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. Numerous notes had been received from administrative support staff for gifts received from the Board of Education for Administrative AssistantsÕ Day. A note was received from the cast of ÒGrease, a musical production recently performed at Peacock, thanking the board for giving them the opportunity to do the performance.
V. Agenda Addendum Items - No additional items added to the agenda.
VI. SuperintendentÕs Report – Superintendent Cull reviewed his report, a copy of which is attached to these official minutes. He reminded everyone of the Shape of Itasca meeting scheduled for May 22 at 7:00 p.m. Following his report, Mrs. Zelenka asked what the summer hours would be in the District. Dr. Cull stated that the District office hours would be Mondays through Thursday from 7:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
VII. Board Requested Reports
A. N.D.S.E.C. - Mrs. Pawinski, board representative to N.D.S.E.C., stated that the May Meeting is scheduled for May 15 and that she would be able to attend. In addition, Mrs. Pawinski will attend the retirement reception to be held on May 25 in honor of Mrs. Cheryl Conley, Director of N.D.S.E.C.
B. Middle School - Dr. Nickisch, principal of F.E. Peacock Middle School reviewed his report, a copy of which is attached to these official minutes. In particular, he discussed student issues that were slightly down from last April. He also discussed graduation indicating that possibly as many as ten students would not be eligible to participate in the ceremony and functions. Five students would probably pass but not be eligible to participate in the ceremony while five other students are under the 1.0 GPA passing cut-off. The State of Illinois prevents passing students who have not mastered student requirements. Districts are allowed to review other profiles including working with the high school. The State mandates that these students pass a summer school program that includes a study skills course. That would be one of our options. Good progress is being made with community service. Many students have indicated to Dr. Nickisch that their hours are completed. Perception surveys that were sent out through the 3rd quarter reports are being returned.
Today PeacockÕs math under the direction of the math teachers took 2nd place among all the feeder districts and the parochial schools. Team members included: 8th grade – Joe Pacione (PeacockÕs top scorer), Elizabeth Riggio, Marissa Geroupolis, John Rheee, Judi Pellegrino, and Geo Naratadam and 7th grade – Sandra Maier, Aston Karner, Barbara Blachut, and Mike Santorsola.
A discussion ensued regarding the 10 students who will not be eligible to participate in graduation. One of the criteria is the studentÕs GPA that must be greater than 1.00. Five of the 10 students fall below the 1.00 though the State of Illinois may consider other aspects of the studentÕs academic profile. This includes their standardized test results and attendance as well as local assessment. In the opinion of the staff, some of these students did poorly intentionally. Teachers can work closely with Lake Park staff and in some very extreme cases, students can come back for a quarter and then move to Lake Park and in other cases, there are special education issues. Further discussion ensued. The high school has offered substantial support for these students. Mr. McCann asked if this group has historically had problems. Dr. Nickisch stated that half of them materialized at 8th grade including emotional, social and academic issues that have come into play.
Dr. Nickisch then discussed the Medication/Discipline Committee meeting held on April 10. This committee meets every year. The committee met and reviewed the current discipline procedures in the district. No major issues surfaced but one minor issue was presented. The tardy rule was changed. Also, Dr. Cull provided the committee with an IASB worksheet on student wellness. The sheet was distributed and is informational at this point. Mrs. Barchfeld, District 10 nurse, presented information to the committee about ADHD and ADD.
C. Curriculum - Dr. Tornatore, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, reviewed the curriculum report, a copy of which is attached to these minutes. The committee has been meeting for 2 ½ years. Dr. Tornatore made a Power Point presentation reviewing the new report cards. She acknowledged her pride in the teachers for all of their hard work on this project. Mr. McCann asked about the grading periods. The timing has not been changed on the report cards. The district will maintain quarters. Mrs. Zelenka questioned the science and social science participation grades on the 1st and 2nd grade reports. This topic has been discussed for a couple of years. Teachers want more time to teach reading at the K-2 level. Reading can be the emphasis when teaching these topics. Mrs. DiCiolla expressed how pleased she was with the report cards. She had questions about a security issue. Is the grade from each quarter locked in? Is there a blank in each quarter? There is a posting process. This process has to be turned on and that gets posted and then it is turned off for that quarter. Teachers will only post for that quarter. At the end of the year, the entire yearÕs grades are included.
D. Technology Up-Date – Mr. Kapachinski, District Technology Director, reviewed the Technology Report, a copy of which is attached. Implementation to the new mail server has been put behind a little but will be cut over on May 18. The server software is set up and we are moving ahead with this. Mr. Powers asked if there was a reason why this was not put off to the summer. Mr. Kapachinski was asked to move forward so that it was in place as soon as possible. Teachers could be using it over the summer.
E. Character Counts! - Mrs. McDonald, Board Character Counts! representative, asked Dr. Cull to report on the meeting held earlier today as she had not attended the meeting. He stated that the Character Counts! website is growing somewhat. Pam Mitchell, Itasca Schools representative, gave a report on behalf of each of the schools. Itasca schools do very well with regards to Character Counts! They will try to have a contingency in the Memorial Day Parade and are recruiting some students to wear pillar costumes. National Night Out is scheduled for August 1. Character Counts! is participating in that activity.
F. Springfield Trip – Dr. Cull stated that there had been a proposal to drop the trip due to its number of unproductive hours involved in the trip. There was a great deal of concern expressed about dropping this trip. As a result, the board indicated that they would be willing to entertain other options/ideas to the Springfield trip. Dr. Nickisch and the 8th grade team were asked to return to the board with a proposal of alternate options/ideas to the trip. Dr. Cull believed it was an appropriate proposal and he appreciated the thoroughness of the report. He thought it was very well done. All of these recommendations to look into other areas of history study would take place in the fall in order to provide a better learning experience for the students. The board was asked to discuss the proposal.
Mr. McCann stated that he thought the options presented were a good start but he would like to see more in the way of substance. This would be a fairly serious curriculum change. He still has a place in his heart for the Springfield trip but is willing to keep an open mind and take the advice of the administration and the 8th grade staff. If it has come to a point when the district is going to abandon something engrained in the school history, something in its place should be creative, dynamic and new. He believes it is a good start but would like to see more Òhands on.Ó Mr. McCann distributed information on what he was thinking of in terms of change. The information described mock legislative activities. He would like to see something like this weaved into the curriculum. He also included a guide to conduct mock trials in which canned packages can be obtained for a trial presentation by elementary school children. There is a need to replace the Springfield trip with a high level of engagement for the students as well as offering them a challenge. Mr. McCann thinks we need to put more substance into the curriculum and demand a little more in the way of creative learning for the students.
Mrs. Zelenka agreed. She stated that it is nice to have the history of the trip. It has been done for a long time (55 years). The areas of topics proposed are related to the curriculum but not really related to the government. Something needs to replace government in action. She also stated that replacing this trip that is funded by the parents would now have to be something funded by the district.
Mrs. DiCiolla agreed with both Mr. McCann and Mrs. Zelenka. She likes the idea of the students making a field trip to the DuPage County Court House and believes it is better for the students to be involved.
Mrs. Pawinski doesnÕt agree with the idea of visiting the Naper Settlement though she is in favor of students going to the Courthouse. She still has a belief that if students cannot attend the Washington, D.C. trip, they could possibly go to Springfield.
Mrs. McDonald agreed with Mrs. Pawinski. She liked the idea of having Mr. Lincoln visit with the student and also the information that Mr. McCann had provided.
Mr. Maier thought that the students spent too much time on the bus on the Springfield trip. He expressed his appreciation for options that the staff had presented. He was trying to understand why this trip was started. He supported the Dupage Court House visit, the Naper Settlement (if used appropriately) and the presenters and believed there were a lot of potentially good alternatives presented including the information Mr. McCann had provided.
Mr. Powers thought some of the alternatives presented could attempt to replace the lessons the district is trying to teach. He liked Mr. McCannÕs presentation and thought it was a good way to get all three governmental branches involved. Mr. Powers believed that there was some good ideas included in the presentation but he felt that they did not quite hit the mark. He also said that he did not know if the Springfield trip met the criteria either. Part of the trip was to discuss the history of Illinois. If the renovations in 2007 of the Chicago Historical Society are relevant and the district believes that it is important enough, then it should be included in the curriculum.
A discussion ensued regarding time. What would have to be given up in order to accommodate some of these field trips? It typically would be a .5 day and potentially could be 4 field trip. Money was also discussed and the costs need to be determined and considered.
Mr. Scaletta, Peacock teacher, said it is more of an architectural trip to Springfield as there is not a lot going on there at the time the students are visiting. .More discussion ensued. Mr. Scaletta said he could not remember students going when the legislators were in session.
Dr. Cull said the difficulty for the board is that they need to make a decision about Springfield. The framework is presented for seeing government in action. The board needs to know that the staff could come up with a suitable replacement for the trip. Mrs. DiCiolla thought something needed to already be in place before the trip could be removed from the curriculum. Mrs. Zelenka agreed. Some discussion ensued. Mr. Powers suggested that some notification go to parents that the district is thinking of doing this. He is concerned about the notification issue.
Dr. Cull wanted to understand specifically what is missing from the presentation. Staff is certain they can get into the Court House as well as go to the Naper Settlement. They are not certain about the Chicago Historical Society. The Lincoln presentation, visit from an attorney, and a state representative were also considerations. What else is it that the board would like? Discussion continued. It was suggested that there be more Òhands onÓ activities as that seems to be what is missing. Dr. Nickisch assured the board that when these things are included in the curriculum, there would be more Òhands onÓ activities.
In an effort to conclude this discussion, Mr. Powers suggested that something be sent to the Peacock community and the board should make a decision in June as to whether or not to continue with this trip.
G. Budget Discussion – Superintendent Cull said that, as he recalled at the workshop a couple of weeks ago, some ideas had surfaced and the board had asked him to review and show the impact. Dr. Cull then reviewed the adjustments and how they would impact the budget. Discussion ensued as to what items could be cut.
Mrs. DiCiolla expressed opposition to giving the laptops away but instead, would like to use them in places where they will do some good. The problem is that we canÕt get parts for these laptops anymore. The district does not want to keep and store them. Discussion continued on what to do with the laptops. The board asked Dr. Cull to bring a balanced budget. He also referenced the fact that he may have to hire another teacher. Mr. Kapachinski had asked the Lake Park feeder districts the number of computers contained in their entire inventory. Currently District 10 is under 2 students per computer. Lake Park uses 2.5 per student. Bloomingdale is at 2.6, Roselle is at 3, Keeneyville is at 3 and Medinah is at nearly 4. The Regional Office of Education recently did a survey and one of the questions on the survey was student to computer ratio. The average student/computer ratio in DuPage County is closer to 3 and in some districts, it is as high as 4.
Mrs. DiCiolla asked how the District would be reducing expenditures. The answer was through technology. Dr. Cull will incorporate the additional utilities, put something in for the piano, and then take out the $44,000 (technology) to see what the tentative budget will look like, The tentative budget will be on the June agenda with final adoption in August. Some of the O & M expenses may be moved into the education fund.
Dr. Cull thanked everyone for the discussions.
H. Freedom of Information – Superintendent Cull reported on one request that had been received and was complied with in a timely manner. It had been a request for his contract and this request had been made from all DuPage County school districts.
I. Opportunity for Community Input Regarding Board Requested Report – A public acknowledgement was made to the board for supporting the musical at Peacock. Dr. Cull said that the school district is fortunate to get people to do this. Funds for it are definitely in the budget.
VIII. Consent Items – A motion was made by Mrs. McDonald and seconded by Mr. McCann that the minutes of the April 12, 2006 closed session and regular meeting; the April 26, 2006 salary committee meeting; the April 27, 2006 special meeting; and the expenditures for the month of April, 2006, be approved. Following an opportunity for questions and further discussion, the motion carried on the following ROLL CALL VOTE:
AYES NAYS
Mrs. McDonald
Mr. Maier
Mr. Powers
Mrs. Pawinski
Mrs. Zelenka
Mr. McCann
Mrs. DiCiolla
IX. Action Items –
A. 2006-2007 Paid Holidays for 12-Month Staff – A motion was made by Mrs. McDonald and seconded by Mrs. Pawinski that the Board of Education approve Action Memorandum FY06-#22; 2006-2007 Paid Holidays for 12-Month Staff. Following an opportunity for questions, discussion and community input, the motion carried on the following VOICE VOTE: All AYES: NAYS none.
B. Approval of the Auditor – A motion was made by Mrs. DiCiolla and seconded by Mrs. McDonald that the Board of Education approve Action Memorandum FY06-#23; Approval of the Auditor, Mathieson, Moyski, Celer and Co., LLP. Following an opportunity for community input, questions and discussion, the motion carried on the following ROLL CALL VOTE:
AYES NAYS
Mr. McCann
Mr. Powers
Mrs. DiCiolla
Mrs. Pawinski
Mrs. McDonald
Mr. Maier
Mrs. Zelenka
C. Appointment of Treasurer – Motion was made by Mrs. McDonald and seconded by Mrs. Pawinski that the Board of Education approve Action Memorandum FY06-#24, Appointment of Arnold Uhlig, Treasurer. The motion carried following an opportunity for questions and discussion as well as community input on the following ROLL CALL VOTE:
AYES NAYS
Mrs. DiCiolla
Mrs. McDonald
Mr. McCann
Mr. Maier
Mrs. Zelenka
Mrs. Pawinski
Mr. Powers
D. Inter-Fund Loan – A motion was made by Mrs. DiCiolla and seconded by Mrs. Pawinski that the Board of Education approve Action Memorandum FY06-#25; a $300,000 Inter-Fund Loan. Following an opportunity for board discussion and community input, the motion carried on the following ROLL CALL VOTE:
AYES NAYS
Mrs. Pawinski
Mrs. McDonald
Mrs. DiCiolla
Mr. Powers
Mrs. Zelenka
Mr. Maier
Mr. McCann
E. Board of Education Policies – A motion was made by Mr. McCann and seconded by Mr. Maier that the Board of Education approve Action Memorandum FY06-#26; Policies for Second Reading. The motion carried on the following VOICE VOTE: All AYES: NAYS none following an opportunity for further questions, discussion and community input.
F. Special Education Transportation Contract – A motion was made by Mrs. Pawinski and seconded by Mrs. McDonald that the Board of Education approve Action Memorandum FY06-#27; Special Education Transportation Contract. Mrs. DiCiolla asked if this new contract is a savings over the Laidlaw contract. Dr. Cull stated that it was a good contract. Following a further opportunity for community input, questions, and discussion, the motion carried on the following ROLL CALL VOTE:
AYES NAYS
Mrs. Zelenka
Mr. McCann
Mrs. Pawinski
Mrs. McDonald
Mr. Maier
Mr. Powers
Mrs. DiCiolla
X. Board Requests for Reports – Mrs. DiCiolla requested a report regarding anyone in our district that might be retiring in the district in the near future. This would include staff with more than 15 years. She would like to see it scheduled out to see the effects if will have over the next few years. She does not need this report by the next meeting.
XI. Adjournment – There being no further business, President Powers adjourned the meeting at 10:20 p.m.
