Board Action Update: 8-17-2010

Board Action Update

Saint Paul Public Schools
Regular Board of Education Meeting
August 17, 2010

In this update:
District Receives New Grant
Human Resource Update
Student Placement Center Recruitment Drive
Finance Update

District Receives New Grant
The most recent grant awarded just this week is the Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Grant for $1,106,295 to be used over three years. Five school sites were chosen and this grant will help reduce the average number of disciplinary referrals and to lower the student to mental health professional ratio.

As the school year begins, the District is waiting to hear on an additional $10 million in grants that are pending. Since May of this year, the District has secured just over $10 million in grants.

Human Resources Update
There will be a title change at Central Administration. The title, "Director of Family and Community Engagement" was changed to "Executive Director of Family and Community Engagement and Partnerships."

Student Placement Center Recruitment Drive
Between August 23, 2010 and September 3, 2010, there will be an enrollment drive to reach out, recruit and motivate families to visit SPPS's Student Placement Center. Usually many families wait until the first day of school to sign up, so the recruitment drive will use strategically placed paid media, flyer distribution, buses and to generate visibility and excitement in the community.

The effort is a joint collaboration between Communications, Student Placement, Community Education, Nutrition Service, Operations, Transportation, Special Events and Family and Community Engagement.

Finance Update
The Board approved a Resolution for the issuance of $11,305,000 General Obligation School Building Refunding Bond, series 2010A. Award of the sale will be presented at the Board of Education Meeting on September 17, 2010 for approval.

This update is a service of the Office of Communications of Saint Paul Public Schools. Please direct questions or comments to community.relations@spps.org or by phone to 651-767-8110.