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, November 21st, 2022,   7:00 PM

AGENDA

The regular meeting of the Board of Education of Central Community High School was held on November 21, 2022 at 7:00PM in the Media Center.

Members present were Mike Nettemeier, Mary Lou Voss, Amy Kruse, Tanya Kampwerth, Kori Voss and Jeff Kampwerth and Tim Richter.  Visitors included Kelly Ross, Mara Koerkenmeier, Lauren, Bradley and Kimberly Wolter and Keegan, Kelly and Eric Kraeger..

The agenda was approved on a motion by Tim, second by Jeff.  Roll call vote: Aye –Mike Nettemeier, Mary Lou Voss, Kori Voss, Amy Kruse, Tanya Kampwerth, Jeff Kampwerth, Tim Richter.  Nay – None

The minutes of the previous meeting were amended and approved on a motion by Mary Lou, second by Kori. Roll call vote: Aye –Mike Nettemeier, Mary Lou Voss, Kori Voss, Amy Kruse, Tanya Kampwerth, Jeff Kampwerth, Tim Richter.  Nay – None

The financial report and payment of bills were reviewed and accepted on a motion by Jeff, second by Mary Lou.   Roll call vote: Aye –Mike Nettemeier, Mary Lou Voss, Kori Voss, Amy Kruse, Tanya Kampwerth, Jeff Kampwerth, Tim Richter.  Nay – None

Mr. Freeze recognized Lauren Wolter and Keegan Kraeger.  Lauren Wolter has had many FFA accomplishments over the past few months, with more recently winning 3rd place at the National FFA Extemporaneous Speaking Competition!  Keegan Kraeger was recognized for his heroic actions while at cross country practice, helping and saving a teammate who was having a seizure. 

The Kaskaskia College Foundation will host the KC Royale Winter Gala at Aviston Legion Hall in Aviston, Illinois on December 10th. The gala event will feature a casino, silent and live auctions, 50/50 drawing, and more – all to help support Kaskaskia College students. The event is held to support the institution’s mission of life-long student learning and providing quality comprehensive education. 

As you all know, Central High School was recently awarded the “Exemplary School Designation” from the State of Illinois.  We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the board for the celebration festivities that were conducted on October 28^th.  It was a truly awesome day to be a Cougar.

Congrats to Mike Nettemeier for being named IPA 2022 Board Member of the Year.

A motion to approve payment to Byrne and Jones for $50,793 for remaining amount for the track resurfacing was made by Tim, second by Amy.  Roll call vote: Aye –Mike Nettemeier, Mary Lou Voss, Kori Voss, Amy Kruse, Tanya Kampwerth, Jeff Kampwerth, Tim Richter.  Nay – None

We recently held a meeting with our architect and Kevin Brinkman from KRB Construction to discuss the parking lot project.  It was decided that the best time to begin the construction will be at the beginning of May, 2023.  There was discussion around starting the project this fall, but due to the extremely dry weather, the soil would have needed considerable remediation to ensure the long-term stability of the lot.  The project is still expected to be completed by the beginning of August, 2023.

In regards to our NEVCO Video Board project, we will be conducting our advertising demonstration on the evening of November 16^th in the Media Center.  After this meeting, we will have a solid idea of how much revenue the video boards should be able to generate to the district.  With that, at the time of this writing, we have already secured $150,000 of revenue that will be generated over the first 5 years. The plan is to have multiple indoor and outdoor video board options available for the board to discuss. A motion to approve the outdoor concept 4 and indoor concept 2 for the scoreboards was made by Kori, second by Tanya.  Roll call vote: Aye –Mike Nettemeier, Mary Lou Voss, Kori Voss, Amy Kruse, Tanya Kampwerth, Jeff Kampwerth, Tim Richter.  Nay – None

We received an excellent bid from J Squared fencing to replace all the chain link fencing in front of the football field, and also to run a 5 foot fence along the west side of the main entrance drive. All of this fencing would match the fence that is currently installed in front of the softball field.  The total for this project would be $10,500, and it will be my recommendation to approve the bid on Monday night.  Along with that project, we received a generous anonymous donation to help build the archway entrance to the football field.  The plan is to get the archway built prior to starting on the chain link fence replacement.  Gary Kohrmann is currently in the process of getting a bid together for the cost of the 2 brick pillars that will be constructed as the base of the archway.  A motion to approve a bid from J Squared to replace all chain link fencing in front of FB field and along the west side of the main entrance for $10,500 was made by Tim, second by Amy.  Roll call vote: Aye –Mike Nettemeier, Mary Lou Voss, Kori Voss, Amy Kruse, Tanya Kampwerth, Jeff Kampwerth, Tim Richter.  Nay – None

 Mrs. Boeschen and Dr. Foutch presented a preliminary tax levy for review by the BOE.  (The 2022 Tax Levy is for funding to be collected in 2023.)  Our current rate of 1.90 is one of the lowest in the State of Illinois (for a high school district), and all three options for the 2022 levy show a considerable decrease in our overall property tax request. This decrease is due to two positive developments: increases in EAV, and the elimination of TIF 1 in Breese.  A motion to approve option levy C with a 16.78% increase and to set a Truth in Taxation hearing for Monday, December 19, 2022 at 6:45PM was made by Mary Lou, second by Kori.  Roll call vote: Aye –Mike Nettemeier, Mary Lou Voss, Kori Voss, Amy Kruse, Tanya Kampwerth, Jeff Kampwerth, Tim Richter.  Nay – None

The Clinton County Schools Consortium, along with the Wesclin School District, came to the consensus that we would ask our school districts to pass the One-Cent Sales tax resolution during our November regular board of education meetings.  If the resolution is approved by the school boards representing more than 50% of the students in Clinton County, then the question will be added to the March election ballot.   Our district would be able to further reduce our constituents’ property taxes with the revenue.  Also, a very large majority of the sales tax revenue in Clinton County comes from residents that live outside of the county.  The funds could be used by all the local school districts for school safety and security, student mental health support, facility maintenance, or to lower property taxes.  Along with that, the sales tax would not be added to any farm production products or machinery, purchased vehicles or ATV’s, pharmaceutical drugs, or groceries. A motion to Approve a resolution directing the Regional Superintendent of Schools for The County of Clinton, Illinois, to certify to the County Clerk of said County the question question of imposing a retailers’ occupation tax and a service occupation tax to be used exclusively for school facility purposes, school resource officers, and mental health professionals, for submission to the electors of said County at the consolidated election to be held on the 4th day of April, 2023  was made by Mary Lou, second by Jeff.  Roll call vote: Aye –Mike Nettemeier, Mary Lou Voss, Kori Voss, Amy Kruse, Tanya Kampwerth, Jeff Kampwerth, Tim Richter.  Nay – None

A motion to employ Hunter Vetter as JV Girls Soccer coach pending all necessary requirements are met was made by Jeff, second by Tanya.  Roll call vote: Aye –Mike Nettemeier, Mary Lou Voss, Kori Voss, Amy Kruse, Tanya Kampwerth, Jeff Kampwerth, Tim Richter.  Nay – None

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT:

Thank you for the opportunity to attend the Annual IPA Conference last month. The state-wide event provides a networking opportunity like none other. It also allows principals from across the state to share their success stories, as well as areas they may be struggling in. The keynote speakers and breakout sessions were great, providing some useful strategies. Again though, the most valuable and rewarding part of the conference was being able to share Central’s successes and family approach.  A big thanks to our Agriculture instructors Harley Carlson and Lexis Wiegmann. They both spent an extraordinary amount of time with our FFA members this past month in preparation for the National Convention in Indianapolis. The following students attended...Cole Bruggemann, Cara Carrillon, Kierstan Lampe, Lauren Wolter and Grant Becker. Lauren competed at the convention and I will be highlighting her at the board meeting.

Parent Teacher Conferences were held on Tuesday, October 25th from 6:00-8:30pm. In conjunction with the conferences we also had our college/career information night for junior parents. The meeting was well attended with around 40 people present. We also had an open

FAFSA night where senior students and their parents could come in and fill out the required paperwork. Thank you to Ms. Lohman, Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Benhoff for making these extras informative and beneficial.

Chance to Dance - Dance Party 2022 - Party in the USA...this is an annual event for our FLS students in which they get the opportunity to dance the day away, eat, participate in games, socialize with other students from all over the three county area, and even get a fake tattoo. This year was even more special for our students because Dr. Foutch was the special DJ for the day. A huge thanks to Nicole Weh and all of her classroom aides for making this happen for our students, but an even more special thanks to the following students who volunteered to spend the day with our FLS students making it even more special...Averi Markum, Ava Strake, Makenna Budde, Nyla Szczeblewski, Maya Bedard, Makenna Ricklefs and Piper Kujawa.

Mrs. Benhoff’s STEP students got the opportunity to experience an actual photo shoot by our very own Chris Luth. The purpose of the day was to provide our students with a professional headshot for their email account and to use them when they start applying for jobs. Thanks Gina and Chris for making this happen.

Teacher Inservice on October 28...this was a GREAT day! The day started with breakfast, then the rest of the morning we spent on Mental Health awareness and staff well-being. Our social worker, Mara Koerkenmeier, explained her position and how she goes about helping our students and provided “signs” to look for in students dealing with mental health. Beth Ricciardi from Coping 4 Life addressed the staff and shared techniques to deal with teacher stress/anxiety. The morning wrapped up with a yoga session by our very own Codi Swires, which was absolutely awesome! Finally, we got to the big announcement of receiving an “Exemplary” status from ISBE. Thank you for allowing the Central Family to celebrate this amazing accomplishment, it truly was a special afternoon.

Rae Toennies - what a special day November 1st was for this special girl. KMOV 4 and The Scott Credit Union Surprise Squad came to school to celebrate the amazing accomplishments and determination she has shown over the past years. Her family was awarded $5000 to make some needed home improvements and the “Surprise Squad” surprised her with an all expense paid vacation to Disney. Oh, and one more special moment was a personal visit and performance by country star, Drew Baldridge.

The Common Grounds Coffee Shop opened its doors to all Veterans on Thursday, November 10 providing free donuts and coffee. Thanks again to Nicole Weh and the FLS class. Also, to go along with Veterans Day, a special thank you to Greg Kruse and our Service Club students for putting up all the flags on the property.

Congrats to Dr. Foutch for being named IPA 2022 Superintendent of the Year.

The board adjourned the meeting on a motion by Mary Lou, second by Tanya at 8:19PM. Roll call vote: Aye –Mike Nettemeier, Mary Lou Voss, Kori Voss, Amy Kruse, Tanya Kampwerth, Jeff Kampwerth, Tim Richter.  Nay – None

Mike Nettemeier        Tim Richter                   

Board President                        Board Secretary