January Board of Directors Meeting Recap

The January meeting of the Heartland AEA Board of Directors was held on January 10, 2012.

2012-13 Public Budget Hearing
No one from the public was present to address the Board.

Public Forum
No one from the public was present to address the Board.

Discussion Items
Amended 2011-12 Budget and Proposed 2012-13 Budget
Mr. David King, chief financial officer, was present to review the amended 2011-12 budget and proposed 2012-13 budget. The amended 2011-12 budget includes using fund balance to offset the Xerox contract buy out and set-up of new print shop functions, pay off the lease purchase agreement for the Administration Center building, payoff the lease purchase agreement for the remodeling of the Johnston Regional Education Center, to replace the roof of the Administration Center, retain staff and offset other funding reductions.

The proposed budget for 2012-13 is a hold-steady budget of adequacy. It’s not a budget that contains a lot of new initiatives, nor is it a budget of austerity. The Agency is in a period of creating a budget to meet the adequate needs of its programs and services. Controlled funding (i.e., state aid) levels were reduced in 2011-12 and will be reduced again for 2012-13, although not as dramatically. Hopefully after that point, the Agency can get to a place where funding is at a known and stable level.

Quarterly CAO Review
Board members held their quarterly evaluation of the chief administrator.
• A great deal of work has been with the Des Moines Public School District.
• The district action plans will help schools meet their goals in impacting student learning. The work shown on the district plans showed a lot of thought and collaboration.
• There is more focus on partnerships. It’s been helpful to have Ms. Sheila King and Dr. Cindy Yelick present the work being done during the work sessions.
• The Agency’s finances are in good shape. The audit report was excellent and the Agency’s debt is being paid off early. That’s fantastic.
• There have been more discussions on the interaction between the Agency and Department of Education.

Update on the Administration Center Roof Replacement Investigation
Mr. Steve Prall, executive director of operations, discussed the results of the Administration Center building roof investigation. The roof is a rubber roof that was installed over 23 years ago. When the building was renovated, the roof was not replaced, and over the course of the years, it continues to get brittle, crack and leak. The Agency would like to replace the roof with a single rubber membrane at an estimated cost of $75,000.

6445 Building Roof Request for Proposals Approval
A MOTION was made by Ms. Wilson and seconded by Dr. Bell to authorize administration to develop specifications and an RFP for replacement of the roof of the Administration Center building with an anticipated mid-May/June 2012 installation. Motion passed.

Chief Administrator Comments
• Dr. Vincent will add additional time during a future work session for more conversations around the book study.
• Board members should let Ms. Ugolini know if they wish to continue to use their personal email accounts or their agency email account for receiving agency materials. They can also let her know if they require additional iPad training.
• The Eide and Heisinger Lobbying and Governmental Relations Firm has been hired to fill the AEA government relations position that became vacant with Wayne Haddy’s retirement. A contract is currently being developed.
• The Agency’s action plans will be updated this month and brought back to a future meeting for review.
• Board members agreed to continue the quarterly chief administrator review process.
• Dr. Bridgewater asked if Mr. Halliburton could facilitate a future work session on ethical behavior.

Closed Session
The Board entered into closed session at 7:40 p.m. to discuss the 2012-13 negotiations process and returned to public session at 8:33 p.m.