This information includes highlights of information received by the Ladue Schools Board of Education at the August 23, 2023 regular Board of Education business meeting. This is an unofficial record. Official minutes of each Board meeting are posted on the district website and are available for viewing at the Administrative Center after the Board approves them, typically two weeks after the meeting.

View a recording from the August 23 Board Meeting

Board President Remarks

• I had the opportunity to greet students and families at the FGC and LECC on Tuesday for the first day of school. Fifth-graders were excited to see old friends and interested in making new ones as this is the first experience for all elementary students to come together.

• This is our first Wednesday Board meeting. Last year, we voted to move Board meetings to Wednesdays in an effort to support the schedules of Board members and district administrators.

• MSBA has reached out to Ladue about hosting the Fall Regional Meeting for Region 7. Stay tuned for more information on this meeting in the coming weeks.

• You may have noticed Superintendent Dr. Jim Wipke on KSDK yesterday making his morning debut, along with LHWHS Principal Brad Griffith, and senior Will Feng, student body president, as a kickoff to the new school year.

• This is a reminder that this is a meeting of the Board of Education and our meeting is held in public.

Superintendent Remarks

• That was a lot of fun on KSDK, and even more fun seeing the Senior Sunrise, where more than a third of the senior class got up early on the first day of school just to be with each other and watch the sunrise, so that was really cool.

• I want to thank the Board for attending our Convocation held on August 16 where we welcomed all of our staff back into our buildings. We held a Convocation in my first year here, but because of COVID it has been virtual since then. It was great to get the entire staff here together again at the high school where we had breakfast together then made our way to the Performing Arts Center. We had an amazing show for everyone and I want to thank Kimberly McKenzie and the Communications Department for all of their hard work. I want to thank the LEF for co-sponsoring our keynote speaker John O’Leary, a renowned author. He gave us an inspirational message that we will carry throughout the year. We are reading his book “On Fire” as a staff and there are a lot of life lessons that he taught us. We will carry his message about the Power of One this year which will have an impact on our students as well. Along with our Communications Department, there were other people involved in putting together an event this large like our Technology Department. Patricia Brown and her entire team including Adam, Curtis, and Les. Marteana Davidson at the high school as well. We also had a student worker, Ella Hamlin, who helped us with the lights at the PAC and Activities Coordinator Greg Kendall helped out. Missouri Central Shuttle Service and Chartwell’s also contributed. We had a lot of student groups take part: Strolling Strings, the LHWHS Band, LHWHS cheerleaders, Sparkle, and Laduettes. Then we had a Health and Wellness Fair afterward and it was really well-attended. Our staff had a chance to visit 27 different vendors and learn how to stay healthy throughout the school year. LEF helped sponsor this event, Marco Printing helped sponsor and gave door prizes, ABBCO Services, BRS, Hoener, S. M. Wilson, Tueth Keeney all contributed and I wanted to make sure everyone in the room who helped support our back-to-school kickoff knows how much we appreciate it.

• The Prop L projects are moving right along and we feel very fortunate that Old Bonhomme and Spoede are nearing completion; we still have a little bit of work to do, but they’re getting closer. We have a couple of months of work remaining at Reed and Conway to complete their gyms and then tonight we’ll get into the window work that needs to take place at those schools. Although the middle school looks terrific, there are some hallways still under renovation and that will be the case throughout this semester and probably through the month of February. Our teachers have been incredible and gone above and beyond as they balance so much on the first day and week of school.

• Our first day of school was Tuesday and it was an awesome day; there were plenty of smiles and overall things ran really smoothly.

• The third annual Ladue Night Lights will be Wednesday, Sept. 20 at 6 p.m. at the high school; it’s an awesome event if you’ve never been before. It’s a unified football game that provides a fun experience for students who receive special services and their families. Visit our website for more information.

• I want to give a shoutout to two of our students because of their accomplishments with Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri. Sophia Saleeby, a 2023 LHWHS graduate, and Jessica Steinberg, a current junior, both earned the Girl Scout Gold Award. It is earned through giving back and putting in community service hours. It’s really remarkable.

• I want to thank the Board of Education for visiting schools on the first day of school. It meant a lot to our kids and staff, but it really meant to our principals that you take the time to do so.

ACTION ITEMS

S. M. Wilson Presentation, Change Order Requests, and Pay Applications

Representatives from S. M. Wilson provided a construction update on the projects at Ladue Middle School, Old Bonhomme Elementary, and Spoede Elementary. They also shared the latest change orders and pay applications for June and July.

Wachter Presentation and Pay Application

Representatives from Wachter, Inc. provided a construction update on the projects at Conway and Reed Elementary Schools. They also shared the latest pay application.

INFORMATION ITEMS

LEF Memo of Understanding

Dr. Wipke led a discussion and review of this year’s MOU with the Ladue Education Foundation.

Reed and Conway Window Project

Assistant Superintendent of Business and Finance Dr. Geoff Macy and Director of Facilities Mike Noonan recommended the Board move forward with a proposal submitted by Performance Solutions, Inc. to replace windows at both Reed and Conway. It was also recommended the Board authorize district administration to review and revise the contract and attachments with legal counsel.

Before and After School Kare

Director of Student and Community Services Dr. Derrick Wallace shared updates on the district BASK program related to enrollment, staffing, and marketing.

UPCOMING MEETINGS

The next Board of Education regular business meeting is Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023. The Meeting ID will be posted on the Featured tab of BoardDocs when the meeting information is officially posted.