| West Chicago Elementary School District #33 |
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| Dr. Ed Leman, Superintendent | Board of Education | ||||
| 312 E. Forest Avenue West Chicago, IL 60185 | Dave Barclay, President | ||||
| www.wegoed33.k12.il.us | Katrine Maguire Secretary | ||||
| (630) 293-6000 Fax (630) 293-6088 | Sharon L. Jones | ||||
| Contact: | Becky Koltz | School/Community Relations Specialist | Deborah D. Ramsey | ||
| (630) 293-6000 ext. 201 | Robert Lemon | ||||
| koltzb@wegoed33.k12.il.us | Chris Scheck | ||||
| Date: | 22 Jan 2005 | Joseph Lach | |||
The regular meeting of the Board of Education
was held on the
3rd Thursday of the month, January 20, 2005.
Board Members in attendance: Robert Lemon, Joseph Lach, Chris Scheck, Deborah Ramsey, Sharon Jones, Katrine Maguire, Dave Barclay
Presentation
Mr. Dave Venchus, Energy Manager for District #33, along with Rod Bunker from Energy Education, presented a report on the District's energy management program. This program is set up to eliminate energy waste, save dollars, and at the same time maintain comfort and safety to the students and staff. Dave reported that the District has realized a cost avoidance of over $58,000 since April of 2004, or almost 23% of the energy cost from the previous year.
Approval of Minutes
The Board of Education approved the minutes of the regular board meetings of December 16, 2004 (3rd Thursday) as amended, and January 6, 2005 (1st Thursday).
Financial Reports
The Board approved the following current expenditures:
- list of bills dated December 17, 2004 to January 20, 2005
- regular payrolls of December 17, 2004 and January 14, 2005
- imprest list dated December 8, 2004 to January 10, 2005
Public Participation
The public addressed the Board of Education to express concerns about raising class sizes and reducing gifted education services. Also, an employee requested that the Board look seriously at the bilingual program and consider English immersion in preschool through 1st grade. As a result of the budget cut concerns, the Board of Education decided to hold a special meeting on January 27, 2005 at the West Chicago Middle School at 7:00 p.m. to continue the budget discussion.
Information/Discussion Items
The Board of Education reviewed the following informational items:
- most current posting of available job positions in School District #33
- report of employees on a short term maternity leave
- November, 2004 student attendance report, reflecting special education out-of-district figures, noting the District's percent of attendance to be at 96.66%; and December, 2004 student attendance report, not reflecting special education out-of-district figures, noting the District's percent of attendance to be at 95.54%
- school suspension report for December 2004, indicating 8 out-of-school, 2 in-school, and 2 bus suspensions
- freedom of information report, noting that there were no requests since the last board meeting
- special education out-of-district placements, indicating no new students since the last board meeting
- quarterly vandalism report indicating an estimated cost to the District in the amount of $239.94
- continued discussion on possible budget reductions for the FY'06 school year
- a report from the Facilities Committee on the Preston Fields/Concord Homes development, and the impact to District #33 at this date, along with a recommendation to delay until May or September 2005, the decision to possibly add on to Wegner School until there is a more accurate count of children and what the actual impact would be to the District
Action Items
The Board of Education took action on the following:
- employed Janet Salgado as a 1st grade bilingual teacher at Pioneer School for the remainder of the 2004-2005 school year
- approved classified staff changes from December 11, 2004, to January 14, 2005
- approved the 2005-2006 school calendar, as recommended by the Calendar Committee
- verified that District #33 is in compliance with the criteria set by the State in order to receive a library grant from the State, to be used for new and replacement library books and reference books
- conducted a third reading and adopted policy #6:65 - "Student Social and Emotional Development" pertaining to the Children's Mental Health Act of 2003
- approved an increase of 5% to the activity fee schedule for the 2005-2006 school year
New Business - Discussion with Possible Future Action
The Board set a date of February 4, 2005 as a Special Board Meeting for the purpose of a board retreat. The Board of Education agreed to participate in an IASB sponsored program - "Targeting Achievement Through Governance" to gain knowledge in setting goals and to be more effective in influencing academic achievement in the district.
Report of District Committee Meetings
The report on the Foundation for Educational Excellence of January 14, 2005, and the Legislative Committee were moved to the next board meeting of February 3, 2005.
E.T.A.W.C.
Kathy Fraser, E.T.A.W.C. representative, read the following statement:
In education, the words "No Child Left Behind" inspire many thoughts and feelings. Certainly we all agree with the intent. None of us ever want to neglect the learning needs of any of our charges. The words "No Child Left Behind" also bring stress and fear. We are being challenged to perform at unprecedented levels, with dire consequences if we fail. District #33 is not alone in feeling these stressors; all over the nation, teachers, administrators, and school boards are felling the heat. Like teachers throughout the country, West Chicago teachers feel that we have significant challenges in meeting these lofty goals, but our members have also felt that we have some advantages and tools. District 33 has a history of excellent programs, community support, and good working relationships between the School Board, administrators, and the Teachers' Association. We know that the Board of Education is between a rock and a hard place with the budget problems, but we also know that some of our tools for success are being taken from us. In classes of 35, 37, or above, it is not going to be easy to provide hands on lessons, cooperative learning or differentiated instruction. Dr. Sonia Soltero, a presenter at last Friday's institute, shared with her group that students retain less than 20% of what they read or hear, but almost 90% of what they say and do. Reading and lecture are manageable in a large class, but do not have the greatest success rate. Students in huge classes have fewer opportunities to say and do. We won't give up, but we worry that we won't be able to provide the same quality of experience. With reduced learning center services, will our students get the skills to equip them to use resources for independent learning? Will our gifted students get the enriched experiences that they need? Can we fully utilize our considerable computer resources without a trainer to show teachers what our systems and students are capable of technologically? We understand that questions are easier than answers, but still we worry.
Review of Upcoming Meetings/Events
The Board of Education members reviewed upcoming meetings and events.
Closed Session
The Board of Education did not go into closed session at this meeting. The review of previous closed session minutes will be conducted at the February 3, 2005 board meeting.
The next Regular Board Meeting is scheduled for the 1st Thursday of the month, February 3, 2005, beginning at 7:00 p.m.
The above review of action taken by the Board of Education at their regular meeting is provided in an attempt to keep you informed. If you have any questions regarding any of the information provided or wish to discuss any of the items, please do not hesitate to contact my office.
Respectfully,
Ed Leman
Superintendent of Schools
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