Commissioners:Howard Freeman, Larry Layton, Linda Wright, Jerry Cousins, Nancy Antoon

MINUTES

December 11, 2006

Commissioners:Howard Freeman, Larry Layton, Linda Wright, Jerry Cousins, Nancy Antoon, Jim French,

Presentand Catherine Davidson.

Public:Sally Aldinger reported a draft of the Resource Directory is available for Commissioner review.

Comment

10/16/06:Motion by Commissioner Cousins to approve the 10/16/06 minutes, seconded by

MinutesCommissioner Davidson. Motion carried.

Letter of:Commissioner Sato submitted his letter of resignation.

Resignation

MotionMotion by Commissioner Wright to accept the letter of resignation submitted by

Commissioner Sato, seconded by Commissioner French. Motion carried.

Election of:Staff reported it is time to elect new officers for the 2007 year.

Chair/Vice Chair

Motion:Motion by Commissioner Cousins to nominate Howard Freeman as Chair, and Linda

Wright as Vice Chair, seconded by Commissioner Davidson. Motion carried.

More:David Crummey reported the State has relaxed their guidelines and there is a surplus of

Preschool #3First 5 funds in the neighborhood of $26,810. Mr. Crummey stated the program funded 2 children

The cost for the two childcare slots was $6,702.50, plus a small amount for administration.

Mr. Crummey stated there are no children in Trinity County being deprived of attending preschool due to income issues.

Discussion:Commissioner French asked if there was a need for scholarships for other preschool programs like Weaverville Parent Nursery School? Mr. Crummey stated it wouldn’t hurt

to explore the idea, but he felt he would know if there was a family needing financial assistance.

School:Sally Aldinger requested approval for the school readiness cycle 2 application. Ms. Aldniger

Readinesswent over the new elements (page 6) of the application.

Motion:Motion by Commissioner Cousins to approve the school readiness cycle 2 application, seconded

by Commissioner Wright. Motion passed 6 to 0, with Commissioner French abstaining from discussion and voting (left the room).

F.Y. 06-07:Staff submitted the fiscal year budget for approval.

Budget

Motion:Motion by Commissioner Davidson to approve the 2007 budget, seconded by Commissioner Cousins. Motion carried.

Public Hearing:Staff submitted the Strategic Plan for approval.

Strategic Plan

Discussion:Sally Aldinger requested Jim Sato’s name be removed from the list of Commissioners in the Strategic Plan. Commissioner Antoon directed staff to an edit note that should have been removed. Commissioner Cousins request the last sentence of the Long Range Financial Plan section be removed.

Motion:Motion by Commissioner Cousins to approve the 2007-09 Strategic Plan with the implementation of the requested edits, seconded by Commissioner Wright. Motion carried.

Public Hearing:Staff presented the F.Y. 05-06 Audit for approval. Staff reported this is the final year the

Auditor’s Office can perform the audit according to a discussion between the Auditor’s Office and the State Commission.

Discussion:Chairman Freeman pointed out the even numbered pages are missing. The Commission requested written confirmation from the State Commission about the Auditor’s Office not being allowed to perform the audit.

Staff Report:A. Legislation – Staff directed the Commission to the ethics training in their packet. In addition, AB 1234 requires each Commission to adopt a policy for Commission compensation so a draft policy will be available for the next Commission meeting. AB172 is in full swing for targeted preschools. AB 2932 defines the State laws that must be addressed under the conflict of interest and contract and procurement policies.

Staff went over key legislative appointments and priorities. Staff also mentioned, as of 12/4/06 there are over 200 bills. Most of these bills deal with health and health care access.

B. Letter to Kris Perry – Staff reported calling the State Commission to get a verbal response to the letter sent in opposition to the current augmentation protocol. The call was not returned.

C. Association & State Commission: Our Chair will attend the following January meetings: Association, Commissioner, and the 2 day planning meeting for the State Commission. Staff felt the State Commission might develop a 0-3 initiative like Home Visiting.

D. Welcome Baby Kit – The new kit was not available for today’s meeting, so this item will be carried forward to the March 26, 2007 meeting.

E. Scoring Rubric - Staff reported at the July meeting there was a discussion to possible define a system for scoring grants other than from a subjective point of view.

Discussion:The Commission felt there was merit to having some type of scoring system by category, but it is to late to propose a scoring system for this round of grants, so the Commission directed staff to continue working on developing a scoring system for discussion at a future meeting. In addition, there was a request to see how other small population Commissions are scoring their grants. Commissioner Wright offered to share the Community Action Agency scoring system with staff.

F. Evaluation Changes – Staff sent out 2 emails regarding evaluation changes (one by Nadine Agosta our evaluation coach, and the other by Tom Jordon our Regional Evaluation Rep). There are two main changes: 1) The grantees will no longer be required to collect duplicated counts. 2) The grantee will now have to collect data under a result area, and a service area. Staff mentioned the SRI/evaluation coach contract will end February 28, 2007, and the Commission needs to consider how they will provide those evaluation services in the future. Staff suggested if the State Commission approves the augmentation protocol we would no longer be able to use augmentation funds for direct services, so we should consider using those funds (approximately $35,000) for evaluation services.

Discussion:The Commission conveyed their disappointment with the State Commission ending the evaluation coach program. Commissioner Cousins stated ending the program only hurts the small population counties when a valuable service is withdrawn. The Commission felt it was premature to act on this matter until they know what the State Commission plans to do about evaluation T.A.

Commission:Staff reviewed the proposed meeting dates. The Commission eliminated the September

2007 Dates24, 2007 date.

Motion:Motion by Commissioner Cousins to adopt the proposed meeting dates minus the September 24, 2007 date, seconded by Commissioner Davidson. Motion carried.

Commissioner:Commissioner Davidson wished everyone a happy holiday’s. Commissioner French

Reportsreported the 109th Congress adjourned Friday without reauthorizing the Secure Rural Schools Act, of which Trinity would receive 7.2 million. Commissioner French assured everyone he will continue to lobby for Trinity County when Congress returns.

Adjournment:The Commission adjourned at approximately 4:15 p.m.