PIQUA — Due to changes in the Cleary Act, the Upper Valley Career Center board must add a significant amount of policies because the technical institute receives federal student funding for the adult programs, Superintendent Dr. Nancy Luce said at Monday’s board of education meeting.
The act has significantly grown and has been revised since its implementation more than 20 years ago. It was only recently that the career center was notified that they needed to update their policies in order to be in compliance to preserve their ability to offer federal funding to adult students, Luce said.
“The policies have expanded significantly,” Luce said. “Quite honestly, I can’t begin to capture all of the changes. We went from basically three, one to two page policies to 36 pages of additional policy work.”
These polices include Board Policy AC, Nondiscrimination and Anti-Harassment, Board Policy ACA, Sexual Misconduct, Stalking, and Dating and Domestic Violence, and Board Policy ACB, Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability.
Another policy revision that was addressed to the board is Board Policy EBCD, Emergency Closings, which would revise the school hours for the 2015-16 school year to be at 1,025, above the state minimum of 1,001 hours. Luce said this year was the transition year from days to hours.
“We had our foot in both types of policies (days and hours),” Luce said. “If we raise our floor, then what that will mean is that we will be able to miss about the equivalent of six and a half days.”
Treasurer Paul Carpenter gave a financial report for both high school students and adult students. Carpenter said UVCC is a little over $300,000 for the state guarantee. The guarantee is in place so districts don’t lose money, Carpenter said.
“Numbers on campus next year are down, so I anticipate that next year we will be on the guarantee again,” Carpenter said.
Carpenter assumes that the campus will receive the same amount of money this year as the previous year.
“If we get more, that would be great, but depends on enrollment,” he said.
“Amongst all of our (associate) schools, their (enrollment) numbers are down as well,” Luce said. “This seems like it’s a year coming up where there are just fewer students in that age group. Our market shares are holding steady and with our middle school programs and high school programs. We should see some increase on the satellite side, but overall, those numbers are fewer than this current year.”
Changes with the guarantee are still under negotiation at the state level, Carpenter said.
Report for general fund
Carpenter said that there are $30,000 more in revenue than anticipated. The career center is 1.2 percent below the total revenue and are within 4.8 percent of their expenses.
Carpenter also reported the center to be $145,000 in the black with the adult career cente. This is “considerably better than we have been in the past and better than what we projected,” Carpenter said.
“Where we are at now, we have a really good chance of finishing the year either blatantly in the black or pretty even,” he said.
The board approved of four new vehicle lifts in the Automototive Technologies Lab in the amount of $19,500. Automotive Tech Director Mark Lester said the purchases are necessary for safety reasons and production.
“We’re trying to increase production in the shop,” Lester said. “With numbers being pretty good in the automotive tech program … it’s kinda hard to get more than three or four students on a lift before it becomes horseplay or getting off task.”
The four lifts would keep 12-16 students at work, Lester said.
The board also approved of the following:
• Donations were accepted by: Premier Health, $575 for adult education nursing programs; John and Deb Jung, Norway Pine tree for the beautification of the main entrance atrium; Kris Byrd, bracelet as gift for the perfect attendance drawing; Maria Bayless, two Harley Davidson prize packs as gifts for the perfect attendance drawing; Crown Equipment, 5,959 pounds of scrap for the Welding Technologies SkillsUSA student activity organization; and Honda Transmission Mfg. of America Inc., a 2005 Honda and 2004 Acura.
• Purchase order to Oxiem for the upgrade of UVCC website in the amount of $19,839.
• Lunchroom prices for the 2015-16 school year of breakfast at $1.25, type “A” lunch at $2.60, and box lunch at $3. These prices have not increased from previous year.
• Due to merging of the Shelby, Hardin, and Logan educational service centers, they are now recognized as the Midwest Regional Educational Service Center. The board approved for a state revised plan to appoint two Shelby County ESC residents to represent the Midwest Regional.
