Real issue at special ed co-op is not buildings but programs
Staff reporter
A lot of "what ifs" and a "real issue" were discussed Dec. 13 when the board of directors of Marion County Special Education Cooperative met and all pertained to the cooperative's Florence facility.
A major clarification made by director Chris Cezar was that the real issue of the Florence facility was not so much the actual physical condition of the facility but the inability to provide necessary services and programs.
"The real issue is making quality education available to the students," he said. "Those are the reasons for investigating options."
All agreed that the special ed board was striving for the same level of excellence each individual school district strives to achieve.
An upcoming joint meeting between the special education board and board members of the five school districts will emphasize the shortcomings of the cooperative. The special ed board hopes the meeting will reveal a direction of support for the special ed board to take regarding facility options.
Doe Ann Hague, a representative from Peabody-Burns USD 398, asked if the board should consider purchasing the facility from Marion-Florence USD 408 instead of spending $50,000 per year for a one or two-year lease or $40,000 per year for a three-year lease.
"I have trouble signing a three-year lease if we're going to move forward (with a new facility)," Hague said.
Chairman Richard Drake, who represents Goessel USD 411, asked what would happen if the special ed board were to a sign a three-year contract and decide to move forward with a new facility and it was constructed in two years? Would the cooperative be required to fulfill the contract and pay for the third year?
USD 408 representative Lyle Leppke said it would depend how the negotiations between the school district and the cooperative were conducted and how badly each would want to resolve the issue.
Cezar said most of the leg work and time would be spent on bringing the five districts to a consensus.
"If we are not moving forward (with a new facility) we need to consider purchasing the buildings," Hague suggested.
She recalled a time when USD 408 was willing to sell the buildings to the cooperative at a low price. The money that would be used for the lease could be used to fix up the buildings. If the cooperative decided to build in the future, the buildings could be sold.
Drake said one "disaster could eat up their funds" and wasn't sure the cooperative should take the risk of owning the aging facility.
Cezar reminded the board that a consensus had to be reached from all five districts before the buildings could be purchased.
"My district set goals," said Debbie Geis of Hillsboro USD 410. "We could do this and determine if our goals could be met at this facility."
Centre USD 397 representative Clark Wiebe said his district would not make any decisions until the new superintendent was hired.
Leppke said the lease offered by USD 408 was inexpensive compared with other commercial properties.
Time constraints of USD 408 needing a signed contract within two days led the board to decide to sign a one-year lease at $50,000 with the idea of a possible addendum added to the contract at a later date.
Leppke said there was hesitation in his mind whether the cooperative should own any facilities with declining enrollments in all five districts.
"Even with declining enrollments, special education enrollment has increased," Wiebe said.
Making improvements at the current facility as a tenant may not be a reasonable option.
"We're a captive audience," Cezar said, because it wouldn't be prudent to make significant improvements at the leased facility.
Board consensus also indicated USD 408 as the landlord probably would not want to spend money for improvements which was another reason for the board to consider purchasing options.
A joint meeting is planned for 6 p.m. Feb. 19 at Florence. A tour may be available for those school board members who desire to see the facility.
At the Jan. 15 meeting, the cooperative board will discuss ways of presenting information for the joint meeting.
In other business:
— As per previous contracts with the cooperative's director, the board approved a salary for 2007 based on the average of the five superintendents' salaries in the county.
An average of $84,433 was determined from superintendents' salaries of $89,500 from USD 408, $87,923 from USD 397, $87,473 from USD 410, $85,271 from USD #398, and $72,000 from USD 411.
The total cost to the cooperative that includes health insurance would be $87,913.
— The board approved the consent agenda which included the resignation or termination of six classified staff members — Collette Perry, Kerry Clemens, Helen McMinn, Pam Meador, Ruby Kruse, and Katie Phillips.
Jennifer Henson was approved for hiring and will work at Marion Elementary School.
— The board met for a total of 20 minutes in executive session to discuss personnel. No decisions were made.
The next cooperative board meeting is at 7 p.m. Jan. 15 at Florence.
