|
 In
the first order of business, the Board went into executive session
to discuss the purchase of property and employment of staff. The
Board returned to the regular session at 7:07 p.m.
The Board reentered public session and conducted Recognition of the
Public recognizing the successes of the FCCLA Parliamentary
Procedures Team 4th place finish at the FCCLA National Conference
last month. In addition, the team participated in the conference
breakout sessions and general sessions. Mr. Waterkotte returns many
of the ParliPro Team with high hopes for next year! Coaches Mott and
Pharis brought in their Second Place Skeet Team for recognition for
their success. The team also finished 20th at the National
Tournament! All of our students' successes were heralded and there
is great anticipation for next year!
The first action item was the approval of the Consent Agenda.
Superintendent Lamkey reported that there were no questions to the
district office concerning bills and that the sales tax revenues
once again topped $31,000 for March. The Board approved the Consent
Agenda 5-0.
Under Reports, Mr. Vic Zimmerman from the Illinois
Association of School Boards reported the Superintendent Search
Survey Results. These results and the Board’s feedback will inform
the vacancy notice which is set to be released this month.
In Mr. Lamkey’s report, he spoke of the classroom renovation
progress in the junior high, summer maintenance and the potential
for the hiring of a Health/PE Teacher. Earlier this year, Mrs.
Fricke had interviewed for this position, but she did not find what
the district was looking for. Just a few weeks ago, a qualified
candidate presented themself which raised the question of whether
the district was still looking to fill this position. After a good
discussion by the Board, they agreed to have Mrs. Fricke and Mrs.
Lora interview the candidate and make a recommendation.
In addition, MPGS Instructional Coach, Jenny Mendenhall, resigned
her position this summer to become an administrator. Superintendent
Lamkey & Mrs. Lora admit that it will be a difficult position to
fill this late in the summer, but we are still advertising to see
what candidates are available. If the right fit cannot be found,
Mrs. Lora would like to continue the search into the school year
rather than settling on a candidate. Mr. Lamkey will keep the Board
apprised of the administration progress.
Finally under reports, Prairie State Wire requested
contact information for members of the Board. The information was
provided as it is public information.
In Unfinished Business, Mr. Lamkey informed the Board that he failed
to bring an additional school breakfast/lunch item to their
attention last month when they were considering raising lunch
prices. The district currently charges its students 30 cents per
carton of milk while they are paying 50 cents per carton. Mr. Lamkey
recommended raising milk costs no higher than 50 cents, but the
Board chose to leave prices at the same level and will reconsider
costs next spring.
The last item of Unfinished Business was the approval of the
three-year contract with Logan County to retain Sergeant Josh Pharis
as MPCUSD23 School Resource Officer. The motion passed 5-0.
[to top of second column] |
Under New Business, Sharon Uslan
from ENGIE updated her presentation and spoke to the Board about
future capital project upgrades. After listening to the
presentation, the Board agreed to consider ENGIE for projects
after the Capital Projects LIst is completed next month.
Superintendent Lamkey started a conversation about
the high school’s recent invitation to join the Central Illinois
Conference, which is an athletic conference composed of eastern
Illinois schools ranging from Tuscola to Clinton and Shelbyville.
The Board gave new district Athletic Director, Trent Kavelman, the
go ahead to investigate the opportunity and report back to the Board
next month.
Next, Mr. Lamkey introduced the Tentative FY2024 Budget to the
Board. While still being a work in progress, the tentative budget
indicates the district will once again be working with a fund
surplus despite rising costs and more district needs. Mr. Lamkey and
Mrs. Tschantz will keep working on the numbers and present the board
a budget to consider for adoption in August.
Each year, the Board must consider approving the District
Consolidated Plan, which provides the state and federal governments
with the district's basic information necessary for applying for
grants and other opportunities. The Board approved the plan 5-0.
The final Personnel work of the year was renewing the
contract of MPHS Instructional Coach, Mrs. Linda Smith. Mrs. Smith
is in her third year working as an instructional coach for the
district. Her contract was approved 5-0.
Next on the docket was the Personnel Report, which was approved 5-0
containing 20 hires and 1 resignation.
Hires
MPHS Mentors: Wyatt Waterkotte and Ryan Diebert
MPGS Mentors: Jenna Kloba, Barbra Lindley, Rob Siebert, Jessica Awe
and Jeanie Beccue
MPHS BLT Members: Ryan Deibert, Melanie Hinson, Linda Smith, and
Wyatt Waterkotte
MPGS BLT Members: Ashley Burgard, Lindsey Ford, Carly Powell, and
Mindy Switzer
The following sponsors/coaches were also hired:
Rachel Grunder (Spanish Club & Spirit Squad), Sarah Lambert (Art
Club) and Travis Dodson (MPGS Speech & Scholastic Bowl).
Resignations
Jenny Mendenhall as MPGS Instructional Coach
In two separate motions, Sabrina Bender was hired as the MPGS
Science teacher with a 4-0 vote, with Board Member Chris Brown
voting present and hiring Regan Goodey (MPGS and MPHS Volunteer
Assistant Coach) was tabled (5-0).
The next regular meeting will be held on Monday, August 21, 2023, at
7 p.m. in the MPGS Learning Center.
[Sarah Pharis]
 |
