Fayette Board of Education approves use of van service to help end bus route cancellations

The district says the move is not an effort to eliminate bus drivers or privatize the transportation dept.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) – At its meeting Monday night, the Fayette County Board of Education approved a proposal from the school district to contract with an outside vendor to provide a van service to help stop school bus route cancellations brought on by the bus driver shortage.

The district is contracting with the National Association of Pupil Transportation Collaborative to provide van service for students on some routes that serve smaller groups of riders beginning in January 2022.

As required by state law, all van drivers will be required to go through the same background check process as school district employees and contractors, according to the district.

The district made a point to note the move is not an effort to eliminate school bus drivers or privatize the district’s transportation department.

Also at the meeting, the board heard a construction update from Chief Operating Officer Myron Thompson who told members the new Tates Creek High School is 76% complete and is slated to open in July 2022.  Thompson also gave the board an overview on construction and maintenance projects and additional information about the district facilities planning process.

A moment of silence was observed for the tornado victims in Kentucky.

The board honored and thanked Dr. Marlene Helm for a lifetime of dedication to Fayette County Public Schools.  She most recently served as Acting Superintendent from Nov. 30, 2020 through July 25, 2021.  It was her third time taking on that role in the school district.

• Read the Resolution adopted by the board in recognition of Helm’s leadership and her long-standing dedication to the mission of FCPS.
• Watch a video tribute to Dr. Helm.

The board voted to enter into a contract to provide ACT testing for sophomores.

The board also voted to increase the price of adult meals in school cafeterias beginning January 2022 from $2 to $3 for breakfast and from $4.50 to $5 for lunch.

The board voted to formalize the instrument that board members will use to evaluate the superintendent.

The board approved the 2021-2022 Comprehensive District Improvement Plan.

The board also identified legislative priorities for the Fayette County Board of Education.

The board voted to continue using Language Line for telephonic translation services to support families whose primary language is not English.

The board formalized a service agreement with My Teaching Strategies Secondary to provide high quality professional learning for district educators.

The board also accepted the Monthly Financial Report for November.

Board members also discussed a draft memorandum of understanding with the Fayette Education Foundation. The Fayette Education Foundation was established last year in order to support excellence in our schools by providing additional sources of funding for educational programming and giving individuals, businesses, and the community the opportunity to invest in the educational needs of Fayette County Public Schools.

• a kindergarten readiness screener given to students entering school for the first time
• an assessment called Measures of Academic Progress, which is given three times a year to gauge student mastery of skills in reading and math in grades kindergarten through eight
• a benchmark test, called Galileo, which students in grades kindergarten through nine take three times a year to see how well they are progressing toward grade level standards
• the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which students in grades 10 and 11 take to practice for college admission tests that students often have to take as part of the college application process
• two nationally standardized aptitude tests called CogAT and Iowa given to third graders to identify students for gifted and talented services
• end of course exams for high school students as they complete Algebra II, Biology, English II and U.S. History
• Kentucky Alternate Assessments developed for students with moderate to significant cognitive disabilities in grades three through eight, 10 and 11 as appropriate

The meeting also featured a sneak peek of Brenda Cowan Elementary’s upcoming production of Matilda Jr., which will performed in February. The student cast is led by drama teacher Austin Vahle, dance teacher Lydia Austin, and music teacher Jeremy Howard.

The school board’s action meetings are televised live on the FCPS YouTube channel.

Meetings are archived through the FCPS YouTube channel and Video on Demand service.