Superintendent Chad Hilliker charts new initiatives for the Loveland City School District at annual State of Schools presentation
Loveland, Ohio – It was an evening to celebrate success and develop strategy that will maintain the Loveland City School District’s mission to Prepare Students for Tomorrow, Today. The January 21 State of Schools Presentation was both a tribute to student achievement and plan for future development: “Destination Loveland”.
“The members of our Tiger Family came to the Loveland City School District for a reason – because it is a destination school district – sought out because we offer excellent academics, outstanding arts and premier athletics,” said Loveland Superintendent Chad Hilliker. “This administration, and honestly, this community is tasked with not just maintaining the programs that make Loveland a destination for families, but also significantly advancing each program we offer.”
Hilliker highlighted success stories from the 2015-16 school year, including:
Tiger One-to-World – creating a one-to-one, lease-to-own Chromebook program at Loveland High School (LHS); Project Lead the Way and Gateway Programs – expanding Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) opportunities at LHS and Loveland Middle School (LMS); and, LHS AP course expansion.
“We could not have implemented these academic programs without the support of our Tiger community – specifically when the voters in the Loveland City School District passed a 5.6 mill operating levy in May of 2014,” said Loveland Treasurer and CFO Brett Griffith. “We made a promise that we would not be back on the ballot for four years, and our financial forecasts show that our promise will be maintained. In addition, the bond millage has been reduced from 3.34 mills down to 1.75 mills (effective calendar year 2015). This means our taxpayers will see a reduction of approximately $48 per $100,000 of appraised real estate due to the retirement of district bonds.”
“The task before us is to make the best investments today for the future of our students tomorrow,” said Hilliker. “That is what Destination Loveland is really all about.”
Hilliker unveiled the top three Destination Loveland priorities, to include: a comprehensive early childhood experience – increasing investment in the district’s preschool program, and looking at offering full-day kindergarten; an athletic facilities master plan – examining the current district athletic facility needs with the goal to make Loveland the premier program in Southwest Ohio; and, expanding the Tiger One-to-World program to include LMS (grades seven-12) for the 2016-17 school year.
“We will see a substantial return on investment by creating a more robust early childhood experience for the district,” said Hilliker. “We want to take a comprehensive look at the needs for all of our athletic facilities, and we had overwhelming success with the Tiger One-to-World initiative. This plan will simply expand those efforts to put a device in the hands of each of our students.”
Hilliker said the Athletic Facilities Master Plan will be in addition to the district building new tennis courts, and bids are already coming in for that project. The district will release complete details and a timeline in the coming days. In addition, and as part of “Destination Loveland”, Hilliker plans an 18-month process to engage the community in a conversation about Loveland’s future.
“We are going to examine the needs of our district facilities and determine what expansions must be made to further not only our athletic program, but also our academics and arts,” said Hilliker. “In addition, I plan to re-establish a Business Advisory Council, and form a Student Advisory Group along with a Parent and Staff Advisory Group.”
District-produced State of Schools summary video
