REGULAR MEETING Sioux City Community School District Educational Service Center Minutes February 24, 2014 6:00 p.m. I. Call to Order / Pledge of Allegiance 1 II. Roll Call of Members 1 III. Approval of Agenda 1 IV. Good News Report(s) 1 A. Irving Elementary School V. Friend of Education Award(s) 1 A. Central Baptist Church VI. Citizen Input 1 VII. Consent Action Item(s) 2 A. Board Meeting Minutes from February 10, 2014 B. Human Resources Report C. Finance Report D. West High School Bleacher Replacement Project VIII. Board Member Reports / Future Meetings 2 IX. Superintendent s Report 3 X. Items of Presentation, Discussion, and/or Action 3-6 A. Bryant Elementary School B. 28E Agreement for Developmental Services for Bryant Elementary School Site Improvements Project C. Technology Plan D. One Cent Maintenance Sales Tax Repair Plan E. Cenergistic Energy Management Update F. First Reading of Board Policies XI. Adjourn 6
REGULAR MEETING Sioux City Community School District Educational Service Center Minutes February 24, 2014 6:00 p.m. I. Call to Order / Pledge of Allegiance President Krysl called the regular meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. II. Roll Call of Members Present: Directors Alarcon-Flory (6:02 p.m.), Gorski, Johnson, Krysl, McTaggart, Speidel, and Warnstadt. Absent: None. III. Approval of Agenda Director Speidel moved and Director Warnstadt seconded the motion to approve the agenda. The motion carried 7 to 0. IV. Good News Report(s) Irving Elementary School Cammie Winkel (School Administration Manager) shared a short video highlighting their partnership with Blue Zones for the Walking School Bus at Irving Elementary School. Students; Jennifer Becerra, AB Franco, and Yarely Franco shared what it meant to them to participate in the Walking School Bus activity. Ms. Winkel shared her appreciation for Hawk Heroes, a group of volunteers who help increase parent involvement to assist with a number of projects at Irving Elementary School. Parents in attendance were; Jovita Hernandez, Teresa Jaines, Guillermina Trujillo, and Irma and Eduardo Gonzalez. V. Friend of Education Award(s) 185 th Air Refueling Wing and Central Baptist Church Dr. Gausman announced that the 185 th Air Refueling Wing was unable to attend so will be awarded during the March 10 th Board meeting. Dr. Gausman presented the Friend of Education Award to Central Baptist Church for their support and partnership on a number of projects at Irving Elementary School. Those present to accept the award on behalf of Central Baptist Church were; Carol Halstead, Jody Nieuwendorp, and Lloyd Grant. Dr. Gausman presented them with a small token of appreciation. VI. Citizen Input None - 1 -
VII. Consent Action Item(s) Director Gorski moved and Director Warnstadt seconded the motion to approve the following consent action items. The motion carried 7 to 0, with Director Johnson abstaining from the Human Resources Report. A. Board Meeting Minutes from February 10, 2014 B. Human Resources Report Dr. Rita Vannatta C. Finance Report Gordon Winterlin D. West High School Bleacher Replacement Project Mel McKern VIII. Board Member Reports / Future Meetings Director McTaggart: He attended the NAACP Banquet where Dr. Linda Madison was recognized for her leadership and service to our community. Director Alarcon-Flory: She apologized to Zach Buchheit (SCJ) for a comment she had made during the Board work session. It was meant as a joke and nothing more. She too attended the NAACP banquet where Dr. Angela Banks, Gloria Evans, and a few students were also recognized. She reminded everyone that kindergarten registration is coming soon and encouraged those interested to contact the school in which their child will attend for details. She commended those that recently placed in the top three spots at the Northwest Iowa Band Masters Association Jazz Festival. Director Speidel: He attended a girls basketball game at West High School where both teams were very respectful of one another. He noted those who recently competed in Honor Band and Speech faired very well. Future Meetings are as follows: District Advisory Committee 5:15 p.m., February 27, 2014, in ESC Board Room. Student Achievement Committee 12:00 p.m., February 28, 2014, in ESC #326. Board Finance & Facilities Committee 12:00 p.m., March 4, 2014, in ESC #312. School Board Meeting 6:00 p.m., March 10, 2014, in ESC Board Room. Educational Equity Committee 11:30 a.m., March 11, 2014, in ESC #105. Sioux City s Day at the Capitol All Day Event, March 12, 2014, in Des Moines, IA. Board Policy Committee 3:00 p.m., March 17, 2014, in ESC #326. Communications Committee 4:00 p.m., March 18, 2014, in ESC Board Room. Preschool Initiative Committee 1:30 p.m., March 19, 2014, at Irving Preschool. Legislative Forum 8:30 a.m., March 22, 2014, in ESC Board Room. Sales Tax Finance Oversight Committee 8:00 a.m., March 24, 2014, in ESC #103. School Board Meeting 6:00 p.m., March 24, 2014, in ESC Board Room. - 2
IX. Superintendent s Report Dr. Gausman: He congratulated Connor Coyle (NHS 8 th ), Deion Clayborne (NHS 8 th ), Mitchell Otto (EHS 6 th ), and Calvin Buchanan (EHS 6 th ) for representing our schools at the State Wrestling Tournament. He is proud of our high school girls and boys basketball teams as they continue to work hard in hopes of making it to the state tournament. He noted how well our Jazz bands have been performing. He attended the City Council meeting where our request for a 28E Agreement for a median on the Hoover Project was denied on a 2 to 2 vote. He informed the Board that if they choose now not to build the egress, it will need to be separate and a new motion and vote of the Board at a future meeting. He congratulated the East High School Choral Reading and Solo Mime for bringing home two Critic s Choice awards from the All-State Speech Festival. He noted that the District Advisory Committee scheduled for this Thursday has been cancelled. The next meeting will be held March 27, 2014. He acknowledged student teachers in attendance. X. Items of Presentation, Discussion, and/or Action A. Bryant Elementary School Dr. Paul Gausman Director Gorski moved and Director Alarcon-Flory seconded the motion to approve the new Bryant Elementary School concept, and allow the acquisition of necessary properties for the new Bryant Elementary School Project. After a roll call vote, the motion carried 7 to 0. B. 28E Agreement for Developmental Services for Bryant Elementary School Site Improvements Project Mel McKern Director McTaggart moved and Director Gorski seconded the motion to approve the 28E Agreement for Developmental Services between the Sioux City Community School District and the City of Sioux City to develop the site located in the vicinity of 821 30 th Street, Sioux City, Iowa, for the new Bryant Elementary School Site Improvements Project. After a roll call vote, the motion carried 7 to 0. C. Technology Plan Neil Schroeder Neil Schroeder (Technology Director) presented the District s Technology Plan for FY2015-17: Includes 7 objectives, 31 goals and 130+ key actions. A result of feedback from teacher, student, administrator, staff survey, focus groups, and direct discussions. Technology Vision - Make Things Better The need for more student computing devices (laptops or tablets) in middle schools and elementary schools along with improved ability to conduct online or tech-supported assessments. - 3
D. One Cent Maintenance Sales Tax Repair Plan Mel McKern Mel McKern (Director of Operations and Construction) shared data and information related to the District s One Cent Maintenance Sales Tax Repair Plan. President Krysl noted that each individual project will be brought forward to the Board for approval as necessary. E. Cenergistic Energy Management Update Mel McKern and Jeremy Taylor Jeremy Taylor (Energy Specialist) presented data and information on the District s Energy Program to date. Program Goals: Reduce or eliminate energy waste Maintain and improve comfort and safety Save on utility costs Maintain a positive educational environment Achieve an energy conservation culture Energy savings to date (Sept., 2012 Dec., 2013) is $356,665 / (14.3%) Other savings include: electrical, water, natural gas, and irrigation. F. First Reading of Board Policies Dr. Paul Gausman 432 Early Retirement Benefits Dr. Gausman: This has not gone through Board Policy Committee simply because it went through the full Board in a work session. He believes this should be retitled, Retirement Benefits, and asked the Board to consider removing the word Early from the policy. Director Warnstadt moved and Director Speidel seconded the motion to approve the above Board policy for first reading. Director McTaggart asked for clarification to the potential $500k savings if implemented. Dr. Gausman stated there will be savings to the General Fund as a result of this design. Director Gorski shared a number of comments, questions, and concerns after further study of the data and information presented during last week s work session. Director Johnson stated that his wife does not meet the criteria noted in this policy, so there is no conflict of interest on his part. As a result of his research, he feels this is a win, win, win program for students, educators, and taxpayers. - 4
Director Krysl: There will always be a philosophical difference of opinion. In the business community, this typically is referred to as an Early Retirement Incentive, and used to reduce staff if necessary to avoid layoffs. His concerns: o Sustainability from a cost benefit basis over time. o Benefit is outside of negotiated contracts, and could potentially go away at some point in time. o Being pushed forward too fast without sufficient time for public input. o Financial implications to the General Fund. o Using this as an incentive for older teachers to retire so we can bring in younger teachers at a lower salary. o Need a mentoring program in place to sustain teachers. o Big shoes to fill when losing older teachers and replacing them with younger ones. Jim Johnson, President of the Taxpayers Research Council, spoke on behalf of the TRC Board: The Education Reform Act will require the District to hire 40 teachers, so why pay 36 teachers to go away? Dr. Gausman is not in favor of this. This should be a management decision to decide when to reduce teachers based on enrollment and/or other factors, and when they do, it should be a one-year early retirement proposal. If this is a permanent change, it will cost the District more in the long run. They believe this was pushed forward so quickly because of the two retired teachers on the Board, and Director Johnson who is married to a teacher. This should be something that is subject to collective bargaining. If implemented, the District should get something in return (i.e.: do away with tenure). Wait to implement and allow more time to answer the questions that have surfaced. Doug Vandervoort, 30 Blackstone Avenue: Any teacher can retire when they feel they can afford to do so. He was happy to learn at the work session that Dr. Gausman was not going to trade valuable experience just to save money on a new teacher. This is not an early retirement program and is titled incorrectly. The District needs to figure out how to handle accumulated sick leave without penalizing teachers who did not call in sick. The District needs a sick leave program and not a retirement program. They already have a retirement program called IPERS. Chris McGowan, President of Siouxland Chamber of Commerce, and also representing the business community: The time to initiate an early retirement program is when we need to encourage teachers to retire. The teachers, nor the Superintendent, are calling for this, and not one of the School Board members has cited a need for this. Student populations are growing, not shrinking, so we should be discussing incentivizing our teachers to continue in the classroom. What additional incentive will need to be offered in the future when we need teachers to retire? Retirement dollars are paid for by taxpayers through property taxes. Is the District prepared to terminate the program if it ends up costing the taxpayers? Previous Boards worked to eliminate similar programs because they were not fiscally responsible or sustainable. - 5
As leaders, you have an obligation, a fiduciary duty, and as well as a moral one to demonstrate the need for this program as well as to justify the cost to taxpayers before approval. We all need more time to review this. Questions we must ask ourselves include: does this improve education, is the program needed, and if so, why, do taxpayers support it, can this be implemented on a case-by-case basis, and which constituency is calling for this program? The business community has not always opposed tax increases or potential tax increases that enhance education. He respectfully urged that this item be tabled until a comprehensive review and analysis of the impacts of the program can be addressed by the businesses and taxpayers to see if they support or oppose the program. XI. Adjourn Jackie Warnstadt was looking for any way to save taxpayers money to offset the loss of government funds, and $500k sounded good to her, and still does. She reiterated that this policy will be discussed and reviewed annually. Paul Speidel believes this policy will allow teachers who have served a number of years to exit gracefully and with a sense of dignity, and it will give new teachers the opportunity to teach in our District and stay in our community. It will be up to the Superintendent to bring this to the Policy Committee when deemed necessary for further review. Director McTaggart moved and Director Johnson seconded the motion to amend the title to Retirement Incentives. Chris McGowan asked if the change in the name is not substantive, what then is the need for it, and if the change is substantive, then is it not required to be noticed to the public? Director McTaggart withdrew his motion and Director Johnson seconded the motion. Doug Vandervoort told the Board that if they are going to change this, to change it to what it is; a change in sick leave policy. It has nothing to do with retirement. Director Alaron-Flory asked if it would be wise to table this item for further review and analysis. She too is in favor of saving taxpayer dollars. Director Johnson stated if the Board tables this, it will turn into another Bryant and carry on and on. It is time for the Board to be decisive. After a roll call vote, the motion carried 5 to 2 with Directors Gorski and Krysl voting no. Director Johnson moved and Director Speidel seconded the motion to adjourn the regular meeting. The motion carried 7 to 0, and the regular meeting adjourned at 8:55 p.m. Michael J. Krysl, President SCCSD Board of Directors Cynthia A. Lloyd, Secretary SCCSD Board of Directors - 6 -