South Bend school board approves series of contracts, extends CFOagreement

The South Bend Community School Corp. Board of School Trustees on March 9 approved a slate of contract renewals and administrative actions and extended the contract of the district chief financial officer.

The board voted on items 9.01 through 9.16, approving each motion after brief staff presentations and, in some cases, public comment. Trustees moved routine items on a single meeting agenda and recorded roll-call votes for each approval.

Why this matters: The approvals cover services that affect student programs, employee benefits and district operations, and the CFO extension follows public praise and staff statements that district financial controls and grant reimbursements have improved.

What the board approved: Votes at a glance (outcomes as recorded at the meeting) - 9.01 MOU with TeenWorks (youth employment partner): approved (staff said the MOU costs the district nothing; board asked to add metrics). Vote recorded as carried on roll call. (topic range SEG 1814—1906) - 9.02 Marathon Health Clinic agreement (employee clinic): approved after staff described the clinic's preventive-care role and history since 2013. (SEG 1908—1962) - 9.03 EFMLA web-based FMLA administration service: approved; staff said the system will reduce paperwork and improve compliance. (SEG 1964—2020) - 9.05 Celerix benefit administration platform (replace Optivise): approved to consolidate employee enrollment into a single system, expected to simplify benefits administration. (SEG 2069—2126) - 9.06 ratification of an emergency purchase (locksmith vehicle, $54,074): approved; staff said the previous vehicle was totaled in a January collision. (SEG 2132—2188) - 9.09 Ratification of past-due payments to IvyTech Community College for dual-enrollment CTE (amount presented at the meeting): approved; staff said invoices dated back to 2023 and the district will pursue hiring an on-site instructor to reduce future external costs. (SEG 2280—2446) - 9.15 CFO contract extension: approved following public comment in support and trusteesremarks praising improvements in transparency and grant management. (SEG 2817—2836) - 9.16 Board legal counsel contract renewal: approved. (SEG 2840—2856) (Other routine vendor and staffing items 9.04, 9.07, 9.08, 9.10—9.14 were also approved; the full consent and action list was adopted as presented.)

Board and staff context: Multiple trustees asked that program metrics and contract performance indicators be added to future reports so the board and public can judge whether third-party partners are delivering expected results. Public speakers asked clarifying questions about contract scope and duration, and several members of the public urged the board to extend the CFO's contract for continuity in financial oversight.

What happens next: Staff will implement the approved contracts and said they will return metrics where feasible. For the IvyTech dual-enrollment arrangements, staff said the district intends to recruit a full-time instructor to host more CTE programming on district property going forward.

Quotes: "I am so impressed with what he's done as CFO," said S Kasum during public comment, urging approval of the CFO extension. Darice Austin Phillips, director of federal grants, described the EFMLA procurement as a step to "eliminate a lot of data entry as well as a lot of paperwork" and improve compliance.

Actions and provenance: Each voted action and the discussion supporting it were presented during the action-items portion of the meeting (topic coverage begins SEG 1814 and continues through SEG 2836).