South Central Reporter

Mt. Olive Community Unit School District 5 Board of Education met June 18.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

The Board of Education met in regular session on June 18, 2025, in the library. The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by President David Brunnwoth. Present at roll call were Bertels, Brunnworth, Knes, Readenour, Remer, Rimar and Skertich. Also present were Secretary Durbin, Jen Stockstill, Amanda Osmoe and Eric Braasch.

Motion by Remer, seconded by Knes to adopt the agenda and approve the minutes of the regular board meeting of May 21st, 2025. All ayes. Motion carried.

Recognition, comments, and correspondence from employees and public:

A. Eric Braasch, representative from Dimond Brothers Insurance, presented the upcoming 25-26 insurance renewal.

B. Congratulations to State Track Champion- Alena Graham. She is the repeat state champion in the 400 meter dash.

C. The Summer Food Program is going well, providing a variety of fresh fruits, vegetables, and homemade items such as Lunchables, wraps, and more each week. Special thanks to Stephanie Carle and the kitchen staff for their excellent work and dedication. We also extend our appreciation to all the additional helpers who contributed to the program’s success. A total of 125 families signed up for the weekly meal pick-up. Next week will be the final week of the program.

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

Financial Report for May 2025:

Mrs Cann reported the Education Fund is sitting at The Education fund is at $ 2,131,486.79. Building fund is at $ 827,631.07. Transportation fund is at $ 409,710.20. Working cash is at $238,614.84. Total operating funds are at $ 3,607,442.90.

Budget Report: Revenues vs. Expenditures for May 2025:

Education Fund: 101% vs. 87%

Building Fund: 104% vs. 41%

Bond & Interest: 331% & 99%

Transportation Fund: 87% vs. 89%

IMRF: 101% vs. 81%

Site & Construction: 59% & 18%

Working Cash: 100% & 0%

Tort Immunity: 103% vs. 95%

Life Safety: 105% & 77%

Motion by Rimar, seconded by Readenour to approve the financial report and the budget report for May 2025. All ayes. Motion carried.

Unfinished Business:

None

New Business:

Motion by Skertich, seconded by Remer to approve the Intergovernmental agreement for the joint cooperation and operations of an area career center. Roll call: 7 ayes. Motion Carried

Motion by Readenour, seconded by Skertich to approve the 2025-2026 School Improvement Plan. All ayes. Motion carried.

Motion by Remer, seconded by Knes to approve the 2025-2026 Consolidated District Plan. All ayes. Motion carried.

Motion by Skertich, seconded by Readenour to approve the 2025-2026 Milk and Bread bids. Roll Call: 7 ayes. Motion carried.

Motion by Readenour, seconded by Knes to approve ICRMT as the insurance provider for the 2025-2026 school year: 6 ayes 1 present. Motion carried.

Principals’ Reports:

Mrs Scheller reported the following:

• The Preschool Graduation on May 22nd was a great success. I want to thank Mrs. Schulte again for her years of dedication to educating the littles of our district.

• Thanks to Mrs. Schneider for her great end of the year AR assembly. She had some fun activities for the students and gave out top reader awards.

• This year’s field day was a great success. This would have been possible with our help from the staff and volunteers. This year the teachers and staff did a masked singer competition where students watched videos of the singers and had to vote on who they thought the singers were. The students, teachers, and staff all had a great time with this competition.

• June 23rd Junior High Awards Ceremony and 8th grade promotion took place. It was another well attended program. Students were presented with various awards and 8th grade with a promotion certificate.

• May 23rd we had a retiree’s party. It was great to see so many of our staff attend to recognize the years of dedication the four retirees gave to our district. I wish Mrs. Schulte, Mrs. Colley, Ms. Gall, and Mrs. McDowell the very best in their retirement.

• May 29th Mr. Martin and I attended the Stronger Connections Conference provided to the District through the Stronger Connections Grant. The conference provided some great speakers that spoke on why we are in education…to do what’s best for our students. They also spoke on the importance of taking care of ourselves.

• June 12th, I took a team to the English Language Learner Conference. Those teachers working with an ELL student must attend two trainings and admin 8 hours. The teachers will then have more PD with and ESL coach we have contracted from ROE 3. The conference gave us learning strategies, online tools, and other ways to use visuals to enhance not only the ELL students but all students.

• Returning student registration is now open and the last report I got, the process was going well.

Superintendent’s Report:

Mrs Cann reported the following:

A. We received our Title grant allotments for the 2025-26 school year. Currently the US Department of Education has not approved any Title II funds. Our 24-25 allotment was $16, 000 and was used to cover part of Matt Warren’s salary (Outside Technical support) & chances are low that schools will receive these monies. The actual amount, including Title II is about $30K less than last school year. This will impact the 25-26 budget.

B. Summer Credit Recovery classes are going well.

C. Placed the order for 115 Chromebooks ( HP II G9 EE) to replace older ones. This was needed for tech sustainability. The REAP grant ( If awarded) should cover about about 80% of the $41,080.

D. Thank you to Lindsey Knes for becoming a SMASE board member representative.

Motion by Skertich, seconded by Brunnworth to enter into closed session at 7:39 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 Bertels, seconded by Rimar to return to open session at 9:43 p.m. Roll call: 7 ayes. Motion carried.

Motion by Remer seconded by Rimar accept the resignation of Elizabeth Childers as Kindergarten Teacher effective immediately. Roll call: 7 ayes. Motion carried.

Motion by Bertels seconded by Knes to accept the resignation of John Senjan as MOJH Assistant softball coach. Roll call: 7 ayes. Motion carried.

Motion by Readenour seconded by Rimar to approve Megan Durbin’s contract for the 2025- 2026 school year. Roll call: 7 ayes. Motion carried.

Motion by Rimar seconded by Remer to hire Kyle Bone a summer maintenance worker for 15 hours per week. The rate of pay will be $15 per hour. Roll call: 7 ayes. Motion carried.

Motion by Knes seconded by Skertich to hire Aimee Baker for the Part time Administrative Assistant position. Roll call: 7 ayes. Motion carried.

Motion by Remer seconded by Knes to accept the resignation of James Bryant as MOHS Assistant basketball coach. Roll call: 7 ayes. Motion carried.

Motion by Readenour seconded by Brunnworth to accept the resignation of James Bryant as MOHS PE & Drivers Education teacher. Roll call: 7 ayes. Motion carried.

Motion by Skertich seconded by Remer to change the board meeting times to 6:00 p.m. Roll call: 7 ayes. Motion carried.

The next regular board meeting will be at 6:00 pm on Wednesday, July 16, 2025, in the school library at 804 West Main St., Mt. Olive, IL.

Motion by Skertich, seconded by Rimar to adjourn at 9:48 p.m. All ayes. Motion carried.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1k8cJhKoMdn6Dp7STIsNzqsNpc0JXm_e7/view