Quincy Reporter

Community Unit School District #4 Board of Education met July 12.

Here is the agenda provided by the board:

1. Call To Order - Pledge of Allegiance

BOE members Arnsman - Farmer - Fleer - Janssen (arrived 6:12) - Humke - Shaffer Supt. Riddle Bus. Mngr. Whelan

2. Approval of Agenda Motion: Shaffer 2nd: Humke Vote: 5-0 approved

Addition of Luke Maynard - asst. MS baseball

3. Public Participation - Visitor and Comments (3 min. limit)

3.1 Special Recognition

3.2 Visitors

3.3 Correspondence

Closed Session - The Board will enter Closed Session to discuss: A) the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees, specific individuals who serve as independent contractors, or specific volunteers of the School District or legal counsel for the District, including hearing testimony on complaint lodged against an employee, a specific individual who serves, as an independent contractor, or a volunteer of the 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; D) the setting of a price for sale or lease of property owned by the District; E) the sale or purchase of securities, investments, or investment contracts; F) emergency security procedures; G) student disciplinary cases; H) the placement of individual students in special education programs and other matters relating to individual students: 1) pending, probable, or imminent litigation; J)attorney/client privilege; evaluation of attorney; K) approval of certain closed session minutes for distribution to the public; or other matters appropriate for a closed meeting pursuant to the Open Meetings Act. An additional Closed Session may be necessary if all discussions are not concluded prior to returning to open session ENTER CLOSED 6:05 pm RE-ENTER OPEN 6:18 pm

Approve Closed Session Minutes Motion: Shaffer 2nd: Janssen Vote: 6-0 approved

4. Consent Agenda Motion: Fleer 2nd: Janssen Vote: 6-0 approved

4.1 Approve June 22, 2022 Board Meeting Minutes

4.2 Approve Bills and Activity Fund Reports

4.3 Approve Bills Payable

4.4 Approve Fund Balances 4.5 Approve End of Month Report for Previous Month

5. Administrative and Committee Reports

5.1 Principal Reports

Mr. Arnsman indicated we still have openings for special education teachers at both the MS and HS as well as HS math and band/music. They have been working on scheduling but with missing staff it has been challenging. Mrs. Sheffler was pleased to share that in Pre-K both classes are full. The only students on the waiting list are those with no eligibility points and those who are not yet three years old. The kindergarten classes are filling up and the potential for a third section may become a reality. Mrs. Sheffler was excited to inform the board that playground equipment is set to ship tomorrow. The new Math curriculum is in transit. First shipment arrived yesterday. As far as the building, the custodial-rooms have been cleaned. Carpets will be shampooed next week and we will be moving three classrooms and the library soon.

5.2 Business Manager Report

The district is doing well, ending the fiscal year strong. The auditors will be here in August for the annual district audit.

5.3 Maintenance Director

The summer has been kicked off with a lot of landscaping around the High School campus shared Jordan Zeitler, Maintenance Director. The entrance of the Middle School, the outside of the gym and the Unity bush in the front of the school has been edged and mulched. All downspouts at both campuses have had rock put underneath to keep the erosion at bay. We put rock in the landscaping area in the front of the Elementary School also. The parking lot lines and curbs have been painted. We are waiting on one more case of paint to finish the parking lot strips. We want to take pride in the way the school looks siad Zeitler.

The cooling tower was cleaned out before it was filled with water. Motors and the bearings were greased. The chemical on the tower is doing good clearing the lime build up. You can see a before picture from when I started working here and a current picture of how far it has come (attached). Last week, the boiler room was cleaned and organized in preparation for the fire marshal inspection on the boilers.

Currently the HVAC units in the High/ Middle School campus are being flushed, greased, and having filters changed before school starts. We are still waiting on two units for classrooms that were ordered last year but due to production issues and the supply chain they have still not been received.

5.4 Superintendent Report

Supt. Riddle informed the board that today the sheriff's dept. conducted active shooter training in our MS/HS. The training was done without students and staff present. There will be more training in the early fall with students and staff.

From fall 2019 to fall 2020, total public-school enrollment for pre-K through 12th grade dropped 3 percent from 50.8 million to 49.4 million students, according to a recent report. The decline erased a decade of growth by bringing public school enrollment back to 2009 levels. It was the largest single-year decline since 1943, when schools were operating in the midst of World War II, according to the report. Locally we have seen a decline in numbers over the past ten years. Based on the state enrollment data we have seen almost a 100-student decrease since 2012. The largest decreases came in 2015-16 and again in 2019-20. The majority of decreases were seen in the upper grades. We have had steady enrollment the past two years and with the expansion of the PreK we have seen an increase. The asbestos has been removed from the science labs and they have begun construction after removing all the old tables. They have roughed in the plumbing, electrical, and installed the ceiling and lights. They are beginning the cabinetry work this week (see attached pictures). At this point we are on track for completion for school barring any further delays.

We are beginning the removal of the band room carpet. We will then be using carpet squares to allow us to easily replace any damaged or stained areas. We also will be redoing the entryway of the HS. We are looking to use the same type material we have in the entryway of the elementary gym area.

Supt. Riddle shared he was elected to be a member of the Governmental Relations Committee. The members of this committee work closely with the Governmental Relations staff to monitor those legislative and otherwise political activities that may impact Illinois public schools. The Committee serves as a statewide voice for excellence in education and works to ensure that legislative positions, public positions of IASA, and governmental communications accurately reflect the interests of administrators and students across Illinois. The Committee meets to consider proposed legislation, House and Senate Bills, State Board of Education positions and other matters, which would affect public education and works closely with the Governmental Relations staff to prepare necessary and appropriate responses that may be available for all members within their school community and across the State of Illinois.

We are in the process of updating our website. We are working with the design team now. It will be ADA compliant. As part of the updating we will have an app that is for smartphone users. It is hoped to be up in early fall.

6. Action Items

6.1 Approve any matter discussed in Executive Session as necessary, and limited to those matters authorized for discussion in Executive Session by motion of the Board and/or Personnel List

Motion: Janssen 2nd: Shaffer Vote: 6-0 approved

Hire:

Kobie McCallister - Elementary teacher

Jamie Jinkens - Paraprofessional

Recognize resignation of:

Elizabeth Cox - Rhiannon Dieker - Amanda Vogel - Edward Butcher - Cole Thompson

6.2 Consider and take action on accepting bids for security camera upgrade

Motion: Fleer 2nd: Humke Vote: 5-1 approved (dissenting Shaffer)

We are upgrading and adding to our security cameras for the district. During the elementary addition it was noted that additional cameras would be purchased in the future. We are also adding some outside cameras for the MS/HS campus.

6.3 Consider and take action on approval of change order for science lab

Motion: Janssen 2nd: Shaffer Vote: 6-0 approved

This is a simple change order concerning the switching of lights due to previous installation of LED lighting as part of an energy conservation project.

6.4 Consider and take action on administrators contract renewal extension

Motion: Shaffer 2nd: Humke Vote: 5-0-1 approved (abstaining Arnsman))

All administrator's contracts were extended a year to maintain multi-year contracts.

6.5 Consider and take action on the first reading of policy updates

Policy updates and reviewing of current policy for adoption at the next meeting.

7. Information Items

7.1 ESSER fund use - public comment was taken on the use of the funds. Supt. Riddle shared how the funds have been able to help with continuing to move the district forward in the areas of curriculum, professional development, facility upgrades, security, and providing a safe learning environment.

8. Adjournment

8.1 Adjournment

8.2 Next Meeting - The next Regular Meeting of the Board of Education will be held on Wednesday, August 17, 2022 at 6:00 p.m.

http://www.cusd4.com/uploads/4/1/9/5/41958557/july_12_2022_board_report.pdf