Ross Local Schools

Serving Our Community for 83 Years

Fall 2014

Superintendent’s Message

State Report Card Highlights

School has been in session now for several weeks, and I hope all of our students, parents, and staff members have enjoyed a great beginning to the 2014 - 2015 school year. The 2014 State Report Cards were recently released by the Ohio Department of Education. I am pleased to report that the Ross Local School District received all A’s and B’s on the major components of this report card. This is a tribute to our hard working students, committed staff, exemplary administrators, and supportive community.

Some of the highlights of our 2014 State Report Card are as follows:

The beginning of this school year has been extremely busy with our staff members working hard to meet several new mandates from the Ohio Department of Education. Among them are new learning standards, new online state testing, and new high school graduation requirements. One exciting development has been the news that our district received a Straight A Fund Grant from the State of Ohio. This highly competitive grant will help us meet the learning needs of our students in light of the fact that the two year state budget, approved by the Ohio General Assembly in 2013, did not include any increase in state funding for our district. In this issue of Ross Reflections you will find information regarding: • • • • • • •

Highlights of our State Report Card The District Financial Picture Straight A Fund Grant Morgan Elementary Renovations School Resource Officer New Staff Members Curriculum Update

• The District’s Performance Index of 106.2 was the highest rating of all Butler County school districts. Morgan Elementary’s Performance Index score of 109.6 was the highest of any individual school building in Butler County. • The district’s third grade score of 92.7% in math was the best among all Butler County school districts. • Our fourth grade scores of 95.6% in reading and 90.7% in math were the best among all Butler County school districts. • The fifth grade scores of 88.1% in reading, 85.8% in math, and 93.1%% in science were the best of all Butler County school districts. The math and science scores were also the best among our state similar districts. • Our sixth grade reading (95.5%) and math (96.4%) scores were the best among all Butler County school districts and the math score was the best of our state similar districts. • We had a historical high score in seventh grade reading at 94.7%. That score and our seventh grade math score of 91.6% were the highest among all Butler County school districts. • Our eighth grade reading score of 96.8% was the highest among all Butler County school districts and the best of our state similar districts. • Our tenth grade reading (97.2%) and math (96.7%) scores were the best among all Butler County school districts. The math score was also the best among our state similar districts. • Our graduation rate of 97.1% marks three consecutive years that it has been above 97%.

“Kids Are Our Business”

ROSS REFLECTIONS

The Financial Picture

Straight A Fund Grant

The Ross School District received a stunning blow to our financial stability when the two year state budget approved in 2013 did not include any additional revenue for our district. Our district had already made over 2.4 million dollars in cuts to our operating expenses over the past five years due to cuts in funding.

The Ross School District was informed this summer that we were awarded a Straight A Fund Grant by the Ohio Department of Education. The district received $949,987 through this competitive grant titled Personalization through Digital Age Teaching and Learning. It will provide every student in grades 5-12 a Chromebook laptop computer. Teaching and learning will be transformed through utilization of digital resources to provide a more personalized online learning experience. In addition, formative assessments will be used by teachers to select resources and activities based on students’ identified needs. Reductions in spending for textbooks, paper, and copier and printer maintenance, along with the need to no longer maintain general use computer labs will provide funds to purchase new devices every four years.

Due to these cost saving efforts along with salary and benefit concessions by our employees, we have been able to continue operating our schools without going to our taxpayers for additional revenue during the recession. Our current financial projections indicate that without additional revenue or further cost reductions, the district will be in a deficit spending position in 2016. In view of this, the reality is that we will need to seek additional local revenue in the near future. Some recent developments that have impacted the financial picture in the district are the following: • The State of Ohio cut our funding in 2009 by 2.6 million dollars. • The biennial state budget approved by the Ohio General Assembly in July 2013 did not provide any increase in state funding for Ross Schools. We have been forced to operate our schools on less state revenue than we received in 2009. • Our local revenue has suffered due to decreased property valuations and $479,219 less being collected each year from the local earned income tax. • The federal budget sequestration has resulted in a loss of $70,000 in federal funds. • Our health care costs have risen each of the last four years and increased 4.5% for 2014. • The State of Ohio eliminated the Tangible Personal Property Tax which resulted in a loss of $400,000 in revenue to our district.

Visit our Web Site www.rossrams.com

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“Kids Are Our Business”

Morgan Elementary Renovations Students and staff members returned to Morgan Elementary School on Tuesday, September 2nd. The additions and renovations to the school were completed on time and under budget. The project involved additions to the building for spaces that did not meet the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission’s square footage guidelines. This included enlarging the cafeteria and kitchen, new music and art rooms, and a larger office area. New life/safety systems (sprinklers, fire alarm, security cameras, and secure entries) were installed to meet current building codes. All doors and windows were replaced, and a new energy efficient geothermal HVAC system was installed. All finishes were replaced including ceilings, flooring, casework, and paint. The sewage treatment plant was updated to meet current EPA standards. New furniture was also purchased as needed. The total cost of the project was $10,475,780. The school district was responsible for $3,542,005 of that amount and the remainder was paid by the State of Ohio. Despite rising construction costs, the district was able to provide its share of the cost for the Morgan project without going back to the tax payers for additional funds. This was possible by refinancing the bonds used for construction of the high school, accessing excess funds in the bond repayment account, and using dollars from the district’s permanent improvement fund. No local tax operating funds were used for the Morgan project.

ROSS REFLECTIONS

School Resource Officer

Curriculum Corner

The Ross Local School District and the Ross Township Police have partnered to hire a School Resource Officer to serve the district’s school buildings for the first time this school year. Renee Lutterbie will serve in this new position. Her duties will involve providing an additional level of security for each building, traffic control on school grounds, and working with students in various programs. Officer Lutterbie attended specialized SRO training this past summer.

Our teachers will be implementing Ohio’s New Learning Standards this school year and new state assessments will be given to all students in grades 3 – 9. These assessments will be given in an online format. The teachers in grades K – 5 will also be working on revisions to their standards-based report cards this school year. In addition, teachers in grades 5 – 12 will be involved in professional development to support the implementation of our Personalized Learning 1:1 computing grant. The district will take advantage of three one hour delayed start days to support this work. Those days are: October 1, February 11, and March 4.

Meet Our New Staff Members The Ross Local School District is pleased to welcome the following new persons to our district: Brenna Bird – Psychologist Emma Bowers – Elda Spec. Education Aide Katrina Broering – Elda Kindergarten Gail Burns – Bus Driver Amanda Carrel – Elda Fourth Grade Cindy Christopher – Elda Third Grade Elizabeth Drumm – RMS and Morgan Counselor Anna Fox – Morgan Preschool Aide Cara Greco – RHS Science Eric Greiser – Elda Physical Education Brian Gunter – RMS Language Arts Kim Hindery – Morgan Second Grade Rebecca Jackson – Elda Spec. Education Aide Steven Jordon – RHS Custodian Cathy Kilian – Elda Title I Jesse Kohls – Elda Principal Ashley Kunkel – Morgan Spec. Education Aide Lindsey Landers – RHS Mathematics Lisa Lapp-Draginoff – Elda Title I Chris Luehrmann – RMS Fifth Grade Angela Meissner – Elda Spec. Education Aide Beth Olthoff – Curriculum Instructional Specialist Elizabeth Pietch – Morgan Intervention Specialist Amy Rack – Bus Driver Melissa Scalia – Treasurer’s Assistant Mike Schwab – RMS Custodian Tracy Shields – Elda Spec. Education Aide Ashley Shouse – Elda Second Grade Jordan Siebeneller – RHS Mathematics Sherri Smith – RMS Food Service Stefanie Snider – RHS Student Services Secretary Steve VonBargen – RHS Head Custodian Amanda Vowell – RMS Spec. Education Aide Angela Warren – RHS Counselor Annette Wolf – Bus Driver Carrie Wright – Elda Food Service Jing Xiao – RHS Chinese

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“Kids Are Our Business”

For Your Information Ross Local School District 3371 Hamilton Cleves Road Hamilton, Ohio 45013 863-1253 Greg Young, Superintendent Cathy McMonigle, Treasurer Kathy DiBlasi, Curriculum Director Ray Lyttle, Student Services Director Deb Christophel, Food Services Director Ron Mandery, Transportation Director

ext. 2901 ext. 2904 ext. 2902 ext. 2908 ext. 1531 738-2900

Ross High School 3601 Hamilton Cleves Road 863-1252 Brian Martin, Principal, ext. 1515 Amy Webb, Assistant Principal, ext. 1513 Ross Middle School 3425 Hamilton Cleves Road 863-1251 Chris Saylor, Principal, ext. 2151 Tony Albrinck, Assistant Principal, ext. 2152 Elda Elementary 738-1972 Jesse Kohls, Principal

3980 Hamilton Cleves Road

Morgan Elementary 738-1986 Tom Perry, Principal

3427 Chapel Road

Board of Education Steve Stitsinger, President David Brown, Vice-President Edward Bosse Glenda Holt John McCandless

867-8456 738-3426 738-2315 868-7094 738-2522

ROSS REFLECTIONS

NON PROFIT ORG US POSTAGE

PAID

CINCINNATI, OHIO PERMIT #1736

Ross Local School District 3371 Hamilton Cleves Road Hamilton, Ohio 45013

COMMUNITY OPEN HOUSE Morgan Elementary School Sunday, October 19, 2014 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Come and see the additions and renovations to this school. All community members are welcome.