August 17, 2009 Minutes

MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF BOARD OF EDUCATION
C & M COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT – AUGUST 17, 2009

CALL TO ORDER: President Gary Dinkla read the mission statement of the C & M Community School District and called the meeting to order at 3:40 p.m. at the CAM Outdoor Classroom near Massena.

ROLL CALL: Directors Present: Gary Dinkla, Sean South, Jennifer Holste, Rob Ticknor,
Todd McKee (arrived at 3:45), Superintendent: Steve Pelzer, Secretary: Linda Edwards, Visitors: none

AGENDA: Motion by Director Holste seconded by Director South, to approve the agenda. Voice vote, motion carried 4-0.

MINUTES, BILLS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS: Ticknor moved, seconded by Holste, to approve the minutes of the July 20th board meeting, bills, and financial statements. Voice vote, motion carried 4-0.

COMMUNICATIONS: None.

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT: Mr. Pelzer reported that a preliminary student count shows 25 more students in the building than at the end of the last school year. Due to increased special education needs, he has hired a 5/8 time special education teacher and two additional para-educators. He met earlier today with the elementary teachers to set up a 90-minute literacy block. No specials or recesses will be scheduled during this time. Middle school teachers met to plan the 30-minute skills block. At the SAI convention, Larry Sigel discussed the future of school financing and didn’t paint a very bright picture. For FY2011, he predicts allowable growth will be set at 2% or possibly frozen. He also anticipates a 5% across the board cut this fall.

In September at the IASB Human Relations Conference, Mr. Pelzer will be serving on a panel discussion on the topic of “Handling Stress” and will center his discussion on closing a building. He is considering moving Cindy Nichols to full-time status from .9 time. This item could be added when the board approves changes to the teachers’ contracts due to Phase I elimination.

Regarding the fire marshal’s report, all changes have been implemented and approved. The lockers have been painted and the landscaping south of the buildings has been completed except for the seeding. The work on removing the skylights has not been done yet. Director Dinkla commented that the janitors need a gold star for their work this summer. Everything looks great. He said that it will be a good place for students and teachers to come into.

Mr. Pelzer reviewed the results of the audit. Several of the comments on previous audits have been corrected. Our unspent balance has again been reduced.

DISCUSSION ITEMS: Discussion items included sale of the Cumberland building and advertising for sealed bids. The date and time for future board meetings were discussed and will be an action item at the September meeting. Nothing definite has been determined for Phase I elimination. Mr. Pelzer and Mr. Cormack will meet with the staff to finalize the negotiation process. On the subject of reorganization, Mr. Pelzer stated that he would like to get school started and address this issue this fall and reminded the board that incentives to reorganize will end July 1, 2014.

Discussion was held on the 2009-2010 superintendent goals. This will be an action item next month. Mr. Pelzer stated he would like more discussion between the superintendent and board in setting the goals. Suggested goals included one related to student achievement, one on public relations, a budget related one “fiscal management”. Other topics discussed were to continue advancements on technology, plan for PPEL projects. If any directors have suggestions, they should contact Mr. Pelzer or Mr. Dinkla. There is no specific number required and it was felt that it would be better to center on two items at a time.

CONTRACTS: Contracts for Deb Brown and Janet Dwyer as para-educators were presented. Motion to approve the contracts was made by McKee, seconded by Ticknor. Voice vote, motion carried 5-0. A contract for Lori Eads as part-time special education teacher was approved on a motion by Ticknor, seconded by South. Voice vote, motion carried 5-0.

SPECIAL EDUCATION DELIVERY PLAN: A committee and the process to develop the plan was approved at a meeting a few months ago. The plan has been sent to the AEA administrator and she has to approve it. It was posted for the public to review. A motion to approve the special education delivery plan was made by Ticknor, seconded by Holste. Voice vote, motion carried 5-0.

RESOLUTION 10-04 OF INTENT TO SELL THE ELEMENTARY BUILDING: A resolution of intent to sell property and authorizing publication of notice of hearing for the Cumberland building was proposed by South, seconded by Holste. Roll call vote was taken, resolution passed 5-0. (resolution available in the district office)

RESOLUTION 10-05 OF INTENT TO SELL THE VACANT LOT: A resolution of intent to sell property and authorizing publication of notice of hearing for the vacant lot in Cumberland was proposed by Ticknor, seconded by Holste. Roll call vote was taken, resolution passed 5-0. (resolution available in the district office.)

BOARD REPORTS: Gary Dinkla reported that he had attended the audit exit and that the audit went well. Directors were invited to attend the dinner to be provided Tuesday by the Massena United Methodist Church for school employees.

ADJOURNMENT: A motion to adjourn was made by South, seconded by McKee. Voice vote, motion carried 5-0. President Dinkla adjourned the meeting at 4:45 p.m. and the directors prepared a meal for the staff.

(signed)Gary Dinkla, Board President 

(signed)Linda Edwards, Board Secretary