East Central Reporter

Arcola Community Unit School District 306 Board of Education met Dec. 11.

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 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, December 11, 2024 for the purpose of regular business.

President L. Shonkwiler called the meeting to order. The following members answered roll call: Stout, L. Shonkwiler, Conlin, Leyva-Sanchez, J. Shonkwiler, Wise, and Stenger.

Others present were: Tom Mulligan, Jennifer Frichtl, Amber Behrends, Kyle Shay, Nick Lindsey, and Ben Crane. Pledge of Allegiance

President L. Shonkwiler opened the Truth in Taxation Hearing. There were no questions. President L. Shonkwiler closed the Truth in Taxation Hearing.

President L. Shonkwiler recognized the visitors and asked for public comment. There were no comments. There was one FOIA request from SmartProcure for accounts payable information.

Motion by Stout, seconded by Wise, to approve the regular meeting minutes and closed session minutes from November 13, 2024 and the Policy Committee meeting minutes from December 4, 2024. Roll call vote: Stout, aye; L. Shonkwiler, aye; Conlin, aye; Leyva-Sanchez, aye; J. Shonkwiler, aye; Wise, aye; Stenger, aye. 7 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.

Motion by Conlin, seconded by Leyva-Sanchez, to approve the Treasurer’s Report as of November 30, 2024 as submitted. Roll call vote: Stout, aye; L. Shonkwiler, aye; Conlin, aye; Leyva-Sanchez, aye; J. Shonkwiler, aye; Wise, aye; Stenger, aye. 7 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.

Motion by Wise, seconded by J. Shonkwiler, to approve the payment of bills as submitted in the amount of $137,817.63. Roll call vote: Stout, aye; L. Shonkwiler, aye; Conlin, aye; Leyva-Sanchez, aye; J. Shonkwiler, aye; Wise, aye; Stenger, aye. 7 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.

Motion by J. Shonkwiler, seconded by Stout, to approve the payment of payroll in the amount of $526,218.47. Roll call vote: Stout, aye; L. Shonkwiler, aye; Conlin, aye; Leyva-Sanchez, aye; J. Shonkwiler, aye; Wise, aye; Stenger, aye. 7 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.

Business:

Motion by Stout, seconded by Wise, to approve the 2024 tax levy. Roll call vote: Stout, aye; L. Shonkwiler, aye; Conlin, aye; Leyva-Sanchez, aye; J. Shonkwiler, aye; Wise, aye; Stenger, aye. 7 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.

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Motion by Stout, seconded by J. Shonkwiler, to approve the first reading on PRESS policy updates from October 2024. Roll call vote: Stout, aye; L. Shonkwiler, aye; Conlin, aye; Leyva-Sanchez, aye; J. Shonkwiler, aye; Wise, aye; Stenger, aye. 7 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.

Motion by Stout, seconded by Conlin, to approve the agreement with Ideal Environmental Engineering Inc. to provide engineering services for the removal of asbestos from elementary classroom floors. Roll call vote: Stout, aye; L. Shonkwiler, aye; Conlin, aye; Leyva-Sanchez, aye; J. Shonkwiler, aye; Wise, aye; Stenger, aye. 7 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.

Motion by Conlin, seconded by Stout, to approve the purchase of sound equipment and speakers for the junior high gym from Corson Music for $11,455. Roll call vote: Stout, aye; L. Shonkwiler, aye; Conlin, aye; Leyva-Sanchez, aye; J. Shonkwiler, aye; Wise, aye; Stenger, aye. 7 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.

Motion by J. Shonkwiler, seconded by Leyva-Sanchez, to approve selling the old van. Roll call vote: Stout, aye; L. Shonkwiler, aye; Conlin, aye; Leyva-Sanchez, aye; J. Shonkwiler, aye; Wise, aye; Stenger, aye. 7 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.

Motion by Wise, seconded by Conlin, to approve increasing the compensation for game workers and ticket takers to $25 per game/contest. Roll call vote: Stout, aye; L. Shonkwiler, aye; Conlin, aye; Leyva-Sanchez, aye; J. Shonkwiler, aye; Wise, aye; Stenger, aye. 7 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.

Tabled motion to approve switching auditing firms.

Administrative Team Reports

Mrs. Behrends told the board that Family Literacy Night was a huge success with over 250 people attending. Mr. Shay reported that three career pathways have now been submitted to the state for approval – Health Occupations, Childcare, and Illini Prairie CEO. The school is awaiting feedback to get these pathways finalized. Dr. Mulligan asked for the board’s approval to proceed with applying for the Birth to Age 3 Early Prevention Initiative Grant for the 25-26 school year. The zero hour PE class is currently set up to be for sophomores, juniors, and seniors; however, there are several freshmen who are interested and have been participating outside of their scheduled classes. Dr. Mulligan and Mr. Lindsey have been working together with the Association to iron out the logistics of the situation. Casey Conlin met with Ken Vogt before the meeting to discuss the much needed parking lot improvements. They agreed that the best route would be to have a civil engineer draw up the specs, so the district will need to go through the RFP process to hire an engineer. Lastly, Dr. Mulligan mentioned Vision 2030, which is a blueprint for excellence in K-12 public education that was created by several statewide education organizations collectively. He said he would present a resolution in support of Vision 2030 to the board in January.

There were no resignations to accept at the meeting.

Motion by Stout, seconded by Wise, to approve the employment of Nancy Branson as Early Childhood Special Education Teacher pending approval from TRS on the Retiree Return to Work Program, Heather Poole as Custodian, and Yessi Ramirez as JH Volleyball Assistant Coach, pending successful completion of all paperwork and required procedures. Roll call vote: Stout, aye; L. Shonkwiler, aye; Conlin, aye; Leyva-Sanchez, aye; J. Shonkwiler, aye; Wise, aye; Stenger, aye. 7 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.

Announcements: None

Motion by Wise, seconded by Leyva-Sanchez, to adjourn at 6:07 p.m. Roll call vote: Stout, aye; L. Shonkwiler, aye; Conlin, aye; Leyva-Sanchez, aye; J. Shonkwiler, aye; Wise, aye; Stenger, aye. 7 ayes. 0 nays. Motion carried.

https://core-docs.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/426/Arcola_CUSD/5165873/Board_Minutes_-_Regular_Meeting_12.11.2024.pdf