DATE:

Wednesday, November 12, 2003

LOCATION:

ITASCA VILLAGE HALL 100 North Walnut Street Itasca, Illinois 60143

I. Call to Order and Roll Call – In the absence of President Nolte, the meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. by Vice-President Torii with the following ROLL CALL:

PRESENT	ABSENT
Mrs. Dale	Mrs. Nolte
Mr. Hervas	Mr. Powers
Mrs. McDonald
Mr. Torii
Mrs. Zelenka (arrived following roll call)

Also in attendance:

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
Dr. Marcia Tornatore, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum
Mrs. Catherine Seger, Recording Secretary
Members of the staff and community

II. Pledge of Allegiance – Vice President Torii led all present in the Pledge to the Flag.

III. Welcome to Visitors – Mr. Torii welcomed visitors to the meeting.

IV. Communications – Mrs. McDonald, Board Secretary, read correspondence received during the previous month that included a note from the family of Dennis McNamara regarding a donation made to the Swim Across America Fund.

V. Agenda Addendum Items – No items added to the agenda. Mr. Torii stated that Mrs. Zelenka was going to be late for the meeting and had asked if discussion about the school play be deferred to the end of the meeting.

VI. Superintendent’s Report –

Superintendent Cull reviewed his report, a copy of which is attached to these official minutes. He discussed the HVAC report which had been requested at the last meeting by Mrs. Dale, with reference to a couple of reports that the air quality consultants had made - specifically, the humidity ratings on the 2001 and 2003 reports. Dr. Cull distributed a letter from Keter indicating that the temperature and humidity is appropriate and that the HVAC system is functioning properly. He shared this letter with members of the board.

Dr. Cull also discussed the Bright Red Apple Award that the District had once again received.

The discussion of the musical was deferred. In addition, the Tax Levy worksheet was distributed and Dr. Cull highlighted the cash flow report

Superintendent Cull also discussed the N.D.S.E.C. dinner that occurs each year for board members and administrators. This is scheduled for December 3 – 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. and if members of the board are interested in attending, he asked that they call Catherine Seger by November 26th. Mr. Hervas, Mrs. McDonald and Mrs. Torii all stated that they would be attending.

In addition, a luncheon for DuPage School Board members sponsored by the DuPage Division of the Illinois School Board Conference is scheduled for Saturday, November 22. Please let Catherine Seger know by this Friday if attending. Mr. Torii stated that he would be attending.

Dr. Cull said that the District would typically receive state report cards by the end of October. Parents are being informed that the information will be available as soon as it is received.

The Daily Herald has contacted the district and based on preliminary information, if there is anything in the paper regarding state report cards, it’s the same information that was in the testing report earlier this year.

Mrs. Dale questioned the HVAC project and is concerned about the fact that that one school, after going through the new design, has low humidity levels and the other school is at the highest humidity levels. She expressed concern about the high humidity level in the basement at Peacock. She would like to address this issue with Johnson Controls. Dr. Cull answered that under the performance agreements, if the standards are being met, then it is not their (JC) responsibility. If they are not being met, then it becomes their responsibility.

Following further discussion, the Superintendent asked what is it that the district would like to know from Johnson Controls. Why was the humidity so much higher after the work was done? Is the system working to control the mold? Board members would like someone from Johnson Controls to be at the next meeting to answer questions.

Mr. Torii commended the work of the teachers and administration for again bringing the Bright Red Apple Award to District #10.

VII. Board Requested Reports:

A. N.D.S.E.C. – Mr. Torii, Board representative to N.D.S.E.C., reported that the next meeting is scheduled for November 17. The Operational Board Brief is in the packet. Mr. Torii highlighted the fact that DuPAGE West Cook is hiring a part-time administrator. It is believed that this might help in having a contact point for better direction. He also commented on the December 3 dinner/meeting stating that it would be a good opportunity to talk to teachers/providers and hopes that board members will attend. Mr. Torii continues to encourage other board members to attend the meetings because they give good insight as to what occurs within N.D.S.E.C.

Mrs. Zelenka arrived at this point in the meeting.

B. Middle School – Dr. Nickisch, principal of F.E. Peacock Middle School, reviewed his report, a copy of which is attached. Peacock recently hosted a luncheon for nearly 100 senior citizens. He commended staff and students for doing a great job (Christie Mann and students).

The first newscast of the year took place on October 31. Peacock is missing a teleprompter. It was taped but the newscast has been broadcast live at least once and will continue to go live. In addition, Dr. Nickisch reported that there is a new aspect of the Science Program - a weathernet weather station as part of the 7th grade Science Curriculum. It has been placed on top of the roof to gather live data and will transmit data to the Science room.

C. Curriculum – Dr. Tornatore, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, reviewed the recently held Institute Day. She has sent a survey that teachers completed via e-mail and has received some good comments from the teachers. Each building does something different based on their goals. A copy of Dr. Tornatore’s report is attached to these minutes.

With regards to the Talented and Gifted Program, the District has completed the first round of assessments and has entered children into the first level.

Dr. Tornatore stated that she and Mr. Kapachinski, Director of Technology, have been talking with teachers/principals about the kind of report card systems that need to be implemented.

The DAC (District Advisory Committee) has been identifying what should be purchased in technology for next year. This will be included in the up-dated technology plan.

The ESL teachers, Nancy Bernahl and Pat Butler, work monthly with Dr. Tornatore on ESL issues.

Mrs. McDonald questioned the number of students that are in the talented portion of the Talented and Gifted Program. There are about 70 students in the Talented portion and about 5 in the Gifted portion.

Mr. Torii asked if anything had been done about putting student report cards on line. This is being reviewed for the new system.

D. Technology – In the absence of Mr. Kapachinski, Director of Technology, Superintendent Cull reviewed his report that is attached to these minutes. There had been another virus detected at the end of October and had infected all school domains. However, the District’s virus protection worked. A number of laptop keyboards at Benson have gone bad and require replacement. An increase had to be made to the repair and maintenance budget.


E. Character Counts! – Dr. Cull reviewed the report as Mrs. McDonald, board representative on the Character Counts! coalition, had not attended the meeting. He stated that the recognition committee awarded those of good character awards was presented at the Village board meeting a few weeks ago. Deb Pawinski, a District #10 employee, was one of the recipients.

A stipulation for outside groups to use District facilities was to have people participate in a training session. The coalition is looking to develop a video that can be used as training material.

The coordinator has filed paperwork to have the coalition become a 501 C3 so that more fund raising can be done to support the program.

In addition, the coalition is going to have another planning session in the near future.

F. Audit Report – District auditor, Mr. Mike Celer, reviewed the annual audit report with members of the Board of Education and the audience. Dr. Cull commended Mr. Celer for his support.

Mr. Celer also distributed graphs relative to the audit and reviewed them with members of the board and the audience. Following his report, an opportunity was given for questions and discussion. Vice-President Torii thanked Mr. Celer for his work.

G. Freedom of Information – No requests made during the previous month.

Mr. Torii asked for discussion of the musical at Peacock at this point in the meeting. Dr. Cull reviewed the events leading to this discussion. There has been a decision to cancel the musical for this year. Dr. Cull has looked for 3 positions for the musical – director, supervisor, and sound engineer. He has been looking for at least one District 10 staff member to apply for one of these positions. However, there have not been any responses within the district for any of these positions. Discussion ensued about the possibility of hiring out of the district for these positions. Dr. Nickisch had shared some concerns/issues as to hiring outside of the District. Superintendent Cull told Dr. Nickisch that with all three of these positions being vacant and not at least one occupied by a District #10 staff member, he is concerned about some things that surfaced last year. In a discussion with Dr. Nickisch, there had been a two fold conclusion drawn – if one of the positions had a District #10 connection, they would have entertained the possibility of hiring outside of District #10. Another concern was the impact on the building cleanliness that would be a result of the play. Currently the district is short a custodian.

Mrs. Dale commented that she is uncomfortable with the idea of the decision. She stated that it started last April to be sure there was money for this position and though she had missed the PTO board meeting in which the musical had been discussed, the impression was that it had been cut by the Board. She also believes that there is a disparity between the sports and the arts and that the funds be provided for children who want to participate in these types of activities.

Mrs. Zelenka was in agreement and stated that was just taking one more thing away from the students and if there is a problem, the District needs to look for a solution before dropping the program.

Mr. Hervas stated that he believed the decision to drop the musical is not because it is not wanted. He further discussed the problems that exist with these kinds of things. He fully supports the idea of a play but he also stated that if it is impossible to do for this year, then he’d like to know how will the District get it back on track for next year.

Dr. Cull stated that he doesn’t think it is impossible to do this year even at this stage. His concern is that he needs 3 good people to orchestrate this project and if he doesn’t get three good, reliable people, it can’t be done. Discussion ensued.

Mr. Torii made a suggestion that this be tabled to next month. Mr. Hervas suggested that the District advertise for these positions and if nothing comes of the advertisement, he is willing to acquiesce to administration. Dr. Nickisch asked if there would be money available if this comes to fruition. A discussion ensued.

H. Opportunity for Community Input Regarding Board Requested Reports – Mrs. Laura Joseph, parent of a 6th grade student acknowledged her appreciation for the board to reconsider the play.

VIII. Consent Items:

A motion was made by Mrs. McDonald and seconded by that the Mr. Hervas that the minutes of the October 8, 2003 regular meeting and the expenditure reports for the month of October, 2003 be approved. Following an opportunity for questions and discussion with a correction made on the original minutes, and some questions regarding the bills, the motion carried on the following ROLL CALL VOTE:

AYESNAYS

Mrs. McDonald
Mr. Torii
Mrs. Zelenka
Mr. Hervas
Mrs. Dale

IX. Action Items –

A. Board of Education Policies #2:40 Board Member Qualifications; #2:220 School Board Procedures; #2:260 Uniform Grievance Procedure; #5:10 Equal Employment; #5:190 Teacher Qualifications; #5:280 Educational Support Personnel; #6:60 Curriculum Content; #7:100 Health Examinations; and #7:300 Extra Curricular Activities –

A motion was made by Mrs. McDonald and seconded by Mrs. Dale that the Board of Education Policies #2:40 Board Member Qualifications; #2:220 School Board Procedures; #2:260 Uniform Grievance Procedure; #5:10 Equal Employment: #5:190 Teacher Qualifications; #5:280 Educational Support Personnel; #6:60 Curriculum Content; #7:100 Health Examinations; and #7:300 Extra Curricular Activities be approved for first reading. There were numerous questions and comments made during the discussion that followed the motion. These suggestions and comments were noted and will be corrected before the second reading.

Dr. Cull suggested that the board hold action on Policy #2:220 Board of Education Meeting Procedure until he consults with the District’s attorney but approve all of the others for 1st reading. Mrs. McDonald modified her motion and Mrs. Dale modified her second. Following an opportunity for further discussion, questions, and community input, the amendment and motion passed on the following VOICE VOTE: All AYES:NAYS none -

B. FY 2003 Audit –

A motion was made by Mr. Hervas and seconded by Mrs. McDonald that the FY2003 audit be approved. Following an opportunity for questions, discussion, and community input, the motion carried on the following ROLL CALL VOTE:

AYESNAYS

Mr. Torii
Mrs. Zelenka
Mrs. McDonald
Mrs. Dale
Mr. Hervas

C. Inter-Fund Loan

Motion made by Mr. Hervas.and seconded by Mrs. McDonald that the Board of Education approve an inter-fund loan from the Working Cash Fund to the IMR Fund in the amount of $125,000 to be repaid by October 31, 2004. Following an opportunity for discussion, questions, and community input, the motion carried on the following ROLL CALL VOTE:

AYESNAYS

Mrs. Dale
Mrs. McDonald
Mrs. Zelenka
Mr. Hervas
Mr. Torii

D. Estimated Levy
A motion was made by Mrs. McDonald and seconded by Mr. Hervas that the Board of Education approve an estimated 2003 Levy of $8,161,237 plus $701,406 for debt service for a total estimated 2003 levy of $8,862,643. Following an opportunity for questions, discussion and community input, the motion carried on the following ROLL CALL VOTE:

AYESNAYS

Mr. Torii
Mrs. Dale
Mr. Hervas
Mrs. Zelenka
Mrs. McDonald

X. Board Requested Report – Mrs. Dale requested a report on the phone bills and the number of companies involved.


XI. Adjournment

There being no further business, Vice-President Torii adjourned the meeting at 10:34 P.M.

__________________________ Maureen McDonald, Secretary Board of Education

__________________________ Mr. Dennis Torii, Vice-President Board of Education