Community High School District #71

Central Community High School District #71

7740 Old U.S. 50, Breese, IL 62230
BOARD OF EDUCATION - Regular Meeting
Tuesday, February 17th, 2026 7:00 PM

AGENDA

The regular meeting of the Board of Education of Central Community High School was held on February 17, 2026 at 7:00PM in the Media Center.

Members present were Mary Lou Voss, Tim Richter, Kori Voss, Laura Jansen and Brandon Hogg. Tanya Kampwerth and Julie Koerkenmeier were absent. Visitors included Ami Shanafelt, Ellie Bowen, Coach Brian Walsh and the wrestlers, and Coach Julianne Jacob and the varsity cheerleaders..

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

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

The financial report and payment of bills were reviewed and accepted on a motion by Tim, second by Brandon. Roll call vote: Aye – Mary Lou Voss, Tim Richter, Kori Voss, Laura Jansen, Brandon Hogg. - Abstain Nay – None

The annual Tri-County Institute was held on Friday, February 13th. It is a cooperative program scheduled by the Regional Office of Education and funded by the Kaskaskia Special Education District. As always, it offers many great programs and professional development opportunities for our teachers. Our teachers are required to attend at least five sessions on that day.

As we discussed a couple months ago, Coach Brian Short has requested an additional coach for his football program. We have seen a large jump in participation in our program (increasing from roughly 60 student athletes to 120), yet we have the same number of paid assistant coaches. Coach stated that the large number of players requires substantially more practice segments and overall supervision, and doesn’t believe we should rely on those important jobs to be done by volunteers. A motion to approve an additional football coach for FY2027 was made by Kori, second by Laura. Roll call vote: Aye – Mary Lou Voss, Tim Richter, Kori Voss, Laura Jansen, Brandon Hogg. Nay – None

A motion to employ Krsiten Torre as a Special Education instructor starting the 2026-27 school year pending all necessary requirements are met was made by Brandon, second by Laura. Roll call vote: Aye – Mary Lou Voss, Tim Richter, Kori Voss, Laura Jansen, Brandon Hogg. Nay – None

The Threat Assessment Plan was presented. School districts in Illinois are required to have the Board of Education review and approve the Threat Assessment Plan on a biannual basis. The Threat Assessment Plan outlines how our district will respond anytime there is a threat made against our school, students, or staff. A motion to approve the Threat Assessment Plan as presented was made by Laura, second by Tim. Roll call vote: Aye – Mary Lou Voss, Tim Richter, Kori Voss, Laura Jansen, Brandon Hogg. Nay – None

A motion to approve an overnight trip for FBLA to attend the State Conference on April 10-12 was made by Kori, second by Brandon. Roll call vote: Aye – Mary Lou Voss, Tim Richter, Kori Voss, Laura Jansen, Brandon Hogg. Nay – None

A motion to approve the students’ participation in the IHSA eSports post-season was made by Tim, second by Kori. Roll call vote: Aye – Mary Lou Voss, Tim Richter, Kori Voss, Laura Jansen, Brandon Hogg. Nay – None

A motion to employ Madison Ashford as a volunteer girls soccer coach pending all necessary requirements are met was made by Brandon, second by Laura. Roll call vote: Aye – Mary Lou Voss, Tim Richter, Kori Voss, Laura Jansen, Brandon Hogg. Nay – None

A motion to employ Tyler Siever as a volunteer football coach pending all necessary requirements are met was made by Tim, second by Brandon. Roll call vote: Aye – Mary Lou Voss, Tim Richter, Kori Voss, Laura Jansen, Brandon Hogg. Nay – None

Over the last several years, we have experienced substantial problems with our sound system at Astroth Field. When the system was initially installed, it was meant for use solely as a PA system and not built for the music and video production that currently takes place at our games. (If you have been to a game, you have probably noticed the inadequacy of our sound system and how it will blow your eardrums out in some areas and is massively distorted in others.)

The Superintendent’s Evaluation Tool was discussed.


PRINCIPAL’S REPORT:

Since we last met, our kids and probably our teachers got their wish with two snow days!! The weather in the last week of January was brutal, but we got through it and saved one snow day. As you know, we will take three traditional snow days before transitioning to E-Learning. We are hopeful that the snow is over and we can lock in our last days of school.

Central is blessed with two very talented basketball coaches and their records speak for themselves. On January 15th, Coach Rueter earned his 500th win and then on January 30th, Coach Shubert earned his 300th win. These are both amazing accomplishments and we are lucky to have both of them working with our kids everyday.

Central Competitive Cheer - Sectional Champs @ Edwardsville and State Champions @ Bloomington. I have invited the cheer team and coaches to the meeting, and Coach Jacob will talk briefly about all of their accomplishments.

Huge congratulations goes out to Julianne Jacob and Gina Benhoff for being named NFHS Spirit Coaches of the Year! This is a tremendous honor and well deserved for two of the best around!!

All teacher observations have been completed and will be finalized in March.

8th Grade Shadowing Program 2-2 and 2-3 - Aviston (37) out of 52 (-15) 2-4 and 2-5 - D12 (55) all attended 2-9 - Bartelso/D’Ville (17) out of 30 (-13) 2-10 - G’Town (18) out of 25 (-7) 2-11 - Albers (15) out of 22 (-7) 2-12 - St. Rose (17) out of 21 (-4) Also, (3) from ASA, (1) Edwardsville, (2) Millstadt Total
-165 in attendance, 46 did not attend

ESports 2026 - we have 20 students participating in our unified program this year and they had their first match on February 3. A huge thank you to Mrs. Koerkenmeier for sponsoring this awesome group of students and giving them the opportunity to compete.

Science Olympiad - On January 31st our Science Olympiad Team, along with Coach Kujawa and Coach Macke traveled to Wash U to take on 30 teams from multiple states. Our team of 14 members competed in 23 different tests of scientific knowledge and engineering tasks. Collectively the team placed 10th overall, with 9 top 10 individual placements and 1 First Place Medal! Congratulations to Hunter Farrington and Rachel Book, who placed 1st in Circuit Lab. The Science Olympiad Team will be back in action on February 28th at SWIC for regional.
Big congratulations to our FFA members who recently competed with their recordbooks. We had 4 students get first, and they will be moving on to the district contest on March 4th. - Caiden Litteken in Agri-science research and integrated systems - Alex Voss in Fruit and nut production - Blake Wolter in Forage Production - Conner Carrillon in grain production 2nd place finishers were… - Addison Tebbe in Beef Entrepreneurship and Placement - Chase Varel in Ag mechanics repair and maintenance - Tyler Ratermann in Ag mechanics design and fabrication

Congratulations to the Central FFA Meat Judging Team! On February 7th they competed in the Section 22 FFA Meat Judging Contest at Wenneman's Meat Market and placed 1st in the section with individual results as follows… - 1st Place Addison Tebbe - 2nd Place Lilly Behrmann - other team members contributing to the win were Cayden Holtgrave, Hayden Blumenstein, Lucas Pate and Tyler Ratermann.

Our annual Cougar Academy is fast approaching and Mrs. Koerkenmeier has been planning the perfect day. Cougar Academy Emcees have been chosen! We had a lot of great applicants, so our committee of faculty members who made these selections had a tough job! Our emcees will be: Karsyn Voss, Janae Toennies, Kara Schomaker, and Xavier Knapp.

Our GIRLS (Growing in Resilience and Strength) Club, along with sponsor Mrs. Wellen will be hosting a “Girls Night Out” here at Central on March 7th from 6:00 - 8:00 PM. The night will include music, crafts, and games.

Our School Improvement Team met last week and made the decision to administer the practice ACT test to all juniors. This will take place the morning of Friday, March 6th which is an early dismissal day. The team felt it was best for our kids to be exposed to the test prior to the official day, especially this year, as the ACT requirement is new this year and completely online.

Lastly, on Wednesday, February 11 we had a very special student surprise. SIUE contacted Ms. Lohman earlier in the month to let her know one of our students was selected for the Meridian Scholarship, which is the University's highest academic honor. (full tuition, room and board, and meals). Members of the SIUE faculty, along with the Vice Chancellor, Andy Benoit and full filming crew arrived at Central to surprise senior student Eleanor Bowen. Congratulations to Ellie, we are super proud of you!

The board adjourned the meeting at 8:05PM on a motion by Kori, second by Brandon. Roll call vote: Aye – Mary Lou Voss, Tim Richter, Kori Voss, Laura Jansen, Brandon Hogg. Nay – None

Mary Lou Voss           Kori Voss             

Board President                                     Board Secretary