Pope County Community Unit 1 School District Board of Education met Oct. 20.
Here are the minutes provided by the board:
Meeting was called to order by President Hogg at 7:00 p.m. The following members were present: Kizziar, Walker, Schuchartd, Wallace, Simmons, and Hogg. Aly was absent.
A motion was made by Wallace and seconded by Walker to approve the agenda. Roll call vote: all ayes.
A motion was made by Simmons and seconded by Wallace to approve the consent agenda including the following items; 1) Approve Minutes of Board Meeting on 9/22/22; 2) Approve Closed Session Minutes; 3) Approve Bills for Payment; 4) Accept Financial Report; and 5) Accept Resignation; Jennifer Wilson as teacher. Mr. Fritch commented on the Galloway, Heartland Mechanical, and Blanchard’s bills. He added the fence around the HVAC unit will be fixed at Heartland Mechanical’s expense. With no further comments, roll call vote: all ayes.
President Hogg recognized bus drivers, Rita McKinley and Gary Roper to discuss safety concerns of the AM unloading of students at the elementary and high school. Mrs. McKinley distributed a handout of concerns the bus drivers have seen on both sides of the highway and possible solutions to improve the morning drop off. After much discussion, the Board agreed there are some issues that need to be addressed. Mr. Fritch proposed to form a committee with two bus drivers, two administrators, two teachers, two board members, and Sherriff Suits to research possible solutions with a plan of implementation in hopes to make morning drop off safer for all.
Under Administrative reports, Mrs. Allen reported the following; 1) Teachers are very appreciative of the new phones being installed this week; 2) Students made signs, cards and banners to show how much they appreciate our custodial staff for Custodian Appreciation Day on 10/3; 3) Student Council is currently planning dress up days, dances and end of the year activities; 4) We conducted our annual fire drill with the local fire department on 10/3; 5) Parent-teacher conferences on 10/6 went very well and teachers appreciated the meal provided by the district; 6) Our district attended the ROE professional development at Eldorado HS on 10/7; 7) Fall parties will be held on 10/31; 8) September Student of the Month; RESPECT. PTO awarded 20 students, PK-8, with a gift card; 9) Classroom spelling bee was done by 10/21. School spelling bee is tentatively set for 11/17; 10) There are twenty-nine K-8 students attending our after school tutoring program; 11) We are a part of the ROE SEL Cohort #2 Grant for the 22- 23 year. A team will be developed, members will be trained, take an assessment to determine what areas need addressed and develop an action plan. Upon completion, the school will be given $2,000 to help offset the cost of the action plan; 12) Initial implementation of our attendance incentive went well. On 10/18, 238 students were rewarded with ice cream sundaes. Feedback from teachers and students has been positive; 13) Mrs. Hall opens the Pirate’s Cove every other Wednesday for students to exchange their tickets earned from good grades, positive behavior, etc. for candy/prizes; 14) Mrs. Reed opens the sweet shop on the alternate Wednesday’s from
Mrs. Hall and students are able to purchase food/beverages to help fund our Pirate’s Cove and semester attendance incentive; 15) Everly Ryder placed 33rd out of 128 female runners at the State XC meet held on 10/15; 16) The JH girls and boys basketball seasons are currently underway. Our Lady Pirates won 1st place at the New Simpson Hill tournament, held Oct 11-14. Our Pirates travel to Anna for their first game of the season on 10/20; and 17) The current enrollment is 322 as of October 20th.
Mr. Graves reported the following; 1) Spirit Card sales are going well and are still for sale ($10); 2) October 3rd we conducted a fire drill with the local fire department; 3) October 5th marked the end of the 1st Quarter. Report cards were mailed out; 4) Parent Teacher Conferences were held October 6th and went well; 5) The faculty attended a conference at Eldorado October 7th. Mr. Lane was one of the presenters; 6) Students in dual credit and SIC Online courses were registered for 2nd Semester on October 19th; 7) FAFSA Night was held October 19th to help students sign up for the FAFSA; 8) Our Lady Pirates volleyball team opens up with Regional play October 24th at 6 pm against Crab Orchard. Gallatin Co is hosting the tournament; 9) Our Cross Country Boys and Girls teams both won the Conference Championship. Cross Country Regionals are this Saturday; and 10) Enrollment is at 167.
Mr. Fritch reported the following: 1) High School gym floor is completed; 2) HVAC system is almost complete, waiting on some loose ends to be tied up; 3) New phones have been installed but not fully functional, waiting on Frontier to pass ownership of the phone numbers; 4) Monday we received a letter from ISBE that we will be getting audited on our federal grants, this happens every five years; and 5) Egyptian Trust has issued the District a 13th payment. A letter of withdrawal, along with a penalty payment, was sent to the Trust on July 29, 2022. The Board of Trustees passed the 13th payment at their meeting on September 6, 2022 due to their financial situation caused by districts leaving the trust. A letter of denial of payment was sent to the Trustees stating we would not be paying the 13th payment. The District Attorney is aware of the situation and is investigating whether we are liable for the payment. No payment will be sent at this time. President Hogg asked if the sound system in the high school gym has been fixed. Mr. Fritch stated they had some miscommunication and the company did not order it when told to do so. The equipment has been ordered at this time and should be arriving soon.
A motion was made by Walker and seconded by Simmons to enter closed session for the purpose of personnel performance, procedures, and employment. Roll call vote: all ayes. Board entered closed session at 8:06 p.m.
A motion was made by Simmons and seconded by Kizziar to return to regular session. Roll call vote: all ayes. Board returned at 8:54 pm.
Motion to hire Patricia Thompson as Scholar Bowl sponsor was made by Walker and seconded by Wallace. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Motion to hire Chris Jarvis as evening custodian was made by Simmons and seconded by Kizziar. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Vape detectors update was given by Mr. Graves which distributed three bids he received for detectors and installation. He explained each brand, their features, functionality, and cost. The Catch Your Breath program is currently underway with the chemistry classes. This program is designed to teach teens the hazards of vaping. Once the program and an exist survey is completed, the District will receive two free vape detectors. The Board looked over all bids and decided on the Zeptive detectors. They instructed Mr. Graves to place the order and get them installed as soon as possible.
Motion to approve overnight trip for the FFA to attend Build Conference at Illinois State University was made by Simmons and seconded by Walker. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Mr. Fritch explained our Pepsi contract has expired. The District has had two 10-year contracts in the past. After trying to reach the Coca Cola Company several times and not receiving a call back, Pepsi is the only option. With ball games beginning in the gym, we need to get a distributor in place. Pepsi has offered a 10-year contract and $10,000. A formal contract has not been received as of yet, but will be getting it soon. Motion to accept beverage contract with Pepsi within these parameters, 10-years and $10,000, was made by Walker and seconded by Schuchardt. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Motion to purchase full page ads in the Pirata Yearbook and The Anchor was made by Schuchardt and seconded by Walker. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Mr. Fritch distributed bids he received on the elementary gym HVAC system and explained each one. Motion to accept the lowest bid from A&W Plumbing & Heating for the elementary gym HVAC replacement was made by Wallace and seconded by Kizziar. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Under Old Business, Mr. Fritch explained the bid received from Midwest Transit Equipment for two new buses, around $129,000 each. There is $208,000 in ESSER III grant for the buses. Mr. Fritch researched some off-lease buses from Central States and reported the District could purchase four off-lease buses for the price of two new buses. After some discussion, a motion to purchase four off-lease buses from Central States was made by Walker and seconded by Schuchardt. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Motion to accept the bid from Joe Owens for the 2004 Chevrolet Cavalier, Driver’s Education car, was made by Wallace and seconded by Simmons. Roll call vote: all ayes.
President Hogg asked if there was any update on the School Resource Officer. Since Member Aly was absent, there was no update at this time.
Mr. Fritch stated Security Alarms will begin work on the door locks and cameras the week of October 31st.
Other School Business, President Hogg stated they are going to assess bringing on another Ag teacher.
With no further business, a motion to adjourn the meeting until the next regular meeting to be held on Tuesday, November 14, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. in the J.H. Hobbs Memorial Library was made by Schuchardt and seconded by Simmons. Roll call vote: all ayes. Meeting adjourned at 9:41 pm.
https://cdn5-ss6.sharpschool.com/UserFiles/Servers/Server_2554242/File/Board%20Minutes/Oct%2020%202022.pdf
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