Board Report - Feb. 8

Posted Date: 03/09/2021

 Board Reports

Board Approved 2021-2022 School Calendar

The Board of Education, on second reading, approved the new 2021-2022 school calendar. The Board first considered approval during the first reading at its January meeting.

The new calendar calls for the first day of school to be Wednesday, August 18 and the last day to be May 27, 2022, with five snow days built into the calendar. If no snow days are used, the last day would be May 18. The calendar includes four virtual days in which students would complete assignments at home while teachers are in professional development. Fall Break has been shortened by one day, while students would get a full week off at Thanksgiving. To view the calendar, click here.

Officials adjusted the calendar since the first reading, which includes moving a professional day from October to November 1. Union officials also moved days around for winter break, so the break would occur for two full weeks in December instead of spilling further into January; now, students would return from winter break on January 4.

Union will keep five snow days to ensure employees are able to get to work safely. The district has eliminated “Late Start Fridays” and reconfigured them as four virtual days for students, two each semester. Instead, students will have assigned work they must complete from home on virtual days.

Board Approves Sale of $26 Million in Building Bonds

The Board of Education approved a resolution and sale notice for $26 million in building bonds in accordance with the 5-year bond issuance approved by voters on February 13, 2018. Union hopes to approve a sale of the bonds in March.

The 2018 bond election covers a number of projects, namely the construction of new stadium improvements at the High School and the completion of Ellen Ochoa Elementary.

In other action, the Board:

• Renewed its contract with Lightstream for $325,132 for internet service to the district. This would be the second renewal of a five-year agreement. The contract provides Union with 40,000 Mbps fiber connection between all school sites for $27,094 per month. The total cost would be reduced by an e-Rate discount of 80 percent for a total cost to the District not to exceed $65,027.
• Approved a number of commodities bids from various food providers for a total of $1.63 million. Each year, Union receives commodities through the Department of Human Services. These commodities, such as cheese, raw meats, eggs, potatoes, flour, etc., can be shipped to the district and used directly or Union can divert them to a processor who will convert these raw goods into prepared food items such as chicken nuggets, omelets, hamburger patties, deli meats, cheese slices, etc.   
  Child Nutrition will receive $764,917.26 in USDA/DHS donated commodities for the 2021-2022 school year. The amount of commodity received is determined by the total number of lunches served the previous year multiplied by the commodity allowance, which is $0.462 per lunch meal. (This is about $0.14 more per meal than last year due to fewer commodity funds being used statewide due to lower participation and the pandemic.) 
• Approved the 2020-2021 Early Retirement Incentive program for certified employees. The ERI Program for certified employees is intended to serve the needs of the school district, not only by providing some savings over time to the district, but also by increasing long-term retention of teachers who are incentivized under the ERI program to remain with Union longer.
  Jay Loegering, executive director of Human Resources, said the certified ERI program has the potential to save the district $285,025.