Sangamon Sun

Fox River Grove Consolidated School District 3 Board met Dec. 10.

Here is the minutes provided by the board:

I. CALL TO ORDER AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

Board President Kristine Hester called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

II. ROLL CALL

Members present were Melissa Brennan, Sara Brubacher, Gerry Blohm, Kristine Hester, Tom Mollet and Steve Pickering. Also present were Superintendent Dr. Tim Mahaffy and Principal Dr. Sandy Ozimek and Director of Special Education, Mrs. Heather Trom. Absent was Board member Laura Byrd.

III. WELCOME TO VISITORS, GUESTS, COMMENTS & QUESTIONS

Audience members Ms. Susan Pettigrew, Mr. Ken Ozimek and Mr. Joe Bartkus (Henry Brothers) were welcomed to the meeting.

No one signed in to address the Board.

IV. CONSENT AGENDA

A motion was made by Steve Pickering to approve the consent agenda, approve and open to the public the regular minutes of the Regular Board Meeting of November 11, 2019, approve the November, 2019 Treasurer’s Report, approve the November 2019 bills and payroll from November 9, 2019 through December 13, 2019 and approve the November Activity Accounts Report. Tom Mollet seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken. Voting aye – Sara Brubacher, Gerry Blohm, Kristine Hester, Tom Mollet, Steve Pickering and Melissa Brennan. Voting nay – none. Motion approved.

V. REQUEST FOR RECORDS UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT

None.

VI. OLD BUSINESS

Review 2019-20 Enrollment and Class Size – Dr. Mahaffy reviewed the enrollment/class size sheet as of December 9th, 2019. There are currently 222 students at Algonquin Road School and 175 at the Middle School. The average class size at ARS is currently 20.18 and 21.88 at the MS. These are outstanding class sizes.

VII. NEW BUSINESS

Approve Facility Project Bids – Dr. Mahaffy stated that at the November Board meeting the Board approved 11 of the 13 bid packages. Mr. Bartkus was still working on the scope reviews for roofing and painting. Mr. Joe Bartkus, Project Manager for Henry Bros., Co., explained that we needed to go to the next bidder for painting in order to meet all the scope items. This process was confirmed with our attorneys.

A motion to approve the facility project bids for painting and roofing as presented in the Board packets was made by Steve Pickering and seconded by Melissa Brennan. A roll call vote was taken. Voting aye – Gerry Blohm, Kristine Hester, Tom Mollet, Steve Pickering, Melissa Brennan and Sara Brubacher. Voting nay – none. Motion approved.

Approve Application for School Maintenance Project Grant – Dr. Mahaffy reviewed the application process/approval with the Board. A District must qualify for this grant. This will be the first round of this grant. Board approval indicates that the District is completing building/maintenance work this summer (security for students/staff at ARS) and will set aside matching funds up to $50K for this work. The District should hear back by February 1st on the awarding of this grant.

A motion to approve the Application for the School Maintenance Project Grant was made by Steve Pickering and seconded by Gerry Blohm. A roll call vote was taken. Voting aye – Kristine Hester, Tom Mollet, Steve Pickering, Melissa Brennan, Sara Brubacher and Gerry Blohm. Voting nay – none. Motion approved.

Approve Application for FY 2020 Property Tax Relief Grant – Dr. Mahaffy reviewed the detailed outline of financials for the Property Tax Relief Grant that was included in the Board packets. This grant basically looks at which school district’s taxpayers are in most need of tax relief (based on 2017 data). No school district in McHenry County received any dollars last year. This year, School District 3 is 31st in line for this grant. District 3 would need to abate $309,313 in both year one and year two back to the taxpayers in order to receive $209,540 through this grant during each of those years. This is a win-win grant for both the taxpayers and the District.

A motion to approve the Application for FY 2020 Property Tax Relief Grant was made by Steve Pickering and seconded by Sara Brubacher. A roll call vote was taken. Voting aye – Tom Mollet, Steve Pickering, Melissa Brennan, Sara Brubacher, Gerry Blohm and Kristine Hester. Voting nay – none. Motion approved.

Approve Final Tax Levy -- The tentative levy was approved last month. The levy process includes the following: the Board of Education approves a yearly budget by September 30th, the Tax Assessors in all townships assess properties and send data to McHenry County, the Board of Education approves a yearly tax extension (Levy) by the last Tuesday in December, the Tax Extension Office calculates the tax rates and amounts and the County extends the Levy and collects the taxes.

McHenry County is under PTELL (Property Tax Extension Limitation Law) which limits the tax extensions to an increase of 5% or the CPI, whichever is lower. The CPI average for the last 5 years was 1.52%, the last 10 years was 1.8% and the last 20 years was 2.07%. The CPI for 2019 is 1.9% (2.1% in 2018). New property is taxed at its full value.

The CPI (Consumer Price Index) is determined in December of 2018 and finalized in January of 2019. Dr. Mahaffy also reviewed the CPI history.

The EAV is the Equalized Assessed Valuation or one third of the sum of the market value for all properties in the district. The Extension (the dollar amount of the levy) is subject to the PTELL, so if the EAV goes up more than the CPI, the District cannot access it all, except for new properties. If the growth in the EAV is greater than that of the CPI, the tax rate will decrease. If the growth in the EAV is less than that of the CPI, the tax rate will increase. Dr. Mahaffy stated that this is not an exact science.

There is no penalty for guessing too high with the tax levy. The District will not receive any dollars above PTELL. There is a big penalty for guessing too low. If the District does under levy or chooses not to levy, the tax rate gets locked and the difference between what the limited rate is and what the District levies for is lost every year moving forward (Public Act 096-0504).

Dr. Mahaffy stated that at the time the Levy is approved and submitted to the County Clerk’s office (by the last Tuesday in December), a district does not know the EAV, new construction and the true impact of hitting the maximum rates in our various funds. All of these are finalized in the spring and adjustments are made in April in the County Clerk’s office.

Dr. Mahaffy stated that new in 2017 with Senate Bill 1947 – School Funding Bill – eliminated the maximum rate in the Education Fund. District 3 will no longer hit the maximum rate in the Education Fund and will no longer need to balloon levy in the Transportation Fund and then do a transfer to the Education Fund. There is still a maximum tax rate for O&M, Working Cash and Special Education.

The total levy comes to $5,976,296.00 which includes the bond and interest.

District 3 continues to be in a continuing decline in tax rate (5th straight year) while still focusing on a continued quality education for students and improving facilities for staff and students.

A district may choose to abate property taxes which allows a district to capture the PTELL allowable rate while limiting or decreasing the tax increase to taxpayers. District 3 has been abating since 2013.

A motion to approve the Final Tax Levy as presented was made by Steve Pickering and seconded by Tom Mollet. A roll call vote was taken. Voting aye – Steve Pickering, Melissa Brennan, Sara Brubacher, Gerry Blohm, Kristine Hester and Tom Mollet. Voting nay – none. Motion approved.

Dr. Mahaffy will be sending a Press Release to the newspaper which will discuss the Levy, the Property Tax Relief Grant and District 3’s Abatement History.

Pre-approval to Pay Balance of Facility Project Signage Order of $3,782 Upon Delivery – Dr. Mahaffy stated that this signage item is part of the facility project to be completed in December. This will be the final payment once completed and is all planned facility project spending.

A motion to approve the pre-approval to pay the balance of the facility project signage order in the amount of $3,782 upon delivery was made by Steve Pickering and seconded by Tom Mollet. A roll call vote was taken. Voting aye – Melissa Brennan, Sara Brubacher, Gerry Blohm, Kristine Hester, Tom Mollet and Steve Pickering. Voting nay – none. Motion approved.

Pre-approval to Pay Steve Oertle Consulting for January Institute Day in the amount of $2,485.64 – Mr. Steve Oertle will be presenting to all staff a presentation on standards based grading. The Institute Day will be on January 17th and the Regional Office of Education will be reimbursing District 3 this entire amount.

A motion to approve the pre-approval to pay Steve Oertle Consulting for the January 17th Institute Day in the amount of $2,485.64 was made by Gerry Blohm and seconded by Steve Pickering. A roll call vote was taken. Voting aye – Sara Brubacher, Gerry Blohm, Kristine Hester, Tom Mollet, Steve Pickering and Melissa Brennan. Voting nay – none. Motion approved.

Personnel Report -- Dr. Mahaffy reviewed the Personnel Report as of December 16, 2019. The report included the following employment recommendations: Mrs. Jackie O’Mara, Ms. Debra Yester and Ms. Kathleen Cooker for their irrevocable notice of retirement at the conclusion of the 2020-2021 school-year.

A motion to approve the Personnel Report as presented for December 16, 2019 was made by Steve Pickering and seconded by Melissa Brennan. A roll call vote was taken. Voting aye – Gerry Blohm, Kristine Hester, Tom Mollet, Steve Pickering, Melissa Brennan and Sara Brubacher. Voting nay – none. Motion approved.

VIII. POLICY

One amendment was made to Policy 7:100 – Health, Eye, and Dental Examinations; Immunizations; and Exclusion of Students. This policy will be amended stating that health requirements will be due by August 15th instead of August 1st. By State law, students are excluded from school on October 15th if health requirements are not met. This means students can remain in school without proper immunizations until October 15th. The law allows this to happen. The law also allows school districts to have an earlier date for requiring immunizations set forth by their Board of Education. Many surrounding districts have moved this date to August. This change in policy will be communicated to parents and will be posted on the District’s website.

A motion to approve the first reading of the following new or revised policies as amended: 2:20 – Powers and Duties of the School Board; Indemnification, 2:70 – Vacancies on the School Board – Filing Vacancies, 2:100 – Board Member Conflict of Interest, 2:105 – Ethics and Gift Ban, 2:110 – Qualifications, Term and Duties of Board Officers, 2:200 – Types of School Board Meetings, 2:220 – School Board Meeting Procedure, 2:260 – Uniform Grievance Procedure, 4:15 – Identity Protection, 4:30 – Revenue and Investments, 4:60 – Purchases and Contracts, 4:80 – Accounting and Audits, 5:10 – Equal Employment Opportunity and Minority Recruitment, 5:20 – Workplace Harassment Prohibited, 5:30 – Hiring Process and Criteria, 5:50 – Drug and Alcohol-Free Workplace; E-Cigarette, Tobacco and Cannabis Prohibition, 5:90 – Abused and Neglected Child Reporting, 5:100 – Staff Development Program, 5:120 – Employee Ethics; Conduct; and Conflict of Interest, 5:250 – Leaves of Absence, 5:290 – Employment Termination and Suspensions, 5:330 – Sick Days, Vacation, Holidays, and Leaves, 6:60 – Curriculum Content, 6:150 – Home and Hospital Instruction, 7:20 – Harassment of Students Prohibited, 7:100 – Health, Eye, and Dental Examinations; Immunizations; and Exclusion of Students, 7:150 – Agency and Police Interviews, 7:270 – Administering Medicines to Students, and 8:30 – Visitors to and Conduct on School Property – was made by Tom Mollet and seconded by Melissa Brennan. A roll call vote was taken. Voting aye – Kristine Hester, Tom Mollet, Steve Pickering, Melissa Brennan, Sara Brubacher and Gerry Blohm. Voting nay – none. Motion approved.

Dr. Mahaffy shared a letter that will be sent to parents regarding the new recreational marijuana law. It is still illegal to have marijuana on school property. This has not changed.

IX. ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

Board of Education Dashboard – Dr. Mahaffy reviewed the Board of Education Dashboard. In January, seniority lists as well as registration fees for FY21 will be approved. The abatement resolution for the Property Tax Relief Grant will be presented. Summer maintenance and curriculum adoption will be coming up in February and March. Grade sections will also be reviewed. The facility project is still looking at a May 1st start date. The CPI-U is trending at 1.8.

Annual Statement of Affairs -- Dr. Mahaffy reported the District’s FY19 Annual Statement of Affairs (AFR) with the Board. This is required per Board Policy 4:10. Most of this information except for enrollment comes right out of the District’s Annual Financial Report. As required by State law, the Annual Statement of Affairs must be published before December 1st and filed with the State. This report gives an annual snapshot of the District.

Dr. Mahaffy met with some Legislators and other Business Managers last week. They felt that the publication of this report is a big waste of money. It costs District 3 about $400 to publish this in the newspaper when it could just be posted on the website. Two of the Legislators did not even know what the annual Statement of Affairs entailed. This annual Statement of Affairs was published in the Northwest Herald on November 13, 2019.

The report shows a lot of our audit information. Page 5 shows the salary schedule for both certified and non-certified staff. Also included are any payments made to a person, firm or corporation over $500 (excluding wages and salaries). Any contracts exceeding $25,000 awarded during FY19 are listed. Dr. Mahaffy will submit this report to the State Board of Education. The Annual Statement of Affairs pulls in the key audit detail.

ARS Principal – Dr. Ozimek stated that the Cary Grove Swing Choir performed at ARS last Wednesday and the students thoroughly enjoyed the presentation. The K-2 winter concert was held today and on Wednesday the winter concert for grades 3-4 at 2:00 p.m. will be presented. Winter parties will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Friday.

Director of Special Education – Mrs. Trom stated that there has been much information in the news about physical restraints and isolated time outs. She wanted to reassure the Board that there are no isolated time out rooms in the District and staff is trained in therapeutic de-escalation strategies.

X. COMMITTEE REPORTS -- None.

XI. ANNOUNCEMENTS, NOTICES AND COMMUNICATIONS – None.

XII. EXECUTIVE SESSION

A motion to adjourn from the regular session of the December 16, 2019 Board Meeting and go to executive session at 7:44 p.m. to consider information regarding the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance or dismissal of specific employees of the District was made by Steve Pickering and seconded by Tom Mollet. A roll call vote was taken. Voting aye – Tom Mollet, Steve Pickering, Melissa Brennan, Sara Brubacher, Gerry Blohm and Kristine Hester. Voting nay – none. Motion approved.

XIII. ACTION FOLLOWING EXECUTIVE SESSION

A motion to return from executive session to open session of the December 16, 2019 Board Meeting at 7:58 p.m. was made by Steve Pickering and seconded by Melissa Brennan. A roll call vote was taken. Voting aye – Steve Pickering, Melissa Brennan, Sara Brubacher, Gerry Blohm, Kristine Hester and Tom Mollet. Voting nay – none. Motion approved.

A motion to approve Dr. Sandy Ozimek as Superintendent and Business Manager and Contract for the 2021-2022 School Year was made by Steve Pickering and seconded by Gerry Blohm. A roll call vote was taken. Voting aye – Melissa Brennan, Sara Brubacher, Gerry Blohm, Kristine Hester, Tom Mollet and Steve Pickering. Voting nay – none. Motion approved.

Congratulations to Dr. Ozimek.

XIV . ADJOURNMENT

A motion to adjourn the meeting of December 16, 2019 at 7:59 p.m. was made by Steve Pickering and seconded by Gerry Blohm. A voice vote was taken. Voting aye – All ayes. Voting nay – None. Motion approved.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1b2VjUSO4hhAdxd2kkOj1_omhBW1wvMwV/view