March 2019 School Board Meeting Minutes

Link to video of March 21, 2019 Board of Education Meeting:  https://vimeo.com/326865160

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION CARBONDALE COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT 165, CARBONDALE, ILLINOIS HELD MARCH 21, 2019 

The regular meeting of the Board of Education of School District 165 was held in the cafeteria of Carbondale Community High School, 1301 East Walnut Street, Carbondale, Illinois, on Thursday, March 21, 2019, at 7:00 p.m. Upon roll call, the following members were present:

Kathy Booziotis          Francis Tsung
Linda Flowers             Julie VanWinkle
Joe Hudgins                Brian Woodard
Christopher Swims

Also present were:

Stephen Murphy        Arnold Taylor
Donna Fager               Mark Albertini
Ryan Thomas              Carbondale Times Represented 

President Woodard declared a quorum present and the regular meeting of March 21, 2019, was called to order.

Approval of Minutes: Motion by Swims, seconded by Flowers, to approve the minutes of the regular scheduled meeting and executive session of February 21, 2019.  Roll call: Booziotis, Flowers, Hudgins, Swims, Tsung, VanWinkle and Woodard voted yes.  Motion carried.

Future Green Energy Consortium Update: Mr. Murphy updated the Board on the Future Green Energy Consortium Level Two Program.  He recommended the district wait until additional information is obtained on the term and the cooperative participation before enrolling in Level Two.  

Public Comments: CCHS Students, Sarah Petrowich and Regina DeDecker, addressed the Board        of Education on behalf of the student body.  They presented the Board with a petition signed by 140 students that requested the Administration allow the 2019 graduates to decorate their graduation caps to allow them to express their individuality and creativeness.  In addition, they also requested the section in the Student Handbook regarding graduation attire (page 26 of Student Handbook) be updated to provide better clarification on the graduation attire and what is acceptable and what is not.  The students provide the Board a copy of their remarks and information (Attachment #1).  Mr. Murphy commended the students on their presentation and thanked them for their comments.  He advised them the Administration would review the request and follow-up with everyone.

Athletics Department Presentation: Athletic Director Mark Albertini highlighted the athlete achievements to date in the school year. 

Member Hudgins asked how the Holiday Tournament did this year.  Mr. Albertini advised the tournament averaged only 82 people per game.  He said he was reviewing different options to revise the tournament in the future with the assistance of a charitable donor.   

World Languages Department Presentation: Arnold Taylor, World Languages Department Chair, did a presentation for the Board regarding the activities of his department.

Payment of Bills:  Motion by Tsung seconded by Swims, to pay the remaining bills for the month of February 2019; and, those available for payment for the month of March 2019.  Roll call: Flowers, Hudgins, Swims, VanWinkle, Tsung, Woodard and Booziotis voted yes.  Nay, none. motion carried.

Superintendent’s Report: Mr. Murphy reported the construction on the Frank Bleyer Field and the softball field was complete.  The work on the track is progressing.

Mr. Murphy and Mr. Thomas reviewed the results of the Student School Safety Survey for the Board. Vice President Flowers asked if the survey was done because of the racial incident that occurred earlier in the school year; and, that if it was, she said the survey did not reflect that. Mr. Murphy said yes it was; however, that in reviewing the responses, they determined that the survey questions should have been more specific in nature so that the responses were not so vague. Vice President Flowers said that she was concerned by the current political climate and what young minds are exposed to. She said the district needs to do something specific to address the issue.  Mr. Murphy agreed and advised that moving forward the Student School Safety Survey would be an annual survey.     

Facility Improvements Committee Update: Mr. Murphy reviewed the draft version of the Facility Master Plan that was compiled by District Architect Paul Lunsford for the Board. Member Tsung asked if the funding had been decided yet.  Mr. Murphy said he was reviewing two bond issues and borrowing options.

Awarding of District Liability Insurance Bid: Motion by Flowers, seconded by Swims, to acknowledge receipt of the bids received for district liability insurance for the next three years; and, to award the bid to the lowest responsible bidder, Warma Witter Kreisler & Associates, Inc., at a premium of $105,989.00, as presented.  Roll call: Hudgins, Swims, VanWinkle, Tsung, Woodard, Booziotis and Flowers voted yes. Nay, none. Motion carried.

Awarding of District Janitorial Services Bid: Motion by Hudgins, seconded by Swims, to acknowledge receipt of the bids received for district janitorial services; and, to award the bid to the lowest responsible bidder, Quality Clean Janitorial Services, for a two-year period with an option to renew for two years, as presented.  Roll call: Swims, Tsung, VanWinkle, Woodard, Booziotis, Flowers and Hudgins voted yes. Nay, none. Motion carried.

District Transportation Services One-Year Contract Extension: Motion by Swims, seconded by Booziotis, to accept the 4.75% one-year contract extension from West Bus Service Company as presented.  Roll call: Tsung, VanWinkle, Woodard, Booziotis, Flowers, Hudgins and Swims voted yes. Nay, none.  Motion carried.

Request to Solicit Roof Repair Bids: Motion by Flowers, seconded by Swims, to solicit roof repair bids as presented. Roll call: VanWinkle, Woodard, Booziotis, Flowers, Hudgins, Swims, Tsung and Woodard voted yes.  Nay, none.  Motion carried.

Solicitation of Gymnasium Bleacher Repair Bids: A motion was made by Christopher Swims and seconded by Linda Flowers to authorize gymnasium bleacher repairs in the amount of $162,965.00 as presented by District Architect Paul Lunsford.  Before the vote was taken there was discussion by the Board regarding the cost, if the repairs were being done for safety reasons or for cosmetic reasons, the project time-line, and the need to bid the project. Following discussion, it was agreed that the repairs were being made for safety reasons, the time-line was a factor; and, the project should be solicited for bids. The motion was then amended to “Motion by Swims, seconded by Flowers, to authorize gymnasium bleacher repairs in the amount of $162,965.00 as presented by District Architect Paul Lunsford by soliciting bids for the project and bringing the recommendation to the Board at the April Board Meeting.  Roll call:  Woodard, Booziotis, Flowers, Hudgins, Swims, Tsung and VanWinkle voted yes.  Nay, none.  Motion carried.

Member Hudgins asked that when the bleachers are repaired in the future that the bleacher last step-down step to the main floor be adjusted to a lower height than it currently is because of safety concerns.  

Draft 2019-20 School Calendar: Mr. Murphy reviewed the draft 2019-20 School Calendar for the Board.  Final adoption of the calendar will occur at the April 25, 2019 Board of Education meeting.  Member Hudgins commented that three half day inservices were added to the calendar a few years ago when the new teacher evaluation system was implemented.  He asked that the Administration re-look at the number inservices on the calendar because some of them may no longer be necessary.

2019-20 IHSA Membership Renewal: Motion by Flowers, seconded by Booziotis, to continue membership in the Illinois High School Association for the 2019-20 school year. Roll call: Booziotis, Flowers, Hudgins, Swims, Tsung, VanWinkle and Woodard voted yes. Nay, none. Motion carried.

Jackson/Perry Counties CTE Regional Delivery System Intergovernmental Agreement: Motion by Booziotis, seconded by Hudgins, to approve the Jackson/Perry Counties CTE Regional Delivery System Intergovernmental Agreement as presented.  Roll call: Flowers, Hudgins, Swims, Tsung, VanWinkle, Woodard and Booziotis voted yes.  Nay, none. Motion carried.

Executive Session: Motion by Swims, seconded by Booziotis, to go into executive session to discuss information regarding the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance or dismissal of specific employees (5 ILCS 120/2(c)(1).  Roll call:  Hudgins, Swims, Tsung, VanWinkle, Woodard, Booziotis and Flowers voted yes. Nay, none.  Motion carried.

The executive session convened at 8:20 p.m. The executive session adjourned at 9:05 p.m.  President Woodard stated no action was taken while in executive session.

Resignations/Retirements: Motion by Swims, seconded by Booziotis, to accept the resignations/retirements of the following personnel as presented: 

a. Resignation of Stephanie Murray (Cook) effective March 8, 2019.

b. Resignation of Tammy Helvey (Special Education Teacher) effective at the end of the 2018-19 school year.

Roll call: Swims, Tsung, VanWinkle, Woodard, Booziotis, Flowers and Hudgins voted yes. Nay, none. Motion carried.

Employment of 2018-19 English Teacher: Motion by Tsung, seconded by Hudgins, to employ Katie Bachman as a temporary full-time English teacher retroactive to March 18, 2019, for the remainder of the 2018-19 school year.  Ms. Bachman’s education and experience will place her at Line 0, Column BA/BS prorated on the Teacher Salary Schedule.  Roll call: Tsung, VanWinkle, Woodard, Booziotis, Flowers, Hudgins and Swims voted yes. Nay, none. Motion carried.

Approval of 2018-19 Volunteers: Motion by Swims, seconded by Hudgins, to approve the following 2018-19 volunteers as presented: Brian Chaney: Volunteer Baseball Coach; Drew Curtis: Volunteer Baseball Coach.  Roll call: VanWinkle, Woodard, Booziotis, Flowers, Hudgins, Swims and Tsung voted yes. Nay, none. Motion carried.

2018-19 Personnel to be Notified of Honorable Dismissal: Motion by Flowers, seconded by Tsung, to honorably dismiss at the end of the 2018-19 school year, or current grant period, or current contract, the following personnel as presented, due to a discontinuance of services:  

Temporary Faculty: Katie Bachman and Sarah Dubach

Part-time Faculty: Rebecca Browning, Jenna Jamieson, Jennifer Kennedy and Jane Rendon

Aide Personnel: Katie Bachman, Paul Decker, Jo Carol Deniston, Denise Dyer, Jeleania Fields, Isaac Fletcher, Jennifer Kennedy, Scott Lambert, DeAnne Miller, Alyssa Staley, Heather Taylor and Katherine Vieceli  

Monitor Personnel: Olasubomi “David” Ayeni, Andrew Smith, Carlton Smith, DeAndre Smith, Kevin Stamp, Bradley Walker, Unree Westley and Jihad Wright

Rebound Grant Personnel: Ivory Rush-Aldridge, Katie Babcock, Lisa Britt, Stephanie Brown, Meghan Carroll, Denise Diliberto, Matthew Duckworth, Mark Hutchings, Marla Martin, Sean McGahan and Sandra Snowden

Roll call:  Woodard, Booziotis, Flowers, Hudgins, Swims, Tsung and VanWinkle voted yes. Nay, none. Motion carried.

Approval of 2019-20 – 2021-22 Performance-Based Employment Contract for Principal: Motion by Flowers, seconded by Booziotis, to approve the three-year (2019-20 - 2021-22) performance-based employment contract for Ryan Thomas, Principal, as presented.  Roll call: Booziotis, Flowers, Hudgins, Swims, Tsung, VanWinkle and Woodard voted yes.  Nay, none. Motion carried.

2019-20 Administrative and Professional Support Personnel Employment Contracts: Motion by Booziotis, seconded by Swims, to approve the following 2019-20 annual administrative and professional support personnel employment contracts as presented: Mark Albertini, Athletic Director; Don Biggs, Maintenance Director; Terica Doyle, Assistant Principal; Stephanie Finke, Curriculum Director; Ethan Graham, Dean of Students; Mandy McKee, Special Education Director and Gwen Poore, Assistant Principal. Roll call: Flowers, Hudgin, Swims, Tsung, VanWinkle, Woodard and Booziotis voted yes. Nay, none. Motion carried.

2019-20 Re-Employment of Tenured/Non-Tenured Faculty and Educational/Cafeteria/Maintenance Personnel: Motion by Flowers, seconded by Booziotis, to re-employ the following tenured/non-tenured faculty and educational/cafeteria/maintenance support personnel for the 2019-20 school year as presented:

Tenured Faculty: Daron Absher, Jessica Anderson, Helen Aldridge-Bottje, Christopher Apple, Stephen Arvanis, Suzanne Asaturian, Pamela Barr, Brenda Berg, Erik Berrey, Michelle Buchheit, Michael Butler, Justin Dennis, Lena Dierks, Michael Dollins,  Bryan Dunn, Krystal Emrick, Betsy Geiselman, Linaya Germann, Emily Goins, Theresa Goodin, Scott Hankey, Jeff Hansen, Eric Hanson, Teresa Harris, Brandi Jones, Gloria Jones, Sandra Jordan, Lori Koester, Meredith Jones, Judy Major, Stacey Massie, Angela Mausey, Justin Merriman, Jim Miller, Marcella Morris, Carrie Mueller, Erinn Murphy, Matthew Peck, Jason Perry, Kyle Povolish, Stephen Powers, Amy Prudencio, Jessica Pyatt, Erin Sagaskie, Tracie Shackles, Sandy Stanley, Greg Storm, Arnold Taylor, Dallas Terry, Michelle Thomas, Greg Townsend, Kimberly Wheeler and Mark Woodside

Non-Tenured Faculty:

Faculty Completing 4th Year:  William Curtin, Andrew Gwinup and Bryan Lee

Faculty Completing 3rd Year: John Gund, Crystal Harsy, Rasheeda Love, Donald Moberley, Cara Polczynski and Toni Ruiz

Faculty Completing 2nd Year: Krista Antrim, Krystal Kill, Christi McGee, Melanie Nelson, Franciene Sabens and Joshua Taylor

Faculty Completing 1st Year:  Dawn Bassett, Charles Buss and Meriam Lahlou

Educational Support Personnel: Lisa Bastien, Rebecca Cissell, Mindy Clark, Irene Davenport, Brittany DeVantier, Verlena Greer, Rannetta Halteman, Lauren Hannick, Vonda Hill, Marialice Jenkins, Lucia Kelso, Kelly Lannom, Maria Lenzini, Michelle Lewis, Clint Mifflin, Amy Morse, Laurie Rendleman, Jarrod Ritter, Sheila Segelken, Rena Weller and Matthew Young

Cafeteria Personnel: Katie Behrens, Jerry Broski, Gregory Donahue, Belinda Hickam, Heather Hines, T’Neesha Jeffro and Robin Mayhugh

Maintenance Personnel: Eric Fowler, Michael Green, Austin Hardwig and David Little

Roll call: Hudgins, Swims, Tsung, VanWinkle, Woodard, Booziotis and Flowers voted yes. Nay, none. Motion carried.

Employment Transfer: Motion by Tsung, seconded by Swims, to approve the employment transfer of Michael Green from the position of Industrial Maintenance Technician to Assistant Maintenance Director for the 2019-20 school year effective March 22, 2019, at the rate of $23.00 per hour.  Roll call: Swims, Tsung, VanWinkle, Woodard, Booziotis, Flowers and Hudgins voted yes.  Nay, none. Motion carried.

Resolution to Amend the 2018-19 – 2020-21 Performance-Based Employment Contract for the CSBO Tabled: The Resolution to Amend the 2018-19 – 2020-21 Performance-Based Employment Contract for the Chief School Business Official was tabled to the April Board of Education Meeting.

April Board Meeting: The April Board of Education meeting will be Thursday, April 25, 2019.

Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 9:17 p.m.

MINUTES APPROVED: APRIL 25, 2019