LEWIS CENTRAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS
BOARD MEETING
MONDAY, MAY 16, 2011
Un-Official Minutes
Call to Order: Board President Dorene Scheffel called the regular meeting to order at 5:30 pm. At roll call, the following board members responded as present: Mr. Feller, Mr. Hendrix, Mr. Livingston, Mrs. Studer, Mr. Weilage and Mrs. Scheffel. Mr. Stazzoni was absent.
Administrators: Administrators present were Dr. Mark Schweer, Dave Black, Jeff Carper and Dale Kreher
Guest in attendance: Charlotte Butterbaugh, Gina Johnson, Kim Jones, Amy Higginbotham, Scott Loos, Curt Mace, Julie McComas, John Marshall, Lu Peverill, Cheryl Ryan, Chuck Story and Christine Sutherland
Approve Agenda: Mr. Feller moved, seconded by Mr. Weilage, that the agenda be approved as presented.
Discussion: None Carried: 6-0
Commendations/Good News:
- Gina Johnson, Amy Higginbotham, Cheryl Ryan and Christine Sutherland attended the Board meeting to share with the board their experiences in helping to write, Voices from the Classroom, Elementary Teachers' Experience with Argument-Based Inquiry a result of their involvement with SWH.
- Iowa School Board Recognition Week was last week, May 8 – 13, 2011, Dr. Schweer publicly thanked the Board for their hard work and dedication.
- In conjunction with Seniors Honors night, the LC Foundation honored four Lewis Central benefactors for the Wall of Fame. It has been 16 years since this was done. The honorees were, Gene Sanders, Gary Fiscus and Steve & Diane Clark.
Comments & Suggestions: None
Consent Agenda: Mr. Hendrix moved, seconded by Mr. Livingston, that the consent agenda be approved as presented. Discussion: Consent Agenda included: Approval of Minutes from the May 2, 2011 meeting, Financial Statements from April 2011 and Bills recommended for payment. Administrative Recommendations included: Licensed – Approval to Employ: Steve Koester, HS Asst. Baseball, and Classified Approval to Employ: Matthew Brokman – TH part time custodian. Licensed Resignations: Marie Blume – HS math teacher, Km Mahlberg – MS asst. volleyball coach, Kyle South – HS asst. volleyball coach, Jerry Kreber, HS asst. baseball coach. Classified Resignations: Dan Delph – TH part time custodian, Steve Sandberg – TH full time custodian. Charlotte Butterbaugh, Activities book keeper attended the meeting to answer questions regarding the Activities financial report. The Board asked for regular reports and a budget. Carried: 6-0
Reports
- John Marshall from Silverstone reported to the Board information regarding our liability insurance. He talked about the strategies used in risk management that address Lewis Central’s insurable and uninsurable risks. John also shared a success story regarding our Worker Compensation premium. Largely through the efforts of Jeff Carper our experience mod has decreased drastically therefore reducing our premium, this has resulted in a substantial savings to the District. He also spoke about some risk management gaps and opportunities for improvement that the District is currently facing. The following are areas Silverstone is recommending for additional coverage: Violent Expense Response, Increased Business Interruption Limits, Employee Job Description Review and Compensation Analysis and Cyber Liability.
Discussion Items
7.01 Titan Hill Site Improvement Bids
Scott Loos from Lamp Rynearson reported that we received 5 bids for the Titan Site Improvement Project. The low bid came from MFT Construction for $437,000.25. The work associated with this bid will also include grading for the ERC site, construction of the ERC building pad, the construction of the ERC parking lot, the storm sewer work required to drain the ERC parking lot, and the on-site permanent storm water basin. Lamp Rynearson had projected a cost of $483,797 for this project. Lamp Rynearson is recommending that we award the contract to MFT Construction.
7.02 Administrator Contracts for 2011-2012
Based upon the annual job performance reviews and either a recommendation from me or the building principal, I am seeking board approval for the awarding of a contract to the following individuals for the 2011-2012 school year:
Dave Black – School Improvement Specialist
Kim Jones – School Improvement/Assistant High School Principal
Laurie Thies – Special Populations Coordinator
Dale Kreher – Business Manager
Jeff Carper – Director of Operations
Barb Grell – Kreft Primary Principal
Kent Stopak – Titan Hill Intermediate Principal
Genie Wickham – Titan Hill Intermediate Assistant Principal
Jim Dermody – Middle School Principal
Tim Means – Middle School Assistant Principal
Chuck Story – High School Principal
Mike Hale – Activities Director
Salary/benefit package to be determined at a later date.
7.03 Superintendent’s Contract Renewal
Dr. Schweer presently has a 3-year contract with 2 years remaining on the contract (June 30 of 2013). Iowa code does permit a 3-year contract for superintendents. In previous years, the board has taken action to renew the contract so that a 3-year contract is in place.
7.04 Summer School
Our plan for using the ARRA money was to implement a co-teaching initiative in an effort to impact student achievement with our special education students and to provide additional learning opportunities for students (summer school). We have approximately $87,000 remaining of ARRA money for a 3rd summer school session. The principals have provided you with a description of the number of students that will be served along with a description of what the students will experience.
7.05 Honors Early Start Courses through IWCC
Each spring we enter into an agreement with IWCC for the Honors Early Start courses that our students will be enrolled in for next fall. This is a great opportunity for our students as they can earn both high school and college credit. We are assessed 50% of the current year tuition since our instructors are the instructors for the Honors Early Start courses. The tuition rate for 2010-2011 was $119/credit hour. The tuition rate for 2011-2012 has not yet been set. So I am using 50% of the $119/credit hour rate ($59.50).
The enrollment #’s are generated through course registrations and are subject to change. Based upon the October 1, 2010 Certified enrollment count we generate an additional 17.39 supplementary weighting for next year which will be $102,305. Dave has informed me that the funding for Honors Early Start classes will be calculated differently next year.
7.06 Alternative Ed Proposal
Lewis Central has not had an alternative educational program for high school students for several years. Mr. Story and the counseling department have put together a proposal for your consideration. Our hope would be that by providing an alternative program, we can better meet the needs of more students and positively impact both our graduation rate and our drop-out rate. Funding for such programming is clearly permissible through the At Risk Drop Out Prevention Allowable Growth Budget. However, the budget for the 2011-2012 school year had to be submitted/approved last December. The administration would like to begin the alternative education program this fall. As part of the At Risk Drop Out Prevention Budget we have a reserve of $85,029 that we could use to fund this program for next year and then build the costs of such programming into the At Risk Drop Out Prevention budget that will be submitted next December for the 2012-2013 school year. Keep in mind that monies generated through the At Risk Drop Out Prevention Budget are property tax dollars. If we were to have funded year 1 of the projected budgetary costs of $89,350 with the At Risk Drop Out Prevention Budget, it would have added approximately 10 cents to our overall levy. Based upon our current valuation of $930,000,000, year three has a projected cost of $175,160 that would increase the overall levy by nearly 19 cents. Be mindful that as our valuation increases the actual impact on the levy would decline. Mr. Story and the High School Counseling Department will be at the meeting to present the proposal. I am supportive of establishing an alternative education program for the district. We have discussed that such programming may someday expand to include Middle School students.
7.07 Curriculum Adoption (Middle School)
Mr. Dermody would like to add “Financial Literacy” as an exploratory for students at the Middle School. He has provided you with some rationale and he will be at Monday’s meeting. Financial literacy is one of the 21st Century Skills (Iowa Core Curriculum). This financial literacy curriculum is the curriculum developed/sponsored by the Treynor State Bank.
Comments & Suggestions: None
Action Items
9.01 Titan Hill Site Improvement Bids
Mr. Feller moved, seconded by Mr. Weilage, that the Lewis Central Board of Directors approve the contract with MFT Construction for the Titan Hill Site Improvement project at a cost of $437,000.25. Discussion: None Carried: 6-0
9.02 Administrator Contracts for 2011-2012
Mrs. Studer moved, seconded by Mr. Feller, that the Lewis Central Board of Directors approve the awarding of a contract to the above named individuals for the 2011-2012 school year. Discussion: None Carried: 6-0
9.03 Superintendent’s Contract Renewal
Mr. Feller moved, seconded by Mrs. Studer, that the Lewis Central Board of Directors add an additional year to Dr. Schweer’s contract, keeping it a three year contract. Discussion: None Carried: 6-0
9.04 Summer School
Mr. Hendrix moved, seconded by Mr. Weilage, that the Lewis Central Board of Directors approve summer school for the upcoming summer as presented. Discussion: None Carried: 6-0
9.05 Honors Early Start Courses Through IWCC
Mr. Hendrix moved, seconded by Mr. Feller, that the Lewis Central Board of Directors approve the Honors Early Agreement with IWCC for the 2011-2012 school year. Discussion: None Carried: 6-0
9.06 Alternative Ed Proposal
Mr. Livingston moved, seconded by Mr. Hendrix, that the Lewis Central Board of Directors approve the alternative education programming proposal as presented. Discussion: None Carried: 6-0
9.07 Curriculum Adoption (Middle School)
Mr. Livingston moved, seconded by Mr. Hendrix, that the Lewis Central Board of Directors approve the curriculum adoption of financial literacy as a Middle School exploratory curriculum. Discussion: None
Carried: 6-0
Information/Future Items
*Regular School Board Meeting – June 6, 2011
Adjournment
With no further business before them, at 9:40 pm Mr. Feller motioned to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Mr. Hendrix. By voice vote, all were in favor.
Approved – Dorene Scheffel Dale Kreher
President, Lewis Central Board of Education Board Secretary, Lewis Central Board of Education