ZUMBRO EDUCATION DISTRICT GOVERNING BOARD MEETING MINUTES OCTOBER 22, 2015 ZUMBRO EDUCATION DISTRICT OFFICE 6:00 PM

ZUMBRO EDUCATION 

DISTRICT GOVERNING BOARD MEETING MINUTES

OCTOBER 22, 2015

ZUMBRO EDUCATION 

DISTRICT OFFICE

6:00 PM

The Governing Board of the Zumbro Education District No. 61-6012 met in regular session on October 22, 2015 at the Zumbro Education District Office.  The Chair, Matt Prigge, called the meeting to order.  At the roll call the following members were present:  Lloyd Henslin, Angela Heiden, Lana Mindrup, Elizabeth Lawson, Michelle Vigeland and Carol Anhalt, Executive Director. Rob Hamlin was absent.  Heidi Kass recorded the minutes.

There were no visitors at the meeting.

Motion by Mindrup, seconded by Vigeland to approve the agenda.  Voting for:  Prigge, Vigeland, Henslin, Heiden, Mindrup and Lawson.  Voting against: none.

Motion by Henslin, seconded by Vigeland to approve the consent agenda. Voting for:  Prigge, Vigeland, Henslin, Heiden, Mindrup and Lawson.  Voting against: none.

Consent agenda items as follows:

2.1 Approval of the September 2015 Minutes

2.2 Approval of the September 2015 Electronic Fund Transfers of $420,000.

2.3 Approval of the October 2015 Claims and Bills:  Checks numbered 48332-48352 and 48359-48455 for a total of $73,023.17; wire payments of taxes on September 30, 2015 and October 15, 2015 of 67,189.22.

2.4 Approval of 2016 ESY sites and dates:  June 20 – July 1 and July 18 – July 29, 2016 at Blooming Prairie Elementary, Triton Elementary, and Triton High School.

2.5 Approval of a contract with Southern Minnesota Education Consortium (SMEC) for the purchase of time from a licensed Vision Teacher at a rate of $65.00/hr.

2.6 Approval of a leave for Terri Karow, Occupational Therapist, beginning around November 25th and returning to work around mid-February, 2016.  

2.7 Approve change in position for Anne Bajzer from .75 FTE Birth-3 teacher to .4 FTE Vision Consultant/.35 FTE Birth-3 Teacher for the 2015-2016 school year.

Carol Anhalt presented the Director’s Report.  A complete report is on file at the ZED office. Carol updated the Board on student numbers at the ALC and South Campus programs.  She also talked about recent student activities which included trips to Whitewater State Park, Eagle Bluff, Channel One Food Shelf, and the MN Zoo.  Recently two staff members from the ALC took a group of students to RCTC to get a hands-on experience with welding and to learn more about job opportunities in welding. In September, a group of teachers, paraprofessionals and secondary students with special needs in our member districts and ZED Transition 2 Success students met at Oxbow Park for a day of hiking, outdoor games, and socializing. This provided an opportunity to work on the transition goals for recreation and leisure activities. In April, students in Transition 2 Success will present a poster session at the State Conference “Charting the C’s” in Alexandria, MN.  To help support the costs, they will begin a fund raising project with letter word blocks.  They plan to present their marketing plan and samples at the November ZED Board meeting.

The ZED Birth-3 home-based ECSE program will hold a fall festival for families with children in that program on October 29th at the Kasson-Mantorville Community Education Center.

Carol also reminded the Board that the ZED Choral Festival will be held at Hayfield High School on October 27th at 7:00 p.m.  

Moving on to the Facilities discussion, Carol brought forward the recommendations from two advisory councils.  

The Superintendent’s Advisory Council made a motion at their October 1 meeting that the ZED Governing Board target $13.1 million for a new ZED Facility encompassing classroom spaces, cafeteria, office space, gym, media, arts and FACS potentially located adjacent to Kasson-Mantorville Public Schools with future exploration of equitable funding for the project. The motion was made by Jeff Elstad and was passed on a 6 to 1 vote. 

The Special Education Advisory Council recommended that the ZED Governing Board consider the opportunity for further expansion based on the projected growth, and to further consolidate services in one location to more efficiently address student needs and provide equal opportunities for all students.  The motion passed unanimously. 

Discussion continued regarding various methods of allocating the facility costs among the member districts.  Heidi Kass distributed information showing the expenses currently on each district’s lease levy and the expected impact of a $13.1 million building and a $17.2 million building on each district’s lease levy.  Particular attention was focused on the Triton lease levy which would potentially not be able to accommodate Triton’s full share in the first 10 years of the project, however, based on the construction of a $13.1 million facility, the shortfall was very small and could possibly be funded by Triton’s general fund.

Heidi Kass also shared information comparing various funding models.  Using weighted average daily membership (WADM) as a method for dividing up facility costs is a method commonly used around the state and by other cooperative organizations.  This method was compared to two other options.  Alternative Funding Model #1 was based on splitting the costs with 50% based on WADM and 50% based on each district paying an equal share.  Funding Model #2 was based on each district’s Resident Pupil Units.  This model differs from the WADM method in that is eliminates open enrolled students from the calculation. Lana Mindrup and Michelle Vigeland each expressed that they would not be in favor of Funding Model #1 since it results in a steep increase in cost for their districts.

Discussion was also held regarding how operating costs are currently billed to districts, which is on a per pupil attending basis, and the need to clarify that the funding models proposed are only for the facilities construction costs, not for annual operating expenses.

Carol Anhalt shared that the number of students at South Campus is already very high for this time of year and staffing and space in that building is making it very difficult to add any additional students.

Discussion on timelines followed.  It remains the goal of the ZED Board to have each member district vote on support for a new ZED Facility before the end of the year.  Staff will consult with an attorney to develop language for a resolution that each school board would vote on.

Motion by Henslin, seconded by Heiden to approve the hire of a 1.0 FTE Birth-3 Teacher.  Voting for:  Prigge, Vigeland, Henslin, Heiden, Mindrup and Lawson.  Voting against: none.

Vigeland moved that the meeting be adjourned.

Matt Prigge adjourned the meeting at 7:55 p.m.

The next meeting will be held on November 19th, 2015 at 6:00 p.m. 

Heidi Kass, Recorder

Elizabeth Lawson, Clerk/Treasurer