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• inuttz of tbt Informal iitetting of the 3 rub Common QCoinut i The October 4, 2000 Informal Meeting of the Common Council of the City of South Bend was called to order by its Vice-President, Council Member James Aranowski, at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Informal Meeting Room. Persons in attendance included Council Members: Aranowski, Kelly, King, Kirsits,Ujdak and Varner,Health and Safety Committee Citizen Member Isabele Gonzalez,Parks and Recreation Committee Citizen Member Kimberly Kilgore, Mayor Stephen J. Luecke, Dr. Joan M. Raymond, Superintendent of the South Bend Community School Corporation;Uniform Division Chief Larry Blume, Council Attorney Kathleen Cekanski-Farrand,and members of the public. Council Member Aranowski introduced Dr. Joan M. Raymond, Superintendent of the South Bend Community School Corporation, as the Council's featured guest (introductory remarks attached) and presented her with a City of South Bend paperweight and wooden apple. Dr. Raymond thanked the Council for the invitation to discuss several community issues and in particular the current status of the South Bend Community School Corporation. She began with a brief overview of the school system. She noted among other facts that the school corporation has approximately 21,500 students with 31% being African Americans, 10% being Hispanic, and 51 % being White. Five percent(5%) of the school population does not use English as its first language; 51% are considered disadvantaged and therefore entitled to free-lunch programs;one-fifth(1/5)are handicapped;and 13 %are gifted/talented. Dr. Raymond noted that in 1999 the cost to educate one(1) student was$8,323. There are 1,650 teachers who teach in the thirty-four (34) schools which make up the school corporation. The average teacher salary is $ 42,000, with $ 54,000 being the maximum teacher salary. The average SAT score was 964, which she noted is below the State of Indiana average. The school corporation's budget is $ 169 million dollars. She noted that there are currently three (3) new building projects underway in the $ 70-75 million range. She stated that the mistakes which continue to plague the Riley High School construction project were not the fault of the Board, and that appropriate steps have been taken by the school corporation to have a construction manager oversee the current construction projects and address the Riley High School problems. Dr. Raymond then highlighted several issues she believes must be addressed for the best interest of the South Bend Community School Corporation and our community as a whole. They include: 1. Finance: By having the State of Indiana and the school corporation on different budget calendars creates confusion at best and needlessly complicates the overall financial picture. 2. Image: The image of the South Bend Community School Corporation needs to be positively and creatively addressed. Note#1: A social hour from 5:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Immediately preceded the Informal Meeting of the Common Council which included in Beverly Crone,President of the St Joseph County Commissioners,Joseph Baldoni,President of the St. Joseph County Council,Fire Chief Luther Taylor as well as those in attendance at the Informal Meeting of the Council.