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, October 21st, 2024  7:00 PM

AGENDA

The regular meeting of the Board of Education of Central Community High School was held on October 21, 2024 at 7:00PM in the Media Center.

Members present were Mary Lou Voss, Tanya Kampwerth, Kori Voss, Laura Jansen, Tim Richter, Jeff Kampwerth and Amy Kruse Visitors included Mara Koerkenmeier, Grant Creek and parents, Matt and Jennifer.

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

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

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

Central earned the “Exemplary” Schools rating for the 3rd year in a row. We plan to celebrate this achievement with the faculty and staff on October 25th.

Central student, Grant Creek, earned a perfect score on his ACT!! Grant worked extremely hard over the last few years with the goal of earning a 36, and we are so proud of him.

The building committee met on Thursday, Oct. 10th to discuss our short term and long term building needs. Recommendations were made to work with our architect to get cost estimates on the following projects:
1.) Asbestos Abatement of the carpeted walls in rooms 2E, 3E, 4E, and 6E. (Our plan is to use FY25 School Maintenance Grant funds to complete this project in the Summer of 2025.
2.) Installation of a retractable bleacher system on the stage in Eagleson Gym.
3.) New Roof/HVAC on the 05-06 addition (English Wing and East Gym).

In order to use School Maintenance Grant funds on the East Wing Asbestos Abatement project, we will need to update our Health / Life Safety amendments to specifically include the carpet on the walls in rooms 2E, 3E, 4E, and 6E. A motion to update the Health/Life Safety to include East Wing Asbestos Abatement, specifically the carpet on the walls in 2E, 3E, 4E, and 6E was made by Amy, second by Laura. Roll call vote: Aye – Mary Lou Voss, Laura Jansen, Kori Voss, Tanya Kampwerth, Tim Richter, Amy Kruse. Nay – None

The STEP program at Central is thriving and we currently have multiple students with special needs gaining workplace skills during the school day. This is absolutely awesome, but it has also caused us some difficulty with regard to having vehicles available for transporting these students to their places of employment. Gina Benhoff, the director of the program, approached me about potentially purchasing a vehicle for the specific purpose of getting the students in the STEP program where they need to be during the day.

STEP is a grant funded program, and our district receives money for the various workplace skills that our students gain in the program. (We have received nearly $80,000 in grant funds for this program over the last two years, and that money would be used to purchase the vehicle. No district funds would be used.) Gina Benhoff and Manon Kruse have done an excellent job organizing and executing this grant, and it has been a huge benefit for our students. The increased transportation demands have been the only obstacle, and that problem would be solved with this vehicle purchase. A motion to approve the letting of bids for a large vehicle to be purchased using STEP funds was made by Kori, second by Tanya. Roll call vote: Aye – Mary Lou Voss, Laura Jansen, Kori Voss, Tanya Kampwerth, Tim Richter, Jeff Kampwerth, Amy Kruse. Nay – None

A motion to employ Jon Dierkes as Assistant Track Coach was made by Tim, second by Kori. Roll call vote: Aye – Mary Lou Voss, Laura Jansen, Kori Voss, Tanya Kampwerth, Tim Richter, Jeff Kampwerth, Amy Kruse. Nay – None

Last summer we were experiencing multiple leaks around the East Gym so we had Martin Roofing come out to fix the leaks. When they were on the roof, they noticed that we have several areas where the brick work needed to be fixed, and they believed the leaks were coming from the cracked brick, not the roof. After we received this information, we contacted Randy Warnecke with Warnecke Building Restoration to come look at the masonry. Randy confirmed that there were several areas that needed repair, and he provided us with a proposal to complete the work. .A motion to approve Warnecke Building Restoration to complete the brick work on the roof was made by Amy, second by Laura. Roll call vote: Aye – Mary Lou Voss, Laura Jansen, Kori Voss, Tanya Kampwerth, Tim Richter, Jeff Kampwerth, Amy Kruse. Nay – None

According to Illinois State Statute, school districts need to approve their E-Learning Day Plan every three years. We are due for this approval and the first step is to complete a public hearing that reviews the updated plan. The purpose of having an E-Learning plan is so that we conduct online classes in place of emergency days. The only time we would use this tool is in those rare instances that an additional “snow day” would push our school calendar to continue beyond Memorial Day. This year, we would take “3” emergency days (which would be made up at the end of the year) prior to using any E-Learning Days. A motion to set a Hearing for 6:45PM on November 17 for E-Learning Day Plan was made by Jeff, second by Kori. Roll call vote: Aye – Mary Lou Voss, Laura Jansen, Kori Voss, Tanya Kampwerth, Tim Richter, Jeff Kampwerth, Amy Kruse. Nay – None

A motion to approve an overnight trip request for FFA to attend the Build Leadership Conference on November 25-36 was made by Laura, second by Tanya. Roll call vote: Aye – Mary Lou Voss, Laura Jansen, Kori Voss, Tanya Kampwerth, Tim Richter, Jeff Kampwerth, Amy Kruse. Nay – None

A motion to approve an overnight trip request for new Lifesavers to attend a retreat on November 15-17 was made by Kori, second by Tanya. Roll call vote: Aye – Mary Lou Voss, Laura Jansen, Kori Voss, Tanya Kampwerth, Tim Richter, Jeff Kampwerth, Amy Kruse. Nay – None

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT:

A huge shout out goes to Mr. Kruse and his service club members for showing up in Germantown on Saturday morning, September 21st to help in setting up for the big Rockfest event. This is just another example of the great kids we have here at Central!

Our second annual Homecoming parade was held on September 22nd and once again it was a huge success. The two masterminds behind it all are Kim Rakers and Donny Petterson, without them working tirelessly behind the scenes this parade would not be possible!

On September 25th we conducted our annual review of the Crisis Management Plan. The overall safety of our students and staff will always be our top priority and the review of all of our safety protocols and procedures is essential in maintaining a strong safe learning environment. The idea of a school resource officer was brought up by a couple members of the team and discussed with the group.

Congratulations to Ella Henrichs and Hannah Lowe on being winning recipients of FFA jackets through The GROWMARK Foundation. FFA members were asked to answer the question “What does the FFA jacket mean to you?” and share the main goal they wish to accomplish as an FFA member. Growmark reviewed student submissions and chose 25 students to receive the jacket, a scarf, or a tie, along with a memorial FFA/GROWMARK pin. Congratulations to these Central Breese FFA members on receiving this award.

2024 Homecoming Dance was held on Saturday, September 28th. A huge thank you to Karrie Kujawa, our student council members, and all of our teacher volunteers for making the night a success. Congratulations to this year’s queen and king - Maya Bedard and Carter Deien!!

Max Niemeyer, Naomi Knapp, Evelyn Ribbing, Zach Peters were selected to represent Central Community High School at the Youth Advisory Council in Vandalia and meet Senator Jason Plummer. Thank you to Mr. Meyer for providing this experience for our students!

On Friday, October 4 we hosted a county wide assembly for juniors and seniors from Central, Carlyle, Mater Dei and Wesclin. Our guest speaker for the morning was Barry Adkins who delivered a very heartfelt message about the dangers of binge drinking. Barry lost his son after a night of drinking with his friends and ever since that day he has dedicated his life to telling his son's story.

Central Girls Golf Team - 1st time in school history to qualify for state as a team! Below is the announcement from Coach Ellis the day after…
Good afternoon Golf Fans, today is one of the greatest days ever. The Cougars Golf team headed to Rochester yesterday to play in Sectionals. The Cougars needed a great round from everyone on the team and they did not disappoint. Leading the cougars with a score of 79 was Oh Maya what a happy Camper. The seasoned veteran with grit in her eye and fruit snacks in her belly ground out a round in spite of a shaky start. Lily Lapster was on an absolute terror yesterday scoring an 86 for the Cougs, the young gun for hire was making birdies and spinning the ball backwards out of bunkers, she played hungry and mean. A pair of 87's rounded out the Cougs top four from Bazooka Lucah and Struby Strubhart. That dynamic Duo was clawing, spitting and snarling with long large fangs keeping the Cougs right in the scoring zone. The length of the course and the narrow fairways proved to be problematic for many inferior golf teams but your Cougs scratched and clawed their way to a top 3 finish which earned them a chance at the state Tournament! You heard that right the Cougs are Rolling on State! Roll Cougs!!

Congratulations to the Class of 2025 Illinois State Scholars! These 19 students ranked in the top 10% in the state at the end of their junior year based on their unweighted GPA and SAT/ACT scores. Huge Congrats to: Rainer Bretz, Sophia Buck, Marcela Contreras, Grant Creek, Garett Gebke, Mason Hilmes, Anthony Huegen, Ella Jackstadt, Naomi Knapp, Sarah Kohnen, Karson Korte, Piper Kujawa, Averi Marcum, Maxwell Niemeyer, Evelyn Ribbing, Abigail Shanafelt, Ava Strake, Jensen Tebbe, & Abigail Wilson. These students will be honored formally at the May 7th Academic Awards Night.

Congratulations to the 2024-2025 Spanish Club officers!
President: Mason Hilmes
Vice-President: Ava Strake
Senior representatives: Averi Marcum, Evelyn Ribbing, and Samantha Argo Junior representatives: Karsyn Voss, Alyse Morris, and Aubrey Rakers


FFA had a successful night at Marissa High School on October 15th!
We sent a team of freshmen to compete in quizbowl, while they didn't bring home a plaque they won two matches. Cara Carrillon brought home 5th place out of 13 in the Varsity Job interview. Sarah Kohnen won 1st place in the JV job interview and Shelby Hagen placed 2nd in the varsity ag education contest. Shelby will advance to the district contest in December.

In a continued effort to make all students at Central feel welcome, Mara Koerkenmeier has reached out to the student body to find some “Lunch Ambassadors!” We have 25 students that have accepted the challenge to invite students that may not belong to a group or who may sit alone to their table during lunch. Just another example of the outstanding students we have here at Central!!!

The board entered into closed session on a motion by Laura, second by Tanya to discuss personnel and an incident at the football game involving the visiting team’s parents. Roll call vote: Aye – Mary Lou Voss, Laura Jansen, Kori Voss, Tanya Kampwerth, Jeff Kampwerth, Tim Richter, Amy Kruse. Nay – None. Motion carried at 7:33PM

The board entered back into open session on a motion by Kori, second by Amy. Roll call vote: Aye – Mary Lou Voss, Laura Jansen, Kori Voss, Tanya Kampwerth, Jeff Kampwerth, Tim Richter, Amy Kruse. Nay – None Motion carried at 8:02PM.

The board adjourned the meeting on a motion by Jeff, second by Tanya at 8:03PM. Roll call vote: Aye – Mary Lou Voss, Laura Jansen, Kori Voss, Tanya Kampwerth, Jeff Kampwerth, Tim Richter, Amy Kruse. Nay – None

Mary Lou Voss                    Amy Kruse                  

Board President                                    Board Secretary