Kankakee School District 111 Board of Education met June 11.
Here is the minutes provided by the Board:
Roll Call:
Members present: Jess Gathing, Jr.
Karen Johnston, Vice President
Angela Shea, Secretary
Barbara Wells, President
Darrell Williams
Members absent: Mary Archie (*entered at 6:09 pm)
Christopher Bohlen (*entered at 6:09 pm)
A quorum was declared present.
Closed Session:
At 6:06 p.m., motion was made Johnston, seconded by Williams, to adjourn to the Teachers’ Lounge for closed session to discuss;
The appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees of the public body or legal counsel for the public body, including hearing testimony on a complaint lodged against an employee of the public body or against legal counsel for the public body to determine its validity.
Collective negotiating matters between the public body and its employees or their representatives, or deliberations concerning salary schedules for one or more classes of employees.
Litigation, when an action against, affecting or on behalf of the particular public body has been filed and is pending before a court or administrative tribunal, or when the public body finds that an action is probable or imminent, in which case the basis for the finding shall be recorded and entered into the minutes of the closed meeting.
Roll Call Vote--Ayes: Gathing, Johnston, Shea, Williams and Wells. Nays: none. Motion carried.
The closed session was adjourned at 6:56 p.m.
At 7:02 p.m., the regular session was reconvened.
President Wells led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Meeting with the Board were:
Dr. Genevra A. Walters, Superintendent
Robert Grossi, Assistant Superintendent
Felice Hybert, Assistant Superintendent
Dr. Kathleen O’Connor, Assistant Superintendent
Vicki Scott, Recording Secretary
There were no news reporters present.
Superintendent’s Report
1. Dr. Walters presented the Board of Education student achievement awards to the following Kankakee
High School seniors:
•Top Five Seniors
Student; Class Rank; Parents:
Yvonne Ritsema Valedictorian Richard & Erica Ritsema
Ziyan Chen Salutatorian PeiQiao Chen & Yu Sun
Guadalupe Torres-Carmona Third Class Rank Maria Torres & Oswaldo Munoz
Leotis Davenport, Jr. Fourth Class Rank Leotis Sr. & Kristana Davenport
Javier Lopez, Jr. Fifth Class Rank Javier Lopez, Sr.
2. State of the District
Dr. Walters introduced Traci Jordan, an incoming freshman at the high school, who gave a presentation on a software program, Toon Boom Harmony. Professionals use this same program. She would like to eventually go to school for animation and film. Traci shared background information and what she aspires to do in her future. Dr. Walters said her presentation is just one way to redesign education and the District must help Traci and other students like her to talk about how the District needs to redesign education to support economic development. Dr. Walters continued by stating that there should be no disconnect between what the school does, the community, and the family; we must all work together in order to support the students. Dr. Walters does not want Kankakee School District #111 and their students to just survive; she wants them to thrive. The District needs to help them thrive by finding their passion and we are starting as early as possible by having them think about what they are passionate about and what are their interests. The District’s mantra is student engagement. Dr. Walters said that to increase student engagement and ownership of learning, we should give students opportunities to do meaningful work - work that makes a difference locally, nationally, and globally. She stated that we must think outside the box and move from a traditional instructional model to a digital-age learning model. Dr. Walters reviewed our vision, mission statement, and District goals.
Dr. Walters shared the 2017-18 school year and beyond, the successes, and the improvements needed. She introduced Dr. Kathleen O’Connor, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources, to share personnel data. Mr. Robert Grossi, Assistant Superintendent for Business Services, reviewed financial data and the on-going construction project at the high school. Mrs. Felice Hybert, shared academic performance data along with the successes and the areas for improvement.
Dr. Walters concluded the presentation by sharing the following core values:
• Unity - a group of stakeholders working together towards the same goal.
• Partnership - staff, students, families and surrounding communities working together to provide the best opportunities for students.
• Innovation - through honoring the diversity and uniqueness of students and by designing inclusive and equitable experiences, we are empowering students through opportunities to be progressive, creative, and innovative citizens of the world.
Mrs. Wells made several comments regarding the presentation. She stated that we must support public education and make sure that it is available at the highest level to every student who lives in our District.
Public Comments:
The following comments were made:
Speaker; Topic:
•Michele Crecy
Had questions about an article in the paper showing the cost for board members to attend a conference. She asked if the District would be willing to release an itemized list of each board members expenses.
Robert Ellington-Snipes
• Mr. Snipes asked the board to reconsider his transfer from King to the high school. He stated the union contract must be followed and he isn’t at the bottom of the seniority list.
Consent Agenda:
The following items were presented:
1. The following Board minutes were presented for approval:
o May 14, 2018-Regular Board Meeting (Regular & Executive Session Minutes)
2. The Regular Bills were presented for approval. (See Insert A.)
3. The Payroll and Related Bills were presented for approval. (See Insert B.)
4. The Resolution to Dispose of Surplus Items was presented for approval. (See Insert C.)
5. The Head Start Policy Council Documents were presented for approval.
Status Report
Procurement Reports
Quarterly Federal Financial Report
Semi-Annual Federal Financial Report
Salary Scale
Benefits Table
COLA
Recommendation to Hire Francisca Howdeshell as a Head Start Teacher
Resignation of Instructional Coach Karen McMillan
Retirement of Teacher Assistant Linda Coughenour
Disabilities Waiver
6. The following personnel items were presented for approval:
Name; Position; Effective Date:
Resignations/Retirements – Administrative Personnel:
Larue Fitch Principal at Avis Huff June 29, 2018
Chuck Hensley Principal at Montessori/Fine Arts End of 2018-2019 School Year
Resignations/Retirements - Licensed Educational Professionals:
Lisa Berg Student Support Teacher at Taft End of 2018-2019 School Year
Jennifer Bukowski 3rd Grade Teacher at Edison End of 2017-2018 School Year
Linda Cunnington 1st Grade Teacher at Taft End of 2018-2019 School Year
Jamie Duckwall Student Support Teacher at Avis Huff End of 2017-2018 School Year
Shawna Dukes Student Support Teacher at KJHS End of 2017-2018 School Year
Christy Hoffman English Teacher at KHS End of 2017-2018 School Year
Phillip O’Reilly Social Worker at Kennedy End of 2017-2018 School Year
Resignations/Retirements – Support Personnel:
Linda Coughenour Assistant Head Start Teacher at Bonfield End of 2017-2018 School Year
Michele Dandurand Physical Therapist at Avis Huff End of 2017-2018 School Year
Mary Dmitrasz Head Bookkeeper at LCC May 31, 2018
Neal Grimes District Learning Partner at Avis Huff End of 2017-2018 School Year
Karen McMillan Head Start Instructional Coach at Proegler End of 2017-2018 School Year
Randall Pomije Paraprofessional at Avis Huff End of 2017-2018 School Year
Michelle Randle Paraprofessional at Mark Twain End of 2018-2019 School Year
Lynn Sykes Paraprofessional at Taft End of 2017-2018 School Year
Resignations – Extra-Duty Assignments:
Robert Johnson Assistant Football Coach at KHS End of 2017-2018 School Year
Albert Zika Assistant Football Coach at KHS End of 2017-2018 School Year
Albert Zika Track and Field Coach at KHS End of 2017-2018 School Year
Appointments - Licensed Educational Professionals:
Cara Hennessy 3rd Grade Student Support Teacher at Edison August 20, 2018
Timothy Hubbard Student Support Teacher at King August 20, 2018
Vincent Mkhwanazi 7th/8th Grade Science Teacher at KJHS August 20, 2018
Kaitlyn Pasel Psychologist at Avis Huff August 20, 2018
Appointments - Support Personnel:
James Kaplanes Director of Maintenance at LCC June 18, 2018
Nakia Hardrick Psychologist Intern at Avis Huff August 20, 2018
Internal Appointments - Support Personnel:
Jessica Beland Executive Secretary at Proegler 2018-2019 School Year
Mary Keener Cafeteria Helper at Kennedy August 1, 2018
Termination - Extra-Duty Assignment:
Efrain Davila Soccer Coach at KHS End of 2017-2018 School Year
A motion was made by Gathing, seconded by Bohlen, to approve the Consent Agenda, with a request from Mr. Bohlen to make a correction to the May 14th minutes to reflect he was appointed as a board member, not elected. Roll Call Vote – Ayes: Archie, Bohlen, Gathing, Johnston, Shea, Williams, and Wells. Nays: none. Motion carried.
Action Items:
1.Approval of Property Schedule No. 4 to Master Tax-Exempt Lease/Purchase Agreement, dated July 15, 2012, between Kankakee School District No. 111 and American Capital Financial Services Inc. for the finance lease of Chromebooks and other technology equipment in an amount not to exceed $223,465.44.
President Wells asked for a motion to approve the lease for Chromebooks.
Motion was made by Johnston to approve the Property Schedule No. 4 to Master Tax-Exempt Lease/Purchase Agreement, dated July 15, 2012, between Kankakee School District No. 111 and American Capital Financial Services Inc. for the finance lease of Chromebooks and other technology equipment in an amount not to exceed $223,465.44, seconded by Gathing, to approve the lease/purchase agreement as presented. President Wells asked if there was any discussion and hearing none, asked for a roll call vote.
Roll Call Vote – Ayes: Bohlen, Gathing, Johnston, Shea, Williams, Archie, and Wells. Nays: none. Motion carried.
Dr. Walters introduced the new Director of Maintenance, Mr. James Kaplanes and the new freshman academy administrator at the high school, Adrienne LaCour.
Old Business
There was no old business discussed.
Information and Proposals
The following items were provided for information:
1. Kankakee School District 111 Golf Outing
Mr. Grossi said that the District is having their third annual golf outing on July 16th at the Kankakee Country Club. He stated that the first two outings raised over $20,000, which is used to supplement the athletic and academic programs at the high school. Mr. Grossi invited everyone to come out to golf and if you don’t golf, come and enjoy the dinner.
2. May Suspension Hearings
3. Learning Anywhere, Anytime
Dr. Walters clarified that the District has a waiver from the State Board of Education that we don’t have to look exclusively at seat time to count for getting credit towards graduation with competency-based education. At the beginning of the school year, the District students will be out in the community either working on projects, supporting our younger students, or working on their 1:1 technology. The District will have some teachers who will hold classes at the library, King Middle Grade School, Kankakee Junior High School, along with classes available at the high school. Learning anywhere, anytime, is the concept that learning doesn’t have to happen only within the four walls of a classroom, but that learning can take place anywhere across the world. We want to recognize that learning can take place anywhere and count towards graduation.
4. Previous Bill Runs
5. Budget Update
6. State and Federal Revenue Report
7. May Suspension Report
8. Staff Absence Report
At 8:09 p.m., motion was made by Bohlen, seconded by Archie, to adjourn the meeting. All ayes; motion carried.
https://www.ksd111.org/cms/lib/IL01904746/Centricity/Domain/68/June11.18.pdf
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