ISBVI Board Meeting
January 22, 2007
9:30 a.m.
ISBVI Board Meeting Minutes
Members Present: Mr. Donald Koors, Chair
Ms. Shirley Amond, Vice-Chair
Mr. Gary Bates
Mr. John Hill for Dr. Robert Marra
Ms. Kathy Botkin
Members Not Present: Senator Teresa Lubbers and Ms. Cynthia
Pittman
Administration Present: Mr. Jim Durst, Superintendent; Mr. Hal
Owens, Asst. Superintendent; Mrs.
I. Call to Order
Mr. Koors called the meeting to order and took roll.
II. Approval of Minutes
The minutes from October 16, 2006 meeting were reviewed. Ms. Amond moved
for approval of the minutes as distributed.
Mr. Bates seconded the motion; motion carried.
III. Special
Recognition
Mr. Durst recognized the Business Office for their success in passing the Financial Audit done by the State Board of Accounts. The audit was passed “without exception” which means that this was a detailed audit. All financials were checked in all areas and accounts, and no exceptions were found.
Mr. Durst recognized the
Mr. Durst then relayed to the Board that the
IV. Chair Remarks
Mr. Koors congratulated the students of the Track Teams as well as the Business
Office for their excellent job of keeping the books for the
V. Superintendent’s Report
A. New Employees
Mrs. Adams introduced Jane Pearson who is the new Speech and Language
Pathologist. She is from the
B. School Update
Mr. Durst introduced Alex Gilland to the Board. Alex is a member of the Leo Club at ISBVI. Alex explained to the Board who the Leo Club is and who the Officers of the Leo Club are. The ISBVI Leo Club is the first Leo Club in the nation at a residential blind school. Alex then explained to the Board some of the activities and fundraising events the Leo Club has been involved in. Alex also invited the ISBVI Board to the next ISBVI Leo Club meeting where Mr. Heydon Buchanon will be the speaker. He will be speaking on the topics of Alzheimer’s Disease and Parental Caregiving.
Mr. Durst explained to the ISBVI Board that Mr. Al Lovati works closely with the Leo Club. He was recently the recipient of the Melvin Jones Fellowship Award which is the Lions International Foundation Clubs highest honor.
The Middle School/High School Choir sang for the 500 members
of the North American Riders for the Handicapped Association at their national
convention. The AGAPE Riding Program is
part of this association. Mrs. Francisco
did a wonderful job with creating and implementing the Holiday Program in
December. The Choir also presented
several numbers at the Easter Seals/Crossroads Luncheon in December. The Annual Christmas Tree Sale generated over
$2000 in profits which was divided among the Junior
and Senior classes, the Student Council, the Leo Club, and the Keever Garden Club.
In addition to the trees sold by ISBVI, we also sold $700 worth of trees
to the Washington Township Lions Club.
Mrs. Wingert has been involved in the Blue
Star Mom’s Christmas Program. The
school generated 42 boxes of items to send to troops who are involved in
C. Dietary Update
We have been charged by the Budget Agency to reduce the meal costs. Mrs. Jane Gooder, Dietician, reported to the Board that she met with the Indiana Department of Health to make sure that ISBVI was in compliance with all the requirements for food safety. It was decided to not feed the students dinner in the dorms because the kitchens in the dorms do not meet the Department of Health’s requirements for food service on an on-going basis. They are fine for a meal once a week for a cooking program. Meals will be served in the cafeterias. Food will be stored in the warmers and refrigerated units. The houseparents would then serve the students the evening meals. All of the houseparents were trained in the “Serve Safe” program. It is required for every institution that serves food to the public to have one individual trained per shift. ISBVI exceeded this requirement by training all of these individuals. Special equipment was purchased to submerse the dishes in water overnight. The dishes would then be cleaned when the Dietary Staff came on duty again in the morning.
Mr. Durst then went on to explain that there were several things that took place to take note of. One was that the Department of Health was on board with this process. The dietary staff helped implement this plan. We were required to have one Serve Safe person on sight. We chose to train all of our staff to ensure the safety of food handling for the students. No leftovers from the evening meal are served at other times. They are discarded. The meals are still served in a family style situation. It is important for them to sit down as a “surrogate family” and discuss their days issues.
D. Monthly Financial Statements
Mr. Owens then presented the financial statements (Attachments 2A-2B-2C).
Attachment 2A, October 31, 2006, the year was 1/3 over and 31% of the Allotment
had been spent. The Allotment at that point was $10,338,865.00 and points 2 -9 Allotment was $770,106.00. Attachment 2B, November 30, 2006, the
Allotment had been increased to $10,933,317.00.
The Budget Analyst requested that we include the cost of raises as well
as the cost of the insurance for this year so the Allottment
was increased to include these. The year
was 41.6% over and 39.8% of the Allotment had been spent. Attachment 2C,
December 31, 2006, the new Allotment was included again. Also on points 2 – 9 the Allotment was
increased to $1,090,000.00. Point one
was increased by $300,000 and points 2 – 9 was increased by
$300,000. The year was half over and
47.35% of the total allotment had been spent.
Again Point 7 was hit again with Workman’s Compensation. More money will be moved into Point 7 from
other points.
E. Teachers Salaries
Mr. Durst explained to the Board that our teachers
salaries are tied to the largest school corporation in
F. Personnel Actions Updates
Attachment 3A is the November Personnel Status Summary with 178 FTE’s
filled with 11 pending for a total of 189 with 18 intermittent’s;
Attachment 3B in December with 179 FTE’s filled with 10 pending for a
total of 189 with 18 intermittent’s; Attachment
3C is for January with 182 FTE’s filled with 7 pending for a total of 189
with 18 intermittent’s. Personnel Actions; Attachment 4A there were
three personnel actions, 3 separations from employment. Attachment 4B there was one rehire, one new
hire and one separation. Attachment 4C
there were three new hires.
G. Vacant Positions
Refer to Vacant Positions - Pending (Attachment 5A-5B-5C). These
are pending and posted positions that we have intentions of filling. We have been actively trying to pursue
several positions, WRAP positions in particular which are funded by dollars
that are generated from the Department of Education specifically for a
student. These are one on one positions. We have
had great difficulty filling those positions because most people do not want to
work for a significant hourly wage without benefits. They would rather have a
less significant hourly wage with benefits.
We have asked State Personnel and asked if we could increase our manning
table and move some of those WRAP positions to manning table positions with
benefits. The dilemma that the State is
experiencing is they are reluctant to give us these manning table positions
because they are tied to specific students and if that student leaves than that
position is still in place.
H. Physical Plant Update
Improve Campus Security: The contractor is still working on the
“punch list”. We are
training staff on the new system. There
are still glitches in the system. The
majority of staff has been provided with swipe cards at this time. The vast majority of the exterior doors are
swipe doors. Employees with swipe cards
can access those. We are still
discussing administratively about giving cards to students that are in the
houses or are in wheelchairs who have to have access to the veranda’s.
Exterior Campus Lighting:
The old pole lights have been removed and the current lights have been
installed. We are working on some issues
with Public Works for the timing of those lights. This is the first phase of the lighting project. The ultimate goal is to re-lamp the entire
campus. The previous lighting was owned
by IPL and we were paying a monthly rental fee for those lights. The current lights that are going in we will
own which will be a cost savings.
Renovation of Tunnels: This project is complete.
Repair Roofs: The Project is complete. Waiting for
reimbursement for damages caused during this project from the contractor.
Tuck Pointing Renovation: This was for F Building. They are currently caulking the joints around
the windows and terra cotta bricks have been replaced. They need to complete the waterproofing of F
Building and the Tower.
Re-coring Campus: Waiting for the contractor to furnish the computer
software so that we can identify key distribution.
Fire Alarms: This project is a total of $975,971. Project is still in the design phase.
We have requested a demonstration of the devices to be placed in the dormitory
bedrooms to ensure they fit our needs.
Electrical Grounding: The contractor is currently working in
“A” Dormitory and is almost complete. They will then move to “C” Dormitory
with 6 or more dormitories to go.
Churchman Dining Room Skylight: The
contractor has ordered the skylight and they are waiting for delivery.
Replacement of Wrought Iron Fencing: Waiting on a cost quote from Capitol
City Iron Works.
Resurfacing the Track: A project has been submitted and
approved to resurface the running tracks and field areas. No bids
have been submitted.
VI. New Business
A. Donations and Contributions
Attachments 6A-6B-6C includes Donations and Contributions under $499 through
December 2006. Attachment 6A totaled
$1032.00 unrestricted use. Attachment 6B
totaled $350.00. Attachment 6C totaled
$765.00. Attachments 7A-7B-7C includes
Donations and Contributions over $500 through December 2006. Attachment 7A total donations were $7,374.15
with $5,000.00 being restricted for library use. Attachment 7B totaled unrestricted donations
of $22,477.95. Attachment 7C totaled
unrestricted donations of $500.00. Ms.
Botkin moved to approve the Donation and Contributions received over $500. The
motion was seconded by Mr. Bates; the motion carried.
B. Purchase of New Vehicles
Mr. Durst requested permission from the ISBVI Board to purchase three Chevrolet Malibu’s which are on QPA through the State. The total of the cost of the three vehicles is $36,000.00. These vehicles will be used primarily in Outreach to provide technical assistance. The cars that are currently being used are antiquated and have significant mileage on them. They will also be used in transporting students on campus as well. This will be taken out of a contingency fund that we have and is not part of the current operating budget. Two will be replacement vehicles and one will be an additional vehicle. Mr. Bates moved to approve the expenditure of the money to purchase three new Chevrolet Malibu’s. The motion was seconded by Ms. Amond. The motion carried.
C. 1st
Issues/Concerns and Commendations – Policy 0-41: This is a new policy. This will be a formal way of addressing
parental and constituency and visitor issues and concerns in a timely fashion
in order to document those kinds of things.
This will also provide a formal way for parents, constituents, and
visitors to help us acknowledge the outstanding work that some of our staff
members do. This policy provides a venue
for parents, constituents, and visitors to bring their issues and concerns
forward in writing either through various dormitories or the Education Office
so they can be documented and addressed.
Mr. Bates moved to accept the first reading of Policy 0-41 and for
Policy 0-41 have a 2nd Reading at the next Board meeting. The motion was seconded by Ms. Botkin. The motion carried.
D. 2nd
Use of State Property for Personal Use Policy 0-27:
Specifically identifies what individuals may borrow or use including the use of
telephones on break times or non-state time, use of the computers on break
times or non-state time, use of copy machines for a fee of .07 per page, and
the use of the fax machine at the rate of .10 per page and any additional long
distance charges. No other state property may be used for personal use on
or off campus. Also, the following will
be added to the policy “Employees of the Indiana School for the Blind and
Visually Impaired may not use any property owned by the State of Indiana for
the purpose of conducting personal business, and is not for the purpose of
generating financial or personal gain.”
This policy will be revised and will be re-submitted to the
Board at the next Board meeting.
E. Procedure Change
This is a Procedural change not a Policy change pertaining to the Guidelines to
Treat Accidental Blood Exposure Caused by Human Bite. Discussion ensued regarding who should be
notified of the results of the blood work.
Also, Ms. Botkin stated that the person who is bit needs to have their
tetanus information updated. Ms. Botkin
suggested that the blood work needs to be ordered by the Physician’s
Assistant at ISBVI so that the results of the blood work can be given to the
parents and not shared with any other individuals other than the parents. The only person who has the right to obtain
this information is the parents.
This will be cleaned up and will be re-submitted at the next Board Meeting.
VII. Public Comments
Mr. Koors
explained to the audience that this was the time for individuals to make public
comments. He reminded everyone that the
ISBVI School Board is in the position to discuss the health, safety, and
welfare policies and procedures at ISBVI.
There is not to be discussions regarding certain individuals or
circumstances surrounding certain individuals for their privacy as well as the
privacy of everyone concerned. Any
comments made must not identify individuals or students specifically at this
point.
Mr. Mike Wills, father of a student at ISBVI, raised questions regarding issues
that had been discussed during the meeting.
VIII. Board Comments
Mr. Bates congratulated the Mr. Owens and the Business Office on the results of
the Audit.
Ms. Amond also congratulated Mr. Owens and the Business Office. She also congratulated the track teams for
their accomplishments. Also, if student
morale was down in the school, then the teams would not be able to meet such
great accomplishments as they have.
Mr. Hill – no comments
Ms. Botkin also congratulated Mr. Owens and the Business Office.
Mr. Koors congratulated Mr. Owens and Business Office once again. Also, the exposure that the students at ISBVI
get in the public arena is outstanding.
The students are learning adaptability skills in the public.
IX. Next Meeting
March 19, 2007 at 9:30 a.m. in the Aldur/Lambert Multipurpose
Room.
X. Adjournment