MINUTES - REGULAR MEETING OF
THE BOARD OF EDUCATION
September 27, 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: Mr. Joseph Butcher, Mrs. Cheryl
Jackson, Mr. John Dirks and Mrs. Janet Smith, Board President. Mr. Keith Davis and Mrs. Millicent Roth were
absent.
Present from the administrative staff were Mr. David
Wood, Mr. Barry Reilly, Mrs. Teresa Hill and Dr. Robert Nielsen.
Ms. Linda Aschenbrener, Public Relations Facilitator, was also in attendance.
Present from the news media was Ms. Sharon Wolfe, The Pantagraph.
Mrs. Smith
began the public hearing on the District 87 Budget for 2006-07 by stating, "In
accordance with Section 17-1 of the School Code, the Board of Education will
now hold a public hearing on the 2006-2007 budget for the Bloomington Public
Schools, District #87.
The District
prepared a budget in tentative form for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2007
which this Board reviewed at its August 9, 2006 meeting.
The tentative
budget has been on file for public inspection at the
During the
public hearing, Mr. David Wood, Chief Financial and Legal Officer for District
#87, will summarize the budget and the Board and members of the public will be
given an opportunity to discuss the budget.
When all
discussion has concluded, the public hearing will be adjourned.
At this time,
Mr. Wood will present a summary of the budget.”
Mr. Wood
stated that nothing has changed in the budget since
August when the tentative
budget was presented. The Education Fund
is balanced and the total of all funds shows a deficit due to the selling of bonds
for capital projects. We continue to
spend them out. This is anticipated.
Mrs. Smith
asked, “Is there any discussion from the Board?”
There was no
discussion from the Board.
Mrs. Smith
asked, “Is there any discussion from the public?”
Board Meeting
September 27, 2006
Page 2
There was no
discussion from the public.
Mrs. Smith
stated, “The Public Hearing is now concluded."
Mrs. Smith presented the Minutes for approval. She noted one change which should be made. On the first page, paragraph 8, the test that Kristina Warren qualified as a National Merit Semi-Finalist from should be changed to the Preliminary Standard Achievement Test/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT).
It was moved by Mr. Dirks,
seconded by Mr. Butcher, that the Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the
Board of Education held on September 13, 2006 be approved. Upon a roll call vote, all Members
present voted “Aye”. Motion carried.
Mr.
Dirks stated that last Thursday he attended the Beyond the Books Educational
Foundation organizational meeting for the year.
The District 87 representatives elected this year are Ms. Judy Yoder,
Ms. Terri Prenzler, Mr. Greg Mier and Mr. Chris Beyer. The current President for the organization is
Mr. Alex Horvath. He stated we are off
to a good start.
Mr.
Butcher stated that he missed the
Mrs. Jackson
reminded everyone of the Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB) Corn Belt
Division October 18, 2006 meeting at Olympia High/Middle School. She asked those who would like to attend to
let Dr. Nielsen or Ms. Clancy know so reservations can be made.
Mrs.
Jackson reminded the Board Members that there will be a flyer sent out with
information on the Pre-Conference Workshops being held at the November Triple I
Conference in
Mrs.
Jackson stated that she attend the Band Extravaganza at Bloomington High School
on Friday which included the BHS
Marching Band, the Illinois State University Big Red Marching Machine and the
Iowa Hawkeye Band. She stated that it
was great and that our Band Director, Mr. Max Chernich, is doing some wonderful
things for the District 87 Band Program.
Mr.
Dirks stated that he attended the Band Extravaganza and that it was
electric. It was a great evening.
Mr.
Dirks stated that last week he attended the latest meeting of the Achievement
Gap Taskforce (AGT). He stated that four
subgroups have been identified. The
groups are Data Reporting, After School Program, Parental Involvement and
Adopt-a-School. There is a lot of
enthusiasm by the Taskforce members. He
stated he is looking for continued progress.
Mrs.
Smith reminded the public that Friday, September 29, 2006 at 4:30 p.m. is the
cutoff for applicants to submit information showing interest in
Board Meeting
September 27, 2006
Page 3
filling the Board vacancy. Interviews will be scheduled in the near
future for the candidates.
Dr.
Nielsen stated that he is asking for suggestions or comments from the Board on
the Board of Education Policies listed on the agenda for First Reading. The
policies will be brought back at the October 11, 2006 Board Meeting for second
reading and then be brought back at the November 8 Board Meeting 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, Occupancy Permit Applications, Vendor Contracts, Recognition of
Schools, and the Food Service Agreement Between District 87 and the Regional
Office) be approved. Upon a roll call
vote, all Members present, voted “Aye”.
Motion carried. (See with Original Minutes, Attachment 9-27-06/1)
Dr.
Nielsen stated that he and Mrs. Cindy Helmers, BHS Principal, met with
representatives of the U.S. Cellular Coliseum, at the Coliseum to get a better
sense of what was involved in possibly using their facility for the BHS
Graduation. Mrs. Helmers has been
meeting with students and the Senior Class officers. She is planning on taking the Senior Class
Officers down to the Coliseum to show them the facility. Mrs. Helmers will be at the October 11, 2006
Board Meeting with a recommendation for the Board to consider on the use of the
Coliseum. Sunday, June 3rd is
the tentative date for the BHS Graduation.
Dr.
Nielsen stated that District 87 has moved the soccer program from the BHS
stadium to the fields on
Mrs. Millicent Roth entered the meeting at 6:42 p.m.
Dr. Nielsen stated that this is Homecoming Week. He reminded everyone
that there is a tailgate before the game on Friday night, the dance is on
Saturday at the new
Dr. Nielsen stated that we are having two Ambassadors’ Breakfasts, one on
October 17, 2006 and one on October 19, 2006 at Bloomington Junior High School
(BJHS). Approximately 110 community
leaders have been invited over the two days. The intent is to show them what is
going on in the District and show them some results on ISAT test scores. Students will take the attendees on a tour of
BJHS. He asked the Board if there
schedule allows, to please attend. The
events begin at 7:20 a.m. in the morning and will be done by 8:30 a.m.
Dr.
Nielsen stated that he will not be at the October 11, 2006 Board Meeting. He will be in
Dr.
Nielsen stated that the October 25, 2006 Board Meeting will be at BJHS. This will be the dedication of the new
addition. The community will be invited
to attend a tour.
Board Meeting
September 27, 2006
Page 4
Dr.
Nielsen stated that the next meeting of the Sesquicentennial Committee will be
on October 30, 2006. The group has most of the year’s activities planned. The beginning of the celebration will be in
April, 2007. Major events will be
scheduled for September, 2007. He
commended the committee on their hard work.
It was moved by Mrs. Jackson, seconded by
Mr. Dirks that the District 87 Budget for 2006-07 be approved. Upon a roll call vote, all
Members present, voted “Aye”. Motion
carried. (See with Original Minutes, Attachment 9-27-06/2)
It was moved by Mr. Butcher, seconded by
Mr. Dirks that the Resolution: Judge Scott Grant for AVC Technology and
Alternative Education Programs, be approved. Upon a roll call vote, all Members present,
voted “Aye”. Motion carried. (See
with Original Minutes, Attachment 9-27-06/3)
Mrs. Smith presented Board Action C,
Resolution: SSCIP Withdrawal from the Pool, for Board consideration.
Mr. Wood stated
this is our liability insurance. We are
in a pool of south suburban schools.
While we don’t think we have been paying more than our liability claims
would require, we’ve been constantly looking at options for insurance
expenditures. The people who created
this pool are creating a downstate pool, districts more like ours and closer to
ours, yet they don’t want to quote us a price until we give legal withdrawal
from this other pool. The pool that we
are in requires a twelve month withdrawal, which is on a calendar basis, the
next withdrawal period being January, 2007 through December 31, 2007. They let us withdraw between January and June,
2007, so we plan on going out for a bid for insurance. We will seek bids from other companies not
just this other alternative pool. This
is just setting us up to look at the market and see if there are some
alternatives.
It was moved by Mrs. Jackson, seconded by Mrs.
Roth that the Resolution: SSCIP Withdrawal from the Pool be approved. Upon a roll call vote, all Members present, voted
“Aye”. Motion carried. (See with
Original Minutes, Attachment 9-27-06/4)
It was moved by Mr.
Dirks, seconded by Mrs. Jackson, 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