SAC AND FOX TRIBE OF THE MISSISSIPPI IN IOWA
Tribal Council Meeting – May 18, 2018, 4:00 PM
Sac and Fox Tribal Chambers
1. Meeting called to order at 4:08 p.m.
2. Roll Call
Presiding Officer: Anthony Waseskuk, Chairman
Tribal Council present: Adrian Pushetonequa, Vice-Chairman; Delonda Pushetonequa, Treasurer; Troy Wanatee, Jarvis Bear; Harvey Davenport, Jr., Apollo Davenport
Absent: none
Staff present: Bessie Scott, Executive Director; Jay Finch, Attorney General; Bill Thurman, Comptroller; Yolanda Pushetonequa, Tribal Council Secretary; Azadeh Tavakoli, Human Resources Director; Lisa Wunn, MSS Principal; Mr. Reed, MSS Principal; Becky Alvarado, MSS Human Resources Specialist; Steadman Brown, MSS Language Coordinator; Francine Hall, MSS Superintendent.
Tribal Members present: Robyn Kapayou;
Other visitors: A minor child family member of a tribal member.
3. Ascertainment of Quorum – A quorum was ascertained with 1 non-voting Chair and 6 Council Members present.
4. Agenda approval
The Chairman asked for any changes or additions to the agenda. Harvey Davenport, Jr. wishes to add item e. Meskwaki Housing Office Space Changes. Apollo Davenport suggests changing the time on the Agenda to reflect the correct start time from 5:00PM to 4:00PM. Motion made by Jarvis Bear to approve the agenda as presented. Harvey Davenport, Jr. seconded. Vote: 6 yes, 0 no, 0 abstained. Motion carried.
5. Reports – none
6. New Business
a. Meskwaki Settlement School
i. Approval of Teacher Contracts – Lisa Wunn and Reed Sather present and discuss proposed contracts including new additions and other changes. Resource Developer would create things for the classroom and it is an essential position. Harvey Davenport suggests to leave the Language Assistant/Resource Developer position as only Resource Developer. If the Behavior Analyst is hired, Lisa Wunn will work on both curriculum and with the behavior analysis. If not hired, Lisa Wunn will still just focus on the curriculum coordinator. She will explain the role that the Behavior Strategist will play and how it will affect the rest of the staffing. Motion by Jarvis Bear to approve all vacant positions, new positions except the Behavior Strategist, as discussed between Principal Reed, Principal Wunn and Tribal Council. Seconded by Harvey Davenport, Jr. Vote: 6 yes, 0 no. Motion carried.
ii. Approval to Post Vacancies – Discussion on covering the cost of certifying teachers in order to bring them to certification. The courses are online. The existing contracts bind them to get certified and stay for 3 years after certification. Motion by Delonda Pushetonequa to approve all contracts with the condition of certification for non-certified members. Seconded by Jarvis Bear. Vote: 6 yes, 0 no. Motion carried.
iii. Approval for Proposed Changes to Employment Conditions – Discussion on a proposed change to school policy to require eligible student children of Meskwaki Settlement School staff to attend Meskwaki Settlement School. Motion by Jarvis Bear to approve the addition of the new condition to the contract which will require all staff including the language to retroactively apply to all staff, including an opportunity to appeal for exemption. Anyone requesting an exemption must request it from the Tribal Council. (Section A and B of the draft). Seconded by Apollo Davenport. Vote: 4 yes, 1 no, 1 abstain. Motion carried.
iv. Approval of Purchase of Computers with “Choctaw Decision” Funds – The Choctaw Decision Funds includes a total of $476,745 in contract support. Two grant line items were funded. The cost of the computer items would be $386,898. Troy Wanatee states that past Tribal Council from as early as 2016 may have set this funding aside already for teacher funding. Francine Hall, Superintendent, states that there is a deadline by when this must be exhausted. Francine reports that the budget is well below what was spent last year. Troy Wanatee asks why there is a diversion from the previous technology plan. Francine explains there is a diversion from previous technology play. The Tribal Ops IT plan attempted to align all tribal systems to prevent risks. Troy Wanatee states that past Tribal Council discussion reflected the desire to use Apple iPads and Apple hardware. Lisa Wunn explains that the current infrastructure requires PC based networking.. Lisa Wunn states that the Windows platform was added to Apple devices to allow users to use both, but it was also problematic. Lisa Wunn advises in her experience it is uncommon to not be able to use both. Tribal Council requests Lisa Wunn to return with further research done into the best options going forwad. Motion by Apollo Davenport to approve the portion of the MSS tech budget proposal which includes: iPad Air 2, iPad Air 2 cases, interactive whiteboard, and hardware; and the remainder of the budget on hold pending investigation into the other items. Seconded by Delonda Pushetonequa. Vote: 6 yes, 0 no. Motion carried.
v. Approval of 2018-2019 School Calendar – Francine Hall provides details of the Meskwaki Settlement School Calendar. Corrections should be made as follows: March 25-27 should not be an early out. On the right pane, only the 27th should be an early out. January 21st should be an early out instead of January 23rd. Language Nights are still TBA. Motion by Delonda Pushetonequa to approve the MSS School Calendar with the corrections as indicated. Seconded by Jarvis Bear. Vote: 6 yes, 0 no. Motion carried.
b. Executive Session
Motion by Apollo Davenport to go into Executive Session. Adrian Pushetonequa seconded. Vote: 6 yes, 0 no. Motion carried.
Motion by Delonda Pushetonequa to come out of Executive Session. Seconded by Adrian Pushetonequa . Vote: 6 yes, 0 no. Motion carried.
c. Tribal Membership Audit
Motion by to Jarvis Bear to table the Tribal Membership Audit. Seconded by Harvey Davenport, Jr. Vote: 6 yes, 0 no. Motion carried.
d. Human Resources – Rehire Policy – Azadeh Tavakoli, Human Resources Director, presents a document regarding the rehire policy. October 26 is when it was approved. On November 9 it was renamed the “Rehire/ Transfer Policy” with minor wording changes. Discussion ensues whether people should be banned from applying at another tribal enterprise. Adjustments were discussed. Section 2a could be updated to include the language that the gross misconduct would require conviction.
Motion by Jarvis Bear to table the rehire policy. Delonda Pushetonequa seconded. Vote: 6 yes, 0 no. Motion carried.
E. Housing item – Meskwaki Housing Office Space Changes. Harvey Davenport, Jr. presents a proposal idea of purchasing a satellite building for the McCoy property. There is a building in Illinois that could possibly be placed out at Phase 5 for being on site for creating building panels. Harvey suggests this idea is open to discussion or work session.
7. Adjourn
Motion made by Delonda Pushetonequa to adjourn. Jarvis Bear seconded. Vote: 6 yes, 0 no. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 7:41 p.m.