RECORD OF MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION

MORRISON COMMUNITY UNIT DISTRICT #6

October 24, 2006

 

The regular meeting of the Board of Education of Morrison Community Unit District #6, County of Whiteside, State of Illinois, was duly called and held at 6:35 P.M. at the Morrison Unit Media Center in said district on October 24, 2006.

 

On roll call, the following were present: Steve Swanstrom, Dave Boyles, Kevin Schlueter and Joy Tegeler.  Board members Kent Forth, Greg Houldson and Sally Gray were absent.  Also present were Superintendent Jody Ware,  Recording Secretary Wendy Krajnovich, Harvey Zuidema, and one media representative.

 

In the absence of President Sally Gray and Vice President Kent Forth, Board Secretary Joy Tegeler presided. She called for any changes or corrections to the minutes of the last regular Board meeting held on October 10, 2006.  Hearing none, she called for a motion to approve the minutes of the previous meeting. 

 

Motion: Boyles; Second: Schlueter; to approve the minutes for the regular meeting of October 10, 2006.  Ayes: Schlueter, Boyles, Swanstrom and Tegeler; Nays: none.  Motion carried.

 

COMMUNICATIONS/PUBLIC COMMENTS

Public Forum

Public Comments was moved ahead of Superintendent and Building Administration reports so District Auditor Russ Rumbold could make his presentation and be on his way, as he had a long drive home.  Mr. Rumbold reviewed district financial data for the Board with some comparisons with the past five years.  He noted repeatedly that 2003 was the “year of pain” due to needed budget cuts, but that the district has been moving in the right direction ever since.

 

Superintendent’s Report

Dr. Jody Ware informed the Board that Joe Crawford had been back to the district to work with teachers on last Friday’s Institute Day.  Teachers worked on writing instructional objectives for their power standards.  She shared some of the comments from the teachers’ evaluations of the day’s work.  She reported that the three fifth grade teachers are going online with their student grades.  She said the November Board meeting will be held at Southside Elementary School, and Anita Dobbins will be doing a Qwizdom demonstration.  The December meeting will be held at Junior High School.

 

Building Administration

Elementary Principal Steve Wroble reported that PTO had put on Pioneer Day on October 3rd for both Northside and Southside students.  This is done about every three years.  Fourth graders went on a field trip to the Mississippi River Museum in Dubuque.  Some teachers have been attending ISAT workshops.  Teachers are preparing for parent-teacher conferences next week.  The new computerized grading system is being used and they will start printing grade reports tomorrow.  Dr. Ware praised him for his support of this new system.

 

Junior High Principal Darryl Hogue reported this was Red Ribbon Week, and there were daily themes planned for students all week.  Thirty dads signed up for Dads’ Volunteer Day on Friday, and they were being assigned different jobs throughout the school.  Students of the Month were allowed to invite an adult to join them for lunch.  Boys’ basketball will be starting soon.  One hundred red tulip bulbs donated by the Sinnissippi Corporation will be arriving soon and decisions are being made about where to plant them. 

 

High School Principal Janet Ward reported a collection had been taken for injured Rock Island football player Travis Hearn, which netted $600.00.  Key Club started their service projects last Saturday by raking leaves.  Football playoffs begin on Saturday with a game against Newman.  Ticket sales begin tomorrow.  Volleyball regionals continue.  The PLAN test will be given to freshmen and sophomores on November 7th.  The IMEA band and chorus festival will take place on Monday, October 30th at the high school.  The high school play, Arsenic and Old Lace, will be performed on November 3rd & 4th.

 

Board Member Comments

There were no Board member comments.

 

RECORD OF MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION

MORRISON COMMUNITY UNIT DISTRICT #6

October 24, 2006

 

INFORMATIONAL REPORTS

Financial Report as of September 30, 2006

The Financial Report was reviewed.

 

Treasurer’s Report as of September 30, 2006

The Treasurer’s Report was reviewed.

 

Financial Comparisons: FY05, FY06, FY07

The Financial Comparisons report was reviewed.

 

FY06 Auditor’s Report

A review of the Auditor’s Report was already done during the Public Comments.

 

Board Convention Planning

Board members and the Superintendent will be leaving at 3:30 P.M. on Thursday, November 16th for Chicago to attend the Illinois School Board Convention.  Dr. Ware has made dinner reservations for Friday and Saturday nights so they can meet and discuss sessions attended during the day.

 

Reorganization Feasibility Study

The district Strategic Plan states “we will participate in a reorganization feasibility study with River Bend School District.”  Funding is available from ISBE towards the cost.  The Board agreed that Dr. Ware should send a letter initiating a reorganization feasibility study to River Bend Superintendent Don Mulch.  River Bend will be asked to share costs beyond the available funding.

 

Citizen Advisory Council

Membership of this committee adds three new members from the community and Board representative Greg Houldson this year.  The first meeting will be held on November 20th.  Topics to be discussed will be grades, homework from the parent perspective, and Health/Life Safety.

 

Health-Life Safety: Change Orders

Dr. Ware reported on a conversation held with District Architect Phil Fadden about change orders for construction projects.  There were some questions to be resolved from the last Board meeting.  He said costs for repairs for a hidden or unknown condition are the responsibility of the owner.  Since Illinois State laws require districts to accept the lowest responsible bid, owners are required to build a 10% contingency for unknowns into their budget to cover change orders.

 

Advanced Placement Math – High School

AP Calculus will be added next year. The math department at the high school is currently working on creating a course description, course syllabus, power standards, and instructional objectives.  The textbook has been submitted for approval.  Connie Royer will be the instructor, and will make a presentation to the Board at their December meeting.    

 

Bleacher Inspection Report

Health-Life Safety Code requires inspection of school district bleachers every two years by a certified architect.  Our bleachers were inspected on October 13th, and are considered to be safe with some minor needed repairs noted. 

 

 

CONSENT AGENDA

Motion: Swanstrom; Second: Tegeler; to approve the items on the consent agenda consisting of: District bills as of October 24, 2006; Financial report as of September 30, 2006; Treasurer’s report as of September 30, 2006; Financial Comparisons FY05, FY06, FY07; Quarterly Activity Fund Reports; Disposal of closed session tape from March 22, 2005, and Personnel Recommendations.  Ayes: Swanstrom, Boyles, Schlueter, Tegeler; Nays-none.  Motion carried.

 

RECORD OF MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION

MORRISON COMMUNITY UNIT DISTRICT #6

October 24, 2006

 

ACTION ITEMS

Amendment to Transportation Contract

Two buses from RC Smith Transportation transport our students to the Whiteside Area Career Center each school day.  These buses sit idle at the WACC while waiting to return students to Morrison.  WACC Director Willy Hewitt asked if one of the buses could transport nursing students to the Pavilion in Sterling during this idle time.  Since some of these students are not from Morrison, Dr. Ware felt it was necessary to amend our existing contract with RC Smith in regard to liability issues.

 

Motion: Boyles; Second: Schlueter; To approve the amendment to the Transportation Contract using RC Smith buses to transport WACC Health Occupations students to the Pavilion in Sterling, Illinois.  Ayes: Swanstrom, Boyles, Schlueter, Tegeler; Nays – none.  Motion carried.

 

Second Reading: Board Policies

Motion: Boyles; Second: Schlueter;To adopt the policies as presented by the Illinois Association of School Boards.  Ayes: Boyles, Schlueter, Swanstrom, Tegeler; Nays – none.  Motion carried.   

 

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Policy Committee

No report.

 

Strategic Planning

No report

 

Personnel/Negotiations

No report

 

Finance Committee

Joy Tegeler reported that the Finance Committee had met earlier today with Russ Rumbold.  They discussed Health-Life Safety and bonds that might be issued. 

 

Facilities Committee

A meeting is scheduled for Friday morning.  Bob Sondgeroth from the Regional Office and Architect Phil Fadden will be in attendance.

 

Citizen’s Advisory Committee

This was discussed earlier in the meeting in the informational reports.

 

Extra-Curricular Committee

This committee will meet tomorrow night.  They will discuss junior high wrestling.  There has been a request to lower fees for wrestling cheerleading this year ($50), as there are only two home meets.

 

Insurance Committee

There have been three personal injury claims so far this year and lightning strike damage to our facilities.

 

Local Wellness Committee

Dr. Ware reported that this committee needs to schedule a meeting.

 

Energy/Utility Committee

Steve Swanstrom said that natural gas prices are stabilizing.  Prices will be weather-driven now.  Our natural gas storage is currently full at 54 cents per therm.

 

 

 

ADJOURNMENT

Acting Board President Joy Tegeler adjourned the meeting by consent at 8:25 P.M.

 

 

 

(President) ______________________________________________

 

 

 

(Secretary) ______________________________________________ Date Approved __________________________