Summary of the Special Board of Education Meeting
New Albany Plain Local School District
July 23, 2012
The focus of this special meeting of the Board of Education was to vote on a resolution to certify a bond and levy issue to appear on the ballot for the November 6, 2012 General Election.
The first issue for the board to consider was a Resolution Requesting Bonds in the Aggregate Principal Amount of $41,126,745 and the Levy of an Additional 4.24-Mill Tax.
A RESOLUTION DETERMINING TO PROCEED WITH SUBMITTING TO THE ELECTORS OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT THE SINGLE QUESTION OF THE ISSUANCE OF SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT BONDS IN THE AGGREGATE PRINCIPAL AMOUNT OF $41,126,745 AND THE LEVY OF AN ADDITIONAL 4.24-MILL TAX FOR THE PURPOSE OF CURRENT OPERATING EXPENSES.
The Board voted no. It was a unanimous vote on this issue and the motion failed.
The second issue for consideration was a Resolution Requesting Bonds in the Aggregate Principal Amount of $45,120,442 and the Levy of an Additional 4.24-Mill Tax.
A RESOLUTION DETERMINING TO PROCEED WITH SUBMITTING TO THE ELECTORS OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT THE SINGLE QUESTION OF THE ISSUANCE OF SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT BONDS IN THE AGGREGATE PRINCIPAL AMOUNT OF $45,120,442 AND THE LEVY OF AN ADDITIONAL 4.24-MILL TAX FOR THE PURPOSE OF CURRENT OPERATING EXPENSES.
Board discussion
Board Member Mark Ryan: “We are finally at a resolution that I feel we can offer the voters with the hope that they will invest in our long thought out strategic process and will support this in the fall.”
Board Member Cheri Lehmann: “We went through a thorough process to contact three construction companies to review what our needs were and to accurately reflect market costs including the cost of inflation over time to determine if these would be realistic and within budget. I am very confident that these numbers are accurate and as fiscally responsible as they can be in these economic times to go to the voters of this district for an informed decision.”
Board Member Natalie Matt: “I agree with everything that has been said and feel that this is a process not months, but years in the making. We included the work that was done in 2010 by the campus Master Plan committee. This has been discussed for a long time and we have looked at so many angles. We have placed a strong emphasis on what we really need for our schools.”
Board Member Mike Klein: “We have been diligent and deliberate with this process, involving a lot of people from the community as it has been developed. I am confident that the voters can understand our decisions, and that diligence was done to arrive at these numbers.”
Board President Laura Kohler: “This decision is mission driven. As a Board we have had to ask ourselves, what is our mission, our vision? We need to be student-centered and focused on what will provide the best possible education for our students. Space is a tool as Superintendent Domine has stated and I agree that it is part of a successful learning process that our students have the adequate space to succeed. We present this to the community to make the decision, believing that this is the right thing to do for our district and our future.”
Vote on the second resolution was a unanimous yes – Motion Passed.
Board President Kohler announced that John McClelland has agreed to chair the committee to coordinate this work and run the campaign. “We are delighted that he has chosen to take up this work for the district. John serves as the Director of Public Affairs for the Strategy Group for Media, one of the country’s leading public affairs and political advertising firms. He has more than a decade of experience in government and politics and this will serve us well in a campaign. John and his wife Angelika have lived in the New Albany area for 12 years and will have three children in the district this fall.”
Additional actions of the Board of Education
Motion to approve the agreement clarifying terms of separation between the New Albany-Plain Local School District Board of Education and Brian Ramsay as signed by Brian Ramsay.
Board President Laura Kohler: “This is a bittersweet evening for us as we are happy for Brian and his new opportunity but he will be missed in this district. He is a person of incredible integrity and has done a wonderful job for over 17 years for this district.”
Treasurer Brian Ramsay: “It has been a pleasure serving the community of New Albany for these past 17 years. Working here has been a great foundation for this move. During my career here, I have attended over 300 board meetings and have been able to pass 10 out of 15 levy/bond attempts in 17 years. I have participated in over 24 credit rating analyses. When I started here the district was a single (A) and we were able to move it to a double (AA) plus. I am proud to be an Eagle and will always remember this time. I thank the incredible staff that I have been fortunate to work with here in the district office. Their efforts are so vital to the success of this district and I am grateful for all they have done to support this important work.”
Motion to Approve an Agreement with Margaret Betts to serve the District as the Interim Treasurer of New Albany-Plain Local School District.
Board President Kohler: “We are happy to have found Peg and to know that she can step in to help us through the remainder of the year. Her contract will run until December 31, 2012, Peg retired last year from Granville, and was an asst. treasurer in Upper Arlington. She oversaw the successful completion of an operating levy in Granville in her last year as treasurer.”
Interim Treasurer Peg Betts: “I thank the board for this opportunity. I am looking forward to assisting the district. I have worked 35 years in the education field and served as school treasurer in five different districts. While working at Granville we passed both bond and operating levies and I have a good amount of experience with ballot issues. I can also pull from my experience with the Ohio School Boards Association for four years to benefit the district.”
Motion passed to approve Peg Betts as new interim Treasurer.
Looking ahead….
Board of Education Work Session
Monday, August 13, 2012 @ 6:30 p.m.
McCoy Center for the Arts
Mershad Auditorium
100 E. Dublin Granville Road, New Albany