October 2010 Board of Directors Meeting Recap

The October 2010 Heartland Board of Directors meeting was held on October 12, 2010.

Board Recognition
Partnership Director Dave Wood was present to recognize John Keitges, principal at Knoxville’s West Elementary School during the 2009-10 school year, for the school’s National 2010 Blue Ribbon School award. West Elementary was nominated for the award by the Iowa Department of Education because of its students’ achievements in reading and math on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS). Without Heartland’s support, Mr. Keitges didn’t feel that the district would have been able to obtain this award.

ANNUAL BOARD MEETING
Election of a President of the Board
A MOTION was made by Ms. Margaret Borgen and seconded by Ms. Marcy Sparks to nominate Dr. Earl Bridgewater as board president. Motion passed unanimously.

Election of a Vice President
A MOTION was made by Mr. Bruce Christensen and seconded by Dr. Jane Bell to nominate Mr. Nels Turnquist as board vice president. Motion passed unanimously.

Appointment of a Board Secretary and Treasurer
A MOTION was made by Dr. Steve Rose and seconded by Ms. Ann Wilson to appoint Ms. Jenny Ugolini as board secretary. Motion carried unanimously. A MOTION was made by Mr. Nels Turnquist and seconded by Ms. Ann Wilson to appoint Terry Wycoff as board treasurer. Motion carried unanimously.

Appointment of Legal Counsel
A MOTION was made by Mr. Nels Turnquist and seconded by Ms. Margaret Borgen to appoint Nyemaster Goode Law Firm as the Agency’s legal counsel. Motion passed unanimously.

Appointment of Agency Level I Investigators
A MOTION was made by Mr. Nels Turnquist and seconded by Ms. Marcy Sparks to appoint Dr. Chris Pierson, Mr. Steve Iverson and Dr. Kristi Upah as Level I investigators. Motion passed unanimously.

REGULAR BOARD MEETING
Public Forum
No one was present to address the Board.

Discussion Items Board Learning
Board members were assigned to read pages 1-44 of the book How the Mighty Fall by Jim Collins. They discussed Chapter 1 and the five stages of decline. Board members will read Chapters 2 and 3 for the November meeting.

Board Advisory Council
Dr. Vincent reviewed a preliminary list of members for the board advisory council. The council will encompass a variety of district staff and also have parental involvement. The first meeting could be held as early as November.

Action Items Lease Purchase Agreement
A MOTION was made by Mr. Nels Turnquist and seconded by Dr. Jane Bell to approve the lease purchase agreement for the regional education center remodeling project. Motion passed unanimously.

Approval of Financial Statements
A MOTION was made by Mr. Bruce Christensen and seconded by Ms. Marcy Sparks to accept the report of financial information and the information submitted in the Certified Annual Report to the Department of Education. This is in full satisfaction of the annual settlement of accounts. Motion passed unanimously.

Approval of Board Advisory Council
A MOTION was made by Dr. Steve Rose and seconded by Mr. Nels Turnquist to approve the board advisory council membership list as presented. The chief administrator may alter as necessary and will bring any changes to the Board. Motion passed unanimously.

Chief Administrator Comments
• Dr. Vincent reviewed the work that has been done on the setting direction document that includes the Agency’s vision, mission, core values and beliefs and also establishes goals and action items for the Agency’s work. Cabinet members and members of the leaders team have reviewed the draft and offered input. It will be reviewed again on October 18 at the Cabinet meeting, and Dr. Vincent will send a draft to Board members immediately following the meeting.
• Mr. David King gave a brief update on the status of the state AEA study that is due in December. He is part of the finance subcommittee and stated that the conversations have gone well. He has heard a number of concerns about specific laws related to the governance of the AEAs and how they don’t necessarily fit well. Examples include that AEAs have no way to recoup funds that are cut and that lease purchases must be used for facility projects over $25,000. There are two more meetings before the information goes to the task force to be finalized.