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Fieldcrest Board of Education meeting summary

Thursday, August 27, 2015 - Posted 9:33:22 AM by Superintendent Dan Oakley
The Fieldcrest CUSD 6 Board of Education held its regular Board meeting on Wednesday, August 26, 2015. Members present were Tom Barth, Tammi Coons, Scott Hillenburg, Joe Kirkpatrick, Greg Kroeschen, Tim McNamara and Danielle Reichman. Also present were Superintendent Dan Oakley, South Principal Jason Chaplin, West Principal Molly Allen, and a number of staff and community members.   

There were no public comments during the time set aside.  

The Board held a public hearing regarding a waiver of state law, which would allow the district to continue the full-day SIP days that have been the standard in the district for the past five years. There was little discussion on this issue.  

In Board action during regular session, the Board: approved the consent agenda; posted the tentative FY16 budget for public review; approved the annual Applications for Recognition of Public Schools for submission to ISBE; approved a senior laptop purchase option; waived the first reading of a Board policy update package and referred it to the Policy Committee; and adopted an amended Board meeting calendar which includes several planning sessions. The Board also adopted a long-term facilities vision, preceded by a discussion of why the Board was selecting this direction and what it meant for the future of the district.  

In personnel action, the Board: hired Marisa Flanigan, Jacob Zulz, and Candace Gross as teaching assistants, and Mike McKay as assistant middle school baseball coach; and recognized Linda Bradbury's resignation.  

Dr. Oakley stated that the year had gotten off to a good start, although there are new building issues that must be dealt with, including a failure of the intercom/bell system at East and a control unit at South that wants to blow hot air instead of cool. Dr. Oakley also noted that enrollment has gone down significantly this year compared to last year, with exactly 1,100 student enrolled compared to last year's 1,157. Since the fall of 2006, the district has seen an decrease in enrollment of 18.6%, and the trend line shows, if the trend continues, that the district will see enrollment of 1,000 or even less by 2020. He noted that extrapolating this trend over the next 20-30 years has strong implications for decisions the Board makes now.  

Mr. Chaplin spoke to the Board regarding the start of school at South. He stated that the opening has been very good, and attributed a good bit of that to having the Unpack the Backpack night the night before school started. He recommended continuing the practice.  

The next regular Board meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, September 30, at 6:30 pm at Fieldcrest High School band room, with closed session starting at 6:00 pm.