South Central Reporter

South Central Community Unit School District #401 Board of Education met Nov. 18.

Here is the minutes provided by the board:

Roll Call:

Present:

Mike Vandeveer

Ann Blomberg

Jeremy Chasteen

Dan Hiestand

Jason Markley

Absent:

Dena Hoffmann

Rob Jones

The South Central Community Unit School District #401 Board of Education held a regular monthly meeting on Wednesday, November 18, 2020 at the South Central Middle School located at 503 South Madison Street in Kinmundy, IL. President Mike Vandeveer called the meeting to order at 6:03 p.m.

President Mike Vandeveer recognized guests Kendall King, King Financial and Bruce Kropp, WJBD Radio.

Also present were Superintendent Kerry Herdes and Ginny Keen, Board Clerk. There was a thank you card from the family of Linda Thompson.

A motion was made by Jason Markley and seconded by Dan Hiestand to approve the minutes of the Regular Board Meeting held on October 21, 2020 as presented. Roll call vote was as follows:

Dan Hiestand Aye                    Jason Markley Aye 

Ann Blomberg Aye                   Mike Vandeveer Aye 

Dena Hoffmann Absent            Jeremy Chasteen Aye 

Rob Jones Absent

Motion carried.

A motion was made by Dan Hiestand and seconded by Jeremy Chasteen to approve the payment of bills as submitted. Roll call vote was as follows:

Minutes – Regular Board Meeting 2 Wednesday, November 18, 2020

Jeremy Chasteen Aye          Ann Blomberg Aye 

Mike Vandeveer Aye            Rob Jones Absent 

Jason Markley Aye              Dena Hoffmann Absent 

Dan Hiestand Aye

Motion carried.

A motion was made by Jason Markley and seconded by Dan Hiestand to approve the Treasurer’s Report for October 2020 as presented. Roll call vote was as follows:

Jason Markley Aye          Jeremy Chasteen Aye 

Ann Blomberg Aye          Dan Hiestand Aye 

Rob Jones Absent           Mike Vandeveer Aye 

Dena Hoffmann Absent

Motion carried.

Preliminary tax levy proposals were presented for review. Options presented were to keep the increase under the 5%, along with an option to increase the levy over the 5%. The proposal will be available to the public for 30 days. A Truth in Taxation hearing must be held if levy is increased over 5.0%, however the Board Members prefer the levy stay below a 5% increase.

Kendall King with King Financial presented options to sell working cash bonds. There is the option of purchasing the bonds as well. The Governor has mentioned a possible 15% cut in school funding, this would help provide a cushion for the shortfall. Mr. King discussed how these options would affect the tax levy. The Board prefers to keep the tax rate the same. Once decided, an ad will be placed in the local newspaper and a public hearing must be held.

Mr. King addressed questions from the Board.

A motion was made by Dan Hiestand and seconded by Jeremy Chasteen to approve the resolution of intent to issue working cash fund bonds for South Central CUSD #401 to increase the District’s Working Cash Fund for $1.9 million dollars. Roll call vote was as follows:

Rob Jones Absent          Mike Vandeveer Aye 

Dan Hiestand Aye           Dena Hoffmann Absent 

Jason Markley Aye          Ann Blomberg Aye 

Jeremy Chasteen Aye

Motion carried.

The PRESS policy changes dated November 2020 was presented for the first reading.

A motion was made by Jason Markley and seconded by Dan Hiestand to approve the first reading of the November 2020 school board policy revisions for South Central CUSD #401 as recommended by the Illinois Association of School Boards. Roll call vote was as follows:

Rob Jones Absent                Dena Hoffmann Absent 

Ann Blomberg Aye               Mike Vandeveer Aye 

Jeremy Chasteen Aye          Dan Hiestand Aye 

Jason Markley Aye

Motion carried.

The Annual Statement of Affairs (ASA) was presented for review. The ASA is an overview of the fiscal year 2019-2020 which includes a summary of receipts and expenses, a list of employees by salary range and a list of vendors and dollar amounts paid. Specific sections must be published in the local newspaper by December 1. The full report will be kept on file and available for public inspection. A file must be submitted to ISBE by December 15 and will be placed on their website by January 15.

Mr. Herdes discussed the 2020 district report card. Due to Covid-19, no testing was held at the end of last school year. The State of Illinois gave the District the same rating as the previous school year.

There were no field trips.

Principal reports were not available for South Central Elementary School, Middle School and High School.

Superintendent Kerry Herdes - District Report

We are working on an Ameren building envelope grant for around $36,000. The grant will go towards energy efficiency and will be used for all three buildings. Mr. Herdes addressed updates on Covid-19 numbers for the local counties. Administrators and staff continue to work hard to control the spread of the virus within the school buildings. Winter basketball was discussed. We continue to seek guidance from school legal counsel, IDPH, ISBE and the Governor’s Office. Although IHSA rules have become a little more lenient, most schools, including South Central, will continue to follow IDPH protocol. This will be addressed again after January 1st.

A motion was made by Jeremy Chasteen and seconded by Dan Hiestand to go into closed session to discuss appointments, employment, compensation, discipline, negotiations, performance or dismissal of personnel at 6:55 p.m. Roll call vote was as follows:

Jason Markley Aye                  Ann Blomberg Aye 

Dena Hoffmann Absent          Dan Hiestand Aye 

Jeremy Chasteen Aye             Rob Jones Absent 

Mike Vandeveer Aye

Motion carried.

A motion was made by Dan Hiestand and seconded by Ann Blomberg to go back into open session at 7:15 p.m. Roll call vote was as follows:

Ann Blomberg Aye                  Dan Hiestand Aye 

Dena Hoffmann Absent          Jeremy Chasteen Aye 

Jason Markley Aye                 Mike Vandeveer Aye 

Rob Jones Absent

Motion carried.

A motion was made by Jason Markley and seconded by Jeremy Chasteen to appoint Alex Phillips as Head Girls Basketball Coach for South Central Middle School effective the 2020- 2021 school year as presented. Roll call vote was as follows:

Dena Hoffmann Absent          Jeremy Chasteen Aye 

Ann Blomberg Aye                  Mike Vandeveer Aye 

Rob Jones Absent                  Jason Markley Aye 

Dan Hiestand Aye

Motion carried.

A motion was made by Ann Blomberg and seconded by Dan Hiestand to approve a medical leave of absence for Betty McElyea starting November 24, 2020. Roll call vote was as follows:

Jeremy Chasteen Aye          Dena Hoffmann Absent 

Ann Blomberg Aye               Rob Jones Absent 

Jason Markley Aye               Mike Vandeveer Aye 

Dan Hiestand Aye

Motion carried.

A motion was made by Jeremy Chasteen and seconded by Ann Blomberg to ratify the three year contract between the South Central School Board of Education and South Central Education Association effective July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2023 for school years 2020- 2021, 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 as presented. Roll call vote was as follows:

Mike Vandeveer Aye                Ann Blomberg Aye 

Jeremy Chasteen Aye             Dan Hiestand Aye 

Dena Hoffmann Absent           Rob Jones Absent 

Jason Markley Aye

Motion carried.

A motion was made by Jeremy Chasteen and seconded by Ann Blomberg to adjourn at 7:17 p.m. Motion carried by voice vote.

https://core-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/1050032/2020-11-18_Regular_Board_Minutes.pdf