BANGOR TOWNSHIP BOARD OF EDUCATION
SPECIAL MEETING
SEPTEMBER 29, 2003
The Bangor Township Board of Education held a special meeting for the purpose of goal-setting on September 29, 2003, at Christa McAuliffe Middle School. President Kowalski called the meeting to order at 7:15 p.m.
Members Present: Richard Kowalski, George Thomas, Dawn Klida, Terrence O’Hare, John Loop, Barbara Skowronski, Scott Sturm
Expressions From The Public
None
Action Items
Recommendation to Approve 457(B) Deferred Compensation Plan. Mr.
Andress stated that the Joinder Agreement had been changed with the few
suggestions he had received from Mr. Allsopp and Mr. Lenar. Mrs. Klida asked if
Mr. Allsopp had reviewed the final agreement. Mr. Andress stated that he had.
A motion was made by Mr. Thomas, supported by Mrs. Klida to approve the 457(B)
Deferred Compensation Plan. Motion carried unanimously.
Recommendation to Reinstate BTESP Pay Raise. Mr. Andress passed out a spreadsheet showing what the increases would cost the district and a spreadsheet showing the additional funding for 2004. Mr. Andress also stated that with the increase in students this year, the restructuring of longevity, the Option B savings, and the savings with Mr. Lazaroff’s salary, he expected to see an increase in revenue of about $225,000. Mrs. Klida stated she did not feel comfortable making a decision tonight after just receiving the spreadsheets. Mr. Loop asked if there were additional overloads. Mr. Andress stated that there were. Mr. Andress also stated that Mr. Lenar would be in the district on the 15th if they had additional questions. Mrs. Klida stated that the increase would be retroactive, so no one would be losing anything. Mr. Kowalski asked for a general consensus to table until the 15th. It was agreed that it should be deferred until the 15th.
Recommendation for Non-Union Pay Raise. Deferred until the 15th.
Mr. Kowalski asked Mr. Thomas to give a summary of the Living Agreement meetings with the BTEA and BTESP. Mr. Thomas stated that some of the teachers’ concerns are as follows: Option B language, class size (some have decreased), crowding of lockers/condition of lockers. Mr. Kowalski stated that the lockers should have been checked and taken care of through normal maintenance. Mr. Balash should check them and report back to the Board. Mr. Thomas went on with other teacher concerns, such as the payroll job being outsourced. Mr. Thomas stated that the Personnel, Policy and Finance committee had also spoken with support staff about sending this job to the ISD for a year and then coming back and talking about it again. Mr. Thomas also explained that the individual who currently held the job is off until late October, so nothing can be done until then.
Another concern discussed in the Living Agreement meeting was planning periods being abused at the high school. Teachers are combining their lunches with their planning periods for extended lunches. There was discussion that maybe something needed to be put in the contract. Mr. Andress explained that this could be taken care of under management rights. Other teacher concerns were receiving a price break to get into athletic events (possibly using ID cards to get into events), change language on seniority list (some have same last four digits) and not enough communication with other buildings about Professional Learning Communities.
Mr. Thomas then went into the Living Agreement meeting with the BTESP. One of their concerns was about the College Computer Co-op working 40 hours. Mr. Kowalski said that, if he is working 40 hours, he should be part of the union. He also stated that he had no idea we had a co-op working that many hours. Mrs. Klida said that they don’t want to be pushed into something because they weren’t aware of the situation. Other BTESP concerns were the use of subs (subs are being used for an entire year for employees on leaves of absence), payroll job, re-do job descriptions, utility position freezing. Mrs. Klida felt that the issue of subs was something they had already addressed. Mr. Thomas explained that Mr. Balash wanted to wait to post the utility position to see what happens. Mr. Andress explained there would be a committee set up to study the need for this position. Mr. Kowalski stated that there was a concern because the individual on the job does nothing, and that there are good janitors out there that can do more. The decision needs to be based on need, not based on the job currently being done. Other concerns were coming up with an evaluation tool for support staff and a time line, and overtime equalization between janitors.
Determine and Prioritize District Goals.
Mr. Kowalski felt that the Board should pick two to three goals. Mrs. Klida
suggested going through the list to make that determination. Discussion took
place on each goal.
*The district become one hundred percent compliant by the end of the 2004/05
school year with NCLB regarding qualifications for staff members.
The Board felt that was a given and something we already needed to do.
*Develop a database by the end of June 2004 of professional development opportunities and those taken by staff members. Mr. Andress stated that there is already software set up to do this. The Board felt this was an administrative goal.
*Develop a ten-year site improvement plan. The Board felt that this would be a good Board goal to be done by June 30th 2004.
*Provide proper identification for every student and teacher, K-12. The Board felt this was something we are working on currently and should be an administrative goal.
*Form a Community Relations Committee by June 2004. The Board felt this would be a good Board goal to have a township/school committee consisting of Jeff Mayes, business leaders, school employees and community members.
*Ask for staff input and resolutions on construction projects. The Board felt that this was something we are already doing.
*Elimination of all Windows 95 machines. Mr. Andress stated that this was a done deal.
*The district as a whole, should consider adopting the Profession Learning Communities concept. Mrs. Klida stated that this was teacher driven and that the information should be shared with the elementaries and let them go with it.
*Develop an updated Bangor Township Schools brochure. The Board felt that this was a given and something that would be taken care of.
*Continue toward a ten percent fund equity balance. The Board felt this would be a good goal. Mr. Andress suggested that a five percent fund equity balance would be more attainable.
*NCA be implemented in the Middle School. Mr. Andress asked if this could be deferred until he attended a meeting in Lansing regarding NCA.
*Raise the student completion rate. The Board felt that this was an administrative goal.
*The new superintendent will compile school completion data. The Board felt that this was an administrative goal.
*Security and safety in all buildings. The Board felt this was something we should be doing and should not be a Board goal. This is an administrative goal.
*Restructure the business office/plan summary. The Board felt this was something the new superintendent would be doing.
Mr. Kowalski restated the three goals that were decided on: 1. Develop a ten-year site improvement plan. 2. Form a Community Relations Committee by June 2004. 3. Continue toward a ten percent (five percent) fund equity balance.
Other
Items for Discussion
Mr. Loop asked about MEAP Social Studies. He wondered which districts were
doing well. Mr. Kowalski asked Mr. Andress if he had taken a look at other
school districts. Mr. Andress explained that it is a very hard test and that
the students are tested two to three grades above the level they are at. Mr.
Kowalski asked that Mr. Andress look into other districts that are doing well
and report back to the Board in October.
Mr. O’Hare stated that, when we set goals, we need administrators to set goals to help us achieve our goals. Mr. Andress asked for Board permission to choose three goals off of the list of administrator’s goals. Mr. O’Hare stated that the Board need to set aside time at each Board meeting or set up special Board meetings to talk about goals. The Board could not just set goals and walk away. Mrs. Klida felt that the Board needed to set up another goals meeting to set parameters for each goal.
Mrs. Klida brought up an article she had read in her law notes. She stated that currently there are three school districts that have been fined for violations of the Open Meetings Act relating to committee meetings. She stated that no decisions could be made in committee meetings. She said that the Board needed to be careful when they are in Living Agreement meetings that they don’t agree to anything. The only statement that they can make is that they will take it back to the full Board. Mr. Kowalski asked if Mrs. Klida could look back at the article and give examples.
Mr. Andress said that he had spoken with Bob Jansen earlier and would like Mr. Jansen to be first on agenda for October 15th meeting.
At 7:40 p.m. a motion was made by Mr. O’Hare, supported by Mr. Thomas, to adjourn the meeting.
Respectfully submitted,
Dawn Klida
Secretary
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