Galesburg Reporter

Morris Elementary School District 54 Board of Education met Dec. 16.

Here is the minutes provided by the board:

MEMBERS PRESENT: Mrs. Bogard, Ms. Hiller, Mr. Hitchcock, Mr. Sikora, Mr. Stevens

MEMBERS ABSENT: Mrs. Cap, Mr. White

I. Call to Order

Vice-President, Pat Stevens called the meeting to order at 6:13 p.m.

Roll call was answered as indicated above, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.

Others present were: Dr. Dudek, Mr. Raffel, and Mrs. Beeler.

II. Approval of the Agenda

Dr. Dudek requested to move the committee reports to after the consent agenda items for the meeting.

III. Public Recognition

A. Board Participation Program – Mr. Raffel introduced Jake Mann, an 8th grade student whose essay won first place at the local VFW. The VFW sponsored the Patriot's Pen essay contest. The second and third place winners from the district were unable to attend.

B. Presentation from Audience on Agenda Items – None

IV. Consent Agenda

A. Approval of Minutes (November 18, 2019)

B. Approval of List of Bills (December 2019)

C. Approval of Financial Report (November 2019)

D. Approval of Payroll Report (November 2019)

E. Approval of Minutes and Financials of the BBC (November 2019)

F. Approval of Minutes and Financials of PTO (November 2019)

G. Approval of Financials of the Student Activity Fund Accounts (November 2019)

H. Approval of PRESS Policy 102 - First Reading

Motioned by Bogard, seconded by Hiller to approve the consent agenda items as presented.

Aye: Mrs. Bogard, Ms. Hiller, Mr. Hitchcock, Mr. Sikora, Mr. Stevens

Absent: Mrs. Cap, Mr. White

Motion Carried

V. Committee Reports

A. Finance - Mr. Stevens read the last finance committee meeting minutes; I.EAV Tom Hougas sent the preliminary EAV numbers by email and Mrs. Mills plans to confirm them with the County Clerk. Mrs. Mills informed everyone that the EAV numbers had increased from last year. The EAV increased by approximately 9.6% and this will cause the District to have a Truth and Taxation Hearing in December. II. Administrative Building The architects presented the history of this project along with additional plan options and pricing. The original project was for a modular building to house the preschool program. The modular preschool building would have cost approximately $900,000. The most cost effective plan for the District is to build an administrative office building. Having adults in a space instead of students reduces the amount of items needed in the space; such as sprinklers and a shelter in place location. This additional building would open up space within the existing school building for students. The administrative office building would be built over the Spring to move into over the Summer. The building would match the existing building as closely as possible. The budget cost of this project would be approximately $650,000. The next steps are for the District to approve Narvick Brothers as the Construction Manager of the project and Studio GC as the architects to complete the construction drawings. Then bids can be submitted for the sub contractors pricing on the project.

III. Other - None The finance committee meeting adjourned at 5:45 p.m.

Studio GC presented their slideshow on the history and hopeful future of the proposed Administrative Building project. They were able to give the board members present more information regarding the project.

B. Policy – Mr. Hitchcock read the minutes from the Policy committee that was held on December 9th.

I. Call to Order at 5 p.m. - Dr. Dudek, Mr. Hitchcock, Mr. Sikora, and Mrs. Beeler were present for the Policy Committee meeting.

II. Policy - A. Review Board Policy - Dr. Dudek, Mr. Raffel and Mrs. Stover attended a law conference hosted by our attorneys at Kriha Law regarding this PRESS policy issue 102. This issue is extremely large due to the volume and complexity of the laws passed in the 101st Illinois General Assembly that have an affect on school board and education. Dr. Dudek reviewed the packet he received from Khriha law with the policy committee members.

B. Review PRESS Issue 102 Updates - The committee viewed the information sent from ISBE regarding this PRESS policy issues. The group then discussed the following policies in further detail and answered the questions associated with them:

● Policy 2:105 Ethics and Gift Ban

● Policy 2:110 Qualifications, Term, and Duties of Board Officers

● Policy 5:30 Hiring Process and Criteria

● Policy 5:50 Drug- and Alcohol- Free Workplace; E-cigarette, Tobacco, and Cannabis Prohibition

● 6:60 Curriculum Content

● 7:270 Administering Medicines to Students

● 8:30 Visitors to and Conduct on School Property

C. Social Media - Recently there have been some concerning posts/comments on the school’s various social media sites. The district currently does not have a policy regarding social media and deleting posts/comments. Mrs. Aldrich and the district attorney have worked on creating a custom policy for the district to be added to the website and handbook in future.

III. Adjourn - The meeting adjourned at 6:15 p.m.

C. Curriculum - None

D. Parent-TeacherAdvisory -None

E. Shared Services - None

VI. Action Items

A. ApprovaloftheDistrict#54ELearningPlan

Motioned by Bogard, seconded by Sikora to approve the District #54 E Learning Plan.

Aye: Mrs. Bogard, Ms. Hiller, Mr. Hitchcock, Mr. Sikora, Mr. Stevens

Absent: Mrs. Cap, Mr. White

Motion Carried

B. Approval of Administration Building Construction Manager

Motioned by Hiller, seconded by Sikora to approve the Administration Building Construction Manager.

Aye: Mrs. Bogard, Ms. Hiller, Mr. Hitchcock, Mr. Sikora, Mr. Stevens

Absent: Mrs. Cap, Mr. White

Motion Carried

C. Approval to Authorize Studio GC Studios Architects to finalize Construction Drawings/Plans for the Administrative Building Project

Motioned by Bogard, seconded by Hiller to Approve Authorizing Studio GC Studios Architects to finalize Construction Drawings/Plans for the Administrative Building Project.

Aye: Mrs. Bogard, Ms. Hiller, Mr. Hitchcock, Mr. Sikora, Mr. Stevens Absent: Mrs. Cap, Mr. White

Motion Carried

D. Resolution abating the working cash fund of the Districts

Motioned by Hitchcock, seconded by Bogard to approve the Resolution abating the working cash fund of the District.

Aye: Mrs. Bogard, Ms. Hiller, Mr. Hitchcock, Mr. Sikora, Mr. Stevens

Absent: Mrs. Cap, Mr. White

Motion Carried

E. Resolution providing for the issue of not to exceed $2,175,000 Taxable General Obligation School Bonds, Series 2020, for the purpose of increasing the Working Cash Fund of said School District, providing for the levy of a direct annual tax sufficient to pay the principal and interest on said bonds, and authorizing the sale of said bonds to the purchaser thereof

Motioned by Hitchcock, seconded by Bogard to approve a Resolution providing for the issue of not to exceed $2,175,000 Taxable General Obligation School Bonds, Series 2020, for the purpose of increasing the Working Cash Fund of said School District, providing for the levy of a direct annual tax sufficient to pay the principal and interest on said bonds, and authorizing the sale of said bonds to the purchaser thereof.

Aye: Mrs. Bogard, Ms. Hiller, Mr. Hitchcock, Mr. Sikora, Mr. Stevens

Absent: Mrs. Cap, Mr. White

Motion Carried

F. Resolution abating the tax heretofore levied for the year 2019 to pay debt service on General Obligation School Bonds (Alternate Revenue Source), Series 2016A, of the District

Motioned by Sikora, seconded by Hiller to approve a Resolution abating the tax heretofore levied for the year 2019 to pay debt service on General Obligation School Bonds (Alternate Revenue Source), Series 2016A, of the District

Aye: Mrs. Bogard, Ms. Hiller, Mr. Hitchcock, Mr. Sikora, Mr. Stevens 

Absent: Mrs. Cap, Mr. White

Motion Carried

G. Resolution abating a portion of the tax heretofore levied for the year 2019 to pay debt service on General Obligation School Refunding Bonds, Series 2005, of the School District

Motioned by Bogard, seconded by Hiller to approve a Resolution abating a portion of the tax heretofore levied for the year 2019 to pay debt service on General Obligation School Refunding Bonds, Series 2005, of the School District 

Aye: Mrs. Bogard, Ms. Hiller, Mr. Hitchcock, Mr. Sikora, Mr. Stevens

Absent: Mrs. Cap, Mr. White 

Motion Carried

H. FY19 Tax Levy

Motioned by Bogard, seconded by Hiller to approve the FY19 Tax Levy.

Aye: Mrs. Bogard, Ms. Hiller, Mr. Hitchcock, Mr. Sikora, Mr. Stevens 

Absent: Mrs. Cap, Mr. White

Motion Carried

I. Powerschool Renewal

Motioned by Sikora, seconded by Bogard to approve the Powerschool Renewal. 

Aye: Mrs. Bogard, Ms. Hiller, Mr. Hitchcock, Mr. Sikora, Mr. Stevens

Absent: Mrs. Cap, Mr. White

Motion Carried

VII. Communication

A. Superintendent’s Report–Dr. Dudek reported the following:

1. The Governor’s Office of Management and Budget have released approximately $44 million available for the FY 2020 Round 1 School Maintenance Project Grant. The School Maintenance Project Grant is a dollar for dollar state matching grant program providing awards up to $50,000 to grantees exclusively for the maintenance or upkeep of buildings or structures for educational purposes. Ongoing operational costs, including in-house labor for SMPG projects not contracted out, cannot be included for any School Maintenance Project Grant. A project may involve different types of work on a single building or structure or may involve a single type of work (e.g., new roofing or windows) on several buildings or structures. There is no limit to the cost of a project; however, grant awards shall not exceed $50,000 per grant award, and applicants shall provide a match from local funds equal to the grant amount requested. We are evaluating our past building studies to determine what projects would qualify for grant funds.

2. District #54 Social Media Policy District #54 personnel created a social media commenting policy. Morris School District #54 welcomes comments/posts on its social media pages. To keep our social media focus on celebrating and supporting our schools, students and teachers, as well as sharing District initiatives, emergency information, and accomplishments, comment/posting guidelines have been created. Morris School District #54 encourages user interaction on its social media but is not responsible for comments/posts made by third parties. Additionally, comments/posts by third parties do not constitute endorsement by Morris School District #54. Anyone that repeatedly violates this policy may be removed/blocked from the District’s social media pages. The District moderates its social media pages and all comments/posts are reviewed by the District. The policy was reviewed by district attorneys, school personnel, and the school board policy committee, and all groups had input on the developed policy. The policy will be added to the website and student handbook, and we will begin implementing the policy immediately.

3. Mid-Year Financial Report Jill Mills presented a mid-year financial report on the current state of Morris #54 financials. Also, we have begun working on the FY21 district budget, with the hopes of having a draft complete in the spring.

B. Administrative Report – Principal Report - Mr. Raffel

Our Team has been hard at work getting our E-Learning Plan into place. The teachers worked very hard to create lesson plans that will make Emergency Days a unique learning opportunity for our students. Plans were submitted December 2nd and a panel of administrators and our Instructional Coaches reviewed each plan. Feedback was given and changes were made to make them the best we can for our students. We will continue to make improvements to our lessons and overall plan for these days.

● Gov. Pritzker has signed into law House Bill (HB)- 2265 which requires that a Civics Class be taught for one semester between grades 6th-8th. Administration met with the Jr High Social Studies Teachers on December 12th to discuss this requirement and begin the process of building the course outline and deciding when we will include this during Jr High Social Studies. I will keep the Board updated on this process and share our course outline once it is set later in the school year.

● One December 9th and 10th Jessica Boe and I attended the Raising Student Achievement Conference in Schaumburg, IL. We had a team of teachers attend this conference thanks in part to a scholarship from the Regional Office of Education. The scholarship covered the cost of the two day conference for each staff member. Thank you to Jill Larsen, Denise Bach, Stef Phillis, Amy Linenborn, Cheryl Scarpino, Lauren Blatti, and Michael Provancal for putting in the extra time and effort to attend this conference and bring back many great ideas to make our school and classrooms better for our students.

● Congratulations to our Morris Grade School 5th Graders. They successfully completed the DARE Program implemented by the Morris Police Department. DARE Graduation took place on Thursday, December 5th. I would like to give special thanks to Mr. Kim DesLauriers for being our guest speaker. Thank you to Mayor Dick Kopczick for attending this event. Thank you to Chief Severson and the Morris Police Department for all their work to provide this program to our students.

Associate Principal Report - Mrs. Boe

● Myself, Mr. Raffel along with Principals/Admin from Morris HS, Nettle Creek, & Saratoga have met multiple times to plan the Back to School, January 7th institute day. We are excited to welcome Monica Genta to speak to all of our teachers in the morning. The morning & afternoon breakout sessions will be presented by teachers/staff from each district on an array of topics that will benefit all participants immediately.

● Field Trips: ○ 6th grade attended The Field Museum ○ 7th grade attended The Adler Planetarium ○ 3rd/4th grades will attend The Chicago Wolves game on their annual Education Day

Special Populations Director Report - Mrs. Stover Special Education

● ISBE recently released an Emergency Statement regarding the use of isolated time-outs and physical restraints with students. ISBE is requesting information from Districts and we are in the process of compiling the information to return to the state.

● Governor Pritzker just signed off that individuals wanting to become paraprofessionals can do so by taking the Paraprofessional exam through the Regional Office of Education. If you know of anyone that is wanting to become a paraprofessional - we are continuing to look for substitutes.

English Language Learners

● We have had several English Learners enrolled over the past few weeks and are looking at how we can best meet their needs.

● Our ELL team is starting to prepare for ACCESS testing - which will take place at the end of January/February. 2020.

Morris Community Preschool

● Our Preschool Winter Wonderland Program will take place on Friday, December 21st at 9:30 in the Cafetorium. We invite all of you to attend!

Dean Report - Mrs. Dransfeldt Discipline Report - (November 11th-December 6th) 2 In School Suspensions (ISS)

4 Out of School Suspensions (OSS)

1 After School Detentions

0 Saturday School Detentions

Athletic Director Report - Mr. Anderson

● We Held the BBC meeting on Monday 12/2 and some new members were officially inducted into the Braves Booster Club as well as Board President Bryce Davis stepping down and Jake Swartz being inducted as the new Board President of the BBC. Bryce Davis will stay on as a regular member to help Jake with the transition. Mrs. Hiedi Scalf was also sworn in as Vice President.

● Next BBC meeting is scheduled for January 6th 4pm

● Girls basketball will be wrapping up their season soon with the 6th grade finishing with a very respectable 10-5 final record. 7th grade completed their season with a 3-16 record, but demonstrated consistent growth throughout the season. The 8th grade team completed their season with a 10-10 record. All teams represented Morris Grade School well.

● Boys basketball is off to a great start winning the ICS tournament. Wrestling began practices with strong numbers in the 20s, which will provide good competition for the team. 6th grade volleyball completed tryouts with 20 players (10 for A team and 10 for B). 7th and 8th grade Volleyball will host tryouts Dec 9,10,11 and will begin their season on January 9.

● This year our Chess team, with 18 members, will be competing for the first time in chess matches against other schools. We will also be competing in the IESA chess state tournament as well.

C. Board Communication - Dr. Dudek congratulated Mr. Hitchcock on being a Civics Teacher of the year finalist. He was recognized at the IASB board meeting this past November. Dr. Dudek the passed around holiday cards that were sent to board members and the district.

VIII. Motion to Adjourn to Closed Session - None

IX. Action as a Result of Closed Session - None

X. Adjourn

Motioned by Hitchcock, seconded by Bogard to adjourn the board meeting at 6:52 p.m.

Aye: Mrs. Bogard, Ms. Hiller, Mr. Hitchcock, Mr. Sikora, Mr. Stevens

Absent: Mrs. Cap, Mr. White

Motion Carried

https://v3.boardbook.org/Public/PublicItemDownload.aspx?mk=50350118&fn=minutes.pdf