North Egypt News

Sesser-Valier Community Unit School District 196 Board of Education met Feb. 12.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

CALL TO ORDER

A regular meeting of the Board of Education of Sesser-Valier Community Unit School District No. 196 was held in the High School Library at 6:00 PM on Monday, February 12, 2024. The meeting was called to order by President Jason Sample.

ROLL CALL

Secretary Zimbro called the roll with the following result:

Members Present: Garner, Kirk, Lance, Menser, Packer, Sample, Spence

Members Absent: None

Staff Present: J. Henry, K. Jones, N. Page, L. Zimbro, B. Gunter, K. Kelly, T. Masters, R. Payne, M. Berthoux, D. Laur

Visitors Present: Officer Howard Baxter

PUBLIC COMMENT & CORRESPONDENCE

None

REPORTS

SVEA: R. Payne shared recent activities, events and lessons the students and teachers have participated in over the month.

LABORERS' LOCAL 773: No report.

CUSTODIAL & MAINTENANCE SUPERVISOR: No report.

K-8 PRINCIPAL: Mr. Jones, Elementary/JH Principal, presented information regarding the following to the board: Trust fund, recent activities/news, upcoming activities, and state testing information. Jones also congratulated Mrs. Dennison on her Sesser Area Chamber of Commerce Teacher of the Year award.

H.S. PRINCIPAL: Mrs. Page, HS Principal, presented information regarding the following to the board: Trust fund, upcoming activities including senior night for boys/girls basketball and cheerleading. Page shared information about the STEP program and how it is helping students in the program prepare for life after high school.

SUPERINTENDENT: Mr. Henry, Superintendent, presented the following information to the board:

1. The consent agenda for this month's meeting includes the following additional item(s):

• Approval of the FY24 licensed personnel seniority list

Approval of the FY24 educational support personnel seniority list

• Approval of a 2023-2024 amended public school calendar

Authorization for the District Superintendent or designee to seek proposals for parking lot sealing/striping

• Approval of revised board policies (final approval)

2. Heartland Mechanical is currently working to determine the source of some minor problems with the HVAC controls in Phase I of the project in an effort to avoid the same issues in the next two phases. Heartland's owner, JW Huppert, was onsite on Wednesday, February 7th, along with his project manager and a controls subcontractor representative. Mr. Huppert has a good understanding of the problem and is working to understand 1) what is causing it, and 2) how to correct it. After the meeting, Mr. Henry was even more convinced that the problem will be resolved to the District's satisfaction.

3. The Board's Policy Committee met on January 8, 2024, immediately following the regular board meeting on that same date. The Committee agreed by unanimous consent to recommend that the full Board approve revisions to thirty-six (36) policies as presented at the January meeting (both substantive & non-substantive). All 36 policies are slated for final approval at tonight's board meeting as part of the consent agenda.

4. Following the District's issuance of the Series 2022 bonds in January, 2022, the District Superintendent is required, as the designated Compliance Officer, to issue a Post-Issuance Tax Compliance Report annually until the Series 2022 bonds are retired. The Fiscal Year 2024 Post-Issuance Tax Compliance Report that Mr. Henry issued on February 1, 2024, was included in the February, 2024, board packet and has been filed with the District's official records for the Series 2022 bonds. Four key components (Records, Arbitrage Rebate Liability, Contract Review and IRS Examinations or Inquiries) must be addressed in the report, and those items are specifically enumerated. Superintendent Henry will be available if there are any questions about the content of the document.

5. Mr. Henry attached a recent FOIA request from the Illinois Retired Teachers' Association and the District's response to it for review.

CONSENT AGENDA

A motion was made by Lance and seconded by Kirk approving the minutes of the previous meetings, including closed session minutes (if applicable): January 8, 2024 (Regular Meeting), January 8, 2024 (Policy Committee Meeting); Treasurer's report; the bills in the amount of $382,891.73 and salaries in the amount of $554,013.02; approval of FY24 licensed personnel seniority list; approval of FY24 educational support personnel seniority list; approval of 2023-24 Amended Public School Calendar; authorization to seek proposals for parking lot sealing/striping; and approval of the revised board policies (final approval), as presented.

Roll call voting was as follows:

Yeas: Garner, Kirk, Lance, Menser, Packer, Sample, Spence

Nays: None

There being seven (7) yeas and zero (0) nays, the president declared that the motion carried.

OLD BUSINESS

None

NEW BUSINESS

SUMMARY/REVIEW OF 2023 SESSER-VALIER HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT: Mrs. Page presented board members with a packet showing comparisons between the 2022 and 2023 Holiday Tournament including revenue generated, sponsorships, expenses and number of teams participating. Discussion followed on ways to better communicate changes in the upcoming year(s) and ways to increase sponsorships.

REVIEW OF ADMISSION PRICING FOR ATHLETIC EVENTS: D. Kirk asked how the district determines the pricing for athletic admissions and if it was possible to give a discount or waive the entry fee for senior citizens and/or veterans. Mrs. Page informed the Board that the district's conference determines the pricing of athletic admissions. Discussion followed on admission fees for other school districts, promotional games and how they are determined and possible changes for upcoming years. The consensus of the Board was to 1) offer free admission to veterans and senior citizens at a home boys basketball game on February 13, 2024; and 2) to further review the issue at its March 11, 2024, board meeting for possible action.

MAIN CAMPUS FACILITY-USE REQUEST FOR SV RISING STARS: Facility use information was given to board members that included estimated costs for the district for custodial staff and possible scheduling conflicts. Further discussion followed.

APPROVAL OF MAIN CAMPUS FACILITY-USE REQUEST AND WAIVED FEES FOR SV RISING STARS: A motion was made by Packer and seconded by Kirk to approve a main campus facility-use request for February 24, 2024, with waived fees for SV Rising Stars, as presented.

Roll call voting was as follows:

Yeas: Menser, Packer, Spence, Garner, Kirk, Lance

Nays: Sample

There being six (6) yeas and one (1) nay, the president declared that the motion carried.

CLOSED SESSION: At 6:54 PM, a motion was made by Spence and seconded by Menser to enter into closed session for the purpose of discussing the following exceptions to the Open Meetings Act:

a. The appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance or dismissal of specific employees of the public body (5 ILCS 120/2(c)(1), as amended by P.A. 93- 57)

b. Collective negotiating matters between the public body and its employees or their representatives, or deliberations concerning the salary schedule for one or more classes of employees (5 ILCS 120/2(c)(2)

c. Litigation, when an action against, affecting or on behalf of the particular District has been filed and is pending before a court or administrative tribunal, or when the District finds that an action is probable or imminent, in which case the basis for the finding shall be recorded and entered into the closed meeting minutes (5 ILCS 120/2(c)(11))

Roll call voting was as follows:

Yeas: Packer, Sample, Spence, Garner, Kirk, Lance, Menser

Nays: None

There being seven (7) yeas and zero (0) nays, the president declared that the motion carried.

RECONVENE FROM CLOSED SESSION: At 10:10 PM, a motion was made by Spence and seconded by Packer to reconvene from closed session.

Voting was as follows: All voted yea. There being seven (7) yeas and zero (0) nays, the president declared the motion carried.

PERSONNEL (NEW BUSINESS)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF EMPLOYEE RESIGNATION(S): A motion was made by Lance and seconded by Menser to acknowledge the following employee resignation(s):

District Custodian: Nathan Harmon (effective February 1, 2024)

HS Social Studies Teacher: Craig Garner (effective at the conclusion of the 2023-2024 school year)

Voting was as follows: All voted yea. There being seven (7) yeas and zero (0) nays, the president declared the motion carried.

EMPLOYMENT OF DISTRICT CUSTODIAN (HARMON, NATHAN): A motion was made by Spence and seconded by Packer to employ Nathan Harmon as District Custodian subject to and contingent upon his successful completion of a statutorily-required employment history review.

Roll call voting was as follows:

Yeas: Garner, Kirk, Lance, Menser, Packer, Sample, Spence

Nays: None

There being seven (7) yeas and zero (0) nays, the president declared that the motion carried.

EMPLOYMENT OF EXTRACURRICULAR COACH(ES) AND/OR SPONSOR(S) (LAUR, D.): A motion was made by Menser and seconded by Kirk to approve the following extracurricular coach(es) and/or sponsor(s).

• JHS Girls Volleyball Coach: Dana Laur (retroactive to January 15, 2024)

JHS Girls Track Coach: Dana Laur

Roll call voting was as follows:

Yeas: Lance, Menser, Packer, Sample, Spence, Garner, Kirk

Nays: None

There being seven (7) yeas and zero (0) nays, the president declared that the motion carried.

APPROVAL OF VOLUNTEER ASSISTANT COACH(ES) AND/OR SPONSOR(S) (DORRIS, S.; HEINE, J.; NITZ, A.): A motion was made by Spence and seconded by Menser to approve the following volunteer assistant coach(es) and/or sponsor(s).

• JHS Girls Volleyball: Shania Dorris

Rembrandt Society/Art Club: Julie Heine & Amie Nitz

Voting was as follows: All voted yea. There being seven (7) yeas and zero (0) nays, the president declared that the motion carried.

POSTING OF POSITIONS (ELEMENTARY CLASSROOM TEACHER—2 POSITIONS): A motion was made by Lance and seconded by Packer to post two (2) elementary classroom teacher positions.

Voting was as follows: All voted yea. There being seven (7) yeas and zero (0) nays, the president declared that the motion carried.

OTHER BUSINESS

None

ADJOURNMENT: A motion was made by Spence and seconded by Kirk to adjourn.

Voting was as follows: All voted yea. There being seven (7) yeas and zero (0) nays, the president declared the motion carried.

The meeting adjourned at 10:15 PM.

https://cdnsm5-ss2.sharpschool.com/UserFiles/Servers/Server_5786889/File/Henry/FY24%20Board%20Meetings/Feb%2012,%202024,%20BdMtgMin.pdf