RECORD
OF MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION
MORRISON
COMMUNITY UNIT DISTRICT #6
March
27, 2007
The
regular meeting of the Board of Education of Morrison Community Unit District
#6,
On
roll call, the following were present: Dave Boyles via teleconference, Kent
Forth, Steve Swanstrom, Greg Houldson and Sally Gray. Board Members Joy Tegeler and Kevin Schlueter
were absent. Also present were
Superintendent Jody Ware, Harvey Zuidema, Jim Prombo, Elementary Programs &
Services Coordinator Amy Heusinkveld, Elementary Principal Steve Wroble, Junior
High Principal Darryl Hogue, High School Principal Janet Ward, Recording Secretary
Wendy Krajnovich, and two media representatives.
President
Sally Gray called for any changes or corrections to the minutes of the last
regular Board meeting held on March 13, 2007.
Hearing none, she called for a motion to approve the minutes of the
previous meeting.
Motion:
Swanstrom; Second:
Board
member Joy Tegeler arrived at 6:35 P.M.
COMMUNICATIONS/PUBLIC
COMMENTS
Superintendent’s
Report
Superintendent
Ware reported on a
Building
Administration
Junior
High Principal Darryl Hogue reported that their first annual variety show was a
huge success. It was sponsored by BEST which
raised about $780.00 for mini grants.
BEST also recently completed their spring fundraiser which brought in
about $3,200.00. ISAT testing has been
completed. A trailer containing exhibits
from the Illinois DNR was sponsored for one day by the science department. The junior high music festival was held at both
the junior high and high school. The
wrestling regional was held at the junior high.
Six of our wrestlers qualified for sectionals, three qualified for the
state tournament, and one student placed at state. PTA and BEST will sponsor a High Action Bikes
program – three shows at the junior high on April 24th. It is a good show that also promotes
responsible choices. MJHS hosted the
Whiteside County Spelling Bee. They are
working on a Healthy School Grant.
High
School Principal Janet Ward reported WACC students of the month are Nate
McBride and Ben Prescott. Several
athletes have been named to all-area newspaper teams and to all-conference
teams. Baseball, track and softball are
underway. Kelly Tenboer signed a letter
of intent to run track and play golf at
Elementary
Principal Steve Wroble reported third quarter report cards went home recently,
and the grading system is running smoothly and efficiently with few remaining
glitches. ISAT testing is
completed. Parents of 46 out of 62
registered kindergarten students attended a Kindergarten Parent meeting last
night at Northside. PTO sponsored a
family movie night at Southside on March 9th. Profits from the recent PTO Fannie Mae candy
fundraiser will go towards new playground equipment at Southside. The 5th grade chorus sang at the
St. Pat’s Day dinner held at the library.
Once again, cabbage plants from the Bonnie Plant Company went home with
third graders. The student growing the
largest cabbage in
RECORD
OF MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION
MORRISON
COMMUNITY UNIT DISTRICT #6
March
27, 2007
Public
Comments
There
were no public comments.
Board
Comments
Board President Sally Gray had one comment on behalf
of Jeff McIlrath from Emmanuel Reformed Church who sent a letter thanking
Morrison Schools for allowing them to use Northside and Southside schools for
youth programs from 3rd through 8th grades.
INFORMATIONAL REPORTS
Financial Report as of February 28, 2007
The Financial Report was reviewed.
Treasurer’s Report as of February 28, 2007
The Treasurer’s Report was reviewed.
Financial Comparisons: FY05, FY06, FY07
The Financial Comparisons Report was reviewed.
Projected Enrollment/Potential Retention
Dr. Ware reported projecting enrollment for the
coming year will be challenging. A
number of new students have enrolled in February and March. Looking at current enrollment, a big drop
occurs between the current seventh and eighth grade classes. Lower enrollment continues all the way
through kindergarten. She has been
informed by principals which students are on the potential retention lists at
this time.
K-5 Social Studies Textbook Request
Elementary teachers have been reviewing sample
social studies textbooks this past winter.
They have chosen the Social Studies series from Harcourt School
Publishers. Orders will be processed for
the third and fifth grade textbooks using the working cash bonds. A new fourth
grade edition is going to be printed, so we will hold off on ordering until it
becomes available. K-2 social studies
textbooks will be ordered next year when K-2 will be the designated grade level
for the Illinois Textbook Loan.
Natural Resource Textbook Request
Since the Natural Resource class was created two
years ago, instructor Gregg Dolan has been searching for a textbook to support
the instructional objectives of the class.
He has found a text called Environment:The Science Behind the
Story that he would like to purchase.
If approved, a class set of 35 textbooks will be purchased using working
cash bonds. This item will be included
for approval at the next Board of Education meeting.
Working Cash Bond Status
Dr. Ware updated the Board on the status of the
working cash bonds.
Date for Board Reorganization
The election of school board members will be held
on Tuesday, April 17, 2007. The organizational
meeting for the School Board needs to be held within 28 days after the
consolidated election. Our Board will
reorganize at their regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, May 8, 2007.
Consolidation/Reorganization Update
On Friday, March 16th Dr. Ware met with
Dr. Ron Yates from the Consulting and Resource Group, Inc. regarding collecting
information for the reorganization/consolidation study. The Board was provided with a listing of
these items in their Board packets.
RECORD
OF MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION
MORRISON
COMMUNITY UNIT DISTRICT #6
March
27, 2007
CONSENT AGENDA
Motion: Forth; Second: Tegeler; to approve the
items on the Consent Agenda consisting of: District bills as of March 27, 2007;
Financial Report as of February 28, 2007; Treasurer’s Report as of February 28,
2007; Financial comparisons FY05, FY06, FY07; closed session disposal of tapes
for September 27, 2005; personnel recommendations. Ayes:
ACTION ITEM
Reduction
in Force – Certified Staff
Approving
resolutions for a reduction in force of three elementary instructors was
recommended by Dr. Ware. Until notice is
received from the Illinois State Board of Education regarding the status of our
funding for Reading Improvement and the At-Risk Preschool Grant, it is in our
best interest financially not to renew the contracts of these three
probationary teachers.
Motion:Tegeler;
Second:Forth; To adopt the reduction in force resolutions for Jennifer
Williams, Lori Kennedy, and Mary Pons due to the uncertainty of grant funding
for the 2007-2008 school year. Ayes:
Houldson, Boyles, Swanstrom, Tegeler,
INFORMATIONAL
REPORT
Director
of Facilities, Dean Wallace arrived at approximately 7:15 P.M. to discuss
summer projects, which was listed as an informational report. He went over needed maintenance and upkeep
projects at all buildings that will be done this summer. He will be turning in a request for summer
workers after he assesses the amount of time it will take to complete the
necessary projects.
ACTION
ITEM
Health/Life
Safety Bids
Motion:
Houldson; Second:
Motion:
Forth; Second: Houldson; to accept bids F and Alternate F1 from Benchmark
Flooring. Ayes: Boyles, Swanstrom,
Tegeler, Houldson,
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Policy Committee
Dr. Ware reported that a new packet of policy
changes had arrived yesterday.
Strategic Planning
No report
Personnel/Negotiations
No report.
Finance Committee
A spring meeting will be scheduled.
Facilities Committee
Kent Forth said there was no further information.
RECORD
OF MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION
MORRISON
COMMUNITY UNIT DISTRICT #6
March
27, 2007
Citizens’ Advisory Committee
Greg Houldson reported the committee met yesterday. They discussed homework and grading
scales. They received information on the
PRIME program and enrollment figures.
Extra-Curricular Committee
No report
Insurance Committee
No report.
Local Wellness Committee
Greg Houldson reported that he had missed the last
meeting. The group continues to meet on
Fridays to work on grant applications.
Energy/Utility Committee
No report.
CLOSED
SESSION 8:06 P.M.
Motion:
Forth; Second: Houldson; to enter into a closed session to review closed
session minutes from March 6 and March 13, 2007, to consider the employment, compensation,
discipline, and performance of personnel or dismissal of personnel, and
purchase/lease of real property for the use of the public body. Ayes:
RETURN
TO OPEN SESSION 9:45 P.M.
Motion:
Forth; Second: Houldson; to return to open session. Ayes: six; Nays: none. Motion carried.
ACTION
FROM CLOSED SESSION
Motion:
Houldson; Second:
Nays:
none. Motion carried.
Motion:
Swanstrom; Second:
President
Sally Gray adjourned the meeting by consent at 9:46 P.M.
(President)
______________________________________________
(Secretary)
______________________________________________ Date Approved
__________________________