Direct Facility Questions/Concerns to Dustin Gean

Dustin Gean has been named Operations Manager at Heartland, which will give him responsibility over the functioning of all of the Agency's facilities. Please contact Dustin if you have any questions, comments or concerns about agency facilities or when you experience any facility problems. He can be reached at dgean@aea11.k12.ia.us, ext. 14460 or (515) 664-1649.

July Board of Directors Meeting Agenda

Click here to download the agenda for the July 1 Heartland Board of Directors meeting.

Print Center Open House Quiz Answers

Last Thursday an open house was held in the new Heartland Print Center. Those attending had the opportunity to fill out a quiz about the new Print Center, its equipment and staff members. Click here to see the quiz with the correct answers and to learn some very interesting information about the Print Center and our partner Xerox.

Those who completed and returned the quiz were eligible to win a prize. The grand prize winner is Melissa Bell, Human Resources Specialist. Prizes will also be awarded to Francis Musignac, Information Systems Technical Support Specialist; Arletta Hogue, Library Clerk; and Dustin Gean, Operations Manager. An anonymous person is also eligible for a prize, so if you turned your quiz in without a name and you can identify your quiz, you will receive a prize. Winners can pick up their prizes in the Print Center.

Congratulations to the quiz winners and a big thank you goes out to everyone who attended the open house to show their interest in the new Print Center.

Heartland Logo Clothing Update – New Web Address & Three-Day Sale!

Just a reminder that Lands’ End is the Agency’s official vendor for Heartland logo clothing items. Our e-store with Lands’ End has a new Web address at: ces.landsend.com/heartlandaea. You can go to this site to purchase any clothing item in any color you like. And Lands’ End currently has a three-day sale (ends on July 1) that includes 20% off and free shipping on all online orders. Check it out!

Staff Space

New Employees

• Bryce Chidester (Occupational Therapist/AM)
• Connie Kellogg (Library Clerk/JO)
• Beth Schoeppner (School Social Worker/AM)
• Jennifer Swanson (Assessment Consultant/JO)
• Vicki Swanson (Physical Therapist/NE)
• Gretchen Thompson (Early Childhood Consultant/AM)
• Jennifer Tovrea (Substitute Shelter Care Teacher and Teacher Associate/PCDC)
• Rachel Wadle (Substitute Early Childhood Home Intervention Teacher/JO)

Title Changes

• Sherry Hill to Special Education/Transition Consultant from Transition Consultant
• Lori Hugen to Professional Learning and Leadership Consultant from Professional Learning and Leadership Consultant/Early Childhood Special Education Consultant
• Julie Hukee to Program Assistant, Curriculum and Instruction/Math Consultant from Math Consultant
• Steve Iverson to Shelter Care Educational Program Administrator from Program Leader for Shelter Care & Detention
• Jan Morgan to Graphic Designer from Illustrator
• Jane Quanbeck to Internal Technology Support from Production Clerk
• Sol Rajch to Graphic Designer from Illustrator
• Susan Schrader to Resources & Publications Supervisor from Program Leader for Resources & Publications
• Lori Thelen to Information Systems Manager from Information Systems Analyst

Position Changes

• Grace Bargstadt to Director of Special Education from Partnership Director
• Sara Brugh to Team Leader for Special Education Accountability from Special Education Program Assistant
• Nicole Carlson to Challenging Behavior and Autism Consultant from School Psychologist
• Misty Christensen to Partnership Director from Special Education Program Assistant
• Jason Elliott to Operations Worker from Substitute Van Driver/Temporary General Laborer
• Sheila King to Interim Chief Administrator from Executive Director of District Partnerships
• Kim Kirkpatrick to Early Childhood Home Intervention Teacher from Early Childhood Special Education Consultant
• Lori Pearson to Reading Consultant from Professional Learning and Leadership Consultant
• Jude Richardson to Shelter Care Consultant from Reading Consultant
• Stephanie Ver Helst to Professional Learning and Leadership Consultant from Special Education Consultant
• Jim Verlengia to Interim Director of District Services from Partnership Director

Rehired Retirees

• Charlotte Buttin (Substitute Early Childhood Home Intervention Teacher/JO)
• Carolyn Sears (Substitute Shelter Care Teacher Associate/PCDC)

July Birthdays
2 Sara Brugh
4 Tuan Dao
4 Kristen Rosenbeck
5 Brianna Sayre Geiser
6 Michelle Richardson
7 Sherise Ahlers
7 Arletta Hogue
9 Deb Kieler
10 Steve Iverson
11 Diane Baldrige
11 Sara Becker
11 Kelly Grissom
11 Lynn McCartney
12 Cynthia Burggraaf
12 Angela Reed
13 Paula Allen
13 Josh Burke
14 Karen Cox
14 Dee May
14 Kerri Schwemm
15 Jo Kay Boyle
15 Annette DeRouchey
15 Anne Robb
16 Misty Christensen
16 Trent Holmberg
16 Robin Olberding
16 Brenda Parker
16 Mike Szymczuk
16 Stacie Thomas
17 Christie Crouch
17 Lisa Graalfs
18 Rachel Morley
18 Steve Siegel
19 Linda Biermann Hoobin
19 Celesta Moore
20 Kristen Hoiberg
20 Amy Roberts
21 Lisa Smith
22 Kim Anderson
23 Debbie Reynolds
24 Janel Lehmkuhl
25 Marg Clark
27 Denise Carlson
27 Phyllis Rewis
28 Rob Kleinow
28 Ruth Moore
29 Donna Wagner
30 Rhonda Anderson-Balch
30 Shannon Heller
30 Julie Hukee
31 Jennifer Downs

Births
Congratulations to Yvonne Hickman (Secretary/AM) on the birth of her new grandson, Nolan David. Nolan was born on June 11 and weighed 6 lbs. 9 oz. and was 21 inches long. His proud parents are Heidi and Jason Holthaus of Minneapolis, Minn.

Required Action: Fiscal Year-End Reminders from the Business Office

Heartland’s fiscal year ends June 30. Here are some reminders to help you get your transactions processed properly and without delay.

General Guidance
Do not put June activities and July activities on the same form. This applies to expense accounts, addendum pay forms, time sheets and leave requests. (It does not apply to out-of-area travel where the trip extends across two fiscal years. For instance, a trip where you leave June 28 for a conference in Kansas and return on July 2 should be submitted on one out-of-area form.) The earlier you can get your fiscal year 2008-09 transactions submitted after June 30 the better.

Expense Accounts
* The mileage rate after July 1 remains at 39 cents per mile.
* June dates and July dates need to be submitted on separate claims. For dates in June, select MILES_09, and for dates in July, use MILES_10.
* Submit expense claims with dates prior to July 1 by July 6 (earlier if possible).

Addendum Pay Forms and Time Sheets
* June dates and July dates need to be submitted on separate forms.
* Supervisors should submit signed forms to payroll by July 6. Employees need to submit the forms to their supervisor in time to meet this deadline.

Long-Distance Authorization Codes
As fiscal year 2008-09 winds down and a new year begins, please be mindful of the long distance authorization code you use to place long distance calls. With staff reassignments and new staff coming in, it is important to use the correct code. Each code is charged to a particular account number and reported to a particular manager. If you have any questions on the correct code to use, please contact Sheree Bergstrom at ext. 14316.

Message From Jim Verlengia, New Interim Director of District Services

Click here to listen to an audio message from Jim Verlengia, the Agency’s new Interim Director of District Services.

Re-vamped Heartland Print Center to Host Open House

After several weeks, we are finally close to having the Print Center re-tooled. Thank you very much for your patience during this transition period. We know that this has been a learning experience for all of us.

To thank you and to welcome the new members of the Xerox team, we’d like to invite staff members to stop by the new Print Center for some refreshments, to see the new equipment and to introduce yourselves to our Xerox Corporation Client Associates: Donie Short, Paul Lauritsen and Gail Schulze.

Print Center Open House
(Located in the old computer lab)
Thursday, June 25
2:00 to 4:00 p.m.

Most of the new printing equipment has been installed and is up and running, but a piece of bindery equipment is still on its way. The binder will enable us to produce yearbooks for schools at a much-reduced price.

The new Print Center offers many other printing options and services that we weren’t able to provide before the re-tooling such as full-color newsletters, flashcards, posters and boxes. The new iGen4 provides color that is the best in the world. Our new Center truly represents our core value of “cutting-edge.”

In the next couple of months, we will be implementing a new online print ordering system called WebCRD. It has been installed, and in the next couple of weeks we will begin a pilot with 4-5 employees to determine if any bugs need to be worked out of the system. We do plan on training all secretaries and clerks on the new system in July. Much of the training for the rest of the staff will be available online and will be self-directed. We hope to have all schools on the system before winter break.

The WebCRD system works much like Amazon.com. You will have a login that will keep your documents available for review allowing you to re-order quickly in the future, you will also get an estimate and will be able to proof your work. This will expedite printing and reduce errors. If you have any questions or comments about the new Print Center, please e-mail Brenda Gustafson at bgustafson@aea11.k12.ia.us.