Association of Alaska School Boards

Board of Directors

REGULAR MEETING - November 12, 2007

Hilton Hotel – Chart Room

 

 

CALL TO ORDER                    The regular meeting of the Association of Alaska School Boards was called to order by President Scott McAdams at 9:12 a.m.

 

ROLL CALL                           

Scott McAdams

Present

Tammy Pound

Present

Sammy Crawford

Present

Aana Kinegak

Present

Beth Betts

Present

Crystal Kennedy

Present

Richard Mauer

Present

Roseann Demmert

Present

Debra Mullins

Present

Choc Schafer

Present

Dumma Otton

Present

Arnold Brower

Present

Mary Marks

Present

Duane Edelman

Present

Sue Hull

Present

Norm Wooten

Present

                                                                                   

 

ESTABLISH QUORUM                                    A quorum was established.

 

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE     The Pledge of Allegiance was led by President McAdams.

 

MOMENT OF SILENCE           A Moment of Silence was observed by the Board of Directors.

 

APPROVAL OF AGENDA        

MOTION                                  Aana Kinegak/Deb Mullins moved/seconded to approve the agenda as presented.

                                               

Amendment

Motion                                  Mary Marks/Crystal Kennedy moved/ seconded to move action items E and F (BLN and             Committee assignments) to the front of the action item agenda.

 

                                                Amendment carries unanimously.

 

                                                Motion carried unanimously.

 

 

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

July 20 – 22, 2007 – Regular Meeting

October 11, 2007 – Special Meeting

MOTION                                 

                                                Sue Hull/Tammy Pound moved/seconded to approve the minutes as presented.

 

                                                Motion carried unanimously.

 

 

RECOGNITION OF                  There were none present at this time. 

VISITORS                               

                       

 

CORRESPONDENCE               Correspondence was included in the board packet.

 

REPORTS

AASB President                         President McAdams reported on his attendance at the following events:

·      NSBA President’s Retreat

·      Served on the Alaska Teacher of the Year Selection Committee

·      December Meetings- NSBA Pacific Region Meeting- Kona, HI

·      January- NSBA FRN & Leadership Conference- Washington, D.C.

·      March- NSBA Annual Conference- Orlando, FL

 

Executive Director’s                    Carl Rose, AASB Executive Director, referred to his written report included in the board packet which provided an overview of activities since the last regular meeting.  He highlighted the following activities:

·       Planning & Governance

Ø     Contact with Directors – monthly written update to the Board and a monthly teleconference opportunity for conversation

Ø     Committees – Executive and Policy Committees met in October. Recommendations and reports from each were included in the board packet.

Ø     Long Range Planning – major triennial update is complete and a copy of the new Pathways was included in the Board Packet

·       Management of the Association

Ø     Staffing – Sharon Young will be retiring at the end of this year, and Joseph Reeves will fully assume the position of Associate Executive Director following the Annual Conference. Timi Tullis has been appointed as the new Director of Membership Services beginning January 2008.

Ø     Other Staffing – Suzie Gaffney has transitioned from a full time staff member to a contractual arrangement with the Association.

Ø     Kathy Buss has indicated that she will not be returning to Juneau due to medical reasons. We will miss her and wish her the best. We have 2 new ICE team members, Kate Dugan and Bridget Smith. Both are welcome additions to the staff.

Ø     Tuula Marquardt has joined the business office as the new accountant, replacing Joan Follman whose family has returned to Montana.

·         Fiscal Management

Ø     Financial reports indicate that AASB expenditures are on track for this time of year.  Financial statements were included in the board packet.

Ø     Fund Development – In partnership with BBBS, and the Dillingham, Delta-Greely, Alaska Gateway, and Ketchikan school districts, AASB has been successful in securing a grant in the amount of $237,066 for each of the next 3 years. AASB will serve as the project administrator and proved asset based training to BBBS staff and volunteer mentors in each of the partner districts.

Ø     Auditor – The Executive Committee has approved the appointment of Elgee Rehfeld Mertz as the Association’s Auditor.

·       Sustainability/Fund Development

Ø     In addition to the mentoring grant received in partnership with BBBS, we have written to EED regarding our interest in applying for a 21st Century Grant in partnership with a district that has a high number of level 5 schools. The grant would be as much as $500,000 for five years.

·       Alaska Performance Excellence (APEX)

Ø     AASB staff completed an organizational self-assessment which was sent to APEX so the results could be compiled and reviewed. AASB’s results were impressive, but did reveal a few areas where we can improve. The APEX review will serve as a guide for our future and will help our efforts to continue in excellence.

·       Operation of Association Programs

Ø     Membership Services – District workshops have been provided to school boards, advisory boards and committees.  Fall Boardsmanship Academy was attended by 48 people.  New Member Audio Conference Web-Cast had 12 school districts participating.  Annual Conference- Registration exceeded 350. Conference highlights included Dr. Robert Blum and David Warlick.

Ø     Superintendent Searches – completed the Alaska Gateway, Cordova, Kashunamiut, and Ketchikan school district searches and have provided follow-up workshops to the Boards in these districts. Three additional workshops are in the process of being scheduled. LKSD has asked us to assist them in their superintendent search this year.

Ø     Policy – Facilitated a workshop with the Kodiak Island Borough School District to begin the development of their policy manual based on AASB reference material.

·       Communications/Information Services –

Ø     Resolutions – Following the summer meeting, proposed changes to our resolutions were distributed to all member districts. The call for resolutions in August resulted in submissions from eight districts. Several amendments were also offered. 

Ø     Marketing – AASB staff has been discussing plans to market the Association’s services to potential investors who support our goals. Our discussions are reflected in the 2008 budget.

Ø     Salary Survey – The 2007-08 surveys of salaries and benefits for teachers and administrators have been distributed. Returns will be compiled in January 2008.

Ø     Annual Report – The AASB Annual Report was included in the board packet and distributed to all conference attendees.

Ø     Commentary – AASB’s monthly newsletter highlighted the Joint Legislative Education Funding Task Force, an update on CDL, Anita Johnson’s retirement, the Spirit of Youth Program, an analysis on the Frederick v. Morris case, the AASB Annual Conference, and services provided by AASB through our partner agencies in Fairbanks.

Ø     Kids These Days – Highlighted topics from the July issue were the importance of arts in the classroom, school connectedness, and the accomplishments being made by adults and children in their communities. The October issue will be out soon.

Ø     E-News, Legislative Bulletin – The regular Thursday E-News focuses on education issues in the popular media and elsewhere.   The Legislative Bulletin is provided by e-mail each Friday.

Ø     Quality Schools, Quality Students (QS2), Alaska Initiative for Community Engagement (ICE), and Consortium for Digital Learning (CDL) –Detailed reports on CDL, QS2 and ICE were included in the board packet.

·       External Relations

Ø     Alaska Legislature- The Education Task Force – An update on the task force was included in September’s issue of Tiny Bubbles. The task force met 5 times over June, July and August. Ultimately, the Task Force recommendations include:

1.     Adopt a stand-alone K-12 public education appropriation bill by mid-March, with the BSA to be increased $300 in annual $100 increments, from the current $5,380 to $5,680 by the 2010-11 school year.

2.     Implement by 50% of the ISER Report in statute for FY2009 and phase in the remaining 50% by a 12.5% increase in subsequent years. Appoint a “Blue Ribbon Commission” to develop a new cost factor model.

3.     Increase state funding from 5 times the BSA to 9 times in FY 09, then to 11 times the BSA in FY2010 and 13 times the BSA in 2011.

Ø     State Administration – Barbara Thompson has been selected as the Commissioner for the Dept. of Education, and has appointed Hal Spackman as the Deputy Commissioner.

Ø     CEAAC (Moore v. State of Alaska) - Carl Rose, AASB Executive Director sat in on the opening arguments of this suit in early October. It’s likely that it will be a long time before this is resolved satisfactorily n the judicial system.

Ø     Alaska Learning First Alliance - Carl attended an audio conference of the Alliance to gauge the benefit to AASB in supporting the creation of a state level Learning First Alliance.

Ø     Principals Association – Carl Rose attended the Principals Conference in Anchorage and briefed the group on the Task Force.

Ø     Congress – Carl met with Senator Murkowski and Education Secretary Spellings in August to discuss NCLB and its impact on Alaska’s schools. The reauthorization of NCLB passed the Senate on October 23 as part of a bill that combined health care for children and discretionary spending. 

Ø     Moore v. State – Judge Gleason, who presided over this case, expects the legislature to take action on her decision and will review that action in June, 2008.

Ø     NSBA – Scott McAdams and Beth Betts attended the President’s retreat in Anchorage. Sharon Young facilitated the NSBA Board of Directors annual retreat in Kodiak. Carl Rose attended the Executive Director’s Institute in Newport, RI and discovered he is one of six longest serving Executive Directors in the country.

Ø     APEI – Carl Rose attended the regular fall meeting of the APEI board and came away with a positive report. The company is solvent, profitable, delivering outstanding rates, and the underwriting and loss control programs are exceeding industry standards.

Ø     Association of Hawaiian Culture Clubs – A copy of the speech given by Carl Rose at this event was sent to the Board.

Ø     First Alaskans – AASB staff has worked with First Alaskans during a presentation at the AFN meeting in Fairbanks.

 

NSBA Director’s Report              Norm Wooten, President of NSBA, is an ex-officio member of the AASB Board of Directors.  In the interest of acting as a liaison between AASB and the NSBA, he submits a report at each regular AASB board meeting to apprise AASB Directors of his national activities and their relevance to Alaska. 

                                                President Wooten’s message this year has been on community engagement using Alaska ICE material.

                                                Highlighted in this written report included in the board packet were meetings attended:

·       June 20 – 23 Council of Urban Boards of Education (CUBE) Issues Forum – New York City – The conference was built around retaining teachers and administrators in urban school districts.

·       June 24 – CUBE Steering Committee Meeting – New York City (I sit on this board)

·       June 28 – July 1 – Summer Pacific Region Meeting – Sun Valley, Idaho

·       July 11 – 15 – Southern Region  Meeting – San Antonio, TX

·       July 19 – 22 – Central Region Meeting – Kansas, MO

·       August 4 – 9 – Executive Director’s Summer Institute – Newport, RI

·       August 13 – CUBE Steering Committee Meeting (audio conference)

·       August 17 – 19 – NSBA President’s Retreat – Anchorage – the conference was built around community engagement and boards standards and used Sally Rue and Timi Tullis as facilitators

·       August 24 – NSBA Audit Committee Meeting (audio conference)

·       September 6–  BOD Meeting – Kodiak

·       September 7 – 8 – Board Retreat – Kodiak – Sharon Young was the facilitator for the board again this year

·       September 14 – 16 – Western Region Meeting – Santa Fe, NM

·       September 20 – National School Board Foundation Development Committee Meeting (meeting was in DC but I attended via audio conference)

·       September 24 – Executive Committee Meeting (audio conference)

·       September 24 – 28 – CUBE Annual Conference – Atlanta, GA

·       September 29 – 30               Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) Annual Conference – Dallas, TX

·       October 5 – 7 – NSBA National Hispanic Caucus Board Retreat – Washington, DC

·       October 8 – 11 – National Association of Elected Latino Officials (NAELO) – Washington, D.C.

·       October 11 – 14 – Northeast Region Meeting – Philadelphia, PA

·       October 15 – 20 – Technology & Learning (T+L) Conference – Nashville, TN

·       October 31 – November 3 – Michigan Association of School Boards (MASB) Annual Conference

·       November 4 – 6 – North Carolina School Boards Association (NCSBA) Annual Conference

 

State Board Liaison                   Richard Mauer, school board member from Delta/Greely and AASB Director and Past President, currently serves on the State Board of Education.  Since Rich has been appointed to the State Board position he has routinely provided the AASB Board with report on the latest activities of the State Board, as well as an overview of significant issued EED is dealing with, affecting Alaskan education.  Included in his report were:

·      October- Hal Spackman has been hired as the acting Deputy Commissioner

·      October- Under state statute, districts not meeting the 70/30 ration can submit a request for a waiver to the State Board. The State Board sent a letter to the legislature showing that there is no correlation between student achievement and the 70/30 ratio. The State Board will continue to review this issue.

·      December- Commissioner Search date- Recommendations will be sent to the Governor.

·      The Reading and Work Keys programs will be on the December meeting agenda for action or modification.

 

                                                Discussion/Comments:

                                                The attendance of the EED members at the conference was appreciated.

                                                Crystal Kennedy expressed gratitude for the letter that Carl submitted regarding Work Keys.

 

 

AASB Review                            The Board has requested that this item be routinely included on the November agenda.  Specifically they wanted not just the newly elected board members, but the entire Board of Directors to take a little time to review AASB’s guiding statements as well as the AASB Code of Ethics and Directors Job Description. 

 

                                                Discussion/Comments:

                                                The importance of BLN communication was encouraged

 

Committee Reports

 

AASB Policy Committee             The Policy Committee met via teleconference on October 3, 2007. Participating were Scott                                  McAdams, Chair, Mary Becker and Tim Steele. Tammy Pound was unavailable and Deb Mullins                                  did not join due to a miscommunication by the AASB office. Staff members in attendance were                                                                           Carl Rose, Sharon Young and Diana Miller.

                                                The Committee was asked by the Board in July, to review Policy 323, Authorized Travel and                              Expenses for the Board of Directors, Item 6. A question was raised at the July board meeting about                       whether or not AASB should assume the travel costs and related expenses connected to attending                                                                                    the April Fly-In and board meeting. Discussion by the committee included the impact on district                                                 budgets to have board members attend the Fly-In, the impact on AASB’s budget to make a policy                                    change, and the difficulties the Board has had when faced with the prospect of trying to increase                                     AASB’s revenues to cover additional expenses. After lengthy discussion, the consensus of the                                                     committee was that there should be no change to the policy.

                                               

                                                Discussion/Comments:

                                                It was suggested that the above policy be included in the BOD candidate packet so boards are                               aware.

 

Association Auditor Selection      Background: AASB Board Bylaw Article 6, section 6 and AASB Board Policy 513 state, “the Executive Director shall submit an audited financial statement at the end of the fiscal year, which shall be prepared by an independent, Certified Public Accountant. The Executive Committee shall approve, upon recommendation of the Executive Director, the auditor of record.”

           

                                                In July, a request for proposals was sent to a number of CPA firms based in Alaska. We received one complete proposal from the Juneau based CPA firm, Elgee Rehfeld and Mertz. In August, AASB staff interviewed two partners from Elgee Rehfeld and Mertz. The cost of their proposal for fiscal year 2007 is $21,200. The 2006 audit expenses, including travel and lodging, were $36,664. The AASB Executive Committee met via teleconference on October 1, 2007. Participating were Beth Betts, Scott McAdams and Mary Becker. Sammy Crawford was traveling and unable to attend. Staff members on hand were Sharon Young, Joseph Reeves and Diana Miller. The Executive Committee discussed the proposal and the advantages of using a Juneau based firm. The committee was unanimous in approving the proposal from Elgee Rehfeld Mertz, LLC. The firm has been notified, and is pleased to be able to be of service to the Board of Directors.

                                               

QS2                                          In 2001, QS2 became a cornerstone of the seven-year federal grant known as the Alaska Initiative for Community Engagement, through which partner QS2 districts receive grant funds to support community engagement.  This direct financial support helps to offset costs related to community-based strategic planning and covers related expenses during a three-year partnership for community engagement and asset building in the schools of partner districts.

 

                                    Returning Partner Districts: Delta/Greely, Dillingham, Lower Kuskokwim, Petersburg, Southeast Island, and Unalaska. 

                                   

                                    New Partner Districts: Chugach, Cordova, Kenai, Southwest Region, and Tanana

                                                For the new districts, AASB will be concentrating more on direct services rather than direct         allocation of funds during the initial year of the partnership.

 

Alaska ICE                               Sally Rue, Alaska ICE Director referred to the written report included in the board packet. Highlighted were:

·      ICE’s background and current status

·      Strong Man comic book

·      Web page hits (www.alaskaice.org)

·      Relationship of QS2 and Community Engagement

·      Helping Kids Succeed pins were distributed to the board.

 

                                                A flyer listing ICE’s resources was distributed to the board as well as a hard copy of the Kids These Days newsletter.

 

Consortium for Digital

Learning                                   Bruce Johnson, CDL Director referred to the written report included in the board packet.                                      Highlights included:

·      Background of CDL