Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired
7725 North College Avenue
Indianapolis, IN 46240

ISBVI Board Meeting
August 22, 2011
9:30 a.m.
ISBVI Board Meeting Minutes

Members Present: Mr. Michael Dalrymple, Chair

Mr. Don Koors
Dr. James Mervilde

Ms. Shirley Amond

Mr. John Hill

Ms. Kathy Botkin

Mr. James Hodson

Commissioner Teresa Lubbers

Members Not Present:  Sen. Scott Schneider

Administration Present:  Mr. Jim Durst, Superintendent; Mr. Hal Owens, Assistant Superintendent of Business; Ms. Toni Hughes, Director of Outreach Services; Mr. Jay Wilson, MS/HS Principal; Ms. Gail Ringwalt, Elementary Principal; Mr. Ron Fraley, Health Center Director; Mr. Carl Brown, Maintenance Supervisor; Mr. William Neal, Laundry Supervisor; Mr. David Brown, Program Coordinator; Mr. Mike Gaddis, Steam Plant Supervisor.

I.  Call to Order

Mr. Dalrymple called the meeting to order at 9:30 a.m. and took roll.

II. Approval of Minutes  (Attachment 1)

The minutes from the May 16, 2011 meeting were reviewed.

Motion:  A motion was made by Mr. Hodson and seconded by Mr. Koors to approve the minutes; motion carried. 

III.  Chair Remarks

Mr. Dalrymple thanked the Board for electing him as Chair and welcomed administration and staff to the meeting.

IV.  Superintendent’s Report

A.  School Update/New Employees

MS/HS Report – Mr. Wilson

Megan Ensing joins ISBVI as an O & M instructor.  Megan completed her undergrad at Anderson University and her Masters at Western Michigan.  She had internships both at ISBVI and the Kentucky School for the Blind.

Lydia Sitnikov is the school’s new middle school math teacher.  She is a graduate of North Central and completed her undergrad in civil engineering at Purdue.  Lydia’s teaching degree is through IUPUI and she is a Woodrow Wilson Indiana Teaching Fellow.

Josh Baxter was recently hired as the new middle school social studies teacher.  Josh has been and will continue to be the school’s wrestling coach.  He has a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Indiana University.  Josh obtained his teaching license through the Indiana Wesleyan program.

Judy Reynolds and Al Lovati traveled to the Goddard Space Station.  The trip was made possible through a grant and the school also traveled with sighted peers from Trafalgar High School.

Al Lovati visited the Washington State School for the Blind to help develop computer programming for blind/low vision students.  When the program is complete in January, ISBVI students will be able to help test the program.

A disc golf course has been set up on the lower part of the campus.  The course was an Eagle Scout project for an ISBVI scout and was completed over the summer. 

Dave Romano traveled with a group of students to Colorado for the USABA training and competition.  Students were able to train with blinded vets from Afghanistan and Iraq and compete at the Rocky State games.

Training took place over the summer for the NWEA testing program.  Testing will begin in October and will take place in the spring, as well.  

Elementary Report – Ms. Ringwalt

Allison Fullenkamp is a new graduate of Butler University and is from Portland, Indiana.  She is teaching an elementary multiply handicapped class.

Community Service will be added to the list of specials that presently include PE, Art and Music.

More Agape therapy is scheduled for students.  Students attend on a rotating basis made possible by grants.  

Outreach Report – Ms. Hughes 

Kelly Benson, former short course teacher, will be serving in the Outreach office as a consulting teacher for blind/low vision students ages 0 – 21 and will also serve around the state as an O & M instructor.

Jana Stoltenberg, a former Aldur teacher, has joined the short course team as a teacher.

Karen Wilcox returns to ISBVI to serve as an O & M instructor, a consultant for ages 0 – 21 and to coordinate the ATO (Access through Optics) low vision clinic.

Rachel Soderberg comes to ISBVI from the Indiana Developmental Training Center.  Rachel will be serving as a teacher in short course.

Tiffany Hobbs, comes to ISBVI from RISE.  She will be an Itinerant Consultant for ages 0 – 21.

The 2^nd annual Expanding Your Horizons Camp Challenge day camp was held in July.   Sixteen academic students, ages 8 – 15, participated in:  canoeing, preparing breakfast and lunch each day, attending Climb Time, riding tandem bikes, swimming at Caribbean Cove water park, and camping at Hidden Lake.  The goal for next summer’s camp is to be able to offer an overnight camp for the week.  At the end of the week, parents came to attend a parent networking event.  This was a huge success and many of the parents commented about how much they appreciated the chance to talk and share with other parents.  

ISBVI now serves 4 school districts as vision teachers.  A total of 63 students are being served within the 4 cooperatives of:  Monroe County, Warren Township, Logansport Coop and a local charter school.

Para professional training will take place in September.

Transition weekend is scheduled for November 11^th -13^th.  ISBVI hopes to have around 25 families.

Facilities Use – Mr. David Brown

Mr. Brown was recently promoted to the position of Program Coordinator.  He will be coordinating facilities use, safety and data collection.  Mr. Brown has worked previously in the Education Office as Mr. Wilson’s administrative assistant.  He has a degree in criminal justice and came to us from the Pendleton Correctional Facility.

Several groups used ISBVI facilities over the summer including:  the Circle City Chapter of the ACBI,

Expanding Your Horizons camp and the STEP program, which successfully moved their home base from the Student Center to the staff dining room to accommodate Student Center renovations.  The football and volleyball teams from ISD used the aquatic center when their system was down. 

Schedules for the aquatic center are currently being made to accommodate the use of the pool by several of the neighboring schools for the upcoming swimming season.

Physical Plant Update – Mr. Carl Brown

Mr. Durst reported to the Board that Mr. Brown has accepted a promotion at the Department of Corrections in Plainfield.  Mr. Brown has done a wonderful job and will be missed.

Veranda Project – Crews started work over the July 4^th weekend.  They are currently in H, I, J and K and should be finished soon in that area.  All rubber tile has been removed, a waterproof membrane has been placed underneath which is helping to keep water out.  An epoxy coating containing sand has been placed on the walks to make them skid proof.  The steps are being redone in A – D and crews are in the process of prepping that area for the waterproof membrane.

Auditorium – crews will start on the reupholstering of the seats on August 29^th.  Work should be completed around the 1^st of September. 

Doors – New doors have been ordered for E, F and C.  Estimated time of completion is 6 weeks.

Lambert Restroom – Four restrooms will be remodeled and will have new fixtures, showers/tubs and new sinks.

DOC – crews helped over the summer and are now back to weekends only when students are not present.

Department Training – The DOC provided training last spring to the school’s maintenance staff for roof repair.  At least 50 repairs have been completed.  The most recent repair was in the Steam Plant area.  ISBVI completed these projects internally at a cost of $800.00.  External quotes to do the same repairs came in between $9,000 - $11,000. 

Boom Lift – A lift will be rented for a month to continue gutter work.

Pavement Project – The INDOT will be providing $50,000 to the school for pavement projects that will begin in the summer of 2012.  

Roofing – Through a partnership with the DOC, crews will remove and repair shingle roofs on all three campus houses.  House 120 will be done first with all being complete by the end of October.

Health Center, Housekeeping, Security – Mr. Durst

Mr. Durst introduced Ron Fraley.  Ron is the school’s new Director of Health Services.  Mr. Fraley comes to ISBVI very well qualified.  He has experience as a registered nurse, an educational program manager, a project coordinator analyst, a forensic scientist, and as an educational developer and administrator.  Some of his degrees include:  a MBA in health care administration, a master’s in forensic science and a bachelor’s degree in nursing. 

Ron is also well published and is doing an outstanding job with students and staff.

In addition, ISBVI also welcomes Susan Jones to the Health Center.  Susan will serve as a swing shift nurse between the 1^st and 2^nd shift to help with field trips and outings. 

Nishida Cleaning Services started working at ISBVI last spring and has done a wonderful job over the summer.  They provide 7 full time staff members on a daily basis, 4 during the day and 3 at night.

Along with Housekeeping, security has been outsourced for the school.  Securitas Security officers have been on campus since the end of July.  

B.  Monthly Financial Statements (Attachments 2A, 2B & 2C)

Attachment 2A is the Monthly Financial Statement for May 31, 2011 reflecting the 7% reversion plan.  At that point, the year was 91.67% over and 90.5% of the allotment had been spent.      

Attachment 2B is the Monthly Financial Statement for June 30, 2011 reflecting the 7% reversion plan, as well.  At year end, 99.98% of the allotment had been spent bringing the school $2,175.50 under its allotment.  The budget agency requested a reversion of $808,784 and the actual reversion totaled $810,960.

Attachment 2C is the Monthly Financial Statement for July 31, 2011.  This statement reflects a 3% reversion and an allotment of $10,310,827 which is $432,000 less than what was spent last year. Current fiscal year reversion requested is $318,895.

Although the school will experience savings from outsourcing Housekeeping and Security, from new staff replacing retirees and the omission of teachers being compensated for holidays, it will still be a year of challenges that include staff bonuses totaling $83,000 and the need for new Braille math and science books-which are the two most expensive Braille books to order.

C.  Personnel Actions (Attachment 3A, 3B, 3C & 4A, 4B, 4C) 

Attachment 3A is the Personnel Actions report for May reflecting 1 separation, 5 lay offs (Housekeeping) and 2 staff returning from leaves of absences.

For June, Attachment 3B, there were 2 new hires. 

Attachment 3C for the month of July reflects 3 separations, 7 new hires and 1 re-hire.

Attachment 4A is the Personnel Status Summary report for May with 155 filled Full Time Equivalents (FTE’s) and 17 pending FTE’s for a total of 172.   Fourteen Intermittent positions were filled at this time. 

Attachment 4B, the summary report for June, reflects 156 filled FTE’s, 16 pending FTE’s for a total of 172 with 15 Intermittent positions filled.

Attachment 4C for July reflects 162 fill FTE’s, 10 pending FTE’s for a total of 172 with 14 Intermittent positions filled.

D.  Vacant Positions (Attachment 5A, 5B, 5C & 6A, 6B, 6C)

Attachments 5A, 5B and 5C are Pending Vacant Positions from May, June and July and reflect positions that are on hold, posted, have been approved or denied or are pending.    

Attachments 6A, 6B and 6C show the actions on the individual positions.  

Dr. Johnston, who retired last school year, is back at ISBVI on contract part time.  In addition, the intern from last year is working for the school part time.  This is working out well for students, the psychologists and the school.  

V.  New Business

A.  Budget Requirements (Attachment 7)

Attachment 7 reflects the amount the school has reverted, or not received, over the course of 7 years.

Almost $3 million from the 2005-06 school year through the 2010-11 school year and an additional $318,895 for the current school year. 

B.  Donations and Contributions (Attachments 8A, 8B, 8C & 9A, 9B, 9C)

Attachments 8A, 8B and 8C include Donations and Contributions under $499 from May 1, 2011 to July 31, 2011 which totaled $3,079.23.  Seven donations were restricted and thirty-nine were unrestricted.  

Attachments 9A, 9B and 9C include Donations and Contributions over $500 from May 1, 2011 to July 31, 2011 which totaled $4,100.  All donations were restricted.

Motion:  A motion was made by Mr. Koors and seconded by Dr. Mervilde to approve the Donations and Contributions from May 1, 2011 to July 31, 2011; motion carried.

Motion:  A motion was made by Dr. Mervilde and seconded by Mr. Koors to approve donations over $500; motion carried.

C.  Spending Plan  (Attachment 10)

Attachment 10 is the breakdown of costs required by and submitted to the state for services this year.  Ninety-four percent of the school’s expenditures come out of Point 1, with the rest out of Points 2 – 9.

Costs from points 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, and 9 are fixed costs.

Mr. Durst also presented Policy S-05, the Student Medications Policy.  This policy was recently updated.  Language has been added specific to the changes and may be found in red.  Parent should be changed to Parent and/or Guardian.

Motion:  A motion was made by Dr. Mervilde and seconded by Mr. Koors to accept the policy with the proposed amendment as a 1^st reading; motion carried.         

D.  Board Elections

The Board currently has a vacant Vice-Chair position open.  Mr. Dalrymple nominated Dr. Mervilde for this position.

Motion:  A motion was made by Commissioner Lubbers and seconded by Ms. Amond to accept the nomination of Dr. Mervilde as Vice-Chair of the ISBVI Board; motion carried.

E.  Indiana Blind Children’s Foundation

Executive Director, Theresa Brun, reported about the foundation’s busy summer. 

Administrative Processes – Processes were streamlined using QuickBooks for financial records, the

e-tapestry donor mailing database was enhanced, the 2010 compilation and the 990 report for the IRS were completed and comprehensive insurance for the foundation was secured.

Events:

· July 16^th – Mars Hill Charity Ride

· August 5^th – 7^th Annual IBCF Golf Tournament.  Funds raised totaled close to $3,000.  This is an event that the golfers really enjoy and has a lot of potential for the future.

· August 11^th – ISBVI partnered with Price and Sheplar Eye Care in an event sponsored by Allergan Pharmaceuticals.  Dr. Price was celebrating 40 years of service to the Rochester/Logansport area and arranged for Tom Sullivan to be the guest speaker for the evening.  The event was a huge public relations opportunity and over $5,000 was raised to support the foundation.  Dr. Price was very excited about continuing their partnership with the school.

The foundation’s focus for the fall is Board recruitment and development.  The foundation is currently in the process of doing some foundation grant submissions for the fall and starting work on the development of the 2012 budget and the fund development program.  The goal for the future is to fund technology for the school.

F.  Handbooks – Student and Staff (Attachments 11 & 12)

The 2011 – 2012 Handbooks were included in the Board packet for Board review.

VI.  Public Comments:

There were no public comments.

VII.  Board Comments:

Commissioner Lubbers – Ms. Lubbers is pleased to see that ISBVI has a wonderful, well qualified group of new hires.

Ms. Amond – There are so many experiences that ISBVI is offering to its students.  One that stood out was the opportunity to work with Veterans on the Colorado trip.  It is also so pleasing to see the expansion of Outreach happening at the school.

Dr. Mervilde – It is thrilling to see the school’s ability to expand services with fewer resources. 

Ms. Botkin – It has been a pleasure to see more people from the community that now know about ISBVI and what is offered.  The school’s growth and the growth of the services provided have been amazing.  She is proud of the staff and proud to say her son is a graduate of ISBVI.

Mr. Koors – ISBVI will never be duplicated.  It offers something that no other school system can or ever will be able to offer.  The public needs to know this.  Keep up the wonderful work that is taking place and have a great school year.

Mr. Hodson – Thank you to Mr. Carl Brown for everything that’s been done in the last year for the facilities.

Mr. Dalrymple – Technology is wonderful; however, it’s only worth the money if it is beneficial to the student.  Textbooks, although extremely expensive, hold just as much importance and are invaluable to students.  This is something to keep in mind for the future. 

VIII.  Next Meeting

The next meeting of the Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired School Board will be Monday, October 17, 2011 at 3:30 p.m. in the AlDur/Lambert Multipurpose Room. 

IX.  Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 10:50 a.m.