MOUNTAIN INSTITUTE JTED

Governing Board of Education

Regular Meeting Minutes

April 20, 2011 

__________________________________________________________________________________________A A regular meeting of the Mountain Institute JTED Governing Board of Education was held on April 20, 2011 at the Mountain Institute JTED District Office, 3003 Centerpointe East Dr., Prescott, AZ and convened at 6:00 p.m. 

6:00 P.M. REGULAR SESSION

1.   CALL TO ORDER

Chairman Harlow called the meeting to order at 6:00 pm. 

2.   ROLL CALL

Present were:   Board members Roger Harlow, Thomas Liuzzo, Heidi Baker, Casey Samsill, Tony Carroll and Michael Taylor.   A quorum was established.  Also present were:  Ray Polvani, MI JTED Superintendent; Jeramy Plumb, MI JTED Program Director; Howard Moody Finance Director and ESA Consultant ; and Karen Leja, Board Secretary.  Paula Rhoden, Prescott Daily Courier, was a guest. 

3.  ADOPTION OF THE APRIL 6, 2011 AGENDA

Mr.  Liuzzo moved to approve the April 20, 2011 agenda.  Mr. Taylor seconded and the motion carried 5-0.

4.  PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

      The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Chairman Harlow. 

5.  GOVERNING BOARD MEETING APRIL 6, 2011 MINUTES APPROVAL

Mr.  Samsill moved to approve the April 6, 2011 Governing Board Meeting minutes as presented.   Mr.  Carroll seconded and the motion carried 5-0. 

6.   SUMMARY OF CURRENT EVENTS

      A.  Superintendent

 ACTE Summer Conference July 15-20, 2011, Tucson, AZ.  Dr. Polvani reminded board members of the ACTE Summer Conference dates and encouraged their attendance.  Mountain Institute will cover costs for registration and travel expenses.  Board members should contact Karen Leja to register.

Seligman Board Member.  Dr. Polvani announced Maxine Howington has agreed to be the Seligman board member and is going through the procedures with Yavapai County School Superintendent Tim Carter.  She has served on the Seligman School Board for 20 years with several terms as President.  She has a Bachelor’s Degree, an AA Degree in Nursing and is the current nurse for the Ash Fork Schools.  As soon as her position is finalized Dr. Polvani and Mr. Harlow will have an orientation meeting with her. 

      B.  Governing Board Members

There were no reports from board members. 

7.   PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

      There was no public participation. 

8.   ACTION ITEMS:

      A.    Consent Agenda:

There were two items on the consent agenda:  Approval of Payroll Voucher 541 totaling $9,768.78; and Approval of Expense Vouchers 8118 totaling $58,123.84 and 8119 totaling $1,727.51.  Mr. Harlow asked if any board member wanted to have an item removed from the consent agenda.  Mr. Taylor moved to approve the consent agenda.  Mr. Liuzzo seconded and the motion carried 5-0. 

       B.    Discussion/Possible Action Item:  Consider approval of a Delegate and Alternate to attend the ASBA  Delegate Assembly, Fairmont Hotel, Scottsdale, Saturday, June 25, 2011.

                 Mr. Harlow and Mr. Taylor said they would be out of town on June 25.  Mr. Carroll offered to be

                the  delegate to the conference.  Mr. Liuzzo offered to be alternate.  Mr. Taylor moved to approve

                Tony Carroll as Delegate and Thomas Liuzzo as Alternate to the ASBA Delegate Assembly.  Mr.

                Samsill seconded and the motion carried 5-0. 

       C.    Discussion Possible Action Item:  Consider approval of the 2010-11 Revised Budget #2 Spreadsheet.

               Mr. Moody reminded board members that Revision #1 had been made to the Budget in December. 

Arizona Statute requires final changes to the current year budget be made by May 15.  The spreadsheet being reviewed this evening has some changes.  The final revised budget documents will be presented at the May 4 meeting.  Items discussed included:

• Base support level has not changed
• The revised Average Daily Membership (ADM) for sudden growth has been submitted to the Arizona Department of Education (ADE)
• The initial ADE ADM indicates a difference of 14.5 ADM from our computations.  The SAIS consultant is in the process of reconciling these differences.
• The State is supposed to fund us at $2,604,101 to spend in this year which includes the carryforward from last year and interest earned in 2009-10.
• Total operating expenditures not including expenditures to districts is $478,999.
• New Section Costs currently estimated  by districts is $326,000.
• There is a 4% Maintenance & Operations (M&O) carryover limit.  Therefore the Sudden Growth Reserve amount of $770,036 will need to be spent this year or lost.  MI will need to send the funds to the districts.  They can place the funds in cash accounts and keep them indefinitely.
• Mr. Moody has received information from the MI attorney that a separate Intergovernmental Agreement can be made with the districts on disbursements of these funds. 

Mr. Samsill asked to clarify that the districts won’t have the Sudden Growth Reserve funds swept from their accounts.  Mr. Moody confirmed the districts can hold the funds in their cash accounts and MI will request budgets on how they plan to spend the money.  Mr. Liuzzo questioned if there is not a good plan for use of the money, should it be returned to the state.  Mr. Carroll suggested with the loss of 9^th graders from JTEDs this might be a way to get more funding out to the districts.  Dr. Polvani said the Administration had just learned this morning of the limitations regarding 4% M&O Carryover and that a plan for the money use will be presented to the board at the May 4^th meeting.  Mr. Moody said a meeting with the District Business Managers and Mountain Advisory Committee members is set for tomorrow and input will be requested on the budget process and best ways to utilize the monies.  Mr. Moody said the Administration also plans to prepay as many of next year’s expenditures as possible under state statute.  Mr. Samsill asked if the Sudden Growth Reserve funds could be used to purchase a building for MI.  Mr. Moody said these are M&O funds and buildings can only be purchased from CORL.  Going into the 2011-12 year, MI will have about $150,000 to $200,000 in CORL.   Dr. Polvani said MI will look at ways to bank capital funds for the potential of a future building purchase if program planning supports it.

9.  Discussion Items

A.  Discussion Item:  Curriculum/Instruction /Program Status

-FY 2011 Growth & Sustainability Grants Update.  Mr. Plumb announced the Chino Valley High School culinary remodel project had received the final fire marshal approval today.  The four other remodel projects await approval.  He continued with a GSG summary by district on awards granted, total revenues utilized, and total project costs.  Total FY 2010 GSG awards totaled $272,700.  Total FY 2011 GSG awarded totaled $411,527.  Total revenue from all sources (including ADM, Perkins grants, other satellite district funding) is $912,887.  Total project expenses $871,717.  Mr. Samsill asked when open houses would be held.  Mr. Plumb said discussions had been held with the MAC members and it was decided to hold our remodel open houses in conjunction with the school’s regular fall open houses. 

- FY 2012 Program Priorities.  Mr. Plumb said due to the recent Arizona legislation passed and loss of 9^th grade funding for 2011-12, MI will see a loss of 48% of projected revenue based upon this year’s 100^th day count.  The Administration and the MAC have identified the following priority areas as the 2011-12 programs are modified:

• MI curriculum development for each CTE program based on the Pima Curriculum Project.
• Implementation of Program Evaluation procedures.
• Professional Development for JTED teachers.
• Collaboration between MI and member districts to fund JTED freshmen where feasible.
• Assertively seeking to increase the number of students at satellites
• Make the point with districts that increased JTED funds means increased funds for each district. 

Mr. Plumb said the Administration is also looking at several program options:

• Potential of integration of Career Exploration and Career Preparation in freshman and sophomore years.  This would incorporate ECAP and AZCIS where possible.
• Identify sections and programs with historically low enrollment and combine them or eliminate them.
• Adhere to minimum class enrollments of 15 in Central Programs.
• Develop CTE-JTED 4-year schedules to assist with identifying elective options that generate funding
• Offer JTED satellite/central programs during the 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. school time
• Embed academic credits with specific JTED program courses.  As examples, pre-engineering could include college algebra and physics and welding could include geometry.
• Placement of a JTED counselor at school site at .25 or .50 FTE to assist with scheduling, ECAP, AZCIS, orientations, program assessments and student recruitment. 

Mr. Taylor said he appreciated the pro-active comments and recommendations. 

B.    Discussion Item:  Clarify new staff recommendations

        Dr. Polvani reminded board members new staffing recommendations were presented to the board a

        couple weeks ago and members requested further details be presented.  He said due to the current

         budget realities and changing program needs, a restructuring plan is being presented.  He reviewed

        the summary transmittal and said detailed worksheets of tasks were also provided.

• Addition of Instructional Services Director, Administrative, 12-month position, starting salary range of $45,000-$50,000, reporting to Program Director.
• Addition of Administrative Assistant I, Support, 10-month position, starting salary $18,000-$24,000, reporting to Administrative Assistant II (Office Manager).
• Addition of Adjunct Counselors, Certificated, combined 1.5 FTE, 10-month positions to be divided among each of the JTED high schools.  One FTE equals $35,000-$42,000.
• Job restructuring of Program Director, Administrative, 1.0 FTE, salary increase to be determined based upon new responsibilities.
• Job restructuring of Administrative Assistant to Administrative Assistant II (Office Manager), Support, 1.0 FTE with salary increase to be determined based upon new responsibilities.
• Position elimination of Career Education Coordintor with tasks distributed to Instructional Services Director, Adjunct Counselors and Administrative Assistant I. 

Dr. Polvani said the Administration sees a disconnect between JTED Registration, students and counselors and believes placing JTED Counselors in the field will be much more effective when working with students, staff, parents and administrators on a daily or weekly basis.  Mr. Moody said when the concept was first discussed he had reservations.  However, he recognizes the importance of getting JTED positions in the high schools and knows the districts will not add these positions for CTE. 

Mr. Samsill said we need to look at the problem that the JTED is not recognized or perceived as it should be.  Dr. Polvani said progress have been made with support from the district superintendents and some school  principals but a lot more work needs to be accomplished and having our counselors in the schools will be of great benefit.  Board members questioned the exact cost increases and timing of hiring positions.  Dr. Polvani said detailed salary spreadsheets will be presented at the next meeting.  The Administration would like to post the Instructional Services Director position as soon as possible to possibly hire by June 1 but more realistically by July 1. 

C.    Discussion Item:  Update on Governing Board Goals

        Dr. Polvani presented a Governing Board Goal Summary update as of April 20, 2011.  He explained the

        Board goals are established each June at the Governing Board retreat and progress updates are

        reported quarterly.  Items reviewed included:

• Good progress on students receiving recognition on-site and in newsletters.
• Program quantity and quality is very good to excellent.
• Good progress on guidance for students via training sessions with counselors on AZCIS and with parent nights.  Still need additional support from on-site counselors.
• Communication has improved greatly with good publicity in newspaper and on radio and television.
• Good outreach to parents and students.
• Aggresively pursuing development of new satellite programming in outlying areas.
• In planning stage for use of technology to deliver soft skills.
• Still monitoring progress of Grand Canyon Diploma and this will be discussed further at board retreat.
• Continue to create opportunities for Governing Board professional development.  Only a few board members have been able to attend conferences.  The Administration needs to look at options of brining more training to Prescott to asisst with learning. 

D.    Discussion Item:  Governing Board Retreat, June 4, 2011

        Dr. Polvani said the Governing Board is scheduled to conduct its annual retreat on June 4, 2011.  The

        Purpose of this evening’s discussion is to seek input on location, time, facilitator, food, and potential

        topics.  The retreat discussion included:

• Location to be District Office.
• Gathering time at 7:45 a.m. and meeting to begin at 8:15 or 8:30.
• The facilitator used the past two years did a good job.  It might be good to have a person with more education background or CTE experience.  Mr. Liuzzo suggested each board member facilitate an hour of the program.  Mr. Carroll suggested former board member Kathy Sircy could facilitate.   Mr. Liuzzo said he knew of a representative from APS that facilitates conferences and he will forward the name to Dr. Polvani.  Dr. Polvani said he will explore these options.
• A potluck was recommended for food.
• Topic ideas were Board Goals, Finance 101, Boardsmanship, Policies. 

Mr. Samsill suggested the retreat be a “think outside of the box” program.   Dr. Polvani said retreats are usually an opportunity for an organization to take stock of where it has been, where it is currently and where it would like to be.  This allows an organization to find its areas of strength and growth.  Dr. Polvani will take the board’s input and bring back a retreat outline at the next meeting. 

Ms. Baker left the meeting at this point to attend to personal business. 

10.    EXECUTIVE SESSION

Mr. Harlow asked board members to read Item 10, the option of the Board entering Executive Session to receive legal advice concerning position elimination and to enter Executive Session to discuss and consider non-renewal of the employment contract of Sandra Somsen. 

Dr. Polvani explained the Administration had many conversations with Attorney Franklin Hoover, Mangum, Wall, Stoops & Warden, and the Executive Session for these discussions is optional.  Reduction of force for financial purposes or if the position does not serve essential function is within the purview of the board.  Discussion of non-renewal of a contract does not have to occur in Executive Session unless the board requests to do so.  Dr. Polvani said the contract non-renewal is not due to employee disciplinary action or poor performance but a change in staffing to accomplish our goals. 

Mr. Carroll moved to go in to Executive Session.  Mr. Liuzzo seconded.  Dr. Polvani asked if the request was for legal advice.  Mr. Carroll rescinded the motion.  Mr. Taylor said the board was not asking for legal advice. 

Mr. Carroll moved to enter Executive Session pursuant to A.R.S. Section 38-431.03(A)(1) to discuss and consider non-renewal of the employment contract of Sandra Somsen, Career Education Coordinator.  Mr. Liuzzo seconded and the motion was approved 4-0.  

Mr. Harlow read the admonition, “All persons present during an Executive Session are hereby reminded that it is unlawful to disclose or otherwise let known anything which has transpired or has been discussed during an Executive Session to or with any person who is not present, other than a current member of the Board.  To do so is a violation of A.R.S. 38-431.03, unless pursuant to a specific statutory exception.”  Board members entered Executive Session at 8:10 p.m. 

11.  RETURN TO REGULAR SESSION

Mr. Harlow returned to regular session at 8:35 p.m. and reminded board members of the admonition          read earlier.

12.  PERSONNEL ACTION ITEMS:

        A.    Discussion/Possible Action Item:  Consider elimination of the certificated staff position of Career

                Education Coordinator.  Mr. Liuzzo moved that the Joint Governing Board of the Mountain Institute

                eliminate the staff position  of Career Education Coordinator for the reason that implementation of

                the District’s educational  program no longer requires the position of Career Education

                Coordinator.  Mr. Taylor seconded and   motion carried 4-0.

B.  Discussion/Possible Action item:  Consider non-renewal of the employment contract of Sandra Somsen,  Career Education Coordinator

                Mr. Samsill moved that the Joint Governing Board of the Mountain Institute not offer an employment

                contract for the 2011-12 school year to Sandra Somsen, and not re-employ Sandra Somsen at the

                expiration of the current school year and the Superintendent be authorized and directed to provide

                written notice to Ms. Somsen of the Governing Board’s intention not to offer her a contract and not

                re-employ her.  Mr. Liuzzo seconded and the motion carried 4-0. 

        C.    Discussion/Possible Action Item:  Consider approval of the new Instructional Services Director

               position.

                Mr. Harlow said the Administration is seeking approval to create the position of Instructional

               Services  Director as discussed earlier in the staffing recommendations under Item 9B.  Mr. Carroll

               moved   to  approve the Administration’s request to create the position of Instructional Services

               Director.   Mr. Samsill seconded and the motion carried 4-0.

13.  EXECUTIVE SESSION

                Mr. Harlow said the Governing Board may vote to enter Executive Session pursuant to A.R.S. 38-

                431.03(A)(1) for discussion of the Superintendent’s contract for 2011-12.  Mr. Taylor moved to

                enter  Executive Session pursuant to A.R.S. 38-431.03(A)(1) for discussion of the Superintendent’s

                contract  for 2011-12.  Mr. Carroll seconded and the motion carried 4-0.

Mr. Harlow read the admonition, “All persons present during an Executive Session are hereby reminded that it is unlawful to disclose or otherwise let known anything which has transpired or has been discussed during an Executive Session to or with any person who is not present, other than a current member of the Board.  To do so is a violation of A.R.S. 38-431.03, unless pursuant to a specific statutory exception.”  Board members entered Executive Session at 8:40 p.m.

14.  RETURN TO REGULAR SESSION

                Mr. Harlow returned to regular session at 9:10 p.m. and reminded board members of the

                admonition  read earlier. 

15.  ANNOUNCEMENTS

        A.  Next scheduled board meetings.

                Mr. Harlow reviewed the scheduled upcoming board meetings:

                May 4, 2011                        6:00 p.m.             Regular Meeting              MI District Office

                May 18, 2011                      6:00 p.m.             Regular Meeting              MI District Office

                June 4, 2011                       8:00 – 4:00           Retreat                                 TBA 

16. ADJOURNMENT

Mr. Liuzzo moved to adjourn the meeting.   Mr. Taylor seconded and the motion carried 4-0.  The meeting was adjourned by Chairman Harlow at 9:12 p.m. 

Respectfully submitted,

Karen Leja

 Secretary