NORTH SCOTT COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT Eldridge, Iowa NOTE: These minutes are unofficial until approved by the board at the next regular meeting. A regular meeting of the North Scott Board of Directors was held on April 8, 2013, at 6:30 p.m. at the Administration Office. All members were present: Dennis Albertson, Elizabeth Bosworth, Paul Dierickx, Joni Dittmer, Mark Kruse, John Maxwell, and Joe Slater. President Slater called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. APPROVAL OF AGENDA John Maxwell moved to approve the agenda; seconded by Paul Dierickx. Motion unanimously approved. COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS FROM CITIZENS A number of parents and staff were in attendance with concerns regarding the retirement of CJ Albertson, Principal at John Glenn Elementary and the possibility of sharing principals between elementary buildings as a cost savings to the district. Some of the concerns brought forward include the consistency in leadership to carry out the mission and vision of the district, the need for full time professional support for teachers to implement new and on-going educational initiatives, being available for discipline concerns within the buildings, and quality of leadership and work overload of a principal overseeing two buildings. Those addressing the board with their concerns were Carrie Coon, Stacey Rose, and Carla Wall from Donahue and Judy Herman from Princeton. Sherry Brix, a Junior High parent, expressed concern for overcrowding and safety on the school buses. Ken Schoenthaler, Mayor of Donahue, spoke in favor of a full time principal at John Glenn to maintain the great community support and open door policy already established. Dianna Romanick from Long Grove wants the board to consider adding an Honors Language Arts program at the Junior High in addition to the Math and Science honors programs that already exist. She later addressed the board in support of keeping Kelly Rohlf as full-time principal at Grissom Elementary to lead the Multi-grade Classroom Initiative being discussed for that building. APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA Paul Dierickx moved to approve the consent agenda, as follows. Seconded by John Maxwell. Motion unanimously approved. - Minutes of the Closed Session of March 18, 2013, and the Regular Meeting of March 25, 2013.
NORTH SCOTT COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT Page 2 - Resignations effective the end of the 2012-13 school year from J. Heather Keppy, John Glenn Elementary.5 Intermediate Reading Specialist; Nikki Brandmeyer, John Glenn Elementary classroom teacher; Vince Hill, assistant varsity girls basketball coach, pending finding a suitable replacement. Additional resignations: Christina Rose, head sophomore softball coach, effective the 2013 season; Katherine Worley, Silver Shaker dance coach, effective 7/25/13; and Vivian Crosswhite, 3 hrs/day reading aide at Ed White, effective 3/28/13. - Employment of Boise Schoonover, special ed bus driver, effective 3/26/13; Cara Matzen, rover custodian, effective 4/8/13; and Sharon Droste, bus driver, effective 4/5/2013. - Information items: Nikki Steinbeck, 4 hrs/day administrative assistant for the Director of Operations, will increase to 8 hrs/day, effective 4/9/13. This is a two-year agreement continuing only during the upcoming construction projects. Jackie Wolfe, 4.5 hrs/day special ed aide at the High School, will have her hours increased to 5.5 hrs/day, effective 3/22/13. This is due to the resignation of Chelease Parks. - Revenue and Expenditure Reports, School Nutrition Fund Report, Child Care Report, Activity Fund Reports, and Trust & Agency Reports for March, 2013. - 2013-14 Level I & II Investigators: Level I - Sue Kane and Curt Rheingans, Level II Jim Sweeney. BILLS The superintendent reviewed several items regarding the bill list and financial reports. The following bills and supplemental bills were presented for approval: General Fund - $195,195.62, Student Activity Fund - $10,327.30, Sales Tax Fund - $38,786.00, PPEL Fund - $2,640.00, School Nutrition Fund - $3,546.03, Child Care Fund - $75.35, Self-Funded Health - $99,206.08, Agency Fund - $855.71, for a total of $350,632.09. John Maxwell moved to approve the bills as presented; seconded by Mark Kruse. Motion unanimously approved. PUBLIC HEARINGS 2013-14 School District Budget Joe Hintze reviewed the proposed 2013-14 school district budget. Total estimated expenditures for next year s budget are $47,571,227. The proposed tax rate is $14.42728, which is a decrease of approximately 8 cents per thousand dollars assessed valuation. The allowable growth rate is still unknown at this time. The estimated unspent balance for 2013 is expected to decrease by $1,140,453. President Slater opened the public hearing on the 2013-14 school district budget, and called for input from the audience. Amy Meskiman of Eldridge stated her support to keep all schools and all principals. Hearing no further comments, John Maxwell moved to close the hearing; seconded by Joni Dittmer. Motion unanimously approved. Board discussion included questions about reducing expenditures through budget cuts, how to address costs that are still unknown, and different scenarios if the allowable growth rate
NORTH SCOTT COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT Page 3 increases. The administration responded that the plan is to reduce expenditures through attrition and some hiring freezes. There will also be discussions in each building to consider additional efficiencies. Dennis Albertson then moved to approve the 2013-14 school district budget as presented; seconded by John Maxwell. Motion unanimously approved. Ed White Expansion and Renovation Project John Netwal requested that the hearing set for the proposed expansion and renovation project at Ed White Elementary be cancelled. The design team is asking for four additional weeks to address issues including problems with the current boiler system, and City of Eldridge concerns with the south entrance to the building. John Maxwell moved to cancel the hearing; seconded by Paul Dierickx. Motion unanimously approved. REPORTS Curriculum Cabinet Jeff Schwiebert reported for Sue Kane on the last meeting of the Curriculum Cabinet. Some of the items discussed included comparisons on assessment between the Basic Reading Inventory used now and the School Reading Inventory method presented by Megan Knight, multi-age classrooms, and review of the Literacy Coach job description. SCRA Grants were reviewed and prioritized. Technology Update Mary McCleary gave an update on district technology. Some of the highlighted items included network switch replacement throughout the entire district, CISCO router replacement, archiving all email to meet federal regulations, Grant Wood AEA is now hosting PowerSchool at a reduced cost to the district but with additional modules and much better support, Promethean board placement in all K-6 classrooms, and the purchase of additional computers and computer labs throughout the district. These projects are funded through PPEL and Sales Tax Funds, not the General Fund. OLD BUSINESS Jr. High Restroom Additions and Renovations Bid John Netwal reviewed the bid results and presented the administrative recommendation for the Jr. High restroom additions and renovations bid. Eleven bids were received, and all eleven met the specifications. Netwal recommended approval of the low bid of $811,897 from CPI of the Midwest out of Rock Island, IL. John Maxwell moved to approve the bid from CPI of the Midwest as presented; seconded by Liz Bosworth. Motion unanimously approved. Budget Guarantee Resolution
NORTH SCOTT COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT Page 4 The superintendent reviewed the Budget Guarantee Resolution to levy property tax for the fiscal year 2013-14 for the regular program budget adjustment. John Maxwell moved to approve the resolution as presented; seconded by Paul Dierickx. Motion unanimously approved. NEW BUSINESS Literacy Coach Job Description Jeff Schwiebert presented for Sue Kane a job description for a new literacy coach position based on the criteria of the Partnership in Comprehensive Literacy Model. Board approval of the job description will be requested at the April 22nd board meeting. School Start Date Waiver Resolution Jeff Schwiebert presented a resolution stating the reasons the district desires to start school prior to the mandated start date. The 2013-14 school calendar was approved by the board in February; this resolution is recommended by IASB to safeguard the district against a possible challenge of the waiver process. John Maxwell moved to approve the Start Date Waiver Request Resolution as presented; seconded by Paul Dierickx. Motion unanimously approved. City of Eldridge Land Lease Agreement The superintendent presented a draft of a proposed land lease agreement with the City of Eldridge regarding the Silver Bullet building on South 1st Street, which is on city land. Discussion included alternatives for storage and the batting cages. The district s attorney is reviewing the legal terms of the lease agreement. This item will be placed on the agenda for further discussion at a later date. Late Request for Early Retirement Bernie Peeters, high school art teacher, has requested early retirement after the designated deadline. The superintendent presented his recommendation to decline the request. The board agreed that it would set a precedent for future agreement deadlines. John Maxwell moved to decline the request for early retirement; seconded by Mark Kruse. Motion unanimously approved. Proposed Budget Reductions Jeff Schwiebert presented a recommendation for proposed budget reductions totaling $950,000. A secondary option would reduce 3 teacher FTE s rather than 6, for a total of $813,000. A variety of options were discussed regarding the reduction of a principal. Community meetings have been scheduled throughout the district to discuss the proposed budget reductions. A board work session has also been scheduled for April 15 th to discuss the proposed reductions. Board approval of this recommendation will be requested at the April 22nd board meeting. Revised Public Hearing Request for Ed White Expansion and Renovation Project
NORTH SCOTT COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT Page 5 John Netwal presented a revised request for a public hearing on the Ed White Elementary expansion and renovation project. As stated earlier, the design team is addressing issues with the current boiler system and entrance realignment. The City of Eldridge has requested that the entrance to Ed White be realigned to Valley Drive, which would add $127,673 to the cost of the project. The revised estimated project cost is $6,434,627. A subcommittee of the board was appointed to address concerns with the City of Eldridge. Joni Dittmer, Paul Dierickx, and John Maxwell agreed to serve on this committee. The administration is recommending that May 13, 2013 be set as the new public hearing for this project. Paul Dierickx moved to set the hearing date for May 13 th ; seconded by John Maxwell. Motion unanimously approved. SUPERINTENDENT S REPORT The superintendent s report included the following items: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) The open position report was provided. Principal News CJ Albertson reported the staff has been pro-active and thinking out of the box to keep things student centered based on skill level abilities. John Langenhan noted that Ed White has recently hosted PCL visitors, and the staff is continuing to focus on literacy. Dave Griffin reported that the Jr. High band received a 1+ rating at the Southeast Regional Band Competition. John Hawley spoke in favor of Grant Wood AEA hosting the student information system, as they are very helpful and accessible. Curt Rheingans reported on ELA and data walls. Shane Knoche reported that Special Olympics is going very well, and a lot of kids are going on to state. Facility Update John Netwal reported a pre-bid conference will be held tomorrow regarding the Alan Shepard project. April 10 th work will begin on the wrestling room/locker room project. On April 18 th, North Scott will participate in a television program produced in partnership with EMC Insurance and Benchmark Inc., and hosted by Terry Bradshaw. North Scott was invited to participate in this program since we have worked with them in the past in their roofing management program. Enrollment the enrollment report for April was presented. IASB s 2013 School Law Conference will be held April 29, 2013 at The Meadows Conference Center in Altoona. BOARD COMMENTS/CORRESPONDENCE Items of correspondence included an invitation to the Music Boosters Senior Salute on Wednesday, April 24 th. The board work session will be scheduled for 5:00 p.m. on April 15 th. Dennis Albertson thanked John Langenhan for educating him on PCL, the Daily Five, and the Iowa Core. Albertson also reported on the great experience he and CJ had while announcing at the Special Olympics, and noted he will be entertaining at the benefit next Saturday for Princeton resident Norman Sawyer. Joni Dittmer thanked the audience for attending the meeting.
NORTH SCOTT COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT Page 6 There being no further business, John Maxwell moved to adjourn; seconded by Paul Dierickx. Meeting adjourned at 8:48 p.m. Submitted by: Approved: Carrie Gilkison, Acting Secretary Joe Slater, Board President