Southern Illinois News

Anna Jonesboro Community High School District 81 Board of Education met January 14. 

Here is the minutes as provided by the board:

The Anna-Jonesboro Community High School held its regular meeting on January 14, 2019. Upon roll call at 6:00 p.m. the following members were present: Dr. Teske, Mr. Hughey, Dr. Blakely, Mr. Edwards, Mr. McGrath, and Mrs. Boget. Also present was Superintendent Wright, Scott Finders, and Brett Detering.

On motion by Mr. Edwards and seconded by Mr. Hughey to appoint Dr. Blakely as secretary pro tempore for the duration of the meeting. All members present voting yes. Motion carried.

On motion by Mrs. Boget and seconded by Mr. McGrath to approve the Agenda as written. All members present voting yes. Motion carried.

On motion by Dr. Teske and seconded by Mr. Edwards to approve the Consent Agenda which contained the following items: approval of board minutes on 12/17/2018; approval of closed session minutes; approval of payment for bills, acceptance of financial reports and approval of destruction of closed session recordings more than 18 months old. On roll call, all members present voting yes. Motion carried.

Briley Oxford and Cameron Wright presented the Student Council Items of Interest.

The Student Council met last week to form committees for the spring projects we are focusing on. The first project is making and delivering Valentines to all of the local nursing homes. Students on the committee have agreed to each make a minimum number of Valentines that we will deliver in person on the morning of Valentine’s Day. The other, larger project is the Dude. Be nice. Campaign. We plan to meet this Thursday to form sub-committees to assist with the planning and executing of a Dude. Be nice. Week, tentatively scheduled for the third week of March. As previously mentioned, the Dude. Be nice. Campaign is designed to encourage kindness, compassion and a more conscious culture. Students on the committees are currently brainstorming lists of students from ALL groups and backgrounds in the school to solicit input from a variety of students on the types of activities to include in the week. Committees will come together again this week to determine appropriate activities and designate members to help execute the plans. Plan to hear more about what activities we will incorporate at A-J during next month’s board meeting! The 2019 Student Council scholarship information will be posted later this spring, following the blood drives

Thomas Corbit and Kyle Keuker represented the teachers.

Art and Photo students entered the Scholastic Art Competition in December. Thirteen AJ students had work accepted into this prestigious event. Art from all of southern Illinois is now on display in the Cedarhurst Art gallery in Mt. Vernon until the closing awards ceremony which will be held on February 10th. The winners include four Gold Keys, four Silver Key awards, and twelve Honorable Mentions. Gold and Silver Keys are submitted for competition in New York City. One student’s photography portfolio is included in this show. Students have also entered art and photos in the Little Egypt annual high school competition in Marion. These are on display at this time until the closing awards ceremony on February 17th. Art students are also working on the national Google Doodle contest and the Patriotic Art competition. The guidance department will begin taking course requests for the 19-20 school year on February 4th. This will begin the scheduling season. Incoming freshmen will be coming to A-J this year to do their placement testing and course requests; all three feeder schools will visit the morning of Thursday, February 21st. This will give students the opportunity to get in the building and hear directly from elective teachers about their course options. Barring unexpected complications, we anticipate having a master schedule by the end of March. FBLA students attended the local Southern Area Conference at SIU on January 10. Twenty-three students competed in various events ranging from objective, individual, group and presentation themed events. Out of the students that attended, ten students placed in the top three for their competitive events. Specific placements are still be calculated for some of the presentation events. That means even more individuals could place. We will inform you once all of the results are tabulated! This has been a very exciting year for FBLA, and we are in the prime of our season. State is coming up in April, and many will be attending an overnight conference in Springfield. There is also the possibility of upcoming fundraisers to help provide scholarships to graduating seniors this year! Mrs. Stevens’ Multimedia Design class has found a new, fun way to incorporate formative assessments in the classroom. Students have recently signed up for a Flip Grid account. Mrs. Stevens will pose a question on the website that is structured just for her Multimedia class, and students will log in to post their response in the form of a video. Many students have enjoyed doing this as a fun alternative to an exit or entrance ticket.

Principal Detering gave reports on the 5 Essentials Survey, random drug testing,

Valedictorian/Salutatorian, enrollment, discipline, and the cafeteria.

Superintendent Wright presented his administrative report. He discussed that we are in the last year of the contract with the Association, the Board needs to be considering a timeframe to start negotiations. There will be a workshop presented by IASB in Mt. Vernon in February called “Trends in Collective Bargaining” if any members would like to attend. Baysinger Architects have begun planning work on this summer’s projects.

On motion by Mr. McGrath and seconded by Dr. Teske for the Board to enter into closed session at 6:32 p.m. for the following reasons (1) the purpose of appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employee 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 or against legal counsel for the public to determine its validity. 5ILCS 120/2(c)(1). Discussion of minutes lawfully closed under the Open meetings Act, whether for the purposes of approval by the body of the minutes or semi-annual review of the minutes as mandated by Section 2.06. 5ILCS 120/2(c)(14). On roll call, all members present voting yes. Motion carried.

On motion by Mr. Edwards and seconded by Mrs. Boget to return to regular session at 7:12 p.m. On roll call, all members present voting yes. Motion carried.

On motion by Mrs. Boget and seconded by Dr. Blakely to approve keeping all closed session minutes closed. All members present voting yes. Motion carried.

Annual Report on Student Performance and Academic Improvement was presented by Scott Finders.

On motion by Mr. Edwards and seconded by Mr. McGrath to approve the 2nd reading/final approval of Board Policy Updates. All members present voting yes. Motion carried.

On motion by Mr. Edwards and seconded by Dr. Teske to approve Health Life Safety amendments regarding replacements of roof and lower gym floor. All members present voting yes. Motion carried.

On motion by Dr. Teske and seconded by Mr. Edwards to adjourn the Regular Meeting at 7:40 p.m. On roll call, all members present voting yes. Motion carried.

Next regularly scheduled meeting is Monday, February 11, 2019 at 6:00 p.m. in Superintendent's Office.

http://www.aj81.net/Board%20of%20Education/Minutes%20-%20PDFs/2018-2019/January%202019%20Minutes.pdf