Board approves renewal of emergency tax levy to be placed on May 6 ballot

Three topics were discussed at the Board of Education work session on Tuesday, Jan. 21. The first topic involved school curriculum. It was presented by Dawn Scott, Director of Curriculum & Instruction, Katherine Weaver, Tipp High School Principal, and Austin Halsey, Tipp Middle School Principal. Scott said her colleagues’ goal was to increase the number of high and middle school electives to provide students with more opportunities. For high school, courses in information technology, such as IT fundamentals, cyber security, and applications of AI, will be offered. There will also be new offerings in other fields, such as in music, a keyboard lab, in communication, courses in modern media and podcasting, and in business, finance and marketing. At the middle school, there will be a new course to help prepare students for the Science Fair, and there will be efforts to determine what students may want to do in the future.

Also discussed was to stop meeting at L.T. Ball, due to its poor sound quality. The board decided to stay and install microphones around the board table to be better heard. They also talked briefly about eliminating live broadcasts of meetings but reached no conclusion.

The third Work Session topic involved the cell phone policy. Board members agreed the current policy for both the middle and high schools was fine. Rick Mains said he heard that “kids were actually talking to each other,” and Cindy Dillard suggested the middle school policy be renamed “K through 8.”

The Board then began its regular meeting with Superintendent Aaron Moran recognizing student achievements, from first graders to high school students. The list of recipients and their achievements is available at the Board of Education building.

Thomas Hobbs, Director of Technology, briefly discussed the PowerSchool online application data breach. This breach occurred from December 19-22, 2024. Hobbs said teacher and student names were accessed, but no critical data, such as social security numbers, were available in the system.

Moran gave a brief update on the progress of the new PK-8 school building, noting that the project is still in the initial design stage. He then reviewed the district’s first-semester bullying/harassment report. This report showed three occurrences at the high school and six at the middle school.

It was time for the “Citizens’ Comments” portion of the Board meeting following Moran's update. Ten citizens protested the unisex, multi-stall, large group restrooms, one per level, currently planned for the three-level PK-8 building. Besides their own protests, several citizens mentioned that the Ohio legislature had recently passed a law prohibiting unisex bathrooms in schools. These comments and protests were similar to those expressed in the PK-8 review meetings Moran recently held around Tipp City.

Treasurer Dave Stevens presented the 2024 year-end financial report, noting that the district’s investments earned an average of 4% last year.

The Board then approved an amended appropriations request for $4.7 M, mostly from bond retirement and classroom facilities. A list of Consent Agenda items had been reviewed and approved prior to the meeting.

Board members approved a resolution to proceed with an election on May 6 for the renewal of an emergency tax levy to raise the amount of $1,846,779.02 each calendar year for five (5) years for the purpose of providing for the emergency requirements of the school district. The annual tax rate currently estimated by the Miami County Auditor will be 2.970 mills for each $1 of taxable value, which amounts to $104.00 for each $100,000 of the County Auditor’s appraised value.

Board members approved four contracts:

•OFCC (Ohio Facilities Construction Commission) recommended contracting with Garmann Miller to serve as the Architect for the PK-8 building project.

•OFCC recommended a contract with Stan Engineering to serve as the commissioning agent for the PK-8 building project. The commissioning agent investigates and confirms all aspects of the building after construction.

•A contract between Shared Resource Center, used previously by Tipp Schools, and Tipp City Schools for Payroll Services, term is January 13, 2025, through June 30, 2025. The payroll clerk, Britney McClain, recently resigned, and the district is seeking a new clerk. Shared Resource Center will be utilized for payroll until a new clerk is hired.

•A consulting contract between Britney McClain and Tipp City Schools for payroll services. The term is January 27 through June 30. McClain will work part-time at night, paid by the hour, when needed, to help Shared Resource Center get the payroll out during transition to a new clerk.  

The board approved the 2025-2026 Program of Studies for the Tippecanoe Middle School and Tippecanoe High School. Each Program of Studies “aims to provide information to both students and parents concerning the curricular offerings.” “There are required courses at each grade level that align with the Ohio Academic Standards and opportunities for choice in various elective offerings. The school counselor can answer questions on the course offerings or registering for classes.”

The Board approved a special meeting on February 3, at 6:00 p.m., at the Tipp City Board office to discuss the Broadway property and the Westedge property in relation to the new PK-8 building. Then, Board members approved the renewal of their OSBA (Ohio School Board Association) Annual Membership and adjourned.