Forest Hills needs money, but November ballots won't see a levy. Why? Community too divided

There will be no Forest Hills School District levy on the November ballot, despite the district's need for funds. 

There is a decrepit pool at Anderson High School. Federal relief funds will run out in September 2024. And almost any way you split the budget, treasurer Alana Cropper said, there will be cuts coming up.

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But during a special board meeting Wednesday evening, two board members who initially supported adding a levy to this year's ballot said they aren't confident voters would pass it.

Why? Weeks of controversy and division in the community, largely due to the cancelation of Diversity Day in May and last week's passage of an anti-critical race theory resolution entitled the "Resolution to Create a Culture of Kindness and Equal Opportunity for All Students and Staff."

"I think we would need to be more unified in order to pass something like this," board member Katie Stewart said during Wednesday's meeting.

She wanted the levy to be up this year, with a lower millage than subsequent years' options will allow, for her "own pocketbook's sake." But given the divisive cultural climate in Anderson Township these days, Stewart conceded, "this might need to wait until next year."

Board member Leslie Rasmussen said she wishes the levy could be on this year's ballot, too, but fears it not passing and "it is very difficult to pass one after one has failed."

"My pledge is simply that I will fight tooth and nail not to allow this to touch the classroom" or class sizes, Rasmussen said during Wednesday's meeting. Her comments were met with cheers from dozens of community members that attended, many touting "Protect Diversity in FHSD" signs.

Board president Linda Hausfield and members Sara Jonas and Bob Bibb did not comment on the levy during the meeting.

There was no vote for the levy and Cropper confirmed to The Enquirer there will be no levy on the November ballot.

On Wednesday the board also approved a four-year contract with Larry Hook, who will take over as superintendent next month with a $180,000 yearly salary. Outgoing superintendent Scot Prebles was making about $167,000 annually.

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How did we get here?

Parents, students and teachers in the district filed a lawsuit against the board over the "culture of kindness" resolution, claiming its contents are unconstitutional, hours before Wednesday's meeting.

Dozens showed up to the special meeting Wednesday, which had no public hearing scheduled, and stood outside holding signs in an effort to convince the board to repeal its resolution against anti-racism.

"Just admit you're racist #ProtectDiversity," one sign read.

Four of the five current board members were elected in November on anti-critical race theory platforms: Hausfeld, Jonas, Bibb and Stewart. Rasmussen is the lone veteran board member.

The district has made local and national news in the last several weeks after the board voted to ban Diversity Day, an annual and optional event that traditionally includes a series of activities, discussions, video clips and breakout sessions with guest speakers that focus on history, the criminal justice system and empathy, according to the event's permission slip.

"To me, I don't understand how this is the business of students, staff or leaders in this exercise," Jonas said during a May board meeting about the event. "How is this not political and indoctrination to the students?"

A recent graduate, Claire Mengel, then spoke in Washington, D.C. about the political divides in the community and the detrimental effects they have on student and staff mental health.

"Seven students have committed suicide since I started middle school. While administrators are doing everything they can to just keep us all alive, this anti-CRT (critical race theory)  rhetoric by the school board is causing immeasurable stress on our students and staff," Mengel said during the hearing hosted by Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Democrat and chairman of the Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.

Last week, Jonas added a resolution last-minute to the board's meeting agenda which passed 3-2, with Rasmussen and Stewart as the "no" votes. The resolution effectively stops teachers from giving assignments that nudge students to consider their race, socioeconomic class, religion, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or culture as derogatory. Teachings on critical race theory, anti-racism, identity and intersectionality are limited under the resolution's terms.

Critical race theory is a college-level legal theory but critics say it has influenced K-12 curriculum and policies around race, diversity and equity in Ohio's K-12 schools.

Following the approval of this resolution, one of the board's three superintendent candidates withdrew his name from the running.

"I have decided that my leadership style would not take Forest Hills in the direction it appears to be going," Edgewood City Schools' Russ Fussnecker wrote to district administrators.

Community backlash also followed in the form of protests, a petition with more than 2,100 signatures and, as of Wednesday, a lawsuit.