Board of Trustees - Minutes
April 1, 2005 MINUTES
Meeting of the Board of Trustees
Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired
The regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Trustees, Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TSBVI) was held in Room 116 of the Administration Building, located at 1100 West 45th Street, Austin, Texas on April 1, 2005.
Call to Order: Frankie Swift, Board President, called the meeting to order at 10:30 AM. In addition to Ms. Swift, the following Board members were in attendance: Gene Brooks, Jamie Wheeler, Janet Ardoyno, Mary Sue Welch, Debbie Louder, and Donna Clopton.
Introduction of Audience: Others in attendance at the meeting included Phil Hatlen, Susan Houghtling, Kim Nagy, Barney Schulz, Malcolm Cleveland, Miles Fain, Debra Nesbitt, Russell Gregorczyk, Cyral Miller, Carol Vaughan, Lauren Newton, James Lambert, Lori Seiler, Shelly Allen, and Ken Miller.
Public Comments/Open Forum: There were no public comments.
Award of Certification of Appreciation: Frankie Swift presented Lori Seiler with a framed Certificate of Appreciation for her 23 years of service at TSBVI. Ms. Swift also presented Mary Lou Rink with a framed Certificate of Appreciation for her 20 years of service. James Lambert expressed his gratitude to both Lori and Mary Lou, who have worked for him in his department for so many years. The Board thanked them for their service, and everyone told them they would be sorely missed.
Consideration of Approval of Minutes of January 28, 2005 Board Meeting: Debbie Louder noted that she was listed as the Board President on the signature page, but she is the Board Vice President. Donna Clopton moved that the January 28, 2005 minutes be accepted with the proposed correction. Mary Sue Welch seconded the motion. The motion to pass was unanimous.
Report from the Personnel Committee:
Consideration of Approval of Board Policies: Donna Clopton presented policies DEA, DF, DFAA, DFAC, DFBA, DFBB, and DFD to the Board for approval. The Personnel Committee moved that the policies be accepted as presented. Since the motion for approval came from the Personnel Committee, no second was necessary. The motion to pass was unanimous.
Superintendent’s Mid-Year Progress Report on Goals: Phil Hatlen stated he did not have his mid-year progress report on goals yet, but that he could send it to the board via e-mail within two weeks.
Consideration of Approval of Proposed Renewals and Non-renewals of Staff Contracts: Donna Clopton stated that the Personnel Committee recommends approval of the proposed renewals of staff contracts. At this time, there were no non-renewals. Since the motion came from the Personnel Committee, no second was necessary. The motion to pass was unanimous.
Report from the Program Committee:
Consideration of Approval of Board Policies: Debbie Louderpresented policies BDF, BEC, BED, CLE, CMD, CQ, CRB, EB, EC, EEJB, EFAA, EI, EIA, EJ, EK, EKB, FDD, FEA, FEB, FEC, and FED to the Board for approval. The Program Committee moved to approve the policies as presented. Since the motion for approval came from the Program Committee, no second was necessary. The motion to pass was unanimous.
Consideration of Approval of the School’s Calendar for 2005-2006: Janet Ardoyno asked if we were going to need to increase the number of school days for the next school year. Debbie Louder explained that if that is passed, the calendar will need to be amended at the summer Board Meeting. Debbie Louder stated that the committee moved to accept the proposed calendar for 2005-2006. No second was necessary. The motion to pass was unanimous.
Progress Report on Development of the Annual Improvement Plan for 2005-2006: Debbie Louder explained that all Board members had received a draft of the Annual Improvement Plan for 2005-2006, and that it is still in the planning process. All Board members will receive a final version before the next Board meeting, and this item will be back on the agenda at the May meeting.
Reports from Instructional Program Directors: Cyral Miller, Director of Outreach, reported on the Deaf Blind Symposium. They had 398 attendants at the symposium, and 97 of those were parents. When the DeafBlind Symposium also included multi-handicapped children, attendance was up to 800 or 900 people. After an audit, they realized that the grant that was supporting the symposium would best be used if it only serviced deafblind students. So they focused on deafblind issues and reduced the number of attendants. She has seen many examples of how this has strengthened the effectiveness of the symposium. Debbie Louder also noted that the Take Charge Parent Workshop was very successful. Janet Ardoyno noted that a parent had complained that their child had experienced success through the wonderful teaching techniques in the Outreach programs, but then did not receive the same techniques while attending school at TSBVI. Ms. Miller stated that she and Miles Fain would like to discuss the experience of that particular student, and try to resolve any problems they might find.
Lauren Newton reported on both Summer Programs and Short-Term Programs. She passed out a handout comparing summer acceptance numbers with summer acceptance and attendance numbers from last year, although she noted that it is difficult to compare numbers because students frequently add and drop classes. In general, the numbers are not that different this year from last year. This year, Summer Programs decided to market a class that specifically deals with issues of transition for students moving from elementary school to middle school. Summer Programs had decided that if they received at least six applicants, then they would have the class; they received enough applicants for two classes. Dr. Newton stated that she would like to continue marketing Summer Programs next year, since there seems to be a slight dwindling of interest in the programs since the budget cuts were announced. Dr. Newton then passed out the calendar for Short-term Programs for 2005-2006. They have targeted elementary students for technology and math concepts training, in an effort to increase awareness among home districts of the importance of this education for blind and visually impaired students, especially at a young age. Two other new classes are a special weekend course called “Getting There Weekend” which deals with transportation issues in the community, and a “Fitness—At Home and in the Community” weekend course. Debbie Louder asked if Special Programs does a needs assessment across the state with teachers to determine what programs to offer. Dr. Newton stated that they do survey teachers, and they also ask teachers and students that attend programs for feedback. She then noted that the “Capital Experience” course was a great success and will be offered again in two years when the legislature is back in session.
Miles Fain stated that today’s Comprehensive Programs report comes from Debra Sewell and Pat Stephenson, who is an Assistant Principal and Chair of the School Health Advisory Council. They gave an update on what we are planning for the Elementary Comprehensive Health Curriculum. The state has required that by the 2006-2007 school year, schools are required to have developed and instituted a comprehensive health curriculum at the elementary level that will hopefully begin to deal with the epidemic problems of child obesity and diabetes. “Healthy and Wise” is the favored program among the committee, and this company has also done the best job of providing electronic materials that are accessible and can be converted to Braille and large print, depending on individual student needs. They would like to begin using this program next year with Elementary students. The state’s plan is that following the 2006-2007 school year, middle schools and high schools will be required to have a comprehensive health curriculum, as well. Regarding the Practical Academics Health Curriculum for High School Students, Mr. Fain noted that the committee has been able to work in to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills many of the VI specific topics concerning health. Parent members of the committee have been very active and helpful, and are approaching pharmaceutical companies for donations of funds or models/materials for classroom instruction. Some parents have even volunteered to make the kits that will be used in the classroom. Next year, the committee plans to work with classroom teachers, PE teachers, Food Service staff, and counselors on how they can help with supporting the new health curriculum on campus. We are looking to develop and implement a SBOE credit full-year health course, where the first semester would work on the TEKS requirements and the second semester would work on BI specific concepts related to health. Dr. Hatlen then congratulated Mr. Fain on being one of five recipients of an award from the Council of Schools for the Blind that allowed him to attend the Josephine L. Taylor Leadership Institute.
Report from the Finance and Audit Committee:
Consideration of Approval of Investment Report: The Finance and Audit Committee moved to accept the Investment Report as presented. Since the motion came from committee, no second was necessary. The motion to pass was unanimous.
Approval of Receipt of Gifts and Donations over $500: Frankie Swift reported that we received one donation of $1,500 since the last board meeting. The Finance and Audit Committee made a motion to approve the receipt of the donation. No second was necessary. The motion to pass was unanimous.
Approval of Request for Expenditure of Gifts and Donations: Frankie Swift reported that the donation of $1,500 was specified for the Junior/Senior Prom. The Committee made a motion to approve the expenditure. No second was necessary. The motion to pass was unanimous.
Report on Curriculum Sales: Barney Schulz passed out a cumulative report on curriculum sales, noting that a column had been added for the sales that have occurred for the first six months of this fiscal year. During the first six months, we have sold 2,777 different print publications, 17 video copies, and 76 different Braille and diskettes, generating a total of $117,415 in sales for the first six months. Dr. Hatlen noted that TSBVI was approached by the American Printing House for the Blind about including the calendar book that Robbie Blaha authored in a “calendar kit” that they will be offering. We have reached an agreement with them where they will be purchasing large quantities of the book from us at full price, which will increase curriculum sales significantly.
State Audit Update: Malcolm Cleveland introduced two auditors, Michelle Feller, Project Manager and Jenay Oliphant, Assistant Project Manager. He reported that six state auditors arrived on March 22nd and that they are being housed in Dorm A. Two of the auditors are new employees that are doing this audit as part of their training, which explains why there are so many for this one audit. He noted that the auditors sent us several lists of questions that we have responded to both in writing and by holding meetings with them. He stated that the auditors feel they will be finished here on campus by the end of May, and then it will be at least six weeks before the report will be issued. Dr. Hatlen asked the auditors if we will have an oral exit interview, and they said that they could do that. Dr. Hatlen suggested that a Board member or a few Board members could attend that interview, and the auditors agreed. Dr. Hatlen noted that this is the first audit of this kind that we have had since his tenure with the school began, so he feels the school was due for an audit.
Report by the Internal Auditor:
Consideration of Approval of Internal Audit of Campus Security: Russell Gregorczyk presented the Internal Audit of Campus Security to the Board for approval. He stated that the audit encompassed all areas of the school, and there were some recommendations. He asked if there were any questions regarding his recommendations. Jamie Wheeler asked how expensive the DPS checks are on new employees. Debra Nesbitt stated that the DPS check costs a nominal amount, but it only checks their history in Texas. Mr. Gregorczyk noted that he was recommending the $30 nation-wide checks in his audit. Jamie Wheeler also asked about the recent burglaries. Mr. Gregorczyk stated that there have been three burglaries recently, losses totaling approximately $8,000. He stated that the thefts were probably an “inside job”. Dr. Hatlen noted that we conducted a lengthy investigation, and even offered a reward for any information regarding the perpetrator. Unfortunately, no one came forward. The Finance and Audit Committee made a motion to approve the plan as proposed. No second was necessary. The motion to pass was unanimous.
Consideration of Approval of Reducing Internal Auditor’s Time to 25%:
Russell Gregorczyk stated that he felt confident he could provide a comprehensive audit program working at 25% time. The Finance and Audit committee moved to approve reducing the Internal Auditor’s time to 25%. Since the motion came from committee, no second was necessary. The motion to pass was unanimous.
The Board recessed for lunch at 11:33 AM and reconvened at 1:10 PM.
Discussion of Implications of Recommendations in the Internal Audit of Campus Security: Phil Hatlen noted that management team all felt that the audit on campus security was thorough, comprehensive, and understandable. He stated that they are taking every recommendation seriously, and that they intend to have the policies from the first recommendation ready for the Board’s approval at the May Board meeting. Some of the recommendations will be easy to implement, such a signage at all campus entrances and enforcement of the requirement of all persons on campus to be wearing a TSBVI badge or a visitor’s badge. However, there will many problems to trouble-shoot with some of the recommendations. Mary Sue Welch noted that she never received her badge. Dr. Hatlen stated that he would have Camella Rivers attend the May Board meeting to ensure badges are made for all Board members.
Consideration of Approval of Recommendations of the Textbook Committee: Diane Nousanen reported that the subjects for adoption this year are theater arts, music, personal fitness, health, family life, and career studies. All the textbooks that our teachers have chosen to use are from the adopted list, except for the “Healthy and Wise” textbook, which is not adopted but is approved as a TEA curriculum. The elementary teachers intend to use this text and evaluate it for one year. Donna Clopton made a motion to approve the recommendations of the Textbook Committee. Jamie Wheeler seconded the motion. The motion to pass was unanimous.
Report on Work with the Legislature: Phil Hatlen stated that we went into the legislative process this year being asked to reduce our overall budget by 5%. We chose to accomplish this by eliminating summer programs. Our two highest priorities were the restoration of summer programs and the restoration of a system we used to have which assured additional funding for teacher raises based on Austin ISD raises. The Legislative Budget Board (LBB) took our Legislative Appropriations Request (LAR) and reinstated both of those programs. Therefore, when the legislature convened, we reorganized our exceptional items so that the highest priority was bond money for construction. We requested 42.5 million dollars for construction. The second highest priority was restoration of funds, since they had reduced indirect administration by 5%. Though the term “indirect administration” usually encompasses administrator’s salaries, at TSBVI it also includes custodians, maintenance staff, utilities, and fuel. Our third priority was restoration of funding for our direct instructional programs. The Senate Finance Committee greeted us very cordially, and the Subcommittee on Education visited campus to look at the current state of campus buildings. The full Senate passed Senate Bill1, which included our top three exceptional items. The House Appropriations Committee put all three of those items, plus some other exceptional items, in Article 11, which means that it is pending. The House Bill will go to the full House this week, then a Joint Conference Committee will be organized, with Senator Ogden and Representative Pitts. Dr. Hatlen stated that he intends to go downtown next week to pass out a flyer explaining what the Senate did to all the members of the House Appropriations Committee, so that they are well informed if they are chosen for the Joint Conference Committee. Carol Vaughan then reported on two bills that Senator Zaffarini is carrying for the school. Senate Bill 188 has a technical change, reinstating a piece of legislation that was inadvertently omitted when SP1 re-wrote the Education Code in 1995. Senate Bill 189 includes the following: moving a special provision that directs us to charge for assessments to the local school districts into general law, legislation clarifying the fact that we can hire anyone who resigns or retires within a year after their termination, legislation clarifying that we have the authority to pay our teachers during summer school on the same basis that we pay them during the regular school year, legislation seeking purity with AISD’s practice of giving each teacher with a special education assignment an extra $1000 stipend each year, clarify language regarding our Superintendent working a full year and that his state appointed salary is an annual salary. Barney Schulz noted that the Senate also approved an increase to Superintendent’s salary. Another issue for which we are still waiting for a resolution is how much the local school districts will contribute to TSBVI if the legislature ends up changing local property taxes. He then passed out a document explaining the issue a little further. Dr. Hatlen then spoke about an issue involving legislation passed in 1991 that required textbook publishers whose texts had been adopted by Texas to provide electronic files that are Braille-ready to TEA. Representative Grussendorf has introduced House Bill 4, which undoes this legislation almost entirely. We feel that Rep. Grussendorf has no reason to do this, so he must have not understood its importance. Dr. Hatlen hopes to be called down for a meeting with Rep. Grussendorf soon, so that he and Jim Allan can attempt to explain the importance of this legislation.
Status of All Blind Children of Texas (ABCT) Charity: Mary Sue Welch reported that
we have had, and continue to have, difficulty establishing a full board for the non-profit. Dr. Hatlen noted that he and Gloria Bennett have recruited Nancy Levack to be a new board member. Mrs. Welch reminded the board about the upcoming fundraiser at Threadgill’s Restaurant on April 23. She stated that ABCT has established a Volunteer Task Force that will work in conjunction with the school on volunteerism, and TSBVI is looking to hire a Volunteer Coordinator. Most other state agencies have a coordinator that helps them decide where volunteers are needed and then recruits them. Dr. Hatlen intends to have trainings and discussions with the management and staff to help them learn how to effectively use volunteers to their advantage, instead of feeling hassled with another responsibility. Donna Clopton suggested that ABCT look into selling wristbands like The Lance Armstrong Foundation and the Foundation For Fighting Blindness, who sell theirs for $10 a wristband.
Report from the Superintendent:
Superintendent’s Travel: Dr. Hatlen attended an AFB Board meeting in San Francisco on February 16-18, a meeting at Texas Tech University on February 21, a CTEVH meeting in San Francisco on March 3-7, and an AFB Leadership Institute Meeting in Boston on March 10-12.
Campus Visitors and Activities: Dr. Waldron and students from Trinity University visited the School on February 28 and March 1. Dr. Noriko Oka and Dr. Makio Nakamura from Japan visited the School on March 21. Four State Auditors arrived on campus on March 22 and will be staying for many weeks. Mentor Center at TSBVI occurred on February 6-8 and February 18-19 and will be held again April 3-5. Outreach Technology Training was held on February 12. The DeafBlind Symposium was held on February 25-26. A Black History Assembly was held in the auditorium on February 28. Prom night 2005 is scheduled for April 2 from 8pm to midnight at the Red Lion Hotel. The Junior/Senior Banquet is scheduled for April 14. The student Spring play “The Little Prince” will be shown in the auditorium 8:00pm on April 15 and 16 and at 1:00pm on April 14. A Performing Arts Assembly will be held in the auditorium on May 25 at 9:45am followed by an Elementary Awards Ceremony at 11:30am. A Board reception honoring graduates will be scheduled from 9:30am-11:00am on May 26, and Graduation ceremonies are scheduled for 2:00pm that day.
Enrollment Update: We currently have 16 elementary students, 31 middle school students, and 92 high school students for a total of 139 students.
Progress Report on Procedures Required in Policy: Policy BQA that was reviewed at the November board meeting, and required the development of a procedure under which meetings are held regularly by the School-wide planning and decision-making committee. The School’s Site-Based Decision Making Plan outlines procedures for this planning committee.
Use of Facilities by Outside Groups: The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) meets one time per month on Wednesday evenings in the Superintendent's Conference Room.
Monthly Report of Web Site Visitors: Dr. Hatlen reported that Jim Allen was out of town, and therefore, there is no website report for this month.
Report on January 29 Board Retreat: Debbie Louder reported that everyone in attendance at the Board Retreat had developed his/her own list of topics for continuing education. These were narrowed down and listed in a report that was passed out to the Board, and Dr. Hatlen asked which topics the Board would like to pursue. Debbie noted that everyone in attendance received 5 hours of Board training credit.
Discussion of Options for Board Training: Debbie Louder suggested that the Board have a training session combining the topics of “Unity” and “Accountability”, since those encompassed many of the stated concerns of the individual Board members. The Board agreed that the top three priorities are training on unity and accountability, communication among Board members, and planning process. Dr. Hatlen stated that Susan Houghtling will search out every possibility for training in those areas from TASB and other service areas, and get back to the Board with those options.
Report of Consultants’ Contracts Approved at the Administrative Level – Contracts Greater than $600 and Equal To or Less than $10,000: Phil Hatlen reported that 5 contracts for over $600 were approved since the last Board meeting. Four of the contracts were for Spanish interpreters for the Deafblind Conference. Cyral Miller noted that “Felipe Perez” needs to be substituted for one of the listings of “Maurine McLean” in the report.
Discussion of Future Board Meeting Topics: Debbie Louder stated the Annual Improvement Plan, the Internal Audit, and the State Audit will need to be discussed at the next meeting. Frankie Swift noted that the Finance and Audit Committee had asked for a review of Fiscal Year 2004 final report, and also a report on current expenditures for Fiscal Year 2005. Janet Ardoyno requested a report on the Volunteer Task Force and Volunteer Coordinator position.
Announcements: Mary Sue Welch said that Anne Foxworth would like to be the Graduation Speaker this year. Dr. Hatlen thought that would be a very good idea, and that he would have the sponsors invite her. The Board discussed hotel choices, and decided that they would like to go back to staying at Summerfield Suites.
Adjournment: Frankie Swift adjourned the Board meeting at 2:55 PM.
Frankie Swift Date
Board President
Donna Clopton Date
Board Secretary
Kim Nagy Date
Recording Secretary
BOARD DIRECTIVES
April 1, 2005
- Place on May Board meeting – Report on Annual Improvement Plan. (Ken Miller and Susan Houghtling)
- Report on Internal Audit. (Russell Gregorczyk)
- Report on State Audit. (Barney Schulz)
- Review of Fiscal Year 2004 Final Report. (Barney Schulz)
- Report on current expenditures for Fiscal Year 2005. (Barney Schulz)
- Report on the Volunteer Task Force and the status of the Volunteer Coordinator position. (Phil Hatlen)