The Talawanda School District Board of Education has voted to end the three year budget reduction plan after just one year at its last meeting of the year Dec. 14.
Last December, the board voted on a series of recommended budget reductions that would have yielded $5.3 million over the course of three years. These cuts included bussing, extracurriculars and faculty and staff positions. A pay-to-play fee was also instituted for student athletes and band students.
“As we get more information about changes in revenues and expenses, we’re going to re-evaluate that plan,” board member Rebecca Howard said. “I think that’s exactly what we’re doing.”
For the 2024-2025 school year, the district will reinstate bussing for high school students, in addition to lowering the two mile radius maximum to one mile.
Prior to the change, bussing was unavailable for high school students and only provided for elementary and middle school students who live over two miles from their respective school.
The board also approved bringing back bussing for extracurricular activities. The board highlighted the hazards of teenagers driving through the backroads of Butler County while it’s dark and potentially icy as they passed the motion .
“Sometimes [students travel] up to two hours on the road on a weeknight [for extracurriculars],” school board member David Bothast said. “This is where it’s becoming a greater safety issue.”
The board also addressed the status of pay-to-play sports, which started at $900 for high school students and $350 for middle school students.
After tonight’s vote, these fees will be lowered to $300 each for the first two sports with an $800 family cap at the high school level, and $150 each for the first two sports with a $400 family cap at the middle school level. A cap of $1,200 was also established for families who have children that play sports at both schools.
The members also passed a motion for superintendent Ed Theroux and treasurer Shaunna Tafelski to begin negotiating a $2 an hour pay increase in salary effective for the pay period beginning Jan. 1, 2024. The board hopes this increase will help with teacher shortages in the district. Through the next four years, this increase could cost the district almost $2 million.
“Our [educational assistants], food service workers, custodians [and] secretaries [are] a little underpaid right now,” school board president Pat Meade said. “This is a first step in trying to right-size that. It also enables us to do a better job attracting and retaining people.”
To preserve and promote holistic student wellness, the board discussed and passed the idea of hiring two additional counselors for a total of three, with one to be stationed in each elementary school in the district.
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“We are seeing a huge influx of elementary school students coming in … having social-emotional issues,” Theroux said. “We’re having students not know how to interact with each other, with adults [and] with peers. [The counselors] will be working with individual students [and] small groups of students to work on those socialization skills.”
The board also revisited discussions from the previous meeting on Nov. 16 about Talawanda’s High School graduation. The board decided to host the ceremony at Millett Hall despite construction for Miami University’s new geothermal unit beginning. The following ceremony for 2025 graduates will be held at the high school.
To close out the meeting, school board member Kathleen Knight-Abowitz gave departing remarks, as she was not re-elected for a following term.
“I’m so proud to be associated with this district and it’s been an honor to serve and watch the work that people do in the buildings, on the grounds, in the buses and all the places that education happens in this district,” Knight-Abowitz said.
The next school board meeting with newly elected member Dawn King and reelected incumbents Chris Otto and Rebecca Howard will be held on Jan. 11 in the Talawanda High School auditorium. A link to a live stream of the meeting can be found on the school board’s website.
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