East Central Reporter

Arcola Community Unit School District 306 Board of Education met Sept. 13.

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, September 13, 2023 for the purpose of regular business.

President L. Shonkwiler called the meeting to order. The following members answered roll call: Stout, L. Shonkwiler, Leyva-Sanchez, Myers, J. Shonkwiler, and Wise. Board member Conlin was not present.

Others present were: Tom Mulligan, Jennifer Frichtl, Megan Clark, Kyle Shay, Nick Lindsey, Amber Behrends, David Porter, Ashlyn Hudson, Michelle Barnes, Kayla Janes, Kim Snider, Steve Snider, Patty Gaona, Emma Shonkwiler, and Greg Vraspier.

Pledge of Allegiance

President L. Shonkwiler opened the Fiscal Year 2024 School District Budget Hearing. He asked if there were any questions regarding the budget. There were none so he closed the hearing.

President L. Shonkwiler recognized the visitors and asked for public comment. There were no comments. There were no FOIA requests to report.

Dr. Mulligan welcomed the new teachers to the board meeting. The board members and the new teachers took turns introducing themselves.

Motion by Stout, seconded by Leyva-Sanchez, to approve the regular meeting minutes from August 9, 2023, the Building Committee meeting minutes from August 24, 2023, and the Policy Committee meeting minutes from September 5, 2023. Roll call vote: Stout, aye; L. Shonkwiler, aye; Leyva-Sanchez, aye; Myers, aye; J. Shonkwiler, aye; Wise, aye. 6 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.

Motion by Wise, seconded by Myers, to approve the Treasurer’s Report as of August 31, 2023 as submitted. Roll call vote: Stout, aye; L. Shonkwiler, aye; Leyva-Sanchez, aye; Myers, aye; J. Shonkwiler, aye; Wise, aye. 6 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.

Motion by Stout, seconded by J. Shonkwiler, to approve the payment of bills as submitted in the amount of $374,877.62. Roll call vote: Stout, aye; L. Shonkwiler, aye; Leyva-Sanchez, aye; Myers, aye; J. Shonkwiler, aye; Wise, aye. 6 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.

Motion by J. Shonkwiler, seconded by Leyva-Sanchez, to approve the payment of payroll in the amount of $521,726.39. Roll call vote: Stout, aye; L. Shonkwiler, aye; Leyva-Sanchez, aye; Myers, aye; J. Shonkwiler, aye; Wise, aye. 6 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.

Business:

Motion by Stout, seconded by Wise, to approve the 2023-2024 school district budget. Roll call vote: Stout, aye; L. Shonkwiler, aye; Leyva-Sanchez, aye; Myers, aye; J. Shonkwiler, aye; Wise, aye. 6 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.

Motion by Stout, seconded by Myers, to approve the District Improvement Plan for the 2023-2024 school year. Roll call vote: Stout, aye; L. Shonkwiler, aye; Leyva-Sanchez, aye; Myers, aye; J. Shonkwiler, aye; Wise, aye. 6 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.

Motion by Myers, seconded by J. Shonkwiler, to approve the first reading of the PRESS Packet from June 2023. Roll call vote: Stout, aye; L. Shonkwiler, aye; Leyva-Sanchez, aye; Myers, aye; J. Shonkwiler, aye; Wise, aye. 6 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.

Motion by Wise, seconded by Leyva-Sanchez, to approve the extra-curricular fundraisers for the 2023-2024 school year. Roll call vote: Stout, aye; L. Shonkwiler, aye; Leyva-Sanchez, aye; Myers, aye; J. Shonkwiler, aye; Wise, aye. 6 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.

Motion by Stout, seconded by J. Shonkwiler, to approve the Resolution for Membership with the Region VIII Education Service Center for The Inter-Local Purchasing System (TIPS). Roll call vote: Stout, aye; L. Shonkwiler, aye; Leyva-Sanchez, aye; Myers, aye; J. Shonkwiler, aye; Wise, aye. 6 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.

Motion by J. Shonkwiler, seconded by Leyva-Sanchez, to approve the contract with Byrne and Jones Sports Construction for the track renovation in the amount of $245,000. Roll call vote: Stout, aye; L. Shonkwiler, aye; Leyva-Sanchez, aye; Myers, aye; J. Shonkwiler, aye; Wise, aye. 6 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.

Motion by Stout, seconded by Wise, to approve the purchase of new iPad devices and cases for staff in the amount of $37,036. Roll call vote: Stout, aye; L. Shonkwiler, aye; Leyva-Sanchez, aye; Myers, aye; J. Shonkwiler, aye; Wise, aye. 6 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.

Motion by Leyva-Sanchez, seconded by Myers, to approve adding a full-time bilingual/ESL position. Roll call vote: Stout, aye; L. Shonkwiler, aye; Leyva-Sanchez, aye; Myers, aye; J. Shonkwiler, aye; Wise, aye. 6 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.

Administrative Team Reports

Mrs. Clark took a minute to thank the Pre-K team for the hard work put into planning and executing the preschool potluck earlier this evening. Over 120 family members RSVP’d for the event and even more attended. She was also happy to report that there has been a decrease in behaviors so far this school year. Mr. Lindsey mentioned to the board that Herff Jones has reached out to him about possibly having students purchase their graduation robes instead of renting them. He said he will be talking with the class sponsors and students to get their input. Some of the new banners for the high school gym arrived and the maintenance team was able to hang four of them today. They’ll be working on hanging the other four banners tomorrow. The ACED group has been discussing the need for before and after-school care. A new grant has been released that could be used for a program like this, but the school cannot write the grant. ACED is looking into writing the grant but would need cooperation from the school to actually execute the program. The board agreed that a before and after-school care program would be an asset to the community. Discussions regarding a school resource officer are continuing.

There were no resignations to approve.

Motion by J. Shonkwiler, seconded by Stout, to approve the employment of Jill Koehl as Elementary Paraprofessional, Chelsea Beals as Volunteer JH Volleyball Assistant Coach, Greg Vraspier as Permanent Substitute, and Ashlyn Donnals as JH/HS Paraprofessional. Roll call vote: Stout, aye; L. Shonkwiler, aye; Leyva Sanchez, aye; Myers, aye; J. Shonkwiler, aye; Wise, aye. 6 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.

Announcements: None

Motion by Wise, seconded by Myers, to adjourn at 8:51 p.m. Roll call vote: Stout, aye; L. Shonkwiler, aye; Leyva Sanchez, aye; Myers, aye; J. Shonkwiler, aye; Wise, aye. 6 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.

https://core-docs.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/426/Arcola_CUSD/3610976/Board_Minutes_-_Regular_Meeting_09.13.2023.pdf