MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE PAXTON-BUCKLEY-LODA COMMUNITY UNIT DISTRICT NO. 10 BOARD OF EDUCATION OF FORD, CHAMPAIGN, VERMILION, IROQUOIS AND LIVINGSTON COUNTIES OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS HELD WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2004 AT 7:00 P.M. AT THE PAXTON-BUCKLEY-LODA HIGH SCHOOL IN PAXTON, ILLINOIS.
President Mike Short called the meeting to
order at
Upon roll call, the following board members
answered present: Steve Bloomstrand, David Dowling, Jeff Jarboe, Jean Schwartz,
Al Schweighart, Michael Short and Dean Swan.
Others present were Marvin Barger, Andy
Bennett, Mike Brehm, Will Brumleve, Carol Camp, Michele Coe, Stan Daro, Trent
Eshleman, Scot Fairfield, Amy Fehrenbacher, Cindy Parnell, Vicki Good, Kathy
Goodson, Shelley Guilliame, Sean Guilliame,
Kevin Harms, Tina Harms, Bill Lee, Cliff McClure, Jill Manley, Bob Newsome,
Tonya Newsome, Brad Pickens, Sheila Pickens, Cheryl Pitman, John Rawdin, Connie
Ross, Lynn Rubarts, Judy Schneider, Stephanie Streff, Jill Schrodt, Debbie
Slade, Justin Swan, Kathryn Swan, Brian Taylor, Tara Tighe, and Marilyn Weber.
Jeff Jarboe moved to approve the minutes of
the previous meetings. David Dowling
seconded the motion. Upon roll call, all
members present voted aye, there being no nay votes the motion carried.
Dean Swan moved to approve the Treasurer’s
Report. Jean Schwartz seconded the
motion. Upon roll call, all members
present voted aye, there being no nay votes the motion carried.
David Dowling moved to approve payment of all
current bills. Jeff Jarboe seconded the
motion. Upon roll call, all members
present voted aye, there being no nay votes the motion carried.
Dean Swan read a thank you note from the
family of Barbara Bennett.
Dean Swan read a thank you note from the
family of Jack Lareau.
Dean Swan read a letter from Norm Henderson
resigning as High School Part-Time Guidance Counselor.
Peggy Seibring, Rusty Snyder, Shawn Snyder, and
Tiffany Trammel arrived at
Dean Swan read a letter from Charlotte Bowen resigning
as part-time custodian at the High School.
Dean Swan read a letter from Bonita Handling
resigning as Spanish teacher, high school class sponsor and National Honor
Society Sponsor.
Dean Swan read a letter from Nancy Taylor
resigning as high school class sponsor.
Change in the agenda to move construction
update to 9.1 on the agenda.
Mr. McClure introduced Mr. Scot Fairfield to
discuss the color schemes for the new junior high construction project. Mr. Fairfield presented a color board with
all of the colors that are being suggested for the new junior high. He will be leaving that color board at the
Unit Office for a few weeks. Mr.
McClure recommended the board approve the color scheme for the new junior
high. Al Schweighart moved to approve
the color scheme for the new junior high.
Steve Bloomstrand seconded the motion.
Upon roll call, all members present voted aye, there being no nay votes
the motion carried.
Mr. McClure introduced Brian Taylor to give
the board an update on the progress of the
construction project. The project
is 15% complete and steel erection is close to being complete. Part of the metal deck is down and should be
complete in a week and a half and underground plumbing is complete. Exterior studs are to
be delivered this week and installed next week and will enable the roof to
begin construction. A discussion was
held regarding the delivery and manufacturing of the brick. The master schedule should be complete and the
project job superintendent should have a copy ready to be distributed. Mr. McClure informed the board that the
district will have to purchase additional builders risk insurance to cover the
building construction project.
Construction update will be held on February 12th at
Tammy Glazik arrived at
Shawn Young and Nick Leon arrived at
Scot Fairfield and Brian Taylor left at
Mr. McClure discussed the state of the
district in terms of the flow of money and how the revenue is received. He also explained the increase in
expenditures which include salaries and health insurance and other district
expenses. He then discussed the cost
reductions that total approximately $265,000.
These reductions include eliminating and/or reducing the
number of student workers, summer custodial workers, elementary library aide, high
school night custodian, Loda Elementary part-time music teacher, two elementary
teachers, high school physical education teacher, high school part-time
guidance counselor. These reductions
will also include reducing number of the extra-curricular events schedule and
budgets. He also explained how the
principals have reduced their budgets in all areas for the last three
years. These areas include supplies and
materials. Mr. McClure also discussed what
would happen to the class sizes with the reduction in elementary teachers. Another cost savings is moving early childhood
to the Clara Peterson from Westlawn.
Mr. Mike Short read the resolution of the
reduction in certified staff for Jenny Niebuhr and
Amy Fehrenbacher.
Mr. Mike Short read the resolution of the
reduction in Education Support Personnel for Debra Flessner, Amy Genzel, Nancy
Gibb, Nancy Hall, Judi Hauck, Sandra McKinney-Cardiff, Rebecca March, Denise
Nuss, Cathy Rigsby, Kaye Schmidt, Sandra Sundberg, Jodi Tull, Cindy Woods, and
Martha Zamarippa.
Mr. Mike Short read the resolution of the
Extra Duty Assignments for Susan Brown – JH Playground Supervisor, Travis Duley
– FBLA and Class Sponsor, Jeffrey Graham – HS Track Assistant, Jessica
Hendershot – JH Playground Supervisor, and Barry Wright – HS Class Sponsor.
The following visitors at the meeting asked
questions and a discussion ensued about the cost-saving, class sizes, and other
options that should be looked at regarding the reductions in force. Stan Daro, Vicki Good, Kathy Goodson, Kevin
Harms, Tina Harms, Jill Manley, Tonya Newsome, Cindy Parnell, Connie Ross, Judy
Schneider, Jill Schrodt, Peggy Seibring, Debbie Slade, Justin Swan, and
Stephanie Streff.
It was the recommendation of the finance
committee to approve the reduction in force as in place. Steve Bloomstrand made a motion to approve the
reduction in force for the certified staff.
Jeff Jarboe seconded the motion. Upon
roll call, all members present voted aye, there being no nay votes the motion
carried.
Dean Swan made a motion to approve the
reduction in force for the Education Support Services staff. Al Schweighart seconded the motion. Upon roll call, all members present voted
aye, there being no nay votes the motion carried.
Al Schweighart made a motion to approve the
reduction in force for the Extra Duty assignments. Steve Bloomstrand seconded the motion. Upon roll call, all members present voted
aye, there being no nay votes the motion carried.
All visitors regarding the cost reductions
left at
Mr. McClure discussed the 2004-2005 school calendar. The
building is 3-4 weeks behind schedule.
Mr. McClure will be working on a new calendar to present to the board at
the March meeting. The Board has until
June to approve a school calendar.
Mr. McClure introduced Summer School
coordinators Tara Tighe and Mike Brehm to discuss the 2004 summer school
program. The location for summer school
will be at the junior high. The start
date for summer school will probably start a little earlier. This way the students will not have to come
back after the 4th of July.
Title I funds should be able to fund the majority of the summer school
expenses. Most students that are
enrolled in summer school are Title I students.
Mr. Brehm discussed his technology report
with the board. The highlights of the
report were the grant application for E-rate.
Mr. Brehm submitted a grant to the Illinois Clean Energy for
$38,000. The district has purchased an electronic
subscription to the World Book of Encyclopedia’s for $680.00. This subscription will also allow parents and
students to access this site from home, with no charge to them.
Steve Bloomstrand gave an update for the PBL
Education Foundation. The scholarship committee is now starting to receive money to disburse for student
scholarships and are trying to establish
criteria to properly monitor these scholarships. Mini grants are a great success every
year. Teachers submit proposals to the
foundation and then the committee determines which proposals are funded. The deadline for this year’s mini-grant
proposals is March 1st . Advanced Placement is also something that the
foundation is funding for high school students to prepare them for college. One Book One Community was a big
success. Another project that foundation
is starting is building a database for all former classes at Paxton and BL. This will help contact alumnialumni’s
to help raise money for the district or to help locate classmates for reunions.
The PBL Education Foundation Breakfast is set for March 30th at the
High School cafeteria.
Mr. Rawdin discussed the Friday School
Proposal. The junior high is having a
difficult time getting students to attend Saturday school. Mr. Rawdin’s proposal
is to have the students actually serve their detentions on Friday after school
from
Mr. McClure recommended the board approve the
2003-2004 audit contract with Russell Leigh and
Associates for $4900. This contract
amount is the same as last year. The
unit office staff is very pleased with his work and willingness to help throughout
the year. David Dowling made a motion to
approve the audit contract in the amount of $4,900. Dean Swan seconded the motion. Upon roll call, all members present voted
aye, there being no nay votes the motion carried.
In other business, Mr. McClure announced that
the extra curricular committee and booster club committee will be meeting
around the first week of March to discuss issues on fund raising. Mr. Rawdin, Mr. Flaherty, and both athletic director’s
will also be in attendance.
Mr. McClure reported to the board that many
of our students take the Illinois Workplace test. All students enrolled in vocational classes
take this test. Our students had the
highest scores in most exam areas. This
test is one other measure of how the district is doing academically.
Jean Schwartz made a motion to go into closed
session to discuss employment of specific employees and pending
litigation. Steve Bloomstrand seconded
the motion. Upon roll call, all members
present voted aye, there being no nay votes the motion carried.
Closed session began at
Jeff Jarboe moved to come out of closed
session. David Dowling seconded the
motion. Upon roll call, all members
present voted aye, there being no nay votes the motion carried.
Closed Session ended at
Mr. McClure recommended the board hire Arthur
Nelson as Custodian at the Junior High. Dean
Swan made a motion to approve the hiring of Arthur Nelson as Junior High
Custodian. Jean Schwartz seconded the
motion. Upon roll call, all members
present voted aye, there being no nay votes the motion carried.
Mr. McClure recommended the board approve the
retirement of Bonita Handling as Spanish teacher at the High School, High
School Class Sponsor and National Honor Society Sponsor. Dean Swan made a motion to accept the
resignation. Jeff Jarboe seconded the
motion. Upon roll call, all members
present voted aye, there being no nay votes the motion carried.
Mr. McClure recommended the board approve the
resignation of Norman Henderson as part-time guidance counselor at the High
School. Dean Swan made a motion to
accept the resignation. Al Schweighart
seconded the motion. Upon roll call, all
members present voted aye, there being no nay votes the motion carried.
Mr. McClure recommended the board approve the
resignation of Nancy Taylor as High School Class Sponsor. Dean Swan made a motion to accept the
resignation. Jeff Jarboe seconded the
motion. Upon roll call, all members
present voted aye, there being no nay votes the motion carried.
Mr. McClure recommended the board approve the
resignation of Charlotte Bowen as night custodian at the high school. Dean Swan made a motion to accept the
resignation. Al Schweighart seconded the
motion. Upon roll call, all members
present voted aye, there being no nay votes the motion carried.
Al Schweighart made a motion to adjourn. Jeff Jarboe seconded the motion. Upon roll call, all members present voted
aye, there being no nay votes the motion carried.
Meeting adjourned at
_____________________________________ _________________________________
President, Board of Education Secretary, Board
of Education