RECORD
OF MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION
MORRISON
COMMUNITY UNIT DISTRICT #6
August
28, 2007
The
regular meeting of the Board of Education of Morrison Community Unit District
#6,
On
roll call, the following were present: Jim Prombo, Jim Ridley, Kevin Schlueter,
Steve Swanstrom, Ted Tilton and Sally Gray.
Board member Greg Houldson was absent.
Also present were Superintendent Jody Ware, Technology Coordinator Jim
Winslow, Facilities Director Dean Wallace, Whiteside Area Career Center
Director Wilma Hewitt, Beth Hubbard from Whiteside County Education Outreach
Program, Southside Custodian Jon Heusinkveld, Recording Secretary Wendy
Krajnovich, and two media representatives.
Harvey Zuidema arrived after the meeting started.
Board
President Sally Gray called for a moment of silence in respect for former
employee, Jan Snyder, who passed away the previous day. Mrs. Snyder had been a special education van
driver.
Building
Projects Slide Show
Dr.
Jody Ware moved Agenda Item J, the building projects slide show, to the
beginning of the meeting. Pictures were
shown of many of the upgrades and renovations in each of the district’s school
buildings that were completed over the summer.
Southside
Tour
The
group then took a walking tour to view the renovations to
APPROVAL
OF PREVIOUS MINUTES
President
Sally Gray called for any changes or corrections to the minutes of the last
regular Board meeting held on August 14, 2007.
Hearing none, she asked for a motion to approve the previous minutes.
Motion:
Schlueter; Second: Prombo; to approve the minutes for the regular meeting of
August 14, 2007. Ayes: six; Nays:
none. Motion carried.
APPROVAL
OF CLOSED SESSION MINUTES
Motion:
Swanstrom; Second: Prombo; to approve the closed session minutes of August 14,
2007. Ayes: six; Nays: none. Motion carried.
COMMUNICATIONS/PUBLIC
COMMENTS
Superintendent’s
Report
Dr.
Jody Ware passed out copies of the district’s curriculum that was prepared over
the summer for the Board members to view.
She stated that Morrison CUD#6 is one of few districts in the state that
have their standards and objectives in alignment with the state standards. This year the staff will focus on
assessment. Two percent more of real
estate taxes have been received this week.
State grant auditor, Bob Ryder, has been in the district over the past
week. We received an excellent exit
review. Only a small amount of the 04-05
Reading Improvement Grant will need to be returned. She also noted that we will receive two
General State Aid checks this month.
Building
Administration
Junior
High Principal Darryl Hogue reported that two-thirds of the incoming 6th
grade students and parents attended the open house that was held before the beginning
of the school year. Students were able
to tour the building, find their lockers, etc.
This made the first day of school go much easier for them. A running club to promote wellness has been
started by high school track coach Dave Bartels. He reported that he has installed a “bullying
box” outside his office. Students can
fill out a form if they feel they have been bullied in any way. He also noted that junior high language
instructor Sara Tenboer has added one period to her schedule to serve as tech
support for their building.
High
School Principal Janet Ward reported that the year started with a total of 393
students enrolled. Football, volleyball
and swimming have started. The football
season opened at home Friday night against Newman. The
RECORD
OF MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION
MORRISON
COMMUNITY UNIT DISTRICT #6
August
28, 2007
volleyball
season opened tonight against Polo.
Swimmers have their first meet tonight at
students
are enrolled at
Elementary
Principal Amy Heusinkveld reported that the first day of school went very
well. The Southside staff has coped
admirably with all the renovations going on in their building. They have chosen mottoes for the year:
Respect, Keep It Clean, and No Slacking.
New elementary services coordinator Anji Garza is preparing a newsletter
to go home to parents. PT Penguin is
coming to school on Wednesday for
Board
Comments
Steve
Swanstrom stated that the kickoff breakfast and program for staff was very
upbeat, and that the Superintendent and Board President Sally Gray did an
outstanding job welcoming everyone back for another year. He also noted the theme and decorations.
Jim
Prombo noted that he liked the new bleachers at the football field, but thought
they should be moved closer to the fence.
Board
President Sally Gray passed around copies of student suspension notices for
Board review, and explained to the new Board members that this was done
periodically.
Public
Comments
There
were no public comments.
INFORMATIONAL
REPORTS
Financial
Report as of July 31, 2007
The
financial report was reviewed.
Treasurer’s
Report as of July 31, 2007
The
Treasurer’s report was reviewed.
ROE
Credit Recovery Program
Beth
Hubbard, Program Coordinator from the Whiteside Regional Office of Education
was in attendance and gave a presentation on their Credit Recovery and GED
Programs. Two
Wilma
Hewitt, Director of the Whiteside Regional Vocational Service gave a
presentation on the
07-08
Sixth Day Enrollment Update
Dr.
Ware reviewed the district’s current enrollment on the sixth day of school
which is 1,135 students.
The
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires states to make
determinations on the performance of local districts with regard to the
provision of special education and related services. Dr. Ware reported that she had
RECORD
OF MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION
MORRISON
COMMUNITY UNIT DISTRICT #6
August
28, 2007
received
a letter from the state, and Morrison CUSD #6 meets requirements in all areas
in implementing IDEA for the 2005-2006 school year. At this time all states are required to
consider 1) early childhood transition, 2) General
Supervision:
timely correction of identified noncompliance (Morrison had none), 3) timely,
valid and reliable data submissions, and 4) district audit findings (Morrison
had none).
Foreign
Exchange Students
Free
and Reduced Numbers
Each
year families have the opportunity to apply for free or reduced lunch rates for
their students. Income guidelines
determine if they qualify for either free or reduced rates. Currently the total number of free/reduced
determinations is 295, or 26% of the total enrollment. At the end of the 06-07 year, that percentage
was 20.2%. The beginning of the year
may be higher due to a state law that requires any family who qualified last
year to be rolled over for the first ten days of the school year, whether they
have applied or not. After the ten days,
they will be dropped if they have not applied.
AYP
and ACT Results
Dr.
Ware reviewed the ACT test results and AYP(adequate yearly progress) results
with the Board. The ACT results show
that the local scores are above the state average in all areas. AYP scores, although lower, are well above
the scores required by No Child Left Behind.
CONSENT
AGENDA
Motion:
Swanstrom; Second: Ridley; to approve the items on the consent agenda
consisting of: District bills as of August 28, 2007, Financial Report as of
July 31, 2007, Treasurer’s Report as of July 31, 2007, Personnel Recommendations,
and disposal of the closed session tape from February 28, 2006. Ayes: Ridley, Schlueter, Swanstrom, Tilton,
Prombo, Gray. Nays: none. Motion carried.
ACTION
ITEMS
High
School Activity Account – Special Education Life Skills
High
School Principal Janet Ward requested that this account be added. This year there are three high school
students who require life skills training.
Funding was received from Bi-County to provide funds for outings to
provide these students with life skills and experiences.
Motion:
Schlueter; Second: Tilton; to approve the addition of the high school activity
account Special Education Life Skills.
Ayes:six; Nays: none. Motion
carried.
COMMITTEE
REPORTS
Policy
Committee
New
policy updates have been received, and the committee will be meeting to review
them.
There
were no other committee reports as none of the other committees has met since
the last Board of Education meeting.
President
Sally Gray adjourned the meeting by consent at 8:05 P.M.
(President)___________________________________________
(Secretary)___________________________________________ Date Approved _______________________