East Central Reporter

Arcola Community Unit School District #306 Board of Education met Nov. 9.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

A regular meeting of the Board of Education of Arcola Community Unit District #306 Arcola, Illinois was called to order in the High School Library at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 9, 2022 for the purpose of regular business.

President Strader called the meeting to order. The following members answered roll call: Stout, Shonkwiler, Myers, Arrol, and Strader. Board members Crane and Wesch were not present.

Others present were: Tom Mulligan, Jennifer Frichtl, Angie Gentry, Megan Clark, Nick Lindsey, Amber Behrends, and David Porter.

President Strader recognized the visitors and asked for public comment. There were no comments. There were no pending FOIA requests.

Motion by Stout, seconded by Shonkwiler, to approve the regular meeting minutes and closed session minutesfrom October 12, 2022. Roll call vote: Stout, aye; Shonkwiler, aye; Myers, aye; Arrol, aye; Strader, aye. 5 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.

Motion by Shonkwiler, seconded by Stout, to approve the Treasurer’s Report as of October 31, 2022 as submitted. Roll call vote: Stout, aye; Shonkwiler, aye; Myers, aye; Arrol, aye; Strader, aye. 5 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.

Motion by Shonkwiler, seconded by Myers, to approve the payment of bills as submitted in the amount of $329,740.27. Roll call vote: Stout, aye; Shonkwiler, aye; Myers, aye; Arrol, aye; Strader, aye. 5 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.

Motion by Stout, seconded by Myers, to approve the payment of payroll in the amount of $480,318.91. Roll call vote: Stout, aye; Shonkwiler, aye; Myers, aye; Arrol, aye; Strader, aye. 5 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.

Business:

Motion by Shonkwiler, seconded by Stout, to approve the bid for baseball dugout equipment in the amount of $37,725. Roll call vote: Stout, aye; Shonkwiler, aye; Myers, aye; Arrol, aye; Strader, aye. 5 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.

Motion by Shonkwiler, seconded by Stout, to approve the tentative tax levy and set a truth in taxation hearing for December 14, 2022 at 7pm. Roll call vote: Stout, aye; Shonkwiler, aye; Myers, aye; Arrol, aye; Strader, aye. 5 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.

Motion by Shonkwiler, seconded by Myers, to approve the use of facility request and waive associated fees for the Douglas County Toys for Tots and the Douglas County Health Department. Roll call vote: Stout, aye; Shonkwiler, aye; Myers, aye; Arrol, aye; Strader, aye. 5 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.

Motion by Shonkwiler, seconded by Stout, to approve the field trips over 100 miles and/or overnight for AFS in Spring 2023 and Band/Chorus in Spring 2024. Roll call vote: Stout, aye; Shonkwiler, aye; Myers, aye; Arrol, aye; Strader, aye. 5 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.

Motion by Stout, seconded by Shonkwiler, to approve establishing the following clubs, activity accounts, and fundraisers for the GSA Club and Stand for the Silent. Roll call vote: Stout, aye; Shonkwiler, aye; Myers, aye; Arrol, aye; Strader, aye. 5 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.

Administrative Team Reports

Mrs. Gentry reported that there was an overall attendance rate of 90% for parent-teacher conferences. Also, the elementary school has been able to maintain a 95% or higher overall attendance rate for the past three months. Currently, there are 105 students with perfect attendance. Mrs. Clark reported that after reviewing student data from the Fall Benchmark and Progress Monitoring, several students have exited the RTI program and returned to Tier I in their homeroom classes. Mr. Lindsey told the board that he received a petition a couple weeks ago from the junior high students requesting a special treat for having perfect attendance one day, so the office celebrated with treats from Dairy Queen. Dr. Mulligan let the board know that it would be a couple of weeks before the election results were finalized. The district held a community meeting last week on a potential day care center, as well as a possible school expansion of the preschool program. Based on the discussion at the meeting, Dr. Mulligan thinks the best route might be for the school to look into expanding the preschool program while exploring a community partnership of some kind to operate the day care portion. Dr. Mulligan also reviewed the district improvement plan and the progress made so far.

Motion by Shonkwiler, seconded by Stout, to enter into executive session at 7:52 p.m. to discuss the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees, specific individuals who serve as independent contractors, or specific volunteers of the District or legal counsel for the District, including hearing testimony on a complaint lodged against an employee, a specific individual who serves as an independent contractor, or a volunteer of the District or against legal counsel for the District to determine its validity. Illinois Open Meetings Act, 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(1). Roll call vote: Stout, aye; Shonkwiler, aye; Myers, aye; Arrol, aye; Strader, aye. 5 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.

Motion by Shonkwiler, seconded by Myers, to return to regular session at 8:23 p.m. Roll call vote: Stout, aye; Shonkwiler, aye; Myers, aye; Arrol, aye; Strader, aye. 5 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.

Motion by Shonkwiler, seconded by Stout, to approve the resignations of Heather Reel as Part-Time Custodian and Jessica Huffman as High School Cheerleading Coach. Roll call vote: Stout, aye; Shonkwiler, aye; Myers, aye; Arrol, aye; Strader, aye. 5 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.

Motion by Shonkwiler, seconded by Myers, to approve the employment of Melissa Wagoner as Paraprofessional. Roll call vote: Stout, aye; Shonkwiler, aye; Myers, aye; Arrol, aye; Strader, aye. 5 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.

Motion by Stout, seconded by Shonkwiler, to approve the unpaid leave requests from Mike Monahan and Cinthia Lira. Roll call vote: Stout, aye; Shonkwiler, aye; Myers, aye; Arrol, aye; Strader, aye. 5 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.

Motion by Shonkwiler, seconded by Myers, to approve the employment of and multi-year contract for Megan Clark as Arcola Elementary Principal. Roll call vote: Stout, aye; Shonkwiler, aye; Myers, aye; Arrol, aye; Strader, aye. 5 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.

Announcements: Dr. Mulligan reminded the board members of their mandated reporter status.

Motion by Myers, seconded by Shonkwiler, to adjourn at 8:37 p.m. Roll call vote: Stout, aye; Shonkwiler, aye; Myers, aye; Arrol, aye; Strader, aye. 5 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.

https://core-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/426/Arcola_CUSD/2637881/Board_Minutes_-_Regular_Meeting_11.09.2022.pdf