Groveport Madison Local School District board meeting, date not confirmed yet
4 h 33 min
This board doesn’t post agenda times. Click a board member to jump to where they first speak; we list only members whose voice our check named. Video length 4 h 33 min.
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What happened
What happened at this meeting
Board postpones motion to end new legal business with Kegler Brown 2:03:02
- The board approved an OSBA board workshop contract 3-2. 1:44:29
- The board passed an amended motion directing the superintendent to solicit formal legal representation proposals from firms driving the federal social media litigation. 2:00:44
- The board took up a motion to discontinue new legal business with Kegler Brown and voted to postpone it to the first regular meeting in January. 2:03:02
- District staff presented state report card results, including a 3.5-star overall rating for the district. 2:41:11
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Item by item (15)
- Opening and agenda changes 10:41
- Board member comments 16:01
- A speaker said OSBA and COSBA were pushing Congress to fund IDEA at the 40% promised in 1975 and said the district was barely receiving 11%. 16:06
- A speaker said the Legion donated flags so every classroom has one, which led to a Constitution Day ceremony at the high school. 22:05
- Ashley Zimmer announced a free Dunlow Elementary PTA fall festival on the 22nd from 5 to 7. 24:00
- Public participation 25:10
- A speaker at public comment raised concerns about playground conditions at Sedalia Elementary, including rusted metal and melted plastic on slides, and asked for an adaptive swing. 26:23
- The speaker also described holes in siding and gaps in flashing on modular buildings and asked for a documented district-wide inspection with a corrective action timeline. 27:38
- Meeting minutes and consent agenda 30:27
- A speaker said motions in the minutes were out of order and asked for a motion to postpone approval. 30:56
- The motion read for a vote was to postpone the minutes for the September 1st 2026 meeting to the November 10th board agenda. 33:51
- The board then held a roll call on the consent agenda recommended by the superintendent. 34:39
- Legislative platform and November meeting date 35:08
- A speaker said OSBA had provided 9 proposed amendments to its legislative platform and asked members to review them ahead of a virtual briefing on Tuesday, October 27th. 35:08
- A staff member said the published schedule showed the November meeting on November 3rd, not the 10th. 38:19
- Ashley Zimmer moved to add the November 10th meeting back to the calendar and remove the November 3rd meeting. 41:15
- Superintendent and treasurer evaluations 42:03
- LaToya Dowdell-Burger asked where two of the proposed evaluation documents came from, saying the source was not clear. 42:51
- One board member recommended leaving the evaluations as is and scheduling a meeting to have the information presented. 58:33
- Motions were made to add Monday, December 14th for the superintendent and treasurer evaluations and to keep the same form for both evaluations. 1:11:43
- Board workshop contract 1:14:29
- A speaker said the OSBA proposal was for $1,000 plus potential additional expenses, did not list goal setting, and had not been voted on by the board. 1:14:29
- Dionna Herbert said it was understood at the last meeting that members agreed to proceed with a workshop on October 13th. 1:18:10
- One board member abstained, saying it was not clear how to vote on a motion for something that had already happened. 1:43:42
- The motion passed 3-2. 1:44:29
- Social media litigation proposals 1:44:29
- The superintendent said legal advice indicated the district would have to prove its costs tied to social media and that any payment was not a guarantee. 1:45:34
- John Kershner said the directive was to request and evaluate proposals, not to hire a law firm or decide on legal action. 1:47:09
- Ashley Zimmer said some firms would take the case without upfront cost to the district. 1:55:53
- The amended motion, which struck six words and added other firms deemed appropriate, passed. 2:02:31
- Kegler Brown legal services motion 2:03:02
- A speaker said the motion was a basic step to reduce legal fees, which the speaker said had increased after the firm was hired. 2:13:03
- A staff member said district legal fees are over a million and should probably be in the $250,000 range. 2:33:45
- Ashley Zimmer moved to postpone the motion to the first January meeting following the organizational meeting. 2:36:18
- The motion to postpone passed, moving the item to the first regular meeting in January. 2:38:33
- State report card presentation 2:38:33
- A staff member said the district held a 3.5-star overall rating and that its achievement component was at 2 stars. 2:41:11
- The staff member said the early literacy rating dropped from 2 stars to 1 star, partly because of a change in the promotion calculation. 2:43:51
- Dionna Herbert asked how the district communicates with families about early literacy, and a staff member said staff would follow up with families who received emails. 2:56:31
- Special education contracts 3:29:04
- One board member asked that future contracts be separated into staff services and student placement and noted that one form was blank. 3:29:26
- Modular classrooms 3:33:22
- A district administrator said modular classrooms providing about 12 classrooms were available from another Central Ohio district at no cost other than moving and setup. 3:33:22
- LaToya Dowdell-Burger moved to authorize the superintendent to move forward with procuring the modulars, with a cost proposal to come back to the board later. 3:37:54
- Field trips, transportation and server upgrade 3:40:32
- The board held a roll call vote on a recommendation to approve three field trips. 3:40:32
- A staff member said the server replacement quote rose from an original $185,000 by $11,000, with the reseller absorbing $5,000. 3:49:03
- Asked about the funding source, a staff member said it was a capital equipment budget for permanent improvements, not the general fund. 3:50:06
- Facilities and attendance boundaries 3:54:17
- A district administrator showed maps of where students live and attend school and said decisions on boundaries, facilities and transportation probably need to be done by December. 3:57:14
- One board member said a main concern was keeping a good mixture of children at all schools. 4:04:34
- The motion authorized the superintendent to start a facilities committee, approved the plan shared at the meeting, and had board members observe and rotate through three work groups. 4:20:10
- A speaker stated the result as 3 to 1 abstain. 4:21:32
- Treasurer's report and closing comments 4:21:50
- A staff member reported revenues of $4.6 million and expenses of about $8.9 million and said House Bill 186 cut about $4.5 million per year. 4:21:53
- Ashley Zimmer reminded members to explain why they abstain. 4:25:40
- LaToya Dowdell-Burger asked whether any legal matters from Western Herd had been shared with board officers but not the full board. 4:25:55
Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.
What was said
What board members said, in order
You know, if our goal is to balance the budget and we simply say balance the budget and we don't address any particular way that we want the balance the budget balance, that creates such a vague goal.John Kershner · Board member55:45
Other meetings
Other meetings of this board
Video: posted by the district as “October 6, 2026 - Regular Meeting”