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Lakota school members to be available before board meetings

If you are having trouble getting in touch with a school board member, Lakota Local Schools is taking a new approach to combat that problem.

Joan Powell, the school board president, announced this week that beginning with the next regularly scheduled school board meeting, on Feb. 28, all board members have committed to be available to the community for 15 minutes before the meeting starts.

“There are already two times during the meeting when people can come to the podium and address the board,” Powell said. “That won’t change. But I know sometimes people are uncomfortable doing that, or prefer a more informal exchange with the board members. This will provide them with that opportunity.”

Since September the district has been holding “Community Conversations” throughout West Chester and Liberty townships, meeting with residents in living rooms, coffee shops, churches and other locations. Typically, the Lakota Board of Education is represented at these “conversations.”

• Community has open conversation about Lakota’s present and future

The next school board meeting is at 7 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 28, at the district’s central office at 5572 Princeton Road, in Liberty Township.

For more information on how to host or where to attend a “conversation,” visit lakotaonline.com for details.

Posted in: Board of Education, Levy news, Schools |

Tags: Tags: Ben Dibble, Joan Powell, Julie Shaffer, Lakota East, Lakota Local Schools, Lakota school board, Lakota West, Lynda O'Connor, Ray Murray, Ron Spurlock, school board meeting, school levy

By Adam Kiefaber and Michael D. Clark

Newly appointed Lakota school board president Joan Powell announced on Monday night that she wouldn’t be running for her seat this fall. She is one of Greater Cincinnati’s longest tenured board members.

“This will be my last year on the board,” Powell said during the regularly scheduled school board meeting.

“16 years is enough. A friend of mine (Sandy Wheatley), who served on the board for 12 years, told me you will know when it is time … I just knew that it was time.”

The 16-year board veteran first took office in 1998 and her tenure on the board coincided with Lakota’s booming student population that has seen the Butler County district become the second largest in Southwest Ohio and the eighth largest in the state.

“She has been able to see the evolution of changes that have occurred in education,” said Karen Mantia, Lakota superintendent. “She also has a grasp of where it is going, so that past experience really guides her to see what the future will look like and we will miss that.”

Powell’s leadership has often been credited for some of Lakota’s many successes, but on occasion she has also been the center of controversy. Most recently, Powell in 2011 publicly criticized fellow board members for not working together and impeding the board’s effectiveness.

During Powell’s stint on the board, Lakota rose both in size and academic prominence, becoming the largest district in Ohio to consistently earn the state department of education’s highest academic rating.

“It has been incredible amount of time. Lakota has doubled in size since I first started on the board. There have been so many changes,” said Powell, 61, who is a realtor with Huff Realty in West Chester, also has two grandchildren and two children.

“I have worked with four different superintendents. I can’t think of how many governors. Lakota has seen a lot of change and I hope Lakota can remain so successful because I really do believe that it holds a valuable place in this community.”

The 17,300-student district has not seen voters pass a new operating levy since 2005 and saw three school tax issues rejected at the ballot in the last two years. The district has cut more than $36 million in personnel and programs in recent years and is anticipated to go back to the voters for a new school tax later this year.

Two other board members, whose terms are up after the year, Ray Murray and Ben Dibble said they were both planning to run for their seats.

Both Murray and Dibble began serving on the board in January of 2010.

The remaining board members Lynda O’Connor and Julie Shaffer were most recently elected in the fall of 2011 and began four-year terms in January of 2012.

Shaffer is currently serving her first term on the school board, while O’Connor is serving her second four-year term.

Posted in: Board of Education, Levy news, Schools |

Tags: Tags: Ben Dibble, Joan Powell, Julie Shaffer, Lakota East, Lakota Local Schools, Lakota school board, Lakota West, Lynda O'Connor, Ray Murray, Ron Spurlock, school board meeting, school levy

The Lakota Board of Education approved a $40,000 contract Monday with Citizens for Civic Renewal for a program called “Community Conversation” that will focus on community engagement.

The subject of community engagement was also brought up when the school board decided not to place a tax levy on the ballot this year during a meeting in June.

“We need more direction from our community on where it thinks our school district should be heading and what level of service it’s willing to fund,” board president Ben Dibble said in a statement during the June meeting when the tax levy was discussed.

At Monday’s school board meeting, Citizens for Civic Renewal’s executive director Jeffrey Stec made a presentation to the school board.

“Ultimately, after building the structure and creating a sense of partnership between the community and the district, we are looking at finding some common ground about the direction of education in this community and how the community supports that direction,” Stec said during the presentation.

“We are going to go to the community, so there won’t be meetings that will always be called to the school district or to the schools. It is going to be community members and community networks hosting conversations with each other where the school district is part of that conversation like any other attendee.”

Stec and his organization will be working with Lakota Superintendent Karen Mantia on the structure of the “Community Conversation.” Mantia, however, was not in attendance at Monday’s school board meeting due to a death in the family.

The board approved the program despite not having two of its five members in attendance. The contract begins July 17, 2012 and ends July 31, 2013.

Posted in: Board of Education, Levy news, News, Schools |

Tags: Tags: Ben Dibble, Citizens for Civic Renewal, Citizens for Civic Renewal’s executive director Jeffrey Stec, Jeff Stec, Jeffrey Stec, Lakota Community Conversation, Lakota community engagement, Lakota levy, Lakota school board, Lakota school levy, NoLakota Levy, school levy

Lakota Optimist Club Teens of the Year winners Danielle Hanes and Jenn Shafer pose with Lakota Optimist Club president Jim Welland. Both Lakota students were presented $1,000 checks by the club to help with their college expenses. Photo provided.

The Lakota Optimist Club announced Thursday the winners of its 2012 Teen of the Year awards.

The club presents this award to one graduating senior from Lakota East and one from Lakota West. The winners of this award excel in academics, extracurricular activities and community service.

Danielle Hanes took the honor from Lakota West. She is at the top of her class academically and involved in several school and community activities. Hanes was also the leader for the 32-member clarinet section of the Marching Firebirds. Furthermore, Hanes was the president of the Lakota West National Honor Society, treasurer of the Mu Alpha Theta Club and co-founder of the Lakota West INTERalliance Chapter. In the fall, Hanes will be attending Lehigh University.

Receiving the honor from Lakota East was Jen Shafer. She was a top student at East and a varsity gymnast all four years of high school and a co-captain her junior and senior years. Additionally, Shafer was a pole vaulter on the East track team, was involved in the J. Kyle Braid Leadership Foundation, served as a feature editor of East’s Spark Magazine and was president of the Lakota East National Honor Society. This fall, Shafer will be attending Ohio State University.

Hanes and Shafer will receive a $1,000 check to help with their college expenses.

“These are two outstanding young ladies who won our scholarships this year,” Lakota Optimist Club member Ben Dibble said. “They are great representatives of the young people in our schools and our community.”

According to a release, the Lakota Optimist Club dedicates itself in helping the community’s youth through activities, financial support and recognition. For more information about the club or about membership, visit www.LakotaOptimists.org.

Posted in: Schools, Student achievements |

Tags: Tags: Ben Dibble, Danielle Hanes, Jen Shafer, Lakota Optimist Club, Lakota Optimist Club Teens of the Year, Lakota Optimists

The Lakota Board of Education concluded Monday night at its regular scheduled meeting that it would not place a tax levy on the November ballot. All five of the school board members, the treasurer and Lakota’s superintendent agreed it wasn’t the right time to ask voters to approve a tax hike.

As previously reported by The Cincinnati Enquirer, the consensus of the board was to not ask for a tax levy without knowing the correct level of local funding needed through a new tax levy.

Lakota officials commented that they needed to know more about the state’s budget and more on what type of levy the community would support.

“We need more direction from our community on where it thinks our school district should be heading and what level of service it’s willing to fund,” board president Ben Dibble said in a statement Monday night.

After his statement, Dibble asked if any other board members wanted to direct Lakota Treasurer Jenni Logan to prepare a resolution to place a levy on the ballot. Not one school board made the request.

Furthermore, Dibble said that the decision to not place a levy on the ballot doesn’t mean the school district won’t ask voters to pass one in the future.

He also said, the board will need to “evaluate what impact” the latest $10.5 million in cuts will have on students this upcoming school year. Those cuts include 141 teaching, classroom aide and staff positions, as well as the loss of some elective classes.

In the past two years, voters have rejected three straight tax levies proposed by Lakota. Those levy failures have resulted in roughly $35 million in cuts during the past three school years.

Posted in: Board of Education, Levy news, News, Schools |

Tags: Tags: Ben Dibble, Lakota levy, Lakota school board, Lakota school levy, NoLakota Levy, school levy

Michael D. Clark reports:

When it comes to asking for a school tax hike, timing can be everything, Lakota school officials said Monday evening.

They explained why they are backing away from the November ballot, which they had considered but now view as the wrong time frame.

“The decision is one of practicality,” said Lakota Superintendent Karen Mantia. “We need to spend time with our residents and we need to find out what people are willing to support.”

Last week, board president Ben Dibble revealed that the board’s consensus was to avoid a third consecutive year of placing a proposed school tax increase on the ballot.

Voters in the district, which is the second largest in Southwest Ohio, have rejected three levies in the last two years.

Under Ohio regulations the governing boards of districts are not required to vote to abstain from placing a levy on the ballot.

Mantia said, “we know we are going to have to come back but we want to be on better footing.”

Two main reasons are prompting officials at the academically top-rated district to step back from previous consideration of the last ballot available in 2012.

State biennium budget negotiations don’t begin until early 2013 and given that legislative process’ unpredictability in recent years it would be prudent for school officials to first learn what funding is coming and then determine the level of local funding needed through a new local tax levy.

Moreover, pending academic core standards imposed by the state will entail more undetermined costs for all of Ohio’s 613 public school systems.

Lakota is the largest school system to earn the state’s highest academic rating of “excellent with distinction.”

Because of budget cuts in recent years totaling more than $25 million, thousands of Lakota students lost busing services this school year and learned in more crowded classes.

The recent slicing of another $10.5 million from the upcoming school year, including 141 teaching, classroom aide and staff positions and the loss of some elective classes, will mean even more changes starting in August.

Posted in: Board of Education, Schools |

Tags: Tags: ballot, Ben Dibble, budget, Karen Mantia, Lakota schools, levy, school board, taxes

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Michael D. Clark reports

Lakota Schools’ board president told The Enquirer Thursday that residents will probably not see a tax hike on the fall ballot.

Ben Dibble, president of Lakota school board, described the prospects of new school tax hike appearing on the November ballot as “very unlikely”.

Ben Dibble. Photo provided.

Dibble stressed that he was not speaking for the rest of the five-member board that governs Greater Cincinnati’s second largest school system, but that his assessment stems largely from their comments during a recent board work session.

“We haven’t put it completely to bed yet, but I don’t feel we are ready to go on this,” said Dibble.

Two main reasons are prompting officials at the academically top-rated district to step back from their previous consideration of the last ballot available in 2012.

The state biennium budget negotiations don’t begin until early 2013, he said. Given that legislative process’ unpredictability in recent years – often leaving Lakota with significantly less state funding – it would be prudent for school officials to first learn what funding is coming, he said, and then determine the level of local funding needed through a new local tax levy.

Moreover, pending academic core standards imposed by the state will entail more – but as of yet undetermined – costs for all of Ohio’s 613 public school systems.

Lakota is the seventh largest district in Ohio and the largest school system to earn the state’s highest academic rating of “excellent with distinction.”

Due to budget cuts in recent years totaling more than $25 million, thousands of Lakota students lost busing this school year and learned in more crowded classes.

The recent slicing of another $10.5 million from the upcoming school year, including 141 teaching, classroom aides and school staffer positions – and loss of some elective classes – will mean even more changes starting in August.

Lakota Treasurer Jenni Logan said the recent elimination of $10.5 million from the district’s estimated $154 million annual operating budget has reduced the district’s projected budget shortfall to about $700,000 in 2014.

Posted in: Board of Education, Levy news, News, Schools |

Tags: Tags: Ben Dibble, Lakota levy, Lakota school board, Lakota school levy, NoLakota Levy, school levy

Michael D. Clark reports:

For some area school board members, getting an inside look at a school requires scheduling an appointment and first-time introductions with teachers.

But not for veteran school volunteer and newly elected Lakota school board member Julie Shaffer. She only needs to keep showing up to help at Lakota schools, where she is a familiar face.

Shaffer is also a first-time, public office holder – having garnered the top vote tally in November’s election among five candidates for Lakota’s governing board.

Her surprising and near immediate rise to power as the recently appointed vice president on the five-member board now provides her a macro perspective, in addition to her micro experience as a volunteer.

“I thought I could bring a different perspective” to the board, says the mother of three Lakota students. “I started to get involved volunteering because I didn’t like some of the things I was seeing in our schools. Instead of standing by, I chose to work toward making a positive difference.”

Voters in the Butler County district, which is the second largest in Southwest Ohio and the seventh largest in the state, have rejected three school tax hikes since 2010.

A corporate veteran and business consultant with experience in finance, auditing and employee benefits, Shaffer ran out of concern about Lakota’s on-going financial woes and the impact they may have on the academically top-rated district. Recent years have seen the district cut millions of dollars and now district officials are planning more budget cuts to offset a $9 million shortfall projected for next school year.

“I’m a data-driven decisionmaker who is going to look at the whole picture prior to making a decision on any individual component,” Shaffer says.

Periodic infighting among Lakota board members last year had created a split among some members over some issues. The surprise approval by fellow members last month of Shaffer to board vice president was – in part – a result of those conflicts.

(more…)

Posted in: Board of Education, Schools |

Tags: Tags: Ben Dibble, Julie Shaffer, Lakota school board, Lakota schools

Cincinnati Enquirer’s Michael D. Clark reports:

It’s a new year and the Lakota school board that has occasionally been mired in high-profile infighting is asking the public for a fresh start.

The five-member governing board of Southwest Ohio’s second largest school system may deserve some of the blame for three school tax levy defeats since 2010, according to Ben Dibble, the newly elected Lakota Board of Education president.

“Let’s acknowledge that the school board could be part of the reason for our levy failures, During the last couple of years, the school board has projected an image of divisiveness – that we weren’t always working toward the goal of providing the best possible education at the lowest cost,” according to a statement Dibble read during the board’s meeting earlier this week.

The past year saw a sharp divide among some board members over a variety of issues including the use of public monies to hire a private search firm to find a new Lakota treasurer and superintendent. The occasional highly public and at times personal clashes were cited in part by some district critics who organized successful opposition campaigns in defeating proposed school tax hikes.

“I ask my fellow board members to leave behind the ways we’ve done things in the past and take a new approach. Doing things the same old way will lead us down the same path that has resulted in three levy failures. Our credibility and communication with the community needs to improve,” Dibble stated.

Dibble was voted to the one-year term of presidency by fellow board members earlier this month, as was newly elected member Julie Shaffer. Shaffer won election to the board in November in her first try at public office and was chosen by members to serve as the board’s vice president.

Dibble replaced 2011 and 2010 board president and 15-year board veteran Joan Powell.

Dibble pledged his leadership will feature more openness to the community, greater feedback from all residents in the district – “not just the folks we think will agree with us.” (more…)

Posted in: Board of Education, Levy news, News, Schools |

Tags: Tags: Ben Dibble, Joan Powell, Julie Shaffer, Lakota, Lakota cuts, Lakota East, Lakota Local Schools, Lakota reductions, Lakota school board, Lakota school levy, Lakota West, Lynda O'Connor, Ray Murray, school board, school levy

There will be a few events taking place Monday night in West Chester and Liberty townships. Planning to hold meetings will be the Lakota Board of Education, the Liberty Township Tea Party and the Voice of America Chorus.

The Lakota school board is scheduled to hold its public meeting at the district’s central office, 5572 Princeton Road in Liberty Township, at 7 p.m. Monday. On Thursday of last week, the board appointed Ben Dibble as its new president. The board and other Lakota officials are in the process of finding areas to cut $9 million from its operating budget for the 2012-2013 school year. Decisions on those cuts are not expected to be announced until the spring.

Meanwhile, local radio host Brian Thomas (55KRC) will be the speaker at the next meeting for the Liberty Township Tea Party Monday. The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m., at Liberty Township’s VanGorden Elementary School, 6476 LeSourdsville-West Chester Road. Thomas is the host of the WKRC-AM radio’s morning drive show from 5-9 a.m., weekdays, at 550 on the a.m. dial.

In addition to those meetings, West Chester’s Voice of America Chorus is inviting community members, men and women of all ages who like to sing, to its open house and membership rally at the West Chester Church of the Nazarene, 7951 Tylersville Road, at 7 p.m. Monday. During the event, community members will be able to attend a chorus rehearsal. The music group will continue to have open rehearsals every Monday evening throughout January. The chorus group plans to compete in the World Choir Games in Cincinnati this July.

Posted in: Events, News, Political events, Recreational events, School events, Tea Party |

Tags: Tags: 550 AM Cincinnati, 55krc, Ben Dibble, Brian Thomas, Brian Thomas 55krc, Brian Thomas WKRC, Brian Thomas WKRC-AM, Lakota cuts, Lakota East, Lakota Local Schools, Lakota reductions, Lakota school board, Lakota school levy, Lakota Superintendent Dr. Karen Mantia, Lakota Superintendent Karen Mantia, Lakota West, Liberty Township Tea Party, school board, school levy, Superintendent Dr. Karen Mantia, superintendent Karen Mantia, VanGorden Elemenatry School, Voice of America Chorus, West Chester Church of the Nazarene, WKRC, WKRC-AM