MINUTES - REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION

 

September 14, 2005            6:30 P.M.       Educational Services Center

 

The Board of Education of the Bloomington Public Schools, School District 87, McLean County, Illinois, met in Regular Session.

 

Mr. John Dirks, Board President established a quorum and the following Members were present: Mrs. Janet Smith, Mrs. Cheryl Jackson, Mrs. Millicent Roth and Mr. John Hanson.  Mr. Keith Davis and Mr. Uvaldo Herrera were absent.

 

Present from the administrative staff were Mr. Barry Reilly, Mrs. Sally Tucker and Mr. David Wood.

 

      Ms. Linda Aschenbrener, Public Relations Facilitator, was also in attendance.

 

      It was moved by Mrs. Smith, seconded by Mrs. Jackson that Ms. Aschenbrener serve as Secretary Pro Tem. Upon a roll call vote, all Members present voted “Aye”.  Motion carried.

 

Present from the news media was Ms. Michelle Steinbacher, The Pantagraph, and Mr. Erik Stock, WJBC Radio Station.

 

     Mr. Dirks presented the Minutes for approval.  It was moved by Mr. Davis, seconded by Mrs. Jackson, that the Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Board of Education held on August 15, 2005, the Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Board of Education held on August 17, 2005 and the Minutes of the Closed Meeting of the Board of Education held on August 17, 2005 be approved.   Upon a roll call vote all Members present voted “Aye” on the Special Meeting Minutes for August 15, 2005.  Mr. Dirks, Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Jackson and Mrs. Roth voted “Aye” on the Regular and Closed Meeting Minutes of August 17, 2005.  Mr. Hanson abstained from voting on those two sets of Minutes as he was not in attendance at those meetings. Motion carried.

 

Mrs. Connie Mueller, Director of Food Services, acknowledged the efforts of several Food Service staff and their involvement in the Summer School Lunch program.  The District prepared and delivered meals to five sites this year and operated a walk in lunch at Second Presbyterian Church.

Food Service employees present included: Ms. Karen Collins, Ms. Linda Weinzierl, Ms. Tami Walden, Ms. Brenda Wheeler, Mr. Mark Dietz, Ms. Ethel Hovde and Ms. Kate Prault.

 

      Mr. Dirks thanked the group for all their hard work and asked them to come forward and receive congratulations from the Board.

 

Mr. Russ Miller from the Bloomington Rotary was on hand to receive recognition for the group’s efforts in providing free dictionaries each year to 3rd grade students at Irving and Sheridan Schools.  The Rotary Club also recognizes the efforts of a teacher at each school through the annual “Zeke Stanfield Award.”  Teachers are chosen for their efforts in literacy and are provided with a monetary award to be used for the purchase of material.

 

Mr. & Mrs. Sherman Wilkerson, retired employees of Verizon, approached the District last year and offered to provide dictionaries to 3rd graders in our remaining elementary schools.  The Wilkersons, and several other retired Verizon employees provided over 1,300 dictionaries to District 87 and Unit 5 students last year.

 

Mr. Dirks thanked Mr. Miller and the Wilkersons for their generous contributions and asked them to come forward and be thanked personally by the Board.

 

Eighth grade students at Bloomington Junior High School (BJHS) were recognized for their efforts in organizing a school-wide relief drive for victims of Hurricane Katrina that brought in a truck load of supplies and $300 cash. The Mattress Doctor delivered the donations to the Houston Astrodome.   BJHS students Renee Howard, Reyhanna Pippins, Bailey Bottorff and Paige Bolek organized,  promoted and held the drive in just one weekend and two school days. The idea was suggested by fellow student, Alicia Gonzalez.

 

Mr. Dirks congratulated the students on their success and asked the students to come forward and receive congratulations from the Board.

 

Mrs. Jackson stated she recently attended an Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB) Corn Belt Division meeting where members took part in a self-evaluation.

 

Mr. Dirks reported that the Beyond the Books Educational Foundation recently held their organizational meeting and discussed fundraising efforts.

 

Mr. Hanson and Mrs. Roth attended the Bloomington High School (BHS) Booster Club Steak Fry and had a great time.

 

Mrs. Roth reminded the Board of an upcoming Sesquicentennial Committee meeting on September 20, 2005.  Mrs. Roth stated that she volunteered at the Back to School event held by the University of Illinois Extension Office and the 4H Club.  Free materials were provided to K-12 students with proof of registration.

 

Mrs. Vickie Slagell, Stevenson School Principal, provided a report on Summer School 2005.  Her report included the following:

 

The 2004-05 Bloomington District 87 Summer School was held at Bloomington Junior High School.  More than 1,100 summer school applications were distributed to students in Early Childhood Education (ECE) through grade 8.  Scholarships for the $200 tuition fee were offered to 55 elementary students with 19 children responding to the stipend.  Three hundred sixty-five students initially enrolled, which included 41 from BJHS, 246 from the six elementary schools and 78 non tuition students attending Special Education classes.  All selected students from Irving and Sheridan Schools attended tuition free due to the Summer Bridges grant.  In addition, 132 high school students attended the summer Band Camp.  Seventy-six elementary and middle school students participated in the summer band program and 31 students attended the strings sessions held at BJHS.  Summer school (excluding the music program) was held over 24 days, three hours per day beginning on Monday, June 6 and ending Friday, July 8.  Hours were 8:30 to 11:30 a.m.

 

Three requirements had to be met for students to successfully complete summer school: attendance requirement (attend 22 of 24 days), good behavior and passing marks/grades.  

 

Speech and language therapy was provided for 27 students whose Individual Education Plans (IEP) identified these services.  Twelve students were provided with physical therapy, and 15 students received occupational therapy services.  Nursing services were available throughout the entire summer school program.

 

Bus service was provided for every child whose family designated the need for transportation.  Seven busses were used for pick-up at the six elementary schools, the Early Childhood Center and 26 additional local sites.  Five buses provided door-to-door service for children enrolled in all special education classes, in addition to two out-of-district buses transporting children.

 

Changes/additions this year included:

 

  • incorporation of Summer Bridges Program
  • teacher training for entire staff
  • formal breakfast served daily
  • parent survey
  • transportation changes due to construction of new lot

Mr. Hanson asked if there was anything the Board could do to increase participation in summer school. After a brief discussion, Mrs. Slagell agreed to meet with her colleagues and present a proposal to the board on ways to improve attendance.

Mrs.Slagell provided a report on the Early Start program at Stevenson which included:  

  • Stevenson Elementary School and Bloomington Junior High offered on-site Early Start Bilingual Summer Program for selected students who completed grades 2/3,4 and 5 during the 2004-2005 school year. These three classes were totally funded by the Title III Bilingual grant This program was taught by three teachers and organized by the ELL program coordinator with an administrator overseeing the classes during the three weeks. Students attended classes from 8:30-ll:30 am. during the dates Monday, July 25 through Friday, August 12,. 2005. Teachers. were paid from 8:00-12:00. Program coordinator and administrator hours varied based on grant finances.
  • Twenty elementary students were invited with 17 of them attending and 14 completing the program (due to moves) at the Stevenson location. Nine students enrolled in the second/third grade bilingual class and eight enrolled in the 4th grade bilingual program. Nine fifth grade students attended at Bloomington Junior High and completed the program All students were provided door-to-door transportation using one bus for the elementary students and one bus for the junior high students. The second/third grade students were selected because they will be enrolled in a 3-4 multiage bilingual class during the 2005-2006 school year. The fourth grade students were selected because they will be in a totally English based classroom as fifth graders. The fifth grade students who will enter sixth grade for 2005-2006 were selected because they had received no self- contained services during the past school year.

 

  • In preparation for the Early Start Bilingual program, the coordinator and teachers made phone calls and home visits during the week of July 18. Parent literacy on student skills in language arts was the emphasis of the communication with parents. The two goals requested of parents were: to read daily with their child/ren and have their student/s attend at least 14 out of 15 days of Early Start.
  • Two major student goals were set for Early Start Bilingual. The students who will be enrolled as third, fourth and fifth graders would enhance their knowledge in the use of the formal reading/writing workshop they will be routinely studying during the 2005-2006 school year. The upcoming sixth grade students would enhance their use of English skills to achieve grade goals in the academic areas of reading, writing and communication.

 

 

Ms. Stacey Bentley, 4th Grade Teacher at Irving School, provided the Early Start recap for Irving School:

 

  • The program offered 90 hours of direct student involvement
  • The program kicked off on a Friday and the Family Kickoff dinner was held the following Sunday, where program expectations were communicated with parents
  • All 2004-2005 Irving students were invited
  • 131 K-5 students participated  in the 11 day program, which was held from July 29 to Aug 12 from 8:30 a.m to 1:30 p.m.  
  • The attendance rate was high 93.5%
  • School supplies were provided and all students were provided with breakfast and lunch
  • The primary focus of Early Start was literacy, concentrating on phonics development and reading comprehension
  • Students were assessed using the ISEL (check with Sally on this)
  • It was the first year Irving was able to invite Kindergarten students

 

Mr. Jim Cooper, Sheridan School Principal, provided the Early Start recap for Sheridan School:

 

  • Due to reduced Title I monies, only incoming Kindergarten and 1st grade students were invited this year.  Title III funds were used for the bilingual program.
  • This is the program’s fourth year at Sheridan
  • 78 students attended
  • 92% attendance recorded
  • the program kicked-off with home visits to make the school-home connection
  • school supplies were donated

 

Sheridan School has ten sections of Kindergarten & 1st Grade classes this year.  Nine out of 10 of the Kindergarten & 1st Grade teachers were involved in Early Start.

 

Mr. Cooper mentioned that it served as a wonderful introduction for the schools bilingual students who joined Sheridan School this year.

 

Mr. Dirks thanked the staff for their creative use of monies and applauded their efforts.

 

Mrs.  Mueller reported on the Summer Food programs.  She began by stating that it was a very busy summer for her and her staff.  She was approached at Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) meetings on the possibility of holding a Summer School food program in the past, but the dream was able to be realized with the partnership of Reverend Ted Pierce at Second Presbyterian Church (2nd Pres).  

 

In addition to the open site free lunches at 2nd Pres, breakfasts and/or lunches were provided at the following closed sites: Girl Scouts, Mt. Pisgah Church, Lawrence Irvin Neighborhood Center, Boys and Girls club and the YMCA.

 

The program was funded by the National School lunch program with administrative costs totaling $47800.42.

 

Mrs. Mueller noted that it was a terrific summer for our district for partnerships.  The program received a lot of fine tuning and it was a team effort. She stated that all of the outside organizations will probably be served next year.  Many underserved and growing populations were able to be served with healthy meals.

 

The program was promoted via Public Service Announcements, press conferences, posters, bilingual door hangers to residents immediately located near 2nd Pres.  Flyers were also sent out to each student at the end of the year.

 

Mrs. Mueller stated she will look into a possible United Way partnership for next year as well as approach city officials regarding busing options.

 

Mr. Reilly presented proposed changes to Board Policy 3.093, Optional Compensation Program for Educational Administrators & Directors.

 

Mr. Dirks inquired why the sentence, “This optional compensation shall not exceed an annual maximum of $6,000.00”, was being eliminated?

 

Mr. Reilly responded that it was necessary due to the fact that family medical insurance has exceeded the cap. 

 

It was moved by Mrs. Jackson, seconded by Mr. Hanson, that the Consent Agenda (Personnel Report, Bills, Payroll, Treasurer’s Report, Resolution: Flexible Spending Plan Signatures, St. Mary’s Food Service Agreement with District 87, 2005-06 Application for Recognition of Schools, Letter of Understanding: Sarah Raymond Early Childhood Center Workday, and Letter of Understanding-Scott Peifer Vacation) be approved. Upon a roll call vote, all Members present, voted “Aye”.  Motion carried. (See with Original Minutes, Attachment 9-14-05/1

 

     It was moved by Mrs. Smith, seconded by Mrs. Roth that the Board approve the Tuition Based Enrollment.  Upon a roll call vote, all Members present voted “Aye”.  Motion carried.  (See with Original Minutes, Attachment 9-14-05/2)

 

It was moved by Mrs. Jackson, seconded by Mrs. Smith that the Board go into Closed Session for the purpose of considering collective negotiating

matters between the district and the Bloomington Education Support Personnel (BESP), or deliberations concerning salary scheduled for one or more classes of employees. Upon a roll call vote, all Members present voted “Aye”.  Motion carried.   

 

     There being no further business to come before the Board, Mr. Dirks adjourned the meeting.

 

 

APPPROVED:                                ATTEST:

 

 

 

                                   

                                   

___________________________               ___________________________

President                                 Secretary