MINUTES OF MEETING
MOORESVILLE CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL CORPORATION
A regular meeting of the Board of School Trustees of the Mooresville Consolidated School Corporation was held in the Education Center Auditorium, 11 W. Carlisle Street, on Tuesday, October 12, 2010 at 6:30 p.m. The Chairman after calling the meeting to order noted the presence of the following: Dr. Bill Roberson, Mr. Matt Swindle, Mr. Perry King, Mr. Ron Wright and Mr. Randy Davis. The Chairman noting the presence of a quorum declared the meeting duly constituted.
Dr. Roberson led the board members and the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance.
The Chairman asked if the board members had read the minutes of September 14, 2010. Noting that all members had read the minutes the Chairman asked if there were any additions or corrections to the minutes of September 14, 2010. There being no additions or corrections to the minutes and upon motion by Mr. Swindle and seconded by Mr. Davis, the minutes were approved. Motion carried 5-0.
The board members then examined the claims that were submitted for payment. After due consideration and upon motion by Mr. Wright and seconded by Mr. King, the following claims were approved for payment:
Payroll – September 17, 2010 & October 1, 2010
Claim Nos: 19 (23865) – 20 (23918)
Warrant Nos: 86182-86366 DD# 13201-13583
86369-86560 DD# 13584-13965
Vendors – October 12, 2010
Claim Nos: 24127-24323
Warrant Nos: 5324-5518
Motion carried 5-0.
Mr. Lindsay stated that there have been audits and assessments completed of our current reality and where we need to go. One area that Mooresville is now concentrating on is school safety and community safety. He stated that Mooresville has been recognized by the Department of Education for our community round table. He then introduced Mr. Rex Cook, Director of Safety and Human Resources, and Chief Tim Viles, of the Mooresville Police Department. Mr. Cook stated that he and Chief Viles have been asked to present the “Code Red Intruder Drill” at the Indiana School Specialists Safety Academy. This drill was started five years ago at the middle school and has progressively become more complex to include local, state, and county departments along with Brown Township Fire Department and Mooresville Fire Department, and without Chief Viles and police involvement, the students and staff of Mooresville could not be protected. He stated that last year a re-unification drill was done and broadcasted live by WCBK where 60 students were transported to Mt. Gilead Church where they were united with parents and is the drill that will be presented at the School Safety Specialists Academy. The Academy has around 600 participants this year from around the state. Chief Viles thanked the board for inviting them and stated that this is a golden opportunity for the community to come together. He also stated they have applied for several grants under the federal title of school and community partnership and has been able to develop this drill and are putting public safety in place with all aspects. Chief Viles stated that he hopes the plan will never have to be used, but also stated that the schools have to have a plan. Mr. Lindsay stated that he is very impressed with the commitment with safety and that Mr. Cook has brought direction, leadership and he and Chief Viles have done an outstanding job in this area to ensure the safety of our students.
The first item on the agenda was the adoption of the 2011 Budget. Dr. Roberson stated that last month at the September 14, 2010 board meeting, the public hearing was held on the 2011 Budget and tonight will be the adoption of the budget. Dr. Moore stated that three board meetings ago, the board gave permission to advertise the 2011 Budget; two board meetings ago, the 2011 Budget was presented; and last board meeting, the board approved the CPF Plan; Bus Replacement Plan and all supporting resolutions for these plans. He stated that tonight he is recommending the board approve the entire budget package. Dr. Moore stated that he wanted to make sure the board was aware that at the end of December, 2010, the corporation will not finish with a 10% cash balance in the general fund, but will finish with an 8% cash balance in the general fund due to deficit spending. He also stated he is recommending approval of a properly prepared budget to get the maximum amount possible, but will not raise the tax rate and upon approval of the budget, it will be filed with the county auditor within 48 hours. Mr. Wright made a motion to adopt the 2011 Budget, seconded by Mr. Davis. Motion carried 5-0.
Mr. Lindsay presented the board with an update on strategic planning. He stated that four executive advisory teams which include academics, communications, facilities and finance have been created to aid us in the strategies to achieve our six big picture goals.
Mr. Lindsay stated that we needed to imagine where the best is that we can be from now until 2020. Audits have been taken of everything, and gather input and data. He stated that in school business, we are in the business of teaching and learning, but we need different ideas instead of just from teaching and learning professionals and the board is a cross section of different perspectives, skill sets and occupations. He stated that we also want to do this with our community so that we may have a cross section of community people along with school people to serve as an executive advisory team to help in recommendations to make these goals come alive. The four committees each have had one meeting and it is going well. The purpose is to develop executive advisory team reports to the superintendent and the school board and to aid in the development of our strategic plan. Mr. Lindsay stated that we need to prioritize our most important projects and to understand where we are now and where we want to go. Our vision is: We want to be a premier school community devoted to successful learning and maturation of every student. It is imperative that all of our students be prepared for post secondary training and we need to be committed to life-long learning. He also stated that we need to be wise stewards and not spend what we do not have. We already know there will be additional cuts in funding and there are two things we need to protect: the strength of the academic core of our schools which means we need to invest in relevant learning and keep programs that are producing relevant engaged learning; and we need to renovate and repair our existing facilities and focus on our needs versus our wants. We can control how and where we invest our precious resources; our organizational structure – roles, responsibilities, accountability, attitude, team work and execution. Mr. Lindsay reviewed the six big picture goals:
Our core values are: honest, trustworthy, kind, responsible, accountable, and possess great strength of character and strong work ethic. We want to enhance culture and engaged student learning and Mooresville Pride. AYP – Annual Yearly Progress is this: our commitment to continuous improvement and be the best in all that we do. We need a faculty devoted to teaching excellence as well as staff and administration. Students need to be prepared for post secondary education, technology needs to be updated and integrated. We want well-maintained facilities. September 28 was the kick-off for the executive advisory teams, every group has had a sub-meeting, will have meetings in October and November and will make a recommendation to the board at the December 14, 2010 board meeting. Dr. Roberson stated that he thought the committees will continue after the December board meeting and Mr. Lindsay stated that this may be a recommendation from the committees to the board at the December meeting.
Mr. Lindsay presented the board with preliminary AYP results from the Department of Education. He stated that as a corporation, we passed all measured categories, all five elementary schools passed all categories, the middle school had one category of free and reduced students in language arts, but found some miscalculations of some students who had moved out of state so the middle school will make AYP. The high school did not make AYP on End of Course Assessments which was GQE and is now ECA in English 10 and Algebra I. In grades 3 -8, all students passing math and language arts increased by 8.23% and made us one of the most rapidly improving districts in the State of Indiana. Each student will now be compared with every other student in the state who scored the same on the test. Celebrations for making AYP at schools included a 50’s day at Waverly, a coffee bar at Newby, and Mr. Spencer at Neil Armstrong dyed his hair pink. Mr. Lindsay stated that he was proud of the students, staff, parents, and community.
The next item on the agenda was the proposal for new hire non-certified salaries and fringe benefits. Dr. Moore explained 95-96% of the general fund goes toward salaries and fringe benefits and should only be around 80-85%. He stated that we already know we will have to cut around $1,000,000 from the general fund during the calendar year 2011 and one of the first steps is to prepare a different salary schedule for four categories of our non-certified personnel: food service workers, instructional assistants, custodial staff and bus drivers. He emphasized that this does not include current non-certified personnel and that everyone currently employed is grandfathered in. When attrition occurs, new hires will be on the new salary schedule and 29 hour or less employees will be considered part-time and may be excluded from benefits. New hires will understand the situation when they are hired. Some positions may not be replaced and if they are, limitations will be placed on benefits and salary. Dr. Moore stated that this will not include 40-hour custodians because they will get the whole package. Dr. Roberson asked the board if they were comfortable approving this tonight. Mr. Wright stated that last spring a group recommended cuts and the cuts now have to continue. The group found out that fringe benefits are a big part of this and there are employees who are receiving fringe benefits who do not really need them. He suggested maybe a stipend to help out on this - if you do not take the benefits, you will get a stipend in place of the benefits. Dr. Moore stated that a lot of good people work here and do not want to take away from them because they are appreciated, but it is a different day. He also stated there are four bus drivers who are in training and have substituted for us who will be grandfathered in on the salary scale and benefit package. Dr. Roberson stated that all schools in Indiana are facing this problem – not just Mooresville and some schools are worse off than others. He also stated that hopefully cuts will be able to be done through attrition and one of the keys things right now is if you have a job, keep it. Dr. Roberson stated that the budget we adopted this evening, we will not be able to fund the general fund. We will use our cash balance to live off of and this will keep us in the black, but it will eventually go in the red if the cuts are not made. Mr. Davis made a motion to approve the new hire non-certified and fringe benefits package as presented, seconded by Mr. King. Motion carried 5-0.
Mr. Lindsay presented the board with an updated student tuition list. He stated the list had been previously approved but now has some additional students added. Mr. Wright made a motion to approve the updated student tuition list, seconded by Mr. Swindle. Motion carried 5-0.
The next item on the agenda was the proposed update for the Legal Resident Policy. Mr. Lindsay stated the board was presented with the update on the policy at the last board meeting which gives a clear set of criteria for students who are interested in coming to our schools in the future. He stated it had been discussed with MCTA and the administrators. Mr. Davis made a motion to approve the updated Legal Resident Policy as presented, seconded by Mr. Wright. Motion carried 5-0.
Dr. Roberson stated that Andy Ellinghausen will present a proposal to the board on gym usage on Sundays which was tabled at the September board meeting. Mr. Ellinghausen stated that the boys and girls junior basketball leagues are asking for use of the north and south gyms on Sundays for four months – August, September, October and November from 1-5 p.m. (15 Sundays). Teams have increased and the boys board has voted to add on 7 th and 8 th grade teams because of not having “B” teams this year. He stated both boys and girls high school coaches are in support of this proposal. Mr. Wright stated that he has a problem with Sundays when it is mandatory for kids to be at practice. Mr. Ellinghausen stated it would not be mandatory for players to attend practices on Sundays. Mr. Wright stated that family time and church time are valued here as a community. Mr. Ellinghausen was asked if the leagues would pay for custodians during this time and he stated no that he did not feel there was a need for this since they have such strict rules for gym usage and during tournaments, custodians are paid $20.80 per hour. He also stated that our teams practice an hour a week right now which is ¼ of the practice time versus the practice times for teams we play. Mr. Wright stated he did not have a problem with a couple of Sundays a month designated as practice days and then designate open gym on the other two Sundays. Mr. Wright made a motion to allow the metro teams to use the gyms on Sundays from 1-5 p.m. for the next six weeks with girls practicing three times during the six-weeks and boys practicing three times during the six-weeks, seconded by Mr. King. Motion carried 5-0. Mr. Wright stated he would like feedback after the six weeks to see how things went.
Next on the agenda was the Madison Township Sewer Line Easement Agreement. Dr. Roberson stated that Madison Township has 15 acres and we have 25 acres along Landersdale Road. They are requesting an easement on our property to put a sewer line in with Wildwood Shores due to a mound system not working properly. Mr. Steve Harris, Attorney, stated that previous discussion on this brought up the question if we grant the easement to Madison Township, could Wildwood Shores waive the hook-on fee to the school corporation if a school is built in the future. He stated if the school corporation hooked on to Wildwood Shores sewer line, the fee would be $39,200 and Tom Brunz, President of Aqua Indiana who owns Wildwood Shores, told Mr. Harris that IURC would not let them waive the fee. He also stated that there is an agreement between Wildwood Shores and Madison Township where Madison Township is paying Wildwood Shores $75,800 to put the sewer line in. Under this agreement, Madison Township gets reimbursed $2,000 for every house that hooks on. If a school is built on the property and we hook on, we would have to pay the equivalent of 14 homes or $28,000 to Madison Township. Mr. Harris stated he had spoken to Madison Township and they would waive the fee they are entitled to if the corporation hooks on. There are two separate fees, one to Madison Township and one to Wildwood Shores. If there is something built instead of a school, like a concession stand, it would be equivalent to one house or $3,000 to Aqua and Madison Township would waive the hook-on fee. Mr. Harris stated that Madison Township’s attorney advised him if the board wanted to grant them an easement for the sewer line, we could have an agreement made in consideration of us giving them an easement to put in the sewer line, they could waive any fee that Madison Township is entitled to if the corporation hooks on. Mr. Harris stated that the $39,200 would still have to be paid to Wildwood Shores if the school hooked on. He also stated the easement would be on the west side of the property and borders up to Leona Lakes Subdivision. Mr. Wright asked if another utility company asked for an easement if that would be granted. Mr. Harris stated that he checked on this and the easement would only be granted with permission from Wildwood Shores. The reason for this is that Wildwood Shores will need to have access and the ability to repair their own lines. Dr. Roberson stated this is at no cost to the corporation and the agreement is just giving them the permission to go down the side of our property. Mr. Harris stated the easement would be 25 feet wide with a 15 feet temporary easement on the western edge of the property. Mr. Harris stated that if the board would like to grant the easement, his recommendation is to have a motion to grant the easement subject to getting a written agreement with Madison Township that hook-on fees will be waived by them in the future and authorize Dr. Roberson as President of the Board to sign this agreement. He will work with Steve Bushman, Attorney for Madison Township, to have an agreement to waive the hook-on fees. Mr. Harris stated that Madison Township is trading off the right of us selling the easement to them for exchange of the hook-on fee. Mr. Davis made a motion to grant the easement to Wildwood Shores subject to Madison Township entering into an agreement with MCSC stating they would waive any hook-on fees we would have to pay them in the future in return for us giving the easement and not making them bring a law suit against us, seconded by Mr. Swindle. Motion carried 5-0.
Dr. Moore stated that fuel bids have been advertised two times and no bids were received. He stated that this leaves us on the open market which is our preference and wanted to make the board aware of this.
Dr. Moore stated that in the past we have participated in the Indiana Bond Bank’s Advanced Warrant Program which helps us with cash flow throughout the year. Dr. Roberson stated these are tax anticipation warrants and do not increase the budget. Mr. Wright made a motion to approve participation in the Indiana Bond Bank’s Advanced Warrant Program, seconded by Mr. Swindle. Motion carried 5-0.
Next on the agenda was the QSCB, Qualified School Construction Bonds, at the middle school. Mr. Harris explained that we had applied for and have been given an opportunity to borrow around $2,000,000 for renovations and improvements at Newby, Paul Hadley, Northwood and North Madison. This will be a loan and will be funded by selling bonds through the Building Corporation. This money will be interest free or low interest and is part of the stimulus program in which the federal government will write a check to the school corporation to pay the interest or most of it. We will not know how much interest we will have to pay until the bonds are sold or if we have to pay any interest. The Building Corporation will purchase a small piece of Newby from us and then lease it back to us, the Building Corporation will sell the bonds, and we will make lease payments to them from tax money and the bond holders are then paid back. The Building Corporation met earlier today and present were Jim Ransome, Barb Romans, Gary Cruise, and Mitzie Forbes, and Steve Overton was not present. The Building Corporation was required to approve a form of lease that will be entered into with the Building Corporation and the school corporation. There will be a public hearing to explain the lease and financing which is scheduled for November 9 at the regular board meeting. Publications have been in the Times and Reporter stating there will be a public hearing on November 9. We are required tonight to approve the following resolutions:
Mr. Harris stated that one is Exhibit A, two is Exhibit B, and three is Exhibit C.
Dr. Roberson stated that the QSCB would upgrade heating, ventilation, air conditioning, piping, and air handlers. He also stated that they have worked with the financial advisor to schedule this into debt and will not raise taxes. Mr. Wright made a motion to approve Exhibit A, B, and C, seconded by Mr. Davis. Motion carried 5-0.
Dr. Roberson stated that the next item is the QZAB which is Qualified Zone Academy Bonds. We are asking for approval tonight to apply for these. He explained that these bonds are not part of the stimulus money but have been around for several years. We received a letter from the Department of Education that there is some money available which is also interest free. Dr. Roberson stated that we are under a timeline to get the application in. He also stated that Newby and Northwood both had indoor air quality problems in the past. He explained that there is a 10% match required which must be matched by private companies or businesses or a 501C3, not by the corporation, and if we ask for $2,000,000 in each building, the 10% match per building is $200,000. A committee has been formed to get started on this and have come up with some ideas of how we might receive the match. People may donate money, but it could also be in kind services - businesses interested in giving us services where they volunteer instead of getting paid. He stated this is a golden opportunity for interest-free money which will not raise taxes. He stated the applications are due by November 19 but encourages the application to be in as soon as possible because there is a certain amount of money available and when it is gone, we may not receive any money. Dr. Roberson stated that we are in the early stages of applying for the QZAB bonds and have committed that this will not be done if it will raise taxes. Mr. Wright made a motion to approve applying for the QZAB bonds, seconded by Mr. King. Motion carried 5-0. Dr. Roberson also stated we cannot send the application in until we get the match.
Dr. Roberson stated that for several years the corporation has transferred money to Rainy Day Fund and last year $1,000,000 was transferred. He asked the board for approval to transfer $574,000 from Debt to the Rainy Day. Mr. Davis made a motion to transfer $574,000 from Debt to Rainy Day, seconded by Mr. Swindle. Motion carried 5-0.
Mrs. Jennifer Perkins, Dean of Students at the high school, presented information to the board regarding the next day being PSAT Day at the high school. She stated that the freshmen class will be divided alphabetically and will participate in various activities. All sophomores will be taking the PSAT test along with 90 juniors. The remainder of the junior and seniors will be job shadowing, college visits, or community service projects. She explained that the PSAT is the preliminary test for the SAT and shows the students where they are at going into the SAT test. She stated it is especially important for the 90 juniors because some may qualify for National Merit Scholars.
Dr. Roberson stated that in May, the Junior Football League came to the board and asked for additional facilities. In May, the MJFL asked for the property at Bridge Street and Landersdale Road which is a future school site. He stated that the corporation owns additional property out at North Madison and the MJFL has switched their request to this property. Mr. Mike Mossbrucker, Athletic Director for MCSC, stated the MJFL is interested in developing this property for athletic fields because our school is landlocked and we do not have the necessary area to provide kids with the athletic fields we need to provide good services for them, we have limited space at the high school and middle school, we need the ability to control scheduling, we borrow areas from other people and cannot control their scheduling. He stated softball has the following areas of concern:
Mr. Mossbrucker then addressed concerns for baseball:
Cross Country was then addressed with concerns from Mr. Mossbrucker:
Mr. Mossbrucker stated that he hopes to create a complex to have softball and baseball fields and a cross country area. He stated it would be nice to have a single point of entry because admission is charged in order to pay athletic bills. Mr. Mossbrucker stated that the facilities being spread out create problems of maintaining and having restrooms for cross country meets and baseball games will be achieved with a single complex. He also stated that this is property with nothing on it and would like to create a long-range plan to develop it with the partnership of the MJFL. Mr. Mossbrucker stated that something could be created that we are all proud of, alleviate scheduling problems, and create a consolidated location for both practices and games. A question was asked if the farm is currently being farmed and how much revenue would the school lose from developing the land. Mr. Mossbrucker stated that the land is currently being farmed and Mr. Lindsay stated he will find out the revenue on Friday after meeting with the renter. Mr. Mossbrucker stated that the freshmen play 2/3 of their games away right now in order to play and this is a great opportunity to get a lot done for not much since a lot of people are motivated right now and our first goal is to get people to volunteer and receive donations. Mr. Mossbrucker turned the meeting over to Doug Condon, Mooresville Junior Football League. Mr. Condon stated:
Mrs. Susan Johnson asked if the football league was buying the land and Mr. Condon said no that they are asking for use of the land. Mrs. Johnson stated that the corporation will be losing revenue from farming and stated that she felt the junior football league should pay at least that amount of revenue lost from farming for the use of the land. Dr. Roberson stated that there will be no lights on the fields. Mr. Wright asked Mr. Mossbrucker if he was satisfied with this property instead of the soccer field facility. Mr. Mossbrucker stated yes and the property at North Madison seems to be flatter than the soccer field property and thought it would be less expensive to develop at North Madison. Mr. Swindle asked if there was a cost to rent Sonshine Park for games. Mr. Mossbrucker stated that we currently pay to use Sonshine Park and rent other areas when they have conflicts. Mrs. Johnson asked if the football league currently pays to use Newby. Mr. Condon stated that the football league does not pay to use the property behind Newby and it will still be used for 2 nd grade football and flag football. Dr. Roberson stated that the property at North Madison was donated to the school corporation in 1995 by Cedar Run Development and we did not pay for the property. He also stated that the football league has always been good stewards of the property. Mr. Wright stated that the schools have needed something like this for softball and baseball for a long time and feels that this cannot wait any longer. Dr. Roberson stated that the corporation does not have the money for the diamonds, but if we receive donated labor, we may be able to build materials into capital projects. Mr. Swindle stated that he did not see it as a detriment to the school corporation and if anything, it is a savings. Mr. Condon stated that he is very aware of Rule 5 and if the football league gets to develop the land, it will be done right. The concensus of the board was to set a date for a work session and have Mr. Condon come in and work the proposal out.
Mr. Lindsay informed the board of the Parent Pledge that the Department of Education has developed and will take to MCTA to see if it would be something we would want to adopt. Dr. Roberson stated that if you visit the DOE website, many schools have already signed on for the pledge. This pledge states that the parents are going to do certain things.
Mr. Lindsay asked permission for the Indiana Youth Tobacco Survey to be continued at the middle school and high school which the survey has been taken for several years now. Mr. Wright made a motion to approve the middle school and high school to participate in the Indiana Youth Tobacco Survey as has been done in the past, seconded by Mr. Davis. Motion carried 5-0.
Dr. Roberson asked if the board had any questions on the list of overnight field trips that were in their packets. Mr. Swindle stated that he felt like the parents needed to be aware of the trip to France that the government has issued a no travel warning. Mr. Davis made a motion to approve the overnight field trips as presented, pending the national warning on travel, seconded by Mr. Swindle. Motion carried 5-0.
Mr. Lindsay recommended for approval Personnel Report #10-10. Mr. Wright made a motion to approve Personnel Report #10-10 as presented, seconded by Mr. Davis. Motion carried 5-0.
Mrs. Caldwell asked if signs could be put up to direct people to the soccer fields. Mr. Perry stated that this depended on the highway and the state would have to be checked with on this. Mr. Lindsay stated that directions are given to visiting schools and perhaps some signage could be placed to help with this.
Dr. Roberson stated that requirements on the QSCB, people need to sign petitions. Mr. Harris stated that the definition for signatures is a patron. Patrons are taxpayers, parents with children in the schools, teachers, and community members who attend school events. Mr. Harris stated to get community member signatures, not someone outside the community. He suggested getting several people to circulate the petitions and the person signing the petition has to sign in the presence of the person circulating the petition and it cannot be left somewhere to let people sign.
The next school board meeting will be on Tuesday, November 9, 2010 at 6:30 p.m. at the Education Center.
There being no further business to come before the board and upon motion by Mr. Davis, seconded by
Mr. Swindle, the meeting was adjourned. Motion carried 5-0.
Attest: Respectfully submitted,
_____________________________ _____________________________
Vice-President
_____________________________
________________________________
Member