California Continuation Education Association
Council of District Representatives
Fall Meeting
Grosvenor Hotel, San Francisco
October 15, 1999

Minutes

Call to Order: The fall meeting of the Council of District Representatives was called to order by President Janet Knoeppel at 9:12 AM.

Seating of Representatives: Janet introduced new CDR members and the members were seated. Members present were: Joyce Bowcock, Glenn Brooking, Jim Caswell, Linda Dawson, Karlene Dockery, Gerry Catanzarite, Linda Gragg, Jim Ingram, Dennis W. King, Janet Knoeppel, Janis Lehmann, Bill Lincoln, Bill MacDougall, Michael Madalinski, Jeff Marcus, Robert Meier, Leo Petty, Jim Sechelski, Eric Spears, Bill Spencer, Joe Stits, Bob Van Cleave, Bob Werner, and Jeanne Yttreness.

Visitors were introduced and welcomed. They included Fuchsia Ward and Gerry Catanzarite. Janet thanked Fuchsia for making the accommodations.

Minutes: Janet presented the minutes from the April 30, 1999 spring CDR meeting. She reminded everyone that the minutes had been posted on the web site. She asked if there were any corrections. Dennis King asked about money that had been earmarked to pay for a statistician. Janet pointed out that the information was on page six of the minutes. Janet then asked for a motion to approve the minutes. Jeanne Yttreness moved that the minutes be approved and the motion was seconded by Bob Meier. The motion carried.

President’s Report: Janet gave an overview of: the Executive Board’s activities since April. They included:

F The Executive Board’s meeting with Peter Birdsall in August in Los Osos and the discussion of the continuation education funding bill.

F The lobbying visit in Sacramento on September 15 & 16 where the Executive Board met with Pat Ainsworth, new deputy superintendent for the Department of Education; Sue Bennet, administrator of education options at the Department of Education; Sherry Griffith; Mike Ricketts, assistant to Gary Hart; Danny Alverez, from speaker Villaraigosa’s office, and Jennifer Vanderhide, from Assemblyman Honda’s office. Janet also reported that the Executive Board will meet in Sacramento at least two more times this year.

F She reported that we will be making greater use of the web site and making it more user friendly. She also reported that the Executive Board will recommend that Gerry Catanzarite be given a quarterly stipend to keep the web site.

F Professional members will receive a pin this year. It will be in the shape of the logo.

F Conference 2000 is moving smoothly.

F Thank you to each Board member. Jim for membership and exemplary programs. Bob who has come up to speed on the new computer system. To Mike, color on the news letter is awesome. And Joe, for hosting the Executive Board meeting. Thank you to all of you.

F Next week, I will be speaking at the Drop-out Prevention Conference. Please let me know if you have anything that is wonderful that I can share with the conference members.

F I want to urge all of you to get back to your schools and work on P.R. This will help us all with our accountability models. Get the message out that this is a viable drop-out prevention program that is really working.

F The new officer’s meeting will be held on Wednesday, December 1 and I want to encourage all of you to send your new officers. If you wish to come in the night before, that’s fine, but you will have to make your own reservations.

Vice President’s Report: Jim reported that he sent the membership forms to the names on last year’s list. He reported that there was a very good response to the professional membership forms. Additionally, there are already over thirty school memberships.

An Exemplary Programs form was sent to each school yesterday. The form is also included on the web site. There is a lot of information about the Exemplary Program on the web site. Because the State Conference is early this year, we had to push the time-table for submission way up.

Model School information will also be sent soon. The applications should be sent back by the first week of January. Hopefully, we can make selections by the end of January and make visitations by the first of February.

Jim will try to get the membership information to everyone by the first week of school next year.

Things are going well and it’s been a pleasure serving with everyone on the Board.

A question was asked about using bulk mail because of the non-profit status of the CCEA. Jim explained that the post office can’t assure that the mail will go out in a timely fashion. He also pointed out that using a first-class stamp assures that mailings are sent back if the address is incorrect and that helps keep the data more accurate.

Jim reported that he brought some membership forms and that they could be taken.

Secretary’s Report: Mike reported that 1,171 newsletters were mailed on October 6, 1999 to all life members, school memberships, professional members and superintendents. Only eight had been returned as of the CDR meeting. Mike also asked that any additional information be sent or emailed by January 5, 2000 to meet the next newsletter deadline. The next newsletter will be mailed on January 29, 2000. A question was asked about photographs in the newsletter. Mike responded that the Milpitas Unified School District’s print shop is capable of reproducing photographs and they can be included in the next newsletter.

Past President’s Report: Joe expressed his sorrow for not being able to attend the spring CDR. He said he was pleased to have a part in the lobbying in Sacramento. He is particularly pleased with being able to get involved in accountability issues.

He brought to the Executive Board the idea of modifying the budget to pay Gerry Catanzarite for being “web master.” He wants the stipend to be affordable and within the CCEA budget, yet enough to recognize Gerry’s hard work and the number of hours he contributes to maintaining the web site.

Treasurer’s Report: Bob directed member’s attentions to the folders that had been distributed to CDR representatives. He pointed out that in the district president’s packet, there was a financial report, a check to the local districts from memberships and the 1999-2000 revised budget. This revised budget reflects the best work of the Executive Board from the August meeting.

Janet asked if there are any questions about the revised budget.

Jim Sechelski asked what the officer’s expenses means. Bob explained that this is money for office supplies and for travel and expenses for state officers while they lobby in Sacramento and attend conferences. Jim also asked what the five thousand dollars for the web site will cover. Gerry explained that it is a round number that pays for the server services which is a monthly fee, for the service for transactions, for the Internet access and for a typist/clerk who assists with mailings, etc. There are some other general expenses, like books and software.

Dennis King asked about the thirty five hundred dollars allocated to Peter Birdsall. Joe explained that it is for a statistician and number cruncher. Jim asked if this was a reference to the archives money allocated in the spring budget. Gerry replied that the archives money will help to put a history on the web site.

Bill Lincoln asked that the officer’s training be reevaluated this fall. Janet replied that seems appropriate.

Karlene asked for some clarification about the forty two thousand dollars estimated for revenue from school memberships. She asked if the school memberships bring in this much money. Bob explained that this was based on last year’s memberships. This was discussed in great detail at the Executive Board Meeting. Janet replied that this was a number that Marion had come up with the previous year and that she was right on target. Leo Petty asked what percentage of membership dollars come back to districts. Janet replied that two fifths come back to districts and three fifths stay with the CCEA. Leo also asked if there was still a three hundred dollar incentive for districts who have plans to recruit new members. Bob explained that is included in the budget item entitled membership to districts. Bob also explained that membership other costs includes plaques, etc.

Janet asked if there were any other questions or comments. Hearing none, she asked for a motion to approve the treasurer’s report. Dennis King moved to accept the report. The second came from Bill Lincoln. The motion carried.

Bob asked for some assistance in “cleaning up” the list of professional memberships and school members. He explained how to read the distributed list of members. He gave kudos to District III for the large number of school memberships. He explained how to read the CCEA directory. Once again, he asked for any clarification regarding errors.

Eric Spears asked what was the average cost of a school membership. Bob replied that most of the schools fall in the three to six and seven to fourteen categories. Bob looked up the information that Marion had provided and reported that of the 122 school memberships in the 1998-99 school year, thirteen were in the one to two category, forty-nine in the three to six, forty-one in the seven to fourteen and nineteen in the fifteen plus category. Eric also wanted to know if he could get a set of labels from Bob. Bob replied that he would send Eric some labels.

Joe Stits asked where the list of life members is located. Bob said that he’s still reconstructing that list with the help of Bob Kuester. The life member’s list will be available as soon as possible.

Bob also reminded folks that he would be more than happy to reimburse members for the travel to the CDR meeting and would deduct the price of membership from the reimbursement.

Janet asked for any other questions for the treasurer. There were none.

Joe Stits reminded everyone that if they see a person listed in an incorrect district, please let Bob know.

Janet urged all of us to talk to school districts to encourage them to join.

Some questions were asked about reimbursement checks.. They were clarified.

Janet reported that there are some changes to committee meetings. Peter Birdsall could not attend due to an illness in the family.  Dick Garcia is not here either. Nancy Christopher is not here either. Three committees were combined. The meeting was recessed at 10:13 for committee meetings. Members reported to their committees.

The general meeting was reconvened at 11:05.

Standing Committee Reports:

Constitution and By Laws: No Report

Legislative Committee: Dennis King asked that each district find two or three students who have succeeded and forward their names, addresses and phone numbers to Dennis to use as information and public relations. This will let others know that CCEA is a viable entity. Dennis asked that these names be sent to him at Chaparral High School, 121 West Alan Ave. in San Dimas, 91773 or email at dwking@cyberg8t.com. Joe reminded people that we’re looking for major success stories.

Joe directed everyone’s attentions to the funding bill contained in our packets. He reviewed the history of the bill’s lack of success with former governor, Pete Wilson. He also reviewed a belief that he thought we would have better success with a Democratic governor. He said he sent a letter to Peter regarding his anger about its failure. He also said that he believed that the Honda bill is not good. There are many parts of it that don’t fit our needs. He once again, reminded everyone how successful some of our graduates have been.

Jim Sechelski asked what are the chances of the Honda bill being passed. Joe replied that he didn’t think it would pass. He believes it is seriously flawed, but there is some support for it.

Gerry pointed out that there are members of the State Department of Ed. who are in favor of the bill. He is not quite sure from where the push for the bill is coming. He believes it is possible that it will pass in one form or another.

Jim suggested that we should hitch our bill to the Honda bill if it is going to pass. It makes sense to attach our bill to it if it’s the only bill that will pass.

Gerry suggested that we will continue with our funding bill. He said he’d like to see both bills pass. He gave a brief overview of the evolution of our bill. He reminded everyone that the bill has been posted on the web site for review for a couple of months.

Joe said that what we’re saying right now is that the CCEA would like to have its own bill.

Janis asked about the five hour requirement. There were a variety of responses. Gerry suggested that we should oppose the bill if the five hour requirement becomes a mandate. A general conversation continued about the pros and cons of the Honda bill.

Jim questioned the strategy of separating ourselves from the Honda bill since this seems to be the alternative education bill that will pass. He suggested that if we really want our funding, we should be a part of the Honda bill.

Joe Stits suggested that we will not necessarily separate ourselves from the Honda bill, but we will make an attempt at passage of a parallel bill.

Jim asked if we have a section of in the Honda bill and if our lobbyist was working toward getting our language in the bill.

Gerry explained some of the background of our efforts for the Honda language and that we do have input into the process. He said that Peter Birdsall is staying on top of the situation. Gerry said that the main issue is adequate funding for continuation programs.

Jim asked again if there was anything in writing that has a CCEA funding model in the Honda bill. Gerry said no, not at all. Gerry continued to explain more background about the funding bill and who sits on the Honda bill committee. Janet reminded everyone that the CCEA Board wants input from everyone regarding a funding bill or the Honda bill.

Janet asked for any other comments or questions. There were none.

Advisory/Liaison: No report since Cliff Rudnick, the CDE consultant did not attend the meeting. There was a brief discussion about Cliff’s background and why he may not have appeared. This has been a pattern.

Bill MacDougall asked that someone draft a letter and send it to Cliff emphasizing the importance of his attendance at meetings. Janet said that there have been many impediments put in Cliff’s way to stop him from attending meetings. Jane said that Sue Bennett seemed to be more open to better lines of communication, but that she wasn’t really showing that commitment. Janet continued to say that the State Department is not being very cooperative with any of their consultants. Janet said that we will meet with Henry Durer who is the honcho over the alternative education division, and let him know how important it is to have access to our liaison.

State Conference: Fuchsia distributed a hand-out with information about future conferences. She asked Janet to report on the 1999 conference. Janet gave accolades to Joyce Bowcock for all of her hard work. Janet reported that there were larger numbers for every meal and that the Double Tree Hotel was very cooperative. There were 635 reservations for the entire conference. Janet then said that Joyce has a check. Joyce then gave a check to Bob Werner in the amount of $61,477.18 as profit from the State Conference. Joyce said that everything is paid. There was general applause.

Fuchsia then went over the information for future conferences. She made some small corrections.

She reported that the Double Tree Hotel chain is interested in getting into a long-term contract with the CCEA for future conference dates. She said they’re being very cooperative. Jim asked some clarifying questions about any monetary breaks we would receive by committing to long-term contracts.

Bob Werner reported that the State Conference 2000 will be held in Glendale at the Red Lion from April 7 - 9. Bob reported that this year’s committee is a state-wide committee and it is a pilot. He listed the names of everyone who has a responsibility for this year’s conference. The logo has been designed. The first registration forms have been sent too. The form is also on the CCEA web site. Joyce Bowcock suggested that a place for phone numbers be put on the registration form due to the large number of area code changes. Bob reminded everyone to get room reservations early. Bob finally stated that he’s comfortable with the progress of the committee. He said that the Double Tree is quite small and that the hotel management is going to have some creative solutions to our problem with size. The vendors, for example, will be under a tent in the courtyard. Bill Lincoln asked if there was an advance flier. Bob said that they would be in the mail in a couple of weeks. Bob Meier asked if there are any district presidents who may be willing to share meeting rooms. There were some volunteers. Joyce asked what airport is closest and Janet told her it is the Burbank Airport. Bob Meier also asked for some volunteers to share hospitality suites. There were also volunteers.

Fuchsia then asked if there is anyone who would like to volunteer to serve as the 2001 conference chair. There were no volunteers. There were no other questions.

Janet said it was 12:00 and the hotel needs a few minutes to set-up for lunch. Since the hotel wasn’t quite ready, Janet asked Jim Caswell if he was ready to talk about the membership incentive money.

Jim reviewed the background of the original proposal for awarding CCEA districts $300.00 to develop a plan to recruit more members. Jim led a discussion about why some districts might be losing members and that in some school districts, there is not a commitment on the part of site administrators to join the CCEA. He strongly urged members to recruit new members.

Leo Petty asked if there is money available to assist principals and district presidents to go out and recruit new members. He wondered if there is a formula for distribution of membership dues that will help to recruit more members. He suggested that perhaps local CCEA districts should get three fifths of membership money because in the long run, it will bring in more money to the State CCEA.

Bob Meier discussed a proposal that would award local CCEA districts more money if they went over their three-year membership average. Bob Werner said that there are already incentive programs available that are not being utilized.

 Karlene suggested that right now, we should utilize the existing money that is available and discuss other incentives at a future meeting.

Eric proposed that the membership committee analyze data from the last few years of membership patterns. Bob Werner suggested that this will be an enormous task. Bob said that it is not really possible to go back three years. Jim Ingram said that this information is available for last year’s data. Eric asked if this data existed on a back-up disc. Bob said that there was no such disc and that there are over one-thousand changes in the last three years. Janet said she would pull the treasurer out of this loop and find another way to find the information. Marion said that Vic Whitaker has a back-up disc. Jim S. reminded everyone that there is money available already. Karlene reminded everyone that a few years ago an incentive was given to districts for the largest percentage increase and that it was a nightmare. Bob Werner reminded everyone that it is up to local vice presidents to keep this information. Leo said that he believed it is not that difficult. He said he had the data from last year and all he’s asking is a way to get more members. He said there needs to be an incentive for all of us to get out there. He said that $300.00 really doesn’t cover much travel. Gerry asked if there was an existing model for rewarding the $300.00 incentive money. He further suggested that every CCEA district which submits a proposal should receive the money. Janis Lehman cautioned everyone not to stress the professional memberships more than school memberships. She said that at least school memberships are a good way to begin. Other plans for personal contact were shared and discussed. Bob Meier suggested that if any district sends a plan by December 1, every district who submits a plan will get the incentive money.

Janet called for a recess at 12:17 for lunch.

Janet reconvened the meeting at 12:53.

Janet reviewed the discussion which took place before lunch. She said that every district will come up with an incentive by December 1. She asked for a motion in favor of this idea. Bob Meier made a motion to give the $300.00 membership incentive money to districts who submit worthy proposals to Jim Caswell by December 1. The motion was seconded by Jeanne Yttreness. Jim Caswell wanted a budget amount included in the proposal that specifies how much will be spent for what purpose. The motion carried.

Audit Committee Report: Jim Ingram reported that there were no problems.

Other Business: Janet began a discussion about the Birdsall contract. She discussed Peter’s contract proposal for $1,100.00/ month with an additional $500.00/ month because he will be working to pass a CCEA sponsored bill. This is a total of $1,600.00/ month. Bob Werner said that this does not represent an increase over last year. Dennis King wondered why the allotted budget for a statistician was so low. There was a clarification that the statistician was paid for from Peter’s fee. Janet asked if there was any discussion. Jim Sechelski questioned the effectiveness of this lobbyist. He questioned how effective he is if he can not get a bill passed in three years. There were several responses to this question. Joe Stits responded that Peter had secured COLA money for alternative education programs. He also suggested that Birdsall Associates has direct connections with other state organizations. Janet reminded everyone that continuation schools also got safety money because of Peter’s efforts. Gerry also pointed out that Birdsall’s efforts allowed continuation schools to be a part of the digital high school grants. Jim continued to question how we as an organization, know that Peter is effective. Joe Stits suggested that we know he’s effective by his connectedness to other organizations and with State Department contacts. Joe continued that Peter has an excellent reputation, well-known for his integrity. Gerry said that none of us are pleased about the funding bill being pulled, but that as an organization, we’ve been pleased overall. Jim continued to wonder why the lobbyist did not have a better idea that the bill would not get through the legislative committee. Jim asked the question, “Is there a lobbyist that could be more effective for us?” Joe asked if Jim had another lobbyist in mind. Jim did not. Janet continued to defend Peter’s efforts on the behalf of the CCEA. She said that because Peter felt badly, he did not ask for an increase in his fee. Bill MacDougall expressed that he felt a lot better hearing all of the things that Peter has accomplished. Bill said he’d like to include this information in his newsletter. Janet said she would get that information to members. Jim also said that this would help his membership. Joe told Jim he does not think he’s a “Lone Ranger” out there, that other’s shared his frustration. Jim said he would like to float a proposal not to renew Birdsall’s contract as a statement of our dissatisfaction. Jim then made a motion not to renew Birdsall’s contract. Jim Ingram seconded the motion. Janet then asked if there is a discussion. Bill MacDougall wanted to know how Peter will respond to this motion. He wanted to know if this will contribute to his effectiveness. Janet said that Peter already knows the situation and that she believes the motion will not have any further effect. Other Executive Board members shared their beliefs that Peter is indeed a very effective lobbyist. Members also shared that they have a lot of confidence in his abilities. Jim asked, “How effective is this lobbyist for twenty thousand dollars a year?” Joe Stits replied that he’s extremely effective for the money. Bob Meier suggested that we can’t drop Peter without another lobbyist in mind. Janet asked if there was any more discussion about this motion. After a vote, the motion died.

Leo Petty made a comment that it seems that we spend twenty percent of our budget for a lobbyist and don’t spend enough money to increase our membership. He said that there is no political clout in an organization with few members. Janet pointed out that our membership has increased over the past few year. Eric suggested that for the amount of money we spend on a lobbyist, we are actually making tremendous strides. We are being more proactive instead of reactive. Eric continued to give praise for the way Peter treats the CCEA members in a professional manner. Jim once again asked that Peter be reminded that for the first time, a motion was made not to renew his contract.

Janet then asked for a motion to renew Peter Birdsall’s contract. The motion was made by Bill MacDougall and seconded by Eric Spears. Janet asked for a vote. The motion carried with one nay vote.

Janet then distributed an information item about the California Jaycees. She continued to explain that this organization would like the CCEA to make a contribution of $500.00 to honor outstanding young educators. In return for the funding, at least one of the honored educators will come from within the ranks of continuation education. This project is one of the Jaycees signature projects. This will help put continuation educators in an excellent light since the Jaycees are such a well-know organization. She continued to tell everyone about the “perks” involved for the contribution. Janet then asked for a discussion. Joyce Bowcock was concerned about the age limitations. Jim asked if the criteria could be changed. Since Jaycee members must be between twenty-one and thirty-nine, the age really can’t be changed. Bill MacDougall suggested that we really can’t go wrong in honoring new, young teachers. Janet said that teachers did not have to be a member of CCEA. Bill MacDougall asked for some clarification about what the term educator means. Janet said that it could include a counselor or paraprofessional. A few other comments were made about a time line, application process, plaque, etc.. Janet said she would work with the Jaycees to work out some of these details. Jim Ingram asked if this would be annual or a one-time thing. This proposal is a one-time thing. Jeanne asked if we would have to allocate the money. Janet said it was not and that we would have to find it in the budget. It could come from CD interest or from the profit from the conference. A couple of other clarifying questions were asked and clarified. A discussion about whether this person be a CCEA member took place. Joyce Bowcock stressed that school memberships should count as being a member.

Bill MacDougall moved that the Board approve five hundred dollars for sponsorship of an outstanding young educator through the Jaycees and that this person be a member of CCEA. Joyce Bowcock seconded the motion. Janet said that the money will be budgeted. The motion carried.

Gerry Catanzarite then led us through a power point presentation regarding the CCEA funding proposal. Gerry reminded everyone that the proposal is posted on the web site and he welcomes comments and questions. Many individual questions and concerns were asked, discussed and addressed. Highlights of the proposal included: money for counseling, elements for an accountability model, sustained growth in student achievement and test scores, specific identification of assessed students, added funding of one-hundred thousand dollars for meeting established criteria, small class sizes based on 20 to 1 ADA, an alternative academic performance index indicator, student attendance hours expanded to six hours if appropriate and revenue awarded for six hours of student attendance. More information will be presented as this proposal evolves.

Gerry also presented an overview of the CCEA web site and how to best utilize and access its information.

Janet thanked Gerry for his hard work and the excellence of his presentations. She then directed everyone’s attentions to the CCEA local district reports that had already been distributed. Bob Werner mentioned the financial reports he had received.

Eric Spears gave a brief overview of the “Students Run L.A.” program. He encouraged all of us to participate.

Janet then asked for a motion for adjournment. Joyce Babcock motioned to adjourn the meeting. The motion was seconded by Bob Meier. The motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 2:35 PM.

Respectfully Submitted By: Michael J. Madalinski