LOVELAND MAGAZINE

News and Events from the Loveland, Ohio Area

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Since 2004

Tag: Superintendent Dr. Amy Crouse

  • School Board accepts resignation of Superintendent

    School Board accepts resignation of Superintendent

    Loveland, Ohio – In a unanimous vote this afternoon, the Loveland School Board accepted the resignation of Superintendent Dr. Amy Crouse.

    There was no explanation offered in Crouse’s resignation letter that was read by Board President Dr. Kathy Lorenz. During a brief discussion by the Board before they voted, there was also no explanation given for the resignation.

    The Superintendent will remain employed until February 9.

    Editor’s Note: This story has been corrected to reflect the exact date of Crouse’s last day of employment.

  • Loveland Board of Education votes to cancel Grailville purchase

    Loveland Board of Education votes to cancel Grailville purchase

    Loveland, Ohio – At its January 21 business meeting, the Loveland City Schools Board of Education voted to cancel the contract with the Grail, an Ohio nonprofit, for the option to purchase 110 acres of Grailville – a property located on O’Bannonville Road east of downtown Loveland.

    “With the overwhelming results of the November 2019 levy, the board has placed the facility master plan on hold until we can reengage the community in alternative solutions to our building issues,” said Board President Dr. Kathryn Lorenz in a statement issued by the District. “We have listened to our community and heard that it is not ready to bear the investment in the facilities plan as presented, and therefore purchase of any land without a definitive approved building plan would dilute funds

    that will now be needed for additional years of maintenance to current facilities, and would be inadvisable in light of this changed financial need. For these reasons we don’t see the feasibility of moving forward with the purchase of land now.”

    The board also approved resolutions related to the $2.7 million in expense reductions that are presented alongside the 6.95-mill operating levy request on the March 17 ballot. In addition to eliminating expenditures in the five-year forecast related to the planned expansion of programs and services; reducing consultants, contracted services and department budgets; and increasing fees; the district is eliminating staff positions.

    A combination of 13-14 teaching, non-teaching, and administrative positions, and two future forecasted teaching positions are being eliminated. The positions being eliminated are determined first and the Reduction in Force process is then conducted per Ohio Revised Code (ORC) and Master Agreement timelines for notice and board action. Employees are released at the end of the 2019-20 school year with consideration to certification, contract, and seniority.

    Superintendent Dr. Amy Crouse said in a press release, “We have focused on reducing and eliminating non-employee costs, but because the largest portion of our budget goes toward paying salaries and benefits, we had to make decisions regarding the elimination of positions.”

  • Board of Ed cancels contract with Allerton Hill Consulting and enrolls in Ohio Open Checkbook

    Board of Ed cancels contract with Allerton Hill Consulting and enrolls in Ohio Open Checkbook

    Loveland, Ohio – On November 26 the Loveland Board of Education unanimously passed two motions in response to subjects that had been requested by voters who questioned the need for the operating and bond levy that the Board had placed on the November 5 ballot. The ballot issue was defeated by a 78-22% margin.

    The Board first voted to cancel the contract with Allerton Hill Consulting, the Columbus and Washington D.C. based consulting company the District hired to help with “messaging”. The contract was set to expire at the end of March, and Superintendent Amy Crouse said it would take 30 days to end the contract so it will end at the end of December. Crouse said the consultant has been working with the District for the last two years and were hired to help the District as they undertook big projects and to help support the Communications Director. She said Allerton Hill Consulting, increased social media presence, helped reduce costs in some mailings, and provided “structural support”.

    Before voting, Board member Ned Portune said, “It goes without saying I’ve not been satisfied with what we have gotten out of the Allerton Hill and I agree with the void of that contract.”

    Responding to Portune’s comment, Board member Eileen Washburn said, “I think that sums it up.”

    The second action was also a unanimous vote to participate in Ohio Open Checkbook. This will allow the public easier access to District spending.

    Treasurer Kevin Hawley said he hopes to get the most recent 12 months of data on-line in two weeks and then each month another year would be added. The Board discussed a target goal of having five years’ worth of data on the site by the end of 2019. The motion that passed said the District would participate in Open Checkbook and the Treasurer’s office will enter one-year’s worth of data within the next 2 weeks.

    Below is OPENGOV’s video demonstration of how Ohio Open Checkbook should work for District residents. The City of Loveland uses Open Checkbook and you can check it out HERE.

    Users can search by a specific department, date, vendor, or use the Google-style search bar, which will return any value in the report that matches the entered text. Keywords may be searched by simply clicking on the term – one of the most popular ways to explore the data.

    In this LOVELAND MAGAZINE TV video, you can hear the discussion on these two motions. (From the bottom of the screen are Treasurer Kevin Hawley – Board member Eileen Washburn – Board Vice President Dr. Kathryn Lorenz – Board President Art Jarvis – Board member Ned Portune  – Board member Michele Pettit – Superintendent Dr. Amy Crouse.)

    LOVELAND MAGAZINE TV IS SPONSORED BY MOVE2LOVELAND

  • The annual school report card released by the Ohio Department of Education

    The annual school report card released by the Ohio Department of Education

    Read Loveland’s Report Card HERE

    Loveland, Ohio – The Ohio Department of Education recently announced the release of the annual school report card to provide communities across the state a picture of the progress by schools in raising achievement and preparing students for the future. In terms of value-added progress – data measuring academic growth and students’ gain in learning over time – Loveland now ranks 22ndout of 608 public school districts in Ohio. Two years ago, the district was ranked 433.

    “This year’s report card shows an upward trend that we are extremely proud of,” said Superintendent Dr. Amy Crouse. “We’ve been laser-focused on the areas where we’ve had opportunities to improve. The commitment and hard work by our staff in developing and implementing improvement plans over the past several years have paid off in a big way and our students have benefitted.”

    For the second consecutive year, Ohio districts and schools received an overall letter grade, which is calculated using the result of six components: Achievement, Progress, Gap Closing, Improving At-Risk K-3 Readers, Graduation Rate and Prepared for Success. All Loveland schools, and the district as a whole, received an overall grade of either an “A” or a “B.” The performance index, a calculation that measures student performance specifically on state assessments in math and reading/English, improved from 99.5 to 101.1.

    “The state report card can help show general trends – moving from a D-F range to an A-B range indicates improvement, while the opposite scenario draws attention to areas a school district must work on,” said Dr. Crouse. “Let’s not forget, however, that the report card and the metrics behind it are quite convoluted, evidenced by the accompanying 32-page guide to understanding it. We need to keep in mind that the report card is only one measure of accountability and based mainly on standardized tests – it is just

    one snapshot of the very complex work we do. Our district is committed to continued high achievement and an exceptional educational experience for all our students, and that’s why the development of the Portrait of a Tiger is so important for our work going forward. In that regard, I believe there will always be room for improvement.”

    To supplement the information in the state report card, Loveland Schools recently issued its Quality Profile (QP) for the 2018-19 school year. It includes accountability measures that define high-quality education beyond those captured by the state report card to provide a more complete information of the value the schools provide to the students, staff and the community. According to the District, the QP is supported by the Alliance for High Quality Education, an education consortium that works to improve educational opportunities for students and that represents member districts on matters of educational policy and funding.

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  • Superintendent Dr. Amy Crouse congratulates the 2019 graduating Class of Loveland High School

    Superintendent Dr. Amy Crouse congratulates the 2019 graduating Class of Loveland High School

  • Loveland City School District presents facility master plan options to the community

    Loveland City School District presents facility master plan options to the community

    Recommendation to be delivered to the Board of Education this spring

    Loveland, Ohio – At the third “Building Tiger Nation” community meeting in January, the Loveland City School District presented seven facility master plan options and accompanying concept budget estimates, which were developed by architects following assessments of the school buildings in 2018.

    “Each option presented represents a combination of repairs and renovations to existing buildings and the creation of new facilities,” said Superintendent Dr. Amy Crouse. “It is clear that we don’t have any zero-cost options going forward. Simply maintaining our current facilities will require substantial funding in the years to come. And if we do nothing, our students’ educational needs will continue to be compromised by the ineffectiveness of our school buildings.”

    “I will meet with district staff members to hear their comments and we’ll set up an online system for feedback on the Building Tiger Nation website so that we can continue to gather community opinion as we narrow down the options,” said Dr. Crouse. “Focus groups will dive deeper into certain aspects, like renovations and the potential addition of a fine arts center and an athletic complex. The community’s involvement is invaluable in the master planning process, which is ultimately guided by the needs of our students and teachers.”

    The work of the “Building Tiger Nation” Finance Committee, launched in October 2018 as a forum for school finance education and discussion, will now shift gears to focus on analyzing the financing options available and developing a recommendation that will be presented to the Board of Education with the facility master plan this spring. All meetings of the Finance Committee are open to the public. For more information, visit www.buildingtigernation.org.

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    Follow this LINK to see all of the options in greater detail.