Galesburg Reporter

West Central Community Unit School District #235 Board of Education met Sept. 24

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

ROLL CALL FOR PUBLIC HEARING FOR FY25 DISTRICT BUDGET 

The meeting was called to order by President Schaley at 5:30 p.m., in the elementary cafeteria. The following Board members answered roll call: Bigger, Clark, Gullberg, Schaley, and Vancil. President Schaley declared a quorum present. Also present were Superintendent Day, J. Shultz, K. Lafary, B. Taylor, B. Kugler, B. Helt, J. Zaiser, J. Hennings, and several new staff members. 

COMMENTS FROM PUBLIC REGARDING FY25 DISTRICT BUDGET 

President Schaley asked the members of the audience if there were any comments or questions regarding the district's FY25 budget. There were no questions to come from the audience. 

ADJOURN THE PUBLIC HEARING 

President Schaley declared the budget hearing adjourned at 5:32 p.m. Motion by Clark, seconded by Bigger. Majority of Ayes by Voice Vote. Motion carried. 

RECONVENED 

The Board reconvened at 6:00 p.m, in the elementary cafeteria. The following Board members were present: Chockley, Clark, Gullberg, Higgins, Schaley, Vancil, and Bigger. President Schaley declared a quorum present. Also present were Superintendent Day, J. Shultz, K. Lafary, B. Taylor, B. Kugler, B. Helt, J. Kirby, J. Zaiser, J. Hennings, Shana Brown, and several students with their families. 

President Schaley then led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. 

GOOD NEWS ITEMS 

● Our partnership with the Farm Bureau is appreciated. They sponsor events such as Safety Day and Ag Days for our elementary students 

● Our partnership with the Stronghurst Lion's Club is appreciated. They provide vision screenings at our early childhood screenings 

● Several of our students participated in the Warren County Prime Beef Festival Special Persons Day. During this event, the students are invited to ride the carnival rides with their caregiver for free. We are very thankful for their partnership! They had a great time! 

● Our PreK Department received a GOLD Circle of Quality from the ExcelRate Illinois Circle of Quality, based on their monitoring visit last spring. That's the highest rating they can receive.

APPROVE AGENDA 

Motion by Clark, seconded by Chockley to approve the agenda with the Mentor Update postponed to next month and the removal of WCMS Volleyball Coaches. Majority of Ayes by Voice Vote. Motion carried. 

The Board recognized the 2023 - 2024 Board Of Education Academic Excellence recipients. In order to be awarded this recognition, high school students must earn a 4.0 GPA for the previous school year. 

COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC 

Shana Brown was in attendance and addressed the Board with concerns about following the West Central Concussion Protocol. 

CONSENT AGENDA 

Motion by Clark, seconded by Bigger to approve the consent agenda including the following items: 

● The minutes of the regular meeting of August 21, 2024; 

● Closed session minutes of August 21, 2024; 

● The payment of all bills; 

● All activity accounts; 

● The treasurer's report for August 2024; 

● Approved the Delabar CTE Intergovernmental agreement; 

● PRESS Plus Policy Issue 116 on second reading; 

● WCHS FFA Trip to attend the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis 

On roll call the following members voted aye: Clark, Gullberg, Higgins, Schaley, Vancil, Bigger, and Chockley. 7-0 Motion carried. 

DISCUSSION ITEMS 

The Board discussed FOIA requests for the month from SmartProcure (vendor information and purchasing) and multiple requests from the Galesburg Reporter (current staffing, retirees, new staff, school calendar, extra-curricular activities and evacuation plans). All requests were responded to in the needed timeline, except for the evacuation plan request as that is exempt from FOIA requirements. 

Superintendent Day presented information on our 2024-2025 school year enrollment. As of the 6th Day of Enrollment, there were 754 students enrolled in the district. Our K-12 prediction for the 24-25 school year was 695, which does not include PreK Students. The actual enrollment for K-12 is 705 students. West Central's enrollment has leveled out over the last few years, but is 43% lower than it was at the time of consolidation in 2006. 

Superintendent Day provided an update on our lunch program and our eligibility for the Community Eligibility Program. That program would allow us to provide free breakfast and lunch to all students. West Central qualifies for the program, but does not have a high enough number of students who meet the requirement for participation in order to make it financially responsible for the district to participate at this time. We currently have about 41% of our students who are directly certified (TANF, SNAP, Medicaid, Homeless, etc), we need to be over 50% to consider and closer to 60% to receive the maximum reimbursement from the federal government. If we were to participate at this time, we would lose between $5000-$8000 a month in reimbursements. 

Superintendent Day provided a quick demonstration of the new bus routing software, Transfinder, that the district is using to support our transportation needs. We currently run 10 daily in-district routes and 4 out of district routes. The program has helped us adjust routes to balance out the number of students on a bus and attempt to lower the drive time of our routes. We are always in need of additional bus drivers, if anyone knows of someone who might be interested, please reach out to the District Office. 

REPORTS 

The Board reviewed and heard reports from the Building Principals K. Lafary, B. Kugler and J. Kirby. District Technology Coordinator Jeremy Hennings and J. Zaiser, District Athletic Director. 

The Administrator and Teacher Salary Benefit Report for the 2023-2024 school year was presented. This is an annual requirement from ISBE and will be posted on our District website. 

ACTION ITEMS 

Motion by Bigger, seconded by Clark to approve the FY25 District Budget as presented. The following is our unaudited fund balances, effective July 1, 2024: Education - $7,711,809, O&M - $1,894,941, Debt Service - $80,697, Transportation - $367,306, IMRF/Social Security - $360,990, Capital Projects - $48,695, Working Cash - $1,108,587, Tort and Health Life Safety - $958,004. On roll call the following members voted aye: Gullberg, Higgins, Schaley, Vancil, Bigger, Chockley, and Clark. 7-0 Motion carried. 

Motion by Clark, seconded by Vancil to approve the Maintenance Grant as presented. On roll call the following members voted aye: Higgins, Schaley, Vancil, Bigger, Chockley, Clark and Gullberg. Motion carried. 

FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS 

The Board was reminded to contact President Schaley or Superintendent Day for requested future agenda items. 

CLOSED SESSION 

Motion by Clark, seconded by Chockley to adjourn to closed meeting pursuant of the Illinois Open Meetings Act - 5ILCS 120/2 (2) (16) at 8:03 p.m. to discuss the following subjects: 

A. Personnel - The appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees of the public body or legal counsel for the public body, including hearing testimony on a complaint lodged against an employee of the public body or against legal counsel for the public body to determine its validity; 

B. Negotiations - Collective negotiating matters between the school board and its employees or their representatives, or deliberations concerning salary schedules for one or more classes of employees; C. Student Issues - The placement of individual students in special education programs and other matters relating to individual students. 

Majority of Ayes by Voice Vote. Motion carried. 

The Board took a short break and reconvened in the District Office Conference Room at 8:06 p.m. On roll call the following members answered roll call: Bigger, Chockley, Clark, Gullberg, Higgins, Schaley, and Vancil. Also present was S. Day. 

Motion by Bigger, seconded by Vancil to return to open session at 9:32 p.m. On roll call the following members answered roll call: Bigger, Chockley, Clark, Gullberg, Higgins, Schaley and Vancil. 7-0 Motion carried. 

The Board took a short break and reconvened in the elementary cafeteria at 9:34 p.m.. On roll call the following members answered roll call: Schaley, Vancil, Bigger, Chockley, Clark, Gullberg, and Higgins. 

Motion by Vancil, seconded by Bigger to approve the personnel items as presented. 

On roll call the following members voted aye: Vancil, Bigger, Chockley, Clark, Gullberg, Higgins, and Schaley. 7-0 Motion carried 

Motion by Bigger, seconded by Gullberg to approve the post-season incentive MOU as presented. On roll call the following members voted aye: Bigger, Chockley, Clark, Gullberg, Higgins, Schaley, and Vancil. 7-0 Motion carried 

Motion by Clark, seconded by Bigger to approve the superintendent goal for 2024-2025 as presented. On roll call the following members voted aye: Chockley, Clark, Gullberg, Higgins, Schaley, Vancil, and Bigger. 7-0 Motion carried 

FUTURE MEETING DATE 

The Board was reminded that the regular Board Meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 16, 2024. 

ADJOURNMENT 

Motion by Bigger, seconded by Chockley to adjourn at 9:35 p.m. Majority of Ayes by Voice Vote. Motion carried.

https://www.wc235.k12.il.us/vimages/shared/vnews/stories/66aa8d0806ceb/Regular%20Meeting%20Mins.%209.24.24.pdf