The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.

WC CUSD #235 Board of Education

On Wednesday, January 19, 2011 the West Central CUSD #235 Board of Education conducted their regular meeting.

As a result of this meeting the following items took place.

Board President Brent called the meeting to order at 6 p.m. All board members were present at roll call except for board members Arnold and Torrance. Mr. Torrance entered the meeting at approximately 6:20 p.m. and Mr. Arnold entered at approximately 6:48 p.m.

President Brent then led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.

Under good news items the following successes were highlighted:

• Mr. Buss reported that over 100 students were treated to all the ice cream they could eat for meeting their accelerated reading goals;
• Mr. Dwyer reported that 145 high school students were treated to nachos and hot dogs as a Pride Reward which included students who had received no unexcused absences, no tardies, no discipline referrals and no d's or f's in any class.
• Mr. Bradburn reported that the ACT Prep course parent meeting was well attended and there are 40 juniors signed up to take this preparatory class;
• Mr. Nichols reported that there are 30 middle school students with perfect attendance thus far in the school year.

The board approved the agenda as presented.

There was no one present to address the board on any agenda items.

The consent agenda was approved as presented. Items approved under the consent agenda included:

• Minutes of the December 15, 2010 regular board meeting
• Minutes of the December 15, 2010 closed session
• Approved the following proposed policy revisions on second reading and adoption:
• Policy 2:220 Board of Education - Meeting Procedures;
• Policy 2:260 Board of Education - Uniform Grievance Procedure;
• Policy 4:10 Operational Services - Fiscal and Business Management;
• Policy 7:170 Operational Services - Safety;
• Policy 5:10 General Personnel - Equal Employment Opportunity and Minority Recruitment;
• Policy 5:30 General Personnel - Hiring Process and Criteria;
• Policy 5:90 General Personnel - Abused and Neglected Child Reporting;
• Policy 5:120 General Personnel - Ethics and Conduct;
• Policy 5:220 Professional Personnel - Substitute Teachers;
• Policy 5:260 Professional Personnel - Student Teachers;
• Policy 6:300 Instruction - Graduation Requirements;
• Policy 7:50 Students - School Admissions and Student Transfers to and From Non-District Schools;
• Policy 7:100 Students - Health, Eye, and Dental Examinations; Immunizations; and Exclusion of Students;
• Policy 7:310 Students - Restrictions on Publications

Under financial activity, the board approved the payment of all bills, the December activity account and the December 2010 treasurer's report.

Supt. Grimm provided the board with a brief review of the district's financial report which indicated at the end of December that we should be at 50% of our budget in terms of revenue received and funds expended.

Mr. Grimm reported that at the end of December the district has received 59.25% of budgeted revenue and had expended 46.01% of budgeted expenditures.

Supt. Grimm provided the board with a brief overview of the recently signed income tax increase that was passed by Illinois Legislators last week.

A brief discussion was held about what this action might mean for the finances of District #235.

The board discussed Policy 2:230 Board of Education-Public Participation at Board of Education Meetings and Petitions to the Board.

As a result of that discussion, the board decided to eliminate 2 sentences from the first bulleted item of this policy. This move is designed to make it easier for members of the public to address the board at a board meeting.

The board approved memorandum of understanding #10 with the WCATS. This MOU outlines some additional board support for those candidates who are continuing on in the process of obtaining their National Board Certification.

The board approved a quote from JP Benbow of Galesburg in the amount of $5776 for the installation of a grease interceptor at the south campus. This project is a requirement of the 10 year health life safety survey and will be paid for out of this fund.

The board approved a quote from RA Oldeen of Kewanee in the amount of $6940 for roof repairs to different spots on the roof of the north campus building. The work for both of these projects will begin as soon as the weather will allow it to be done.

The board heard reports from the building principals Mr. Buss, Mr. Nichols and Mr. Bradburn. They also heard reports from Mrs. Serven, District Curriculum Director, Mrs. Farniok, District Special Education Coordinator, and Mrs. Frakes, District Technology Coordinator. During this portion of the board meeting, the board was given a brief demonstration of the Apple IPADs that has recently been purchased by the District for use in our special education department.

The board also heard a discipline report from Mr. Dwyer. Mr. Dwyer summarized the first semester of the 2010-11 school year and compared that with the first semester of the 2009-10 school year. Highlighted in that report were the following items.

• There were 182 less discipline actions taken;
• There were 72 less students were referred
• There were 372 less tardies;
• There was a 50% decrease in the number of referrals with 789 during the first semester of last year and only 395 for the first semester of the current school year.
• All four discipline action categories have decreased: detentions - 130 less, ISS - 17 less, OSS 35 less and expulsions - 2 less.

Mr. Bradburn and Mr. Dwyer also shared with the board additional information concerning our students who successfully completed an Illinois Virtual School class last semester. It was indicated that some students had gained retrieval credit while some took the classes for enrichment.

A brief discussion was also held concerning the variety of after school activities that have been made available for assistance and enrichment at both WCHS and WCMS.

The board briefly reviewed a five year enrollment project that was provided by Supt. Grimm. It was pointed out that overall the district's enrollment is trending downward and will continue to do so for the next several years.

Supt. Grimm suggested that as the economy recovers in Western Illinois, so will the number of students who attend school in the West Central School District.

The board discussed the possible sale of working cash fund bonds. It was during this portion of the meeting that Supt. Grimm suggested to the board that this item be put on hold given the action that the Illinois State Legislators took last week with regard to generating more income for schools in Illinois.

Supt. Grimm indicated that he was of the opinion that the State will be able to make all FY11 payments by June 30, 2011 and if this happens the district will remain on solid financial footing.

The board concurred with this assessment so no additional action regarding the possible sale of working cash fund bonds will be taken at this time.

The board conducted a discussion of providing some additional tech support for Mrs. Frakes and Mr. Cisna.

During Mrs. Frakes' report to the board, she pointed out the breadth and depth of our technology system.

A couple of highlights of that report included the fact that we are maintaining approximately 400 computers throughout the district, 8 file servers, a significant number of computer labs throughout the district, 18 smart boards at the high school, 8 smart boards at the middle school, 3 smart boards and 4 promethean boards at the elementary.

In addition, our tech department maintains our VoiceOver IP phone system and 16 mobile phones. They also manage our district's email system.

It was suggested by Supt. Grimm that it would be beneficial to seek quotes from vendors in the area for tech support on an "as needed" basis rather than attempting to hire someone for this position.

After a brief discussion of this particular alternative and a second alternative, the board directed Supt. Grimm to gather additional information and if necessary, bring a recommendation back to the board in February to move forward with providing additional tech support.

There were no future agenda items highlighted.

Board President Brent recognized three prospective board candidates who were in attendance at the meeting.

Those candidates were Bill Allaman, Dan Bowman and Amy John. Board President Brent asked members of the board and the administrative team to introduce themselves to the candidates.

• The board decided that there was no need to enter closed session, therefore, the board took the following personnel actions:
• Accepted the resignation of Carrie Todd as WCHS varsity volleyball coach;
• Employed Marci Patterson as the WCMS 6th grade volleyball coach;

The board approved a resolution authorizing the release of certain closed session minutes.

The board was reminded that their next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, February 16, 2011. This meeting will be held in the elementary cafeteria and begin at 6 p.m.

There being no other business to come before the board, the board adjourned their meeting at 7:45 p.m.