President, VP Elected; Spelling Bee on the Agenda, and more

Here is a brief synopsis of the highlights from the meetings this evening...

Tonight at the organizational meeting, Karen Krause was re-elected President, with Joe Rutherford as the VP. The vote was unanimous. Other Board Members include Joan Kuchinski, Judy Hansen and myself. Each of us received several committee appointments to the six committees: Budget and Finance (Judy and Joe), Legal and Legislative (Joe and Karen), Personnel (Angela and Joan), Community Schools (Karen and Joan), Policy (Joan and Karen), and Building and Grounds (Judy and Angela).

We went through the finance reports, which was pretty standard, and the treasurer did an in-depth explanation for my benefit as a newcomer. Did you know that the revenue for the LCESC is in the range of $30 million dollars? That revenue funds literally dozens of programs from which many of our county residents can benefit, if we continue to raise awareness.

In the Regular Meeting, we approved the finance reports, and we discussed how with the increasing cost of gasoline (increased mileage costs, etc.), it is ever more difficult to meet the budget. This is a problem everywhere, isn't it?

We noted how generous so many people were during the holiday season - the list of donations from the LCESC staff (hundreds of people) was inspiring: from collecting food at the Springfield Afterschool care (BASE) to contributing hats and gloves on the mitten tree at the Collingwood Center, the outreach was excellent.

The county-wide spelling bee, which feeds into the Blade Bee, will be held on Tuesday, February 19th at the Maumee Theater at 7 PM - this is another event sponsored by the LCESC - did you know that?

Charter Schools ... this is a "hot-button" topic for many people. Here's my disclaimer: My intention here is not to enter into any sort of debate, but simply to provide information. I'm very interested in listening and learning to people on all sides of the issue, since I see that many people with very divergent opinions genuinely care about our children. The LCESC is a sponsor for 72 charter schools (many of which are NOT in Toledo; and, to be clear, many charter schools in Toledo are NOT LCESC sponsored); the activities should be made public in as objective a manner as possible. I must admit that as a person with my own children enrolled in a traditional public school, I may not always be objective, and for that I apologize in advance. I will do what I can in this blog to be fair.

The Community Schools update indicated that when value-added assessments are included, Ohio Charter Schools perform about on par with traditional public schools (78 to 76 percent). What does this mean? This data is very preliminary, and according to the report it will be "most useful when examined over time."

The Community Schools director for the LCESC, Jim George, explained that the Main Street Automotive Magnet School in Dayton is on probation, but he told the B0ard that a specific corrective action plan had been submitted and was being worked on with a consultant on-site to improve performance. This is a school for kids who have dropped out of traditional schools - sort of a "back to school" type program.

Of course we handled a lot of perfunctory business, such as approving a variety of contracts and resignations and conferences to be attended by employees. The meeting ended at about 7:40 - I was home with my kids - my reasons for being on the board - by 8 PM. :)