December 17, 2012 at 5:00 PM - Work Session and Regular Meeting of the Board of Education

Discussion:  Theresa Seipel arrived at 5:45 p.m.

Discussion:  A presentation was given by Mr. Woodside, Principal of Columbus High School. A demonstration of some web tools used by staff was shown by Cathy Kwapnioski, Rachel Martin, and Stacie Roberts. NeSA, ACT, PLAN, and EXPLORE goals were discussed as well as the demographic changes within Columbus High School.

Discussion:  There has been one meeting. A formal agreement must be reached by February 8, 2013. He said at 4 p.m. Wednesday, there will be an informational meeting to discuss the language in the contract.

Discussion:  The Board then recessed the Executive Session at 6:28 p.m. and will reconvene during the regular board of education meeting.

Discussion:  Barb Lehr read the Mission Statement.

Discussion:  Ray Pilakowski - 2104 33rd Street spoke at the meeting regarding graduation rates for Columbus High School.

Discussion:  There were no recognitions.

Discussion:  Dr. Loeffelholz said a person has been hired to replace a middle school math teacher who is moving to South Carolina. This person will be a long-term sub and is not being offered a contract at this time. He said the person will be evaluated to see how things go. There are 38 mid-term graduates this December. The agenda also includes approving Siemens Advantage Services Agreement/Cost Proposal for Fire Alarm Systems Services.

Discussion:  Mr. Melick walked through the Cash Balance worksheet, revenue and expenditure detail for the Board.

Discussion:  CHS Principal Steve Woodside said most of the changes were just cleaning up items in the 2013-14 Columbus High School Course Description, A guide to Student Registration.

Discussion:  The board members feel Dr. Loeffelholz is doing a wonderful job with the district and represents it well in the community. They said he also has been a good leader. Dr. Loeffelholz said he loves what he does and can't think of any other place he would want to do it.

Discussion:  Dr. Loeffelholz said in the last five years, Julie McClure has written grants for $820,000 for the community and out of that about $150,000 was for CPS. Under the new agreement, there will be a job evaluation piece where it assesses her engagement in the grant writing process.

Discussion:  Some of the changes include: one island must be included every 24 spaces; one tree must be planted within a curb planting island; bronze will be added to the list of the color of window options; and exposed roof material can either have asphalt shingles or metal standing seam. Alan Dostal wanted to specify the type of asphalt shingles, and he would be willing to help add this into the covenants.

Discussion:  Dr. Loeffelholz said there is a large amount of dollars being plugged into our schools by the PTO and other school supporting-organizations to help schools and programs. He said these items fall outside of the regular district budget.

Discussion:  Dr. Loeffelholz said in January the Board will approve several of these projects the buildings will be doing the second semester.

Discussion:  Executive Director of Business Operations Dave Melick said this summary is based on 17 eligible employees for the early retirement incentive. He said this opportunity sunsets after September of 2013. He said the payments can be split and paid out in equal installments. Melick said he will be meeting with the people who are eligible at 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. Tuesday, December 18, 2012. Those who are eligible must notify the district by January 15, 2013 if they want to be eligible or not.

Discussion:  Executive Director of Technology/Business Operations Leonard Kwapnioski said this is not the first time the administration building has been looked at. HVAC Coordinator Guy Loop said the administration building was originally zoned for a combination of storage and personnel. He said as a result, there is no control over the seven zones in the building in terms of heating and cooling. Curry questioned how long the district was going to keep the facility, and if it was worth putting in that much money. He said if the district plans to continue to use the building, it makes sense to make the improvements. Francis Kuehler said he understands some of the members concerns but this is an issue that has been discussed several times, and it is not going away. If it is done now, it will probably be used until the payout comes around.

Discussion:  Dr. Loeffelholz said the district has to start strategic planning and prioritizing items. He said the idea is to develop the steps for the future and find the major themes to move CPS forward. The goals will be based on themes. Within the process, it will be determined who is responsible for each of the action items. The first step in the process is to identify the priorities of the school system and figure out where they fall into the process. When the planning is done, there should be three or four themes for the Board to work on with the community. The following are the priorities: 1. Early childhood/preschool in all elementary schools 2. College and career readiness/career awareness-K-12 plan for career readiness 3. Engagement of all patrons in the process particularly in the Latino community 4. Parental support 5. Facilities–potential outcomes for failed bond issue–aging middle school 6. Student success–what measures student success (graduation rate, testing, etc.)–making decisions on several pieces of data to get the whole picture 7. Technology–1 to 1 8. Staff support–training, staff development 9. Response to Intervention 10. Cost efficiency (financial stability) 11. Staff climate–ability to recruit and retain the best staff 12. Collaboration among school districts 13. Collaboration with other services agency–learning communities (sharing resources) 14. Keeping kids involved in school and community activities The following are the themes: 1. Culture/engagement/collaboration (fits several of priorities) 2. Infrastructure (fits technology and facilities) 3. Student learning/success (preschool, college and career readiness)

Discussion:  Dr. Loeffelholz thanked Barbara Lehr for her service on the Board and for all she has done for the kids of CPS. Lehr will be recognized at the next board meeting. Dr. Loeffelholz encouraged her to invite her family to attend. She said the eight years have gone by fast; and over that time, she feels like she has gotten to the know the way the district works from the inside out. Lehr said she has enjoyed her time on the Board.

Discussion:  The motion to reconvene into executive session was made at 8:27 p.m.

Discussion:  A motion to come out of executive session was made at 9:06 p.m.