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Board of Education Update
Olentangy Schools

November 7 Meeting Summary

November 7, 2024 Meeting

BOARD PRESIDENT'S REPORT

  • Board President Brandon Lester discussed the district’s continued rapid growth and the recent school levy requests across the Central Ohio region. The board is monitoring the impact of the growth on district operations and utilized Fallon Research this fall to solicit community feedback to evaluate and inform decisions on when Olentangy will be back on the ballot.

COMMUNITY SURVEY RESULTS 

  • Public opinion researcher Paul Fallon of Fallon Research explained that opinion research data was gathered through SMS/text-to-web surveys conducted with 1,223 adult residents 18 years or older within the Olentangy School District. The surveys were completed from October​ 1 to October 4, 2024, and were sent to approximately 41,000 residents. ​ 
  • 71% of respondents said they were satisfied with the quality of life in Delaware County. However, perception about the rate of growth is high, indicating that residents are aware of the challenges it creates for the community and school district.​ 
  • The data suggests that residents believe the District has historically weathered growth challenges well; however, parents expect it to become more problematic in the near future.  
  • Mr. Fallon concluded, “It is important that the District communicate the time needed to erect new buildings to meet growth. Equally important, the community must be aware that a five-year horizon gives our fast-growing community little time to avoid problems that could detract from the high-quality education that our community has come to expect from the Olentangy Schools.” 

PUPIL SERVICES UPDATE

  • Olentangy’s Pupil Services Department supports English Language (EL) learners, the preschool program, and students with various intervention needs at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. 
  • The English Learner population continues to grow, with 1,659 EL students supported by 44 EL specialists for the 2023-24 school year. Olentangy’s current student to teacher ratio is 31 English learners to 1 EL Specialist; favorable student to teacher ratios combined with high-quality professional development continue to result in higher proficiency and exceeding metrics on the state report card. 
  • The Olentangy preschool is a center-based, special needs, peer-model program required by the state for students on IEPs beginning at age three. There are currently 687 Olentangy preschool students, and that enrollment is expected to grow by another 130 IEP students by May 2025.  
  • 12.8% of Olentangy’s K-14 Students are on an IEP, and 2.26% are Specialized Learning Center (SLC) students. On the state report card, Olentangy exceeded the performance index for students with disabilities in both ELA and math. 

SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT

  • Superintendent Todd Meyer proudly announced that all four high schools were named to the 2024 AP School Honor Roll.​ Olentangy High School, Liberty High School, and Berlin High School are gold member​s, and Orange High School is a silver member; distinctions are based on a school’s commitment to increasing a college-going culture, providing opportunities for students to earn college credit, and maximizing college readiness.  
  • Veterans Day is Monday, November 11, and schools across the district are already honoring those who served through lessons, school displays, Veterans breakfasts and school-wide assemblies. 

TREASURER'S REPORT

  • Treasurer Ryan Jenkins revealed a resolution for the District to reduce the millage/tax rate by an additional ¼ mill​ to align tax collection estimates with debt service payments required by the amortization schedule​. Over the past two tax years (2023 and 2024), the District has reduced the tax rate for its bond retirement fund by 1 ½ mills. This reduction has saved the owner of a $500,000 home nearly $230 in annual taxes. This is another initiative by the District to only collect what is needed from our community​. 
  • Mr. Jenkins also showed various cost-saving initiatives that the District has implemented over the past 4 years that have saved the District nearly $32 million. 
  • Preliminary CUPP data shows that, when compared with similar districts, Olentangy Schools ranks among the top districts for allocating spending towards instruction (CRI%) and has the sixth highest performance index, while spending considerably less than many of its peer districts on a per-pupil basis for the 2023-24 school year. 

SCHOOL DISTRICT​ 

CUPP EPP​ 

PERFORMANCE INDEX​ 

CRI%​ 

Hudson City​ 

$18,654.18​ 

106.906​ 

72.06%​ 

Grandview Heights Schools​ 

$20,563.52​ 

105.467​ 

74.59%​ 

Sycamore Community City​ 

$17,260.57​ 

105.356​ 

73.53%​ 

New Albany-Plain Local​ 

$17,337.93​ 

104.455​ 

71.04%​ 

Mason City​ 

$14,697.79​ 

103.104​ 

72.06%​ 

Olentangy Local​ 

$16,019.49​ 

103.077​ 

74.60%​ 

Upper Arlington City​ 

$18,416.05​ 

102.323​ 

76.84%​ 

Bexley City​ 

$18,858.21​ 

100.526​ 

70.81%​ 

Springboro Community City​ 

$11,549.71​ 

99.257​ 

70.88%​ 

Dublin City​ 

$18,351.96​ 

97.956​ 

73.89%​ 

Worthington City​ 

$17,217.17​ 

93.647​ 

73.11%​ 

Westerville City​ 

$16,786.52​ 

89.109​ 

71.87%​ 

Gahanna-Jefferson City​ 

$15,339.35​ 

88.574​ 

73.64%​ 

Hilliard City​ 

$15,622.66​ 

88.175​ 

76.14%​ 

South-Western City​ 

$15,265.05​ 

76.342​ 

71.42%​ 

Columbus City Schools District​ 

$25,136.06​ 

57.132​ 

60.71%​ 
  • Mr. Jenkins reviewed how Ohio’s Fair School Funding Formula must include the following adjustments to continue to benefit students in Olentangy Schools:​​ 
    • The Legislature must continue to adjust the base cost of educating students (supplies, equipment, personnel, etc.) so that the state of Ohio continues to pay its fair share of educating Ohio’s public school students.​​ 
    • The Legislature must continue to fully phase in the funding formula.  
    • The Legislature must increase the state share of the base cost from a minimum of 10% to 20% so that the formula doesn’t over-rely on local taxpayers. 

ADDITIONAL BOARD OF EDUCATION INFORMATION