Carbondale Reporter

Galena Unit School District #120 Board of Education met May 5.

Here is the minutes provided by the board:

1. Welcome 

1.1 Call to Order – The Board of Education of Galena Unit School District #120 held their Virtual Business Meeting via GoogleMeet on May 5, 2020. The meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m.

1.2 Roll Call – Roll call was taken, and a quorum was established. The following members were present: Member Einsweiler, Member Frank, Member Hyland, President Long and Member Stodden. Members McIntyre and Rosenthal were absent.

1.3 Approval of Agenda – Member Hyland moved, and Member Frank seconded the motion to approve the Agenda, as presented. Voice vote, all present voted aye. Motion carried 5-0.

1.4 Public Comments – Mr. Bianchetta informed the Board that Patti Murphy had received an email letter late that afternoon from High School Senior, Lillian Dickerson, addressed to the Board.

*Note, Member Rosenthal joined the meeting at 6:07 p.m.

2. Business 

2.1 Third Quarter Financial Review – Mr. Mathers gave an overview of the third quarter financials. He stated on the revenue side to date the District has received 81% of the funds; explaining we’ll never get to 100% because of the early tax distribution with the levy. He expects the title funds to be released yet this year once the reports are done. Also, they are being told that with the pandemic the state has vouchered and released the second categorical payments for this year, but told us not to count on the third and fourth, so there will be a slight decrease in revenue. The Evidence Based Funds from the State are guaranteed, as they are used to equalize school districts.

Expenditures: Right now we’re three-quarters way through the year and the District has only spent 68% of the funds budgeted. There are two funds the District will not spend a dime out of this year, the first being Health, Life Safety and the second being Working Cash Those funds will go into your fund balances to be used for future projects. Next year the District will have the option of using site and construction dollars for the HVAC project at the Primary School. With no one at school since March, there have been decreases in the amount of money going out in utilities, food, fuel, and substitute costs. As far as additional impacts, Galena should receive $80,000 in CARES funds as part of the bail out money from the federal government; however, there will be hoops to jump through to get it and we’ll have no idea as to when it would be disbursed; therefore, he’ll plan on putting in in next year’s budget to have flexibility when we need it.

2.2 Review of the District's Health Reimbursement Account Report – Mr. Mathers stated at this time of year the District looks at their health insurance renewal for staff. Since 2016 Galena has had a deductible of $750.00. In reality the deductible is $2500, as the District makes up the difference when someone goes over $750.00. You save premium costs by doing it that way. Each year you want to check to see if you are saving enough to make it worth it. The answer is a resounding yes, as the District has saved over $127,000.00.

2.3 Acceptance of Resignation: Mrs. Erin Faulkner, GHS Ag Teacher – Mrs. Erin Faulkner submitted her resignation as GHS Ag Teacher, effective June 30, 2020. To this end, the following motion was made:

Member Rosenthal moved and Member Hyland seconded the motion to accept the resignation of Mrs. Erin Faulkner, GHS Ag Teacher, effective June 30, 2020. Roll call vote, all present voted aye. Motion carried 6-0. 

2.4 Consideration and Possible Approval to Hire Sarah Lee as the High School Ag Teacher for the 2020-2021 School Year

- Mrs. Murphy recommended the Board employ Sarah Lee as the High School Ag Teacher for the 2020-2021 School Year. Ms. Lee taught Ag Education in Springfield, Minnesota for the past five years and is experienced in managing a greenhouse. She is the process of obtaining her Illinois Teaching License. To this end, the following motion was made:

Member Rosenthal moved and Member Hyland seconded the motion to hire Sarah Lee as the High School Ag Teacher for the 2020-2021 School Year. Roll call vote, all present voted aye. Motion carried 6-0. 

2.5 Consideration and Possible Approval of a Job Description for the School Safety Designee - At the April meeting, the Board directed the superintendent to formulate a job description for the School Safety Officer. This is a position that was agreed upon during the last bargaining period with the custodial group. Currently, Kevin Knautz serves as the Safety Officer. After reviewing the job description provided to the Board, the following motion was made:

Member Einsweiler moved and Member Stodden seconded the motion to approve the job description for the School Safety Designee, as presented. Voice vote, all present voted aye. Motion carried 6-0. 

2.6 Approval of GHS Key Club Advisor, Art Club Advisor, Spring Play Orchestra Director and Spring Play Vocal Director for the 2019-2020 School Year - Back in February when the GHS Sponsors were approved there were four new positions that were inadvertently missed but which were included in the new 2019-2024 contract. Mrs. Murphy requested the Board approve the following GHS Sponsors for the 2019-2020 school year:

• Susan Bookless - Key Club advisor

• Diane Siese - Art Club advisor

• Michael Suau - Spring play orchestra director

• Victoria Schuler - Spring play vocal director

To this end the following motion was made:

Member Hyland moved and Member Einsweiler seconded the motion to approve the GHS Key Club Advisor, Art Club Advisor, Spring Play Orchestra Director and Spring Play Vocal Director for the 2019-2020 School Year, as presented. Roll Call vote, all present voted aye. Motion carried 6-0.

Prior to proceeding further Board Member Frank requested to read the letter that was submitted earlier that afternoon from Lillian Dickerson to the Board, as she felt it was important to relay any information they received from students. At that time, she read the letter which stated how disappointed Miss Dickerson was with the actions and guidelines put in place by a team of GHS staff regarding the District’s e-learning plan. She felt the plan restricts improvement and felt it was important that they put a solid plan in place that helps improve the grades and motivates students.

Member Rosenthal stated the teachers and principals didn’t just throw this together and should be afforded the opportunity to discuss why they did it that way.

*Note: Member McIntyre joined the meeting at 6:30 p.m.

2.7 Update on Remote Learning and End of the Year Activities – The Principals gave an update on remote learning and an overview of the end of the year activities.

GPS – Remote learning is going well. Assignments are due by May 15th. The following week will be end of the year activities, which will not be required to be turned back in. Scheduled pick up/drop off date is May 20th. Student Report Cards will be in the bags with students’ supplies, along with yearbooks, art work and next year’s supply lists. At that time students will return their laptops and library books. This information will be sent out to parents.

GMS – Remote learning is going well. They’ve had a good turnout. There are no failures nor retentions at any grade level. The last assignments are due by May15th. Teachers will be holding team meetings the next few weeks about how to adjust curriculum for next year and will then gather data and input in May and June on how to adjust the remote learning plan. If they need to continue with remote learning in August, it will be much more defined.

End of the Year activities - The last week will be focused on students that are under the 60% proficiency. The rest of the students will spend the last week doing scavenger hunt activities from their home. Scheduled pick up/drop off date is May 22nd. All students supply items are bagged up in the commons now, along with end of the year gift bags. At that time students will return their laptops and books.

Promotion - 8th grade promotion will be done electronically.

Challenges – Baseball/Softball will follow IHSA guidelines. Right now, it says no contact til June. It’s tricky as there are a lot of games in Iowa and Wisconsin. He will work with the Superintendents regarding that. Also, trying to make sure they get 100% of the laptops back will be a challenge. Right now, students are using the school laptop as a form of communication with their friends. There are many students who don’t have cell phones that will lose that connection and there is concern for those people who otherwise would use their laptop over the summer.

GHS – Remote learning is going reasonably well. It’s not a perfect plan but there are no High School’s that are having a totally positive experience. The teachers sense the students are feeling anxious and try their best to continue to show compassion and understanding. The staff meets every Tuesday morning to discuss students that are not participating or are at risk of getting incompletes. Attempts are then made to contact the students to encourage and motivate them to do the work. The last date for new assignments is May 15th. All staff will work closely with students who need to get their remote learning grade up to 60%, as they do not want a lot of incompletes. If a student ends up with an incomplete, they will put them in an Edgenuity program over the summer, or in the fall the work could be done during homeroom.

End of the Year activities – Seniors last day is Friday, May 8th. On May 15th they will drop off textbooks, laptops, uniforms, library books, etc. and may pick up their art or shop projects and their caps and gowns. Pick up/drop off for underclassmen will be on May 21st and 22nd. An email will be sent out regarding those dates.

Graduation - Mrs. Murphy initially had a grand plan to have a drive through graduation ceremony around the track. The staff was behind the idea but then she found out from ISBE that drive throughs were not allowed. That’s how they came up with the June 28th date and the July 26th alternate date. She knows parents and students are hoping to have a traditional ceremony, however, as of May 2nd ISBE strongly encouraged schools to hold virtual ceremonies.

Senior Awards - Mrs. Deppe will virtually be doing Senior awards on June 3rd at 7 p.m.

Prom – Many parents have contacted her about setting dates for prom. She is reluctant to set a date, as realistically she doesn’t know how a prom could occur if social distancing and gathering limitations are still in place.

Challenges moving forward – Gaps in instruction will need to be addressed at the end of this year. Teachers will look at everything to see where students are so when they return in August instruction can continue without much of a hitch. It’s been really difficult to make any progress to get something established, as it gets changed two days later. She realizes communication has not been the best, however, doesn’t want to give out information and then take it back, as that’s too confusing.

She appreciated Lilli’s letter to the Board. That expressed exactly what students are feeling right now. She feels the best way to move forward is to gather input from the community, parents, students, and staff.

Member Rosenthal thanked the principals and teachers stating they did an awesome job with what they had to work with.

2.8 Facility Committee Update – Members Hyland and Einsweiler provided a report to the Board on facilities which contained a lot of information and stated they would like the Board members to take their time reviewing the information and would discuss it in further detail at the June 2nd Business meeting. Member Hyland felt the report shared with the Board was a fresh way to look at things and to move forward. Member Einsweiler said they are looking at this from a new perspective, as sometimes things get looked at with a narrow focus. Their new approach is to look at this from a full district picture and will then work back as to what they can fix now.

Member McIntyre questioned why a meeting was held on April 23 and was not posted and no other members invited. He stated the main reason he ran again for the school board was to be involved in facilities and felt the entire Board needed to be involved in the process, especially if they were considering going to referendum in a year. He felt their Business meetings should be focused on facilities. Member Long responded that when Member Hyland took over as head of the facilities committee, he and Member Einsweiler wanted to gather as much information as possible to get a starting point. They would do the heavy lifting and then share it with the Board. It was never their intention for the Board not to be involved.

3. Public Comments 

3.1 Public Comments – none.

4. Executive Session 

4.1 The appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees, specific individuals who serve as independent contractors in a park, recreational, or educational setting, or specific volunteers of the public body or legal counsel for the public body, including hearing testimony on a complaint lodged against an employee, a specific individual who serves as an independent contractor in a park, recreational, or educational setting, or a volunteer of the public body or against legal counsel for the public body to determine its validity. However, a meeting to consider an increase in compensation to a specific employee of a public body that is subject to the Local Government Wage Increase Transparency Act may not be closed and shall be open to the public and posted and held in accordance with [the Open Meetings Act]. 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(1), amended by P.A. 101-459.

Members felt there was no need to go into Executive Session.

5. Reconvene to Open Session 

5.1 Motion to Reconvene to Open Session – There was no executive session.

6. Adjournment 

6.1 Adjourn Meeting – Member Rosenthal moved and Member McIntyre seconded the motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:05 p.m. Voice vote, all present voted aye. Motion carried 7-0.

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