Safety Reminder for Arrival and Dismissal at Frankli...

September 23, 2025 Good afternoon Franklin Junior High and Franklin Intermediate Families, It’s hard to believe we’re already halfway through the first quarter of the school year! Thank you for all your efforts to get students to and from school safely each day. That said, we continue to receive reports of concerns in the neighborhood surrounding the 4th Street campus. These include—but are not limited to—blocking driveways, speeding through residential streets, and students not consistently using sidewalks or crosswalks.  In particular, residents on Pam Dr. have reported interruptions to mail service, difficulty receiving deliveries, and daily frustration when some drivers do not adjust their behavior even after being asked. Both the district and the city have been contacted about these issues. Our ultimate goal is student safety. We’ve worked hard to make the drop-off/pick-up lines for both the Junior High and Intermediate as efficient as possible. This has included capital improvements on 4th Street and redirecting traffic flow around the buildings to expedite drop-off and pick-up. We strongly encourage all families to use the designated pick-up and drop-off lines rather than stopping in nearby neighborhoods. Thank you for your cooperation and support in helping us keep our students and community safe. Sincerely, Kelli L. Fromm FCS Business Manager

Tuesday, Sep 23 2025

Traffic Alert: Police Activity Near SR 123 and Sprin...

Good afternoon, This is a message from the Franklin Police Department. There is currently a large police presence in the area of SR 123 and Spring Dr. Please keep this in mind as you travel to pick up your students at dismissal this afternoon. Police have confirmed that none of our schools are on lockdown, but they asked us to share this information so families can plan for possible traffic delays. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. Sincerely, Kelli Fromm FCS Business Manager

Monday, Sep 15 2025

Transportation Update 9/11/25

Dear FCS Families, Effective October 6, 2025, FCS will begin transporting students in grades K–8 based on a 2-mile driving radius from school. The FCS Board of Education reached this decision after careful consideration of both student safety and the desire to maximize transportation capacity. Given our extremely limited financial resources, we remain committed to finding solutions that provide the best possible service while staying within our budget constraints. Once implementation of the current 2-mile radius calculation occurred, it was carefully examined to determine if additional bus stops could be added while maintaining the savings of the transportation cuts. Work is underway to update routes. Route sheets for the revised routes will be posted on the FCS website  after 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 24, 2025 . Detailed routing information will be available in the MyRide K-12 App on  Wednesday, October 1, 2025 . ParentSquare updates will be sent on these dates once the information is posted. Please note that the current pick up/drop off times may change due to the revised routes. We understand there have been many changes in the district over the past few years as we adapt to the ever-changing state of school funding. We apologize for the inconvenience this may cause and sincerely appreciate your understanding and support as we adapt to the changes and work to ensure safe, efficient, and sustainable transportation for our students. Sincerely, FCS Adminis tration

Thursday, Sep 11 2025

Wildcat Community News: September 2025

Wildcat Community News 2025-26, Issue #1 September 10, 2025 Greetings from the Superintendent! The school year is off to a great start! The staff was excited to welcome students back to the buildings and kick off the academic year.  There’s no doubt that the year will have some challenges due to the failure of the last two levies (March 2024 and May 2025). We’ve had to make changes that have caused difficulty for many families. However, we’d like to emphasize that there’s one thing that hasn’t changed: We are unwavering in our commitment to providing an excellent education and ample extracurricular opportunities for every one of our students. As always, we appreciate and welcome your partnership and involvement as we educate the students of our community. If you’re wondering how to get involved, here are a few ideas: read with your children and ask about their classes; be a room parent; attend a school board meeting; volunteer with the elementary PTO; join a booster group; and attend your child’s events and performances.    If you have questions or concerns about Franklin City Schools, don’t hesitate to contact me at (937) 746-1699 or msander@franklincityschools.com.   Sincerely, Dr. Michael D. Sander, Superintendent   In this issue: COMMUNICATIONS – A NEW FORMAT! Our district newsletter format is changing: The district has published and mailed a printed newsletter to district residents four times/year since 2015. We’re moving to this electronic format for several reasons:  The newsletter was one-way communication. We want to hear from the community; using an electronic format, we can post the newsletter on our district Facebook page and website and embedded links can direct you to other articles and information. It will also allow you to provide feedback via communications@franklincityschools.com The hard-copy newsletter wasn’t translatable for our ELL families.  An electronic newsletter is much less expensive and can be shared more widely. We can embed links to stories, pictures, and videos. School Board Meetings: As always, school board meetings are open to the public and the board welcomes you. Every board meeting includes time for public comments; for legal purposes, you are asked to state your name and address before you speak. The board meeting schedule is on our website and any changes are posted on the green banner on the home page. The board meeting agenda is posted by 3 p.m. on the Friday prior to the meeting; you may also look at previous meeting agendas and read minutes from previous board meetings.  Town Hall meetings: As part of our refreshed communications strategy, the district will be scheduling regular town hall meetings where you can ask questions of the district admins and board members. Watch ParentSquare, our website, and social media for dates.   STUDENT SPOTLIGHT District Art Show: Every spring, our students’ amazing talents are displayed at the annual art show. If you didn’t have a chance to visit the show in April, you may want to check out some of their artwork. The picture is a colored pencil drawing by Chloe Taylor. FHS receives 20 MVHSTAs: FHS's award-winning theater program nabbed more accolades at the Miami Valley High School Theater Awards showcase, including Theater Director of the Year for Jeff Sams. The event celebrated student achievement in theatre in our region during the 2024-2025 school year. Thirty-nine area high schools are MVHSTA participants. Read more, including details about Franklin’s awards and the shows scheduled for this season.  Student achievement: The Franklin Board of Education recently recognized Eliana Solis-Estrada for student achievement. Eliana received an award at her building (Hunter), the Irelynn Cunningham award. FCS established the Student Achievement Award in 2001; hundreds of students have been honored since its inception. Student Achievement Committee members include parents, community residents, board members, and administrators; they meet during the school year to evaluate nominations that may be submitted by students, teachers, administrators, or community members. The nomination form is available on the district website. Learn more here: https://ow.ly/Yc9w50W6loK Wildcat Olympics is an annual event that brings smiles to everyone's faces! To see a video of this year's event, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8HsLZWLts4. The 2024 Wildcat Olympics video created by Bob Hogan of No. 9 Images Photography & Videography received a Mark of Excellence award from the Ohio School Public Relations Association. Early College Academy: The 2025 graduating class included 20 seniors who were also the first FHS grads of Miami University’s Early College Academy; they graduated with both their high school diploma and an associate's degree from Miami University Regionals. The Early College Academy allowed these students to earn their degree at no cost to themselves. Congratulations to Kailee Alcorn, Luke Ball, Morgan Brown, Alexis Earach, Connor Hayes, Hailey Hitte, Brooke Hurst, Ava Johnson, Rebekah Koss, Trent Lewis, Acheron Marcum, Alexander Marcum, Alyssa O'Hara, Aaron Richards, Andrew Sanders, Johnathon Schmidt, Jenna Schumaker, Thomas Stephens, Logan Taulbee, and Marisa Wagner.  Athletics website: Did you know that athletics has its own website? Check out https://www.gowildcatathletics.com/ for schedules, news, rosters, and more.  Band/guard competitions: Our FHS band and color guard not only entertain the crowds at football games, they spend many Saturdays at competitions. Six are scheduled this fall: Colerain (9/13); Lakota West (9/20); Mason Invitational (10/11); Miamisburg Invitational (10/25); Centerville Invitational (11/1); and MSBA Championship in Miamisburg (11/8). Follow them at https://www.facebook.com/FHSMarchingBandandGuard.   COMMUNITY/ALUMNI 2025 Hall of Fame: Six individuals will be inducted into the Franklin High School Hall of Fame on Saturday, Sept. 20, in the Franklin High School Commons. Festivities include a meet-and-greet at 4 p.m. followed by the induction ceremony at 5 p.m. The honorees will also be recognized at the Franklin-Carlisle football game on Friday, Sept. 19. The game begins at 7 p.m. 2025 inductees include Nancy Sharts Hopko (Class of 1971); Holly Mears Daniels (Class of 1985); Kyle Blackford (Class of 2009); Tony Donisi (Class of 1972); Corbett Caudill (Class of 1961); and Eddie Wallace (Class of 1984). They will join 122 individuals who have been inducted in prior years.  Since they graduated from Franklin High School, these outstanding individuals have served their communities, their country, and the world. A list of the Hall of Fame members and their induction year is available on our website.  The picture is the 2023 inductee group. If you would like to nominate someone for the Hall of Fame, please use this form. Senior passes: Senior citizens (age 62+) who live in the Franklin City School district may pick up a pass at the District Welcome Center (754 E. 4th St.) that will allow them to attend school-sponsored activities at no charge. The pass never expires and is good for any home game (excluding tournaments) and high school plays. Residents should take their driver’s license with them to confirm their address.  K-12 Expo: Franklin City Schools will hold a Student Resources Expo on Wednesday, October 15, 2025, from 6:00–8:00 p.m. in the Franklin High School Commons. This event is designed to connect families with community resources and opportunities that support K–12 students. Families who attend will learn more about programs, classes, and services available in our community. Watch our district Facebook page for details closer to the event.   FINANCES We know this year will be challenging for many of our families; the failure of the last two levies meant the board had to make difficult decisions about cutting expenses:  reducing busing to state minimums.  increasing classroom and pay-to-participate fees.  eliminating full-day kindergarten. We were also able to make only minimal improvements to the Intermediate building. We also made the following personnel changes:  Schenck Elementary now has a lead teacher rather than a principal.  Franklin Intermediate now has a dean of students rather than an assistant principal. Central Office administrators will take on additional duties at both Schenck and the Intermediate building to help with reduction of administration, i.e., student discipline, IEP meetings and teacher evaluation. The assistant treasurer was not backfilled. The Director of Educational Technology was replaced by an Educational Technologist. This is the reduction of an administrative position and a reduction in the number of contract days from 260 to 185.  Intervention Specialists at the high school and junior high were not replaced. Please know that these were difficult decisions and that we know they have created hardships for many families. Cutting expenses is difficult, and we’ve made every attempt to minimize disruption to classroom learning. The district’s budget projections were based on flat funding from the State of Ohio; however, the state’s budget actually gives us $1 million LESS over the next two years. Without additional revenue, the district is expected to end the next fiscal year (2026-27) with a negative cash balance.  INCOME TAX LEVY To avoid that, the board of education has placed an issue on the November 4 ballot: a 1% income tax. Quite a few Ohio districts have an income tax, although this is a first time for us. We’re sensitive to the pressure that people are feeling around property taxes and hope that an income tax will enjoy broader support. Please watch our website and social media for additional information about this issue. Read more. FINANCE FRIDAYS This spring, the district started posting “Finance Fridays” on our district social media. We urge you to follow our social media accounts to see these posts, as well as all of the other information and pictures we post. The August 8 Finance Fridays concerned Ohio's EdChoice vouchers, which have been increasingly in the news this year.   BUILDINGS/GROUNDS AND NEW ELEMENTARY BUILDINGS Our custodians, groundskeeping crew, and maintenance staff worked hard to get our buildings safe and ready for a new school year. Work was completed at every building and included projects such as playground equipment changes and upgrades, addition of a wheelchair ramp, mulching, parking lot work, and lighting and HVAC updates. In conjunction with the City of Franklin, safety upgrades were completed on 4th Street in front of the FJHS/Intermediate campus. The West Lot at Franklin High School is finished and includes parking, greenspace, and fencing along 6th St., Anderson St., and 7th St. NEW ELEMENTARY BUILDINGS The district has done everything it needs to do in order to receive state funding for our new elementary buildings. In response to our recent inquiry, the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission advised us that about 40 districts are ahead of Franklin in the queue to receive funds. They noted that our position on the queue could be impacted by a number of factors: "Lapsed or Segmented CFAP Districts or Districts in other programs like the Vocational Facilities Assistance Program or Urban Schools Program" as well as "the success of other school levies, appropriation of state funds, increasing construction costs, etc." The district will continue to keep you informed as we know more.   Please stay in touch! If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact us. You can reach us at communications@franklincityschools.com. Please follow us on Facebook, on Instagram at fcswildcatpride, and stop by our website: www.franklincityschools.com.

Wednesday, Sep 10 2025

PM Pick-Up FJHS/Intermediate 8/14/25

Good afternoon FJHS and Intermediate Families: Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work with you to keep parking and traffic safe and efficient on the 4t Street Campus.   With that being said, we are already making improvements for the afternoon pick-up.  All parent will go down the access road around the building in two lanes.  As you round the curve to come up the hill from the back parking lot, you will merge into one lane for parent pick-up.  We are hopeful this will help get everyone home in a more timely manner and keep 4th Street clear.  Please see the pictures below that provide visuals of what this should look like this afternoon.  Thank you in advance for your patience and kindness.   We hope your students had a wonderful 1st Day! Kelli Fromm FCS Business Manager FJHS/Intermediate Traffic Pattern-Aerial  Entrance to Access Road off of 4th. St  Please abide by these Do Not Enter signs.  All parent traffic must go down the access road.   Bus Only Entrance/Parent Exit  Bus Exit Only 

Thursday, Aug 14 2025

EZ Pay is being replaced by PaySchools Central effec...

Everyone:  Effective July 1, the district is moving from  EZPay to PaySchools Central for a better online payment experience! 🎉 🔁 Your EZPay account is being replaced 🖱️ Follow the link to register on PaySchools Central:  https://payschoolscentral.com/ 🔐 Set up your account with email confirmation and security questions 👨‍👩‍👧 Add your students and district info to get started 💳 Don’t forget to re-enable  auto-replenishment under account settings Need help? Contact: 📧 psc_help@payschools.com 📞 1-877-393-6628 [Tuesday, Aug 12 at 12:51 PM] Just a reminder that our payment system has been changed to PaySchools Central: https://payschoolscentral.com/ This can be used for Pay-to-Participate fees.

Thursday, Jun 26 2025

Traffic Direction on SR 123

Good afternoon, We were informed today by the City of Franklin that the traffic pattern on SR 123 will change tomorrow, Tuesday June 3rd. Starting tomorrow, you will be able to access the front parking lot at FHS and Franklin Community Park from SR 123 coming from in the Interstate, but not be able to get beyond that point. on SR 123  You will not be able to access the parking lot of FHS or Franklin Park coming from Sunnybrook. The back parking lot at FHS can still be accessible off of 7th St and 6th St.  We have been informed SR 123 should completely reopen in late July.  Once we have a firm date, we will send that information out. Thank you, Kelli Fromm FCS Business Manager 

Monday, Jun 02 2025

Bus 25

Good afternoon, Bus 25 was involved in a minor accident this afternoon at the corner of Cedar and Park.  No students were injured, and police have been dispatched.  As soon as the bus is cleared by the police, another bus will finish the route and bring students home.  As we get more information, we will send out another message.  Thank you, Kelli Fromm FCS Business Manager  [Tuesday, May 20 at 4:30 PM] Good afternoon, Bus 24 is leaving the scene at this time and bringing the students on Bus 25 home. Again, there were no injuries. The other driver was at fault, and the damage to Bus 25 was minimal. Students should be arriving home shortly. Thank you, Kelli Fromm FCS Business Manager

Tuesday, May 20 2025

Transportation AM 3/5/25-Splitting Bus 7

Good morning.   We will be splitting Bus 7's route this morning. Intermediate and Gerke will be covered by Buses 12, 17 and 24.  Thank you for your patience and understanding. Kelli Fromm FCS Business Manager

Wednesday, Mar 05 2025

Transportation AM 3/5/25- Splitting Bus 7

Good morning.   We will be splitting Bus 7's route this morning. FJHS/FHS will be covered by Bus 1.  Thank you for your patience and understanding. Kelli Fromm FCS Business Manager

Wednesday, Mar 05 2025