KINGS BOARD OF EDUCATION NEWS

October 2018


A monthly newsletter from the Kings Local School District Board of Education
The Kings Board of Education held a Work Session on
October 9, 2018 and a Regular monthly meeting on
October 16, 2018 in the Kings Education Center.
Kings Board of Education Members
L-R: Vice President, Dan Egan, Deb Cowan, President, Peggy Phillips,
Rona Walter, and Stacie Belfrom.
The Kings Board of Education holds two meetings each month. The second Tuesday of the month, they hold a Work Session and the third Tuesday of the month is their Regular Meeting.

The Board holds the Work Sessions to engage in dialogue and discuss specific topics in greater depth. Work Sessions are open to the public but no public comments are accepted. This newsletter is a compilation of both meetings . All meetings are recorded and available on our website .
Reports/Presentations Work Session
Matt Freeman, Director of Teaching and Learning for grades 7-12 reviewed the District's State Report Card. This year was the first year that the State issued overall letter grades to school districts. The Kings District received a "B." Out of 608 districts in the state only 28 schools received an "A." Mr. Freeman also spent some time explaining components of the report card.
Reports/Presentations Regular Meeting
Dr. R. Kirk Hamilton, Executive Director of the Buckeye Association of School Administrators (BASA) presented Kings Superintendent, Tim Ackermann with the 2018 BASA Exemplary Leadership Award.

Mr. Ackermann was voted by his peers in the Southwest Region for this award. Dr. Hamilton said, "I don't think there is a greater recognition than the recognition from your peers." He said as a guy from the outside looking in, "It was not hard to see that (Ackermann) was bright, focused, capable and he was going to do what is right for the Kings Local Schools."

Congratulations, Mr. Ackermann!
SHP Architect, Charlie Jahnigen gave an overview of the Master Facility Planning Process. He told the Board that the Long Range Facilities Team came up with 17 different plan options. He mentioned how the feedback received from the Thoughtexchange process drove the decision making of the plan.

He talked about the scope of work involved in the final draft of the Master Plan which includes a 7,000 square foot addition to CIS, a new 160,000 square foot middle school, addition and renovation work at JFB, and a 92,000 square foot addition and renovations at Kings High School. He noted that the cost of the project is projected to be around 87 million dollars.
Legislative Update
Mrs. Walter gave an update on extension of graduation requirements and HB 318.
Public Participation
There was no public participation this month.
Treasurer's Report - Cary Furniss
Mr. Furniss reviewed the 5-year forecast. He noted that revenues are up about 2%, however, expenses are a bit higher due to the increase in staffing to make up for the higher than anticipated enrollment growth. Based on the forecast, Mr. Furniss noted that the 2016 Operating Levy is projected to last 4-5 years; 2 years longer than promised. Additionally, he told the Board that home appraisals came out higher than expected; around 14%. In fact, in some neighborhoods an increase up to 20% is possible . He stated that the increase is due to strong home sales and the desirability of the Kings Community.

The Board approved the following:

  • Minutes from the September 18 Regular Meeting and October 9 Work Session
  • Donations and Financial reports for the month of September
  • 5-Year Forecast
Superintendent's Report -
Tim Ackermann
Mr. Ackermann gave an update on the District's #KingsStrong Strategic Plan. He noted that the last two years the committee has focused on what teaching and learning should look like in 16 years from now. He said, "We've realized that we are teaching students for jobs that haven't even been created yet."

He shared with the Board a draft of the plan which includes an action plan. He explained the new tagline that corresponds to the plan, Relate. Create. Innovate. He stressed the importance of building relationships and how the plan focuses on two pillars; Teaching and Learning and Environment. He also shared that the social and emotional well-being of our students has become of great importance with the increase in anxiety, and trauma related incidents having an effect on their education.

He asked the Board to review the goals and action plan of each pillar. He noted that all of the Staff In-service Days will encompass the plan in staff learning sessions.

Additionally, Mr. Ackermann asked the Board to review changes to the Administrator Benefit and Procedural Manual. He noted a change in the Administrators health insurance will increase to be equivalent to what the teacher's pay. That change alone will save the District $50,000.

Lastly, Mr. Ackermann brought up a discussion item regarding changing the regular board meeting times from 6:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. The Board will discuss it and will need to make a decision at the Organizational Meeting in January 2019.

The Board approved the following:

  • Administrator Benefit and Procedure Manual
  • Field Trips for JV and Varsity Softball Teams
  • Field Trip for The Knight Times Journalism Class
Assistant Superintendent's Report - Timothy J. Spinner
Mr. Spinner asked the Board to consider the retirement and rehiring of Andy Olds with the District. In following Ohio Revised Code, there will be a public meeting at the beginning of the December 18, 2018 meeting as a part of the retire-re-hire process.

The Board approved the following:

  • Certified and Classified employees
  • Certified and Classified substitutes
  • Staff resignations
  • Staff & coach supplementals and stipends
  • 2nd Reading of Board Policy Updates
Business Manager's Report - Matt Luecke
Mr. Luecke told the Board that the ice tanks at KME will be replaced in February or March of 2019. They will go through Duke Energy to receive rebates and discounts.

The Board approved the following:

  • 2018-2019 Bus Stop Listing
  • Payments for In-Lieu of Transportation for 2 families
Items Presented by the Board
  • Mrs. Phillips commented on an article she read regarding Makerspace's in school libraries. She noted that Columbia has had a Makerspace for a couple of years and mentioned that they will be bringing a group of students to this year's OSBA Conference. She encouraged the rest of the Board to stop by their booth at the conference.
Executive Session
  • The Board went into Executive Session but no action was taken.
Next Meeting
Join us at our next Kings BOE Meeting!
Work Session - Tuesday, November 13 at 5:30 p.m.
Regular Meeting - Tuesday, November 20 at 6:30 p.m.
All meetings are held in Conference Room 2 of the Kings Education Center

To hear the October 9 Kings Board of Education Work Session click here .
To hear the October 16 Kings Board of
Education Meeting in its entirety click here .
Learn more about our Kings Board of Education by visiting our website . You can find Board policies, agendas, meeting dates, and more!