April 8, 2024 Summary

KEY TAKEAWAYS: A new policy was proposed to comply with new legislation that prohibits cell phone use during instructional time at school. The board discussed school policy regarding cell phone use during recess, lunch, and on the bus. Parents and students are encouraged to share their recommendations about cell phone use at school with school board members. WLSEF will transfer $1.7 million to the school corporation from previous fundraising for past construction projects. They will begin fundraising for the proposed JSHS ground floor construction projects (locker room remodel). The administration shared their plan to start a preschool class at WLES this fall.

Agenda with links to board documents

TOPIC TIMESTAMPS (Youtube Recording)

• 1:00:20 revisions to the proposed non-discrimination policy which will be voted on in May
• 1:02:55 discussion of proposed policy on responsible use of technology
• 1:20:25 discussion of proposed policy restricting cell phone use at school
• 1:38:38 transfer to the school corporation of $1.7 million from WLSEF
• 1:43:49 fundraising to begin for JSHS ground floor (locker room) construction projects
• 1:48:34 information about the proposed preschool pilot program
• 2:14:10 clean audit report for our school corporation

The following is my summary of the public school board meeting, not the official meeting minutes. My personal thoughts and opinions are given in italics and represent my own views which do not necessarily reflect those of any other member of the school board. I identify myself as Mumford in the summary but use first person when describing my personal thoughts and opinions. 

The school board held a work session the hour before the school board meeting. Marley was out of town and did not attend the work session or the regular meeting. The school district’s legal counsel, Amy Matthews, from Church Church Hittle and Antrim (CCHA), arrived at the end of the work session so most of the discussion and questions at the work session were repeated during the regular meeting. I have included them in the regular meeting summary, beginning at 1:02:55. 

9:18 Austin suggested that it would be easier for the board to approve all the policies proposed by CCHA now and simultaneously rescind all the school district’s current policies. She explained that the school board could go back later and revise specific policies as needed. Witt said that she is not comfortable with that plan. It would be more efficient, but many of our current policies have been individualized for our corporation. Austin relented and agreed to continue with the current process of reviewing policies one by one. This process of replacing all the current policies has been confusing and poorly organized. I agree with Witt and was disappointed that Austin encouraged the board to blindly approve (rubber stamp) all the proposed policies without reviewing each one. 

49:15 Regular Meeting begins

50:59 Kathy Parker, with LARA Educational Opportunities, recognized Sharanya Kar, a 6th grade student at WLIS, for winning the Scripps Regional Spelling Bee for the 2nd year in a row. 

53:45 David Kucik (parent) shared his concern with transient housing in our school district. On April 1st, the city council passed a resolution requesting a unified zoning ordinance amendment to ban transient guest housing in West Lafayette neighborhoods. He appreciated Yin, who spoke at the Area Board Zoning Meeting and Wang who attended. It is important to have a school board presence at these meetings as well as have data and information shared about the impact on our school district.  

57:50 The board was asked to approve the consent agenda items: 

• Agenda for the April 4, 2024 Regular Meeting of the Board of School Trustees
• Minutes of the March 4, 2024 Work Session of the Board of School Trustees
• Minutes of the March 4, 2024 Regular Meeting of the Board of School Trustees
• Personnel Report
• Accounts Payable WLCSC and Accounts Payable WVEC

Voted 6 out of 6

1:00:20 The board was asked to approve several revisions to proposed policy A100 Non-Discrimination and Anti Harassment. The updated policy as well as the original version and the three proposed revisions are available on the list of policies on my website. Community members can share any concerns before the board votes to approve this policy at the May meeting. I appreciate this process which allows community members one month to review the proposed changes and share any concerns. This is how all voting items should be handled.

Voted 6 out of 6

1:02:55 During the work session, Austin stated that the board is required to vote to adopt A300 Responsible Use of Technology at this meeting in order for the school district to remain in compliance with Indiana law. Mumford asked for clarification on what makes the schools’ current policies regarding technology use out of legal compliance. Austin said that new legislation requires changes which are in proposed policy A301, which is being presented for a first reading. Mumford said that she understands that A301 needs to be adopted by July 1, when the new legislation takes effect, but asked why A300 has to be approved immediately. Austin said that this is needed because A300 is linked to A301. Witt said that we could wait to pass A300 and Austin relented. Greiner said we do have until July 1 to be compliant with A301, but said that he would like both policies to be adopted in May so they can be included in the handbooks. 

Witt asked Matthews if A300 needs to include anything about a firewall as a reference for students and parents who may be frustrated if a site is blocked. Matthews said this is already included in A300, section 5(m) and uses the word filter rather than firewall. Witt asked about including something about students not being required to have technology in classrooms and shared an example of a teacher asking all students to use their phones to do a kahoot in class and noted that not all students have cell phones. Matthews said that currently there is nothing in the policy that addresses this, but it could be added. Austin asked Matthews to add this and have it available for review next month. 

Witt noted that current policy 5136 states that there can be no recordings in bathrooms or locker rooms and asked if this should be included in A300. Matthews said A300 is about use of technology and there is a separate policy about recordings that will be proposed to the board later.

Mumford asked if our rules about AI use should be included in A300. Matthews said that her firm is working on an update to A300 that will address AI use. She said this will be presented to the board at the May meeting for a first reading.

Mumford noted that the list of current policies that CCHA has said would be replaced by A300 includes several that were never adopted by our school district. She asked that CCHA correct errors on the policy list. CCHA’s proposed policies and the list of policies to be replaced both seem to come from a template and neither appears to have been customized for our school district.

1:20:25 Matthews presented A301 Wireless Communication Device for a first reading. She said this new policy is to comply with recent legislation prohibiting cell phone use at school. Yin said that she has observed teachers, not in our district, who have collected cell phones in baskets or who have asked students to keep their phones in their backpacks. She asked how this will relate to our schools’ practice. Matthews said it is the teacher’s discretion. Teachers are allowed to let students use cell phones for education purposes. However, they are not allowed to let students use their cell phones for other reasons. She shared that some school districts are not allowing cell phones at all because students have other devices they can use for educational purposes. Yin asked if a study hall is included as an educational purpose. Matthews said that study hall is considered instructional time, so phones can only be used for educational purposes. Mumford asked if the law allows students in kindergarten through twelfth grade to use their phones during lunch and recess. Matthews said that the legislation only limits use during class time. Mumford asked what our policy will be for lunch and recess. Greiner said that phones are allowed at the high school. Margaret Psarros, WLIS principal, said that cell phones are required to stay off all day at WLIS. Sara Delaney, WLES principal, said that cell phones are required to stay in their backpacks at WLES. Witt said that our current policy 5136 allows cell phone use in grades 7-12, but does not allow cell phone use in grades K-6. The proposed A301 would change this to allow some cell phone use in grades K-6. Matthews said that A301 could be revised to restrict cell phone use at recess and lunch in the younger grades if the board desires. Witt said she would like this restriction to be added. Greiner pushed back on the idea that a 6th grader is not allowed to carry a cell phone. Witt said the current policy of no cell phone use in grades K-6 came from the principals’ recommendations. Mumford noted that our current policy 5136 does not allow cell phone use on the bus for students in grades K-6 and noted that the proposed policy A301 does not address use on the bus. Austin asked that the principals email her with their recommendations on A301. I appreciated this discussion. The new law restricts cell phone use during instructional time, but this new A301 policy will set rules for cell phone use during the rest of the school day. The rules do not need to be the same in the elementary school as they are at the high school. Students and parents, please provide your recommendations to the school board members. A new email has been created that goes to all school board members: schoolboardmembers@wl.k12.in.us.

1:38:38 Greiner said that the West Lafayette Schools Education Foundation (WLSEF) is proposing to transfer $1.7 million to the school corporation. The money was raised for construction of the Guy Academic Wing and the Kelly Performing Arts. These projects have been completed and the donors’ requests were honored. A letter from the foundation explained that these funds have no restrictions. Greiner asked that the funds be put into a construction account. Mumford shared her appreciation for the foundation in raising these funds and for clarifying that these funds have no restrictions. She proposed not restricting use of these funds just to construction. Greiner responded that he would like to put the funds into a construction account since the school district now has so little money available for construction. He said that this money would not be restricted to the JSHS ground floor construction project as originally proposed in a memo at the last school board meeting. In the future, the board could pass a resolution designating this money for a use other than construction. Cronk shared that most of our school district’s needs are facility maintenance projects and that those projects can be funded out of a construction account. She said that she will invest this money so that it can grow until we are ready to spend it. During the regular meeting last month, I had said that the foundation had raised around $3.5 million. This was incorrect, I had not remembered the amount correctly; the foundation reported having raised $2.5 million for the recent construction. I apologize for this error. The letter from the foundation notes that not all of the pledged gifts have been realized and that is why they will transfer $1.7 million to the school corporation when their CDs mature in November.

Voted 6 out of 6

1:43:49 Cronk shared that the proposed JSHS ground floor construction project is a priority. WLSEF has expressed interest in fundraising for this project as they believe they have a lot of donors interested. The foundation executive board is requesting guidance and permission from the school board to begin fundraising for this purpose. She said that the school corporation would not start any ground floor construction projects until sufficient money is raised to complete it.

Voted 6 out of 6

1:48:34 Greiner shared an update on the Preschool Pilot Program which he is proposing to begin this fall. In May, the city will share results from a survey and the data they collected on early child care and preschool needs in West Lafayette. Greiner explained that providing preschool would help close gaps and meet the needs of students before they enter kindergarten. Our preschool pilot program will help address current child care needs and could possibly be expanded. Roth said that the pilot preschool class will be for three to four years olds. The classroom will be at WLES with a class size of 16 to 18 students. WLES principal, Sara Delaney, will oversee the program. Children of employees will have first priority. Children who live within the school district will have second priority. Children who live outside the school district will have third priority. A lottery will be used if there is more interest than available space. The essential skills class (which consists of K-6 grade students) will be relocated to WLIS to make room for the preschool class. Roth said the staff at WLES are eager and those who have early childhood learning experience would like to be involved. Witt asked how lunch time would work and Roth said that the children will eat in the classroom. Witt asked about sharing the playground, media center and other locations with grades K-3. Delaney answered that there would be scheduled time for them to use the kindergarten playground. Preschool children will not go to special classes like art and music. However, the media center may be able to allow students access to books. Mumford asked about the proposal to charge market rate and if at that price the program would lose money for the school district? Roth said the goal is to be cost neutral. Long term, the preschool program should be self-sustainable and self-funded. Cronk shared that they may have to buy playground equipment and supplies, so they are looking at various financial models. Mumford asked if there is an option to provide vouchers or scholarships to students with financial need. Roth said the school corporation cannot accept vouchers the first year. She said we need to have at least one year of experience to be On-My-Way Pre-K certified in order to accept vouchers. Mumford asked if there are any other funding options to assist students in need? Roth said there is nothing through the Family and Social Services Administration. Mumford asked about classroom availability at WLES. Greiner said that in addition to the room that the preschool would use (which is currently being used by the essential skills class), they have 2 rooms that could easily become classrooms with potentially 1 to 2 additional rooms that could become classrooms with some creativity. Mumford asked about classroom availability at WLIS. Psarros said that WLIS has 6 classrooms that are available. Greiner said that he plans to bring the preschool pilot plan to the school board meeting in May to be approved so they can begin registration and ordering materials. I was left wondering if the plan is to provide a preschool experience with the primary goal of helping disadvantaged children be better prepared for kindergarten or if the plan is to provide a daycare experience with the primary goal of enrolling children of employees, who are typically already well-prepared for kindergarten. There is overlap, but the two approaches are quite different.

2:14:10 Cronk shared the Claims Docket Breakdown, February Financial Report – Funds and March Financial Report – Funds as well as the Credit Card Statement. She also shared that the State Board of Accounts biannual audit for July 1, 2021 – June 30, 2023 was completed. The SBOA  published the findings on their website: report 81329F and report 81329A. There were no findings in the financial portion of the audit. The audit resulted in two findings on internal controls for federal programs, neither of which is directly connected to our schools. One was an issue at the Greater Lafayette Area Special Services (GLASS) which was included on our audit report because our district is a member GLASS. Our district is not directly responsible and GLASS has already corrected the issue. The second finding was about a grant awarded to the Wabash Valley Education Center (WVEC). Our school corporation keeps the books for WVEC. The director of WVEC wrote a corrective action plan and our CFO will work more closely with WVEC to strengthen their internal controls and request all documentation in regard to grants to ensure monitoring is taking place. Cronk also shared that she has held several retirement information sessions. Witt said that the staff has been very appreciative of these retirement information sessions. Wang shared that when he attended professional development training sessions on finance topics, he observed that Cronk is respected by her peers and they look to her for suggestions and questions. This audit report was so much better than the previous report (2022 July Work Session 7:59). Having an actual accountant manage our finances has made things so much better for our school district. Prior to hiring Cronk, the last time our school corporation had an experienced CPA with an accounting degree was in 2015 and he resigned after just 6 months on the job. The one before that in 2010 only stayed on the job for 5 months. From 2008 until Cronk was hired in 2022, our school corporation only had 11 months with someone with an accounting degree or similar in the CFO position. Our situation is so much better now.

2:19:15 Board and Superintendent Reports:

• West Lafayette Schools Education Foundation – Schott shared that the 2024 Wall of Pride festivities will be on April 11 and 12th. The Scarlet and Grey Dinner and Auction will be on April 19th.
• Area Board Zoning Committee – Yin shared that one Airbnb conversion request from our school district was made. The 3-2 vote did not meet the quorum requirement so the request will be back on the agenda in May.
• Board/Teacher Discussion – Witt said that they discussed the evaluation process and our administrators and teachers said that our evaluations are much better than in other school districts. They had a collaborative discussion about ways that the process could be improved. Another agenda item was bullying in our schools. They discussed the definitions of bullying, our school district policies, and Indiana law. The administrators are working to create a common system for reporting.
• Parks and Recreation – Wang shared that the Farmers Market will open May 1st. 
• School Board Training – Austin said she is waiting to hear back from ISBA to schedule it. 
• Rube Goldberg Machine Contest at Purdue – Greiner shared he wasn’t able to attend as a judge and Austin attended in his place. The Wonderland team included several WLCSC students. 
• School Board Election – Yin organized an information session with Mike Smith from the Tippecanoe County Board of Elections on Saturday, April 13th from 9:30-11am. Witt shared that the ISBA’s website provides information for school board candidates as well as free webinars. November 2024 will have 4 school board seats on the ballot which is currently filled by Yin, Schott, Marley, and Austin. The filing date for those interested in running is earlier than normal this year (May 21 through June 20 at noon). I attended previous versions of the information session with Mike Smith and the ISBA’s webinar information session and found both to be helpful. 
• Strategic Planning – Greiner shared they are interviewing six firms for the board to consider. They will have a discussion during the May board meeting on the topic.

Location: Happy Hollow Building, LGI Room

Future Meetings (calendar link)

●      Policy Work Session – Monday, May 13th at 5:00pm at Happy Hollow LGI Room 

●      Regular School Board Meeting – Monday, May 13th at 6:00pm at Happy Hollow LGI Room (enter from North side/pool side of building)

This document is my summary of the public school board meeting, not the official meeting minutes. My personal thoughts and opinions are given in italics and represent my own views which do not necessarily reflect those of any other member of the school board. I identify myself as Mumford in the summary but use first person when describing my personal thoughts and opinions. Previous agendas, minutes, and audio recordings can be found at the WLCSC website.