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I.
Call to Order
Ms. Sarah Flerlage, Board Chair
II.
Roll Call
Ms. Sarah Flerlage, Board Chair
III.
Pledge of Allegiance
Ms. Glenda Huff, Board Chair
IV.
Welcome and Board Chair Comments
Ms. Sarah Flerlage, Board Chair
V.
Public Input
Ms. Sarah Flerlage, Board Chair
This is an opportunity for the community to provide input and comments on district business. To submit public input, for scheduled virtual meetings email Becky Egan, Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent by 3 p.m., one day prior to the scheduled meeting at becky.egan@covington.kyschools.us
Please include in the email:
- Full name
- Address
- Comments you would like addressed to the Covington Board of Education
Members of the public may address the Board during the period set aside by the Board without submitting an item for the agenda. No action shall be taken during this portion of the meeting on issues raised by employees or the public unless deemed an emergency by the Board. Please note: Comments are asked to refrain from personal remarks in which an individual is named. Comments are limited to two minutes unless extended by the board chair. Critical comments or complaints are processed through the District’s complaint procedures. Questions and concerns will be addressed by the Board through various venues, including, but not limited to, the district website and e-mail.
VI.
District Recognition and Presentations
Board Member
VI.1.
Covington Independent Diploma ~ Sjonte Strayhorn, conferred on January 3, 2022
Lori Duffy
VII.
Informational Items (Action Possible)
VII.1.
Personnel Actions
Mr. Ken Kippenbrock, Executive Director of Human Resources and Operations
The personnel actions listed on the exhibit have taken place since the board meeting of February 10, 2022.
VII.2.
Diverse Educator Grant Partnership with Northern Kentucky University
Mr. Ken Kippenbrock, Executive Director of Human Resources and Operations
Recommendation for the Board to authorize the District to reimburse up to $1,000.00 per year as tuition reimbursement payable to a Covington Independent teacher who is a recipient of the Diverse Educator Grant for Middle and Secondary Teachers offered through Northern Kentucky University’s MAT program, and to develop eligibility procedures for said reimbursement. Teachers who qualify for this reimbursement may receive up to $2,000.00 total of tuition reimbursement over the course of the two year MAT program and then an additional $2,000.00 payable in yearly installments of $1,000.00 over the course of the next two years, provided that the teacher remains employed in the Covington School District for a minimum of the four years continuous service. The participant pool for Covington Schools shall be capped at ten participants in any given year.
Northern Kentucky University’s MAT program currently offers a $10,000.00 per student grant to those applicants who qualify under the Diverse Educator Grant for Middle and Secondary Teachers. Completion of the MAT coursework and exams required for certification will lead to the individual teacher’s eligibility for rank change in Kentucky (Rank II). The total cost of the NKU MAT is approximately $14,000.00. This recommendation proposes to offset the amount not covered by the Diverse Educator Grant for those Covington Independent teachers who are recipients of the Diverse Educator Grant for Middle and Secondary Teachers. It is the intent and purpose of this recommendation to enhance the professional skills of existing teachers; to attract potential teachers; to increase diversity among the teaching staff; and to assist qualifying teachers in acquiring vital tools to create successful academic pathways for children and pre-adolescents. We do not anticipate the expenditure to exceed $40,000.00 per year total, and no more than $4,000.00 per qualified applicant. This expenditure is consistent with the District’s policies to provide professional development opportunities to teachers and to enhance the academic offerings to students.
VII.3.
Comprehensive District Improvement Plan 2022-2024
Mr. Scott Alter, Assistant Superintendent of Student Learning
Presentation to Covington Independent Public Schools on Comprehensive District Improvement Plan (CDIP) 2022-2024.
VII.4.
Managed Internal Broadband Service (MIBS)
Mr. Jamarcus White, Director of Technology
Due to the increase in technology demands such as more tablets, more phones, more software, more computers, the need for faster connections, and managing new devices, our network system has grown to a size that requires a lot of monitoring and support. Managing the network system is time consuming and takes away from the daily technology needs. The students, teachers and staff in Covington Schools are the priority and the technology team's number one goal is to make sure the students and staff are all online.
To help alleviate the demands of monitoring our network infrastructure, Mr. Jamarcus White, technology director is recommending that the district contracts out the network services to a third-party vendor that can monitor, maintain, manage and support the current network infrastructure using an e-rate eligible service called Managed Internal Broadband Service (MIBS).
VIII.
Report of the Treasurer
Ms. Annette Burtschy, Director of Finance
VIII.1.
Under Armour Athletic Contract
Mr. Ken Ellis, Athletic Director & Ms. Annette Burtschy, Director of Finance
Back in January 2017 Holmes High School entered into a contract with Adidas. The contract expired June 30, 2021.
The Holmes Athletic Department is requesting to enter into an Athletic Agreement with Under Armour. The Holmes Athletic Department would purchase Under Armour apparel, footwear and accessories at up to 35% off retail. This agreement expires June 30, 2026.
See information attached on the research that the Finance Department compiled along with the Under Armour contract.
VIII.2.
Revised BG 21-252 with Capital Funds Request Form
Ms. Annette Burtschy, Director of Finance
The District must complete a revised BG 21-252 for Meiken Field based on KDE feedback changing the funding source from ESSER II to building fund cash through the Capital Funds Request. The Capital Funds Request amount is $459,987 which is the amount left in building fund cash for FY22. The amount left of $5,115.40 will come from the general fund.
The District is asking this item to be considered an approval item since the original BG1 was approved and this is just a funding source change.
VIII.3.
Monthly Financials ~ January
Ms. Annette Burtschy, Director of Finance
Budget Narrative for January FY2022 monthly financial statement:
- General fund (fund 1) – as of 1/31/22, revenue received of 36.2 million with expenses of 18.7 million.
- Special revenue (fund 2) – as of 1/31/22, revenue received of 8.8 million with expenses of 9.3 million. Many grants in fund 2 are on a reimbursement basis. Money is requested after the expenses have occurred. There is a delay on receiving fund 2 revenue.
- Capital outlay (fund 310) - as of 1/31/22, revenue received of $172,000 with expenses of $0. The state does not provide all the capital outlay funding until the end of the fiscal year. This fund is used to pay the district’s bond payments. Bond payments occur throughout the whole fiscal year under fund 400 (new for FY’13 per KDE).Money will be transferred out of capital outlay into the debt service fund throughout the fiscal year.
- Building fund (fund 320) - as of 1/31/22, revenue received of 1.3 million with expenses of $481,000.This fund is used to pay the district’s bond payments. Bond payments occur throughout the whole fiscal year under fund 400 (new for FY’13 per KDE).Money will be transferred out of building fund into the debt service fund throughout the fiscal year.
- Construction fund (fund 360) - as of 1/31/22, revenue received of $0 with expenses of $444,000.This fund is used to pay for the district’s construction projects.
- Debt Service fund (fund 400) – as of 1/31/22, revenue received of $0 with expenses of $800,000.See detailed explanation under capital outlay and building fund.
- Daycare fund (originally fund 50 – switched to fund 52 per KDE) – as of 1/31/22, revenue received of $203,000 with expenses of $124,000.Revenue comes in throughout the fiscal year.
- Food service fund (fund 51) – as of 1/31/22, revenue received of 2.4 million with expenses of 1.6 million.
- School Activity Fund (fund 25) – as of 1/31/22 revenue received of 299,000 with expenses of -2,900.This fund was set up end of FY20 due to a new GASB standard that went into effect. All Redbook monies have to be entered into MUNIS which is done at year-end in June.
Completed 2/1/22 by Annette Burtschy
VIII.4.
Warrant Expenditure Report
Ms. Annette Burtschy, Director of Finance
Pursuant to Policy 04.3111, the treasurer shall prepare warrants or “Orders of the Treasurer” to be acted upon at each regular Board meeting. The Board shall give subsequent approval to all budgeted disbursements made between meetings of the Board. Disbursements shall only be made on invoices for purchases made in accordance with District policy and procedures.
IX.
Consent Agenda
IX.1.
Approval of Minutes ~ February 10, 2022 Regular Meeting
IX.2.
2023 Site Base Decision Making (SBDM) Allocation
Mr. Bill Grein, Secondary Director
By March 1st, each Site Based Decision Making (SBDM) council must have a draft of the 2023 SBDM Allocation.
There are no changes from the allocation for 2022.
IX.3.
Professional Development Contract ~ Larry Bell, Multicultural America, Inc.
Mr. Scott Alter, Assistant Superintendent of Student Learning
As part of our opening day ceremony, professional development and continued equity work, the district would like to invite Larry Bell, President and CEO of Multicultural America, Inc., to Covington on August 22, 23 & 24, 2022 to present to our staff.
Mr. Bell offers workshop presentations that will cater to our needs such as; student achievement, classroom culture, strategies to motivate and excite students, research-based characteristics of learners that struggle, and techniques that increase academic achievement of African American and Latino students.
Pursuant to policy 01.11, Contracts for consultants and/or specialist that are in excess of $5,000 must have prior Board approval.
This is an informational item that will be brought back requesting Board approval on February 24, 2022.
IX.4.
Fundraising Approval ~ Chapman Daycare Picture Sales
Ms. Kim Terry, Director of Chapman Daycare & Jamie Emery
Pursuant to CIPS Policy 09.33 Fund Raising Activities, Board approval is required for all school-wide fundraising activities.
Chapman Child Development Center are requesting to sell pictures on flash drives to parents. The money raised would benefit future family events.
IX.5.
Leave of Absence Request - Employee #6595
Mr. Ken Kippenbrock, Executive Director of Human Resources and Operations
Employee # 6595 has requested a leave of absence beginning 02/07/2022 and returning 02/22/2022. This leave will be fully paid.
IX.6.
Leave of Absence Request- Employee #5393
Mr. Ken Kippenbrock, Executive Director of Human Resources and Operations
Employee # 5393 has requested a leave of absence beginning 02/04/2022 and returning 03/18/2022. This leave will be paid and unpaid.
X.
Individual Approval Agenda Items
X.1.
Health Update and Mask Recommendation
Ms. Jenn Fowee, Director of Health Services
Per the recommendation of Ms. Jennifer Fowee, Director of Health Services, we would like to propose that we change our mask policy to be "mask recommended" instead of "mask required." We had discussed the possibility of these changes back in December with the intent of re-addressing it on January 24. When Omicron affected our ability to stay fully staffed in January, we decided to hold off to have this discussion until now.
We previously developed the mask matrix to help us decide how to handle this. With newer strains of the virus proving to be mostly less severe, more transmissible, and more prevalent, the color coding on the mask matrix may prove to not be the most useful tool for us. Here are a couple other factors that we have considered in the past:
- Quarantine numbers - at the start of our day today, we had 2 staff and 25 students from the entire district on our quarantine list. This number will fluctuate, but we haven't seen it this low since summer 2021, at which time we successfully dropped our "mask required" status.
- NKY vaccination rates -
- 68.3% of the total NKY population is vaccinated.
- 55.7% of kids aged 12-17 are vaccinated, and 24.9% of kids aged 5-11 are vaccinated.
- We've factored in concerns about kids taking the virus home to caregivers or grandparents, so it's important for us to also look at vaccination rates for that population:
- 83.8% vaccination rate in 50-59 years old
- 99.3% and higher vaccination rate in all age groups 60 years old and up
- These numbers tell us that the highest risk population is really well-covered in terms of vaccination status.
- With vaccines being available for over a year now, there has been ample time and opportunity for those who wish to be vaccinated to go get vaccinated. The vaccination rates might not get significantly higher than they are now.
- The district has hosted 7 vaccine clinics for staff and/or students.
- COVID testing - there is ample access to free COVID testing in our area, both with and without an appointment. We also continue to offer tests through our School Based Health Center. Home test kits have also been made available to all residents.
- PPE and supplies- there is no shortage of PPE or medical supplies in the schools, hospitals, or the community. We also have sufficient access to cleaning supplies.
- Hospital capacity - while the local hospitals have seen an increase in visits over recent weeks, they are not near capacity for inpatient beds or ventilators.
- Natural immunity - with the recent surge in cases from Omicron, it is important to consider that natural immunity should last for 90+ days in most people.
- Response of other districts - many local districts have resumed their "mask optional/recommended" status, and some new districts have also made the switch to "mask optional/recommended" when they previously had not. So far, these districts are not reporting significant increases in the spread of COVID.
- Response of the community - we all know that masks are not required in most places outside of schools. There is growing concern of why children are continuing to be asked to carry the burden of protecting everyone else, especially when they are around the same group of people in their classroom every day. There is also growing concern focused on the unintended consequences of mask-wearing on the overall development of young children, as well as the social and emotional development of older children.
With all these things considered, Ms. Jennifer Fowee believes we are at a point where the benefit of requiring all individuals to wear a mask is not as crucial as it once was.
Other countries have started dropping their COVID restrictions, stating that COVID is no longer considered a socially critical disease. These are encouraging words. hopeful we can begin responding to COVID just as we respond to other communicable diseases, allowing our staff and students to regain more normalcy.
XI.
Addendum Agenda (Action Possible)
XI.1.
FEMA Resolution Form
Ms. Annette Burtschy, Director of Finance
The Board of Education has to approve this resolution for Annette Burtschy, Finance Director, to act on behalf of the school district to continue to process the FEMA reimbursement. The district is still going through the process of seeing if we can get reimbursed for some of the initial expenses incurred when the COVID pandemic started.
XII.
Report of the Attorney
Ms. Mary Ann Stewart, Board Attorney
XIII.
Further Discussion and/or announcements by the Board of Education
Ms. Sarah Flerlage, Board Chair
XIV.
Upcoming Events
Ms. Sarah Flerlage, Board Chair
February 25-27 ~ 2022 KSBA Annual Conference, Kentucky International Convention Center, Louisville
March 4 ~ Term 3 ends
March 10 ~ Regular Board Meeting, Covington Board of Education at 5 p.m.
March 11 ~ Teacher Planning Day, Schools Closed, Staff Report
March 24 ~ Regular Board Meeting, Covington Board of Education at 5 p.m.
April 11-15 ~ Spring Break, School Closed
Download the district app or visit our website for a complete athletic schedule.
XV.
Executive Session
Pursuant to KRS 61.810 (1) the Board may go into executive session.
XVI.
Adjournment
Ms. Sarah Flerlage, Board Chair
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