The EMID board met last night to consider Dr. Robicheau’s contract extension and the EMID budget situation. Following recommendations of the Steering Committee, the board approved extending Dr. Robicheu’s contract through June 2012. They hope to have a permanent superintendent search or some form of “administrative restructuring” underway before that date. They also considered a budget proposal from the Steering Committee that would reduce our school budgets by 10% while essentially not reducing any member services. This would be done to cope with a 57% reduction in the integration funds received from member districts that would not be replaced with any levy funding from those districts sending students to EMID.

Other business before the board included consideration of the “phase 2” strategic planning process (a “Community Council” is now planned to “drive the process” and to double as the community council required by state statute to write a new integration plan for the collaborative by mid-March), revision of the Joint Powers Agreement to allow non-elected “former” board members to continue serving on the EMID board, and acceptance of a “clean” audit report.

The board changed the date of its next meeting from 1/18 to 1/25, so please update your own calendar if you want to attend the next meeting.

Three parents testified to the board during open forum. Mike Boguszewski expressed concern that the revision to the Joint Powers Agreement would make the EMID board even less accessible and accountable to the community, he also thanked chair Gillette for her responsiveness and expressed hope that the “Community Council” could be an opportunity for the community to work together with the board on solutions. Eric Celeste expressed serious concerns about the secrecy of the board’s Steering Committee and the quality of the decisions it was making. Bill Droessler noted that some parents had already been meeting with Dan Schulman and suggested that the board might want to read the stories about the integration task force in the Star Tribune and MN Post. Not a single board member had read those stories or knew who Dan Schulman was.

Update

The EMID board also approved a “guiding change” document (PDF) that will be the foundation on which the phase 2 strategic planning process rests.