LCEA Minutes--May 13, 2010

LCEA March Meeting Minutes

Date: 5/13/2010

Place: High School

Time: Meeting 2 for 2010-2011--4:55 PM

Officers: Barb Motes, Jennifer Doorlag, Tom McLaughlin, Angie Tucker
HS Reps: Dave Bergman, Allison Towne, Ruth Kreger (absent) , Kim McLaughlin, Sharon Crawley
MS Reps: Margot Argotsinger, Beth Frank, Al Lorenz, Dot Sillau
TH Reps: Lisa Scieszinski (absent), Joanna Stenlund, Kathy Dorsey, Farah Guetter
Kreft Reps: LoriAnn Brougham, Lee Dwyer

RACE TO THE TOP: The deadline to sign on as “partners” with the LCCS is Friday, May 14, 2010. There was substantial discussion on whether or not our group’s signature would endorse one of the four options for persistently low-achieving schools. That provision is not part of the second phase of Race to the Top. Phase II has vague language that at the end of the phase, those districts that take the money have to report student growth & that their pay is based on those numbers.
Concerns about tying pay to student performance was discussed. If we sign on are we saying ok to pay for performance. Although that’s not what the language says, some feel that that “is” what it says. ISEA state representatives on the different state committees for RTTT represent our members well, and there is confidence in the group in the people that represent us at the state level (T. McLaughlin). We need to send the message that we want to be involved, politically. What message do we send if we “refuse" to sit at the table after punitive measures are gone? We should make it clear that we sign on as “partners” with the board.

Bergman moves that the LCEA sign the Round II Race to the Top application, Sillau seconds. MOTION PASSES.

ISEA NEWS: ISEA argued last Friday in Polk County District Court that TSS/TQC funds that were stripped should be reinstated retroactively. The Polk County District Court Judge is giving ISEA/IASB and others until June 1st to file additional briefs in support of their respective arguments. A ruling is pending.
NEW TEACHER T-SHIRTS: Giving new teachers shirts on opening day was discussed. There was discussion about a “disconnect” with the Booster Club. There was a suggestion that LCEA work with the PTA on this (Stenlund).

Dorsey moves that LCEA give shirts to new teachers, Frank seconds. MOTION PASSES
LCEA SHIRTS: Shirts will be ordered by many of the LCEA Board members for 2010-2011. The plan for shirts is to make white cotton T-Shirts with the ISEA/LCEA logs on the upper left hand breast pocket. We hope to have these by our August AR Training.

2010-2011 LCEA MEMBER BENEFITS PROGRAM: Mary Grace Lee of NEA MB has been contacted and will assist us in our LCEA Member Benefits program each month. Some materials will be electronic; others will be in “paper” form. The plan starts in August runs through May. Building representatives will be in charge of distributing materials on specific calendar dates.

Bill Haigh, NEA Member Benefits/Valuebuilder/Annuities visited with the Board about assisting us in reaching financial goals. A packet was distributed that addresses different strategies to build a strong and healthy retirement. (pink packet)

LOCAL PROGRAM DIAGNOSIS: A checklist of effective local characteristics was passed out to the LCEA Board to consider as we plan program for next year. As time was late, the Executive Board will look through it on their own time and consider how we might improve program. A survey will be distributed to members and the response of the board and our members will prompt what we do at beginning of next year.

LCEA CONSTITUTION, BYLAWS & POLICIES: Our current Constitution, Bylaws and Policies do not reflect current practices. These must be revised as these documents govern the Association. The Constitution and Bylaws Committee will review these in small sections to that they review our current practices and more. The committee will be made up of T. McLaughlin-Ex-Officio, Brougham & Tucker--Kreft, Guetter—Titan Hill. We would like another representative from the Middle School.

2010/2011 PROGRAM: ISEA & NEA have many resources in unit offices and on the website to direct us in developing local program. There are several “to do” lists and packets of information on the NEA, ISEA website and in the offices to help local leaders make local decisions. ISEA also produces a monthly “Super Rep” packet that is sends out electronically. Several expressed concerns that the list arrives “too late” to use meaningfully. We will work to compile these in advance of next year. We are encouraged to “identify” one or two emerging leaders to assist us in active committee work for the upcoming year. We must begin building our future leaders.
NEW COMMITTEE: Barb Motes and Margie Argotsinger will head up our “Monthly Do-Dads Committee.” The committee will be take on the responsibility of providing members a “monthly” and “visible” LCEA thank you and visibility piece.
SUMMER CONTACT: Please provide Tom with your contact information and check your email.

SUMMER CONFERENCE: Will be held in Storm Lake, Iowa on August 3-5, 2010. Stenlund, T. McLaughlin & K McLaughlin will attend. SWUU Scholarships are still available. Let us know if you’d like to participate.

COMMITTEE & EXECUTIVE BOARD VACA3NCIES: We have two vacancies on the Teacher Quality Committee. Although we appoint members, we will seek self-nominations from the membership. We will use the vacancies to make the Teacher Quality a little more balanced in terms of building and grade level representation. Building Representatives are encouraged to send out email to general members to gauge interest. Questions on criteria to make our appointments was discussed. This was tabeled pending volunteers. We also need a new chair for Teacher Quality Committee.
Jennifer Doorlag’s LCEA Treasurer office is vacant next year as she has taken another position. Bylaws indicate that we need to hold a special election. Beth Frank volunteered to serve as interim LCEA Treasurer.

Mary Bleth has also taken another position. The board will approve an appointed replacement.

BUILDING ISSUES:
Titan Hill: There were several concerns voiced about the process of moving teachers around for next year. Each person needs to fill out a “LCEA Incident” form to share concerns about concerns, professional behavior and to document complaints. If there is no response at the lowest possible level of intervention, we will move forward to next step. LCEA must follow the chain of command if we expect the administration to respect the same process. Teachers need to document specific behaviors.
LoriAnn Brougham will check into our issue about payment for professional development and curriculum writing outside of the contract year.

ISEA SPRING MEMBERSHIP INITIATIVE:
ISEA offers free membership now until August 31st for all people who are not non-members. See sample message on the handout (orange sheet). Please forward to potential members in each building with the sample language or a short note.
FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS: None were submitted.

MATERIALS TO DISTRIBUTE IN EACH BUILDING WASD DISTRIBUTED: ISEA cards, stuff to put on lunch tables, folders…Penalties for Public Service folder.
Motion to Adjourn: Motion—Bergman moved adjournment, Brougham seconded. Motion passed.

Submitted respectfully,
Angie Tucker

LCEA Executive Board Meeting Minutes 05/13/2010

LCEA Executive Board Meeting
May 13, 2010

Place: High School
Time: 4:15
Roll Call: Barb Motes, Kim McLaughlin, Jennifer Doorlag, Dave Bergman, Tom McLaughlin
HS Reps: Allison Towne (absent), Ruth Kreger (absent), Sharon Crawley (absent) MS Reps: Margot Argotsinger, Beth Frank, Al Lorenz, Dot Sillau
TH Reps: Lisa Scieszinski (absent), Joanna Stenlund, Kathy Dorsey, Farah Guetter
Kreft Reps: LoriAnn Brougham, Lee Dwyer, Angie Tucker

Secretary’s Report (Kim McLaughlin)
• Frank moved that the April meeting minutes be approved, K. McLaughlin seconded it, and the motion passed.

Treasurer’s Report (Jen Doorlag)
• There were bills to be approved. T. McLaughlin moved that the bills be approved to be paid. Bergman seconded it. We have 25 dollars left to spend on retirees—for frames, matted, etc. The motion passed.

Building Reports
• Kreft: Discipline problems are no longer to be sent to the office, and teachers are losing duty-free lunch time.
• Titan Hill: There may be a battle about whether there is library time available (and therefore planning time) in the last week of school.
• Middle school: A teacher is being told to give up her planning time to tutor a student. This seems no different than subbing for a class, and we are paid for that. The suggestion is to keep track of hours and submit them.
• High school:

Committee Reports
• Negotiations (Beth Frank): Our last proposal is $350 added to the base, and theirs is $325. They want a salary schedule with three columns—salary before TSS, TSS, and total. We need a vote on whether to accept their $325 to the base. Stenlund moved that we accept the $325, Brougham seconded the motion, and the motion passed with a roll call vote of 12-1.

Old Business
• Retiring teacher awards: Stenlund has the drawings from Kari Lewis.
• Teacher of the Year awards: We have the names, but we need to order the plaques.
• High School Senior award: Lauren Petri won the award, and T. McLaughlin will present it at awards night.

New Business

Adjournment:
• Bergman moved that the meeting be adjourned, Dwyer seconded it, and the meeting adjourned at 4:40.

LCEA Executive Board Meeting Minutes 3/11/2010

LCEA March Meeting Minutes
Date: 3/11/2010
Place: Titan Hill
Time: 4:15

Roll Call: Barb Motes, Kim McLaughlin, Jennifer Doorlag, Dave Bergman, Tom McLaughlin HS Reps: Allison Towne (ab), Ruth Kreger, Sharon Crawley (ab)
MS Reps: Margot Argotsinger, Beth Frank, Al Lorenz, Dot Sillau
TH Reps: Lisa Scieszinski, Joanna Stenlund, Kathy Dorsey, Farah Guetter
Kreft Reps: LoriAnn Brougham, Lee Dwyer (ab), Angie Tucker (ab)

Secretary’s Report (Kim McLaughlin)
• Bergman moved that the February meeting minutes be approved, Kreger seconded it, and the motion passed.

Treasurer’s Report (Jen Doorlag)
• Bergman moved that the report be approved, Argotsinger seconded it, and the motion passed.

Building Reports
• Kreft: Report cards cannot be printed until all grades are in, and they were supposed to be ready to send out with kids today. The teachers didn’t receive them until the afternoon, at which time, they have to stuff envelopes with the report cards and other papers. There seemed to be no option of sending out the report cards and other papers tomorrow instead.
• Titan Hill: The teacher who was accosted by an administrator was apologized to, we hear. Also, there is a refusal to remove snow from handicapped spots in the parking lot.
• Middle school: They are planning for ITBS, and there is a great deal of stress related to the school being on the list. There are a couple of district policies (social promotion, refusal of content-specific professional development) that could be changed to help the situation. Good news is that some of the kids seem to recognize the need to do well in classes and on tests. There was a long discussion of a mismatch between our curriculum and the ITBS/NWEA exams.
• High school: Everything seems to be going pretty well.

Committee Reports
• Negotiations (Beth Frank): We got the responses about the insurance question. Nineteen said hold firm with our agreement as it is, and eleven said we could look at making changes. Mediation is 5:00 on March 29 at the ERC. This is an open meeting.
• Grievance (Tom McLaughlin): No report regarding grievances.

Old Business
• Elections: K. McLaughlin is waiting to collect ballots. She will count them over the weekend and send out an email with the results.
• The March dinner was canceled because of lack of response. We will reschedule the dinner for post-election.

New Business
• Retiring teacher awards: Titan Hill will handle these.
• Teacher of the Year awards: Kreft will handle these. Each building needs to contact members for their individual Teacher of the Year.
• High School Senior award: The high school will take care of this. K. McLaughlin will have Curt Mace put out the application for the scholarship.
• April Delegate Assembly: The DA will be on April 9-10 in Ames. Tom and Kim McLaughlin, Mary Bleth-Harris, and Dave Bergman will be attending.
• Voting for Tom McLaughlin, Anne Travis, and Margaret Clapper for State Delegate to the NEA RA:

Adjournment:
• K. McLaughlin moved that the meeting be adjourned, Stenlund seconded it, and the meeting adjourned at 5:00.

LCEA Executive Board Meeting Minutes 02/11/2010

LCEA February Meeting Minutes
Date: 2/11/2010
Place: Middle School Media Center
Time: 4:15

Roll Call: Barb Motes (absent), Kim McLaughlin, Jennifer Doorlag (absent), Dave Bergman, Tom McLaughlin
HS Reps: Allison Towne (absent), Ruth Kreger, Sharon Crawley (absent)
MS Reps: Margot Argotsinger, Beth Frank, Al Lorenz, Dot Sillau
TH Reps: Lisa Scieszinski, Joanna Stenlund (absent), Kathy Dorsey, Farah Guetter (absent)
Kreft Reps: LoriAnn Brougham (absent), Lee Dwyer, Angie Tucker

Secretary’s Report (Kim McLaughlin)
• Bergman moved that the January meeting minutes be approved, Tucker seconded it, and the motion passed.

Treasurer’s Report (Jen Doorlag)
• Frank moved that the report be approved, Bergman seconded it, and the motion passed.

Building Reports
• Kreft: Someone, on contract hours, is doing something having to do with his/her religion, including praying (individually). We discussed potential ramifications.
• Titan Hill: In the meeting with the principals, administration expressed concern about the way that teachers will be remunerated for attending a science conference—some will be paid by a grant, and some (the second grade teachers) will be paid by the District. Taxes will come out differently, and they don’t want teachers to worry about that.
• Middle school: The big concern is being on the “persistently low achieving” list. There is an ICN meeting with the state department on Friday.
• High school: We have another teacher who has interviewed for another position, and that teacher is being asked for a letter of resignation, though the teacher has not signed a contract with another district.

Committee Reports
• Negotiations (Beth Frank): Negotiations were last night. It was a short night because the Board was not ready to negotiate. Early retirement incentives, we discovered, do not come out of general fund—it comes out of the management fund. There was a discussion about insurance—the District wants staff to pay for part of it. Frank pointed out that if they want us to pay for the insurance, they cannot mandate that we take the insurance. The next meeting is not set yet.
• T. McLaughlin shared some of the conversation from the meeting with Schweer. Schweer left a message with Sen. Gronstal that expressed disapproval about the legislation regarding the SIG, so T. McLaughlin left a message for Gronstal thanking him for the same.
• Grievance (Tom McLaughlin): No report regarding grievances.


Old Business
• Elections: We have a rep position to fill for Kreft and the president-elect position is open.
• Dinners with members: The February dinner has been changed to the sixteenth, at the Pizza King. Please send names to Motes.
• By-law change: T. McLaughlin presented a proposal for a change in by-laws in order to allow for more people to attend delegate assemblies. K. McLaughlin moved that the proposed changes be made, Dorsey seconded it, and the motion passed.
• Read Across America in March: The middle school is hosting this year.

New Business
• ICN meeting on Friday re: middle school label: (see above)
• Saturday coffees: Next Saturday (2/21), at the public library, is the next legislative coffee.

Adjournment:
• Dwyer moved that the meeting be adjourned, Bergman seconded it, and the meeting adjourned at 5:19.

LCEA Executive Board Meeting Minutes 1/14/2010

LCEA January Meeting Minutes
Date: 1/14/2010
Place: High School Room 403
Time: 4:15

Roll Call: Barb Motes, Kim McLaughlin, Jennifer Doorlag, Dave Bergman (absent), Tom McLaughlin
HS Reps: Allison Towne, Ruth Kreger, Sharon Crawley (absent)
MS Reps: Margot Argotsinger, Beth Frank, Al Lorenz, Dot Sillau
TH Reps: Lisa Scieszinski, Joanna Stenlund, Kathy Dorsey, Farah Guetter
Kreft Reps: LoriAnn Brougham, Lee Dwyer, Angie Tucker

Secretary’s Report (Kim McLaughlin)
• Stenlund moved that the October minutes be approved, Towne seconded it, and the motion passed.
• Kreger moved that the November minutes be approved, Brougham seconded it, and the motion passed.

Treasurer’s Report (Jen Doorlag)
• Towne moved that the report be approved, Dwyer seconded it, and the motion passed.

Building Reports
• Kreft: No report.
• Titan Hill: No report.
• Middle school: No report.
• High school: A member asked to be released from the contract and was told no. That person was asked to turn in a letter of resignation, but that person has decided not to take the other job offer yet. The member has been asked repeatedly for a resignation letter, and our advice to the member has been to ignore that request—no resignation letter should be submitted before having another job lined up.

President’s Report (Barb Motes)
• RTTT: The recommendation to the School Board will be to reject this grant money. There will be a second MOU coming. There is a lack of clarity about details, which has contributed to the rejection of the grant money.
• SIG: This is grant money for school improvement. It includes four options/models, none of which is attractive: become a charter school, close the school, fire the principals and teachers, fire the principal and revamp professional development. This grant will be rejected as well.

Committee Reports
• Negotiations (Beth Frank): Frank distributed a copy of the initial proposals (see attached) and explained the proposals from each side. The next meeting will be in February.
• Grievance (Tom McLaughlin): Legislative Conference was snowed out—not a grievance issue, of course. T. McLaughlin will also send some info pieces for buildings to post in order to make LCEA more visible. Midwest Regional Conference is coming up, and T. and K. McLaughlin will be attending.

Old Business
• Building meetings with principals: Weather has prevented these.
• Dinners with members: The January dinner has been cancelled. The February dinner is on the ninth. (That was later changed to the sixteenth.)

New Business
• Elections for new officers: We need names for the February meeting so we can vote in March.
• Taking a fourth person to ISEA Delegate Assembly: T. McLaughlin read a letter from a member who wants to run for a delegate position (to be voted on in March). We discussed a couple of possibilities for changes to the Bylaws in order to allow for more people to become involved in Delegate Assembly. T. McLaughlin will create a Bylaw amendment motion to be added to the ballot for Board positions.
• Read Across America in March: The middle school is hosting this year.

Adjournment:
• T. McLaughlin moved that the meeting be adjourned, Tucker seconded it, and the meeting adjourned at 5:15.

LCEA Executive Board Meeting Minutes 10/08/2009

LCEA October Meeting Minutes
Date: 10/08/2009
Place: Middle School Media Center
Time: 4:15

Roll Call: Barb Motes, Kim McLaughlin, Jennifer Doorlag, Dave Bergman (absent), Tom McLaughlin
HS Reps: Allison Towne, Brian Johnson (absent), Ruth Kreger, Sharon Crawley
MS Reps: Margot Argotsinger, Beth Frank, Al Lorenz, Dot Sillau
TH Reps: Lisa Scieszinski, Joanna Stenlund (absent), Kathy Dorsey, Farah Guetter
Kreft Reps: LoriAnn Brougham (absent), Lee Dwyer (absent), Angie Tucker

Approval of Agenda (Barb Motes)
•

Secretary’s Report (Kim McLaughlin)
• May 2009 minutes: Towne moved that the May minutes be approved, Kreger seconded it, and the motion passed.
• September 2009 minutes: Frank moved that the September minutes be approved, Towne seconded it, and the motion passed.

Treasurer’s Report (Jen Doorlag)
• We’re getting ready for the audit. It’s due by November. We need three members to look over last year’s books.
• We finally received a bill for the delegate assembly from the ERC. That has now been paid. (There is a correction, moving that payment to the substitute line.)
• The check to ISEA has been sent now. (It was written in August, but was not sent.)
• Frank moved that the treasurer’s report be approved, Argotsinger seconded it, and the motion passed.

Building Reports
• Kreft: There is nothing to report right now, since it is the protocol to deal with building issues on that level first.
• Titan Hill: There were interviews for a new position, but there is some question about whether a budget cut will eliminate that position before it even gets off the ground. The number of students continues to grow. An issue about the schedules of some Title I positions (inequitable planning time given) has been raised with T. McLaughlin as grievance chair. The building reps have not met with Stopak yet about this.
• Middle school: The use of Capturing Kids’ Hearts has been effective so far. The consistency from room to room is better.
• High school: There are some issues coming up in relationship to the upcoming site visit. The core departments have been asked to have regular education teachers attach their names to grade books of the pull-out special education classes. The problem is that only two special education teachers have endorsements in the areas in which they are teaching pull-out classes. We talked about asking John Phillips to check into the legitimacy of this practice, just to verify that Thies has interpreted the law. Motes said that it is an expectation that building principals will meet monthly with Association reps, and we should be taking advantage of that opportunity.

President’s Report (Barb Motes)
• Budget: It is in cyberspace. We are basing a budget on 160+ members at $34 dues per member. With the idea of doing four dinners, one for each building, we will go over budget. Motes also raised the idea of prorating the “appreciation” money for members per building.
• Dinners: The nights are Oct. 13, Nov. 10, Jan. 12, and Feb. 9. Kreger is leading the high school group for Oct. 13. In October, the dinner will be at Riverside Grill. The goal is to get a varied group of members invited to the dinners, so we can benefit from a variety of viewpoints.
• Towne moved that each building be given $7.50 per member for celebration of appreciation weeks so the individual buildings have the permission to spend up to their amount without further voting, and Dorsey seconded it. T. McLaughlin said that we really need to also do some things to be visible (packets, banners, etc.) during those weeks. The motion passed.
• Meeting with Schweer: Motes asked about the early dismissal days, and Schweer said that they are not mandated by the State, they are not funded by the State, and those days do not have to follow IPDM. In terms of the planning of those professional development days, those are supposed to be determined by the teachers within the buildings. That is according to Schweer. T. McLaughlin said that Schweer has a clear vision of how district leadership relates to building leadership and to content areas. However, that vision doesn’t seem as clear to the rest of us.
• T. McLaughlin shared information about IPERS. The thirteenth check might disappear because the fund is exhausting itself.
• T. McLaughlin also shared some concerns about the way complaints against teachers are handled. He will send out a packet of info on policies and forms related to this issue.

Committee Reports
• Membership (Kim McLaughlin): The current total of our membership is 163 now that Ashley Wilson’s form has been located.
• Negotiations (Beth Frank): The Board needs to give the team authority to bargain. T. McLaughlin made the motion, Towne seconded it, and the motion passed. Bargaining training will take place in Frank’s room on Tuesday, Oct. 13. There is also an ISEA Bargaining Conference in Des Moines. Surveys are coming for our membership to fill out in order to give the negotiations team some direction.

Old Business
• T-shirt order:
• Building meetings with principals: See above.
• Dinners with members: See above.

Adjournment:
• Argotsinger moved that the meeting be adjourned, Towne seconded it, and the meeting adjourned at 5:25.

LCEA Executive Board Meeting Minutes 09/10/2009

LCEA September Meeting Minutes
Date: 09/10/2009
Place: High School—Room 403
Time: 4:15

Roll Call: Barb Motes, Kim McLaughlin, Jennifer Doorlag, Dave Bergman, Tom McLaughlin HS Reps: Allison Towne (absent), Brian Johnson (absent), Ruth Kreger (absent), Sharon Crawley (absent)
MS Reps: Margot Argotsinger, Beth Frank, Al Lorenz, Dot Sillau
TH Reps: Lisa Scieszinski, Joanna Stenlund, Kathy Dorsey (absent), Farah Guetter (absent)
Kreft Reps: LoriAnn Brougham (absent), Lee Dwyer (absent), Angie Tucker (absent)

Approval of Agenda (Barb Motes)
• One addition to the agenda was made by Beth Frank.

Secretary’s Report (Kim McLaughlin)
• No corrections were made to the May minutes.

Treasurer’s Report (Jen Doorlag)
• We have still not been billed for the substitutes used for the Delegate Assembly on April 2-3, 2009.
• Doorlag will add a new line on the treasurer’s report that will account for the new teacher incentive money for which we are reimbursed by ISEA.

Building Reports
• Kreft: No report.
• Titan Hill: So far, so good.  Class sizes are very large, though.
• Middle school: Kids have been told that they will not move on if they fail their classes. They’re getting immediate feedback for disciplinary issues.
• High school: We have had a good start to the year.

President’s Report (Barb Motes)
• Budget: Motes shared a proposed budget that we looked over.
• Public relation funds per building: Motes suggested that giving the same amount of money to each building may not be fair since some buildings have many more teachers. She wants the executive board to think about that issue.

Committee Reports
• Membership: K. McLaughlin shared an updated list of members. The official number is 162 as of this date.
• Yearly activities:
• TQC and Phase II: The total of the TQC is $1,029,371.12. Phase II is $208,966.88. The grand total is $1,238,338.00. Final distribution numbers for individual teachers has not been figured out yet. Frank should be receiving information from the ERC soon.
• Hospitality: Please email Beth Frank with information about deaths, births, etc.
• Negotiations: There is training in October (10/17/09) and November. A survey will be coming in a month or so.

Old Business
• T-shirts: The Booster Club is working on their website, so Motes is trying to contact them with the order.

New Business
• Livingston was elected to the Board of Directors. He has ties to education, and he should be good to work with.
• Motes will contact Doreen Scheffel about a possible dinner with Board members.

Adjournment:
• The meeting adjourned at 5:14.

LCEA Executive Board Meeting Minutes 10/16/2008

Place: Middle School Library
Time: 4:15

CLICK HERE for a Word version of the LCEA Executive Board Meeting Minutes from October 16, 2008.

Roll Call: Dave Bergman, Kim Muta, Jennifer Doorlag, Sharon Crawley, Barb Motes (absent)
HS Reps: Tom McLaughlin (absent), Allison Towne, Brian Johnson (absent), Ruth Kreger
MS Reps: Margot Argotsinger, Beth Frank (absent), Al Lorenz
TH Reps: Susan Drustrup, Lisa Scieszinski, Jennifer Stroup (absent), Joanna Stenlund
Kreft Reps: LoriAnn Brougham (absent), Mary Broughton, Lee Dwyer

Approval of Agenda (Dave Bergman)
• Susan Drustrup moved that the agenda be approved, Ruth Kreger seconded it, and the motion passed.

Secretary’s Report (Kim Muta)
• Kim Muta forgot to bring copies of the September minutes for approval.

Treasurer’s Report (Jen Doorlag)
• We have an audit team ready to begin: Cheryl Casey, Kathie Lincoln, Ann Logan.
• The $700 from ISEA is for the new teachers/new members--$100 cash back.
• We are thinking about switching banks since the current bank is no longer affiliated with ISEA. We would like a bank that is more accessible.
• Allison Towne moved that the report be approved, Sharon Crawley seconded it, and the motion passed with one abstention.

President’s Report (Dave Bergman)
• There was no September meeting because of conflicting schedules. Dave Bergman and Barb Motes will meet with him next week. There is a list of discussion items for that meeting, some from the list for last month’s meeting.

Negotiations: (Beth Frank)
• Please gather the blue sheets at your building and get them to Beth Frank. Please note specific concerns in addition to ranking items.
• There are training sessions for negotiations, provided by ISEA.
• Approval of letter granting the team the power to negotiate for us: Sharon Crawley moved that the team be approved as such, Allison Towne seconded it, and the motion passed.

Building Reports
• High School: Sharon Crawley and Dave Bergman talked about the literacy cadre beginning to meet with AEA reps and administration.
• Middle School: Al Lorenz talked about having met with Sean Dunphy and the air quality, and were assured that there would be a reading taken soon. Sean Dunphy also said that he would raise the issue with the school board. There was also a discussion about needing more associates for special education, and the response is to move students around.
• Titan Hill: The problem with the requested lesson plans is raising its head again. Genie Wickham and Kent Stopak said that it is mandatory, and the lesson plans have to be in a particular format. The format is not one that has been used in the past. We thought that it had been taken care of, but it apparently has not. The fourth grade classes are at 28-29, and there are not enough materials. One class has no social studies textbooks at all. Kent Stopak has refused to purchase more textbooks. Teachers are being required to teach sections of Title 1 reading. There is a question about whether the teachers are certified to teach this. There are also special education teachers who are volunteering to work during their duty-free lunch in order to accommodate the scheduling of this Title 1 reading.
• Kreft: No report.

Old Business:
• Title 1 issue at the elementary: See the Titan Hill report above.
• Middle school mold: Since Al Lorenz went through the chain of command about this, so it should now be raised in the monthly meeting with the superintendent.
• Key chains for members’ birthdays: These are ordered.
• Special education associate: See the middle school report.

New Business:
• TQC representatives needed—We need to fill two spots, and we need a new co-chair.
• Chain of command—There is a question about chain of command within the buildings. Kreft has a posted list, but there are questions about it.

Adjournment:
• Sharon Crawley moved that the meeting be adjourned, Mary Broughton seconded it, and the meeting adjourned at 5:05. Al Lorenz did vote nay, however.

LCEA Executive Board Meeting Minutes 9/11/2008

Place: High School Room 403
Time: 4:15

CLICK HERE for a Word version of the LCEA Executive Board Meeting Minutes from September 11, 2008.

Roll Call: Dave Bergman, Kim Muta, Jennifer Doorlag, Sharon Crawley (absent), Barb Motes
HS Reps: Tom McLaughlin (absent), Allison Towne (absent), Brian Johnson (absent), Ruth Kreger
MS Reps: Margot Argotsinger, Beth Frank, Al Lorenz
TH Reps: Susan Drustrup, Lisa Scieszinski, Jennifer Stroup, Joanna Stenlund
Kreft Reps: LoriAnn Brougham (absent), Mary Broughton, Lee Dwyer (absent)

Approval of Agenda (Dave Bergman)
• Joanna Stenlund moved that the agenda be approved, Beth Frank seconded it, and the motion passed.

Secretary’s Report (Kim Muta)
• Susan Drustrup moved that the minutes from the August meeting be approved, Mary Broughton seconded it, and the motion passed.

Treasurer’s Report (Jen Doorlag)
• Al Lorenz moved that the report be approved, Beth Frank seconded it, and the motion passed with one abstention.

President’s Report (Dave Bergman)
• First of the monthly meetings will be next week. Please forward issues to Dave Bergman. (Remember to follow the chain of command. Resolve it at the building level first.) He intends to discuss the Board’s representation at the arbitration meeting.

Negotiations: (Beth Frank)
• TQ money and Phase II money: It will be paid in eleven installments, beginning in October. (This year it will run from October through August.)
• Beth Frank has met with the new business manager, and they have worked through spreadsheets and such to be sure everyone is getting what they should.
• Beth Frank has made a copy of the salary schedule and the TQ/Phase II amounts.

Building Reports
• High School: We’re trying to create a pyramid of interventions for the kids who aren’t turning in homework.
• Middle School: Two questions. One is about the air quality in the auditorium and performing arts wing. Al Lorenz asked where the question should be raised: building principals or superintendent. Dave Bergman said he would ask Dr. Schweer. The second question is about the shortage of special education associates, and Dave Bergman asked Al Lorenz to raise that question with the building principal first.
• Titan Hill: The new law about not charging fees for field trips, and it is having an impact. There is also an issue with the special education teachers being told they will take on sections of Title I reading classes. There are questions about the funding streams and endorsements. Finally, the fourth grade classes are overly full—28 or 29 kids per class. There is great concern about the impact of these class sizes on the high-stakes test scores.
• Kreft: They will be meeting with Barb Grell sometime soon. There are only two bathrooms for 600+ kids.

Old Business:
• Membership dues: In August, Tom McLaughlin moved that we raise the 2008-2009 dues to $32, with the intention of raising dues by $2 each year for five years pending yearly Board approval. Loriann Brougham seconded it. The motion passed with one abstention.
• Key chains for members’ birthdays: Barb Motes is waiting for a sale on them that she thinks is probably coming.
• Arbitration meeting: Dave Bergman talked about the lack of professionalism shown by some Board of Directors and the legal representation. He will be raising the issue with Mark Schweer at a future meeting.

New Business:
• Thank you note to Chris Bern: Please send Dave Bergman any anecdotal thanks regarding his visit to LC. Dave Bergman will put together a thank you note for him.
• Super Rep envelope: Beth Frank pointed out the contents of the packet we received from ISEA, including warnings about distributing political information, the five-star local program, etc. She highlighted the response from NEA members to Iowa’s summer weather catastrophes. There is a fund, and members can apply for funds to replace school supplies and such. Finally, Kim Muta will forward future local leader meeting notices to the Executive Board.

Adjournment:
• Barb Motes moved that the meeting be adjourned, Jennifer Stroup seconded it, and the meeting adjourned at 5:15.

LCEA Executive Board Meeting Minutes 8/13/2008

Place: High School Room 403
Time: 2:00

CLICK HERE for a Word version of the LCEA Executive Board Meeting Minutes from August 13, 2008.

Roll Call: Dave Bergman, Kim Muta, Jennifer Doorlag, Sharon Crawley (absent), Barb Motes
HS Reps: Tom McLaughlin, Allison Towne, Brian Johnson (absent), Ruth Kreger (absent)
MS Reps: Margot Argotsinger, Beth Frank (absent), Al Lorenz
TH Reps: Susan Drustrup, Lisa Scieszinski, Jennifer Stroup (absent), Joanna Stenlund (absent)
Kreft Reps: LoriAnn Brougham, Mary Broughton (absent), Lee Dwyer

Approval of Agenda: Dave Bergman
• Tom McLaughlin moved that the agenda be approved, Susan Drustrup seconded the motion, and it passed.

New Business:
• Membership dues—Jennifer Doorlag shared a treasurer’s report. We talked about whether and how much to raise LCEA dues. Tom McLaughlin moved that we raise the 2008-2009 dues to $32, with the intention of raising dues by $2 each year for five years pending yearly Board approval. Loriann Brougham seconded it. The motion passed with one abstention.
• Membership materials—Kim Muta explained the materials and the procedure for handling membership before the Aug. 14 district meeting.
• Tom McLaughlin asked about a door prize. Barb Motes moved that we have two $25 gas cards to give away at the district meeting. Susan Drustrup seconded it, and the motion passed.
• Tom McLaughlin talked about having a voter registration/absentee ballot table at the district meeting.
• Tom McLaughlin explained the Teachers for Gronstal organization. There is an event at Barley’s on Sept. 26.
• Jobs: Loriann Brougham has the Kreft box, Lisa Scieszinski and Susan Drustrup have the Titan Hill box, Margie Argotsinger has the Middle School box, Allison Towne has the High School box, Kim Muta has the new teacher box (and she will collect T-shirt sizes), Tom McLaughlin will get information about Exec. Board shirts, and he will handle the voter registration/absentee ballot table. Lee Dwyer will do the tickets.
• Barb Motes asked whether she could get key chains for members’ birthdays. Kim Muta moved that she do that, Allison Towne seconded it, and the motion passed.
• Al Lorenz raised the issue of the professionalism (or lack thereof) at the arbitration meeting.

Adjournment
Allison Towne moved that the meeting be adjourned, Susan Drustrup seconded the motion, and the meeting adjourned at 3:05.

LCEA Emergency Executive Board Emergency Meeting Minutes May 21, 2008

LCEA Emergency Meeting Minutes—New Executive Board
Date: 5/21/2008
Place: Middle School—Beth Frank’s classroom
Time: 4:10 * Unofficial Minutes * Do Not Post

Roll Call: Dave Bergman, Kim Muta, Jennifer Doorlag, Sharon Crawley (absent), Barb Motes
HS Reps: Tom McLaughlin, Allison Towne, Brian Johnson (absent), Ruth Kreger (absent)
MS Reps: Margot Argotsinger, Beth Frank, Al Lorenz
TH Reps: Susan Drustrup, Lisa Gundlach, Jennifer Hake, Joanna Stenlund
Kreft Reps: LoriAnn Brougham (absent), Mary Broughton (absent), Lee Parkison (absent)
Substitutes: Ashley Shipp, Melinn Ruzicka, Kathy Moe, Tara York

The only agenda item was to decide whether LCEA should accept the District’s Board of Directors offer of $900 added to the base or go to arbitration.

Tom McLaughlin moved that LCEA go to arbitration. Allison Towne seconded the motion. Tom McLaughlin asked for a roll call vote:
• Dave Bergman: nay
• Kim Muta: yea
• Jennifer Doorlag: nay
• Barb Motes: nay
• Tom McLaughlin: yea
• Allison Towne: yea
• Margot Argotsinger: yea
• Beth Frank: nay
• Al Lorenz: yea
• Susan Drustrup: yea
• Lisa Gundlach: yea
• Jennifer Hake: yea
• Joanna Stenlund: yea
• Ashley Shipp: yea
• Melinn Ruzicka: nay
• Kathy Moe: nay
• Tara York: yea
Totals:
Yea = 11
Nay = 6

The motion to go to arbitration passed. Beth Frank reminded the Executive Board to pass the word that members need to attend the arbitration hearing. It is set for Wednesday, May 28, 2008, at 4:00 in the high school multi-purpose room. She also suggested that someone bring treats for this meeting, and Kim Muta agreed to do that.

Adjournment—The meeting adjourned at approximately 4:20.

LCEA Emergency Executive Board Meeting Minutes May 19, 2008

LCEA Emergency Meeting Minutes—New Executive Board Date: 5/19/2008 Place: Middle School—Beth Frank’s classroom Time: 4:15 * Unofficial Minutes * Not to be Posted

Roll Call: Dave Bergman*, Kim Muta, Jennifer Doorlag, Sharon Crawley (absent), Barb Motes (absent)
HS Reps: Tom McLaughlin, Allison Towne (absent), Brian Johnson (absent), Ruth Kreger (absent)
MS Reps: Margot Argotsinger, Beth Frank*, Al Lorenz
TH Reps: Susan Drustrup*, Lisa Gundlach (absent), Jennifer Hake (absent), Joanna Stenlund
Kreft Reps: LoriAnn Brougham*, Mary Broughton (absent), Lee Parkison (absent)
Guests: Ashley Shipp*, John Phillips (SWUU Uniserv Director), Pat Shipley (SWUU Uniserv Director)

The only agenda item was to decide whether LCEA should accept the District’s Board of Directors offer of $900 added to the base or go to arbitration.

The members of the negotiations team who were present at the meeting are identified with an asterisk above.

John Phillips explained the procedures involved in arbitration, and he shared an overview of the presentation he would make to the arbitrator should we indeed go to arbitration.

Tom McLaughlin moved that the decision be tabled until building representatives could gather feedback from the membership. Tara York seconded the motion, and it passed. There was one “nay” vote.

Beth Frank created a document to be shared with the membership to explain the situation and the options. See below:

Attention LCEA Members
After an emergency meeting to discuss the pros and cons of arbitration, the LCEA executive board has decided to gather more information from the members.
The choices we have are the following:

A) Accept $900 on the base increase.
a. proposed by the district at mediation (our offer was $1000 at the start of mediation, $950 at the end of mediation, $925 as a post mediation offer on May 5th, $915 compromise proposal made by PERB(Public Employee Relations Board) in an attempt to settle the contract - rejected by the board)
B) Proceed to arbitration at $950 base increase - LCEA proposal
a. At arbitration the arbitrator has 2 choices - Be aware that the arbitrator can only choose one of these two choices - not in between.
i. $950 LCEA
ii. $850 Board proposal.

If arbitration is picked it is imperative that all members be in attendance. Hearing is set for 4:00 pm at the Middle School Library.

Feedback is necessary by Wednesday, as we will be meeting after school to make a final decision. Any confusion or questions please contact your representative.

Adjournment—The meeting adjourned at approximately 5:20 PM.

LCEA Executive Board Meeting Minutes May 15, 2008

LCEA Meeting Minutes
UNOFFICIAL MINUTES TO BE APPROVED
Date: 5/15/2008
Place: High School Room 403
Time: 4:15

Roll Call: Sharon Crawley, Kim Muta, Jennifer Doorlag, Maggie Bennett (absent), Dave Bergman
HS Reps: Tom McLaughlin, Allison Towne, Brian Johnson (absent), Christina Woodward (absent)
MS Reps: Margot Argotsinger, Beth Frank, Al Lorenz, Barb Motes (absent)
TH Reps: Susan Drustrup, Maggie Miller (Lisa Gundlach subbing), Jennifer Hake (absent), Joanna Stenlund
Kreft Reps: Kathy Moe, Melinn Ruzicka, Tara York

Approval of Agenda: Sharon Crawley
• Beth Frank moved that the agenda be approved with the addition of Nancy Haigh, Dave Bergman seconded the motion and it passed.

Nancy Haigh from Valuebuilders

Secretary’s Report/ Approval of Minutes: Kim Muta
• Dave Bergman moved that the April minutes be approved, Allison Towne seconded it, and the motion passed.

Treasurer’s Report: Jennifer Doorlag
• The spreadsheet is up to date. Susan has some receipts to turn in, yet. Tom McLaughlin needs to turn in the dinner receipt from Delegate Assembly.
• Allison Towne moved that we accept the treasurer’s report, Dave Bergman seconded it, and the motion passed
• Allison Towne moved that the officers be given authority to decide the 2007-2008 budget, Joanna Stenlund seconded it, and the motion passed.
• Allison Towne moved that we buy teachers for new teachers again in August, Tom McLaughlin seconded it, and the motion passed.
• Beth Frank moved that we purchase plaques for Teacher of the Year, Allison Towne seconded it, and the motion passed.
• Tom McLaughlin moved that we purchase and present a gavel to Sharon Crawley for her service as President, Kathy Moe seconded it, and the motion passed.

Negotiations: Beth Frank
• The District said no to $950 and then to $925. John Phillips got PERB involved and there is a tentative agreement of $915 added to the base. That would be a 5.89% package.
• Next year, we should be getting Phase II and TQ money spread out equally over twelve months.
• The new language: add grandchildren to family leave, distribution of TQ money, signature clause was changed to reflect the change in LCEA leadership, addition of Special Olympics supplemental position.
• Dave Bergman moved that we accept the $915 to the base, Tom McLaughlin seconded the motion, and it passed.
• Beth Frank handed out ballots to give to the membership, and those need to be distributed and returned by the end of the day tomorrow, May 16.

TQC: Barb Motes/Kim Muta/Al Lorenz/Tom McLaughlin
• We shared the discussion of the two staff development days and the discussion of the market factor pay being discontinued. All minutes for those meetings are on the LCEA blog site.

President’s Report: Sharon Crawley
• There is nothing to report today.

Committee Reports:
• High School: We have a Nelson Award winner, and the person will be honored at the awards ceremony on Monday, May 19. Dave Bergman talked about the new District Leadership Team (DLT). The Task Force has been disbanded, but there isn’t clear direction about what form the DLT would take. There is discussion about compensation, which, of course, would be an issue since the positions were not posted. There are several other issues involved—the DLT usurping the role of the TQC, the inclusion of non-members on a committee making decisions about professional development, compensation of instructional strategists, the elimination of summer curriculum writing, etc.
• Middle School: Things are normal for this time of year.
• Kreft: Nothing to report.
• Titan Hill: The visit by Linda Nelson went very well. Pictures are on the blog.

Old Business:
• ISEA President, Linda Nelson, will be visiting our unit April 22-23-24. See Titan Hill’s report.

New Business:
• Buildings: Teacher of the Year: Susan Drustrup for Titan Hill, Phyllis Hamling for the middle school, and the other two buildings aren’t sure yet.
• Retirees: Phyllis Hamling’s picture is done, and she’s finishing up Jan Pellant’s. We’ll get frames for them, and they’ll be presented at the last meeting for their buildings or at their retirement parties.
• Scholarship winner (awarded by Dave Bergman): Kristen Schweer.

Adjournment
• Allison Towne moved that we adjourn, Melinn Ruzicka seconded it, and the meeting adjourned at 5:30.

CLICK HERE for a WORD version of the LCEA Unofficial Meeting Minutes 05.15.08

LCEA Executive Board Meeting Minutes April 10, 2008

LCEA Meeting Minutes Date: 4/10/2008 Place: Kreft Room 20 Time: 4:15

Roll Call: Sharon Crawley, Kim Muta, Jennifer Doorlag, Maggie Bennett (absent), Dave Bergman
HS Reps: Tom McLaughlin (absent), Allison Towne, Brian Johnson (absent), Christina Woodward (absent)
MS Reps: Margot Argotsinger, Beth Frank, Al Lorenz, Barb Motes
TH Reps: Susan Drustrup, Maggie Miller (absent), Jennifer Hake (absent), Joanna Stenlund (absent)
Kreft Reps: Kathy Moe, Melinn Ruzicka, Tara York (absent—LoriAnn Brogham subbing in for her)

Approval of Agenda: Sharon Crawley
• Dave Bergman moved that the agenda be approved, Allison Towne seconded it, and the motion passed.

Secretary’s Report/ Approval of Minutes: Kim Muta
• Dave Bergman moved that the minutes be approved, Allison Towne seconded it, and the motion passed.

Treasurer’s Report: Jennifer Doorlag
• There is no print out right now. Jennifer Doorlag said that we are taking in less money than we have budgeted for. We should be more careful about setting next year’s budget. We haven’t looked carefully at the budget for a couple of years.
• Barb Motes moves that Jennifer Doorlag be given permission to get into savings to adjust for this year, Allison Towne seconded the motion, and it passed.

Negotiations: Beth Frank
• Beth Frank reported the last positions taken. Grandchildren have been added into the language for family leave. The TQC money will be distributed thusly: $2500 to each person and then their percentage from the remaining money.
• The Board’s last position on salary was to add $900 to the base. LCEA’s last position was to add $1000. Beth Frank needs to know what the LCEA Board wants her to do. The consensus seems to be to suggest splitting the difference ($950) and avoid arbitration.
• Arbitration is set for May 9 or 12.

TQC: Barb Motes
• Barb Motes said that we are still discussing the model evidence for portfolios. She will suggest at the next meeting that model evidence documents for the “specials” be distributed at a staff development so the people in the “specials” could give some feedback.

President’s Report: Sharon Crawley
• ISEA President, Linda Nelson, will be visiting our unit April 22-23-24. Titan Hill wants to have her come in during the morning on Apr. 23. They would like to do a breakfast for her.

Committee Reports:
• High School: Nothing to report.
• Middle School: They would like to be a part of the hiring of new staff. They will raise the issue with their building principals first. Another issue is about contract and rights. We should revisit our contract to make sure that due process looks very clear to avoid future problems.
• Kreft: They have been told to be packed by May 30, but the staff work day is June 2, and they will have to be doing grades at the same time. Kim Muta said that it’s time for Mark Schweer to be brought into the conversation because this has happened every year since construction started in the district. They have also had some break-ins lately—Monday night.
• Titan Hill: The above issue might be true of Titan Hill.

Old Business:
• Committees for: Retirees, Scholarships, etc. Curt Mace has been contacted. Sharon Crawley will bring the completed applications to the committee members. Phyllis Hamling and Jan Pellant are the two retirees. Kari Lewis will be approached about doing the sketches for them.

New Business:
• Budget—This will need to be approved during the May meeting for the incoming Executive Board.
• Teacher of the Year—Each building should nominate its own person (or persons), and the building reps should take care of balloting and voting.

Adjournment:
• Allison Towne moved that the meeting be adjourned, Melinn Ruzicka seconded the motion, and it passed. The meeting adjourned at 5:10.

CLICK HERE for a WORD version of LCEA Meeting Minutes 04.10.08

LCEA Executive Board Meeting Minutes March 13, 2008

LCEA Meeting Minutes Date: 3/13/2008 Place: Titan Hill Time: 4:15

Roll Call: Sharon Crawley, Kim Muta, Jennifer Doorlag, Maggie Bennett, Dave Bergman (absent)
HS Reps: Tom McLaughlin (absent), Allison Towne, Brian Johnson (absent), Christina Woodward (absent)
MS Reps: Margot Argotsinger, Beth Frank (absent), Al Lorenz, Barb Motes (absent)
TH Reps: Susan Drustrup, Maggie Miller, Jennifer Hake, Joanna Stenlund
Kreft Reps: Kathy Moe, Melinn Ruzicka (absent), Tara York (absent)

Approval of Agenda: Sharon Crawley
• Al Lorenz moved that the agenda be approved, Maggie Miller seconded the motion, and it passed.

Secretary’s Report/ Approval of Minutes: Kim Muta
• Al Lorenz moved that the February minutes be approved, Jennifer Hake seconded it, and the motion passed.

Treasurer’s Report: Jennifer Doorlag
• Jennifer Doorlag would like to see our budget. It is somewhere (voted on last spring). Kim Muta will look for a copy.
• Joanna Stenlund moved that the treasurer’s report be approved, Allison Towne seconded it, and the motion approved.

Negotiations: Beth Frank/Susan Drustrup
• Beth Frank sent out an email summarizing the mediation.
• Susan Drustrup said that the bulk of the conversation was about the distribution of the TQC money. The next meeting is March 27.

TQC: Barb Motes/Kim Muta
• Kim Muta said that the committee is working on the “monitoring evaluation” part of their job.

President’s Report: Sharon Crawley
• Mark Schweer asked Sharon Crawley and Dave Bergman about the attendance at the end-of-the-year banquet. We discussed reasons—like the timing of the year, the place (do it off campus), the length of the event, etc.
• Mark Schweer also discussed the Fireside Chats. He wondered if having a suggestion box for staff to drop questions/concerns into would be a good way to create agendas for future “chats.”
• He also shared that each building principal has been charged to create a promotional video to be posted on the web page.

Committee Reports:
• High School: Just finished ITEDs. NHS is doing a “Pennies for Patients” program. It is specifically for juvenile leukemia.
• Middle School: In the middle of ITBS
• Kreft: Piloting NWEA
• Titan Hill: In the middle of ITBS. Read Across America went very well.

Old Business:
• Election results--Kim Muta shared the results with the Executive Board. (See attached.)
• Committees for: Retirees, Scholarships, etc.
• Retirees—We’ll approach Kari Lewis to do pictures for Phyllis Hamling and Jan Pellant.
• Scholarships—Roxanne Wiles, Allison Towne, Susan Drustrup, Maggie Bennett, and Jennifer Hake will be on the committee.

New Business:
•Destruction of ballots: Allison Towne moved that the ballots be destroyed, Margie Argotsinger seconded the motion, and it passed.

Adjournment:
• Allison Towne moved that the meeting be adjourned, Susan Drustrup seconded it, and the motion passed.

CLICK HERE for a WORD version of LCEA Meeting Minutes 03.13.08

LCEA Executive Board Minutes February 21, 2008

LCEA Meeting Minutes
Date: 2/21/2008
Place: Middle school library
Time: 4:15

Roll Call: Sharon Crawley, Kim Muta, Jennifer Doorlag (absent), Maggie Bennett (absent), Dave Bergman
HS Reps: Tom McLaughlin (absent), Allison Towne (absent), Brian Johnson (absent), Christina Woodward (absent)
MS Reps: Margot Argotsinger (absent), Beth Frank, Al Lorenz, Barb Motes, Marlys Frowein (subbing for Margie Argotsinger)
TH Reps: Susan Drustrup, Maggie Miller, Jennifer Hake, Joanna Stenlund
Kreft Reps: Kathy Moe (absent), Melinn Ruzicka (absent), Tara York (absent)

Approval of Agenda: Sharon Crawley
• Changes: adding delegate assembly to old business.
• Dave Bergman moved that the agenda be approved with the addition to old business, Susan Drustrup seconded it, and the motion passed.

Secretary’s Report/ Approval of Minutes: Kim Muta
• Dave Bergman moved that the minutes be approved, Susan Drustrup seconded it, and the motion passed.

Treasurer’s Report: Jennifer Doorlag
• One question: Are the bags paid for?
• Beth Frank moved that the report be approved, Jennifer Hake seconded it, and the motion passed.

Negotiations: Beth Frank
• There’s one bit of language on each side to settle (staff reduction and added position of Special Olympics). There is a larger difference in wages and salary.
• Grandchildren are added to family emergency leave. In exchange, we did not get an additional personal day, nor a retirement package.
• Insurance did not go up as much as anticipated.
• Mediation (open meeting) is on March 10.

TQC: Barb Motes/Al Lorenz
• We’re looking at the evaluation procedures, with three subcommittees: procedures, model evidence for “specials,” and model evidence for general classroom teachers.

President’s Report: Sharon Crawley
• There have been some random questions lately, a lot of “what ifs.”




Committee Reports:
• High School: Christina Woodward and Allison Towne talked to Mr. Story about PowerSchool and use of it to register students. They also met about the weight of final exams because of the change from 20% to 10%.
• Middle School: There are kids who can access porn even though ERC says that can’t happen. It is happening; students have been caught with porn on the computer. It’s hard to tell where the problem is.
• Kreft: No report.
• Titan Hill: Susan Drustrup received an email with a couple of questions: attendance at Feb. 14 and 15, and make up of the early dismissal day. Good news: There are blinds and clocks in the rooms at Titan Hill. The ELL conference in Des Moines again included a snow day, so there is a question about how those people might be compensated.

Old Business:
• Elections: Names for ballots. We need names on the ballot—by February 29. Email names to Kim Muta.
o Joanna Stenlund, Jennifer Hake, Lisa Gundlach, Maggie Bennett for Titan Hill
o Kim Muta will stay on the ballot for secretary, and Tom McLaughlin will stay on for building rep.
• Delegate assembly—April 3 and 4 in Ames. We haven’t had an elementary teacher there. We need to get them on the ballot.

New Business:
• Committees for retirees, scholarships, etc. We also need to do Teacher of the Year.
• Retirees: Phyllis Hamling and Jan Pellant will be retiring.

Adjournment:
• Marlys Frowein moved that the meeting be adjourned, Joanna Stenlund seconded it, and the meeting adjourned at 5:10.

CLICK HERE for a WORD version of LCEA Meeting Minutes 02.21.08

LCEA Executive Board Meeting Minutes January 10, 2008

LCEA Meeting Minutes
Date: 1/10/2008
Place: High School Room 403
Time: 4:15

Roll Call: Sharon Crawley, Kim Muta, Jennifer Doorlag (absent), Maggie Bennett (absent), Dave Bergman (absent)
HS Reps: Tom McLaughlin, Allison Towne, Brian Johnson (absent), Christina Woodward (absent)
MS Reps: Margot Argotsinger, Beth Frank, Al Lorenz, Barb Motes
TH Reps: Susan Drustrup, Maggie Miller, Jennifer Hake, Joanna Stenlund
Kreft Reps: Kathy Moe, Melinn Ruzicka, Tara York (absent)

Approval of Agenda: Sharon Crawley
• Al Lorenz moved that the agenda be approved, Susan Drustrup seconded it, and the motion passed with two nays—Tom McLaughlin and Al Lorenz.

Secretary’s Report/ Approval of Minutes: Kim Muta
• Beth Frank moved that the December minutes be approved (with one typo corrected), Allison Towne seconded it, and the motion passed.

Treasurer’s Report: Jen Doorlag
• Barb Motes has invoices from the bags that were given to members.
• Beth Frank moved that the report be approved, Barb Motes seconded it, and the motion passed.

Negotiations: Beth Frank
• There isn’t much new since the January meeting is after this meeting. Impasse papers will be filed soon, just in case we have to go to mediation.

TQC: Barb Motes
• We met last night and talked a lot about people who are at contractual obligations during the two staff development days. We tried to pass a motion that they could get the training and get at least some of the payment. That motion failed to pass.
• We started discussing the evaluation procedures, looking at the Univ. of Iowa website, which has an electronic portfolio and lists of possible data points.

President’s Report: Sharon Crawley
• There is nothing to report.

Committee Reports:
• High School: We have received the crisis plans (as have other buildings), and there are some questions. For example, a student threatening suicide is supposed to be interviewed by faculty members who decide whether to report it. Another issue is that the language arts people are being asked to rewrite curriculum, even though we did only two years ago. Sharon Crawley will raise this with Mark Schweer.
• Middle School: Nothing to report.
• Kreft: Nothing to report.
• Titan Hill: Members talked to Kent Stopak about the day that power and communication was lost. After much discussion, he agreed to put together the committee to make some procedural decisions for handling such situations. There is an ongoing problem with the new wing—actually there are problems. All of these have been brought to the administrators’ attention. One good thing—it has been approved for them to have another special education teacher.

Old Business:
• Reps setting up monthly meetings with individual building principals—Please do this. If there are issues that do not receive attention despite attempts on our part, we need to document and pass it on to Sharon Crawley so she can raise the issues with Mark Schweer.
• Ten minute meetings with members—Nothing about this.
• Attendance to a board meeting—Please attend the meeting you have signed up for.
• Public Relations: Committees for Education weeks, National Teacher Day, Reading Across America, Retirees, etc.—Sharon Crawley has passed Read Across America information on to Kreft and Titan Hill.

New Business:
• Beth Frank raised the issue of elections. We need to have the election for executive board members and building reps in March. We need names for the ballot during the next meeting—February 21.

Adjournment
Allison Towne moved that the meeting be adjourned, Al Lorenz seconded the motion, and the meeting adjourned at 5:00.

CLICK HERE for a WORD version of LCEA Meeting Minutes.01.10.08

LCEA Execuitve Board Meeting Minutes December 13, 2007

LCEA Executive Board Meeting
Date: 12/13/2007
Place: Kreft in Room 11
Time: 4:15

Roll Call: Sharon Crawley, Kim Muta, Jennifer Doorlag (absent), Maggie Bennett, Dave Bergman
HS Reps: Tom McLaughlin (hospitalized), Allison Towne, Brian Johnson (absent), Christina Woodward (absent)
MS Reps: Margot Argotsinger, Beth Frank, Al Lorenz, Barb Motes
TH Reps: Susan Drustrup (Janet Zuehlke), Maggie Miller, Jennifer Hake
Kreft Reps: Kathy Moe (sub—Michelle Schaeffer), Melinn Ruzicka, Tara York

Approval of Agenda:
• Dave Bergman moved that the agenda be approved, Kim Muta seconded, and the motion passed.

Secretary’s Report/ Approval of Minutes: Kim Muta
• Allison Towne moved that the November minutes be approved, Dave Bergman seconded, and the motion passed.

Treasurer’s Report: Jennifer Doorlag
• Sharon Crawley has a couple of receipts from approved spending. Receipts from Teacher Appreciation Week should be turned in for reimbursement.

Negotiations: Beth Frank
• Beth Frank explained our initial proposal and the Board’s initial proposal (see attached).
• Beth Frank also gave us copies of the survey results (see attached).
• The next meeting is January 10, 2008.
• Sharon Crawley suggested again that we need to get a committee together to explore insurance issues. This committee would not, of course, be part of the negotiation committee.

TQC: Barb Motes
• During the last meeting, we discussed the market factor money. (This was explained also during the November meeting—see those minutes.)
• Side note: Remind colleagues to fill out paperwork for classes that they want to use to move over on the pay scale.
• Our next tasks are to look at the evaluation system and to evaluate the professional development.

President’s Report: Sharon Crawley
• Sharon Crawley got a question sent about principals being out of the building and the chain of command. She emailed the principals about that issue. Barb Grell replied and explained that they all have mobile phones by which they can be reached. Kent Stopak addressed the issue with his staff, and said that they should contact the office as they would if he were there. Chuck Story saw Sharon Crawley about the issue, and explained that they inform the faculty about absent administration and we always have Richard for security problems.
• Another issue that has been raised about sick leave for parents when children are sick. Beth Frank addressed this, as it was a negotiated language change in the contract a few years ago.
• February 14 and 15: We cannot use sick leave for these days because they are not part of our contracted number of days for this school year. We are expected to be there, and we will be paid per diem for them. If we are not there, we will not be paid. (These are not Phase III days—Phase III no longer exists.) Sharon Crawley read the memo drafted by Tom McLaughlin about this issue. We will be paid for those days in our March pay checks, noted as an extra line.
• Sharon Crawley also received multiple phone calls about not receiving our pay deposits on the first of the month in November (which fall on a Saturday). Dave Bergman talked to Dr. Schweer about this. The money is released to the District’s bank, but it’s being released by some banks later than others. People with automatic payments should schedule those automatic payments later in the month.

Committee Reports:
• High School: Staff members were stuck in Des Moines at a conference on a snow day. We’re going live with Power School. Kids now have access.
• Middle School: Some of the middle schoolers have access to Power School. There are some issues with mainstreaming of some of the special education students. The State is putting a lot of pressure on districts to mainstream.
• Kreft: They met with Barb Grell about equity in work time. The time taken up by the progress reports seems to be lessening.
• Titan Hill: There are power and heat issues. There was no communication about these problems. Kent Stopak said that they could have a safety committee to address the lack of a crisis plan for such occurrences.

Old Business:
• Reps setting up monthly meetings with individual building principals—Please do this.
• Ten minute meetings with members—Please do this.

New Business:
• Attendance to a board meeting—The list still has empty dates.
• Public Relations: Committees for Education weeks, National Teacher Day, Reading Across America, Retirees, etc.—We need people on these committees.
• Public Relations: Toy drive, Food/Books drives, etc./Activity for each building in January—We need people on these committees.
• February days (14/15)—See President’s Report above.
• Administrators out of the building? Who is in charge? Procedures? –See President’s Report above.

Adjournment
Maggie Miller moved that the meeting be adjourned, and Jennifer Hake seconded it. The meeting adjourned at 5:40.

CLICK HERE for a WORD version of LCEA Meeting Minutes 12.13.07

LCEA Executive Board Minutes November 8, 2007

LCEA Meeting Minutes
Date: 11/8/2007
Place: Titan Hill Room 308
Time: 4:15

Roll Call: Sharon Crawley, Kim Muta, Jennifer Doorlag, Maggie Bennett, Dave Bergman (absent)
HS Reps: Tom McLaughlin, Allison Towne, Brian Johnson, Christina Woodward (absent)
MS Reps: Margot Argotsinger, Beth Frank, Al Lorenz, Barb Motes
TH Reps: Susan Drustrup (absent), Maggie Miller, Jennifer Hake
Kreft Reps: Kathy Moe, Melinn Ruzicka (absent), Tara York

Approval of Agenda:
• Barb Motes moved that the agenda be approved with the addition mentioned below, Beth Frank seconded it, and the motion passed.
• Barb Motes asked to add discussion of giving small gifts for birthdays, and Tom asked to add discussion of LCEA t-shirts.

Secretary’s Report/ Approval of Minutes: Kim Muta
• Allison Towne moved that the October minutes be approved, Barb Motes seconded the motion, and it passed.

Treasurer’s Report: Jen Doorlag
• Audit: Where are we on this? Jennifer Doorlag shared the treasurer’s report, and she explained that the audit has been completed and is in good order.
• Sharon Crawley suggested a card or something for Jennifer Doorlag and the audit committee. Tom McLaughlin suggested a $20 gift card for Jennifer Doorlag, and thank-you cards for the committee members. A motion was passed.

Negotiations: Beth Frank
• We need to vote to give the negotiation committee the right to make decisions and proposals, etc. Al Lorenz moved that the committee speak for the LCEA Executive Board, Tara York seconded the motion, and it passed.
• Ashley Shipp will be a middle school rep on the committee. Beth Frank hasn’t heard from Robin Reida or Dave Bergman from the high school, yet.
• Beth Frank has written a letter to the Board about meeting on December 4 at 5:30 for LCEA to give our proposal. The initial meetings are open to the public.
• The team met on Tuesday with John Phillips and Pat Shipley about negotiating to get the TQC money and Phase II money put into the salary schedule. It will be a challenge.
• Art Hill talked to Beth Frank about looking at health saving plans. The Board is interested in investigating this. She said that we need an insurance committee to listen to the presentations and discussions. We need someone from each building.




TQC: Barb Motes
• We should have seen the TQC money in our paychecks in November. Barb Motes said that she’s worried about having both of the added professional development days being paid in one month’s paycheck because of taxes.
• Barb Motes explained the discussion on Wednesday, November 7, about market factor pay. The committee suggested to recommend an 80/20 split of that money—80% for endorsement reimbursement (at least partial reimbursement--$150 per credit hour—paid upon completion) and 20% for signing bonus money for hard-to-fill positions.
• Our next task is to monitor the evaluation procedures, so we will need feedback from our membership about how evaluations work within each building. We talked about various rumors regarding evaluation issues. (Tom McLaughlin suggested that we try to offer a workshop on e-portfolios at some point in the year.)
• Another task is to monitor the professional development in the district as well.
• Al Lorenz raised the issue of the February 14/15 days not being related to any type of leave. We don’t take sick, personal, professional days on those days. We need to tell our members that these are NOT Phase III days. They should be there on those days and will be held accountable for learning and work on those days.

President’s Report: Sharon Crawley
• Sharon Crawley reminded building reps to check in with new teachers to the district about how the year is going. She also asked building reps to start monthly meetings with the building principals as a way to keep lines of communication open.
• Sharon Crawley reminded the Exec. Board about the ten-minute meeting idea.
• Sharon Crawley passed another calendar around for attendance at Board meetings.

Committee Reports:
• High School: Sharon Crawley talked about having Pat Shipley and John Phillips attend our faculty meeting to talk about ethics.
• Kreft: There is some anxiety about report cards. Dave Black has scheduled a meeting with teachers to answer questions. Another concern is that the teachers have to put in all of the benchmarks.
• Middle School: Beth Frank talked about teachers covering classes. Some people covered classes during both their team and planning time, but they’re only getting reimbursed for their planning time.
• Titan Hill: There is a flex money problem about daycare money being moved on a regular basis. Art Hill was contacted about it, and he has started working on the issue.

Old Business: (all were covered in President’s Report above)
• Reps setting up monthly meetings with individual building principals
• Ten minute meetings with members
• Building reps information/ check in on new teachers

New Business:
• Attendance to a board meeting (Dave Bergman lost the “official” sign up sheet). (See President’s Report item three above.)
• Public Relations: Committees for education weeks, National Teacher Day, Read Across America, retirees, etc. November 11-17 is American Education Week. Sharon Crawley wants building reps to do something for members to celebrate the week. Tom McLaughlin mentioned the NEA and ISEA websites.
• Public Relations: toy drive, food/book drives, etc. We talked about possibilities to do some service kinds of events and drives.
• Delegate Assembly—Kim Muta talked about delegate assembly, and put in a plug for people to run to be delegates.
• Nomination of Tom McLaughlin for ISEA Vice-President by LCEA—Kim Muta moved that LCEA nominate Tom McLaughlin for ISEA Vice-President, Allison Towne seconded the motion, and the motion passed.
• The calculators and the carabiners have been a hit in the past for birthday presents. Margie Argotsinger and Barb Motes said they were talking about bags with logos this year. Maggie Bennett moved that we do the drawstring bags for birthday gifts, Maggie Miller seconded, and the motion passed.
• Beth Frank moved that we spend $40 per building for American Education Week, Jennifer Hake seconded the motion, and it passed.
• Tom McLaughlin suggested we get LCEA shirts. He would like to bring a sample to the Executive Board to look over.

Adjournment
• Maggie Bennett moved that the meeting be adjourned, Allison Towne seconded, and the meeting adjourned at 5:45.

CLICK HERE for a WORD version of LCEA Meeting Minutes 11.08.07

LCEA Executive Board Meeting Minutes October 11, 2007

LCEA Meeting Minutes
Date: 10/11/2007
Place: Middle School
Time: 4:15

Roll Call: Sharon Crawley (absent), Kim Muta, Jennifer Doorlag, Maggie Bennett (absent), Dave Bergman
HS Reps: Tom McLaughlin (absent), Allison Towne, Brian Johnson (absent), Christina Woodward (absent)
MS Reps: Margot Argotsinger (absent), Beth Frank, Al Lorenz, Barb Motes
TH Reps: Susan Drustrup, Maggie Miller (Sub--Lisa Gundlach), Jennifer Hake (Sub--Joanna Stenlund)
Kreft Reps: Kathy Moe, Melinn Ruzicka, Tara York (absent)

Approval of Agenda:
* Al Lorenz moved that the agenda be approved, Susan Drustrup seconded the motion, and it passed.

Secretary’s Report/Approval of Minutes: Kim Muta
* Barb Motes moved that the September minutes be approved, Allison Towne seconded the motion, and it passed.

Treasurer’s Report: Jen Doorlag/Bill Agan:
• There are problems figuring out the accounting. We owe ISEA more than we have. We’re being “charged” for people who have retired/moved out of the district.
• Audit members will be Ruth Kreger, Cheryl Casey, and Kathie Lincoln. The audit must be completed by November 15.

Negotiations: Beth Frank
• Surveys and TQ money sheets were given to building reps to be distributed to members. (See attached handouts.)
• Phase II and the Teacher Comp. money will appear in the November paychecks.
• Members of the negotiations committee: Loriann Brougham, Susan Drustrup, Dave Bergman, and maybe Robin Redia.

TQC: Barb Motes
• We met last night to review the Iowa Professional Development Model. By law, the district’s professional development plan must meet IPDM.
• We listen to the building principals’ plans at the Board meeting Monday night—10/15/07. We meet Wednesday—10/17/07—after that to make a decision about how the money will be spent.

President’s Report: Sharon Crawley (Dave Bergman)
• Sign-up sheet for Board meetings—Dave Bergman passed it around.
• Meeting with Dr. Schweer—(1) They talked about scheduling events on top of LCEA meetings, and Dr. Schweer said he would remind administrators about that. (2) The air quality issue raised at the last meeting has been investigated, and there was a problem found. (3) It is our responsibility to renew our teaching licenses. The district sends out reminders as a courtesy.

Committee Reports:
• High School: Mr. Story shared that some kids took up a collection to reimburse NHS for money stolen during the blood drive.
• Kreft: The last meeting with Barb Grell went well. They are having problems with report cards.
• Middle School: Exploratory team has a question about a leadership team that Lu Peverill is setting up in the high school. They wondered if the group that’s coming in is related to a religious group. There was some discussion about separation of church and state issues. Also, we should remind members that if they have a hostile parent, they should feel comfortable requesting an administrator to be present.
• Titan Hill: There is a lot of staff now, of course, and the faculty is still adjusting. As big as the building is now, the lack of call buttons and an intercom system is troublesome. The staff is working out what benchmarks should be put on which term progress reports. Finally, Titan Hill needs one more rep because of their numbers.

Old Business:
• Membership—Nothing to report.
• Documentation forms—Remember to use these for building issues so that we are following the chain of command before raising issues with Dr. Schweer.
• Reps setting up monthly meetings with individual building principals—It’s a good idea to meet regularly to maintain good communication.
• Ten minute meetings with members—These are a good way to communicate with building members.

New Business:
• Building Reps information—Tabled until the next meeting.
• Check in on new teachers—Be sure that they are doing okay. It’s the time of year when stress and tension builds up.
• Attendance at a Board meeting—The sign-up sheet was passed around during the meeting.
• Opportunities for Public Relations: Candy drive for Children’s Square, Food drives, winter drives, etc.—Tabled until the next meeting.

Adjournment
Allison Towne moved that the meeting be adjourned, Susan Drustrup seconded the meeting, and it passed with one nay registered by Al “Devil’s Advocate” Lorenz. The meeting adjourned at 5:25.

CLICK HERE for a WORD version on LCEA Meeting Minutes 10.11.07