South Central Reporter

Mt. Olive Community Unit School District 5 Board of Education met Feb. 19.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

The Board of Education met in regular session on February 19, 2025, in the library. The meeting was called to order at 7:01 p.m. by President David Brunnwoth. Present at roll call were Brunnworth, Essington, Knes, Remer, Rimar, and Skertich. Also present were Superintendent Kelly, Principal Scheller, Principal Martin, Secretary Durbin, Jen Stockstill, Nikki Garrels, Janet Readenour, Jeff Grider, Terry Swenson, Stan Dunlap, and Kelly Dunlap.

Osmoe arrived at 7:02pm

Motion by Remer, seconded by Skertich to adopt the agenda and approve the minutes of the regular board meeting of January 15th, 2025. 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 Illinois Retired Teacher Association on January 15, 2025. E. FOIA request from Lake County Gazette on January 28, 2025.

F. Dr. Kelly recognized Mrs. Karrie Scheller, Principal of Mt. Olive Elementary School, for receiving the ‘Those Who Excel’ Award from ISBE. She earned the Award of Meritorious Service, which honors experienced educators who go above and beyond in serving their school communities. Recipients of this award demonstrate strong leadership and contribute to a positive learning culture.

Motion by Skertich, seconded by Rimar to approve the bills and activity accounts as presented. Roll call: 7 ayes. Motion carried

Financial Report for January 2025:

Mrs. Kelly reported the Education Fund is sitting at The Education fund is at $2,053,263.26. Building fund is at $724,163.29. Transportation fund is at $403,832.38. Working cash is at $231,363.75. Total operating funds are at $3,412,622.68

Budget Report: Revenues vs. Expenditures for January 2025:

Education Fund: 66% vs. 56%

Building Fund: 68% vs. 27%

Bond & Interest: 209% & 73%

Transportation Fund: 61% vs. 66%

IMRF: 76% vs. 50%

Site & Construction: 40% & 17%

Working Cash: 75% & 0%

Tort Immunity: 77% vs. 30%

Life Safety: 104% & 63%

Motion by Remer, seconded by Knes to approve the financial report and the budget report for January 2025. All ayes. Motion carried.

Unfinished Business:

Motion by Skertich, seconded by Rimar to approve Sequence of Dismissal List and Non Certified Seniority List. All ayes. Motion carried.

New Business:

Motion by Brunnworth, seconded by Skertich to approve a resolution to support ‘Adopt Vision 2030’. All ayes. Motion carried.

Specifically, Vision 2030 prioritizes:

• Future-Focused Learning: Redefining student success to prepare our children for a rapidly changing world.

• Shared Accountability: Moving beyond standardized tests to evaluate student growth and proficiency over time.

• Predictable Funding: Ensuring sustainable financial resources for excellent education and updated technology to meet today’s economic challenges.

The school calendar and new MOHS courses for 2025-2026 were presented for first reading.

Motion by Skertich, seconded by Rimar to accept the resignation of Cindy McDowell as MOES Title Aide at the end of the 24-25 school year. All ayes. Motion carried.

Motion by Osmoe, seconded by Remer to accept the resignation of Britni Tiepelman as MOES Teacher’s Aide effective February 20, 2025. All ayes. Motion carried.

Motion by Skertich, seconded by Essington to hire Loy Miller Talley, PC for the 2025 audit. 7 ayes. Motion carried.

Principals’ Reports:

Mr. Martin reported the following:

• Climate and Culture have been a focus this year. Until now I have been giving you my sense of how things have been progressing. During our last School Improvement Day I had the staff complete a culture survey related specifically to the High School. All teachers and one student teacher completed the survey. Here are some trends.

o Staff feel supported and safe at school.

o The culture is positive and continues to move in the right direction.

o We need additional time for staff to collaborate and connect within the district and also outside of the school.

o Student and staff recognition is average, but should definitely be a targeted area of growth.

o 100% of staff said they felt that their opinions are valued and heard by school leadership.

• On the same day I met with English and Math teachers to discuss possible ways to embed some IXL components into our curriculum for next school year. We created a plan to ensure that such activities will be utilized as additional practice once the material is covered in class.

• The Lady Wildcats season did come to an end this Monday. But not before Lauren Bailey was able to score her 1,000th point as a Junior this year.

• Punky had a very nice ceremony at the home game honoring all of the Lady Wildcat 1,000 point club members.

• Spring sports have been slowly starting to have meetings with coaches. Baseball, Track, Softball, and Soccer will be happening this spring at MOHS.

• We have 6 students who have earned the Silver Medallion Academic Excellence Award; those students are Ellie Borrowman, Sami Roeske, Carter Brunnworth, Kailyn Wall, Briley Viviano, and Sarah Lesko. They will be celebrated at the Lewis and Clark campus on April 10th.

• The CEO program came in and did a recruiting visit with the Junior class last week. Current students in the program (MOHS has 3) talked about their experiences and the values they see in the program. We had two students let Mrs. Monke know they are interested in the CEO pathway after the meeting.

• Mrs. Monke and I had the opportunity to visit Raymond HS this afternoon in order to discuss our continued collaboration with some classes, look at any new possibilities, and take a tour of their school.

• On Feb. 13th we took the afternoon as a fun relationship building day. Mr. Simmons designed a game show themed event and all of the students and staff participated. There were prizes and food that students could win. The idea was to have fun and get everyone involved. It was a winner.

• We completed winter sports and club pictures this month.

• The Valentine’s Dance will be this Saturday.

• Next Monday we have the County Scholastic Bowl Tournament, a blood drive, a boys basketball game, and Army recruiters coming in at lunch. It’s going to be a busy day.

• Student Story- Well let me give you some backstory. We have really been trying to create a culture of trying, serving, and making improvements one step at a time (Growth Mindset). This has gone well and led to many student related ideas being used by staff and admin. We have even revived the pep club. I have told students I want to say yes and often have to work through some questions to make sure ideas are safe, practical, and fit our school's principals. Last week I had a student ask if she could decorate her bus for Valentine’s Day. Then, before I could ask her my normal questions she starts telling me that she has already spoken with the bus driver. That he was ok if she used the erasable car paint. They had worked out when it would be best to try and fit it into their schedules. Basically, all she needed from me as does this fit in with how we want our school to be seen. This was a huge YES. The student took the initiative to set this up to spread cheer to students on her bus. She logically worked through the progression and came up with great solutions to any possible hurdles. I also want to give our bus driver a HUGE compliment and acknowledgment that he came over in between routes to make this happen. He took time out of his day. I am filled with gratitude and hope that yes we are moving in the right direction because we are trying to focus on the right things. When we have all staffulty working together we can truly accomplish wonderfully amazing things.

Mrs. Scheller reported the following:

• It’s the third quarter midterm. A message will be sent out tomorrow advising parents of this and recommending they log onto TeacherEase to check their student's progress.

• We continue to work with our learning partner, Sharon, monthly when she comes to the school and provides PD for our teachers and me.

• We have revamped our MTSS(multi-tiered system of supports)/RTI (Response to Interventions). At this time, this new plan has really helped us key into where student defects are and what we need to do to address them.

• K-5 teachers are putting in a lot of time and effort reviewing different math curriculums that we will implement the next school year.

• The 100th day of school was February 3rd. We had many students dress up as 100-year olds and wear shirts with 100 items on them, and classrooms did some fun activities.

• In sports

o girls and boys basketball have reached the end of their season.

o VB is underway.

o Track will start the first week of March

• At our most recent SIP day, we had PD from Darrin Peppard presented about school culture and climate. I heard a lot of good feedback from my staff. After his presentation, my staff did a team-building activity where in teams, they had to use marshmallows and spaghetti noodles to build the tallest free-standing tower. The winning team got gift cards.

• I want to thank Mr. Martin, Dr. Kelly, and all my staff for stepping up when I was out sick for three days. It’s really good knowing things will keep moving if I’m gone. • I also want to thank my secretary, Stacey Dooley, for everything she does to keep our office and school running smoothly. I am so grateful to be working side by side with her.

• I want to recognize and thank FOCUS 5 for their generous donation to pay for a field trip for students who take the IAR state test (3rd-8th grade).

Superintendent’s Report:

Dr. Kelly reported the following:

Some winter sports are wrapping up while others are underway. We are preparing for spring sports with HS track and HS Girls Soccer (coop with Litchfield) starting soon.

The 5Essentials Survey is open from February 18-March 28. The 5Essentials Survey is a tool that helps schools understand their strengths and areas for improvement based on feedback from parents, teachers, and students. It focuses on five key areas that research shows are essential for school success:

1. Effective Leaders – Strong leadership that sets high expectations.

2. Collaborative Teachers – Teachers work together to improve learning.

3. Involved Families – Parents and caregivers are active partners in education.

4. Supportive Environment – A safe and welcoming school climate.

5. Ambitious Instruction – Engaging and challenging learning experiences. Your feedback is important! Building principals will be sharing this survey in the coming weeks. In the meantime, please take a moment to share your thoughts on how we are doing at Mt. Olive CUSD#5.This form is anonymous and it is your opportunity to share feedback. Thank you for your participation!

Motion by Remer, seconded by Skertich 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. Discussion of pending and probable litigation against, affecting, or on behalf of the Board of Education and the District. Roll call: 7 ayes. Motion carried.

Motion by Skertich, seconded by Rimar to return to open session at 7:43 p.m. Roll call: 7 ayes. Motion carried.

Motion by Rimar seconded by Osmoe to hire Stan Dunlap, Band Teacher for 25-26 school year pending a successful background check and Employment History Verification Review. Roll call: 7 ayes. Motion carried.

Motion by Knes seconded by Brunnworth to hire James Bryant, as the Driver Education-behind the wheel teacher for 25-26 school year. Roll call: 7 ayes. Motion carried.

Motion by Remer seconded by Skertich to hire Jeff Grider, Maintenance Coordinator pending a successful background check and Employment History Verification Review. Roll call: 7 ayes. Motion carried.

Motion by Skertich seconded by Rimar to hire Michael Rupkey, as the Dishwasher pending a successful background check and Employment History Verification Review. Roll call: 6 ayes 1 nay. Motion carried.

Motion by Osmoe, seconded by Skertich to enter into closed session again at 7:47 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. Discussion of pending and probable litigation against, affecting, or on behalf of the Board of Education and the District. Roll call: 7 ayes. Motion carried.

Motion by Remer, seconded by to return to open session at 10:17 p.m. Roll call: 7 ayes. Motion carried.

The next regular board meeting will be at 7:00 pm on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, in the school library at 804 West Main St., Mt. Olive, IL.

Motion by Skertich, seconded by Remer to adjourn at 10:18 p.m. All ayes. Motion carried.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1J2CTlXCD_Ur25CmE1rSUUNHegB-DozdY/view