January 18, 2010 Board Meeting
MINUTES OF HEARING/REGULAR MEETING OF BOARD OF EDUCATION
C & M COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT – JANUARY 18, 2010
CALL TO ORDER: President Gary Dinkla read the mission statement of the C & M Community School District and called the hearing to order at 4:00 p.m. in the superintendent’s office in Massena.
ROLL CALL: Directors Present: Gary Dinkla, Sean South, Todd McKee, Jennifer Holste,
Rob Ticknor
Superintendent: Steve Pelzer
Secretary: Linda Edwards
Visitors: Sandy Booker, Peg Hensley, Freda Scanlan, Dean Downer, Mike Cormack
HEARING AGENDA: A motion to accept the hearing agenda was made by Todd McKee, seconded by Sean South. Motion carried unanimously, voice vote 5-0.
PROPERTY BIDS: The district received one offer for the Cumberland vacant lot. Randy Dolch submitted an offer for $550 for the vacant lot. No one appeared in object to the sale. A motion to accept Randy Dolch’s bid on the vacant lot was made by Todd McKee, seconded by Rob Ticknor. Motion carried unanimously, voice vote 5-0.
A motion to adopt Resolution 09-10 Authorizing Execution of a Quit Claim deed for the property was made by Todd McKee, seconded by Jennifer Holste. Motion carried unanimously, voice vote 5-0.
A motion to adopt Resolution 10-10 Authorizing Delivery of a Quit Claim deed for the property was made by Todd McKee, seconded by Jennifer Holste. Motion carried unanimously, voice vote 5-0.
President Dinkla closed the hearing at 4:05, called the regular meeting to order, and welcomed the visitors.
AGENDA: Motion by Ticknor, seconded by South, to approve the agenda. Voice vote, motion carried unanimously 5-0.
MINUTES, BILLS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS: McKee moved, seconded by Ticknor, to approve the minutes of the December 21, 2009 board meeting and the January 11, 2010 joint board meeting, bills, and financial statements. Voice vote, motion carried unanimously 5-0.
COMMUNICATIONS: None.
MAN AND HIS ENVIRONMENT PRESENTATION: The Board moved to the Science Room to see a presentation on the Man and His Environment field trip. It was reported that people had been very complimentary on our students’ behavior and they have been invited back.
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT: Mr. Pelzer reported that the disk with Iowa Tests of Basic Skills was received today. Paper copies will follow. There will be another public preschool grant meeting on January 21st at 6:30 p.m. to attempt to get all required community partners to attend. This will be held in the CAM Middle School Commons area.
The joint professional development day was held this morning in Atlantic. Keynote speaker was Guy Doud from Brainerd, Minnesota, who is a former National Teacher of the Year. His motivational talk was very good.
The heating coils in the west building had sprung a leak over winter break. Temporary fixes are in place but there is no heat in the gym. The varsity game to be held in this district had to be moved to Anita because the gym temperature was in the mid-50s. A replacement part has finally been located.
Mr. Pelzer expressed great thanks and appreciation to the County Road Crew for the excellent job they did to get the roads cleared so the buses could go back to their regular routes. He said he knew we were back on our routes before some of the neighboring districts.
The faculty has met to discuss the Middle School Talent/Variety Show. It was decided that the C & M Elementary and the CAM Middle School would be designated as the recipients of the donations received, in lieu of fundraisers this year. This money will be used to replenish the funds that are used to sponsor field trips.
Two teachers from our district were nominated for the Charles E. Lakin Outstanding Teacher Award. Sandy Booker and Dean Downer received plaques for having been nominated for the award
DISCUSSION ITEMS: Reorganization was again a topic of discussion. There have been a lot of positive comments following the recent joint board meeting and board members felt some of the fears had been alleviated. The elementary has been a big issue. The Board reviewed the draft reorganization petition. Mr. Pelzer has contacted Jim Addy of the Department of Education. He has a tool to help with the district boundaries, based on population. Mr. Pelzer will give him a target date to get this information back to us in time for the next joint board meeting. The petitions stated registered voters instead of eligible electors. Election for the new district’s directors would be held in 2011 and 2013.
Mr. Pelzer presented the Board’s response to the CMEA. No dollar figures were included because necessary information isn’t available yet. The Board’s response dealt with all the items the CMEA had addressed.
The dates for the joint meetings were tentatively set for the 2nd Monday of the month. Two board members have conflicts with the February date and we will check with the Anita District to see if changes could be made, possibly to February 4. This meeting will be held in Anita at 7 p.m. At this meeting, items to be determined include to lay out a plan to get information out and set future meeting dates.
Discussion was held on the rental fees for the school facilities. Board policy might be changed. Possibly, a cleaning deposit would be required. School boards are required to review policy every five years. The 400 series, Employees, is up for review. The Board will look at sections 400-408 and revise and review at the next meeting.
EARLY RETIREMENT: The Board reviewed the early retirement policy presented by Mr. Pelzer. This will only be offered for the 2009-2010 school year. The Board will review this policy annually. McKee moved, seconded by Ticknor, to approve the early retirement policy as presented and offer a retirement package to eligible teachers. Early incentives would include a one-time payment of $15,000. A motion to revise Board Policy 407.3A Licensed Employee Voluntary Early Retirement Program was presented by McKee, seconded by Ticknor. Voice vote, motion carried unanimously 5-0.
2008-2009 AUDIT REPORT: South moved, seconded by Holste, to accept the 2008-2009 audit report as presented. Voice vote, motion carried unanimously 5-0.
2009-2010 SCHOOL CALENDAR: Discussion was held on modifying the school calendar because of missed days due to snow. Six days have been missed so far and one has been made up. It was decided to add February 15 and April 4 as a school attendance days. Other days missed will be added to the end of the year. Motion to approve modifying the school calendar was made by Holste, seconded by South. Voice vote, motion carried unanimously 5-0.
ATTORNEY FOR CONSOLIDATION WORK/DUAL REPRESENTATION: The Board had decided last month to hire Rick Franck of Denison to handle the consolidation work in conjunction with the Anita district. Mr. Franck required a form signed by both boards authorizing him to represent both boards at the same time. Motion was made by McKee, seconded by South, to sign a dual representation form for Rick Franck to work for both districts for reorganization work. Voice vote, motion carried unanimously 5-0.
BOARD REPORTS: Gary Dinkla reported that he, Mr. Pelzer, and Mr. Cormack had sat in on a webinar about the “Race to the Top” grant that the State Department of Education is in the process of applying for. The funds from this are tied to the Iowa Core Curriculum.
CLOSED SESSION: The Board did not need to hold a closed session to discuss negotiations at this time.
ADJOURNMENT: A motion to adjourn was made by South, seconded by McKee. Voice vote, motion carried unanimously 4-0. President Dinkla adjourned the meeting at 5:40 p.m.
signed Gary Dinkla, Board President
signed Linda Edwards, Board Secretary
