Board Briefs—April 18, 2006 In This Issue... Public Comments Board Member Reports Highlights from Superintendent's Report Information and Literacy Plan Renewals and Non-Renewals Full Day Kindergarten Tuition 2006-2007 School Year   Head Start Grant Application 2006-2007 School Year Legislative Update Approval of IP Telephony Consensus Items Board Member's Choice

Public Comments
Two parents addressed the Board regarding budget-related issues.

Board Member Reports
- Mrs. Scaggiari attended a recent Library Board meeting. The Library Board is starting a Strategic Planning process and is looking for a school representative to be a part of this process.
- Ms. Miller attended a recent Athletic Advisory Committee meeting. She noted that there is a possible federal law that is looking at equity of school sports. The law would mandate one booster for an entire school, rather than separate boosters for each sport.
- Ms. Miller attended a recent Parks and Recreation meeting. One topic was a problem with graffiti and trash at the Sinclair handball and tennis courts. The District and city are working together to try to resolve this problem.
- Ms. Hunt attended a recent Health and Wellness Committee meeting. They are working on the District Wellness Policy, which must be in place by September of this year.
- Mr. Gorsky and Ms. Hunt attended a recent City/Schools Committee meeting. Topics of discussion included making the community aware of assistance available for residents to upgrade or repair Englewood properties, the need to boost publicity around both the city and the schools, and the problems at the Sinclair handball and tennis courts.

Highlights from Superintendent's Report
6th Grade Classes at Bishop and Charles Hay—The deadline has passed for Bishop and Charles Hay students to apply to attend 6th grade at those schools. Only Bishop will be conducting a sixth grade class, as there were not enough applicants at Charles Hay to full a classroom.
Financial Reporting—Dr. McCabe congratulated Ms. Peg LaPlante and her staff for receiving a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting.
Cherrelyn Congratulations—Dr. McCabe congratulated Ms. Gail Neubert for being invited to be a presenter at the Rocky Mountain Institute for Cherrelyn's Response to Intervention Program. They will be presenting along with Grandview High School.
Financial Advisory Committee—The District is looking for volunteers to be a part of the Englewood Schools Financial Advisory Committee.

Information Literacy and Technology (ILT) Plan  Handout
Members of the Information Literacy and Technology Team (ILT) presented the ILT Plan for 2006-2009 to the Board. Every District needs to submit an updated ILT Plan to CDE, based on CDE and NCLB requirements. Englewood's plan has three goals: Student Technology Skills, Collaboration and Integration, and Professional Development.
The Board approved the 2006-2009 ILT Plan.

Renewals and Non-Renewals  
The Board approved the recommendations for renewal and non-renewal of contracts as presented.

Full Day Kindergarten Tuition 2006-2007 School Year   Handout 1  Handout 2
Ms. Diedrich explained that based on information in the Handouts, which surveyed costs of full-day kindergarten in surrounding Districts, the proposed increase for Englewood Schools still puts the District at the lower end of fees for this type of program.
The Board approved raising the Full Day Kindergarten fee to $13 per day beginning with the 2006/07 school year.

Head Start Grant Application 2006-2007 School Year   Handout  
The Board approved the Head Start grant application for the 2006-07 school year, in the amount of $247,052.

Legislative Update   
Ms. Peg LaPlante provided an update of recent legislative activity on behalf of the District's Legislative Steering Committee. She noted that the School Finance Bill has not yet passed, but should soon. Good news from this bill is that, because of Referendum C, more money will be available for Special Education categoricals. The Legislative Steering Committee is also monitoring two bills related to PERA.

Approval of IP Telephony  Handout 1  Handout 2  Handout 3
The Board approved the purchase of an IP Telephony system for the District at a cost of $443,405. This is a one-time expenditure, with funds from General Fund Reserves, transferred to the Capital Reserve Fund. This one-time expenditure will not lead to an ongoing deficit. Implementation of the new system will increase reliability of the District phone system, while reducing ongoing operating expenses.

Consensus Items
The Board approved the following consensus items:
a. Personnel Recommendations & Addendum
b. Extended Field Trip—Flood Middle School/EHS—Colorado Technology Student Association State Conference

Board Member's Choice
During Board Member's Choice, there was discussion around community concern that the Board is not looking at long-range planning. Ms. Thompson and Ms. Miller both addressed this issue, saying the District is looking ahead. The Strategic Planning process is underway, the City/Schools Committee has started up again, the Financial Advisory Committee will look at efficient use of District facilities. These are all being done with emphasis on the future.

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