LELAND COMMUNITY UNIT SCHOOL DISTRICT NO.1 BOARD OF EDUCATION - REGULAR MEETING CONFERENCE ROOM 370 NORTH MAIN STREET, LELAND, IL 60531 October 21, 2015 7:30 p.m. 1. ROLL CALL President Plote called the regular meeting to order at 7:31 p.m. Present: Anderson, Crissip, Decker, Kinney, Riskedal, Wold, and Plote. Absent: none Also in attendance were administrators Chris Bickel, Jodi Moore, and District Manager Rose Kidd. President Plote welcomed Stu Bloom, Earlville Post, Julie Jansen, and Jenny Bickhaus. 2. THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 3. BOARD SALUTES Salutes include the following: Mary Hamer for hosting author Aaron Reynolds for a two day visit. The Leland Lions Club was a major contributor for funding the author visit. The Retired Teachers Association provided a donation, as well. Chief Hecathorn and the Leland Fire Department for the Fire Safety Week presentations and souvenirs to the elementary students. The teachers that chaperoned the Lorado Taft experience Martha Schmitt for great work with the Students in Need Fund, noting donations by LEA and a private donation. Chris Bickel, Chris Bland, and Rose Kidd for helping cover staffing during a family medical situation for Jodi Moore. 4. OPEN FORUM None 5. APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA Wold moved, and Riskedal seconded the motion to approve the consent agenda as follows: 5.1 Regular Meeting Minutes for Open and Closed sessions September 16, 2015 5.2 Monthly Bills for September and October as presented 5.2 Financial Statements for September and October as presented There was discussion on the out of district students listed in the enrollment report and how and why we are providing transportation for pre-school students. OCTOBER 2015 PAGE 1
Ayes: Anderson, Decker, Kinney, Riskedal, Wold, Plote Nays: Crissip 6. APPROVAL OF DISTRICT CRISIS PLAN Decker moved, and Kinney seconded the motion to approve the updated district crisis plan. Mr. Bickel reported edits had been documented and submitted to the ROE. Ayes: Decker, Kinney, Riskedal, Wold, Plote, Anderson, Crissip 7. APPROVAL OF AUDIT PLAN Decker moved, and Kinney seconded the motion to approve the 2015 Audit Report. District Manager Kidd indicated the 2 nd issue-failing to cover 25% of the highest available balance with a Treasurer s Bond was addressed as the bond was increased. We are currently in the process of addressing the 1 st issue of lack of segregation of financial duties by training another individual to process payroll and two additional employees to process activity account funds. Purchase order and requisition policies are being examined and changes will be implemented for FY 2017. Ayes: Kinney, Riskedal, Wold, Plote, Anderson, Crissip, Decker 8. APPROVAL OF SNOW REMOVAL BID Wold moved, and Decker seconded the motion to approve the recommendation to accept the snow removal bid from Gary Melau Trucking for fiscal year 2016, per the proposed specifications of the submitted bid. Discussion by Mrs. Moore indicating the $11/bag salt spread on walkways will be included in the event Mr. Hecathorn is not available to do it. Also, a district and athletic calendar were given to the accepted bid to assure snow removal is performed before specific functions. Ayes: Riskedal, Wold, Anderson, Crissip, Decker, Kinney, Plote OCTOBER 2015 PAGE 2
9. APPROVAL OF DISTRICT HEALTH INSURANCE RENEWAL Wold moved, and Riskedal seconded the motion to approve the District Health Insurance Renewal. Terms of the CBA, the District committed to $5,700 per year toward the cost of medical insurance premiums for employees choosing to take coverage. There are four Humana plans to choose from. A question was raised as to if employees are paid the difference if they elect a plan with a premium lower than the allotted $5,700. Ms. Kidd reported the plans would range from 0 to $74.56 deducted per pay period depending which option is selected. She also said employees are not reimbursed the difference if their contribution is less than the $5,700 allotment. Ayes: Wold, Plote, Anderson, Crissip, Decker, Kinney, Riskedal 10. APPROVAL OF EARLY GRADUATION REQUEST Riskedal moved, and Wold seconded the motion to approval the recommended request for December graduation of a senior student. Contingent upon completion of all graduation requirements, completion of all necessary steps with the Guidance Counselor, and passing all credit hours in the fall semester, the student will be allowed to graduate in December with intentions to join the military in January. On a voice vote, the motion carried. 11. APPROVAL OF UPDATED JOB DESCRIPTIONS Riskedal moved, and Kinney seconded the motion to approve the updated job descriptions of certified and non-certified staff. Taking into account input from staff, other district examples and professional organization templates, the updates are consistent with old job descriptions. On a voice vote, the motion carried. 12. APPROVAL OF SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN Decker moved, and Riskedal seconded the motion to approve the current School Improvement Plan as presented. Superintendent Moore presented background information into the history of the School Improvement Plan. Currently Leland is using a State funded program called Rising Star. This OCTOBER 2015 PAGE 3
program links to the Illinois Interactive Report Card (IIRC). IIRC is the premier web site for test results and other school accountability information for Illinois schools. Mr. Bickel detailed the two focus points of Rising Star: School Environment and Instructional Teams. Currently our School Improvement (SI) team is made up of faculty and administrators, but may eventually include other staff members, as well. He also presented a picture of what the school district s IIRC looks like from last year. Ayes: Anderson, Crissip, Decker, Kinney, Riskedal, Wold, and Plote 13. APPROVE PROCUREMENT OF ARCHITECT FOR LIFE/HEALTH SAFETY PROJECT PROPOSAL Wold moved, and Riskedal seconded the motion to postpone approval of the procurement of an architect for the project proposal. Superintendent Moore emphasized the current architect of record for the District did a very good job for Amendment 15. She noted, it is typical for districts to continue utilizing the services of the architect on record while there is no dissatisfaction and considering there is not a sizable capital project. I was also discussed as part of the project the installation of carbon monoxide detectors throughout the building. Construction dates of various parts of the building may dictate the type of CO detector required. The motion to postpone to an action item for November was unanimous on a voice vote. 14. APPROVE SECOND READING OF POLICY SECTIONS 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Decker moved, and Wold seconded the motion to approve the second reading of policy sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Crissip motioned to amend policy 4.6 to reflect board approval for purchases greater than $5,000. Wold seconded. Moore read the policy out loud. Discussion regarding most purchases would have to go to bid if the money amount changed. Roll call vote. Ayes: Crissip, Kinney Nays: Anderson, Decker, Riskedal, Wold, Plote. The motion failed 2-5. OCTOBER 2015 PAGE 4
Decker moved, and Wold seconded the motion to approve the policy reading as written. Ayes: Anderson, Decker, Kinney, Riskedal, Wold, Plote Nays: Crissip The motion carried 6-1. 15. APPROVE FIRST READING OF POLICY SECTIONS 6, 7, 8 Riskedal moved, and Wold seconded the motion to approve first reading of policy sections 6, 7, and 8. In effort to clean up and update the policy binders of the District specific items to be looked at in Sections 6, 7, and 8 include: 6:30 adding K-12 in the instruction level specifications. Also, 7:165 omitting the policy regarding students to wear school uniforms on attendance days. It was also included in discussion removal of metal detectors. However, it was considered to leave it included as a possibility, portable metal detectors, on an as-needed basis. On a voice vote, the motion carried. 16. ADMINISTRATION REPORT Wold moved, and Riskedal seconded the motion to accept the Administration Report as given. 16.1 Principal Report 1. LaSalle County wide institute day was held October 9 th. Teachers had to choose from 5 presenters at different locations. All teachers within the county watched a motivational video by the Regional Office of Education, which highlighted Leland Schools during a majority of the clip. In regards to the positive school culture at Leland, the representative stated, This is one of the best environments that I ve visited. Several Leland teachers and students were interviewed for the video. 2. A new student was added to the pre-k special education route. The location of the student in the district boundaries required an additional driver and van be used for transporting the student. The old van is currently being used for this route. 3. The District is collecting lease prices for school buses from several different suppliers around the state. The current lease will be ending June 2016. One thing being looked at is using 4 fullsize buses vs. 3 full-size and one 30-passenger. We are also exploring the option of gasoline buses against diesel. 4. Grandparent s Day was held September 24 th. A total of 103 additional lunches were served that day, as grandparents or special visitors for K-5 students came to visit them in their classroom and enjoy lunch with them. NB & T provided the funds for the visitors meals. OCTOBER 2015 PAGE 5
5. Lorado Taft, the outdoor educational camp, was held in Oregon, IL on October 14-16 th for 4 th and 5 th grade students. As an optional trip, the families paid the fee for students to attend. Four faculty members supervised the trip. It was inquired whether parents would be allowed to chaperone the trip, Mr. Bickel said only Leland faculty members currently go. 6. Leland Foundation for Excellence in Education (LFEE) achieved 501 status. On a voice vote, the motion carried. 17. DISCUSSION OF FIRST QUARTER BUDGET REPORT Superintendent Moore discussed details of the first quarter budget and some comparisons to the prior year. 18. DISCUSSION OF REVIEW OF STATE REPORT CARD Mr. Bickel discussed, as it relates to Action Item 14-School Improvement Plan. A tool being used is the State Report Card, called the Illinois Interactive Report Card (IIRC). This is public accessible information regarding district performance, trends, and environment. As it is fairly new, the current report card is not uploaded. In addition, Mr. Bickel made note that Leland is using MAP testing vs PARCC testing for purposes of students educational growth trends. Also, Mr. Bickel reported that due to the lack of the State passing a budget, the ACT test may not be state funded this year. Leland did not meet the deadline to apply to be a certified testing center, therefore, we are at the State s mercy to determine where and how our 11 th grade students will be taking their ACT. Our staff will strongly encourage all college-bound juniors to register and take the ACT privately. 19. DISCUSSION OF IASB JOINT CONVENTION. IASB Resolution Booklets, hotel confirmation, and available conference information will be distributed to Board members. Craig Decker and Andy Wold are cancelling their reservations. Each registered conference participant is allowed one guest at the conference for no charge. Itemized receipts may be turned in for reimbursement for travel and meals, per policy. 20. EXECUTIVE SESSION Wold moved, and Riskedal seconded the motion to go into executive session to discuss matters related to the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees of the public body or legal counsel for the public body, including hearing testimony on a complaint lodged against an employee of the public body or against legal counsel for the public body to determine its validity. On a voice vote, the motion carried and the meeting entered closed session at 9:10 p.m. OCTOBER 2015 PAGE 6
RE-ENTER REGULAR SESSION Re-entered regular session at Decker moved, and Riskedal seconded the motion to accept Karen Fredrick, Administrative Assistants resignation. Aye: Anderson, Crissip, Decker, Kinney, Riskedal, Wold, Plote Motion carried. Kinney moved, and Wold seconded the motion to accept Ann Smith, Junior High School Cheerleading sponsor resignation. Aye: Crissip, Decker, Kinney, Riskedal, Wold, Anderson, Plote Motion carried. Wold moved, and Crissip seconded the motion to accept Andrea Potts, Paraprofessional resignation. Aye: Decker, Kinney, Riskedal, Wold, Anderson, Crissip, Plote Motion carried Riskedal moved, and Wold seconded the motion to accept the recommendation for Andrea Niles for the Administrative Assistant Aye: Kinney, Riskedal, Wold, Anderson, Crissip, Decker, Plote Motion carried Wold moved and Decker seconded the motion to accept the recommendation for Brooke Grzanich for Junior High School Cheerleading position Aye: Riskedal, Wold, Anderson, Crissip, Decker, Kinney Abstain: Plote Motion carried OCTOBER 2015 PAGE 7
ADJOURNMENT Wold motion and Decker seconded motion for adjournment at 9:46 pm. Voice vote, motioned carried. Janet Plote, President Claire Anderson, Secretary OCTOBER 2015 PAGE 8