Board Meeting Agenda/Minutes 9-12-16

September 12, 2016 Regular Board Meeting Minutes
Panorama Village Building Meeting - Room A
240 Villa Crest Drive
State College, PA 16801

I.         CALL TO ORDER AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Ms. Concepcion called the State College Area School District Board of School Directors meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. She welcomed all in attendance and those viewing from home. Ms. Concepcion announced the Board held an executive session August 22, 2016 on a legal matter and negotiations. With the agenda before them, she asked board members if there were any changes; there were no changes.

A copy of all materials distributed to board members for discussion and/or action is included with the official minutes, unless otherwise indicated.

Board members present: Amy Bader, Gretchen Brandt, Amber Concepcion, Dan Duffy, Penni Fishbaine,
Scott Fozard, David Hutchinson, Jim Leous, Laurel Zydney
Board members absent:
Board Secretary: Mary Jenn Dorman
Student Representative: Lars DeLorenzi
Solicitor: Scott Etter
Superintendent: Robert O’Donnell
District Personnel: Sue Anderson, Vernon Bock, Linda Brown, Randy Brown, Lori Duffy, Amy Lawrence, Nabil Mark, Jacque Martin, Julia Nelson, Linda Pierce, Ed Poprik, Chris Rosenblum
Guests: Eric Boeldt, Ed LeClear, Anita Genger, Kate Hooper, Simon Hooper, Juke LeVan, Stacey LeVan, Jacob Lorenich, Kim Mavery, Martha Michael, Becky Misangyi, Tracey Olexa, Frank Ready, Terrill Salter, Cindy Simmons, John Simmons, Adrienne Waterston

II.         COMMUNICATIONS
Dr. O’Donnell invited the public to the next community forum for the DWFMP- Elementary Update on Monday, September 19, 2016, 7:00 p.m. at Mount Nittany Middle School cafeteria. They will discuss the current stage process, results from a demographic report, our attendance areas and enrollment projections. Childcare will be available. Another Forum will be held October 17, 7:00 p.m. at the same location.

Friday night is the home opener for our football team and we will have a special guest, Matt Suhey, Class of 1976 and former Chicago Bear fullback. He will present a NFL Golden Football award to State High before the game. The Golden Football program honors schools and communities that have contributed to Super Bowl history. Suhey was a starting fullback on the Bears’ 1985 championship team.

Dozens of State High football alumni will join Suhey on the field for the pregame ceremony. At halftime, State High Band Director Paul Leskowicz will lead the marching band in a commemorative show titled “Honoring Heroes - a 9/11 Remembrance” in memory of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Dr. O’Donnell noted the first free Straight Talk session of the school year, Sept. 20 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Mount Nittany Middle School. Clinical psychologist and mindfulness teacher Peter Montminy will lead a discussion about giving families and students skills to help manage demands and reduce stress.

Centre County HOPE Initiative - Tomorrow night, Mount Nittany Middle School will be the site of the Centre County Heroin Opioid Prevention Education Initiative’s second Town Hall discussion in the "Understanding Treatment and Recovery” series. The program will be from 7-9 p.m.

III.         PUBLIC COMMENT
Ms. Concepcion noted each individual would be limited to comments of five (5) minutes as time permits for items on this agenda or related to Board business. Shae asked if any audience members wanted to address the Board. The following audience member came forward:
--Martha Michael spoke on Policy 123, Athletic Programs. She reviewed various points that the policy talks about and/or states and referenced the girls’ High School JV soccer and varsity squads. She felt that measures needed to be taken to assure the Board Policy is being followed as intended and this could only help strengthen the program. A copy of Ms. Michael’s comments will be part of the official minutes.

IV.         ROUTINE APPROVALS
A motion to approve the Routine Approval Listing as presented.
--Out-of-State / Overnight Student Travel
--Accept August 17, 2016 Culture, Climate and Learning Committee Meeting Notes
--August 22, 2016 Board Meeting Minutes
--Accept August 25, 2016 Finance and Audit Committee Meeting Notes
--August 31, 2016 Work Session Minutes
--Accept September 7, 2016 Facilities and Grounds Committee Meeting Notes
--District Bills for August 2016                                2015-16                               2016-17                    Grand Total
General Fund                                                       $4,166,739.31                    $4,672,221.18               $8,838,960.49
(checks 1024153 to 1024536 and V103492 to V103525)
Food Service Fund                                                       2,734.01                              6,912.89                       9,646.90
(checks 62686 to 62711)
Athletics Fund                                                                   80.00                            11,298.18                     11,378.18
(checks 50054 to 50070)
Activities Fund                                                                     0.00                             3,118.90                       3,118.90
(checks 91477 to 91482)
Purchasing Cards                                                                                                    86,283.23                    86,283.23
(For August checks 212, 446, 7435, 844)
Total All Funds                                                   $4,255,836.55                    $4,693,551.15             $8,949,387.70
--Treasurer’s Financial Report for July 2016
--Budget Amendment for the 2016-2017 School Year
--Annual General Advisory Committee GAC listing for the CTC Program
--Annual Occupation Advisory Listing for the CTC Program
--Annual Technical Assistance Program (TAP) Agreement as presented
--Bid Award for document cameras to low bidder, SDF Professional Computers, in an amount not to exceed $55,350 as presented
--Change orders for Asbestos removal at the High School project as presented
--Panorama Village Proj. General Contractor Change Order #5 in the amount of $2,139.50
--Fall 2016 Interscholastic Athletics Booster Organizations
--Board Travel for PSBA Conference
--Human Resource Recommendations
Mr. Fozard moved and Mr. Leous seconded to approve the listing as Routine Approvals. There was no discussion. With the motion moved and seconded, all board members present voted aye on a roll call vote. The motion passed unanimously.

V.         RELEASE with MIDSTATE CONSTRUCTION
A motion to approve the Release with MidState Construction regarding Memorial Field renovation project. Mr. Fozard moved and Ms. Fishbaine seconded to approve the motion. There was no discussion. With the motion moved and seconded, all board members present voted aye on a roll call vote. The motion passed unanimously.

VI.       EASEMENT with STATE COLLEGE BOROUGH at RADIO PARK SCHOOL
A motion to approve an Easement with State College Borough at Radio Park Elementary School as presented. Mr. Hutchinson moved and Ms. Fishbaine seconded to approve the motion. Board member questioned if there was any change form the temporary done in 2014 and Mr. Poprik noted there was none from the temporary to permanent. With the motion moved and seconded above to approve an easement with State College Borough at Radio Park Elementary School as presented, all board members present voted aye on a roll call vote. The motion passed unanimously.

VII.       APPROVE HIGH SCHOOL CHANGE ORDERS
A motion to approve High School Change Orders as presented below:
         General Contractor CO #33, in the amount of $6,356.14
         General Contractor CO #34, as a credit of $1,453.18
         Site Contractor CO #09, in the amount of $21,795.00
         Site Contractor CO #10, in the amount of $10,291.45
         Site Contractor CO #11, in the amount of $2,135.84
         Fire Protection Contractor CO #02, in the amount of $14,097.00
Mr. Leous moved and Ms Fishbaine seconded to approve the motion. There was no discussion. With the motion moved and seconded, all board members present voted aye on a roll call vote. The motion passed unanimously.

VIII.         DISTRICT GOAL CATEGORY: FACiLITIES and GROUNDS
District Wide Facilities Master Plan - Elementary Options Update
Dr. O’Donnell noted a memo and the August 31 work session materials were shared. He explained the scenarios moving forward are not all apples to apples due to some buildings being higher or lower. He keeps working with Capital Funds to ensure this can be done. Mr. Brown reviewed information on the DCED Grants, PlanCon reimbursement information, the timeline since grants were extended giving us more time for the decision making process and the project goals and capacity decisions. He explained that they would be looking at the original eight options approved for the PlanCon process and options 2, 4, 6, and 8 do not meet capacity. Options 3, 5, and 7 are possibilities and looking at additions/renovations. Option 1 is acceptable for capacity across the District. Mr. Brown provided an explanation for each color coded Schedule, reviewed costs and cost savings, deciding for District Capacity to have eight or nine units, acceptable range of students/building being 400 - 550, Houserville and Lemont would be combined, Radio Park would be renovated and Corl Street would be renovated with three classrooms/grade. Project design will be continued through the fall and trying to be forward thinking with designs for add-ons in the future if necessary. Dr. O’Donnell added there could be possible restructure of attendance areas in the future and the range does provide flexibility.

Board members briefly discussed a different grade configuration for the District; thinking out-of-the-box; with the proposed capacity, everything has sorted itself out; the graph work done and thanked Randy for the changes made to them and all the work he has done to help make the decision. Mr. Brown added that there will be phasing with the projects and not all occurring at the same time. Houserville/Lemont and Radio Park should be complete June of 2019 and Corl Street may be slightly later since it only has PlanCon reimbursement and no grant. He also noted that HEARTS Program would move out of Fairmount Avenue building, and the Board needing to decide on the 3-3-3 or the 2-3-3 model decision by November 14 meeting. The 3-3-3 model is the one being proposed and the motion that will be needed to vote on for the next meeting.

Board members took a break from 8:15 to 8:30 p.m.

IX.        DISTRICT GOAL CATEGORY: FISCAL STEWARDSHIP
Job Description for Assistant Community Education Extended Learning (CEEL) Site Supervisor
Ms. Pierce noted CEEL has expanded this year and has created a challenge for the current staffing structure. One location has 90-children and one supervisor. We would like to create an assistant supervisor position for the large site(s) and will evaluate the smaller ones. The supervisor would interact with parents and the assistant supervisor could oversee operations. Given the scale of children attending, there is a need for additional staff that could be handled by employees already in the building. Ms. Fishbaine moved and Mr. Fozard seconded to move this item to action. There was no discussion. All board members present voted aye with a voice vote. The motion passed unanimously. Ms. Fishbaine moved and Dr. Duffy seconded to accept the job description for the assistant CEEL site supervisor as presented. All board members present voted aye on a roll call vote. The motion passed unanimously.

X.         DISTRICT GOAL CATEGORY: STUDENT LEARNING
International Baccalaureate Programme Request
Dr. O’Donnell noted he had a discussion with the Board about an International Baccalaureate (IB) Program and now he is requesting formal support for a K-12 option to offer to families. This would stay consistent with the curriculum policy and this will not be the last time for discussing this with the Board. Ms. Martin noted she has been exploring various IB Programmes and working to take the abstract idea and figuring out what will work for our District. Each program and each school is a separate application and we are looking at a two to three year process. They will look at facilities and do site visits; the IB world school organization is very particular; and we are not an authorized school. Ms. Martin noted we need to decide which Programme, the way to deliver the model, and spoke on the Diploma Programme for 11th and 12th grade. There is an auditing process over different years and we must maintain ongoing training for teachers. She spoke on the rationale for choosing IB and the need for student feedback for this. IB has an International reputation and this is not IB versus AP. We are not trying to replace AP, it will actually expand. Board members commented and asked questions regarding this proposal.

Ms. Fishbaine moved and Dr. Duffy seconded to approve a formal Board endorsement for authorization and exploration of International Baccalaureate Programmes as requested and proposed. Board members Discussed: a sense of timing and support in the community, taking to CCL and back to the full Board, and Applying April 2017 and implementing fall of 2018. With the motion moved and seconded above, all board members present voted aye on a roll call vote. The motion passed unanimously.

XI.         BOARD REPORTS
--Finance and Audit Committee met August 25 and discussed the Elementary Update, budget Development, and District finance and interest rates for borrowing.
--Facilities and Grounds Committee saw a lot at this meeting. Received more information on Memorial Field and will possibly be meeting this coming Monday to get ready for the community forum.
--Upcoming Committee Meetings: Culture, Climate and Learning Committee Mtg - September 20, 2016, 10:30 a.m. will try to finalize our graduation requirements and discuss Inclusive Excellence policy.

XII.         FUTURE AGENDA PLANNING
Ms. Concepcion noted the Community Forum for next Monday, September 19, 7:00 p.m., MNMS. Board Members could review items on the upcoming agendas and if anyone had any questions, they could send to Board Leadership.

XIII.        ADJOURNMENT
Mr Fozard moved and Ms. Fishbaine seconded to adjourn the meeting. All board members present voted aye with a voice vote. The motion passed unanimously. Ms. Concepcion adjourned the regular meeting of the State College Area School District Board of Directors at 9:14 p.m.

Submitted by,

Mary Jenn Dorman
Board Secretary