The regular meeting of the Heartland AEA Board of Directors was held February 8, 2011.
Approval of Agenda
A change order from FRK Architects and Engineers in the amount of $8,441.00 was added to the consent agenda for approval, and the action item to approve the 2011-12 audit request for proposal was corrected. The action item should read, “to approve the 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13 audit request for proposal”, as it will be a three-year contract. A MOTION was made by Mr. Nels Turnquist and seconded by Mr. Cal Halliburton to approve the amended agenda. Motion passed.
Public Forum
No one was present to address the Board.
Discussion Items 2009-10 Audit-Pittman & Company, LLP
Mr. John Pittman from Pittman & Company, LLP reviewed the results of the Agency’s FY2009-10 audit. The opinion of Pittman & Company is that Heartland AEA conformed to U.S. generally accepted accounting principles and qualifies as a low-risk auditee.
Media/Technology Update
Mr. Steve Prall provided a media and technology update and briefed board members on the status of the print and production department. Many of the print shop’s technical problems have been resolved, however one area of concern remains with the declining volume in both color and black and white copies. Two marketing brochures have been sent to schools and an open house for districts is planned for March 9. Xerox will also be performing an analysis of Heartland and Des Moines Public Schools’ print shops. It will analyze current capabilities, capacity and utilization from both sites. The analysis will be completed this month. Mr. Prall also shared two short videos of the server bunker installation at the 6500 Regional Education Center (REC) in Johnston. Heartland is only one of two AEAs in the state to have a server bunker. Once the 6500 REC remodeling project is complete and the weather warms up, board members will be given a tour of both facilities.
Audit Request for Proposals (RFP) Recommendations
Six RFPs were sent to various accounting firms in December and three responses were received. The Board Audit Committee reviewed the qualifications from each proposal, and one firm exceeded the qualifications. The Board Audit Committee recommended Pittman & Company, LLP as the Agency’s auditor for the next three years. Board members commented that it was good to get a comparison and that the study was completed objectively.
Online Council 28E Agreement
Mr. David King and Ms. Sharon Kurns discussed the Iowa Online Professional Development System 28E Agreement. Heartland was one of the first AEAs to offer online training programs that consisted of several modules for child abuse training and bloodborne pathogen training. Later these modules would be used by other AEAs in the state. The demand for online learning continues to grow, and the AEA chief administrators decided to create an online learning council. The council continued to work with online learning, and in 2009 the first employee was hired to help grow the system. Heartland has been chosen to be a host for all registrations and will provide the data server for the courses. The Agency has been approved by the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners as a license renewal provider, which will allow teachers to take online courses offered by the AEAs to renew their licenses.
Mr. David King spoke about the online agreement. It will be a joint venture among all AEAs, but Heartland will be the host. The agreement proposed is a draft, and additions will be made to the exhibits. Once those are finalized, it will be brought back in its final format for approval. This agreement is a great example of collaboration to complete projects jointly across the state.
Continuous Improvement Plan Update
Dr. David Tilly spoke about the Agency’s Continuous Improvement Plan (CIP). The CIP is one of four parts of the AEA accreditation process. The other three components include an annual budget, progress report and a successful accreditation site visit which was held in 2010. The CIP ensures that the Agency is meeting the nine AEA standard areas that are established by the Department of Education and most importantly, it ensures that the Agency has powerful goals to set the tone and direction of future work. The CIP will be reviewed at the March board meeting and will be approved in April. The plan will focus on work around student achievement, literacy measures and graduation rates.
Board Committee Reports & Updates
• Board Policy Committee – Dr. Jane Bell, Ms. Margaret Borgen and Ms. Ann Wilson met last month to begin work on the Board Policy Manual. It was decided that the manual no longer met the Agency’s needs, as it’s too detailed and many of the policies are legal mandates and requirements. The committee will look at devising a different framework for the manual that will focus on Heartland’s values and principles.
• Cultural Competence Committee – Ms. Ann Wilson attended the Cultural Competence Committee meeting. The committee has done a wonderful job of talking to each other about their hopes and how they can help. It’s a good group, and they are in the beginning of their discussions.
• CAO Evaluation Team – The CAO Evaluation Team has met three times to discuss the process and instrument for evaluating the chief administrator. They have been reviewing literature from other agencies and have discussed turning those ideas into a document to present at the next board meeting. Their goal is to have an end-of-year evaluation in June 2011.
• Board Agenda Planning Committee – Those board members who want to participate on the Board Agenda Planning Committee can and do attend. This committee is in a trial phase that will be evaluated at the end of six months.
• Negotiations Committee – The Negotiations Committee has met once and still has progress to make. • Professional Development Group – Mr. Cal Halliburton has attended one meeting and will try to attend more.
Action Items Post-Employment Policy
Tabled until March.
2009-10 Audit Report
A MOTION was made by Ms. Ann Wilson and seconded by Mr. Cal Halliburton to accept the 2009-10 audit report. Motion passed.
2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13 Audit RFP Recommendation
A MOTION was made by Mr. Nels Turnquist and seconded by Mr. Cal Halliburton to accept the recommendation to hire Pittman and Company, LLP as the Agency’s auditor for the next three years. Motion passed.
2010-11 Amended Budget
A MOTION was made by Ms. Ann Wilson and seconded by Mr. Bruce Christensen to accept the 2010-11 amended budget. Motion passed.
2011-12 Proposed Budget
A MOTION was made by Ms. Ann Wilson and seconded by Mr. Nels Turnquist to accept the 2011-12 proposed budget. Motion passed.
Online Council 28E Agreement
A MOTION was made by Mr. Cal Halliburton and seconded by Ms. Margaret Borgen to approve the Online Council 28E Agreement as presented. Motion passed.
Board Comments
Dr. Bridgewater thanked board members for the collaboration and spirit they bring to the table every month.
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