April 2011 Board of Directors Meeting Recap

The Heartland AEA Board of Directors held its regular meeting on April 12, 2011.

Public Forum
No one was present to address the Board.

Discussion Items
Post-Employment Policy
Dr. Bridgewater reviewed the March 31 memorandum from Ms. Nola Bond, Director of Human Resources, regarding the future of the post-employment benefit and policy. Ms. Bond offered two recommendations that included keeping the current policy for additional years or approving the proposed policy drafted by the Post-Employment Committee. Board members discussed the financial impact of a post-employment benefit, if it was the best use of agency resources and the timing of sunsetting the policies.

Discussion:
• It’s a different time than in previous years. Who is best served by the Agency’s resources? Considering the financial times, there are different things we could do.
• I am not against a policy that says the Agency will use it as a tool when needed. I am against having a permanent policy.
• Our plan has served a purpose and has served the Agency well. The situation has changed and the policy should sunset in 2012. If it needs to come up again under different circumstances, then it can.
• I don’t want it to be a benefit. If it is, then it’s not a management tool that can be used to react to changing circumstances. It should, however, be considered on a regular basis as a consideration.
• Teachers are being severely criticized nationally and in the State. I am not sure it’s the time we want to give them an uppercut.
• I’m having difficulty sunsetting the policy with all the other transitions taking place. I wouldn’t have a problem with it sunsetting in 2013; I just don’t like the timeline of sunsetting in 2012.

Board Committee Reports and Updates
• Chief Administrator Evaluation Team – Board members were asked to review a draft process for evaluating the Chief Administrator and provide comments and input. Board members shared concerns about the extensiveness of the process and if it could be completed in segments. It was noted that thee evaluation also did not have to be written but could be verbal instead. Mr. Halliburton will work on creating a shortened evaluation with less process and will bring it back for further discussion at the May meeting.
• Board Self-Evaluation Committee – Board members agreed that they liked the questions on the self-evaluation but would prefer a new and different rating scale. Mr. Turnquist will bring back options to the May meeting.
• Cultural Competency Committee – The committee has not met.
• Professional Development Committee – The committee continues to work on the professional development plan that will become part of the Agency’s Continuous Improvement Plan.
• Board Policy Committee – The Board Policy Committee will meet again next week to review section 100 of the revised manual.
• Iowa Association for Educational Purchasing (IAEP) – Board members received an update about the IAEP at last week’s AEA Boards Conference. The transition from the Iowa Educators Consortium (IEC) to the Iowa Association for Educational Purchasing continues.

Continuous Improvement Plan (CIP) Update
Dr. David Tilly and Dr. Paula Vincent met with the Department of Education to discuss the completion of the Continuous Improvement Plan. It was mutually agreed to postpone the deadline of April 1 by 90 days to allow time and consideration for the transitions that are taking place at both organizations. A MOTION was made to modify the Board agenda and go into closed session before the action and consent agenda items. Motion passed.

Closed Session
The Board entered into closed session at 6:42 p.m. to discuss matters that are presently in litigation or where litigation is imminent. It returned to public session at 7:40 p.m.

Action Items
Post-Employment Policy
A MOTION was made by Ms. Margaret Borgen and seconded by Dr. Jane Bell that policy #1 (the Agency’s current policy that’s in place) be continued through July 2012 and further that the need for such a policy will be evaluated annually at the September board meeting and at the pleasure of the Board or upon the recommendation of the Chief Administrator. Upon further discussion, Ms. Borgen withdrew her motion, and Dr. Jane Bell withdrew her second motion. MOTION WITHDRAWN.

A MOTION was made by Ms. Margaret Borgen and seconded by Dr. Steve Rose that all post-employment policies will terminate June 30, 2013. Furthermore, the need for such a policy will be evaluated annually at the September board meeting.

A roll call vote was taken.
Dr. Jane Bell Aye
Ms. Margaret Borgen Aye
Dr. Earl Bridgewater Aye
Mr. Bruce Christensen Aye
Mr. Cal Halliburton Nay
Dr. Steve Rose Aye
Ms. Marcy Sparks Nay
Mr. Nels Turnquist Nay
Ms. Ann Wilson Nay

Results: 5/4 vote, MOTION PASSED. (Clarification: The current policy will continue through June 30, 2012. On July 1, 2012 the policy shifts to a lesser benefit that expires June 30, 2013. On July 1, 2013, all policies cease unless the Board takes additional action. The next review date for the policy will be September 2012. )

Chief Administrator Comments
• The Board Advisory Council will meet again next week. The focus of the agenda will be to discuss the results of the AEA Task Force Study. Troyce Fisher from School Administrators of Iowa has agreed to facilitate the meeting.
• On June 7 & 8, Jason Glass, Director of the Department of Education, and the AEA Chief Administrators will hold a joint conference to discuss alignment of services between the organizations. A small task force is working on the agenda and additional bureau chiefs and directors from each AEA and the Department will be invited to participate.
• A special board meeting will be held on April 19 at 3:00 p.m. This is the second special meeting this month to discuss the direction of the Agency.
• Ms. Nola Bond, Director of Human Resources, has announced her resignation. She has decided to return to her hometown in southwest Iowa and has been offered a position with her previous employer.

Human Resources Leadership Transition

The Agency thanks Nola Bond for her service as our Director of Human Resources, and we wish her well in her next position. We are pleased to also announce that Laura Gillon, Chief of Staff, will assume responsibility for the Agency’s Human Resource functions after Nola’s departure at the end of May.

April 2011 Staff Advisory Council Meeting Notes

Click here to download the notes from the April 20 Staff Advisory Council meeting.

Setting the Agency’s Direction Update

Updates about the Agency’s future can be found on the Setting Direction blog at http://direction.aea11.k12.ia.us.

Reminder: Heartland Cares Drive to Benefit Shelter Care Students

Reminder: This year’s Heartland Cares spring activity is a drive to benefit students in Heartland’s Shelter Care Educational Program. Last year’s drive was a success, so let’s do it again! We are again asking for donations of personal care items for the students. The drive will be held from April 25 to May 6, and items can be dropped off at any Heartland office.

Students who will be receiving the items range from 5 to 18 years old. Donation suggestions include:
• Lotion
• Soap/body wash (including soap for males)
• Lip balm
• Hair care products (including those for African American hair texture)
• Hair brushes & combs
• Hair clips & ponytail holders
• Toothbrushes & toothpaste
• Deodorant
• Socks
• Sweatpants

Please consider making a donation to help these important students!

Background Information on Two New Dept. of Education-Funded Positions

The Iowa Department of Education (DE) has requested that Heartland hire two full-time practitioners using grant funds from the DE. These positions would be in place while funding continues, likely three years. These positions are an opportunity for staff to work in an area of interest and to grow their skills. The positions are the following:

1. A practitioner to provide services to the DE to assist them in running, maintaining and developing the EdInsight statewide data warehouse. All current certified union staff will be eligible to apply for the position, and it will be filled by a person with technical, assessment and computer skills. If a suitable internal candidate cannot be found, it will then be open to external candidates. See last week’s Vacancy Notice for details.

2. A practitioner to provide professional development, technical assistance and support in the area of learning supports. This individual is intended to serve all schools participating in the State’s Safe and Drug Free Schools grant (as well as others in our AEA), which means the DE’s assumption is that these duties are agency-wide. All current certified union staff will be eligible to apply for the position. The position will be filled by a person with a background in social-emotional learning. If a suitable internal candidate cannot be found, it will then be open to external candidates. See last week’s Vacancy Notice for details.

Because the positions are grant funded, it is anticipated that staff members will want to know what could happen when grant funds are discontinued.

• First, the Agency is committed to retaining its staff. The individual would be transferred into an opening that matches his/her knowledge, skills, abilities and certification, assuming there are openings from increases in agency FTE, retirements, resignations, etc.
• Second, if transfer were not possible, staff reduction procedures in Article 12 of the comprehensive agreement would be used to determine the appropriate person to be reduced. Thus, the person reduced may or may not be the person in the grant funded position depending of the circumstances at the time. (The person reduced would also have recall rights as described in Article 12.)

In other words, the nature of funding of a position alone does not change the continuation of an individual’s contract, as Article 12 procedures are to be followed given the facts and circumstances at that time. The Agency has invested much in the development and training of its staff and would strive to retain the staff member if at all possible.

Please direct any questions about these opportunities to Dave Tilly at dtilly@aea11.k12.ia.us or Sheila King at sking@aea11.k12.ia.us.

Second Semester A-87 Certification

We have completed the first semester certification for employees whose positions are 100% federally-funded. The Business Office would like to thank everyone for taking care of this task in a timely manner. On Monday, May 2 we will be sending the second semester certification. The process will be the same as the first semester. An e-mail will be sent from aea11_online_systems_WF with the subject A87 Certification Notice - Action Required. There will be a link in the e-mail for you to follow to complete the certification. Please contact Brian Whalen, Business Manager, at bwhalen@aea11.k12.ia.us or ext. 14005 if you have problems or questions. The Business Office appreciates your completion of the certifications and your acceptance of this new reporting requirement.

Introducing AEA PD Online!

For the first time, all of the AEAs are putting their online courses in one place. The result is AEA PD Online, and it is up and running and available for registration.

Educators across the state have taken advantage of online courses. Online courses fit better in busy schedules, as instructors can choose when during the day it works for them to log in. They provide a 21st century learning experience, embedded with digital resources and self-directed activity, mixed with digital collaboration with classmates. And it saves on the costs of gas!

Currently PD Online is offering summer courses on Google Apps, project-based learning, integration of web 2.0 tools and much more. To register for courses, check out the registration system at https://prodev.aeapdonline.org. For more information, check out http://www.iowaaea.org and click on the AEA PD Online link.

Get the Most Out of Your iPad

We’ve noticed more and more staff members are using iPads and other tablet devices. Did you know you can watch over 200 two-minute tutorials about the iPad on Atomic Learning at http://www.atomiclearning.com? If you don’t remember the username/password for the online databases, contact the Heartland library. For example, do you know how to:

• Enable while-on-black reading
• Enable screen zoom
• Lock the screen rotation
• Customize the Home screen
• Manage the iBooks library
• Use picture frame
• Type special characters
• Set up MobileMe
• Remote lock your iPad
• Switch between recently used apps
• Turn speaking hints on or off
• Enter text with VoiceOver on
• Sync bookmarks
• Change the default search engine
• Clear history, cookies and the cache