August 2020 School Board Meeting Minutes

Link to recording of meeting:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_S1_KOjptXXcw5Y_bHkar_0yHok94eHM/view?usp=sharing

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION CARBONDALE COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT 165, CARBONDALE, ILLINOIS HELD AUGUST 20, 2020

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, August 20, 2020, at 6:00 p.m.

Upon roll call, the following members were present:
Linda Flowers                         Francis Tsung
Lana Galan                             Julie VanWinkle
Joe Hudgins                            Brian Woodard
Christopher Swims (Remotely)

Also present were:  
Stephen Murphy                     Ryan Thomas
Donna Fager  

President Woodard declared a quorum present and the regular scheduled meeting of August 20, 2020, was called to order.

Approval of Minutes: A motion was made by Galan and seconded by Swims to approve the minutes of the regular scheduled meeting of July 16, 2020, and the special meeting of July 30, 2020. Prior to the vote being taken Member Hudgins requested the following clarifications be made to his comments in the July 30, 2020 minutes:

The minutes read: “He said the graphs show that 202 people between the ages of 15-24 died.  He said 15,000 people a year die from the flu or pneumonia and we do not close school for that.”

The minutes were revised with the following clarifications: “He said the graphs show that 202 people between the ages of 15-24 died during the time period February 1, 2020-July 25, 2020 in the entire country.  He said 15,000 people in the age group 15-24 die from the flu or pneumonia every year and we do not close school for that.”

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

Old Business—District Transport. Service Contract Extension: Mr. Murphy presented the proposed extension contract proposal received from West Bus Service to the Board.  Following Board discussion, it was agreed to not approve the proposed extension and to bid the district transportation service. No motion was made.

FOIA Requests: The Board received a listing of the 2020-21 FOIA requests for their review.

Public Comments—None

Payment of Bills: Motion by Swims, seconded by Flowers, to pay the remaining bills for the month of July 2020; and, those available for payment for the month of August 2020. Roll call:  Galan, Hudgins, Swims, Tsung, VanWinkle, Woodard and Flowers voted yes.  Nay, none.  Motion carried.

Principal’s Report: Mr. Thomas reported on the first four days of the school year.  He said 970 students had registered for school and 120 of those were in-person registrations.  He said 770 Chromebooks and 280 math books/materials had been distributed.  He said there was 85% attendance on Monday, 88% attendance on Tuesday and 90% attendance Thursday.

Superintendent’s Report: Mr. Murphy reported that 700 districts representing 1.65 million students responded to an ISBE survey on school reopening plans. Roughly 46% of districts representing 500,000 students began the year in Blended Learning. About 25% of districts representing 1 million students began the year in Remote Learning, and 29% of districts representing 150,000 students began the year in In Person Learning. Mr. Murphy said he is still investigating metrics for a Reopening Plan. A 5% positivity rate has been a common threshold for other districts and other states. Jackson County currently has a 6.2% positivity rate and the region has a 7.1% positivity rate. 

Request to Bid District Transportation Services: Motion by Hudgins, seconded by Tsung, to bid the district transportation services for the FY21, FY22 and FY23 school years with services beginning on 1, 2020 for the FY21 school year as presented. Roll call: Hudgins, Swims, Tsung, VanWinkle, Woodard, Flowers and Galan voted yes. Nay, none. Motion carried.

Presentation of the 2020-21 Tentative Budget for Public Display: Motion by Tsung, seconded by Flowers, to receive the tentative budget for the 2020-21 school year, place it on display for the public at the district office, the high school office, and the Carbondale Public Library, and to hold a public hearing on Thursday, September 24, 2020 at 6:00 p.m. in the high school cafeteria.  Roll call: Swims, Tsung, VanWinkle, Woodard, Flowers, Galan and Hudgins voted yes.  Nay, none. Motion carried.

Approval of 2020 August Graduates: Motion by VanWinkle, seconded by Swims, to approve the following students for official graduation on August 20, 2020: Ariel Bradford, Demikereon Brown, Ray’Trion Brown, Darin Carner, Ferdinando Guzman, Gwynith Hall, Jarel Hampton, Trista Hubbs, Raegan Kind, Rhianna Port and Zoey Smith.  Roll call: Tsung, VanWinkle, Woodard, Flowers, Galan, Hudgins and Swims voted yes.  Nay, none. Motion carried.

FY20 PA 96-0434/PA 97-0609 Compensation Report: The Board received a copy of the FY20 PA 96-0434/PA 97-0609 Compensation Report for their review.

FY20 Admin./Teacher/Teacher Aide Salary and Benefits Report: The Board received a copy of the of the FY20 Administrator/Teacher/Teacher Aide Salary and Benefits for their review.

IASB PRESS Issue 104 Board Policy Updates-Second Reading Adoption: Motion by Flowers, seconded by Tsung, to approve the IASB PRESS Issue 104 Board Policy Updates as presented. Roll call: VanWinkle, Woodard, Flowers, Galan, Hudgins and Swims voted yes.  Nay, none. Motion carried.  First reading of the IASB PRESS Issue 104 Board Policy Updates occurred at the July 16, 2020 Board of Education meeting.

IASB PRESS Issue 105 Board Policy Manual Updates—First Reading: The Board received the IASB PRESS Issue 105 Board Policy Manual updates for first reading. Final adoption of the IASB PRESS Issue 105 Board Policy updates will occur at the September 24, 2020 Board of Education Meeting.

Executive Session—None

Resignations/Retirements: Motion by VanWinkle, seconded by Hudgins, to accept the retirement of Teresa Harris (special education teacher) effective August 7, 2020.  Roll call: Woodard, Flowers, Galan, Hudgins, Swims, Tsung and VanWinkle voted yes.  Nay, none. Motion carried.

Art Teacher Contract Extension: Motion by Tsung, seconded by Swims, to extend the current contract of art teacher, Levi Biedermann, from 3/6-time to 4/6-time for the 2020-21 school year as presented.  Roll call:  Flowers, Galan, Hudgins, Swims, Tsung, VanWinkle and Woodard voted yes. Nay, none. Motion carried.

Employment of 2020-21 Extra- Duty/Extended-Time Personnel and Hall Monitor: Motion by Galan, seconded by VanWinkle, to employ the following 2020-21personnel as presented:

a. Extra-Duty/Extended-Time Personnel
--Personnel as presented:                                                                                                                              

Extra-Duty Positions:
FBLA Advisor: Christi McGee $1,085.00
FCCLA Advisor: Sandra Jordan $542.50; Rasheeda Love $542.50
FFA Advisor: Michelle Buchheit $2,386.00
Key Club Advisor: Rachel Peters $2,334.00; Jane Rendon $1,168.00
LifeSavers Advisor: Kim Wheeler $700.40; Stacey Massie $700.40; Amy Prudencio $700.40; Kyle Povolish $700.40; Jessica Anderson $700.40
National Honor Society Advisor: Tracie Shackles $584.00
Skills USA Advisor: Dallas Terry $1,750.50; Melanie Nelson $875.25; Donald Moberley $875.25
Student Council Advisor: Brandi Jones $2,334.66; Mike Butler $1,167.34
Yearbook Advisor: Brandi Jones $9,924.00

Clubs:
Aware Club Sponsor: Helen Bottje $368.00
Career Bureau Club Sponsor:  Jenna Jamieson $368.00
Chess Club Sponsor:  Helen Bottje $368.00
French Club Sponsor:  Aimee Ellis $368.00
German Club Sponsor:  Alexandria Bassett $368.00
GSA Club Sponsor: Helen Bottje $368.00
Imagination-in-Motion Club Sponsor: Katie Bachman $368.00
Improv (Terriers Live!) Club Sponsor: Josh Taylor $368.00
Interact Club Sponsor: Melisa Lopez $368.00
International Club Sponsor: Jenna Jamieson $368.00
Japanese Club Sponsor: Katie Vieceli $368.00
Science Club Sponsor: Suzanne Asaturian $368.00
Show Choir Club Sponsor: Rebecca Browning $368.00
Tabletop Gaming Club Sponsor: Joshua Taylor $368.00

Coaches:
Boys Golf Coach: Jared Cook $4,669.00
Girls Golf Coach: Marialice Jenkins $4,669.00
Boys Cross Country Coach: Greg Storm $4,211.00; Stephen Arvanis $2,211.00
Girls Cross Country Coach: Greg Storm $4,211.00; Stephen Arvanis $2,211.00
Girls Tennis Coach:  Mike Butler $6,422.00
Fall Weight Room Supervisor:  Jim Miller $2,334.50

Extended-Time: Driver Education Behind-the-Wheel ($33.00/Hr.): Mike Butler, Jeff Hanson, Greg Storm, Kim Wheeler

b. Hall Monitor: Employ Rustin Hadfield as a hall monitor at the rate of $13.00 per hour.

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

Employment of 2020-21 Rebound Personnel: Motion by Hudgins, seconded by Swims, to employ the following 2020-21 Rebound personnel as presented:

a. Rebound Secretary--Employ Crystal Hicks as the full-time Rebound Secretary at the rate of $13.00 per hour.

b. Rebound Grant Personnel--Employ the following 2020-21 Rebound grant personnel as presented, contingent upon adequate grant funding and timely receipt of those funds.  The hours will be reduced during the summer or until adequate student enrollment is achieved. -- Dates of employment: August 21, 2020 – July 31, 2021--Personnel: Jennifer Wharton: Reading/Health/Consumer Ed. Facilitator--35 Hours per week at $16.00 per hour. Roll call: Hudgins, Swims, Tsung, VanWinkle, Woodard and Galan voted yes.  Member Flowers voted no.  Motion carried.

Vice President Flowers commented that the secretary was a relative of the coordinator.  Mr. Murphy said only one secretary application was received and because the coordinator was related to the applicant, he conducted the interview and made the recommendation. Vice President Flowers commented that two of the facilitator applicants interviewed were African American and the facilitator chosen was a friend of an employee.  Mr. Murphy said there were five applicants interviewed and the Rebound Coordinator recommended the applicant she thought best met the qualifications.

2020-21 Volunteers: Motion by Tsung, seconded by Hudgins, to approve the following 2020-21volunteers: Tom Brooke: Girls Tennis and Max Kuenneke: Girls Tennis. Roll call:  Hudgins, Swims, Tsung, VanWinkle, Woodard, Flowers, Galan and Hudgins voted yes. Nay, none.  Motion carried.

School Resource Officer Agreement: Mr. Murphy shared a letter with the Board that he sent to the City of Carbondale requesting to indefinitely suspend the School Resource Officer Agreement with the City due to starting the school year in the Remote Learning Model where students are not present. Following discussion by the Board, it was decided that a new letter would be sent to the City requesting to only suspend the agreement until the students return to campus, and to get assurance from the City that Officer Stephanie Dillow would continue to be the district’s resource officer when in-person learning begins.

September Board of Education Meeting: The September Board of Education meeting is Thursday, September 24,2020 at 6:00.

Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 7:51 p.m.

APPROVED: September 24, 2020