South West Illinois News

Duquoin Community Unit School District 300 Board met Jan. 17.

Here is the minutes provided by the board:

1. CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 6:31 p.m. by President Mark Woodside.

2. ROLL CALL: Present – Brock, Ellermeyer, Valier, Waller, Williams, and Woodside; Riley arrived at 6:45 p.m.; Absent – none.

3. RECOGNITION: The building principals shared various items of recognition regarding their respective faculty/staff and students.

4. CONSENT AGENDA:

A motion was made by Waller, seconded by Brock to approve the consent agenda. Roll Call: Yea – Waller, Brock, Ellermeyer, Valier, Williams, and Woodside; Nay – none. Motion carried 6-0.

a. Approval of the minutes of the December 17, 2018 regular Board of Education meeting (including executive session minutes);

b. Approval of the suspensions imposed by each school’s administration;

5. FINANCIAL ITEMS:

A motion was made by Valier, seconded by Ellermeyer to approve the payment of bills for December 2018 and the December 2018 financial report. Roll Call: Yea – Valier, Ellermeyer, Waller, Williams, Woodside, and Brock; Nay – none. Motion carried 6-0.

6. PUBLIC HEARING:

a. DEA Representative – None

b. Public – None

7. NEW OR UNFINISHED BUSINESS:

a. The District Business Manager provide an update to the Board on the recent pre-bid meeting conducted for the K-8 School HVAC project. Several contractors attended the meeting to ask questions and learn more about the project. Bids for the project are due at the end of January. It was shared a special Board meeting may take place in early February to award bids for the project. The District Business Manager also informed the Board the District Architect is also exploring possible roof replacement options for Theobald Gym lobby and storage areas.

b. A motion was made by Riley, seconded by Ellermeyer to approve the Board policy updates and changes as submitted by Illinois Association of School Boards policy service. Roll Call: Yea – Riley, Ellermeyer, Valier, Waller, Williams, Woodside, and Brock; Nay – none. Motion carried 7-0.

c. The Board and Administration discussed a potential bond refinancing consideration that could lower the interest on certain bonds that were part of the high school construction project. Further exploration of the issue is taking place by the district’s bond agent with the possible action by the Board at the next regular meeting.

d. The Administration shared with the Board a recent change in law that may impact the development of the school calendar for the coming school year that limits the number of teacher institute days and traditional parent-teacher conferences. The new law also changes the definition of an instructional day. As well, a bill has been introduced in the General Assembly during this session that may reverse some of the new changes which could further complicate the development of the school calendar. Each of the changes have been discussed between the Administration and DEA leadership as the DEA calendar committee works on possible options in the development of next year’s calendar.

8. EXECUTIVE SESSION: A motion was made by Valier, seconded by Woodside to enter into executive session at 7:09 p.m. to discuss the appointment, employment, compensation, and performance of specific employees in accordance with 5 ILCS 120/2 (c) (1). Roll Call: Yea – Valier, Woodside, Brock, Ellermeyer, Riley, Waller, and Williams; Nay – none. Motion carried 7-0.

-A motion was made by Riley, seconded by Waller to return to regular session at 8:42 p.m. Roll Call: Yea – Riley, Waller, Williams, Woodside, Brock, Ellermeyer, and Valier; Nay – none. Motion carried 7-0.

9. EMPLOYMENT OF PERSONNEL:

a. A motion was made by Riley, seconded by Ellermeyer to employ John Vercellino as a High School Science Teacher for 2019-2020 school year. Roll Call: Yea – Riley, Ellermeyer, Valier, Waller, Williams, Woodside, and Brock; Nay – none. Motion carried 7-0.

b. A motion was made by Valier, seconded by Riley to employ John White as a Middle School Physical Education Teacher for 2019-2020 school year. Roll Call: Yea – Valier, Riley, Waller, Williams, Woodside, Brock, and Ellermeyer; Nay – none. Motion carried 7-0.

c. A motion was made by Waller, seconded by Riley to approve the spring extra-curricular activity volunteer lists as submitted by the District Athletic Directors. Roll Call: Yea – Waller, Riley, Valier, Williams, Woodside, Brock, and Ellermeyer; Nay – none. Motion carried 7-0.

10. ADJOURNMENT: A motion was made by Valier, seconded by Brock to adjourn at 8:47 p.m. Roll Call: Yea – Valier, Brock, Ellermeyer, Riley, Waller, Williams, and Woodside; Nay – none. Motion carried 7-0.