School Board Meeting - January 27, 2010

Below is a re-cap of last night's board meeting:

 

Presentations:

• Our first presentation of the evening was a review of currilulum proposals and recommendations.  In total there were 17 proposals for changes/additions to the curriculum.  Our curriculum leaders have been working hard to make sure our children have coursework that is not only quality, but contiguous throughtout their time in our district. 
• The second presentation was regarding our ability to re-finance our binds from 1998 and 1999.  Main points of the presentation were:
• The timeline for re-payment would not extend past the current maturity date of 2016
• The interest reate went from 4.5% down to 2.26%
• Moody has increased our bond rating from A1 to AA3 which allowed us to save approximately $45,000.  This savings was due to the fact that we would not need to purchase bond insurance.
• The normal standard for re-financing would be to make sure you can save 3%.  We are in a good position with a savings of 7.3%
• The best part ... we would be saving OVER $9 MILLION by re-financing.
   
  Needless to say the bond re-finance was approved 7-0.

Agenda Items of Interest:

•  Approval of a SPRINT Character of Education Grant in the amount of $25,000 for Faust, Rush, and Struble to implement the Responsive Classroom Program.
  "The Responsive Classroom approach is a research-based approach to teaching that offers elementary schools practical strategies for achieving many of the goals of Positive Behavioral Intervention Systems. Schools can use the Responsive Classroom approach to implement high quality Positive Behavioral Intervention Systems. The premise of the Responsive Classroom Approach is that continual teaching, modeling, and reinforcing of positive behavior will reduce discipline problems and promote a climate of greater productivity, safety, and learning."
  
• Approval of a revised calendar of budget meetings to include 3 additional work sessions.  They are:
  
• February 24, 2010, 6:30 pm in the board room.
  
• March 24, 2010, 6:30 pm in the board room.
  
• April 28, 2010, 6:30 pm in the board room.
  
  Members of the public are strongly encouraged to attend!