South Central Reporter

Mt. Olive Community Unit School District 5 Board of Education met Dec. 20.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

The Board of Education met in regular session on December 20, 2023 in the library. The meeting was called to order at 7:07 p.m. by President Brunnworth. Present at roll call were Brunnworth, Essington, Knes, Osmoe, Remer, Rimar, and Skertich. Also present were Superintendent Kelly, Principal Scheller, Secretary Butler, Nikki Garrels, John Hanafin, Terry Swenson, Jennifer Stockstill, Stephanie Carle, and Rod Hall.

Motion by Remer, seconded by Knes to adopt the agenda, approve the minutes of the regular board meeting of November 15, 2023, and approve the minutes of the policy committee meeting of December 5, 2023. All ayes. Motion carried.

Recognition, comments, and correspondence from employees and public:

A. Board Norms: Follow chain of command, assume positive intent, and mutual respect.

B. Board Values: Integrity, mutual respect, and excellence.

C. Board Priorities: Culture, academic performance, facilities (with a focus on safety), and finances.

D. FOIA Request from Science of Reading Illinois on November 16, 2023

E. FOIA Request from IL State Volunteer for Change the Air Foundation on November 27, 2023.

F. Thank you to:

a. Focus5 provided holiday decorations, treats, and activities.

b. Dometic donated 60 coolers to the district. These will be raffled off at our district’s extracurricular events.

c. The Academic Foundation and Dr. Billiter gifted the teachers and administration $300 each.

G. The district received a thank you letter from the Mt. Olive Care Center.

Motion by Skertich, seconded by Rimar to approve the bills and activity accounts as presented.

Roll call: 7 ayes. Motion carried.

Financial Report for November 2023:

Mrs. Kelly reported the Education Fund is sitting at $1,694,597.59. The Building Fund is at $526,781.87. The Bond and Interest Fund is at $58,859.69. The Transportation Fund balance is $435,063.51. The IMRF Fund is at $193,984.24. Site and Construction is at $211,056.70. The Working Cash Fund is at $199,807.01. Tort Immunity Fund is $386,804.44. Life Safety balance is $146,839.69. The total of all funds is $3,853,794.74 and the Operating Fund balance is at $2,856,249.98.

Budget Report: Revenues vs. Expenditures for November 2023:

Education Fund: 49% vs. 39%

Building Fund: 60% vs. 48%

Bond & Interest: 52% & 3%

Transportation Fund: 62% vs. 52%

IMRF: 69% vs. 32%

Site & Construction: 49% & 48%

Working Cash: 73% & 0%

Tort Immunity: 67% vs. 26%

Life Safety: 72% & 3%

Motion by Remer, seconded by Essington to approve the financial report and the budget report for November 2023. All ayes. Motion carried.

New Business:

Motion by Skertich, seconded by Knes to approve the tax levy for 2023 as presented. Roll call: 7 ayes. Motion carried.

Motion by Essington, seconded by Skertich to approve the resolution for AIR needs assessment for the Mt. Olive Elementary School. Roll call: 7 ayes. Motion carried.

Motion by Rimar, seconded by Brunnworth to approve the Mt. Olive CUSD #5 strategic plan for 2023-2028. All ayes. Motion carried.

Principals’ Reports:

Mrs. Scheller reported the following:

 Mr. Schulte’s art students had their annual Christmas tree walk at the school and it was very well attended. Their trees were put on display at the city’s Christmas festival on December 9th

 On December 8th Mr. Harmon hosted his annual band concert. He and his students did a great job and it was a successful event.

 On December 13th the elementary students had their music concert. Mr. Harmon and his students’ performance was wonderful. Thank you to Mr. Harmon and all of the teachers for being flexible during this time.

 I want to thank Focus5 for bringing the holiday cheer to the school by decorating the halls and providing activities and snacks to all students.

 I’d like to thank Dr. Billiter and the Academic Foundation for their wonderful gift to the school, teachers, and principals. Principals and teachers each received $300 and the school activity fund received $900.

 We’ve been working on culture on climate through some fun holiday activities. We had holiday dress up days, holiday trivia, and find Santa, Frosty, or Elves within the building.

 Tomorrow we will host our first celebration day. We will be celebrating honor roll students, good behavior, perfect attendance, AR winners, our door decorating contest, and classroom successes. We feel this is a great way to help build a positive climate and culture amongst both students and staff members.

 Report cards will be sent home on January 5th

 Merry Christmas to you and your families.

Mrs. Kelly reported the following for the high school:

 The girls basketball team have shown off their new warmups. They brought home a big win the night they were shown off.

 Focus5 had their cheeseball fundraiser and it was a huge success. Thank you to all the volunteers.

 The girls basketball team sang Christmas Carols at the Mt. Olive Christmas Festival.

 The band marched in the city’s Christmas festival on December 9th

 Mr. Simmons recently took some students on a field trip to the Lincoln Museum.

 The band and music concerts had a great turnout. Thank you Mr. Harmon and the students for all your hard work. Thank you Brian Vazzi for running the sound system.

 We had some students take 1st and 2nd place in wrestling.

 Thank you Focus5 for the holiday decorations and treats.

 Enrichment days are today and tomorrow. 48% of our students were exempt.

 Miss Beth hosted some Christmas activities in the library. A few high school students dressed as Santa, Mrs. Clause, and elves. The younger students got their picture with Santa and received some treats.

 Ms. Spudich is having Spring Play tryouts this week.

 E-gaming starts on January 4th

 Report cards will be sent home on January 5th

Superintendent’s Report:

Mrs. Kelly reported the following:

A. Informational Items

a. Scholarship letters were provided to students attending the Before and After School Care Program. Each family will receive about $1,000. The Energy Transition Community Grant provided funding to this program.

b. The School Maintenance Grant is pending ISBE approval. This grant will provide funding to repair our 2nd floor high school roof.

c. We were able to purchase a new lathe for $10,000 with CTEI money.

B. Community Partnership Grant Update

With this grant we have purchased choral risers for school performances and graduation.

We were able to hire a new PE teacher and Student Services Coordinator. Coaching services, professional development, and check and connect programming are also covered under this grant. Facilities updates to support wellness such as upgrading the weight room and getting new flooring in the multipurpose room are underway.

C. School Violence Prevention/COPS Grant

I am recommending that we contract with a grant writer to apply for this grant. The cost is $4,500. This grant would provide the school district with $500,000 (25% match) for school safety upgrades.

D. HVAC Update & Discussion

Six furnaces have recently been installed. We’ve also experienced control and communication issues within our system and are looking at ways to resolve these issues.

Motion by Skertich, seconded by Rimar to contract with a grant writer to apply for the COPS grant for a cost of $4,500. Roll call: 7 ayes. Motion carried.

Motion by Osmoe, seconded by Remer to enter into closed session at 7:36 p.m. for the following purposes as allowed under the Illinois Open Meetings Act (5 ILCS 120/1 et seq.): Discussion of the appointment, employment and dismissal of employees of the public body and collective negotiating matters between the public body and its employees or their representatives. Roll call:

7 ayes. Motion carried.

Motion by Skertich, seconded by Remer to return to open session at 8:34 p.m. Roll call: 7 ayes.

Motion carried.

Motion by Osmoe, seconded by Knes to hire Stephanie Carle as MOCUSD #5 food service director beginning January 1, 2024. All ayes. Motion carried.

Motion by Skertich, seconded by Osmoe to accept the resignation of Tim Klein, high school principal, effective December 21, 2023. All ayes. Motion carried.

Motion by Rimar, seconded by Remer to appoint Dr. Brandi Kelly as interim MOHS principal for the remainder of the 2023-2024 school year with a $10,000 stipend. Roll call: 7 ayes. Motion carried.

The next regular board meeting will be at 7:05 pm on Wednesday, January 17, 2024 immediately following a hearing for school waiver at 7:00 pm. in the school library at 804 West Main St., Mt. Olive, IL.

Motion by Skertich, seconded by Knes to adjourn at 8:39 p.m. All ayes. Motion carried.

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