The Board of Education of the
Ms. Marianne Clancy, Board Secretary,
established a quorum and the following Members were present: Mr. Uvaldo
Herrera, Mr. Keith Davis, Mrs. Millicent Roth, Mrs. Cheryl Jackson, Mr. John Hanson,
Mr. John Dirks and Mrs. Janet Smith, Board President.
Present from the administrative staff were Dr.
Robert Nielsen, Dr. Roger Kilpatrick, Mrs. Sally Tucker and Mr. Barry Reilly.
Ms. Linda Aschenbrener, Public Relations Facilitator, was also in attendance.
Present from
the news media was Ms. Michele Steinbacher from The
Pantagraph, and Ms. Janka Albert, TV-10 News.
Ms. Marianne Clancy, Board
Secretary, established a quorum and the following Members were present: Mr.
Uvaldo Herrera, Mr. Keith Davis, Mrs. Millicent Roth, Mrs. Cheryl Jackson, Mr.
John Hanson, Mr. John Dirks and Mrs. Janet Smith, Board President.
Present from the administrative staff were Dr.
Robert Nielsen, Dr. Roger Kilpatrick, Mrs. Sally Tucker and Mr. Barry Reilly.
Ms. Linda Aschenbrener, Public Relations Facilitator, was also in attendance.
Present from
the news media was Ms. Michele Steinbacher from The
Pantagraph, and Ms. Janka Albert, TV-10 News.
It was moved by Mr. Dirks, seconded by
Mrs. Roth, that Mrs. Jackson be elected President of the Board of Education for
a one-year term. Upon a roll call vote,
all Members present voted “Aye”. Motion
carried.
It was moved by Mr. Herrera, seconded by Mrs. Smith,
that Mr. Dirks be elected Vice-President of the Board of Education for a
one-year term. Upon a roll call vote,
all Members present voted “Aye”. Motion
carried.
It was moved by Mrs. Jackson, seconded by Mrs. Smith
that Ms. Clancy be appointed Secretary of the Board of Education. Upon a roll call vote, all Members present
voted “Aye”. Motion carried.
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It was moved by Mrs. Jackson, seconded by Mrs. Roth,
that Dr. Kilpatrick be appointed Treasurer of the Board of Education. Upon a roll call vote, all Members present
voted “Aye”. Motion carried.
It
was moved by Mr. Dirks, seconded by Mr. Hanson that the Board approve the Ad Hoc Committees and Other Appointees. Upon a roll call vote, all Members present
voted “Aye”. Motion carried. (See
with Original Minutes, Attachment 04-14-04/1)
Mrs. Jackson was seated as Board President. She thanked Mrs. Smith on behalf of the Board
for her work and dedication as Board President for the past year and presented
her with a gavel.
Mrs. Smith stated that she enjoyed the
experience.
It was moved by Mr. Hanson, seconded by Mrs. Roth
that the Board approve the Calendar of Regular Board
Meetings from
Mrs. Jackson presented the Minutes for
approval. It was moved by Mr. Davis, seconded by Mrs. Smith that the Minutes of
the Regular Meeting held on
Mrs.
Vickie Slagell, Stevenson School Principal, introduced Mr. Chris Bohne, Stevenson School's Media Specialist and Ms. Sue
Hardy, Stevenson Kindergarten teacher. With the help of Illinois State
University (ISU) Business Education student Ms. Tricia Woods, they created an iMovie titled, "The Living Alphabet." The video
included Ms. Hardy's kindergarten students creating
the letters of the alphabet with their bodies. The iMovie
was created to help students learn the alphabet.
Students in Mrs. Julie Dawson's, Stephaney Jones' and Jeff Murphy's third grade classes at
Mrs. Jackson thanked the group for the
presentation and asked them to come forward and receive appreciation from the
Board.
Mrs. Cindy Helmers, Bloomington High School (BHS)
Principal, introduced BHS students, Yemi Alliu and Brandon Hughes. Alliu
and Hughes recently competed at the Illinois Prep Top Times Indoor State Meet
at the
Mrs. Jackson congratulated the students on
their accomplishments and asked them to come forward and receive
congratulations from the Board.
Mrs. Helmers introduced BHS students
Andrew Lawrence and Jennifer Burge, Pantagraph Student of the Year Finalists.
Lawrence and Burge are both involved in many activities at BHS, including Band
and Student Council.
Mrs. Jackson congratulated the students on
their accomplishments and asked them and their parents to come forward and
receive congratulations from the Board.
Mr.
Herrera
reported he attended a recent Minority Teacher Recruitment
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Program
meeting.
The committee agreed to allocate monies to a current ISU student. The group is
also working on getting the word out about scholarship opportunities to current
ISU and Illinois Wesleyan University (IWU) students.
Mr. Davis reported that he has collected all Superintendent
evaluations and has provided copies to Members of the Board. A Closed Session
meeting will be held at a later date to discuss the findings. Mr. Davis
reported that the Board Policy committee will meet on April 15 from
Mr. Dirks announced that the Beyond the Books Educational Foundation
grant recipients will be announced soon.
Mrs. Jackson invited all Board Members to the Corn Belt Division
meeting on Monday, May 3rd in
Mr.
Mike Williams, President of the Bloomington/Normal National Association
for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and Ms. Willie Halbert, community member, spoke
in opposition of eliminating the position of Director of Title I,
WHEREAS, the Superintendent and the Bloomington
School Board members of District 87 have failed to present the real rationale
for the elimination of one Director position and one Secretary position
(assigned at the District level) during public appearances before the
African-American Community and District 87 voters.
WHEREAS, their original rationale stated that “The
state is eliminating the Gifted Program this year and based upon the census
data, the Title I funds will be further reduced due to a 25%-3% decrease in low
income students. The cuts in Title I are in addition
to about $100,000 in cuts this year.”
WHEREAS, the Illinois State Board of Education has
unequivocally stated that this information is incorrect. Also, the Board of Education confirmed that
for the school year 2004-2005, District 87 will have available at least a
$30,000 increase over the 2003-2004 school year. We deem incorrect the Superintendent and
District 87’s position that based upon the difference between the budget for
the Director position and that of the proposed teaching position,
they would have to release three teachers to maintain the staff.
WHEREAS, due to efforts of the Director, the reading
scores for students in First Grade increased from 71% mastery in 1999 to 89%
mastery in 2003, and for students in Second Grade, the scores increased from
65% mastery in 1999 to 96% master in 2003.
As a result of the development of the Reading Program and support that
has been provided by the Title I Program, District 87 students have exceedd the District goals over the past several years.
WHEREAS, District 87 failed to achieve their goal
that states, “We will recruit, retain, train, support and recognize an
outstanding, diverse teacher staff, support staff and administration that
reflect the population of Bloomington Public Schools District 87.” The Superintendent and School Board failed to
uphold the spirit of this goal by voting to remove of the Director, the only
African American in an administrative position in Central Office. In addition, they operated in a questionable
manner with other African-American administrators in prior years.
WHEREAS, by removing the only African American in an
administrative position in Central Office, they ignored and placed in serious
jeopardy achievement of the goal that states, “We will continue to provide an
educational environment that promotes respect for, and an appreciation of
diversity among students, staff and the community.”
WHEREAS, the
work with the community by
refusing to acknowledge, discuss, or accept the generous offer.
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WHEREAS, the Superintendent and the Bloomington
School Board have engaged in questionable hiring practices by filling two
principal positions with individuals less qualified than the Director while
acknowledging that there was a need to reduce an administrative position prior
to the filling of these principal
positions. Consequently, they did not offer the said
positions to the Director-thus engaging in questionable hiring practices.
WHEREAS, these actions by the Superintendent and the
Bloomington School Board Members of District 87 have resulted in a loss of
confidence and public trust in the Superintendent and the Board’s ability to
lead or to make sound decisions within District 87 for the African-American
community and supporters; therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED, that the African-American community
and supporters voice a vote of no confidence in the Superintendent and the
District 87 School Board members.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the African-American
community and supporters, will distribute this Resolution to the Illinois State
Board of Education and the U.S. Department of Justice to determine the
agreement or disagreement with the African-American community and other
supporters whether this action of the Superintendent and the Bloomington School
Board Members of District 87 is just or unjust.
A copy of this resolution will also be provided to the aforementioned
District and Superintendent to be placed in the official file of District 87
for future reference.
Signed on this 30 day of March,
the year of 2004, by the following organizations and churches.
Bloomington/Normal NAACP Mt. Moriah
Christian Church
(See
with Original Minutes, Attachment 04-14-04/3)
Mrs. Roth announced that she and Mr. Herrera attended a recent
Minority Educator Awards ceremony where Dr. JoAnn
Walters was presented with the Minority Educator of the Year award from the
Bloomington Normal Education Alliance.
Mrs. Jackson, Mr. Dirks and Dr. Nielsen attended an awards ceremony
that same night honoring Ms. Brenda Dianne Cinkovich,
Bloomington Junior High School (BJHS) Art Teacher, Ms. Karen Kelly-Schierholtz, BHS Special Education Teacher and Ms. Karen Monhardt, BHS Music Teacher for achieving National Board
Certification - known as the highest professional honor a teacher can achieve.
Mrs. Helmers and Dr. Sue Silvey, BJHS Principal, presented
proposed BHS Graduation Requirements starting with the Class of 2009.
The proposal includes:
• Change the required credits in English from 3.5 to 4
• Change the required credits in Social Studies from 2.5 to 3
• Change the required credits in Math from 2 to 3
• Change the required credits in Science from 2 to 3
• The amount of credits for graduation will remain at 23.5
• In addition, it is a joint recommendation of Bloomington Junior High School
and Bloomington High School that students who successfully complete the courses
of Algebra I, French I and Spanish I at BJHS earn BHS credit.
•Course outlines, syllabus, and textbooks will be the same for BHS and BJHS
students
•Both semester exams will be the same for BHS and BJHS
students
•Grades in these classes will be included in each student's High School Grade
Point Average (GPA).
Dr. Nielsen proposed updated changes to the Elementary Handbook
previously
proposed on March 10th.
Dr.
Nielsen proposed changes to the 2003-2004 School Calendar in which the the last pupil attendance day will be Tuesday, June 1st if
the Board of Education
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grants June 2, 3, 4, and 8, 2004 as Board Holidays since no emergency
days were utilized during the current school year.
Mrs.
Jackson presented the Consent Agenda for consideration. It was moved by Mr. Hanson, seconded by Mrs.
Smith that the Consent Agenda (Personnel Report, Bills, Payroll, Treasurer’s
Report, Financial Summary, BHS/BJHS Paving Bid Recommendation, BHS Chiller
Plant Addition & Old Academic HVAC Upgrade Bid Recommendation, BHS North Gym
Floor Renovation Bid Recommendation, District Roof Replacement Bid
Recommendation (BHS South Gym Roof and BJHS Roof), District Asbestos Abatement
Bid Recommendation (Sheridan and Raymond), District Carpeting Bid
Recommendation (Sheridan, Raymond, and BJHS), Elementary HVAC Upgrade Bid
Recommendation (Bent, Oakland, and Washington), Stevenson Paving Bid
Recommendation, District Lawn Maintenance Bid Recommendation, and Renewal of
BHS Membership in the Illinois High School Association be approved. Upon a roll
call vote, all Members present, voted “Aye”.
Motion carried. (See with Original Minutes, Attachment 04-14-04/4)
It
was moved by Mr. Davis, seconded by Mr. Herrera that the Board approve the Student Fees for 2004-05. Upon a roll call vote, all Members present,
voted “Aye”. Motion carried. (See
with Original Minutes, Attachment 04-14-04/5)
It
was moved by Mrs. Smith, seconded by Mr. Davis that the Board approve the BHS Textbook Adoption for 2004-05. Upon a roll call vote, all Members present,
voted “Aye”. Motion carried. (See
with Original Minutes, Attachment 04-14-04/6)
It
was moved by Mrs. Roth, seconded by Mr. Dirks that the Board approve
the Resolution: Allocation of Funds for Projects to be Funded by the John M.
Scott Vocational Education Trust. Upon a
roll call vote, all Members present, voted “Aye”. Motion carried. (See with Original
Minutes, Attachment 04-14-04/7)
It
was moved by Mr. Davis, seconded by Mr. Hanson that the Board approve the Reduction In Force (affecting two Program
Assistants). Upon a roll call vote, all
Members present, voted “Aye”. Motion
carried. (See with Original Minutes, Attachment 04-14-04/8)
Ms. Renee Ruffin Brewer sought answers from the
Board regarding Summer School eligibility and scholarship availability.
It was moved by Mr. Davis, seconded by Mr. Hanson that the Board go into Closed Session to consider the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees of District 87, including hearing testimony on a complaint lodged against an employee to determine its validity; and to consider a student disciplinary case. Upon a roll call vote, all Members present voted “Aye”. Motion carried.
It was moved by Mr. Herrera, seconded by Mr. Dirks 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, President Jackson adjourned the meeting.
APPROVED:
_________________________________
President
ATTEST:
_______________________________
Secretary