DATE:

Wednesday, September 11, 2002

LOCATION:

ITASCA VILLAGE HALL 100 North Walnut Street Itasca, Illinois 60143

I. Call to order and Roll Call – President Nolte called the amended budget hearing to order at 7:15 p.m. with the following ROLL CALL:

PRESENTABSENT

Mrs. Dale
Mr. Hervas
Mr. McCann
Mrs. McDonald
Mrs. Nolte
Mr. Powers (arrived after roll call)
Mr. Torii

II. Amended Budget Hearing -

Mrs. Nolte opened the amended budget hearing and asked the superintendent to make a report. Dr. Cull stated that the budget had been approved in June but had to be amended due to the bond sale. This needed to be reflected in the budget. The only significant change was that the proceeds of the bond sale for HVAC projects had been received in the prior school fiscal year. Therefore, the budget will reflect a large O & M fund balance with expenses related for HVAC projects for the current school year.

The meeting was opened for questions. Discussion ensued. Mr. Torii asked if the money allocated for the HVAC project would stay in the O & M and also, if the projected expenses were in line with projected revenue. Discussion ensued. There was no public comment.

III. Hearing Adjournment -There being no further discussion, the amended budget hearing was adjourned at 7:25 p.m.

IV. Regular Meeting - President Nolte called the regular meeting to order at 7:30 p.m.

Additional present:

Dr. Kenneth Cull, Superintendent of Schools
Dr. Reinhard Nickisch, Principal, F.E. Peacock Middle School
Dr. Joanna Medwick, Principal, Elmer H. Franzen Intermediate School
Mrs. Dawn Turner, Principal, Raymond Benson Primary School
Mr. Charles Kapachinski, Director of Technology
Dr. Marcia Tornatore, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction
Mrs. Catherine Seger, Recording Secretary
Various members of the staff and community

V. Recess - President Nolte recessed the meeting until 8:30 p.m. to allow everyone in attendance to attend the September 11, 2001 memorial ceremony .

VI. Pledge of Allegiance - Mrs. Nolte led everyone present in the Pledge of Allegiance.

VII. Welcome to visitors – President Nolte welcomed all visitors to the meeting.

VIII. Communications - Mrs. McDonald, secretary, read communications received during the previous month.

IX. Additional agenda items - None

X. Superintendent’s Report –

Superintendent Cull reviewed his report which had been distributed to members of the audience. He highlighted the opening of school that had a good start. He also reported that the work at Franzen is going into its final stages.

Dr. Cull noted that the district is operating with 3 certified vacancies; namely a media teacher, certified school nurse, and graphics art teacher. Ads are posted for these positions.

Superintendent Cull reported next on the No Child Left Behind Act and discussed the impact that this Act will have on District 10. He discussed how ISAT scores relate to the No Child Left Behind Act - federal legislation will require that every child meet their state standard. The district needs to accept that the ISAT will be the instrument used to assess the district with respect to the No Child Left Behind Act. Discussion ensued.

A copy of Dr. Cull’s report is attached to these minutes.

XI. Board Requested Reports –

A. Quarterly financial report – Dr. Cull reported that this is a general report that the board has requested and revenues are clear cut. He then discussed the expenditure side of the report specifically discussing the inventory report which is necessary for the district to do-as it hasn’t been up-dated since 1999. Because of the move to the accrual method of accounting in the next fiscal year, the district will have to have an up-dated physical inventory. It was not budgeted for and could be about $4,000.00

The second possible expenditure would be for a technology assessment-+ as discussed in his report, a copy of which is attached.

Superintendent Cull then reviewed the Cash flow plan developed by PMA.

Mr. McCann had some questions regarding the financial report. He specifically had questions regarding the Board unemployment insurance and N.D.S.E.C. expenditures. Dr. Cull will get the information required and report back to the Board.


B. N.D.S.E.C. – Mr. Torii, N.D.S.E.C. representative, discussed the items included in the packet, i.e., N.D.S.E.C. Directions which included N.D.S.E.C. goals. In addition, he discussed some of the contents of the briefs included in the packet.

C. Middle School – Dr. Nickisch, principal of F.E. Peacock Middle School, reviewed the parent survey summary included in his report. He noted that more than 90% of the parents are connected electronically and more than 1/3 of Peacock parents have visited school more than 10 times last year. He discussed various items with members of the Board of Education. He also reviewed the student survey. Discussion ensued with members of the board specific to the Encore courses.

Dr. Cull suggested that administrators come back to the board with information about what is going on in other middle schools. Peacock should at least be challenged to see what’s going on in middle schools’ encore trends. Then, they can make a recommendation to the board.

It was also suggested that the board be made aware of any subject being dropped. Dr. Nickisch’s report is attached to these minutes.

D. Peacock Placement History - Dr. Nickisch reported on the Peacock placement history issue. He explained that AP (advanced placement) was not typically an advanced placement course, although Lake Park referred to the courses as AP. AP indicates the courses between honors and regular courses. Dr. Nickisch reviewed the report and asked for questions from members of the board. Mrs. Nolte reported that 3 out of the 5 National Honor finalists are from Itasca.

E. Curriculum - Dr. Tornatore, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, gave a report on the new teacher induction program. She emphasized the TAG program and stated that it would be a large focus for this school year.

Mrs. Dale stated that she was impressed with the policy on the talented and gifted program adopted by the Board of Education. Some discussion ensued.

F. Testing Report – Dr. Tornatore gave a very thorough power point testing report and then opened the meeting for questions and discuss. Discussion ensued. The focus needs to be on reading and math. Dr. Cull and Mrs. Nolte thanked Dr. Tornatore for the excellent project.

G. Technology – Mr. Kapachinski, Director of Technology reviewed his report, a copy of which is attached. Discussion ensued. He also introduced the new tech support staff, Mr. Bill Fath. Bill is replacing Brian Sawyer who recently left the District.

H. Character Counts! – Mrs. McDonald, Character Counts! representative, reported that new members had attended the coalition committee meeting held earlier this evening. These included two IEPTO representatives as well as some new community members and a member of the town clergy. The Event committee is in the process of trying to have an event each month to make residents more aware of Character Counts! The recognition committee is working on a yearly presentation at a Village board meeting and Doug Damery, chair of the Education Committee, is developing a code of conduct for parents and coaches. Character Counts! is progressing.

I. Freedom of Information – No requests made in the previous month.

J. Opportunity for community input regarding board requested reports - No comments or questions.

XII. Minutes, expenditures and personnel –

Motion made by Mr. McCann and seconded by Mr. Hervas that the minutes of the July 10, 2002 regular meeting, the expenditures for the month of August, 2002, the resignations of Cora Luis, James Marceau, Jane Hebert, Lisa Noci, and Kristin Symes be approved. Following an opportunity for questions and discussion, the motion carried on the following ROLL CALL VOTE:

AYESNAYS

Mrs. Dale
Mr. Hervas
Mrs. McDonald
Mr. Torii
Mr. Powers
Mrs. Nolte
Mr. McCann

XIII. Action Items –

A. Application for Recognition - Motion made by Mr. McCann and seconded by Mr. Powers that the Application for Recognition for the 2002-2003 school year be approved. Following an opportunity for questions, discussion and community input, the motion carried on the following VOICE VOTE: All AYES: NAYS none.

B. Student Teacher – Motion made by Mr. Hervas and seconded by Mrs. McDonald that the Board of Education approve Amanda Kaluso as a student teacher for Sharon Laughlin from August 22, 2002 through October 31, 2002. Following an opportunity for questions, discussion and community input, the motion carried on the following VOICE VOTE: All AYES: NAYS none.

C. Amended FY03 Budget – Motion made Mr. Powers and seconded by Mr. McCann that the FY 2003 Amended Budget be approved. Following an opportunity for discussion, questions, and community input, the motion carried on the following ROLL CALL VOTE:

AYESNAYS

Mrs. Nolte
Mr. Powers
Mrs. Dale
Mr. McCann
Mr. Hervas
Mrs. McDonald
Mr. Torii

President Nolte stated that she had received a letter from Dr. Glenn Acksel regarding Mrs. Rose Traeger, a former board member, who is critically ill. Mrs. Nolte read the letter from Dr. Acksel suggesting that possibly the board might want to do something in tribute to Mrs. Traeger. This item will be placed on the October agenda.

XIV. Board Requests for Reports – No board requests for reports.

XV. Adjournment – There being no further business, President Nolte adjourned the meeting at 10:38 p.m.

__________________________ Maureen McDonald, Secretary Board of Education

__________________________ Susan Nolte, President Board of Education