Live Blog: St. Charles Board of Education Meeting March 10

The following is a timeline of the St. Charles Board of Education meeting of March 10. St. Charles Patch provided live updates throughout the event.

9:35 p.m. The Board of Education concluded the meeting. 

9:25 p.m. In an update on the district finances, Rick Radford, assistant superintendent of business, said local revenues are coming in less than anticipated. He said he made two phone calls to St. Charles County Government to find out if there are major payments that have not yet come in, but has not yet heard. Radford said the district will end the year with a 17 percent fund balance.

9:20 p.m. The cost to rent a district baseball field this summer will double from $10 per month for four 90 minute sessions, to $20 a month. The change will mean the district will generate about $3,600 a year. "It's not so significant that the ball clubs are going to see a huge difference," said Radford. 

9:16 p.m. The Board of Education approved changing the snow make up days  to May 19, 20, 23, 24, 25, 26 and 27. The end of third quarter was also moved to March 18. The St. Charles High School graduation will remain scheduled for May 26 and the St. Charles West High School graduation will be May 29, if at all possible, said Jeff Marion, assistant superintendent for human resources. 

9:12 p.m. Radford showed board members the plan for capital improvement projects in 2011-12 school year. Board member Linda Schulte asked when the last time Jefferson Intermediate School had a major cosmetic update. Radford said the school received a new HVAC system in 2009, but was unsure of the last date for other major improvements.

9:06 p.m. Jeff Marion, assistant superintendent for human resources, talked about the meet and confer process the district used to negotiate with the St. Charles Education Association this year on teacher contracts. Teachers will receive a step increase in their pay, and will get an average of a 2.8 percent pay increase. The Board of Education approved the professional agreement unanimously. 

9:00 p.m. Charles Brazeale, director of instructional technology, offered a report from the district gradebook committee on the program the teachers use to record grades, the Teacher Access Center module of eSchoolPLUS. Brazeale said the committee discussed the need for better communication around how to use the gradebook. He also talked about the different approaches to grading used by the elementary and secondary teachers. Secondary teachers also have requests for upgrades to the program, such as the ability to show the total absences for students or the ability to display the order of students in the gradebook.

8:57 p.m. The Board of Education voted to unanimously accept the program review of food services. 

8:44 p.m. Shirley Derby, director of food services, talked about how the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act in 2010 will impact the students. The Act was put into place because there are 17 million children who do not have enough food in their homes, said Derby. She said the Act creates more strict nutrition standards for food served in schools. The new standards have to be implemented by the 2012-13 school year. Among the new requirements are that schools no longer serve deep fried foods, overly sugary foods or salty foods. 

8:40 p.m. Russ Leary, director of maintenance, offered the board an update on renovating Blackhurst Elementary School, which will reopen in August 2011 to students. Painting in lower level hallway and 35-40 percent of the upper level of the school is complete. Work on the library and the gym will begin on the first week of April after The Refuge, a church that rents space in the school, moves out. 

8:38 p.m. Danielle Tormala, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, explained that the board was being asked to approve changing the title of the district's coordinator for English Language Learners from Student Services Coordinator to ELL Coordinator. The board unanimously approved the change.

8:30 p.m. Radford talked to the board about the anticipated tax levy for next year. By March 15, the county assessor must tell political subdivisions what the anticipated assessed valuation will be so they can set an estimated tax levy, Radford said. The school district will set tax levy based on the the final assessed valuation numbers, which will be available in the fall, he said. The assessed valuation went from $941 million this year to an estimated $913 million next year. That change means the district's tax levy will increase from $4.55 per $100 of assessed valuation to $4.82 per $100 of assessed valuation next year, he said. 

8:27 p.m. Jeff Marion, assistant superintendent of human resources, told the board that he had sorted through the requests for student transfers and been able to approve all of the requests but four. He said he will try to honor requests that come in after the deadline as classroom space allows. 

8:22 p.m. Norquise Cooper, the district's new director of transportation, gave the board an update on the progress for the transportation program. She told the board that the district held a job fair Feb. 23 and received many applications from  bus drivers currently employed by First Student. She said the district has planned to hire 50 drivers for next year: 40 main drivers and 10 spare drivers.

8:05 p.m. Kay Davis, director of special education, recognized several staff members who have done great things this year including Cindy Biondo, Adrienne Milburn, Chuck Stancil, Kelli Cline, Jessie Kulage, Dawn Hogan, Deb Schneider and Jennifer Stevens. 

8:01 p.m. The Board of Education watched a video about the climate at Hardin Middle School that was created by students Liza Overton and Marissa Clark. 

7:52 p.m. St. Charles West Principal Kim Fitterling recognized students Austin Rugraff and Casey Bartee who both placed in the Class 3A State Wrestling contest. Austin Rugraff, a sophomore, took second in the 160-pound weight class. Bartee placed fifth in the 152-pound weight class. 

Hardin Middle School Principal Ed Gettemeier talked about how his students have given back to the community, including Mary Van Winkle, a 7th grade student, who volunteers to help the special education students during her free time.

7:45 p.m. Superintendent Randy Charles submitted a letter to the Board of Education announcing his intention to retire at the end of the 2011-12 school year. The letter was read aloud by St. Charles Board of Education President Linda Schulte.