Part One: Public Schools and the Pro-Student Paradox At the end of the Forest Hills School District (FHSD) School Board meeting on June 26th, a discussion about EdChoice vouchers raised considerable concerns. Katie Stewart, an FHSD school board member, identified herself as being pro-student, rather than pro-public schools. Later in the conversation the superintendent stated that he did not oppose the EdChoice vouchers. These remarks are especially troubling for families whose educational experiences have navigated both private and public school systems. This story is shared with permission and centers on one such family. Their oldest child began school in a private setting — a decision made in 2015 due to FHSD’s lack of full-day kindergarten and concerns over the outdated facilities at Wilson. However, what started as a seemingly sound choice, turned into a nightmare. Disillusioned by their private school experience, the family ultimately chose to enroll all their children in FHSD, where the contrast was stark and the results overwhelmingly positive.
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 Education is always on the ballot. Whether there’s a School Board race (not this year, FHSD!) or a new bill being proposed in Ohio, expanding access to vouchers here in Ohio (news article here) or a Presidential Candidate promises to abolish the Department of Education at a rally in Wisconsin, we pay attention to the activity around educational policies including funding, curriculum, and much more. We hope to bring you relevant information about the policies of both parties before the November election through a series of blog posts. While federal policy influences FHSD's experience, local elections matter as much if not more, but we hope those interested in hearing about educational policy on the ballots - the debate between the presidential candidates Kamala Harris (D) and Donald Trump (R) is Tuesday night. Articles recently posted by the Pew Research Center and the Brookings Institute provide insights from their research, and they’ve provided additional useful context. Vice President and Presidential candidate Kamala Harris released her policies ahead of the debate here, where they've chosen to focus on affordability. The Democrat platform outlines a focus on high-quality education in all zip codes. The platform highlights a commitment to universal pre-K, and an effort to lower the cost of post-high-school education.  The Democrats further outline a plan to expand access to career and technical education, support for magnet schools focused on science, the arts, and International Baccalaureate programs to meet the multiple paths a diverse group of American high school students benefit from. Investments in high-quality science, tech, engineering and math programs are also outlined, as the “Democrats believe we must prioritize STEAM education and funding to equip students with the knowledge and skills to understand complex scientific issues”. They intend to ban for-profit schools’ use of public funds while increasing accountability for charter schools by requiring the same standards of transparency as traditional public schools. One place both parties seem to share an interest is in expanding broadband access for all; this makes sense, as so much of what high school students are doing now is through computers. Additionally, Democrats suggest a plan to “significantly increase investments in rural, urban and tribal broadband infrastructure to close the digital divide.” This is one place where we see Republican and Democrat support. Ohio announced a $94.5M investment expansion high-speed internet to 35,000 households using a combination of funds provided by the Biden administration’s Infrastructure Bill ($17.5M and $50M from state funds and the remaining from other sources). The Republican Party platform on education was difficult to find, so we’ll reference this list here, by The American Presidency Project. Many have suggested that Project 2025 has more of the Republican ideal policies, but the party has not stated a commitment to that platform despite the widely held impression. The summary of policy items from the Republicans has 20 items, only three reference to specific policies for education. Recently, at a rally in Wisconsin, presidential candidate Donald Trump repeated his intent to eliminate the federal Department of Education as part of an effort to send oversight back to the states, much like he did with access to abortion during his term as the 45th President. He has committed to this at several occasions since 2023, and this statement aligns with the statements made in Project 2025. The Republican list of priorities states:
Additionally, it’s notable that the Republican party educational platform has strongly pushed what they refer to as “universal school choice.” In an Article by the AP, they point out this is the “first time the GOP platform has gone beyond merely supporting school choice to calling for it as a universal option. It remains unclear how that would come to pass, given the platform also calls for shuttering the U.S. Department of Education, founded in 1979, and sending education policy-making “back to the States, where it belongs.”  Universal school choice - also known as voucher programs - would allow federal and state taxpayer dollars to be redirected to private schools, where accountability for the use of taxpayer funds has less oversight and fewer guidelines for use than public schools, and not every student is required to be admitted as public schools are required to support. In Ohio, where vouchers were originally intended to go to socioeconomically disadvantaged students in challenged or failing districts, most have gone to wealthy families that never attended public schools after Ohio expanded the income threshold for vouchers to cover beyond the original mandate and allowing it to be accessed by all Ohioans, even millionaires. See the news story here. Ohio spent over $1B in 2023 on Vouchers, money coming straight out of taxpayer funds originally intended for public schools, and that is expected to rise in 2024. Federal representation on educational policy will affect Forest Hills School District in this year and the years to come, as will local and state policies. From the devastating options provided by Project 2025, a policy document described by the BBC as “a Wish List for a Trump Presidency Explained” to the local policies proposed by Ohio elected leadership, it’s imperative we as voters know what is happening with reference to education The success of our own FHSD students and the future of American innovation & leadership will rely on what America's students learn today, which makes every policy related to education important. We hope to hear more about both Presidential candidates’ positions at the debate on Tuesday night (Sept 10, 2024) and we hope each of you will investigate the positions of both parties at state and federal levels, and watch the debate on Tuesday, and make informed decisions as we turn out to vote this November 5th.
Our FHSD school board met last night in a special executive session, which followed the two executive sessions held on the night of the August board meeting. The topic: Employment or Compensation of a public official. The team at AdvocateFHSD discussed, and came up with a working hypothesis, based on input from former board members and community members. We’ve had our eye on actions around these two contracts since late last year — which inspired our January blog post — since the board is only responsible for hiring the two roles of Treasurer and Superintendent. The Forest Hills School District Board of Education has approved contract updates for nearly everyone employed by the district, the only remaining contracts to discuss would be those for the Treasurer and Superintendent, both of whom have contracts ending next year, 2025. Responsible leadership would consider risk vs. impact to the district with any significant decision to extend or terminate a contract.  District Superintendent Larry Hook and District Treasurer Alana Cropper We hypothesize that the board may be discussing an extension for Mr Hook, and a termination of the Treasurer, based on conversations we had at the end of the year in 2023. Speaking with former board members from previous terms, several advised that Sara Jonas, Katie Stewart and Bob Bibb still had intent to remove people who had been hired during previous board terms. Our sources suggested that Jonas’ strategy to block future board members from making hiring decisions that they would not make themselves if they were unable to be re-elected, or should seats for future Republican party candidates fail in 2025. We reached out to Board President Jonas for comment today, as of the publication time, we have not heard back. We will update if we receive a comment or quote.
Teachers play a key role in shaping the future of individuals and society by educating and inspiring the next generation. We entrust them with the tremendous responsibility of nurturing and educating our children. Other than parents, few people have more influence in our children’s lives. Teaching isn’t just a 7:30 AM to 2:30 PM job. It requires commitment to plan, to work “off the clock” to prepare lessons, grade papers and perform various school support and mentoring activities. For decades in Ohio, teachers were required to obtain their master's degrees. The law changed 10 years ago, so many Forest Hills School District (FHSD) teachers have master's degrees. For those that entered the profession more recently, most invest personally in ongoing learning about state-of-the-art teaching methods to ensure their continued efficacy in the classroom. In 2023, our teachers agreed to a one-year contract. This year, they're looking to negotiate a standard 3-year contract as the district has traditionally supported in previous years. Salary comparisons and the cost of living"You get what you pay for” is an age-old adage that applies to many professions, but in the case of FHSD teachers, it doesn’t really apply — we typically get more than we pay for. Our district rates among the State’s highest in performance and among the lowest in the area in education cost per student. The nationwide cost of living increases have hit our educators hard over the last few years as our last contract sailed for a 2% increase (2023 contract signed with FHTA) while the Bureau of Labor Statistics says the cost of living (COLA) grew 5.9% in 2022 and 8.7% in 2023. While inflation is now slowing, it still exceeds the 2023 increase. Over time, we cannot expect quality teachers to absorb these kinds of cost increases without a more considerate response than the 2023 contract.
Communication from the District:
As part of ongoing efforts at Forest Hills School District to support the mental health and wellness of students, the district is excited to invite the community to an upcoming presentation by the Hilinski’s Hope Foundation. As an educational institution, FHSD understands the importance of supporting student wellness and meeting the social, behavioral and emotional needs of children in the school community.
This community presentation, which will be hosted by Anderson High School and the Forest Hills Foundation for Education in March, is an opportunity for students, families and community members to learn about important topics related to mental health and suicide prevention.
The community event will be held on Monday, March 4 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in Titus Auditorium at Anderson High School. In order to ensure there is enough space to accommodate all who wish to attend, FHSD is encouraging interested individuals to fill out this RSVP form.
The Hilinski’s Hope Foundation (H3H) was founded in 2018 by Mark and Kym Hilinski to honor the life of their son Tyler. Tyler was a talented, kind-hearted and dedicated young man who excelled at sports, eventually playing football at Washington State University. At the age of 21, Tyler died by suicide.  Katie Stewart (Right) commenting on how our public schools spend too much on 1:1 technology policy while her kids utilize a similar 1:1 technology policy made possible through Cincinnati Public School auxiliary funds. About the Author
At the January 2024 meeting of the Forest Hills School District (FHSD) Board of Education, the FHSD community received an explanation behind Board Vice President Katie Stewart’s “NO” vote on that evening’s consent agenda ... screen time. On the agenda was a budget item including new Lenovo Chromebooks. Like most parents, she was worried about kids having too much screen time. But I think this vote points to a larger issue with Mrs. Stewart’s performance on the board of our public school district. Katie Stewart may not understand what a consent agenda is. Consent agendas consist of multiple procedural items, expected to garner unanimous approval. By voting “NO” on the January 2024 consent agenda, Mrs. Stewart voted “NO” on all items within the agenda.
 Black History Month was born in the halls of Ohio’s Kent State University in 1926. It was first established in the second week of February as Negro History Week by Carter G. Woodson, Ph.D., founder of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. In 1969, Kent State’s Black United Students organization advocated for the entire month of February to be known as Black History Month. In 1970, they achieved their goal, and the first celebration of Black History Month took place across the university’s campus. Six years after its inception at Kent State, Black History Month received national designation by President Gerald Ford who said, “we can seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.” It is important in the second week of February, that we remember Carter G. Woodson, Ph.D., and the contributions that he made to Ohio education and the establishment of Black History Month in the United States. It is important that we remember this history as legislators in Ohio and across the country eliminate diversity training requirements in state colleges and universities. It is important to remember this and for us to advocate for honest education grounded in historical truth, facts, and diverse perspectives.
The previous blog post discussed the letter recently distributed to Forest Hills residents, by the county auditor, which contained essential details concerning property reappraisal, revealed a series of intriguing discoveries that prompted contemplation of the underlying process.
When crafting the last post it appeared that certain properties within the area exhibited only nominal alterations, and in some cases, even negative adjustments in their property values. In contrast, other properties experienced substantial increases in their appraisal values, with some surging by as much as 80%. Initially, suspicions arose that these fluctuations might be linked to property improvements. However, a thorough examination of the Auditor's website revealed no discernible record of such improvements for these properties. Forest Hills residents recently received a letter from the county auditor with information regarding property reappraisal which is performed every 3 years, along with many new/renewed levies (Cincinnati Zoo and Anderson Township Park District among them), along with the new payments covering operating and permanent improvement levy. It is our understanding that most homeowners will see an increase in the value of their home. The average increase is around 26%, and based on our research into the Hamilton County Auditor’s website, it appears that some properties saw a single-digit decrease, while several homes saw 50% increase or more, with one property on Salem Rd increasing by 80%.
Fortunately, FHSD residents have a unique and qualified resource to help taxpayers understand this complicated system. It’s 2024 - and the district’s work to prepare for the year ahead is underway, with its first budget/organizational meeting on Jan. 4th at 6:30 p.m. New board members and the change of board president could signal a fresh start with new objectives for the remainder of this school year. 
Member Jonas’ statement itself is full of demonstrable falsehoods, these have already been addressed in multiple news articles as well as the Advocate FHSD blog.
 After 18 months, the Forest Hills School District board finally rescinded the controversial Culture of Kindness Resolution. In a special meeting this morning at 7 am, a unanimous vote was heard by a number of district residents in attendance to settle the lawsuit and rescind the resolution.
The Protect Diversity group has created a timeline of events to provide a retrospective look at the dates and documents that were publicly available surrounding this event for the background and accurate history, including the statement written in protest by the National Underground Freedom Center, here in Cincinnati. The district has issued a statement, now available on the Forest Hills School District Website, claiming that the “settlement is not an admission of liability or wrongdoing” and that the board “denies that the Resolution violates anyone’s legal rights.” Today, NPR reported that the Forest Hills School District offered to settle the lawsuit surrounding the Culture of Kindness Resolution, a written document created in part between Sara Jonas and several local residents and implemented in a flurry of chaos over a year ago. In June of 2022, members of the Forest Hills School District Board of Education Linda Hausfeld, Bob Bibb and Sara Jonas voted in support of a resolution that banned assignments where students would have to consider their race, socioeconomic class, religion, gender identity and sexuality. Board members Leslie Rasmussen and Katie Stewart voted against the resolution. Soon after, a group of parents and teachers filed a federal lawsuit claiming the resolution violated their constitutional rights. In October the judge assigned to the case issued a ruling on a motion to dismiss by the district. At that time the district issued a statement stating they intended to continue the fight to enact the language of the resolution “vigorously”.   Yesterday Forest Hills Residents voted in large numbers on a number of important issues; reproductive rights (Issue 1), legalizing marijuana use for adults (Issue 2), Trustee in Anderson (Dee Stone won over Dom Wolfer), the Park Levy and Library Levy, both of which passed. There is a summary from resident and journalist Dan Sewell.
For school board, Wendy Strickler-Biederman and Jason Simmons won over competitors Ken Kuhn, Kevin Comerford and Kris Wahlke. The negative impact of external agenda-driven groups isn’t a risk here in Forest Hills, it’s already a reality.  In a series of emails recovered through a Public Records Request (PRR) and social media content garnered from investigations into education-attacking political groups, we learned
that the “4 for Forest Hills” may have allowed the influence of potentially fringe political party members, dark-money group leaders and non-FHSD residents, to drive the agenda that they've attempted to implement — bringing expensive and embarrassing consequences to our district as shown in previous blog posts. |
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