July Board of Directors Meeting Recap

The July meeting of the Heartland AEA Board of Directors was held July 12, 2011.

Public Forum & Iowa Association of School Boards (IASB) Letter of Correspondence
No one was present to address the Board.

A motion was made and passed to accept the IASB letter of correspondence with the modification submitted to the last sentence of paragraph two. The word “respectable” will be changed to “its intended.”

Discussion Items
• CAO Evaluation Committee – Chief administrator evaluation summary sheets were added to each board member’s binder.
• Professional Development Committee – No report.
• Board Advisory Council – The Board Advisory Council met on July 11. Council members discussed Michael Fullan’s monograph “Choosing the Wrong Drivers for Whole System Reform.” There was good discussion, and the group spoke honestly about the implications for Heartland AEA.
• Board Policy Committee – The committee met briefly today and work continues on updating the manual.
• IEC/IAEP – No report.

Board Policy Manual – Series 100
Board members reviewed policies 100, 101, 102 and 103. Minor word changes were made to policy 101 and 103 and members noted that in the future they would like policy 103 to include four compliance officers. A motion was made and passed to approve the 100 series as modified.

Budget Review
Mr. David King, chief financial officer, reviewed the Agency’s financial status for FY2010-11. Currently the Agency is below its spending compared to FY2009-10 which will allow a remaining fund balance in educational services and media services. All ARRA and Part B funds have been expended, and he is unsure if special education will require a subsidy from educational services or media services to balance. As the Agency looks at FY2011-12, the AEA system faces a funding reduction of $20 million. With the addition of permanent cuts from previous years, this totals $27.5 million. Heartland AEA’s portion will be around $6.3 million or 18 percent of its budget. The Agency is positioned well enough to weather the financial storm for FY2011-12, but for FY2012-13, additional reductions will need to take place and adjustments will need to be made for the future.

Contract Services for Print and Production
Mr. Steve Prall, executive director of operations, shared that for the last six months the Agency has been researching options to reduce print service costs and create efficiencies.

Action Items
A motion was made and passed to recommend termination of the labor portion of the Xerox Managed Services Agreement noting that it requires the Agency to give 90 days notice.

Consent Agenda
Dr. Rose reviewed the bills and stated everything was in order. He asked for more information on the refund process for course cancellation versus student cancellation and complimented staff on keeping budget expenditures lower than last year. A motion was made and passed to approve the consent agenda including payment of warrant numbers 00359922 through 00360112.

Board Comments
• Ms. Borgen discussed the value of those attending the Governor’s Education Summit meeting prior to the event. Dr. Vincent said she would explore the option of having a breakfast meeting.
• Dr. Rose spoke about the wonderful opportunities being provided through the Newton Iowa Community Outreach Program. A possible work session item would be an update on the instructional program within the correctional institute and Shelter Care programs.

Chief Administrator Comments
• Work from the Department of Education and AEA administrative group continues. Both parties met for a two-day retreat in June and will meet again in September to address how they can work together as a system. There are high hopes for what can be accomplished.
• Several agency staff and board members have had contact with members from IASB. There is a growing recognition that we need to work together as partners, and IASB is beginning to have a better understanding of the issues.
• Dr. Vincent noted that Heartland AEA has 12 new superintendents this year. Some are new to the state and others new to the area.
• Staff are beginning to look forward to the new school year. There is a sense of excitement and figuring out how we can move towards achieving the Agency’s goals.

Adjourn
The meeting adjourned at 4:18 p.m.