10-13-2025 Newark City School Board

The League of Women Voters of Licking County | The Reporting Project
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OBSERVER REPORT

Government Body Observed: Newark Ohio City School Board

Meeting Date: October 13, 2025

Meeting Details

Attendance:

All board members: Cindy Neely, Board President, Tom Bline, Mark Chrisenberry, Daniel Hunt, and Joe Quackenbush

David Lewis, District Superintendent

Julio Valladares, District Treasurer

Several District staff members attended and made presentations

Approximately 8 members of the public attended. Only one member of the public commented.

Public Comment: Comment from the floor on a non agenda Item:

The step mother of a second grader brought a concern to the board about the response of her daughter's school when she reported that her daughter came home with lice. The student missed several days of school while the family addressed the problem. The mother was concerned that the school had not sent home information about the lice infestation and had not checked students in the classrooms where the lice seem to be spreading. She wanted the Board to be aware that children were missing school because of lice spread and that she and other families which she had contacted were very concerned that the school was not adequately informing families and not taking steps that could reduce the spread.

Old Business: Minutes of September 2025 Regular and Special Board Meetings were approved.

The following agenda items presented for approval appear to have been prepared by District staff or were prepared in a previous Board work session. Board members had received the content of the motions presented for approval in advance of the meeting and the full content was not read in this meeting.

The following items on the agenda were approved by unanimous votes by the board members:

September 2025 Financial Statements.
Payments to Vendors.
Approval to pay Invoices.
Approval of Certified and Licensed Personnel, Classified Personnel, Supplemental Personnel, and Volunteers.
Approval of Contracts

New Business: Recognitions, Updates, and Gifts:

Superintendent Lewis recognized two McGuffey School elementary students for the Wildcat Spotlight. The two young boys were recommended for the honor by their teacher Mrs. Baker, because they both worked very hard last year through medical challenges and have done an excellent job of transitioning back to school in person keeping up with their class. The two students were accompanied by family. The boys' pictures were taken with their teacher and board members. The photo can be seen on the District's Facebook page.

Newark High School Principal Tom Bowman provided an update on the Freshman Academy project, a new program at the high school as of this academic year. The various subjects that are part of the freshman year student schedule have been moved to a different location in the building to allow these new high school students to attend their classes in an area designated to them. Although it is not far enough into the school year to have data that would confirm the success of this change, Mr. Bowman said that the atmosphere of the building seems more positive. He has received positive comments from teachers, students, and parents of freshmen students.

TREASURER'S RECOMMENDATION FOR APPROVAL:

A resolution was presented to approve a building square foot breakdown which identifies the academic instruction dedicated area of the State Farm building, now the home of the Little Learners Preschool. A map has been created showing the 62% used for education purposes. Since the building was previously an office building, the remainder of the building is suitable for office use. The resolution was approved.

The next agenda item asked for approval of a lease agreement with the Wilber Group for use of the north east part of the building for office purposes. The lease revenue will help the District offset some of the costs of building operations. An agreement for a seven year lease has been negotiated with the Wilbur Group for the part of the building that is not needed for academic purposes. The resolution to move forward with the lease agreement was approved by board vote.

Recommendation to add a motion to approve the Five Year Financial Forecast 2026-2030:

The purpose is to have a long range plan and discussions of financial issues facing the school district. The plan serves as a basis for determining the district's ability to sign the certificate required by Ohio law that provides a method for the Ohio Department of Education and the State Auditor to identify school districts with potential financial problems.

Changes in school funding have been estimated with the information available. The state biennial budgets for years 2026 through 2029 are unknown, pending Ohio legislators decisions on a number of proposals that could reduce school district funding. There are also potential federal grant eliminations. A slide was provided that showed a forecast projecting the difference in estimated property tax income in the years 2025 through 2027 if the present legislative proposals become law. The amount of revenue lost would be very significant. Overall, $50 million dollars of revenue would be lost over the next three years. The treasurer showed more slides with projected budget details. The motion to approve the budget passed with understanding that adjustments may be needed depending on state and federal funding decisions.

Superintendent's Recommendations:

The District's legal counsel advised that the District should have a board policy designating

persons who will serve as hearing officers to hear appeals of student suspensions. A motion was presented appointing the Superintendent and his designated person to hear suspension appeals. There was a brief discussion about assuring that the hearings were done in a timely manner and it was pointed out that it was the intention to have the hearings as soon as possible and that having two staff members designated to hear appeals will make it easier to schedule the hearings. The motion to accept the policy was made and approved by a unanimous yes vote. It was mentioned that the designation for expulsion actions should also be made in the future.

Gift announcements: The District received $100 in gift cards for Little Learners Preschool from anonymous donors and a $500 donation from Park National Bank for the Alternative Academy. The Academy is NCS Digital, a public online school program for students in grades 4-12. The board approved thanking the donors for the donations.

Next Meeting: Monday, November 17, 2025