November 30, 2007

The meeting was called to order by Vice Chairperson Denise DeLoach at 10:20 a.m.

Roll call was taken by Chris Gregorich, Head Start Executive Secretary.  A quorum was met for the purpose of conducting business.  

Those in attendance were:

Denise DeLoach                                                         Stephanie Beam

Annette Long                                                              Dwight Noble

Michelle Thompson                                                     Audrey Bowens

Jasmin Torres                                                              Tanya Plencner

Julie Molina                                                                 Maribel Romero

Leticia Vargas                                                             Lorena Rojas

Heather Saunders                                                        Richard Darling

Christina Rutz

Chris Gregorich – Executive Secretary to the Executive Director

Kathy Guajardo - Executive Director

Pastor Greg Robertson - Parliamentarian

Absent from the meeting were:

Christine Ross                                                             Misty Mraz

Carmen Butts                                                              Yoana Garifias

Liesl Rozniarek                                                           Shakeyna Williams

Mateo Ramos                                                              Nicole Beavo

Brandy Trosper                                                           Vanity Clark

Robin Bontrager – Excused                                        Anita Lesher

Lisa Pace                                                                     Sarah Johnson

Genevieve Waldron                                                    Krystal Anderson

Tearra Wright                                                              Knakisha Hall

Gail Banks                                                                  Rachel Lozano

Janine Larkin                                                               Lauren Farnsworth

Jody Aver                                                                   Angie Markham

Maria Canales                                                             Clarissa Wiess

The Policy Council members took part in the changing of the Guard.  Ballots were used to vote for the Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, and the Secretary.  The members voted for the following:

Richard Darling – Chairperson

Maribel Romero – Vice Chairperson

Heather Saunders – Secretary

Agenda:

A vote was taken for the approval of the Adoption of the Agenda and all were in favor.

Approval of Minutes:

A motion was made by Heather Saunders to approve the minutes and seconded by
Dwight Noble.  A vote was taken and all were in favor.

Executive Director’s Report:

Kathy’s information is enclosed in the packet and she discussed the following:

·         Kathy stated that for the months of September, October, and November the program was fully enrolled with 1020 children.

·         Average Daily Attendance in September was at 96.51% and October was at 98.91%.  Some sites fell below the 85% and justification for the low attendance was due to address changes or they were moved to Kindergarten due to openings.

·         End of the Month Report – This report goes to HHS.  The report is sorted by site, children in classroom, and how many are enrolled.  If there is a vacancy it must be filled within 30 days or we will be out of compliance.

·         Special Needs Report – 10% of our openings are available to children with IEP’s.  We currently have 102 children.

·         Fiscal Report – Our funding cycle goes from November 1 through October 31.  Kathy discussed that we are a $5.3 million Grant and we are small compared to the other programs. 

·         Human Resources – We have one position open for a PARA.  The 90 day introductory evaluations will be done on the staff that were hired in August.

·         Monitoring Report – We will be compiling a report so you can see if we fall in line with the record systems.

·         Regional Conference – Julia is in charge of transportation and enrollment.  She attended the conference along with Chris T. and Kathy.  They all attended the session that discussed the upgrades that are forthcoming.  Kathy also attended a conference on the fiscal information and a PreK Now conference on preschool programs.

·         A Family Summit was held for the Elkhart and St. Joseph Counties.  Kathy discussed that it was a success, but the attendance was low.  Hopefully in the future when the word gets out from the parents who attended our attendance will increase.

·         School Personnel Meeting – We are working with the Superintendents, school nurses, and social workers on the children’s records so the transition into Kindergarten goes well.

·         Community Outreach and Advisory Council – There are a variety of councils we are involved in and Kathy asked that the members please sign up for one of the Advisory Committees.

·         Announcements – Staff Training will occur on December 21, 2007.

·         Parent Leadership Training – It is held every December for the Policy Council members to attend.  Please let us know if you would like to attend.

Policy Council Chairperson’s Report:

The minutes from the last meeting are enclosed in the packet for your review.

Board Member’s Report:

The minutes from the last meeting are enclosed in the packet for your review.

Action Agenda:

07-1114-01      Approval of Personnel Actions included in the Human Resources Report

A motion was made by Christine Rutz to approve the agenda and seconded by Lorena Rojas.  A vote was taken and all were in favor.

07-1114-02      Approval of Distribution of Payroll, Summary of Actual Expenditures

A motion was made by Dwight Noble to approve the agenda and seconded by Christina Rutz.  A vote was taken and all were in favor.

Kathy discussed with the Policy Council members the 5.1 Head Start Performance Standards.  The document was passed out for them to sign and date.  A copy of the signed document was given to the Council to keep for their records.

Kathy went over the following forms:

Child Care Reimbursement - $25.00 per day for Head Start child only when going out of town

Mileage Reimbursement - .485 cents per mile

Expense Reimbursement - the amount per day will be reviewed depending on the location

Adjournment:

A motion was made by Dwight Noble for adjournment and seconded by Christina Rutz.  A vote was taken and all were in favor.  The meeting was adjourned.

Respectfully submitted by,

Chris Gregorich