May 31, 2020
— KHS Graduation, 3:00 p.m. on STAR64 (channel 11).
June 9, 2020
— Board of Education Work Session, 5:30 p.m.
June 16, 2020
— Board of Education Meeting, 6:00 p.m.
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Kings Treasurer, Cary Furniss gives an update on District finances.
The Kings Local Board of Education received an update on the five-year forecast at the May work session and regular meeting. The forecast has been updated with the best information available regarding the economic disruption being caused by the global pandemic. Recently, the governor announced a $775 million state budget cut, $355 million of that total will come from a reduction in state funding to K-12 schools this school year. This comes on top of the 2-year budget freeze in state aid approved last July.
The impact of these reductions and the global pandemic will have an impact on the financial health of Kings Schools.The reductions amount to $875,595 this fiscal year ending on June 30, 2020. Additionally, the District is anticipating a loss in commercial tax base and tax collection along with reduced casino funding and interest income for the upcoming fiscal year. A small amount of that lost funding will be replaced with $179,291 in federal funding through the CARES Act.
These reductions in revenue are coming at a time when expenses were beginning to outpace revenue. What does that mean to the District and its ability to deliver educational services? The good news is that the District has accumulated cash reserves that can be used to maintain the current services of the District for the upcoming school year. There is so much uncertainty that it makes it very difficult to predict what the future will look like beyond the short-term. The District is also unsure what school will look like this fall and how that may impact the forecast. Lastly, the District’s forecast is anticipating further reductions in state aid to occur after July 1, 2020.
Will there be changes to the delivery of education and the way we conduct business? Possibly. We will certainly have to continue to adjust the way we do business in reaction to the pandemic. The Board will continue to receive updates to the five-year forecast monthly, along with analysis of all spending in an effort to stretch our budget. It is the Board’s commitment to navigate this challenging time, and protect the high quality of our schools as much as possible.
As more information is known, we will continue to communicate with you. In fact, expect to hear more about finances in the coming months. Communicating the financial health of our schools in a transparent manner with taxpayers has always been a priority of the Board of Education and the District promises to continue that conversation with you.
If you have any questions regarding our District's finances, please contact Cary Furniss at
cfurniss@kingslocal.net.
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The Coronavirus Pandemic has caused much upheaval in the education system and beyond. We wanted you to know that we are planning and preparing for every possible scenario for the 2020-2021 school year. Those scenarios are based on guidance provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Ohio Department of Education, and our local health department.
As you probably already know, guidelines and directives are changing almost daily. Right now, we cannot guarantee what the next school year will look like. We will work under the direction of state and local health officials to ensure we follow all proper protocols.
We will be sure to communicate with you the progress of our decisions throughout the summer. Thank you for your patience as we continue to work behind the scenes. The safety of our students, staff, and families continue to be at the center of our decision-making.
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The Kings Local School District is participating in the Summer Food Service Meal Program. This program will provide breakfast and lunch to ALL children 18 and under, free of charge, regardless of what school and/or school district they attend. This also includes who don't qualify for free/reduced lunch.
NO paperwork is required. Youth 19-21 that have a mental or physical handicap (as determined by state or local education agency) and who participate during the school year in a public or private nonprofit school program are also eligible for the meals at no cost.
We will offer these services through the months of June and July. Meals can be obtained by drive-thru at the pickup locations listed below. CHILDREN DO NOT NEED TO BE PRESENT WHEN PICKING UP MEALS. Each student will receive 5 breakfasts and 5 lunches at NO COST to the parent.
There are two locations available for food pickup; Joshua's Place or Columbia Intermediate School. Both locations will hold pickup from 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. Please choose the one location most convenient for you.
To date, Kings Food Service and their volunteers have distributed nearly 50,000 meals to our community!
Thank you to the Kings Food Service Department and Kings Staff volunteers for feeding our community! #KingsStrong
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On Sunday, May 17, which would have been Kings High School's Class of 2020 Commencement at Xavier University, the KHS seniors and their families were treated to an in-person Diploma Ceremony.
Seniors and their families were welcomed to KHS by staff and administrators for a personal, socially distanced experience. It was truly a memorable day!
Additionally, during Senior Week, seniors were visited by staff members who delivered their caps and gowns through the Adopt-a-Senior initiative.
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Cincinnati's Local 12 is pleased to announce a virtual graduation and celebration of the achievements made by Kings High School class of 2020. We will host an online ceremony recognizing every student complete with Kings High School’s keynote speakers and more.
We are excited to share memories, videos, and all the special moments that shaped the class of 2020. We invite everyone to virtually gather their families to celebrate commencement both on TV and streamed online at
https://local12.com/
*
The special show is streamed at the same time it airs on STAR64 (WSTR) on May 31 at 3:00 p.m.
We also invite you to start watching in the next week special congratulations messages to the Kings Class of 2020 on Local 12 TV station.
Where to find STAR64:
Over the air = 64.1
SPECTRUM = Ch. 11, 1011
CINCI BELL = Ch. 11, 1011
DIRECTV = 64
DISH = Ch. 8354
*when you log onto Local 12, look for the banner of the homepage directing you to click watch.
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Our best wishes go to the recent retirees from the
Kings Local School District:
Susan Guckert, Bev Kassner, Cindy Null, Pam Royce, Ann Schipper, and Lois Wiethe.
Thank you for all of your years of service and dedication
to the Kings Local School District.
You will be greatly missed!
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KHS Earns Top Honors for Community Service
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Community Service is an important component of education at Kings High School. Students are required to perform at least 50 community service hours in order to graduate.
This year,
Innerview.org
was used to keep track of our high school students' volunteer hours. We were notified that KHS has 202 students who are being recognized by the United Nations Association - USA and InnerView Technologies in the 2019-2020 National Community Service Awards. Kings High School
is included in the 305 schools delivering progress toward the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with the most student effort for SDG 3-Good Health & Well-Being.
The three tier award program recognizes a range of student achievement from 20-100 hours of service, Ambassador, Honor, and Merit. We are proud to announce that Kings High School students completed over 17,000 service hours with an impact value of nearly $500,000.
The mission of the Community Service Program at KHS states, "The The Kings Service Program aims to build responsible and caring citizens, to strengthen the relationship between the Kings Local Schools and the community in which we educate young people, and to foster learning through service.”
This award program has been designed to elevate and expand the awareness of youth leaders contributing time and talent to drive positive progress toward global issues. "We want to share our appreciation for you and your team who have made the choice to include community service as part of the educational experience at Kings High School," said Kristine Sturgeon, CEO of Innerview.
The awards program honors students, groups, and schools at both the high school and undergraduate level. It demonstrates student leadership, momentum, and engagement in service activities that positively impact our communities as well as progress toward the UN Global Goals.
Congratulations to the hard-working students of KHS!
Click here
to see all of the student awardees.
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KHS Senior Wins Local Poetry Contest
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Kings Senior, Olivia Gatto recently tied for first place in the Second annual William Henry Venable Poetry Contest in honor of Warren County Poet, Henry Venable.
His poem “The Teacher’s Dream” (1881) won praise from Longfellow and earned him the title of “The Teacher Poet.”
The contest presented by Lebanon Public Library, The Harmon Museum, and Sinclair College
is only open to students in grades 5-12 in Warren County.
Each poem needed to address the general topic of “America’s Suffragettes” celebrating the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote in the United States.
There was supposed to be an actual poetry reading but due to the Coronavirus, the reading was canceled.
Olivia's poem "
The Faces of Suffragettes
" tied for first place in the high school division.
Olivia said, "I first started seriously writing poetry during my sophomore year, after I joined a workshop group of local poets from the Cincinnati area. I was at one of my lowest points emotionally. The isolation was defining me, and I needed a way out. I was introduced to slam poetry for the first time, and I found that I love it as an art form."
The Kings National Merit Semi-Finalist also said, "I love writing my truth and sharing it with others, and I love seeing how it affects people. I recently had a moment where I realized that my purpose is to give others hope and make them believe that they are in control of their own destiny. Slam poetry has been the most meaningful way that I've learned to connect with others. I'll always be grateful for it and the people that it brought into my life."
Her poem "was inspired by mom's strength, by the activists I've met in the last few years, and by our interconnected identity as women," she said.
Olivia received a book of all of the poems submitted and a $50 cash prize.
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Mental Health Services Offered this Summer
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Beckett Springs is providing some
free virtual support groups
for adults interested and needing additional support coping through these difficult times.
They are also offering summer therapeutic adolescent program for kids ages 5-18. This is a GREAT resource for families who have children that are struggling with mental health, behaviors, substance abuse, and more. They are adding optional extended days to their program to better support parents and their busy schedules this summer.
The program does accept Caresource and straight Ohio Medicaid, as well as a majority of all commercial insurance. In addition, they can also help with transportation.
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Tech to Teach Initiative Seeking Donations
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My name is Shreya Terala, a junior at Milford, and I am part of a youth leadership program created by a non-profit called Tarangini. Our current project that we’re working on is called Tech to Teach. Our goal is to provide title 1 schools with technology, namely the Oyler School District.
Getting students access to technology is a pressing issue because underprivileged students do not have the opportunity to further their education and maintain the same level of quality as their more privileged peers. We started this project mainly because we believe that all students should be able to receive the same opportunities for education. Especially with the current pandemic, students without the technological means to connect with their teachers and learn are being even further setback. Getting kids their personal devices will further their learning not only now, but will allow them to have a better quality education even after the pandemic.
Oyler Community Learning Center is located in Lower Price Hill Cincinnati, OH and is currently the most economically distressed school in the area. We are in the process of trying to raise as many funds as possible so that we can meet our goal of providing a sufficient amount of technology to Oyler.
We would greatly appreciate it if your school district could promote this cause throughout your community. It would mean so much to us if we could all work together in bettering the communities around us and giving each other opportunities that will make us stronger.
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Girl Scouts Offer Virtual Enrichment Programs
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While schools in Ohio and Indiana moved to virtual learning, Girl Scouts of Western Ohio did the same with their enrichment programs, producing two free online activities each day for girls of all ages and their families.
As we head into the summer months, they will keep girls’ skills strong by continuing with virtual enrichment—with a special focus on girls who are entering kindergarten this fall. From now through July 31, they are offering “Lift-off to Kindergarten,” a series of fun activities to help Pre-K girls get excited about school, as well as tips for parents and caregivers.
Girl Scouts of Western Ohio is committed to supporting girls and families as they navigate the ever-changing world, we find ourselves in, and to supporting schools with engaging enrichment programs and activities for building social-emotional skills.
For families of pre-K girls:
gswo.org/liftoff
(special activities to prepare for school)
For families with K-12 girls:
gswo.org/athome
(a variety of age-specific online adventures)
To see samples of our awesome virtual programs for girls, visit their
YouTube channel
.
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If you aren't following us on our social media channels, you are missing out! Don't miss one bit of news! Make sure to follow us on social media!
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Our social media conversation is growing and we don't want you to miss out!
Visit our
Facebook page
to see all of the great posts from Senior Week!
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FC Cincinnati Kings Night
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Get your tickets for FC Cincinnati Kings Night on Saturday, June 27, 2020 as FC takes on FC Dallas. Get your family together for a fun night of soccer and a chance to see our Kings Women's Soccer Team in a shoot-out against Deer Park at halftime!
Tickets are $15.00 per person. Deadline to purchase tickets is June 13.
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Kings Athletic News
Check out Kings Athletics
website
! You can find out schedule information, upcoming events, news about teams, and even get directions to away venues.
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Congratulations to Senior Scholar-Athletes
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Twenty-eight student-athletes were presented with the prestigious award of being named a 2020 Senior Scholar-Athlete.
In order to achieve this award, our Senior athletes must have had a GPA of 3.850 or above, achieved 4 Varsity Letters in one sport, or 5 or more Varsity Letters in multiple programs.
Unfortunately, due to the current regulations regarding the Coronavirus, the Kings Athletic we Department wasn't able to host the the 25th Annual Senior Scholar-Athlete Luncheon in person. The Athletic Staff and Coaches recognized their accomplishments by
hand delivering their awards
on Wednesday, May 13.
Congratulations to
Micah Belfrom, Keegan FitzGerald, Abby Gandert, Ashlyn Garter, Brooke Garter, Dennis Giller, Ella Hanlon, Hunter Henry, Gabriel Hicks, Lewis Hicks, Madison Jessee, Mackenzie Kelleher, Megan Kelly, Kaitlyn Kroell, Abigail Lodewyck, Leah Luckett, Philip Marchal, Anya Martin, Emma Meyer, Eric Middlekamp, Danielle Page Samantha Seidl, Adam Spelic, William Strassell, Emma Streckfuss, Elizabeth Wade, Beth Wilson,
and
Chelsey Zugaro
.
Watch the 2020 Senior Scholar-Athlete Presentation
here
.
We are very proud of their accomplishments and congratulations to all!
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Send Us the News You Want to See!
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Contact Dawn Gould - Community Relations Coordinator at
Knight Nation News is a publication of the Kings Local School District Communications Department.
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Kings Local School District
1797 King Ave
Kings Mills, Ohio 45034
513.398.8050
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