MINUTES - REGULAR MEETING OF
THE BOARD OF EDUCATION
The Board of Education of the
Ms. Marianne Clancy, Board Secretary, established a
quorum and the following Members were present: Mr. John Hanson, Mrs. Cheryl
Jackson, Mr. Keith Davis, Mr. Uvaldo Herrera, Dr. Diana McCauley and Mrs. Janet
Smith, Board President. Mr. John Dirks was
absent.
Present from the administrative staff were Dr.
Robert Nielsen, Dr. Roger Kilpatrick, Mr. Barry Reilly and Mrs. Sally Tucker.
Ms. Linda Aschenbrener, Public Relations
Facilitator, was also in attendance.
Present from the news media was Ms. Michele Steinbacher from The Pantagraph.
Mrs. Smith presented the Minutes
for approval. It was moved by Mr. Davis, seconded by Mrs. Jackson that the
Minutes of the Regular Meeting held on
Mr. Hanson reported that on
Mrs. Smith reported that she
attended the Regional Planning Commission meeting on
Dr. McCauley announced that
effective at the end of this evening’s Regular Board Meeting, I am submitting
my resignation from the Board for the purpose of relocating to
Mrs. Smith thanked Dr. McCauley
for her service to District 87 and presented her with an engraved clock
recognizing her contributions to education and the District. The remaining
Board members wished Dr. McCauley well.
Dr. Nielsen presented Board
Policy 7.100: Health Examinations, Immunizations, and Exclusion of Students
with the changes suggested from the last Board meeting and asked for comments
or suggestions for improvement. Mr. Davis stated that the line “If a student is
homeless, the requirements of State and Federal laws will apply” corrects the
concerns that we had and he appreciated the addition of that line. Dr. Nielsen stated that this policy will be
brought back at the next Board meeting for Board consideration.
Dr. Nielsen presented Board
Policy 4.152: Use of School Facilities in which District 87 would establish
reduced rental fees for facilities to recover the District’s costs for events and
would no longer allow organizations to use them for free. Dr. Nielsen stated that this policy will be
brought back at the next Board Meeting for Board consideration.
Dr. Kilpatrick presented the AVC/RVS budget and stated if the Board had any questions on it, Dr. Poznic would answer those, but they wouldn’t go into detail on
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them at this meeting. There were no questions from the Board
regarding the budgets. Dr. Kilpatrick
stated that these budgets will be brought back at the next Board Meeting for
Board consideration.
Dr. Kilpatrick presented a summary of the tentative
budget for District 87 for the 2003-04 fiscal year. The presentation included the trends and
assumptions that served as the basis for the budget. In addition, a review of some of the detail
areas in the Education Fund as well as an overview of all funds was
provided. The trends and assumptions
included a discussion of the three significant revenue areas for the District:
local, state, and federal. The real
estate tax estimates for 2003-04 were highlighted. These collections represent the largest
source of revenue for the District.
Collections for the fiscal year are estimated to increase almost 4 %
given the increase in the District’s Equalized Assessed Valuation (EAV). However, based upon current trends and
estimates from the Illinois Department of Revenue, Corporate Personal Property
Replacement Taxes are projected to continue to decrease. The estimated decrease
is approximately 4 %. Investment returns
are projected to continue to decline due to lower interest rates and reduced
amounts of funds available for investment.
General State Aid represents the largest source of state revenue. The amount is projected to remain the same as
it was in 1997-98, even with the increase provided by the current state budget,
because the District entitlement has not surpassed the “Hold Harmless” level of
1997-98. The categorical payments which
include special education and transportation are projected to increase slightly
in most areas due to reduced proration percentages. However, the Orphanage reimbursement will be
reduced because of lower numbers of children served. State grants are projected to decrease with
the elimination of the Gifted grant and the reductions in the Average Daily
Attendance (ADA) Block grant and the Reading Improvement grant. Concern exists over the largest federal
source of revenue, Title I. With the
2000 Census District 87 shows a reduction in the students meeting the Title I poverty
threshold. With this reduction there is
concern that the District may be significantly impacted in 2004-05 with the new
allocations. The District has some
protection this year with the funds carried forward, a guarantee of 85% funding
based on the previous year. Under
expenses for the Education Fund, salaries are estimated to decrease
approximately $900,000 due to staff reductions.
Employee Benefits are projected to continue to increase due to higher
insurance costs and Teacher Retirement Systems (TRS) costs required by the
state to be paid by the District.
Supplies, purchased services and equipment are all projected to decrease
due to budget reductions established. In
summary, the expenditures for the District are projected to exceed revenues by
approximately $1.4 million for the fiscal year. Expenditures for the Education
Fund are estimated to exceed revenues by $1.5 million. This amount represents a
reduction in the annual operating deficit of $2.4 million that was incurred in
the Education Fund in 2003-04. The
Operations & Maintenance Fund and the Bond & Interest Fund are
projected to have revenues equal to expenditures. The Transportation Fund is estimated to have
expenditures in excess of revenues primarily due to prorations of reimbursement
claims paid by the state. The Working
Cash Fund shows an excess of revenues over expenditures due to tax collections
that build in the fund for borrowing by other funds. Dr. Kilpatrick stated that the Tentative
Budget will be brought back for Board consideration at the next Board
Meeting.
Mrs. Smith presented the Consent Agenda
for consideration. It was moved by Mrs.
Jackson, seconded by Mr. Hanson that the Consent Agenda (Personnel Report,
Bills, Payroll, Treasurer’s Report, Financial Summary, Food
Service Agreement with
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Members
present, voted “Aye”. Motion carried. (See
with Original Minutes, Attachment 8-13-03/1)
Dr. Nielsen stated that we will bring to the Board a
timeline for the Deficit Reduction process at the next Board Meeting. He stated that we anticipate $1.5 million in
reductions.
Dr. Nielsen stated that we will be welcoming
approximately 18 new teachers to the District this year. He announced that on
It was moved by Mr. Davis, seconded by Dr. McCauley that
the Board adopt the AVC/RVS Tentative Budget and Set a Date for a Hearing. Upon a roll call vote, all Members present,
voted “Aye”. Motion carried. (See
with Original Minutes, Attachment 8-13-03/2)
It was moved by Mrs. Jackson, seconded by Mr. Hanson
that the Board adopt the District 87 Tentative Budget and Set a Date for a
Hearing. Upon a roll call vote, all Members present, voted “Aye”. Motion carried. (See with Original
Minutes, Attachment 8-13-03/3)
Mr. Mike Williams, President of the
Bloomington/Normal Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People (NAACP) thanked Dr. McCauley for her contributions to the
community and education.
It was moved by Mr.
Davis, seconded by Mrs. Jackson that the Board go into
Closed Session to consider collective negotiating matters between the District
and the Bloomington Education Association (BEA), or deliberations concerning
salary schedules for one or more classes of employees. Upon a roll call vote, all Members present voted
“Aye”. Motion carried.
It was moved by Mr. Hanson, seconded by Mr. Davis
that the Board return to the Regular Meeting. Upon a roll call vote all members present
voted “Aye”. Motion carried.
There being no further business to come
before the Board, Mrs. Smith adjourned the meeting.
APPROVED:
_________________________________
President
ATTEST:
_______________________________
Secretary