The AEA 267 Board of Directors met in a retreat prior to their regular board meeting this month to discuss plans for recruiting a new Chief Administrator and Assistant Chief Administrator/Director of Personnel for the agency. The board received proposals from four professional search firms and will meet by conference call on January 18 to select firms to interview. Interviews will take place on January 27 and a selection will be made so that the search can officially begin as early as February 3. It is believed that a new Chief Administrator and Assistant Chief Administrator/Director of Personnel will be in place by July 1, 2010. As shared before the holiday break by email, both Dr. Dean Meier, Chief Administrator and Dr. Ralph Bartelt, Assistant Chief Administrator, will retire effective the end of this school year.
In other business, the board:
- Accepted with regret the retirements of Rob Coates, School Psychologist (St. Ansgar High School); Stan Hanus, School Psychologist (Cedar Falls); and Marjorie Krull, Teacher of Behavioral Disorders (Bremwood) all retiring end of 2009-10 school year.
- Accepted the 2008-09 Audit Report from Dennis Muyskens, Hogan-Hanson auditor. It was noted that AEA 267 had no areas of non-compliance and Business Office staff are doing a tremendous job of managing agency finances.
- Heard the proposed 2010-11 budget from Dennis Scudder, Director of Finance and approved publication in local newspapers prior to the February public hearing.
- Approved participation in 2010 Iowa Drug and Alcohol Testing Program (IDATP) for bus drivers.
- Approved the 2010 Extended School Year Calendar.
- Noted the receipt of a letter from Grundy Center Community School District indicating their membership in the Special Education Pool will end on June 30, 2010. AEA 267 will work cooperatively to implement an effective transition.
- Heard a variety of reports from directors and fellow board members.
Can we look at something out of the box for the top administrative positions? Why hire outside consulting firms which is an extra expense to AEA when we are so low on cash now and might have lay-offs in the spring? Why not have Dr Mary takes Dean’s position and put Kerry Wilson back in Personnel? Kerry knows so many things about Personnel and has “heart ” for the staff? Or, have the Chief Administrator also handle the Personnel issues? Since AEA is looking at line staff for lay-offs why not through attrition only hire one person so do both? It seems the AEA wants to cut line staff, but not cut at the Administrative level? I think we need to get creative and look at doing business differently when we look at Administrative personnel?
Just curious…..What is the cost to the agency of the professional search team and what fund does this fee come out of?
Dr. Meier and Dr. Bartelt have done a tremendous job of leading AEA 267 through the process of merging 3 agencies into a single more efficient organization. They have carefully managed our resources and challenged us to engage in a continuous improvement process that led to stellar compliance reviews, improved LEA/AEA relationships, a positive work environment, a healthy financial situation, and a more effective agency that truly provides “leadership in learning!”. Thanks for your professional commitment to our Agency!
Jay Colsch couldn’t have expressed my views any better. I knew Dr. Meier to be a competent administrator when he served at the helm of old Northern Trails Area Education Agency 2, prior to the merger. His appointment to serve as chief administrator for the merged AEA’s 267, placed all of us in good hands. Together with Dr. Ralph Bartelt, the two have made a remarkable team. Their talents will be missed.
Search Update:
Last night the Board narrowed their review of search consultants to two firms and will interview those firms on Wednesday, January 27. At that meeting they will expect to select the firm they wish to work with in their search for a new chief administrator and a new asst. chief administrator/director of personnel. The cost is not known at this time but is expected to be about $15,000. The cost will come from the AEA 267 General Fund.
Regarding comments about administrator reorganization, the AEA 267 board has a stellar record in keeping our Agency efficient and will continue to explore options to keep us as efficient as possible. Since the merger, for example, the AEA board has reduced 9.5 FTE administrative positions or over a 25% administrative reduction.