MINUTES OF THE
REGULAR MEETING OF THE
President
Upon roll call, the following board members answered
present: David Dowling,
Others present were Cliff McClure, Amy Teske, Marvin Barger, Christine Williams, Barry Wright, Jeff Graham, Andy Bennett, Eric Brackmann, Trent Eshleman, Laura Peden, Connie Early, Elissa Krumwiede, Cynthia Jensen, John Rawdin, Stan Daro, Mike Brehm, Lucas Schroeder, and Tara Tighe.
Shawn Young made a motion to approve the minutes of the previous month. Dawn Bachtold seconded the motion. Upon roll call, all board members being present, the vote was unanimous and the motion passed.
There were no notices or communications.
Mr. Eshleman addressed the Board regarding a brief re-organizational meeting of the Policy Review Committee. Each Board member was given a list of policies to review for the next Board meeting. Mr. Eshleman gave a Power Point presentation to the Board on the various policies and gave mention to a correction to Board Policy No. 5.330 regarding language to reflect TRS regulations and IMRF regulations so we have the maximum accumulation of 340 sick days and not 360 days. Mr. Eshleman recommended the Board approve the policies for tonight’s Board meeting. New and revised policies for the Board to review will be handed out at next month’s meeting. Mr. Eshleman stated he hopes the Policy Review Committee will be done with the first round of polices by April 2008. Mr. Short suggested that the Policy Review Committee email all the policies to be reviewed to the Board instead of making copies or perhaps providing the Board with sticks. The board policy manual should be live in April 2008, and thereafter, the policies will be reviewed and/or revised.
Ms. Tighe addressed the board regarding the recent school
improvement day with GCMS. Ms. Tighe
reported that everything went well, and she has received many positive comments
regarding the day. PBL will host the
school improvement day next year. With
regard to the District and school improvement plans, Ms. Tighe will email the
Board with this information. A
discussion was held regarding the District’s RTI plan and school improvement
plan timelines. Mr. McClure thanked
Mr. McClure informed the Board that last month each Board
member was given a copy of the proposed PBL staff handbook to review. Mr. Daro has reviewed this handbook, and most
of the policies and procedures are already in place in the contract.
Dave Dowling made a motion to approve School Board Policy
Nos. 2.190, 2.210, 2.230, 2.250-AP, 3.30, 3.50, 4.30, 4.45, 4.100, 4.140,
4.160, 5.120, 5.220, 5.250, 5.330, and to delete School Board Policy No.
2.250-E3.
Mr. McClure advised the Board that the District has been discussing the possibility of all-day Kindergarten for some time now. The Kindergarten teachers are in attendance tonight to inform the Board of what all-day Kindergarten would look like if the Board approves this initiative. Ms. Early advised she has been working on this project for a long time, and she has done a lot of research through her graduate courses on this matter. She hopes that the Board will approve all-day Kindergarten. Ms. Early feels all-day Kindergarten not only benefits the student academically but as a whole child as well, especially with social behaviors. With all-day Kindergarten, it will provide more time for students to obtain support and practice skills in delayed areas, and increased time to work on literacy, and allow more time in Math. Ms. Early used a Power Point presentation to show the Board a proposed schedule for all-day Kindergarten. She stressed that the Kindergarten teachers are not going to add more curriculum to the day. They want to enhance and enrich what they are currently doing. Ms. Early stated that the Kindergarten teachers would encourage the Board to keep the class sizes the same as they are now. Mr. Eshleman stated according to School Code the District must offer a half-day program within a full-day setting as well. During registration, the parents will have the choice of full or half-day Kindergarten.
With regard to lunch procedures for all-day Kindergarten, Mr. Eshleman feels they may need more assistance on the floor to help the students with their trays and adjusting to lunch schedules. With regard to transportation, the District is still working through some matters. Mr. Eshleman stated he feels there will be an overwhelming response to all-day Kindergarten and feels the student population could increase by 5-10 students. A discussion was held regarding all-day Kindergarten and the possibility of the District’s long term special education costs decreasing. There is a better opportunity to intervene at an early age.
A discussion was held regarding the addition of personnel due to all-day Kindergarten. The District will need to replace a part-time paraprofessional position, add a part-time cook, likely add 2.5 full-time certified positions, and increase to three lunch periods per day. Mr. Eshleman reviewed his spreadsheet with regard to start-up costs for the all-day program. The Kindergarten teachers would prefer to keep early childhood at Clara Peterson. Therefore, the Leadership Team is working on Clara Peterson’s reconfiguration to allow for additional classrooms and students. The total estimated start-up costs for all-day Kindergarten is $136,000.00 which amount does not include three computers for certified staff. Mr. Eshleman stated the current Kindergarten enrollment is approximately 115-120 students. A lengthy discussion was held regarding what the schedule will look like for a half-day Kindergarten student within an all-day classroom setting.
Mr. Eshleman informed the Board that pre-registration for the 2009/2010 school year is in March. Mr. McClure suggested the Board place this item on the November agenda for approval.
Laura Peden,
Mr. McClure went over the preliminary Levy with the Board
and stated the preliminary Levy is based on an estimated EAV of
$130,468,298. Early numbers from Ford
and
Mr. McClure informed the Board that parent/teacher conferences have been set for October 29th and October 30th at the four buildings.
The Triple I conference is scheduled for November 21st
– November 23rd, and the Board will need to appoint a delegate to
attend the assembly on November 22nd. Dave Dowling and Phillip Duling will be
attending the conference this year, and Phillip Duling will be the delegate
attending the assembly on behalf of the
Mr. McClure advised the Board that Mr. Eshleman and Tammy
Ross have applied and received a grant in the amount of $3,500.00 from ISBE
with regard to starting a breakfast program at Clara Peterson. Students that are currently receiving free
and reduced lunches will receive free and reduced breakfast. Mr. Eshleman stated that Clara Peterson
conducted a survey to see how many students would be interested in a breakfast
program, and the results were 25 students would eat every day and 35 students
would eat at least once per week. Mr.
Eshleman feels that once the program starts that more students will take
advantage of the program than the survey revealed. The breakfast program is scheduled to begin
the week of
Mr. McClure informed the Board that the Unit Office met with two different companies last week regarding District financial and student software platforms. Presently, the District’s financial platforms are quite old and do not provide information that most other software platforms provide. It does not fit into ISBE’s information system and makes it more difficult to do our jobs. Mr. McClure stated the current system is adequate and inexpensive; however you get what you pay for. The District has very little support from STI, our current software provider. The estimated package cost to change financial and student platforms would cost the District $60,000.00 - $160,000.00 depending upon which company the District decides upon. Both companies fit into the reporting streamline with ISBE and offer good support. Mr. McClure suggested to the Board that the District could pay for the new student and financial platforms over three fiscal years. The recurring costs for licensing would be approximately $25,000.00 for all buildings and the Unit Office. Mr. McClure asked the Board if they were willing to investigate purchasing new financial and student platforms for the District. The Board directed Mr. McClure to investigate this option further.
Each year the Board needs to approve the District and school report cards and to distribute them to all students by October 31st. The report cards will be placed on the District’s website for public access. Dave Dowling made a motion to approve the 2008 PBL CUSD No. 10 District Report Card, Clara Peterson’s 2008 Report Card, Eastlawn Elementary’s 2008 Report Card, PBL Junior High’s 2008 Report Card, and PBL High School’s 2008 Report Card. Shawn Young seconded the motion. Upon roll call, all board members being present, the vote was unanimous and the motion passed.
Mr. McClure mentioned to the Board that Jeff Graham’s daughter was recognized by a children’s hospital with her picture being placed in it’s 2009 calendar, election dates and electing officers will need to take place at next month’s meeting, the number of spiders are decreasing within the District, and Clara Peterson and Eastlawn will be having a mock evacuation drill to the township shed tomorrow.
Closed session began at
Jeff Jarboe made a motion to come out of closed session. Dawn Bachtold seconded the motion. Upon roll call, all board members being present, the vote was unanimous and the motion passed.
Closed session ended at
Mr. McClure recommended the Board terminate the employment of Kevin Turner as Junior High custodian. Dawn Bachtold made a motion to terminate the employment of Kevin Turner as Junior High custodian. Phillip Duling seconded the motion. Upon roll call, all board members being present, the vote was unanimous and the motion passed.
Mr. McClure recommended to the Board to approve a sick leave bank for Michele Coe for the 2008/2009 school year. Jeff Jarboe made a motion to approve a sick leave bank for Michele Coe for the 2008/2009 school year. Shawn Young seconded the motion. Upon roll call, all board members being present, the vote was unanimous and the motion passed.
Dawn Bachtold made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Shawn Young seconded the motion. Upon roll call, all board members being present, the vote was unanimous and the motion passed.
The meeting adjourned at
President, Board of Education Secretary, Board of Education