MCSEC board discusses possible changes with new landlord
Staff reporter
Concerns continued to swirl during Monday's Marion County Special Education Cooperative meeting.
Newly-elected chairman Doe Ann Hague of USD #398 voiced her concerns about the expectations of the City of Florence in using the cooperative buildings.
The city recently decided to purchase two of the cooperative buildings as proposed by USD #408, a building used for the CLASS program and the gymnasium building that houses the OASIS program.
Marion-Florence school district will retain ownership of the administration building.
Lyle Leppke, representative of USD #408, said he understood that the lease agreement would be the same as the one currently in place with the landlord being able to use the facilities, most particularly the gymnasium, when the co-op was not.
Hague said she didn't have a problem with the city using the facility but wanted to address the issues before a conflict occurred.
Information was provided to two new board members, Darla Meysing, representing USD #411, and Brent Methvin of USD #397, to bring them up to speed. Hague informed them that the cooperative recently hired a consultant to provide a feasibility study from an educational point of view of the current facilities with the possibility of looking at the option of moving all or some of the services.
"My own personal concerns are not the facilities," Hague said. "I don't feel we can provide as good of an education as it would be if (the cooperative) was connected with a school."
She continued that the facilities could be shared which would be a way to integrate some OASIS students into regular classrooms. Hague also liked the idea of students sharing libraries, lunchrooms, computer labs, and other facilities not available to special needs children.
"I think the CLASS program needs to be in Marion because students are being transported to El Dorado to an indoor pool for water therapy," Hague said. Having local medical facilities in town is another concern.
Deb Geis of USD #410 said she was aware of a child in the Hillsboro district whose parents decided not to enroll in the special education program because there aren't any medical facilities in Florence.
Hague and Geis are long-term members of the cooperative board and remember the decision to move the facility to Florence.
"When we moved to Florence, OASIS was a new program and CLASS wasn't established," Hague said. "Our needs were unknown at that time but now we know.
"If we're going to stay here, then we've got to change some things," she said.
The contract is valid through June 30, 2008, but the cooperative is to notify the landlord, now the City of Florence, of its intentions by Dec. 31.
"I can't imagine we could pull anything together before next year," Hague said, saying the cooperative probably would renew the contract for at least another year.
In other business:
— Director Chris Cezar reported a carry-over of $540,000 from 2007 budget to 2008. When the budget was originally set it was based on categorical aid of $23,000 which increased to $24,275, which generated an additional $108,375 in state money.
However, Medicaid funds have been reduced by as much as $150,000, and the cooperative receives funding for each teacher which means no funding will be given to the district for open positions.
In the past, the cooperative reduced assessments from the five school districts in the county when there was a sizable carry-over. However, Cezar said he was hesitant in recommending that because of the uncertainty of Medicaid.
The board approved the same district assessment as the previous year.
— A three percent pay increase was approved for staff of specialized para-educators and five percent increase to staff of para-educators. This will increase the hourly pay to $9.04 of specialized staff and $7.98 for others. The board also approved a 3.6 percent pay increase for certified/licensed staff not covered by the negotiated agreement.
— Cezar was given permission to purchase or lease a new color copier for the cooperative. The expense was not to exceed $15,000.
— Following a three-minute executive session to discuss the negotiations agreement, the board approved the proposed agreement.
— Paul Getto, policy specialist with Kansas Association of School Boards, did an audit of the policies of the co-op board. He said they were in good shape and recommended they be reviewed on a regular basis.
— The board elected Geis as vice chairman, Marion County Record as the official newspaper, Cottonwood Valley Bank of Florence as the official bank, John Klenda as its attorney, and other beginning of the year housekeeping requirements.
— Resignations of Carole Davies and Rita Peachey and appointments of Jeanne Strotkamp, Joan Nightengale, Christine Herbel, and Sara Grout were approved.
— A $3,000 supplemental salary was approved for Debbi Darrow as the infant-toddler coordinator.
— Meetings will be at 7 p.m. on the third Monday of each month at the cooperative in Florence.
— The board held a 13-minute executive session to discuss personnel. The meeting reconvened with no decisions.
