Kankakee Times

Kankakee School District No. 111 Board of Education will meet at 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 12.

The Kankakee School District Board of Education is composed of seven elected members deeply committed to ensuring a quality of educational excellence that will enhance the opportunities and challenges facing today's student. Board members are elected to four-year terms and receive no salary for their services. They may seek reelection to any number of terms.

Here are the minutes as provided by Kankakee School District No. 111:

KANKAKEE SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 111 BOARD OF EDUCATION MINUTES December 12, 2016

The regular meeting of the Board of Education of Kankakee School District No. 111, Kankakee County, Illinois, was held at 6:00 p.m. in the Multi-Purpose Room at Taft Primary School, 1155 West Hawkins Street, Kankakee, Illinois.

ROLL CALL

Members present: John Coghlan

Jess Gathing, Jr. Karen Johnston, President Angela Shea

Members absent: Amelia Davis, Vice President (*entered at 6:25 PM)

Joseph Lightfoot Barbara Wells, Secretary

A quorum was declared present.

Closed Session At 6:02 p.m., motion was made by Coghlan, seconded by Gathing, to adjourn to closed session to discuss appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees of the public body. ROLL CALL VOTE--Ayes: Coghlan, Gathing, Shea, and Johnston. Nays: none. Motion carried.

The closed session was adjourned at 7:16 p.m.

At 7:18 p.m. the regular session was reconvened.

Meeting with the Board were:

Dr. Genevra A. Walters, Superintendent Robert Grossi, Assistant Superintendent Dr. Kathleen O’Connor, Assistant Superintendent Vicki Scott, Recording Secretary

News reporter, Mr. John Dykstra, was present from The Daily Journal.

Pledge of Allegiance The Pledge of Allegiance was led by the Student Advisory Committee from Taft Primary School. The K-3 Science Magnet students sang a song, “Peppermint Candy Cane.”

Superintendent’s Report Dr. Walters reported the following information:

Good News Items

School Name Event

Taft Donations

• Paul Snider from Snider’s Nursery donated a truck load of playground mulch to Taft.

• The Kankakee Kiwanis Club donated 61 brand new coats and gloves to their students.

• Riverside Medical Center is sponsoring 13 families and providing Christmas presents for the entire family.

• The Kankakee Elks is sponsoring six families and providing them with Christmas presents.

• Toys for Tots is sponsoring 18 families and providing presents for the entire family.

• O’Reilly’s Auto Parts and Jose Pena are sponsoring four families and providing Christmas gifts.

• Leslie Salgado, Angelique Pena and Jose Pena Jr. are sponsoring eight students with Christmas presents

• The staff at Taft are sponsoring 70 students and providing each with a Christmas gift.

• The Kankakee Federation of Labor is providing hats and gloves for their students.

• Three Taft students will be “Shopping with a Cop.”

• The Moose Lodge will be sponsoring two families with presents and a Christmas meal.

• A Club Night was recently held at Kennedy Middle Grade School. Currently, Kennedy students participate in Chess Club, Art Club, and Ukulele Club. In January, they will add a Book Club and STEM Club. These clubs give students a chance to participate in various areas of interest and are motivators to keep grades up and referrals down.

• The First Assembly of God Church in Limestone provided five families with Thanksgiving Baskets and the Annunciation Orthodox Church Ladies’ Philoptochos Society donated food for one family at Thanksgiving.

• The Holiday Season is a time for giving and the following is an example of the generosity of the community:

o Riverside Hospital’s Santa Sleigh Program will provide 27 students and their families with food and gifts. o Kankakee Kiwanis Winter Warmth Program delivered sixteen coats, hats, and gloves to students at Kennedy. o Telecom Pioneer Shoes Program provided 17 students with new shoes. o First Assembly of God Church will provide five families with Christmas Baskets filled with food. o Kankakee Elks Lodge 627 will provide six students with Christmas presents. o Three students will be gift shopping with “Shop with A Cop” from the Kankakee Police Department.

• Sabrina McNeal is the recipient of the Kankakee Valley Autism mini-grant in the amount of $685 that will aid in enhancing programming for her students with autism. The Kilbride Family Classic Run/Walk for Autism funds this grant. Congratulations, Mrs. McNeal!

Dr. Walters reported on a new partnership with the newly elected States Attorney, Jim Rowe. He will be offering internships to our students once he takes office. She stated that the District is very excited about this opportunity.

Principal’s Report - Terrence Lee, Principal at Taft Primary School Mr. Lee began his presentation by sharing a video of highlights at Taft Primary School and then introduced the Taft staff.

Mr. Lee reviewed Taft’s Benchmark Scores from Fall 2016. Their goal is to achieve 80% of their students in Tier 1, no more than 15% in Tier 2 and no more than 5% in Tier 3. Ms. Ferry reviewed the referral data, stating that most referrals are bus referrals. Only 21% of Taft’s student body has received one or more referrals.

Mr. Lee stated that Taft has looked at the baseline data and made decisions based on that information. The action they have taken includes the following: hired reading interventionists in addition to interventions being done in class by the teacher and the classroom aides, behavior/management plan, and math data that is driving staff discussions to better serve their students. The behavior action plan includes: school display of their MAC expectations, staff members giving out Kay’s cash to all students demonstrating these expectations, a social skill or cool tool that is presented each week, attendance incentive for all classrooms, addressing bus behaviors, and an established crisis response team that consists of 3-5 staff members.

Public Comments There were no public comments made.

Consent Agenda The following items were presented:

1. The following Board minutes were presented for approval: November 14, 2016-Regular Meeting (Regular & Executive Session Minutes) November 21, 2016-Special 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 for the Release of Executive Session Minutes and Destruction of Recordings was presented for approval. (See Insert C.)

5. The KHS overnight trip request to Six Flags Grad Nite was presented for approval.

6. The following personnel items were presented for approval: Staff Member Position Effective Date Resignation-Licensed Educational Professionals Mitchell Thompson Physical Education Teacher at Kennedy November 22, 2016 Resignation-Support Personnel Renee Whitehouse HR Coordinator at LCC November 10, 2016 Christine Williams Security Officer and Asst Coach-Girls Basketball at KHS November 18, 2016

Maria Spargur Bilingual Paraprofessional at Steuben December 9, 2016 Alisha Clark HR Coordinator at LCC January 4, 2017 Appointment-Administrative Personnel Robert Adamik Director of Maintenance at LCC January 3, 2017 Appointment-Licensed Educational Professional Maureen Antognoli Academic Interventionist at King December 13, 2016 Appointments-Support Personnel Stacey McKnight Security Officer at KHS January 3, 2017 Diane Denault HR Coordinator at LCC January 3, 2017 Anthony Sykes Accounting Coordinator at LCC December 13, 2016 Appointments-Extra-Duty Personnel Julie Tomisek Spring Orchestra Director at KHS December 12, 2016 Curtis Crossley Girls’ Basketball Asst. at KHS December 12, 2016 Brandon Woods Boys’ Basketball Asst. at KHS December 12, 2016 Michael Krol Boys’ Track Asst. at KHS December 12, 2016 Steve Whitlow Girls’ Basketball Asst. at KHS December 12, 2016 Antonio Young Black History Tech Director December 12, 2016 Viodelda Judkins Black History Co-Director December 12, 2016 Edith Petty Black History Co-Director December 12, 2016 Robert Ellington-Snipes Black History Music Director December 12, 2016 Jodette Giannakopoulos Student Lunch Coverage at KHS December 12, 2016 Candace Frye Student Lunch Coverage at KHS December 12, 2016 Brian Mathis Additional Teaching: 5 preps at KJHS December 12, 2016 Patrick Lacy Additional Teaching: 5 preps at KHS December 12, 2016 David Knudson Additional Teaching: 5 preps at KHS December 12, 2016 Kelley Guzzo Additional Teaching: 5 preps at KHS December 12, 2016 Angela Kanak Additional Teaching: 4 preps at KHS December 12, 2016 Brent Johnston Additional Teaching: 4 preps at KJHS December 12, 2016 Sean Dailor Additional Teaching: 4 preps at KHS December 12, 2016 Deena Cassidy Additional Teaching: 4 preps at LCC December 12, 2016

Motion was made by Shea, seconded by Coghlan, to approve the above listed consent agenda items as presented. ROLL CALL VOTE--Ayes: Coghlan, Davis, Gathing, Shea, and Johnston. Nays: none. Motion carried.

2016 Tax Levy The 2016 Tax Levy was presented for approval.

The presentation of the 2016 Tax Levy was provided by Robert Grossi, Assistant Superintendent for Business Services.

Mr. tentative be voted Grossi tax on presented tonight levy and and the on is November timeline due in the for 17 County the th it tax was levy Clerk’s presented stating Office that to on the on or November Finance before December Committee. 14, 2016 23 the Board. approved the final tax levy will Mr. Grossi stated that the CPI is 0.7% which is the most the tax levy can increase from last year. He reviewed the breakdown of total revenues. He said that it is estimated that the District will receive approximately $200,000 in additional tax revenues from taxpayers due to the CPI increase. The annual tax increase as a result of this levy to a home valued at $100,000 is approximately $10 versus the previous tax year.

Motion was made by Coghlan, seconded by Gathing, to approve the 2016 Tax Levy as presented. ROLL CALL VOTE--Ayes: Davis, Gathing, Shea, Coghlan, and Johnston. Nays: none. Motion carried.

2016 Supplemental Tax Levy The 2016 Supplemental Tax Levy was presented for approval. Mr. Grossi stated that beginning in 2015, the District began requesting a supplemental tax levy to collect unpaid levy dollars for the Bond & Interest Fund. The District was short $50,721 in its collection of Bond & interest dollars for levy year 2014. The annual tax increase as a result of this levy to a home valued at $100,000 is approximately $4.67 versus the previous tax year. (See Insert D.)

Motion was made by Coghlan, seconded by Gathing, to approve the 2016 supplemental tax levy as presented. ROLL CALL VOTE--Ayes: Gathing, Shea, Coghlan, Davis, and Johnston. Nays: none. Motion carried.

2017 Worker’s Compensation Insurance The recommendation to accept the 2017 Worker’s Compensation Insurance was presented for approval.

Motion was made by Coghlan, seconded by Shea, to approve the 2017 Worker’s Compensation Insurance as presented. ROLL CALL VOTE--Ayes: Shea, Coghlan, Davis, Gathing, and Johnston. Nays: none. Motion carried.

Recommendation of Resolution Authorizing Notice of Remedy for Daron Kinzinger The recommendation of the Resolution authorizing notice of remedy for Daron Kinzinger was presented for approval. (See Insert E.)

Motion was made by Gathing, seconded by Shea, to approve the Resolution Authorizing Notice of Remedy for Daron Kinzinger as presented. ROLL CALL VOTE-Ayes: Shea, Gathing, and Johnston. Nays: Coghlan and Davis. Motion carried.

Old Business No old business was discussed.

Information and Proposals The following items were provided for information:

1. FOIA Requests/Responses

2. Increase in Hours (Support Personnel)

3. Proposal to Merge Director of Enrichment Programs and Director of School Improvement Positions for the 2017-2018 School Year.

4. Corporate Fitness Membership Proposals

5. Restructuring Technology Magnet

Dr. Walters stated that the District will be restructuring the Technology Magnet Program into the Engineering Magnet Program. The Engineering Magnet will allow students to design and build with the added benefit of using the enhanced computer labs used in the technology magnets. This will allow for further exploration and challenge in an area of study and exploration of career choices. The Engineering Magnet will be housed in the same schools as the previous Technology Magnet.

6. November Suspension Report

7. State & Federal Revenue Report

8. Budget Update

9. Staff Absence Report

At 8:05 p.m. motion was made by Gathing, seconded by Shea, to adjourn the meeting. All ayes; motion carried.

SIGNED:

Karen Johnston, President

ATTEST: 

Barbara A. Wells, Secretary