Meeting Overview
The Spring Hill Schools Board of Education met Aug. 24, 2026, to discuss the proposed 2026-27 budget, annual building needs assessments, possible changes to board member district boundaries and the Spring Hill High School yearbook. All seven board members were present.
Before the regular meeting, Director of Business and Finance Nathan Holder reviewed portions of the proposed budget and tax rate. During the regular meeting, the board approved publication of notices for the Sept. 14 revenue-neutral rate and budget hearings. The proposed overall tax rate is 66.699 mills, including a rate for funds outside the general fund that is 2.822 mills above the district's calculated revenue-neutral rate.
The board also heard from four community members, including three parents, who raised concerns about the use of pronouns in student publications. Superintendent Dr. Link Luttrell later announced that publications will no longer use "they" or "them" as the default for all students. Beginning with the 2026-27 school year, publications will use the gender designation recorded in Skyward or, when appropriate, a student's last name.
Other discussion included staffing, special education, intervention, chronic absenteeism and facility needs identified through the building needs assessments. Board members reached a consensus to continue developing Scenario 1A for revised member district boundaries. The board also recognized Spring Hill High School robotics students for participating in an international invitational in Chicago and discussed expanding engineering and robotics opportunities at the middle school level.
The board amended the agenda to add an open-session discussion of the yearbook matter after executive session. The amendment passed 6-1, with Ted Beauchamp voting no. The board later spent approximately 90 minutes in executive session, including multiple extensions, before returning to open session. No formal action was taken on the yearbook matter.
Budget Discussion and Hearing Notices
Director of Business and Finance Nathan Holder reviewed portions of the proposed 2026-27 budget before the regular meeting. He said salaries and board-paid benefits account for more than 75% of district expenses. The figures presented did not include an additional 7.75% for FICA, Medicare and unemployment costs.
Holder said the district's revenue-neutral calculation, excluding the state-required 20 mills for the general fund, is 43.877 mills. The district is proposing 46.699 mills for those funds, or 2.822 mills above the revenue-neutral rate. The proposed overall tax rate is 66.699 mills. He said the gap above revenue neutral is smaller than the previous year's gap of more than 5 mills. Holder also reported that assessed valuation increased nearly 7% and that estimated taxes levied would rise from approximately $39.5 million to $41.8 million.
The board later voted unanimously to authorize publication of notices for the revenue-neutral rate hearing and budget hearing scheduled for Sept. 14. The budget hearing is scheduled for 5:45 p.m., with the revenue-neutral rate hearing taking place beforehand at 5:15 p.m.
Public Comments
Four community members addressed the board.
Whitney Medlin invited community members to volunteer for the Special Olympics KC Regional Softball Tournament on Sept. 19 at the Spring Hill Sports Complex. She said approximately 350 athletes are expected, and about 100 volunteers are needed for duties including umpiring, keeping score, and preparing food. Volunteers may serve for as little as one approximately one-hour game.
Kimberly Charity asked the district to adopt a publication policy that respects individual students' pronouns, uses he or she as the general default and honors students who request they or them. She also requested transparency about how the previous practice developed and asked the district to consider reprinting yearbooks for families that request it.
Joanna Meek described her communications with the publications program after asking that her daughter not be referred to with plural pronouns in her senior feature. She said student journalists should ask sources how they wish to be identified and request equal consideration for students who want traditional pronouns used.
Aaron Leonard asked the district to allow traditional pronouns, saying the previous practice did not respect his daughter's identity. He also referenced a federal court case involving compelled pronoun use.
Consent Agenda
The board unanimously approved the consent agenda, which included:
Meeting minutes.
Personnel report.
Clerk's report and final 2025-26 clerk's report.
Treasurer's report, payroll and claims.
Renewal of the memorandum of understanding with Sunflower House.
Renewal of the LessonPix license.
Good News, Recognitions and Announcements
Spring Hill High School engineering and robotics teacher Rachel Elsey and members of the robotics program shared their experience at the Chicago Robotics Invitational. The team was one of 38 participating teams and competed alongside teams from across the United States and several countries.
Students described rebuilding their robot from the ground up, experimenting with a turret system, improving autonomous programming and rewriting the codebase to make it easier for future students to understand and maintain. Elsey said the team encountered mechanical problems but worked together to troubleshoot them and returned with ideas for the new season. The 2026-27 robotics challenge will be released Sept. 12.
The board and team also discussed ways to expand engineering and robotics opportunities at the middle school level. Suggestions included a middle school robotics competition program and additional Project Lead the Way courses in engineering, computer science and biomedical science.
Building Needs Assessments
Assistant Superintendent Dr. Joshua Robinson presented the district's annual building needs assessments. He said district academic performance remains strong, but buildings identified several barriers to moving more students toward proficiency and higher performance levels.
Common needs included additional support for special education, English language learners, students with complex language or behavioral needs and students receiving at-risk interventions. Buildings also identified recruiting and retaining staff, state special education funding, instructional materials, professional development for certified and classified employees, facility capacity and stronger family relationships as priorities.
Robinson said chronic absenteeism includes both excused and unexcused absences and noted that missing 10 or more days can affect learning. He also said the district would provide additional information in a future update about multi-tiered systems of support data and early childhood outcomes.
Board Member District Boundaries
The board continued its discussion of adjusting member district boundaries to account for population growth and comply with the statutory goal of keeping district populations within 5% of one another. The district currently has three member districts with two representatives and one at-large position, although all voters in the school district vote for every board seat.
Board members reached a consensus to proceed with Scenario 1A, which uses estimated population information and keeps current board members within their existing member districts. Superintendent Dr. Link Luttrell said a formal resolution and legal boundary descriptions are expected to return for discussion in September and action in October. Approved boundaries would then be submitted to Johnson and Miami counties before filing begins for the 2027 board election.
Superintendent's Report
Luttrell said the 2026-27 school year was off to a positive start. He said transportation issues were being addressed and that a more accurate enrollment estimate should be available for the Sept. 14 meeting. He also reported that students, families and staff had generally embraced the new state cell phone requirements, with only a small number of devices confiscated during the first six full school days.
Executive Session
The board spent approximately 90 minutes in executive session, including multiple extensions. The sessions concerned personnel matters involving non-elected personnel and consultation with legal counsel regarding potential legal claims related to the yearbook matter. Details of the executive sessions were not disclosed.
Spring Hill High School Yearbook
Luttrell announced during his superintendent's report that the Spring Hill High School student publications staff and adviser had reviewed their style guide and community feedback. For the 2026-27 school year, district publications will no longer use "they/them" as the default for all students. Students will instead be identified using the gender designation recorded in the district's Skyward student information system, which parents or guardians establish and may change through the district process. Student journalists may also use a student's last name when appropriate. Luttrell said the updated style guide is available on the district website through the board meeting materials.
After executive session, the board returned to open session to discuss the yearbook, which had been added to the agenda. Luttrell reiterated the change and said past publications cannot be altered through style edits. Anna Baker thanked the district for the change and said it should clarify whether refunds or reprints are available to families. No formal action was taken on the yearbook matter.
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned following the open-session discussion of the Spring Hill High School yearbook.