MINUTES - REGULAR MEETING OF
THE BOARD OF EDUCATION
May 24, 2006 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: Mrs. Cheryl Jackson, Mr. Keith
Davis, Mr. John Dirks and Mrs. Janet Smith, Board Vice-President. Mr. Uvaldo Herrera, Board President and Mrs.
Millicent Roth were absent.
Present from the administrative staff were Mr. David
Wood, Mr. Barry Reilly and Dr. Robert Nielsen.
Ms. Linda Aschenbrener, Public Relations Facilitator, was also in attendance.
Present from the news media was Ms. Phyllis Coulter, The Pantagraph.
Mrs. Smith presented the
Minutes for approval. It was moved by
Mr. Dirks, seconded by Mr. Davis, that the Minutes of the Special Meeting of
the Board of Education held on May 6, 2006, the Minutes of the Closed Meeting
of the Board of Education held on May 6, 2006, the Regular Meeting of the
Board of Education held on May 10, 2006 and the Minutes of the Closed Meeting
of the Board of Education held on May 10, 2006 be approved. Upon a roll call vote, all Members present voted “Aye”. Motion carried.
Present for recognition this evening were several of the Beyond the Books
Educational Foundation grants recipients.
Grant recipients included:
Bent School: • Ms. Sue Blume, Ms. Denise Myatt, Ms. Julie
Vesper, $675, BKIND - Bringing Kids Into
New Dimensions; • Ms. Denise Myatt, $198, Visiting Professionals Series; • Ms. Kathy Hernandez, $200, Gel-Board Writing; • Ms. Connie Young, $184, I See Me! Multicultural Library
• Ms. Debbie Armendariz, $500, Picture Books of Black and Latino Americans;
• Ms. Debbie
Armendariz, Stevenson $720, Cozy
Bloomington
High School (BHS): • Ms. Kathryn
Gillespie, Mr. Tom Thakral, $1,112, Totally
Real Math; • Ms. Keran Johnson, Mr. Rob Behrens, Ms. Sondra Vogel, Ms. Natalie Miller,
Mr. Bob Loy, Ms. Mary Pat Brady, Ms. Aimee Thacker, Mr. Scott Foley, $812, Cultural Diversity; • Ms. Christine Jones, $128, Current
Events; • Mr. Stanley Otto, $875, Projector
Board Meeting
May 24, 2006
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Joint
Districts Schools: • Mr. David
Hint,
Mr. Dirks stated that he enjoyed seeing the grant writers creativity.
Mrs. Smith asked those recipients present to come forward and receive
personal congratulations from the Board.
Mr. E.J. Brady introduced
several members of the 7th grade boys track team who won 4th
place in the Illinois Elementary School Association (IESA) State meet in
Morton. He also introduced several
members of the 8th grade girls track team who ended their Jr. High
careers with a runner-up state trophy.
He stated that 31 track team members competed at State this year.
Mrs. Smith congratulated the teams on their
successes and asked Coach Brady, team members and any parents present to come
forward and receive personal congratulations from the Board.
Mr. Aaron Culbertson, BHS Track Coach, introduced BHS sophomore Ashley
Verplank who received
Mrs. Smith congratulated Ashley on her successes and
asked Coach Culbertson, Ashley and her parents to come forward and receive
personal congratulations from the Board.
Mr. Jeff Lockenvitz, Washington School Principal, thanked and praised the
over 1500 volunteers and donors for their outstanding efforts in creating a
one-of-a-kind playground for
Mr. Lockenvitz stated that he was humbled by people’s willingness to give
their time, talent, resources and finances to build the playground.
Mr. Lockenvitz also thanked the steering committee and the individuals
that served as Construction Captains during the build. Those present at the Board meeting included:
Mr. Erik Prenzler, Ms. Xandra Lee, Ms.
Deborah Halperin, Ms. Rhonda Massie, Mr. John Gill, Mr. Andy Ommen, Mr. Jeff
Stevenson, Mr. Andrew Jumonville, Mr. Joe Santiago, Mr. Matt Purcell, Ms. Karen
Arseneault, Ms. Karen O’Shea and Ms.
Tawni Martin.
Mr. Dirks stated that he attended the Achievement Taskforce meeting on
Monday and things are progressing well.
He also stated that the next meeting for the taskforce is May 31, 2006.
Mrs. Smith reminded everyone that there will be a joint meeting of the
District 87 and Unit 5 Boards of Education on May 31, 2006 at 7:00 p.m. at the
Farm Bureau Building at 402 North Hershey, Bloomington, IL.
Bloomington
District 87 Sesquicentennial committee members presented an update on plans for
the District's upcoming Sesquicentennial celebrations.
Ms. Phyllis Pederson and Ms. Julie
Cooper, members of the Building Level Activity sub-committee, stated that the
pansy will be a recurring theme in the celebration of the school system's 150th
anniversary because the flower is the reason the school colors are purple and
gold. Mrs. Cooper stated that a
Board Meeting
May 24, 2006
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the
colors were chosen in honor of him.
The
celebration will kick off April 6, 2007, with a birthday party in each of the
schools and will end in May, 2008 with closing ceremonies reminiscent of the
Olympics.
Ms. Dianne Cinkovich, Publicity
sub-committee chairperson, presented an updated version of the sesquicentennial
logo designed by BHS student, Tracey McMurray, whose design was chosen from 167
entries.
"Celebrating 150 years of
excellence in education" is the event's slogan, she said.
Mr. Dan Leifel, Publication
sub-committee member, stated that the
celebration will include a book with historical facts of the District. Mr.
Leifel, one of the authors of the book, said it is expected to be written by
August, 2007.
Mr. Rick Laleman, Hall of Fame
sub-committee member, stated that the Sesquicentennial celebrations will
include the creation of a Hall of Fame, which will have two parts: honoring
people who have contributed to the district and honoring BHS alumni who have
excelled.
Mr. Laleman stated that the
categories will be similar to the YWCA's Women of Distinction awards. He stated that the committee will choose the
first six inductees, and future nominations will come from the public each
year.
Ms.
Deb Anderson and Ms. Mary Pat Brady, Opening and Closing Ceremonies
sub-committee members, reported that there will be a parade on September 23,
2007 beginning at
The
Closing Celebration on May 4, 2008, will be a carnival type atmosphere with
food, games and memorabilia booths and will also be held at the BHS football
field.
Dr. Nielsen stated that the
sesquicentennial committee members are an exciting group of people to work with.
Dr. Nielsen recommended that the two Board
Meetings in July be cancelled. He will
bring this back to the next Board Meeting on June 14, 2006 for Board
consideration.
Mrs.
Smith presented the Consent Agenda for Approval. It was moved by Mrs. Jackson, seconded by Mr.
Dirks, that the Consent Agenda (Human Resources Report, Bills, Treasurer’s
Report, Financial Summary, Washington School Fence Bid Recommendation, and the
Irving School Fence Bid Recommendation) be approved. Upon a roll call vote, all Members present,
voted “Aye”. Motion carried. (See
with Original Minutes, Attachment 5-24-06/1)
It was
moved by Mr. Dirks, seconded by
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May 24, 2006
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It was moved by Mr. Davis,
seconded by Mrs. Jackson, that the Resolution to Fill Vacancy on Board of
Education be approved. Upon a roll call vote, all Members present, voted
“Aye”. Motion carried. (See with
Original Minutes, Attachment 5-24-06/3)
It was moved by Mrs. Jackson, seconded by Mr. Dirks, that the
Board go into Closed Session for the purpose of considering an action against,
affecting or on behalf of the District that has been filed and is pending
before a court or administrative tribunal, or when the District finds that an
action is probable or imminent, in which case the basis for the finding shall
be recorded and entered into the minutes of the closed meeting; and 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. 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