Board hears reports on snow-day decision, reading focus, staff certifications and facility leadership

The Elizabeth School District board received a set of reports on Jan. 13 covering operational decisions, student reading initiatives, personnel changes and upcoming community events.

Snow-day decisions and communications: District leadership reviewed the Jan. 9 snow-day sequence that began as a planned late start and shifted to a cancellation after weather worsened and a high-school fire alarm caused boiler shutdowns. The speaker said parking lots were cleared early but conditions and a subsequent boiler-room incident prompted the change. The speaker acknowledged the difficulty parents faced with a late-stage change and said the district aims to make notifications by 5:30 a.m. when possible.

Reading and dyslexia pilot: District leadership framed reading proficiency as a top priority, noting statewide proficiency rates the speaker cited as 42%. The board heard that the district is expanding focus on reading instruction, piloting dyslexia therapy this semester and planning to train five staff members this summer to become Certified Academic Language Therapists (CALT). The speaker said the district contracted a qualified instructor to deliver the CALT training and intends to expand the pilot to both elementary schools and the middle school next year.

Personnel and finance updates: The board celebrated Chief Financial Officer Rebecca Brooks achieving her SFO (School Financial Officer) certification. The board also acknowledged the recent retirement of long-time facilities director Mark Osler and introduced Andrew Rodriguez as the new director of facilities; Rodriguez was credited with organizing staff and clearing buildings during recent snow events.

Community items and events: Board members mentioned the district spelling bee (district-level event Wednesday at 4 p.m.), a book fair Feb. 6'015 run through vendor Skytree, a Chick-fil-A fundraiser Jan. 21 for the Elizabeth Education Foundation, and a remembrance for longtime educator Bonnie Galloway, who died last month.

Votes at a glance: The board approved two procedural motions at the start of the Jan. 13 meeting: removal of agenda item 9.1 from the business-session agenda and approval of minutes from Jan. 7, 2025, and Dec. 16, 2024. Roll-call votes recorded the following responses: Director Booth, Director Callahan, Director Olson, Director Powell and Director Waller all voted Aye on both motions; both motions passed.

Ending: District leadership said the next formal budget update will be presented in two weeks and asked the community to watch for mid-year diagnostics data after Jan. 24.