Pope County Community Unit School District #1 Board of Education met July 21.
Here are the minutes provided by the board:
Meeting was called to order at 7:02 pm by President Hogg and the following members were present: Walker, Aly, Wallace, Simmons, and Hogg; Kizziar and Schuchardt were absent.
Motion was made by Wallace and seconded by Walker to approve the agenda. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Motion was made by Wallace and seconded by Simmons to approve the consent agenda including the following: 1) Approve Minutes of Board Meetings on 6/21/2022; 2) Approve Closed Session Minutes; 3) Approve Bills for Payment; 4) Accept Financial Reports; 5) Approve Making All Closed Session Minutes Public Record; and 6) Accept Resignations from Kara Carlton. Mr. Fritch pointed out the payment requests for the gym HVAC and floor. Member Aly asked about the Haddock invoice, which Mr. Fritch explained was for interactive panels for the classroom purchase with Title I funds. With no further comments, roll call vote: all ayes.
Under Administrative reports, Mr. Fritch reported the following: 1) Late last week, some guidance came out regarding COVID with return to school and remote learning. Barney has sent out samples of plans, which we will need to adopt a plan before school starts; 2) Custodians have been working on cleaning, painting, and getting the buildings ready for school to begin. The projects at the high school have delayed some of the work but all will be ready before school starts; 3) Registration will be August 2 and 3; 4) We have switch to a new student information system since STI will be phasing out this year. Common Goal, (TeacherEase), is currently being set up by Mr. Climer, Cathy, and Tresa; 5) Construction projects at the high school are going good. The HVAC project is almost complete. The gym floor is halfway done. They are running behind of schedule. No word on a completion date; 6) The heat exchanger on the HVAC unit in the elementary gym has died. This unit is too old and parts are no longer available. We will need to replace the unit. Baysinger will be contacted to start the work; and 7) Asaturian has been in contact and work will have to be updated on the septic project due to the new Ameren substation on the hill just below the school.
Motion to enter closed session for the purpose of discussion of personnel performance, procedures, and employment was made by Aly and seconded by Wallace. Roll call vote: all ayes. Board entered closed session at 7:11 pm.
Motion to return from closed session was made by Walker and seconded by Simmons. Roll call vote: all ayes. Board returned at 8:25 pm.
Under New Business, motion to approve authorize superintendent to prepare FY 2023 budget was made by Wallace and seconded by Simmons. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Mr. Fritch explained that Egyptian Trust has raised our cost 25% from last year. Since the Board agreed to take it to bid, we have received two bids, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois and Health Alliance. Both have offered as good or better coverage at a cheaper rate. Health Alliance offered a $10,000 buyout with a savings of $76,000. BCBS offered a savings of $120,000. Mr. Fritch introduced the Insurance Representatives, Travis Cockburn and Jake Crews, who distributed a comparison chart explaining the cost and savings with the health plans they would offer. They will also provide life, dental, and vision insurances comparable to our current coverage. After some discussion, Walker made the motion to accept the bid from Clemmons Insurance for BCBS for 2022-23 SY, seconded by Simmons. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Mr. Fritch explained ISBE has advised us that we are below the State target for lunch prices. We need to raise the prices at least $0.10 this year. The State target is $3.31. He distributed an informational sheet with the current prices, $1.50 (Pre-K-5) and $2.00 (6-12, adult). After some discussion, a motion to raise school lunch prices $0.10 over the current prices was made by Aly and seconded by Simmons. Roll Call vote: all ayes.
Mr. Fritch distributed the contract from QNS. Motion to approve the 3-Year Contract with Quality Network Solutions (QNS) for IT services was made by Walker and seconded by Wallace. Roll Call vote: all ayes.
Teacher Contract, Removal of 10-Year Clause was tabled.
Under Old Business, a motion to hire Sherri Morris as K-2 Special Education Teacher was made by Simmons and seconded by Aly. Roll Call vote: all ayes.
Motion to hire Becky Chell as 3-5 Special Education Teacher was made by Wallace and seconded by Simmons. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Motion to hire Patrick Presser as JH Boys Basketball Coach was made by Walker and seconded by Aly. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Motion to hire Kelly Hille as JH Basketball Assistant Coach was made by Wallace and seconded by Simmons. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Motion to hire Chad Nalley as JH Boys Baseball Coach was made by Walker and seconded by Aly. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Motion to hire Chris Walker for High School Baseball Head Coach was made by Simmons and seconded by Aly. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Motion to hire Natalie Bonnell as High School Student Council Sponsor was made by Wallace and seconded by Walker. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Motion to post for JH Boys Assistant Basketball Coach, JH Baseball Assistant Coach, High School Baseball Assistant Coach was made by Wallace and seconded by Walker. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Mr. Fritch announced that we have finally received the FY21 Audit. We received Financial Recognition with a 4.0 and we have 192 days cash on hand. Motion to approve the FY21 Audit as presented was made by Wallace and seconded by Walker. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Mr. Fritch asked to return to closed session for employment purposes. A motion was made by Aly that they return to closed session for the purpose of employment purposes, seconded by Walker. Roll call vote: all ayes. Board entered at 9:33 pm.
Motion to return to regular session was made by Aly, seconded by Walker. Roll call vote: all ayes. Board returned at 9:40 pm.
Under Other Business, Motion to call a special board meeting to be held on Wednesday, August 10, 2022 at 6 pm. Roll call vote: all ayes.
With no further business to be discussed, a motion was made by Wallace and seconded by Aly to adjourn the meeting until the next special called meeting to be held on Wednesday, August 10, 2022 at 6:00 pm in the J.H. Hobbs Memorial Library. All members present voted aye.
Meeting adjourned at 9:44 pm.
https://cdn5-ss6.sharpschool.com/UserFiles/Servers/Server_2554242/File/Board%20Minutes/July%2021%202022.pdf
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