Norris City Omaha Enfield Community Unit School District 3 Board of Education met July 18.
Here is the minutes provided by the Board:
The regular meeting of the Board of Education of the Norris City-Omaha-Enfield Community Unit School District #3 of White, Hamilton and Gallatin Counties, Illinois, was called to order by Joe Lane at 7:00 p.m. in the Superintendent's Office on Wednesday, July 18, 2018. All members had been previously notified and those answering roll call were: Matt McArthy, Karen Weiss, Lincoln Hobbs, Scott Riggs, Mike Hite, and Joe Lane. Also attending were Matt Vollman, Todd Haley, Carla Carter, and Rhiannon Bridgeman. Paul Black was absent.
Karen Weiss was appointed secretary for the meeting in absence of Paul Black.
Joe Lane made the motion to accept the minutes as presented. Mike Hite seconded. A unanimous vote followed.
Scott Riggs made the motion to approve the bills for the month as presented and Mike Hite seconded. Roll Call Vote: Matt McArthy, Aye; Karen Weiss, Aye; Lincoln Hobbs, Aye; Scott Riggs, Aye; Mike Hite, Aye; and Joe Lane, Aye. Motion Carried.
The Booth Trust report was approved on a motion by Joe Lane and second by Lincoln Hobbs. Roll Call Vote: Matt McArthy, Aye; Karen Weiss, Aye; Lincoln Hobbs, Aye; Scott Riggs, Aye; Mike Hite, Aye; and Joe Lane, Aye. Motion Carried. The balance of the Trust is $33,469.95.
Mrs. Carter updated the Board on the summer maintenance at Booth. She has two items still on the list and those are to service the HVAC system and repair the gutters on the gym. There was brief discussion of the bathrooms needing some updating. Mrs. Carter has been interviewing aides for the upcoming school year. She has been pleased with those interviewed. She plans to include an orientation/refresher and an evaluation for the aides at the beginning of the school year. She mentioned to the board that both Booth and NCO will open up online registration on Teacherease to parents on August 1.
Mr. Haley told the Board that summer work is almost complete at the High School. Registration for sophomores and juniors will be August 7th; seniors on 8th; and freshmen orientation on August 9th. Falls sports will begin August 8th with volleyball. Band Camp is August 8-9.
In Mr. Foster’s absence, Mr. Vollman updated the Board on the summer work at NCO. Most is complete. The PTO provided storage building is in the process of being built. He has also been advised by experts that the water softener at NCO is depleting the water of all calcium and therefore making the water corrosive. He has been advised that they will need to bypass the water softener to correct the issue with the leaky pipes.
Mr. Vollman gave the Board some information on the new 3% cap on TRS. He has learned that there is no exceptions to this 3% and the district can expect a 13-15% penalty for any overpayment of the 3%. He believes this will cause a lot of movements between districts and we will have a difficult time “growing our own administrators” with this restriction.
The cafeteria report for 2017-18 showed a loss of $16,427.58. A total of 100,628 meals were served in the district. Mr. Vollman recommended raising the lunch prices the allowable $0.10 for the elementary but leaving the breakfast and adult pricing the same and not increasing the high school lunches. The price for grade school lunch will increase to $2.55 and will remain at $2.60 for high school. Breakfast will remain at $1.00 and adult meals at $3.00 for the district. Joe Lane made the motion and Scott Riggs seconded. Roll Call Vote: Matt McArthy, Aye; Karen Weiss, Aye; Lincoln Hobbs, Aye; Scott Riggs, Aye; Mike Hite, Aye; and Joe Lane, Aye. Motion Carried.
Joe Lane made the motion and Scott Riggs seconded to leave athletic admission prices at the grade school at $1.50/student/senior citizen and $2.00/adult and at the high school at $2.50/student/senior citizen and $3.00/adult. Roll Call Vote: Matt McArthy, Aye; Karen Weiss, Aye; Lincoln Hobbs, Aye; Scott Riggs, Aye; Mike Hite, Aye; and Joe Lane, Aye. Motion Carried.
Joe Lane made the motion to set the consumable fees at $40 for the grade school and $50 for the high school (no increase). Scott Riggs seconded. Roll Call Vote: Matt McArthy, Aye; Karen Weiss, Aye; Lincoln Hobbs, Aye; Scott Riggs, Aye; Mike Hite, Aye; and Joe Lane, Aye. Motion Carried.
Joe Lane made the motion for the renewal of the school treasurers bond. Seconded by Scott Riggs. Roll Call Vote: Matt McArthy, Aye; Karen Weiss, Aye; Lincoln Hobbs, Aye; Scott Riggs, Aye; Mike Hite, Aye; and Joe Lane, Aye. Motion Carried.
The annual report from Conger & Elliott Law was reviewed and approved on a motion by Joe Lane. Matt McArthy seconded the motion. Roll Call Vote: Matt McArthy, Aye; Karen Weiss, Aye; Lincoln Hobbs, Aye; Scott Riggs, Aye; Mike Hite, Aye; and Joe Lane, Aye. Motion Carried.
The Board would like to know the responsibilities/duties that the administrators expect from the custodians on an average day to day basis. They recognize that the custodians wear many hats and are often pulled away from their job to assist with something else.
Cell phone usage of staff and students needs to be made clearer on what is allowed and what is not. The Board would like clarification on what the administrators deem acceptable.
During the security update, again the Board would like clarification on what the protocol is for when the doors are locked and unlocked and the reasons why. Mr. Vollman added that the State Police will be present to assist with the security measures being taken during the teacher in-service on August 13.
Joe Lane asked if there was any prep for SAT test taking for the high school students. Mr. Haley stated there was no prep last school year. He feels it wasn’t effective and many students do not take the prep seriously. The students are able to use Khan Academy program as a prep. The board would like the high school to purchase more chromebooks to allow more students access to this program while at school.
Much discussion went into a new policy in the high school handbook regarding semester exams. The 2018 hand book states all students would take semester exams the first semester regardless of grades and attendance. The policy for the last several years has been such that an incentive was given to those students with good grades and good attendance to not have to take the exams. The Board strongly disagreed with starting this new policy for the 2018-2019 school year. They feel more time and information is needed to fully make this decision and would like to table the change for one school year.
Mr. Haley explained that he felt it would benefit all students to take the exams especially those that are college bound.
Joe Lane made the motion and Matt McArthy seconded to eliminate the semester exam requirement that was amended in the 2018-2019 handbook and to return to the prior policy as stated in previous handbooks about the semester exam requirements. Roll Call Vote: Matt McArthy, Aye; Karen Weiss, Aye; Lincoln Hobbs, Aye; Scott Riggs, Aye; Mike Hite, Aye; and Joe Lane, Aye. Motion Carried.
The administrators have received positive feedback from teachers on the new Go Math program. They also feel that the alignment between the schools is going smoothly especially in language arts and sciences.
Matt McArthy made the motion and Joe Lane seconded to accept the resignations of Caitlin Burklow, NCO physical education teacher; Angela Phillips, bus driver; Rachel Gray, 4th grade teacher NCO; and Robin Lowery, early childhood special education teacher at Booth. A unanimous vote followed.
Cindy Ragan will move from 2nd grade at Booth to Pre-k teacher with a 10 month contract.
Matt McArthy made the motion to employ Tanya Trout as first grade teacher at NCO. Joe Lane seconded. Roll Call Vote: Matt McArthy, Aye; Karen Weiss, Aye; Lincoln Hobbs, Aye; Scott Riggs, Aye; Mike Hite, Aye; and Joe Lane, Aye. Motion Carried.
Matt McArthy made the motion to employ Teresa Hutchinson as second grade teacher at Booth. Joe Lane seconded. Roll Call Vote: Matt McArthy, Aye; Karen Weiss, Aye; Lincoln Hobbs, Aye; Scott Riggs, Aye; Mike Hite, Aye; and Joe Lane, Aye. Motion Carried.
Matt McArthy made the motion to employ Amelia Schwartz for 4th grade teacher at NCO. Joe Lane seconded. Roll Call Vote: Matt McArthy, Aye; Karen Weiss, Aye; Lincoln Hobbs, Aye; Scott Riggs, Aye; Mike Hite, Aye; and Joe Lane, Aye. Motion Carried.
Matt McArthy made the motion to employ Danielle Healy as a substitute for NCO p.e. position with pay of $75.00/day and no health insurance benefits. Joe Lane seconded. Roll Call Vote: Matt McArthy, Aye; Karen Weiss, Aye; Lincoln Hobbs, Aye; Scott Riggs, Aye; Mike Hite, Aye; and Joe Lane, Aye. Motion Carried.
Matt McArthy made the motion to employ Jill Pruitt as special education coordinator for the District with a 10 month contract for her stipend. Joe Lane seconded. Roll Call Vote: Matt McArthy, Aye; Karen Weiss, Aye; Lincoln Hobbs, Aye; Scott Riggs, Aye; Mike Hite, Aye; and Joe Lane, Aye. Motion Carried.
Matt McArthy made the motion to employ Jordan Johnson as j.v. high school basketball coach. Joe Lane seconded. Roll Call Vote: Matt McArthy, Aye; Karen Weiss, Aye; Lincoln Hobbs, Aye; Scott Riggs, Aye; Mike Hite, Aye; and Joe Lane, Aye. Motion Carried.
Matt McArthy made the motion to employ Kevin Austin as custodian at Booth. Joe Lane seconded. Roll Call Vote: Matt McArthy, Aye; Karen Weiss, Aye; Lincoln Hobbs, Aye; Scott Riggs, Aye; Mike Hite, Aye; and Joe Lane, Aye. Motion Carried.
Matt McArthy made the motion to employ Courtney McArthy as nurse at Booth. Joe Lane seconded. Roll Call Vote: Matt McArthy, Aye; Karen Weiss, Aye; Lincoln Hobbs, Aye; Scott Riggs, Aye; Mike Hite, Aye; and Joe Lane, Aye. Motion Carried.
The Board gave verbal approval for administrators to hire aides as needed for the 2018-2019 school year.
Mr. Vollman had no applicants for a bus driver. The Board discussed offering partial insurance to bus drivers.
The meeting adjourned at 10:48 p.m. on a motion by Scott Riggs and second by Lincoln Hobbs. A unanimous vote followed.
http://www.ncoecusd.white.k12.il.us/school-board-meetings-minutes.html
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