Chester Community Unit School District No. 139 Board of Education met April 16.
Here is the minutes provided by the board:
The Board of Education of Chester Community Unit School District No. 139 held their Regular Meeting on April 16, 2020, in the Chester Community Grade School Gymnasium. President Hammel called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Members present: Dan Colvis, Trent Vasquez, Tom Welge (via phone), Charles Fricke (via phone), Mitch Hammel, Debi Caraway. Members absent: Lorin Mott
A motion was made by Mr. Vasquez and seconded by Mr. Colvis to approve the agenda and items as listed. Upon roll call all members voted yea. 6 yea, 0 nay, 1 absent; motion carried.
No public comment was presented to the Board.
Grade School Principal’s Report:
A school wide pickup for remote learning days was held on April 2 between the hours of 9 am to 6 pm. Teachers volunteered to work 2 hour shifts to cover time to allow working parents to pick up.
Approximately 25 Chromebooks have been signed out by 6th-8th grade students.
On April 13, students in grades 6-8 will pick up an additional week’s worth of work.
CGS will hold another school wide pickup on April 20 for students to receive two weeks of materials.
We have been serving 1,100-1,620 meals per week during the break. Almost all of the staff has helped prepare meals.
I can’t say enough!
Teachers have been checking in on a regular basis. Things seem to be going well for the most part. Teachers are truly doing a fabulous job considering the circumstances. Very challenging times to be an educator.
We still have a few packets that have not been picked up. Teachers continue to try and make contact with both students and parents. They will be mailed if no contact is made.
High School Principal’s Report:
Office staff worked four days getting the packets and Chromebooks together for distribution. Mrs. Stegmann, Mr. Blechle, and Mrs. Meyer delivered everything the week of April 6.
Still working with students to get packets or Chromebooks after the first week started. Students will send pictures of completed work to teachers to eliminate the need to return the packets to the school.
The staff is working with Google Classrooms to stay in touch with their students.
The entire staff has chosen or been assigned students to stay connected with throughout this time.
We are holding Monday staff meets for a weekly check-in. This has been great! The staff can chat with each other on how things are going and we can discuss issues or questions as a staff instead of just using emails.
Mrs. Meyer is trying to jump in a few class meets a week to see the students and answer questions from them.
Newwave is working on getting a hotspot for the community to be located at the high school. We have had a few businesses open their internet for the students.
In addition, both Mrs. Meyer and Mr. Grafton expressed their deep appreciation for the work the staff has done in preparing and distributing meals, getting the buildings clean and put together, and executing the remote learning instruction for the students. In particular, the staff has shown their ability to adapt to this unique situation.
Superintendent’s Report:
PRESS Plus Policy 103 recommendations.
Grading and graduation requirements.
Remote Learning Plan.
Bond request to refinance the 2009 series and an additional $1,143,000 to complete the grade school HVAC Phase 2 project. Total sale: $3,295,000(principal); $3,414,059.40 (purchase); Rate Range 1.64-1.95% = over $200,000 in savings on the refinanced portion.
Agreement with SWIBCO on transportation payment. ISBE will continue to allow for transportation expenditure claims.
Due to COVID-19 economic issues and the possibility of delayed tax receipts and reduced mandated categorical payments, Mr. Pasero plans to approach BV Bank for the opportunity to open another line of credit.
Taxes, including sales tax, are anticipated to be delayed. We currently abate for a bond payment that we are not required to and I would like to withdraw the request to abate for the 2013B Series.
Recommending approval of A&W’s base bid of $1,143,000 to complete the grade school HVAC Phase 2 Project during the 2020 and 2021 summers.
EC indoor air quality reports for March 2020 show no major areas of concern.
We continue to receive regular guidance from ISBE, IASA, and the Randolph County Health Department.
Teachers are working with students via take home packets and availability through email and phone. Remote Learning Days – Remote Learning Plan.
Looking at accessing hotspots for students that struggle with internet access.
Kitchen staff and paraprofessionals continue to prepare and distribute meals.
Skeleton on-site crews.
Motion was made by Mr. Vasquez and seconded by Mr. Colvis to enter into executive session at 7:25 p.m. for the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees of the public body. Upon roll call Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mr. Welge voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 6 yea, 0 nay, 1 absent; motion carried.
Motion was made by Mr. Vasquez and seconded by Mrs. Caraway to return to open session at 7:54 p.m. Upon roll call Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mr. Welge voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 6 yea, 0 nay, 1 absent; motion carried.
Motion was made by Mr. Vasquez and seconded by Mr. Colvis to approve the consent agenda and items as listed. Upon roll call Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Welge voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 6 yea, 0 nay, 1 absent; motion carried.
Minutes of the March 19, 2020, regular meeting and executive session;
Bills in the amount of $558,963.63 and payroll in the amount of $429,399.48; Financial reports.
Motion was made by Mr. Vasquez and seconded by Mr. Colvis to accept the agreement with SWIBCO for transportation expenditures during the state ordered closure of schools as presented. Upon roll call Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Welge voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 6 yea, 0 nay, 1 absent; motion carried.
Motion was made by Mr. Vasquez and seconded by Mr. Colvis to accept the bid from A&W Plumbing and Heating in the amount of $1,143,000 to complete Phase 2 of the grade school HVAC project. Upon roll call Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Welge voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 6 yea, 0 nay, 1 absent; motion carried.
Motion was made by Mr. Vasquez and seconded by Mr. Colvis to adopt the resolution providing for the issue of not to exceed $4,000,000 General Obligation Limited Tax School Bonds for the purpose of altering and reconstructing school buildings and purchasing and installing equipment therein for fire prevention and safety, energy conservation and school security purposes and refunding certain outstanding obligations of the district, providing for the levy of a direct annual tax to pay the principal and interest on said bonds, and authorizing the sale of said bonds to Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated. Upon roll call Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Welge voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 6 yea, 0 nay, 1 absent; motion carried.
Motion was made by Mr. Vasquez and seconded by Mr. Colvis to approve graduation requirement changes as presented. Upon roll call all members voted yea. 6 yea, 0 nay, 1 absent; motion carried.
Motion was made by Mrs. Caraway and seconded by Mr. Vasquez to conduct and approve the initial reading of PRESS Plus Policy Issue 103 as recommended by Superintendent Pasero. Upon roll call all members voted yea. 6 yea, 0 nay, 1 absent; motion carried.
Motion was made by Mr. Colvis and seconded by Mrs. Caraway to employ Justin Davis as grade school softball coach for the 2020-2021 school year. Upon roll call Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mr. Welge voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 6 yea, 0 nay, 1 absent; motion carried.
Motion was made by Mr. Vasquez and seconded by Mr. Colvis to employ Boyd Miles as grade school baseball coach for the 2020-2021 school year. Upon roll call Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mr. Welge voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 6 yea, 0 nay, 1 absent; motion carried.
Motion was made by Mrs. Caraway and seconded by Mr. Colvis to employ Jen Cartwright as grade school cross country coach for the 2020-2021 school year. Upon roll call Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Welge voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 6 yea, 0 nay, 1 absent; motion carried.
Motion was made by Mr. Vasquez and seconded by Mr. Fricke to employ Chris Kern as grade school 8th grade boys’ basketball coach for the 2020-2021 school year. Upon roll call Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Welge voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 6 yea, 0 nay, 1 absent; motion carried.
Motion was made by Mr. Colvis and seconded by Mrs. Caraway to employ Dane Williams as grade school 7th grade boys’ basketball coach for the 2020-2021 school year. Upon roll call Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mr. Welge voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 6 yea, 0 nay, 1 absent; motion carried.
Motion was made by Mr. Vasquez and seconded by Mrs. Caraway to employ Billy Belton as high school head varsity football coach, Curt Eggemeyer as assistant varsity football coach, Trevor Kelkhoff as assistant JV football coach, and Jacob Cowan as assistant freshman football coach for the 2020-2021 school year. Upon roll call Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mr. Welge voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 6 yea, 0 nay, 1 absent; motion carried.
Motion was made by Mr. Vasquez and seconded by Mr. Welge to approve Charlie Colvis, Travis McCormick, and Dale Wahl as high school football volunteers for the 2020-2021 school year. Upon roll call all members voted yea. 6 yea, 0 nay, 1 absent; motion carried.
Motion was made by Mr. Vasquez and seconded by Mrs. Caraway to employ Colleen Runge as high school head volleyball coach for the 2020-2021 school year. Upon roll call Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Welge voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 6 yea, 0 nay, 1 absent; motion carried.
Motion was made by Mr. Colvis and seconded by Mr. Vasquez to employ Chris Toledo as high school head boys’ golf coach for the 2020-2021 school year. Upon roll call Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Welge voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 6 yea, 0 nay, 1 absent; motion carried.
Motion was made by Mr. Vasquez and seconded by Mr. Colvis to approve Paul Zemlyn and Tony James as high school boys’ golf volunteers for the 2020-2021 school year. Upon roll call all members voted yea. 6 yea, 0 nay, 1 absent; motion carried.
Motion was made by Mr. Vasquez and seconded by Mrs. Caraway to employ Chris Kern as high school head cross-country coach for the 2020-2021 school year. Upon roll call Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mr. Welge voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 6 yea, 0 nay, 1 absent; motion carried.
Motion was made by Mr. Vasquez and seconded by Mr. Colvis to employ Alisa Herrell as high school head cheerleading coach for the 2020-2021 school year. Upon roll call Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mr. Welge voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 6 yea, 0 nay, 1 absent; motion carried.
Motion was made by Mr. Vasquez and seconded by Mr. Colvis to employ Amanda Middendorf as high school assistant cheerleading coach for the 2020-2021 school year. Upon roll call Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Welge voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 6 yea, 0 nay, 1 absent; motion carried.
Motion was made by Mrs. Caraway and seconded by Mr. Colvis to employ Adrianne Kern as high school head dance coach for the 2020-2021 school year. Upon roll call Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Welge voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 6 yea, 0 nay, 1 absent; motion carried.
Motion was made by Mr. Vasquez and seconded by Mr. Colvis to approve Danielle Valleroy as high school dance volunteer for the 2020-2021 school year. Upon roll call all members voted yea. 6 yea, 0 nay, 1 absent; motion carried.
Motion was made by Mr. Vasquez and seconded by Mr. Welge to approve Joe Crain as high school head bass volunteer coach and Jason Korando as bass volunteer for the 2020-2021 school year. Upon roll call all members voted yea. 6 yea, 0 nay, 1 absent; motion carried.
Motion was made by Mr. Colvis and seconded by Mr. Vasquez to approve Dwight Lochhead as high school head trap shooting volunteer coach and Mike Miller as trap shooting volunteer for the 2020-2021 school year. Upon roll call all members voted yea. 6 yea, 0 nay, 1 absent; motion carried.
Motion was made by Mr. Vasquez and seconded by Mr. Colvis to employ Brad Norman as high school boys’ varsity basketball coach, Chris Toledo as boys’ assistant JV basketball coach, and Cody Mileur as boys’ assistant freshman basketball coach for the 2020-2021 school year. Upon roll call Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Welge voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 6 yea, 0 nay, 1 absent; motion carried.
Motion was made by Mr. Vasquez and seconded by Mr. Colvis to approve Jacob Cowan, Riley Welborn, and Clay Herrell as high school boys’ basketball volunteers for the 2020-2021 school year. Upon roll call all members voted yea. 6 yea, 0 nay, 1 absent; motion carried.
Motion was made by Mrs. Caraway and seconded by Mr. Vasquez to employ Pat Knowles as high school girls’ varsity basketball coach for the 2020-2021 school year. Upon roll call Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Welge voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 6 yea, 0 nay, 1 absent; motion carried.
Motion was made by Mr. Vasquez and seconded by Mr. Colvis to approve Rick Powley as high school girls’ basketball volunteer for the 2020-2021 school year. Upon roll call all members voted yea. 6 yea, 0 nay, 1 absent; motion carried.
Motion was made by Mr. Vasquez and seconded by Mrs. Caraway to approve a.25 cent hourly increase for the grade school head custodian retroactive to February 1, 2020. Upon roll call Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mr. Welge voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 6 yea, 0 nay, 1 absent; motion carried.
Motion was made by Mr. Colvis and seconded by Mrs. Caraway to approve the administrative contract of Shirley Stegmann as half-time District Curriculum Director for the 2020-2021 school year. Upon roll call Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mr. Welge voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 6 yea, 0 nay, 1 absent; motion carried.
Motion was made by Mr. Welge and seconded by Mrs. Caraway to approve the administrative contract of Jeremy Blechle as High School Assistant Principal / Athletic Director for the 2020-2021 school year. Upon roll call Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Welge voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 6 yea, 0 nay, 1 absent; motion carried.
Motion was made by Mr. Welge and seconded by Mr. Fricke to approve the administrative contract of David Kaiser as Grade School Assistant Principal / Athletic Director for the 2020-2021 school year. Upon roll call Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mr. Welge voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 6 yea, 0 nay, 1 absent; motion carried.
Motion was made by Mr. Fricke and seconded by Mr. Vasquez to approve the 3-year administrative contract of William Grafton as Grade Principal for the 2020-2021, 2021-2022, and 2022-2023 school years. Upon roll call Mr. Fricke voted yea, Mrs. Caraway voted yea, Mr. Colvis voted yea, Mr. Welge voted yea, Mr. Vasquez voted yea, Mr. Hammel voted yea. 6 yea, 0 nay, 1 absent; motion carried.
Motion was made by Mr. Welge and seconded by Mrs. Caraway to adjourn the meeting at 8:15 p.m. Upon roll call all members voted yea. 6 yea, 0 nay, 1 absent; motion carried.
The next REGULAR MEETING of the Board of Education will be held on Monday, May 18, 2020, at 7:00 p.m. in the Chester Community Grade School Library, 650 Opdyke Street, Chester, IL 62233.
http://www.chester139.com/UserFiles/Servers/Server_105222/File/April%2016,%202020%20Regular%20Mtg%20Brief.pdf
Alerts Sign-up