Superintendent Terry Noble is recommending the Mehlville Board of Education approve a revised contract with UNICOMARC, the firm that is assisting the district with its public-engagement program.
UNICOMARC has been assisting the district with its public-engagement program, COMPASS — Charting the Oakville-Mehlville Path to Advance Successful Schools.
Noble is recommending the board approve a revised contract with UNICOMARC that would expand the firm’s scope of services to assist the district with school and community relations.
The Board of Education will meet at 7 p.m. today — Aug. 23 — at the former St. John’s Elementary School at Will Avenue and Lemay Ferry Road.
St. John’s is the new home of Project SCOPE — South County Opportunities for the Purpose of Education — and an open house is scheduled from 4 to 6 p.m. to show off the facility, which was remodeled at a cost of roughly $837,000.
The Board of Education also will conduct a public forum from 6 to 7 p.m. in which residents will be able to address the board on district issues. No discussion of individually identifiable personnel or students will be permitted.
Regarding UNICOMARC, the Board of Education voted Nov. 15 to award bids to the company for a community survey and the public-engagement process. For assisting the district with school and community relations, UNICOMARC proposes in-creasing its monthly fee to $12,000 from Aug. 1 through June 30.
That represents a total increase in the firm’s fee of $77,000.
In an Aug. 17 letter to the Board of Education, Noble wrote that he recently met with Rod Wright and Dan Burns of UNICOMARC.
As proposed, Noble wrote that the expanded scope of services provided by UNICOMARC would include:
Providing day-to-day guidance and direction for the School/Community Relations Department.
Serving as a mentor to current School/Community Relations Director Patrick Wallace.
Assessing the effectiveness of the existing school/community relations program.
Completing an audit and formulating a strategic plan for improvement of the school/community relations program.
Providing additional clerical assistance when current staff is insufficient to meet needed requirements.
Conducting an electronic survey of parents regarding the accessibility and readability of the Mehlville Messenger through the current mode of distribution. The board recently opted to have the Post-Dispatch/Suburban Journals print and distribute the newsletter on a month-to-month basis, deciding against renewing a one-year contract with the Post and Journals.
Serving in an advisory capacity to the superintendent.
In his letter to the board, Noble outlined the UNICOMARC representatives who would work with the district.
“We will have access to the collective knowledge and expertise of UNICOMARC. This includes staff members Rod Wright, Dan Burns, John Siemers — former director of communications at the Parkway School District — and Jennifer Volk — former director of communications at the Rockwood School District,” he wrote.
In addition, Noble noted that Volk “is the individual who will be placed on site.”
In a letter to Noble, Burns and Wright wrote, “UNICOMARC will provide an average of 75 to 100 hours per month of on-site professional communications personnel.
“This does not include an expanded role for our president, Dr. Rod Wright, who will be devoting additional hours to this project.
“In terms of specific personnel, we are planning for four senior communicators to be involved with this project together with more than 60 years of professional service in school communications. Included in our scope of work will be attending Board of Education meetings, cabinet meetings, other key administrative meetings and providing advice and counsel to the administration and Board of Education on all issues from the perspective of district communications.”
The letter also stated, “It is important to place the total payment to UNICOMARC in perspective. Recently, Hazelwood School District hired an experienced communication professional to direct its communications program. She is paid well in excess of $100,000 …”
For $132,000, the letter states the Mehlville School District will be receiving:
Completion of the firm’s work on the COMPASS public-engagement program
A comprehensive communications plan.
Involvement of four senior communications professionals, including three who have direct experience working in a school district communications department.
Senior-level advice and counsel from multiple professionals on key issues facing the district.
Wallace’s assistant, Kathy Smith, recently left Mehlville to become director of community and public relations for the Valley Park School District.
In a separate matter tonight, the Board of Education is scheduled to consider approval of a contract for legal services with Kohn, Shands, Elbert, Gianoulakis & Giljum. The firm currently provides legal services to the district.
Board members recently voted to issue a request for proposals for legal services and six firms responded. Besides Kohn, Shands, Elbert, Gianoulakis & Elbert, firms re-sponding were:
Rynearson, Suess, Schnurbusch & Champion.
Crotzer, Ford & Ormsby, Attorneys.
Tueth, Kenney, Cooper, Mohan & Jackstadt.
Lashley & Baer.
Doster, Mickes, James, Ullom, Benson & Guest.
The proposals were reviewed by a committee comprised of Noble, Deputy Superintendent Eric Knost, Chief Financial Officer Brent Bell and Board of Education President Tom Diehl.
After evaluating the proposals, the committee has recommended Kohn, Shands, Elbert, Gianoulakis & Giljum at the following hourly rates:
Partners — $170.
Associates — $114.
Summer law clerks — $104.
Paralegals — $80.
The rates are set for the 2007-2008 and the 2008-2009 school years.
