The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
The Illini West School District 307 met on Wednesday, March 27, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. in Carthage.
The meeting was called to order board president Tracey Anders with all reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.
The minutes of the regular meeting and executive session of the February meeting, as well as payment of the bills in the amount of $292, 611.70 was approved.
Students of the Month: Brody Rothert and Jalen Tallman were recognized as March Students of the Month. Brody was present with his mother and a certificate was presented to him.
In public comment Karen Jacquot addressed the board regarding the co-op program and the possibility of it being in jeopardy. She stated that many of the students use the money from working in the co-op program to support themselves and in some cases, their families.
She emphasized that the students learn life skills and Microsoft office programs such as Excel, Word and PowerPoint which are not covered in other classes they are taking. She said the students learn a good work ethic and she has even gone so far as to check on a student that was having trouble getting to work on time, until he corrected the problem. The co-op program enables students to network with local employers and many times the students come back to Hancock County to work later on.
She has had one student that moved up from an entry level position to managing a hog farm as a result of his work through the co-op program.
The program also gives students who plan to attend college, the opportunity to try out a job before they pick a particular field of study for sure. She currently has 22 students involved in the co-op program and already has 34 students signed up for next year.
Assistant Principal/Athletic Director--Mr. Dion reviewed his report and gave a conference update, which is constantly changing and discussed our conference options. There is a special conference meeting scheduled for April 5th. He reported that we currently have a regular route bus driver out with health issues and our sub driver is covering the route with no problems.
Principal--Mr. Gooding reviewed his report, emphasizing the reading reports from Shari Shupe's class, showing good growth. Boot Camp attendance was around the 50% mark. Improvements to Boot Camp will be made once again for next year. Approximately 70% of the student body was eligible for the 3rd Quarter PBIS Celebration, which included seeing a movie at the Charger Center today. The West Central Special Education Cooperative held their annual basketball game on March 15th and there was good support from the Illini West students. The last day of school is currently set for May 28th with a noon dismissal and report cards being handed out then.
Mr. Gooding discussed changes to the handbook, including adjustments to credits due to 8-Block. He also discussed graduation and the number of credits that would be required to graduate, etc.
Deb Murphy discussed the math curriculum and the choice between two companies to purchase books from.
Both companies had similar books and she believes Pearson is the company to go with.The books are common core aligned and she explained how "re-teaching" is going away. She answered questions from the board members and reported that the elementary teachers from the three school districts would be brought together with the high school teachers in April to discuss the common core standards.
Steve Clark from the Illinois Association of School Boards gave an overview of the Target Achievement through Governance program, which is a grant funded program that allows board members to attend training/workshops at no charge to the school district.
The board will decide if they would like to sign up for the program.
The board approved the following consent agenda:
a. Membership to IHSA for the 2013-2014 school year; Fundraising Requests
1. Wrestling
2. Dance Team
b. Policy Updates -Second Reading
1. 2:20 School Board -Powers and Duties of the School Board
2. 2:30 School Board - School District Elections
3. 2:110 School Board - Qualifications, Term, and Duties of Board Officers
4. 2:125 School Board - Board Member Expenses
5. 2:140-E School Board - Exhibit - Guidance for Board Member
Communications, Including Email Use
6. 2:200 School Board - Types of School Board Meetings
7. 2:220 School Board - School Board Meeting Procedure Board Minutes March 27, 2013 Page 3
8. 4:45 Operational Services - Insufficient Fund Checks and Debt Recovery
9.. 4:100 Operational Services -Insurance Management
10. 4:110 Operational Services - Transportation
11. 4:170 Operational Services - Safety
12. 5:30 General Personnel - Hiring Process and Criteria
13. 5:125 General Personnel – Personal Technology and Social Media; Usage and Conduct
14. 6:60 Instruction - Curriculum Content
15. 6:65 Instruction - Student Social and Emotional Development
16. 6:110 Instruction - Programs for Students at Risk of Academic Failure and/or Dropping Out of School and Graduation Incentives Program
17. 6:210 Instruction - Instructional Materials
A special board meeting for board reorganization was set for April 24th, 2013 at 6:45 p.m.
A Budget Hearing was set for May 22, 2013 at 6:45 p.m. to amend this year's fiscal budget.
The board entered Executive Session at 8:00 p.m. to discuss:
a. The appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees of the public body or legal counsel for the public body, including hearing testimony on a complaint lodged against an employee of the public body or against legal counsel for the public body to determine its validity. 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(1)
The purchase or lease of real property for the use of the public body, including meetings held for the purpose of discussing whether a particular parcel should be acquired. 5 ILCS
120/2(c)(5)
The board returned to regular session at 10:00 p.m. and took the following action:
The board adjourned at 10:03 p.m.
Board members present included: Tracey Anders; Mark Burling; Tom Holtsclaw - arrived at 7:05 p.m.; John Huston; Beth Pence; R.D. Trout; Janet Vass.