BANGOR TOWNSHIP BOARD OF EDUCATION
WORK SESSION
NOVEMBER 18, 2003
The Bangor Township Board of Education held a work session on Tuesday, November 18, 2003, at Christa McAuliffe Middle School. President Kowalski called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m.
Members Present: Richard Kowalski, George Thomas, Dawn Klida, Terrence O’Hare, John Loop, Barbara Skowronski, and Scott Sturm
Members Absent: None
expressions/communications from the public
Janet Dine thanked the Technology Department for putting the Board minutes on the web site. She asked if it would be possible in the future to have the agenda for the upcoming meeting also posted.
Mrs. Dine informed Board members that the band is conducting a fund raiser on December 13 at John Glenn to raise money for their upcoming trip to Washington D.C. She invited anyone interested to attend.
Other items of interest Mrs. Dine reported were the upcoming solo and ensemble festival taking place at the middle school on December 6, the band performance by both middle and high school bands on December 17, and the Meijers Community Rewards Program.
Kelly Crawford
from the East Central Diabetes Outreach Network distributed information
regarding the Michigan Action for Healthy Kids Program.
soccer parent presentation - fran macmillan, amy geyer, and tom johnson
Ms. Geyer and Mr. MacMillan distributed information to Board members that included a plan for another soccer field, fencing around the soccer complex, and restroom/concession facilities. They asked if they could begin fund raising for the project. Discussions have already taken place with Jim Deming, Jennifer Gradowski, and the Booster Club. Mr. Kowalski asked that the group work with Jim Deming and Terry Balash to ensure on-going communication. Mrs. Klida also asked that the auditor be consulted regarding filtering the money from soccer through the Booster Club entity.
Mr. Johnson stated that the cost for the new soccer field would be between $100,000 and $130,000.
The Board gave the soccer group approval to go ahead and wished them the best of luck. Mr. Kowalski explained that funds were very tight at this time, but the district would try to help them in the future.
Mr. Thomas thanked Mr. Johnson for the work he did for the soccer field.
reports
Board Committees/Board:
John Loop stated that Mr. Balash would be giving the Board an update later in the evening regarding the Building and Grounds Committee meeting with the soccer parents.
Mr. Loop said that the committee decided to take the first steps toward formation of a ten-year plan. He asked Mr. Balash to review the needs assessment from four years ago and update the projects. These are being discussed with the building staff members.
Mr. Kowalski stated that he is looking at a public meeting sometime in February for input on the ten-year plan.
George Thomas distributed copies of a news release provided by Dan Haske regarding school districts and their fund balances. He also reported that the Personnel Committee had a meeting with the BTEA Living Agreement Team. Items discussed included professional development money distribution, the 457B payment, cost overruns on current building projects, and teachers leaving their buildings during planning time.
Mrs. Klida reported that the Curriculum Committee had met. Items from this meeting were on the agenda for discussion later in the evening.
Interim Superintendent: Mr. Andress reported that the ISD is planning to open a Strategic Investigation Complex for law and criminal justice classes. He also received a letter from the America’s Schools Program that the Board had formerly approved participation in. He will keep members updated on this. Mr. Andress also gave an update on Mr. Seifferly’s medical condition. He reported that Mr. Lenar is also having health problems.
Interim Assistant Superintendent/Director of Special Education/Title I:
Mr. Heinrich reported on items that included BTESP issues and a new evaluation form for that group, and the utility position opening. He stated that the new evaluation form should be ready to bring to the Board for approval in December or January. There is no recommendation at this time regarding the utility position.
Mr. Heinrich also attended a meeting with Mr. Andress at Bay Metro regarding transportation issues.
He reported that interviews had taken place for the Payroll Secretary position with six outside candidates. Three candidates are very qualified for the job. He also stated the vulnerability of the district at this point. The district would be in a critical state if something should happen to Mrs. Welskop who is currently working overtime to get payroll completed every pay period.
Mr. Kowalski asked that discussion about the payroll position be added as number seven on this evening’s agenda.
Mr. Thomas said that he had reviewed the resumes also and that the candidates were very qualified. He also asked how the audit was going. Mr. Andress informed him that the audit was nearly completed and would probably be presented to the Board on Monday.
Director of Buildings and Grounds: Mr. Balash gave a presentation on the building projects for the bond that included a review of the bleacher project and berm concerns, the fiber optic project, renovations at Bangor Central, West, and Christa McAuliffe.
Mr. Sturm asked if the sound absorption panels were alright. Mr. Balash said that they were.
Mr. Kowalski asked about the issue that has come up with the gym floor at the middle school. Mr. Balash stated that he has been looking at this issue to find out what could be causing the problem. Mr. Kowalski asked if the company that finished the high school floor could be contacted to check it. Mr. Balash said he had not contacted this company. Mr. Kowalski stated that safety was an issue and that information needed to come back to the Board if the floor needed to be fixed. Mr. Loop asked if the floor had been coated this summer and if this could be the problem. Mr. Balash said that he would look into this over the Christmas holiday. Mr. Kowalski asked that somebody be brought in to look at the floor and tell Mr. Balash what needs to be done to fix the problem.
Mr. O’Hare asked that Mr. Balash oversee the soccer field and legal issues involved with that project.
Director of Technology: Patty Rutkiewicz reported on several items that included the number of work requests that have been submitted, R2000 video conference training, network problems at the high school and middle school, accounts on GroupWise, and the Crime Stoppers web site.
Director of John Glenn High School Athletics: Mr. Deming thanked the Board and staff for the cards and letters for his father and Jim’s hospital stay. He also thanked Jodi Scott, Bob Wallace, Jennifer Gradowski, and Mr. Andress for all of their help while he was recuperating. A thank you was also given to Mr. Balash for his work with the soccer group. Mr. Deming stated that winter sports have started. He noted that a later agenda item would ask that bowling be approved as an MHSAA sanction sport for the district. Mr. Deming will be asking for approval of spring coaches at the January work session.
Director of Christa McAuliffe Athletics: Jennifer Gradowski updated Board members on wrestling, boys’ basketball, and swimming. She stated that interviews had taken place for open volleyball positions with recommendations to hire being added to Monday’s meeting agenda.
consent agenda
A motion was made by George Thomas, supported by Terrence O’Hare, to approve
the following items on the Consent Agenda:
a. Approval of Minutes - October 20, 2003 (regular meeting)
b. Personnel: Approval of Maternity Leave Extension: Jennifer Braden - Bangor West Teacher. Approval of Coach: Aaron Jurek - Freshmen Boys’ Basketball. Approval of Coaching Resignation: Matt Nemode - 8th Grade Boys’ Basketball.
Motion carried unanimously.
At 8:58 p.m. Mr. Kowalski asked that a five minute recess be taken.
At 9:07 p.m. the meeting reconvened. Mr. Kowalski requested that two items be added to the Regular Agenda - number seven would be discussion about the payroll position and number eight would be discussion about marketing of the athletic facilities.
regular agenda
Personnel: Approval of Middle School Coach: Mandy Klida - 7th Grade Boys’ Basketball. A motion was made by Terrence O’Hare, supported by John Loop, to approve this recommendation. A roll call vote was taken. Ayes: Richard Kowalski, George Thomas, Terrence O’Hare, John Loop, Barbara Skowronski, Scott Sturm. Nays: None. Abstention: Dawn Klida. Motion carried.
Approval of Middle School Coaches: Mike Major - 7th Grade Boys’ Basketball and Kyle Wallaker - 8th Grade Boys’ Basketball. A motion was made by Dawn Klida, supported by John Loop, to approve these recommendations. Motion carried unanimously.
Approval of Recommendation to Make Bowling an MHSAA Sanction Sport: A motion was made by Scott Sturm, supported by Dawn Klida, to approve this recommendation. Motion carried unanimously.
Recommendation to Adopt New Language Arts Curriculum: Mr. Andress reviewed the information for this recommendation. A motion was made by George Thomas, supported by Barbara Skowronski, to approve the recommendation. Motion carried unanimously.
Recommendation to Expand the School To Work/Mentorship Program at John Glenn High School: Mr. Andress explained that this program would be expanded to other areas and not just education. A motion was made by Terrence O’Hare, supported by Barbara Skowronski, to approve this recommendation. Motion carried unanimously.
Recommendation to Eliminate December 10, 2003, Work Session: Mr. Kowalski said that he had discussed this with Mr. Andress. Taking into consideration the upcoming superintendent search meetings that will be scheduled closely together, Mr. Kowalski recommended that this work session be cancelled. A motion was made by Barbara Skowronski, supported by George Thomas, to approve this recommendation. Motion carried unanimously.
Discussion Regarding High School Math/Science Position: Mr. Andress stated that Mr. Kowalski had asked him to take another look at numbers. He distributed copies of student/teacher ratios, overloads, and costs. Mr. Andress compared the costs between a long-term sub, paying teacher overloads, and hiring a new teacher. He was also concerned about finding a long-term sub that would be qualified to fill in as a math/science teacher for one semester. Possibilities for future layoffs were also discussed. Mr. Loop confirmed that the savings would be $2,000 by hiring a person than by paying teacher overloads. He also said that next year’s funding cuts would affect more than a couple of people.
Mr. Andress stated that he and Mrs. Smith had talked about this issue. Only five applications had been received. The position may end up with a sub for a period of time anyway due to the number of applicants. Mrs. Smith emphasized that if she did have to look at cutting programs, it would not be in math or science, it would be in other areas besides core curriculum.
Mr. Loop asked if this would lower class sizes. Mr. Wallace reviewed current classes and what the effect would be if another teacher was added. Concerns were stated for the quality of candidates at this point. Mrs. Smith said that there were currently three decent candidates and was disappointed to find that this issue was on the table again. Mrs. Sylvester also pointed out concerns that parents are voicing about the number of students in the classrooms.
A motion was made by George Thomas, supported by Dawn Klida, to hire a math/science teacher. Mr. Kowalski reiterated his concern for the future financial situation. Since this position had already been approved at a previous Board meeting the decision was being reaffirmed. Motion carried unanimously.
Discussion Regarding Payroll Secretary Position: Mr. Kowalski stated that it had not been technically approved by the Board to go ahead and hire someone for this position. A more cost-effective decision needed to be made when there was the possibility of people being laid off next year. Mrs. Klida said that she was under the impression that payroll would be done this year by the ISD and then see what the financial issue would be for next year. She understood that there have been difficulties, but she did not remember that this position was to be posted. She was surprised when she read this in the packet a couple of weeks ago.
Mr. Andress said that this had been discussed in a Personnel Committee meeting with the BTESP Living Agreement Team. His impression was that the ISD was not particularly interested in a one-semester contract. He also said that the ISD is thinking about hiring a person. A copy of this contract had been put in the Board notes. The contract would have been for $35,000 per year - $25,000 this year to get started with $5,000 for training expenses. There would not have been much savings over a one and one-half year period. Mr. Andress also said that Mr. Dewey was reluctant about this and it could not have been started before January 1, 2004. Mr. Andress felt that they would have to hire someone to do this and also do something with their system over there. All of the communication Mr. Andress received was that they could not be ready before January 1.
Mr. Loop asked if our people have been absorbing the duties. Mr. Andress stated that Barb Welskop has been working a lot of overtime to get payroll done this year.
Barb Welskop said that the district has been having trouble getting Connie over to do some of the payroll items, such as retirement reporting and final salary affidavits. Connie has been working with Debbie Craves, but has been having trouble getting over to do this.
Mr. Andress said that the job description had been reviewed by Lynne Moore and Barb Welskop .
Mrs. Welskop said that retirement reporting will need to be done per pay period beginning April 2004. This is a time-consuming job.
Mr. Thomas said that he was initially in favor of having the ISD do the work, but it is not cost effective.
Mr. Loop said that he was also under the impression that the district was going to look at the ISD doing the work for one year. He also said he thought the new superintendent would be able to organize the office. Mr. Loop did not realize our people were taking on the responsibilities. He thought a discussion should have taken place about the open position.
Mr. Kowalski stated that an informed decision needed to be made, but they have not gotten all of the information. He said that next year the district is going to be looking at severe cuts regarding the budget. He would like to get all of the information before a decision is made. He suggested talking to Bay City or Essexville about getting help.
Mrs. Klida said that she did not know until this evening that our people were doing that job.
Mrs. Skowronski asked if the interviewees were knowledgeable about the position and what needed to be done.
Mr. Heinrich stated that at the last meeting, Board members approved a change in the payroll job description. There was discussion about this at that time. Bay Arenac cannot provide the service for us. They thought they could, but it now appears that they can do very little. We would not see any savings there. Mr. Heinrich asked for clear direction from the Board on where to go at the end of this meeting. He also stated his concern that there was no backup at this time for Barb Welskop. He currently has three potential good candidates. If the Board wanted administration to talk to accounting firms and get prices they would, but he still needed clear direction. He said that for whatever reason if something happened to Barb Welskop the district would be on very thin ice in the business office.
Mrs. Klida said that discussing a job description is not the same as saying “yes we give you the approval to go and post the job.” Two Board members at least did not realize their own people were doing the job. She did not think it was fair to assume, because the job description was discussed, that they wanted to post the position.
Mr. Heinrich said that discussion took place in the Personnel Committee meeting with the BTESP Living Agreement Team. The Board had not authorized this position, but the impression was given to look at what was out there.
Mrs. Klida felt that this was wrong. This cannot be done out of a committee - the Board has to authorize this, not the committee. She stated her concerns about the interviewing process and then being told.
Mr. Loop said that, as somebody not on the Personnel Committee, other Board members are not privy to what goes on in the committee. If anything is discussed there, he assumed a majority of the Board does not know what is talked about unless it is put in a report before the whole Board. He felt that the district is in a critical position and that this should have been brought to the Board. There needed to be a more direct approach to the Board.
Mr. Andress said that, other than a new position, he did not recall approval being needed from the Board to hire for an already established position. People have resigned from athletic positions. Nobody came and asked about replacement of teachers who had retired. He said that he would take full responsibility for any miscommunication. He has never seen anybody ask the Board to replace a person leaving a position.
Mr. Andress also said that the position was not posted immediately because the employee leaving the position was not officially done yet.
Mr. Kowalski said that he was on the Personnel Committee and the last time the committee met he did not support it. He stated that somewhere back in time the Board put that job on hold due to the financial crisis. They were not told about the problems in the office. Now it is an emergency and a decision needs to be made.
Mr. Thomas said that, as chairman of the Personnel Committee, he thought this was clear that there have been problems for a long time. He reports everything that is going on in his reports at the meetings and that the notes that Mr. Andress gives the Board has shown a definite problem. He also said that he was aware that Barb Welskop was doing payroll. This area needs to be filled. He also remembered seeing something in the Board packet about the cost.
Mr. O’Hare said that payroll is critical. Somebody is doing the work - it is not being done automagically. There is a position that needs to be filled and Mr. Andress is the Interim Superintendent. We delegated him to make the decisions.
Mr. Loop felt that the Board should have been informed that the ISD could not do the job.
Lynne Moore said that there had been heated discussion in a Personnel Committee meeting with people in their unit about being able to hire a person for that position. People, out of the goodness of their hearts, are doing that job.
Deb Werner said that at the time of discussion the hold on posting the position was because Daurie Walton-Gloss was not officially retired. Mrs. Moore also said that Mr. Thomas reported what happened in the committee meeting at the next Board meeting.
Mrs. Klida said that she did not know Barb Welskop was doing this position. She again said that this was the first time she found out that Barb Welskop was working so much overtime and that the ISD was not doing what she thought they were doing.
Mr. O’Hare understands the concerns, but asked where they were going to go from here.
Mr. Andress said that this discussion should have taken place at least one month ago.
At this time Mr. Kowalski entertained a motion to fill the position. A motion was made by Terrence O’Hare, supported by Barbara Skowronski, to support this recommendation. Motion carried unanimously.
Discussion About Marketing Athletic Facilities: Discussion took place about hiring a marketing firm for the athletic facilities. Mr. Loop asked if Mr. Deming had found out if this was legal. This was affirmed by Mr. Deming. Mr. Kowalski said that this firm would get information about advertising on the fences by the fields. Mr. Andress asked approval to spend the money to do this. Mrs. Skowronski asked how it would be determined how much to charge. Mr. Kowalski said that the marketing company would do that.
A motion was made by George Thomas, supported by Dawn Klida, to bring someone in to get this system going to market the facilities.
Mr. O’Hare felt that this should come out of the Athletic Department. Mr. Deming could probably give them ideas without hiring somebody to do this. It was requested that Mr. Deming bring information on this back to the December board meeting.
Ayes: Richard Kowalski, George Thomas, Dawn Klida, John Loop, Barbara Skowronski, Scott Sturm. Nays: Terrence O’Hare. Motion carried.
Other items for discussion
Mr. O’Hare stated his concern that substitute teachers signing up at the ISD could only do so between 8:00 and 10:00 a.m. and had to pay $70. Mr. Thomas clarified that the $70 was for fingerprinting. Mrs. Skowronski also said that the clerical person could only do this in that time frame because she did other things as well.
Mr. Andress said that criminal record checks were now available over the internet and did not cost anything.
Mrs. Klida also said that criminal checks should be done after someone is in a position. A change in job status, i.e. taking up coaching should require a record recheck. At 10:03 p.m. a motion was made by Terrence O’Hare, supported by Barbara Skowronski, to adjourn the meeting.
Respectfully submitted,
Dawn Klida
Secretary