Going to a summer school board meeting is almost as fun as a student attending summer school, but sometimes it just has to be done.  When I started attending school board meetings regularly-- starting back one year ago, in a late August special meeting held in the auditorium to hear from a couple dozen people regarding the latest Covid-19 policy-- it was clear that the school had been crafting such policy during their summer vacation, along with a lot of other things.

These summer sessions are poorly attended by the public in general but are likely the most important ones as regards the budgets, the curriculum changes, and the acquiring of new personnel.  The agenda was deceptively light with five action items, but just one of those items was effectively approving the spending of about 1/2 of the 2019 bond amount of $101 million, primarily on improvements to the middle and high school buildings and grounds.  

Notably absent was board member Scott Foster, but two guests were also absent.  A presentation was scheduled on 'interconnected systems framework', but the two presenters were no-call-no-shows.  Apparently, something more important came up.  Eight individuals served as audience in an odd configuration, three men sat apart in the front row, five women sat apart in the rows behind them.  

Two of the men spoke during public comment, the first was myself, I brought two issues to the table:

XLFD:  'In section 123 of the school bylaws, the philosophy of the board is expressed:

"The Board declares and, thereby, reaffirms its intent to:  Maintain two-way communications with citizens of the District... the citizens shall be urged to bring their aspirations and concerns about the District to the attention of this body."

These communications normally happen only once a month when the full board meets as a public body when this philosophy is echoed in the memorandum that comes directly after the agenda in your packets for each meeting, which says:  "The Board of Education recognizes the value of public comment on educational issues and the importance of allowing members of the public to express themselves on District matters."

Over the last year, I have heard some profound views from citizens, staff, and students during the comment period of board meetings but inevitably the minutes of those meetings may only reflect that two, 23, or seven people spoke without a hint of a summary of what they spoke about.  

Such minimalistic minutes does not reflect the philosophy of the board nor does it reflect that they value such input; to the contrary, it better indicates an elitism that I have accused this board of on many occasions.  I would encourage the board's secretary to consider summarizing the aspirations and concerns of the people who take the time to craft their thoughts and state them formally at these meetings.

Additionally, I must express continued concerns regarding traffic controls, and lack thereof, near the new elementary.  The district actively encouraged riding bikes to this school in the spring through the safe routes to school program.  But the route is far from safe with a 45-mph speed limit going both ways on Bryant Road, no effective shoulder, and very limited lighting-- which is important when you consider that the first day of school has sunrise starting at 7:15 AM, which only gets worse as the year progresses.

Frankly, if you don't see the inherent dangers of a young child riding his bike in the dark on a mostly unlit, shoulder-less 45 mph road, heavily trafficked with parents in a hurry traveling the same direction, you don't belong on a school board.  Over two years of planning after a $101 million bond was passed, eight months of the school being in operation-- WHY aren't these fixable issues being addressed?" [END Comment]

As if to affirm their elitism, the board failed to address either issue during the meeting, likely meaning that the unsafe conditions for bicyclists and pedestrians on Bryant Road will continue unabated, and that the minutes of the meeting will simply say "Citizen participation:  two citizens addressed the board".  Jason Wolven, a candidate for the school board, was the other person who spoke, introducing himself to the board and other attendees, suggested that I should run for the school board.  

That may happen in 2026, when three of the worst and elitest board members come up for reelection, but I wish that Jason would have delineated exactly what he thinks he can add to the board.  It appears from his Twitter and Facebook posts that he would support mandating masks for students and is an officer of the county's Democratic Party.  He offers nothing about what he would offer and do as a board member, so even though I appreciate the encouragement, I do not see him as an improvement over the two board members running unless and until he can present a workable philosophy.  

The board passed a consent agenda that had the appointment of the school's legal firm (Thrun Law PC) and audit firm, along with virtual learning guidelines for the coming school year.  Those guidelines are in the packet, but one would hope the appointments could be brought out as an item for discussion and then for a vote.  Retaining a non-local law firm and an audit firm should take more than just a rote vote to approve a consent agenda, it gives the appearance that the board and administrators are complacent and unwilling to consider alternatives that may save the district money or better serve them.  If these firms are doing a great job, then putting their appointment on the regular agenda gives officials the chance to affirm this to the public.

Superintendent Kyle Corlett gave the State of the District Address, reminiscent of the presidential state of the union, but on a much lesser scale.  He led off with a quote expressing his philosophy:  "In a healthy school culture data is information, not condemnation."  This is a good approach, suggesting that transparency is a good thing even when the information could be damning.  He reviewed the district's financial status, enrollment, the past year, what's happening in the coming year, challenges and strengths.  He was proud that the LASD was fully staffed, unlike some other districts, and that they were gaining more teachers from other districts than losing them to other districts.

During the various committee reports it was learned that safety training is still scheduled to take place at LES on August 25th with multiple police agencies.  The left-hand turn lane on Jebavy would likely not be ready until after school starts.  The food services director (present) noted that she had hired enough lunch ladies to fulfill the needs of the LASD.

School lunches and breakfasts were an issue under consideration, with the costs of both increasing rather dramatically after a year when both were offered freely to all students.  As you can see in the table provided, breakfasts have gone up 29% and lunches went up 27%.  Fortunately, the reduced rate (for qualifying students) remains unchanged.  

The board approved payment of $258,000 in bond project payments, appointed UMB Bank as their official depository (note this was not in the consent agenda), and approved local electricians C & I Electric to do the electrical panel and meter work for the school's gas storage area (about $21,000).  They added the approval of two more probationary teachers to the agenda at the last minute.

Ben Globke was the other man sitting in the front row who is the project manager for Christman for the MS/HS work which will cost the district nearly $51,000,000.  The board had a preview of the bids and effectively approved all the bids presented (totaling $46M) with one vote.  Globke apparently reviewed all competitive bids and chose 'recommendations' that "represent the firms that we believe provided the lowest, qualified, responsive bid for these work categories".  

During the construction of the elementary school, they at least supplied the competitive bids, where the lowest qualified bid didn't always indicate the winner.  It's hard to give a lot of credence to a company who puts aside nearly a half million dollars for landscaping in the already-landscaped MS/HS area, but maybe that's just me and my philosophy-- especially after seeing how the same landscapers did such a terrible job over at the elementary school.

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Another excellent article X. An important question every tax payer should be asking is why are we subsidizing breakfast and lunch for all of these kids? There are many school districts that even offer 3 meals a day. Where are the parents who should be feeding their kids? What really needs to be done is to give all of these dead beat parents birth control. I'm sick of paying for other peoples expenses. I can understand it if a family is truly in need but we all know most of these free loaders are just plain leaches. Some of the adds on TV make out America to be a Third World Country by claiming vast amounts of children in the US have "food insecurity". Please, give me a break.

One of the things I don't get about school meals is that they are totally unreasonable as regards to their price/value if you happen to be a parent who makes too much to get a reduced or free repast.  A cup of milk is/was 65 cents at school, which equates to $10.40 per gallon; you can buy your own gallon of milk for $3. 

Use some of that gallon, some cheap kid's cereal, scramble a couple of eggs, toast a bagel and/or some bread, smear some cream cheese and/or jam on it, add some juice and it will cost you under $1.50 if you shop wisely for a breakfast, not $2 for less at the school-- and you can bond with your kids rather than have them deal with their sleepy peers.  Same with lunch, there are so many healthy meals you could make at home for under $3.25 even with Bidenflation running rampant.

Free and reduced meals offer great value and a great reason for low-income parents to take advantage of them, but it also makes the food program costly for the district and its taxpayers-- and fosters dependency by encouraging children of the poor to look to the school/government as their provider, rather than their parents.

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