Quincy Reporter

Quincy Public School District 172 Board of Education met March 23.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

Meeting Convened

The Board of Education of School District No. 172, Adams County, Illinois, met in regular session at 6:00 p.m. in the Board of Education Office, Room 214, 1416 Maine Street, Quincy, Illinois, in said school district.

Roll Call

The meeting was called to order by President Ali, who directed the secretary to call the roll. On the call of the roll, the following members were present and answered to their names: Members Ali, Arns, McNay, Nichols, Petty, and Whitfield; and the following member was absent: Member Brock. Whereupon the President declared a quorum was present.

Moment of Silence

President Ali declared a moment of silence and reflection to honor the memory of James Vandament, a longtime QPS supporter and former security guard. Member Nichols recognized and honored the memory of Bud Niekamp, a 27-year member of the school board.

Pledge of Allegiance

The Pledge of Allegiance was led by President Ali.

Questions and Comments

President Ali opened the meeting to questions and comments to members of the Board, by members of the public.

Debby Bradshaw, QHS pom coach, asked the Board to reconsider the non-renewal of her pom coaching contract.

Julie Harper spoke in support of Debby Bradshaw remaining the coach of the QHS Q-City Pommers.

Ryan Hubble, graduate of QHS, shared his support for Debby Bradshaw.

Brooke Baldwin, a teacher at Rooney elementary and former pommer, expressed her support for Mrs. Bradshaw.

Mike Willis, father of a QHS senior on the pom team, voiced his concerns about Debby Bradshaw remaining as pom coach.

Arrival of Member Brock

Member Brock arrived at 6:12 p.m. which was duly recorded by the Board Secretary.

Consent Agenda

It was moved by Member McNay and seconded by Member Nichols to approve the following items on the Consent Agenda:

a. Treasurer’s Report February 2022

b. Minutes – February 23, 2022

c. Check Register and JH/SH Activity Fund Reports

d. Acknowledge receipt of the Freedom of Information Log: February 19 through March 18, 2022 (Information Only)

On the call of the roll, the following members voted Aye: Members Ali, Arns, Brock, McNay, Nichols, Petty, and Whitfield; and the following members voted Nay: None. Whereupon the President declared the motion carried.

Reports of the Superintendent

School Update. The search to fill three key positions—Rooney principal, Academy director, and K-12 music director, is on track with the goal of bringing the recommendations to the Board by the April board meeting. Graduation is scheduled for May 27 and the last day for students will be June 2, with June 3 the last day for teachers.

2022-2023 District Improvement Plan

It was moved by Member Arns and seconded by Member McNay to approve the 2022-2023 District Improvement Plan (Doc. Reg. No. 3729). On the call of the roll, the following members voted Aye: Members Ali, Arns, Brock, McNay, Nichols, Petty, and Whitfield; and the following members voted Nay: None. Whereupon the President declared the motion carried.

Building Committee

The Building Committee report was presented by Co-Chairperson Whitfield. The committee did not have a quorum. Co-Chairperson Whitfield shared information regarding the proposals for the Central Office HVAC and the QHS Theatre Rigging and Curtain. Superintendent Webb explained the need for the life safety amendments is due to increase in costs due to inflation and time. The committee agreed to the property surplus sale of two vehicles—a 1988 GMC 3500 Dump Truck and a 1998 US Cargo Enclosed Trailer, which are no longer needed by the District.

Health Life Safety Amendment for Central Office Building HVAC

It was moved by Member McNay and seconded by Member Ali to approve the Health Life Safety Amendment for the Central Office Building HVAC. On the call of the roll, the following members voted Aye: Members Ali, Arns, Brock, McNay, Nichols, Petty, and Whitfield; and the following members voted Nay: None. Whereupon the President declared the motion carried.

HVAC Proposal for Central Office Building

It was moved by Member McNay seconded by Member Whitfield to approve the HVAC Proposal for the Central Office Building from TMI at a cost of $932,135.00. (Doc. Reg. No. 3730). On the call of the roll, the following members voted Aye: Members Ali, Arns, Brock, McNay, Nichols, Petty, and Whitfield; and the following members voted Nay: None. Whereupon the President declared the motion carried.

Health Life Safety Amendment for QSHS Theatre Rigging and Curtain

It was moved by Member Nichols and seconded by Member Whitfield to approve the Health Life Safety Amendment for the QSHS Theatre Rigging and Curtain. On the call of the roll, the following members voted Aye: Members Ali, Arns, Brock, McNay, Nichols, Petty, and Whitfield; and the following members voted Nay: None. Whereupon the President declared the motion carried.

QSHS Theatre Rigging and Curtain Proposal

It was moved by Member McNay and seconded by Member Arns to approve the QSHS Theatre Rigging and Curtain Proposal from Technical Productions Inc. at a cost of $74,953.00 for curtain replacement and $172,845.98 for stage rigging (Doc. Reg. No. 3731). On the call of the roll, the following members voted Aye: Members Ali, Arns, Brock, McNay, Nichols, Petty, and Whitfield; and the following members voted Nay: None. Whereupon the President declared the motion carried.

Sale of Surplus Property

It was moved by Member McNay and seconded by Member Whitfield to approve the sale of surplus property—two vehicles, a 1988 GMC 3500 Dump Truck and a 1998 US Cargo Enclosed Trailer. On the call of the roll, the following members voted Aye: Members Ali, Arns, Brock, McNay, Nichols, Petty, and Whitfield; and the following members voted Nay: None. Whereupon the President declared the motion carried.

District Improvement Committee

Chairperson Arns presented the District Improvement Committee report. The committee reviewed the Mid-Year Measures of Improvement. The committee recommended the approval of a new credited math course, Pre-Algebra for 9th graders that need more support with Algebra readiness.

New Course Proposal Pre-Algebra QHS

It was recommended by the District Improvement Committee and moved by Member Arns to approve the new course proposal Pre-Algebra at QHS (Doc. Reg. No. 3732). On the call of the roll, the following members voted Aye: Members Ali, Arns, Brock, McNay, Nichols, Petty, and Whitfield; and the following members voted Nay: None. Whereupon the President declared the motion carried.

Finance Committee

Chairperson McNay gave the monthly financial update and shared that the district is on budget and there are no cash flow concerns. The committee heard from Bob Lewis of PMA Securities and reviewed the possibilities of refunding or refinancing the $9.785 million in general obligation bonds issued in 2014. Projected savings over the bonds’ remaining term would be $1.069 million under one scenario and $1.173 million under another based on an “indicative rate” provided by JP Morgan. The committee members favored moving forward to solicit bids from large banks to refund the bonds. There is no commitment from the district to explore this opportunity.

Human Relations Committee

Chairperson Nichols shared that the committee welcomed our new Human Resource Coordinator/Childcare Coordinator, Lacey Corrigan. The committee reviewed the ComPsych staff benefit which provides three sessions for employees free of cost and offers counseling, financial resources, legal support, work-life solutions, guidance and will preparation. New hires for 2022-2023 will receive a welcome bag with a choice of a laptop bag or bookbag along with a t-shirt donated by State Street Bank. Current over hires include 10-15 personnel for the 2022-2023 school year. Recruitment processes include virtual career fairs and working closely with Culver Stockton and Quincy University. Chairperson Nichols stated there was also a suggestion made to add a school store to the QPS website where employees could purchase essential items for their classrooms.

Policy Committee

The Policy Committee did not meet.

Contingency Contract to Purchase Real Estate

It was moved by Member Brock and seconded by Member Ali to approve the contingency contract to purchase real estate at 1600 N. 43rd, Quincy, Adams County, Illinois for a purchase price of $2 million. (Doc. Reg. No. 3733). On the call of the roll, the following members voted Aye: Members Ali, Arns, Brock, McNay, Nichols, Petty, and Whitfield; and the following members voted Nay: None. Whereupon the President declared the motion carried.

Executive Session

At 6:51 p.m., it was moved by Member Arns and seconded by Member Petty that the Board suspend the rules and go into executive session to discuss: a) the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees of the School District; b) collective negotiating matters between the School District and its employees or their representatives, or deliberations concerning salary schedules for one or more classes of employees; c) the purchase or lease of real property for the use of the District; g) student disciplinary cases; i) pending, probable, or imminent litigation; and j) attorney/client privilege. On the call of the roll, the following members voted Aye: Members Ali, Arns, Brock, McNay, Nichols, Petty, and Whitfield; and the following member voted Nay: None. Whereupon the President declared the motion carried.

Resumption of Rules

At 7:43 p.m., it was moved by Member Arns and seconded by Member Petty to resume the conduct of the regular meeting under rules. On the call of the roll, the following members voted Aye: Members Ali, Arns, Brock, McNay, Nichols, Petty, and Whitfield; and the following member voted Nay: None. Whereupon the President declared the motion carried.

Student Discipline

It was moved by Member Nichols and seconded by Member Whitfield to adopt the recommendation made in executive session regarding the expulsion for one QHS student. On the call of the roll, the following members voted Aye: Members Ali, Arns, Brock, McNay,

Nichols, Petty, and Whitfield; and the following members voted Nay: None. Whereupon the President declared the motion carried.

Personnel Addendum

It was moved by Member Brock and seconded by Member Nichols to approve the Personnel Addendum. On the call of the roll, the following members voted Aye: Members Ali, Arns, Brock, McNay, Nichols, Petty, and Whitfield; and the following members voted Nay: None. Whereupon the President declared the motion carried.

Adjournment

At 7:45 p.m., it was moved by Member Arns and seconded by Member McNay that the regular meeting adjourn. On the call of the roll, the following members voted Aye: Members Ali, Arns, Brock, McNay, Nichols, Petty, and Whitfield; and the following members voted Nay: None. Whereupon the President declared the motion carried and the regular meeting was duly adjourned.

https://www.qps.org/wp-content/uploads/032322regmnt.pdf