Casey Westfield Community Unit School District 4C Board of Education met Feb. 23.
Here are the minutes provided by the board:
Call to order at 5:00 P.M.
1) The Casey-Westfield Board of Education met in regular session at 7:00 P.M. on Monday, February 23, 2026 at the Unit Office, 401 E. Main, Casey, IL. Upon roll call, members present were Clement, Fain, Gelb, Fouty, Sharp, Huddlestun, and Todd. Members absent- None. Administrators present were Kacie Rhoads, Jim Sullivan, Mike Shackelford, and Audra Taylor.
2) The following visitors were recognized: Jennifer Harris, Tammy Davis, Chelsea Taylor, and Lindsay Shawver.
3) Act upon approval of the following consent agenda items:
A. Minutes of the regular meeting of January 26, 2026;
B. Review of the financial and budgetary reports and approval of the current invoices for payment;
C. Destruction of the verbatim record of those meetings 18 months and older as authorized by Board Policy 220 and 220-E1; and
D. Updated 2025-2026 School Calendar
E. 2026-2027 School Calendar
F. To accept a $1,000 donation for Elementary Art Supplies from the Casey Masonic Lodge #442.
The Board approved the updated 2025-2026 school year calendar. The final day for students will now be May 26, with the final Teacher Institute day on May 27. Also approved was the 2026-2027 School Calendar. The school year will begin with two days of Teacher Institute on August 12 and 13, with students reporting for their first day on August 14.
Motion by Clement, seconded by Todd to approve the consent agenda. Upon roll call, members voting yea were: Huddlestun, Clement, Fain, Gelb, Fouty, Todd, and Sharp. The President declared the motion carried.
4) FY 2026 2nd quarter budget update.
Superintendent, Mike Shackelford, reported that the district is operating on budget through the first 2 quarters of FY26.
5) Administrator Reports
Monroe Elementary Principal, Kacie Rhoads, reported that Monroe students collected 1,726 cans of soup for the Soup-er Bowl Canned Food Drive. The PRO held its Daddy/Daughter Dance on February 21,150 girls were signed up to attend. This year’s Read-A-Thon kicks off on March 2nd. The Spring Book Fair will be March 9-12. Spring Parent/Teacher Conferences are coming up on March 12 from 3:30-7:00 pm and March 13 from 8:00-11:30 am. Monroe will be starting the Lunch Buddy program on Thursday. We currently have 11 mentors coming to meet with 11 different students. The next round of mentors will be coming on Tuesday. We are 5 weeks into the Bikes for Books program, sponsored by the Casey Masonic Lodge. So far 3rd-5th graders have read and tested on a total of 2,278 books. Nolan Wilson, Jalen Gillespie, Serenity Kemper, and Mya Cecil were nominated and chosen to sing at the District 5 Elementary General Music Honor Choir on February 23rd. We celebrated the 100th day of school on February 14th with a parade and 100th day activities throughout the day.
Jr/Sr HS Principal, Jim Sullivan, reported that the HS Scholastic Bowl team got 2nd place in the recent Illinois State Masonic Academic Bowl Sectional Tournament on February 21. The 7th grade Volleyball team are LEIC champions! Mrs. Tharp’s Life Skills class has been cooking up some yummy food. Mrs. Tharp and Ms. Hines will be taking their classes to compete in the Special Olympics in May. They will be selling shirts again this year. Look for the flyers. The Choir is preparing for the Solo and Ensemble. The HS presentation will be on March 7, and the JH will be on March 21. The March Showcase Concert will be on March 1 in Arts Hall. Course registration for the 2026-27 school year will begin on Thursday, February 26 for high school students and jr. high students. JH Social Studies students are participating in The Big 250: Casey Celebrates America essay contest.
Superintendent Mike Shackelford highlighted the major K-12 education points of Governor Pritzker’s recent FY27 budget proposal. The federal government has passed a fully funded education bill. The governor recommended an additional $305 million in Evidence Based Funding, which is the statutory minimum. The governor also recommended an additional $51 million for Mandated Categoricals, and $1.3 million for Career and Technical Education. These recommendations fall well short of the $151 million requested by ISBE to maintain the status quo on reimbursements to districts. This means that the District will see prorations of 75% for Regular Ed transportation reimbursement and 60% for Special Ed transportation reimbursement. He reminded the Board the we will be hosting this year’s IASB Wabash Valley Division meetings on March 17 from 6:00-8:00 pm at Roosevelt.
6) Addendum
7) Act upon approval to adjourn to closed session under c1 (employment), c2 (collective bargaining/salaries) and c21 (discussion closed meeting minutes) of section 5 ILCS 120/1 et seq. of the Illinois Open Meetings Act.
Motion by Sharp, seconded by Clement to adjourn to closed session. Upon roll call, members voting yea were: Fain, Gelb, Fouty, Todd, Sharp, Huddlestun, and Clement. The President declared the motion carried at 5:16 pm.
8) Act upon approval to reconvene to regular session.
Motion by Sharp, seconded by Fouty to reconvene to regular session. Upon roll call, members voting yea were: Huddlestun, Clement, Fain, Gelb, Fouty, Todd, and Sharp. The President declared the motion carried at 6:56 pm.
9) Act upon the following consent agenda items:
A. Act upon approval of closed session minutes of January 26, 2026.
B. Act upon recommendation to keep closed session minutes closed.
Motion by Huddlestun, seconded by Gelb to approve the consent agenda items. Upon roll call, members voting yea were: Sharp, Huddlestun, Clement, Fain, Gelb, Fouty, and Todd. The President declared the motion carried.
10) Act upon employment recommendations
– Employed Kyle Kreutzer as District Band Instructor for the 2026-2027 school year.
– Employed Claire Maulding as substitute 3rd grade teacher at Monroe Elementary for the remainder of the 2025-2026 school year.
– Employed Anthony J. Cox as part time behind-the-wheel Driver Ed instructor.
– Approved administrative salary increases of 3.5% for the Superintendent, Jr/Sr HS Principal, Jr/Sr HS Assistant Principal, Monroe Elementary Principal, and Monroe Elementary Assistant Principal for fiscal year 2027.
11) Addendum
Tracy Gelb announced that the Arts Hall has a new sound system and the Drama cast is excited to test it out this evening at rehearsal. The new sound system was funded through a donation from Blattner Energy earlier this year.
12) Act upon approval to adjourn
Motion by Fouty, seconded by Huddlestun to adjourn the meeting. Upon roll call, members voting yea were: Clement, Fain, Gelb, Fouty, Todd, Sharp, and Huddlestun. The President declared the meeting adjourned at 6:59 pm.
https://www.caseywestfield.org/documents/board-of-education/board-meeting-agendas-and-minutes/96511
