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Westerville City School District board meeting, Sep 14, 2026

1 h 40 min · 2 public speakers

Safety, weapons and police ▶ 45:30

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 1 h 40 min.

  1. Who spoke · first speaks at
  2. Kristina MeyerBoard President
What happened

What happened at this meeting

Superintendent reports 38 bus driver applications recommended for further employment consideration 9:31

  • The superintendent also said the district should anticipate a notice on or around September 21st requiring it to state its intent to proceed with state facilities funding within 3 weeks, with about $25 million in credits already banked. 14:21
  • Staff presented updates from several administrative committees and first readings of policies tied to new state laws. 25:45

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Item by item (14)
  1. Opening of the meeting 0:01
    • Kristina Meyer opened the meeting and asked for the roll to be called. 0:01
    • Kristina Meyer then asked those present to join in the Pledge of Allegiance. 0:44
  2. Summer graduation recognition 0:44
    • A staff member welcomed those present to the district's Summer 2026 graduation ceremony for students who recently completed graduation requirements. 1:24
    • The superintendent conferred high school diplomas on graduates of Westerville Central High School and Westerville South High School. 2:12
    • Administrators from Westerville Central and Westerville South congratulated the graduates from their buildings. 3:18
  3. Superintendent's transportation and facilities update 8:17
    • The superintendent said 38 bus driver applications had been recommended for further consideration, including 4 from current school bus drivers elsewhere, and that training takes about 6 to 8 weeks once an applicant has a learner's permit. 9:31
    • The superintendent said Community Bus Services began providing 3 substitute drivers that day after 5 had been anticipated, and that the district hoped to be close to full staffing within a couple months. 10:19
    • The superintendent said the district has about $25 million in banked credits with the Ohio Facilities Commission, anticipates a July of 2027 commission approval and would then have 18 months to pass its local share; a staff member added that tax-exempt bonds require 85% of expenses to be spent within a 5-year period. 10:19
  4. Staff wellness plan 21:44
    • A staff member said the employee wellness program is funded by a credit of administrative fees from Anthem, run through the district self-insurance fund rather than the general fund. 22:05
    • The staff member said more than 15% of staff took part in last fall's wellness challenge, compared with typical participation of around 6 to 8% in nearby districts, and that biometric screenings would be offered all day this year. 22:05
    • Asked about the participation rate, the staff member credited a weekly email sent every Wednesday. 24:26
  5. Administrative committee updates 25:21
    • A presenter said the Academic Engagement Committee, about half parents, held its first meeting June 3rd, plans to meet quarterly and will discuss topics including multi-tiered systems of support, secondary pathways and technology in education. 26:24
    • A staff member said the Facilities Committee is meeting monthly, has toured school buildings and will focus on the facility master plan and the state Classroom Facility Assistance Program; a community member serving on the Finance and Legislative committees said the state share of per-student funding fell from 43% in 2021 to 11.5%. 31:29
    • A staff member said the Safety Committee will conduct a safety vulnerability assessment at all school buildings, and another staff member said administrative committees can include up to 2 board members. 46:36
  6. Executive session 49:57
    • Kristina Meyer asked for a motion to enter executive session to consider employment and compensation of public employees, and a roll-call vote was taken. 49:57
  7. Public comment 50:50
    • Kristina Meyer read the board's procedures for public participation, including a 3-minute limit per speaker. 50:50
    • A speaker at public comment asked the board to consider requiring people whose driver training the district pays for to sign a contract to stay 1 year or repay the training cost. 52:09
    • Another speaker at public comment raised the drop-off situation at South and route sheets in the transportation department, and said drivers had seen the current problems coming since the beginning of last year. 53:48
  8. Approval of minutes 57:05
    • Kristina Meyer asked for a motion to approve the minutes of the Aug. 25, 2026, special session, and a roll-call vote was taken. 57:05
  9. August financial report 57:36
    • A district staff member reported general fund year-to-date receipts of $71.9 million, year-to-date expenditures of $34.6 million and an unencumbered general fund balance in August of $135.4 million. 57:51
    • A district staff member reported an unencumbered fund balance for all funds of $218 million. 57:51
  10. Employee insurance rates for 2027 58:56
    • A district staff member said medical rates would increase 5.3% after a nearly 14% increase last year, and that projections point to larger increases in the future. 1:00:01
    • A district staff member said dental rates would increase 2.8%, vision rates would stay at the current rate, and the rates would take effect January 1, 2027. 1:00:01
  11. Activity budgets and purchase orders 1:02:27
    • A staff member said the activity budgets were late additions and recommended the board's approval. 1:02:47
    • A staff member said purchase orders dated after an invoice date of $3,000 or above require board approval and that 3 were on the agenda. 1:03:43
  12. Personnel consent agenda 1:05:10
    • A staff member reported 14 classified resignations, 9 new classified employees and 7 substitutes, 6 of them in the transportation department. 1:05:30
    • A staff member said the board was asked to approve an MOU for substitute coverage in the facilities department and noted 1 classified and 2 licensed retirements. 1:06:47
  13. Policy first readings on medications, board vacancies and records 1:09:48
    • A staff member said revisions to Policy 5330 reflect a new House bill allowing students prescribed the medication to carry an auto-injector, a nasal spray or both. 1:10:19
    • A staff member said House Bill 455 changes the deadline to fill a board vacancy to 45 days and adds language for members who are active or reserve members of the Armed Forces of the United States or the Ohio National Guard and are deployed outside the district. 1:12:36
    • A staff member said changes to the public records policy would limit the number of records sent by U.S. mail to 10 per month unless the requester certifies the records will not be used for commercial purposes. 1:14:40
  14. Policy first readings on athletics and extracurriculars 1:16:12
    • A staff member said Policy 2431 reflects guidance from the Ohio High School Athletic Association, including a minimum GPA of 1.75 for athletes. 1:16:26
    • A staff member said a new policy on extracurricular participation, prompted by Senate Bill 276, would let a student enrolled in a neighboring school that does not offer an activity petition to participate in it; one board member said it made sense for the petition to be annual. 1:17:20
    • A staff member said a new youth membership organization access policy, prompted by Senate Bill 19, requires opportunities for qualified youth membership organizations at least once annually for up to 10 minutes, with parents notified in advance and able to opt their students out. 1:25:46

Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.

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Video: posted by the district as “September 14, 2026 Board of Education Meeting”