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visitor requested to address the Board. Jeff Beccue disseminated
past tax extension information to the Board as he reiterated his
message from the previous month; that message reflected past Boards
commitment to reduce the district’s property tax burden.
The Board began the meeting by approving the Consent Agenda which
included payment of bills, approval of minutes from the last month.
The Board passed the Consent Agenda 7-0.
Under Reports, Tim Custis from Gorenz and Associates reviewed his
work in completing the Annual Financial Review (AFR). Mr. Custis
reported that the district finances and practices are in order, as
he offered praise for the district office and bookkeeper Kathy
Tschantz.
Next, Superintendent Lamkey informed the Board the high school
renovation/construction was substantially completed with CORE
handing over the locker room space on Thursday, October 15th.
Contractors will continue to be on site completing items on the
final punch list, but the bulk of the work is completed. Mr.
Lamkey’s report informed the Board on the high school principal
search which was proceeding on time. The interview committees were
being selected and a survey is being prepared for the last week of
October so that the public has an opportunity to express their
perspective in the application process. Interviews are expected to
take place in December with the Board approving a candidate at the
January Board Meeting.
The meeting then progressed to Unfinished Business, where the
Building and Grounds Committee explained their progress in seeking
to complete the agreement with the Mt. Pulaski Park District for use
of Veterans Park. Mr. Cowan and Mr. Martin have summited a proposed
agreement to the park district for their consideration. The Building
and Grounds Committee desires to sign the agreement at the November
School Board Meeting.
Superintendent Lamkey then began a discussion with the Board about
amending the Hilltop Return to School Plan. This plan was approved
on August 21st and laid the foundation for how our schools would
operate during the pandemic. After experiencing five successful
weeks of instruction, the building leadership teams are once again
convening to determine what further steps each building may take in
extending instructional opportunities to students.
Considerations include longer school days, adjusted schedules and
timelines for completion. Principal Morgan and Principal Lora both
described their work to date, highlighting both success and barriers
in the process.
Board members expressed their wishes to extend the school day and
asked teachers and administrators to describe the obstacles. Obvious
factors include food services and mask fatigue, but more concerning
is the limited movement of grade school students, restricted
instructional strategies due to social distancing and the
development of new best practices to try to fill instructional
voids. On the bright side, Mr. Lamkey explained that we are slowly
improving. We started the school year in a much better place than we
finished last year. We have made great strides in our instruction to
date compared to where we started the year. We are continuing to
improve and make adjustments in our practices that are leading the
district to additional opportunities for students and staff.
Building Leadership Teams will have finalized amendments to the
Hilltop Return to School Plan and timelines later this month.
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The Board then entered Executive Session at 7:46 PM to discuss
personnel items and returned to open session at 8:13PM.
Under New Business, the Board approved the Annual Financial Report 7-0,
commenting on the MPCUSD 23 improved Financial Profile Score to 3.9 on a scale
of 4.0 leaving the district with the Illinois State Board of Education’s highest
profile designation of Recognition.
In the next two items, the Board approved anticipated fund transfers from the
Education Fund and Working Cash Fund to make payments on high school
renovation/construction. The transfer of monies from the Education Fund is
permanent in nature while the Working Cash Fund transfer acts as a loan within
the district financial structure that the district has three years to make
payments. Both motions passed 7-0.
Next, in New Business, the Board adopted a resolution to abate FY2021 $936,200
construction bond payment by $140,000. This reduced tax payer’s payment on the
construction bond to $796,200, which results in a 15% savings in tax payer
payments on the construction bond during the upcoming tax year. It is the
Board’s goal to continue abating the construction bond in upcoming years to
provide tax relief for constituents. The upcoming levy process will reveal the
overall tax savings.
Superintendent Lamkey then discussed the unexpected repair work being conducted
on the grade school boilers. Mr. Lamkey filed resolution to use Health Life
Safety funds to pay for the repair or possible replacement. The Board adopted
the resolution, 7-0.
The Board then offered Superintendent Lamkey directions on the potential of an
athletic co-operative agreement with Hartsburg-Emden. In previous years, the two
districts participated in a co-op for girls’ basketball and softball. Since that
time, Hartem has been in a co-op agreement with Delavan, which has become less
attractive to the Hartsburg-Emden school district. Hartem is seeking to co-op
softball, track and golf for the upcoming year. It should be noted as well that
Hartem is also considering Illini Central as a possible co-op partner. The Board
directed Mr. Lamkey to begin discussions researching the potential for an
agreement.
Mr. Lamkey then presented food service job descriptions for Food Service
Manager, Lead Cook and Cook to the Board for consideration. The new descriptions
open opportunity for the district to redesign the hierarchal structure of the
distric’ts food services program. The job descriptions were approved 7-0.
Next the Board approved the Personnel report 7-0. The following actions were
approved by the Board:
• Dianne Birge retired as the grade school Head Cook.
• Jay Haigh was designated Food Service Manager.
• Angie Cross hired as Part-Time Cook
• Tanker Wade hired as Volunteer High School Basketball Coach
• Michael Lowery hired as Volunteer High School Baseball Coach
The Board postponed a vote on raising the hourly wage for a paraprofessional.
The Board asked Mr. Lamkey to conduct research and present his work at the
November regular meeting.
The meeting adjourned at 8:37 PM.
[Submitted by Sarah Farris
Administrative Assistant
Mount Pulaski Community Unit District #23] |
