Board of Education Regular Meeting

The vote for this item is recorded on item 7.0.

The vote for this item is recorded on item 7.0.

The vote for this item is recorded on item 7.0.

Josh Predovich, with SHP, was present at the meeting and Kevin Back, with SHP, was on Zoom. Josh opened the presentation with a brief update on the Facility Master Planning with the community stating that the Community Advisory Team (CAT) had their first Community Advisory Team meeting, after the two community presentations and community surveys, on February 13, 2023. Their next scheduled meeting is scheduled for March 20, 2023. Josh explained that the goal of the survey is to gather as much information as we can on the questions asked to the community. Josh will be working with Jacob to get an update on the projects that have been completed at the High School as well as any issues or concerns that may have surfaced since the original planning phase of the master plan process. He mentioned the public presentations and stated that it would be appropriate to also have staff presentations. He is working on scheduling and will try to schedule those meetings before March 20th. His summary report from the last CAT was that we spent time reviewing all of the options, listened to survey results with the community input, and had discussions. The general report, at this time, is that the team seems to be narrowing the options down to two - the new 7-12 building or the renovation of the HS with OFCC support. Josh stated that we not only want to engage the community in this process, but we also want to get as much of the staff engaged as we possibly can.

Josh then introduced Kevin Back to provide the results of the second survey. Kevin opened by stating that it is clear that the community is not just going for the least expensive master plan option. They are reading, understanding and evaluating the information they are receiving and determining what they think is the best option for the District. Kevin then began sharing the results of the 2nd survey. Kevin then informed the board that there were fewer responses to the second survey with 581 responses. He also assured the Board that this calculated a 4% margin of error, statistically, which makes the responses acceptable and validates the results of the survey and that this is an acceptable representation of the community. The District used the same resources to spread the news to the community for the second survey as they did with the first survey. He then stated that the general overall takeaway from the survey responses is that out of the 4 options and the 2 “sub” options, there were two options that had the most positive responses. The responses to the questions showed that the majority of responses came from parents; the majority were in the 30-44 age range; the majority have lived in the district for over 20 years; and the majority are professionals. Kevin also pointed out that on the first survey, there were 80 student responses. This increased on the second survey to 88 student responses. Questions 5-10 asked about Master Plan options. The scores were tallied on a weighted average and out of all of the options, we are starting to see two options most popular with the community. Build a new 7th-12 building being the most popular, and Renovate the HS being next. He stated that there were many comments submitted on the survey with a good number of them sharing concerns for the community spaces – pool, auditorium, planetarium, and gym - if a new building were to be the final decision. Kevin summarized the findings by sharing that the responses from both surveys show that this is important to the community. Josh then added that the Community Advisory Team and the District communicating the details of the options is important and they are part of the development of the plan decision. He asked the Board if any of them had questions. Mr. Phil Hunt asked about the time of the next CAT meeting. The time is 6:00 p.m. on March 20th. Josh said he is leaving a copy of the survey results and comments and that Kevin will provide a copy of the PowerPoint and the detailed information. They thanked the Board for the opportunity to present the results tonight.

Mr. Casey shared a PowerPoint presentation that showcased some of the activities the staff and students have participated in this year and shared accomplishments. He stated how proud he was of all of the staff and students. Mr. Casey’s presentation began with sharing information about the two 5th-grade college trips to Muskingum and C Tec. He shared that while at C Tec, students had the opportunity to dress up as firefighters. They also took an assessment that told them about optional career paths they may excel in as an adult. The students found this fun and some results were professions the students had never even thought of. He shared that the students created Goodie Boxes for Coshocton Graduates that are College freshmen or in the military, writing personal letters to each and packing goodies in the box. This experience gives some of our graduates a chance to come back and share with our students what college life is like. Mr. Casey also shared changes implemented in the way Title students were served this year and the great progress students are making as a result of the new intervention strategies. Mrs. Mann asked if this was just 3-6 or building-wide. Mr. Casey said it was building-wide. Mr. Casey stated how proud he is of the students that participated in the Writing contests this year – 6th graders wrote about American Dream. Coshocton won all top 3 honors. And Coshocton had the highest student representation at the Zane Trace Contest. Young Coshocton students were recognized for their participation. Mr. Casey also shared that the teachers had a new curriculum to implement this year. Feedback from the teachers showed that they needed additional time to collaborate and work on the new curriculum, and prepare lessons. Feedback from the staff has been positive. Hearing that, the administration decided to do it again because it is important, helpful, and appreciated by our teachers. He shared that the 4th-grade program this year honored veterans. Those that were in the military were honored at the program. Upcoming programs are – the 3rd-grade program coming up on March 7, and the 5th-grade program will also be coming up. Not in the PowerPoint, but definitely proud and excited. is that 5-12 choir members will be singing the National Anthem on May 13 at a Cleveland Game; the 5th graders that play will be going to Kent State Theatre to perform with other districts in an orchestra. He then talked about the students that presented goodie bags and caroled at Signature Healthcare. He discussed the LTRS training in-service for staff working on a new program in kindergarten and the realizations that the group came to as a result of it. He closed with information about the GEARS program – 38 students participate in the AM; they have breakfast and then go to class. The afternoon GEARS serves 62 students at this time. There are many educational hands-on activities, games, and homework time. This is run by Tammy Jacobs. The final announcement is that Chili Supper coming up on March 5-7th.  Tickets are available now. He stated that this is not a money maker, the cost of the ticket is to cover costs only. The cost is $10 per family or $2 per person.  Tickets will be sold at door. Mr. Casey reiterated how proud he is of the staff and the students and thanked the Board for allowing him to be the leader of grades 3-6. There were no questions from the Board.

Mr. Todd Johnson thanked the Board for allowing him to serve in the Special Education Director role at Coshocton CSD. He shared the attached document with the Board that contained historical data. He explained that the information at the top was the data that made up the diagram below.  He then went on to explain that in Special Education there are 16 categories for the last 4 years and said that there were not a large number of changes from last year to this year. He stated that the largest population of Special Education students in our district are speech and language. He pointed out the percentage at bottom is similar to this year.  The number of students on 504 plans last year was very similar to the number this year.  Specific Learning dropped from 35% last year to 31% this year. The breakdown by grade level was presented. Speech ET 05 wanted to make note of that. It has increased dramatically from 7 to 17 PS students. Last year the increase was from 7 to 17. Partly, this is due to many students in early intervention, help me grow, and other places outside district. Students are being referred sooner. Not nearly as many referred last year. We have been able to address and keep on track pretty early this year. Mr. Johnson took time to recognize everyone that has stepped up during this very challenging year to help him and help the children.

The chart a the bottom showed placements out, foster and open enrolled Special Education students increased.  He pointed out that Sacred heart numbers increased this year and that we have no students on scholarship out. We are obligated to notify parents of John Peterson and Autism Scholarship which provides parent choice if they do not want public school. If they have one of the eligible disabilities, they can go to private school and a scholarship can help pay for services they would get in public school 

Mr. Johnson asked the Board if they had questions after reviewing the document - there were none. Mr. Johnson took time to give recognition to intervention staff in our schools. It has been a difficult year for them. He commended all Intervention Specialists that stepped up to alleviate overload. He appreciates all they did to help through the process and wanted to make sure the Board was aware and appreciated that as well. 

After a detailed review of all items on the attachment, Mr. Johnson asked again if there were any questions or concerns related to the document that had Special Education numbers and services provided.

The vote for this item is recorded on 14.0.

Ms. Eyerman stated that the District is on target on most budget lines year to date and called attention to a few items in the monthly report that appeared not to be on target and explained why and what to expect.

Mr. Hunt asked if the District would be looking into the purchase of electric school buses. He had read about possible grants and asked if we were going to get money to buy any and if so, do we get money for service and charging stations too.  Ms. Eyerman explained that we have had opportunities early on. Jake attended meetings to learn more. At that time he was not a proponent and was concerned about the cost to replace the batteries being as much as purchasing a new bus. We have continued to have more conversations. There will be more grants. Jake is looking into the infrastructure. Dr. Hire said Grant did some of this work last year.  Dr. Hire thinks with our size, we would be in a good position to try one if a grant is available. Ms. Eyerman stated there are so many changes and improvements with the batteries and performance and we continue to have an interest.

The vote for this item is recorded on 14.0.

Ms. Eyerman expressed appreciation for the donors and their donations.

The vote for this item is recorded on 13.0

Ms. Eyerman stated that in future years the plan is to add the new class accounts to the agenda at the beginning of the school year. 

The vote for this item is recorded on 14.0.

Dr. Hire stated that this is the time of year that these agreements are put into place for the next year's College Credit Plus Program. It is possible that there could be more agreements and if there are they will be added to the agenda for approval.

The vote for this item is recorded on 14.0.

The vote for this item is recorded on 14.0.

The vote for this item is recorded on 14.0.

The substitute teacher update took place during Item # 11- Board Discussion.

The vote for this item is recorded on 15.0.

Dr. Hire mentioned that Jacob Conrad has finished the interview process for a replacement for his past position. The new hire will be able to handle the mechanic side of the job and will learn all of the building side.

Dr. Hire wished Valerie Dawson well and explained that Jeri Dawson's previous position was split between bus driver and food service and will that she will now move into the Head Cook position. After explaining the process of hiring replacements for Jeri's past position, he continued to review the list of personnel items listed.

The vote for this item is recorded on 15.0.

Dr. Hire shared that this is an annual process and that the District looks at grade level counts to see if we have to limit open enrollment at any grade levels. 

The vote for this item is recorded on 15.0.

Dr. Hire explained that approval of the course catalog is an item necessary for the HS to begin the scheduling process. He also explained a change this year stating that there are some courses that are offered every other year. Instead of leaving the courses out on the year they are not being offered and then putting them back in when they are, it has been decided that these courses will remain in the catalog but state if the current year is the year it is offered or not. This will ensure that the courses do not appear to be new course offerings every time they show up in the catalog.

The vote for this item is recorded on 15.0.

The vote for this item is recorded on 15.0.