Pope County Community Unit 1 School District Board of Education met June 21.
Here are the minutes provided by the board:
Meeting was called to order at 7:01 pm by Vice President Aly and the following members were present in person: Kizziar, Aly, Wallace, and Simmons. Walker, Schuchardt, and Hogg were absent.
Motion was made by Wallace and seconded by Simmons to approve the agenda. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Motion was made by Wallace and seconded by Kizziar to approve the consent agenda including the following: 1) Approve Minutes of Board Meetings on 5/19/2022; 2) Approve Closed Session Minutes; 3) Approve Bills for Payment; 4) Accept Financial Reports; and 5) Accept Resignations from Kelly King as High School baseball coach and Jr. High boys’ basketball coach and Keerstin Fritch as Jr High girls’ assistant coach and assistant Drama Club sponsor. Mr. Fritch explained some bills and with no further comments, roll call vote: all ayes.
At this time, Sheriff Jerry Suits was recognized by the Board to discuss school safety and security. He thanked the Board for their time and allowing him to speak. He stated with the current school shooting incidents, it has been heavy on his heart to address the Board and discuss what can be done to increase school safety and security in the district. He stated he has spoken to officers and school administrators from other schools that have had shootings. The one common statement was that the school needs to have one way in and one way out. With a great school administration in place and the drills that he has been a part of, Sheriff Suits feels we have a great plan in the event of an active shooter but the school isn’t as secure as it should be. He stated he felt better when we had School Resource Officers in the building and they did a great job. He would like to see them back in the school and is willing to help with that endeavor. Superintendent Fritch stated the district has the funds for an SRO, money is not an issue, but the county commissioners won’t allow it. Member Aly stated she has called all the commissioners and they agreed to meet with the Board to discuss the issue. Sheriff Suits added that the morning traffic back-up may be a good thing when it comes to a potential security breach because that person won’t be able to get out of the parking lot. Sheriff Suits stated his office will engage and will be here in any security breach event.
The Board recognized Mr. Eddie Mayhall which thanked the Board for allowing track. It is a sport against yourself in which all the students that participated this year improved with each meet. This hasn’t cost the school anything and will continue to fund track through fundraising. He asked that the Board consider paying a head coach. There is a lot that goes in to coaching track. He added that track has made an impact on each participant, especially Ahry. Since winning a State title, she has had five major colleges/universities contact her. He concluded stating he would like to see track continue in the years to come, consider paying a head coach, and thanked the Board for allowing track.
Under Administrative reports, Mr. Blankenship reported the following; 1) Janitors are doing their thing, cleaning for the summer.
Mr. Graves reported the following; 1) Janitors have repainted the gym and done touch-up work; 2) The contractors are working on the gym floor, ripping it up; 3) Mrs. Hall’s classroom had water damage on the south wall which had to be jacked up, new drywall, and painted; 4) Bathrooms in the hallway by the office have been an on-going problem. We may need to call in a plumber.
Mr. Fritch reported the following: 1) We are ROE compliant and up-to-date; 2) Contractors have started ripping up the gym floor; 3) Contractors for the HVAC system in the gym will be here tomorrow to begin installing the duct socks; 4) Doors and windows in the elementary are finally complete; 5) Changes to the HVAC project has increase the cost about $11,000. They had to do more work for the concrete pad due to an old clay drain pipe collapsing; 6) A new motorized backboard wench had to be ordered to replace the old chain wench in the gym, due to being in the way of the new HVAC system; 7) Thank you to Margie and Paula for all their hard work with all the new grants; reporting expenditures and keeping them in order; and 8) Thank you to Mr. Ed Blankenship on his years of service and dedication to all the students and to the District. He will be missed.
Motion to enter closed session for the purpose of discussion of personnel performance, procedures, and employment was made by Simmons and seconded by Wallace. Roll call vote: all ayes. Board entered closed session at 7:44 pm.
Motion to return to regular session was made by Simmons and seconded by Kizziar. Roll call vote: all ayes. Board returned at 9:03 pm.
Motion to approve Treasurer’s Bond for the 2022-2023 SY was made by Wallace and seconded by Simmons. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Motion to approve the 2022-2023 salary schedule for non-certified employees at $1.00 per hour was made by Wallace and seconded by Kizziar. Roll Call vote: all ayes.
The item of hiring Special Education Teacher was tabled.
Motion to hire Abby (Katherine) Clanton for Special Education Aide was made by Wallace and seconded by Kizziar. Roll call vote: Kizziar, Aly, Wallace; ayes, Simmons abstained.
Motion to hire Natalie Bonnell for Special Education Aide was made by Simmons and seconded by Wallace. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Motion to post for Jr. High Girls Assistant Basketball coach was made by Kizziar and seconded by Simmons. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Motion to post for Assistant Drama Club Sponsor was made by Wallace and seconded by Kizziar. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Motion to post for Jr. High Boys’ Basketball Coach was made by Simmons and seconded by Wallace. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Motion to post for High School Baseball Coach was made by Kizziar and seconded by Simmons. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Mr. Graves and Mrs. Allen distributed copies of the student handbooks with changes highlighted. Mr. Graves stated the 1:1 Chromebook Policy and the Cellular Cheating Policy were among some of the changes. Mrs. Allen stated we are moving to TeacherEase parent portal and the athletic eligibility was changed to reflect the high school policy. Motion to approve the Jr. High and High School
Handbook for the 2022-2023 SY was made by Wallace and seconded by Simmons. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Member Wallace stated the Board will attend the county commissioner meetings and see if we can get the School Resource Officers reinstated.
Under Old Business, Motion to approve the amended 2021-2022 FY budget as presented was made by Wallace and seconded by Simmons. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Mr. Fritch explained that we have still not received a completed audit from the auditors. Many phone calls and emails have been sent with no response. We will just wait it out and let it ride this year. We will be switching auditors next year.
With no further business to be discussed, a motion was made by Wallace and seconded by Kizziar to adjourn the meeting until the next meeting to be held on Thursday, July 21, 2022 at 7:00 pm in the J.H. Hobbs Memorial Library. All members present voted aye.
Meeting adjourned at 9:51 pm.
https://cdn5-ss6.sharpschool.com/UserFiles/Servers/Server_2554242/File/Board%20Minutes/June%2021%202022.docx.pdf
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