Douglas School Board to discuss enrollment decreases, bullying incidents, superintendent search
Submitted by Kelsey Penrose on Tue, 01/09/2024 - 1:15pm
The Douglas County School Board will host their first meeting of 2024 today, Tuesday, Jan. 9 beginning at 4 p.m. at Douglas High School.
On the agenda includes enrollment counts, bullying statistics, candidate interviews, and more.
Enrollment Counts
Trustees will discuss enrollment within the Douglas County School District, which continues to show a decline compared with the previous school year.
The numbers are broken down month by month, and while numbers are not decreasing within this school year, compared with last year’s numbers, they declined each month.
For example, at the beginning of the 2022-23 school year, 5,185 students were enrolled in DCSD, compared with 5,050 at the beginning of this year.
In total, there was a reported difference of 1,172 students from August to December of this year’s school enrollment compared with the 2022-23 school year.
To see the full chart, which further breaks down enrollment into schools as well as alternative programs, please click here.
Bullying
Trustees will hear an update on bullying and behavioral reports during the second quarter of school, which takes place from Oct. 1 - Dec. 31.
In total, there were 39 reported incidents of bullying, ten of which were determined to fit bullying criteria following an investigation.
Of those, six resulted in suspension, and there were no expulsions.
There were eight reported incidents of cyberbullying, five of which were determined to be so after an investigation, and all five resulted in suspension with no expulsions.
To see the full bullying report, click here.
Behavioral issues
Under behavioral issues, there were zero incidents of violence whether to other students or to staff; one incident of possessing a weapon, and 18 incidents of possession or use of a controlled substance. Eight incidents were reported for possession or use of alcoholic beverages.
There was one expulsion during the second quarter which was due to the distribution of a controlled substance.
To view the full behavioral report, click here and scroll down.
Other items
— Trustees will designate committee assignments for the new year, which range from the Debt Management Commission, to School Safety Task Force, Legislative Liaison, Liaison to Parent Teacher Organizations, and more.
— The Board will review and take possible action to approve a settlement agreement of a 2021 complaint filed against the district. There is no other information provided on this item at this time.
— The board will discuss and approve on a format and process to be used in the superintendent search following the resignation of former Superintendent Keith Lewis. Applications were submitted by Jan. 6, and interviews will take place Jan. 22.
— The board will hold interviews to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of Trustee Tony Magnotta. To read more about this, and learn about the candidates, see our previous reporting here.
For these agenda items and others, see the full agenda here.
