Norwood Young America City Council — Transcript
Thursday, October 22, 2026
Rising Stars Recognition Program
Superintendent's Report and Personnel Updates
Policy Revisions due to State and Federal Legislation
Student Field Trip Approvals
Buildings and Grounds Maintenance and Facilities Usage
Finance Committee Report and New Account Creation
Federal and State Education Funding Advocacy
Great Oaks Career Campus Performance and Program Expansion
Votes (9)
Appointment of Treasurer Pro Tem
Dissent: None
Moved by Board President [0:01:21] · Seconded by Speaker [0:01:27]
Due to the absence of the regular treasurer, Christina Chesson was nominated and approved as treasurer pro tem to ensure the meeting could proceed with official business.
Superintendent's Report and Personnel Updates (Items 6.01, 6.02, 6.03)
Dissent: None
Moved by Speaker [0:29:26] · Seconded by Speaker [0:29:48]
The superintendent highlighted significant achievements like the marching band qualifying for state finals and the boys' soccer team winning their league. Various school activities were celebrated, and personnel changes, including new hires, leaves, and a retirement announcement for Ms. Stanford after 40+ years, were reported.
First Reading of 19 Policy Revisions (Item 7.01)
Dissent: None
Moved by Mr. Atwood [0:37:04] · Seconded by Speaker [0:37:11]
Mr. Atwood presented 19 policy revisions, explaining that many were due to House Bill 455, which aims to reduce redundant paperwork for districts, and Senate Bill 276 (SAM Act) for student athlete mobility. Other changes included federal procurement threshold updates and clarifications on expense reimbursements.
Approval of Student Field Trips (Item 8.02)
Dissent: None
Moved by Mrs. Towner [0:41:00] · Seconded by Speaker [0:41:05]
Mrs. Towner presented a comprehensive list of approved field trips for various schools and grade levels, spanning educational, cultural, and recreational experiences, from local visits to the Cincinnati Observatory to regional competitions at Kings Island.
Buildings and Grounds Report and Facilities Usage Approvals (Items 9.01, 9.02)
Dissent: None
Moved by Board President [0:46:17] · Seconded by Speaker [0:46:21]
The report detailed various maintenance updates across district buildings, including sidewalk repairs, pool readiness for swim season, and HVAC adjustments. A light-hearted highlight was the lowering of a urinal at Norwood View kindergarten to prevent puddles. Two community requests for facility usage were approved, supporting local events and youth sports.
Finance Committee Report and Approvals (Items 10.02-10.05)
Dissent: None
Moved by Mr. Atwood [0:49:55] · Seconded by Speaker [0:50:00]
Monthly financial reports were reviewed, and standard appropriations and fund transfers were approved. A new donation account, the George Knox Williams Avenue Elementary account, was established to support students at Williams Elementary, honoring a Norwood alum. The treasurer's accuracy in budget forecasting was commended.
OSBA Legislative Report (Item 11.01)
The legislative report detailed advocacy efforts in Washington D.C. regarding federal education funding, particularly for IDEA students, and the impact of legislative cuts on local districts. A direct challenge was made to Senator Husted regarding his vote against federal education budget allocations. The report also touched upon the disproportionate burden of school funding on property taxes versus business contributions in Ohio.
Avenues for Success Program Update (Item 11.03)
Mrs. Rericha provided an update on the Avenues for Success after-school program, informing the community that sign-ups for the 'third wave' are still open. The program continues to offer homework help and various engaging clubs, such as floral arrangements and Dungeons and Dragons.
Great Oaks Report (Item 11.04)
The report highlighted Great Oaks' five-star rating and anticipated changes to state credentialing measures by 2030, which may impact future student pathways. It also noted record high dual enrollment numbers and plans for expanding middle school electives into new career-focused areas like media arts and exercise sciences.
Notable Quotes (19)
I'm so excited to announce that our marching band has qualified for the OMEA State Marching Band Finals.
Another huge accomplishment as you I said earlier since what 2014 so 12 years ago was the last time our boys soccer team won our league.
Miss Stanford has recently announced that she is going to be retiring at the end of the year after over 40 years of teaching and service to our kids.
Both of those are being updated to include language for the student athlete mobility act that is found in Senate Bill 276, otherwise known as the SAM Act.
That was part of the redundant reportings that were eliminated in 455, right?
A lot of these changes are to remove redundancy factors, not to eliminate policy or change the policy so much as how we report them and to just save us a lot of paperwork in the long run, which is why it passed so supportively.
The Norwood High School is going to the Great Wolf Lodge at the end of October, um, for the 2026 Health Force.
I love seeing all the field trips. It's my favorite.
One urinal in the boys restroom at Norwood View kindergarten hallway has been lowered. Hopefully, this helps prevent puddles on the floor.
It's a great community opportunity. Long-term residents have attended, Norwood business owners who give back to the community participate. So we want to try to support that event.
George Knox was an alum of Norwood and um we're creating an account so that his family has some place to um donate money to for specific earmarked items.
Yeah, they said for that particular program, they want to use it to help students specifically at Williams who need help paying for things like uh like field trips or materials that they might need, things that would help a student specifically from Williams um in that in that way.
It is amazing just how close to forecast we come every month. ... I mean, we are within $30,000 of being just right on the money. I mean, it's just amazing how good we are at accounting for that.
Um this is made up of a coalition of board members from across so far 37 different states, and they are supporting federal legislation to keep up with their promises from IDEA, which they made in the 70s, which promised 40% of federal funding for IDEA students to be given to schools so that the state didn't have to eat that cost.
So, how am I as a district in southern Ohio supposed to pay for these new initiatives when you keep cutting our funds?
Number one is repealing House Bill 920. Right? So, because of House Bill 920, the state of Ohio school districts have had to go to the ballot almost 13,000 times.
If your kid isn't signed up for Avenues for Success yet and you're like, oh, wait, that looks really fun. You still have a chance. You can still sign your kid up for Avenues for Success.
They are about to change now that we've gotten used to it and it's functional and we're seeing a boost in the amount of students who are graduating with credentials in their field. But, they're going to change it.
So, this will open up some new pathways as we grow forward. Hopefully, if we introduce these in middle school, these will grow into digital art pathways and business communications pathways and technical pathways as the kids get older.
Ordinances & Resolutions (7)
Known as the 'SAM Act' (Student Athlete Mobility Act), this state bill prompted revisions to policies IGD (co-curricular and extracurricular activities) and IGDJ (interscholastic athletics).
This state bill updated board vacancy provisions (BBE), removed redundant reporting requirements (e.g., Consolidated School Mandate Report from policies like EBBA, EFF, GJECBB, JECBD, JFCF, JHCA, JP), allowed districts to post policies on websites (JF, JFC, JFCK, EEACC), clarified non-resident student admission criteria (JECB), and modified the District Records Commission composition (EHA).
Federal legislation from the 1970s that promised 40% federal funding for special education students; currently, only about 10% is provided, leading to the '40 by 2040' initiative.
A website and initiative representing a coalition of 37 states advocating for Congress to honor its original promise of 40% federal funding for IDEA students.
A report whose reference was removed from several district policies as part of House Bill 455 changes to eliminate redundant reporting.
A memo that revised policy DLC-R1 (expense reimbursement) to allow for the reimbursement of credit card convenience fees, which was previously disfavored by Ohio law.
Ohio state bill identified as a major contributor to school districts' reliance on property tax levies, requiring districts to go to the ballot significantly more often than in other states.