data and five years of anticipated revenues and expenditures, and it is updated every May and November, providing the district with an important check-in point on potential future impacts and needs.

He reviewed key changes from the November 2024 forecast and the May 2024 forecast. The current forecast is down by 0.34% in revenue and up by 1.62% in expenditures compared with the May 2024 forecast. The latter is primarily due to 30 additional positions now being paid out of the general fund due to the end of the ESSERS grant funding stemming from COVID-19 and additional staffing needed in Student Services and due to enrollment growth. In anticipation of ESSERS funding ending, the district had planned for additional payroll and purchased services increasing this year in the general fund. The district is also seeing increases in the cost and number of claims for medical insurance, which is leading to premium increases in the upcoming 2025 calendar year and potential increases in future years.

As he shared, the majority of district’s revenue (82%) comes from local taxes and the majority of expenditures (80%) goes to personnel — which, he noted, is to be expected in a people-driven organization like a school district. 

The November 2024 five-year forecast reflects the typical three- to four-year levy cycle for a school district like Upper Arlington. Three to four years after the approval of a new operating levy, expenditures typically begin to outpace revenue. The five-year forecast projects expenditures exceeding revenue by fiscal year 2026.

The updated five year forecast will be filed with the state of Ohio and posted on the district website. 

You may visit our Upper Arlington Schools Board of Education page to access the November 12 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.