Board Briefs from January 24, 2022 Business Meeting

This information includes highlights of information received by the Ladue Schools Board of Education at the January 24, 2022 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 January 24 Board Meeting

Board President Remarks

• I’d like to thank the LEF for funding Mike Mattos’ presentation last week that was given last week as professional development. I sat in on it and it was truly amazing. I’ve read his book and it was very exciting to hear him speak and to hear him affirm a lot of the things we are already doing.

• For the Board, March 7 is the MSBA Legislative Forum; you can register online for that. Also, strategic planning working documents are available in the Weekend Update for your viewing.

• We will conduct tonight’s business meeting and hold a financial workshop afterward.

Superintendent Remarks

• The videos that feature our staff are spectacular; I want to recognize Don Goble for his hard work on those.

• Congratulations to our January Excellence in Education Award winner Kristen Thompson.

• The district will host a COVID booster clinic on Friday, Jan. 28 at 3:30 p.m.

• The last three weeks have been trying to say the least. Our COVID positivity rate has been up to around 40% and is now down to about 30% in the last three weeks. Our Medical Task Force says it anticipates the downward trend to continue. Our staff has worked tirelessly to cover vacancies in classrooms to make sure our schools can stay open. Our TAs, central office and school administrators, SSD staff, paraprofessionals, and really just about anybody that can cover a classroom has done so. Thank you to all of our Ladue Schools staff for making this a true team effort.

• I had the opportunity to interview four of our outstanding seniors for my last podcast in which we talked about the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. and his legacy of service. I was blown away by their comments. We focused on his quote, “Everybody can be great because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve, you only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love.” I encourage you to check out this episode if you are interested in this topic. I think our students’ outlook on service and where we are as a country is something we can all learn from.

• Dr. Geoff Macy will be running our financial workshop tonight. He was hired last year and immediately got involved at Ladue Schools to immerse himself in our finances and learn about our community. On behalf of the district, I want to thank Dr. Macy for doing a remarkable job since he has been here.

• Thank you to Andy Bresler and Carolyn Jaeger for their work in getting us organized for tonight’s workshop.

ACTION ITEMS

LECC and Nurse Salary Schedule

The Board approved the recommended 2022-23 LECC salary schedule and the 2022-23 nurse salary schedule.

INFORMATION ITEMS

Emergency Radio Response System (MOVED TO ACTION)

Director of Facilities Mike Noonan recommended, and the Board approved, awarding Zagarri Engineering the work of testing and updating the emergency radio response systems in both existing buildings and at Ladue Middle School, Old Bonhomme, and Spoede Elementary.

Reed and Conway Bid Recommendations (MOVED TO ACTION)

Director of Facilities Mike Noonan recommended, and the Board approved, entering into negotiations with the team of Wachter and Hoener in order to develop a contract to build the gymnasium/storm shelters at Conway and Reed Elementary.

UPCOMING MEETINGS

The next Board of Education meeting will be a regular Business Meeting on Monday, February 14, 2022. The Meeting ID will be posted on the Featured tab of BoardDocs when the meeting information is officially posted.

Board Briefs from January 10, 2022 Business Meeting

This information includes highlights of information received by the Ladue Schools Board of Education at the January 10, 2022 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 January 10 Board Meeting

Board President Remarks

• The School Board election is April 5. At this time there are four candidates who have filed for two open positions. The candidates are Jeff Kopolow, Sheldon Johnson, David Meyer, and Kyle Meyer. Filing has closed and the candidates have until Jan. 25 to withdraw; after that point the candidate list will be certified.

• Our Meet the Candidates Night will be March 29. It is a great evening; last year it was held virtually and it usually lasts about 90 minutes. This event allows the community to send in questions and have the candidates respond.

Superintendent Remarks

• I hope everyone enjoyed their Winter Break. I also want to wish a happy new year to our Ladue community.

• We’re extremely excited to start the second semester. The beginning of this semester has been a little rocky with the spike in COVID cases, but we’ve learned a lot about educating students during a pandemic to this point and will continue to do everything in our power to keep our students in school, in-person.

• After speaking with our principals, most of our buildings have experienced an increase in staff attendance from last week which is a good thing.

• We met with our Medical Task Force last Thursday and they encouraged us to do the following: continue with our mitigating strategies, keep students in school under our current universal precautions as it is the safest place for them, and encourage vaccinations/boosters for our families and students. Please take a look at our website as it has been updated to be more user-friendly for our community in terms of accessing COVID-19 information.

• Two years ago we made a commitment to hiring instructional coaches and assessment specialists and I’m pleased to report we are seeing some terrific results throughout the district with our students making great strides. In working with our Curriculum Data teams and reading specialists, our number of students reading below grade level is greatly declining. Thank you to our Board of Education for its commitment to academic excellence for all students.

• I want to highlight our district’s diversity committee as I was able to attend one of its meetings last week. During the meeting, best practices were shared; one such practice is a club called STEM Gem at one of our elementary schools. It is a club for female African American students that promotes STEM. There are many other organizations throughout our district that promote diversity and support our students.

• This past Saturday, we partnered with Clayton School District to hold a Diversity Recruitment Hiring Fair. I thought we had some really good candidates at the fair.

• None of these supports are possible without our teachers and sponsors. I want to brag about two teachers who recently had articles written about their work. Dr. Audra Smith, who has been recognized at recent meetings, was featured in an article in Our Town magazine. Dr. Smith is our Emerson Teacher of the Year. Stephanie O’Neal was featured in Ladue News for her new P.E. class called Holistic Wellness. Thank you, Audra and Stephanie.

• Prop L is picking up the pace thanks to our friends from S.M. Wilson because steel is being delivered to our construction sites and we have tilt-up walls going up soon.

• Finally, if you haven’t thanked a nurse lately, please do so.

ACTION ITEMS

BOE Member Absence

The Board approved the absence of board member Sheldon Johnson.

Board 2021-22 Goals Review

The Board approved the addition of its 2021-22 Board Goals to the website.

Board Policy Updates

The Board approved several board policy updates.

SM Wilson Presentation

SM Wilson provided an update on construction progress at Old Bonhomme, Spoede, and Ladue Middle School. The Board approved the presentation.

SM Wilson Change Orders

SM Wilson requested approval of Change Orders 29, 32, 35, 36, 39, 40, 43, 44, 45, 46, and 47. The Board approved the request.

SM Wilson Pay Application

The Board approved SM Wilson’s pay application for December 2021.

INFORMATION ITEMS

LECC and Nurses Salary Schedule

Assistant Superintendent of Business & Finance Dr. Geoff Macy discussed proposed changes to the salary schedules at the LECC and for district nurses.

2021-22 Budget Update

Dr. Macy provided an update on the 2021-22 budget; the current budget is tracking closely with the predictions and assumptions established in June 2021.

UPCOMING MEETINGS

The next Board of Education meeting will be a regular Business Meeting on Monday, January 24, 2022. The Meeting ID will be posted on the Featured tab of BoardDocs when the meeting information is officially posted.