SOUTHWESTERN COMMUNITY UNIT SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 9 Piasa, Illinois 62079 REGULAR BOARD MEETING MINUTES March 18, 2014 The Southwestern Board of Education met in regular session on March 18, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. in the Middle School Commons Room in Piasa, Illinois. Don Little-President asked Randy Gallaher- Secretary to call roll showing those members present were: Don Little-President, Randy Gallaher-Secretary, Tim Baker-Vice President, Steve Reed, Dara Simmons, Mike Wegener, Brad Skertich-Superintendent and Rose Bagley-Recording Secretary. Board member Brad Gillespie was absent. Visitor s sign-in sheet is attached. President Don Little lead The Pledge of Allegiance. Approval of the Minutes: A motion was made by Steve Reed and seconded by Mike Wegener to approve the minutes of the Regular School Board Meeting of February 18, 2014. Ayes: Little, Simmons, Gallaher, Baker, Wegener and Reed A motion was made by Mike Wegener and seconded by Don Little to approve the minutes of the Closed Session of February 18, 2014. Ayes: Simmons, Gallaher, Baker Wegener, Reed and Little A motion was made by Dara Simmons and seconded by Steve Reed to approve the minutes of the Special Board Meeting of March 5, 2014. Ayes: Gallaher, Baker Wegener, Reed, Little and Simmons Review and Approval of Bills: A motion was made by Steve Reed and seconded by Tim Baker to approve the February Bills and Consent Agenda Bills. Ayes: Baker, Wegener, Reed, Little, Simmons and Gallaher Page 1
A motion was made by Don Little and seconded by Randy Gallaher to approve the Imprest Bills and Extra Pay and Substitute Pay. Review and Approval of the Financial Report: A motion was made by Mike Wegener and seconded by Dara Simmons to approve the Financial Report as presented showing a balance in the Education Fund of $2,642,635; Operations and Maintenance Fund of $1,207,566; Transportation Fund of $187,529 and Working Cash Fund of $1,497,122. Mandated categoricals have not been coming in from the state. All of December categoricals are expected soon. Correspondence & Recognition: Participants in the FFA Novice Parliament Pro Team that will be going to State in June and they are currently ranked 5 th in the State. The High School Olympiad Teams were recognized for their success this year. The Juniors took first place out of 29 teams in Macoupin, Jersey, Calhoun and Green counties and the Sophomores were in the top ten. Middle School Eighth Grade Boys Basketball Team who won Conference, Regionals, Sectional and qualified for the Elite Eight at State for two consecutive years. High School Girls Basketball Team who are Thanksgiving Tournament champs, Conference champs and Regional champs. Mr. Bearley also announced that Coach Steve Wooley was nominated by the Illinois Associates Basketball Association as Co-Coach of the Year. High School Scholastic Bowl Team was recognized for being County champs and Regional champs. They were also ranked in the State and in the Nation this year and will be going to Nationals in May in Minneapolis, MN. They finished second in the NAQT tournament. Committee Reports: None Superintendent Report: Employment: Resignations: A motion was made by Don Little and seconded by Mike Wegener to accept Chris Redfern s resignation as High School Assistant Football Coach. Ayes: Reed, Little, Simmons, Gallaher, Baker and Wegener Retirement: None Page 2
Employment: None Volunteers: A motion was made by Randy Gallaher and seconded by Mike Wegener to approved Seth Rich, High School Baseball Volunteer for the 2014 baseball season. Ayes: Little, Simmons, Gallaher, Baker, Wegener and Reed A motion was made by Steve Reed and seconded by Dara Simmons to approved Shaun Watson, High School Baseball Volunteer for the 2014 baseball season. Leave of Absence: A motion was made by Randy Gallaher and seconded by Don Little to approve the leave of absence request from employee A. A motion was made by Steve Reed and seconded by Dara Simmons to approve the leave of absence request from employee B. Ayes: Gallaher, Baker, Wegener, Reed, Little and Simmons Substitute List: A motion was made by Mike Wegener and seconded by Randy Gallaher to approve Substitute List #8 as presented. Ayes: Baker, Wegener, Reed, Little, Simmons and Gallaher Page 3
Enrollment and Suspension Report: A motion was made by Steve Reed and seconded by Randy Gallaher to approve the Enrollment and Suspension Summary as presented showing enrollment at 1612, suspensions at 21 and expulsions at 0. District Highlights: Mrs. Diane Milner, Principal at Brighton North and Medora, reported that the attendance at Medora and Brighton was at 98% during ISAT testing. Students that took the ISAT tests at both schools eared effort tickets to put in a drawing to go to a St. Louis Cardinal game on April 9 th along with a weather program. One student from each class will be going and the rest of the students hope to watch it online. Mr. Scott Hopkins, Principal at Middle School and Shipman Elementary, reported that students from Shipman and the Middle School will also participate in the Cardinal day on April 9 th for effort on the ISAT tests. Mr. Hopkins recognized the teachers for their effort during the testing. He thanked the Shipman and Middle School parent clubs for their help and support to the schools. Mr. Mark Bearley, High School Principal, gave a power point on the PSAE exam coming up. The teachers have been working on which students are on the bubble and how to help them improve. The Juniors have a 45 minute block to work on Discovery Education. The goal is to have every Junior get an 18 or better on the ACT test and a 5 on Work keys. If they do this they will meet the State of Illinois goat for PSAE. Students with a 16, 17 or 18 on the practice ACT test or any Junior that wants to, can work with teachers to improve scores twice a week. Every Junior will have extra time to work on Winkeys. They can also take ZAPS for $35 to help improve their ACT scores. For those students that need help with the fee, there are scholarships. Stephanie Renken, Special Education Coordinator, reported that they are in the home stretch for IEPs. There is a lot of intervention going on. They are on target with percent of students that need more help. They are working on creating a class at the High School for students that are currently going to neighboring school so they can stay here. They are looking into having a Special Education SAS class to replace a full Special Education class so the students can take an extra class in their schedule. Superintendent Brad Skertich talked about Jerseyville and PTELL. He also had a presentation showing the loss of General State Aid from 2012 2014 and the proposed cut for FY2015. Page 4
Public Comment: Tanith Welsh thanked the board for granting her maternity leave and her leave of absence. Dan Sheeter thanked the school board for allowing the students to participate in various activities and thanked the teachers, Superintendent, Principals and Board for their hard work. Old Business: None New Business: A motion was made by Mike Wegener and seconded by Don Little to approve the math purchase from McGraw-Hill in the amount of $42,442.30 plus S/H for Algebra I, Algebra II, Geometry and Pre-Calculus textbooks. Mr. Skertich explained that the 2014-2015 School Calendar has 5 snow days built in the calendar and will be removed if they are not used. The first teacher day is August 18 th and the first student day will be August 19 th. June 2 nd will be Teacher Institute and the last day if all 5 snow days are used. Tim Baker asked is Casimir Pulaski days was a mandatory day off. Mr. Skertich said it is not but it has always been a day off in our calendar. A motion was made by Tim Baker and seconded by Randy Gallaher to table the approval of the 2014-2015 school calendar. Ayes: Gallaher and Baker Nays: Wegener, Reed, Little and Simmons MOTION DID NOT CARRY. A motion was made by Steve Reed and seconded by Dara Simmons to approve the 2014-2015 School Calendar as presented. Ayes: Wegener, Reed, Little, Simmons and Gallaher Nays: Baker Chemistry Teacher Deb Gaffney presented a request to start a Chemistry Club at the High School. There have been 39 students sign up so far. They will be charter members of American Chemical Society. They students have requested this and they will meet once a month and could do activities that they don t have time to do in class. A motion was made by Randy Gallaher and seconded by Mike Wegener to approve the addition of a High School Chemistry Club. Page 5
A motion was made by Tim Baker and seconded by Steve Reed to approve Southwestern High School Membership in the IHSA for the 2014-2015 school year. Ayes: Reed, Little, Simmons, Gallaher, Baker and Wegener A motion was made by Steve Reed and seconded by Mike Wegener to approve Southwestern Middle School Membership in the IESA for the 2014-2015 school year. Ayes: Little, Simmons, Gallaher, Baker, Wegener and Reed 11.6, 11.7 and 11.8 were tabled until after Closed Session. A motion was made by Don Little and seconded by Mike Wegener to accept the floor tile alternate #1 asbestos abatement bid from Talbert ICS in the amount of $58,320.00 A motion was made by Steve Reed and seconded by Dara Simmons to accept the tile bid and alternate #1 locker replacement bid from R and W Builders Incorporated in the amount of $83,833.00. Ayes: Gallaher, Baker, Wegener, Reed, Little and Simmons Mr. Skertich reported that the low bid for the High School roof replacement was from Bartch Roofing but Wm. B. Ittner, Inc. informed us that they are not licensed in the State of Illinois and were non-responsive when they were notified about this so their bid was rejected. The next lowest bid was from Mid-State Construction & Roofing. A motion was made by Don Little and seconded by Mike Wegener to accept the High School Gym Roof Replacement Bid from Mid-State Roofing of $139,458.00. Ayes: Baker, Wegener, Reed, Little, Simmons and Gallaher Page 6
Closed Session: At 8:40 p.m., a motion was made by Dara Simmons and seconded by Randy Gallaher to go into closed session for Conduct Student Hearing for student 00103182014, Reduction in Force and Administrator Evaluations, and The appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees of the public body, or legal counsel for the public body, including hearing testimony on a complaint lodged against an employee of the public body or against legal counsel for the public body to determine its validity At 10:05 p.m., a motion was made by Mike Wegener and seconded by Tim Baker to open the meeting to regular session. Ayes: Baker, Wegener, Reed, Little, Simmons and Gallaher A motion was made by Steve Reed and seconded by Mike Wegener to approve the resolution authorizing the honorable dismissal of educational support staff: Jan Kessinger Teacher Aide, Susan Harris Teacher Aide, Rebecca Woods Teacher Aide, Patricia Howarth Teacher Aide, Gayle Simpson Teacher Aide, Sheila Shaw Teacher Aide and Lindsey Becker Teacher Aide. A motion was made by Mike Wegener and seconded by Tim Baker to approve the resolution authorizing dismissal of part-time education support personnel: Erica Ater Teacher Aide and Karen Decker Van Driver. Ayes: Reed, Little, Simmons, Gallaher, Baker and Wegener A motion was made by Steve Reed and seconded by Mike Wegener to approve the resolution authorizing the honorable dismissal of district teachers: Amanda Behl Middle School Language Arts, Angela Hartman Pre-K, Amanda Madson Pre-K and Tanith Welsh Middle School Language Arts. Ayes: Little, Gallaher, Wegener and Reed Nays: Simmons and Baker Page 7
A motion was made by Don Little and seconded by Tim Baker to expel student #00103182014 from March 18, 2014 until the end of the 2014 school year on May 29, 2014 and for the entire 2015 school year from August 18, 2014 until June 1, 2015 with the option of Safe School. Adjourn: A motion was made by Mike Wegener and seconded by Dara Simmons to adjourn the meeting. Ayes: Gallaher, Baker, Wegener, Reed, Little and Simmons MOTION CARRIED The meeting adjourned at 10:09 pm. Rosemary Bagley Recording Secretary Board President Board Secretary Page 8