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, December 15th, 2025 7:00 PM

AGENDA

The Truth in Taxation Hearing was held on December 15, 2025 at 6:45PM in the Media Center.

Members present were Mary Lou Voss, Tim Richter, Kori Voss (6:50), Julie Koerkenmeier, Tanya Kampwerth, Laura Jansen and Brandon Hogg. Visitors included Travis Gebke.

Dr. Foutch reviewed the proposed Tax Levy increase.

The board adjourned the hearing at 7:00PM on a motion by Brandon, second by Tanya. Roll call vote: Aye – Mary Lou Voss, Tim Richter, Kori Voss, Julie Koerkenmeier, Tanya Kampwerth, Laura Jansen, Brandon Hogg. Nay – None

The regular meeting of the Board of Education of Central Community High School was held on December 15, 2025 at 7:00PM in the Media Center.

Members present were Mary Lou Voss, Tim Richter, Kori Voss, Julie Koerkenmeier, Tanya Kampwerth, Laura Jansen and Brandon Hogg. Visitors included Travis Gebke, Brian Short, Landon Watts and Clayton Jansen.

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

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

Coach Short expressed his appreciation to the board for their support of his program.

Central Community High School has TWENTY SEVEN students who were recently named as Illinois State Scholars from the Class of 2026. This is a new school record!! We have included a list of these seniors and their parents in your packet. We sent letters of congratulations to the students and their parents on your behalf.

Great News!! Students at Central are performing at the 94th percentile of all schools in Illinois in Overall Academic Achievement while we are under the 50th percentile in spending. Talk about an outstanding bang for the taxpayer buck!!

Dr. Foutch detailed the Silicon Valley trip to the Board of Education.

A motion to approve Tax Levy option B, which is a 10.15 increase in property tax, was made by Tim, second by Brandon. Roll call vote: Aye – Mary Lou Voss, Tim Richter, Kori Voss, Julie Koerkenmeier, Tanya Kampwerth, Laura Jansen, Brandon Hogg. Nay – None

A motion to approve the FY2026 Risk Management Plan as presented was made by Laura, second by Kori. Roll call vote: Aye – Mary Lou Voss, Tim Richter, Kori Voss, Julie Koerkenmeier, Tanya Kampwerth, Laura Jansen, Brandon Hogg. Nay – None

A motion to approve the 1 year renewal with Prairie State Insurance Cooperative was made by Kori, second by Julie. Roll call vote: Aye – Mary Lou Voss, Tim Richter, Kori Voss, Julie Koerkenmeier, Tanya Kampwerth, Laura Jansen. Nay – None

A motion to approve the creation of the Athletic Trainer position as well as the posting of the position was made by Brandon, second by Tanya. Roll call vote: Aye – Mary Lou Voss, Tim Richter, Kori Voss, Julie Koerkenmeier, Tanya Kampwerth, Laura Jansen, Brandon Hogg. Nay – None

A motion to approve the retirement request of Kevin Crask effective October 2029 was made by Kori, second by Laura. Roll call vote: Aye – Mary Lou Voss, Tim Richter, Kori Voss, Julie Koerkenmeier, Tanya Kampwerth, Laura Jansen, Brandon Hogg. Nay – None

A motion to approve the resignation of Stacy Boruff as a vocational teacher at the conclusion of the 2025-26 school year was made by Tim, second by Julie. Roll call vote: Aye – Mary Lou Voss, Tim Richter, Julie Koerkenmeier, Tanya Kampwerth, Laura Jansen, Brandon Hogg. Kori Voss - Abstain Nay – None

A motion to approve the resignation of Morgan Keck as the Cross Country coach was made by Kori, second by Tanya. Roll call vote: Aye – Mary Lou Voss, Tim Richter, Kori Voss, Julie Koerkenmeier, Tanya Kampwerth, Laura Jansen, Brandon Hogg. Nay – None

A motion to approve an overnight trip for FFA to Ground Zero Conference at SIU Carbondale on January 30-31 was made by Brandon, second by Laura. Roll call vote: Aye – Mary Lou Voss, Tim Richter, Kori Voss, Julie Koerkenmeier, Tanya Kampwerth, Laura Jansen, Brandon Hogg. Nay – None

A motion to approve an overnight trip for competitive cheerleading to compete in northern Illinois on January 9-11th was made by Kori, second by Julie. Roll call vote: Aye – Mary Lou Voss, Tim Richter, Kori Voss, Julie Koerkenmeier, Tanya Kampwerth, Laura Jansen, Brandon Hogg. Nay – None


PRINCIPAL’S REPORT:

G.I.R.L.S. (Growing in Resilience, Love and Strength) This is a new club that was started up by a few sophomore girls and led by Mrs. Wellen. We are very proud of these girls for stepping up and creating a group where all feel welcome. The purpose of this club is to make girls feel comfortable and safe to talk about their problems and feelings. It gives girls a place to talk openly about things like confidence, body image, gender stereotypes, and leadership without judgement. The main goal is to make girls comfortable about themselves and feel heard.

Congratulations to our 9 New LifeSavers!! Kaelyn Gebke, Brady Voss, Gabby Neimeyer, Lyndsie Theis, Hannah Lowe, Jace Klasing, Marissa Jansen, Riley Tucker and Tatum Tingley. We also want to recognize Karsyn Voss, Aubrey Rakers and Tessa Schroeder for being chosen to be Group Leaders for the retreat on November 21-23. We are so proud of these students for spending their weekend learning how to help our school community!

Each year over the Thanksgiving holiday we provide Thanksgiving meal boxes to families in our district that otherwise would not be able to enjoy all the food associated with the holiday. This year we were able to provide boxes for eleven families. Thank you to Mrs. Koerkenmeier for organizing and doing all the shopping this year.

Central High School was well represented on Dec. 3 at the Youth Advisory Council in Vandalia, IL. Students from the high schools within Senator Plummer's 55th Senatorial District were invited to attend and listen to guest speakers and also participate in creating their own ideas on legislation. Representing Central Community High School and Mr. Meyer's Civics classes were Lydia Kuhn, Grace Henrichs, Ellie Bowen, and Maria Galino-Dias.

The Central High School FLS Class once again partnered with Coping 4 Life to help those in need during the holidays. They have been collecting gift card donations since we returned from Thanksgiving break in an effort to help provide food, personal hygiene items and household items to local residents. Thank you to Mr. Gebke and all of his students for helping to make the Christmas season a little bit brighter!

Central is proud to announce that our PAWS/CSC organizations were honored with the Reaching Out and Building Bridges Award for the Kaskaskia Region. They will also move on at the state level with the opportunity to win the award for the entire state and be recognized in #imaginegreatness October at the Annual IPA Conference. Congratulations to both groups, we couldn’t do what we do without them. Thank you!!!

Cahokia Conference Educator Roundtables - this year, each department within the conference will conduct a roundtable event giving all schools the opportunity to hear from each other about the issues they are facing, strategies that work, and how to improve their departments. Each roundtable is facilitated by a principal from the conference.

School Improvement Team - we had our monthly meeting on December 10, 2025. The two main topics of discussion were Freshmen Information Night (January 14) and the Central Shadowing program. As always, lots of great ideas came from the meeting, all in an effort to improve the experience for our families and kids.

The band/choir winter concert will be held this Saturday, December 13, 2025 at 6:00 in the commons.

A motion to approve the Early Grad as presented pending all academic requirements and credit minimums are met was made by Tim, second by Laura. Roll call vote: Aye – Mary Lou Voss, Tim Richter, Kori Voss, Julie Koerkenmeier, Tanya Kampwerth, Laura Jansen, Brandon Hogg. Nay – None

A motion to approve the planned curriculum changes as presented was made by Kori, second by Tanya. Roll call vote: Aye – Mary Lou Voss, Tim Richter, Kori Voss, Julie Koerkenmeier, Tanya Kampwerth, Laura Jansen, Brandon Hogg. Nay – None

The board entered into closed session on a motion by Kori, second by Tanya to discuss personnel. Roll call vote: Aye – Mary Lou Voss, Tim Richter, Kori Voss, Julie Koerkenmeier, Tanya Kampwerth, Laura Jansen, Brandon Hogg. Nay – None. Motion carried at 7:49PM

The board entered back into open session on a motion by Tim, second by Laura. Roll call vote: Aye – Mary Lou Voss, Tim Richter, Kori Voss, Julie Koerkenmeier, Tanya Kampwerth, Laura Jansen, Brandon Hogg. Nay – None Motion carried at 8:07PM.

The board adjourned the meeting at 8:11PM on a motion by Tim, second by Kori. Roll call vote: Aye – Mary Lou Voss, Tim Richter, Kori Voss, Julie Koerkenmeier, Tanya Kampwerth, Laura Jansen, Brandon Hogg. Nay – None

Mary Lou Voss           Kori Voss             

Board President                                     Board Secretary