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News from September 21st Board of Education Meeting

News from September 21st Board of Education Meeting

The District 64 Board of Education held a regular meeting and a public hearing on the budget on Thursday, September 21st, at the Jefferson Early Childhood Center.

VIEW THE MEETING VIDEO HERE

Spotlight on Franklin Elementary School

  • Franklin Principal Kristin Williams and Assistant Principal Margaret Burke were joined by three Franklin Elementary School 5th-grade students in showing the Board a presentation on how the Falcons are finding their joy this year. 
    • The 5th graders told us they’re looking forward to going to Camp Duncan and other future field trips. Plus, they’re looking forward to continuing to learn! Thank you so much for joining us last night! 
  • View Franklin’s presentation to the Board here
  • Click here for Franklin’s Joy in the Journey video.

Adoption of District Budget for 2023-2024
Motion Approved

Watch the budget presentation from Dr. Adam Parisi, Chief School Business Official, here

Some changes from the tentative budget presented last month include: 

  • New staff hired since early August 2022 reflect actual salaries and benefits
  • Fund Budgets were more closely monitored and adjusted where necessary

You can view the budget on our website

Resolution to Transfer Fund
Motion Approved

Student Achievement Update

Assistant Superintendent of Student Learning Dr. Samantha Alaimo gave a student achievement update, sharing a snapshot of K-8 student performance. 

You can read the Spring 2023 Student Achievement Update Memo or the Student Achievement Update Slideshow

Dr. Alaimo shared that student performance indicators show a return to pre-pandemic levels for most assessment data and that, as a District, we continue to report high achievement data. “This is a major celebration for us,” Dr. Alaimo said at the meeting. 

 As a goal, our focus is on a higher rate of growth for all students while keeping achievement stable. 

Dr. Alaimo gave a thoughtful explanation of how our growth may have gone down just a little bit at some grade levels, but our achievement numbers continue to stay high. “MAP will give students a growth target, and it can be anywhere between three and eight points. If a student hits that, they are calculated into that percentage. If they don’t hit it, they’re not. So if a student has a goal of seven points to grow, and you make six, you’re still growing, but you’re not in that percentage.”

Opening Enrollment and Staffing Report

Dr. Joel Martin, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources, gave an update on the District enrollment. As of August 31, D64’s enrollment is 4,465, a decrease of 45 students from the start of the 2022-2023 school year. 

“This is not something that comes as a shock to us,” said Dr. Martin. “If you recall, back at the February Board meeting, I was projecting to be down in our rollover, and at that time, we were looking at 4,401. So we’re actually up about 64 kids from the projection.”
 

Approval of Recommended Personnel Report 
Motion Approved

Presentation and Approval of Superintendent Goals
Motion Approved

Superintendent Dr. Ben Collins presented a document with his goals for the year. In addition to the goals listed in his contract, Dr. Collins created some more and shared them with the community. The key focus areas will include:

  • Goal 1: Learning district procedures, district and building personnel, and entry plan execution
  • Goal 2: Lead and execute major areas of the strategic plan
  • Goal 3: Connect with the larger community

Recommendation for School Board Member Expense Reimbursement Amount
Motion Approved

Approval to deny the Superintendent’s decision regarding a Uniform Grievance Procedure Complaint filed by a Teacher
Motion Approved

Approval of Resolution Dismissing an Educational Support Personnel Employee for
Reasons Other Than Reduction-In-Force

Motion Approved

Consent Agenda
Motion Approved

Approval of Minutes
Motion Approved
 

Together We Discover, Learn, Grow & Care

At D64, our mission is to foster opportunities for discovery, engagement, and growth for all students. We accomplish this by nurturing interdependence, appreciation of differences, and care for self and others.

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