Anna-Jonesboro Community High School District 81 Board of Education met Nov. 15.
Here are the minutes provided by the board:
The Anna-Jonesboro Community High School held its regular meeting on November 15, 2021. Upon roll call at 6:00 p.m. the following members were present: Mr. Osman, Dr. Blakely, Mr. Partridge, Mr. McGrath, Mrs. Ashby, Mr. Vosburgh, and Mr. Bailey (by phone). Also present was Superintendent Wright, Mr. Finders, and Mr. Detering.
On motion by Mr. Vosburgh and seconded by Mrs. Ashby to approve the Agenda as written. All members present voting yes. Motion carried
On motion by Mr. Osman and seconded by Mr. Partridge to approve the Consent Agenda that includes approval of board meetings on 10/18/2021, approval of closed session minutes, approval of payment of bills, acceptance of financial reports. On roll call, all members present voting yes. Motion carried.
Natalie Miller and Terra Webb represented the teachers. The items of interest presented were as follows: Mu Alpha Theta members have been offering free math tutoring during intervention every day. Students are receiving additional help in math from the math honor society members, in addition to their math teachers. Having these tutors in the classroom is allowing more one - on - one tutoring, which is a huge benefit for our students. Edwards Jones Financial Advisor Kelli Wood came into Mrs. Hase’s Resource Management classes and discussed saving and investing as well as good and bad interest. Mary K Harris Accountant from H&R Block also came in and discussed changes in tax laws and what they need to know for filing their own taxes. Bryan Miller, a small business owner, also discussed itemizing deductions and what can be used as tax write offs. Ms. Maze worked to get journals, pens, bracelets and fidget pop-its together for the members of GSA. Brooke Frank was amazing and personalized every one of them! The kids were excited to receive their own personalized journals as a gift. This gift was made possible through the kindness of faculty, staff, administrators and community members who donated money, journals and pens to these students. Ms. Maze handed out 63 journals to the members of GSA. The group is growing and it is exciting to see them come together as a community. Ms. Maze & Mrs. Marggraf are currently working to bring in speakers to discuss mental health and the importance of self-care to our members. Tor Neal from the women's center has been coming in to offer their counseling services specifically to our LGBTQ+ students throughout the week. Rainbow Cafe is also offering group therapy sessions in Carbondale on Tuesday nights. Ms. Maze’s Government classes discussed school policies last week while learning about how a bill becomes a law. Students focused specifically on the bullying policy by looking at state legislation and comparing it to what is currently in place at AJCHS. Mrs. Miller and Mrs. Webb came and talked to Ms. Maze’s classes about the procedure that takes place when investigating a bullying report and FERPA. Students then offered suggestions on how we could improve the bullying policy to reduce bullying in our building by spreading awareness, offering counseling services to the bullies and the bullied and having harsher punishments for individuals who take part in bullying. These suggestions were shared with the guidance department. Ms. Maze’s Civics classes discussed what it means to be a citizen and the roles each student plays in their community. After analyzing the crucial roles each citizen plays in improving the community around us, the students teamed up with Mrs. Treece’s PE class and picked up trash around the football field, underneath the bleachers, and around the track prior to senior night. The BioMed class had Bryan Crain from Crain Funeral home as a speaker. He shared with the students the process of autopsies, preparing a body for services, and consultation with families of the deceased. The students have currently closed the case on their investigation for the year, and will begin learning about mental health and patient care. Mr. Dawley’s Chemistry classes have been making aluminum foil sculptures, everything from interlocking rings to butterflies, and then calculating the number of atoms in each individual sculpture. Students have also been busy learning about some of the very strange quantum behavior of the electron, and looking at evidence through the spectrum of light emitted by hydrogen and helium. Soon, it is planned that students will be able to use colored flames and prisms to determine the element that makes the flame colored, thus doing some analytical chemistry by identifying unknown elements. The National Honor Society held their annual community Trick or Treat on October 30th from 6-8pm. During this event, the charter collects monetary donations to support the WIBH New Coat, New Hope campaign. Additionally, the charter charges students $1 to wear their costumes; all proceeds collected are donated to the New Coat, New Hope Campaign. This year, NHS collected and donated $158 in total. On Monday, November 1st, NHS completed Acts of Kindness in the school and in the community, members left quarters on vending machines, popcorn on movie rental machines, helped community members with chores, took treats to local police and firefighters, among many other activities. Community members expressed their gratitude to the charter for those acts of kindness. In November, the National Honor Society will host a Taco Lunch to express their appreciation of their teachers during American Education Week. Mrs. Stevens’s Business & Technology class has been researching different types of businesses (sole proprietorships, partnerships, corporations, franchises, cooperatives, etc.). Groups were assigned different types of businesses to research and had to present their findings to the class. This project will piggyback on another assignment where students will be creating their own business. Students have already had great ideas for their own businesses that meet the requirements of solving a world problem. This class also took an assessment to determine if they have characteristics to become a successful entrepreneur. 10 out of 18 students tested extremely high for becoming a future entrepreneur. Lance Meisenheimer came and spoke to Julie Lewis’s 3 sections of Civics classes. He discussed what his office does, property taxes, and the election process. Each class had generated questions for Lance to address. 9 of Mrs. Vancil’s art students have artwork on display in the Anna Arts Center’s annual art exhibit. This show is for all Union County students’ grades 4-12. First, second and third place ribbons will be awarded. The public may view student artwork during the Holiday Bazaar on November 27th, 9-3. AJ is proud to announce that we have 12 Illinois State Scholars this year, which is the most we have had. They are Trevor Cochran, Ian Crunk, Addison Denny, Andrew Detering, Bryce Henry, Alex Little, Chloe McFarland, Ethan Minckler, Riley Rios, Bo Schuetz, Marlee Smith, and Beto Vaca Diez. State Scholars are selected by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission based on GPA, class rank, and test scores. Steven Wiseman from the Illinois National Guard came into Mrs. Hase’s Resource and Co-op class. He went through some mental games that are used in the military to help students distract themselves from what is going on and relax for a couple minutes.
Items from Student Council: Hello, my name is Madelynn Eastman and I am the Blood-Drive coordinator for the student council. The goal for the October Blood Drive was 50 units and we ended up having 77 units of blood donations, and 38 of those were first time donors. All of the student workers were extremely helpful this being, the blood drive was a big success. The next blood drive will be held February 23rd in the lower gym. We will be sponsoring 10 students for Christmas through the Pay It Forward Program.
Mr. Livesay gave his athletic report.
Mr. Finders gave a power point presentation on MTSS (Multi-Tiered Systems of Support).
Principal Detering reported on the Failing Grade Reports, Discipline, Safety Drills, and Academic Intervention Update.
Superintendent Wright reported on tax rate comparisons of various school districts, a new law that might affect our current MOU in regard to administrative leave days for COVID, the approval of the CTE innovation grant and rural low income grant, and current and proposed projects.
On motion by Mr. Vosburgh and seconded by Mr. McGrath for the Board to enter into closed session at 7:01 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) Collective negotiating matters between the public body and its employees or their representatives, or deliberations concerning salary schedules 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. Osman and seconded by Mrs. Ashby to return to regular session at 7:12 p.m. On roll call all members present voting yes. Motion carried.
On motion by Mr. McGrath and seconded by Mr. Vosburgh to approve Resolution 21-11-15A Regarding Estimated Amounts Necessary to be Levied for the Year 2022. On roll call, all members present voting yes. Motion carried.
Information was presented on the Illinois school report card.
The Annual Report on the Annual Review of the Emergency Operations Plan was presented. The Student Services Department submitted a proposal for the Board to be considered. The Board discussed proposed bids for artificial turf. No action was taken.
On motion by Mr. Partridge and seconded by Dr. Blakely to approve the increase for substitute teacher pay to $100.00/day. On roll call, all members present voting yes. Motion carried.
On motion by Mr. Osman and seconded by Dr. Blakely to approve the MOU in regards to internal sub pay. On roll call, all members present voting yes. Motion carried.
On motion by Mr. McGrath and seconded by Mr. Vosburgh to approve the hiring the following coaches, pending background checks: Girls Basketball – Destiny Taylor (assistant), Wrestling – Mika Sadler (volunteer), James Edwards (volunteer), Girls Soccer – Mark Boomer (head coach), Jake Parr (assistant), Evan Keller (volunteer), Baseball – Aaron Roberts (head coach), Thomas Corbit (assistant), Justin Richardson (volunteer), Nathan Guined (volunteer), David Frank (volunteer), Dalton Goddard (volunteer), Softball – Rodney Seip (head coach), Jason Sadler (assistant), Eric Osman (volunteer), Erin Suggs (volunteer), Track – Michael Eudy (head coach), Mike Chamness (assistant), Kyle Kueker (assistant), Matt Denny (volunteer). On roll call, all members present voting yes. Motion carried.
On motion by Mr. Partridge and seconded by Mr. Osman to hire Bud Pearson as a part time Transportation Aide. On roll call, all members present voting yes. Motion carried.
On motion by Mrs. Ashby and seconded by Dr. Blakely to adjourn the Regular Meeting at 8:02 p.m. All members present voting yes. Motion carried.
The next regularly scheduled Meeting is Monday, December 13, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. in the District Office.
https://aj81.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/November-2021-Minutes.pdf
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