Board Chair Price Smith called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.

Requesting acceptance of a $1000 donation from River Brook Realty to support the LaRue County Schools ExCEL Teacher of the Year program.  

Request to submit the 2024 Preschool Quality Partnership Grant Application in collaboration with Central Kentucky Head Start (LaRue). 

The Governor’s Office of Early Childhood and the Department of Education announced a funding opportunity designed to incentivize cooperative public/private partnerships between public school districts and childcare providers to develop full day, year-round, high-quality programs for at-risk children. The incentive grant program represents an opportunity for school districts and childcare providers to improve the quality of services in their communities.

The award range is up to $300,000 for the eighteen-month grant period. 

Project SEARCH Elizabethtown partners with Baptist Health Elizabethtown to provide job training and development for students with intellectual disabilities in the area. Students who participate in the program will enroll in LaRue County Schools for an optional 5th year. The program partners with the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation and FINK to provide skills training and post-secondary outcomes. The goal for each program participant is competitive employment. To reach that goal, the program provides real-life work experience combined with training in employability and independent-living skills to help young people with significant disabilities make successful transitions to productive adult life. The Project SEARCH model involves an extensive period of skills training and career exploration, innovative adaptations, long-term job coaching, and continuous feedback from teachers, skills trainers, and employers. As a result, at the completion of the training program, students with significant intellectual disabilities are employed in nontraditional, complex and rewarding jobs. In addition, the presence of a Project SEARCH program can bring about long-term changes in business culture that have far-reaching positive effects on attitudes about hiring people with disabilities and the range of jobs in which they can be successful. 

LaRue County Schools would partner with Elizabethtown Independent to provide students for this program. LaRue County Schools would be responsible for a proportionate amount of the salary of the instructional assistant accompanying the students to work at BHH. This money would be generated from the additional SEEK funds created from students remaining at LaRue County Schools for an optional 5th year. 

Discussion only-MOA approval to come at a later date.

The Council for Exceptional Children awards 10, $650 mini grants each year to special education teachers who are members. The following teachers from LaRue County plan to apply: 

• Jaime Price: Classroom sensory corner
• Heather Bewley: Coffee Cart School Based Enterprise
• Madison Johnson: Collaborative Teaching Stations
• Kelsey Cote: Community Based Instruction
• Sabrina Scott: Flexible seating

The Reading Diagnostic & Intervention Fund Mini-Grant is a competitive grant opportunity from the Kentucky Department of Education that if awarded provides $40,000 for a school to purchase high-quality K-3 reading intervention materials and associated professional learning for Tier 2 and/or Tier 3 intervention needs. The district files the application on behalf of the school. The grant is for one year only and does not require any matching funds. We can submit an application for each elementary school.

Recommended amendment for spring 2024 is attached. We will convene a committee to do a full overview of all Work Ethic Certification criteria for 2024-2025 school year as we are five years into implementation. To respect the work of this committee, we are recommending only a minimal adjustment for spring 2024 that could only help a student meet the criteria. 

School District Assurance Certification for Family Resource and Youth Service Centers.  This document outlines FRYSC program assurances that LaRue County Schools agrees to comply with.

Request approval to advertise to accept bids for auditorium upgrades at the high school.

It is requested that the Board considers advertising for Invitation to Bid Crack Repair, Sealcoat and Stripe LCHS Parking lots

Proposal for Contract.

Project Scope: Trane proposes a BAS R’newal which includes the labor and materials to upgrade existing Building Control Unit (BCU) with new Trane WEB based System Controller (SC+) at Abraham Lincoln Elementary.  By leveraging existing equipment, BAS R’newal provides a proactive migration plan to improve the functionality and reliability of an aging system that is no longer supported/manufactured today and is more cost effective than a comprehensive system replacement.  

Total project cost: $31,340.00

Work is to be completed by July 31, 2024.

Montgomery & Company, PLLC  has submitted a proposal to perform the District’s financial audit for FY2024.  Montgomery & Company, PLLC are respected by the Finance Department at KDE as they were responsible for over nine school district’s audits in FY23. Montgomery & Company, PLLC completes audits for districts that are very similar to size to LaRue as well as processes and procedures. 

There were three audit submissions:

Montgomery & Company, PLLC: $23,000

Patrick & Associates: $25,000

Carr, Riggs & Ingram LLC: $32,500

702 KAR 3:246 requires local districts to provide school councils both a tentative allocation by March 1st and a final allocation by May 1st for school staffing for the next fiscal year.  The District’s board staffing policy is contained in board policy & procedures 02.4331; the policy is not to change for school year 2024-2025.  Attached are SBDM Allocations for school year 2024-2025, presented at a 24:1 student/staff ratio.

• Future of Athletic Director position - Justin Craft
• CHAMP Project donations - Jessica Castenir
• CHAMP Project practice field - Jessica Castenir

The adjournment of this meeting of the LaRue County Board of Education

Order #431 - Motion Passed:  The adjournment of this meeting of the LaRue County Board of Education passed with a motion by Dawn Conner and a second by Ashley Reding.