Grundy Reporter

Morris Elementary School District Board of Education met August 14.

Here is the minutes provided by the Board:

Members Present; Members Absent:

Mrs. Cap; Mrs. Dzuryak

Mr. Hitchcock

Ms. Johnston

Mrs. Marsmaker

Mr. Stevens

Mr. White

I. Determination of Quorum – Call to Order

President, Jerry White called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Roll call was answered as indicated, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Others present were: Shannon Dudek, Dave Raffel, Marie Stover, and Tammy Dransfeldt.

II. Approval of the Agenda – No changes

III. Public Recognition

A. Board Participation Program – None B. Reception of Visitors – None C. Presentation from Audience on Agenda Items – None

IV. Consent Agenda

a. Approval of Minutes (July 18, 2017)

b. Approval of List of Bills (August 2017)

c. Approval of Treasurer’s Report (July 2017)

d. Approval of Financial Report (July 2017)

e. Approval of Payroll Report (July 2017)

f. Approval of Minutes and Financials of the BBC (June 2017)

g. Approval of Minutes and Financials of PTO (July 2017)

h. Approval of Financials of the Student Activity Fund Accounts (June 2017)

Motioned by Mr. Stevens, seconded by Ms. Johnston to approve the consent agenda items.

Aye: Mrs. Cap, Mr. Hitchcock, Ms. Johnston, Mrs. Marsmaker, Mr. Stevens, Mr. White

Absent: Mrs. Dzuryak

Motion Carried

V. Committee Reports

A. Finance - None

B. Policy – None

C. Curriculum - None

D. Parent - Teacher Advisory - None

E. Shared Services – None

VI. Action Items

A. IASB School Board Training Agreements

Motioned by Mr. Stevens, seconded by Ms. Johnston to approve the Morris #54 Board of Education agreements that were created during the IASB training held on June 29, 2017. The agreements were collaboratively created by the Board of Education and the Superintendent. The IASB recommends that these agreements are approved as an action item to make them official.

Aye: Mrs. Cap, Mr. Hitchcock, Ms. Johnston, Mrs. Marsmaker, Mr. Stevens, Mr. White

Absent: Mrs. Dzuryak

Motion Carried

B. FY18 Tentative Budget

Motioned by Mr. Stevens, seconded by Mr. Hitchcock to approve the tentative FY18 budget for display and establish,ent of a school board budget hearing for September 18, 2017 at 6 p.m. The tentative budget must be on display for 30 days prior to school board approval. The budget was distributed and Mrs. Mills did a powerpoint presentation on the tentative budget. The school board and Dr. Dudek thanked Mrs. Mills for her hard work on the budget.

Aye: Mrs. Cap, Mr. Hitchcock, Ms. Johnston, Mrs. Marsmaker, Mr. Stevens, Mr. White

Absent: Mrs. Dzuryak

Motion Carried

VII. Communication

A. Superintendent’s Report – Dr. Dudek reported the following:

State Budget Update Governor Bruce Rauner made revisions to Senate Bill 1 through use of an amendatory veto. The broad gubernatorial power that is authorized in the Illinois Constitution allows a governor to amend legislation that has been approved by the legislature and send it back to the General Assembly to consider his changes. Senate Bill 1 contains a new evidence-based funding formula for the distribution of the bulk of State funding for schools. The appropriations bill enacted in July states that funds may only flow to schools in Fiscal Year 2018 if an evidence-based funding model is in place. The legislature can accept the Governor's changes to SB 1 and the bill will become law as revised; or it can override the Governor's veto and the bill will become law as originally passed. Either one of these motions would require a 3/5 majority vote for approval. If a motion would fail, or if no action is taken, SB 1 in its entirety would be dead. The primary focus of the amendatory veto is the language to support a pension payment to Chicago Public Schools, and the payment was added to the previously supported evidence funding formula the Governor supported. Once the payment was included in the bill, the Governor vowed to veto it if it was sent to his desk. I will continue to update the community on the progress of Senate Bill 1.

Shared Services Meeting a. On August 31, 2017 at Morris Community High School Board Room, we will be holding our first shared services meeting between the school boards of Morris High School, Saratoga Elementary School District, and Morris 54 Elementary School District. The agenda includes the following items: Transportation review and update and shared athletic track facilities at Shabbona. Other items may be added at a later time.

B. Principal’s Report - Mr. Raffel reported the following:

Building and Grounds

● The new tile is complete in the Kindergarten and First Grade Rooms as well as the Teachers’ Lounge. It looks great!

● We have been working to find homes for the rest of the stuff in Shabbona. Nettle Creek and Saratoga have bought quite a bit of the chairs and tables. We will be looking into finding a place like Habitat for Humanity to take the rest. We need to get it moved out in the next few months due to the remodeling by Morris Hospital.

Curriculum/Staff/Students

● The schedules have been completed for the school year. The teachers received them about a weeks or two before they received them last summer according to feedback I have received.

● New Teacher Orientation took place August 14th.

● The teachers will return tomorrow for two days of Teacher Institute Meetings. Our students will be here on Thursday, August 17th for the first day of school.

● I have included a copy of the school calendar that was passed out to the staff and parents. We will update it one more time, once we schedule the concerts and musicals with the music teachers.

● The administration is working on updated job descriptions for the secretaries due to their reorganization based on district needs.

● Many of the staff and I volunteered for the We Care “Stuff A Bus” Fundraiser on August 5th in the Wal-Mart Parking Lot. We raised money and collected a bunch of school supplies for needy children in Grundy County.

Miscellaneous

● Registration for the 2017-2018 school year will took place on Tuesday, August 8th.

● I have included a copy of the online/paper Bully Reporting Form that will be used this year.

● I completed my CPI Restarint Training recertification on August 2nd.

● Dr. Dudek, Mrs. Dransfeldt, Ms. Noll and myself met with Officer Smith of the Morris Police department to finalize plans for crossing guards and traffic on Dupont for the school year. As of today we have had 138 Kindergarten students register, we now have seven sections of Kindergarten.

C. Special Education Report – Mrs. Stover reported that the state has approved the preschool grants ($180,000.00).

D. Assistant Principal’s Report – None

E. Dean of Students Report – Mrs. Dransfeldt reported that the administrative team worked on creating a safety and supervision schedule for the start of the school year. There is also a new office referral sheet that will be shared between administrators and used to track behaviors.

F. Activities Director Report – None

G. Board Communication – Mr. Stevens asked if a finance committee meeting could be scheduled prior to the shared services meeting? Dr. Dudek set the finance meeting for August 17th at 5pm. The shared services meeting is set for August 31st at the Morris High School. Mrs. Marsmaker wondered if there was any air quality testing accuring at Shabbona during the Morris Hospital’s construction? She added that she is concerned for the students who will be returniong the building during the construction. Dr. Dudek said he would look into it. Dr. Dudek said he is excited about the changes and evolution of the school so far. He is proud of the administrator’s hard work.

H. Motion to Adjourn to Closed Session

Motioned by Mr. Stevens, seconded by Mr. Hitchcock to go into closed session at 6:38 p.m.

Aye: Mrs. Cap, Mr. Hitchcock, Ms. Johnston, Mrs. Marsmaker, Mr. Stevens, Mr. White

Absent: Mrs. Dzuryak

Motion Carried

Motioned by Mr. Stevens, seconded by Ms. Johnston to come out of closed session at 7:02 p.m.

Aye: Mrs. Cap, Mr. Hitchcock, Ms. Johnston, Mrs. Marsmaker, Mr. Stevens, Mr. White

Absent: Mrs. Dzuryak

Motion Carried

I. Action as a Result of Closed Session

Motioned by Mr. Stevens, seconded by Ms. Johnston to return to open session. Open board meeting began again at 7:05 p.m.

A. FMLA

Motioned by Mr. Stevens, seconded by Ms. Johnston to approve a FMLA request for Mrs. Brooke Olson.

Aye: Mrs. Cap, Mr. Hitchcock, Ms. Johnston, Mrs. Marsmaker, Mr. Stevens, Mr. White

Absent: Mrs. Dzuryak

Motion Carried

B. Employment

Motioned by Mr. Stevens, seconded by Ms. Johnston to approve the following candidates for the 2017-2018 school year:

Emily Maglio, Social Worker

Tricia Melvin, 8th Grade ELA

Michelle Nettles, 4/5 Special Ed

Michelle Ringo, 1st Grade

Denise Pulvermacher, Lunchroom Supervisor

Marie McNelis, Interventionist

Paraprofessionals – Chasity Misner, Jill Caputo, Tina Rain, Katherine Stroup

Aye: Mr. Hitchcock, Ms. Johnston, Mrs. Marsmaker, Mr. Stevens, Mr. White

Abstain: Mrs. Cap

Absent: Mrs. Dzuryak

Motion Carried

C. Morris #54 Technology Director Contract

Motioned by Mr. Stevens, seconded by Mrs. Marsmaker to approve Greg Mann’s Technology Director contract with an additional cell phone allowance.

Aye: Mrs. Cap, Mr. Hitchcock, Ms. Johnston, Mrs. Marsmaker, Mr. Stevens, Mr. White

Absent: Mrs. Dzuryak

Motion Carried

D. Adjourn

Moved by Mr. Stevens, seconded by Mrs. Marsmaker to adjourn the board meeting at 7:07 p.m.

Aye: Mrs. Cap, Mr. Hitchcock, Ms. Johnston, Mrs. Marsmaker, Mr. Stevens, Mr. White

Absent: Mrs. Dzuryak

Motion Carried

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