DECEMBER: Documents don’t match school claims on repairs
Tuesday’s document is an intricate lease-purchase financing agreement — including procedures for a ground lease, rent payments and borrowing — that was explained to the board last year by attorneys.
Dayton Public Schools Treasurer Hiwot Abraha said the deal authorizes the district to borrow the $30 million for the project, but doesn’t take the next step of approving the actual spending.
DPS started discussing possible building repairs more than a year ago, citing a need to catch up on years of deferred maintenance. Then last May, the board approved in principle a multimillion-dollar facilities spending plan, citing “high-priority items” from a report by Four Seasons Environmental, Inc.
Twice last year, the Dayton Daily News pointed out that the Four Seasons report does not actually include a list of specific projects. On Tuesday, school board President Mohamed Al-Hamdani said the specific list still doesn’t exist.
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“I would request that our good folks in facilities put a plan together whenever everybody’s back at work,” Al-Hamdani said to Superintendent Elizabeth Lolli. “I’d like to see a full three-year plan as to how this money would be spent, in which phases, in which schools, and what projects. I’d like that presented to us as soon as possible.”
Last May, Associate Superintendent Shelia Burton identified roofs, parking lots and HVAC systems as the three areas having the greatest need and highest costs for DPS. But when pressed for details in December, the district produced a spreadsheet plan that did not call for any roof work, and included outdoor athletic fields and tracks as the second largest expense.
Tuesday’s school board meeting was closed to the public but could be watched via online video, because of limitations on large gatherings tied to the coronavirus outbreak.
Staffing changes
At Tuesday’s meeting, the school board approved the resignations of two high-level administrators who had joined the district only months ago — chief of human resources Latricia Milhouse, and executive director of transportation and fleet Thomas Gray.
Neither could immediately be reached for comment. Lolli said the ongoing school shutdown for coronavirus makes the mid-year departures a bit easier to absorb.
Lolli said Milhouse, who was hired from Wright State’s HR department in December, is resigning because the job “wasn’t what she expected it to be.” The resignation is listed as effective April 3, and Burton, who was Milhouse’s boss, is overseeing that area according to Lolli.
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Gray, who started with DPS in July, took another job, according to Lolli, and his resignation was effective March 6. The board on Tuesday named Torronce Jackson to replace Gray on an interim basis. Jackson had been associate executive director of operations for the DPS transportation department. DPS has gone through several leaders in its busing department in the past few years.
DPS also hired Lloyd Knight for a school principal position effective in July. No school assignment was listed on the agenda, but Lolli said she expects to have an opening this summer. Knight has been a principal at Chicago and Indianapolis charter schools.
New headquarters
The school board approved another $322,262 for Bilbrey Construction’s HVAC, plumbing and teledata systems work at the 136 S. Ludlow St., which will be DPS’ new administrative offices.
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Lolli said work on the buildings, which are across the street from DPS’ current headquarters, are in the final phase. She said a current target move-in date is July 1, barring construction delays tied to coronavirus or other issues.
The central office move was first scheduled for summer 2018, but has been delayed repeatedly by more than $3 million in renovations.
Retirement incentives
The school board approved an “early retirement plan” that would provide financial incentives for veteran teachers and administrators to retire. During the meeting, Lolli said eligible staff would receive a $55,000 incentive over five years if they retired. She said a consultant estimated the plan could save DPS $4 million over eight years because the district would have fewer veteran, high-salary employees.
As of Wednesday, the district had not posted a copy of the document the board approved, explaining the full details of the plan.
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