News for Superintendents and Board Members: October 30, 2006
The Business Services Department staff, in coordination with other program departments, is completing the final financial reports for our various grants and projects. The 2005-06 special education reconciliations have been sent to our districts. This is the earliest we have been able to complete the accounting and reconciliation process in recent memory. IU1 will submit its annual financial report to PDE on time. The report is due by October 31, 2006.
This month the Board of Directors voted to ratify a new contract with the Intermediate Unit 1 Educational Support Professionals Association (IUESPA). The IUESPA represents teacher aides, licensed practical nurses, custodial staff, and bus matrons. The administration and negotiating team believe that the tentative agreement is a fair and reasonable agreement. The IUESPA membership ratified the agreement in August. Their representative from PSEA, Mr. Pechunka, asked that we not present the contract to the Board until the language changes were finalized.
The IU1 Health Insurance Consortium Trustees have elected to enter into a contract with Cowden Associates and Benefits Management Inc. to conduct an audit of health insurance claims from the past two years. The audit will reveal errors in processing specific claims and more importantly identify flaws in the billing and claims payment process. The trustees believe the audit is the next step to exercising due diligence in overseeing the consortium.
The IU has organized a consortium of school districts to purchase IEP development and child accounting software. The software will enable teachers, psychologists and administrators to create, store and retrieve electronic documents required for students with disabilities. The software will save staff hours of work through a more efficient student data system. Eighteen (18) school districts purchased licenses through a consortium purchase that saved districts $233,010 during the first two years alone. IU1 also contracted for the training sessions at no cost to the districts, saving the districts an additional $10,000.
Through the KITS regional wide area network (RWAN), almost 200 projectors were purchased by school districts to be used in classrooms with funds provided by the e-Fund (Act 183) grant. Over 800 projectors have been purchased statewide. Most schools have already received their video conferencing units. Three are located at the Intermediate Unit 1 Central Office. Through the mega-consortium bulk purchasing arrangement between the IU1 KITS RWAN and other RWANs across the state, school districts in IU1 saved $381,000 compared to list prices and $268,000 compared to PEPPM prices. Statewide, school districts saved over $1,000,000 compared to list prices and $650,000 compared to PEPPM prices.
At the October Board of Directors meeting, Mr. Dennis Taylor, Supervisor of Special Education, presented the 2006 Annie Sullivan Award winners. He gave an overview of the contributions made by our two recipients, Janet Chadwick and Toni Lozar. The award, named for Helen Keller's teacher and friend, honors educators who go beyond their duties to facilitate acceptance of people with disabilities in school or the community.
At the Superintendents Advisory Council Meetings in September and October, Mrs. Candace Dunn, Director of Special Education, discussed the key issues pertaining to Highly Qualified Teachers including the Individualized Professional Development Plan (IPDP). Any teacher who is not Highly Qualified and has not demonstrated subject matter competency by June 30, 2007 (e.g., has not accumulated 100 points in HOUSSE), must develop, in consultation with his/her school district, an Individualized Professional Development Plan to attain Highly Qualified Teacher status by December 31, 2008. The teacher and the district must create the HQT Individualized Professional Development Plan before June 30, 2007. The teacher must complete the HQT Individualized Professional Development Plan on or before December 31, 2008.
