By Laura Olson, Ohio Capital Journal
Could this happen in Ohio?
In October 2019, officials at a tiny western New Hampshire school district suddenly realized they had a problem on their hands.
The Sunapee School District’s servers, documents and other internal information systems had been locked down by an outside entity demanding a ransom payment.
A cyberattack, like the Colonial Pipeline one that spurred days of shuttered gas stations this spring, had seized the small, 430-student school district, which has just one full-time IT staffer and a part-time technician.
System backups meant the school district eventually was able to resume its operations without paying ransom to the attackers. But the recovery took nine days and cost more than $40,000 in fees, materials and hardware, according to Russell Holden, the district’s superintendent. More…
By FARNOUSH AMIRI Report for America/Associated Press
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — After a year of learning upended by the pandemic, Ohio students would have extra time to take state-mandated tests under an emergency measure passed unanimously Wednesday by the Ohio House.
The GOP-controlled Senate approved some final changes to the school measure before sending it back to the House where it passed in a rare 92-to-0 vote days before the testing windows begin.
“I support any flexibility we can give to schools as we continue to address the pandemic’s impact on the students and families they serve,” Democratic Sen. Teresa Fedor said in a statement after the bill’s passage. More…
By Susan Tebben, Ohio Capital Journal
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released COVID-19 mitigation strategies for schools in the 2020-2021 school year, and estimated costs schools would have to pay.
The CDC acknowledged that the risk of hospitalizations or deaths from COVID-19 among children is lower than for adults, but said the risk “posed to teachers and other staff members in the school environment is expected to mirror that of other adults with similar demographic characteristics in the community,” according to a recent CDC report.
The CDC wrote that districts should determine the risk of in-person schooling based on the use of strategies such as “consistent and correct” use of masks, social distancing, hygiene, cleaning and disinfection and contact tracing in partnership with local health departments. More…
On November 18, the Mid-Ohio Educational Service Center Board of Governors met for their monthly meeting.
Members heard a facilities update from Steve Earnest, Mid-Ohio ESC’s Executive Director, among other business items. The presentation given by Earnest centered on updates to the Mid-Ohio Conference Center, Print Shop, and the Mid-Ohio ESC facilities. Possible future usages of the facility along with recommended upgrades were a focus of the presentation and discussion. Among the topics discussed were: More…
By Susan Tebben, Ohio Capital Journal
Running parallel to a House Bill in the works for years, Ohio state senators have introduced a similar proposal to equalize the public school budget formula and set up the next General Assembly with a “blueprint” for a funding overhaul.
In a virtual press conference on Friday, state Sen. Peggy Lehner, R-Kettering, and Sen. Vernon Sykes, D-Columbus, laid out Senate Bill 376, which echoes the House bill’s priorities, especially stopping an overreliance on property values to determine school district funding.
Lehner called the current funding formula “unpredictable, indecipherable and confusing,” along with “long overdue for an overhaul.” More…
By 1812Blockhouse
When updated numbers were released by the State of Ohio on Thursday, it was revealed that Ohio schools have again experienced the largest weekly increase in cases of COVID-19 to date.
The state has 1.232 new student and staff cases, which in turn means that there have been over 5,000 cases during the 2020-2021 school year.
The report reflects both new and also cumulative cases reported to schools by parents/guardians and staff. Schools are then required to report those cases to their assigned local health department which, in turns, reports the same to the Ohio Department of Health. More…
By 1812Blockhouse
This past Thursday, the Ohio Department of Health reported that 596 new cases of COVID-19 were found in Ohio schools since the last update on October 1.
Those new numbers include those from three Richland County school districts.
Across Ohio, Olentangy Local Schools in Delaware County has had the highest number of cumulative cases — 62, including 49 students and 13 staff. Across the state there have been 1,870 cumulative cases in school settings. More…
By: Jess Hardin, Mahoning Matters
Ohio students will not go back to school this academic year and will continue to learn remotely, Gov. Mike DeWine announced during today’s coronavirus briefing.
The decision was made to continue to mitigate the risk of the coronavirus pandemic.
“We have flattened the curve, but it remains dangerous. The situation is fluid. We now have eight or nine days of fairly straight line in terms of hospitalizations,” said DeWine. More…
On Thursday, the Ohio Department of Education gave Ohio school districts their annual performance assessments.
The Ohio Department of Education’s 2019 School Report Cards are designed to give parents, communities, educators and policymakers information about the performance of districts and schools – to celebrate success and identify areas for improvement. This information identifies schools to receive intensive supports, drives local conversations on continuous improvement, and provides transparent reporting on the performance of students in foundational skills and knowledge and other important outcomes such as graduation and college and career readiness. The goal is to ensure equitable outcomes and high expectations for all of Ohio’s students. More…
The Mid-Ohio School has begun its 27th season of operation. The entire 2019 schedule is available at midohioschool.com, and customers can register online or by calling 419-884-4000.
The Mid-Ohio School offers professional driving and riding instruction to drivers and motorcyclists of wide-ranging skill, from teaching teenage drivers life-saving defensive driving techniques to giving professional racers tips for an extra edge in competition at speed on track. More…
When Ohio Governor John Kasich released his proposed 2017-2018 budget proposal, it included changes to monies for schools that would, if enacted, reduce funding by 2019 for some 55% of the districts in Ohio.
In Richland County, however, the majority of school districts would see some increase. This is according to numbers released this week by the Ohio Office of Budget and Management. More…
