California Continuation Education Association

Council of District Representatives Minutes

Meeting Location:  Sacramento

Meeting Date:  April 30, 1999

Approval Date: October 15, 1999

Call to Order: The spring meeting of the CDR was called to order on April 30, 1999, at 8:55 AM by President Bob Werner.

Seating of Representatives: The members were seated. There were no changes or additions to the CDR Representatives.

Bob Werner made some announcements regarding the day’s agenda. He called attention to the published agenda, the committee assignments, and the roster of CDR members. He also asked Bill Lincoln to speak to the papers on the candidates for office. He stated that the reports from all districts would be for distribution only. He indicated that in the interest of time, there would be no verbal reports. He urged each district to make sure that everyone got a copy of their reports and other handouts. He commented that we would elect new officers at the end of the meeting and that this was the first time there had been a contested election that he could remember.

Visitors were introduced and welcomed. These included Lynn Olsewski and Doc Sevarese from Mt. San Jacinto High School in Palm Springs, Robert Fisher and Josue Rosado.

Bob announced that there would be a break at 10:00 for the Legislative Round Table to be held in the Ballroom and that there would be a special presentation and luncheon at 12:00 in the Garden Room. He said that all CDR members should get there as quickly as possible following the Legislative Round Table. He stated that the CDR would resume at 1:00 PM.

Minutes: The minutes from the Fall CDR Meeting, October 23, 1998, were presented. There were no additions or corrections. Bill MacDougall moved, seconded by Dennis that the minutes be approved as written. The motion carried.

Bill MacDougall asked if we could have the minutes before CDR. Janet promised to get them out in a more timely manner.

President’s Report: Bob gave us an overview of the accomplishments and challenges of the previous year:

• The new member structure has yielded a significant increase across the state in school memberships.

• This year’s conference has an attendance of approximately 650. The conferences continue to grow.

• AB 1736 passed. This excludes pregnant and parenting teens from the existing 10% cap of Independent Study ADA for Continuation Schools. ACSA sponsored and worked with us on this.

• The Exemplary Programs completed a 2nd successful year. This recognition has been well received.

• We addressed the veto of the equalization bill with the passage of AB2274 which requires the CDE to gather data from alternative schools, including continuation and the information is passed on to the governor, the legislative analyst, the department of finance and State Board of Education and the Senate and Assembly Education Committees. That bill was passed with out funding, but we have made some progress with the CDE to formulate the instrument.

• We purchased a new computer in order to make our membership accounting and treasury more efficient.

• Joe Stits led the development of a new CCEA brochure which highlights our new mission statement and is very representative and positive for our organization.

• We have developed a comprehensive website with information on all facets of Continuation Education. Please thank Gerry Catanzarite who is our webmaster. He has done an enormous amount of work to make this happen.

• The conference in San Diego was a huge success. There were over 600 attendees. All presentations were in-house.

• We now have an Online Directory on our Website, in addition to the many other items.

• We have conducted officer training for the local district officers.

• We have increased our presence in Sacramento. We were low key this last year until after the elections. Since then we have begun to work toward our equalization funding again.

• The 2000 Conference in Glendale will be the first to be put on through a statewide conference committee as opposed to an individual district.

• We have upgraded the newsletter and now have a focus for each issue.

• We have seen a resurgence of several local districts with renewed enthusiasm and dedication through leadership from the state level.

• We have renegotiated our hotel contracts to make them more effective in meeting our needs.

• We have increased the state officers’ participation at the local level.

• Our current project is AB 454 which is a reintroduction of AB792 (equalization funding) from two years ago. We currently have good bi-partisan support in the legislature plus strong support from ACSA.

• We have established excellent rapport with the new leaders in the legislature and other agencies in Sacramento.

• We have smoothed out some of the problems with the Model Schools Program. There will be new leadership in the CDE office this coming year, as Clara Chapala is retiring this summer.

• We continue to advocate for Continuation Education as an effective safety net for students in California which was acknowledged by the Governor and many members of the legislature.

At this point Bob introduced Theresa Inslee to the membership. She works in Peter Birdsall’s office. She is our liaison and primary contact with Peter’s office. She will meet with the legislative group later.

He stated that they have done lots of work on AB 454 and still have much to do. As of this date, it has passed the Assembly Education Committee and was placed on the Consent Agenda. It should move easily since it currently enjoys bipartisan support. Everyone seems to be pretty happy with the bill. Eric Spears raised a question relating to our relationship with Sacramento on AB 454. "Is our relationship in Sacramento better, or is there new momentum?" Bob indicated a yes to both. He stated that Sacramento now knows we are out there. He stated that several of our members are serving on various state committees and they recognize us as people who are championing continuation education and seem willing to listen and work with us. Josue Rosado asked if we had been successful with the 1X Session Amendments? Bob responded that we had been successful.

Lee Newman, from District X, was welcomed, as she had been busy on another task at the time the meeting was convened.

Doc Sevarese made a comment about Chapman College and their lack of responsiveness to Continuation Education. A discussion ensued. Fuschia Ward recommended that we send a position letter to the President of Chapman College, sanctioned by the CDR. Bill MacDougall recommended we also send a copy to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing. Linda Dawson moved, seconded by Jim Caswell that we send a position letter to the President of Chapman College with a copy to The CTC. The motion carried. Lee Newman asked that we have them visit Model Schools in Orange County since Chapman is in Orange County.

Vice President’s Report: Vic Whitaker stated that CCEA membership is up! We currently have 462 Professional Members and 121 School Members. There were over 600 registered for the 1998 Conference in San Diego and we are up over 600 again this year. He indicated that Bob Meier would talk about posters for member recruitment later in the day.

Vic recommended that we provide additional funds to do member recruitment. We have moved from a small to a mid-size professional organization and people now notice us. The more people we represent the more impressive we become.

He reported that the Model Schools process ran smoothly this year. We had 25 applications. There were 15 schools that survived the paper screening. (Six were eliminated because of a credit differential.) Clara had been ill, which was the reason the applications were late, however they managed to turn everything around in record time. Vic thanked the great readers and visiting committee members. He stated that we are getting better all the time at this process. He indicated that 5% of the continuation schools in the state are now Model Schools. He reported that they are doing an outstanding job. He concluded that the system is in good shape!

Bill Spencer asked if schools are supposed to be notified if they are to be designated as a model school. Vic’s response was, "Yes." He indicated that they were reportedly all notified by the previous day, which is before the conference.

At this point Lee Newman announced that she has Model School flags available for $35.00 each.

Bob announced that Lee has agreed to be our Awards Chair and that she has all that "stuff." She gave us her e-mail address: mama-lee@juno.com

Mike Madalinski and Jeanne Ytreness both thanked Lee for the Teacher of the Year information which she provided them.

Treasurer’s Report: Marion stated that checks were included in each district’s packet which are current through April 28, 1999. She said the reimbursement for our hotel room would be $91.98, which includes the tax. Mileage will be reimbursed at $.31 per mile. She said a list of the Professional and School members in our district was also included for each district.

She gave a summary report of our finances as of April 28, 1999. We are in good shape! She included the Account Balance and the Proposed Budget. She reminded the members that they can pay their membership by credit card and that we had our first registration online.

A question was raised regarding Web page expenses in the new budget ($8,000). Marion responded that someone needed to be hired to assist Gerry because of the volume of information that needs to be included on the web page.

Marion stated that this is the meeting where we annually adopt our budget for the coming year. There was discussion regarding the expenditures. Marion responded that the IRS must show that all monies are spent and that there is no profit, since we are a non-profit organization. Following more discussion, Dennis King moved, seconded by Glenn Brooking that we accept the budget as proposed. There was not a consensus of voice vote, so a show of hands was held. There were 14 votes in favor and 6 against. The proposed budget was adopted.

Past President’s Report: Bob Werner gave the report for Joe Stits who was unable to attend due to illness. The institutes are proceeding and have now evolved into an Academy. However, the one for this week was canceled due to Joe’s illness. There will be one in August.

Secretary’s Report: All of members should have received an updated e-mail address sheet. Janet asked for any updates that need to be made. Janet wants to send information out before the next newsletter in response to what was heard in the Legislative Round Table. There are extra newsletters at the registration if anyone has not received one. Eric Spears asked if there was anyway on the web that we could get information for the newsletter to the Secretary. Janet stated that she would investigate further with Gerry to see what could be done.

State Department Report: Clara offered an apology for the lack of timeliness in getting information to the members and schools regarding the Model Schools Program. She thanked Vic and all the readers who really pulled together to make it happen in such a short period of time. She passed out the list of new Model Schools. She announced that Cliff Rudnick would be her successor after she retires this summer. Clara addressed the letters which had been received in the department questioning why schools had not been selected for Model School designation.

Constitution and ByLaws: Bob Werner

Essentially we are at the second step in adopting a change in duties of the State Vice President. The responsibility for the Exemplary Programs and recognition needs to be in this area. This falls under section A-2 (3). The committee recommended at the last meeting that we encompass within the Vice President’s duties. You now have the language change before you. We are recommending that this be adopted. Bill MacDougall moved, seconded by Eric Spears that the recommendation be adopted. The motion carried.

Legislative Committee: Dennis King/Theresa Inslee

Theresa reported that AB1008 (the Honda-Villaragosa Bill) which is the Tri Agency Project. This is a dropout prevention/recovery reform act. They are looking at making this a 2 year bill. There are no guarantees. It looks at the at-risk children, however, there is no funding for continuation education. Actually focusing on kids. Took a look at AB 454, our sponsored bill. It has passed out of committee 14 - 1 on consent. Moved to appropriations committee. We need to keep working, especially on 1008, where we are not mentioned - Mary Weaver has taken over this project. Gerry Catanzarite is involved in this. She is looking for people to become involved. A discussion ensued. We have no history with Governor Davis, so we do not know what he will do.

Eric Spears explained how Peter Birdsall came to be our lobbyist. We have moved from defensive to proactive in the last five years.

Dennis stated that there are two recommendations from the committee: 1) That we invite local legislators to our campuses and let them know of our frustrations/concerns. This piggy-backs on what we heard this morning. 2) That each of us should be publishing a SARC and that we send it to "whomever," in order to get information about our schools out to the people in a position to call the shots. The committee is recommending that we allocate $3,500 to have a numbers cruncher analyze/synthesize and give the information to Peter, the CDE and anyone else we believe appropriate, in order to assist us in the passage of AB 454. This is a proposal from the committee.

A discussion followed. Bob mentioned Joe’s proposal on a photo archive that documents our teachers, students, model and exemplary programs. He believes this can be very supportive for our issues, but needs to be professionally done. Proposed to CDR with a cost not to exceed $3,000. Janet reported what the pilot schools have decided to do in terms of reporting for this first year. She stated that the committee had not even considered the SARC but that it certainly contained all the information. She said that she would contact Dale Carlson to see if he can secure the SARC information from every continuation school in the state in order to try and save us a little money and allow us to move forward. Dennis King moved, seconded by Jim Caswell that we allocate $3,500 to hire a statistician to crunch the numbers from SARC’s in order to help us move AB 454 successfully through the legislature to passage. There was additional discussion. Leo Petty recommended that we create a template so that we get the same information from everyone. Dennis withdrew his motion and Jim withdrew his 2nd. Dennis moved that the CDR allocate not to exceed $5,000 to hire an individual to facilitate gathering of information form SARC’s, CBED’s and other resources that will assist us in passing AB 454. Bill Mac Dougall seconded the motion. On a voice vote the motion failed. A show of hands was 19 in favor and 4 opposed. The motion carried. Bob Werner will oversee this proposal.

State Conference Committee: Fuschia Ward/Janet Knoeppel

Janet reported on the 1999 Conference. She reported having an incredibly great committee who has helped put this conference together and will introduce all on Sunday morning. They decided to try some new things and have received some suggestions for next year, which will be passed on to the 2000 Conference Committee. Our numbers have far exceeded our expectations. We are nearly at 700 registrations! We have gone +200 over our expectations in terms of each of our meals. We made our room commitment about 5 days after the $82.00 rate expired. So we are happy.

In 2000 we will be in Glendale. Bob Werner is the Chair and has a Statewide Committee for the first time. The theme is "Educating Beyond the Millennium." The early dates are because Easter is so late. The dates are April 7, 8, 9, 2000. Bob announced the committee chairs for the various different areas, but they are still looking for volunteers. The other dates and locations are as follows:

2001 San Francisco

2002 Costa Mesa

2003 Hilton Downtown in San Francisco or the Oakland Marriott

2004 Long Beach or LAX

Bob Meier suggested that we consider staying connected to Sacramento in the future. Bob Werner requested seed money of $3,000. Jim Caswell moved, seconded by Tom Jameson that this money be given to the Conference Committee. The motion carried.

Audit Committee: Jim Ingram

The treasurer has done an excellent job of reporting. The books look better and better each year. Marion was commended for an excellent job!

Awards Committee: Lee Newman

Lee suggested that all the information needed to be placed in the newsletter so that everyone would know what kinds of awards were available. For the record she will provide a complete inventory as everything is completed in the transfer from Dick Kuester to herself.

Membership Committee: Bob Meier

Bob will contact Dick Chadwick about the poster contest which had been recommended at the Fall, 1998 CDR. Other suggestions were made regarding methods of increasing membership. Bob stated that one-on-one school visitations is one excellent method of achieving this goal. He made a proposal that CCEA cover 2 days of substitute time in order to facilitate member recruitment. There was discussion on this issue. Eric Spears suggested that at $154.00 per day being the highest substitute rate, this would equal $3,600 total to provide 2 days for each district. He suggested that each district might want to have a $300 allocation to use if needed. Jim Sechelski stated that the allocation of this money should carry with it very specific written plan to use and that it be submitted to the State Vice President for approval. Bob Meier moved, seconded by Tom Jameson, that CDE allocate $300 per CCEA District to be used for member recruitment, provided a written plan is submitted to the State Vice President and approved. There was discussion which ensued. Bob Werner suggested that the motion be amended to emphasize Professional Membership recruitment. Both Bob Meier and Tom Jameson accepted this amendment. The motion carried. Bob asked that if anyone had a print shop in their district and could complete the reproduction of the poster, would they please contact him.

Bob stated that the scholarship recipient will be announced by Marion later in the meeting.

Nominations/Elections: Bill Lincoln

Bill made a correction to the materials he had passed out regarding the candidates. Because there were no candidates for Secretary, and only one for Treasurer, those currently holding these offices were asked to give a brief overview of their duties and responsibilities. Marion and Janet both complied with this request. The final call for nominations followed. Bob Van Cleave nominated Mike Madalinski and Linda Dawson nominated Karlene Dockery for secretary. Dennis King moved the nominations be closed. Bob Meier seconded the motion. The motion carried. The members were then asked to cast their votes and turn them in to Bill Lincoln.

The CDR members were given an overview of the committee and their task. Discussion ensued. The committee recommended that Section A-10 of the Model Schools criteria be changed to read as follows:

The alternative education program graduation requirements, district core courses and district minimum competencies meet the district wide graduation requirements.

The language is intended to recognize the differences which may occur between school districts and within districts. It recognizes that the intent of continuation education is different than the traditional programs. The questions for validation should be: 1) Are they doing the best job possible to make students equally competitive? 2) Dies this program meet the district graduation requirements policy? Following discussion, Eric Spears moved and Bill MacDougall seconded the recommendation that the new language be accepted. The motion carried on a show of hands with 15 in favor and 7 opposed.

Janet also discussed a clarification of section C-10 on the criteria. She emphasized that schools need to use the P-2 divided by certificated FTE for the ADA figure.

Peter Birdsall Contract: Bob Werner

It was recommended that the CDR approve $1,100 with a stipulation we increase by $400-$500 if AB 454 moves forward. Bob Meier moved, seconded by Jeanne Ytreness that we accept this proposal. The motion carried.

Other Business:

Marion announced that 4 districts showed excellent growth. District I was the winner with 41% increase in professional membership. In 2nd place was District XII with 38% growth.

District Reports:

Bob reminded everyone that their District Reports were to be distributed.

Bob reminded everyone to turn in their financial reports to Marion before leaving.

Several districts announced Hospitality Suites for Saturday evening.

District II, Room 774

Districts III/IV, Room

District V, Rooms 792/794

District VIII, Room 634

District XI, Room 467 (Their theme is Duke Ellington Birthday Bash)

Dick Kuester thanked everyone for the wonderful roast he had at lunch time!

Bob Werner told the group that he had enjoyed the last 2 years.

Theresa Inslee called attention to some handouts she had provided. She mentioned the Governor’s proposed budget for January and that the revision will be coming out May 13. She had also provided the chart on educational funding levels and the analysis of AB 454 which had been done by Lynn Lorber.

Bill Lincoln announced the results of the election:

President Janet Knoeppel

Vice President Jim Caswell

Secretary Mike Madalinski

Treasurer Bob Werner

The meeting was adjourned at 4:05 PM on a motion made by Jeanne Ytreness and seconded by the entire CDR.

Adjournment: Bob Meier moved we adjourn, seconded by Tom Jameson that the meeting be adjourned at 3:19 PM. The motion carried.

Janet announced that there was a SAT-9 Round Table at 4:30.