1 MERIDIAN COMMUNITY UNIT SCHOOL DISTRICT ... AWS
MERIDIAN COMMUNITY UNIT SCHOOL DISTRICT #15 BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING August 15, 2016 The Meridian Community Unit School District Board of Education held a regular meeting on Monday, August 15, 2016 in the Board Room. President Vicki Carr called the meeting to order at 6:35 p.m. The following Members were present: Vicki Carr, Tony Etherton, Monte Hogan, Matt Roush, Marie JaggerTaylor and Adam Herbert. Member Dawson was absent. Also present were: Dan Brue, Superintendent; Eric Hurelbrink, High School Principal; Lori Guebert, Elementary Principal; Mike Bender, Athletic Director; and Michelle Mathias, Recording Secretary. Andy Pygott, Middle School Principal entered the meeting at 7:16 p.m. The 2015-2016 retirees were recognized. Vicki Carr presented each retiree with a plaque of appreciation for their service to the district. Barb Thiele, Mary Blakeman and Sharon Gregory retired from teaching. Cathy Gipson, who was not present, retired as cook. Administrators gave their reports: The pre-k program has filled all spots for the new school year. Mr. Hurelbrink announced that the PSAT will be available for all juniors who wish to take it this year. The SAT has become the official state test for college entry. ACT test scores improved in all areas. IHSA rules now mandate that an athlete who has suffered a concussion have two notices of release from doctor. One note stating the student can return to learn and the other stating the student can return to play. Dual credit courses are being reviewed to see what class the district can offer next year in place of CAD. Mr. Bender announced that the district will host the middle school baseball regional, middle school softball regional and sectional, middle school 4A state basketball tourney, and the high school boys soccer sectional. The homecoming parade/powder puff will be held on Thursday, October 6. Member Jagger-Taylor, seconded by Member Herbert, motioned to approve the consent agenda which consists of July 25, 2016 minutes, special minutes from August 8, 2016, July financial reports, August disbursements: Education $203,267.87 Building $44,813.18 Transport $8,430.33 IMRF $7,143.47 Cap Projects $17,832.19 Tort $163,142.00 Life Safety $77,983.00 TOTAL $522,612.04 Also included was the resignation of Heather Ennis as middle school assistant volleyball coach. Motion carried 6-0. Mr. Brue reviewed the tentative FY17 budget. The Board discussed the notion of issuing funding bonds. Mr. Brue went through the timeline if they were to move forward with issuing bonds at this time. CDB has not given him any news on when they will be releasing the remainder of the construction grant. However, Member Hogan has talked with Rep. Mitchell and he is confident that there will be action on releasing funds by the end of August. Mr. Brue and the Board was in agreement to wait until the end of the month before a decision is made on
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issuing bonds. They also reviewed a table that showed how tax payers would be affected if new bonds were issued. Mr. Brue reported that the buses averaged 9.2 miles/gallon during the 2015-2016 school year. The district is taking applications for bus drivers at this time. Sod has been placed in two areas at the Macon campus and the parking lot and sidewalks will be completed this week at the Blue Mound campus. On a motion by Member Hogan, seconded by Member Roush, the Board approved a pay request from Joe Coleman Salvage in the amount of $38,772.50. Motion carried on a roll call vote 6-0. On a motion by Member Jagger-Taylor, seconded by Member Herbert, the Board approved a pay request from General Waste, Inc. in the amount of $24,960. Motion carried on a roll call vote 6-0. Member Jagger-Taylor, seconded by Member Roush, motioned to approve the teacher and administrator compensation report for 2015-2016. Motion carried on a roll call vote 6-0. There was discussion on the possibility of changing district lawyers. Pros and cons of the current counsel were argued. Member Roush, seconded by Member Herbert, motioned to approve Miller, Tracy, Braun, Funk and Miller as legal counsel for the 2016-2017 school year. Motion carried with 3 ayes. Members Jagger-Taylor and Etherton voted against the motion. The outdoor lights are now on a system that can be set to a schedule and the administrators have the ability to turn them on and off from an app. The Board adjourned to executive session at 7:39 p.m. The Board returned to open session at 7:58 p.m. on a motion by Member Jagger-Taylor, seconded by Member Herbert. On a motion by Member Herbert, seconded by Member Jagger-Taylor, the Board employed Erika Getz as middle school girls assistant basketball coach. Motion carried on a roll call vote 6-0. Dolores Bloomfield was employed as middle school assistant volleyball coach for the 2016-2017 school year on a motion by Member Herbert, seconded by Member Roush. Motion carried on a roll call vote 60. Member Jagger-Taylor, seconded by Member Herbert, motioned to adjourn the meeting at 7:59 p.m. The next regularly scheduled meeting will be September 19, 2016, in the district board room.
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Vicki Carr, Board President
Marie Jagger-Taylor, Board Secretary 2
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issuing bonds. They also reviewed a table that showed how tax payers would be affected if new bonds were issued. Mr. Brue reported that the buses averaged 9.2 miles/gallon during the 2015-2016 school year. The district is taking applications for bus drivers at this time. Sod has been placed in two areas at the Macon campus and the parking lot and sidewalks will be completed this week at the Blue Mound campus. On a motion by Member Hogan, seconded by Member Roush, the Board approved a pay request from Joe Coleman Salvage in the amount of $38,772.50. Motion carried on a roll call vote 6-0. On a motion by Member Jagger-Taylor, seconded by Member Herbert, the Board approved a pay request from General Waste, Inc. in the amount of $24,960. Motion carried on a roll call vote 6-0. Member Jagger-Taylor, seconded by Member Roush, motioned to approve the teacher and administrator compensation report for 2015-2016. Motion carried on a roll call vote 6-0. There was discussion on the possibility of changing district lawyers. Pros and cons of the current counsel were argued. Member Roush, seconded by Member Herbert, motioned to approve Miller, Tracy, Braun, Funk and Miller as legal counsel for the 2016-2017 school year. Motion carried with 3 ayes. Members Jagger-Taylor and Etherton voted against the motion. The outdoor lights are now on a system that can be set to a schedule and the administrators have the ability to turn them on and off from an app. The Board adjourned to executive session at 7:39 p.m. The Board returned to open session at 7:58 p.m. on a motion by Member Jagger-Taylor, seconded by Member Herbert. On a motion by Member Herbert, seconded by Member Jagger-Taylor, the Board employed Erika Getz as middle school girls assistant basketball coach. Motion carried on a roll call vote 6-0. Dolores Bloomfield was employed as middle school assistant volleyball coach for the 2016-2017 school year on a motion by Member Herbert, seconded by Member Roush. Motion carried on a roll call vote 60. Member Jagger-Taylor, seconded by Member Herbert, motioned to adjourn the meeting at 7:59 p.m. The next regularly scheduled meeting will be September 19, 2016, in the district board room.
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Vicki Carr, Board President
Marie Jagger-Taylor, Board Secretary 2
