Board Meeting Recap for April 2026
Forest Hills School District is utilizing these articles as a way to communicate specific action taken at regular Board of Education meetings throughout the year. The Board of Education met on Wednesday, April 15, 2026 at Mercer Elementary School to discuss a variety of topics relevant to students, staff and the community.
The official agenda and related attachments for this meeting can be found on the FHSD BoardDocs page here. You can watch a full recording of the meeting on the district’s YouTube page here.
Special Recognitions
All nine schools in Forest Hills honored an outstanding volunteer who has gone above and beyond in service to their community. FHSD is grateful to have such an engaged and dedicated community to help improve the educational experience for students and provide unmatched opportunities in and out of the classroom. The following volunteers were recognized for countless hours and passion serving their school:
- Kimberly Baumgartner, Anderson High School
- Aimee Heis, Turpin High School
- Debbie Lemon, Nagel Middle School
- Kim Uctman, Ayer Elementary
- Neelam Haynes, Maddux Elementary
- Caroline Keith, Mercer Elementary
- Courtney Presar, Sherwood Elementary
- Tracy Smith, Summit Elementary
- Mana Hale, Wilson Elementary
The Board of Education recognized running clubs that are currently underway at all six elementary schools. Students shared stories about why running club is important to them and talked about all the different reasons why they love being part of their club. They also recognized the coaches who support the program and expressed excitement about the upcoming FH5K.
The Forest Hills Foundation for Education highlighted the 2026 FH5K, which will take place on Saturday, May 9. The theme for this year’s event is “Small Steps. Big Impact.” The annual pre-party is being hosted by Wandering Monsters on Thursday, April 30 from 5-8 p.m., and it will include fun family-friendly activities and free raffles.
You can learn more about the FH5K and register to participate by visiting www.foresthills5k.com. You can find other ways to support FHFE by visiting their website www.fhfe.org.
Update on Superintendent Search
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Superintendent Update
Superintendent Larry Hook shared information about the school district’s plans to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, also referred to as America 250. There are extensive plans in place to bring history to life for students with meaningful lessons and amazing events, and activities will begin in the next few weeks and continue into next school year. These celebrations will include patriotic announcements, art contests, celebratory songs, classroom lessons and much more.
Mr. Hook also recognized successful seasons for winter sports teams across both high schools. And he discussed a recent event at Nagel Middle School where students decorated classroom doors in college themes to celebrate the NCAA men’s and women’s March Madness basketball tournaments. Students were tasked with researching a specific college or university and present facts and information about the school and its academic programs. FHFE sponsored prizes for students who were recognized with special awards.
Additionally, Superintendent Hook provided an update on a few key areas of the FHSD Strategic Plan:
- Strategy 1: Cultivate and sustain vibrant learning communities for students and staff, dedicated to fostering connections, ownership and continuous growth.
- Strategy 2: Help students become future-ready by integrating academic and real-world experiences, encouraging innovation and emphasizing how learning applies even beyond the classroom.
- Strategy 3: Build capacity to promote and nurture the social, physical, emotional, behavioral and intellectual well-being for adult and student learners in our community.
- Specific aspects of these strategies are informed by the School Connection Survey that is shared with students in grades 2-12 each fall and spring. This optional survey helps the district better understand different aspects of the student experience and collect feedback and information from our most important stakeholders: students.
Board Action
The Board of Education often reviews and votes on a variety of actions that impact different departments throughout the school district. For specific information about any of the following items, you can find the meeting agenda and attachments here.
The following items in the consent agenda were approved by the Board of Education.
Human Resources
- 10.1 Human Resources Report
- The report covers a variety of topics including retirements, resignations and appointments of different staff members. You can view the report here and find related attachments here.
Teaching and Learning
- 11.1 Overnight Field Trip Requests
- This item approves planned and possible overnight field trip requests which you can find here.
Treasurer Update
- 12.1 Treasurer’s Report
- Treasurer Alana Cropper presented the March report which provided information on the following items:
- General Fund Summary
- Donations
- Five-Year Forecast
- General Fund Revenue
- General Fund Expenditures
- General Operating Cash Balance
- Permanent Improvement Fund
- Investment Income Snapshot
- Past Month Reconciliation
- Permanent Appropriations
- Revenues and Expenditures Year-to-Date
- You can find the March Cash Position Report here.
- Treasurer Alana Cropper presented the March report which provided information on the following items:
This completes the meeting’s consent agenda.
Board Discussion
The Board of Education discussed a number of different topics during this portion of the April 15, 2026 meeting. You can click the following link to view the full discussion period, which begins at 1:35:03 during the meeting livestream.
Board members thanked the community for their participation in the superintendent search, acknowledging the large number of responses to the online survey and significant interest in community focus groups. They thanked community members for their input and effort to be engaged in this important process. The Board also reminded the public that all of the important information and updates on the search for the next superintendent can be found on a dedicated webpage here.
Information was shared about recent meetings between the Board of Education, Anderson Township Trustees and Anderson Park District Board of Commissioners. FHSD Board Members expressed their optimism about the collaborative partnership between these three entities and shared information about collective efforts to find ways to make important improvements across the township and school district. The three entities met recently to discuss potential future plans for the use of Anderson Park District property adjacent to Beech Acres Park and to collaborate on the Township’s efforts to review and update its 20-year comprehensive plan.
The Board notified community members that there will be a series of engagement and input meetings over the coming months to allow everyone a chance to share their perspective regarding the comprehensive plan.
Additional Board Action
The Board of Education discussed a lawsuit related to public comment procedures at regular meetings and the related FHSD policy. There was a more detailed discussion about specifics in the lawsuit, which dates back to July 2024, during the portion of the meeting that begins at 1:48:20 during the meeting livestream.
Board Member Nye provided a summary of the proposed settlement agreement and provided other details on the case. Board Vice President Simmons also shared that the Board’s legal counsel advised that continuing to challenge the lawsuit in court would result in significantly more expensive costs to the district than accepting the settlement agreement.
The Board unanimously approved the settlement agreement, and separately approved revisions to Board Policy 0169.1 - Public Participation at Board Meetings. Those changes had been presented for a first reading at the Regular Meeting on March 31, 2026 and have been available for public review since that time. The changes were also unanimously approved by the Board.
You can view the settlement agreement and release here. You can view the revised policy here.
Approved Minutes
The Board of Education approved minutes for the following meetings, which you can view by clicking the link associated with each meeting. After clicking the appropriate link, you will need to then click “View Minutes” under Agenda Item Details, next to the category titled “Minutes.”
- Regular Meeting - March 3, 2026
- Human Resources Committee Meeting - March 4, 2026
- Regular Meeting - March 18, 2026
- Special Meeting - March 24, 2026
- Regular Meeting - March 31, 2026
- Special Meeting - April 1, 2026
