This information includes highlights of information received by the Ladue Schools Board of Education at the December 13, 2021 regular Board of Education 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.
Click here to view a recording from the December 13 Board Meeting
Board President Remarks
There will be 2 school board positions up for election on the April 5, 2022 ballot. Candidate filing has already begun; you can file at our district Administration Center during normal working hours, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, up until the end of the day on Dec. 21. The district will be closed on Dec. 22, and the last day to file is Dec. 28; we will open the Administration Center on that day from 3 to 5 p.m. for anyone who would like to file on that day. Filing closes after that time. It would be helpful, but it is not required, to contact Fern Wagstaff and let her know you are coming to file so she can prepare your paperwork ahead of time. She can be reached at 314-994-7080.
Serving on the Board of Education is a privilege that the current members take as a serious responsibility. Do not hesitate to reach out to us if you have questions about the position.
Superintendent Remarks
Congratulations to Dr. Diana Hsu for her EIE Award tonight; I’ve seen her in the classroom interacting with students and she is a top-notch educator and we are so proud that she is here with us in Ladue Schools.
Old Bonhomme held a virtual Giving Ceremony and it was something to see. I know a few of our board members participated. Kids at the school collected so many items for families in need and it was awesome. The video put together by Patricia Brown for the event was outstanding. It always warms my heart to see these kinds of things happening in our schools. Many of them are led by our Social Emotional Behavior Team.
Thank you to Kimberly McKenzie for highlighting our musicians. We often talk about sports and other activities, but the hours upon hours that our musicians put into their craft is absolutely outstanding. I want to thank them for their hard work and achievements along with our music staff as well.
Thank you to everyone who supported Prop L; we continue to move forward with our projects and will hear more tonight on those from SM Wilson. Our board members have taken tours of the work recently and we are about 15 percent of the way done with all of the construction. It’s fun to visit schools during the day and see the kids watching the construction happen.
I want to compliment our Medical Task Force Team for continuing to provide guidance as we navigate our pandemic. Thanks to our community for its patience as we move through the pandemic as well. Our Medical Task Force is made up of volunteers and all but one are parents in the district. They spend countless hours guiding us and providing their thoughts and suggestions. I want to make sure our focus remains consistent when it comes to what’s best for our students and staff, something especially important as they approach their first semester finals. Our Medical Task Force has been highlighted in our e-Connect, Link newsletter, at board meetings, and on our website.
Thank you to Dr. Jennifer Riesenmy for wearing so many hats for our district; she was a part of our Panorama survey and I want to thank her for her involvement in that. I want to thank our students, parents, and staff for participating in that survey in October.
I want to give a brief update on the survey: after we received the results in late October, we took time to sort through the data and share it. The data was shared with district leadership, our board, and our teachers. It’s being used to help our strategic planning process and our board will soon receive a summary of the data. As we continue to explore the data, we are identifying themes that will correlate with action steps in our strategic planning process. Our high school and middle school students are learning about the data through our student advisory groups that I conduct; thanks to Jeff, Kisha, and Jennifer for being a part of those groups. I think we’re receiving some valuable data from our students. Panorama is currently working on an executive survey summary of the data for the district and the Board will then work on sharing that data with the community. We will conduct another survey in the spring, and we are excited to see the results because they are going to help us become better.
I want to thank our community for supporting us recently with the two additional days of break in November; I know that was a bit of a curveball for some families but those days proved to be very important for the mental health of our students and staff.
We are approaching a high-stakes testing situation with finals coming up; our students seem to be ready and after those I hope everyone has a wonderful Winter Break.
ACTION ITEMS
Acceptance of Auditor’s Report
The Board reviewed highlights of the district audit performed by Daniel Jones and Associates. The Board voted to accept the auditor’s report.
Assistant Superintendent of Business and Finance Dr. Geoff Macy recommended a 3.5% increase to the 2022-23 LECC tuition rates. The Board approved the recommendation.
SM Wilson provided an update on the progress of Prop L construction projects at Ladue Middle School, Spoede, and Old Bonhomme Elementary. The Board approved the presentation.
SM Wilson Change Orders 30, 31, 33, 34
The Board approved change orders 30, 31, 33, and 34 as presented.
The Board approved the SM Wilson pay application for November.
INFORMATION ITEMS
Second Semester Board Agenda Calendar
The Board reviewed the agenda calendar for the upcoming second semester.
Olivette Chapter 100 Financing
Dr. Macy provided information about a plan from the City of Olivette regarding an industrial development project and the issuance of industrial revenue bonds.
The Board reviewed several proposed policy updates.
UPCOMING MEETINGS
The next Board of Education meeting will be a regular Business Meeting on Monday, January 10, 2022. The Meeting ID will be posted on the Featured tab of BoardDocs when the meeting information is officially posted.