Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Personnel Contracts topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board approves assistant principal at Trail Ridge Middle School and district website chatbot purchase
Summary
Trustees removed one item from consent and approved contracts that include an assistant principal at Trail Ridge Middle School and a new website chatbot intended to surface information gaps and assist the public; board members said the assistant principal addresses enrollment, IEP and ELL support needs.
The USD 231 Board of Education on May 12 approved the consent agenda after the board pulled one item for discussion and voted to approve contracts and purchases that included hiring an assistant principal at Trail Ridge Middle School and acquiring a website chatbot feature.
Board member Greg explained why he pulled the contract item: Trail Ridge is the district’s largest middle school and staff and principals identified a need for additional administrative support to handle evaluations, discipline and parent communication. “They really highlighted a need for more admin support at Trail Ridge,” Greg said, noting high enrollment, the largest number of students on individualized education plans and expanded ELL and communications programs at that building.
District administrators described the assistant principal position as intended to support teachers, manage IEP meeting needs (administrators must be present for IEP meetings) and improve family engagement. After the presentation, a motion to approve the contracts and purchases, including the Trail Ridge assistant principal, carried with no opposition.
The board also heard about a new website chatbot meant to improve public navigation of district information and to surface outdated or missing content. Ben from the district presented usage data gathered during a short period of operation: the bot supports 33 languages, reports questions asked (calendar and graduation information were frequent queries), and lets staff identify broken or outdated pages for quick fixes. Staff said an early purchase decision saved the district an estimated $5,000.
The purchases were approved as part of the consent agenda. Staff will proceed with recruitment for the assistant principal position and continue to refine and monitor the chatbot’s performance.
