MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING July 19, 2005 A regular meeting of the Board of Education was conducted at 7:00 p.m. in the Board Room of the Administration Building located at 3801 North Campbell Street, Valparaiso, Indiana, on July 19, 2005. Members of the Board of Education in attendance were: Dr. James Bernard, Mrs. Lorrie Woycik, Mr. Douglas McMillan, Mr. Mark Schmidtke, and Mr. Tom Sanders. Members of the administration in attendance were: Dr. Michael Benway, Dr. John Hutton, Dr. George Vrabel, Mr. Steve Hewlett, Mr. Robert Sherer, and Dr. Robert Rarick. Mr. David Hollenbeck, legal counsel for the Board, was also in attendance. The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance. Mr. David Hollenbeck administered the oath of office prescribed by IC 20-50301.5 to Mr. Tom Sanders, who was recently appointed to the Board of Education by the Valparaiso City Council. Also, Mr. Hollenbeck administered the oath of office to Dr. James Bernard, who was recently reappointed to the Board of Education by the Center Township Advisory Board. Mr. Mark Schmidtke moved and Mr. Douglas McMillan seconded the motion to elect Mrs. Lorrie Woycik as President of the Board. Motion carried. Mr. Mark Schmidtke moved and Dr. James Bernard seconded the motion to elect Mr. Douglas McMillan as Vice President of the Board. Motion carried. Dr. James Bernard moved and Mr. Tom Sanders seconded the motion to elect Mr. Mark Schmidtke as Secretary of the Board. Motion carried. Mr. Douglas McMillan moved and Dr. James Bernard seconded the motion to reappoint Mrs. Joanne Boyer as Treasurer and reappoint Mrs. Karen Pearson as Deputy Treasurer for the period of July 1, 2005, through June 30, 2006. Motion carried. Dr. James Bernard moved and Mr. Mark Schmidtke seconded the motion to reappoint Mr. Stephen Hewlett as the school district’s Purchasing Agent and reappoint Mr. Robert Sherer as the district’s Assistant Purchasing Agent for the period July 1, 2005, through June 30, 2006. Motion carried. Dr. James Bernard moved and Mr. Mark Schmidtke seconded the motion to retain Mr. David Hollenbeck, a partner in the law firm of Blachly, Tabor, Bozik, and Hartman, as legal counsel for the Board of Education. Motion carried. Dr. James Bernard moved and Mr. Mark Schmidtke seconded the motion to continue to conduct the regular meetings of the Board on the third Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. Also, Mrs. Lorrie Woycik reported that the regular meeting of the Board in September will be rescheduled from Tuesday, September 20, 2005, to September 13, 2005. Motion carried. Mr. Mark Schmidtke moved and Mr. Tom Sanders seconded the motion to approve the minutes of the regular meeting and the executive session of the Board of June 21, 2005, the minutes of the special meeting in executive session of June 28, 2005, and the special meeting in executive session of July 8, 2005. Motion carried. Mr. Mark Schmidtke moved and Mr. Tom Sanders seconded the motion to approve the claims for payment. Motion carried. Mr. Steve Hewlett presented the Board with the June financial report. He reported that the General Fund balance was $5,335,318.54, the Debt Service Fund balance was $4,250,392.80, the Capital Projects Fund balance was $3,397,381.68, the Transportation Operating Fund balance was $2,486,785.89, the Transportation Bus Purchase Fund balance was $929,175.14, the Self-Insurance Dental Fund balance was $94,528.45, and the Self-Insurance Health Fund balance was $2,286,188.52. The total for all funds was
$26,344,700.32.
Mrs. Lorrie Woycik asked if there would be a higher yield with the newer investments and, if so, would this trend continue. Mr. Hewlett responded that the market looks very positive at the present time and the district is starting to receive higher interest rates. Mr. Hewlett reported that interest earnings for 2005 will be significantly higher than those realized during 2004. Dr. James Bernard inquired about the status of the Self-Insurance Health Fund. Mr. Hewlett responded that the district reached $2,000,000.00 in cash reserves in April of 2005 and each month there has been an increase in the reserve fund. He also stated that the Health Committee will examine the health and hospital plan this year and additional modifications may need to be made. He also reported that mail-in prescription usage within the school district is increasing but, not significantly. Mr. Mark Schmidtke asked about the property tax receipts. Mr. Hewlett responded that property tax receipts were lower than expected before July 1, 2005; however, after July 1, the district received additional property tax receipts. Mr. Schmidtke inquired if low property tax distributions were a result of the delays in reassessment. Mr. Hewlett responded that the delays are better but, not over. The district has experienced shortfalls for the past two years and one fund will be in the red next month. The district may have to consider an inter-fund loan to meet the end of the year payments in that fund. No personnel employed by the Valparaiso Community Schools submitted a request to the Board to attend a meeting or conference for the Board’s consideration. No items were brought before the Board under the agenda item, “Public Participation.” The Board made the following donation a matter of record of the minutes of the regular Board meeting of Tuesday, July 19, 2005: a. a donation of $1,000.00 from the Exchange Club of Valparaiso to be utilized for the Little Bear Program throughout the elementary schools within the district.
Dr. James Bernard moved and Mr. Douglas McMillan seconded the motion to award the bid for food and cafeteria supplies to Gordon Food Service in the amount of $497,108.25 for the period August 1, 2005, through June 30, 2006, for the items listed below at the indicated unit prices:
Gordon Food Service Category A. Meats & Entrees (26 items bid - 1 rejected bid - 2 no bids = 23 items) B. Frozen Foods (19 items) C. Canned Goods (18 items) D. Misc. Foods (30 items - 1 rejected bid = 29 items) E. Non Food (24 items) F. Beverages (12 items) G. Misc. Dairy Products (11 items bid - 1 no bid = 10 items) H. Special Commodity Poultry (14 items) Total by Category
$100,444.15 $ 42,539.97 $ 65,327.02 $ 65,213.65 $ 31,864.86 $ 60,914.10
$ 23,972.30 $ 68,238.20
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I. Special Commodity Beef ( 2 items - 1 rejected bid = 1 item) J. Special Commodity Potatoes (8 items bid - 1 no bid = 7 items)
$
7,185.00
$ 31,409.00
Total (164 items bid - 3 rejected bids - 4 no bids = 157 items) $497,108.25 The bid received from Gordon Food Service for food and cafeteria supplies contained the required legal documentation and the appropriate nutritional standards outlined in the bid specifications. To determine whether or not the bid submitted by Gordon Food Service for food and cafeteria supplies was a responsive and reasonable bid, a comparison of the above bid was conducted with the bid which was awarded for the period August 1, 2004, to July 31, 2005; the increase or decrease of the cost of each item being bid is noted on the right side of the bid analysis sheet. It should be noted that 83 products increased in cost, 46 decreased in cost, 7 remained the same price, and 21 were new items not included in last year’s bid award. Although the number of products increasing in price was greater than in the past, there were decreases in the high volume items such as cheese and eggs. There were a number of food and supply price changes in the general market recently which reflect world market conditions. A comparison of the new bid prices with last year’s prices for the 136 items on both bids was conducted. This year’s prices reflect a total increase of $2,560.04; this represents an increase of less than 1 percent. Because three food items were rejected, four items were not bid by Gordon Food Service, and not all items used by the Food Service Department are included in the bid, the Board of Education authorized the administration to purchase these items on the open market through the solicitation of quotes. It should be noted that categories H, I, & J are included to take advantage of commodity diversion programs sponsored by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Under these programs, the USDA sends commodity chicken, turkey, beef, potatoes, and other products directly to Tyson Foods, Jennie-O Foods, Advance Foods, Lamb Weston Foods, McCain Foods, and other companies for processing. The manufacturers then ship the processed products to vendors such as Gordon Food Service for warehousing. The Food Service Department is charged only for the processing and warehousing of the products and the raw products are available to the school district at no cost. In the event the Food Service Department exhausts the supply of poultry, beef, potato, and other products through the USDA commodity program, the same products will be available from Gordon Food Service. Gordon Food Service has provided the district with pricing with and without the commodity products. The poultry portion of this program has been used for the past three years by most of the school districts in Lake County and Porter County. Although only one bid was received for food and cafeteria supplies, the service and quality of the food and cafeteria supplies provided by Gordon Food Service in the past have been excellent. Motion carried. Mr. Mark Schmidtke moved and Dr. James Bernard seconded the motion to award the bid for dairy products to Clover Crest Dairy in the amount of $139,189.00 for the period August 1, 2005, through June 30, 2006, for the items listed below at the indicated unit prices:
2005-2006 Prices 2004-2005 Prices 2003-2004 Prices Clover Crest Dairy Clover Crest Dairy Clover Crest Dairy Bid Quant. Unit Extended Bid Price June Price Bid Price June Price $.214 $.214 $.208 $5.45 $.194 $.194 $.188 $.141 $.141 $.133 $4.60 $.196 $.196 $.188
Item #/Product
1. ½ pint 1% Choc. 560,000 each $.184 $103,040.00 2. ½ pint 2% White 120,000 each $.184 3. ½ pint Skim 4. 5# Cottage Cheese $ 22,080.00
70,000 each $.179 $ 12,530.00 270 each $5.70 $ 1,539.00
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Total Bid Extended $139,189.00
Clover Crest Dairy submitted the only bid for dairy products. The district requested bids for dairy products from five vendors; two did not submit bids, and two vendors submitted “no bid” letters. The bid from Clover Crest Dairy contained the required legal documentation and nutritional requirements outlined in the bid specifications. The bid includes an escalator clause which states that for every $.20 hundredweight (CWT) change in the retail price of class 1 raw milk, the cost of a half-pint of milk will increase or decrease $.001. It should be noted that milk vendors are not currently providing school districts with the option of firm prices; the district has received escalator clause bids for the past several years. The bid represents a very significant price decrease over last year’s bid. Motion carried. Mr. Mark Schmidtke moved and Mr. Tom Sanders seconded the motion to award the bid for bakery products to Nickles Bakery in the amount of $39,540.00 for the period August 1, 2005, through June 30, 2006, for the items listed below at the indicated unit prices: 2005-2006 Prices Nickles Unit Extended 2004-2005 Prices Unit $ .92 $ .98 $ .98 $ .87 $1.24 $1.25 $1.54 $ .92
Item #/Product/Unit 1. 1½# Sand., White, each 2. 1½# Sand., Wheat, each 3. 1½# Texas Toast, each
Bid Quantity
3,500 loaves $ .96 $ 3,360.00 200 loaves $1.02 $ 200 loaves $1.02 $ 204.00 204.00
4. 4" Ham. Buns, White, doz. 23,000 dozen 5. 4" Ham. Buns, Wheat, doz. 1,000 dozen 6. Kaiser Buns, doz. 7. Hoagie Buns, doz. 8. Buns, Sesame Seed, doz. 2,000 dozen 500 dozen 2,000 dozen
$ .91 $20,930.00 $1.29 $ 1,290.00 $1.30 $ 2,600.00 $1.60 $ 800.00
$ .96 $ 1,920.00
9. Hot Dog Buns, Foot Long doz. 1,000 dozen 10. Hot Dog Buns, Reg., doz. 5,200 dozen 11. Dinner Rolls, doz. Total Bid 1,500 dozen
$2.12 $ 2,120.00 $ .91 $ 4,732.00 $ .92 $ 1,380.00 $39,540.00
$2.00 $ .87 $ .88
Nickles Bakery submitted the only bid for bakery products. The district requested bids for bakery products from two vendors. Nickles Bakery submitted the only bid for bakery products. The bid from Nickles Bakery contained the required legal documentation and the appropriate nutritional standards outlined in the bid specifications. Nickles Bakery has served the Valparaiso Community Schools for many years in the past and has provided excellent quality and service. Motion carried. Mr. Mark Schmidtke moved and Mr. Douglas McMillan seconded the motion to employ Mrs. Cathy Tade on a regular teacher’s contract as a 1.0 FTE language arts teacher at Valparaiso High School for the 2005-
5 2006 school year. Motion carried. Mr. Mark Schmidtke moved and Mr. Douglas McMillan seconded the motion to employ Ms. Lindsay Babcock on a regular teacher’s contract as a 1.0 FTE language arts teacher at Valparaiso High School for the 2005-2006 school year. Motion carried.
Mr. Mark Schmidtke moved and Mr. Douglas McMillan seconded the motion to employ Mrs. Laura Moore on a temporary teacher’s contract as a 1.0 FTE Spanish teacher at Thomas Jefferson Middle School for the 2005-2006 school year. Motion carried. Mr. Mark Schmidtke moved and Mr. Douglas McMillan seconded the motion to employ Ms. Deanna Likens on a regular teacher’s contract as a .50 FTE kindergarten teacher at Central Elementary School and also an instructional aide at Central Elementary School for the 2005-2006 school year. Motion carried. Mr. Mark Schmidtke moved and Mr. Douglas McMillan seconded the motion to employ Mr. Sid Reggie, a retired Valparaiso High School social studies teacher, as a .167 FTE International Baccalaureate (IB) teacher for the 2005-2006 school year. Motion carried. Mr. Mark Schmidtke moved and Mr. Douglas McMillan seconded the motion to employ Mrs. Sue Blythe, a third grade teacher at Parkview Elementary School, as a teacher in the 2005 summer school Jump Start Program. Mrs. Blythe would be replacing Mrs. Shirley Boezeman who has resigned from that position. Motion carried. Mr. Mark Schmidtke moved and Mr. Douglas McMillan seconded the motion to employ Mrs. Janet Hughes as a media center aide at Northview Elementary School for 32½ hours per week at a rate of $12.72 per hour effective August 15, 2005. Motion carried. Mr. Mark Schmidtke moved and Mr. Douglas McMillan seconded the motion to accept the letter of intent to retire submitted by Ms. Valerie Townsend, a fifth grade teacher at Flint Lake Elementary School, effective the end of the 2005-2006 school year. Motion carried. Mr. Mark Schmidtke moved and Mr. Douglas McMillan seconded the motion to accept the letter of intent to retire submitted by Mrs. Pam Graessle, an English teacher at the Porter County Career Center, effective the end of the 2005-2006 school year. Motion carried. Mr. Mark Schmidtke moved and Mr. Douglas McMillan seconded the motion to accept the letter of intent to retire submitted by Mrs. Joan Malackowski, a secretary at Thomas Jefferson Middle School, effective the end of the 2005-2006 school year. Motion carried. Mr. Mark Schmidtke moved and Mr. Douglas McMillan seconded the motion to accept the letter of intent to retire submitted by Mrs. Marilyn Schuetz, a second grade teacher at Flint Lake Elementary School, effective the end of the 2005-2006 school year. Motion carried. Mr. Mark Schmidtke moved and Mr. Douglas McMillan seconded the motion to accept the letter of intent to retire submitted by Mrs. Linda Malott, an art teacher at Valparaiso High School, effective the end of the 2005-2006 school year. Motion carried. Mr. Mark Schmidtke moved and Mr. Douglas McMillan seconded the motion to accept the letter of intent to retire submitted by Ms. Linda Summers, an eighth grade social studies teacher at Benjamin Franklin Middle School, effective the end of the 2005-2006 school year. Motion carried. Mr. Mark Schmidtke moved and Mr. Douglas McMillan seconded the motion to accept the letter of intent to retire submitted by Mrs. Donna Battista, a transitional first grade teacher at Parkview Elementary School, effective the end of the 2005-2006 school year. Motion carried. Mr. Mark Schmidtke moved and Mr. Douglas McMillan seconded the motion to accept the letter of intent to retire submitted by Mrs. Caren Jankowski, an eighth grade social studies teacher at Benjamin Franklin Middle School, effective the end of the 2005-2006 school year. Motion carried.
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Mr. Mark Schmidtke moved and Mr. Douglas McMillan seconded the motion to accept the letter of intent to retire submitted by Ms. Johanna Williams, a fourth grade teacher at Memorial Elementary School, effective the end of the 2006 summer school session. Motion carried. Mr. Mark Schmidtke moved and Mr. Douglas McMillan seconded the motion to accept the letter of intent to retire submitted by Mrs. Claudia Castleman, a third grade teacher at Memorial Elementary School, effective the end of the 2005-2006 school year. Motion carried. Mr. Mark Schmidtke moved and Mr. Douglas McMillan seconded the motion to accept the letter of intent to retire submitted by Mr. John Kreiger, a custodian at Thomas Jefferson Elementary School, effective June 30, 2006. Motion carried. Mr. Mark Schmidtke moved and Mr. Douglas McMillan seconded the motion to accept the letter of resignation submitted by Ms. Sarah Miner, a food service employee at Benjamin Franklin Middle School, effective immediately. Also, Ms. Miner would be placed on the substitute list for food service employees. Motion carried. Mr. Mark Schmidtke moved and Mr. Douglas McMillan seconded the motion to accept the letter of resignation from the position of teacher in the 2005 summer school Jump Start Program from Mrs. Shirley Boezeman. Motion carried. Mr. Mark Schmidtke moved and Mr. Douglas McMillan seconded the motion to approve the letter submitted by Mrs. Pat Hurst, Director of Food Services, requesting a medical leave of absence beginning July 22, 2005, and continuing through approximately mid August. Motion carried. Mr. Mark Schmidtke moved and Mr. Douglas McMillan seconded the motion to approve the letter submitted by Mrs. Carrie Brown, a second grade teacher at Parkview Elementary School, requesting a child-rearing leave effective the 2005-2006 school year. Motion carried. Mrs. Lorrie Woycik expressed concern that a large number of staff members have indicated an intent to retire at the end of the 2005-2006 school year and this would represent significant loss of talent and experience and a challenge to find quality replacements. Mrs. Lorrie Woycik read the letter sent to Mr. George Gordon, Assistant Principal of Valparaiso High School, from Mr. Phil Bailey, awards chairperson for the 15th annual National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO), informing Mr. Gordon that he has been selected as this year’s recipient of the School Administrator Medal of Valor Award for heroic and decisive action taken during the unfortunate incident at Valparaiso High School last November.. Mr. Mark Schmidtke moved and Dr. James Bernard seconded the motion to adjourned. Meeting adjourned.
7 MINUTES OF THE EXECUTIVE SESSION OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION July 19, 2005 An executive session of the Board of Education was conducted immediately following the regular meeting of the Board in the Board Conference Room of the Administration Building located at 3801 North Campbell Street, Valparaiso, Indiana, on July 19, 2005. Members of the Board of Education in attendance were: Mrs. Lorrie Woycik, Mr. Douglas McMillan, Mr. Mark Schmidtke, Dr. James Bernard, and Mr. Tom Sanders. Members of the administration in attendance were: Dr. Michael Benway, Dr. John Hutton, Dr. George Vrabel, Mr. Steve Hewlett, and Mr. Robert Sherer. Mr. David Hollenbeck, legal counsel for the Board, was also in attendance. The executive session was held pursuant to IC 5-14-1.5-6.1(b)(2)(B). No subjects were discussed other than the subjects specified in the public notice.