Illinois Valley Times

Peru Elementary School District 124 Board of Education met March 15.

Here is the agenda as provided by the Board:

CALL TO ORDER 

The regular meeting of the month of March of the Board of Education of Peru Elementary School District 124, LaSalle County, Illinois, was called to order in the Choral Room at Parkside School, 1800 Church Street, Peru, IL, by Board President Jim Renk, on Wednesday, March 15, 2017, at 6:00 p.m. 

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE President Renk led the Board and audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. 

ROLL CALL PRESENT: Members Rob Ankiewicz, Cynthia Gustat, Simon Kampwerth, Mark Lamboley, Jeff Sheppard, and President Jim Renk. ABSENT: Member C.G. Pillai OTHERS PRESENT: Superintendent Mark Cross, Board Secretary Kim Vezzetti, Lori Madden, Sara McDonald, Melissa Bosnich, Brandi Anderson-Maier, Ben Hohenstatt, Josanne, Sheva and Leo Bruins.

APPROVAL OF MEETING AGENDA

MOTION: Moved by Vice President Lamboley, seconded by Member Sheppard, to approve the meeting agenda of March 15, 2017. ROLL CALL, VOTING AYE: Lamboley, Sheppard, Renk, Ankiewicz, Gustat, and Kampwerth. ABSENT: Pillai. NAYS: None. The motion carried 6-0. 

PUBLIC COMMENT, CORRESPONDENCE, AND ANNOUNCEMENTS There was no public comment, correspondence, or announcements. 

CONSENT AGENDA MOTION: Moved by Member Kampwerth, seconded by Member Sheppard, to approve the following items in the Consent Agenda:  February 15, 2017 Board of Education Meeting Minutes  February 15, 2017 Board of Education Executive Session Meeting Minutes  Financial Report  Treasurer’s Report  District Bills 

ROLL CALL, VOTING AYE: Kampwerth, Sheppard, Lamboley, Renk, Ankiewicz, and Gustat. ABSENT: Pillai. NAYS: None. The motion carried 6-0. 

REPORTS, UPDATES, AND INFORMATIONAL ITEMS Principals’ Reports Northview School Mrs. McDonald reported:  The Fine Arts Fair was recently hosted at Northview School. The event was very well attended and many compliments were received.

 Sixty-seven students are pre-registered for Kindergarten next year. Mrs. McDonald believes there are still potentially 11 students who may be registering. These numbers are back up from the previous two years.

Parkside School Ms. Madden reported: 

 A STEA²M Conference was held on March 23 at IVCC. Mrs. Budnick, Ms. Pannier and ten Parkside STEM students attended the event. Students participated in various problem solving activities. The students enjoyed the event. 

 Ms. Madden commended the SLO leadership team, comprised of 3 to 4 teachers from each school, for the excellent work they have done in helping their colleagues write assessments.

Superintendent’s Report Mr. Cross reported: 

 The fourth annual Peru Education Foundation Trivia Night was another huge success. There was an excellent turnout and around $15,000 was raised. 

 The TIF meeting which was scheduled for today has been rescheduled for April. There will be a public hearing at the City of Peru meeting this coming Monday. 

 Sherri Pannier is meeting with the in house technology committee to prepare for recommendations to the Board’s technology committee for next year’s purchases. Emphasis will be placed on new approaches to the STEM lab since the current one is very outdated. 

 The district wide Open House will be held the evening of Monday, August 21. The change allows for parents to meet their child’s teachers and bring in school supplies prior to the first day of student attendance on August 23. Mr. Cross asked the staff for any feedback on this and heard no negative comments at all. 

 The district still has not received categorical funding from the State of Illinois for the first two quarters. The missing payments total $221,091.55 thus far. Mr. Cross stated that school funding reform appears to be on hold at this time as the political leaders continue to delay changes to the broken system.

Presentation and Discussion Regarding the Proposed Autism Program Special Services Director, Brandi Anderson-Maier presented information to the Board regarding the proposed housing of an Autism Program in our school district. The district was recently informed that the current Autism Program held in Tonica will no longer service students. Currently, our district has three students who attend the program. Mrs. Anderson-Maier discussed the current student needs, benefits of hosting the program, staffing needs and program costs and transportation savings. The Board had several questions that answered by Mrs. Anderson-Maier, Mr. Cross and Mrs. McDonald.

Presentation and Discussion Regarding the Illinois Schools Employee Benefits Consortium and American Central Insurance Services Mr. Cross discussed the recent meeting held with American Central Insurance Services and employees representing our district’s insurance committee. Since that meeting, Mr. Cross has checked references with school districts who currently participate in the consortium and has done some other research. At this time he would like to continue doing some research and hold off on Board approval until he is ready to make a recommendation to join or remain with our current agents.

Discussion Regarding Long-Term Strategic Planning and Establishing District Goals Mr. Cross and the Board discussed the parent survey which was recently sent out. They feel it would be best to break down the several comments into categories. The Board agreed to meet on Thursday, March 30, from 6:30 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. for further strategic planning. In the meantime, Mr. Cross will prepare a student survey to be sent to LaSalle Peru High School junior students who attended Parkside. He will have those results ready to be shared at the March 30 meeting.

ACTION ITEMS Approval of the Final 2016-17 School District Calendar MOTION: Moved by Member Gustat, seconded by Member Kampwerth, to approve the final 2016-17 school district calendar. AYE 6, NAY 0. The motion carried 6-0. 

Approval of 2017-18 Student Registration and Preschool Fees MOTION: Moved by Vice President Lamboley, seconded by Member Sheppard, to approve the 2017-18 Student Registration and Preschool Fees. AYE 6, NAY 0. The motion carried 6-0. 

Approval of Recommendation for Implementing the Autism Program at Northview Elementary School Beginning with the 2017-18 School Term MOTION: Moved by Member Kampwerth, seconded by Member Gustat, to approve the recommendation for implementing the Autism Program at Northview Elementary School beginning with the 2017-18 school term. ROLL CALL, VOTING AYE: Kampwerth, Gustat, Sheppard, Lamboley, Renk, and Ankiewicz. ABSENT: Pillai. NAYS: None. The motion carried 6-0.

Approval of Recommendation to Join the Illinois Schools Employee Benefits Consortium and Utilize American Central Insurance Services for the District’s Health Insurance Program Agents Per the earlier discussion, the Board agreed to table this item until the April 19, 2017 regular meeting. 

Establishment of Date, Time and Location for Special Board Meeting for the Purpose of Strategic Planning and Establishing District Goals MOTION: Moved by Member Sheppard, seconded by Member Kampwerth, to establish Thursday, March 30, 2017, at 6:30 p.m. in the Parkside Learning Resource Center, as the date, time and location for a special board meeting for the purpose of strategic planning and establishing district goals. AYE 6, NAY 0. The motion carried 6-0.

Establishment of Date, Time and Location for Special Board Meeting for the Purpose of PostElection Organization MOTION: Moved by Member Sheppard, seconded by Member Kampwerth, to establish Tuesday, May 2, 2017 at 5:00 p.m. in the Parkside Choral Room, as the date, time and location for a special board meeting for the purpose of post-election organization. AYE 6, NAY 0. The motion carried 6-0.

EXECUTIVE SESSION MOTION: Moved by Member Gustat, seconded by Member Ankiewicz, to adjourn to Executive Session at 7:12 p.m. for the discussion of information regarding the appointment, employment, performance, or dismissal of employees or district legal counsel; for discussion of information related to employee salaries, benefits, and issues related to collective bargaining. ROLL CALL, VOTING AYE: Gustat, Ankiewicz, Kampwerth, Sheppard, Lamboley, and Renk. ABSENT: Pillai. NAYS: None. The motion carried 6-0.

The meeting returned to Open Session at 8:21 p.m.

ACTION ITEMS AFTER EXECUTIVE SESSION 

Employment of Recommended Personnel MOTION: Moved by Member Sheppard, seconded by Vice President Lamboley, to employ Sean Baron as district Information Technology Director for the 2017-18 school year. AYE 6, NAY 0. The motion carried 6-0.

MOTION: Moved by Member Gustat, seconded by Member Sheppard, to employ Megan Einhaus as second grade teacher for the 2017-18 school year, taking Ms. Einhaus from part-time to full-time. AYE 6, NAY 0. The motion carried 6-0.

MOTION: Moved by Vice President Lamboley, seconded by Member Ankiewicz, to employ Glenn Hall as eighth grade science teacher for the 2017-18 school year. AYE 6, NAY 0. The motion carried 6-0.

Re-Employment of Recommended Non-Tenured Faculty for 2017-18 MOTION: Moved by Member Sheppard, seconded by Member Gustat, to re-employ the recommended non-tenured as full-time faculty for 2017-18: Fourth Year (re-employment results in tenure): Colleen Schmidt, Kendra Landers, Kelly Schaefer, Heather Linnig, Amanda Danko and Kristine Criss. Third Year: Jordan Doubek, Claudia Carbajal, Thea Schwab, and Lyric Glupczynski. Second Year: Melissa Cassidy, Steve Wasmer, Ronda Iossi and Chris Bjork. First Year: Natalie Verucchi and Megan Einhaus. AYE 6, NAY 0. The motion carried 6-0.

Approval of Recommended 2017-18 Non-Union Employee Salaries MOTION: Moved by Member Kampwerth, seconded by Vice President Lamboley, to approve the recommended 2017-18 non-union employee salaries as presented. ROLL CALL, VOTING AYE: Kampwerth, Lamboley, Renk, Ankiewicz, Gustat, and Sheppard. ABSENT: Pillai. NAYS: None. The motion carried 6-0.

ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Moved by Member Ankiewicz, seconded by Member Gustat, to adjourn at 8:25 p.m. AYE 6, NAY 0. The motion carried 6-0.