June 2020 Packet

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YELLOWSTONE

‐

WEST/CARBON

COUNTY

SPECIAL

SERVICES

COOPERATIVE

Management

Board

Meeting

June

16,

2020,

9:30

a.m.

Elder

Grove

‐

Enter

by

Building

#5

off

of

the

main

parking

lot

GoToMeeting

Option:

https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/964174877 You can also dial in using your phone.

United States: +1 (786) 535‐3211 Access Code: 964‐174‐877

CALL TO ORDER

ADJUSTMENTS TO AGENDA

CONSENT AGENDA:

Minutes from May 12, 2020 Claims and Business Report Canceled Warrants

Preliminary Budget

INFORMATION ITEMS:

Status of new Interlocal Agreement Joint Advisory Appointments GoalBook Assessments COVID 19 Monies LCE Transition Curricula

MT Hearing Conservation Contract Update Exit Surveys

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The following meetings are scheduled for 11:00 a.m. at the Windmill; lunch served: August 11

September 8 October 13 November 10 December 8

The following meeting dates are designated with time and location to follow: January 12

February 9 March 9 April 13

May 11

June 8

ACTION ITEMS:

Resignation: Kristin Cuddy

Recall: Sonya McNeish, school psychologist Lauren Spring’s contract

Audit Contract

ASSOCIATION ITEM(S):

Topic to be provided 48 hrs. in advance of the meeting

NEXT MTG.: July 14?

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Regular Meeting of the Trustees Yellowstone‐West/Carbon County Special Services Cooperative Tuesday, May 12 , 2020 A regular meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Yellowstone‐West/Carbon County Special Services Cooperative was held Tuesday, May 11, 2020, via Zoom. The meeting was called to order by Board Chair John Fitzgerald at 9:30 a.m. Members present: Bill Phillips‐Bridger; Nathan Schmitz – Elder Grove Schools; Cathi Rude – Blue Creek; and John Fitzgerald – Red Lodge. Members absent: Teri Harris‐Fromberg; Gary Fischer ‐ Broadview and Alex Ator ‐ Roberts. A quorum was present. Director Karen Underwood and Clerk Roger Heimbigner were present for the entire meeting. Also present: Kelly Hickey, Lauren Spring and Brent Lipp Agenda Additions ‐ none. Consent Agenda

A motion was made by Bill Phillips, seconded by Nathan Schmitz to approve the minutes of March 10th and March 17th_{, 2020 and to approve the bills for payment. Motion passed unanimously.}

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salary and benefit. Lauren moved from the East Coop and her contract language at that time was similar to the contract she had at the East Coop which includes health insurance benefits up to $1250 per month. Lauren has been with the Coop for 14 years. There was more discussion on the $1250 per month being reduced to $1125 because of the reduction to .9 FTE this year. Steve Willis stated the current amount is about $3800 more than the negotiated amount with SSEA. The board also discussed whether it is legal to reduce benefits already received and negotiated from earlier years. The

consensus of the board was to have the committee meet with Lauren and come back with a recommendation.

Adjourn

Bill Phillips moved, seconded by Nathan Schmitz to adjourn. Motion passed unanimously. Time of Adjournment: 11:15 a.m.

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APTA

Check Group:

PT DUES 1 0 32521 -2020 315.280.2100.0610.00.280 $395.00

6/8/2020

Check #: 33021668

$395.00 PO/InvoiceTotal: $395.00 Vendor Total: BETH VOGELE Check Group:

TRAVEL -IN DIST 1 0 JUNE 20 315.280.2100.0581.00.280 $232.88

6/8/2020

Check #: 33021669

$232.88 PO/InvoiceTotal:

$232.88 Vendor Total:

CHERYL WARDELL 2964

Check Group:

TRAVEL -IN DIST 1 0 JUNE20 315.280.2100.0581.00.280 $227.70

6/8/2020

Check #: 33021670

IT BR SOLUTIONS Check Group:

ANNUAL SUPPORT SOFTWARE 1 0 JUNE20 315.280.2500.0330.00.000 $3,500.00

6/8/2020

Check #: 33021671

$3,500.00 PO/InvoiceTotal: $3,500.00 Vendor Total: KONNIE COLLINSON Check Group:

Voucher Batch Number:

Yellowstone West/Carbon County Cooperative

Vendor Remit Name Description

Voucher Detail Listing

Fiscal Year: 2019-2020

1039 06/08/2020

PO No. Invoice Account Amount

Vendor # QTY

Invoice Date

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6/8/2020

Check #: 33021672

$94.30 PO/InvoiceTotal: $94.30 Vendor Total: LEAH WILLIAMS Check Group:

6/8/2020

Check #: 33021673

MASTERCARD CORPORATE CLIENTS Check Group:

POSTAGE 1 0 JUNE20 315.280.2500.0530.00.280 $448.09

6/8/2020

TIRES 1 0 JUNE20 315.280.2600.0440.00.280 $221.95

6/8/2020

OIL CHANGES 1 0 JUNE20 315.280.2600.0440.00.280 $149.88

6/8/2020

WINDOWSHIELD REPLACED 1 0 JUNE20 315.280.2600.0440.00.280 $210.00

6/8/2020

MASTER TEACHER 1 0 JUNE20 315.280.2100.0610.00.280 $335.45

6/8/2020

ZOOM 1 0 JUNE20 315.280.2500.0610.00.000 $321.00

6/8/2020

OFFICE DEPOT ADM SUPPLIES 1 0 JUNE20 315.280.2500.0610.00.000 $496.95

6/8/2020

VEH /EQUIPMENT FUEL 1 0 JUNE20 315.280.2100.0624.00.000 $126.90

6/8/2020

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CAR MAINTENANCE 1 0 JUNE20 315.280.2600.0440.00.280 $137.00

6/8/2020

ADMIN SUPPLIES 1 0 JUNE20 315.280.2500.0610.00.000 $227.64

6/8/2020

SPEECH SUPPLIES 1 0 JUNE20 315.280.2100.0610.00.280 $214.71

6/8/2020

PHONE CHARGES 1 0 JUNE20 315.280.2500.0530.00.280 $516.19

6/8/2020

CAR WASH 1 0 JUNE20 315.280.2600.0440.00.280 $27.99

6/8/2020

CREDIT 1 0 JUNE20 315.280.2100.0610.00.280 ($890.00)

6/8/2020

Check #: 33021674

$2,543.75 PO/InvoiceTotal:

$2,543.75 Vendor Total:

QUADIENT LEASING USA, INC. Check Group:

POSTAGE METER LEASE 1 0 N8302868 315.280.2500.0530.00.280 $162.21

6/8/2020

Check #: 33021675

$162.21 PO/InvoiceTotal: $162.21 Vendor Total: SONYA MCNEISH Check Group:

6/8/2020

Check #: 33021676

Yellowstone West/Carbon County Cooperative

Voucher Detail Listing

1039 06/08/2020

Vendor # QTY

Invoice Date

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Description Vendor # Invoice Date

End of Report

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FISHERS TECHNOLOGY Check Group:

COPY CHARGES 1 0 800170 315.456.2500.0610.00.456 $8.11

5/20/2020

COPY CHARGES 1 0 800171 315.456.2500.0610.00.456 $30.45

5/20/2020

Check #: 33021663

KALEVA LAW OFFICE Check Group:

LEGAL CONSULTATIONS 1 0 3150 315.456.2300.0330.00.456 $262.50

5/20/2020

Check #: 33021664

$262.50 PO/InvoiceTotal: $262.50 Vendor Total: PACIFIC SOURCE Check Group:

BERN & PUGH CARRYOVER 1 0 351950 315.280.2500.0610.00.000 $3,490.72

5/20/2020

SERVICE FEES 1 0 351950 315.280.2500.0610.00.000 $273.78

5/20/2020

Check #: 33021665

$3,764.50 PO/InvoiceTotal:

$3,764.50 Vendor Total:

QUADIENT FINANCE USA, INC.

Check Group:

POSTAGE 1 0 MAY20-2 315.456.2500.0530.00.456 $458.27

5/20/2020

Check #: 33021666

Yellowstone West/Carbon County Cooperative

Voucher Detail Listing

1035 05/20/2020

Vendor # QTY

Invoice Date

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SONYA MCNEISH Check Group:

TRAVEL -IN DIST 1 0 MAY20-2 315.456.2100.0581.00.456 $36.80

5/20/2020

Check #: 33021667

End of Report

$4,560.63 Grand Total:

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Canceled Warrant List

May 1, 2020

Following is a list of previous year’s warrant still outstanding that need to be canceled:

Check #

Vendor

Amount

Claims

21183

07-10-18

AVG Tech

$ 711.99

21203

08-07-18

SAM

$ 535.00

Payroll

None

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Yellowstone

‐

West/Carbon

County

Special

Services

Cooperative

2016 Grand Avenue, Suite C Billings, Montana 59102 (406) 839‐2339 Fax: (406) 839‐2345

June 9, 2020

Dear Management Board Members:

Given the resignation of Kristin Cuddy, I recommend to you Sonya McNeish as school

psychologist. Sonya was advised earlier this year that her position would no longer exist due to

downsizing. At this time recognizing the collective bargaining agreement and her strong service

history, I recommend her for rehire for the 2020-2021 school year. You may recall our agreement

states the following:

No new employees shall be hired by the Board while there are employees on

layoff, unless none of the employees on layoff is certified to fill the position in

question. Recall shall be offered to qualified employees in the reverse order of

their layoff. When placed on layoff, employees shall maintain a current address

with the Cooperative. If a position becomes available for which an employee on

layoff is qualified, the Board shall provide written notice by certified mail, return

receipt requested. The employee shall have ten (10) working days from the date

the letter is postmarked to accept reinstatement, responding by certified mail or

by personal contact followed immediately by the required written response.

Failure to accept reinstatement within the time specified in this Agreement shall

constitute forfeiture by the employee to any future rights to re-employment with

the Cooperative.

As such, I intend to provide Sonya written notice in the form of a contract offer that a position of

school psychologist is open following this meeting and the anticipated acceptance of Kristin

Cuddy’s resignation. I have communicated verbally with Sonya and she is interested in resuming

her position. She will be on Step 14 on the specialist salary schedule in the agreement.

Sincerely,

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RELIEF NEEDED TO AVOID SPECIAL ED FINANCIAL

PENALTIES FOR THIS SCHOOL YEAR, BEYOND.

The Council

of Administrators of Special Education continues to raise the alarm about the likely inability of local educational agencies to meet IDEA fiscal requirements for

maintenance of effort as a result of the pandemic. CASE has warned that any penalties for not meeting MOE requirements may limit school districts' capacity to provide services to students with disabilities. MOE requires school districts to fund special education programs with local -- or state and local dollars -- at a consistent level year to year. When districts don't meet their MOE obligations, the state educational agency is required to pay the U.S. Education Department the lower of these two calculations: the amount in nonfederal funds equal to the shortfall or the amount of the LEA's Part B subgrant. A state can then require reimbursement from a noncompliant LEA.

Main topics of concern to CASE

Þ CASE is worried about meeting local MOE requirements for the SY 2019-20 when some districts had fewer expenditures due to the unplanned move to distance learning when stay-at-home orders went into effect. For example, the extended school closures may have resulted in lower spending on specialized transportation, one-to-one paraprofessionals, and contracted special education services, CASE said.

Þ CASE is also concerned about special education finances for the SY 2020-21 and beyond due to expected state and local cuts to education as a result of shrinking tax revenues.

Þ The best solution to these 'pandemic penalties' would be adding a COVID-19 exemption for local MOE requirements, CASE suggested. The IDEA already provides four exceptions, but none specifically apply to the economic fallout from the pandemic. CASE recommended that the new exception be considered annually and be based on local and state economies returning to their pre-COVID-19 levels.

Þ Another option, CASE said, is to waive MOE for the SYs 2019-20 and 2020-21, with consideration of additional waivers beyond SY 2020-21. In this situation, CASE recommended that MOE levels be reset based on expenditures for the SY 2019-20 or levels set by the federal and state economies.

Þ CASE said that if an exemption or waiver were granted, schools still must provide FAPE to students with disabilities.

Within the last week, CASE made its concerns about the impact of the coronavirus outbreak known in a position statement and in a letter to Congress. "While MOE was developed to ensure continued investment in special education regardless of cuts to other sectors of education, this unprecedented circumstance [of the pandemic] is beyond any financial impact we have seen in decades," according

to the June 2 position statement posted on the council's website.

These materials have been designed to provide helpful information regarding recent legal topics and best practices. These materials are for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. Should the recipient of these materials desire legal advice on any of the topics or information contained herein, Kaleva Law Office recommends that the recipient make a specific request for legal advice.

TAKEAWAY

It is unclear if or when

Congress will address this

issue.

Education administrative

organizations and disability

advocacy groups have lobbied

Congress for more funding,

including billions more

dedicated for special education

to help schools support

students' learning loss and

social and emotional needs.

We will keep you posted on

updates to this issue.

Photo Credit: Brian West Photography

Produced by Elizabeth Crespo Esq.

EMAIL: [email protected] PHONE: 406.542.1300