Southern Illinois News

Anna Community Consolidated School District 37 Board of Education met June 17.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

Board President Josh Gooden called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m.

Roll Call

                           Present          Absent         Arr. Late

Josh Gooden  ____x_____ __________ __________

Jim Hammer   ____x_____ __________ __________

Cheryl Ligon   ____x_____ __________ __________

Collin Crane   __________ __________ ___6:45___

Lottie Smith   ____x_____ __________ __________

Brent Sims    __________ ____x_____ __________

Alison Smith  ____x_____ __________ __________

Superintendent Brent Boren

Principals, Mark Laster, Angela Clay, Rob Lannom

Staff, Carla Whitaker, Anna Rodriguez

A motion was made by Jim Hammer and seconded by Lottie Smith to approve the agenda for the meeting. Voice vote. Motion carried.

A motion was made by Cheryl Ligon and seconded by Lottie Smith to approve the consent agenda of the following items: Minutes of the May 20, 2025 Regular Meeting, Financial Reports: Activity Fund, Revolving Fund, Treasurer’s Report, Cafeteria Report, Insurance Report, Approve Bills and Payroll, Second viewing of press policy changes and updates: 2:260 Uniform Grievance, 4:25 Identity Protection, 4:80 Accounting and Audits, 5:10 Equal Employment, 5:20 Workplace Harassment Prohibited, 5:60 Expenses, 5:100 Staff Development, 6:150 Home and Hospital Instruction, 6:235 access to an electronic network, 7:10 Equal Education Opportunity, 7:20 Harassment of students prohibited, 7:60 Residency, 7:70 Attendance and Truancy, 7:180 Prevention of and response to bullying, 7:185 teen dating violence, 7:190 Student Behavior, 7:200 Suspension Procedure, 7:210 Expulsion Procedure, 7:250 Student support services, 7:270 Administering medicine to students, 7:310 Restriction on Publication for elementary school, Status update new: 7:244 Students who are parents, expectant parents, or victims of domestic violence or sexual violence, Status Draft rewrite: 2:265 Title IX grievance procedure. Roll call vote. Josh Gooden, yea; Jim Hammer, yea; Cheryl Ligon, yea; Lottie Smith, yea; Alison Smith, yea. Motion carried.

Anna Rodriguez reported on behalf of the AEEA. A vote was held on May 21st regarding the agreement made by all parties. The vote passed, ratifying the agreement. Candace Linton retired at the end of the school year with a wonderful luncheon held on her behalf. It was a great time and we wish Candace the best!

A summary and individual responses to the Superintendent Evaluation was provided to each Board Member. It was discussed and decided that Mr. Boren would receive all of this as well. Other discussion items included the resolution for membership in the insurance cooperative, staff members continuing education through the LTRS program, the consolidated district plan, golf coach resignation, amended board meeting dates, and the three-year agreement with the AEEA. Mr. Boren and Mr. Gooden commented on how well negotiations went, complementing the union members and thankful for communication. Changes to the contract include 3%, 2.75%, and 2.5% base increases over the next three years, step increases for teacher aides, and hourly leave.

Discussion of the School Improvement Plan shared that goals are focused on ELA and math improvement. Percentages have been adjusted; if the goal was met, it was bumped up, and if it was not met, it was kept the same. Key activities will focus on professional practice and better use of team planning times to examine student data and growth.

A motion was made by Alison Smith and seconded by Josh Gooden to accept the resolution for membership in the Prairie State Insurance Cooperative. Roll call vote. Josh Gooden, yea; Jim Hammer, yea; Cheryl Ligon, yea; Collin Crane, yea; Lottie Smith, yea; Alison Smith, yea. Motion carried.

A motion was made by Jim Hammer and seconded by Cheryl Ligon to approve the requests to add additional credentials for Erin Suggs, Kaylee Rose, Autumn McMahan, Malori Lambdin, and Andrea Feloni. Roll call vote. Josh Gooden, yea; Jim Hammer, yea; Cheryl Ligon, yea; Collin Crane, yea; Lottie Smith, yea; Alison Smith, yea. Motion carried.

A motion was made by Lottie Smith and seconded by Josh Gooden to approve the Consolidated District Plan. Roll call vote. Josh Gooden, yea; Jim Hammer, yea; Cheryl Ligon, yea; Collin Crane, yea; Lottie Smith, yea; Alison Smith, yea. Motion carried.

A motion was made by Josh Gooden and seconded by Alison Smith to accept the resignation of Jason Leek as golf coach. Voice vote. Motion carried.

A motion was made by Jim Hammer and seconded by Lottie Smith to approve the amended Board of Education Meeting dates. Voice vote. Motion carried.

A motion was made by Cheryl Ligon and seconded by Alison Smith to accept the three-year agreement with AEEA. Roll call vote. Josh Gooden, yea; Jim Hammer, yea; Cheryl Ligon, yea; Collin Crane, yea; Lottie Smith, yea; Alison Smith, yea. Motion carried.

A motion was made by Lottie Smith and seconded by Alison Smith to approve the School Improvement Plan. Roll call vote. Josh Gooden, yea; Jim Hammer, yea; Cheryl Ligon, yea; Collin Crane, yea; Lottie Smith, yea; Alison Smith, yea. Motion carried.

Superintendent Boren reported that asbestos abatement will begin on June 30th. Floor installers will install the same flooring as was installed at Lincoln, a luxury vinyl tile that doesn’t require as much maintenance. Junior high bathroom stalls are coming in to complete the remodel of all bathrooms in the building. Bleacher installers will be here Monday. Mr. Boren was contacted by the City of Anna about taking ownership of the property at 205 Monroe St. Mr. Boren has gotten a quote for clearing the lot and may have a buyer lined up to recoup that cost. We are also working with the city on the sidewalk revamp project. A quote from ALS for the awning at Lincoln to reach across the road was over $100k, much higher than the original $28,000 quote, so we will proceed with the smaller awning. Rerouting work continues at Lincoln. Mr. Boren is in discussions to use bus #1 as trade when purchasing a 65-passenger activity bus with air conditioning and lift. The old locker rooms are being cleared with the goal of creating a weight room for the students. A scrapper is removing the lockers at no cost to the district.

Mr. Laster reports that summer school is in week two of attendance and going well with 50 students enrolled, averaging 40 daily. Small group instruction in reading and math is provided Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 8:00 am to 11:30 am for six weeks. Breakfast is provided to all students and those who signed up to receive lunch are given a sack lunch at dismissal. Technology support is being provided by QNS, who have been quick to address any issues. Staff evaluations are complete and schedules, calendars, curriculum, and professional development are prepared for next year. The Parent Advisory Council met on June 9th. The meeting involved great discussion and questions from members. Topics included better use of the Thrillshare system, school security, and the new Threat Zero program. Possibilities of providing mentoring/support networks to families was discussed, potentially through community organizations and churches. The PBIS yard sale was successful with an income just over $1700.00 to be used toward PBIS activities. Ms. Youngman did a wonderful job organizing, setting up, and cleaning up the yard sale. She did have volunteer help, which is appreciated.

Mrs. Clay reported that 45 kindergarteners have been registered for the Fall with many more expected. There has been a hiccup with online registration for families who register a student at AJCHS before registering a student at Anna 37 through TeacherEase. We are working with the high school to remedy this.

A motion was made by Cheryl Ligon and seconded by Jim Hammer to enter Executive Session for the purpose of the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees of the public body or legal counsel for the public body, including hearing testimony on a complaint lodged against an employee of the public body or against legal counsel for the public body to determine its validity. 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(1), collective negotiating matters between the public body and its employees or their representatives or deliberations concerning salary schedules for one or more classes of employees. 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(2), security procedures, school building safety and security, and the use of personnel and equipment to respond to an actual, a threatened, or a reasonably potential danger to the safety of employees, students, staff, the public, or public property. 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(8) Voice vote. Motion carried.

Board entered Executive Session at 6:10 p.m.

Board returned to Regular Session at 6:18 p.m.

A motion was made by Jim Hammer and seconded by Josh Gooden to approve the Executive Session minutes from the May 20, 2025 meeting. Voice vote. Motion carried.

A motion was made by Alison Smith and seconded by Collin Crane to hire Jackie Kennedy as a Custodian/Bus Driver for the 2025-2026 school year. Roll call vote. Josh Gooden, yea; Jim Hammer, yea; Cheryl Ligon, yea; Collin Crane, yea; Lottie Smith, yea; Alison Smith, yea. Motion carried.

A motion was made by Josh Gooden and seconded by Jim Hammer to hire Mark Chamness as Head Boys Basketball Coach for the 2025-2026 school year. Roll call vote. Josh Gooden, yea; Jim Hammer, yea; Cheryl Ligon, yea; Collin Crane, yea; Lottie Smith, yea; Alison Smith, yea. Motion carried.

A motion was made by Jim Hammer and seconded by Josh Gooden to hire Kyle Schuster as 5th & 6th Grade Boys Basketball Coach for the 2025-2026 school year. Roll call vote. Josh Gooden, yea; Jim Hammer, yea; Cheryl Ligon, yea; Collin Crane, yea; Lottie Smith, yea; Alison Smith, yea. Motion carried.

A motion was made by Cheryl Ligon and seconded by Alison Smith to hire Jon Meirndorf as Head Baseball Coach for the 2025-2026 school year. Roll call vote. Josh Gooden, yea; Jim Hammer, yea; Cheryl Ligon, yea; Collin Crane, abstain; Lottie Smith, yea; Alison Smith, yea. Motion carried.

A motion was made by Lottie Smith and seconded by Josh Gooden to adjourn at 6:22 p.m. with the next Regular Meeting scheduled for Thursday, July 17, 2025, at 5:30 p.m. Voice vote. Motion carried.

https://core-docs.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/2796/Anna_CCSD/5885476/June_17__2025_minutes.pdf