West Central Hold Special Hearings

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West Central Hold Special Hearings

On April 20th the West Central School board held a Public Hearing for a District Employee Tuition Waiver in the West Central Elementary School cafeteria.

The Public Hearing was called to order at 6:00 p.m. with all board members present at roll call.

Also present were Superintendent Markey, 2022-2023 Superintendent Stacey Day, Board Secretary Nancy Clark, WCHS Principal Jason Kirby, WCMS Principal Joe Peters, WCES Principal Kathy Lafary, WCHS Assistant Principal Joel Zaiser, WCES Assistant Principal Sarah Ryner, Music Teacher Matt Stewart, and WCATS Co-Presidents Charlotte Ackermann and Jessica Burrell.

The purpose of the hearing was to receive public comment on a proposed waiver application to allow children of non-resident district employees to attend a West Central School tuition free. There was no one present to offer public comment. The hearing adjourned at 6:01 p.m.

The board then held a Dismissal Hearing for the purpose of conducting an Employee Dismissal Hearing. The hearing was called to order at 6:01 p.m. with all board members present at roll call.

The board appointed Board President Schaley as the Dismissal Hearing Presiding Officer.

The board entered Closed Session at 6:02 p.m. for the purpose of conducting an Employee Dismissal Hearing. The board exited Closed Session at 6:15 p.m.

Upon return to Open Session, the board found Michael Nielsen to be guilty of misconduct so as to warrant discipline and approved the dismissal of Michael Nielsen as an employee of West Central C.U.S.D. #235 effective immediately.

The hearing adjourned at 6:18 p.m.

Following the special meeting the regular school board meeting was called to order by Board President Brendan Schaley.

All board members were present at roll call. Also present were Superintendent Markey, 2022-2023 Superintendent Stacey Day, Board Secretary Nancy Clark, WCHS Principal Jason Kirby, WCMS Principal Joe Peters, WCES Principal Kathy Lafary, WCHS Assistant Principal Joel Zaiser, WCES Assistant Principal Sarah Ryner, Music Teacher Matt Stewart, and WCATS Co-Presidents Charlotte Ackermann and Jessica Burrell.

Under Good News Items the following items were highlighted:

West Central Elementary students participated in the OSF Nutrition Poster Contest. Congratulations were given to the following students for their outstanding achievement: Sloan Knapp (1st), Linny Corzatt (1st), John Sury (1st), Wyatt Goff (1st), Hailey Thompson (1st), Ellie Mae Shaner (2nd), Lydia Bohnenkamp (2nd), Emmett Guile (3rd), Emerson Steward (3rd), and Grace Deverell (3rd).
Congratulations was also given to Chris Ford on being awarded a $5,000 scholarship from Applebees.

The board approved the following Consent Agenda items:

the minutes of the March 16, 2022, regular meeting and closed session as presented,
the minutes of the April 11, 2022, special meeting as presented,
the March 2022 bills, March 2022 building activity account reports, the March 2022 treasurer’s report, and review of the district financial snapshot as presented,
approval of a proclamation proclaiming May 2-6, 2022, as National Teacher Appreciation Week and May 3, 2022, as National Teacher Appreciation Day as presented,
approval of continued participation in the Illinois High School Association as presented, and
approval of continued participation in the Illinois Elementary School Association as presented.

The board was provided a copy of the 2022-2023 WCES, WCMS, and WCHS School Improvement Plans. The school improvement teams from each building will present their school improvement plan to theboard at the May 18, 2022, board meeting.

The board discussed proposed student fees for 2022-2023. All fees would remain the same with the exception of lunch prices. It was proposed to possibly increase lunch prices by $.10 as a result of a possible mandate to do so. The district is waiting for the calculation tool to become available to determine if this will be necessary.

The board discussed a proposal from Superintendent Markey regarding offering Healthiestyou by Teladoc to all part-time district employees at a rate of $14.00 a month. The board expressed interested, but directed Superintendent Markey to collect some additional information. Superintendent Markey will bring this information back to the board at the May 18, 2022 board meeting.

In other business the board:

reviewed and heard reports from the building principals; Joel Zaiser, Athletic Director; Melinda Frakes/Wade Alexander, District Technology; and Mallory Nelson, District Psychologist and Special Education Director.
approved the FY21 District Single Audit Report as presented with no findings. Thanked were the district office staff Nancy Clark, Shelly Nelson, and Jaime Shultz for their outstanding work to ensure accurate record keeping.
approved a bid from Advanced Plumbing and Mechanical, LLC in the amount of $175,000 for sanitary sewer forced main work at West Central High School. An approved Maintenance Grant will cover $42,000 of this cost.
approved the application to waive district tuition for children of district employees as presented. The application and supporting documents have been sent to ISBE to seek legislative approval.

The board entered closed session at 6:52 p.m. to discuss the following:

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.
Collective negotiating matters between the school board and its employees or their representatives, or deliberations concerning salary schedules for one or more classes of employees.
Student disciplinary cases.
The placement of individual students in special education programs and other matters relating to individual students.

The board exited Closed Session at 7:49 p.m. and took the following action in regards to personnel:

accepted the intent to retire from Laurie Pirtle as a WCES Paraprofessional at the end of the 2021-2022 school year as presented and with thanks for her service to the district
approved the maternity leave request from Sarah Cook, beginning May 2, 2022 as presented
approved the maternity leave request from Allison Harden, beginning August 15, 2022 through October 10, 2022 as presented
approved the resignation of Candy Robertson as a District Bus Driver as presented and with thanks for her service to the district
approved the resignation of Andrew Crause as a WCMS Social Studies teacher effective the end of the 2021-2022 school year as presented and with thanks for his service to the district
approved the resignation of Deb Eckley as a WCHS Paraprofessional, effective the end of the 2021-2022 school year as presented and with thanks for her service to the district
approved the employment of Ross Parcel as a WCHS Physical Education teacher for the 2022-2023 school year as presented per the WCATS contract and pending completion of all licensure and pre-employment requirements
approved the employment of Sheryl Young as a substitute for Sarah Cook’s maternity leave starting May 2, 2022 until the end of the school year as presented
approved the employment of Teresa Russell as a long-term substitute for Allison Harden’s maternity leave starting August 15, 2022 through October 10, 2022 as presented
approved the employment of Trisha Forquer as a WCES After School Homework Assistant as presented,
approved the employment of Loren Fox as a WCES teacher for the 2022-2023 school year as presented per the WCATS contract and pending completion of all licensure and pre-employment requirements
tabled the motion to employ a WCES part-time Title I Paraprofessional
approved the employment of Roy Van Meter as a long-term substitute for WCMS as presented
approved the resignation of Michael Kelley as the WCHS Head Boys’ Basketball Coach as presented and with thanks for his service to the district
approved the employment of Amanda Kane as the WCHS Cheerleading Coach for the 2022-2023 school year, pending completion of all coaching and pre-employment requirements
approved the employment of Heather Davis as both the WCMS Girls’ and Boys’ Track Coach per the WCATS contract and pending completion of all coaching and pre-employment requirements.

The next board meeting will be Wednesday, May 18, 2022 at 6:00 p.m. in the West Central Elementary cafeteria.

The board adjourned their meeting at 7:57 p.m.