Board reviews insurance renewal

Bottom Line

The board will be asked to consider renewal of an insurance policy for Lawrence school buildings and contents with St. Paul Insurance Co. through Charlton-Manley Insurance of Lawrence.

The company seeks a 24.6 percent rate increase.

The cost of coverage for district buildings, contents, musical instruments, premises liability and vehicles would be $251,816 for the 2002-2003 school year.

Background

If adopted by the board, the new policy would cost $49,707 more than was paid this year. The increase in the premium had been estimated by district staff to be closer to $100,000.

The new policy doesn’t change the types of coverage and deductibles.

Rate increases are tied to fallout from the 2001 terrorist attacks and rising replacement costs of buildings and equipment.

Other business

Convene an executive session at 6:30 p.m. to discuss personnel matters.

Begin the public portion of the meeting at 7 p.m. with introduction of the 2002 Lawrence delegation to Hiratsuka, Japan.

Receive comment by Sue Morgan, board president; Randy Weseman, superintendent, and board members.

Receive an update on the district’s budget and discuss implications of the state’s evolving financial picture.

Consider an “all-risk” insurance policy for the 2002-2003 school year.

Consider retention of the district’s self-funded workers’ compensation insurance plan for the 2002-2003 school year. Administration of the plan would be done by Thomas McGee for the same $42,288 fee paid this year. In addition, consider purchase of “excess” insurance for $26,967.

Consider a series of new student fees for the 2002-2003 school year, including payment plan options and procedures.

Consider allocating $175,336 of the district’s $294,604 in “new facilities weighting” money tied to the state’s school-finance payments to the district. The remaining $119,268 would be transferred to the district’s contingency fund.

Consider a $25,449 contract with Government e-Management Solutions of St. Louis and Dell Marketing of Round Rock, Tex., for upgraded finance and human resource management software.

Consider a $40,000 contract with Educational Management Solutions of Murphys, Calif., to conduct a study of classified employee job descriptions and salaries.

Consider a $3,378 contract with Thomson Learning of Florence, Ky., to purchase French IV and V textbooks.

Consider a $26,500 one-year contract with Hume Music of Lawrence for band and orchestra instrument repairs.

Consider an $11,260 contract with Prentice Hall of Upper Saddle River, N.J., for purchase of replacement textbooks for chemistry, physics, history and literature classes.

Consider $31,440 contract with Dell Marketing of Round Rock, Tex., to create a secure data backup system for district records.

Consider amending a contract with Penny Construction of Lawrence regarding replacement of gym bleachers at South Junior High School. The plan is to add a $1,161 entrance from the new bleachers to the school’s mechanical system tunnel, bringing cost of the project to $85,051.