East Central Reporter

Casey Westfield Community Unit School District C-4 Board of Education met July 21.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

Call to order at 7:00 P.M.

1) Roll call.

Members present were: Tracy Gelb, Erin Fain, Jason Sharp, Shane Todd, Lisa Huddlestun, Mike Fouty. and Becky Clement. Administrators present were: Mike Shackelford, Jim Sullivan, Kacie Rhoads, and Dalton McFarland

2) Recognize visitors.

Visitors present were: Sarah Richardson, Lyn Cochonour, and Hannah Todd.

3) Act upon approval of the consent agenda items:

A. Minutes of the regular meeting of June 23, 2025;

B. Destruction of the verbatim record of those meetings 18 months and older as authorized by Board Policy 220 and 220-E1.

C. Current invoices for payment and review of the financial and budgetary reports;

D. 2025-2026 Staff, Substitute, Support Staff, Student/Parent and Bus Driver Handbooks;

E. Certified Staff Evaluation Plan;

F. Renew the collaborative agreement between Casey-Westfield CUSD 4C and the Embarrass River Basin Agency for 2025-2026.

G. Approve the SY 2025-26 Employee Extra Duty Roster and volunteer coaching list.

Some errors were noted during discussion of the handbooks and extra duty roster. Lisa Huddlestun asked about the wording in the HS grading policy, particularly in regards to final examination requirements. There was a question about the current activity fees structure. Administration will review this and report back in August.

Motion by Clement, seconded by Huddlestun to approve the consent agenda. Upon roll call, members voting yea were: Fouty, Clement, Fain, Gelb, Todd, Sharp, and Huddlestun. The President declared the motion carried.

4) Act upon a proposal to replace the hot/cold serving bar in the Jr/Sr HS kitchen.

Mr. Shackelford reported that the serving bar that is currently in the kitchen very old and the components are failing. Further, the hot side is fueled by natural gas, does not work properly, and has become hazardous for employees. The new station will be electric and much safer.

Motion by Sharp, seconded by Fouty to approve a proposal from Wabash Foodservice to replace the hot/cold serving bar in the Jr/Sr HS kitchen at a cost of $15,125. Upon roll call, members voting yea were: Clement, Fain, Gelb, Todd, Sharp, Huddlestun, and Fouty. The President declared the motion carried.

5) Administrator Reports

Monroe Elementary Principal Kacie Rhoads reported that summer school will start next week and run for 2 weeks. We have 25 students enrolled with 4 teachers coming in. Lisa Huddlestun asked about cost to families. Summer school is funded through the Title I grant, so there is no cost to families.

Jr/Sr HS Principal Jim Sullivan informed the Board that he plans to expand the District’s Hudl subscription to include video cameras in the Arts Hall auditorium and possibly on the baseball and softball fields. This will allow us to broadcast our drama and musical productions like we do our football and basketball games. He reported that the floors have been completed in the cafeteria and workers have started on the ceiling.

Superintendent Mike Shackelford gave an update on the status of the HVAC, roofing, and concrete work that is being done on campus. He and Transportation Director, Mel Gray are collecting proposals for a new bus to be delivered in July of 2026. He reported that the District will have leases on 8 route buses maturing in July of 2026 and he and Gray are working on a plan to replace those. He received a FOIA request from Jess Lee for all budgets and contracts for employment application and recruitment tools and programs used by the District. He informed the Board that its attorney, Brandon Wright, has announced that he is leaving Miller, Tracy, Braun, Funk, & Miller to join the law firm of Franczek, PC.

6) Addendum

7) Act upon approval to adjourn to closed session under c1 (employment) and c21 (discussion closed meeting minutes) of section 5 ILCS 120/1 et seq. of the Illinois Open Meeting Act.

Motion by Todd, seconded by Fouty to adjourn to executive session at 7:48 pm. Upon roll call, members voting yea were: Clement, Fain, Gelb, Todd, Sharp, Huddlestun, and Fouty. The President declared the motion carried.

8) Act upon approval to reconvene to regular session at 8:27 pm.

Motion by Todd, seconded by Fouty to adjourn to executive session at 8:47 pm. Upon roll call, members voting yea were: Clement, Fain, Gelb, Todd, Sharp, Huddlestun, and Fouty. The President declared the motion carried.

9) Act upon consent agenda items:

A. Act upon approval of closed session minutes of June 23, 2025.

B. Act upon recommendation regarding closed session minutes.

Motion by Clement, seconded by Gelb to approve the consent agenda items. Upon roll call, members voting yea were: Todd, Sharp, Huddlestun, Fouty, Clement, Fain, and Gelb. The President declared the motion carried.

10) Consideration and action on the retention of legal services for the 2025-26 school year.

Motion by Sharp, seconded by Todd to retain the legal counseling services of Franczek, PC for the 2025-26 school year. Upon roll call, members voting yea were: Sharp, Huddlestun, Fouty, Clement, Fain, Gelb, and Todd. The President declared the motion carried.

11) Act upon approval of employment recommendations.

The Board voted to accept the resignations of Ryan High as Head JH Baseball coach, Dakota Strange as JH Track coach, and Heather Lee as JH Track coach effective immediately.

Employed new Social Studies teacher, Jeff Schnetzler, as JH Track coach and Sophomore Class Sponsor for the 2025-26 school year.

Employed new Social Studies teacher, Cole Borders, as Head JH Baseball coach for the 2025-26 school year.

Employed JH Math teacher, Cassie Ramsey, as Freshman Class Sponsor for the 2025-26 school year.

Employed Toni Rae Budd as Elementary Special Education teacher for the 2025-26 school year.

Accepted an irrevocable notice of retirement from Jr/Sr HS Science teacher, Cheryl Johnson, effective at the end of the 2028-29 school year.

12) Addendum

Mike Fouty asked about the location of Prom and the reasons for having it off campus. Mr. Sullivan stated that it has been tradition to hold prom off campus, but there is no rule requiring it. Fouty asked whether or not the school would be doing an accident re-enactment and/or speaker prior to Prom this year. Mr. Sullivan answered that they are working on doing the re-enactment again this year.

Tracey Gelb reminded the Board that the Drama club will be presenting the musical, “Mama Mia” from July 31-August 3 at Arts Hall.

13) Act upon approval to adjourn at 8:33 pm.

Motion by Sharp, seconded by Todd to adjourn the meeting. Upon roll call, members voting yea were: Sharp, Huddlestun, Fouty, Clement, Fain, Gelb, and Todd. The President declared the motion carried at 8:33 pm.

Next Meeting: Monday, August 11, 2025 at 5:00. Board will do a walkthrough of the buildings. Regular meeting will start at 7:00 pm.

https://core-docs.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/1373/Casey_Westfield/5900383/Tentative_Minutes_July_21__2025.pdf