Minutes of the Regular Meeting of January 19, 2011
The Board of Education of Community Unit School District No. 1, Coles and Cumberland Counties,
Illinois met in regular session on Wednesday, January 19, 2011 at the Administration Building – 410
West Polk Avenue, Charleston, Illinois 61920
At 6:30 p.m., President Miller called the meeting to order and asked for roll call.
The following members were present:
Ron Miller, President
Jason Coe, Vice President
Kelly Miller, Secretary
Jeff Coon, Treasurer
Jerry Esker
Tim Hutti
Kevin Oakley (arrived at 7:01pm)
The following staff members were present:
Jim Littleford, Superintendent
Todd Vilardo, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction
David Kuetemeyer, Financial Consultant
Visitors 78 and 1 Member of the Press
President Miller asked if there were any requests or written communications to the Board of Education.
There were no requests received.
The Board of Education received an addendum to their board packets which included:
- Revised Board Agenda
Correction to Resignation date for paraprofessional at Carl Sandburg Elementary School
- VI B. Consent Agenda – New Business
Correction to destruction dates for audio tapes: January 2009 – July 2009
Superintendent’s Report
C. Correction: ……implementation of RtI at Jefferson Elementary School
Under Recognition, Mr. Littleford recognized the following people:
Mr. Littleford complimented the artwork display provided by the Ashmore and Mark Twain Elementary
School art students in grades K-4. Penny Hess, art instructor.
Mr. Littleford read two letters of appreciation from Kevin, Alyson, Quintin, and Payton Davis.
He also read a thank you letter from Principal Debbie Poffinbarger to Steve and Belinda Romine for their
donation to Jefferson Elementary School.
Jefferson Elementary School Character Education students were recognized for exemplifying the trait of
Teamwork. Roxanne Cornebise, Counselor is in charge of the program.
4th Grade
5th Grade
6th Grade
Jacob Callahan
Blake Bonnstetter
Gentry Copsy
Ben Geisler
Tamar Brookins
Kevin Dowd
Adrienne Gullion (Ashmore)
Luke Buescher
Rachel Hunter
Lucas Hawk
Matthew Hallowell
Lauren Spour
Sydnie Littleford
Michael Kuznicki
Austin Stanford
Mikayla Price
Ross Lanman
Taylor Stevens
Dayton Simpson
Ashton Smith
Alex Walker
Jacob Wilson
Kennedy Tozer
Justin Wilson
Regular Meeting Minutes of 1/19/2011 Page 1 Katie Weber, 5th Grade student for exemplifying the Trait of Responsibility. (She was not able to attend
the October board meeting.)
Steve and Belinda Romine – for donating $1,000 to the Helping Hands Fund at Jefferson Elementary
School to help in providing for needy families during the holiday season. They were not able to attend
the meeting.
Charleston Middle School Art Club - in August there was a group of individuals that worked together to
provide students at CMS an opportunity to develop their artistic ability. Mr. Littleford presented
certificates to Kit Morice and Michael Watts of the Tarble Arts Center, Eastern Illinois University.
Suzanne Berkes was the visiting artist who instructed the students two days a week for four weeks last
fall. Ms. Berkes was not able to attend the meeting due to the weather conditions. Todd Vilardo, was
also recognized for his work in implementing the art club program at Charleston Middle School. The
student’s time and effort produced a ceramic mural that will be displayed at Charleston Middle School.
The Art Club students in attendance to accept their certificate: Ally Bower, Christopher Czarnecki,
Maegan Flight, Rosalee Miller, Megan Kidwell, and Faith Ogden. Iain Strong, Vivian Lui, Eva Bacon,
and Katherine Kennedy were not able to attend.
President Miller asked if there were any requests from the Board of Education to remove any of the
consent agenda items or addendum items for discussion. There were no requests from the Board of
Education.
Mr. Littleford reviewed the items under Consent Agenda.
IV. Consent Agenda: Standard Items
A. Approve the minutes of the Special Board Meeting of December 8, 2010 and the Regular Board
Meeting of December 15, 2010.
B. Approve the bills and payrolls for the month of December 31, 2010.
C. Approve the Activity Fund Accounts for the CUSD #1 attendance centers, period ending
December 31, 2010.
VI. Consent Agenda: New Business
A. Approve the minutes of the closed session meetings held on July 21, 2010, August 18, 2010,
September 15, 2010, November 17, 2010, and December 8, 2010; and further, not to make public
the minutes of the closed sessions.
B. Authorize the destruction of all Closed Session Audio Tapes beginning January 2009 through
July 2009 for regular and special meetings.
C. Grant permission to establish the following activity fund accounts at Charleston High School:
Cross Country, Swimming, Volleyball, Boys’ Basketball, Girls’ Basketball, Wrestling, Baseball,
Softball, Girls’Track, and Boys’ Track. These accounts would serve solely as “flow through”
accounts allowing coaches to deposit and withdraw monies collected for team t-shirts and other
commemorative apparel.
D. Declaration of referenced inventory from the Charleston Middle School Dance Team as surplus
and available to donate to the Trojan Booster Club.
E. Grant 239 (two hundred thirty nine) gifted sick leave days to Connie Spaniol, teacher at Carl
Sandburg Elementary School.
Regular Meeting Minutes of 1/19/2011 Page 2 VII. Consent Agenda: Employment
Grant a family medical leave to Jean Butler, a paraprofessional at Jefferson Elementary School.
Accept a letter of resignation from Cathy Butler, paraprofessional at Carl Sandburg Elementary
School, effective 12/28/2010.
Accept a letter of resignation from Wade Hennig as the JV Baseball Coach at Charleston High
School, effective immediately.
Approve the reassignment of Lori Rankin, paraprofessional at Carl Sandburg Elementary School,
effective 1/4/2011.
Increase the employment status of Jana Drake, Early Childhood Special Education teacher at
Mark Twain Elementary School to full time, effective 1/4/2011.
Approve the employment of Therese Kincade as the Spring Musical Director at Charleston High
School for the 2010-2011 school year.
Approve the employment of Barbara Heitka as the Assistant Girls’ Track Coach at Charleston
High School for the 2011 season.
Approve the employment of Ben Lawson as the Assistant Boys’ Track Coach at Charleston High
School for the 2011 season. This employment was contingent upon the receipt of all information
required for employment.
Approve the list of substitutes/volunteers for Community Unit School District No. 1, effective
December 8, 2010 – January 10, 2011.
Kevin Oakley arrived at 7:01pm.
President Miller recommended that the Board of Education approve items under III through VII inclusive
on the Consent Agenda. Mr. Coe moved and Dr. Hutti seconded the motion.
On roll call vote:
AYE: Coe, Hutti, Esker, K. Miller, R. Miller
NAY: Coon
Abstain: none
Motion carried
Under the Superintendent’s Report, Media Directors – Karen Murphy, Leigh Ann Cloud, and Cathy
Senior were in attendance to present information on the CUSD #1 Library Media Program. Kristen Holly
and Amy Niebrugge were not able to attend the meeting. This presentation is a requirement of the Illinois
School Library Per Capita Grant offered by the Illinois State Board of Education and funded through the
Office of Secretary of State. The purpose of the grant is to provide additional funding for quality
services, books, and materials to support student learning. The Charleston CUSD #1 Library Media
Programs are considered “proficient” according to the standards of the 2005 edition of Linking for
Learning: The Illinois School Library Media Program Guidelines. The FY2011 School Library per
Capita Grant was approved by the Board of Education and submitted to the ISBE in October 2010.
During Winter Break, Charleston High School hosted the Boys’ and Girls’ Holiday Basketball
Tournaments. Athletic Director, Liz Watson was in attendance to present the financial breakdown of the
2010 tournaments in comparison to the 2009 tournaments. From the financial sheet, she pointed out the
district suffered a profit loss due to expenses. This was the final year for Charleston to host the boy’s
tournament. Next year’s Holiday Tournament format will include only girl’s teams. She reviewed plans
Regular Meeting Minutes of 1/19/2011 Page 3 for the 2011-12 Girl’s Holiday tournament reporting that seven schools had signed a two-year contract to
be in this tournament, (Charleston, Effingham, Galesburg, Paris, Rantoul, Taylorville, and Urbana).
Teutopolis notified her before the board meeting that they decided not to sign on to the tournament. Ms.
Watson stated that Decatur-Eisenhower would be the next team to contact. The Holiday Tournament
Committee is scheduled to meet every second Wednesday of the month, next meeting being February 2,
2011.
Mr. Littleford reported that Jefferson Elementary School was in their sixth year of implementation of RtI
(Response to Intervention). The TCT/RtI committee and staff have worked to create a very solid system
for addressing students of academic need and would like to share their work with other schools. On
January 21, RtI coordinators, assistant principals, and principals will be visiting Jefferson to collaborate
and learn of the many instructional pieces that have been put into place to assist students. Debbie
Poffinbarger, Kathy Bossert, and Rita McCollum provided highlights of the visit to the Board of
Education.
Mr. Littleford announced that the Illinois Association of School Boards will host the Illini Division
Spring Dinner Meeting on Thursday, February 24, 2011 at Oakwood CUSD #76. The Illini Division
meetings provide an opportunity for networking, professional development, peer recognition, association
governance, and resources. Mr. Littleford extended an invitation to the Board of Education and school
board candidates to attend the meeting.
Mr. Coon moved and Mr. Esker seconded a motion that the Superintendent’s Report was received by the
Board of Education.
On roll call vote:
AYE: Coon, Esker, Coe, Hutti, Oakley, K. Miller, R. Miller
NAY: none
Abstain: none
Motion carried
Under New Business, it was the recommendation of the superintendent that the Board of Education
authorize the purchase of the following services from EIASE for the 2011-12 school year: Itinerant
Collaborative Behavior Services, Itinerant Vision Services, Prevocational Services, Rehabilitation
Services (Occupational and Physical Therapy) and Itinerant Adapted Physical Education.
Second, the district continue to participate in the “Tuition” based programs for the Kansas Treatment
and Learning Center, Diagnostic and Developmental Center (DDC), and the Hearing Impaired Program
for the 2010-11 school year.
Third, the district will continue to operate the self-contained emotional disability classroom at
Charleston Middle School, which serves as a transition program between the middle school and Kansas
Treatment and Learning Center. The district will continue to provide services for emotional disability
students transitioning to and from Kansas Treatment and Learning Center and Charleston High School.
Fourth, the district will continue to provide classroom space for the Project Help and Hearing Impaired
programs operated by EIASE and located in Charleston Schools.
Mr. Coe moved and Mr. Coon seconded the motion.
On roll call vote:
AYE: Coe, Coon, Esker, Hutti, Oakley, K. Miller, R. Miller
NAY: none
Abstain: none
Motion carried
Regular Meeting Minutes of 1/19/2011 Page 4 It was the recommendation of the superintendent to establish Wednesday, April 27, 2011 at 6:00pm as a
special meeting for the organizational meeting of the Board of Education. Mr. Oakley moved and Mr.
Esker seconded the motion.
On roll call vote:
AYE: Oakley, Esker, Coe, Coon, Hutti, K. Miller, R. Miller
NAY: none
Abstain: none
Motion carried
It was the recommendation of the superintendent that the Board of Education establish a District Speech
and Language Pathologist position to be used to cover the remaining maternity leave and, then, would
continue to remain on staff due to increasing caseloads and severity of disabilities.
Further, that the Board of Education grant the authority to the superintendent to employ a District Speech
and Language Pathologist for the remainder of the 2010-2011 school year. This employment is
contingent upon receipt of all information required for employment and based upon Board approval at the
following board meeting.
Mr. Coe moved and Dr. Hutti seconded the motion.
On roll call vote:
AYE: Coe, Hutti, Coon, Esker, Oakley, K. Miller, R. Miller
NAY: none
Abstain: none
Motion carried
At 7:36pm, President Miller recommended that the Board of Education adjourn into closed session for a
student discipline hearing. Mr. Oakley moved and Mr. Coe seconded the motion.
On roll call vote:
AYE: Oakley, Coe, Coon, Esker, Hutti, K. Miller, R. Miller
NAY: none
Abstain: none
Motion carried
The following staff members were present:
Jim Littleford, Superintendent
Todd Vilardo, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction
David Kuetemeyer, Financial Consultant
Attendance for the Hearing:
Luke Feeney, District Attorney served as Presiding Officer
Diane Hutchins, CHS Principal
Trevor Doughty, CHS Assistant Principal
Guardian of student #18773
At 8:17pm, Mr. Oakley made a motion to reconvene from closed session. Mr. Coe seconded the motion.
On roll call vote:
AYE: Oakley, Coe, Coon, Esker, Hutti, K. Miller, R. Miller
NAY: none
ABSTAIN: none
Motion carried
Regular Meeting Minutes of 1/19/2011 Page 5 President Miller made a motion and moved that student #18773 be found to have violated school rules for
being involved in aggressive behavior, including punching another student repeatedly in the face, on
school property during school hours, and that said conduct constitutes gross disobedience and misconduct
and is so related to the school program so as to warrant discipline. Mr. Coe seconded the motion.
On roll call vote:
AYE: R. Miller, Coe, Coon, Esker, Hutti, Oakley, K. Miller
NAY: none
ABSTAIN: none
Motion carried
At 8:18pm, President Miller recommended that the Board of Education adjourn into closed session to
determine disciplinary action to student #18773. Mr. Oakley moved and Dr. Hutti seconded the motion.
On roll call vote:
AYE: Oakley, Hutti, Coe, Coon, Esker, K. Miller, R. Miller
NAY: none
ABSTAIN: none
Motion carried
At 9:22pm, Mr. Oakley made a motion to reconvene from closed session. Dr. Hutti seconded the motion.
On roll call vote:
AYE: Oakley, Hutti, Coe, Coon, Esker, K. Miller, R. Miller
NAY: none
ABSTAIN: none
Motion carried
President Miller made a motion and moved that student #18773 be expelled from Charleston High School
for a period of two (2) calendar years beginning on January 4, 2011, and that said expulsion be held in
abeyance for the sole purpose of allowing student #18773 to attend the Treatment and Learning Center in
Kansas, Illinois, or, should student #18773 become a resident of a different school district, any similar
alterative program approved by that District. Any alternative program shall be at the sole expense of
student #18773. Mr. Coe seconded the motion.
On roll call vote:
AYE: R. Miller, Coe, Coon, Esker, Hutti, Oakley, K. Miller
NAY: none
ABSTAIN: none
Motion carried
President Miller stated that this would conclude the disciplinary case for student #18773.
At 9:43pm, President Miller recommended that the Board of Education adjourn into closed session to
consider information regarding appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or
dismissal of specific employees of the pubic body, including hearing testimony on a complaint lodged
against an employee to determine its validity.
-
Evaluation of Superintendent of Schools
Mr. Oakley moved and Mr. Coe seconded the motion.
On roll call vote:
AYE: Oakley, Coe, Coon, Esker, Hutti, K. Miller, R. Miller
NAY: none
Abstain: none
Motion carried
Regular Meeting Minutes of 1/19/2011 Page 6 At 10:49pm, Mr. Esker made a motion to reconvene from closed session. Mr. Coe seconded the motion.
On roll call vote:
AYE: Esker, Coe, Coon, Hutti, Oakley, K. Miller, R. Miller
NAY: none
Abstain: none
Motion carried
At 10:50pm, Mr. Coe made a motion to adjourn from the board meeting. Mr. Oakley seconded the
motion.
On roll call vote:
AYE: Coe, Oakley, Coon, Esker, Hutti, K. Miller, R. Miller
NAY: none
Abstain: none
Motion carried
Ronald L. Miller_
Ronald L. Miller, President
Kelly P. Miller_
Kelly P. Miller, Secretary
Regular Meeting Minutes of 1/19/2011 Page 7