Board Briefs—APRIL 1, 2008 In This Issue... Public Comments Board Member Reports Highlights from Superintendent's Report Food Service Report School to Work Alliance Capital Reserve Budget       Bus Purchase Legislative Update Consensus

Public Comments
There were no public comments.

Board Member Reports
Ms. Miller attended a recent Parks and Recreation meeting where she learned that Englewood would be part of the Babe Ruth Softball Tournament this summer. This tournament is a national event and girls from across the U.S. will be playing softball in Englewood. Ms. Lila Downing and Ms. Theresa Harper are coordinating the event for Englewood. Volunteers are needed to help with the event and to be host families, providing living accommodations for the players. If you would like to volunteer or provide housing for girls who are participating in the tournament please contact Lila Downing at 303-781-2649.
Ms. Miller also mentioned that the Englewood golf course is scheduled to open May 24. The new name for the golf course is Broken Tee.
Englewood High School will present Arsenic and Old Lace this spring. The play performances will be May 2 and 3.
Ms. Howard said she is working with the schools and the OMT department to see which schools are doing recycling and to make certain that all are doing paper recycling. The Board hopes that recycling will be expanded and efforts made across the district to become more "green" and environmentally conscience. Dr. McCabe mentioned that the district office is moving away from using bottled water.

Highlights from Superintendent's Report
Dr. McCabe congratulated the Englewood High School Jazz Ensemble 1 Band for receiving the highest possible scores at the Mile High Jazz Festival, March 5-7, 2008. Englewood received a superior rating from all three judges.
Ms. Peg LaPlante mentioned that the district has not received any proposal for the Flood property. Approximately 12 developers are looking at the property and they will be contacted. The economy and concerns about stability may be making this not the most advantageous time to sell the property.

Food Service Report
Ms. Peg LaPlante introduced Ms. Georgia Greer, Manager of Food Service for Englewood Schools, to provide an update on the food service in schools. Ms. LaPlante stated that Ms. Greer has done a fabulous job this year and that food service in the district is the best it has ever been. Ms. Greer thanked Ms. LaPlante for her kind words and the Board for providing her an opportunity to talk about the food service in Englewood Schools. Ms. Greer stated that this year Chartwells has a marvelous point of sale system that has improved bookkeeping and increased accuracy and is very efficient. Made to order sandwiches have been added at EHS with 45 to 50 sandwiches being prepared each day. This addition has helped shorten the a la carte line. Combo meals come prepackaged and meet all the state nutrition guidelines, they also help speed up the lunch lines allowing for more students to be served. Ms. Greer is trying to hire some additional staff to serve lunch at EHS. Englewood Middle School is serving 100 to 150 made to order sandwiches per day. The cafeteria at the middle school has been painted and updated to provide a pleasant atmosphere for the students. The two a la carte lines are doing well. Seventy to ninety percent of the elementary school students buy lunch and forty-five percent of the secondary kids buy lunch. Breakfast is also provided at the schools. Nutrition is a high priority so many whole grain products have been added along with low fat milk. The EHS cafeteria will have a new look next year. Every effort is being made to make food offerings appealing and healthy for students. The high cost for transporting goods will probably lead to higher food cost that may increase lunch prices.

School to Work Alliance
Ms. Neubert introduced Ms. Jill Beaudry, SWAP Coordinator and Mr. Ryan Trujillo, Assistant SWAP Coordinator who explained the School to Work Alliance program and the services SWAP provides to moderate and mild needs young adults. SWAP is a collaborative effort between Public Schools and the Colorado Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, to help connect young people with training and employment suitable to their abilities. They assist these qualified young people (16-25) in making the transition from school to work to allow them to become independent. They help teach traits valued by employers and necessary to be a successful employee along with helping find job placements. Englewood has a matching grant for SWAP services so the district does not incur added cost to participate in the program. Referrals to the SWAP program are made by school counselors. Young people no longer in school can be placed by contacting the Colorado Division of Vocational Rehabilitation.

Capital Reserve Budget    
The school finance bill has not yet been introduced at the State Capitol but Ms. LaPlante's estimate is that a minimum of $301 per pupil will be required to be allocated to the Capital Reserve Funds. Based on this $991,434, will go to Capital Reserve. Money from this fund pays for capital needs and risk management expenditures. Ms. LaPlante provided a preliminary budget that provided a list of the items and the amount of money for each item covered by Capitol Reserve Fund.

Bus Purchase
The Board approved allocating funds from the Capital Reserve Funds to purchase a new bus. The district has an opportunity to purchase a new bus at end of the model year cost. An older bus will become the back up bus. The district gets very little money by selling old buses so the district will hold a bus in reserve for back up and to help relieve overcrowding when possible.

Legislative Update
The school finance bill will be out soon, the bill may provide some relief for declining enrollment districts. The CAP4K bill (Colorado Achievement Plan for Kids) is now SB 212 that seems to be primarily geared toward college readiness education. This bill is still being work on but will impact education in Colorado. HB 1335 creates a fund to assist schools with capital needs in districts that have been unable to pass a mill levy. Funding will come from the School Lands Trust Fund.

Consensus Items
The Board approved the following consensus items:
a. Personnel Recommendations & Addendum
b. Policy JICDA Code of Conduct; JICDE Bully Prevention and Education; JICFA Hazing; JICH Drug and Alcohol Use by Students; JK Student Discipline; JK-2 Discipline of Students with Disabilities; JKD/JKE Suspension/Expulsion of Students which will replace Policies 5201, 5202, 5215, 5216 and 5221 for a 2nd Reading.
c. Policy GBGB-Staff Personal Security and Safety; JICI Weapons in School; JKA Use of Physical Intervention; which will replace Policies 3436, 5211, 5212, 5213 for a 2nd Reading.

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