Community High School District #71

Central Community High School District #71

7740 Old U.S. 50, Breese, IL 62230
BOARD OF EDUCATION - Regular Meeting
Monday, May 19, 2025 7:00 PM

AGENDA

The regular meeting of the Board of Education of Central Community High School was held on May 19, 2025 at 7:00PM in the Media Center.

Members present were Mary Lou Voss, Tanya Kampwerth, Julie Koerkenmeier, Laura Jansen and Brandon Hogg. Tim Richter and Kori Voss were absent. Visitors included Jeff Jacob, Harley Painter, Cara Carrillon, Blake Wolter and Caiden Litteken.

The agenda was amended and  approved on a motion by Tanya, second by Laura.   Roll call vote: Aye – Mary Lou Voss, Julie Koerkenmeier, Tanya Kampwerth, Laura Jansen, Brandon Hogg.  Nay – None

The minutes of the previous meeting were approved on a motion by Laura, second by Tanya.  Roll call vote: Aye – Mary Lou Voss, Julie Koerkenmeier, Tanya Kampwerth, Laura Jansen, Brandon Hogg.  Nay – None

The financial report and payment of bills were reviewed and accepted on a motion by Brandon, second by Julie.  Roll call vote: Aye – Mary Lou Voss, Julie Koerkenmeier, Tanya Kampwerth, Laura Jansen, Brandon Hogg.  Nay – None

Mr. Freeze introduced Mya Bedard and Piper Kujawa as State Champions of FBLA Competition.  Both students will be traveling to California to compete at the National FBLA competition.  

Dr. Foutch briefed the BOE of the current outstanding student fees.

The Clinton County Academic Excellence Banquet was held on Wednesday, April 30th.  There were fifteen students from Central recognized with their parents at the event.  This was the 27th Annual celebration of the four schools and our Central students represented themselves extremely well at the event. It continues to be one of our favorite evenings of the school year.

On Wednesday, May 7th we hosted our 19th Annual Academic Achievement Awards program.  The event was  a great success with many special guests in attendance to present scholarships.  66 students were awarded in various ways for four years of excellent work. The average amount of scholarship offers for students in this group was over $135,000, and they received $9,000,000 in total. Dr. Foutch thanks everyone who helped prepare for the presentation, especially Mrs. Varel for her assistance.

The Committee to Support Central continues to focus on increasing opportunities for students and promoting Central in the community.  The “Cougar Pride” program is a success and will continue to create an opportunity for businesses and individuals to become a member at various levels of contribution (Gold, Silver, and Bronze).  Next year, the CSC will again partner with PAWS in a joint fundraising effort where donors can contribute to both groups with one form.  This format worked well for the CSC last year and we nearly doubled our annual revenue from the fundraising drive.  The Committee to Support Central now stewards sixteen scholarships and holds over $200,000 in fiduciary accounts with us.  They also recently donated $30,000 to our musical and band sound system project, $2500 toward our school’s promotional videos, $22,000 for our district’s “Elevate” Magazine,  and voted to become a major sponsor for our district’s 8th Grade Cougar Academy.

We are waiting for confirmation on the allocation of funds from the Perkins and the Career and Technical Education grants with the C.T.E. program for next year.  (We are hoping for approximately the same as last year.)  However, even if that transpires, those funds will not be dispersed until a later point in time.  If you recall, we have for several years used some of those funds to offset the cost of our tutorial services.

As we have discussed in the past, Dr. Foutch believes it is necessary to increase the amount of athletic training services offered to our students.  With the massive increase in the number of athletes participating in our programs, specifically cheerleading and football, it is necessary to give Marty the support he needs.  Also, in order to remain competitive with other districts (who have recently tried to recruit Mr. Stuart), we would need to provide an additional $6,900 stipend for additional athletic training services.  When speaking with Marty, he stated this stipend would guarantee his long-term commitment to Central, and it would also enable him to see athletes during the school day, when needed.  

A motion to approve a $6900 stipend to Marty Stuart as our Athletic Trainer was made by Tanya, second by Laura.  Roll call vote: Aye – Mary Lou Voss, Julie Koerkenmeier, Tanya Kampwerth, Laura Jansen, Brandon Hogg.  Nay – None

A motion to approve the 2025-2028 Collective Bargaining Agreement as presented was made by Brandon, second by Julie.  Roll call vote: Aye – Mary Lou Voss, Julie Koerkenmeier, Tanya Kampwerth, Laura Jansen, Brandon Hogg.  Nay – None

Mr. Freeze’s contract is set to expire on June 30th, 2025. and it will be my recommendation that our district give Roger a 3-year contract extension.  Mr. Freeze is a solid, steady, and supportive leader at Central who is extremely well respected by our students and staff.  Roger makes Central a better place, and he is a steadfast supporter of our teachers and staff.   A motion to approve a 3-year contract extension to Mr. Freeze, Principal, with an increase of 3.0% the first year, 2.75% the second year and 2.5% the third year was made by Laura, second by Tanya.  Roll call vote: Aye – Mary Lou Voss, Julie Koerkenmeier, Tanya Kampwerth, Laura Jansen, Brandon Hogg.  Nay – None

A motion to schedule a Budget Amendment Hearing for June 23rd at 6:45 was made by Brandon, second by Laura. Roll call vote: Aye – Mary Lou Voss, Julie Koerkenmeier, Tanya Kampwerth, Laura Jansen, Brandon Hogg.  Nay – None

A motion to employ Brian Short as Zero Period PE Instructor was made by Julie, second by Laura.  Roll call vote: Aye – Mary Lou Voss, Julie Koerkenmeier, Tanya Kampwerth, Laura Jansen, Brandon Hogg.  Nay – None 

A motion to employ Tom Baro as assistant Golf Coach was made by Laura, second by Brandon.  Roll call vote: Aye – Mary Lou Voss, Julie Koerkenmeier, Tanya Kampwerth, Laura Jansen, Brandon Hogg.  Nay – None

A motion to approve the resignation of Codi Swires as Office/Student Assistant was made by Tanya, second by Laura.  Roll call vote: Aye – Mary Lou Voss, Julie Koerkenmeier, Tanya Kampwerth, Laura Jansen, Brandon Hogg.  Nay – None

A motion to approve the resignation of Dave Ratermann as Maintenance employee was made by Julie, second by Brandon.  Roll call vote: Aye – Mary Lou Voss, Julie Koerkenmeier, Tanya Kampwerth, Laura Jansen, Brandon Hogg.  Nay – None

A motion to employ Tim “Pelle” Fuehne as a Maintenance employee pending all necessary requirements are met was made by Julie, second by Brandon.  Roll call vote: Aye – Mary Lou Voss, Julie Koerkenmeier, Tanya Kampwerth, Laura Jansen, Brandon Hogg.  Nay – None

A motion to employ Aiden Diesen as a Maintenance employee pending all necessary requirements are met was made by Laura, second by Tanya.  Roll call vote: Aye – Mary Lou Voss, Julie Koerkenmeier, Tanya Kampwerth, Laura Jansen, Brandon Hogg.  Nay – None

A motion to employ Greg Meyer, Robert Hofer and Garrett Gebke as Temporary Summer Maintenance employees was made by Brandon, second by Julie.  Roll call vote: Aye – Mary Lou Voss, Julie Koerkenmeier, Tanya Kampwerth, Laura Jansen, Brandon Hogg.  Nay – None

A motion to employ Wyatt Troyer as a volunteer Girls Basketball Coach pending all necessary requirements are met was made by Laura, second by Brandon.  Roll call vote: Aye – Mary Lou Voss, Julie Koerkenmeier, Tanya Kampwerth, Laura Jansen, Brandon Hogg.  Nay – None

The BOE and Dr. Foutch discussed the possibility of the Wrestling Club becoming a school sponsored sport.

A motion to approve an overnight trip for the Competitive Cheer team for 2 trips - one on June 23-25 for a team culture workshop at Lincoln-Way Central and  a team camp at Tinley Park and one for an NCA camp at Lemont High School was made by Laura, second by Julie.  Roll call vote: Aye – Mary Lou Voss, Julie Koerkenmeier, Tanya Kampwerth, Laura Jansen, Brandon Hogg.  Nay – None

A motion to approve an overnight trip for the Football team to attend a camp at Illinois College from July 19-20 was made by Tanya, second by Brandon.  Roll call vote: Aye – Mary Lou Voss, Julie Koerkenmeier, Tanya Kampwerth, Laura Jansen, Brandon Hogg.  Nay – None

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT:

April 23 - Central hosted the Special Olympics Unified Track Meet. Central’s team proved to be too much for the competition securing 1st place and bringing home the Regional Championship! A huge thank you to Gina Benhoff and Crystalyn Huegen!

April 24 - National Honor Society Induction Ceremony, it was record breaking night with 62 students being inducted! Our guest speaker for the evening was our very own, Sara Loepker-Wellen. In other news, we were surprised by two students (Aubrey Rakers and Sophie Markus) informing us they just received word that they scored a perfect super score 36 on the ACT. It truly was a great night showcasing the academic talent of our students!

April 27 - The Annual Highland Art Expo - our students represented Central extremely well with two students coming home with feature artist honors, Abigail Voss and Tessa Schroeder!

April 28 - the sophomore class had the awesome opportunity to hear from world renowned author and motivational speaker, Damon West! Thank you ROE 13 for making this happen.

April 30 - The Annual Clinton County Top 10% Banquet was once again held at the Albers Legion and showcased the top academic students from around the county. Central was represented by the following students…Rainer Bretz, Marcela Contreras, Grant Creek, Mason Hilmes, Anthony Huegen, Ella Jackstadt, Sarah Kohnen, Piper Kujawa, Maxwell Niemeyer, Evelyn Ribbing, Abigail Shanafelt, Isabella Singler, Ava Strake, Jensen Tebbe, Abigail Wilson.

May 2 - CEO Graduation for the Class of 2025, congratulations to the following students…Mason Hilmes, Kylie Detmer, Hanna Koopman, and Anthony Huegen.

May 3 - Prom Court 2025

Queen Candidates

Abigail Voss, Grace Foutch, Averi Marcum, Ava Strake, Piper Kujawa, Maya Bedard King Candidates

Carter Deien, Jensen Tebbe, Mason Hilmes, Griffen Becker, Preston Baker, Easton Becker Queen and King - Abigail Voss and Jensen Tebbe

May 5 - 9 - Teacher Appreciation Week - our teachers were treated right this week, with lunch provided throughout the week by a number of parents and our STUCO members providing daily gifts at the end of each day.

May 8 - Retirement party for Greg Kruse and Vicki Pittman at the Bent Oak Golf Course. It was a great night of laughter, tears, hugs, stories, and of course memories. Thank you both Greg and Vicki for dedicating your life to our kids and their futures.

May 11 - Spring Band/Chorus Concert and Art Display - thank you to Mr. Ordaz and Mrs. Wessel for working so hard to prepare our students so they can deliver the highest quality work. The concert was fantastic and I heard so many comments about the talent of our young artists.

May 15 - FLS Graduation for Quinn Tebbe

The board adjourned the meeting at 8:37PM on a motion by Tanya, second by Brandon.  Roll call vote: Aye – Mary Lou Voss, Julie Koerkenmeier, Tanya Kampwerth, Laura Jansen, Brandon Hogg.  Nay – None

Mary Lou Voss           Kori Voss             

Board President                                     Board Secretary