Oglesby Public School District #125 Board of Education met April 26.
Here is the minutes provided by the Board:
Call to Order/Roll Call:
Jim Knoblauch, President, called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. Present: Mike Barrie, Bob Etzenbach, Doug Kramarsic, Mike Porter, Marc Strand, and Jim Knoblauch. Absent: Roger Miskell. Others present: Michael Pillion, Superintendent, Cindy Pozzi, Principal, Michael Balestri, Dean of Students/Curriculum Director, and Traci Tomasson, Secretary to the Board of Education.
Approval of Agenda:
Motion by Mike Barrie, seconded by Marc Strand, to approve the board meeting agenda for April 26, 2017. Voting aye: Mike Barrie, Marc Strand, Bob Etzenbach, Doug Kramarsic, Mike Porter, and Jim Knoblauch. The motion carried 6-0.
Approval of Consent Agenda:
Motion by Mike Porter, seconded by Mike Barrie, to approve the consent agenda, keeping the March 15, 2017, closed minutes closed. Voting aye: Mike Porter, Mike Barrie, Bob Etzenbach, Doug Kramarsic, Marc Strand, and Jim Knoblauch. The motion carried 6-0.
Communications:
None
Canvassing of the Votes:
Jim Knoblauch read the official results of the school board election as follows:
• Marc Strand, 204 votes
• Doug Kramarsic, 210 votes
• Robert Etzenbach, 210 votes
• Over votes, 0
• Under votes, 640
School Board Organizational Meeting
President Administers Oath to New Board Members:
The New Oath of Office was read by Marc Strand, Doug Kramarsic, and Bob Etzenbach.
Current Board Adjourns Sine Die:
Motion by Mike Porter, seconded by Marc Strand, to adjourn. All in favor, aye. The motion carried 6-0. Time 5:33 p.m.
President Pro Tem Calls Meeting of the School Board to Order:
Jim Knoblauch, President Pro Tem, called the meeting to order at 5:34 p.m. Present: Mike Barrie, Bob Etzenbach, Doug Kramarsic, Mike Porter, Marc Strand, and Jim Knoblauch. Others present: Michael Pillion, Superintendent, Cindy Pozzi, Principal, Michael Balestri, Dean of Students/Curriculum Director, and Traci Tomasson, Secretary to the Board of Education.
Nominations/Election of President:
Jim Knoblauch, President Pro Tem, called for nominations for the office of president. Motion by Doug Kramarsic, seconded by Marc Strand, to appoint Jim Knoblauch as President of the Oglesby District #125 Board of Education. Voting aye: Doug Kramarsic, Marc Strand, Mike Barrie, Bob Etzenbach, Mike Porter. Pass: Jim Knoblauch. The motion carried 5-0.
Nominations/Election of Vice President:
Jim Knoblauch, President, called for nominations for the office of vice president. Motion by Marc Strand, seconded by Mike Barrie, to appoint Mike Porter as Vice President of the Oglesby District #125 Board of Education. Voting aye: Marc Strand, Mike Barrie, Bob Etzenbach, Doug Kramarsic, and Jim Knoblauch. Pass: Mike Porter. The motion carried 5-0.
Nominations/Election of Secretary:
Motion by Mike Porter, seconded by Marc Strand to appoint Traci Tomasson as the secretary of the Oglesby District #125 Board of Education. Voting aye: Mike Porter, Marc Strand, Mike Barrie, Bob Etzenbach, Doug Kramarsic, and Jim Knoblauch. The motion carried 6-0.
Appointment of District Treasurer:
Motion by Bob Etzenbach, seconded by Doug Kramarsic, to appoint Paul Danekas as the district treasurer. Voting aye: Bob Etzenbach, Doug Kramarsic, Mike Barrie, Mike Porter, Marc Strand, and Jim Knoblauch. The motion carried 6-0.
Appointment of Depository:
Motion by Marc Strand, seconded by Mike Porter, to appoint Illini and Heartland as the district’s depositories. Voting aye: Marc Strand, Mike Porter, Mike Barrie, Bob Etzenbach, Doug Kramarsic, and Jim Knoblauch. The motion carried 6-0.
Appointment of Legal Council:
Motion by Doug Kramarsic, seconded by Mike Barrie, to appoint Robbins Schwartz Nicholas Lifton & Taylor, LTD., as the district’s legal council. Voting aye: Doug Kramarsic, Mike Barrie, Bob Etzenbach, Mike Porter, Marc Strand, and Jim Knoblauch. The motion carried 6-0.
Establishment of Board Committees:
Mr. Knoblauch told the board members to contact him regarding preferences for the board committees. He said the board committees will be determined at a later date.
Set Meeting Dates, Times, and Location for Regular Board Meeting:
Motion by Mike Barrie, seconded by Bob Etzenbach, to set the regular board meetings for the third Wednesdays of each month at 5:30 p.m. in the Lincoln Library. Voting aye: Mike Barrie, Bob Etzenbach, Doug Kramarsic, Mike Porter, Marc Strand, and Jim Knoblauch. The motion carried 6-0.
First Reading of Updated Policies: (2:100, 3:70, 4:15, 4:180, 5:70, 5:80, 5:110, 5:120, 5:140, 5:210, 5:230, 5:320, 6:70, 7:100)
Mr. Pillion said there are 14 policy updates and 1 policy is renamed. He said Mary Newcomer made updates to policy 7:100 in regards to dates for immunizations.
Approval of Amended School Calendar for 2017-2018:
Mr. Pillion said two dates were changed to go along with other districts due to bus routes. He said the district will be in session for Casimir Pulaski Day and will be out the Friday before spring break. Motion by Mike Porter, seconded by Marc Strand, to approve the amended school calendar for 2017-2018 as presented. Voting aye: Mike Porter, Marc Strand, Mike Barrie, Bob Etzenbach, Doug Kramarsic, and Jim Knoblauch. The motion carried 6-0.
Approval of IESA Membership and Fees for 2017-2018:
Mr. Pillion said there were no changes and the membership and fees is approved each year. Motion by Mike Barrie, seconded by Mike Porter, to approve the IESA Membership and Fees for 2017-2018 as presented. Voting aye: Mike Barrie, Mike Porter, Bob Etzenbach, Doug Kramarsic, Marc Strand, and Jim Knoblauch. The motion carried 6-0.
Approval of the New Phone System:
Mr. Pillion said he discussed the new phone system for the past few months at board meetings. He said he went through a demonstration with Ficek and also received a quote from Troy. He said he would like to move forward with Ficek who has worked with many schools in the area. He said the system will integrate both schools into one and allow for transfer between schools. He said the current phone system is so out of date that we can only get refurbished phones when there is a problem. He said the system will be done in one phase because breaking it up into two phases will actually increase the cost. He suggested moving forward and having the program installed during the summer to be ready for the new school year. MOTION by Bob Etzenbach, seconded by Mike Barrie, to approve the new phone system as presented. Voting aye: Bob Etzenbach, Mike Barrie, Doug Kramarsic, Mike Porter, Marc Strand, and Jim Knoblauch. The motion carried 6-0.
Roger Miskell arrived at 5:44 p.m. The administration and board members presented a plaque to Roger Miskell for 8 years of board service. He left the meeting at 5:51 p.m.
Approval of the OT/PT Service with Hillmann for 2017-2018
Mr. Pillion said the district has used Hillmann for several years now for OT and PT services. He said they are proposing an increase of $1.00 per hour for the 2017-2018 school year. Motion by Mike Porter, seconded by Marc Strand, to approve the OT/PT service with Hillmann for the 2017-2018 school year as presented. Voting aye: Mike Porter, Marc Strand, Mike Barrie, Bob Etzenbach, Doug Kramarsic, and Jim Knoblauch. The motion carried 6-0.
Reports/Updates
Superintendent Reports/Information:
• Enrollment Report– Mr. Pillion said enrollment is similar to last month. He said the preschool numbers are at 129 and credited the preschool office personnel for reaching out to various people and agencies.
• Cafeteria Report - Mr. Pillion said the cafeteria report was similar to previous years at this time. He said the lunch audit was yesterday and said it went very well stating that the auditor used words such as “perfect”. He said that Sue Hancock does a wonderful job of running the cafeteria. He said there was one point of service issue with an error through TeacherEase on reports. He noted that the discrepancy was very small and that they have already come up with a check point in three areas to make sure the mistake does not happen again. He also noted that the district should receive a report by the end of the school year.
• Funding Update– Mr. Pillion said the district is still behind $487,726.59 in payments from the state and passed out an updated late/pending revenue sheet to the board members. He said the district did receive its first categorical payment but noted they are still far behind in preschool funds. He noted that he has joined with over 400 superintendents to put out a message to pass the Illinois budget. He said there is information on the school district website, and urged people to call their legislators.
• Preschool Update – Mr. Pillion said the district will not have to compete for the RFP for now so they will have the preschool grant for next school year. He said they also recently applied for extra preschool funds and did get approved. However, they will have to spend the funds by July 1 and wait for the state to issue the money. He said the funds will be used to purchase preschool playground equipment and to finish the fence around the playground, including a gate. He said they have already had companies out to quote the job.
• Cross Country Update - Mr. Pillion said he is still working with other districts and believes they will begin with a club approach for cross country which could change in the future.
• FOIA Update – Mr. Pillion said there were no FOIA requests this month.
• Insurance Update – Mr. Pillion said he received new insurance rates with an increase of 11%, which is down from the original rates at a 15% increase. He said the insurance committee will be meeting.
• Web Master Stipend – Mr. Pillion said there were a few people interested, but will be assigning the web master stipend to Traci Tomasson. He said it makes sense having it in the district office and that Traci has already posted many things on the website in the past.
• Building Update – Mr. Pillion said the bids came in a little higher than expected for the health/life safety roof work and recommended using maintenance funds for the overage.
Doug Kramarsic left the meeting at 6:00 p.m.
Principal Reports/Information:
• Excel Banquet– Mrs. Pozzi said 103 students are eligible to receive medals at the Excel Banquet on May 2nd.
• Algebra Class– Mrs. Pozzi said seven students were recommended for Algebra for next school year. She said she sent the list to LP and St. Bede and all of the students were accepted.
• Washington School Open House – Mrs. Pozzi said 225 parents signed in at the March 27 open house at Washington School. She said all junior high and 5th grade students were invited to attend and said she was very pleased with the turn out.
• Track – Mrs. Pozzi congratulated the 8th grade boys for their first place win at the Vermilion Track Meet.
• Washington P.B.I.S. Student Spotlight– Mrs. Pozzi congratulated the following students for being chosen for the P.B.I.S. Spotlight: Ginny Anderson, 6th grade; Emily Blankenship, 7th grade; and Michael Kaszynski, 8th grade.
Curriculum Director Reports/Information:
• Curriculum- Mr. Balestri said the Lincoln grade levels are finalizing the science curriculum maps that will be turned in at the end of the school year. He said a group was formed to research STEM based activities that can be incorporated into the Lincoln curriculum. He noted that this initiative was started with the support of SOS allocating funds from this year’s Trivia Night.
• Technology Committee– Mr. Balestri said the technology committee met April 24 to discuss recommendations for the next school year. He said the meeting involved reviewing the acceptable use policy that staff members sign, the upcoming computer lease and future mobile device needs. He said the committee does not have any firm recommendations at this time.
• RtI– Mr. Balestri said the spring benchmark testing will begin the week of May 1. He said Mr. Flodstrom is beginning an exploratory unit focused on aerodynamics and flight. He said students were chosen based on academic performance, schedule availability, and interest in the topic.
• Benchmark Assessment Committee – Mr. Balestri said the committee met on April 5 to finalize a recommendation for the 2017-2018 school year. He said after researching several assessment systems, the committee is recommending AimsWeb Plus for the 2017-18 school year. He noted that the decision was based on the diagnostic information, progress monitoring capabilities, and testing time. He said the district will be able to transition to AimsWeb Plus and continue to pay the same fee as the old version of AimsWeb.
• Professional Development – Mr. Balestri said the May early dismissal time will be focused on grade level work and articulation time. He said plans are being made to continue work with assessment facilitated by Kids at the Core.
• Lincoln P.B.I.S. Student Spotlight– Mr. Balestri congratulated the following students for being chosen for the P.B.I.S. Spotlight: Aiden and Liam Repsel, Kindergarten; Gabrielle Payne, 1st grade; Caiden Fornero, 2nd grade; Jaxon Gordon, 3rd grade; Hayden Hileman, 4th grade; and Justin Randolph, 5th grade.
Old Business:
None
New Business:
None
Delegations:
None
Closed Session:
Motion by Mike Porter, seconded by Marc Strand, to enter into closed session at 6:09 p.m. to discuss:
1. 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. 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(1).
2. The placement of individual students in special education programs and other matters relating to individual students. 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(10).
3. Collective negotiating matters between the public body and its employees or their representatives, or deliberations concerning salary schedules for one or more classes of employees. 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(2).
4. The selection of a person to fill a public office, as defined in the Open Meetings Act, including a vacancy in a public office, when the public body is given power to appoint under law or ordinance, or the discipline, performance or removal of the occupant of a public office, when the public body is given power to remove the occupant under law or ordinance. 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(3). Voting aye: Mike Porter, Marc Strand, Mike Barrie, Bob Etzenbach, and Jim Knoblauch. The motion carried 5-0. Motion by Marc Strand, seconded by Mike Porter, to return to regular session at 6:45 p.m.
Voting aye: Marc Strand, Mike Porter, Mike Barrie, Bob Etzenbach, and Jim Knoblauch. The motion carried 5-0.
Jim Knoblauch left the meeting at 6:46 p.m.
Action Items after Closed Session:
Appointment of Board Member to Fill Vacant Seat-
Motion by Marc Strand, seconded by Bob Etzenbach, to approve the appointment of Jason Curran for the vacant board seat. Voting aye: Marc Strand, Bob Etzenbach, Mike Barrie, and Mike Porter. The motion carried 4-0.
Approval of Resignations-
Motion by Bob Etzenbach, seconded by Marc Strand, to approve the resignation of John Hancock for the position of boys’ basketball head coach for 5th and 6th grade, and Karie Giordano for the position of assistant volleyball coach. Voting aye: Bob Etzenbach, Marc Strand, Mike Barrie, and Mike Porter. The motion carried 4-0.
Approval of Coaching Position-
Motion by Marc Strand, seconded by Mike Porter, to approve the hiring of Max Pierce for the boys’ basketball head coach position for 5th and 6th grade, and Claire Entwistle for the assistant volleyball coach position. Voting aye: Marc Strand, Mike Porter, Mike Barrie, and Bob Etzenbach. The motion carried 4-0.
Adjourn:
Motion by Marc Strand, seconded by Mike Barrie, to adjourn. All in favor, aye. The motion carried 4-0. Time: 6:49 p.m.
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