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 15th, 2023,   7:00 PM

AGENDA

The regular meeting of the Board of Education of Central Community High School was held on May 15, 2023 at 7:00PM in the Media Center.

Members present were Mary Lou Voss, Amy Kruse, Tanya Kampwerth, Jeff Kampwerth, Kori Voss, Laura Jansen and Tim Richter.  Visitors included Emma, Regan and Brian Taylor, Kelly Ross and Rachel Faust.

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

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

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

Dr. Foutch provided an up to date report on the outstanding textbook and activity fees for the meeting.  Dr. Foutch will be speaking personally with those Senior students and their parents this week.  All must have these resolved in order for their child to participate in the graduation ceremony.  We also continue to have reminders sent each month through the Qmlativ system to others with outstanding bills clearly stating the terms of late payment fees which will be assessed at the end of the school year. 

The Clinton County Academic Excellence Banquet was held on Wednesday, April 26th.  There were fifteen students from Central recognized with their parents at the event.  This was the 25^th Annual celebration of the four schools and I have to say that 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 10th we hosted our 17th Annual Academic Achievement Awards program. The event was a great success with many special guests in attendance to present scholarships at the function.  Sixty-five students were awarded in various ways for four years of excellent work. We calculated that the scholarships offered to our Seniors reached an unbelievable value of over $6.4 million in award earnings.  The average college bound senior this year received $99,758 in scholarship offers.

We distributed the annual Classroom Achievement Awards on Friday, May 5^th to deserving students who have performed well in each of our courses this past year.  This is a long-standing tradition here at Central.  Mr. Freeze assisted in distributing certificates at an assembly of the deserving students and Mrs. Varel coordinated all of the certificates from teachers.  Congratulations to all of the recipients of these awards.

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 fourteen scholarships and holds over $200,000 in fiduciary accounts with us.

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, without a budget in the State of Illinois, those funds will not be dispersed until a later point in time.  If you recall, we have for several years offset some of those funds to pay for tutorial services.

A motion to approve the bid for the Field House and the Interior Renovations to Millinium Construction for $3,199,000 was made by Tim, second by Kori.   Roll call vote: Aye –Laura Jansen, Mary Lou Voss, Kori Voss, Amy Kruse, Tanya Kampwerth, Tim Richter, Jeff Kampwerth.  Nay – None

A motion to set a budget amendment hearing for Monday June 19 at 6:45 was made by Jeff, second by Tanya.   Roll call vote: Aye –Laura Jansen, Mary Lou Voss, Kori Voss, Amy Kruse, Tanya Kampwerth, Tim Richter, Jeff Kampwerth.  Nay – None

On an annual basis, we also need to approve the Career and Technical Education Intergovernmental Agreement.  This agreement allows us to participate in the CTE COOP and also ensures that our district has access to the additional state and federal funds available through the CTE and Perkins Grants. A motion to approve the Career and Technical Education Intergovernmental agreement as presented was made by Kori, second by Laura. Roll call vote: Aye –Laura Jansen, Mary Lou Voss, Kori Voss, Amy Kruse, Tanya Kampwerth, Tim Richter, Jeff Kampwerth.  Nay – None

A motion to employ Brian Short for Zero Hour PE in FY24 was made by Tanya, second by Tim. Roll call vote: Aye –Laura Jansen, Mary Lou Voss, Kori Voss, Amy Kruse, Tanya Kampwerth, Tim Richter, Jeff Kampwerth.  Nay – None

A motion to employ Ben Hubler as Head Boys Soccer Coach for FY24 was made by Amy, second by Tanya. Roll call vote: Aye –Laura Jansen, Mary Lou Voss, Kori Voss, Amy Kruse, Tanya Kampwerth, Tim Richter, Jeff Kampwerth.  Nay – None

After creating the new Bowling Coach position, discussions began with the CEA in regards to the appropriate pay for the positions.  Due to the responsibilities associated with the bowling position, it would be appropriate to pay the newly created position at the 10% (of base salary) level.  In regards to the time commitment, contest schedules, and level of responsibility, the bowling position will be very similar to our other coaching positions paid at this amount.  A motion to approve the stipend at the 10% level for the new Bowling Coach position was made by Kori, second by Laura. Roll call vote: Aye –Laura Jansen, Mary Lou Voss, Kori Voss, Amy Kruse, Tanya Kampwerth, Tim Richter, Jeff Kampwerth.  Nay – None

A motion to employ Drew Wesselmann as a volunteer assistant soccer coach pending all necessary requirements are met  was made by Jeff, second by Amy. Roll call vote: Aye –Laura Jansen, Mary Lou Voss, Kori Voss, Amy Kruse, Tanya Kampwerth, Tim Richter, Jeff Kampwerth.  Nay – None

A motion to approve the resignation of Kristen Hogg as co-Journalism Club sponsor was made by Amy, second by Tanya. Roll call vote: Aye –Laura Jansen, Mary Lou Voss, Kori Voss, Amy Kruse, Tanya Kampwerth, Tim Richter, Jeff Kampwerth.  Nay – None

Over the last two years, we have employed 2 students as temporary summer maintenance help.  This additional help has worked out extremely well for our maintenance staff.  After speaking with Clay, he stated that it would be a huge help for the crew to have students remove all the classroom furniture, clean it, and put the rooms back together. A motion to employ Kaden Rakers and Griffen Becker as temporary summer maintenance help at a rate of $11/hour was made by Laura, second by Tanya. Roll call vote: Aye –Laura Jansen, Mary Lou Voss, Kori Voss, Amy Kruse, Tanya Kampwerth, Tim Richter, Jeff Kampwerth.  Nay – None

As we have done the last two summers (at a considerable cost savings for the district), we would like to again hire 2 non-certified Summer Tech Support positions.  Our non-certified Tech Support staff last summer did absolutely exceptional work and the expense was approximately half of the hourly rate that we had spent in previous years. A motion to employ Brendon Reynolds and Carter Niemeyer as non-certified Summer tech support at a rate of $13/hour was made by Kori, second by Amy. Roll call vote: Aye –Laura Jansen, Mary Lou Voss, Kori Voss, Amy Kruse, Tanya Kampwerth, Tim Richter, Jeff Kampwerth.  Nay – None

A motion to approve an overnight stay for Volleyball on July 20-23, 2023 was made by Laura, second by Kori. Roll call vote: Aye –Laura Jansen, Mary Lou Voss, Kori Voss, Amy Kruse, Tanya Kampwerth, Tim Richter, Jeff Kampwerth.  Nay – None

A motion to approve an overnight stay for Boys Basketball on June 9-10, 2023 was made by Tim, second by Jeff. Roll call vote: Aye –Laura Jansen, Mary Lou Voss, Kori Voss, Amy Kruse, Tanya Kampwerth, Tim Richter, Jeff Kampwerth.  Nay – None

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT:

At the State Academic Challenge at EIU, the following students came home with hardware - Andrew Jansen, John Koerkenmeier, Henry Toennies, Olivia Clark,  Xabin Zabaljauregui.

The annual FFA banquet was held on April 25. The night was full of special recognition for our students while seating the new board members. Our FFA program continues to grow every year, this is largely due to the work and dedication of Harley Carlson, and now Lexis Wiegmann.

On April 20, we hosted our Cougar Academy for over 110 eighth grade students. Mara Koerkenmeier is the sole organizer of this student run event and spent months organizing and planning for a memorable experience. Also, a huge shoutout to all of our student helpers and group leaders

Honor Society Induction was held on April 20. The Class of 2024 had 28 Initiates and the Class of 2023 had 6 additional initiates, totaling 34 new members. It was a great night to honor these students and their successes. It was also nice to have Haley Fisher, Class of 2012, back to tell her story. Thank you Trisha Lohman for planning the evening!

The CEO Trade Show was on Friday, April 21 at The Hidden Lake Winery. Central CEO students were all there displaying their businesses and hopefully selling their product as well.

The Top 10% Banquet was held on April 26 at the Albers Legion. Congratulations to the following students for receiving this special recognition…Kora Eversgerd, Courtney Bassler, Sophia Kennett, John Koerkenmeier, Cody Schiefer, Joseph Cirrincione, Shelby Hagen, Olivia Clark, Lauren Jefferies, Shelby Peters, Sydney Klemish, Haley Huelsmann, Sophia Bretz, and Herbert Herrera.

On April 27, Central hosted the Unified Track Meet for the Special Olympics. Students from East St. Louis, Triad, and Highland were here to compete. Thanks to Gina Benhoff for working together with Justin Dunning to make this happen.

On Saturday, April 29, Central hosted its first annual Baseball Alumni Game.  Coach Meyer planned the event and had over 40 baseball alumni players here in attendance. This was a great day for Central!!  The players couldn’t stop talking about the facilities and how much everything has improved.

Central Prom 2023 - first of all, a HUGE shout out goes to Ami Shanafelt for all of efforts in making it a memorable night for the students of Central. We had so many faculty and staff members present to help chaperone and valet park cars, which truly shows the pride, passion and dedication they have for their students. Congratulations to the prom queen - Morgan Jansen and the king - Daniel Warning.

After Prom - parents ran this event from 12 - 4:00 am, all students that attended left with some sort of prize. The night was full of games, food, fun activities, and then ended with the hypnotist (always a crowd favorite).

Central High School tried something new this year.  During the Spring and Fall semesters we had numerous teams participate in the Unified Special Olympics eSports League.  Our MarioKart Team 2 was crowned Champions of Pool B after three weeks of intense playoff competition!  Huge congratulations to these students!

Congratulations to the following four students who placed in the American Legion Auxiliary Essay Contest sponsored by American Legion Post 252. The essay topic was "Who Are Our Modern Day Patriots?" Naomi Knapp placed 1st in the freshmen/sophomore division.  In the junior/senior division, winners were 1st place - Emma Haller; 2nd place - Taylor Mungai;  and 3rd place - Jillian Krack.

The board entered into closed session on a motion by Kori, second by Tanya to discuss Personnel. Roll call vote: Aye –Laura Jansen, Mary Lou Voss, Kori Voss, Amy Kruse, Tanya Kampwerth, Tim Richter, Jeff Kampwerth.  Nay – None.  Motion carried at 7:53PM.

The board entered back into open session on a motion by Jeff, second by Amy. Roll call vote: Aye –Laura Jansen, Mary Lou Voss, Kori Voss, Amy Kruse, Tanya Kampwerth, Tim Richter, Jeff Kampwerth.  Nay – None  Motion  carried at 8:05PM.

The board adjourned the meeting on a motion by Tim, second by Kori at 8:06PM. Roll call vote: Aye –Laura Jansen, Mary Lou Voss, Kori Voss, Amy Kruse, Tanya Kampwerth, Tim Richter, Jeff Kampwerth.  Nay – None

Mary Lou Voss        Amy Kruse                  

Board President                        Board Secretary