The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.

West Central April School Board Meeting

At the Wednesday, April 20, 2016, regular board meeting of the West Central C.U.S.D. #235 Board of Education, the following items took place:

The meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m.in the West Central Elementary School cafeteria by Board President Lonnie Brent. All board members with the exception of Dale Buss and Kathy White were present at roll call. Kathy White entered at 6:13 p.m.

President Brent led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Under Good News Items the following items were highlighted:

• WCHS Students of the Month for March
• English - Skyler Moede and Logan Avery
• CTE - Megan Magee
• Fine Arts - Jason Strack
• Math - Trystan Cox
• PE - Harrison Fisher
• Science - Grace Brent
• Social Studies - Dean Miller
• FFA Livestock Judging Results for April Contests:
• Spoon River: 1st Place Team in Senior and Junior Divisions
• WIU Invitational: 7th Place Team out of 68 Teams
• Section #4: 3rd Place Team in Senior and 4th in Novice
• Brianna Akers, Alec Vancil, Grace Meyer, Andrea Fullerton, Jensen Bowman, and Tori Olson have all been in the Top 10 at various contests.
• WIU 4-H/FFA Contest: 2nd Place Team in the Junior Division
• Bushnell Prairie City Contest: 2nd Place Junior Team, 6th Place Senior Team out of 30 Teams
• Section 4 AG Mechanics Contest: 4th Place Team
• Brock Bigger: 2nd Place in Electrical Wiring
• Collin Vancil: 3rd Place in Carpentry, Senior Division
• Dalton Spiker: 1st Place in Carpentry, Novice Division
• Jon Anderson: 4th Place in Ag Power, Senior Division
• Nick Brokaw: 5th Place in Welding, Senior Division
• Mrs. Tamy Rankin was the WMOI Teacher of the Month for March.
• The 1st Annual 6th Grade Orientation had approximately 40 families attending.
• IESA Solo and Ensemble Contest was hosted at our north campus on Saturday April 2. We sent 22 events, with 13 students receiving Division 1 ratings and Camryn Fryrear, alto saxophone, receiving the Best of Day award.
• The middle school band sent 20 students to Farmington Honor Band. They performed as part of a 90+ student band and had a great time.
• Middle school choir sent 3 students to the WIU Honor Choir on April 4, performing as a select group of auditioned students.
• Sara Fitzgerald was selected as WMOI Teacher of the Week.
• Mr. Joe Pilger was awarded the Norman L. and Eileen A. Krong Award at WIU.
• The Boy Scouts held their annual Pine Wood Derby contest at the elementary on Sunday, April 3. Overall district winners included 1st place Fisher Potts, 2nd place Shawn Bielser, and 3rd place Alex McGraw.
• WCE hosted their 3rd quarter AR ice cream party to reward those students who met their individual reading goals. 
• The elementary spring music concerts were well attended and enjoyed by many.
• Upon completion of the PARCC, ten students who displayed good working habits were chosen to enjoy a buffet lunch at Pizza Hut. 
• The junior team of Ruby Gittings, Dayne Gittings, Spencer Jack, and Dexter Ricketts earned a 1st place in livestock judging at the Spoon River College Invitational. Ruby Gittings was recognized for obtaining a first place rating in the overall standings and Dayne Gittings earned a 3rd place overall rating.
• Elaina Fisher submitted a poem to the Carl Sandburg College poetry contest and earned an honorary mention in the elementary division.
• The West Central Board of Education thanked those individuals who assisted with After Prom.
• The West Central C.U.S.D. #235 website has a new look.
• The student growth component of the teacher evaluation plan was approved by the PERA Committee on April 20, 2016.

Two discussion items were added to the agenda. They were State Budget Issues and Potential Impact and Student Request to Attend Half Days

There were no comments from the public. The board approved the Consent Agenda. Items approved under the Consent Agenda included the following:

• The minutes of the March 16, 2016, Regular Meeting and Closed Session
• The March 2016 bills, March 2016 building Activity Account Reports, the March 2016 Treasurer s Report, and review of the District Financial Snapshot.

In other business the board:

• approved the 2016-2017 school improvement plans for West Central Elementary, West Central Middle School, and West Central High School.
• approved a resolution proclaiming May 2-6, 2016 as National Teacher Appreciation Week and May 3, 2016 as National Teacher Appreciation Day.
• approved an agreement to co-op golf with West Prairie pending approval from the West Prairie Board and IHSA.
• approved the base bid from Frank Millard Co. to do life/safety boiler replacement work at WCMS and WCHS.
• reviewed and heard reports from the building principals; Ben Rees, Athletic Director; Melinda Frakes, District Technology Coordinator; and Nancy Smith, District Psychologist and Special Education Director.
• heard and discussed proposed changes to the 2016-2017 Student Handbooks from the West Central Elementary, West Central Middle School, and West Central High School building administrators.
• discussed proposed student fees for 2016-2017. It was proposed to increase lunch and breakfast prices by $.10 each as a result of a mandate to do so and to increase the fee for Orientation to Family and Consumer Science by $10. All other fees would remain the same.
• discussed a request to co-op cross country with Mercer County. Mr. Rees will approach Mercer County about the possibility.
• Superintendent Markey updated the board and discussed with them the financial condition of the District and the potential impact to the District if there is no 2016-2017 state budget.
• discussed a student request to attend half days in 2016-2017 in order to take dual credit course at SCC.

The board entered closed session at 7:15 p.m. to discuss matters related to personnel and contract. The board exited closed session at 8:45 p.m.

The board took the following action in regards to personnel:

• accepted the resignation of Ben Rees as WCHS Assistant Principal and WCHS Head Football Coach,
• accepted the resignation of Michelle Tutor as WCHS Spanish teacher and WCHS Spanish Club Sponsor,
• accepted the resignation of Chaim McGuire as WCE/WCHS Art teacher and WCHS Art Club Sponsor,
• accepted the resignation of Rachel Reynolds as WCMS Language Arts teacher, 7th Grade Girls Basketball Coach and WCMS Student Council Sponsor,
• accepted the resignation of Amanda Hennefent as WCE Special Education teacher,
• accepted the resignation of Allison Janacek as WCMS Language Arts teacher,
• approved the transfer of Judy Kelly from 2nd grade teacher to Title I teacher,
• approved the transfer of Jadee Landers from WCE Title I Associate to WCE Pre-K Associate,
• approved a maternity leave for Miranda Gullberg as presented,
• approved the employment of Ben Rees as WCHS Principal,
• approved the employment of Tara Denhart as WCMS Language Arts teacher,
• approved the employment of Tom Williams as WCHS Physical Education/Health teacher,
• approved the employment of Ryan Muegge as WCHS English teacher,
• approved the employment of AJ Eeten as WCHS Physical Education/Spanish teacher,
• approved the employment of Amy Freitag as WCHS Part-time Spanish teacher,
• approved the employment of Robert Flemming as WCHS Science teacher.

The board was reminded that the next regularly scheduled meeting will be Wednesday, May 18, 2016 at 6:00 p.m. in the West Central Elementary cafeteria.

There being no other business to come before the board, the board adjourned their meeting at 8:55 p.m.