September 2019 School Board Meeting Minutes

Link to video of September 19, 2019 meeting:  https://vimeo.com/361376223

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR SCHEDULED MEETING OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION CARBONDALE COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT 165, CARBONDALE, ILLINOIS HELD SEPTEMBER 19, 2019

The regular scheduled meeting of the Board of Education of School District 165 was held in the Carbondale Community High School Cafeteria, 1301 East Walnut Street, Carbondale, Illinois, on Thursday, September 19, 2019, at 7:00 p.m.

Upon roll call, the following members were present:

Joe Hudgins                            Julie VanWinkle
Christopher Swims                 Brian Woodard

The following members were absent:

Linda Flowers                         Francis Tsung
Lana Galan

Also present were:

Stephen Murphy                     CCHSEA Represented
Donna Fager                           Carbondale Times Represented
Ryan Thomas                          Elius Reed 
Lori Koester

President Woodard declared a quorum present and the regular scheduled meeting of September 19, 2019, was called to order.

Public Hearing: 2019-20 Proposed Budget: President Woodard opened the public hearing to receive public comments on the proposed 2019-20 Budget. Donna Fager, CSBO, reviewed the proposed 2019-20 Budget.

Motion by Hudgins, seconded by Swims, to close the public hearing regarding the 2019-20 proposed budget.  Roll call: Hudgins, Swims, VanWinkle and Woodard voted yes.  Nay, none.  Motion carried.

Approval of Minutes: Motion by Swims, seconded by Hudgins, to approve the minutes of the regular scheduled meeting of August 15, 2019, and the special meeting and executive session of August 27, 2019. Roll call: Swims, VanWinkle, Woodard and Hudgins voted yes.  Nay, none.  Motion carried.

Member Answers Roll Call: Vice President Linda Flowers answered roll call at 7:15 p.m.

Old Business: None

Public Comments: Mr. Elius Reed addressed the Board of Education.  He asked what progress had been made in creating a *CCHS Local 773 Union High School Apprenticeship Program.  Mr. Murphy advised him that he had spoken with CCHS CTE Department Chair, Dallas Terry, regarding the program; and, that Mr. Terry had been in contract with the union presentative regarding the program.  Mr. Murphy said that he would be attending a meeting on October 1, 2019 with John A. Logan College where he would be discussing the program.

Mr. Reed advised the Board that he had received a phone call from a parent of a CCHS student who said that their child had been suspended or expelled from school for fighting and that they were arrested by the Carbondale Police, and that the student was a special education student.  Mr. Reed wanted to know if this was true and if this happens to all students who fight.  Mr. Murphy advised Mr. Reed that he could not comment on specific student discipline matters.  He advised him that there were separate rules in dealing with special education student discipline matters and regular education student discipline matters.  He said each incident is handled accordingly.

2019-20 FOIA Requests: The Board received a listing of the 2019-20 FOIA requests dated July 1-September 16, 2019, for their review.

Counseling Department Presentation: Counseling Department Chair, Lori Koester, did a presentation for the Board regarding the Counseling Department.

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

Principal’s Report: Mr. Thomas reported on the following:
∙2019 Resilient S.I. Building Trauma-Informed Systems Workshop
∙Rachel’s Challenge Program
∙Zero to Hero Training Program
∙Homecoming 2019
∙CCHS Fall Carnival
∙CCHS Student, Madeline Huggins, named USA Swimming Scholastic All-American.
∙CCHS Student, Tucker Poshard, appointed to ISBE Student Advisory Council. 

Superintendent’s Report: Mr. Murphy reported on the following: 
∙CCHS Seniors, John Paul Taylor and Kathleen Schultz, were named National Merit Finalists.
∙Upcoming conference on prototype of district dashboards.

Facility Improvements Committee Update: Mr. Murphy updated the Board on the recent Facility Improvements Committee meetings.  He provided the Board with a rough draft of a list of projects and timelines that were being considered for a potential Facility Improvement Plan.

2019-20 District-Wide Goals: Mr. Murphy requested the Board’s thoughts/input in preparing the 2019-20 District-Wide Goals.  The 2019-20 District-Wide Goals will be approved at the October 17, 2019 Board meeting. 

Bids and Quotes: None

Approval of 2019-20 Budget: Motion by Swims, seconded by Hudgins, to approve the proposed budget for the 2019-20 school year as presented. Roll call: Woodard, Flowers, Hudgins, Swims and VanWinkle voted yes. Nay, none. Motion carried.

Acceptance of 2018-19 Audit and Report on Shared Services or Outsourcing: Motion by Swims, seconded by Hudgins, to accept the 2018-19 audit as presented; and, to acknowledge the Report on Shared Services or Outsourcing contained in the audit (on page 31) for posting on the district website. Roll call:  Flowers, Hudgins, Swims, VanWinkle and Woodard voted yes. Nay, none. Motion carried.

2019-20 Textbook List: The Board received the 2019-20 Textbook List for their review.

Foundation Ceases Selling Engraved Courtyard Paver Bricks: Mr. Murphy advised the Board that the Education Foundation had voted to cease selling engraved courtyard paver bricks at their September 9, 2019 meeting.  He said this was due to the labor and expense in maintaining the bricks. He requested the Board in the future to purchase engraved auditorium chair name plates to commemorate retirees.

Board Policy 6:315—High School Credit for Students in Grades 7 or 8: Mr. Murphy presented a basic template of the proposed Board Policy 6:315 High School Credit for Students in Grades 7 or 8 to the Board for their review and discussion.  He said representatives from the feeder schools had asked him to investigate options for offering high school credit for math courses taken in grade school, specifically Algebra I and Accelerated Geometry.  He requested the Board’s thoughts/input on the proposal.  Vice President Flowers asked if there was a test to get into the class. Mr. Murphy said yes. Member VanWinkle questioned the equitability and whether this would be in the best interest of the individual student. Member Hudgins questioned the awarding of credit.  Mr. Murphy agreed all these points needed to be addressed before a policy could be established.

Executive Session: Motion by Swims, seconded by VanWinkle, to go into executive session to discuss information regarding the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance or dismissal of specific employees.  Roll call: Hudgins, Swims, VanWinkle, Woodard and Flowers voted yes.  Nay, none.  Motion carried.

The public portion of the meeting recessed at 8:13 p.m. The executive session convened at 8:23 p.m.  The executive session adjourned, and the public portion of the meeting reconvened at 8:58 p.m.  President Woodard stated no action was taken while in executive session.

Resignations/Retirements: None

Employment of 2019-20 Personnel: Motion by Swims, seconded by VanWinkle, to employ the following 2019-20 personnel as presented:

a. Secretary to the Principal--Rena Weller as the Secretary to the Principal (full-time 12-month position) retroactive to August 26, 2019, for the 2019-20 school year with a prorated salary of $32,000.00.

b. Faculty Secretary--Rachel Peters as a Faculty Secretary (full-time 12-month position) effective September 27, 2019, for the 2019-20 school year at the rate of $10.82 per hour.

c. Hall Monitor Personnel--Employment retroactive to September 16, 2019. Personnel as presented:
1. Tiffany Croxton – Rate of pay $12.50 per hour.
2. Trebor Mann – Rate of pay $12.50 per hour.

d. Extra-Duty/Extended-Time Personnel--Personnel as presented: 
Assessments Coordinator:  Terri Goodin $2,318.00
Head Boys Basketball Coach:  Jim Miller $9,635.00
Assistant Boys Basketball Coach:  Scott Hankey $5,666.00; Greg Storm $5,666.00
Assistant Wrestling Coach:  Nolen Beck $1,567.00; Kolbi Caffey $1,567.00
Head Boys Track Coach: Stephen Arvanis $3,968.50
Head Girls Track Coach: Stephen Arvanis $3,968.50
Head Boys Soccer Coach:  Jeff Hansen $6,235.00
Assistant Boys Soccer Coach:  Ortez Davis $4,533.00

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

2019-20 Volunteers:  Motion by Swims, seconded by Hudgins, to approve the following 2019-20 volunteers as presented:  Karen Herman: Choir Volunteer. Roll call: VanWinkle, Woodard, Flowers, Hudgins and Swims voted yes. Nay, none.  Motion carried.

Industrial Maintenance Painter: Motion by Swims, seconded by Flowers, to approve posting for an Industrial Maintenance Painter at a rate of $17.00 per hour. Roll call: Woodard, Flowers, Hudgins, Swims and VanWinkle voted yes.  Nay, none.  Motion carried.

IASA Conference: Mr. Murphy will be attending the IASA Conference Wednesday-Friday, September 25-27, 2019, in Springfield, Illinois.

CCHS FBLA Fall Carnival: CCHS FBLA will host a Fall Carnival Friday, October 4, 2019, 5:00-8:00 p.m.

October Board Meeting: The next Board of Education meeting will be Thursday, October 17, 2019.

Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 9:03 p.m.  

MINUTES APPROVED: October 17, 2019
*MINUTES AMENDED: APRIL 16, 2020