Last day of school for students is

Thursday, May 23!

This has been a fun and busy week of "lasts" for our Kings High School Class of 2024! Many events took place this week including senior awards and the annual Senior Walk where our Seniors visit their former elementary, intermediate, and junior high schools.

Join us for the Graduation of the Kings High School Class of 2024. If you can't make it in person, it will be livestreamed from Cintas Center.

Watch the video below that highlights the Class of 2024.

We wish our seniors all the best! #OnceaKnightalwaysaKnight

Kings Treasurer Mike Morrow updated the Kings Board of Education on the Five-Year Financial Forecast at the May 14 Board Meeting.The Five-Year Forecast outlines expected revenues and expenses for this school year and the following four years. Mr. Morrow updates the Board every May and November.

In his report, Mr. Morrow explained that the District runs very lean. He noted that the District still faces financial challenges due to expenses rising faster than revenues. A few highlights from the forecast presentation include:

• In the last 2 years, costs have raised 5 million dollars in purchased services.
• State aid came in higher than projected but is projected to go down next year.
• The District cash balance remains low.
• District investments have earned nearly 1 million dollars in interest income.
• Personnel and insurance rates have increased.
• The District has realized nearly 6 million dollars in cost savings and additional revenues in the past 2 years.
• Utilities increased by 35% in 2024.
• Property values are projected to increase by approximately 20% which is great for the community. Morrow noted that Kings doesn't receive more money when valuation increases. Tax rates go down as values increase.

Treasurer Mike Morrow and Superintendent Greg Sears are committed to being fiscally responsible and advocating for additional state funding. They are working collaboratively on long-range financial planning and state funding advocacy.

The entire presentation can be found here.

In other news from the Treasurer's Office...

Congratulations to the Kings Treasurer's Office staff for receiving a clean audit report from the Ohio Auditor of State, awarding them the Auditor of State Award for Excellence in Financial Reporting.

The District also received the Highest Achievement in Open and Transparent Government for the 4th year in a row! Only 16% of entities audited in the State of Ohio were awarded this achievement.

This is the 8th year in a row that the District has received this honor. The financial audit report is designed to provide citizens, taxpayers, investors, and creditors with a general overview of the District’s finances and show the District’s accountability for the money it receives. Kings Local Schools' financial audit report can be found by searching for the District at ohioauditor.gov.

Congratulations to Kings Treasurer, Mike Morrow, and his staff, Jill Nickels, Lori Birch, Dawn Rich, and Jane Boehm who do the work daily in order to make the Treasurer's Office run smoothly!

The Kings Education Association held its annual banquet last week. Two educators were nominated and selected as recipients of the 2024 awards.

Congratulations to Sheridan Pagan and Michaela King who were selected as Advocate of the Year and Rookie of the Year, respectively. Below are the comments from their nominations.

Sheridan does a fantastic job advocating for student, teachers, and the education profession. She runs the KEA Silent Auction every year that benefits the "Future Teacher" scholarship. She is so proud of her profession. She spends countless hours working on creating amazing lessons for her students. She strives to be the best at whatever she is doing in her classroom. She willingly mentors other teachers each year in order to share what she has learned. She is always working around the school to make things better!

Michaela is the definition of going above and beyond for her students, our staff, and district. Michaela is a part of the personalized learning initiative, which lead her to present on our PD to staff from all over the district. When you walk down the hallway with Michaela, all the students stop to say hello to her because she has made such wonderful connections with her students. Her classroom is full of love, creativity, and rapport. She attends many after-school events to make sure all of her students feel supported. She won the door decorating contest this year, was in charge of March Mammal Madness. She is a teacher leader at Kings Freshman Camp, and is a passionate member of Community Classrooms. Michaela is proud to be a Kings Knight and she absolutely represents our mission.

The mission of KEA is to advocate for teachers, students, and the education profession. KEA President Sam Mizener said, "We are so lucky to have both Sheridan and Michaela to propel our district forward with an emphasis on student well-being and student achievement!"

The KEA Future Teacher Scholarship was also awarded to KHS Senior Zoey Peters. The scholarship was established in 2001 as a way for the KEA members to assist a student(s) from Kings High School who will be entering the field of education. The funds for the scholarship come from the annual KEA Silent Auction. This year, the silent auction has raised $4555.00.

The Kings Education Association is composed of teachers, counselors, and nurses who work for the Kings Local School District. They are committed to community outreach and empowering our students to believe in themselves while helping them cultivate the skills needed to succeed.

Pictured below L-R: Sheridan Pagan and Michaela King with KEA President, Sam Mizener.

Congratulations to Kings High School Junior, Leah Christman who was presented the coveted Kings Theatre Legacy Robe for her involvement and commitment to excellence throughout the production process of the spring musical Little Shop of Horrors.

Taking its inspiration from a Broadway tradition, the Legacy Robe is awarded prior to each high school theatre production to an outstanding cast member who has gone above and beyond to create a legacy of excellence in our Kings High School theatre program.

Leah has been actively involved in the Kings Theatre program since 7th grade. This school year she has played the role of Jess in the world premier performance of The Green Light, Crystal in Little Shop of Horrors, as well as stage managing the junior high production of Disney's The Little Mermaid and serving in the role of dance captain for Little Shop of Horrors. In addition to participating in theatre at Kings, Leah also performs in local community theatre.

Director Scott Hayward said "There is no doubt in my mind that this current Kings Theatre season would not have been nearly as successful without the behind-the-scenes help and contributions of Leah Christman. Her willingness to step into leadership roles throughout the year, jumping in to help make sure that every element of our productions meets the level of quality we expect at Kings, all while also crafting amazing performances on stage makes Leah a stand-out member of our Kings Theatre program."  

Kings High School students in the Multiple Disability classrooms attended the Daylight Prom.

This prom is held during the school day for Warren County students with multiple disabilities. It was first started by Patty Dever from Lebanon High School years ago and the tradition continues with the hard work and planning by Little Miami High School's Student Government.

This year's Prom was held on Friday, May 3 at the Savannah Center in West Chester. The Rich and Famous-themed event welcomed students in their prom attire to have fun in a safe environment and meet students from ten other districts.

Kings High School rolled out the red carpet for the students to walk on their way to the bus while being serenaded by the KHS Drumline. Watch the red carpet parade here.

Local 12 also highlighted the prom on their newscast. You may see some familiar faces!

For the past 29 years, the Kings Athletic Booster Club and the Kings Athletic Department have honored student-athletes who have maintained excellent academic standards while dedicating their time and energy to Kings athletics. On Wednesday, May 15, the Annual Senior Scholar-Athlete Luncheon was held at TPC Rivers Bend.

Thirty-eight student-athletes were recognized at the luncheon. Each honoree was accompanied by their parents and a Kings staff member who has particularly influenced their academic and athletic success.

To qualify for this award, an athlete must have earned a cumulative grade point average of 3.850 or better for seven semesters at KHS while earning a minimum of five varsity letters in multiple sports, or four varsity letters in one sport. Each athlete received a plaque to include with their memories.

Click here to learn more about the athletes and their chosen staff members. View the gallery of pictures from the event.

Congratulations to the scholar athletes shown below - Grant Arnesen, Will Ballard, Sydney Barrett, Kenzie Beck, Jack Bender, Seth Broaddrick, Drew Burdine, Payten Butler, Samantha Crum, Dane Drake, Sami Drew, Cate Freeman, Katie Gibson, Robert Giller, Brady Harman, Madeline Hartke, Dakota Henry, Lindsay Hoff, Kassidy Ingram, AJ Johnson, Annika Kleinhenz, Isabella Land, Ethan Leamer, Elise Marchal, Diego Medina, Anyi Metzger, Brooklyn Miller, Beckham Najem, Isabelle Noble, Faith Rudowski, Grace Sims, Mason Smith, Austin Staubitz, Brendan Stock, Cooper Tinsley, Abby Trapp, Claudia Witter, and Abby Yoder.

Invited Staff members are Rana Southern, Sam Mizener, Katie Isaacs, Lindsay Six, Rick Krepps, Jason Shields, Michelle West, Franny More', Eric Wellman, Kevin McClung, Dave Barta, Christine Koenig, Sarah Hennessey, Tracy Goldie, Angie Guilfoyle, Nancy Galster, Valerie Eldridge, Ron Corradini, Mary Ann Boehner, Wendy Loudermilk, Julia McCavitt, Paul Harris, Lynn Brant, and Debby Henderson.

Since 2013, Columbia Intermediate 6th graders have raised money to build wells in South Sudan to provide clean drinking water.

The initiative is inspired by the book, A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park. The story is about Salva Dut, who at age 11 fled Sudan amid a civil war. As a teenager, he led 1,500 other “lost boys” through the Southern Sudan desert to a refugee camp in Kenya. His true story is interwoven in the book with a fictional character named Nya, who walks miles daily to get water for her family.

The book is read as part of a "social injustice" unit and a theme focused on social responsibility. After reading the book, the 6th-grade students gathered together on May 3 to walk while carrying a gallon of water and worked to raise money for the organization, Water For South Sudan. This year they raised $3,320 and donated over 150 gallons of water to Matthew 25 Ministries for disaster relief distribution.

It costs $5,000 to build a well in South Sudan. A source of clean water transforms a village by making it possible to build schools, medical centers, and markets. CIS has raised over $50,000 for Water for South Sudan and has 10 wells in their name.

Sixth-grade teacher, Dawndy Zinnert said, "We are incredibly proud of our students and honored to be a part of a community that supports students' efforts to learn about sustainability as well as sharing in Water for South Sudan's mission to restore hope, health, and dignity to communities in South Sudan."

The 4th graders at J.F. Burns Elementary had the opportunity to learn about many different careers at last week's Career Day.

They learned about event planning, sports photography, Engineering, clinical research, oncology, and infectious diseases, and owning an ice cream shop!

Thank you to the following for sharing their expertise and giving time to our students: Jodi Taylor, Ryan Meyer, Krista Rieder, Joe Seymour, Carrie Hagee, Gary Dechert, and Joe Fields.

Nearly 20 Kings students have been cast in the next Acting Up performance of The Lighting Thief - The Percy Jackson Musical.

About the show: As the half-blood son of a Greek god, Percy Jackson has newly-discovered powers he can't control, a destiny he doesn't want, and a mythology textbook's worth of monsters on his trail.

When Zeus's master lightning bolt is stolen and Percy becomes the prime suspect, he has to find and return the bolt to prove his innocence and prevent a war between the gods. 

The show is an adaptation of the best-selling book, The Lighting Thief by Rick Riordan. Performances are May 31 - June 2 at Mason High School.

Get your tickets here.

The Food Service Department wants to thank students and their families for their support in our School Lunch Program. We want to remind all parents/guardians that any remaining funds on student meal accounts will transfer to the 2024-2025 school year. The balances will remain on the students accounts when they return in August.

If a student is graduating or transferring out of the Kings Local School District and your student has a remaining balance, please contact the Food Service Department at 513-398-8050 ext 10027 or you can email us directly at jarlinghaus@kingslocal.net and a refund will be issued to you.  If you currently have an account on PaySchools Central for your graduate and it is set up for auto deposits, it is advised that you access the PaySchools Central site and delete the "auto-deposit" feature from your graduate's meal account.

If you have a graduate that has a remaining balance and you have another child/student in the District the remaining funds from your graduate can be transferred to thier younger sibling. Please contact the Food Service Department to make this request and they would be happy to assist you.

Any student that currently has a balance due can forward payment by cash, check or payments are also accepted from our online portal, PaySchools Central.  Forms of payment of cash or check can be sent to the students' school or they can also be mailed directly to the Food and Nutrition Department at 1797 King Avenue, Kings Mills OH 45034. Checks can be made out to: Kings Local School District Food Service. 

Please be sure to pick up your student's medications from our school clinics by the last day of school!

Board Members

Kings Board of Education (L-R): Janelle Groff, Board Member; John Skerl, Board Member; Deb Cowan, Board Member; Stacie Belfrom, President; and Peggy Phillips, Vice-President.

The Board of Education meets on the 2nd Tuesday of every month for a Work Session at 6:00 p.m. and the 3rd Tuesday of every month for a Regular Meeting at 6:00 p.m.

Visit the Board of Education page on our website for meeting dates, meeting recordings, and agendas.

If you are looking to purchase Kings Spiritwear, visit the Kings Online Spiritwear Store provided by our partner ROKKITWEAR or Lemons and Limes Boutique Deerfield. Kings Spiritwear can also be found at the Landen CVS.

Keep in touch with all things Kings Spiritwear by following our Facebook page!

In an effort to be "green," the District does not send paper flyers home. We use a platform called Peachjar that houses flyers of community programs and resources. 

Parents receive approved flyers via email, and they are posted on our digital flyerboard for easy retrieval. Any organization can distribute information to our community by creating an account!

We are looking to bolster our Kings Alumni database. Are you a Kings High School graduate or know someone who is? Please share the form with your fellow graduates. This will help our reunion committees and keep you updated on what is happening at your alma mater!

Please complete this Alumni Roundup Form.

Registration is open for this summer's Athletic Camps. Visit this link to sign up.

Some of our 5th graders on the 5G Kings Knights Black Football Team were invited to help the Cincinnati Bengals announce the 2024 game schedule.

The boys met Bengals Center, Ted Karras and were treated like celebrities. The team logos on the video were created by the boys. Here is a video where they get interviewed.

They spent the day down at the Bengals practice field to film the video with several Who Deys, the Bengals mascot. They went home with a swag bag of Bengals merch.

Check out the 2024 Cincinnati Bengals schedule video.

What a great experience for our young football players!

Photo credit: Ryan Meyer, Bengals Team Photographer and Kings Parent.