Mount Pulaski District 23 Board of Education meeting
Teachers Present School Improvement Plans

 

[October 20, 2022] 

The Mount Pulaski CUSD 23 Board of Education called their regular meeting to order on October 17, 2022 at 5:00 PM in the grade school learning center. All members were present except Chris Brown & Rob Smith.

After Roll Call, the Board entered into Executive Session to discuss items dealing with Board self evaluation, evaluation of staff, employment, purchase of property and collective bargaining. The Board returned to open session at 6 p.m.

In the Recognition of Public, Mike Chandler voiced concerns for the social emotional learning and the curriculum taking time from his students study hall. No other visitors requested to address the Board.

The Board approved the Consent Agenda which included the payment of bills, the sales tax revenue report, Board Minutes from September 19, 2022 and Executive Session Minutes from September 19, 2022. The motion passed 5-0.

Under Reports, both the grade school and high school building leadership teams presented on the 2022-23 School Improvement Plans. Each building creates a School Improvement Plan each school year based on the District Improvement Plan that was derived from Strategic Planning. Each plan has three goals, Student Growth and Development, Curriculum and Instruction and Stakeholder Collaboration.

Mount Pulaski Grade School is working on systems and activities that allow our students to experience self growth and development inside and outside the classroom. The grade school is using a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) to assess students' academic and social emotional needs. The MTSS is then used to develop student responsibility for their own learning as well as provide support for their individual social emotional needs. Professional development activities are provided for staff to offer support in these efforts. A major focus under curriculum and instruction is the disaggregation of data from MAP testing that allows teachers to identify student academic deficiencies as well as their strengths. Teachers can then build instructional plans that serve students as individuals and groups. MPGS is also making efforts to improve collaboration with all stakeholders by holding more family events, improving communications and seeking activities that allow students to learn about how they can serve their community.

Mount Pulaski High School is enhancing their students' growth through career fairs, the development of life skills and focused social emotional learning activities. The high school builds choice into student development so our older students can explore their preferences and opportunities as they prepare for their future. In the past year, MPHS has added more dual credits courses to their curriculum in the areas of Math, English-Language Arts and Agriculture. A focus for upcoming years is to work with Lincoln Land Community College to enhance current offerings in Career and Technical Education to create dual credit course work. The goal is to offer a wide variety of course work that not only benefits students in high school, but also supports their post secondary education. MPHS will build off last year's success in Stakeholder Collaboration in the areas of their Parent Council, quarterly parent meetings and conducting 4 stakeholder/
community events throughout the year. The MPHS Day of Service will take place this next spring and the high school continues to collaborate not only with MPGS, but also Zion Lutheran Grade School.

Superintendent Lamkey spoke very highly of the efforts being conducted in both buildings and the successes that are to follow. He was also very proud of the development of the building leadership teams as they continue to grow, assess their own growth and create more and more focused goals that will lead to school improvement.

In his Superintendent Report, Mr. Lamkey highlighted the recommendations made by the Illinois Association of School Boards and asked board members to review the recommendations and offer input to Mrs. Mott that she can use at the upcoming delegate meeting. Mr. Wilham expressed his displeasure in the IASB’s movement to make all meetings virtual. Mr. Wilham and other members agree that in person meetings were very beneficial and they would like to see a change in meeting design. Mr. Wilham and Mrs. Mott agreed to craft a letter to IASB expressing the Board’s perspective. Last month, Mr. Lamkey was asked to reach out to neighboring districts about the potential to collaborate band programs. As of the meeting time, no area districts indicated strong interest in this option. The final item of note was to report on district IT data. Mr. Lamkey informed the Board that 75% of technology repairs were completed in less than 24 hours and the 23% of repairs that take more than 48 hours are mostly due to the need to send equipment back to manufacturers for repair. He added that these are very good numbers.

Stan Comperda then addressed the Board about the potential of the Pine Creek Wind Farm which will be located in west Logan County between Elkhart and Broadwell. Mr. Comperda gave a description of the project and speculated that, if approved, the project could yield revenues between $650,000 and $700,000 per year for the school district. Mr. Comperda reported strong support from landowners in this area.

In the Athletic Director’s Report, Mr. McVickers reported on the success of fall sports teams which included baseball, softball, golf and volleyball. He also added that our Decatur Lutheran co-op football team is 8-0 and ranked #4 in the state for 8-Man Football. Mr. Wilham asked if there had been any problems securing officials for activities and Mr. McVickers responded that the increase in officials' pay has made it much easier.

In the discipline report, MPGS had two students suspended out of school for two days or less and two students accumulated 5 days of in-school suspension.

Under Unfinished Business, the first item was an amendment to the language Superintendent Contract as the word Medicaid was accidentally substituted for Medicare. The motion carried 5-0.

During the September meeting, the Board gave the go ahead to MPHS Physical Education Teacher, Mr. Deibert, to purchase additional equipment for the training room. This month the Board made a motion and approved the expenditures with a 5-0 vote.
 

The Board’s next task was to review and discuss the FY23-24 Capital Projects List. Administrators and school architects toured the campus and developed a list of renovations that topped $4 million dollars, including updating junior high and high school science labs, renovating MPGS classrooms, corridors and more. The Board discussed many of the items specifically and tentatively decided the best course of action would be to break the list down into yearly projects that could be done over time within budget constraints. Superintendent Lamkey is asking each Board member to prioritize all 22 options so that the Capital Projects list could be approved at the November Meeting.

Three more paving projects were identified on campus for the Board to consider. One is to repair the deteriorating portion of Morgan Street on the MPGS campus, another is resurfacing the west drive at MPHS and installing a concrete pad for the new batting cage at Veterans Park. After discussion, the Board determined that it was important to do these projects correctly and provide safe parking and driving spaces on our campuses. The Board approved the change order 5-0.

The first item in New Business was to consider amending the MPHS Curriculum Guide to stretch dual credit College Algebra to a full year course. Mrs. Fricke explained to the Board that a semester class did not provide enough time to develop students' skill sets to mastery. MPHS Math Teacher, Ms. Bowers, Lincoln Land Community College consultants and Mrs. Fricke all believe the added semester will better serve our students as they progress forward. The board approved the amendment 5-0.

The Board then moved to approve both the MPGS and MPHS School Improvement Plans 5-0 in two separate votes.

The last item of business for the evening was the consideration of the Personnel Report. The following items were approved with a 5-0 vote:

● Kellie Aikman as MPHS Night Custodian

● Sarah Steen as MPGS Paraprofessional

● Jacqueline Inselmann as MPGS Night Custodian

● Blane Olson as MPGS Boys Basketball Volunteer Coach

● Kate Beckers as MPHS Student Activity Aide

Under Items of Information, Mrs. Fricke noted that the high school banners were being updated this week, Walker Allen was participating in the National FFA Conference talent show and Ms. Hinson has held FAFSA meetings for parents and students. Mrs. Lora said the MPGS Gym Banners were still on hold as the small family company is experiencing a backlog due to the loss of a family member. Mrs. Lora also added that the Pre-K and Kindergarten had a trip to the Pumpkin Patch and the 5th Grade traveled to Chicago for the Logan County 5th Grade trip. Both buildings celebrated successful SIP days last week.

With no more business on the agenda, the Board adjourned at 7:13 p.m. The next meeting will be November 21, 2022 at 5 p.m. in the MPGS Learning Center.

[Sarah Farris
Administrative Assistant
Mount Pulaski CUSD 23]