MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE PAXTON-BUCKLEY-LODA COMMUNITY UNIT SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 10 BOARD OF EDUCATION OF FORD, CHAMPAIGN, VERMILION, IROQUOIS, AND LIVINGSTON COUNTIES OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS HELD WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2008 AT 7:00 P.M. AT THE PAXTON-BUCKLEY-LODA BOARD ROOM IN PAXTON, ILLINOIS.

President Mike Short called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.

Upon roll call, the following board members answered present: Dawn Bachtold, David Dowling, Mike Short, Phillip Duling, Jeff Jarboe, Shawn Young, and Dean Swan.

Others present were Tara Tighe, Cliff McClure, John Rawdin, Trent Eshleman, Jeff Graham, Barry Wright, Stan Daro, Mike Brehm, Andy Bennett, Rick Brackmann, Amy Teske, Marvin Barger, Jimmy Shields, Kristin Oyer, Doug Anderson, Mike White, Dave Harber, Kara Johnson, Darrin Jarboe, Caitlin Carson, Adrian Young, Monica Jarboe, Tiffany Apland, Katie Pilcher, Jacob Wise, Zach Hari, and Mr. Lindy.

Mr. McClure advised the Board that there is a correction to the previous minutes with regard to policy numbers that were omitted but approved by the Board. Mr. McClure stated these omitted policy numbers are included in the current minutes.

Dave Dowling made a motion to approve the consent agenda. Shawn Young seconded the motion. Upon roll call, all board members being present voted aye, the motion passed.

Dean Swan read a letter dated February 4, 2008 from Katrina Tammen resigning as Junior High cheerleading sponsor.

Dean Swan read a letter dated February 1, 2008 from Moroa-Forsyth School District praising Kallie Smith for her solo performance at the cheerleading competition.

Dean Swan read a letter dated February 12, 2008 from Dorothy Shields resigning as 3^rd grade teacher at Eastlawn Elementary at the close of the 2007/2008 school year.

Shawn Young read a thank you from the family of Brad Swan to the Board of Education.

Mr. McClure introduced the PBL FFA to the Board. Katie Pilcher advised the Board of the various activities that the FFA has been involved in. The Cooperative Program team won 5^th place in the State and received a cooperative emblem award. The Heritage Program received a gold metal at the section level, and the Poultry Team placed 8^th nationally. Darrin Jarboe also advised the Board of the various Agronomy Team activities, and Zach Hari informed the Board of the wild life activities.

Doug Anderson, Mike White, Kara Johnson, Darrin Jarboe, Caitlin Carson, Adrian Young, Monica Jarboe, Tiffany Apland, Katie Pilcher, Jacob Wise, and Zach Hari left the meeting at 7:15 p.m.

Ms. Tighe informed the Board of the recent policy review committee meeting. Ms. Tighe advised the committee met for an entire day again and gave each member a new packet of policies to review that will be up for approval at next month’s meeting. The committee is working through the District’s existing policies, and the Board’s policy packets will be voluminous for the next couple of months. Once the committee has worked through these policies, the Board policy packets should scale down considerably.

Mr. McClure stated the building and grounds committee recently met and discussed several items. Mr. McClure advised the committee has a recommendation for the assistant director of operations and maintenance position. With regard to the District’s transportation needs, the committee is recommending the addition of another truck with a snow plow package. Mr. McClure stated the District is investigating whether to purchase a new or used vehicle. The committee also discussed when construction would begin for the new storage facility. Mr. Bennett stated he would like to get started on this building as soon as weather permits and that estimates for materials with a metal roof are $25,000.00. Mr. McClure stated this estimate does not include concrete or labor costs. The District has not completed collecting all fund raising money, but when complete, the amount should be close to $50,000.00.

With regard to items no longer useful to the District, the committee suggested the District obtain bids for the four (4) red sheds and Grasshopper cab and snow blower. Mr. McClure stated the District could advertise these items in the local paper and collect bids, and the bid winner would be responsible for removal of the items.

Mr. McClure informed the Board that he spoke with Dan Moore from FGM today about increasing the length on the home side, 26” walkways, 24” walkways on the visitor’s side, and chair-back seats for the High School bleachers. Mr. McClure reminded the Board that the Clara Peterson asphalt project needs to be engineered and suggested the District wait an additional year to bid the High School restroom renovation project and High School tile replacement project.

Mr. McClure advised the Board the administration team met yesterday to discuss reconfiguration of the buildings. Mr. McClure suggested the building and grounds committee should meet prior to the March Board meeting to discuss the administration’s potential building changes and to gain Mr. Bennett’s input as well.

Mr. McClure stated the personnel committee met tonight prior to the Board meeting to discuss additional needs for the 2008/2009 school year. Mr. McClure handed each Board member a spreadsheet detailing various positions the personnel committee would like to add for the upcoming school year. The positions are an additional part-time social worker, part-time Junior High guidance counselor, and an additional 1.5 FTE at the Junior High. Mr. McClure explained the committee would recommend a reading specialist as well, however he needs to meet with Mr. Eshleman and Ms. Tighe to further discuss the details of this position. Mr. McClure added that there will be no reduction in staff for the 2008/2009 school year.

Mr. McClure advised the insurance committee recently met, and Ron Ray and Brian Loman of Ray & Associates were present at this meeting to discuss 2008/2009 health insurance options for the District. Some options discussed were either using Health Alliance’s community advantage or Personal Care’s diamond network solely and not having two providers, offering an additional option of a PPO with the HMO, and offering vision/dental through current carriers. Mr. Ray stated there is competitive cost savings to the District by switching to one (1) provider and also by switching from an HMO to a PPO. Mr. Ray stated he would meet with the insurance committee later in the spring to advise of potential costs for the 2008/2009 school year. Mr. McClure informed the Board that the District needs to educate staff about other health insurance options so the District can at some point change to a less expensive plan.

Mr. Harber addressed the Board with regard to the District’s upcoming in-service for professional development. The para-professionals will learn about standards and understanding learning goals and accommodations. The teachers will work in their buildings and complete curriculum. Mr. Harber stated attendance for the after-school programs are good. Clara Peterson and Eastlawn have 12 students per grade level and are full, and the Junior High has 6 students per grade level. Attendance at the High School level is an issue. Mr. Harber explained for High School after-school program attendance is mandatory and not voluntary as is for the elementary after-school programs.

Mr. Wright informed the Board that the PBL 2008 summer school dates of attendance will be July 7, 2008 through August 8, 2008 from 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. for elementary/Junior High and 8:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. for High School. Mr. Wright stated he has spoken with Mr. Rawdin and Mr. Lindy of GCMS about PBL’s summer school dates. GCMS will run their summer school program from June 2, 2008 through June 27, 2008 and will be offering English and Math. Mr. Wright advised that PBL will be offering English, Math, Science, and Social Studies. Mr. Wright explained that PBL students could attend GCMS’s summer school program and GCMS students could attend PBL’s summer school program which address the needs of credit recovery for students. If students attended both summer school programs, they could obtain a full credit for English and Math. Mr. McClure added that the District would provide transportation to and from GCMS for students, and the issue of tuition and salaries for GCMS needs to be addressed. Dean Swan made a motion to approve the 2008 PBL summer school attendance dates of July 7, 2008 through August 8, 2008 from 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. for Clara Peterson/Eastlawn/Junior High and 8:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. for High School. Dave Dowling seconded the motion. Upon roll call, all board members being present voted aye, the motion passed.

Mr. McClure went over the tentative 2008/2009 calendar in detail with the Board. Mr. McClure pointed out that registration for the District has been moved up by one week to allow more time for administration to address any registration issues that may arise. Mr. McClure stated the calendar will be up for approval at next month’s meeting.

Mr. McClure advised that this year’s calendar needs to be amended to allow for the snow day on February 1, 2008. Report card pickup day will now be on May 29, 2008.

Mr. McClure stated at last month’s meeting he presented the Board with additional questions to be added to the Illinois Youth Survey, and Ms. Oyer will be adding these questions to the survey unless the Board has any changes. Dawn Bachtold made a motion to approve the addition of 11 questions to the Illinois Youth Survey to be distributed to the Junior High and High School students. Jeff Jarboe seconded the motion. Upon roll call, all board members being present voted aye, the motion passed.

Mr. McClure informed the Board that Mr. Rawdin has recently met with the High School staff regarding proposed courses in the Business and Math departments. In the Business department, the course Note-taking will be eliminated. The Board decided to table any new Math courses to obtain more information and make sure the course will align with Illinois standards. Ms. Oyer informed the Board there is a high interest from the High School students in the course called “Video Games”. Approximately 30 students have expressed an interest in this course. Ms. Oyer explained this course involves creating and playing video games and gave the Board a detailed outline of the course, as well as the marketing aspect of this course. The Board recommended to Ms. Oyer to rename the course to something more appropriate such as “Video Design”. Dean Swan made a motion to approve the elimination of the High School course, Note-taking. Shawn Young seconded the motion. Upon roll call, all board members being present, the motion passed. Phillip Duling made a motion to approve the new High School course “video games” pending funding and changing the name of the course to something more appropriate. Dave Dowling seconded the motion. Upon roll call, all board members being present voted aye, the motion passed.

Mr. McClure suggested the Board approved the policy review committee’s recommended Board policies as follows: 5.60, 5.70, 5.160, 5.185, 5.190, 5.200, 5.210, 5.220-AP, 5.230, 5.240-AP, 5.270-E, 6.10, 6.50, and 6.70-AP. Dean Swan made a motion to approve Board policies 5.60, 5.70, 5.160, 5.185, 5.190, 5.200, 5.210, 5.220-AP, 5.230, 5.240-AP, 5.270-E, 6.10, 6.50, and 6.70-AP. Dave Dowling seconded the motion.

Upon roll call, all board members being present voted aye, the motion passed.

Mr. McClure advised the Board there are 6 items no longer useful to the District, namely the 4 sheds, Grasshopper cab, and Grasshopper snow blower. The building and grounds committee has recommended to put 4 sheds up for closed bid and to open these bids at next month’s meeting. A discussion was held and decided to open the closed bids at a building and grounds committee meeting as opposed to next month’s board meeting. Mr. McClure stated there is an organization within the District that is interested in the white ticket shed and suggested the Board approve this donation at the March Board meeting. Dawn Bachtold made a motion to dispose of the 4 sheds and Grasshopper cab and snow blower. Shawn Young seconded the motion. Upon roll call, all board members being present voted aye, the motion passed.

Mr. McClure stated at last month’s Board meeting a waiver hearing was conducted with regard to parent/teacher conferences, and the Board needs to approve the waiver action. Phillip Duling made a motion to approve the use of two consecutive evenings for parent/teacher conferences. Dave Dowling seconded the motion. Upon roll call, all board members being present voted aye, the motion passed.

Mr. McClure informed the Board that the Regional Office of Education, ISBE, and the District’s work comp carrier have all completed audits in the Unit Office the past two weeks, the District held a wellness week conducted by Gibson Area Hospital, bond money in the amount of $2,000,000.00 has come in and been invested, and the new security systems are being installed throughout the District.

Mr. McClure stated that the Iroquois West Building Steering Committee has asked to meet with Dean Swan, Andy Bennett, and Mike Short on February 26, 2008 at 6:00 p.m. regarding the planning portion of their proposed new High School. Mike Short and Dean Swan stated they were involved in the planning committee for PBL and would be willing to talk with Iroquois West.

Dawn Bachtold made a motion to go into closed session. Phillip Duling seconded the motion. Upon roll call, all board members being present voted aye, the motion passed.

Closed session began at 8:21 p.m.

Dave Dowling made a motion to come out of closed session. Shawn Young seconded the motion. Upon roll call, all board members being present voted aye, the motion passed.

Closed session ended at 10:57p.m.

Mr. McClure recommended to the Board to approve the resignation of Dorothy Shields as 3^rd grade teacher at the close of the 2007/2008 school year and the resignation of Katrina Tammen as Junior High cheerleading sponsor. Dean Swan made a motion to approve the resignation of Dorothy Shields as 3^rd grade teacher at the close of the 2007/2008 school year and the resignation of Katrina Tammen as Junior High cheerleading sponsor. Dawn Bachtold seconded the motion. Upon roll call, all board members being present voted aye, the motion passed.

Mr. McClure recommended to the Board to approve the hiring of Thomas Mertes as assistant director of operations and maintenance with a beginning salary of $40,000.00 pending a physical and background check. Shawn Young made a motion to approve the hiring of Thomas Mertes as assistant director of operations and maintenance with a beginning salary of $40,000.00 pending a physical and background check. Jeff Jarboe seconded the motion. Upon roll call, all board members being present voted aye, the motion passed.

Mr. McClure recommended to the Board to approve Lynn Rubarts as a volunteer coach for High School softball for the 2007/2008 school year. Dave Dowling made a motion to approve Lynn Rubarts as a volunteer coach for High School softball for the 2007/2008 school year. Shawn Young seconded the motion. Upon roll call, all board members being present voted aye, the motion passed.

Mr. McClure recommended to the Board to approve the District advertising for a part-time social worker, part-time Junior High guidance counselor, and a full-time Junior High physical education/health/social studies teacher for the 2008/2009 school year. Phillip Duling made a motion to approve the District advertising for a part-time social worker, part-time Junior High guidance counselor, and a full-time Junior High physical education/health/social studies teacher for the 2008/2009 school year. Jeff Jarboe seconded the motion. Upon roll call, all board members being present voted aye, the motion passed.

Shawn Young made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Dawn Bachtold seconded the motion. Upon roll call, all board members being present voted aye, the motion passes.

The meeting adjourned at 11:08 p.m.

President, Board of Education Secretary, Board of Education