I. Call to order and roll call – President Powers called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. with the following ROLL CALL:
AYES NAYS
Mrs. DiCiolla
Mr. Maier
Mr. McCann
Mrs. McDonald
Mrs. Pawinski
Mr. Power
Mrs. Zelenka
Also in attendance:
Dr. Ken Cull, Superintendent of Schools
Dr. Reinhard Nickisch, Principal, F.E. Peacock Middle School
Dr. Joanna Medwick, Principal, Elmer H. Franzen Intermediate School
Dr. Dawn Turner, Principal, Raymond Benson Primary School
Dr. Marcia Tornatore, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction
Mr. Charles Kapachinski, Director of Technology
Mrs. Catherine Seger, Recorder
Interested staff and community members
II. Pledge of Allegiance – President Powers led everyone present in the Pledge of Allegiance.
III. Welcome to Visitors – Mr. Powers welcomed all visitors to the meeting.
IV. Communications – Mrs. McDonald, Board Secretary, read correspondence received during the previous month.
V. Agenda Addendum Items - No additional agenda items added to the agenda.
VI. SuperintendentÕs Report – Dr. Cull, Superintendent of Schools, reviewed his report, a copy of which is attached to these official minutes. He referenced several IASB activities listed in the report and if board members are interested in attending any of these, he asked that they let Catherine know and she will get them signed up. He highlighted the section of his report regarding the newly hired ED-RED Director and also asked if members are interested in attending the upcoming N.D.S.E.C. Conference, to let Catherine know and we will get them registered for this event as well.
Superintendent Cull announced that the Village of Itasca is having a public hearing on Wednesday, February 15 at 7:00 p.m. regarding the Downtown Strategic Action Plan. District #10 has been invited to attend. Dr. Cull will be unable to attend that evening but if any board members are interested in attending, please let him know. Mrs. DiCiolla will attend the meeting. Mr. Powers asked Mrs. DiCiolla to report back to the board regarding this meeting.
VII. Board Requests for Reports
A. N.D.S.E.C. – Mrs. Pawinski stated that there was no report as the January meeting had been cancelled. The next meeting is scheduled for February 13.
Mrs. Zelenka had a question about a position she had seen advertised on the DistrictÕs website for a social worker. Dr. Cull stated that Anne Pennington, District #10Õs social worker, is retiring at the end of this school year. She is a N.D.S.E.C. employee. Dr. Cull said if the District can hire a social worker, it would be cheaper. He would like to get someone rather than use a N.D.S.E.C. employee.
B. Middle School - Dr. Nickisch, F.E. Peacock Middle School principal, reviewed the middle school report, a copy of which is attached to these official minutes. He reviewed the Student Discipline Report with members of the board and the audience. Plans are also being made for graduation that will take place on Tuesday, June 6, 7:00 p.m. at Lake Park East Auditorium. Dr. Nickisch reported that there are a number of 8th graders on academic probation with a total of 16 students. Four of these students are under a 1.0 GPA that is indicative of failing. By state code, they cannot be promoted. Any student in the academic probation category is required to take a bridge course during the summer and provide the district with certification that they have passed. They will then get their 8th grade diploma. We are planning a special study skills study hall for these students. This will take place possibly as early as this quarter but definitely by the 4th quarter. There is an additional graduation requirement of 18 community service hours.
Dr. Nickisch also discussed a Drug Awareness Program being planned for students that he indicated would be very good. This program is scheduled for Friday, June 2, at Peacock. St. PeterÕs and St. LukeÕs 8th grade students will also be included. This program is being sponsored by the Itasca Police Department.
The issue of Lake ParkÕs Placement for Peacock students was discussed. There is a concern that there are less highly placed students this year as there have been in previous years.
C. Curriculum - Dr. Tornatore, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, reviewed her report, a copy of which is attached to these minutes. The student management system has very specific statewide regulations and Dr. Tornatore commended the secretarial staff for the excellent work they had done in getting the student management system in line with the state guidelines. She also discussed the teachers having been trained on the 6 + 1 Traits of Writing. Mr. Powers asked about testing for TAG and Dr. Tornatore reviewed the plan for testing these students.
Mrs. Zelenka asked if students would be doing better in science and social studies next year. Dr. Tornatore answered that the committees will be meeting throughout the year.
D. Science Adoption Committee Presentation – Dr. Tornatore introduced members of the Science Committee, Jim Koenig and Nancy Krefetz. They distributed copies of the proposed textbooks and made a power point demonstration of the series. They also reviewed the process used to make their selection. A discussion ensued.
Most of the materials necessary for experiments are in stock. A set of the new textbooks will be at the library. Compared to this series, a question was asked as to how many were reviewed. There were about 6-7 with 4 top competitors. By far the committee felt that the readability on this one excelled. In terms of cost, all were very similar. How long will this series last? In District 10, it has always been 6-7 years with a stretch of 8 years. Further discussion ensued. President Powers thanked all members of the committee for their hard work in selecting the series.
E. Technology Up-date – In the absence of Mr. Kapachinski, Dr. Cull reviewed the Technology Report, a copy of which is attached to these official minutes. The new phone system is working its way in but there continues to be a few issues. The basic function of the system is up and running.
F. Character Counts! – Mrs. McDonald reported on a meeting held earlier this evening. The coalition is going to have their own website. It should be up and running soon. The IBC is going to be sponsoring an award for 8th grade students in all 3 schools. Following an application and a short essay, three graduates will receive a good character award. Twenty-five dollars will be awarded to each student with $100 to each school. They will also receive a plaque in which the winnerÕs name will be inserted each year. New nomination forms for the ÒShow Your Good Character AwardÓ will be released soon.
G. Freedom of Information - Superintendent Cull reported that no requests for Freedom of Information had been received during the previous month.
H. Peacock Air Quality Report – Dr. Cull had spoken to the President of Keter Consultants to talk about the air quality reports received. He had hoped that someone would be at the meeting but he was unable to get anyone to attend. We do routine air quality testing in all of our schools. A 2nd round of testing had been done and a result indicated that there were very low levels of mold growth in that room. Board members have copies of the reports that have been submitted. Mrs. Zelenka asked how black matter had gotten into the vent. The vent in question is not connected to the ventilation system.
I. Health Concerns/Room 206 – Mr. and Mrs. Dale, 325 South Princeton, discussed a concern they have with the length of time water had leaked into room 206. Mrs. Dale is troubled by KeterÕs 2nd report. Mr. Powers acknowledged their concern and would ask Dr. Cull to find out what it would cost to have another test done. If the cost is not prohibitive, we can have further testing done to determine what can be done in this situation.
Ô Mrs. Zelenka stated that from a health perspective, if there is something that is really bothering one child, she does not understand how we could not do the testing. Discussion ensued as to whether or not anyone else was having a problem with this. Mrs. DiCiolla said that the district should do the testing and then do something to take care of the situation. Dr. Cull stated that in an effort to expedite this situation, perhaps the board could authorize him to arrange for the tests for a dollar amount in which they could be comfortable.
Mr. McCann stated that the air quality test had come back with very low evidence of mold. The question is should we do additional testing? The superintendent will check with Keter to see how much another test would cost and if it will determine the problem. Mr. Maier suggested that we could get a low-cost air purifying machine to lower the level of allergens in the room. Dr. Cull asked Mrs. Dale to advise him as to how many areas she wanted swabbed.
J. Opportunity for community input regarding board requested reports – No questions asked nor comments made.
VIII. Consent Items –
A motion was made by Mrs. McDonald and seconded by Mr. McCann that the minutes of the January 11, 2006 regular meeting and closed session, the expenditures for the month of January, 2006, the resignations of Melanie Tummillo and Michele Nosal, and Sharon LaughlinÕs notice of intent to retire at the end of the 2006-2007 school year be approved. A question was raised about the fact that we are over budget on gas/heating. Mrs. Zelenka asked if the district would be okay with this.
There was some discussion about the expenditures as related to the use of the Master Cards. Perhaps members of the board would like a copy of the bills to be included in their packet? Mrs. Zelenka will contact Dr. Cull if she would like something done with these bills.
Mrs. Pawinski asked about the three aides that had resigned and how it was affecting the inclusion student.
Mr. Maier said that it was with regret that he would accept Mrs. LaughlinÕs resignation.
Following a further opportunity for questions and comments by the Board of Education, the motion carried on the following ROLL CALL VOTE:
