March 20, 2023 at 6:00 PM - Committee As A Whole & Regular Meeting

Discussion:  Mark Brown was excused from the meeting.

Discussion:  Candy Becher read the Mission Statement.

Discussion: 

Teresa Hausmann, Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment spoke about the Committee on American Civics. The school district is required to hold two public meetings. This is the first required meeting. The next meeting will be in May and teachers from all three levels will come and present their curriculum. The public will have an opportunity to speak at that time. 

Mrs. Hausmann said CPS does meet all the requirements, CPS curriculum aligns with the state standards and all the required courses are provided. 

Discussion: 

Chip Kay, Director of Finance and Human Relations talked about the financial reports for the month. Financial Report M2 shows balances are behind from last year, as we knew they would be.  He explained that reimbursements are starting to be available and balances are beginning to catch up with Essers II and III reimbursements. Other fund balances are at normal balances for this time of year. Property tax draws will come in May and June. The M4 shows typical monthly expenditures. 

Discussion:  Financial Report M5 includes expenditures for payroll, utilities, contracted services.

Discussion: 

Dr. Kay shared good news on the certified staff hiring, he said 27 of the 35 openings have been filled. He also said there have only been 27 resignations and retirements. That is fewer than most other districts. Dr. Kay said he applauds the principals, they are doing a great job in making hires. Last year, at this time, CPS was at 40 for resignations and retirements. 

Discussion: 

Dr. Kay said the classified list is typical for resignations and retirements. He also mentioned that long-time CHS secretary, Jane Haefner, was retiring. 

Discussion: 

Dr. Kay said the classified list is typical for resignations and retirements. He also mentioned that long-time CHS secretary, Jane Haefner, was retiring. 

Discussion: 

Dr. Loeffelholz shared the contributions to the Foundation for the month, $38, 837.82; for the year, $79,703.93. He mentioned contributions made to the Foundation, including grants, Clubs Choice Fundraiser for West Park and the Waffleman for the Band Boosters. 

Discussion:  Mrs. Hausmann discussed the revisions for Policy 606.04 Media Centers. This policy is out of date. It should not be difficult for media specialists to purchase books.  The new information in the policy would have the principals approve books to be purchased. 

Discussion: 

Information on elementary EL programming was shared by Mrs. Hausmann, said the proficiency ratings were reviewed. Ideas have been shared with principals and teachers, who need to find new and better ways for programming the newcomers. The department has found some great resources to use for kindergarten, first and second grade and third and fourth grade. All the programming is for 18 weeks for each student. A schedule will be assigned to make time in the day for the program, this will also allow access to the-grade level instruction which is so important for these students. This new programming also allows students to remain at their home school.  Mrs. Hausmann shared the cost, which is good for 6 years and includes resources and consumables.

Discussion:  Cathy Kwapnioski, CHS English teacher, talked about the list of novels used by CHS. She said some of these titles have been used for more than 32 years. There have been some new titles added for diversity. She said it is important to offer books that interest high school students.

Discussion: 

The Cognia visit for accreditation is coming up, Mrs. Hausmann said the Board of Education interviews are April 3rd at 11:30. She said they will be reviewing the 30 standards, policies, governance among other topics. She did remind the group this is a district accreditation, not building accreditation. Results will come in an initial report and a final report a few weeks later.
Mrs. Hausman updated on the ELA Pilots, the Manufacturing Technology Pathway, the Early Childhood Education & Services Pathway and the Food Science Pathway. She shared the staff connections that the Curriculum and EL Departments have made with face-to-face conversations, curriculum support, and personalized notes.

Discussion: 

Dr. Kay said the North Park library list was made available to the public and then items remaining will be disposed of.  CMS had some broken items that needed to be trashed. 

Discussion: 

Dr. Kay said every March we introduce the tuition rates for the year. The 2023-24 rates are listed. State statute required these rates to be set although no one is assessed these tuition fees. 

Discussion: 

The Board was updated on the wage and benefit recommendations for certified staff, classified staff, professional/hybrid classified staff and administration. Dr. Kay said when comparing with others in the array, it is best to look at starting wages/salaries. 
Dr. Kay also shared account recommendations for moving some funds to other banks after doing research on the local financial institutions.

Discussion: 

Leonard Kwapnioski, Director of Building/Sites and Technology talked about the replacement of staff devices and district servers. He shared vendors with the cost of devices.  Apple offers a four-year lease, CPS will own the devices at the end of the four years. All devices have a four-year warranty. The servers will have 24/7 support. 

Discussion: 

Mr. Kwapnioski said they got the supplies in for the high school intercom, they are tweaking odds and ends now and looking at some wiring.  CMS intercom is operational. He said he worked with the vendor and got the cost to $21,000.00. All the work was done by maintenance staff. They did not hire anyone. 

Discussion:  Jason Harris, Director of Student Services and Special Education shared the ESU Contract. He said it is standard every year. The projections are for where CPS may be next year for the total bill. Just over $400,000.00. Discussion regarding CPS students at the Learning Academy and Boys Town at this time. Mr. Harris said the students attending the Learning Academy at ESU7 have to have special education verification.

Discussion:  The projected numbers are presented at just over a 1% increase. Mr. Harris said public and non-public schools have increased significantly.

Discussion: 

Mr. Harris presented the Special Education Tuition Rates at a 2% increase. Many districts call about sending their students, and we do not have the staffing, our programs are full. Our staff has a high caseload and we do not want to take resources away from our own students. 

Discussion: 

Mr. Harris said he and Dr. Kay have been working with NDE on refiguring reimbursements, they are done. Should be getting them soon. 

Discussion: 

Dr. Loeffelholz mentioned the Staff Appreciation Event on Tuesday, March 28. He said the Campaign Committee is working hard.  There is a plan for a second round of presentation for parents presentations. This will include getting voters registered. Looking into having ballot drop boxes at CPS buildings. He said the shorter campaign time works well to keep people engaged. Dr. Loeffelholz said he believes engaging the staff, the presentations, FaceBook Live Events and newspaper articles have given people the right information to share. He mentioned the great assistance from Centro Hispano and the offer of support from the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce. Campaign signs will be going up around the community soon. 

Dr. Loeffelholz stated the End of the Year/Retirement Celebration has not been scheduled yet, and it's still working out the details. 

Discussion: 

The Board thinks the Campaign Kick-off went very well. The Kramer Education Center Tour was awesome. The building looked great. Lots of kudos were shared with Leonard and his team for the work they have put in there. The new programming for EL Newcomers looks great. It was noted that the 4th quarter had started, and we are on the downhill slide to the end of the school year. 

Discussion:  Meeting adjourned at 8:20pm.