The Fieldcrest CUSD 6 Board of Education held its regular Board meeting on June 28, 2017. Members present were Mykin Bernardi, Joe Kirkpatrick, Charles Lohr, Kimberly McKay, Tim McNamara, and Beth Palm. Member Scott Hillenburg was absent. Also present were Superintendent Dr. Daniel L. Oakley, Middle School Principal Nate Lorton, district director of maintenance Kevin Glowacki, and a couple of community members.
The Board met in closed session to start the meeting to discuss personnel employment and compensation.
The Board opened regular session with an amended budget hearing. The budget hearing outlined the need for an amended FY17 budget, and the primary updates to the budget.
In Board action during regular session, the Board: approved the consent agenda; adopted a resolution transferring $200,000 from the Working Cash Fund to the Education Fund; adopted the amended FY17 budget; adopted a prevailing wage ordinance; adopted a PRESS Board policy update; approved the FFA convention trip for October of 2017; approved a list of district coordinators for FY18; adopted the fee schedule for FY18; approved the purchase of a van from Roanoke Ford, and approved the sale by sealed bids the van which the new van will replace.
In employment action, the Board: hired Jennifer Roser as a special education teacher in the district; hired Jeff Keller, David Miller, and Katrina Montgomery as drivers for the district; hired Deb Nenne as an assistant cook at the Middle School; hired Scott Oncken as an assistant cook at the Primary School; assigned Megan Uphoff as High School sophomore class sponsor; hired Howard Harms as the lead for the summer paint crew and students Coty Johnson and Noah Medley as student painters; and recognized resigning staff members Erica Becker, high school special education teacher, and Kim McGuane, Primary assistant cook; for their service to the district.
Mr. Lorton updated the Board on summer progress in his building. Dr. Oakley addressed several issues:
1. He noted several open teaching positions in the district, all special education positions.
2. The state of Illinois has, post-dated, fully recognized the district for the FY17 school year.
3. The Intergovernmental agreement with Lostant is coming up for renewal, and needs to be adapted to better address a few items.
4. The Board discussed Sunday athletic/extracurricular events and verbally indicated that such events are not what the Board wants to see occur.
5. The Board also addressed the Triple-I conference in Chicago, and largely agreed that the entire Board should attend this November.
6. Dr. Oakley presented the FY18 Professional Development Plan to the Board and explained the process and reasons behind the plan.
7. Dr. Oakley presented the annual evaluation system report for certified, non-certified, and administrative staff.
8. Dr. Oakley discussed the annual curriculum and instruction report. A large focus was on the post-secondary interests of students composing our district historically, and how that interplays with highly academic testing such as the ACT or SAT tests. The Board also discussed steps to be taken to overcome areas of concern in SAT scores.
9. Kevin Glowacki informed the Board of issues with pneumatic valves in the Intermediate building, and that replacing them with other pneumatic valves will not provide savings. He is going to go through the building with Ruyle and determine what, if anything, can be done to increase building efficiency. There was a subsequent discussion of possible solutions to make the building more efficient.
The next regular Board meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, July 26 2017, at 6:30 pm at Fieldcrest High School band room, with closed session starting at 6:00 pm. The Board will also hold a special meeting on Thursday, July 13, 2017, at 6:00 pm in the High School band room.