Chester Community Unit School District 139 Board met Dec. 21.
Here is the minutes provided by the Board:
The Board of Education of Chester Community Unit School District No. 139 met in the Chester Community Grade School Conference Room on December 21, 2017. President Hammel called the Regular Meeting to order at 7:03 p.m. Members present: Dan Colvis, Trent Vasquez, Debi Caraway, Tom Welge, Jamie Eggemeyer, Charles Fricke, Mitch Hammel.
Motion was made by Mr. Vasquez and seconded by Mr. Eggemeyer to approve the agenda items as listed. Upon roll call all members voted yea. 7 yea, 0 nay; motion carried.
The Board of Education received a thank you note for flowers received from the family of Roberta Jany.
Motion was made by Mr. Fricke and seconded by Mr. Vasquez to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of November 14, 2017 as presented. Upon roll call all members voted yea. 7 yea, 0 nay; motion carried.
Motion was made by Mr. Eggemeyer and seconded by Mr. Fricke to approve the minutes of the executive session of November 14, 2017 as presented. Upon roll call all members voted yea. 7 yea, 0 nay; motion carried.
The Board received a monthly grade school maintenance report from Tim Paulus:
• Installed 3 of 5 exhaust fan motors.
• Painting new kindergarten room, as well as Mrs. Klump’s new room that she is moving to.
• Ordered tile and glue for the downstairs hallway by the main back entrance; still had 5 cases of tile left over from other projects.
• Johnson Controls fixed an air problem in the mechanical room.
• Replacing switchover valves in malfunctioning ventilators.
• Ordering a new garbage disposal for the kitchen.
• Helped begin installing the new gym pads in Colbert Gym.
• Waiting on the fire marshall’s report from the ROE.
The Board received a monthly high school maintenance report from Brian McMath:
• Rebuilt the chair rack to go through the doorway for the new basketball chairs that arrived in early November.
• Custodial position to be filled again.
• Spoke with Earl Kleidon from Baysinger about the water problem that is still going on.
• Turned off the water to the track and football field and winterized the outer buildings that don’t have heat.
• Basketball pads arrived and have the south side of the gym put up and plan on working on the rest in the near future.
• Two water heaters went down and had to order parts. Only one is back up and running; two of the three are good to go.
• Boiler pump bearing flew apart, received parts and is now back up and running.
David Kaiser presented a grade school athletic report to the Board of Education:
• Boys and girls basketball are halfway through their seasons. Girls will play their regional mid-January and the boys will play a week later.
• Cheerleading is also halfway through their season and things are going well.
• Our CGS lower level basketball programs are running along smoothly.
• Volleyball will begin mid-January depending on how the girls’ basketball team finishes up.
• Upcoming athletic schedule provided.
Jeremy Blechle presented a high school athletic report to the Board of Education:
• Fall award banquets have been completed with many student athletes receiving multiple accolades.
• The football team performed their yearly toy drive that gives over 200 students from the Chester school district gifts for Christmas.
• The boys’ basketball team finished 3rd in the Trico-Murphysboro Thanksgiving Tournament. Their current record is 6-2 overall and 2-1 in conference play.
• The girls’ basketball team finished 2-3 in the Sparta Opening Day Tournament. Their current record is 5-7 overall and 2-3 in conference play.
• The indoor track season will begin in January.
• Basketball pocket schedules have been distributed to banks and local businesses.
• Organizing a committee to look at the Extracurricular Code of Conduct.
• Looking into placing a permanent retractable cage in Juergens Gymnasium.
• Finalizing details on both the CIT and LJMWC tournaments.
• Discussion held for Mr. Blechle to advertise for sponsorship to be placed on the back of the new padded chairs recently purchased for Colbert Gym that will be used by athletes during sporting events.
• Upcoming athletic schedule provided.
Shirley Stegmann presented a curriculum report to the Board:
• Juniors had until December 21 to sign-up for the ACT, which will be given at CHS on February 27.
• The PSAT was given on October 10 and received score reports on December 4. Mr. Guebert has met with students to discuss their scores and how they can use the information to prepare for the SAT their junior year.
• PSAT score highlights provided to the Board.
• ISA scores from 2016 are available.
• Department curriculum meetings have been held to discuss changes, needs, concerns, etc. prior to scheduling for the 2018-19 school year.
• On January 12, the Jr. High and High School teachers will meet to plan for placement of 8th grade students in high school English, Math and Science classes. St. Johns and St. Marys have also been invited to attend the meeting.
Grade School Principal Tim Lochhead presented a monthly report to the Board:
• Mr. Lochhead introduced Nikki Maue to the Board of Education. Mrs. Maue is being recommended by administration for the position of school nurse.
• PTS meeting held on November 14.
• Code Red / Active Shooter drill held on November 15
• Students took part in Dental Safari on November 20 & 21.
• Mike McClure, author of the annotated story “The Speckled Band”, visited CGS on December 4 and donated books to 7th grade students.
• Grades 6-8 Christmas Concert was held on December 7. Mr. Lochhead commended Mrs. Colonel, Mr. Colonel and the students for outstanding performances.
• On December 12 an assembly was held on “Drinking and Driving” for 7th and 8th grade students presented by Mr. Norman’s drivers education class.
• Grades 1-4 Christmas Program was held on December 14.
• Our 4th graders went caroling at the Manor at Craig Farms on December 20.
• The Annual Faculty Christmas Program was held on December 21.
• Update on landscaping in front of the school.
• A 4E Refresher Training will be held on January 3.
• Picture day for sports and activities will be held on January 10.
Melissa Meyer, High School Principal, reported the following to the Board of Education:
• CHS is extremely proud of our 8 students named as Illinois State Scholars. Lance Bohnert, Mitchell Colonel, Taylor Dunning, Elizabeth Eubanks, Tayler Howie, Brady Kelkhoff, Lawrence (Joe) Soellner, and Zach Zappa.
• The Music Department held their Christmas Concert on December 11. The concert was wonderful as usual.
• CHS sent eight students to the Art Du Jour competition on December 1. This is not only a competition, but a day long workshop hosted by professional artists. Stevie Gilbert received a 3rd place ribbon in Photography.
• We have had some students successfully competing in the Special Olympic Games. Jeffrey Dobins received 1st place in the bowling competition and Jeffrey and Amber Essman both received 1st place ribbons in the snow shoeing competition.
• Tayler Howie participated in a radio show on November 21 regarding alcohol use of teenagers in Randolph County.
• Brenda Coop has the finishing touches being added to her Theater Camp.
• The CHS English Department and junior and senior classes have been offered an educational opportunity to work with SIUC's Morris Library and the Chester Public Library this spring.
• Mr. Guebert, Mrs. Stegmann and Mrs. Meyer have begun talks needed to start the registration process after returning from Christmas break.
• Final exams held December 20 and 21.
• Mrs. Meyer commented that the handbooks are going to be looked over and cleaned up prior to approval for next school year.
• Active Shooter Drill to be held.
• AED training will take place on January 3 for staff.
• Girls’ Basketball Mid-Winter Classic will be held January 2-6.
• Boys’ Chester Invitational Basketball Tournament scheduled for January 8-13.
Superintendent Pasero reported the following to the Board of Education:
• School wide Title Plan for the high school. Thank you to the committee who helped with input, data collection and review. This allows for some flexibility within the title grants.
• The chromebooks and carts are in. This provides an extra cart at both the high school and grade school.
• With the retirement of the Industrial Arts teacher, discussion was held on keeping a full time industrial arts program, transitioning into an agriculture program, or eliminating the program as a way to cut on spending. The consensus of the Board is for the superintendent to post for both an Industrial Arts Teacher and an Agriculture Teacher, and to receive feedback from students about their interest in either of these programs.
• Installing 4 additional exterior cameras from Sonitrol to help cover the high school’s back parking lot and main entrance costing $2,979.80.
• Due to state law that went into effect November 16, the district policies on Uniform Grievance Procedure and Workplace Harassment Prohibited will need to update. Although they currently comply with the intent of the law, there are some required wording changes.
• We have received two audit notifications from ISBE: School Nutrition Program and General LEA Review, which includes the Transportation Claim, Early Childhood Grant, and Title I & II Grants.
• The Board received an evaluation tool to look over and offer suggested changes prior to evaluating the superintendent.
• The Facility Committee met on December 15 focusing primarily on the high school. Superintendent Pasero will contact Baysinger Architects to obtain a report of their most recent inspection and advice on remodeling. The committee will also continue to address the HVAC at the grade school.
• President Hammel asked the Superintendent to begin the process to eliminate township requirements for board members.
Motion was made by Mr. Eggemeyer and seconded by Mr. Fricke to enter into executive session at 7:40 p.m. for the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees of the public body or legal counsel for the public body, including hearing testimony on a complaint lodged against an employee of the public body. Upon roll call Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mr. Eggemeyer voted yea, Mr. Welge voted yea, Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 7 yea, 0 nay; motion carried.
Motion was made by Mrs. Caraway and seconded by Mr. Eggemeyer to return to open session at 8:08 p.m. Upon roll call Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mr. Eggemeyer voted yea, Mr. Welge voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 7 yea, 0 nay; motion carried.
Motion was made by Mrs. Caraway and seconded by Mr. Welge to approve the district bills in the amount of $572,572.41 and the district payroll in the amount of $417,224.57. Upon roll call Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mr. Eggemeyer voted yea, Mr. Welge voted yea, Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 7 yea, 0 nay; motion carried.
Motion was made by Mr. Welge and seconded by Mr. Fricke to accept the 2017 District Audit Report as presented by Bob Moore at the November board meeting. Upon roll call Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Welge voted yea, Mr. Eggemeyer voted yea, Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 7 yea, 0 nay; motion carried.
Motion was made by Mrs. Caraway and seconded by Mr. Vasquez to approve the School Wide Title Plan for the High School as presented by administration. Upon roll call Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Welge voted yea, Mr. Eggemeyer voted yea, Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 7 yea, 0 nay; motion carried.
Motion was made by Mr. Welge and seconded by Mr. Eggemeyer to approve the request of Brenda Coop to hold a CHS Theatre Camp Fundraiser March 5-8, 2018, for grades 1-8 in Juergens Gym. Upon roll call all members vote yea. 7 yea, 0 nay; motion carried
Motion was made by Mr. Vasquez and seconded by Mrs. Caraway to extend the termination date to September 28, 2018, on the existing line of credit agreement in the amount of $750,000.00 established August 4, 2017, with Buena Vista National Bank of Chester, IL. Upon roll call Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mr. Eggemeyer voted yea, Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Welge abstained, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 6 yea, 1 abstain, 0 nay; motion carried.
Motion was made by Mr. Welge and seconded by Mr. Colvis to adopt the 2017 Certificate of Tax Levy for Chester Community Unit School District 139 in the amount of $3,683,002.00 payable in 2018 as recommended by Superintendent Pasero. Upon roll call Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mr. Eggemeyer voted yea, Mr. Welge voted yea, Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 7 yea, 0 nay; motion carried.
Motion was made by Mrs. Caraway and seconded by Mr. Vasquez to approve the abatement of 2017 taxes to be levied to pay principal and interest on Bond 2009 in the amount of $303,945.00. Upon roll call Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Welge voted yea, Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mr. Eggemeyer voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 7 yea, 0 nay; motion carried.
Motion was made by Mr. Fricke and seconded by Mr. Welge to approve the abatement of 2017 taxes to be levied to pay principal and interest on Bond 2013B in the amount of $284,787.50. Upon roll call Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mr. Eggemeyer voted yea, Mr. Welge voted yea, Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 7 yea, 0 nay; motion carried.
Motion was made by Mr. Welge and seconded by Mr. Fricke to approve the abatement of 2017 taxes to be levied to pay principal and interest on Bond 2015A in the amount of $200,400.00. Upon roll call Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mr. Welge voted yea, Mr. Eggemeyer voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 7 yea, 0 nay; motion carried.
Motion was made by Mrs. Caraway and seconded by Mr. Vasquez to approve the abatement of 2017 taxes to be levied to pay principal and interest on Bond 2015B in the amount of $112,531.25. Upon roll call Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Welge voted yea, Mr. Eggemeyer voted yea, Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 7 yea, 0 nay; motion carried.
Motion was made by Mr. Fricke and seconded by Mr. Eggemeyer to accept the resignation of Amy Eggemeyer as school nurse effective December 21, 2017. Upon roll call all members voted yea. 7 yea, 0 nay; motion carried.
Motion was made by Mr. Vasquez and seconded by Mr. Colvis to accept the resignation of Angela Werner as grade school paraprofessional effective December 21, 2017. Upon roll call all members voted yea. 7 yea, 0 nay; motion carried.
Motion was made by Mr. Vasquez and seconded by Mr. Eggemeyer to accept the letter of intent to retire from Jeannie Golding at the end of the 2021-22 school year, taking advantage of the 6% salary increase during the final four years of employment. Upon roll call Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mr. Eggemeyer voted yea, Mr. Welge voted yea, Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 7 yea, 0 nay; motion carried.
Motion was made by Mr. Welge and seconded by Mr. Eggemeyer to approve the maternity request of Amanda Jordan through FMLA for twelve weeks beginning February 16, 2018. Upon roll call all members voted yea. 7 yea, 0 nay; motion carried.
Motion was made by Mr. Colvis and seconded by Mr. Vasquez to approve Boyd Miles and Chris Wingerter as high school volunteer baseball coaches for the 2017-18 school year. Upon roll call all members voted yea. 7 yea, 0 nay; motion carried.
Motion was made by Mr. Welge and seconded by Mr. Fricke to employ Ronald Craig Brockhouse as high school 8-hour evening custodian at $9.25 per hour retroactive to November 29, 2017. Upon roll call Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mr. Eggemeyer voted yea, Mr. Welge voted yea, Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 7 yea, 0 nay; motion carried.
Motion was made by Mr. Vasquez and seconded by Mrs. Caraway to employ Nikki Maue as a 7 1⁄2-hour school nurse at $22.00 per hour beginning January 3, 2018. Upon roll call Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Welge voted yea, Mr. Eggemeyer voted yea, Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 7 yea, 0 nay; motion carried.
Motion was made by Mr. Eggemeyer and seconded by Mr. Welge to adjourn the meeting at 8:17 p.m. Upon roll call all members voted yea. 7 yea, 0 nay; motion carried.
The next REGULAR MEETING of the Board of Education will be held on Thursday, January 18, 2018, at 7:00 p.m. in the Chester Community Grade School Conference Room, 650 Opdyke Street, Chester, IL 62233.
http://www.chester139.com/UserFiles/Servers/Server_105222/File/December%2021,%202017%20Regular%20Mtg%20Minutes.pdf
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