The Licking Heights school board voted 4-0 to end its service agreement with the Licking County Educational Service Center, at least for now, as the district explores other service options available, per the provisions of House Bill 153.

The board met in a special meeting Dec. 20. Board member Sharon Cochrum was absent.

Superintendent Philip Wagner said educational service centers provide employment services for school districts, including handling personnel-related issues and personnel development. An educational service center also manages some money the state provides for public school districts and distributes it among those districts.

Wagner said H.B. 153, which contains the state’s biennial budget legislation, specifies that Ohio school districts no longer are bound geographically to their specific county’s educational service center, and they are free to explore what other counties have to offer.

Wagner said that terminating the district’s agreement with the Licking County ESC doesn’t mean Licking Heights is unhappy with the ESC’s service; rather, it means the district would be irresponsible with the taxpayers’ money if it didn’t explore its options with other counties.

The Licking Heights board’s resolution terminates the service agreement June 30, and it provides notice of the termination to the Licking County ESC by Jan. 1.

Wagner acknowledged the possibility of another agreement with the Licking County ESC, but now, he said, like any other educational service center, it will need to send a proposal to Licking Heights explaining what it has to offer and what it’s charging for its services.

He said the current agreement with Licking County was for $1.4 million per year.

“This is not a small contract,” Wagner said.

He said districts can choose services from several county centers “a la carte” to create the best plan for the district.

“It’s not an either-or,” Wagner said. “We’ll look at proposals from the other ESCs and see what makes sense. We may have a future with Licking County,” but it could be for only specific services.

The board on Dec. 20 also voted 4-0 to approve a contract with Wooster’s NetOps Consulting to provide technology-consulting services, at a cost of $100 per hour, not to exceed a total of $6,400 per month from Jan. 2 through April 2.

NetOps began a highly detailed technology audit of the Licking Heights district Sept. 21 and presented an overview of its findings to the school board Nov. 15.

According to the audit, many aspects of the district’s technology need improvements.