This information includes highlights of information received by the Ladue Schools Board of Education at the July 24, 2017 Business Meeting. This is an unofficial record. Official minutes of each Board meeting are posted on the district website and are available for viewing at the Administrative Center after the Board approves them, typically two weeks after the meeting.
Superintendent Remarks
- Superintendent Dr. Donna Jahnke shared that plans are well underway for Opening Session, an annual event held to kick off each new school year the first day all staff are back from summer break. The event will be held in the Ladue Horton Watkins High School Performing Arts Center after a summer of heavy construction on that campus. It will be an exciting day!
ACTION ITEM
2017-18 Tuition Rate Per Policy JECA - Admission of Students. Assistant Superintendent for Business and Finance Dr. Jason Buckner presented, and the Board approved, a tuition rate of $16,997.82 for the 2017-18 school year. The rate was calculated using the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's (DESE's) Suggested Worksheet for Determination of Basic Tuition Charge. This tuition rate includes the debt service levy. The Board is required by the state to set and approve a rate each year. The district does not accept students on a tuition basis except as noted in Policy JECA.
High School Building Project: Report #16, Payment Applications, Work Package Bid, Approvals, Change Orders; Northwest Section Buildout (Nielson Area). Project Director for S.M. Wilson Kort Cole presented, and the Board approved, the monthly progress report for the high school renovation project, which includes updates on design and engineering; permitting; finance and budget; bidding and procurement; scheduling; current construction activity; change orders and pay applications for June 2017.
INFORMATION ITEMS
Board Goals/Work Plan. Board of Education President Andy Bresler provided an outline of the formal Board of Education’s objectives being developed for the 2017-18 school year, noting they will purposefully align with the Priority Initiatives of the district’s Strategic Plan. Objectives being discussed include: timely completion of the high school renovation within budget, developing long-range plans for continued facility improvements across the district, managing spending parameters and compensation plan structures, and Board member training, including diversity training. The Board will continue refining these objectives in the coming weeks.
Fifth Grade Center Facility. Dr. Jahnke presented the survey results and focus group data from the assessment conducted on the Fifth Grade Center in May 2017 as part of the strategic planning process. The survey was sent to all parents since opening in the 2013-14 school year, equally represented the four elementary schools and garnered 409 responses (20%).
District Property in Frontenac- 10601 Clayton Road. Dr. Jahnke provided an update on this property, noting that it is no longer under contract, and that there has been additional interest in and offers on the property. A formal Request for Proposals is in development and the administration anticipates having any responses for the Board’s review sometime in October. At that time, the Board will engage in conversation to determine whether or not the district has interest in selling the property.
UPCOMING MEETINGS
The next Board of Education meeting will be a Business Meeting on August 28, 2017 at 7 p.m. at the Administrative Center, 9703 Conway Road. Tentative agenda items include the following.
Tentative Agenda Items for Business Meeting August 28, 2017:
ACTION
- SSD Carl Perkins Consortium Allocation Agreement
- SSD Contract for Homebound Services
- SSD Contract for Substitute Personnel
- District Surplus Property
- High School Building Project
- Project Report #17
- Payment Applications/Bid Approvals
INFORMATION
- First Semester Board Meeting Agenda Calendar
