TRIO Wolf Creek Distance Learning Charter School
Tuesday, October
14, 2008 at 3:00 p.m.
Board
Members Present: Stacy Bender, Sandy Flint, Cassie Gaede, Kelly Legg, and
Brenda Swanson
Absent:
Tom Plocher, Anna Egge,
Jeff Vitali, and Ed Jordan
Ex-officio
member: Tracy Quarnstrom
Visitors: Sheryl Palmquist, Kelly Vilson, Peggy Reese, Emily Stull, Lindsay Jarombek, Karen Paul, and Anita Pelzer
A
public hearing about fees for athletic participation was held at 2:45. No one attended.
Quarnstrom
presented the Resolution Canvassing Returns of Votes of TRIO Wolf Creek
Distance Learning Charter School #4095 held between September 16 and October
13, 2008. A total of 14 voters voted in
said election of Charter School Board Members for the sole position of parent
representative. Candidate Anna Egge, having received 7 votes is duly elected to the vacant
parent representative position.
1. Call to order and approval of agenda.
TRIO Wolf Creek Distance Learning Charter School Board met in the blue lab of the school at 10363 Liberty Lane in Chisago City on October 14, 2008. In the absence of board chairman, Tom Plocher and vice chairman, Jeff Vitali; Brenda Swanson called the meeting to order at 3:08 p.m. Two additions were made to the agenda. Quarnstrom asked that under new business, letter EE be added to discuss supplemental enrollment numbers, and letter EEE be added to insert a discussion pertaining to staff development funds. A motion to approve the agenda with the two added items was made by Swanson, and seconded by Bender. Motion carried.
Quarnstrom
pointed out that some minor changes needed to be made to the minutes, one being
the wrong date in the heading of the document.
Flint moved the acceptance of the minutes with the needed changes. Bender seconded the motion. Motion carried.
3. Open forum
Karen
Paul, a visiting parent, expressed the joy her son has displayed when doing his
school work. She quoted him as saying,
“I would do this even if I didn’t have to!
Thank you for not making me go back to my old
school!”
4.A. Miller presented the bills for September. She itemized the expenses and explained many of them for clarity. She noted the large amount of money spent this month, and explained that the two largest bills were to the Chisago Lakes School District and those paid for the grant. With those removed, the month’s expenses would have been quite normal. Several specific bills were questioned and discussed. The board was reminded that Greystone would be paying half the large garbage bill, for they had filled our dumpsters during their work. Bender moved the acceptance of the report of checks numbered 1316002356 through 1316002398 in the amount of $316,378.95. Second by Swanson. Motion carried.
4.B The financial report, dated October 14, 2008 reflects expenditures over revenue in the amount of $61,678.84. Again the board was reminded that the financial transactions of the finishing of the building are still being processed for reimbursements at MDE. Miller referred to the cash on hand total, $503,985.34, a sufficient amount. Audit will be taking place, mostly from the CL district office, in the next couple weeks. A motion to accept the report was made by Flint and seconded by Gaede. Motion carried.
4.C Swanson brought the board up to date with the spending of the grant money. Labor and materials proved to be the major expense. Now we are getting to the end of the project and we must plan for the spending of the money that still remains. Not all bills have been submitted, for some things have not been completely finished. Items under consideration yet to be purchased include outdoor furniture, tables and chairs for the learning lab etc. The board will continue to be informed of the status of the remaining funds. Miller presented a handout with a detailed report of the grant expenditures, which showed a balance of $44,153.25.
4.D Miller explained the changes that are taking place in the 403(b) plan. As of January 1, 2009 new regulations will be enacted. Since an agreement with each vendor is needed, Educational Benefits Consultants has been brought in to review all records for accuracy. Wolf Creek deals with only one company, so we will not experience much change, but the Chisago Lakes District will be using EBC for help with these difficult matters so Wolf Creek may need to purchase their services also for continuity.
5. Old Business
5.A Quarnstrom reviewed the recommendation concerning student participation in sports through Chisago Lakes previously brought to the board. She reported that now there is a possibility of a club with no fee, but that could still be explored under the previous wording of the recommendation. The two changes in the wording of the recommendation will be implemented – “The TWC student must pay $50.00 to TWC for the paperwork” . . . and that the world “sport” be changed to “sport/activity”.
Official motion- TWC ( TRIO Wolf Creek Distance Learning Charter School) requires
that students interested in participating in a sport/activity through the
cooperative agreement with Chisago Lakes must notify the Charter School
Director at least one month before the first practice for the
sport/activity. In addition, the TWC student must pay $50.00 to TWC for
the paperwork involved in registering with the MSHSL. If the student
participates in the sport/activity for at least one month they will be refunded
$25.00 from TWC. All other Chisago Lakes fees pertaining to
sports/activities will apply to the student as well.
A motion for acceptance was made by Swanson, seconded by Bender. Motion carried.
5.B Quarnstrom led a discussion regarding the public use of our facilities. She pointed out several highlights in the policy draft, including fees, procedure for supervision, and that Wolf Creek events take precedence. Several suggestions for improvements included closer scrutiny of the costs to make sure all expenses involved are considered, increased supervision if the visiting group is large, further explanation of janitorial services and insurance, and a possible deposit for damages. Quarnstrom stated that she is working on proper forms that would include much information for the prospective user. Quarnstrom stated that this policy is only having the first reading at this board meeting so Quarnstrom will bring it back with needed changes to the November board meeting.
5.C. Quarnstrom presented a new contract for Sheryl Palmquist that included her newest duties. The pay scale for the different aspects of her job were clarified. Quarnstrom will check on the PERA rate changes for 2009 before finalizing, and she made a note to change the title of the Teen Parenting course to “Young Parenting”. Gaede moved the contract be accepted. Flint seconded. Motion carried.
5.D. Swanson reviewed the allotment of $50,000.00 for equipment made at the September meeting. She reported purchases of needed equipment, giving estimates of the costs. Actual numbers will be in the bills at the October or November board meetings. The items purchased include new computers, tables for the learning suites, memory for laptops, furniture, a TV, and a ladder. These purchases totaled about $40,093.
5.E. Bender reported on the work of the Marketing Committee, outlining specifics in a handout. Work has been done to produce an ad to be displayed in the communities north of us, from Rush City to Duluth. She also reported work being done to advertise on Face Book, targeting high school students in Minnesota. Other ideas being explored include optimization of our web design, free presenting at conferences, additional media coverage and a student video. Bender urged the involvement of the staff to be a “positive voice” for our school.
5.F. Quarnstrom reported that the time and pay scheduled for Kelly Legg’s work with Moodle and the transition from Class Server must be adjusted. She reminded the board that the total funds have already been approved, so all that needs to be done is to allot an additional $1,000 to Kelly Legg for her work under additional duties in the budget already passed by the board.
5.G. The annual board retreat had been discussed previously and the date of November 12 was tentatively set for the event. Quarnstrom declared that she would like to call it a “strategic planning meeting” so that others – parents and staff – would be free to attend. Quarnstrom will consult with board members not present at the meeting to make final details on the time and agenda and send onto all board members as soon as possible.
6.
New Business
6.A The annual MDE reports have been prepared, but a final copy has not yet been produced. Quarnstrom wants to use the reports at the strategic planning meetings, revise them as necessary and then put the final copy in a binder form. Paper copies were distributed at the meeting for all in attendance. Brenda moved that the annual report with any changes made at the strategic planning meeting be accepted. Gaede seconded the motion. Motion carried.
6.B Quarnstrom reported that the Assurance of Compliance report to MDE was completed online. Quarnstrom will be named: Human Resources Coordinator, 504 Coordinator, and Title 9 Coordinator; as needed for the report. Quarnstrom will complete the paper signature portion of the report and submit to MDE by the November 15, 2009 deadline. Flint so moved. Bender seconded the motion. Motion carried.
6.C The date of the November board meeting was reviewed. Since Miller would be unable to attend on November 11, the motion was introduced to postpone the meeting until November 18. Swanson so moved. Gaede seconded the motion. Motion carried.
6.D
Emily Stull presented the results of an orientation survey. Data was collected from 23 people who had
attended a Wolf Creek orientation session.
Ten questions were asked regarding the participants’ experience at
orientation. Comments given after the
questions were also recorded. The
results will help us in the future in planning the ways we get information to
our students and their families.
6.E
Quarnstrom reviewed that the rate of pay to bring in an outside substitute
teacher is $150.00 per day. She also
noted that our practice at TWC is to also cover for each other during the absence
of a learning manager. A lengthy absence
would bring in an outside sub, but when a staff member does sub for another,
she suggested a pay rate of $50.00 per day.
It was noted that the personnel policies state that an LM will be out
for two consecutive days to receive a substitute for duties. Quarnstrom is
drafting suitable forms for staff substitutes. Swanson moved the acceptance of
$50.00 per day for a staff member who subs for another learning manager. Gaede seconded the motion. Motion carried.
6.EE. Quarnstrom reported that the
supplemental student enrollment numbers are growing and just today the number
reached 10% or our enrollment. This
means that supplemental enrollment will be cut off after today. She brought up the question of whether the
10% ceiling is wise. Are
supplemental students really so much extra work, that we must limit the number
so drastically? We do want more
students? In the discussion that
followed, the work load these students produce was reviewed. It was pointed out that some of these
students do become full-time, and the school does have control over what
courses the supplemental students take.
After some discussion, Swanson moved that we change our limit of
supplemental services from 10% to 15%.
Legg seconded the motion. Motion
carried.
6.EEE. Quarnstrom reviewed for
staff development plan for all Wolf Creek staff for the year and after
consulting with Miller it was reported that this is within our staff
development budget. Quarnstrom provided
details on out of state travel and other items on the plan. She asked for a motion to increase the amount
for staff development to $11,000. Legg
so moved. Second by
Flint. Motion carried.
6.F. Quarnstrom presented the Facility Use Policy as a first
reading. The previous discussion
produced suggestions for some changes.
6.G. Quarnstrom presented a printed copy of internet use
policies that was produced by North Branch Schools. Our own policy #524
Internet, Computer, and Equipment usage was adopted on 4-8-03. She
emphasized the need for us to revise our own policy to be distributed to our
students and their families. The discussion
that followed outlined the need for a policy that would help students with
guidelines in using the internet and would help their families be informed of
all the reasons for wise use of the internet to keep our young people
safe. Quarnstrom urged board members to
read and submit policies from other schools to contribute to the revision of
our own policy.
6.H. Policy #515 Protection
and Privacy of Pupil Records is also in need of revision. It
was presented for a first reading. CLSD apparently
has a recent one that may be of help in revising ours.
7. Communications were distributed that
stated that our new Q comp goal was accepted by MDE, that our CITA and NCA
accreditation was approved for the 2008-2009 school year, and some election
communications from MACS.
8. A motion to adjourn was given by Bender at 4:24. Second by Gaede. Motion carried.
The next TRIO Wolf Creek board meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 18, 2008 at 3:00 p.m. at TRIO Wolf Creek.
________________________________________________ ________________
Chair, Tom Plocher Date