LIBERTY-BENTON LOCAL SCHOOLS

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2006

REGULAR BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING

BOARD OF EDUCATION OFFICE 9190 CO. RD. 9, FINDLAY OHIO

REGULAR BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING 6:00 P.M.

STRATEGIC PLANNING WORK SESSION IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING

I.                    Call to Order

Pledge of Allegiance ……………………………………………Jeff Shadle, Board President

II.                 Recognition of Visitors

III.               Approval of minutes from the Monday, August 19, 2007 regular board of education meeting and the Monday, September 10, 2007 special board of education meeting.

IV.              Communications and Discussion

V.                 Principals’ Reports

Brian Burkett, Bruce Otley, Brenda Frankart

VI.              Treasurer’s Report ………………………………………………………………Lisa Dobbins

VII.            Superintendent’s Report ……………………………………………………….Dennis Recker

VIII.         New Business

A.     Approve Consent Agenda, to include:

1.      Listing of bills, expenditures, and investments through 8/31//07, and monthly financial report of the Treasurer.

2.      Approve permanent appropriations for FY2008

3.      Approve change order 001 for elementary, bus garage, and high school phone system

4.      Accept $1000 donation from the L-B Academic Boosters for deposit to the Student Incentive account

5.      Approve depository agreement with Huntington National for the period of September 22, 2007 through August 1, 2010

6.      Approve “then and now” purchase order to NOACSC in the amount of $12,900

7.      Approve Martha Boyd, High School tutor

8.      Approve an increase in time for aides, Brenda Terrian, Melissa Cramer, and Kerry Teeple

9.      Approve an increase in step for Donna Favor from 9M to 9M+15

10.  Approve an increase in step for Nate Irwin 6B+30 to 6M

11.  Approve Susan Giangiordano as long term substitute teacher for Jordan Hamilton September 4, 2007 through November 30, 2007

12.  Approve the following classified staff members for the 2007-08 school year:

Caryn Johnson Aide

Karen Curto, Aide

13.  Approve the following extra-curricular staff:

Mike VanDenEynde, Volunteer Middle School Football Coach

Stephanie Miller, Volunteer Cheerleader Advisor

B.     Approve the Reiter Dairy milk bid and the Nickels Bakery bread bid

C.     Approve agreement with Wood County Juvenile Detention Center for the 2007-08 school year

IX.              Other Business

X.                 Executive Session

XI.              Adjournment

LIBERTY-BENTON LOCAL SCHOOLS

DENNIS L. RECKER, SUPERINTENDENT

SEPTEMBER 2007 DISTRICT BOARD OF EDUCATION REPORT

1. We will need to approve 2007-08 Juvenile Detention Center/Juvenile Residential Center daily rates of $50 and $40 per day, respectively.
2. I’m scheduling four architectural firms for interviews on Monday, September 10.  We’ll begin at 6:00 p.m. and meeting with the firms on the hour.
3. Our substitute teaching service with Renhill Staffing has been a pleasant surprise.  We have a cadre of 82 certified staff who have either identified L-B as a primary teaching site or who’ve been employed by us at some time over the past two years.  This list will grow, and our staff will now be able to, over time, create a preference list of substitutes, so we can get the best service possible for the children.
4. With the flooding conditions that occurred, Liberty-Benton stepped forward to serve those in distress.  Before 5:00 a.m., I was taking calls from Dr. Wittwer and Mayor Iriti asking for our assistance.  Jeff was able to dispatch two busses which he and Reed drove to move evacuees from St. Andrews Church to The Cube.  They were then asked by the city to help move even more evacuees.  They were then “spelled” by Karen Crawford and Joann Fenstermaker and they helped until 8:00 p.m., when they were able to finish their task.
   Since Findlay City Schools bus fleet was literally under water, we were asked to help provide them eight busses if needed so they could play their football game at BGSU.  We also were asked to provide them “temporary” quarters, which we provided to conduct the city schools business and building operations at our school site.
   We were also “on notice” by working with Liberty Township Fire Department to provide shelter for Riverview Terrace residents at the middle school and St. Catherine’s Care Center residents and staff at the high school gymnasium.  Luckily, they didn’t’ need our assistance though our custodians had the areas “set up” to provide the necessary shelter.
   Our course of action which we’d been working for a pandemic situation was utilized for flooding situations.
   Isn’t it funny how in the most critical moments of potential human suffering, how adults can give their all to help their fellow man.  I was proud of these people who helped those in need.  What great role models for our children and each other to look up to.
5. I’ve just “worked through” the numbers for projected student enrollment, which is the main “driver” for the Ohio School Facilities Commission in determining the actual amount of square footage to be allowed for future construction.  The 2016-2017 school year is the target year and we are projected to be at 1332 students, which is an additional 38 students over the next nine years.  HOWEVER, this is lower than the 1591 students predicted in our 2001 study, which is 259 less students.
   I’ve consulted with the demographer and explained my belief that it is a significantly lower number than I would have expected, given the historical pattern of growth in the 1990’s.
   The demographers have advised me to work with OSFC to explain my concern, but they use a demographic formula to determine future student population size. While these current number of students is less than our actual count, there is an enrollment “band” of three years in early elementary, that if I push for current actual student count as the baseline, the result in 2016 is actually a decrease of estimated population by over 100 students. Therefore the trade-off is to accept the current estimate or face constructing a smaller facility.I’m also working with the state planner to see what can be done to increase space.
   Since we already provide programs beyond the state minimum, such as all day kindergarten and support personnel providing music, art, and guidance, we will be required to apply 100% of construction costs to house these programs for the additional space that would be required. Note the attached report.
6. We had opening day meeting with our staff. I think they see how urgent it is for us to position ourselves to move to an even higher level academically.
7. Enclosed is an Executive Summary as possible OSFC reforms to make the construction process more palatable to communities. This document, though executive in nature, does provide some insights board members should have, especially when our “needs” exceed available space. (Item A)
8. Lisa has asked that we upgrade our phone capability at the elementary school. This will require a change order in the amount of $2305 which I’ll recommend for approval.
9. Public education and the new economy are two items which should complement each other. In the future, neither can really survive unless the other is successful. “The 2007 State New Economy Index”, a study conducted by the Elring Marion Kaufman Foundation which is a private, nonprofit foundation formed to advance entrepreneurship and improve education of children and growth.

Sadly to say, Ohio ranks in the bottom tier of the 50 states in these categories:
Overall Ranking – 29
Workforce education – 39
Manufacturing value added – 30
Expert focus of manufacturing and services – 30
“Gazelle Jobs” or rapidly growing – 39
Job churning or new start-ups failures combined – 48
More importantly, this foundation has no political affiliation, where data is used to reinforce dogma, rather than to be a tool for planning.
When you look at L-B student and district performance data objectively, we are doing our part in elevating the learning potential of our children and then providing highly functional students as indicated by studies conducted by the American College Testing Service and the Ohio Board of Regents. These bodies of evidence are a contra-indication of some of the No Child Left Behind information presented.
When looking at these different sources of information, we again will see that people will latch on to those data points that support their personal or political beliefs.
This includes me, by the way, because we’re seeing the best academic performance in the history of our school.
10. This past 2006-07 school year, 23 students took advantage of the post-secondary options program. While the school district transferred $19,787 to local colleges/universities, the dollar value if paid at the university rate was $71,654. As you can see, this is a huge advantage to these parents, and an indirect compliment to L-B for getting students prepared to be successful at the college level, should they decide to “go early”. Add to this our Oberlin experience, and WOW! Enough said.
11. As we’re able to finalize student enrollments, Brian needs to bring back Caryn Johnson and Karen Curto and increase time for Mrs. Cramer and Mrs. Teeple.
12. At our last meeting a “concern” was brought up regarding administrative expenses. From 2005-06 to 2006-07, our per pupil administrative costs increased from $897 to $924 per pupil, a 3% increase.Our per pupil instructional costs increased from $4280 per pupil to $4625 per pupil, a 7.7% increase. Our other centers of building operations increased 2.9%, and student support increased 14.7%. When adding these different items, our total cost per pupil for 2006-07 was $8170 per pupil, a 7.3% increase from the prior year. As you can see, we put money into instruction and student support.
    We need to get a grasp of how our expenditures are rising relative to income. This data may be hard for some to “agree” with, but the data is state driven, and eliminates some incorrect perceptions as to how our dollars are spent. This is a 5 year history, so we can see things more objectively:
                                      FY03     FY04                      FY05                   FY06                   FY07                    Per Pupil   5 year
    Cost Per Pupil         $6553    $6999 (+6.8%)     $7221 (+3.2%)     $7616 (+5.5%)     $8170 (+7.3%)     $554       +24.7%
    Instructional costs  $3711    $3842 (+3.5%)     $4080 (+6.2%)     $4288 (+5.1%)     $4625 (+7.9%)     $337        +24.6%
    Administration         $730      $796 (+9.0%)       $827 (+3.9%)       $897 (+8.5%)       $924 (+3.0%)       $27         +26.5%
    Pupil Support           $735      $861 (+17.1%)     $823 (-4.4%)        $829 (+.07%)       $973 (+17.4%)     $144       +32.4%
    Building Support     $1294    $1427 (+10.3%)   $1424 (-=.02%)    $1524 (+7.0%)     $1568 (+2.9%)     $44         +21.2%
    Staff Support            $82       $74 (-9.7%)           $66 (-10.8%)        $78 (+18.2%)       $80 (+2.6%)          $2           -2.4%
    
    County-wide FY06 data Cost Per Pupil 2007
    School                    Instructional         Administrative     Pupil Support        Building Support
    Arcadia                  $4112                    $1000                    $839                      $1411
    Arlington                $4883                    $1044                    $1160                    $1505
    Cory-Rawson         $4702                    $1412                    $1046                   $1693
    Findlay City            $5431                    $906                      $877                      $1479
    Liberty-Benton       $4288 (6)              $897 (8)                 $829 (8)                $1524 (5)
    McComb               $4932                    $1128                    $978                       $1528
    Van Buren            $4291                    $1100                    $849                       $1785
    Vanlue                   $4123                    $1589                    $926                       $2055
    The only “up-tick” relative to all spending areas has been pupil support.  This covers services like speech, audiology, psychological and guidance services.  With our increasing special needs population, this then is not an unreasonable increase.  The staff support shows a decline because our support organizations such as PTO, athletic and academic boosters have provided more of these dollars over the years.  As you can see, there is a balance to these cost issues and no center has an “unfair” advantage.
    If we look at our $554 increase in per pupil costs, instructionally $337 or 60.8% is accounted for.  Administratively $27, or 4.9% of the increase is administrative.  Regarding pupil support, $144 or 26% of the increase was devoted to this category, and building support of $44 per pupil accounted for 7.9% of the increase.  No matter what “angle” one chooses to look at this information, it becomes quickly apparent that we spend our dollars in areas closest to the children and we are reasonable in providing the needed services to maintain a high performing school district.
    Even more compelling is that if we were FY03 as a base year, the only area where there is an increase in costs as percentage of budget is pupil support with a 7/10 of 1% increase.This has a lot to do with our current fiscal stability.
    
13. Spending four days at a service academy proved to be one of the most insightful experiences I have been through.  The sense of honor and integrity is unparalleled and the openness of cadets, professors and administrators was eye-opening to say the least.  The Air Force Academy’s code of conduct is simply, “we will not lie, steal, or cheat, not tolerate among us anyone who does”.  This rule applies not only to cadets, but to anyone associated with the organization.
    There are three cardinal rules I saw posted that “ring true”, even for us civilians.  These are definitions of specific concerns.  They are:
    Fraud: “Intentional deception of bribes, gratuities, or false claims”.
    Waste: “Extravagant, careless, or needless expenditure of government funds”.
    Abuse: “Intentional wrongful or improper use of government resources”.
    As the district administrator, these “rules of behavior” are an expectation for all those who are part of Liberty-Benton, not just staff and students, but anyone we are responsible for. I have always assumed we all operate under this type of code of conduct, but as time goes by, this may not be necessarily true.
    
14. We’re having some additional students enrolling after the beginning of the year, with many of them requiring additional academic support.
15. When we got back from visiting the U.S. Air Force Academy, I had time to read a letter from the Regional Office of the Ohio Association of Public School Employees.  This shows us some parameters we all face in our responsibilities, and requires immediate action on our part to follow Ohio Revised Code, lest we do anything illegal.
16. Attached is an article written by an “on-line teacher”.  Obviously, she had a short career, but I know another teacher who was employed for three years and finally quit because there was a realization (it just took two years longer) as to what was happening.  (Item B)
17. Enclosed is a letter from Dr. Wittwer of Findlay City Schools, who asked that I share this with you and the community.  (Item C)
18. After submitting the board and attorney generated questions for the architects, I received a call from one of them asking that, if possible, the board consider meeting with them to have more “face time”.  This would allow the possibility of creating a greater “comfort level” between the two parties.  I would advise that, prior to making a final decision, we take a “field trip” to see some of the “final product” of the firm.  Or if you narrow down to two firms, we look at work samples of both.
19. With the number of students we now have walking to high school from across County Road 9, we need to create a pedestrian cross walk.  Jeff is in contact with the county engineer, and we’ve solicited both Dold Builders and Starr Commonwealth to help us complete this as soon as possible.
20. We’ve got a number of staff time re-alignments requiring action due to them being needed to help with the children.
21. We’ll be able to move back to strategic planning with Mr. Winkle after Monday’s business meeting.
22. Enclosed are copies of “The Board”.  (Item D)
23. Mrs. Shivers and Mrs. Dobbins have received bread and milk quotes for final approval.

BOE Middle School Principal’s Report

September 17, 2007

6:00 p.m.

1) Orientation/Meet the Teacher Student Participation

            6^th grade orientation: 98/111 = 88%

            7^th grade Meet the Teacher: 82/111 = 74%

            8^th grade Meet the Teacher: 70/91 = 77%

            Overall Middle School Participation: 80%

Our overall participation rate was a little lower this year than last year.  I attribute part of this to having to move sixth grade orientation from its originally scheduled date of August 21, 2007 to August 28, 2007 due to the flood.  We received several phone calls from sixth grade parents that were not able to attend on the 28^th due to prior commitments (vacations/fair).  I think the overall the flood had an impact on our numbers. 

2)  Camp Storer:   Our sixth grade field trip is fast approaching and our students are anxiously awaiting departure to the woods of Jackson Michigan.  On September 13^th, our sixth grade students assembled with Program Coordinator Mike Rutenbar, to learn more details about their Camp Storer experience, to be given final reminders, and to have questions answered.  Our sixth grade teachers met with Mr. Rutenbar after school to make final programming decisions in order to ensure that Liberty-Benton students have both an enjoyable and an educational experience.  The course offerings will again be focused on Social Studies and Science standards as well as team building,, esteem building and leadership.   Cabin Leader training was also held on the 13^th at 5:30 p.m.  Parent volunteers were given instruction on daily operations, procedures, safety, and the general responsibilities of being a cabin leader.  A question and answer session followed the presentation. 

3) Current Enrollment as of 9/14/07

Grade                         Male                 Female                       Total

    06                              51                       58                             109

    07                              58                       51                              109

    08                              46                       45                                91

Total Students:          155                     154                               309

Our current enrollment figures are slightly lower than our those enrolled during open house but are an overall increase of 20 students compared to last year’s September enrollment of 286 students. 

4) Staff In-Service Day August 27, 2007:  I led an in-service on analyzing and interpreting our OAT testing data on August 27, 2007.  The staff added to the data binders that they were given last spring.  All staff received the following data for both the students they taught in 2006-2007 school year and the students they will be receiving for the content areas tested in each grade:

• Item analysis
• Teacher classroom reports
• Student performance by standard (alphabetical)

In addition, each teacher was also given a copy of the following:

·         District Report Card, Elementary, Middle and High School Report Card

·         Principals Summary Reports for each test and grade

·         Special Education and Economically Disadvantaged reports that I made

We spent the day starting with a wide focus at the state level and then worked our way to smaller and more detailed data at the district, building, class, and individual student levels.  The end result was for teachers to have a working knowledge of the data so that they will be able to:

• develop student specific, ongoing strategies to challenge all students
• develop and deploy an arsenal of extension activities that will meet the needs of their learners based n the data
• Consider ways to involve parents to help with student achievement

We also spent time analyzing our district level AYP data, specifically the weighted points measurements within the two subgroups (economically disadvantaged students and students on iep’s) that have caused LB to fall into district improvement, so that the middle school will be ready to bear its share of the burden in getting out of district improvement status.  

I have been meeting with our core teams for follow up so that we will have ongoing, embedded extension and intervention. 

5) PTO Magazine Sales Kickoff 9/14/07:  Our PTO has contracted with QSP once again to launch our second magazine sale.  The sale will run from 9/14-10/3.  Students that sell at least 6 subscriptions will get to spend time on the Air Extreme Inflatables on 10/18 and students that sell 10 will get to take a ride in a stretch Hummer limo to Stevi B’s on110/26.  There are also other neat prized to be won.  I anticipate another great sale. 

6) PTO Carnival October 20, 2007:  The LB Carnival will be October 20^h from 3:00-7:00 p.m. at the Elementary and Middle School.  Mr. Burkett and I met with the PTO on 9/13/07 to continue to planning process.  The community surveys were considered in the planning for this year’s carnival.  The event was a huge success last year, and we anticipate that the event will be even better this year. 

7) Midterms: Middle School Midterm reports will go home with students on Friday, October 5, 2007.

8) Fall Sports: Our fall athletes have demonstrated the integrity, hard work, and team spirit worthy an Eagle.  Below are some highlights up to 9/14/07.

Football: Our young men of the gridiron are currently undefeated with victories over Cory Rawson and Arlington.  The Vanlue game was cancelled because they did not have enough students to field a team.

Volleyball:                           7^th                    8^th

Ottawa SPPS                         L                      W

Bluffton                                  L                      L

Pandora-Gilboa                      W                    L

Cory Rawson                          L                      W

Cross Country:                      G                     B

Wayne Trace                           1^st                    3^rd

Columbus Grove                     1^st                    3^rd

Tiffin   Carnival                       2^nd                    3^rd

Hopewell Louden                                          

Cheerleading: 1^st place at the summer Attica Cheer Competition

HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

Board of Education Meeting

September 17, 2007

6:00 p.m.

1.)    Fall Open House -  We were pleased with our attendance at our Fall Open House Night on September 6rh, and we thank the parents who were in attendance for taking the time to meet our staff.  I also had several parents go out of their way to express how very impressed they were in meeting with our high school staff.  Once again, we realize that our teachers are the best around, and we appreciate all of their hard work and expertise.

2.)    Staff In-Service Day -  I was very impressed with the quality of our high school in-service program and with the cooperative spirit of our high school teachers’ involvement as a team of professionals from the University of Findlay’s School of Environmental and Emergency Management along with local law enforcement provided a training on “Threat Assessment Management.”  As a staff we will be further developing our building plans to strengthen our already well-prepared crisis procedures.  Many staff members are already eager to be involved in this process.

3.)    ACT Statistic -  Yes, I know we discussed our ACT profile at last month’s meeting, but I wanted to add in one additional statistic that I just learned.  As our administrative team attended an Ohio Dept. of Education meeting last Wednesday, the presenters referred to Ohio’s ACT results, and they drew attention to several good points.  The new one I enjoyed hearing was that at the very “Top of the Chart,” they pointed out that out of all Ohio schools, only 33 high schools had 81% or more of their graduates taking the ACT test.  Liberty-Benton High School was one of the 33 schools in this group!!!  We were proud to once again be at the top of the chart!  Something we can be proud of!

4.)    National Merit Semifinalists -  CONGRATULATIONS to both NICK KOENIG and AUSTIN WALKER for being named as National Merit Semifinalists.  They now have the opportunity to compete in the final round of the scholarship competition to be named as a National Merit finalist, and if they are named to be a National Merit Scholar, they will have the opportunity to receive some nice scholarship money.  I am so proud of them both!  This is the highest I have had any high school students advance in my nine years as principal.  We have had commended scholars before, but being named a semifinalist is even more of an honor.  Again, congratulations and good luck in the final round, Nick and Austin!!!  Check out the article coming up in the October Eagle Update with their photos!!!

5.)    STRIDES Training -  We are taking 60 student leaders to a special Leadership Training and Retreat on Tuesday in Lima as part of our training for this year’s STRIDES leaders.  We are very excited about our year in STRIDES, and our program will kick off on October 2^nd with our 5^th Annual Leadership Day.  Look for photos and additional details in upcoming newsletters!

6.)    Fields Project Update For Baseball, Softball, And Soccer -  Board members will receive a hard-copy of the timeline for our entire project during the board meeting. Once the floods went down and we were able to meet a couple of times with the architect, we are feeling a lot more comfortable with the progress of the project.  The pieces of the puzzle are coming together very nicely at this point, and I thank everyone who has been helping us with the process, the information, the quotes, and the volunteer efforts of time, expertise, materials, and use of equipment.  We still have a chance at having playing areas by Spring, but of course, no one can guarantee the effects of the weather between now and then so we will continue to report on the progress as we go through the school year.

7.)    Fall Sports -  Congratulations to all of our participants in our Fall sports programs.  They have been doing an excellent job in representing our school this season.  Good luck to all of our teams as they continue in their athletic competitions!

8.)    Marching Band -  Congratulations of our high school marching band as they have been doing an outstanding job with their performances this football season.  I have already complimented them on what I think is the most impressive marching drill I have ever seen them do!  Way to go, Band!

9.)    Curriculum Extension -  Ben Gerken, Jane McCleary and I have really been working on the new curriculum extenstion strategies for the high school.  We will be training the four department teachers on Sept. 21, and they will then be working with their departments during upcoming collaboration time.  We are already impressed with the data and strategies we are looking to implement.  Our motto for the year:  Performance Index (P.I.) of 110!!!  Yes, we are setting the goal high!

10.)                        FFA Trip -  Mr. Badertscher is currently putting together a proposal which will require your approval in October for the FFA members to attend the national convention in Indianapolis.  This trip would take place October 24-27, 2007.  Stay tuned for this upcoming information on next month’s agenda.

Sept. 24-29                         Homecoming Spirit Week

Sept. 26                                School Picture Day

Sept. 27                                Homecoming Powderpuff  & Bonfire, 7:30 p.m.

Sept. 28                                Homecoming Game

Sept. 29                                Homecoming Dance, 8:00-11:00

October 2                            Leadership Day

October 4                            Jostens Meetings with Srs – Graduation Items, Freshmen – Class Rings

October 11                          Two-Hour Delay For Collaboration Meetings

See you on Monday.J

Also, just a reminder, I will not be in attendance at the October meeting as I will be attending the OASSA Fall Principals’ Conference October 14-16, 2007.