Somonauk Community Unit School District No. 432 Board of Education met Jan. 21.
Here is the minutes provided by the board:
The closed meeting of the Board of Education, Somonauk Community Unit School District No. 432, was held in the Somonauk High School Legacy Room at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, January 21, 2020. The following members were present: Corey Britt, Nick Deacon, Scott Horsch, Norm Johnson, Tom Nielsen, Michael Short and Amy Wiegman. Jay Streicher, Superintendent, was also present.
At 6:31 p.m., it was moved by Short, seconded by Nielsen that the Board of Education go into closed session for the purpose of considering the dismissal, appointment and employment of employees, including compensation, benefits and evaluation; student disciplinary matters; and the closed session minutes from December 16, 2019. On a roll call vote, the following members voted “AYE”: Britt, Deacon, Horsch, Johnson, Nielsen, Short and Wiegman. “NAY”: None. Motion carried.
At 7:03 p.m., it was moved by Nielsen, seconded by Johnson that the closed session be terminated and the Board reopen in regular session. On a voice vote, all members present voted “AYE”. Motion carried.
At 7:06 p.m., President Short called the regular meeting to order. The following members were present: Corey Britt, Nick Deacon, Scott Horsch, Norm Johnson, Tom Nielsen, Michael Short and Amy Wiegman. Jay Streicher, Superintendent, and Eric Benson, High School Principal were also present.
President Short welcomed Abigail Denault to give a student highlight. She talked about her involvement within the school by being a part of Student Council, Spanish Club, Leadership Group, Band, the School Play, and the Fine Arts Crew. She discussed her role as a teen columnist for the Ottawa Times Newspaper. Abigail stated she planned on pursing journalism in college to travel and discover the world of news. She discussed many events that are taking place for the Somonauk Community.
President Short recognized any visitors for public comment. There were none. SUMMARY ITEM 20.09.01 - MOTIONS FROM CLOSED SESSION
It was moved by Nielsen, seconded by Johnson, that the minutes of the “Closed Meeting” of December 16, 2019 be approved. On a roll call vote, the following members voted “AYE”: Britt, Deacon, Horsch, Johnson, Nielsen, Short and Wiegman. “NAY”: None. Motion carried.
SUMMARY ITEM 20.09.02 – CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS
It was moved by Nielsen seconded by Wiegman that the Board approve the regular
meeting minutes of December 16, 2019, the Treasurer’s Report for January, the list of invoices due, said lists and reports to be attached to and become a part of these minutes; Activity Account, Cafeteria Report, Enrollment Report and F.O.I.A Report. On a roll call vote, the following members voted “AYE”: Britt, Deacon, Horsch, Johnson, Nielsen, Short and Wiegman. “NAY”: None. Motion carried.
SUMMARY ITEM 20.09.03 – REIMBURSEMENT OF BOARD MEMBER EXPENSE
It was moved by Wiegman, seconded by Nielsen that the Board approve the reimbursement request of Nick Deacon for completing the Open Meetings Act (OMA) Training through IASB in the amount of $30.00. On a roll call vote, the following members voted “AYE”: Britt, Horsch, Johnson, Nielsen, Short and Wiegman. “NAY”: None. “ABSTAIN”: Deacon. Motion carried.
It was moved by Nielsen, seconded by Wiegman that the Board approve the reimbursement request of Scott Horsch for parking expenses at the School Board Conference in the amount of $56.00. On a roll call vote, the following members voted “AYE”: Britt, Deacon, Johnson, Nielsen, Short and Wiegman. “NAY”: None. “ABSTAIN”: Horsch. Motion carried.
SUMMARY ITEM 20.09.04 – ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS
Superintendent Streicher stated the next S.E.F. meeting is scheduled for next week. He said there was no December meeting. Nick Deacon stated that the upcoming agenda included scholarship updates, the Memorial Day BBQ, the Mid Summer Showdown and discussion of making over a learning space in one of the schools
Johnson said that there has not been a meeting since the last board meeting. Superintendent Streicher reported the I.V.V.C. Board is in the process of completing the Director’s evaluation. He is gathering feedback from the other superintendents as part of the evaluation process.
Superintendent Streicher gave a consolidation update. He said he had just met with the consolidation consultant and Leland’s Superintendent earlier in the day. The consultant provided a timeline and a list of documents that need to be provided by both districts.
SUMMARY ITEM 20.09.05 – POLICY ADOPTION
It was moved by Nielsen, seconded by Wiegman, that the Board adopt the following policies as is: 4:45, Insufficient Fund Checks and Debt Recovery, 4:130, Free and Reduced-Price Food Services, 5:100, Staff Development Program, 7:100, Health, Eye, and Dental Examinations; Immunizations; and Exclusion of Students, 7:190, Student Behavior, 7:260, Exemption from Physical Education, and 7:290, Suicide and Depression Awareness and Prevention. On a roll call vote, the following members voted “AYE”: Britt, Deacon, Horsch, Johnson, Nielsen, Short and Wiegman. “NAY”: None. Motion carried.
Discussion of two policies took place in regards to the changes bring made.
Superintendent Streicher said that he was able to sit down with the nurses to discuss the updates to the policy 7:270 Administering medicines to students. He said of our students who take daily medications approximately 40% are inhalers. We know that we have 15- 20 students who need an epi-pen. Of those, 6-8 students have a doctor’s note for an epi- pen but do not have one at school. In regards to students who require epi-pens or inhalers, one quote stood out from the nurses; “don’t be afraid of what you know, be afraid of what you don’t know”. Insect stings and food allergies are progressive in the response that they illicit. What this means is that a student’s reaction is more significant each time they are exposed. Respiratory failure is a real probability without epi-pens or inhalers available. The risk is far greater to not be prepared for an emergency than to give a student meds that are not appropriate. For example, if a student was given an epi-pen because of a reaction to a bee sting and they were not allergic, the impact would not be detrimental to their overall health. On the flip side, if there was not an epi-pen available for a student who had an allergy, one potential outcome is death. One nurse commented that when discussing with the health department, they expressed “shock” that we did not have these items on hand for emergencies. As far as recommendations for the overall policy, they suggest that we adopt the policy that allows an undesignated supply of epinephrine, glucagon, albuterol, and Narcan. We will work with local physicians to get these medications at a discounted rate. It was discussed that each building would have a set for fast access. Wiegman suggested that this is something that needs to be communicated to all of the staff. As far as medical marijuana, the recommendation is to allow for a parent or guardian to administer with a prescription but not to administer it with our own staff. Superintendent Streicher said that although the state passed this law, it is still against the Federal law. He explained that since we are federally funded we do not have to administer the medicine to the student. This is why we would have a parent/ guardian administer it. It was moved by Nielsen, seconded by Horsch, that the Board adopt the following policies with the recommended changes: 7:270, Administering Medicines to Students, and 7:305, Student Athlete Concussions and Head Injuries.
On a roll call vote, the following members voted “AYE”: Britt, Deacon, Horsch, Johnson, Nielsen, Short and Wiegman. “NAY”: None. Motion carried. SUMMARY ITEM 20.09.06 – CTS PERFORMANCE CONTRACTING
Superintendent Streicher said that the finance committee and buildings/grounds committee met with CTS last week to discuss the results of the building survey possibility of moving forward with some capital improvements. He said they are working out some details on budget, scope of project, etc. Nielsen said they did an assessment of all the buildings as well as an easy to understand cash flow analysis. Streicher said that the first step would be putting out a Request for Qualifications for a performance contractor. It was moved by Nielsen, seconded by Johnson, that the Board approve the posting for the request of qualification (RFQ) for a performance contracting company. On a roll call vote, the following members voted “AYE”: Britt, Deacon, Horsch, Johnson, Nielsen, Short and Wiegman. “NAY”: None. Motion carried.
SUMMARY ITEM 20.09.07 – TENTATIVE BUDGET FOR 2020-2021
It was moved by Nielsen, seconded by Wiegman that the Board authorize the Superintendent to begin the Tentative Budget for the 2020-2021 school year. On a roll call vote, the following members voted “AYE”: Britt, Deacon, Horsch, Johnson, Nielsen, Short and Wiegman. “NAY”: None. Motion carried.
SUMMARY ITEM 20.09.08 – NEW POLICY CONTRACT
Superintendent Streicher said he was able to get some information from IASB on the process that the Board discussed at the last meeting regarding updating our policy manual. He said it is a multi-step process that will take some time to complete. Superintendent Streicher said the upside is that we will have a complete, up to date, compliant policy manual. He stated the whole process will cost $5400 and will take a special 2-hour policy meeting and at least one special full Board of Education meeting to focus on the entire manual. It was moved by Wiegman, seconded by Johnson that the Board approve the policy agreement as presented. On a roll call vote, the following members voted “AYE”: Britt, Deacon, Horsch, Johnson, Nielsen, Short and Wiegman. “NAY”: None. Motion carried.
SUMMARY ITEM 20.09.10 – APPROVAL OF ATHLETIC TRAINER FOR 2019-2020
It was moved by Nielsen, seconded by Wiegman, that the Board approve the Athletic Trainer contract with Chris Laurent through Northwestern Medicine for the 2020-2021 school year at a cost of $12,000. On a roll call vote, the following members voted “AYE”: Britt, Deacon, Horsch, Johnson, Nielsen, Short and Wiegman. “NAY”: None. Motion carried.
SUMMARY ITEM 20.09.11 – NEW SUMMER COURSE
It was moved by Nielsen, seconded by Wiegman, that the Board approve the summer Drivers Education Course as presented. On a roll call vote, the following members voted “AYE”: Britt, Deacon, Horsch, Johnson, Nielsen, Short and Wiegman. “NAY”: None. Motion carried.
SUMMARY ITEM 20.09.12 – TEXTBOOK ADOPTION
Mr. Benson presented a new Geography textbook to replace the schools current version that is 20 years old. He stated that this is an online textbook, with many different interactive techniques. It was moved by Wiegman, seconded by Horsch that the Board approve the textbook adoption as presented. On a roll call vote, the following members voted “AYE”: Britt, Deacon, Horsch, Johnson, Nielsen, Short and Wiegman. “NAY”: None. Motion carried.
SUMMARY ITEM 20.09.09 – FMLA LEAVE REQUESTS
It was moved by Horsch, seconded by Wiegman that the Board approve the FMLA request of Katie Weeks. On a roll call vote, the following members voted “AYE”: Britt, Deacon, Horsch, Johnson, Nielsen, Short and Wiegman. “NAY”: None. Motion carried.
It was moved by Horsch, seconded by Nielsen that the Board approve the FMLA request of Tim Weeks. On a roll call vote, the following members voted “AYE”: Britt, Deacon, Horsch, Johnson, Nielsen, Short and Wiegman. “NAY”: None. Motion carried.
It was moved by Horsch, seconded by Wiegman that the Board approve the FMLA request of Becky LaBolle. On a roll call vote, the following members voted “AYE”: Britt, Deacon, Horsch, Johnson, Nielsen, Short and Wiegman. “NAY”: None. Motion carried.
SUMMARY ITEM 20.09.13 – PERSONNEL REPORT
Secretary Tom Nielsen read the personnel report. It was moved by Nielsen, seconded by Horsch that the Board approve the personnel report as presented. On a roll call vote, the following members voted “AYE”: Britt, Deacon, Horsch, Johnson, Nielsen, Short and Wiegman. “NAY”: None. Motion carried.
President Short opened the floor for public comment. There being public comments, at 8:28 p.m. it was moved by Short, seconded by Horsch that the Board return to closed session for the purpose of considering the evaluation of Superintendent Streicher. On a voice vote, all members present voted “AYE”. “NAY”: None. Motion carried.
The Closed Session reconvened at 8:28 p.m. with the following members present: Corey Britt, Nick Deacon, Scott Horsch, Norm Johnson, Tom Nielsen, Michael Short and Amy Wiegman.
At 9:02 p.m. it was moved by Nielsen, seconded by Wiegman that the closed session be terminated and the Board reopen in regular session. With no further business before the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 9:02 p.m. On a voice vote, all members present voted “AYE”. “NAY”: None. Motion carried.
https://v3.boardbook.org/Public/PublicItemDownload.aspx?mk=50361750&fn=minutes.pdf
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