Arcola Community Unit School District #306 Board of Education met Feb. 8.
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, February 8, 2023 for the purpose of regular business.
President Strader called the meeting to order. The following members answered roll call: Crane, Stout, Shonkwiler, Myers, Wesch, Arrol, and Strader.
Others present were: Tom Mulligan, Jennifer Frichtl, Angie Gentry, Megan Clark, Nick Lindsey, Amber Behrends, Julie Sanchez, Monica Cortez, Jeremy Shonkwiler, and Casey Conlin.
President Strader recognized the visitors and asked for public comment. There were no comments.
Dr. Mulligan reported there had been a couple of FOIA requests for staff information and for the asbestos bid information.
Motion by Stout, seconded by Shonkwiler, to approve the regular meeting minutes and closed session minutes from January 11, 2023 and the Building Committee meeting minutes from February 1, 2023. Roll call vote: Crane, aye; Stout, aye; Shonkwiler, aye; Myers, aye; Wesch, aye; Arrol, aye; Strader, aye. 7 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.
Motion by Crane, seconded by Wesch, to approve the Treasurer’s Report as of January 31, 2023 as submitted. Roll call vote: Crane, aye; Stout, aye; Shonkwiler, aye; Myers, aye; Wesch, aye; Arrol, aye; Strader, aye. 7 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.
Motion by Shonkwiler, seconded by Stout, to approve the payment of bills as submitted in the amount of $256,174.36. Roll call vote: Crane, aye; Stout, aye; Shonkwiler, aye; Myers, aye; Wesch, aye; Arrol, aye; Strader, aye. 7 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.
Motion by Stout, seconded by Wesch, to approve the payment of payroll in the amount of $465,542.82. Roll call vote: Crane, aye; Stout, aye; Shonkwiler, aye; Myers, aye; Wesch, aye; Arrol, aye; Strader, aye. 7 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.
Business:
Motion by Crane, seconded by Myers, to approve the second reading of school board policies from the October 2022 PRESS Packet. Roll call vote: Crane, aye; Stout, aye; Shonkwiler, aye; Myers, aye; Wesch, aye; Arrol, aye; Strader, aye. 7 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.
Motion by Shonkwiler, seconded by Wesch, to approve the Memorandum of Understanding between the Arcola School District and the Arcola Community and Economic Development Committee regarding the early childhood collaboration grant. Roll call vote: Crane, aye; Stout, aye; Shonkwiler, aye; Myers, aye; Wesch, aye; Arrol, aye; Strader, aye. 7 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.
Motion by Wesch, seconded by Stout, to approve the bid for asbestos removal in the family consumer science room from DEM Service, Inc. at a cost of $37,000. Roll call vote: Crane, aye; Stout, aye; Shonkwiler, aye; Myers, aye; Wesch, aye; Arrol, aye; Strader, aye. 7 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.
Motion by Shonkwiler, seconded by Myers, to approve the use of facility application and fee waiver request for the Miss Arcola Pageant. Roll call vote: Crane, aye; Stout, aye; Shonkwiler, aye; Myers, aye; Wesch, aye; Arrol, aye; Strader, aye. 7 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.
Motion by Crane, seconded by Stout, to approve a three-year technology support service renewal with QNS at an annual increase of 3%, with the fee for the 2023-2024 school year being $36,657. Roll call vote: Crane, aye; Stout, aye; Shonkwiler, aye; Myers, aye; Wesch, aye; Arrol, aye; Strader, aye. 7 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.
Motion by Crane, seconded by Shonkwiler, to approve adding a High School Track Assistant Coach for this spring. Roll call vote: Crane, aye; Stout, aye; Shonkwiler, aye; Myers, aye; Wesch, aye; Arrol, aye; Strader, aye. 7 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.
Motion by Shonkwiler, seconded by Stout, to approve extending the current Intergovernmental Agreement for a Cooperative Golf Team with ALAH for two more seasons. Roll call vote: Crane, aye; Stout, aye; Shonkwiler, aye; Myers, aye; Wesch, aye; Arrol, aye; Strader, aye. 7 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.
Administrative Team Reports
Mrs. Gentry says that January and February tend to be the most productive months because there are fewer distractions. There has also been an improvement in attendance. The elementary hosted an “Empowering Parents” program in January that had a good turnout. The staff book study on Classroom 180 has started and will run through March. There has been a small decrease in student behaviors. Mrs. Clark reported that they will be discussing data from MAP and AIMSWeb Fall to Winter benchmarks. Interviews for the Elementary Assistant Principal position have also started. The OAV student group recently held a food drive competition with prizes for the two classes who brought in the most items. The 8th grade class received a pizza party and the senior class received an hour long lunch. Mr. Lindsey and Mrs. Behrends have been meeting with Rotary members to plan an Empowering Girls Day event in April. They’re hoping to have around 100 girls attend the event that will have speakers from the Illinois State Police, as well as Shauna Green, the women’s basketball coach at the University of Illinois. The day will provide these young women with knowledge about self-care, women in leadership, self defense, and social media safety. Mr. Lindsey told the board that it might be time to revisit increasing the pay for officials, as we’re currently one of the lowest in the area. The high school pep band was one of only a few schools to receive an invitation to perform at the State Farm Center for the IHSA State Boys Basketball Finals. They will be performing during the 3A/4A 3rd place games on March 10th. Several students are preparing to take their proficiency exam to earn a Biliteracy Seal on their diploma and official transcript. This seal earns students foreign language credit at public universities and provides scholarship opportunities.
Motion by Shonkwiler, seconded by Wesch, to enter into executive session at 7:34 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: Crane, aye; Stout, aye; Shonkwiler, aye; Myers, aye; Wesch, aye; Arrol, aye; Strader, aye. 7 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.
Motion by Crane, seconded by Shonkwiler, to return to regular session at 8:06 p.m. Roll call vote: Crane, aye; Stout, aye; Shonkwiler, aye; Myers, aye; Wesch, aye; Arrol, aye; Strader, aye. 7 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.
Motion by Shonkwiler, seconded by Wesch, to approve the resignation of Taylor Rippey as Elementary Paraprofessional and Junior High Cheerleading Coach, Sophia Fishel as Elementary Special Education Teacher and High School Cheerleading Coach, and Craig VanDeveer as Junior High Girls Basketball Assistant Coach. Roll call vote: Crane, aye; Stout, aye; Shonkwiler, aye; Myers, aye; Wesch, aye; Arrol, aye; Strader, aye. 7 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.
Motion by Crane, seconded by Stout, to approve the employment of Jennifer Lyons as Elementary Paraprofessional. Roll call vote: Crane, aye; Stout, aye; Shonkwiler, aye; Myers, aye; Wesch, aye; Arrol, aye; Strader, aye. 7 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.
Motion by Stout, seconded by Shonkwiler, to approve the Memorandum of Understanding Between the Board of Education of Arcola School District and the Arcola Education Association IEA-NEA regarding increasing hourly teacher pay for summer school and after school tutoring from $25 an hour to $35 an hour. Roll call vote: Crane, aye; Stout, aye; Shonkwiler, aye; Myers, aye; Wesch, aye; Arrol, aye; Strader, aye. 7 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.
Motion by Stout, seconded by Crane, to approve the contract extensions for the superintendent, the junior high high school principal, and the junior high-high school assistant principal through the 2025-2026 school year. Roll call vote: Crane, aye; Stout, aye; Shonkwiler, aye; Myers, aye; Wesch, aye; Arrol, aye; Strader, aye. 7 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.
Motion by Crane, seconded by Stout, to approve the letter of retirement from Debbie Stenger effective at the end of the 2022-2023 school year. Roll call vote: Crane, aye; Stout, aye; Shonkwiler, aye; Myers, aye; Wesch, aye; Arrol, aye; Strader, aye. 7 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.
Motion by Crane, seconded by Stout, to approve the letter of retirement from Tom Mulligan effective at the end of the 2025-2026 school year. Roll call vote: Crane, aye; Stout, aye; Shonkwiler, aye; Myers, aye; Wesch, aye; Arrol, aye; Strader, aye. 7 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.
Announcements: None
Motion by Shonkwiler, seconded by Myers, to adjourn at 8:13 p.m. Roll call vote: Crane, aye; Stout, aye; Shonkwiler, aye; Myers, aye; Wesch, aye; Arrol, aye; Strader, aye. 7 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.
https://core-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/426/Arcola_CUSD/2831625/Board_Minutes_-_Regular_Meeting_02.08.2023.pdf
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