This information includes highlights of information received by the Ladue Schools Board of Education at the June 27, 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 June 27 Board Meeting
Board President Remarks
Given the number of attendees we have here tonight and the communication we’ve received in the last 72 hours, I assume many of you are here to discuss the restrooms in our new buildings. I want to thank you all for coming tonight. We have an extensive agenda tonight and we appreciate your participation and interest in your school district. I would first like to dispel the myth that a vote will take place tonight regarding gender-neutral restrooms. The original vote to accept the renderings from our architects took place quite some time ago. I would also like to state that while it may be new to some members of the public, it is not a new topic. The entire Board has been apprised of the plans and renderings of the new facilities for quite some time, and this included gender-neutral restrooms. We also had a discussion about this topic at our Board retreat on June 14. There currently are three members of the Board – Sheldon Johnson, Andy Bresler, and myself – who sit on the District Facilities Board Advisory Committee, along with district community members. The plan for gender-neutral restrooms was not made for the sole intent of supporting our students who may identify as gender binary or transgender. There are no federal mandates requiring the restrooms; there are also no federal dollars that follow the installation of gender-neutral restrooms. The majority of funding received for Ladue Schools comes from local dollars. Our Superintendent may have some additional information in regard to the restrooms in his remarks.
I have been participating as a member of the Special School District Public Review Committee for the better part of the last school year. The PRC is comprised of the SSD Governing Council members, appointees by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and members of the SSD Parent Advisory Council. We began meeting in September 2021 and our report is now complete. I, along with other members of the PRC, will present our final report to the SSD Board of Education on June 28. Following that meeting, I will ensure all of you receive a copy of that final report which contains recommendations to the Board of Education. It will also be posted on the SSD website.
I would also like to acknowledge that Jeff Kopolow is not here with us this evening; he requested to be excused because he is celebrating his 57th wedding anniversary, Congratulations to Jeff and his wife.
Superintendent Remarks
I want to reiterate what Ms. Lee said about our restrooms: thank you to the public for your comments, emails, and phone calls. I tried to respond to everyone who has emailed; I was out of the office for the last several days so I was a little bit slower in getting back to some people than I normally would be. I will tell you that comfort level is very important. In one of the emails I was asked if I have children – I do, I have four children whom I love dearly and I want them to feel safe and comfortable in their school environment, just as I do for our 4,000 students here in Ladue Schools. I want them to feel safe and comfortable. I have heard your concerns and I have put together a plan of action, I am going to include tours with our Board of Education so we can walk the buildings together. I believe when you look at the facilities in general, they are state-of-the-art and it will be remarkable when all of the changes to our buildings are complete. We’ve tagged that as “future-ready” and I believe we have future-ready components in all of our hallways. We do have banks of restrooms as you’ve seen – and thank you to Director of Communications Kimberly McKenzie and her team for adding information to our website so you can see those plans – we do have banks of restrooms in our hallways and those can be organized in any way that we see fit. When I say “we” I include our community and their comments. I have a plan of action that I’d like to share with the Board as we walk the buildings and look at our restrooms. I believe most of the concern that has come my way has involved questions about what will happen at the middle school. Our middle school restrooms are basically built on top of each other, so they are stacked with one bank of restrooms on the first floor and another directly above on the second floor. There is nothing that says we can’t designate the bank of restrooms on the lower level as our girls’ restroom and nothing that says we can’t designate the bank above it as the boys’ restroom. The other thing I’d like to remind people is that there will be many restrooms and many choices for students because literally 15 steps away from the bank of restrooms is a traditional restroom on that lower level. We have a lot of choices and a lot of options. I do want to make sure that the Board fully understands what I’m recommending so I do want to walk the building with our Board members to show them what it looks like and the options we have. I gave that specific example at the middle school; I have shared two memos with the Board that broke things down school by school. We have the opportunity to have separate restrooms for girls and boys, and again we have a lot of choices and options. We also have single restrooms in the hallways which can be utilized by students who have concerns about using a bank of restrooms or using traditional restrooms. We will schedule tours of all of our buildings under renovation with the Board. I take great pride in listening and I want to thank those of you whom I spoke with on the phone. I believe our Board takes the time to listen to our patrons and parents. What’s nice about this is I do think there was a lot of planning and pre-planning that was included to allow our students to have options for using the restroom and to feel comfortable and safe.
I want to commend Director of Student Services Dr. Derrick Wallace for his efforts with Camp Legacy. It is the start of our community education programs. I hear it is going well and that we have more than 60 students who are involved with Camp Legacy.
ACTION ITEMS
2022-23 Master Agreement
Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Dr. Julie Helm presented, and the Board approved, the 2022-23 Master Agreement.
2022-23 Teacher and LECC Evaluation Manuals
Dr. Helm presented, and the Board approved, 2022-23 Teacher and LECC evaluation manuals.
Early Resignation Notification Incentive Plan (ERNIP) Memo for 2022-23 SY
Dr. Helm presented, and the Board approved, ERNIP for the 2022-23 school year.
2022-23 Tuition Rate Per Policy JECA
Assistant Superintendent for Business and Finance Dr. Geoff Macy presented, and the Board approved, the 2022-23 tuition rate for non-resident students.
SM Wilson Presentation, Change Orders, and Pay Application
Representatives from S.M. Wilson provided an update on Prop L construction progress along with information about change orders 49, 58, 64, 65, 71, 74, 75, 81, 82, 83, 85, and 90 and the May pay application. The Board approved all items.
Wachter and Hoener Change Order and Pay Application
Dr. Macy recommended approval of change order #2 and the latest pay application from Wachter and Hoener. The Board approved both items.
Food Service Management Contract
Dr. Macy recommended, and the Board approved, a one-year food service contract with Chartwells for the 2022-23 school year with the option to renew annually up to four years.
INFORMATION ITEMS
2022-23 District Goals
The Board approved the Ladue School District Goals for the 2022-23 school year.
District Committees
The Board discussed district committees.
Ladue Opportunities
Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Dr. Amy Zielinski and LHWHS Associate Principal Dr. Beth Rapoff shared information about the Ladue Opportunities program.
Mitigation Plan (MOVED TO ACTION)
Dr. Wipke presented, and the Board approved, the latest information regarding the district’s pandemic mitigation plan.
Board Advisory Committee Appointments
Applicants for appointment to both the Curriculum and Instruction and Finance Board Advisory Committees were presented.
LEF FGC Restroom/Storage Building Proposal (MOVED TO ACTION)
Ladue Education Foundation Executive Director Julie Ferrie presented, and the Board approved, a capital campaign proposal to fund a restroom building project at the Fifth Grade Center.
FGC Restroom/Storage Building (MOVED TO ACTION)
Dr. Macy recommended, and the Board approved, beginning the planning and zoning process with the City of Creve Coeur to acquire the appropriate approvals and permits for the FGC restroom building project.
UPCOMING MEETINGS
The next Board of Education regular business meeting is Monday, Aug. 8, 2022. The Meeting ID will be posted on the Featured tab of BoardDocs when the meeting information is officially posted.
