RECORD
OF MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION
MORRISON
COMMUNITY UNIT DISTRICT #6
April
24, 2007
The
regular meeting of the Board of Education of Morrison Community Unit District
#6,
On
roll call, the following were present: Kevin Schlueter, Joy Tegeler, Dave
Boyles via teleconference, Kent Forth, Steve Swanstrom, Greg Houldson and Sally
Gray. Also present were Superintendent
Jody Ware, Elementary Programs & Services Coordinator Amy Heusinkveld,
Elementary Principal Steve Wroble, Junior High Principal Darryl Hogue, Jim Ridley,
Jim Prombo, Harvey Zuidema, Ted Tilton, Recording Secretary Wendy Krajnovich, and
one media representative.
President
Sally Gray called for any changes or corrections to the minutes of the last
regular Board meeting held on April 10, 2007.
Hearing none, she called for a motion to approve the minutes of the
previous meeting.
Motion:
Tegeler; Second: Houldson; to approve the minutes for the regular meeting of
April 10, 2007. Ayes: seven; Nays: none. Motion carried.
COMMUNICATIONS/PUBLIC
COMMENTS
Superintendent’s
Report
Superintendent
Ware reported on the house fire over the weekend at the home of the Tony Ryan
family. Daughters Haley and Lacey are
Morrison students. Donations in the form
of gift certificates are being accepted in the high school office to help them
out at this time. High school office
manager Sally Hayen has announced her retirement after a combined forty-two
years of service to Morrison schools, and Dr. Ware read the letter she
submitted. She noted that the position
of Elementary Coordinator of Programs and Services has been advertised
again. None in the first round of
applicants was acceptable for the position.
A teacher inservice will be held on Friday afternoon. Teachers will be working on the instructional
objectives that define their power standards.
The annual teacher survey produced many positive comments. Dr. Ware reviewed educational referenda
results across the state from the recent elections.
Building
Administration
Junior
High Principal Darryl Hogue reported that PTO and BEST pooled resources to
bring a High Action Bike Show to the junior high. They got a special deal of three shows for
$999.00, so students from junior high and both elementary schools got to see a
show. The performers had lunch with the
students who were very excited to be able to ask them questions. Sixty-seven students are involved in
track. They won their first two
meets. BEST awarded three $1,000 teacher
grants. The junior high staff and
principal want to make the end of the year more of a celebration for students’
hard work throughout the year. On Tuesday
morning, May 29th, sixth grade will have Crazy Olympics, seventh
grade will have a field day at French Creek, and eighth grade will have
practice for promotion. A DJ will be at
school in the afternoon for dancing and karaoke for the 6th and 7th
grades, and the 8th graders will go to Plum Hollow in
Elementary
Principal Steve Wroble reported that all students enjoyed the bike show. Southside had a book fair today. Also, it was Grandparents’ Day, and they
could visit school and eat lunch with their students. Northside teachers Fran Smith and Karen
Mayberry are hatching chicks and ducklings in their classrooms. Drs. Simpson and Tomasino, local dentists,
gave a short program to third graders last week on proper dental care. Southside students are roller skating in PE
classes this week.
High
School Principal Janet Ward was not able to attend, so her report was read by
Dr. Ware. PSAE testing will be tomorrow
and Thursday for juniors at St. Peter’s Church.
Prom is Friday night at Vista Grande in
Public
Comments
There
were no public comments.
RECORD
OF MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION
MORRISON
COMMUNITY UNIT DISTRICT #6
April
24, 2007
Board
Comments
There were no Board member comments.
INFORMATIONAL REPORTS
Financial Report as of March 31, 2007
The Financial Report was reviewed.
Treasurer’s Report as of March 31, 2007
The Treasurer’s Report was reviewed.
Financial Comparisons: FY05, FY06, FY07
The Financial Comparisons Report was reviewed.
Teacher Satisfaction Comments
Each spring Dr. Ware administers the National Study
of School Evaluation survey to teachers.
Along with the survey, she also gathers comments on what is going well
in our district, what is not going well, and asks what suggestions they feel
will improve our district. A compilation
of these comments was provided to the Board.
Some highlights are: teachers are very pleased with the technology in
our district, our wellness plan and crisis plan. They are concerned about class sizes, student
apathy, and lack of an elementary counselor.
Suggestions include more technology, and expanding the staff to keep up
with needs.
Consumer Education Textbooks
Consumer education instructor Mrs. Simmons and new
business education teacher, Ben Thomas, reviewed consumer education textbooks
to replace the current 1997 edition.
They are recommending The Confident Consumer, c.2004, from
Goodheart-Willcox Publishing. The cost
for 65 copies would be $2,890.84. This
item will be included for approval at the next Board meeting.
Computer Textbooks
Business education instructor Mrs. McLeod and new
business education teacher, Ben Thomas, reviewed computer textbooks to replace
the 1989 edition. They are recommending Century
21 Computer Applications and Keyboarding, c. 2006, from Thomson
Publishing. The cost for 50 copies would
be $2,961.59. This item will be included
for approval at the next Board meeting.
Accounting Textbooks
Business education instructor Mrs. McLeod and new
business education teacher, Ben Thomas, reviewed new accounting textbooks. They are recommending Accounting:
Real-World Applications and Connections, c.2007 from Glencoe
Publishing. The cost for 30 copies plus
supplemental teaching items would be $4,038.96.
This item will be included for approval at the next Board meeting.
Health/Life Safety Projects
Additional health/life safety projects are being
prepared by district architects, Bradley & Bradley by request of the Board
of Education. The projects include
replacement of toilet stalls at Northside and Southside, and design of a canopy
for the back of
Food Van Replacement
Dr. Ware reported that the district food van should
be replaced. It currently has 111,453
miles and badly needs repairs. It was suggested
that one of the student transport vans be used as a food van, and a replacement
be found for the transport van.
RECORD
OF MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION
MORRISON
COMMUNITY UNIT DISTRICT #6
April
24, 2007
2007-2008 Registration Fees
Registration and class fees were approved last year
by the Board of Education for three years.
Katie Kuehl, Director of Fiscal Management, said she would be very
willing to create a bookkeeping system whereby parents could make payments throughout
the summer towards these fees. Refunds
will be available in the event a student chooses not to attend our school or
has a schedule change.
2007-2008 Extra-Curricular Fees
Currently, there is no change anticipated for
extra-curricular fees for 2007-2008.
Parents will be asked to sign a pledge sheet indicating student interest
in sports participation in the coming year.
They will be advised of the fees, and invited to make installment
payments over the summer to ease the cost burden at the beginning of the
year. Installments will be refunded in
case of non-participation prior to the first day of practice for each sport. Costs for students on the free lunch program
are waived, and there are reduced fees for students on the reduced lunch
program.
Healthier School Challenge Grant
Several staff members have taken the initiative to
write grants to generate new revenue.
Currently, members of the Local Wellness Committee, under the leadership
of Darryl Hogue, have written Healthier School Challenge grants at $2,500.00
each for Northside, Southside and Junior High.
If approved, the funds would be used for nutrition education resources
and training for staff.
CONSENT AGENDA
Motion: Tegeler; Second: Forth; to approve the
items on the Consent Agenda consisting of: District bills as of April 24, 2007; Financial Report as of March 31,
2007; Treasurer’s Report as of March 31, 2007; Financial comparisons FY05,
FY06, FY07; and personnel recommendations.
Ayes:
ACTION ITEMS
Authorization
to
Money
needs to be transferred from the Rec Center Money Market to the General Fund to
cover the costs of additional amenities that were added to the high school
weight room over the past year.
Motion:Schlueter;
Second:Houldson; To transfer $12,800 from the Rec Center Money Market to the
General Fund. Ayes: Houldson, Boyles,
Swanstrom, Tegeler, Schlueter,
Partial
Abatement of Working Cash to Education Fund
Motion:
Tegeler; Second:
Partial
Abatement of Working Cash to OBM Fund
Motion:
Schlueter; Second: Tegeler; to partially abate the working cash bonds as a
permanent transfer of $200,000 to the Operations, Building, Maintenance
Fund. Ayes: Boyles, Swanstrom,
Schlueter, Tegeler, Houldson,
2007-2008
IHSA Membership
Motion:
Swanstrom; Second: Schlueter; to continue to maintain our membership with the
Illinois High School Association and abide by the governance of the
association. Ayes: seven; Nays:
none. Motion carried.
**Addition:
Mrs. Tegeler noted that IHSA membership was not a cost to the district.
Second
Reading Board Policies: 2:170; 4:120; 6:160; 6:310; 7:70; 7:130; 7:190
Motion:
Swanstrom; Second: Schlueter; to adopt the changes to Board policies 2:170;
4:120; 6:160; 6:310; 7:70; 7:130; 7:190.
Ayes: Tegeler, Schlueter, Houldson, Boyles,
RECORD
OF MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION
MORRISON
COMMUNITY UNIT DISTRICT #6
April
24, 2007
Summer
Maintenance Help
Director
of Facilities Dean Wallace met with the Board of Education at their last
meeting to outline summer maintenance projects.
He is requesting six additional workers and a professional painter in
order to get the work done over the summer.
Motion:
Forth; Second: Houldson; to post openings for six summer workers at regular
rate and one professional painter at prevailing wage. Ayes: Boyles, Swanstrom, Schlueter, Tegeler,
Houldson,
We
contract with Northern Utility Consultants to oversee our electric, natural
gas, local phone and long distance costs.
They examine these accounts for billing errors, rate structure errors,
and any other possible savings that may exist.
The savings realized is well worth their annual fee.
Motion:
Swanstrom; Second: Schlueter; to approve the contract with Northern Illinois
Utility Consultants at the annual cost of $6,000.00. Ayes: Houldson, Tegeler,
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Policy Committee
No report.
Strategic Planning
No report
Personnel/Negotiations
No report.
Finance Committee
Joy Tegeler said there was nothing to report.
Facilities Committee
Kent Forth said there was nothing new.
Citizens’ Advisory Committee
Greg Houldson reported the committee had their
final meeting yesterday. They had a
technology presentation at Southside.
Mrs. Popkin demonstrated the Smart Board, and Mrs. Dobbins demonstrated
Qwizdom. He noted how enthusiastic the
teachers are about using these technologies.
The teachers said additional computers and Smart Boards are needed at
Southside.
Extra-Curricular Committee
No report
Insurance Committee
No report.
Local Wellness Committee
Greg Houldson said there was nothing new to report.
Energy/Utility Committee
No report.
RECORD
OF MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION
MORRISON
COMMUNITY UNIT DISTRICT #6
April
24, 2007
CLOSED
SESSION 7:30 P.M.
Motion:
Houldson; Second: Schlueter; to enter into a closed session to review closed
session minutes from April 10, 2007, to
consider the wage increases for educational support personnel, and to conduct the Superintendent’s annual
review. Ayes: Schlueter,
RETURN
TO OPEN SESSION 8:54 P.M.
Motion:
Schlueter; Second: Houldson; to return to open session. Ayes: seven; Nays: none. Motion carried.
ACTION
FROM CLOSED SESSION
Motion:
Forth; Second: Schlueter; to approve the closed session minutes of April 10,
2007. Ayes: seven.
Nays:
none. Motion carried.
Motion:
Swanstrom; Second: Forth; to approve an overall increase of 5.76% to
educational support staff personnel; increase due in part because of federal minimum wage
increase. Ayes:
Motion:
Schlueter; Second: Houldson; To recommend an average of 3.25% increase for the
junior high principal and the high school principal. Ayes:
Motion:
Schlueter; Second:
President
Sally Gray adjourned the meeting by consent at 8:58 P.M.
(President)
______________________________________________
(Secretary)
______________________________________________ Date Approved
__________________________