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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDraft Joint South Bend Common Council and South Bend Community School Board ResolutionA JOINT RESOLUTION OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND AND THE SCHOOL BOARD OF THE SCHOOL CORPORATION OF SOUTH BEND MEMORIALIZING THEIR EFFORTS AND INTENTS TO FORM A COOPERATIVE EDUCATIONAL COMMITTEE WITH THE MISSION OF WORKING TOGETHER FOR THE BETTERMENT OF OUR CHILDREN, OUR SCHOOLS AND OUR CITY WHEREAS, the destiny and success of the City of South Bend’s 102,000 residents and the neighborhoods they live in is intertwined with the destiny of our schools and its 16,000 students and 3,000 staff and employees; and WHEREAS, a thriving city must have great schools; and WHEREAS, the renewed revitalization of our community can be an ever great force for all residents with a strong partnership between our City and our Schools; and WHEREAS, the youth in our city’s schools face challenges that cannot be solved by teachers and school personnel alone; and WHEREAS, success will require increasing social & economic supports for our student households of South Bend; and WHEREAS, our schools and our city government cooperatively must strive for diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice to establish a learning system that provides equitable opportunities and outcomes for every child in South Bend to succeed; and WHEREAS, the success of our community and schools will require the efforts of our local higher education institutions, local skilled trades groups, local business community, and all community stakeholders in order to realize this vision; and WHEREAS, our students need expanded access to high quality early education and more and broader pathways to career opportunities; and WHEREAS, all members of both the Common Council of the City of South Bend and of the School Board of the South Bend School Corporation held a joint public meeting at Nuner Fine Arts Academy on Tuesday February 25th, 2020; and WHEREAS, our city now faces a call to action moment when we as a city must all come together to address these challenges; and WHEREAS, the Council and School Board agreed that the two elected bodies should regularly communicate and should take cooperative action towards the goals of improving education and economic opportunities both within our schools and within our city. NOW THEREFORE, be it resolved, by the Common Council of the City of South Bend, Indiana, and the School Board of the South Bend School Corporation, as follows; Section 1: The Common Council and School board agree to form a Standalone Joint Educational Cooperative Committee; including members appointed by the Mayor and School Superintendent. Section 2: The Joint Educational Cooperative Committee will be tasked with preparing a joint Educational Cooperative Agreement between the two bodies which will specifically address the joint goals of the two elected bodies discussed above. Section 3: The Joint Educational Cooperative Committee will consist of ten (10) members as follows: two (2) Common Council members appointed by the Common Council President; two (2) School Board members appointed by the School Board President; the Mayor of the City of South Bend, or her or his designee; the School Superintendent, or her or his designee; one (1) citizen/community member appointed by the Common Council President; one (1) citizen/community member appointed by the Mayor; one (1) citizen/community member appointed by the School Board President; and one (1) educator designee appointed by the School Superintendent; and Section 4: The Committee shall make recommendations and proposals for action(s) to the Common Council, the Mayor, the South Bend School Corporation, the School Superintendent and any other government or community entity that will further the goals described above. Section 5: The Common Council President’s citizen/community Committee member designee to the Committee shall attend School Board Meetings and report back to the Common Council. Section 6: The School Board President’s citizen/community Committee member designee to the Committee shall attend Common Council Meetings and report back to the School Board. Section 7: The Joint Educational Cooperative Committee shall meet no less than quarterly. Section 8: The Joint Educational Cooperative Committee shall be a driving force of partnership and cooperation between the South Bend School Board, South Bend Common Council, South Bend Schools Superintendent, South Bend Mayor and our community.