HOWARD — A senior student made a plea to East Knox’s school board Thursday evening to create more extracurricular opportunities for students, aside from sports.
Specifically, the senior urged the board and administration to fund activities for students interested in the arts, humanities and sciences. East Knox does not currently offer extracurriculars such as theater or debate, opportunities the student expressed he wished he had during his time at East Knox.
In response to the senior’s comments, the board and treasurer Jessica Busenburg said the district previously had these opportunities before it entered fiscal emergency a little over five years ago.
“I think it’s a combination of several different things,” Busenburg said. “We had been in recovery mode from our financial situation where we weren’t allowed to have any of those things and then we started transitioning to adding things back, but then we’ve had a period of COVID, staff turnover.”
No action was taken to specifically add extracurriculars Thursday, but the board approved a supplemental contract that had already been on the agenda for Benjamin Thompson as play director to resume the play program next school year.
Regarding other community comments, parents voiced concern of bullying in the district and urged the board to consider implementing a targeted policy. The board did not take action Thursday related to any bullying policy implementation. Additionally, parents asked the district to consider fencing in the playground area to ensure student safety, particularly as the district prepares to relaunch its pre-school next school year.
In terms of actionable items, Busenburg presented an updated five-year forecast, the last of which was presented in fall 2021. School districts in Ohio are required to submit five-year forecasts twice annually.
Overall, projections remain similar to the fall, with the main changes being how funds are reported due to the Fair School Funding Plan. Under the plan, per-pupil costs are based on actual expenses, calculated on a district-by-district basis.
Previously, districts saw deductions for students who decided to attend school out of district. Now districts will be directly given a complete net amount based on enrollment.
Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds must be used by next year, so when it comes to the projected budget, Busenburg added expenses back into projections for 2024 and beyond for the regular teaching positions currently paid for using ESSER funds that will need to be maintained.
However, the new positions created using ESSER funds — reading recovery and learning loss — are not built into projections for 2024 and beyond. The board will revisit next year whether the positions need to be continued beyond the ESSER dollar cutoff, and how they would be funded.
The board accepted the forecast, as well as other routine financial items, such as a three-year contract with Rea and Associates for procedures for the Medicaid School Program for the reports ending in 2021, 2022, and 2023 at a rate of $2,700 per year. This funding supports the required audit procedures the district must do to receive Medicaid.
The board is required to have a public comment period regarding the IDEA funding the district receives each year for special education.
On Thursday, Busenburg did so, providing background that the funding specifically supports salaries and benefits for two elementary intervention specialists and a student services director, as well as Educational Service Center charges (for educational aides and intervention teachers at Knox Learning Center).
Busenburg also got permission from the board Thursday to advertise and accept bids for the purchase of two school buses.
The board accepted the resignations of teachers Ariana Skeese, Emily Zimmerman and Kacie Royal at the end of the 2021-22 contract year.
Following the meeting, the board entered executive session to discuss employee compensation.
