August Board of Directors Meeting Recap

The August meeting of the Heartland AEA Board of Directors was held August 9, 2011.

Public Forum
No one was present to address the Board.

Discussion Items
Board Committee Reports and Updates
• Professional Development – No report.
• Board Advisory Council – No report.
• Board Policy Committee – Board members were encouraged to read Series 200 of the Board Policy Manual. Any input or feedback should be provided to Ms. Jenny Ugolini by August 19.
• IEC & IAEP – Mr. Nels Turnquist reported that IEC food sales were down 25 percent.

Compensation Philosophy and Timeline
Ms. Laura Gillon addressed the Board about the Agency’s compensation philosophy. In October 2008, the Board approved a compensation philosophy and members were asked if this document still reflected current perspectives. Board members discussed the philosophy and suggested several changes. Ms. Gillon will bring the revised draft back for approval in September. During the next month, board members were asked to think about what criteria should be used for determining salary placement for classified non-union staff.

Finalize Iowa Association of School Boards Legislative Priorities
Board members approved the 2012 Iowa Association of School Boards legislative priorities.
1. Set an allowable growth rate that encourages continuous school improvement and reflects actual cost increases experienced by school districts and AEAs and sustain funding for school improvement.
2. Establish special education funding that accurately reflects instructional and support costs.
3. Sustain funding for accredited early childhood programs, particularly four-year-old preschool and wrap-around programs.
4. Provide additional funding to AEA’s to, 1.) Back-fill for the $20 million reduction in FY2012 and 2.) Restore full formula funding for FY2013.

Actuarial Valuation of Postemployment Benefit Plan
Mr. David King presented the executive summary for the Agency’s actuarial valuation of postemployment benefit plan. The report is a bi-yearly requirement to provide an estimate of net obligation for the Agency. For year ending 2010, there is very little liability for the organization.

Print Center Options
Mr. Steve Prall reviewed the Board’s decision at the July 12 meeting to give a 90-day termination notice to Xerox for the labor portion of the Print Center contract. Since that time, the Agency has been reviewing other options. One proposal stood out due to the significant cost savings, company size and reputation. Mr. Prall introduced Mr. Bob Lashier and Mr. Andy Lashier from Laser Resources who provided an overview of their company and spoke briefly about right-sizing the Heartland Print Center. Board members requested copies of their formal proposal prior to the September board meeting.

Action Items
Resolution Naming Depositories A motion was made and passed to accept the resolution #1-2011 listing the Agency’s 2011-12 depositories.

Amending Des Moines 2010-11 Contract
A motion was made and passed to amend the 2010-11 Heartland AEA and Des Moines Public Schools contract.

Consent Agenda
Personnel Report and Addendum
Bills
Purchase Requests: Auto-Graphics, Inc. - $89,220.00 and EBSCO - $28,000.00
Neveln Center Lease Renewal Agreement
Actuarial Valuation of Postemployment Benefit Plan
Agreement between Heartland and Ryan Companies. – Mr. Prall amended the contract and increased the amount of square footage of Lot 2 from 50’ x 50’ to 125’ x 125’ with a 25’ frontage.

Ms. Borgen reviewed the bills and stated everything was in order. A motion was made and passed to approve the consent agenda including payment of warrant numbers 00361004 through 00361609.

Board Comments
• Board members commented on the improved conversations between districts and AEA’s as a result of the Governor’s Education Summit held July 25 and 26.

Chief Administrator Comments
• Dr. Vincent stated that many groups have been asked to meet based on the results of the Governor’s Education Summit. One group that will be convening includes the administrators from School Administrators of Iowa (SAI), Iowa Association of School Boards (IASB), the Iowa State Education Association (ISEA) and AEA’s. The meeting will be held with Dr. Jason Glass, executive director of the Department of Education, and will discuss moving forward with some of the ideas from the summit.
• At the SAI conference last week, a presentation was given of legislative items to watch during the 2012 legislative session. The very first item mentioned was advocating for AEA’s and stating that the $20 million cut was unacceptable. Dr. Tom Narak, former West Des Moines superintendent, will be representing SAI as their legislative liaison. Dr. Vincent stated this was an exciting and rare opportunity to work with two former Heartland superintendents.
• Heartland received word from the Department of Education on acceptance of the Agency’s Continuous Improvement Plan (CIP). The DE has been very supportive and allowed the Agency flexibility and the opportunity to do some things differently compared to previous years. A follow-up meeting will be held in February.
• All five Board members with expiring terms have completed their candidacy papers for re-election. Ballots will be mailed by September 1.
• Board members are invited to attend the Agency’s All-Staff Meeting on August 11. It will be held at Urbandale High School from 9:00 – 11:30 a.m.
• Any Board member interested in attending the Association of Educational Service Agencies (AESA) annual conference from November 30 – December 3 should contact Ms. Jenny Ugolini.

Adjourn
The meeting adjourned at 7:49 p.m.