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, MARCH 15, 2006 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, Phillip Duling, Jeff Jarboe, Mike Short, Dean Swan and Shawn Young. 

 

Others present were Marvin Barger, Andy Bennett, Rick Brackmann, Susan Brown, Carol Camp, Paige Maul, Stan Daro, Nancy Dewey, Trent Eshleman, Jeff Graham, Dave Harber, Cliff McClure, Brad Pickens, Sheila Pickens, John Rawdin, James Shields, Tara Tighe, Marilyn Weber and Chris Williams.

 

Shawn Young moved to approve the minutes of the previous meetings.  Dawn Bachtold seconded the motion.  Upon roll call, all members present voted aye, there being no nay votes the motion carried.

 

David Dowling moved to approve the Treasurer’s Report.  Dean Swan seconded the motion.  Upon roll call, all members present voted aye, there being no nay votes the motion carried.

 

Jeff Jarboe moved to approve payment of all current bills plus an additional bill from Rainbow Book Company that was not included in the list of bills.  Phillip Duling seconded the motion.  Upon roll call, all members present voted aye, there being no nay votes the motion carried.

 

Move to item 12.1  Mr. McClure would like to recommend that Jeff Graham be hired as Junior High Principal at a TRS salary of $68,000.  Dean Swan made a motion to approve the hiring of Jeff Graham as Junior High Principal.  Dawn Bachtold seconded the motion.  Upon roll call, all members present voted aye, there being no nay votes the motion carried.

 

Dean Swan read a letter from Randi Allen resigning as Teacher Aide at Eastlawn.

 

Dean Swan read a letter from Harold Merkle resigning as part-time high school custodian as of March 31, 2005.

 

Dean Swan read a letter from Jeff Graham resigning as head football coach. 

 

Dean Swan read a letter from Don Shields resigning as freshman boy’s basketball coach.

 

Mr. Short recognized a few of the visitors in the audience.  Jim Shields from WPXN and Paige Maul from the Paxton Record.

 

 

Mr. McClure introduced Dave Harber to update the board on the PBL school improvement initiatives.  The recommendation for the testing schedule to be changed was passed by the curriculum committee and was given to Mr. McClure for his approval and for the board’s approval.  Mr. Harber also informed the board that the District would be changing assessments.  The committee is looking at a software program to help with the curriculum alignment initiative.  It is internet based so that teachers from different buildings can log in at the same time and from home.  The committee is looking at a product called Curriculum Mapper and it is based in Illinois.  The committee found the software to be well liked and would like to pursue Curriculum Mapper to help with the alignment initiative.  Mr. Harber suggested having three professional development days, two by a trainer and one in-house to help the staff learn how to use the software.  The company suggested five and Mr. Harber is suggesting three.  Mr. Harber informed the board that he feels the District is on the right track from the feedback he is getting from the committee and that the software is affordable and would help speed up the District’s efforts with this initiative.  The cost for this would be $6,000 a year including the license for the web-based tool and the professional development would cost $3,500.  The committee has applied for a PBL Education Foundation grant.  This program can be moved over to a Microsoft Word package if it gets to be too expensive to maintain.  Time is the biggest hurdle to jump in order to complete curriculum map.  Mr. McClure will be recommending that the District purchase the Curriculum Mapper that will be funded initially by grant money.  Another topic that was discussed was the ISAT testing problems and how it affected the District.  There was a memo sent out by the state board for reimbursing District costs for extra time that was spent to fix the problems and the District will be submitting a bill for the extra time. 

 

Mr. McClure introduced David Harber, Chris Williams, Sheila Pickens, and Susan Brown to discuss the high school course offering changes that will be required in order to meet the new state graduation requirements.  Mr. Harber handed out a packet of information on what the changes are in the state graduation requirements.  He detailed the changes and what the state is mandating.  The PBL district will be in compliance with state mandates one year in advance.  Part of the proposal is to get rid of the tech math class, because if you were to start with that class it would be hard to graduate from high school and meet state mandated math requirements.  They have started teaching the special education students the same math that is being taught in the regular education classroom.  A discussion was held regarding the options of the Math classes.  PBL is one of the only districts that offers pre-algebra, Algebra IA and IB.  The junior high gives an assessment test that helps determine where students should be placed in high school math classes.  Teacher recommendation and test scores are also used to assess their math ability level.  Mr. McClure discussed that the district could possibly develop an assessment test for all classes to determine where to place students at the next level.  One thing that the District will be trying to avoid is having a senior needing to pass a class to graduate.  Special Education is a big concern for the District.  Special Education students must also pass a year of Algebra and Geometry.  One of the options that the District will be looking into is offering self contained classes as an alternative to those classes, so they have every opportunity to succeed.  David Dowling thanked the staff for their continuing effort to help the District.  Mr. McClure recommended the board approve the course realignments for the new state graduation requirements.  Jeff Jarboe made a motion to approve the course realignments for the new state graduation requirements.  David Dowling seconded the motion.  Upon roll call, all members present voted aye, there being no nay votes the motion carried.

 

Mr. McClure introduced Jeff Graham the summer school coordinator.  Mr. Graham discussed a work key program that is web based and is a supplemental curriculum.  The district is going to try 3rd grade through 12th grade as a pilot project in Math, Writing and Reading.  It is a fundamental guide and is free of charge from the Education for Employment.  Lindalou Hauersperger, Marge Vetter and Alex Goudy will be trained for an Algebra class.  When students log in they take a pre-test and they are automatically placed and it is aligned from the PSAE test.  Mr. Graham informed the board that he is checking with the teachers to see what numbers we are looking at for summer school and what classes will need to be offered.

 

Mr. McClure discussed the proposed 2006-2007 school calendar.  Mr. McClure handed out a revised proposed calendar.  The only change was adding Professional Development early out days to work on Curriculum Mapper, if the web based program is approved.  Mr. McClure recommended the board approve the 2006-2007 school calendar.  David Dowling made a motion to approve the 2006-2007 school calendar.  Shawn Young seconded the motion.  Upon roll call, all members present voted aye, there being no nay votes the motion carried.  Mr. McClure informed the board of the changes to the 2005-2006 school calendar for the end of the school year due to the snow day.  June 1st will be the early dismissal day, June 2nd is the teacher institute day and June 5th is report card pick up day.

 

Mr. McClure discussed the building committee meeting with the board.  It was the committee’s recommendation to release bids for the Clara Peterson Roof project.  The bid opening will be on April 5th at 2:00 pm in the PBL Board Room.  This project will be funded by the Health & Life Safety Funds.  Dean Swan made a motion to approve the release of bids for the Clara Peterson Roof project, with the bid opening to be held on April 5th at 2:00 p.m. in the PBL Board Room.  Dave Dowling seconded the motion.  Upon roll call, all members present voted aye, there being no nay votes the motion carried.  The committee also recommended the installation of new phone/intercom system at Clara Peterson and at Eastlawn.  The Clara Peterson project will cost $21,501.18 and the Eastlawn project will cost $20,676.55.  Champaign Telephone Company gave the District the best price and they were the most willing to meet the District’s needs.  The Building Committee recommended that the project be approved and that it will be funded by the Health & Life Safety Funds.  Shawn Young made a motion to approve the installation of new phone/intercom system at Clara Peterson and at Eastlawn.  The Clara Peterson project will cost $21,501.18 and the Eastlawn project will cost $20,676.55.  Jeff Jarboe seconded the motion.  Upon roll call, all members present voted aye, there being no nay votes the motion carried.  Mr. McClure discussed the riser board for the home bleachers for installation this summer for safety reasons.  The approval for the health life safety amendment is $24,550 and it is an amendment that we can use up to that amount.  David Dowling made a motion to approve the Health & Life Safety Amendment for the repair to the home bleachers.  Dean Swan seconded the motion.  Upon roll call, all members present voted aye, there being no nay votes the motion carried.  Another item that was discussed was the potential track replacement project.  Mr. Fairfield brought a layout of the project and it will be discussed further at another meeting with Mr. Fairfield and JV Johnson.  Mr. Fairfield has given Mr. McClure a name of a person to meet with on the blinds for the junior high.  The sound proof panels in the gym and the remediation items for the 9 month walk through were discussed.  Mr. Fairfield will be getting the building committee an estimate for the sound proof panels and how many it would take to remedy the problem.  There was a short discussion about the playground project at Eastlawn.  Mr. McClure also discussed an issue regarding a sidewalk that could possibly be installed at the north end of the building by the superintendent’s office.  A discussion was held regarding the issue of people tracking mud into the building during events. 

 

Mr. McClure introduced Rick Brackmann to give an update on the Special Education Cooperative. He discussed with the board the changes in federal rules and regulations in special education law.  He highlighted five of them.  Parentally-placed private school children, identification of students with Learning Disabilities (LD) and “Response to Intervention”, data collection now tied to ISBE Compliance Monitoring, Discipline, and Mandatory Funding.  He discussed each item in detail for the board.

 

Mr. McClure distributed several job descriptions and evaluation forms for the board to review.  Mr. McClure will be seeking approval for some of these job descriptions at another meeting. 

 

Mr. McClure recommended that the board approve the resolution of Honorable Non-Renewal of Certified Personnel Dale Hoogstraadt for the 2006-2007 school year.  Jeff Jarboe made a motion to approve the resolution of Honorable Non-Renewal of Certified Personnel Dale Hoogstraadt for the 2006-2007 school year.  Dawn Bachtold seconded the motion.  Upon roll call, all members present voted aye, there being no nay votes the motion carried.

 

Mr. McClure recommended that that board approve the reduction in force of non-certified personnel.  This is due to some of the teacher aide positions being funded by grants and due to the unknown availability of the grant money for next year.  There is a need for the District to rif the following aide positions:  Dawn Bachtold made a motion to approve the reduction in force of non-certified personnel Donna Howe at the end of the 2005-2006 school year.  Dean Swan seconded the motion.  Upon roll call, all members present voted aye, there being no nay votes the motion carried.  Dawn Bachtold made a motion to approve the reduction in force of non-certified personnel Rhonda Wooten at the end of the 2005-2006 school year.  David Dowling 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 of non-certified personnel Melissa Betka at the end of the 2005-2006 school year.  Shawn Young seconded the motion.  Upon roll call, all members present voted aye, there being no nay votes the motion carried.  Jeff Jarboe made a motion to approve the reduction in force of non-certified personnel Julie Rogers at the end of the 2005-2006 school year.  Phillip Duling seconded the motion.  Upon roll call, all members present voted aye, there being no nay votes the motion carried.  David Dowling made a motion to approve the reduction in force of non-certified personnel Jennifer Mosley at the end of the 2005-2006 school year.  Dawn Bachtold seconded the motion.  Upon roll call, all members present voted aye, there being no nay votes the motion carried.  Dawn Bachtold made a motion to approve the reduction in force of non-certified personnel Colleen Stamm at the end of the 2005-2006 school year.  Jeff Jarboe seconded the motion.  Upon roll call, all members present voted aye, there being no nay votes the motion carried. .

 

In other business, Mr. McClure distributed school board policies for review.  Mr. McClure will be setting up a meeting with the policy committee to review these policies and will bring them back to the April meeting for approval. 

 

Mr. McClure passed out a ticket order form for the Madrigals to the board members.  They will again be signing at the St. Louis Cardinal game.

 

Mr. McClure informed the board that he will be setting up a finance committee meeting and he will report back at the April meeting regarding the details of that meeting.

 

Mr. McClure gave an update on the last insurance committee meeting.

 

A discussion was held regarding digital video for district busses.  They are not functional yet.

 

David Dowling made a motion to go into closed session to discuss the appointment, employment, compensation, and performance of specific employees of the public body.  Dawn Bachtold seconded the motion.  Upon roll call, all members present voted aye, there being no nay votes the motion carried.

 

Closed session began at 8:45 p.m.

 

Dawn Bachtold moved to come out of closed session.  Phillip Duling seconded the motion.  Upon roll call, all members present voted aye, there being no nay votes the motion carried. 

 

Closed session ended at 10:15 p.m.

 

Mr. McClure recommended the board accept the resignations of Harold Merkle as part-time Custodian at the High School, Jeff Graham as Head Football Coach and Randi Allen as teacher aide at Eastlawn. Dave Dowling made a motion to accept the resignations of Harold Merkle as part-time Custodian at the High School, Jeff Graham as Head Football Coach and Randi Allen as teacher aide at Eastlawn.  Dawn Bachtold seconded the motion.  Upon roll call, all members present voted aye, there being no nay votes the motion carried. 

 

Mr. McClure recommended the board extend Mike Brehm’s contract as Technology Coordinator for the 2006-2007 school year with salary to be determined at a later date.  Jeff Jarboe made a motion to approve extending Mike Brehm’s contract as Technology Coordinator for the 2006-2007 school year with salary to be determined at a later date.  Dawn Bachtold seconded the motion.  Upon roll call, all members present voted aye, there being no nay votes the motion carried. 

 

Mr. McClure recommended the board extend Tara Tighe’s contract as Eastlawn Principal for the 2006-2007 school year with salary to be determined at a later date.  David Dowling made a motion to approve extending Tara Tighe’s contract as Eastlawn Principal for the 2006-2007 school year with salary to be determined at a later date.  Dawn Bachtold seconded the motion.  Upon roll call, all members present voted aye, there being no nay votes the motion carried. 


 

Mr. McClure recommended the board extend Trent Eshleman’s contract as Clara Peterson Principal for the 2006-2007 school year with salary to be determined at a later date.  Jeff Jarboe made a motion to approve extending Trent Eshleman’s contract as Clara Peterson Principal for the 2006-2007 school year with salary to be determined at a later date.  Dawn Bachtold seconded the motion.  Upon roll call, all members present voted aye, there being no nay votes the motion carried. 

 

Shawn Young made a motion to extend Cliff McClure’s contract as Superintendent for 2006 through 2009 school years at a salary of at least $104,000.  Dawn Bachtold seconded the motion.  Upon roll call, all members present voted aye, there being no nay votes the motion carried. 

 

Mr. McClure recommended the board hire Kim Smith as part-time Guidance Secretary at the High School.  Dean Swan made a motion to approve hiring Kim Smith as part-time Guidance Secretary at the High School.  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 reassign Don Shields to High School English teacher.  Dawn Bachtold made a motion to approve reassigning Don Shields to High School English teacher.  David Dowling seconded the motion.  Upon roll call, all members present voted aye, there being no nay votes the motion carried. 

 

Mr. McClure recommended the board hire Steffen Balegno as Industrial Arts teacher at the High School.  Dean Swan made a motion to approve hiring Steffen Balegno as Industrial Arts teacher at the High School.  Shawn Young seconded the motion.  Upon roll call, all members present voted aye, there being no nay votes the motion carried. 

 

Dawn made a motion to adjourn the meeting.  Phillip seconded the motion.  Upon roll call, all members present voted aye, there being no nay votes the motion carried.  

 

Meeting adjourned at 10:20 p.m.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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President, Board of Education                           Secretary, Board of Education