Pope County Community Unit School District #1 Board of Education met March 16.
Here are the minutes provided by the Board:
Meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm by Board President Hogg and the following members were present: Kizziar, Aly, Schuchardt, Wallace, and Hogg. Walker and Simmons were absent.
Motion was made by Aly and seconded by Schuchardt to approve the agenda. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Motion was made by Wallace and seconded by Aly to approve the consent agenda including the following: 1) Approve Minutes of Board Meetings on 2/16/2023; 2) Approve Closed Session Minutes; 3) Approve Bills for Payment; 4) Accept Financial Reports; and 5) Accept Resignations/Retirements of Tim Threlkeld, Transportation Director. Mr. Fritch pointed out a bill for computer carts that was purchased with grant funds. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Under Administrative reports, Mrs. Allen reported the following: 1) Jr. High Volleyball regular season ended March 13. Regionals began March 14; State Finals will be held on Saturday March 25. We defeated Cobden on March 15 and advance to regional semi finals on March 17 at 5 pm vs Jonesboro, winner of that game will play at 7 pm; 2) Jr. High Cheerleading sign up sheet is at the elementary office, tryouts are March 23; 3) PTO recognized February Students of the Month on March 3: demonstrating courage; 4) 3rd Quarter ended on March 10; 5) IAR testing for grades 3-8 will be March 7-13. Glo dance party on 3/17 for grades 3-5 and Pizza party on 3/24 for grades 6-8; 6) PK-8 is selling trash bags to help pay for incentives; 7) Illinois State Police will provide an assembly for students in grades 6-8 on March 17; 8) Grades 4 and 5 are going to the Challenger Learning Center on March 20; 9) K-2 will be at the Carson Center on March 24 to see Llama Llama; 10) U of I Ag Center trips will be on April 20 for K-2 and April 21 for grades 3-6; 11) Freshman orientation is scheduled for April 20; 12) Sixth grade will go to the Challenger Learning Center on April 28; 13) Pre-K screenings are scheduled for April 27; 14) PTO Fun Day will be May 5; 15) 8th grade graduation will be May 11 at 6 pm; 16) Last day of Pre-K will be May 24; 17) Last day of Kindergarten will be May 25 with graduation at 9 am; 18) Current enrollment 317 as of March 16th.
Mr. Graves reported the following: 1) 3rd Quarter ended March 10th with grade cards going out Tuesday the 14th; 2) Choir attended The Play That Goes Wrong at SIC; 3) SAT will be held April 12th; 4) The Illinois Science Assessment will also be given after Spring Break; 5) Scholarship forms are being completed by the Seniors; 6) Baseball and Softball have opened up for the season; 7) The High School incentive trip for 1st Semester is Thursday, March 30th; 8) The High School has raised over $500 for St. Jude’s; 9) The Lady Pirates ended their season falling short in Sectionals, but had a great season with Conference and Regional titles; 10) Student Council received the following awards at SIU-C: a. Community Service Award for Hurricane Ian relief, b. Andrew Bonnell won School Pride Pillar Award, c. Shelby Hogg won the Encouragement Pillar Award; and 11) Current enrollment: 165.
Mr. Fritch reported the following: 1) ISBE was here last Thursday and Friday for a civil rights audit on our business and agriculture CTE programs. We have not received the final report but there will be some items we need to address, parking lot, pencil sharpeners height, wheelchair ramp to the Ag shop, etc.; 2) Rotary Honors and Sports Banquet will be April 28th with cookies and punch. We will not be having a dinner as in the past; and 3) Senate Bill 2052 is in the works to raise starting hourly pay to $20 per hour beginning in 2024, $21 in 2025, $22 in 2026, a dollar raise per year until it reaches $25 per hour, then it will be determined by the yearly CPI for all support staff, non certified staff. This bill is one to watch due to the potential $250,000+ cost per year for the district.
Motion to enter executive session for the purpose of personnel performance, procedures, and employment was made by Wallace and seconded by Aly. Roll call vote: all ayes. Board entered at 7:13 pm.
Motion to return to regular session was made by Kizziar and seconded by Schuchardt. Roll call vote: all ayes. Board returned at 10:08 pm.
Under New Business, Board reviewed the bids that were received. Motion to accept bid from Prairie Farms for dairy products for the 2023-2024 SY was made by Wallace and seconded by Kizziar. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Motion to accept bid from Raben Option 1 for tires for the 2023-2024 SY was made by Wallace and seconded by Schuchardt. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Motion to accept bid from Enviro-Tech Termite & Pest Control for pest control for the 2023-2024 SY was made by Wallace and seconded by Schuchardt. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Motion to accept firm bid from Southern FS for fuel for the 2023-2024 SY was made by Wallace and seconded by Schuchardt. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Mr. Fritch presented the amended 2022-2023 SY calendar to reflect emergency and Act of God days used this year. A motion was made by Wallace and seconded by Kizziar to amend the 2022-2023 SY calendar as presented. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Mr. Fritch presented the proposed 2023-2024 SY calendar. He explained he sent out two calendar options since two holidays fall on weekends, we can alter the calendar a bit differently. The Teacher’s Union voted on the two options, with option A getting the most votes. A motion to approve the 2023-2024 SY calendar, option A, as presented was made by Schuchardt and seconded by Kizziar. Roll call vote: all ayes.
A motion to hire Gary Roper for Transportation Director was made by Schuchardt and seconded by Kizziar. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Motion to hire Tabitha Wilson for Jr. High English teacher was made by Wallace and seconded by Schuchardt. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Motion to hire Lisa Davison for grades K-2 Special Education teacher was made by Kizziar and seconded by Aly. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Motion to post internally for High School Guidance Counselor was made by Wallace and seconded by Schuchardt. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Motion to post externally for 5th grade teacher was made by Schuchardt and seconded by Aly. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Motion to post for Jr. High Science/Social Science teacher was made by Wallace and seconded by Kizziar. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Mr. Fritch stated we have received the audit report. We received a 4.0 Profile Score and we have 209 days cash on hand. We had to have a single audit this year due to the amount of federal grant funds we received. There were some findings on internal controls and policies and most of them have already been corrected. Motion to approve FY 2021-2022 Financial Audit as presented was made by Wallace and seconded by Aly. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Mr. Fritch explained that due to the single audit and request from our new auditors, we need to have a written Federal Financial Internal Controls and Procedures policy in place. Motion to adopt the Federal Financial Internal Controls and Procedures policy as presented was made by Aly and seconded by Schuchardt. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Motion to approve out-of-state field trip for prom committee to set up prom at Talon Falls in Kentucky as requested by Mrs. Graves and Mr. Lane was made by Wallace and seconded by Kizziar. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Motion to approve out-of-state field trip for grades 4-5 to go to the Challenger Learning Center at WKCTC in Paducah, KY March 20, 2023 as requested by the teachers was made by Wallace and seconded by Kizziar. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Motion to approve out-of-state field trip for 6th grade to go to the Challenger Learning Center at WKCTC in Paducah, KY April 28, 2023 as requested by the teachers was made by Wallace and seconded by Schuchardt. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Motion to approve out-of-state field trip for grades K-2 to go to the Carson Center in Paducah, KY March 24, 2023 as requested by the teachers was made by Wallace and seconded by Kizziar. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Motion to approve out-of-state field trip for FFA to attend Murray Field Day at MSU on April 19, 2023 as requested by Mr. Swinford was made by Wallace and seconded by Schuchardt. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Motion to approve overnight field trip for FFA to attend Ag Legislative Day in Springfield, IL on March 28 and 29, 2023 as requested by Mr. Swinford was made by Wallace and seconded by Aly. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Motion to approve Annual Renewal of IHSA Membership for the High School was made by Kizziar and seconded by Aly. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Member Kizziar discussed the possibility of getting solar panels for the district to help cut the cost of electric bills. He described how it would work and the pros and cons for the district. Mr. Fritch added he has talked with the superintendents at Eldorado and Meridian school districts. Eldorado had only one complaint that the landscaping underneath the panels had not been properly cared for like they agreed. Meridian is in the process of getting the panels connected and no complaints so far. The Board agreed it would be worth doing some more research.
Under Old Business, Mr. Fritch explained we received an updated cost estimate from Asaturian for the wastewater project. It come in much less than expected and the district can cover the remaining cost with working cash or Health Life Safety funds. Motion to approve the updated cost contract with Asaturian for the wastewater system was made by Wallace and seconded by Aly. Roll call vote: all ayes.
With no further business to be discussed, a motion was made by Schuchard and seconded by Kizziar to adjourn the meeting until the next regular meeting to be held on Thursday, April 20, 2023 at 7:00 pm in the J.H. Hobbs Memorial Library. All members present voted aye.
Meeting adjourned at 10:52 pm.
https://cdnsm5-ss6.sharpschool.com/UserFiles/Servers/Server_2554242/File/Board%20Minutes/March%2016%202023.docx.pdf
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