East Central Boces Board Meeting

EAST CENTRAL BOCES BOARD MEETING

January 25, 2017

East Central BOCES Training Room

7:00 p.m.

I. Call to Order

Meeting was called to order at 6:08 p.m. by Mike Pugh, President; introductions were made and roll call was taken; the following Board members were in attendance:

Laurie Dyson – Agate Ashley Hernandez – Hi-Plains

Lori McCaffrey – Arickaree Janet Kravig - Karval

Renae Saffer – Arriba/Flagler Mark Pierson - Kiowa

Nancy Barden – Bennett Jamie Conaway – Kit Carson

Angela Einsphar – Bethune Greg Smith - Liberty

Amy Barnes - Burlington Craig Bailey- Limon

Mike Pugh – Byers Nancy Taylor - Strasburg

Sam Mitchek – Cheyenne Wells Jerry Clapper - Stratton

Julia Boger – Genoa/Hugo Doug Vondy - Woodlin

Those Board members not in attendance were:

Candace Reed – Deer Trail Jessica Towns - Idalia

Those Superintendents in attendance were:

Kendra Ewing – Agate Tom Arensdorf - Karval

Shane Walkinshaw – Arickaree Denise Pearson - Kiowa

Valorie McCleary – Arriba/Flagler Robert Framel – Kit Carson

Robin Purdy – Bennett Rick Walter - Liberty

Shila Adolf – Bethune Monica Johnson - Strasburg

Tom Turrell – Byers Rose Cronk - Woodlin

Mike Warren – Hi-Plains

Those Superintendents not in attendance were:

Tom Satterly – Burlington Tim Krause – Idalia

Glen Bradshaw – Cheyenne Wells Jason Westfall - Kiowa

Kevin Schott – Deer Trail Dave Marx - Limon

Randy Holmen – Genoa/Hugo Jeff Durbin - Stratton

Others in attendance were: Don Anderson, Mitzi Swiatkowski, Jona Layton, Jarred Masterson, Lorie Coonts, Moira Hawks, and Beverly Blagg, all from BOCES.

II. Approval of Agenda

Don shared that we need to add the resignation of Echo Raye EagleBoy from the west end center-based learning program. Nancy Barden – Bennett made the motion to approve the agenda with the noted addition. A second by Angela Einsphar – Bethune; motion carries.

III. Approval of Minutes

Angela Einsphar – Bethune made the motion to approve the minutes of the November 30, 2016 meeting. Second by Nancy Taylor – Strasburg; motion carries.

IV. Public Comments

There were none.

V Consent Agenda Items

Angela Einsphar – Bethune, made the motion to approve the consent agenda as presented with the addition of resignation of EckoRaye EagleBoy. A second by Janet Kravig – Karval; motion carries.

VI. Business – Action Items

A.  Recommendations of ECBOCES 2016-17 Revised Budget

Revenue Budget Page: Last three columns

·  Beg. Fund Balance - Increased by $173,226 - We had budgeted for this to be a $66,950 deficit, but our audited figures demonstrated $173,226 increase.

Revenue Local Sources:

·  Center based programs - Decrease of revenue of $15,556. We bill this out towards the end of year and we billed too much out, so it get returned to the districts involved.

·  Tuition, Out of District – Increase of $82,500 this revenue is generated for member districts that have students who are placed out of district. (18 students)

·  Alternative Licensure – Increased by $51,500. Due to the number of Alternative Teachers License candidates. (22)

·  Total Local Revenue Increase- $148,236

Revenue State Sources:

·  High Cost Applications – Increase of $50,000. We budgeted low as the state might make a change to the formula. This grant application was put into place to support rural Administrative Units and it does. ECBOCES in the past has received a large portion of these funds, due to the fact that Moira, Bev, and Tracy write the application. There is talk that the money should be more evenly distributed.

·  Total State Revenue Increase - $55,457

Revenue Federal Sources:

·  Title I Federal – Increase of $10,924. This is a misleading number that needs explanation. The $770,112 was based the on previous year’s allocations with the premise that one school would write their own Title I Consolidated Application, so $70,669 was not included in this figure. But in June just after we had completed the budget the district informed me they would have us write them in the consolidated application for Title I. In reality that number should have $840,781. Then this fall we learned that a different district decided not to assign their Title I funds to the BOCES in Consolidated Application as their allocation increased significantly due to their authorization of the On-line Charter Schools. , which then reduced this number $781,036. Which is an increase from the budgeted numbers, but in reality is a decrease.

·  Title II Carry Forward – Increase of $11,112 because our pay to Paul Bloomberg was less than we thought and our pay back to districts for substitute teachers was less than anticipated.

·  Carl Perkins Reserve- Increase in $13,528 because of an increase on the allocation.

·  Total Federal Revenue – Increase of $45,423

·  Grand Total Revenue – Increase of $249,116

·  Total Revenue – Increase $422,342

Expenditure Budget Page: Second Page – Last 3 columns again.

·  Salaries- Increased by $50,691 this is because of individuals hired to replace those leaving after the budget was adopted in June. Increased our Alternative Licensure Instructors pay who are employees because of the number of Alt. Teacher Candidates.

·  Purchased Professional Services – Increased by $108,627 due to the following: Alternative Licensure Coordinator salary and mileage increased with the number candidates. Increased our Alternative Licensure Instructors pay who are not employees because of the number of Alt. Teacher Candidates. We had to hire a couple of Purchased Service contracts to assist with internships of two newly hired employees.

·  Telephone and Tuition – Increased by $120,000 as the amount we pay out to the districts for the out of district application increased.

·  Flow through to Districts – Increased by $41,260. We flow through to districts for State Special Education Dollars, Title I, G/T, and Shared Technology.

·  Total Budgeted Expenditures – Increase of $401,921.

Contingency Reserves:

·  Increase of $26,751

·  VNETs Reserves – decrease by $6331

·  Ending Fund Balance increases by $20,421

Ending Fund Balance Detail:

·  Left hand column is the June 2016 Adopted Budget

·  Right hand column is the January revised Budget

·  You will notice increases in the reserves and VNETs reserve lines. This increase illustrates the increase of $173,226 of our beginning fund balance.

Fund Balance Analysis:

·  Budget Revenue Increase = $249,116

·  Budgeted Expenditures Increase = $422,342

·  Net expenses over revenue of ($138,906)

·  Beg. Fund Balance – Increase by $173,226

·  Ending Fund Balance Increases by $20,421

Nancy Barden – Bennett, made the motion to approve the 2016-2017 Revised Budget as presented. A second by Angela Einsphar – Bethune; motion carries.

B.  ECBOCES 2016-17 Budget Appropriation Resolution

Laurie Dyson - Agate, made the following motion:

East Central BOCES APPROPRIATION RESOLUTION:

Be it resolved by the board of education of East Central Board of Cooperative Education

Services in Lincoln County to appropriate the additional amount of $422,342 to the original amount of $9,211,292 to equal a total appropriation of $9,633,634 in the General Fund. With the additional source of funds coming from Local Sources, State Sources, and Federal Grants.

A second by Angela Einsphar - Bethune; motion carries.

C.  Resolution to Spend Down Fund Balance

Angela Einsphar - Bethune, made the following motion:

Resolution to spend down Fund Balance of The BOCES General Fund FY 16-17

Be it resolved that the Board of East Central BOC ES authorizes the use of a portion of the

Beginning Fund Balance from the General Fund for FY 2016-17. The portion to be overspent is approximately $138,906. This is a planned spend down of funds. Our purchased professional services expenses increased by $108,627 due to the following: 1) Our Alternative Licensure expenses increased because of more candidates in the program. 2) We hired two purchased service contract persons to work during the first semester as we had two employees doing their internships. We also had an increase of $120,000 in the tuition line item due to the increased amount we pay to our member districts for the Out-of-District Placement of student's. With the increase of our fund balance from the 15-16 budget, we believe the beginning fund balance is still adequate for cash flow for East Central BOCES and its programs.

A second by Doug Vondy - Woodlin; motion carries.

D.  Second Reading Board Policy

Included in your packet were the following policies that need to be approved after the second reading. You will notice the changes are highlighted by strikethrough and bold, italicized print.

• Policy AC - Nondiscrimination/Equal Opportunity

• Policy AC-E-1 - Nondiscrimination/Equal Opportunity

• Policy GBA - Open Hiring/Equal Opportunity

• Policy GBGE Staff Maternity/Paternity/Parental Leave

Nancy Barden – Bennett, made the motion to approve the revisions to the following Board Policies:

·  Policy AC - Nondiscrimination/Equal Opportunity

·  Policy AC-E-1 - Nondiscrimination/Equal Opportunity

·  Policy GBA- Open Hiring/Equal Opportunity,

·  Policy GBGE Staff Maternity/Paternity/Parental Leave

A second by Craig Bailey – Limon; motion carries.

E.  Evaluation Committee Recommendation on Executive Director Evaluation

You have a copy of the evaluation in your board packet. Shane Walkinshaw, Arickaree Superintendent, shared the process for the evaluation and who the people were on the committee. He took time to thank those involved: Representing Board Members were: Nancy Bardin- Bennett, Craig Bailey – Limon and Mike Pugh – Byers. Staff members were Beverly Blagg – Asst. SPED Director and Lorie Coonts, Exec. Admin Asst. Superintendents were: Jason Westfall – Kiowa, Jeff Durbin – Stratton and myself.

Don was rated high in most areas with communication being the highest rated. Other areas that were evaluated were Human Resource Administrator, Management of Programs in the areas of Special Education, Federal Programs/Staff Development, Technology, Budget/Finance and Strategic Planning Priorities. He read a few comments out of each section.

His greatest strengths were:

·  Availability

·  Giving credit where credit is due

·  Approachable

·  Accountable

·  Jumps in to solve problems

·  Leads by example

·  Common sense approach to aspects of his job

·  High expectations of his staff and himself

·  Helpful with any problems personal or professional

Areas of Accomplishment:

·  Surviving tough times = maintaining a balanced budget without seeing any reduction in service

·  Maintaining a strong professional staff

·  Closing of ECEC

·  Continues to grow the respected statues of the ECBOCES in our state; he attributes this to Jeanne Boice-Wiley and her respect around the state and now Moira has taken the lead

·  Involvement in state level organizations enhances the standing and reach of our BOCES’ message

Future Objectives

·  Continue with lobbying/advocacy work

·  Evaluate ELL needs of the districts – assess future needs of member districts

·  Develop Transition Plan for new Exec. Director

·  Developing a 3-5 year plan for technology ( BOCES and Shared Tech Position), building maintenance, and BOCES support of teacher recruitment efforts; if this is something you already have then it needs to be reviewed

·  Continue to revisit the district assessment formula

Craig Bailey – Limon, made the motion to accept the executive director evaluation as presented. A second by Angela Einsphar – Bethune; motion carries.

F.  Evaluation Committee Recommendation on Executive Director Contract

Shane shared that Don will retire June 30th and take the month of July off; then finish as of June 30, 2018. Don would like to have a contract from August 1, 2017 to December 30, 2017 and then the last contract from January 1, 2018 to June 30, 2018.

Angela Einsphar – Bethune, made the motion to approve two Executive Director’s contracts for the 2017-2018 school year. A second by Laurie Dyson – Agate; motion carries.

VII. Discussion Items

A.  Legislative Committee Report

We sent you the notes from the January 20th Legislative Committee; thanks again to Denise for doing this.

Don asked Tom Turrell to share information on their visit at the capital today. Tom shared that today our west end superintendents Kevin Schott from Deer Trail, Monica Johnson from Strasburg and myself met with Ed Bowditch and several representatives. Robin Purdy from Bennett was supposed to go with us, but as most of you know they lost two students in a fatal car crash and three more were severely injured. We want to extend our deepest sympathy and this is something we all hope and pray we never have to deal with in our districts.

We met with Senator Kevin Priola, Senator Rhonda Fields and Representative Phil Corarrubias. One of the things that is most evident is their lack of knowledge of rural schools and education in general. They assume that things are the same across the state. They support the full-day kindergarten but it isn’t going to happen because there is no money.

Monica Johnson shared their conversation about the recruitment and retention of teachers and the fear that PERA has about the influx of teachers retiring; but they have nothing to support that. PERA will never support the retirees not paying their 8%. But again, there is a huge lack of understanding. Senator Fields thought they had solved the recruitment and retention issue last year.

Rose Cronk at Woodlin appreciated the 17 page Legislative Summary that Ed and his group put together; it was very informative.

B.  February SAC Meeting with Board Members

Included in your packet is a tentative agenda for our next SAC meeting where we bring in board members. We will do introductions at 9 a.m. and then the board members will go into one room and superintendents will be in the other and we will have our superintendents only session. Randy Black from CASB, Paul Angelico from CHSAA, our program directors will give a short synopsis of their programs and then Dale McCall will give them an overview of the Colorado BOCES Association. Then we will come back together for lunch and then have our regular meeting after lunch.

Superintendents as you find out which board member(s) you are bringing, please send me an e-mail so I have their name.

IX. Reports

A.  Executive Director – Enclosed

B.  Additional Staff Reports - Enclosed

C. Other

IX. Adjournment

Our next board meeting will be April 26th here at the BOCES; dinner will start at 6 p.m. and the meeting will follow. Angela Einsphar – Bethune, made the motion to adjourn the meeting. A second by Laurie Dyson - Agate; motion carries. Meeting was adjourned at 7:57 p.m.

BOCES Board Secretary Date Approved