Lexington Bullying Report
Lexington Bullying Report
The Lexington Local School District takes bullying very seriously. The school district and each building within the school district will do everything possible to help any student who is the victim of bullying. Please use the definition below when determining if an incident is bullying and when reviewing the data regarding the reported incidents of bullying.
Definition of Bullying
Any intentional, persistent and repetitive written, verbal, graphic, electronically transmitted or physical act that student or group of students exhibits toward another student that causes both: a) mental or physical harm to the other student and b) is sufficiently severe that it creates an intimidating, threatening or abusive educational environment for the victim.
Based on the above definition of bullying, it has been reported to the Superintendent by the Building Principals the following incidents of bullying:
2023-2024
First Semester - August 23, 2023 - January 10, 2024, Preschool 0, Elementary 0, Junior High 0, High School 1. There were a total of 1 verified incident of bullying for the first semester of the 2023-2024 school year, grades PreK-12.
Second Semester - January 11, 2024 - May 29, 2024, Preschool 0, Elementary 0, Junior High 1, High School 2. There were a total of 3 verified incidents of bullying for the second semester of the 2023-2024 school year, grades PreK-12.
2022-2023
First Semester – August 21, 2022 – December 20, 2022, Elementary 0, Junior High 0, High School 3. There were a total of 3 verified incidents of bullying for the first semester of the 2022-2023 school year, grades K-12.
Second Semester – January 6, 2023 - May 28, 2023, Elementary 0, Junior High 4, High School 1. There were a total of 5 verified incidents of bullying for the second semester of the 2022-2023 school year, grades K-12.
There were a total of 2 verified incidents of bullying for the 2019-2020 school year, K-12.
2020-2021
First Semester – September 8, 2020 – December 22, 2020, Elementary 0, Junior High 0, High School 1. There were a total of 1 verified incidents of bullying for the first semester of the 2020-2021 school year, grades K-12.
Second Semester – January 4, 2021 - May 27, 2021, Elementary 0, Junior High 0, High School 0. There were 0 verified incidents of bullying for the second semester of the 2020-2021 school year, grades K-12.
There were a total of 1 verified incidents of bullying for the 2020-2021 school year, K-12.
2019-2020
First Semester – August 21, 2019 – December 20, 2019, Elementary 1, Junior High 0, High School 0. There were a total of 1 verified incidents of bullying for the first semester of the 2019-2020 school year, grades K-12.
Second Semester – January 6, 2020 - May 28, 2020, Elementary 0, Junior High 0, High School 1. There were a total of 1 verified incidents of bullying for the second semester of the 2019-2020 school year, grades K-12.
There were a total of 2 verified incidents of bullying for the 2019-2020 school year, K-12.
Investing in our Children
Some people think that you can lay off dozens of teachers and gut programs and maintain a quality school system like Lexington. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Our teachers are totally dedicated to giving Lexington young people an education that reflects our community’s values. I am saddened when I see attacks on TV and elsewhere directed at teachers. Yes, there are some districts where teachers may not be totally dedicated. Such is NOT the case here. Laying off large numbers of teachers will cut right at the heart of this community.
Every tax payer is entitled to ask whether we as a school district have done two things. First, are we spending your money wisely and, secondly, are you getting your money’s worth in the form of quality education? The answer to both those questions is an emphatic yes.
Reflecting the times we’re in, when resources are scarce, our Board of Education and administration have made the tough choices. Our school district has reduced expenses by more than $2 million over the past three years. Just last spring, we saved $1.5 million by cutting teachers, support staff, administrators, club/activity advisors and athletic coaches.
These were painful decisions affecting every child and every family in the district. But the reason we did it was because before turning to voters for a levy, we knew that we had to be able to look them in the eye and say, “This levy is critically important. There simply is no alternative.”
As I meet with residents to discuss the levy, people want assurance that we have trimmed every possible dollar from the budget. I remind them of the major cuts already made and, further, that the State of Ohio has not helped the situation by cutting $700 million from aid to local schools.
The Lexington School issue on the November 8, 2011 ballot is a 7.6 mill, five year emergency operating levy which will provide the school district $2.68 million over the next five years only to help maintain the excellent educational opportunities our children need and deserve --- no frills, no new programs. This emergency operating levy will cost us 230 dollars per year or 19 dollars per month for each 100,000 dollars of assessed property value.
Our school district receives 50% of its funding from the state of Ohio and 50% from local property taxes. The need for this new revenue is based on the state flat lining or reducing the dollars budgeted for public schools, including our school district over the past several years, coupled with the fact that Lexington Schools have not received money from a new operating levy since 1999.
Yet the Lexington Schools have been rated Excellent or Excellent with Distinction for 8 consecutive years and 9 of the past 10 years --- proof that
students, school personnel, parents and community members working together can make a significant, positive difference in the lives of young people.
We are often told that the schools have to “live within their means” and “do more with less” just like people do at home. Based on no new dollars from the state and no new property tax levy since 1999, we believe, and our audits confirm, that we have done just that. However, without new revenue, there is a real danger of reaching the point where additional reductions have a negative impact on the quality of the educational opportunities provided for our students.
If the levy request is not approved in November, our school district will be faced with eliminating 15 to 17 more teachers, 10-12 more support staff, implementing pay to participate, and class sizes will swell to 30 plus, all by January 1, 2012. In addition, the district will be forced to participate in open enrollment beginning with the next school year. None of that is healthy or conducive to providing our children with excellent educational opportunities. This is not intended as a threat to anyone, but necessary to provide you with the facts so you can make an informed decision.
Like you, I am proud of our school district. I believe our schools reflect the values of our community in that they provide a high quality education and a great value. The cost, however, is not free. We cannot afford to allow our school system to fall into decline and sacrifice what has taken decades for this community to build. Education is an investment in the future of our community, by investing in the students of our community. This investment has paid tremendous dividends in the past and will, with your continued support, continue to do so in the future.
Consider that twelve years without passing an operating levy is a long time and study the issue carefully before voting in the November 8th election.
Mike Ziegelhofer,
Superintendent
Lexington Local Schools District
ziegelhofer.mike @ lexington.k12.oh.us
Levy Facts
The Facts about the Lex Levy
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The Emergency Levy represents a 7.6 mill five year emergency operating levy. The cost will be $19 a month for every $100,000 of property value. Investing in the students of our community is an investment in the future of our community.
- The District’s State Report Card, which assesses the academic performance of all 610 districts in the State, has awarded either an Excellent or Excellent with Distinction status to the Lexington Local School district for the past 8 years in a row. Only 13% of the districts in Ohio have achieved these ratings over the past 8 years.
- No other school in Richland County, or any neighboring county for that matter, has achieved this same level of excellence.
- The students, staff and administration have achieved this academic level of acclaim on a budget that has not included any new voted funds from our community since the passage of a levy in November of 1999.
- This levy was put before voters only after careful deliberation by the Board of Education. There are no new programs or expenditures associated with this levy. This levy is to maintain the current quality of programs offered our students.
- State and local revenue collections have been flat or declining in recent years.
- The district has eliminated 33 full-time positions and 4 part-time positions since 2004. Any more reductions and Lexington’s Excellent schools are at-risk. Failure of this levy will mean an immediate reduction of 15-17 teachers, 10-12 support staff, class sizes will swell to 30+, pay to participate in extra-curricular activities, the possibility of one route bussing for K-8 only, outside a two mile radius of the school of attendance, and implementing open enrollment for the 2012-2013 school year.
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There has been $2,300,000 in budget cuts since 2004. Last spring the district reduced $1.5 million in expenses by cutting teachers, support staff, administrators, club/activity advisors and athletic coaches.
Linda Volz, Treasurer, Lexington Schools Levy Committe
Race To the Top
This page is intended to help educate the public in our Race to the Top endeavors over the next four year. Check back periodically for updates or add us to your list of RSS feeds and updates will come to you. Thank you for all that you do to support the students and staff of Lexington Local Schools.
Closing and Delays
Listed below are the means of communication we use in announcing a delay or closing of school and cancellation of an event in our school district.
- Posted on Lexington's Homepage
- Lexington's Facebook Page
- Messages sent out by Lexington's Messaging service
- Media sources- Clear Channel radio which includes:
- 101.3 FM
- 105.3 FM
- 100.1 FM
- 102.3 FM
- 107.7 FM
- WVNO 106.1 FM and WMFD TV Channel 15 on cable
- News Journal at www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com
- 10 TV which is part of the ONN network
- NBC 4
- WKYC3
- News channel 5
- FOX 8
District Events
