April 30, 2008 ACE Board Meeting
9:00 A. M. @ Billings Hotel and Convention Center

A.C.E. Board Members present were Andy Begger, Tim Dolphay, Dave Huether, Josh Middleton, Al Sipes, Mark Brajcich, and Les Cabot.

Guests present were Brenda Koch, Bill Schlepp, Chad Johnson, Dwain Haggard, Stephanie Long, and Allison Nyes.
Gail Richardson and Jerry Scott were also present.

1. Chairman Al Sipes called the meeting to order at 9:00 A. M. and made sure everyone knew one another.

2. Dave Huether moved to approve the March 26, 2008 minutes as presented. Josh Middleton seconded the motion which passed 7 – 0.

3. A review of the financial report through April 29, 2008 was made. Jerry suggested that in appreciation for the help and work she does for A.C.E., the board purchase a gift card for $300 for Jeanne Carroll, the Joliet Clerk. Mark Brajcich moved to accept the report and the gift certificate purchase. Dave Huether seconded the motion. The motion passed 7 – 0.

4. Jerry presented a calendar of events for A. C. E. as follows:
   

   	May	6 … Jerry participates in an online I Analyze training. 8 - 9 … Jerry and Gail attend Indian Education for All Conference 17 … ACE’s Indian Education field trip to Little Big Horn College, etc. 28 … ACE board meeting
   	June	9 – 12 … Jerry attend Montana Educator’s Institute in Helena 28 … ACE’s Indian Education field trip to medicine wheel, etc 30 … SMART board meeting at MSU-Billings
   	July	open thus far
   	Aug.	5 … ACE administrator’s meeting for superintendents and principals 20 … ACE new member workshop 23 … ACE’s Indian Education field trip to crow fair
   	Sept.	8 … ACE PIR day in Laurel 24 … ACE board meeting 30 … ACE new member workshop
   	Mark Brajcich reported that Red Lodge would be hosting a MAP testing training sometime in August. Schools should contact him if they are interested. Other training opportunities will be posted on the ACE web site as they are reported.

5. Ryan Conrad from Odyssey Ware will be back in the Billings area on May 12 – 14. Schools should contact Ryan if they would like him to visit. Several of those present indicated that they were planning to switch to Odyssey Ware for the 2008 – 2009 school year. Tim Dolphay reported that he had received a letter from Odyssey Ware indicating that they were approved by OPI as a distance provider.

6. Jerry reported that the Northwest Montana Educational Cooperative was sharing a $250 sponsorship for Montana Educators’ Institute on June 9 – 12 in Helena. Jerry again asked if the A.C.E. board was interested in sharing a sponsorship at that same rate. No one was interested. The third time was not a charm in this case.

7. A summary of the evaluations for the March 3 PIR Day was distributed along with a sampling of actual evaluations. The group expressed their surprise at how negative and unprofessional the samples were. A discussion of the PIR day followed. The board felt that Jane Doty did a good job for such a short notice as well as having to use someone else’s handouts. A copy of the finical summary for the day was distributed along with the evaluations.

8. Jerry handed out a summary of the SMART board meeting he attended on April 21. An organizational and funding flow chart for SMART was included. Jerry said because the organization’s goal is to help with professional development, he requested SMART to help with the September 8 A.C.E. PIR day.

9. The board agreed that the format for both the September 8, 2008 and March 2, 2009 PIR days should be a main speaker as well as a number of workshops the group can choose from. The K – 6 teachers will attended the main speaker for a half a day while the 7 – 12 teachers will attend the other workshops choices. The group will flip flop in the afternoon. Josh Middleton said Laurel High School would again host the September 8th sessions. He and Jerry will work with the kitchen staff to provide lunch and snacks as done in the past. A registration fee of $10 per person will be charged. If there is room, non-ACE personnel will be invited at a $50 per person fee. Registration will be from 8:30 – 9:00. The morning sessions will run from 9 – noon with an hour for lunch and the afternoon sessions running from 1 – 4. A list of sessions as well as suggestions for the main speaker was discussed. Those present said they would send Jerry additional names to contact. It was suggested that because of the high demand for some speakers, ACE should contract with speakers for the next couple years. The Billings Hotel and Convention Center has been reserved for the March 2nd PIR day.

10. Two proposals for Para-professional training were presented. The board felt that such training should be a regular part of the ACE PIR days. The board instructed Jerry to contact Monica Pugh to do the training. The board requested that September’s training focus on behavior management and / or significant supports for challenging behavior, numbers 7 and 11 on the list Monica sent.

11. Communications dealing with liability insurance were reviewed. After discussion the board directed Jerry to contact Jeff Weldon or Larry Martin in order to obtain their opinion on the necessity of ACE having their own liability insurance.

12. Jerry reported that he and 15 others attended the ACE Indian Education for All Pow Wow on April 12th. Gail Richards has done a great job lining up all of the IEA grant trips and making sure that there are native guides for each of them. The group learned about the dance steps and costumes as well as having a one on one interview with a Indian Chief from Canada. A link to photos of the Pow Wow is posted on the ACE web site. The OPI book on Pow Wow’s is a free reference available to all schools.

13. A report from those attending the National ASCD conference was distributed. Over 9,500 people attended the conference. Chad Johnson reported on his experiences at the conference concluding that he felt ACE should continue to provide its members with such an opportunity. Chad said it was difficult to choose from so many nationally known speakers as well as hundreds of other sessions. Stephanie Long said her two teachers did a power point presentation at Canyon Creeks last board meeting. She said her school would not be able to attend such an event without the help from ACE. Recommendations from the reports will be used in helping determine future workshop possibilities for ACE.

14. Dave Huether was presented an onyx clock with an engraving expressing the board’s appreciation for his service. Dave will be retiring at the end of this school year. Chairman Al Sipes announced nominations for the open board position. Tim Dolphay moved to nominated Stephanie Long. Josh Middleton seconded the nomination. No other nominations were made and a vote of 7 – 0 confirmed Stephanie as ACE’s new board member.

15. Jerry presented a proposal for the 2008 – 2009 ACE budget. The only suggested change in the budget was an increase for an annual salary of $30,000. Dues for ACE members would remain the same as last year, $2,500 per member school plus $1.00 per ANB over 300. Rural school would share the cost of membership. Josh Middleton moved to accept the budget as presented. Dave Huether seconded the motion which carried 7 – 0. Jerry will draw up the contract and send it to Al for his signature.


16. Jerry suggested that ACE hire Jan Thompson, the MASCD director, to review ACE’s curriculum. The board felt this was not a good idea because such an activity might threaten the quality curriculum ACE now has as well as the ownership from those who have spent time reviewing the product.


17. Gail said she had a request for additional information on the textbook survey. The board directed Gail to go ahead with the survey including the additional information.


18. The next ACE board meeting was set for June 4th with a time and location to be announced at a later date. The meeting was adjourned at 10:35.