Buckeye Reporter

January Organizational, Special Board of Education meetings

LICKING HEIGHTS LOCAL SCHOOLS 

January 6 & 11 2022 / 6 PM / LH MIDDLE SCHOOL 

AGENDA HIGHLIGHTS

Jan. 6 Organizational meeting

During a brief, Jan. 6 organizational meeting, several recently re-elected Board of Education members took their Oath of Office and elected new leadership. Member Paul Johnson was elected board president and Brian Bagley vice president.

The Board also adopted a calendar establishing meeting schedules for 2022, and determined member assignments to various Board of Education committees.

Jan. 6 Special Board Meeting Work Session

Immediately following the Jan. 6 organizational meeting, the Board of Education moved into a Special Meeting primarily focused on a review of current public health conditions

related to the ongoing pandemic and its impact upon education options for the Licking Heights School District.

The Licking Heights Board of Education agreed to universal masking for all district students and staff within Licking Heights School buildings, to begin Monday, January 10.

The board finalized the policy at its Jan. 11 Special Meeting. The policy comes as active cases among district students and staff show increases according to data released by the

Licking County Board of Health and other health agencies on Wednesday, January 5 and Thursday, January 6. Under the universal masking policy agreed to by the Board, anyone on school property is required to mask within buildings. Exceptions to the policy resulting from health and other potential exemption conditions are spelled out in the

policy. 

Jan. 11 Special Board Meeting

The Board approved resolutions to begin the process for selection of a construction manager and design processes for the planned new elementary school building,

athletics complex, new bus garage facility, new or improved board office, and expansion of the high school.

A service contract was approved for Ethiopian Tewahedo Social Services to provide school tutoring for up to 50 students (25 at each building) at North Elementary and

Central Intermediate schools.

SUPERINTENDENT & BOARD COMMENTS

Superintendent Dr. Philip Wagner told Board members on Jan. 6 that Licking Heights started that week with relatively low student and staff infection rates. He further noted that in the fall the district averaged less than half-of-one-percent of the student body reporting active infections throughout most of the ongoing COVID pandemic. However, by mid-week, 73 students were reporting positive cases, with higher reported infection rates in the high school. 

After a mild flu season in 2020-21, this year, flu rates are also sharply rising, Dr. Wagner said, further threatening operational stability for the district at a time when staff, bus driver and substitute teacher shortages have caused building closures and transportation disruptions in school districts across the nation. Board member Tracy Russ said, “We need to keep kids in school. I do not want to go virtual…. The kids have suffered enough both personally and educationally… If our teachers go down, we don’t have anyone to teach your kids, anyway.”

Board member Tiffany Blumhorst agreed universal masking makes sense under present conditions and will best serve the goal of keeping students in school.

At the Jan. 11 meeting, Dr. Wagner noted he was at the high school earlier in the day for a planned, unannounced lockdown and drug sweep.

Also at the Jan. 11 meeting, Dr. Wagner updated the Board on education contingency plans in the event health conditions/absenteeism force adjustments to in-person learning or

transportation capability.

UPCOMING EVENTS, COMMITEES, AND MEETINGS

The next regular Board of Education meeting will be held on Jan. 25, at 7 p.m. in the Licking Heights Middle School media room.

Original source can be found here.