PV Board refutes political campaign claims on budgets

MEMBERS PRESENT: Regular meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by President Dayman. Members present: Adams, Dayman, Huegel, Messman, Paulsen, Schurr and Witters. Absent: None. Also present: Jim Spelhaug, Cyndy Behrer, Mike Clingingsmith, Debbie Menke, Joe Ambrose, Representative Joe Hutter, Ladonna Czachowski, Dan Bischoff, Chris Harvey, and others.

AGENDA APPROVED: Motion by Witters, second by Schurr that the Agenda be approved as presented. All ayes. Motion carried.

COMMUNICATIONS: President Dayman welcomed visitors to the meeting. She noted that the Board had been provided a tour of the district’s capital improvement projects that afternoon prior to the meeting. She shared a thank you note from former board president Phyllis Ahlstrand whose husband, Steve, died on Wednesday, September 27. The Board extended its sympathy to Phyllis and her family.

NINE NATIONAL MERIT SEMI-FINALISTS: PVCHS Principal Debbie Menke introduced the 2006 National Merit Semifinalists and their parents: Candice Bellows and parents Kevin and Kathryn Bellows, Katherine Coin and parents Harry and Susan Coin; Emily Koenig and parents John and Charlotte Koenig; Clare McAndrews and parents Peter and Kitty McAndrews; Gordon Mueller and parents Stephen and Linda Mueller; Shuyang (John) Qian and parents Jin Qian and Liping Zhang; Angela Rouse and parents Kurt and Jacqueline Rouse; Anna Westlund and parents Rand and Ann Westlund. Laura Suh and her parents David and Karen Suh were not able to be present. Mrs.

Menke noted that again this year PV has more National Merit Semifinalists (9) than all the other Mississippi Athletic Conference (MAC) schools combined.

The Board and Dr. Spelhaug commended and congratulated the students and their parents for their accomplishments.

Rep. Hutter congratulated the school district on its successful students.

CONSENT AGENDA: Motion by Messman, second by Huegel that the Consent Agenda be approved as presented. The Consent Agenda consists of the following: approval of the minutes of the September 18 Regular Board Meeting; the increase in Jodi Mitchell’s Letter of Assignment as a special education aide at Riverdale Heights from four and one-half hours to five hours per day; the increase in Shari Terry’s Letter of Assignment as a special education aide from six hours per day to six hours five minutes per day; the increase in Sheryl Trueblood’s Letter of Assignment as an educational aide at Riverdale Heights from four hours per day to four hours five minutes per day; the resignation of Terry Zahare as a special education aide at Riverdale Heights and the extra-duty addition of Chris Foster as Band Assistant; five open enrollment applications-in for 2006-07 from Bettendorf Schools and five open enrollment applications-in for 2007-08 from Bettendorf schools; the student teaching agreement with Central College, Pella, IA; and the appointment of the Comprehensive School Improvement (CSIP) Team for 2006-07. Members of the team are: Cyndy Behrer, Janice Carter, Ladonna Czachowski, Roya Francis, Tammy Hewitt, Kathy Jerz, Ann Kardell, Joanne Maciejko, Debbie Menke, Amy Miller, Janie Odegard, Barbara Schadt, Deb Schwake, Tara Sitrick, Maggie Tinsman, Joe Adam, Drew Anderson, Kirk Barkdoll, Lane Bleeker, Don Dehner, Devin Grask, John Kempton, Shawn Langan, Kevin O’Hara, Glenn Pelecky, Anthony Robinson, Dan Schurr, Steve Sorensen, Jim Spelhaug, Brian Strusz, Celal Tekeli, Tim Wilkinson.

EXPENSES APPROVED: Motion by Adams, second by Witters that General Fund warrants be issued in the total amount of $123,175.76 in payment of invoices presented. All ayes. Motion carried.

Motion by Paulsen, second by Messman that Nutrition Fund warrants be issued in the total amount of $56,024.00 in payment of invoices presented. All ayes. Motion carried.

Motion by Huegel, second by Adams that Elementary/Junior High Activity Fund warrants be issued in the total amount of $5,718.01 in payment of invoices presented. All ayes. Motion carried.

Motion by Witters, second by Schurr that High School Activity Fund warrants be issued in the total amount of $39,483.19 in payment of invoices presented. All ayes. Motion carried.

Motion by Messman, second by Huegel that PPEL Fund warrants be issued in the total amount of $92,840.48 in payment of invoices presented. All ayes. Motion carried.

Motion by Adams, second by Witters that a Capital Projects Fund warrant be issued in the total amount of $53,961.09 in payment of the invoice presented. All ayes. Motion carried.

AT-RISK REPORT: The Pleasant Valley School District continues to provide an extensive continuum of support to advance the academic achievement and development of all students. This support includes alternative educational opportunities or “at-risk” programming. Last year, the Board reviewed an initial evaluation document describing the alternative programming services provided during the 2004-05 school year. This report provided baseline data. Cyndy Behrer reviewed a similar document evaluating the services for this past year (2005-06). Ms. Behrer, Joe Ambrose, PVCHS Flex Program, Dan Bischoff, Project Ready, and Debbie Menke, PVCHS Principal, reviewed the document and highlighted elements of progress and continued growth targets.

Motion by Huegel, second by Witters that the Board approve the 2005-06 alternative programming evaluation report as presented. Roll call vote. Ayes – Huegel, Messman, Paulsen, Schurr, Witters, Adams, Dayman. Nays – none. Motion carried.

The Board thanked Debbie, Joe, and Dan for their efforts on behalf of students.

UPDATE ON POLITICAL CAMPAIGN CLAIMS RELATIVE TO SCHOOL BUDGETS

Dr. Spelhaug and Mike Clingingsmith, Chief Financial Officer, reviewed information with the board which presented a breakdown of the district’s expenditures by functional area of the budget for the past four fiscal years. This information was being presented to accurately portray claims being made in the political arena. Primarily these claims are that school districts spend too small a percentage of their budget on instruction.

Every district expenditure is coded to one of five areas: instruction; administration; other support services; non-instructional; and other.

Mr. Clingingsmith and Dr. Spelhaug pointed out the following:

1) expenditures under the category “other support services” include: utilities; transportation; library; technology; nursing and guidance. Expenditures under “non-instructional” include food service. Expenditures under “other” include AEA funding and construction and remodeling costs. While not coded to “instruction” each of these expenditures clearly supports instruction and represents a significant percentage of the budget.

2) administrative costs (which includes far more than just administrative salaries) have averaged seven percent (7%) of the district budget in the last four years. This is for an operation with an annual budget of about $32,000,000, 414 employees and 3,400 students.

3) The districts ratio of employees to executives/administrators/managers is 25:1, which is far greater than national averages for business and industry.

TECHNOLOGY UPDATE: Ladonna Czachowski, District Technology Facilitator, was present to provide the annual update relative to technology integration. Ongoing areas she highlighted were the eighth grade technology assessment; Waterford Early Reading Intervention and E-news. New projects in the technology department are: MAP Assessment – grades 3-8; Odyssey Software – grades 7-8; Student Folders in grades 7-12; installing wireless access at the high school; and the Community PTA Night with the topic Internet Safety – Tuesday, October 17 at 6:30 p.m. in the PVCHS theater.

Motion by Adams, second by Paulsen that the Board approve the technology update as presented. Roll call vote. Ayes – Adams, Dayman, Huegel, Messman, Paulsen, Schurr, Witters. Nays – none. Motion carried.

The meeting adjourned at 8:54 p.m.

. In an exciting new partnership between the Bettendorf and LeClaire community libraries and thPleasant Valley School District, preschool students (those who turn four on or before September 15, 2006) will have the opportunity to participate in story time experiences and activities every Wednesday afternoon at 2:00 P.M. from September through April. On the district’s 2006-07 early dismissal dates: September 20, October 4, November 8, December 6, January 24, February 28, March 14 and April 18, GREAT (Getting Ready Experiences and Tales) Times will be hosted in your child’s school library. While activities will include the traditional story sharing and book check-out, students will also experience the full range of “getting ready for school” opportunities. On the other Wednesdays of each month, GREAT Times will be hosted by the Bettendorf and LeClaire libraries. Students may attend either community library program or choose the one closest to their home/school location.

As the current school year ends and the new one begins to take shape, look for additional information on GREAT Times. Begin your child’s road to literacy early and participate often!

It’s about GREAT Times and it begins with a book.