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LISBON --The school district's 11th-grade students are doing better than their counterparts across Ohio in meeting the new, more difficult graduation requirements.
Lisbon Junior-Senior High School Principal Keith Edenfield reported at this week's school board meeting that 85 percent of the junior class students have passed the new state graduation requirements that took effect. This year's 11th-graders are the first class subject to the new graduations requirements, with students needing to earn a total of 18 points from their scores on seven examinations.
The new graduation tests are considered so much more demanding than the exams they replaced that nearly 30 percent of high school juniors in Ohio are not expected to earn the 18 points needed to graduate on time. At only 15 percent, Edenfield said, "We're in pretty good shape."
Edenfield said they have programs in place to help those students prepare to retake the tests, which they are allowed to do. Most of the students who have failed to earn 18 points are special education/special need students, who are not entitled to an exemption under the new graduation requirements, which they were under the previous state exam.
The issue was first raised by school Superintendent Joseph Siefke, who said he is worried about the impact the new graduation requirements will have on their 11th grade students, although the state school board has discussed reducing to 14 or 15 the number of test score points needed to graduate.
Board President Gene Gallo said he is not sure whether parents are completely aware of what is going on and that their child may only receive a certificate of attendance if he or she fails to meet the new graduation requirements.
Board member Jim Smith lamented about how frequently the state seems to change graduation requirements, which was confirmed by Siefke, who said his daughter, who graduated from Lisbon in May, had to pass three different new state graduation exams during her four years of high school - the Ohio Graduation Test, followed by the PARCC assessment and now the 18-point exams.
Siefke also addressed Gov. John Kasich's proposed state budget for 2017-19, which would increase state education funding for Lisbon by $147,000. Although Siefke was grateful they were not being cut -- like four other districts would be under Kasich's budget -- he said the increase would have a negligible impact.
"The amount of money we get from the new budget doesn't meet our needs or fill the void," he said.
tgiambroni@mojonews.com