Maxine’s Message

The decorations are packed up and put away. A load of items has been dropped off to charity. All cupboards and drawers are purged and organized, and it’s time to begin a new year. As the year unfolds, I choose to be optimistic. It’s true that many issues have arisen over the last several weeks that could be described as challenges and disappointments. We will meet these challenges and use them as opportunities.

In this issue of The Connection, I am providing you with up-to-date information regarding both the recent articles in the Des Moines Register and the bleak state financial outlook. While these issues command attention, I know that our employees will continue to have a laser focus on our work: serving students, families, teachers, leaders and our communities. Stay tuned for regular updates in The Connection on important challenges ahead.

News Coverage
I am sure that most of you read the articles in the Des Moines Register regarding the area education agencies. AEAs have suffered from lack of exposure in the media for the outstanding services and supports provided to those we serve, and it would have been terrific if the articles had featured how we are making a difference for students, teachers and all others served. While we appreciate the content related to services to students, it was disappointing that the Register left out key pieces of information about budget and administrative issues. This means there are some inaccurate perceptions so here is information that tells the full story.

1. We have increased administrators within the agency.
Within the time discussed in this article, the Agency moved from a narrow definition of who an administrator was to a system of administrative function. This changed who would be charged to administration.

For example, our previous supervisor of all social workers would not have been an administrator in our narrow definition and would not have been included in administrative costs. We now have moved these functions to partnership directors to have decision-making closer to the work. Partnership directors are now charged to administration because of the wide range of responsibilities and administrative functions they provide.

Another example would be our special education clerks. These clerks are not administrators, but have administrative duties such as making appointments, disseminating paperwork and making phone calls. These functions would be included in administration cost.

The article also stated that secretaries have been promoted to administrators. Not true. But many of their functions would be considered administrative costs.

The article also did not mention the additional oversight that the Department of Education and the legislature have mandated for the AEAs. Just this year they added the Iowa Core Curriculum.

At Heartland, we have decreased administrators, four just this year, and decreased our administrators’ administrative staff. With those savings we were able to:
• Offer a 5% salary package increase
• Retain all direct services staff
• Increase early childhood staff
• Add special education clerks
• Add autism and challenging behavior positions

2. Some administrator salaries have increased dramatically.
It is true that we have promoted some individuals into new positions in the last five years. We are proud to have promoted from within our Agency. These deserving individuals have completed more education (some doctorate degrees), taken on increased supervision and moved from a 192-day work year to a 260-day work year. Many of their positions are areas that are hard to fill across the nation. Their salaries are in line with the positions they hold according to market comparison studies.

3. We cost the taxpayers more than five years ago.
The fact buried within the article is we increased only 21% compared to 22% that the state increased. Our growth is set by the state, and we fell within that growth. As with school budgets, our administrative cost is set by the state through statutes at 5%.

4. We were forced to merge.
This simply is not factual. The AEAs voluntarily merged, but to do so we had to have the legislature give us permission. The agencies made the request to the legislators.

5. Our mergers did not save taxpayers money.
The whole purpose of merging was to move more dollars to direct services. The system accomplished this by moving to one chief administrator for several regions. The mergers consolidated other administrative functions such as human resources, payroll, business services, etc. Money saved from these consolidations was moved to front line employees (direct services).

Budget Freeze
One thing I have learned during my career as a leader is to communicate more often during times when the budget is going to drop significantly. This is such an occasion. On December 19, Governor Chet Culver announced a 1.5% across the board (ATB) cut for the current 2009 fiscal year. He did so in response to the revised revenue estimates reported last week at the Revenue Estimating Conference (REC) the previous week. State law requires that the state budget balance, therefore, the ATB cut is a first step in meeting the requirements of the law. Larry Sigel of the Iowa Association of Schools Boards did an excellent job in a recent update of explaining some of the facts and here is information taken directly from his remarks.

• Given the uncertain state of the economy, no one can say at this time whether the spring estimate of the REC will be a revenue improvement or further reduction. The legislature does have the option to come into session and restore appropriations to priority areas. It is premature to assume the final impact without knowing the plans of legislative action likely in the opening weeks of the session.
• The state aid reduction is applied equally per pupil, not a strict 1.5% reduction to a school district's state aid payments. There is also a 1.5% reduction to categorical funds (the largest of these are teacher quality, class size, at-risk grants, educational excellence including Phases I and II and instructional support state match and pre-school grants not yet funded through the formula).

What does this mean at Heartland?
• Heartland will experience the following cuts immediately:

• Special Education Weighting= -$139,533.5
• ATB 1.5% cut= -$364,387.00
  

• Hiring and equipment purchases at this time are frozen. Exceptions will be determined by the Executive Council based on recommendations from cabinet members.
• Meetings will be held to determine what the Agency criteria are for future spending. The Decision Analysis Process will be used and the first meeting will occur in January. After the criteria are developed and communicated throughout the Agency, other potential cuts will be identified because the economic outlook is poor.
• Given the rising costs of basic services (electricity, phone, etc.) and the high likelihood that there will be further cuts, the Agency may have to look at personnel cuts for 2009-2010. The intention is to try and preserve as many jobs as possible.
• The Agency must find ways to continue support for the Iowa Core Curriculum, infrastructure concerns and identified district needs in spite of the budget landscape.
• The Agency will continue to pursue elimination of waste through the use of Kaizen processes and other approaches, in hopes of identifying funds that can be re-purposed.
• The Agency will continue to use data from all advisory councils to inform its work.

Laser focus on our work as prioritized
The Agency will continue to focus on the priorities as identified with input from all stakeholders. Specifically, we will continue to develop, improve and strengthen partnerships. With our partners, we will identify the highest needs of our districts and align our resources to meet those needs. We will continue to invest in and demonstrate our commitment to staff by retaining as many front line employees as possible in this time of crisis, as well as continue to create tools that will benefit all staff to ensure a stable and satisfied workforce.

For example, we will continue to address workload issues, provide high quality professional development and offer competitive compensation within the resources available. Finally, we will continue our transformation in using space from primarily storage and distribution to teaching and learning, ensure that we have technology tools and employ workflow analysis processes to eliminate waste and improve efficiency.

I am confident that our work will continue to be effective and successful because Heartland has outstanding employees who make a difference. As members of the Heartland community, I know you will continue to be our ambassadors where you go. Your voices have a major impact on how legislators vote and how our partners experience the Agency. I wish you all the best in the new year and encourage to you make your thoughts known through conversations with your supervisors, input to the Staff Advisory Council, the comment notes, e-mail, phone calls and visits. The best solutions to challenges come from within, from those most affected.

Maxine

Corrected Non-Discrimination Statement Posted on Intranet

It was brought to the attention of the Communications Department that a word was misspelled in the non-discrimination statement that was posted on the Intranet and in the Agency style guide. This was been corrected and the new statement is now on the Intranet and listed below. Please make sure you are using the corrected statement on your documents.

Heartland Area Education Agency 11 does not discriminate based on gender, gender identity, race, national/ethnic origin, creed, age, marital status, sexual orientation, or disability. Direct inquiries to the Affirmative Action Coordinator, 6500 Corporate Dr., Johnston, IA 50131-1603, or Director, Office for Civil Rights, Chicago, IL 60606-7204.

2008 W-2s Coming Soon to a Mailbox Near You

With the new year comes an annual ritual. No, not new year’s resolutions, but the start of income tax filing season! One of the key items that all employees need to complete their federal and state income tax returns is Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement. Form W-2 provides the amount of your taxable wages and the amount of tax withheld from your paychecks during calendar year 2008. You can expect to receive your 2008 Form W-2 no later than Friday, January 23, 2009. Once you receive your W-2, any questions you have can be directed to Jami Johnson at ext. 14311 or Steve Jordan at ext. 14908.

Spread the Word About “ABCs of the IEP” Workshop

The Heartland Parent-Educator Connection will hold an “ABCs of the IEP” workshop on January 15, 2009, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Johnston Lions Club. Please spread the word to Heartland-area families about this informative workshop. Below is a short description of the workshop and how to register.

Does the IEP process make you feel intimidated and unsure of what your role is? Do you feel you have more to contribute but aren’t sure about how to do it or how it will be received? Do you wonder why the IEP is sometimes already filled out when you get to the meeting? The Parent-Educator Connection can answer these questions as well as give you insider tips on how to get the most out of your child’s IEP.

Register by January 13, 2009. To register, contact Maureen Schletzbaum at 800-358-8532 or (515) 961-8191 ext. 16299 or e-mail mschletzbaum@aea11.k12.ia.us with the following information: name, phone number, school district and number attending.

Commission Seeks Public Comments on DMACC for Upcoming Accreditation Visit

The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools will be conducting an accreditation evaluation of Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) March 25-27, 2009. The Commission is seeking public comments on DMACC prior to the accreditation visit.

If you would like to make comments about the quality of DMACC or its academic programs, please submit your comments to the following address:
Public Comment on DMACC
The Higher Learning Commission
30 North LaSalle Street, Suite 2400
Chicago, IL 60602
http://www.ncahlc.org

Written, signed comments must be received by Feb. 25, 2009. Comments should include the name, address and telephone number of the person providing the comments. Comments will not be treated as confidential.

Note: Individuals with a specific dispute or grievance with an institution should request the separate Policy on Complaints document from the Commission office.

DMACC has been accredited by the Commission since 1974. The Commission is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For more information, contact Kim Linduska at DMACC at (515) 964-6628.

Technology Update

Kerio Tips and Tricks

Sending an E-mail to Multiple People
Have you ever needed to e-mail more than a couple people at a time? If you have, then there is a quick way to do this. If the people you need to e-mail are already in one of your contact folders and you’ve set those contact folders to be searchable in Kerio, then the following trick will work.

Say I want to e-mail the following people: Arletta Dawson, Tuan Dao, Barb Dietrich, Judy Cleveland, Josh Burke and Jim Lagnese. If I click in the To: field and type the following: adaw, tdao, bdie, jcle, jbur, jlag and then press the tab key on my keyboard, it will automatically search my contact folders looking for matches and automatically put these people’s e-mail addresses in the To: field for me. If there had been multiple matches to one of the entries, a window would have appeared letting me choose which person I meant. Instead of using the person’s first initial and a few characters of their last name, I could have used just their first name or their last name. But the more specific I am, the less likely I am to get the pop-up window asking me to choose the person I meant.

If this trick doesn’t work for you, it’s probably because either you haven’t set your contact folders to be searchable or you are blocking pop-up windows in your browser.

To check for the first option, do the following:
1. Click the Settings button located above your e-mail address in the folder tree and choose Settings from the pop-up menu.
2. Click the Mail Composing tab and click the Choose folders button.
3. A window will appear listing all of the folders available in your folder tree. Click once in the box in front of any of the contact folders you want searched to put a check mark in the box. You want at least the Heartland MAIN subfolder located under the Contacts folder in the Public folders folder to be checked. You probably will want all of your personal contact folders to be checked as well.

To check for the second option, do the following:
1. In Firefox, go to the Firefox menu and choose Preferences.
2. Click the Content button and if there is a check mark in the box next to Block pop-up windows you can do one of two things. You can either click on the box to remove the check mark and click the red close button or you can add the Kerio server to the exceptions list. To add it to the list, click the Exceptions button and type keriomail.aea11.k12.ia.us in the box below Address of website and then click the Allow button to add it to the list. Now click the red close button to close the Allowed Sites window. Click the red close button to close the Content window.

Contextual Menus in Kerio
With a recent update to Kerio, we have regained the ability to right-click (MacBook users can get a right-click by putting two fingers on the trackpad and pressing the trackpad button) to get the contextual menus to appear in Kerio when using Firefox 3.x. You can still hold down the control key on the keyboard and click to get contextual menus to appear as well.

Next time you are in Kerio, try right-clicking or control-clicking on a message in your inbox to see some of the things you can do from the contextual menu.