The Heartland AEA Board of Directors has hired the search firm of Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates, Ltd. (HYA) to provide consulting services for the chief administrator search. HYA’s mission is to “provide aggressive, thorough and quality assistance to governing boards in need of identifying and recruiting highly qualified executives for superintendencies, chief administrative officers, and other administrative positions.” The firm’s offices are located in Glenview, Illinois.
David Tilly and Laura Gillon have completed meetings with Heartland AEA staff, which provided all staff an opportunity to provide input regarding the question “What characteristics should Heartland be looking for in a new chief administrator?” This input was compiled and a preliminary report was shared with Heartland’s Board of Directors on October 13, 2009.
The Board of Directors, in conjunction with the search firm, is currently working to finalize the interview process and schedule.
Monday, October 19, 2009
October 2009 Board of Directors Meeting Recap
An organizational meeting was held prior to the regular board meeting. New board member Cal Halliburton and re-elected board members Ann Wilson, Earl Bridgewater, Bruce Christensen and Marcy Sparks were administered the oath of office.
The Board voted to retain its current meeting schedule for 2009-2010, in which board meetings will be held on the second Tuesday of every month. Ann Wilson and Earl Bridgewater will continue as president and vice president, respectively, and have completed the second year of their two-year terms. Terry Wycoff was appointed as the Board’s treasurer and Jenny Ugolini as the secretary.
No one from the public was present to address the Board. The Board then went into closed session at 6:12 p.m. and returned to public session at 7:01 p.m.
Margaret Borgen informed the Board that five of the six legislative priorities submitted to the Iowa Association of School Boards were used in the final proposal sent to legislators.
1. Sustain funding for school improvement.
2. Set an allowable growth rate that encourages continuous school improvement and reflects actual cost increases experienced by school districts and AEAs.
3. Create policy and a separate funding mechanism for the operation and maintenance of AEA facilities.
4. Increase funding for accredited early childhood programs, particularly four year-old pre-school and wrap-around programs.
5. Establish special education funding that accurately reflects costs.
The first reading of Board Policy 511 Internet Acceptable Use and Safety was presented. This policy was previously in place for Shelter Care students and was updated to meet new law requirements. The Board will have a second reading at its November meeting.
Interim Chief Administrator Comments:
- The AEA Chief Administrators held a conference call and agreed that they were all looking for possible savings through limits on hiring, travel and equipment/materials.
- Ms. King will come back to the Board next month with more information. During the next few weeks there should be a better idea of where the budgets gaps will occur.
The Board voted to retain its current meeting schedule for 2009-2010, in which board meetings will be held on the second Tuesday of every month. Ann Wilson and Earl Bridgewater will continue as president and vice president, respectively, and have completed the second year of their two-year terms. Terry Wycoff was appointed as the Board’s treasurer and Jenny Ugolini as the secretary.
No one from the public was present to address the Board. The Board then went into closed session at 6:12 p.m. and returned to public session at 7:01 p.m.
Margaret Borgen informed the Board that five of the six legislative priorities submitted to the Iowa Association of School Boards were used in the final proposal sent to legislators.
1. Sustain funding for school improvement.
2. Set an allowable growth rate that encourages continuous school improvement and reflects actual cost increases experienced by school districts and AEAs.
3. Create policy and a separate funding mechanism for the operation and maintenance of AEA facilities.
4. Increase funding for accredited early childhood programs, particularly four year-old pre-school and wrap-around programs.
5. Establish special education funding that accurately reflects costs.
The first reading of Board Policy 511 Internet Acceptable Use and Safety was presented. This policy was previously in place for Shelter Care students and was updated to meet new law requirements. The Board will have a second reading at its November meeting.
Interim Chief Administrator Comments:
- Ms. King shared that due to the recent announcement by Governor Chet Culver that 10 percent must be cut from the state’s budget, decision around the allocation of ARRA funds will be readdressed. The 10 percent cut is approximately a $2.9 million dollar loss for the Agency.
- The AEA Chief Administrators held a conference call and agreed that they were all looking for possible savings through limits on hiring, travel and equipment/materials.
- Ms. King will come back to the Board next month with more information. During the next few weeks there should be a better idea of where the budgets gaps will occur.
- Ms. King thanked Mr. David King, Ms. Rebecca McCreary, Ms. Diane Schnelker, Ms. Jennifer Swanson, Dr. David Tilly and Dr. Kristi Upah for their hard work in meeting recent ARRA deadlines. They went above and beyond to meet reporting requirements.
- Ms. King announced that training sessions will be offered each month to board members if they would like to gain more in-depth knowledge about Cabinet members’ roles and responsibilities. These sessions will be held prior to the board work session from 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. and are optional. Board members and anyone else interested are welcome to attend the sessions. Each month a different Cabinet member will be available to discuss the services and department he or she oversees.
Teacher Quality Excel Class Needs More Registrants
One of the Teacher Quality Excel 101 classes scheduled for October 29 and 30 currently does not have enough people registered to hold the class. If you want to take this class, please register for it by October 23. If there are not enough people registered, the class will be canceled on the 23rd in order to give those registered a chance to register for a later Excel 101 class.
October 28 Deadline for Registering for Teacher Quality Classes
Reminder: The deadline to register for Teacher Quality classes is October 28. If you have any questions about TQ classes, contact your program assistant or supervisor.
Legislative Open House Set for October 27
Every other year all of Iowa’s AEAs host open houses for the state legislators in each AEA area. 2009 is an open house year, and Heartland will be hosting our area legislators on October 27 from 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. The Agency’s early childhood/Early ACCESS, physical therapy and behavior/autism services, online learning and the Iowa Core Curriculum will be the topics featured for presentation. The open house gives Heartland a chance to share with legislators the great things the Agency is doing for students, families and schools in Central Iowa.
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