Leland Community Unit School District 1 Board of Education met Nov. 20.
Here is the minutes provided by the board:
1. CALL TO ORDER
President Plote called the regular meeting to order at 7:04 p.m.
2. ROLL CALL
Present: Anderson, Miller, Riskedal, Shumway, Todd, Wesson and Plote
Absent: none
Also in attendance were Administrators Jodi Moore and Chris Bickel, District Bookkeeper Jason Zaleski, and Recording Secretary Andrea Niles.
3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
4. BOARD SALUTES
Salutes include the following: Mrs. Anderson was very impressed with the student-led parent/teacher conferences this year. She said giving kids ownership was very well-received from the reports she heard. Mr. Bickel announced the October Students of the Month: 4th grader Isabelle Wilkinson, 8th grader Brooklynn Guelde, and 12th grader Olivia Hallowell. He also gave a shout out to all of the presenters that came to the first Career Fair held at school. There were eighteen presenters, and the feedback from students and presenters has been very positive.
5. OPEN FORUM
President Plote welcomed several guests to the meeting. Also present was Stu Bloom. Requesting to address the Board during open forum were student Joushua Henne, LEA member Andy Barnes, and district parents Matt Skorupski, Tom Dean, Alan Kinney, and Amber Slaughter. Mrs. Plote reminded them during open forum they are not having discussions with the Board directly, they are allowed to address the Board within a 5-minute time frame per policy.
Joushua Henne presented an idea for his Eagle Scout project to the Board. He would like to renovate the outdoor batting cage next summer. He would ask area organizations such as LYAA for donations. His plan would include a limestone base and new poles/netting. If the Board approves his project, he will move forward with the planning stage and getting estimates. He would present to the Board a more formal plan at a later date. All Board members feel this is a good Eagle Scout project.
Andy Barnes read a statement of support by the Leland Education Association to Leland CUSD #1, Board of Education, administration, and staff. He publicly read his statement that included the District’s mission statement.
Matt Skorupski addressed the Board in regards to why his kindergarten student came home saying she was being taught multiplication by an older student. His concern with this is that it may derail the learning process of addition and subtraction that is typical kindergarten math. He strongly requested he receives a response from administration.
Tom Dean spoke on a recent issue that received a lot of media and social network attention. Although he was upset that his son was given the information he was in regards to medication bottles with childproof lids, Mr. Dean was very appreciative of the school’s immediate response to the incident as it opened a very important conversation with his young children. Additionally, he gave his support to the school and community at large.
Al Kinney also gave a statement in support of the District, Board of Education, administration, faculty and staff at Leland.
Amber Slaughter addressed the Board and administration saying she was thankful there has been a video surveillance monitor installed in the main office. Although she was still very upset with the recent actions from the school regarding a couple of incidents. She strongly disagreed with administration on sending an apologetic, informational letter via email and through social media in regards to the medicine bottle event. She included that she feels her concerns are not being heard or acted on by administration, as well as poor communication from the district on most matters.
6. APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA
Riskedal moved and Miller seconded the motion to approve the consent agenda as follows: 6.1 Regular Open and Closed Session minutes from October 16, 2019.
6.2 Monthly Bills and Financial Statements for October and November as presented.
Ayes: Anderson, Miller, Riskedal, Shumway, Todd, Wesson and Plote
Nays: none
MOTION CARRIED on 7-0 vote.
7. APPROVE AUDIT REPORT
Riskedal moved and Shumway seconded the motion to approve the Fiscal Year 2019 Audit Report from Gorenz and Associates.
Discussion on the FY 2019 Audit Report took place during the October Board meeting. The final report was shared with Board members for approval. No further discussion took place.
Ayes: Miller, Riskedal, Shumway, Todd, Wesson, Anderson and Plote Nays: none
MOTION CARRIED on 7-0 vote.
8. APPROVE ANNUAL FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR PUBLICATION
Anderson moved and Todd seconded the motion to approve the auditor prepared financial statements for FY 2019 for publication.
The District auditors prepare the Annual Financial Report following the audit. The AFR is provided to each Board member and published in local newspapers. A bound copy will remain in the District office. This is an in-depth examination of revenue receipts and expenditures and financial practices of the District.
Ayes: Riskedal, Shumway, Todd, Wesson, Anderson, Miller, and Plote Nays: none
MOTION CARRIED on 7-0 vote.
9. APPROVE ADOPTION OF REVISED POLICY MANUAL
Riskedal moved and Anderson seconded the motion to approve the adoption of the Revised Policy Manual.
This is the second reading and adoption of the policy manual revision with edits previously discussed in the first reading of the revisions. Upon approval, Mrs. Moore will notify IASB, at which time they will finalize the process. This includes using PRESS Plus to upload the adapted Policy Manual online.
Ayes: Shumway, Todd, Wesson, Anderson, Miller, Riskedal and Plote Nays: none
MOTION CARRIED on 7-0 vote.
10. APPROVE TENTATIVE 2019 TAX LEVY
Shumway moved and Riskedal seconded the motion to approve the proposed 2019 tax levy, and a Truth in Taxation hearing for 7:00pm December 18, 2019 at the regularly scheduled meeting.
Mrs. Moore gave a comprehensive explanation of the tax levy, estimated equalized assessed valuation (EAV), and fiscal year extensions. The EAV is projected to increase 5.33% from the previous year. Maximizing Tort, IMRF and Social Security, the bond payment and all the fund extensions, the tax rate would drop $0.04 per $100 of assessed valuation for property owners.
Traditionally the District has included a 1% buffer in the requested levy amount to ensure no available funds are left unrequested or unused. With this year’s projected EAV increase, Mrs. Moore is recommending lowering the buffered rate (balloon rate) to 0.5%. Even with this lowered balloon, estimated extensions are still increased almost $160,000 from this year’s actual extensions. The rate of increase with the buffered levy proposal is over 5% therefore a Truth in Taxation Hearing is mandatory. However, the actual anticipated rate of increase falls under the 5% Truth in Taxation threshold. Leland CUSD 1 customarily holds a public Truth in Taxation Hearing regardless of the levy increase over current fiscal year extensions for complete transparency.
Mrs. Moore had several worksheets and examples for Board members to view the reflected rates and how they translate into dollar amounts for tax payers.
Ayes: Todd, Wesson, Anderson, Miller, Riskedal, Shumway and Plote Nays: none
MOTION CARRIED on 7-0 vote.
11. APPROVE ADMINISTRATION REPORT
Miller moved and Wesson seconded the motion to approve the Administration Report as presented by Mr. Bickel.
In his athletic update, Mr. Bickel reported that fall sports have ended and winter sports seasons have begun. The HS boys basketball team has 12 students participating, and the high school cheer team has 11 students on the current roster. High school girls basketball team has 3 girls participating in the coop with Somonauk. JH boys basketball and JH cheer seasons have started as well. We have 15 boys and 14 girls participating in these programs. Mr. Bickel reached out to Somonauk, Indian Creek, and Serena high schools about the possibility of our high school girls cooping for softball this spring. All three of these districts are unwilling to take our girls at this time. He will reach out to Earlville to see if they will allow the three girls interested in playing to join their team.
Additionally, he shared Little 10 Conference news with the Board that the conference was approached by Depue High School with a request to join the conference. Sports included would be Volleyball, Boys Basketball, Girls Basketball, and soccer. The conference will vote in December.
Mr. Bickel gave the Board a summary from his recent Illinois Principal Association conference. State Superintendent of Education, Dr. Carmen Ayala, gave an update of the current state of the Illinois education system. He attended break-out sessions including standards based grade reporting, promoting responsible student behavior, and using student data to support instructional decision making. He then reported our K-8 teachers are continuing to focus on standards based reporting during weekly PLC times. Mrs. Moore told the Board she has been meeting one on one with high school teachers focusing on each individuals’ content and establishing competencies.
In a transportation update, Mr. Bickel reported a recent breakdown of one of our special education route vans. The 2013 Dodge van requires a new transmission that has been estimated at $5,000 to repair. The van currently has 160,000 miles. With plans to replace an older van at the end of the current school year, he recommends repairing the 2013 van.
Upon Board discussion, they unanimously agreed it would be more beneficial to purchase a new van rather than put the estimated $5,000 into repairing such a high mileage vehicle.
The current extra daily routes the District makes are:
3 Somonauk shuttles and 1 round trip route to each: Naperville, Earlville, and Peru.
At the end of October, Leland School hosted a career fair with 20 different professionals speaking to our high school students. Each presenter gave a short speech to the whole group followed by one-on-one conversations with students in traditional career fair-style. Students also had small group sessions in team building exercises, positive interview skills, and creating effective resumes. There was positive feedback following the event from presenters and students.
Mr. Bickel reported that during parent-teacher conferences this year, teachers were encouraged to include students in discussions so they become more active in their educational experience. Parents were also given classroom data, MAP scores, and IAR results.
Important Dates
11/18 - 11/22 - American Education Week 11/21 - Community Day - Gym-o-rama
11/22 - Meet the Panthers Night/ Jr Class Dinner 11/27 - 11/29 - Thanksgiving Break
12/2 - JH/HS Winter Concert
12/3 - K-5 Winter Concert
12/9 - 12/13 - PTO Holiday Shop
12/20 - End of 1st Semester / Start of Winter Break
Ayes: Wesson, Anderson, Miller, Riskedal Shumway, Todd and Plote Nays: none
MOTION CARRIED on 7-0 vote.
12. DISCUSSION OF DISTRICT STATE REPORT CARD
The Illinois Interactive Report Card (IIRC) was finally made public. Mr. Bickel presented an overview of the District report card with quick descriptions of each section. He gave the Board a link to the website to more thoroughly view the information on there. Additionally, he told the Board he compared Leland School data with other districts and subsequently reached out to administration in similar sized schools to observe and discuss their curriculum format in conjunction with test scores.
13. DISCUSSION OF IASB JOINT CONVENTION
Mrs. Moore handed out appropriate paperwork for those attending the Joint Convention.
14. DISCUSSION OF COMMITTEE REPORTS
14.1 Feasibility Committee: At the time of the meeting, Mrs. Moore reported ISBE said
the contracts were ready for administrative review. She and Somonauk District Superintendent Streicher will get a meeting set as soon as possible.
15. EXECUTIVE SESSION
Shumway moved and Todd seconded the motion to go into executive session to discuss matters related to 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. Also, to discuss minutes of meetings lawfully closed, whether for purposes of approval by the body of the minutes or semi-annual review of the minutes as mandated by Section 2.06. 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(21).
Ayes: Anderson, Miller, Riskedal, Shumway Todd, Wesson and Plote
Nays: none
MOTION CARRIED on 7-0 vote and the meeting entered closed session at 8:28pm.
Anderson moved and Shumway seconded the motion to return to open session.
Ayes: Miller, Riskedal, Shumway, Todd, Wesson, Anderson and Plote
Nays: none
MOTION CARRIED on 7-0 vote and the meeting re-entered open session at 9:17pm.
16. APPROVE RECOMMENDATION TO ACCEPT TEACHER RESIGNATION
Anderson moved and Shumway seconded the motion to accept the resignation of David Blindt.
Ayes: Riskedal, Shumway, Todd, Wesson, Anderson, Miller and Plote
Nays: none
MOTION CARRIED on 7-0 vote.
17. APPROVE RECOMMENDATION FOR FAMILY ENGAGEMENT COORDINATOR
Anderson moved and Shumway seconded the motion to hire Andrea Niles for the position of
Family Engagement Coordinator.
Ayes: Shumway, Todd, Wesson, Anderson, Miller, Riskedal, and Plote
Nays: none
MOTION CARRIED on 7-0 vote.
18. ANY OTHER ITEMS RESULTING FROM CLOSED SESSION
There were no additional action items from executive session.
19. ADJOURNMENT
Anderson moved and Shumway seconded the motion to adjourn.
On a voice vote, the MOTION CARRIED 7-0.
Meeting adjourned at 9:19 pm
https://core-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/546049/Board_Minutes_11-20-19__open___PDF_.pdf
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