Superintendent February Report to Board

1. Laurel School District
Superintendent’s Report
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
7:00 p.m.
Laurel HS, Media Center
John D. Ewald
Superintendent of

2. Items
The Purpose of this Editorial is to Share Facts
 Capital Budget Referendum
 Town Hall Meetings
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 Students
 Staff
 Parents
Community Construction Site Tours
 Emergency Weather Conditions
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3. The Purpose of this Editorial is to Share
Facts
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The Purpose of this Editorial is to Share Facts
As a former Principal and currently as a Superintendent of Schools, I at times find myself writing
letters to the community to share facts. The purpose of such letters is just that, to share facts.
Usually, such letters are the result of an incident at a school or in a community that requires the
clarifying of information as well as the encouragement to dialogue with principal, staff or me in the
event of questions. The purpose of this editorial is to do just that, to share facts about Laurel School
District Schools as well as encourage dialogue with staff or me.
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Recently, Letters to the Editor and articles included information that requires clarity. But first, I
commend the local press for its ongoing coverage of events, whether academic, athletic, dramatic or
other, in Laurel School District Schools.
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Laurel School District Schools Construction Referendums & Projects
As you may know, a Construction Referendum was passed in 2010 for;
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New High and Middle School and Land (C.N. 1216 A-B)
Construction New Elementary School and Demolition, Restoration and Improvements to North Laurel Elementary (C.N.
1216 D-E)
Selective Demolition of the Existing Middle School, including but not limited to the Field House and Selective Renovation of
Remaining School Facilities (C.N. 1216 F)

4. The Purpose of this Editorial is to Share
Facts
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As you see, selective demolition is stated. From the input received, the Board, within its governance authority,
unanimously approved the demolition of Laurel Intermediate Middle School. As I have heard from some in our
community, “This just seems like the typical bait and switch.”
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While members in our community may feel this way, it is important to note that the Laurel School District is not
only aware of past practices and working to prevent them while maintaining a high level of accountability, open
communication and transparency. But, the Laurel School District is also working diligently to remain
responsive to our students and their needs, current and future conditions and highly accountable and
responsive to our stakeholders.
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The decision to demolish Laurel Intermediate Middle School was made after a thorough gathering of
information. Key points from the information gathered were;
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If any area of the existing building was selectively removed/demolished, the remaining building in full is
expected to be brought up to existing code. This is estimated to cost around $28 million, or more. This
amount is well beyond funds approved and available from the referendum passed in 2010.
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The existing ongoing costs to simply open Laurel Intermediate Middle School on a daily basis are not cost
effective. The cost spent on electricity for this facility is counter intuitive.
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While the facility is safe to occupy, existing pipes and structures continue to erode and require complete
replacement.

5. The Purpose of this Editorial is to Share
Facts
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Additionally, the Board, within its governance authority, unanimously approved the construction
of a 1200 student elementary school on the current Laurel Intermediate Middle School site.
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Specific to the Referendum voted on and passed in 2010 regarding the construction of a new
elementary school, it states, “. . . on lands currently owned by the district . . .” Again, after
gathering ample information from stakeholders including;
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community members from five (5) Elementary School Construction Project Community Forums,
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Delaware Department of Transportation Personnel
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Department of Education
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Becker Morgan Group Architects
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RY Johnson Construction
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Western Sussex County Supervisors of Facilities
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it was clear that the North Laurel Elementary School site was not an appropriate site for a 1200
student elementary school as a result of its impact on traffic flow, site acreage and accessibility.
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With this information, the Board voted unanimously to construct a new elementary school on
the current Laurel Intermediate Middle School site.

6. The Purpose of this Editorial is to Share
Facts
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Laurel Middle School Laurel High School Athletic Stadium
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As a result of a competitive construction bid environment as
well as ongoing financial monitoring, oversight and
responsibility, surplus funds became available from the existing
Ballot Bond Issue which passed in 2010. With the approval of
the Laurel School District Board of Education, these surplus
funds are being used to provide the Laurel community with an
athletic stadium at the new Laurel Middle School Laurel High
School facility.
Other than the approved referendum, no additional taxes are
being raised for this project.
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7. The Purpose of this Editorial is to Share
Facts
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DE Code Title 14 Chapter 20 Standard School Construction
As Laurel School District Schools’ construction projects for our students continue,
some have raised questions regarding fees.
As you may know, in 2006 the General Assembly enacted 14 Del. C 2006 which
states that:
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“. . . no county or municipality is permitted to assess permit fees, impact fees, or other
assessments on a school district for any school construction project.”
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The only exceptions to this prohibition are the charging of utility fees for the usage of
the utility provided the rate is no higher than that of other properties within the
municipality, and a surcharge relating to building permit construction value to provide
funding for volunteer or ambulance companies.
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The Laurel School District will continue to be good stewards of finances and
resources to serve our students and their educational needs.

8. The Purpose of this Editorial is to Share
Facts
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Emergency Weather Conditions
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It appears that our region as experienced quite a winter thus far. Recently,
the District has had to make decisions to delay or close schools as a result
of emergency weather conditions including extremely frigid temperatures,
State of Emergency, fog, ice and substantial snow fall.
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The safety and security of our students and staff remains our first priority. To
that end, emergency weather conditions’ decisions are made only after
ample information is gathered from multiple sources specific to current and
forecasted weather and road conditions.
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Once a decision to delay or close school is made, multiple tools are used to
inform our stakeholders.

9. The Purpose of this Editorial is to Share
Facts
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Ongoing Dialogue and Engagement
I hope this information has been helpful, either to
clarify information or answer questions. I encourage
you to contact my staff or me directly if you have
questions. Additionally, I welcome you to join me at
an upcoming town hall meeting to dialogue and stay
informed.
Thank you.

10. Capital Budget Referendum
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Question 1
The voters of the Laurel School District are asked to
approve the issuance of bonds to fund the activities
described in the following Certificates of Necessity:
New High and Middle School and Land (C.N. 1216 AB)
1216 A Planning, construction and equipping of a new
1,400 pupil High School/Middle School combined
facility to replace the existing Laurel High School and
Middle School on lands currently owned and acquired
by the District.

11. Capital Budget Referendum
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Construction New Elementary School and
Demolition, Restoration and Improvements to North
Laurel Elementary (C.N. 1216 D-E)
1216 D Planning, construction and equipping of a
new 1,200 pupil Elementary School to replace the
existing North Laurel and P.L. Dunbar Elementary
Schools on lands currently owned by the district, and
utilizing the education campus, school-within-aschool concept.
1216 E Engineering, abatement, demolition and site
restoration/improvements of the North Laurel

12. Capital Budget Referendum

Selective Demolition of the Existing Middle School,
including but not limited to the Field House and
Selective Renovation of Remaining School Facilities
(C.N. 1216 F) Planning, abatement, engineering and
selective demolition of the existing Laurel Middle
School to include but not limited to the Field House
and selective renovation of remaining school
facilities.

13. February Town Hall Meetings
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Laurel Intermediate Middle School
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Students
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12:15 p.m. – 12:45 p.m.
Staff
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Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Media Center
3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Parents
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6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

14. Community Construction Site
Tours
 Monday,
12-16-13, 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
 Wednesday,
 Saturday,
1-25-14, 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
 Wednesday,
 Saturday,
1-8-14, 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
2-12-14, 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
2-22-14, 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.

15. Emergency Weather
Conditions

Emergency Weather Conditions Decisions
Scheduled to be Made and Shared by 5:15 a.m.

Emergency Weather Conditions Decisions
Scheduled to be Shared through Connect ED, Laurel
All Staff Email, District Web Site & Media Outlets.

In the event of a weather an Emergency Weather
Conditions school closing for the day, that week’s
Wednesday Delayed Opening is canceled as
appropriate.

16. And as a Result . . .
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As of Friday, February 14, 2014;
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Students have missed 44.5 hours.
Staff have missed 6 days.
Winter is not yet over.
Discussing options and planning for
recommendation to Board of Education in the
near future.

17. THINK

18. From the Superintendent
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“And we have only had one football player
make it to the pros!”

19. What percentage of high school
athletes go pro?
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Less than 1%

20. College & Career
Readiness?!
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“What’s with this college and career
readiness thing?! These kids can’t get
to college, make it in college or
graduate from college!”

21. Rural Students
Leap Hurdles to College
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Nationally
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27% College Enrollment Rate

22. Laurel Students Leap to
College
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Laurel
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67% College Enrollment Rate

23. 2014 College Acceptances
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As of Friday, February 14, 2014
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Sixteen (16) of 99 Diploma Candidates have been accepted to a college or
university.
Scholarships earned to date equal;
 $836,800.00
Colleges & Universities to be Attended Include;
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Christopher Newport University
Delaware State University
Eastern University
George Mason University
McDaniel College
Salisbury University
Southern Wesleyan University
Temple University
University of Delaware
University of Maryland, Eastern Shore
Virginia Wesleyan College
Washington Adventist University