Communications issue • Proud Products of Ohio Public Schools June 2014 • Volume 58, Issue 3 J OURNALOHIO SCHOOL BOARDS ASSOCIATION Whereeverybody belongs Risk Management Solutions with CREATIVITY The Ohio School Plan is your partner in managing risk. We help you to actively manage risk through comprehensive risk assessments. For more information, Complimentary member services include: call 1-800-288-6821 • School inspection checklist; peer-reviewed by the Ohio School Environmental Committee of the Ohio Environmental Health Association Hylant Administrative Services 811 Madison Avenue • Technical assistance and resource materials Toledo, Ohio 43604 • Inspections by certified playground safety inspectors • Interactive bus driver in-service training ohioschoolplan.org The Ohio School Plan is exclusively sponsored by BASA, OASBO and OSBA. Table Of Contents ON THE COVER Where everybody belongs, p. 32 J OURNALOHIO SCHOOL BOARDS ASSOCIATION A North Olmsted City mentorship program is paying big dividends in the district’s middle school. — photo by Bryan Bullock FEATURES p. 16 Communicating school success 16 New communication tools present opportunities for school districts as well as challenges. District communication on a shoestring budget 18 Learn how districts with limited budgets can excel at communication. Proud Products of Ohio Public Schools 42 OSBA honors successful past graduates of Ohio public schools. NEWS p. 37 Who are you? 12 Business Honor Roll marks another successful year 14 OHSPRA connects school communicators 25 School finance — what is your district’s message? 30 Conference plans unfold 37 DEPARTMENTS p. 4 Executive Outlook 3 According to Law 4 Management Insights 7 Boardmanship 8 Capital Insider 10 OSBA: Working for You 40 New digital edition available! OSBA Journal (ISSN 0893-5289) is published bimonthly by the Ohio School Boards Association, 8050 N. High St., Suite 100, Columbus, OH 43235-6481. Periodicals postage paid at Columbus, Ohio, You can access the Journal’s new and at additional mailing offices. Postmaster: send address changes to OSBA Journal, Attn: Mailroom, Ohio digital edition on the OSBA website at School Boards Association, 8050 N. High St., Suite 100, Columbus, OH 43235-6481. www.ohioschoolboards.org/journal. Comments and articles should be sent to the editor at the above address or email [email protected]. The views expressed in articles appearing in OSBA Journal are those of writers and do not necessarily represent OSBA policies or positions. Notice of rights: All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. For information on permission for reprints and excerpts, contact OSBA. Who We Are OSBA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE JOURNAL STAFF Susie Lawson President Ed Penrod President-elect Crystal Davis Sharon E. Manson Immediate past president Ken Morlock Central Region Editor Denise Baba Northeast Region Eric Germann Northwest Region Gary Motz Daniel L. Hothem Southeast Region Managing Editor Jim Sommer Southwest Region Angela Penquite OSBA BOARD OF TRUSTEES Assistant Editor/ Central Region Layout and Graphics Dr. Marguerite Bennett Mount Vernon City & Knox Richard Lewis, CAE County Career Center Bryan Bullock W. Shawna Gibbs Columbus City Assistant Editor/ Ken Morlock Madison-Plains Local (Madison) Communication Coordinator Randy Reisling* South-Western City Lee Schreiner South-Western City Charlie Wilson Worthington City Amanda Finney Senior Marketing Northeast Region Denise Baba* Streetsboro City Coordinator/Advertising Thomas F. Brophey Wellsville Local (Columbiana) Albert Haberstroh Trumbull County ESC Jeff Chambers John W. Halkias Plain Local (Stark) Director of Communication Robert M. Heard Sr. Cleveland Municipal Hollie F. Reedy Services Susie Lawson Tri-County ESC & Wayne County Schools Career Center Richard Lewis, CAE Veronica Sims Akron City Executive Director Doug G. Stuart Rittman EV & Wayne County Schools Career Center Northwest Region Eric Germann Lincolnview Local (Van Wert) Mission Statement & Vantage Career Center Kevin Landin Ottoville Local (Putnam) OSBA leads the way to educational Timothy McKinney* Bath Local (Allen) excellence by serving Ohio’s Robert McPheron Bath Local (Allen) public school board members Lisa Sobecki Toledo City Van D. Keating and the diverse districts they Bob Vasquez Toledo City represent through superior service, Southeast Region unwavering advocacy and creative David Carter* East Guernsey Local (Guernsey) Daniel L. Hothem River View Local (Coshocton) solutions. & Coshocton County Career Center Sharon E. Manson Waverly City & Pike County © 2014, Ohio School Career Technology Center Boards Association Ed Penrod Logan-Hocking Local All rights reserved (Hocking) & Tri-County Career Center Ohio School Boards Association Gail Requardt East Muskingum Local 8050 N. High St., Suite 100 (Muskingum) & Mid-East Kathy LaSota Columbus, OH 43235-6481 Career and Technology Centers Kevin E. Weaver Crooksville EV & Mid-East (614) 540-4000 Career and Technology Centers fax (614) 540-4100 Southwest Region www.ohioschoolboards.org Rick Foster* Manchester Local (Adams) Gail Martindale Cedar Cliff Local (Greene) & Greene County Career Center A. Chris Nelms Cincinnati City Jim Sommer Greenville City Sue Steele Goshen Local (Clermont) & Great Oaks ITCD Warren Stevens Urbana City & Ohio Hi-Point Career Center Jay Smith *Region president Executive Outlook Defending ‘thorough and efficient’ Editor’s note: This column was jointly Miscellaneous and Local Government debate and dissenting opinion, the idea authored by Richard Lewis, Ohio School subcommittee, which hears testimony is still before the subcommittee. For Boards Association executive director; Dr. and offers recommendations on K-12 that reason, it is important to contact R. Kirk Hamilton, Buckeye Association of education. subcommittee members and voice your School Administrators executive director; support to retain the clause in the Ohio and David A. Varda, Ohio Association of Any recommendations for a Constitution. School Business Officials executive director. constitutional amendment arising from the various subcommittees must It is critical that your opinion be heard. rticle VI, Section 2 of the Ohio first receive a majority vote from the Personal contact through phone calls, Constitution reads, in part: subcommittee, followed by a two- emails or written correspondence is “The General Assembly shall thirds vote of the full commission. essential. Some school districts have makeA such provisions, by taxation, or Once passing that hurdle, the passed resolutions on this matter. If you otherwise … (to) … secure a thorough recommendation must be approved by adopt a board resolution, please send and efficient system of common schools a majority vote in both the Ohio House copies to the subcommittee members, throughout the state.” and Senate. Only at that point does any along with Speaker of the House proposed constitutional amendment go William G. Batchelder (R-Medina); Recently, a member of the Ohio to Ohio voters. Senate President Keith Faber (R-Celina); Constitutional Modernization Senate Minority Leader Joe Schiavoni Commission (OCMC) proposed The Ohio School Boards Association (D-Boardman); House Minority Leader striking the phrase “thorough and — along with leaders from the Ohio Tracy Maxwell Heard (D-Columbus); efficient” from the sentence. Public Association of School Business Officials and your representative and senator. education must speak out strongly and the Buckeye Association of School Please send a copy to the OSBA against any attempts to remove this Administrators — monitors monthly Division of Legislative Services as well. wording. OCMC meetings, holds discussions with commission members, prepares Committee members and their emails OCMC is a 32-member commission talking points and offers can be found on OSBA’s website at authorized in 2012 to study the state’s recommendations to the commission for www.ohioschoolboards.org/legislative. constitution and recommend any desired consideration. Last year, OSBA’s This special section also contains changes to the Ohio General Assembly. legislative staff and executive director OSBA’s testimony before the committee The commission has an expiration date made a formal presentation to the and a template boards can use to adopt of July 1, 2021. Education, Public Institutions and resolutions in support of keeping the Miscellaneous and Local Government “thorough and efficient” clause in the This commission consists of 12 members subcommittee about traditional public constitution. of the General Assembly, with three education and its constitutional each appointed by the Senate president, underpinnings. It is important that public education Senate minority leader, the speaker of supporters remain vigilant and personally the House and House minority leader. At the April meeting of the contact members of the commission and The remaining 20 individuals are public subcommittee, one of the members the General Assembly about any members appointed by a majority vote proposed a change that would eliminate proposed changes. We must take the of the 12 legislative members. the “thorough and efficient” clause long view, understanding that this is a in Article VI, Section 2 of the Ohio marathon, not a 100-yard dash. We OCMC is organized into four standing Constitution, which refers