It’s a brand new school year!  Upper Arlington Schools start on Tuesday August 16th.

Remember to drive 20 mph in a school zone!

Paul Imhoff, current Superintendent, is retiring as in January of 2023.  Retirement

The School Board has created a page on their Website about the Search for a new Superintendent.  Search

In addition to the search for a School Superintendent, the Board has completed the first portion of the Listen Learn Lead initiative.  To see the Report and other information go to their website:  Listen Learn Lead

The 6.9 mill Levy will be on the November ballot.  Click here for Board details:  2022 School Levy

In the May School Board meeting they voted on asking for a 6.9 mill Levy this November.  Click on the Youtube link below to watch the discussion.  It starts at the 2:07:00 minute.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TF-Nti-q6U

The estimated annual increase in Property Taxes for a 6.9 mill Levy will be about $241.50 per $100,000 in house value.  That is about $966.00 a year for a $400,000 house.

BATHROOM UPDATE:   The UA School District won their case on Appeal.  The Appeals Court found that the Windermere family did not have standing, so the case was sent back to the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas and Judge Sheryl Munson.  Instead of ruling on the variance, Judge Munson remanded the case back to the Ohio Board of Building Appeals (OBBA) to vote for the Variance.  (The Ohio Board of Building of Appeals originally rejected the Variance requested by the UA schools back in June 2020.)

There was an OBBA hearing on April 26, 2022, and one of the Board members read a scathing statement about the UA School District and the City of UA Building Department.  You can watch the hearing at this link:

April 26th Hearing – Upper Arlington Bathroom Case

Paul Beegan, the Registered Architect on the OBBA Board, describes many points where he feels the Board and the Courts were misled by the UA School District.  In addition, he states that he will resign before he votes yes on the Variance.  After discussion, the OBBA Board continues the motion and tells the UA School District attorney to go back to Judge Munson and ask her to grant the variance.  Beegan is filing a complaint with  the Ohio School Board Association against the UA Board of Education, and he is filing a complaint against the UA City Building Department with the Ohio Board of Building Standards.  According to Beegan, the City of Upper Arlington did not have the power to use the court ruling on Windermere and apply it to the other elementary schools.

Click here to view some of the quotes from the Hearing:  OBBA Quotes

The  School Board meetings for the rest of 2022:

August 9th at 6 pm

September 13th at 6 pm

October 11th at 6 pm

November 15th at 6 pm

December 13th at 6 pm

Meetings are held at the Municipal Center in City Council Chambers.

The School Board had a special meeting to discuss finances as the Board prepares to determine the levy millage.  The levy will be discussed at the April 12th Board meeting at 6 pm.

Here is the link to the March 28th Board meeting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHrIvcEDSuc&t=3375s

In the last post, a link was inserted so you could hear their stories.  They told the truth about what they were encountering in the new high school.  10tv chose to remove the story completely from their website.  Why?

Who in the District has the power to remove a news story?  That is a question that needs to be asked of Channel 10 as well as the School district.

UAEC does have a print of the interview and you can read it here:

10tv Story

If you have a high school student, ask them what is happening.  Ask the District leaders and School Board why they are hiding information.

A Senior at UA attended the October School Board meeting to share details about what is happening at the new high school.  It took courage because this student is being disparaged on social media.  You can hear her comments at minute   1:52:36.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4fmPXQk7CY&t=6731s

ABC 6 did a story about it, and the School District stated only one student had complained about the bathroom situation.

https://abc6onyourside.com/news/local/upper-arlington-senior-speaks-out-about-high-schools-gender-neutral-bathrooms

From 2014-2021, while the UA Schools Administrative Team expanded and overhead soared, the learning of UA students decreased dramatically. Our Superintendent and School Board put the emphasis on administrators.

In 2013, Upper Arlington had one Associate Superintendent.  Now there are 3 positions at that level.  The DEI Executive Director reports directly to the Superintendent and is on the same level as the Assoc. Superintendents on the Organizational Chart.  In addition, Administrative Assistants have been hired for each of those positions. At the same time, rankings have plummeted.

Click here or on the  “Fiscal Responsibility” Tab above for more information.

Masks are required from in all grades.

There are Mask Exemptions.  If your family wants to apply for a Mask Exemption, please click on the link for directions and the reasons for an exemption:   Mask Exemption Form

Any questions?  Read the District’s COVID-19 Information page: Covid Information

In 2019, Upper Arlington Schools were ranked 67th in the Ohio Performance Index.  UAEC has new spreadsheets comparing UA to other Districts around the State.  Click on the page Rankings by State of Ohio under the UA Rankings tab above for detailed information.

Did you know the Gifted Program in UA is ranked  156th?  Gifted Ranking

Did you know that Wickliffe is ranked 1,771 (out of 3,316) in elementary schools in the state?  Windermere is 22nd.  Building Rankings

Compare Expenditures by District as it relates to rankings.

Check out other Top District Comparisons

The US News and World Report  has posted their high school rankings for Ohio.  UAHS had dropped to 36th.

Previous rankings from US News and World Report:   #14 – 2019   & #27 – 2020

To look at UA’s rankings from the State and other organizations, please check out the menu link above:  UA Rankings

As the rankings have plummeted, the Strategic Plan of the UA School District has moved from an Academic focus to a  Well-Being, Social and Emotional Learning and DEI.  Click here to see the 2015-2018 & 2019-2024 Strategic Plans and the UA Quality Profile Comparisons.

The State of Ohio Performance Index Ranking:  UA Schools dropped from  26 in 2015 to  65th – 2018.

Please support a CHOICE for the bathrooms!  Sign the Petition.

Petition for Choice

735 Signatures – Thank you!

For Kids. For Inclusion. For Common Sense.

Is the School District planning to sue the City again over the Bathrooms?

The City Building Dept. sent the School District a UA City Inspection Notice with the list of items to be corrected for all the new schools.  Each school must “Install signage to approved plans.”  The approved plans include Common Sense bathrooms where all children have a choice.  (See the letter “UA City Inspection Notice to Schools”  to the left under Restroom Court Cases for the details.)

The District responded through their Architect and have updated the Plans to make bathrooms in the Academic Wings ONLY Gender Neutral.  In this letter, the District is now using Title IX, a Federal Law to defend the change.  Read the letter here:  Architect Response Letter

Is the District going to now sue the City in Federal Court?  Check out this page School Board Suing City Again on the menu above  for more details. Or click this link:  Another lawsuit against the City?

The questions are:  Did the School Board discuss this in a Public meeting?  How much more money is the District planning to spend?

Check out our new Page on the menu above: AASA

Superintendent Imhoff is the current President-Elect 2020-21 of The School Superintendents Association (AASA).

There are articles and videos of Imhoff on their website, and these links are provided on the AASA page.

Please watch Leader to Leader: Promoting Equity and Inclusion to see how Imhoff describes Upper Arlington to a national audience.   His ten minute talk starts at minute 21:00. Is this an accurate portrayal of Upper Arlington?

These articles and videos give the Community a glimpse into the current leadership of the School District.

The UA School District decided to try and change the Ohio Building Code and install ONLY Gender Neutral Bathrooms in new and renovated schools.

In the menu above, click on the Restrooms Information tab for all the details.

As a group we advocate giving all of our children a CHOICE.  They should be able to choose a Gender Neutral Bathroom, a Boy Bathroom or a Girl Bathroom.  Adults should not be choosing where a child goes to the restroom!

We expect the School Board and the Superintendent to spend money on educating our children.  We expect transparency and integrity.

SIGN THE PETITION: Petition

For Kids. For Inclusion. For Common Sense.

The UAEC advocates for children to have the option to be in school 5 days a week. The District offers the Online Academy for those families needing their children to stay at home.

Did you know the UA School Board’s main argument in the Case was that the Ohio Constitution does not create a fundamental right to a basic minimum education?  A judge agreed.  The families are appealing the decision because they believe Ohio do have a fundamental right to an education.

To learn more about the Court Case, please click on this page: 5 Days a Week Court Case