RIVERTON COMMUNITY UNIT SCHOOL DISTRICT #14 Board of Education Meeting Minutes May 13, 2013 Regular Meeting The Regular Meeting of the Riverton Community Unit School District #14 Board of Education was held on Monday, May 13, 2013, at Riverton High School. Board President Klebe called the meeting to order at 6:00pm. The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance. President Klebe also stated that in order to establish more of a responsive approach with parents and community members that address the board he would like to institute the following practice: anyone that addresses the board with questions will be assigned a staff member that will be required to make phone contact by Wednesday to address the question. The staff member will then memorialize the conversation and send the response to the community member and also to the board of education so there is a flow of communication. He also told the new board members that he wanted to make sure they were comfortable in asking questions at any time since this was their first full board meeting. Board members present: Pam Cuffle, Mike Klebe, Staci McTague, Paul Nonneman, Leigh Ann Hughes, Jason Pals, and Ginger Payne. Others present: Tom Mulligan, Kelly Fraase, Fred Lamkey, Chris Koerwitz, Bill Lamkey, Mike Gum, Jeff Koger. Several guests, including members of the community and faculty and staff were in attendance; the sign-in document will be filed with these minutes. A MOTION WAS MADE BY MS. CUFFLE TO APPROVE MEETING MINUTES, REVENUE REPORT, EXPENDITURE REPORT; MOTION WAS SECONDED BY MS. HUGHES, AND ON A ROLL CALL VOTE: CUFFLE, YES; KLEBE, YES; MCTAGUE, YES; HUGHES, YES; PALS, YES; PAYNE, YES; NONNEMAN, YES. MOTION CARRIED WITH ALL AYES. A MOTION WAS MADE BY MS. PAYNE TO APPROVE PAYMENT OF BILLS FOR MAY; MOTION WAS SECONDED BY MS. MCTAGUE, AND ON A ROLL CALL VOTE: CUFFLE, YES; KLEBE, YES; MCTAGUE, YES; HUGHES, YES; PALS, YES; PAYNE, YES; NONNEMAN, YES. MOTION CARRIED WITH ALL AYES. Communications: Kathy Clyne: Ms. Clyne asked the board to keep the start and end times for the school the same as this year. She also stated that she feels students should be allowed to play on the playground in the morning instead of being required to remain seated and quiet in the gym. Finally, she asked the board to approve the Space Camp on the agenda because the students and parents have already been raising funds. Sheri Zara: Ms. Zara asked the board to not approve the change to the high school a 6-period schedule for next year. She stated she felt it would hurt electives and that there are already too many changes going on in the district at the current time. Beth Livingston: Mrs. Livingston asked why the middle school handbook requires that student cell phones are talked away until they are picked up from a parent when the high school just changed that practice for student safety. She also asked the board what the status is for getting board policy manual on-line. She also said she was surprised to see the space camp issue on the agenda since she thought it had already been approved. She also shared that she is in favor of the elimination study halls at the high school and was wondering if band could be held 0 hour next year as an option. Sharon Gabriel: Ms. Gabriel stated that at the last two meetings she had a hard time hearing board member conversations. She also asked if it would be possible to project documents when they are being discussed and also for board members to have some sort of name tags so the public could identify them by name.
Todd Perkins: Mr. Perkins congratulated the newly elected board members. He asked if the communication section for the public to address the board could be moved to right before the board breaks for closed session. Penny Driver: Ms. Driver stated that she runs Teddy Bear Daycare in town and her daycare works very closely with the schools in the district. She asked the board to reconsider the elimination of the middle school social worker position. She stated that the position is very important for supporting at risk students and for connecting families with community providers. She stated that the changes are putting stress on families that already have a great deal of stress and the middle school social worker has been invaluable at supporting these families. Lisa Seymour: Ms. Seymour asked if coaches were going to be volunteer in nature and where the district stood on the transportation of groups to away events. Other: Ms. Payne congratulated Ms. Pinter and the middle school musical students for a great performance over the weekend. Ms. Cuffle asked President Klebe when was the appropriate time for board members to bring forward issues or questions they may have. Should they be brought up here in communications or later in announcements and discussion? He stated that it is really up to the individual board member and that either place was appropriate. Before moving to the team reports he asked that the administrators speak loudly and try and refrain from using acronyms. Administrative Team Reports: Mrs. Binegar: Report submitted. Mr. Pals asked about her concerns regarding the large class size projected for next year s 4 th grade classes. Ms. Cuffle asked if something has changed from when the administration recommended cutting a teacher in March. Mrs. Binegar indicated that the classroom teacher cut was one of many possibilities and that she was just letting the board know that this would be her top priority if we eventually can add a position back. Mrs. Fraase: Report submitted. Mr. Lamkey: Report submitted. Mr. Lamkey told the board that Mrs. Neighbors, with the help of a parent Diana Bivona, received a $5,000 grant for the library. He also stated he had the opportunity to attend the Exceptional Teacher Award Banquet because Jenn Davis had been nominated. Mr. Pals asked about the section in his report regarding 8 th grade promotion. Mr. Lamkey stated that this tradition has changed in many schools and he is not recommending stopping the practice but that maybe we should make sure it still meets its intended purpose. Ms. McTague stated she was concerned about the 5 th grade losing the jump start program for next year and asked how they plan to transition 4 th grade students. Mr. Lamkey stated they will provide a tour of the middle school during field day in late May and then expand meet your teacher night for 5 th grade and that the night will occur before students actually attend school. Mr. Klebe asked whether or not we generally have an administrator attend fine arts events and Mr. Koerwitz stated that after attending the sectional track meet on Saturday afternoon that he totally forgot about supervising the musical Saturday night. Mr. Klebe also asked how we plan to address some of the concerns brought forth from Ms. Driver regarding the loss of the social worker position. He stated that the middle school teacher teams and administrators will try and pick up as much slack as possible but that there will be some services to students and families that will be lost. Ms. Payne asked about the SASED social workers and their role, which Mr. Lamkey replied was primarily supporting IEP development and implementation. Ms. McTague asked if adding back the social worker position would be his highest priority and Mr. Lamkey stated that it would be.
Mr. Koerwitz: Report submitted. He told the board that the middle school PTO did a great job hosting a fun family bowling event on Friday, April 19 to raise funds for the end of the year reward trips for the students. They were able to raise over $2,000. Mr. Lamkey: Report submitted. Mr. Lamkey asked for volunteers for graduation. Mr. Klebe and Ms. Cuffle volunteered. Mr. Klebe asked about ITT Technical and Mr. Lamkey stated he was trying to schedule them to present to the board at a summer board meeting. Mr. Koger: Report submitted. Mr. Pals asked if he had any candidates for the volleyball position and Mr. Koger stated that he does not but was hopeful. Mr. Klebe asked that we do some work on the website for activities. He asked if we could add links to provide directions and site locations for events. Mr. Koger said he would check into that possibility. Mr. Geiger: Report submitted. Mr. Pals asked if Mr. Geiger could check into the sound system in the Fine Arts Center because it was scratchy during the musical performance the past weekend. Mr. Klebe indicated that we generally see the same repairs month after month on our HVAC equipment. He asked if we were doing preventative maintenance. Mr. Geiger responded that we do all that we can do in house on a regular schedule but that since the Johnson Controls contract ended we have been doing less high-level preventative maintenance. Mr. Nonneman stated that he appreciated Mr. Geiger s honest answers regarding having too few resources in the budget to maintain the buildings. Mr. Nonneman stated that he was concerned that if let the buildings go too far they will deteriorate. It was suggested that the building committee meet to discuss HVAC situation. Dr. Mulligan: Report submitted. Dr. Mulligan presented possible alternatives on the elementary school drop off situation in the morning. He posted a drawing and walked the board through the different obstacles. After a lengthy discussion the group decided to call a building committee meeting within the next few weeks to come to a resolution on this issue. The meeting will involve input from all interested parties. Business A MOTION WAS MADE BY MR. NONNEMAN TO APPROVE CHANGES TO THE CACC INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT. THE MOTION WAS SECONDED BY MS. PAYNE. AFTER A REPORT FROM MR NONNEMAN REGARDING THE CHANGES, THE MOTION CARRIED ON A VOICE VOTE. A MOTION WAS MADE BY MS. HUGHES AND SECONDED BY MS. CUFFLE TO APPROVE THE AMENDED FY13 CALENDAR. MOTION CARRIED ON A VOICE VOTE. A MOTION WAS MADE BY MS. HUGHES AND SECONDED BY MS. MCTAGUE TO EMPLOY MACK AND ASSOCIATES AS THE SCHOOL DISTRICT AUDITORS. MR. NONNEMAN STATED THAT AFTER REDUCING OVER 30 POSITIONS IN THE DISTRICT AND CHANGING PEOPLES LIVES; AND BECAUSE THE AUDITORS WILL BE BASICALLY PROVIDING THE SAME SERVICE; HE CANNOT SUPPORT HIRING AN AUDITOR THAT IS NOT THE LOWEST BID FROM A FINANCIAL STANDPOINT. MS. MCTAGUE STATED THAT SHE FOUND THERE TO BE A SUBSTANTIAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AUDITORS. SHE FEELS LIKE MACK AND ASSOCIATES WILL GIVE US A BETTER PRODUCT AND THAT BECAUSE WE HAVE HAD THE SAME AUDITOR FOR 18 YEARS IT WAS TIME TO MAKE CHANGE. MR KLEBE STATED THAT AUDIT IS A SERVICE AND THAT THIS FIRM WILL COME WITH A DIFFERENT SET OF EYES AND BACKGROUND AND THAT HE AGREES WITH MACK AND ASSOCIATES. ON A ROLL CALL VOTE: CUFFLE: YES; KLEBE: YES; PAYNE: YES; NONNEMAN: NO; PALS: YES; MCTAGUE: YES; HUGHES: YES. MOTION CARRIES WITH 6 AYES AND 1 NAY. A MOTION WAS MADE BY MR. PALS AND SECONDED BY MR. PAYNE TO APPROVE THE REINSTATEMENT OF THE INCLUDED COACHING POSITIONS AND CONDITIONED UPON FULL FUNDING OF THE POSITIONS BY THE RIVERTON SPORTS BOOSTERS; MRS. CUFFLE SHARE THAT SHE FEELS THAT THE BOARD HAD INDICATED THESE POSITIONS BE CUT AND THAT SHE FEELS
THESE POSITIONS SHOULD BE VOLUNTARY. MR. PALS STATED THAT THE SPORTS BOOSTERS ARE STEPPING UP TO ASSIST AND IF THEY CAN BRING THESE POSITIONS BACK WE SHOULD LET THEM. MS. PAYNE STATED THAT SHE FEELS WE SHOULD SERIOUSLY CONSIDER THIS GENEROUS OFFER. MS. MCTAGUE ASKED IF THE SPORTS BOOSTER WOULD DEDICATE THESE FUNDS TO DIFFERENT EXPENDITURES IF WE DO NOT AGREE TO BRING BACK COACHES. MR. MULLIGAN STATED THAT HE DID NOT KNOW FOR SURE BUT DOUBTED THAT WOULD HAPPEN. ON A ROLL CALL VOTE: CUFFLE: NO; KLEBE: YES; PAYNE: YES; NONNEMAN: YES; PALS: YES; MCTAGUE: YES; HUGHES: YES. MOTION CARRIES WITH 6 AYES AND 1 NAY. A MOTION WAS MADE BY MR. PALS TO APPROVE THE PREVAILING WAGE ORDINANCE; MOTION WAS SECONDED BY MS. MCTAGUE, AND MOTION CARRIED ON A VOICE VOTE A MOTION WAS MADE BY MS. CUFFLE TO APPROVE THE OVERNIGHT TRIP TO SPACE CAMP IN OCTOBER; MOTION WAS SECONDED BY MS. HUGHES, AND MOTION CARRIED ON A VOICE VOTE A MOTION WAS MADE BY MS. PAYNE AND SECONDED BY MS. MCTAGUE TO APPROVE THE SECOND READING OF THE PROCEDURES FOR BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTIONS FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES AND THE SPECIAL EDUCATION POLICES AND PROCEDURES, AND ON A VOICE VOTE, THE MOTION CARRIED ON A VOICE VOTE. A MOTION WAS MADE BY MS. CUFFLE TO APPROVE GEORGE ALARM COMPANY AS THE LOW BID FOR THE SECURITY PROJECT; MOTION WAS SECONDED BY MS. HUGHES; AND ON A ROLL CALL VOTE; CUFFLE: YES; KLEBE: YES; PAYNE: YES; NONNEMAN: YES; PALS: YES; MCTAGUE: YES; HUGHES: YES. MOTION CARRIES WITH 7 AYES A MOTION WAS MADE BY MS. CUFFLE AND SECONDED BY MS. MCTAGUE TO INCREASE ADMISSION PRICES INTO EXISTING ATHLETIC EVENTS BY $1; AND ON A ROLL CALL VOTE; CUFFLE: YES; KLEBE: YES; PAYNE: YES; NONNEMAN: YES; PALS: YES; MCTAGUE: YES; HUGHES: YES. MOTION CARRIES WITH 7 AYES A MOTION WAS MADE BY MR. PALS AND SECONDED BY MS. HUGHES TO START CHARGING ADMISSION TO HIGH SCHOOL SOCCER, MS AND HS TRACK AND FRESHMAN AND JV FOOTBALL GAMES; AND ON A ROLL CALL VOTE; CUFFLE: NO; KLEBE: NO; PAYNE: YES; NONNEMAN: NO; PALS: YES; MCTAGUE: YES; HUGHES: YES. MOTION CARRIES WITH 4 AYES AND 3 NAYS. MR. KLEBE STATED THAT A BOARD MEMBER HAD SHARED CONCERNS ABOUT THE SCHOOL DISTRICT ATTORNEY. MS. CUFFLE STATED THAT SHE HAD CONCERNS ABOUT A CLOSED SESSION INCIDENT AND PROBABLY SHOULDN T DISCUSS IT IN OPEN SESSION. MS. PAYNE STATED THAT MILLER, TRACY AND BRUAN ARE ONE OF THE BEST DOWNSTATE FIRMS AND MR. NONNEMAN STATED HE FEELS OUR CURRENT ATTORNEY HAS SAVED THE DISTRICT MANY TIMES. PRESIDENT KLEBE DID NOT CALL A VOTE ON THE ITEM. A MOTION WAS MADE BY MS. CUFFLE AND SECONDED BY MS MCTAGUE TO APPROVE THE FIRST READING OF 2:40 BOARD MEMBER QUALIFICATIONS AND 7:235-E APPLICATION AND PROCEDURES TO SOLICIT STUDENTS FOR FUNDRAISING. THE MOTION CARRIED ON A VOICE VOTE. A MOTION WAS MADE BY MS. CUFFLE AND SECONDED BY MS. HUGHES TO MOVE INTO CLOSED SESSION; AND ON A ROLL CALL VOTE; CUFFLE: YES; KLEBE: YES; PAYNE: YES; NONNEMAN: YES; PALS: YES; MCTAGUE: YES; HUGHES: YES. MOTION CARRIES WITH 7 AYES A MOTION WAS MADE BY MS. CUFFLE AND SECONDED BY MR. PALS TO COME OUT OF CLOSED SESSION; AND MOTION PASSED ON A VOICE VOTE. A MOTION WAS MADE BY MS. PAYNE AND SECONDED BY MS. CUFFLE TO CHANGE THE HIGH SCHOOL SCHEDULE FROM AN 8-PERIOD TO A 7-PERIOD DAY; AND ON A ROLL CALL VOTE; CUFFLE: YES; KLEBE: NO; PAYNE: YES; NONNEMAN: YES; PALS: NO; MCTAGUE: NO; HUGHES: NO. MOTION DEFEATED BECAUSE LACK OF MAJORITY VOTE WITH 3 AYES AND 4 NAYS.
A MOTION WAS MADE BY MR. PALS AND SECONDED BY MS. MCTAGUE TO CHANGE THE START AND END TIMES FOR THE ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOL BUILDINGS FOR THE 2013-2014 SCHOOL YEARS AS PRESENTED; AND ON A ROLL CALL VOTE; CUFFLE: YES; KLEBE: YES; PAYNE: YES; NONNEMAN: YES; PALS: YES; MCTAGUE: YES; HUGHES: YES. MOTION CARRIES WITH 7 AYES A MOTION WAS MADE BY MR. PALS AND SECONDED BY MS. HUGHES TO APPROVE THE BUILDING HANDBOOKS AS PRESENTED AND GIVING MS. CUFFLE THE AUTHORITY AS POLICY COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN TO COMPLETE ONE FINAL READING OF THE HANDBOOKS.; MOTION CARRIED ON A VOICE VOTE. A MOTION WAS MADE BY MR. NONNEMAN AND SECONDED BY MS. CUFFLE TO APPROVE A 1.5% INCREASE FOR SUPPORT STAFF SALARIES FOR THE 2013-2014 SCHOOL YEAR; AND ON A ROLL CALL VOTE; CUFFLE: YES; KLEBE: YES; PAYNE: YES; NONNEMAN: YES; PALS: YES; MCTAGUE: NO; HUGHES: NO. MOTION CARRIES WITH 5 AYES AND 2 NAYS. A MOTION WAS MADE BY MS. CUFFLE AND SECONDED BY MS. MCTAGUE TO APPROVE THE AMENDED PERSONNEL REPORT. AND ON A ROLL CALL VOTE; CUFFLE: YES; KLEBE: YES; PAYNE: YES; NONNEMAN: YES; PALS: YES; MCTAGUE: YES; HUGHES: YES. MOTION CARRIES WITH 7 AYES A MOTION WAS MADE BY MS HUGHES AND SECONDED BY MS. PAYNE TO APPROVE AN UNPAID LEAVE FOR JOSH LEE FOR THE 2013-2014 SCHOOL YEAR; AND ON A ROLL CALL VOTE; CUFFLE: NO; KLEBE: NO; PAYNE: YES; NONNEMAN: YES; PALS: YES; MCTAGUE: NO; HUGHES: NO. MOTION WAS DEFEATED FOR LACK OF MAJORITY VOTES WITH 3 AYES AND 4 NAYS. A MOTION WAS MADE BY MR. PALS AND SECONDED BY MS. PAYNE TO APPROVE ADDING BACK FOUR OVERLOAD PERIODS AT THE MIDDLE SCHOOL, WHICH INCLUDE ART, HEALTH, PE AND PE; AND ON A ROLL CALL VOTE; CUFFLE: YES; KLEBE: YES; PAYNE: YES; NONNEMAN: YES; PALS: YES; MCTAGUE: YES; HUGHES: YES. MOTION CARRIES WITH 7 AYES Announcements NONE PROVIDED Adjournment: A MOTION TO ADJOURN WAS MADE BY MR. PALS AND SECONDED BY MS. MCTAGUE; ON A VOICE VOTE, THE MOTION CARRIED WITH ALL AYES, AND THE MEETING ADJOURNED. Board President Board Secretary