Homer School District 33C Board of Education Meeting February 27, 2018

Summary of the Homer School District 33C

Board of Education Meeting

February 27, 2018

___________________________________________________________________________

    Deb Martin, President      Elizabeth Hitzeman, Vice President      Karen DeFilippis, Secretary

Adam Briner, Member  Kevin DeSchaaf, Member  Christine Marcinkewicz, Member  Russ Petrizzo, Member                                                                                     

At the February 27^th Board of Education meeting:

●     Teachers Union representative Cathy Clayton reported the Council is seeking direction regarding special education procedures, aggressive student behavior in the classrooms, and staffing levels for next school year

●     Support Staff Union representative Stella Kapusta reported staff members have been completing the comprehensive needs assessment survey and that they hope their needs and the needs of students are put into consideration

●     Member DeSchaaf reported the Board’s Facility Committee met last week and that preparations are on schedule to replace the HVAC system at Homer Junior High School this summer. Staff cooperation will be needed to make sure the work is completed in a tight timeframe

●     Member DeFilippis reported she and Hitzeman attended the recent DLT meeting and heard an update on the District’s new Student Information System -- PowerSchool. Each school who has a lead teacher who will help roll out the system

●     The Board approved the following personnel recommendations:

            Resignations

     1. Sandy Parus - Reading Specialist, Butler School, effective at the end of the 2017-2018 school

         year

                 2. Gina Suggs - 1^st grade teacher, Goodings Grove School, effective at the end of the 2017-2018

                     school year

     3. Becky Cortesi-Caruso - Director of Special Education, effective June 30, 2018

     4. Concepcion Marquez - bus driver, Transportation, effective January 28, 2018

     5. Patricia Malzone - 0.5 FTE District Media Center/Classroom Volunteer Coordinator, Schilling

         School, effective February 15, 2018

     6. David Trella - head custodian, Butler School, change in effective date for retirement from June 29,

         2018 to May 31, 2018

     7. Laurie Moroz - clerical aide, Hadley Middle School, change in effective date for retirement from

        June 30, 2019 to December 3, 2018

     8. Sandy Parus - Butler School Differentiation Facilitator and Butler School Head Mentor, effective

          at the end of the 2017-2018 school year

 Letter of Intent to Retire

1.    Nancy Lahey - dispatcher, Transportation, effective December 31, 2018

     

 Requests for Leave of Absence (Beginning and end dates open to modification)                

1.    August Deuser - 7^th grade English teacher, Homer Junior High School, FMLA leave request effective April 28, 2018 through May 18, 2018 and will return on May 21, 2018

2.    Jerilyn Brumfield - 6^th grade teacher, Hadley Middle School, FMLA leave effective May 22, 2018 through the end of the 2017-2018 school year and will return at the beginning of the 2018-2019 school year

3.    Jennifer Donahue - special education co-teacher, Hadley Middle School, FMLA leave effective intermittently from February 5, 2018 through June 1, 2018

4.    Scott Masen - paraprofessional, Homer Junior High School, FMLA leave effective intermittently from January 19, 2018 through the end of the 2017-2018 school year

 Employment Recommendations

1.    Giuseppina Reifel - building secretary, Young School, effective February 28, 2018

2.    Aldona Urba - lunchroom monitor, Hadley Middle School, effective February 28, 2018

3.    Lynda D’Antonio - bus driver, Transportation, effective March 27, 2018 pending successfully completing her criminal background check and obtaining her CDL for driving a school bus

●     Assistant Superintendent for Business Christi Tyler presented a mid-year budget update. Expenditures are tracking $1 million higher than this time last year due to bus leases, switches (which allow different devices on a network to communicate), the PowerSchool purchase and food expenses. Revenues are also tracking higher -- about $5.1 million higher -- due to the sale of district buses and timely receipt of state payments. FY18 is the first year school districts are receiving state revenue on the Evidence-Based Funding (EBF) model

●     Human Resources Director Michael Portwood presented the 2018-2019 Enrollment Projections, Registration Overview, & New Construction Updates. Based on current projections, the District may need to add:

○     Two sections at Schilling (grades 1 and 3)

○     One section at Butler (grade 1)

○     One, possibly two, sections at Young (grades 1 and 2)

○     One section (possibly) at Goodings Grove (grade 1).

It’s too early to tell if the district will need to retain 17 sections of kindergarten. Kindergarten registration is March 15^th. Space is getting tight throughout the District, especially at Goodings Grove and Schilling.

Parents of ALL students -- including returning students -- will be required to establish residency each year. Documentation MUST include an Illinois driver’s license or state ID with current address. Instructions will be mailed and emailed to parents of returning students in April

●     The Board approved issuing debt certificates

●     The Board approved a recommendation for +6 FTE’s to regulate class sizes (+4 FTE and +2 provisional). The provisional employees will be hired if/when the pre-identified classroom sections rise above the historical “+1 over target” threshold

●     The Board discussed school safety and what the District is doing to keep students and staff safe. In addition to installing security cameras and door systems at each school, the District will need to look at how the buildings are used after hours and what procedures are in place to identify who’s in the building and when

●     The Board accepted bus driver Sharon Pearson’s retirement date of June 30, 2020 subject to compliance with the terms and conditions of the District’s one-time IMRF retirement incentive program

●     The Board adopted the 2018-2019 school calendar. The first day of school (for students) is Wednesday, August 22, 2018. Teachers will report August 20^th and August 21^st for a two-day Teacher Institute. The last day of school will be Monday, June 3, 2018 (if no Snow Days are used). Winter Break will be Monday, December 24^th through Friday, January 4^th (with students returning to school Monday, January 7^th). Spring Break will be Monday, April 1^st through Friday, April 5^th (with students returning to school Monday, April 8^th).

●     The Board reviewed and approved a Farm Lease agreement with Konow’s Farm, which rents the District’s property at Bruce and Cedar roads

●     The Board approved a resolution authorizing the sale of a 1996 Ford F250 pick-up truck

●     The Board approved the purchase of a 2018 Ford F-250 XL 4X4 pick-up truck in the amount of $36,458.000

The Next Regular School Board Meeting is March, 14, 2018 at 7:00 p.m.