MINUTES - REGULAR MEETING OF
THE BOARD OF EDUCATION
May
9, 2007 6:30 P.M. Educational
The Board of Education of the
Ms. Marianne Clancy, Board Secretary, established a
quorum and the following Members were present: Mr. Michael Harrison, Mr. Joseph
Butcher, Mrs. Cheryl Jackson, Mrs. Millicent Roth, Mr. John Dirks, and Mrs.
Janet Smith, Board President. Mr. Keith
Davis was absent.
Present from the administrative staff were Dr.
Robert Nielsen, Mr. David Wood, Mr. Barry Reilly and Mrs. Teresa Hill.
Present from
the news media was Ms. Sharon Wolfe, The Pantagraph, and Mr. Bret Lemoine, WMBD/WYZZ TV.
May 9, 2007 6:33 P.M. Educational
Ms. Marianne Clancy, Board Secretary, established a
quorum and the following Members were present: Mr. John Dirks Mrs. Cheryl
Jackson, Mrs. Millicent Roth, Mr. Michael Harrison, Mr. Joseph Butcher and Mrs.
Janet Smith, Board President.
Mr. Stephen
Perry took his seat as a new Board Member.
Mr. Joseph
Butcher, Mr. Stephen Perry and Mr. Michael Harrison, as newly elected Board
Members, read the following oath separately:
I,
(name), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully discharge the
duties of the office of member of the Board of Education of the Bloomington
Public Schools, District #87, in accordance with the Constitution of the United
States, the Constitution of the State of Illinois, and the laws of the State of
Illinois, to the best of my ability.
I further
swear (or affirm) that:
~ I shall
respect taxpayer interests by serving as a faithful protector of the school
district's assets;
~ I shall
encourage and respect the free expression of opinion by my fellow board members
and others who seek a hearing before the board, while respecting the privacy of
students and employees;
Board Meeting
May 9, 2007
Page 2
~ I shall recognize
that a board member has no legal authority as an individual and that decisions
can be made only by a majority vote at a public board meeting; and
~ I shall
abide by majority decisions of the board, while retaining the right to seek
changes in such decisions through ethical and constructive channels.
It was moved by Mr. Butcher, seconded by Mrs. Roth,
that Mrs. Smith 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 Mrs. Smith, seconded by Mr. Harrison,
that Mrs. Jackson 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 Mr. Dirks
that Ms. Clancy be appointed Secretary of the Board of Education. Upon a roll call vote, all Members present
voted “Aye”. Motion carried.
It was moved by Mr. Perry, seconded by Mr. Butcher,
that Mr. Wood be appointed Treasurer of the Board of Education. Upon a roll call vote, all Members present voted
“Aye”. Motion carried.
It was moved by Mrs. Jackson, seconded by Mrs. Roth
to approve all current Ad Hoc Committees and Other Appointees. Upon a roll call
vote, all Members present voted “Aye”.
Motion carried. (See with
Original Minutes, Attachment 05-09-07/1)
It was moved by Mr. Dirks, seconded by Mrs. Jackson
that the Board approve the Calendar of Regular Board Meetings from May 23, 2007
to June 25, 2008. Upon a roll call vote,
all Members present voted “Aye”. Motion
carried. (See with Original Minutes,
Attachment 05-09-07/2)
Mrs. Smith presented the Minutes for approval. It was moved by Mrs. Jackson, seconded by Mrs. Roth, that the Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Board of Education held on April 25, 2007 and the Minutes of the Closed Meeting of the Board of Education held on April 27, 2007 be approved. Upon a roll call vote, Mr. Harrison, Mr. Dirks, Mrs. Jackson, Mr. Butcher, Mrs. Roth and Mrs. Smith voted “Aye”. Mr. Perry abstained as he had not been sworn in as an official Member of the Board at that time. Motion carried.
Dr. Nielsen recognized Mr. Tim Moore, Bloomington High School (BHS) Associate Principal, as the new BHS Principal effective July 1, 2007.
Mr. Moore introduced Mr. Bryan Wolfe, current Bloomington Junior High School (BJHS) Physical Education teacher, as the new BHS Assistant Principal effective August 1, 2007.
Mrs. Smith congratulated Mr. Moore and Mr. Wolfe on their new positions and asked them to come forward and receive personal congratulations from the Board.
Mr. Butcher stated he met with Mr. Tom Frazier,
Bloomington Area Vocational Center (BAVC) Director and it was a very
informative meeting.
Board Meeting
May 9, 2007
Page 3
Mr. Dirks stated that there were 35 grant requests
for the Beyond the Books Educational Foundation (BTB) to review and 16 grants will
be awarded for $12,903 at the end-of-the year staff recognitions.
Mrs. Jackson stated that she, Mrs. Smith and Dr.
Nielsen attended the Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB) Cornbelt meeting in Fairbury last week where Mr. Mark Harms
from Flanagan School Board was elected as Director, replacing Mrs. Jackson in
that position. Mrs. Jackson stated that
she was elected Chairman of the Cornbelt Division and
Mr. Steve Hammer,
Mrs. Smith received a few emails from concerned
parents in the
Mrs. Smith stated that she, Dr. Nielsen, Mr. Wood
and Mr. John Pratt, attorney, attended a meeting at Mayor Steve Stockton’s
office concerning the Tax Increment Finance (TIF)District in downtown
Bloomington and what taxation venues we could use to help with downtown
redevelopment, but not at the expense of the school district or other taxing
bodies. She stated that there will be a
committee formed to discuss the guidelines and the principles to be followed as
we work with funding streams for redevelopment.
Mr. Wood, Mr. Pratt and Mrs. Smith will be the District 87
representatives on this committee.
Mr. Dirks suggested putting together an educational
piece on how this process will work.
Mr. Wood presented the suggested Student/Parent
Handbooks changes for the 2007-08 school year. Changes will affect the following areas:
Student
Handbooks, 2008 Standard Provisions
·
General Building & Security
·
Student Accident Insurance
·
Transportation
·
Missing Children Records Act
·
Special Diets
·
Sex Offender Community Notification
Student
Handbooks, 2008 Routine Changes
·
Names, Dates, Pictures & Other Factual
Descriptions
·
Spelling & Grammar
·
Minor Editorial Purposes
Student
Handbooks, 2008 Elementary
·
Standard Provisions
·
English as a Second Language
·
Medical Excuse for P.E. classes
·
Excused Absences
·
Tardiness/Leaving Early
·
Lunch Program
Board Meeting
May 9, 2007
Page 4
·
Student Discipline
·
Student Appearance
Student
Handbooks, 2008 BJHS
·
Standard Provisions
Student
Handbooks, 2008 BHS
·
Standard Provisions
·
Unapproved Absences
·
Dress and Grooming, Personal Appearance,
Student Attire
·
Identification Cards
·
Gross Misconduct or Disobedience
Changes
recommended concern the language for emergency sirens in Transportation and clarification regarding the use of electronic
devices within the Gross Misconduct and Disobedience section of Student Discipline.
These changes will be applied at all
grade levels.
Mr.
Wood stated that he would make suggested changes and bring them back for Board
consideration at the May 23, 2007 Board Meeting.
Dr. Nielsen presented the following Board
of Education policies for Second Reading and asked for any suggestions or
changes: 2.010 School
District Governance; 2.020 Powers and Duties of the School Board; 2.040 School
Board Membership; 2.080 Board Member Oath and Conduct; 2.110 Qualifications,
Term, and Duties of Board Officers; 2.130 Board—Superintendent Relationship;
2.140 Communications To and From the Board; 2.150 Committee Organization; 2.200
Regular Meetings; 2.202 Closed
Meetings; 2.206 Special Meetings; 2.208 Emergency Meetings; 2.210
Organizational School Board Meetings; 2.220 Agenda; 2.222 Voting Method; 2.224
Minutes: Regular, Special, Adjourned, Emergency, Closed; 2.240 Board Policy
Development; 6.235 Access to Electronic Networks.
Mr.
Perry stated that in Board Policy 2.208, Emergency Meetings, the new paragraph that
is suggested is about Regular Meetings, not Emergency Meetings. This paragraph should go into policy 2.200,
Regular Meetings.
Mr. Perry stated that in Policy 2.240,
Board Policy Development, in the last paragraph on page 1, the last full
sentence is repeating the sentence before it and should be omitted.
Dr. Nielsen stated these changes will be
made and brought back at the next Board Meeting for Board consideration.
Mr. Reilly presented a proposed plan for summer training for
the District's Office and Technical Employees (OTE) through the introduction of
an OTE Moveable Feast.
The OTE Feast will be similar to the
already available Feasts offered to teachers and administrators. Topics for
training will include: communication skills, Skyward financials; textbook
tracking; data mining, fee management, dealing with challenging/difficult
people and situations and evaluations. Staff who complete the training will be
eligible for a stipend and an increase in their hourly rates. The OTE Feast is
scheduled to take place on July 30 and 31st and can accommodate up to 70 staff
members.
It was
moved by Mrs. Jackson, seconded by Mr. Dirks, that the Consent Agenda (Human
Resources Report, Bills, Payroll, BHS North Entrance Bid Recommendation, BHS
North Parking Lot Bid Recommendation and the Contract for
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May 9, 2007
Page 5
Facilities Use) be approved. Upon a roll call vote, all Members present,
voted “Aye”. Motion carried. (See
with Original Minutes, Attachment 05-09-07/3)
Dr.
Nielsen stated that he passed out a list of Staff Recognitions that will be
held in May and June and asked the Board to sign up to attend the ones that
their schedules allowed. He stated that
we would like a Board Member at each event.
He also noted that the BTB will be presenting the BTB grants at these
recognitions.
It was moved by Mrs. Jackson,
seconded by Mr. Dirks, that the 2006-07 Amended School Calendar be
approved. Upon a roll call vote, all
Members present, voted “Aye”. Motion
carried. (See with Original Minutes, Attachment 05-09-07/4)
It was moved by Mrs. Roth,
seconded by Mrs. Jackson, that the First Student Contract Extension be
approved. Upon a roll call vote, all Members present, voted “Aye”. Motion carried. (See with Original
Minutes, Attachment 05-09-07/5)
It was moved by Mrs. Jackson,
seconded by Mr. Harrison, that the Resolution: Intervention in 2006 Appeals to
the Property Tax Appeal Board, be approved. Upon a roll call vote, all Members
present, voted “Aye”. Motion carried. (See
with Original Minutes, Attachment 05-09-07/6)
It was moved by Mr. Harrison, seconded by Mr. Butcher, that the
Board go into Closed Session for the purpose of considering 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. 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.
APPPROVED: ATTEST:
___________________________ ___________________________
President Secretary