Anna-Jonesboro Community High School Board met Sept. 20.
Here are the minutes provided by the board:
The Anna-Jonesboro Community High School held its Budget Meeting. Upon roll call at 5:45 p.m. the following members were present: Mr. Osman, Dr. Blakely, Mr. Partridge, Mr. McGrath, Mrs. Ashby, Mr. Vosburgh, and Mr. Bailey. Also present was Superintendent Wright, Principal Brett Detering and Curriculum Director Scott Finders.
Public Hearing for FY2021-2022 School District Budget
On motion by Dr. Blakely and seconded by Mrs. Ashby to adjourn the Budget Meeting at 6:06 p.m. All members voting yes. Motion carried.
MINUTES
The Anna-Jonesboro Community High School held its regular meeting on September 20, 2021. Upon roll call at 6:06 p.m. the following members were present: Mr. Osman, Dr. Blakely, Mr. Partridge, Mr. McGrath, Mrs. Ashby, Mr. Vosburgh, and Mr. Bailey. Also present was Superintendent Wright, Principal Brett Detering and Curriculum Director Scott Finders.
On motion by Mr. Partridge and seconded by Mr. Bailey to approve the Agenda as written. All members present voting yes. Motion carried
On motion by Mr. Osman and seconded by Mr. McGrath to approve the Consent Agenda which contained the following items: approval of board minutes on 8/16/2021, change of retirement date, approval of closed session minutes, approval of payment of bills and acceptance of financial reports. On roll call, all members present voting yes. Motion carried.
Deborah Shelton-Yates from Shawnee Community College spoke about services they offer.
Melody Thomas and Tina Vancil represented the teachers: FBLA entered into a partnership agreement with Anna District #37 that would allow District #37 to have an after school program providing tutoring, enrichment activities, physical activities, and family education for students. FBLA members will be providing these services once the program starts. Activities members may provide might include golf or basketball lessons, career presentations, homework help/tutoring, reading, etc. The Section 24 FFA Livestock Fair was held on August 21. Class of 2021 graduate Jacqueline Wilkins won Champion Breeding Swine and Champion Showman Swine. Senior Campbell Belcher won Champion Breeding Beef, Champion Market Beef, and Champion Showman Beef. Also showing their projects were Maya Simovski, Abigail Dahmer, and Jason McAlister. The FFA also competed in the Section 24 Horse Judging and placed 7th. Six students attended the FFA Greenhand Workshop at SIU. They participated in leadership activities and got to meet first year members from all over southern Illinois. The student services office is excited to have a counseling intern from Arkansas State, Mrs. Kat Wainscott, who will be with us throughout the fall semester and possibly all year. We hit the ground running this semester with minute meetings with all juniors and seniors to discuss postsecondary plans. On Sept 7, we took 38 juniors and seniors to SEMO, where they received information on admissions criteria, scholarships, degree programs, housing, and campus life from admissions counselors and then took a tour of campus. According to our records, 13 seniors have sent 32 applications to 16 colleges. Ms. Webb and Blake Goforth will be visiting Government and Resource classes on 9/21 to go over important information regarding scholarships, the FAFSA, college applications, and SCC, as well as to have students complete the free SCC application. The counselors will follow up this visit with an application drive where students will receive assistance completing their other college applications at school. Ms. Webb and Mrs. Miller are also taking appointments from senior parents during Parent Teacher Conferences to assist them in completing their FAFSA applications. Mrs. Miller has visited freshmen study halls to begin postsecondary option education, including career aptitude testing. This will be followed up with individual four-year plan meetings in November. Mrs. McCauley, our new school social worker, has been working closely with the special education department to meet students’ social emotional goals. With assistance from Mrs. Wainscott, she has also connected with a handful of students who utilize the comfort closet on a regular basis, providing them with weekly bags to take home. Finally, we have already had a plethora of referrals to Union County Counseling Service this year, and Emmy’s caseload continues to expand. Of major concern are anxiety and depression, and the presentation of these issues has been worse than in years’ past, with the counseling office seeing a greater number of students in more severe distress than has been historically typical. The BioMed class has had several speakers already this year. Their first speaker was retired CSI Tammy Turner. Then Officer Leek visited the class to discuss digital evidence. The class held a Google Meet with SIU instructor and retired Carbondale detective Paul Echols. Additionally, former AJ BioMed student Mallory Cochran, visited the class and discussed her degree as an occupational therapy assistant. She also spoke with the class about college and career decisions they are making as seniors. Beta Club is welcoming over 60 new members this year and looks forward to expanding the club’s involvement in the school and community. The Culinary Arts classes have been busy with catering opportunities. Wildcat T’s has been very busy prepping for the fall athletic seasons and homecoming for AJ and surrounding districts. Bismarck-Henning High School used our services again this year for their football apparel with a very large money making order. From Sept. 1 to Sept. 15, the A-J Facebook page uploaded 9 posts. An analysis of the metrics on the page yielded the following results: those 9 posts over that period of time reached an average of 2,247 people with an average of 504 engagements per post. Additionally, the page currently has 2,025 followers (as of this morning). Per a parent in the community regarding posts from this time period, “I am totally loving this. It is kind of like a version of Mom’s refrigerator with papers of all the kids A’s on tests. I hope A-J keeps posting its academic successes. I think it’s a cool way to promote teachers giving creative assignments and interesting ways to learn. It definitely will encourage students to do their best.” The 2022 Spring Musical will be “SpongeBob Squarepants: The Broadway Musical.” Performances are set for March 25-27, 2022. Stage Crew will begin working in October/November and auditions for the cast will be in November. We are hopeful to present performances as close to pre-Covid “normal” as possible. Mrs. Richbourg’s Advanced Bio 2 classes are getting ready to begin an investigation project through Planting Science which is part of the Botanical Society of America. Planting Science is located in St. Louis MO. The classes will be working with a researcher from the National Botanical Research Institute in Lucknow, India. They will be investigating osmosis, diffusion, and transpiration in celery.
Curriculum Director Finders reported on CTE Innovation Grant, 1 to 1 Program, and carryovers from remote learning.
Athletic Director Rick Livesay reported on the completion of the track, a new wrestling mat, a cheer mat, and getting bids for a sound system.
Principal Detering reported on failure report, discipline, and homecoming.
Superintendent Wright presented on renewal rates for insurance, 1 % sales tax review, IASB Fall Dinner, new mandate regarding vaccinations/weekly testing, and an a MOU from Shawnee Development Council for the use of our facilities.
On motion by Mrs. Ashby and seconded by Mr. Osman for the Board to enter into closed session at 7:08p.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) Collective negotiating matters between the public body and its employees or their representatives, or deliberations concerning salary schedule for one or more classes of employees. 5 ILCS 120/2 (c)(2) On roll call, all members present voting yes. Motion carried.
On motion by Mr. Partridge and seconded by Mr. McGrath to return to regular session at 7:31 p.m. On roll call, all members present voting yes. Motion carried.
On motion by Mr. McGrath and seconded by Mrs. Ashby to Adopt of FY 2021-22 School District Budget. On roll call, all members present voting yes. Motion carried.
Mr. Wright presented the Administrator and Teacher Salary Benefits Report.
On motion by Mr. Bailey and seconded by Mr. Osman to approve the contract with Julie Draper for Speech Services for the 2021-2022 school year. On roll call, all members present voting yes. Motion carried.
On motion by Mr. Osman and seconded by Dr. Blakely to approve the FY22 Maintenance Grant Funds to replace roof over shop area. All members present voting yes. Motion carried.
On motion by Mr. Partridge and seconded by Mrs. Ashby to approve the purchase of a new cheerleading mat. On roll call, all members voting yes. Motion carried.
On motion by Mr. McGrath and seconded by Mr. Vosburgh to approve the purchase of a new discus cage. On roll call, all members voting yes. Motion carried.
On motion by Mr. Bailey and seconded by Mr. Partridge to approve the purchase of a new speaker system for football field from Bi-Amp for $13,506.00. On roll call, all members voting yes. Motion carried.
Mr. Wright presented an update on the 5 Year Strategic Plan.
On motion by Dr. Blakely and seconded by Mr. Osman to approve the Memorandum of Understanding Regarding Administrative Leave Days. On roll call, all members voting yes. Motion carried.
The Board of Education appointed Mr. Partridge and Mr. Vosburgh to serve on a Building Committee.
On motion by Mr. Partridge and seconded by Mr. Vosburgh to approve Kara James as a Prom/Concession Coordinator. On roll call, all members voting yes. Motion carried.
On motion by Mr. Bailey and seconded by Mr. Osman to approve Aaron Lence as Transportation Aide for the 2021-2022 school year. On roll call, all members voting yes. Motion carried.
Old business that was discussed was the Esser III Grant and TIF Proposal from the City of Anna.
On motion by Mr. Osman and seconded by Mrs. Ashby to adjourn the Regular Meeting at 8:39 p.m. All members present voting yes. Motion carried.
The next regularly scheduled Meeting is Monday, October 18, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. in the District Office.
https://aj81.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/September-2021-Minutes.pdf
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