Carbondale Reporter

Carbondale Community High School District 165 Board of Education met Aug. 15.

Here is the minutes provided by the board:

The regular meeting of the Board of Education of School District 165 was held in the cafeteria of Carbondale Community High School, 1301 East Walnut Street, Carbondale, Illinois, on Thursday, August 15, 2019, at 7:00 p.m. 

Upon roll call, the following members were present:

Linda Flowers                         Francis Tsung

Lana Galan                             Julie VanWinkle

Christopher Swims                 Brian Woodard

The following member was absent:  Joe Hudgins

Also present were:     

Stephen Murphy         CCHSEA Represented

Donna Fager               Carlton Smith

Ryan Thomas                         

President Woodard declared a quorum present and the regular scheduled    meeting of August 15, 2019, was called to order.

Secretary Pro Tem:  Member VanWinkle served as Secretary Pro Tem in Secretary Hudgins’ absence.

Approval of Minutes: Motion by Swim, seconded by Tsung, to approve the minutes of the regular scheduled meeting and executive session of July 16, 2019, and the special meeting and executive session of July 30, 2019.  Roll call: Flowers, Galan, Swims, Tsung, VanWinkle and Woodard voted yes. Nay, none. Motion carried.

Old Business: None

Introduction of New Faculty: Ryan Thomas introduced the new faculty members to the Board: 

Kameilah Amaya-Allen, English Teacher

Katie Bachman, English Teacher

Alexandria Bassett, German Teacher

Sarah Dubach, English Teacher

Mark Hostert, Special Education Teacher

Brenda Krutsinger, School Counselor

Melisa Lopez, Spanish Teacher

Kasey Paris, English Teacher

Alejandro Ruiz, Dean of Students

Dawn Taylor, Media Coordinator

Ashley Ziegler, Mathematics Teacher

President Woodard welcomed the faculty members on behalf of the Board of Education.

FOIA Requests: None

Public Comments:  Carlton Smith:  Mr. Smith commended and thanked the Board for employing the culturally diversified faculty for the 2019-20 school year. 

Payment of Bills:  Motion by Flowers, seconded by Galan, to pay the remaining bills for the month of July 2019; and, those available for payment for the month of August 2019. Roll call:  Galan, Swims, Tsung, VanWinkle, Woodard and Flowers voted yes.  Nay, none.  Motion carried.

Principal’s Report: Mr. Thomas advised the Board that school year was off to a great start and the new faculty were full of high energy and excited for the new year.

Mr. Thomas reviewed his 2018-19 Student Discipline Report for the Board.  He advised that out-of-school suspensions (OSS) were down 63% from the previous year. He said that the OSS’s were given for distribution of drugs, fighting and theft.  He said that in-school-suspensions (ISS) and social suspensions was used as discipline for other offenses.  The students placed in ISS continue to receive their class assignments and instruction. The students placed in OSS may attend Rebound during the suspension. He said the administration was continuing to review the data to determine more specific information, i.e. where and when most of the fights were occurring; if there are repeat offenders, student demographics, etc. in an ongoing effort to reduce the number of OSS to serve the students better.

Superintendent’s Report:  Start of School:  Mr. Murphy reported the school year was off to an amazing start.  He said the schedules were finalized and students were off to class on day one without any real issues and that the buses ran on time. 

He said some new security procedures were implemented. Students must enter at the main entrance or bus entrance in the morning. Visitors must enter at the Walnut Street entrance, where they are immediately greeted by a Hall Monitor. The changes appear to be very well-received. He said a double-buzzer system was added at the Walnut Street and Giant City Road entrances.  He advised he would have additional safety and security updates at a future meeting.

He said that the location for the first football game against Murphysboro had not be determined yet because the construction on their track was not scheduled to be completed until the upcoming weekend, and their deadline to request the use of SIU’s football field for the game was the following Monday. He reiterated what Mr. Thomas said advising the Board the new crop of teachers was very energized and off to a great start.

He said second-day enrollment was 1,018 students, which was consistent with prior years.

He said the campus looked great and that the focus had been to keep up with the “little things” including maintenance and upkeep of restrooms.  The Bleyer Field looked amazing with its new facelift.  He advised there was about two more weeks of construction on the shop area roof replacement, but that the crew had been working very efficiently with minimal physical or noise disruption to the school.

Goals:  Mr. Murphy said that he had met with representatives of ECRA to discuss a District Dashboard.  He said ECRA was one of the leading educational data and research companies in Illinois and provides dashboard products for hundreds of districts.  He said that he would provide additional updates on dashboards in September.

He said Mr. Graham, the new Curriculum Director, appeared to have hit the ground running.  He presented SAT and PSAT data to the faculty on first day of school, and he was working on strategies to increase scores.

He said his first priority for Mr. Graham was to make sure the class scheduling was correct, and that students were in the correct classes on the first day.  He said he would be meeting with him and Mr. Thomas regarding potential curriculum goals for the year. 

Facilities Improvements Committee Update: Mr. Murphy reviewed the Facilities Improvements Committee update for the Board.  He said at the July 16, 2019 Board of Education meeting he had requested Board feedback on potentially soliciting bids to install artificial turf on the baseball field.  He said based upon feedback from the meeting, and a follow-up meeting with stakeholders (including the Principal, Athletic Director, Dr. Woodard, District Architect, and a CCHS Booster Club member), it did not appear prudent to recommend the project at this time.  The two primary reasons for the decision were

1) Concerns were expressed at the July meeting about approving more large-scale projects prior to approving a Master Plan.

2) Baseball field renovations potentially could be a much larger scale than the softball field renovations were.  He said it was more involved than simply installing turf.  He said modifications to dugouts, drainage, the backstop, the warning track, etc., could be needed.  He said it would be short-sighted to approve artificial turf without adequate consideration and planning for those factors.

He said that some point the Board should solicit bids for the turf installation; however, that given the recent discussions, it would not be prudent to attempt to complete a project by the Spring of 2020.  He said a follow-up meeting with the stakeholders previously mention would occur on August 27, 2019, to discuss baseball field renovations, and that he would report back to the Board in September.

He said that depending on the stakeholder discussion and architect feedback, he may recommend smaller-scale projects to the Board over the next school year, including modification to seating at baseball and softball fields.

He said also during the August 27 meeting the District Architect, Paul Lunsford, would review the draft Master Plan for Capital Grant application purposes with him and Dr. Woodard.  He said Capital Grant guidelines would be finalized by the state by March 1, 2020.  He said a draft plan will be presented to the Board in September, with a goal of finalizing the plan by the December Board meeting at the latest.

Bids and Quotes: None          

Presentation of the 2019-20 Tentative Budget for Public Display: Motion by Swims, seconded by Flowers, to receive the tentative budget for the 2019-20 school year, place it on display for the public at the district office, the high school office, and the Carbondale Public Library, and to hold a public hearing on Thursday, September 19, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. in the high school cafeteria.  Roll call:  Swims, Tsung, VanWinkle, Woodard, Flowers and Galan voted yes.  Nay, none. Motion carried.

Approval of 2019 August Graduates: Motion by Swims, seconded by Tsung, to approve the following students for official graduation on August 15, 2019: Jekiary Anderson, Mayan Arseneau, Jaylen Cooper, Cassidy Holem, Alexia Jones, Dominique McKinney, Gage Nichols, Dorothy Ryall, Christian Starkey and Mayra Vicente.  Roll call: Tsung, VanWinkle, Woodard, Flowers, Galan and Swims voted yes.  Nay, none. Motion carried.

PA 96-0434/PA 97-0609 Compensation Report FY19: The Board received a copy of the PA 96-0434/PA 97-0609 Compensation Report FY19 for their review.

Report on Admin./Teacher/Teacher Aide Salary & Benefits FY19: The Board received a copy of the Report on Administrator/Teacher/Teacher Aide Salary and Benefits FY19 for their review.

IASB PRESS Issue 101 Board Policy Updates-Second Reading/Adoption: Motion by Tsung, seconded by VanWinkle, to approve the IASB PRESS Issue 101 Board Policy Updates, with the exception of the optional Policy 2:140, as presented.  Roll call: VanWinkle, Woodard, Flowers, Galan, Swims and Tsung voted yes. Nay, none. Motion carried.  Nay, none.  First reading of the IASB PRESS Issue 101 Board Policy Updates occurred at the July 16, 2019 Board of Education meeting.

Executive Session:  None

Resignations/Retirements:  Motion by Swims, seconded by Tsung, to accept the resignation of Isaac Fletcher (Gateway Teacher Aide) effective September 1, 2019.  Roll call: Woodard, Flowers, Galan, Swims, Tsung and VanWinkle voted yes.  Nay, none. Motion carried.

Employment of 2019-20 Personnel: Motion by Swims, seconded by Flowers, to employ the following 2019-20 personnel as presented:

a. Driver Education Behind-the-Wheel Teachers—Personnel as presented: Mike Butler, Krystal Emrick, Jeff Hansen, Greg Storm and Kim Wheeler

d. Extra-Duty/Extended-Time Personnel Key Club Sponsor: Jane Rendon $1,133.33

History Club Sponsor: Mike Butler $357.00

Scrapbooking & Craft Club Sponsor: Cheryl Drue $357.00

Assistant Football Coach: Cody Ward $2,900.00

Head Boys Bowling Coach: Kaylan Talley $4,533.00

Thespians Club Sponsor: Sarah Dubach $357.00

Assistant Speech Team Advisor: Kasey Paris $2,266.50

Junior Class Sponsor: Michelle Lewis $3,400.00

Roll call: Flowers, Galan, Swims, Tsung, VanWinkle and Woodard voted yes.  Nay, none.  Motion carried.

2019-20 Volunteers: Motion by Swims, seconded by Galan, to approve the following 2019-20 volunteers:  Ashley Followell – Band Volunteer.  Roll call:  Galan, Swims, Tsung, VanWinkle, Woodard and Flowers voted yes. Nay, none.  Motion carried.                              

2019 Fall Sports Schedule: The Board received the 2019 Fall Sports Schedule in their Board packet.

September Board of Education Meeting: The September Board of Education meeting will be Thursday, September 19, 2019, at 7:00 p.m. in the cafeteria.

Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 7:52 p.m.

APPROVED: SEPTEMBER 19, 2019

Minutes of August 30, 2019 Special Board of Education Meeting:

MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL MEETING OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION CARBONDALE COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT 165, CARBONDALE, ILLINOIS HELD AUGUST 29, 2019 

The special meeting of the Board of Education of School District 165 was held in the Cafeteria of Carbondale Community High School, 1301 East Walnut Street, Carbondale, Illinois, on Thursday, August 29, 2019, at 7:00 p.m.  

Upon roll call, the following members were present:

Linda Flowers             Francis Tsung

Lana Galan                 Julie VanWinkle

Christopher Swims     Brian Woodard

The following member was absent: Joe Hudgins      

Also, present:

Stephen Murphy         Ryan Thomas

President Woodard declared a quorum present and the special meeting of August 29, 2019, was called to order.  Superintendent Murphy served Secretary Pro Tem in Secretary Hudgins’ absence.

Public Comments: None

Executive Session: Motion by Swims, seconded by Flowers, to go into executive session to discuss information regarding a student disciplinary case 5ILCS 120/(c)(9). Roll call:  Flowers, Galan, Swims, Tsung, VanWinkle and Woodard voted yes.  Nay, none. Motion carried.

The executive session convened at 7:01 p.m. 

The executive session adjourned, and the public portion reconvened at 8:33 p.m.  President Woodard stated no action was taken while in executive session.

Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 8:34 p.m.  

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