Pope County Community Unit School District #1 Board of Education met July 20.
Here are the minutes provided by the board:
Meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm by President Aly and the following members were present: Kizziar, Schuchardt, Wallace, and Aly. Jeffords, Hogg, and Simmons 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 Schuchardt to approve the consent agenda including the following: 1) Approve Minutes of Board Meetings on 6/22/2023; 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) Approve destruction of closed session tapes more than 18 months old. With no further comments, roll call vote: all ayes.
Under Administrative reports, Mr. Fritch reported the following: 1) Elementary gym HVAC project is completed and they have run the new units; 2) High school gym HVAC project is completed as well; 3) Teacher Vacancy Grant has been awarded for the next 3 years at $117,000 per year and is available for recruiting teachers to our area. It will cover the cost of tuition, books, fees, any expense incurred while earning a teaching degree; 4) One Title I Aide position will not be filled due to a decrease in Title I grant. The person we had for the position last year, will not be coming back. We will be going back to two position only; 5) Digital Equity Grant came through and we received more funds to purchase 8 more TV screens for the classrooms, 6 for elementary and 2 for high school, to replace the old white boards; and 6) New internet will be installed next Thursday for free through Clearwave, will have double the speed at no cost to us for the first 6 years. We will get new servers at the elementary and high school. This is all through a DoIt Consortium Grant that we applied for and was awarded.
Motion to enter closed session for the purpose of discussion of personnel performance, procedures, and employment was made by Schuchardt and seconded by Simmons. Roll call vote: all ayes. Board entered closed session at 7:22 pm.
Motion to return to regular session was made by Wallace and seconded by Schuchardt. Roll call vote: all ayes. Board returned at 8:50 pm.
Motion to authorize superintendent to prepare FY24 budget was made by Simmons and seconded by Schuchardt. Roll call vote: all ayes. Mr. Fritch stated he will present proposed FY24 budget at the August meeting.
Motion to increase adult school lunch/breakfast prices $0.50 as presented to stay in compliance with ISBE was made by Wallace and seconded by Simmons. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Motion to hire Kristina Eikenberry as individual aide was made by Wallace and seconded by Schuchardt. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Motion to hire Jamie Wilson as individual aide was made by Simmons and seconded by Schuchardt. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Motion to give administration rights to hire additional individual aides as needed, determined by registration, was made by Schuchardt and seconded by Simmons. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Motion to hire Bonita Herren as full-time sub bus driver was made by Jeffords and seconded by Wallace. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Motion to hire K-Rae Fritch for Jr. High and High School Volleyball Assistant coach was made by Simmons and seconded by Schuchardt. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Motion to approve Kyle Wise as High School Volunteer Boys Basketball Assistant Coach was made by Schuchardt and seconded by Wallace. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Motion to approve Hannah Barger as Jr. High Girls Basketball Assistant Coach was made by Simmons and seconded by Jeffords. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Motion to give administration rights to hire Jr. High Cross Country coach was made by Simmons and seconded by Jeffords. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Motion to post for Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) was made by Jeffords and seconded by Simmons. Roll call vote: Jeffords, Schuchardt, Simmons, Aly; ayes. Wallace abstained. Motion carried.
Motion to post for School Counselor and/or Social Worker was made by Simmons and seconded by Schuchardt. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Mr. Fritch proposed buying a used van to transport students to Norris City. The eight students have been transported using a school bus, which cost over $36,000 in fuel alone, not including personnel costs. If we had another van, the girls could ride in one and the boys in another, which would help with discipline issues. Kelly Harper of Harper Ford is currently looking for a used van in the cost range of $20-25,000. After some discussion, a motion to approve administration to purchase a used van was made by Wallace and seconded by Schuchardt. Roll call vote: all ayes.
Under Old Business, the solar panel project was table due to Kizziar being absent.
Under Other School Business, President Aly discussed the committees that were developed at the last meeting, Facility and Maintenance Committee, School Safety Committee, and School Health and Wellness Committee. Since the last meeting, members have been added to each committee. They would like to get staff, parents, and community members on committees and more involved.
With no further business to be discussed, a motion was made by Jeffords and seconded by Schuchardt to adjourn the meeting until the next meeting to be held on Thursday, August 17, 2023 at 7:00 pm in the J.H. Hobbs Memorial Library. All members present voted aye.
Meeting adjourned at 9:13 pm.
https://cdnsm5-ss6.sharpschool.com/UserFiles/Servers/Server_2554242/File/Board%20Minutes/July%2020%202023.pdf
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