Tuesday, March 31, 2020

Board Briefs from March 31, 2020 Special Business Meeting

This information includes highlights of information received by the Ladue Schools Board of Education at the March 31, 2020 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.



ACTION ITEMS

Spending Parameters. Dr. Buckner presented, and the Board approved, the administration’s recommendation for the expenditure parameters to be used in developing the district’s budgets for the next five years, beginning with the 2020-21 school year. The expenditure parameter was set at 2.7% but could be reduced given various scenarios, as outlined in the information linked at the top of this section. 

This will be the third set of expenditure parameters the Board has developed, with the last five-year parameter completing at the end of the 2019-20 school year. This last five-year cycle ended with eight years of consecutive surplus budgets, resulting in a fund balance of 60% totaling approximately $37 million. 

It may be advisable to hold back on plans for using the district’s fund balance to expand early childhood programming and/or to fund building projects as has previously been discussed until the economic repercussions of the pandemic have become more clear.

Ladue Early Childhood Center Tuition. Dr. Wipke requested, and the Board approved, that tuition payments be reimbursed to families who have students enrolled at the Ladue Early Childhood Center for the time these students are not in school as a result of the recent district closure related to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

UPCOMING MEETINGS

The next Board of Education meeting will be a Business Meeting on April 14, 2020. The meeting will be held virtually using Zoom and the Meeting ID will be posted on the Featured tab of BoardDocs when the meeting information is officially posted. 

Tentative Agenda Items for Business Meeting April 14, 2020:

ACTION
  • 2021-22 School Calendar
Board Organization
  • Oaths of Office
  • Election Officers
INFORMATION
  • Summer Construction Projects
  • 2021 Potential Bond Referendum Update
  • Advisory Committee Re-Appointments
Tentative Agenda Items for Business Meeting April 27, 2020:

ACTION
  • Designation of Delegates and Alternates for MSBA, SSD Governing Council, EdPlus Legislative Liaison
  • Summer Construction Projects
  • Board Advisory Re-Appointments
INFORMATION

  • Recommended Patron Appointments to Board Advisory Committees
  • Support Staff Salary Recommendations
  • Gifted Report