South West Illinois News

Chester Community Unit School District 139 Board met September 20.

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 September 20, 2018. President Hammel called the Regular Meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Members present: Dan Colvis, Trent Vasquez, Debi Caraway, Chuck Fricke, Mitch Hammel. Members absent: Tom Welge, Jamie Eggemeyer

Motion was made by Mr. Colvis and seconded by Mr. Vasquez to approve the agenda as presented. Upon roll call all members voted yea. 5 yea, 0 nay, 2 absent; motion carried.

Superintendent Pasero was pleased to inform the Board he received correspondence from the Illinois State Board of Education recognizing our Pre-School All Program with the Gold Circle of Quality Achievement in ExceleRate Illinois, the state’s quality recognition and improvement system for early learning and development programs. Only 15% in all of Illinois achieve this.

Mr. Lochhead introduced new employees, Jackie Coffey and Niki McConnell, paraprofessionals, and Robert Kassebaum, social studies teacher, to the Board of Education.

The Board received a monthly high school maintenance report from Brian McMath:

• Mr. McMath has reseeded the football field twice since having had all the rain before games and it seems to be coming back pretty good after this last round of mud football.

• The new lights are up under the football field bleachers on the home side.

• Had a lot of problems with the new water heater in the 1925 building. We had the city install a new regulator outside and now it seems to be running great.

• The A/C unit in room 217 is completely out. Had to buy a portable A/C unit and it seems to be working good enough to get by until summer of 2019, but we will need to replace it at that time.

• Had some minor leaking on September 7 and 8 with all the heavy rain. We couldn’t find any noticeable holes or tears in the roof over Colbert Gym but Mr. McMath will continue monitoring this.

• The leak in Juergens Gym is from a roof vent that isn’t working anymore and needs to be replaced.

David Kaiser presented the following grade school athletic report to the Board:

• Junior high baseball and softball seasons are coming to a close. Both regionals took place this week.

• Cross country has had 3 meets and have 4 more. Their season will end mid-October.

• Boys and girls basketball will start up at the end of September / early October. The boys will begin playing games by mid-October and the girls will start towards the end of October.

• Discussed presentation for Steering Committee.

• The Board received an athletic schedule.

Jeremy Blechle presented the following high school athletic report:

• All athletic calendars have been uploaded onto our CHS website under the athletic tab.

• The orange pocket calendars have been printed and distributed to local businesses and banks.

• Dr. Beers has led the 1st and 10 t-shirt promotion once again this year.

• With the help of Menard Correctional Center and Chester Boy Scouts, W.O. Smith Field will be cleaned the morning after all varsity home games.

• The discount cards were a huge success again this year.

• Brian McMath has been instrumental with maintenance and upkeep of our athletic facilities and programs. He has gone above and beyond to keep everything running without missing a beat.

• Varsity football officials have been hired through the 2023 football season.

• The football field has seen a very rainy season as of date and the turf is holding up very well.

• The Annual Pink-Out volleyball game will be held September 27.

• Mr. Vasquez inquired on sponsorship of chairs. Mr. Blechle informed him there was one chair left.

• Possibilities of having access to an athletic trainer was discussed.

• In the process of updating all of our coaching credentials and certification per IHSA standards.

• Printing and distributing the updated Extracurricular Code of Conduct Handbook.

• The Board received season summaries from coaches on football, volleyball, cross country, golf, cheer, and dance.

• The Board received an upcoming schedule of athletic events.

The Board received a monthly curriculum report from Shirley Stegmann:

• Teachers have been working on their PLCs to make their 2018-19 SMART Goal.

• Pre-K through grade 8 teachers have been trained on Google Classroom. In the next couple of weeks, Mrs. Stegmann will be inviting all teachers to a department Google Classroom for K-12 Vertical Alignment.

• All high school teachers attended a presentation on the Randolph County Start-up, formally known as CEO. Teachers are now utilizing that information to make recommendations of students who would be good candidates for that program.

• All grade school faculty will attend a presentation on November 9th on Autism Spectrum Training.

• Grades 6-12 Department Curriculum Meetings will begin on October 12 and complete by December 7.

• Mrs. Stegmann has trained Mrs. Tindall to administer the screening tool for students who have a native language other than English. She began that screening process the week of September 10. This screening process determines our ELL students. Those ELL students will take the ACCESS test in January/February to determine their level of English Proficiency. Total of 22 ELL students, only 1 in kindergarten.

• Updating data in Skyward and SIS for our ELL Students.

• On October 10, students in 10th and 11th grade have the opportunity to take the PSAT/NMSQT. There are approximately 52 students who have signed up to take this test. Mr. Guebert and Mrs. Stegmann will have Juergens Gym set up for students to take the assessment.

• 2018 ISA scores have just become available on the ISBE website. Mrs. Stegmann will be sharing these scores with teachers soon.

• The PARCC test is undergoing a redesign. Mrs. Stegmann will continue to attend webinars in order to keep up to date with changes.

• Mr. Fricke asked about a co-op program.

Mr. Lochhead presented the grade school principal’s report:

• Junior high meeting held on August 20.

• Crisis Management / First Responder Meeting held on August 24.

• A fire drill was held on August 22.

• School Store kick-off began September 4.

• Health Life Safety walkthrough on September 4.

• Conducted our Bus Evacuation Drill on September 6.

• LST Tour (5th-8th grades) on September 7.

• An Active Shooter Presentation for parents was held on September 11.

• Grandparents’ Day for grades K-2nd was held on September 12.

• Grandparents’ Day for grades 3rd-5th was held on September 13.

• An Active Shooter Training Presentation for our students in grades 5th-8th was held on September 19.

• IAQ update

• Playground equipment is on its way and will be installed in November.

• Career Day will be held September 28.

• Bi-County Institute on October 5.

• October 11 is Family Reading Night.

• October 25, Hidden in Plain Sight – in lobby during parent/teacher conference.

• Parent /Teacher Conferences will be held October 25 and 26.

• Mr. Fricke asked if a letter is needed on behalf of the board stating disagreement with the eligibility ruling for the SIJHSAA meeting.

• Discussion on the difference between the high school and grade school timeline of ineligibility due to grades.

• Students completing homework on the school bus.

Mrs. Meyer, High School Principal, reported the following to the Board of Education:

• The band had the opportunity to play at the opening ceremony for the USS LST 325 on Friday, September 7, and did a fabulous job, as usual.

• Students have been busy with field trips since the beginning of the year. Mr. Meltzer’s class visited Red Bud Industries. RBI is working with the high school.

• Mr. Cowan’s US History classes visited the USS LST 325.

• The ASVAB was conducted on September 11, and we had 13 students that took advantage of the test being offered at CHS.

• Mr. Blechle and Mrs. Meyer have started the teacher evaluations.

• SIU-C is scheduled to come and provide free applications the first of October.

• We held our first fire drill the end of August.

• Mr. Guebert has finished Senior Academic Reviews.

Superintendent Pasero reported the following to the Board of Education:

• Received a FOIA request from HBO, Real Sports regarding football numbers and free/reduced numbers for two different school years; 2012 and 2017.

• The state will offer school-wide testing to all 9th, 10th and 11th grade classes in the spring. We will do a school-wide test and give the seniors an extra college visit day.

• Requesting to transfer $20,000 from the Pepsi HSA to the district to help offset the cost of uniforms.

• Adopt the FY19 Budget.

• Extending the line of credit with BV Bank. State payments are improving but we need to build a reserve as contingency for when these payments are not coming in.

• We continue to have issues with high humidity and spots of mold at the grade school. Custodians have been cleaning the areas but it has been determined that the HVAC units cannot keep up with the high humidity. We have met with Environmental Consultants and the architect in order to come up with a replacement plan.

• Recommending a contract extension of what we currently have with the Pepsi. We will use some of the donated money to cover recurring uniform costs and some of the money for incentive programs with our HS staff and students. 5 years with a $5,000 per year donation to help with uniform costs.

• On October 14 at 2:00 p.m. at the grade school gym there will be a town hall type meeting with the school board to discuss and answer questions regarding the School Board Election question that will appear on November’s Ballot.

• CHS Rhet & Comp will be having an Electronic Recycling Drive on Saturday, October 6.

• Athletic bus policy discussed, along with providing emergency contact information to coaches.

• Discussion regarding snow removal. It was suggested this could be hired out at a per wage rate.

Motion was made by Mr. Fricke and seconded by Mrs. Caraway to enter into executive session at 7:58 p.m. for the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees of the public body. Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 5 yea, 0 nay, 2 absent; motion carried.

Motion was made by Mr. Fricke and seconded by Mrs. Caraway to return to open session at 8:12 p.m. Upon roll call Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 5 yea, 0 nay, 2 absent; motion carried.

Motion was made by Mr. Fricke and seconded by Mr. Colvis to approve the consent agenda and items as listed. Upon roll call Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 5 yea, 0 nay, 2 absent; motion carried.

• Minutes of the August 16, 2018, regular meeting and executive session.

• Bills in the amount of $392,147.39 and payroll in the amount of $390,471.03.

Motion was made by Mr. Vasquez and seconded by Mr. Colvis to approve the request of Adam Gibbs for SILVA Volleyball to use the grade school gym for practices on Sundays, November 18, 2018, through April 7, 2019, from 2:00-7:00 p.m., pending proof of liability insurance. Upon roll call members voted yea. 5 yea, 0 nay, 2 absent; motion carried.

Motion was made by Mr. Vasquez and seconded by Mr. Fricke to approve the rental of 6 dehumidifiers to be placed at the grade school for a period of 2 weeks at an approximate cost of $5,500 from the 1% facility tax monies. Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 5 yea, 0 nay, 2 absent; motion carried.

Motion was made by Mrs. Caraway and seconded by Mr. Vasquez to approve the cleaning of the grade school unit ventilators for 40 rooms at an approximate cost of $22,000 from the 1% facility tax monies. Upon roll call Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 5 yea, 0 nay, 2 absent; motion carried.

Motion was made by Mr. Colvis and seconded by Mr. Fricke to approve the transfer of $20,000 from the high school activity fund to the district account to offset costs of athletic uniforms as recommended by administration. Upon roll call Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 5 yea, 0 nay, 2 absent; motion carried.

Motion was made by Mrs. Caraway and seconded by Mr. Vasquez to approve the high school activity account to open an Amazon account as recommended by administration. Upon roll call all members voted yea. 5 yea, 0 nay, 2 absent; motion carried.

Motion was made by Mr. Vasquez and seconded by Mr. Fricke to approve the 5-year Pepsi contract with a $5,000 annual donation to offset costs of uniforms and incentive programs at CHS. Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 5 yea, 0 nay, 2 absent; motion carried.

Motion was made by Mr. Vasquez and seconded by Mrs. Caraway to approve the Administrator and Teacher Salary & Benefits Report for the 2017-18 school year as presented. Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 5 yea, 0 nay, 2 absent; motion carried.

Motion was made by Mrs. Caraway and seconded by Mr. Colvis to adopt the Hazardous Transportation Resolution for the 2018-19 school year. Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 5 yea, 0 nay, 2 absent; motion carried.

Motion was made by Mr. Fricke and seconded by Mr. Vasquez to adopt the Resolution authorizing establishment of a line of credit with Buena Vista National Bank for the 2018-19 school year as recommended by Superintendent Pasero. Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 5 yea, 0 nay, 2 absent; motion carried.

Motion was made by Mr. Vasquez and seconded by Mr. Colvis to adopt the 2018-19 School District Budget of Chester Community Unit School District No. 139 as presented. Upon roll call Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 5 yea, 0 nay, 2 absent; motion carried.

Motion was made by Mr. Fricke and seconded by Mrs. Caraway to accept the resignation of Dwight Lochhead as CHS prom sponsor. Upon roll call all members voted yea. 5 yea, 0 nay, 2 absent; motion carried.

Motion was made by Mr. Vasquez and seconded by Mr. Colvis to accept the resignation of Karen Whittenburg as high school head cook effective August 30, 2018. Upon roll call all members voted yea. 5 yea, 0 nay, 2 absent; motion carried.

Motion was made by Mr. Vasquez and seconded by Mrs. Caraway to approve the 2018-19 supplemental job positions as recommended by administration and attached to these minutes. Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 5 yea, 0 nay, 2 absent; motion carried.

Motion was made by Mr. Fricke and seconded by Mr. Vasquez to approve the following coaches and volunteers as recommended for the 2018-19 school year. Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 5 yea, 0 nay, 2 absent; motion carried.

• GS Head Cheerleading. Jackie Coffey

• HS Head Girls’ Track. Jenny Cartwright

• HS Girls’ Asst. Track. Jim West

• HS Boys’ Head Track. Ben Hunter

• HS Boys’ Asst. Track. Steve Spears

• HS Volunteer Girls’ Track. Stan Myers

Motion was made by Mr. Vasquez and seconded by Mr. Fricke to employ the following individuals as recommended by administration. Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 5 yea, 0 nay, 2 absent; motion carried.

• Reassign Susan Hughey as grade school head cook for 7 hours per day with 4 additional hours per month for ordering, billing, and menu planning at $15.47 per hour, retroactive to August 14, 2018.

• Employ Evelyn Sue Inman as 3 hour high school cafeteria aide at $8.56 per hour, retroactive to August 14, 2018.

• Employ Niki McConnell as 7 1⁄2 hour grade school paraprofessional at $9.34 per hour, retroactive to August 14, 2018.

• Employ Jackie Coffey as 7 1⁄2 hour grade school paraprofessional at $9.34 per hour, retroactive to August 14, 2018.

Motion was made by Mrs. Caraway and seconded by Mr. Colvis to approve a 2.75% salary increase for Shirley Stegmann as Curriculum Director for the 2018-19 school year as recommended by Superintendent Pasero. Upon roll call Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 5 yea, 0 nay, 2 absent; motion carried.

Motion was made by Mr. Vasquez and seconded by Mr. Fricke to adjourn the regular meeting at 8:20 p.m. Upon roll call all members voted yea. 5 yea, 0 nay, 2 absent; motion carried.

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