March 10, 2014 - Ball Chatham CUSD #5

Minutes of the Regular Meeting of Community
Unit District Number Five
Sangamon County, Illinois
March 10, 2014
The regular meeting of the Board of Education of Community Unit District Number Five was held March
10, 2014 at the Ball-Chatham District Office which place is within the boundaries of said district.
President Jim Neuses called the meeting to order at 5:20 p.m. The Board President noted that Board
members Carter, Copp, Maddox, Petermeyer, Weitzel and Worley were present.
Adjournment of Regular Session to Closed Session
President Neuses called the Board to adjourn to closed session at 5:20 p.m.
Maddox moved to adjourn the Regular Board Meeting. Upon said motion being seconded by
Copp, the President put the question to a vote. All Board members present voted “yes.”
Re-opening of Regular Session
President Jim Neuses re-opened the meeting at 6:30 p.m., and asked the Board Clerk to call roll. She
noted that all board members were in attendance.
Administrators present: Jen Barham, Elizabeth Gregurich, Carrie Hruby, Chad Kent, Tammi Kuhn, Jill Larson, Jim Lee, Dave Murphy, Tina Root, Betsy Schroeder, Kim Sepich, Teresa Smith and Joe Viola.
Media present: Joe Pritchett, Chatham Clarion.
Closed Session Action Items
Members of the Board of Education came out of Closed Session and, after Board President Neuses read
aloud a Revised Order by the courts specific to Case No. 2013-MR-627, Better Chatham Schools and
Duane Sieren, (Plaintiffs) vs. Board of Education of Ball-Chatham Community Unit School District No. 5
and Robert Gillum.
Carter moved to approve the Revised Preliminary Order specific to Case No. 2013-MR627 between Better Chatham Schools and Duane Sieren (plaintiffs) and the Board of
Education of Ball-Chatham CUSD #5 and Robert Gillum. Upon said motion being seconded
by Worley, the board president called for a vote. All board members voted, “yes.”
Visitors
None noted.
Approval of Agenda
Maddox moved to approve the Agenda for March 10, 2014 Board of Education Special
(Personnel) Meeting. Upon said motion being seconded by Petermeyer, the board president
called for a vote. All board members voted, “yes.”
Consent Agenda Items
President Neuses asked Board members if they would like to pull any Consent Agenda items to further
discuss before voting their approval. None were noted.
Maddox moved that the Consent Agenda be approved [per the Administration’s Recommendation]. Upon said motion being seconded by Petermeyer, all board members voted “yes.”
Consent Agenda items included the following:

Illinois Central Network Bandwidth Change --Approval of CMS Contract
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Personnel Consent Items
President Neuses asked the board members if they would like to pull any Personnel Consent Agenda items
to further discuss before voting their approval. None were noted.
Worley moved that the Personnel Consent Agenda be approved [per the Administration’s
Recommendation]. Upon said motion being seconded by Carter, the President put the question
to a vote. All board members voted “yes.” Personnel Consent Agenda items included the following:

Resignation of Certificated Teacher (effective end of SY 2013/2014) – Lauren Laws

Resignation of Certificated Teacher (effective end of SY 2013/14) - Elizabeth Bailey

Resignation of Certificated Teacher (effective end of SY 2013/14) - Lindsay Chandler

Resignation of GHS Girls Golf Coach - Jordan Cox

Resignation of PreK Bus Monitor - Linsie Dawson

Resignation of BE Part-time Cook - Shell Swan

Employment of Part-Time (3.5 hrs/day) Playground Supervisor at Glenwood Elementary School - Jessica Patrick

Appointment of GHS Volunteer Tennis Coach - Joel Tennehouse

Sabbatical Leave Request - Andres Tellez
Personnel Action Items
Renewal of Non-Tenured Certified Staff – Human Resources Director, Teresa Smith, provided to the
Board of list of non-tenured certified staff who are recommended for contract renewal. Trustees voted to
approve the staff members up for renewal, as presented. They included:
First Year to Second Year
BE: Ewald, Brittany – 3rd Grade Fancher, Casey - Special Education; Kerr, Kristine – Kindergarten;
Stevens, Meghan – 3RD Grade
CE: Meisner, Mary – Special Education; Pescitelli, Lisa – Special Education; Saxton, Elizabeth – Special
Education
GES: Ribley, Kristin – Guidance Counselor
GIS: Davidson, Brittany – Special Education; Day, Kaytlin – 5th Grade; Long, Rae – 5th Grade
GMS: Bostrom, Elizabeth – Special Education; Dewitt, Shannon – Spanish & Social Science;
Meneghetti, Lauren – Social Science
GHS: Altman, Tracy – English; Dame, Sarah – Math; Dubasik, Kristi – Math; Mueller, Christi – Math;
Muller, Courtney – Special Education; Troyer, Ginger – Spanish
Vignassi, Amanda – Math; Wail, Joseph – Special Education
Multiple Buildings: Turner, Rachel - Speech & Language Pathologist
Second Year to Third Year
BE: Millard, Jessica – Speech and Language Pathologist; Travelstead, Sarah – Pre-K
GES: Giacomini, Hannah – 2nd Grade; Hasquin, Jamie – Special Education; Hostetter, Melissa – 4th
Grade; Robert, Julia – 1st Grade
GIS: Hanlon, Jessica – Speech & Language Pathologist; Hummel, John – Social Science; Lehmkuhl,
Jessica – 6th Grade LA; Montgomery, Carla – 5th Grade; O’Rourke, Kevin – 6th Grade Social Science
GMS: Lang, Sharon – Vision Itinerent; Reynolds, Laura – Science; Troll, Chelsea - Math
GHS: Clarke, Angela – Special Education; Demuro, David – Math; Muchow, Erica - English
Multiple Buildings: Carter, Sabrina – School Psychologist; Garner, Stacey – Social Worker; Hansen,
Eileen – Social Worker; Hoffert, Bethany – School Psychologist
Third Year to Fourth Year
BE: Boulanger, Ashley – 2nd Grade; Lee, Monica – Pre-K; McQuality, Cara – 3rd Grade; Nevius, Ryan
– 4th Grade; Snedigar, Danielle – 3rd Grade
CE: Willey, Kellie - 3rd Grade
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GE: Adkins, Maggie - 2nd Grade; Allen, Ashly – Special Education; Flott, Sarah – 3rd Grade; Herkert,
Christine – 4th Grade; Long, Alyssa - Special Education; Solomon, Brandy- 1st Grade; Waldman, Elizabeth – 2nd Grade
GIS: Cave, Hannah – 5th Grade; Luckey, Charla - 5th Grade; Schrock, Tina – 6th Grade Math
GMS: Barrett, Caitlin - Language Arts; Clevenger, Noelle - Librarian
GHS: lmdale, Brooke - Special Education; Clausen, Kimberly – Math; Cooper, Janna - Guidance Counselor; Fields, Caley - Special Education; Viola, Jessica - Guidance Counselor
Fourth Year to Tenure
BE: Harkness, Sarah – Pre-K; Lipscomb, Rebecca -4th Grade; McMahon, Michelle - Special Education
CE: Cox, Michelle – 1st Grade; Foiles, Natasha – 3rd Grade; Hubert, Amanda – 2nd Grade; Hummel,
Emily - Speech & Language Pathologist
GE: Curry, Christine - Kindergarten
GIS: Fesser, Lindsey – 5th Grade; Niemeyer, Tim – 5th Grade; Venturini, Jeremy – 6th Grade Math;
Whisler, Lisa – Special Education
GMS: O’donoghue, Corrine - Special Education
GHS: Hagan, Stephanie – Math; Lehnen, Trevor - Drivers Ed
Multiple Buildings: Lehnen, Christine – Spec Ed Coordinator
Petermeyer moved to approve the renewal of Non-Tenured Certified Staff as presented. Upon
said motion being seconded by Maddox, the board president called for a vote. All board members voted, “yes.”
Non-Renewal of Services - Certificated Staff – Board President Jim Neuses read aloud a resolution
of non-renewal of services for certificated staff member, Lindsay Moore, for the 2014/15 school year. Mrs.
Moore is a second year, GMS Math Teacher.
Worley moved to approve the administrative recommendation for non-renewal of services for Mrs. Lindsay Moore. Upon said motion being seconded by Petermeyer, the board
president called for a vote. All board members voted, “yes.”
Honorable Dismissal of Certificated/Temporary/ Part-Time Personnel – Director Smith presented to the Board the annual honorable dismissal list of certificated, temporary or part-time personnel.
Those on the list include:
GMS (Foreign Language) Teachers: Cornelia Bannister - Encore French; Deidre Zobrist - Encore German; Mary Kane - Encore Spanish
GHS (part-time): Terry Doyle
Worley moved to approve the honorable dismissal of the certificated/temporary/parttime personnel as presented. Upon said motion being seconded by Maddox, the board president call for a vote. All board members voted, “yes.”
Honorable Release of 2013/14 Mentors – The Board President read aloud a resolution for the honorable release of the 2013-14 mentors (Mentors are hired annually on an as-needed basis, and released
at the end of each school year). They include: Danielle Snedigar X2; Michelle McMahon, Jessica Ogden,
Jodi Acree, Julie McAllister, Sandra Stiegemeier X2, Jamie Althoff, Stephanie Hagan, Lenee Lucas, CB
Caldwell, Sara George, Krista Jackson X 2, Kristin Collins, Lori Allison, Emily Hummel, Erin Durr, Rachel
Downey, Sarah Admire, Becky Adams, Kyle Andrew X2, Sarah Scott
Petermeyer moved to approve the honorable release of 2013-14 mentors as presented.
Upon said motion being seconded by Carter, the board president call for a vote. All board members voted, “yes.”
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Old Business
GMS HVAC Project – Director Dave Murphy and Mr. Mike Zellers from Graham and Hyde Architects,
presented to the board on a proposed ventilation project at Glenwood Middle School. Though the project
was included in the Phase II of the referendum construction work, the winning bid by King-Lar, was approximately $212,000 over the estimated cost. This project is multi-faceted in that in addition to the heating, ventilating, and air conditioning using heat recovery and geothermal equipment. there are components of plumbing, structural steel modifications, roofing, site work and general work to support this
HVAC installation. It was Mr. Zellers’ belief that they missed the estimates because they were “light” in
monies designated to cover the extent of the ductwork, and geothermal system. Board members Copp
and Worley expressed concern about the bid being so far over estimates and thus, using a significant
amount of the construction contingency funds and extending the bond debt, respectively. Mr. Matt Slager
from Hanson Professional Services noted that their company, on behalf of the District has applied for several grants to help fund the geothermal portion of the work, not only at GMS but at GIS and GHS as well.
Weitzel moved to approve King-Lar to furnish and install HVAC for Phase 2 construction
at Glenwood Middle School for $212,000 as presented. Upon said motion being seconded
by Maddox, the board president call for a vote. All board members voted, “yes.”
Roundtable Discussion
Supt. Hruby asked board members to confirm a date for the Board’s goal-setting meeting. All agreed to
April 16, 6-8 p.m. at the District Office.
Board President Neuses read aloud a note by Mrs. Worley sent to District principals, and the principals’
letter in response. Mr. Neuses felt that Mrs. Worley’s note was inappropriate and violated board governance procedures.
Also, Mr. Copp reiterated that the superintendent evaluation process needs much improvement. Mrs. Worley concurred, saying that the process has caused a great deal of confusion and her written notes to the
principals may have added to the confusion. Board Secretary Carter agreed that every aspect of the superintendent evaluation, and the process for that evaluation, should be reviewed.
Finally, Board member Weitzel stated that for the last year and a half, Mrs. Worley has “slammed” her,
but that she will continue to do her job [as an elected member of the Board]. Mrs. Worley responded that
the street runs both ways.
Future Board Meeting Dates
The upcoming board meeting dates and dates for board activities are:
• March 18, 2014 - Finance Committee Meeting - 4 p.m.
• March 24, 2014 - Regular Board Meeting - 5:15 p.m. Closed Session; 6:30 p.m. Regular Session
• March 26, 2014 - IBB - Board Team and BCEA - Closed Session - 6-8 p.m.
• March 27, 2014 - Board Self Evaluation - Closed Session - 6-8 p.m.
• April 1, 2014 - IBB - Board Team and BCEA - Closed Session - 6-8 p.m.
• April 15, 2014 - IBB - Board Team and BCEA - Closed Session - 6-8 p.m.
• April 16, 2014 – Board Goal Setting – 6-8 p.m.
• April 22, 2014 - IBB - Board Team and BCEA - Closed Session - 6-8 p.m.
• April 29, 2014 - IBB - Board Team and BCEA - Closed Session - 6-8 p.m.
• April 28, 2014 - Regular Board Meeting - 5:15 p.m. Closed Session; 6:30 p.m. Regular Session
Citizens
Ball-Chatham parent, Jay Cole, expressed his frustration with the Board and the direction of the district.
He brought up several issues, but stated that the Board’s goal should be on student achievement and he
believes they have lost that focus.
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Adjournment
With there being no further discussion President Neuses called the Board to adjourn at 7:31 p.m.
Cop moved to adjourn the Regular Board Meeting. Upon said motion being seconded by
Maddox, the President put the question to a vote. All Board members present voted “yes.”
_____________________________
Betsy Schroeder, Board Clerk
_____________________________
Jim Neuses, President
_____________________________
Linda Carter, Secretary
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