Board of Education

The Career Development program at Rock Island High School gained solid footing after it introduced three new courses last fall. Assistant Principal Ed Veasey reviewed the most recent Career Development Cluster and Pathway chart, which outlined 6 career clusters and several corresponding pathways. Now that the Career Clusters are formed, the next step is to refine the curriculum and develop Capstone/internship opportunities for senior students. Program expansions are being planned for Agri-Science, Mod Lab and Welding areas as well. A major part of the programs success comes from the partnership with the Illinois Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce. “Our ability to attract people and jobs to the Quad City area relies on our educational offerings. The Rock Island School District’s career development program is truly a cutting edge curriculum that will bring many benefits to our area,” said Rick Baker, President of the Illinois Quad City Chamber of Commerce.

In another measure, the board approved to add Anatomy & Physiology, Classic Literature and Contemporary Literature to the course selection at the High School. The courses are full-year offerings according to Associate Principal Georgia Kouris. With the addition of the new courses, other semester-long classes will be eliminated. Ms. Kouris didn’t identify specific courses to be eliminated but will provide the board with the information in a couple of weeks.At the semester’s end, the Freshman Academy saw solid improvements in academic areas and student attendance, however came up sort their discipline referrals goal, according to Kristen Allen, Freshman Academy Coordinator. The Academy started implementing a new attendance procedure last fall to get students to class on time, and the new procedure has caused referrals to increase. Ms. Allen has addressed the issue and feel that teachers and staff are on the right track. The end of the semester data show the Freshman Academy goal of promoting 85% of the freshman to 10th grade is close to being on track as well as the attendance rate goal of 95%. Both are improvements over last year. Current data also revealed that students who attended the Freshman Academy are performing better academically in 10th grade over those who did not go through the Academy. Ms. Allen will provide another update to the board in May.

Last fall, the board approved the sale of $10 million in bonds in General Obligation bonds, and now needs to sell the remaining $12 million. The General Obligation Series 2008 School Bonds, sold in October 2008, received an A2 rating from Moody’s. It is anticipated Moody’s will assign the same rating for the bonds to be sold in 2009. Mr. Phillips, Speer Financial, presented current projections for the 2009 bond sale. With the current interest rates in the market, he predicts that the sales can be completed and maintain the targeted bond and interest tax rate of $0.51. Based on Mr. Phillips estimates, the board approved the second round of bonds to be sold. The bonds will be sold in the marketplace on February 10th. At the Board Meeting that same evening the board will be asked to finalize the bond sales through a formal resolution.

The board heard several heartfelt testimonies from district paraprofessionals and librarians before passing the motion to continue to build the 2009-2010 budget with the recommended additions and Tier 1 cuts presented at the last board meeting. Barb Wignall, Paraprofessional at Earl Hanson, asked the board to take into consideration the value of paraprofessionals beyond salary margins. “Eliminating a paraprofessional out of each building will have a negative effect on children’s education,” said Ms. Wignall. After the 2009-10 budget is built, the board will prioritize the cuts, so that when additional revenue comes in from the federal/state level, items can be restored in a timely manner.

Other items:

• Ms. Dothard commended the students on their essays at the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Service at the King Center. The Intermediate Academy Peace Choir “brought down the house.” MLK essay winners >>
• Dave Rockwell announced that Neighborhood Partners was selected to present at the Sustainable Schools Symposium on Feb. 27.
• Chess is booming at the elementary schools according to Earl Strupp. Earl Hanson has 2 classes now and one has just started at Thomas Jefferson Elementary.
• Superintendent Loy stated that 5 candidates are vying for 4 board positions: Dave Rockwell, Jim Veasey and Bill Cleaver are running for their spots. In addition, Dr. Jim Bishop and Clark Ramser (a former student board member) have submitted documentations to run for the Board. The election is April 7th.
• Bob Smith, President of the Rock Island Education Association announced that the RIEA supports option #1 of the three options provided to the Association for the 2009-2010 academic calendar . He also thanked the board for their efforts in maintaining as many teachers as possible while making potential difficult budget cuts.

Download full pdf agendaROCK ISLAND-MILAN SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 41Regular Meeting of the Board of EducationRock Island High School – LibraryTUESDAY, JANUARY 27, 20096:00 PMI. PreliminaryA.  Call to Order and Roll CallB. Pledge of AllegianceC.  Approval of Board of Education Minutes . . . ActionIt is recommended that the Board of Education approve the minutes of the regular meetings of December 9, 2008 and January 13, 2009 and special meetings of December 22, 2008 and January 6, 2009 (including executive session minutes to be kept on file as confidential) as presented.II.  Communications

• A. Communications from Citizens

• B. Requests from persons wishing to speak on certain agenda items at the appropriate time during the meeting.

III. ReportsA.  Reports from Board Members

• Voting Members
• Student Members

B.  Report from Superintendent

• C. Report from RIEA Representative

• D. Citizens wishing to address the Board of Education on items not on the agenda. Comments should be limited to three (3) minutes. (Matters regarding specific employees or students are of a confidential nature and will not be heard in open session.)

IV.  Nomination of Agenda Items for Future Meetings of the BoardV.  Action on Routine MattersAct on Agenda Additions and/or DeletionsB.  Approve AgendaC.  Blanket MotionOpportunity will be given for the selection of items that need no discussion to be approved at the appropriate time on the agenda. The following items are recommended for the Blanket Motion:VII. B.  Student ExpulsionsVIII. E. Investment ReportVII. C.  January Fund RaisersVIII. F. December FinancialsVIII. C. Computer NetworkVIII. G.  Bills for PaymentVIII. D.   List of DonationsIX. A-C. PersonnelVI.  EducationA.  Career Development Update . . . InformationEd Veasey will provide an update on the Career Development program in District 41.B.  9^th Grade Academy Update . . . InformationKristin Allen will provide an update on the 9^th Grade Academy at Rock Island High School.C.  New Course Offerings . . . ActionIt is recommended that the Board of Education approve the following new course offerings at Rock Island High School: Anatomy and Physiology, Classic Literature and Contemporary Literature as presented.VII.  OperationsA.  Selection of Board Members for Policy Committees . . . ActionIt is recommended that the Board of Education select two members to serve on a Building Usage Policy/Procedures Committee and two members to review the Purchasing Policy and Guidelines.B.  Student Expulsions . . . ActionIt is recommended that the Board of Education approve Student Expulsion No’s. 05/10/20, 05/20/23 and 05/16/23.C.  January Fund Raisers . . . ActionIt is recommended that the Board of Education approve the January Fund Raising requests as presented.VIII. Business/FinanceA.  2009 Bond Sale . . . InformationMr. Dave Phillips, Speer Financial, will update the Board of Education on the second sale of General Obligation Bonds to complete the call of outstanding bonds and acquire the remaining $12 million for the Building Excellence plan.B.  Budget Cuts . . . ActionIt is recommended that the Board of Education direct the administration to build the 2009-10 budget incorporating the recommended additions and Tier I reductions as presented at the January 13, 2009 Board meeting.C.  Computer Network Upgrade . . . ActionIt is recommended that the Board of Education enter into a 60-month contract with Mediacom to provide high speed fiber connections between our buildings and from the high school to the Illinois Century Network. The cost to install the network will be $12,800 and the ongoing monthly cost will be $12,150.D.  List of Donations . . . ActionIt is recommended that the Board of Education acknowledge the List of Donations as presented.E.  Investment Report . . . ActionIt is recommended that the Board of Education approve the Investment Report for quarter ended December 31, 2008.F.  December Financial Statements . . . ActionIt is recommended that the Board of Education approve the December Financial Statements as presented.G.  Bills for Payment . . . ActionIt is recommended that the Board of Education authorize Bills for Payment dated January 15, 2009 ($3,227,815.74).IX.  Personnel

• A. Non-Certified Appointments . . . Action

It is recommended that the Board of Education approve the Non-Certified Appointments of Steve Cravens, Pendalyn Dawson, Madelyn (Kris) Golden, Stacy Green, Matthew Hoeppner and Victoria Vallejo as presented.

• B. Non-Certified Resignations . . . Action

It is recommended that the Board of Education accept the Non-Certified Resignations of Carrol Diaz and Kari Gibbs as presented.C.  Non-Certified Retirement . . . ActionIt is recommended that the Board of Education approve the Non-Certified Retirement of Stella Zumwalt as presented.X.  Adjournment

Preceding the Board meeting, the Thoms Family awarded the Above and Beyond Scholarship to Rock Island High School senior Rachel Segal. Read more >>Building Excellence UpdateThe Building Excellence construction projects are progressing despite the weather. Longfellow’s east addition has steel beams in place and masonry work has started. The mechanical and electrical rough-ins will start soon. The Academy has foundations set on the northwest side of the existing building. A temporary parking lot was constructed for teachers and staff until construction is completed. Eugene Field’s cafeteria, media center and new classroom additions have masonry completed and are busy with mechanical installation. The New School has started on site utilities (sewer, water) and will complete grade work, weather permitting. Construction is slated to start in March.Ridgewood and Thomas Jefferson design plans are near completion and construction should start by mid-March. Frances Willard and Denkmann bids will go out in February with construction starting in late March. The remaining projects, Earl Hanson, Edison Jr. High and Washington Jr. High haven’t started the planning phase. Although preliminary designs were completed for the Rock Island High School Cafeteria improvements, work is tabled due to Building Excellence budget constrains.Budget Considerations for 2009-2010The Board reviewed the preliminary 2009-2010 budget that if left unchanged, will face a deficit of $4.5 million. The administration recommended that the budget be reduced by $2,385,880 with the largest adjustments made to Building Capital, Special Education, technology, textbooks, building operations and eliminating one Paraprofessional per building. The curriculum and instruction area is looking at $104,000 in cuts to development, assessment software and intervention programs.The budget cuts at the Tier 1 level can take place without increasing class sizes or eliminating teacher positions. “All of the administrators and principals have worked diligently over the last two months to make the budget reductions work,” said Superintendent Loy. “Their goal was to have as little impact as possible on student learning.” Mr. Oberhaus also noted that increasing average daily student attendance and reducing the drop out rate would have a positive effect on the district’s bottom line as well. The Board will continue discussion of the 2009-2010 budget at the February 24 meeting. A PDF copy of the budget presentation is on the RISD Web site at http://www.risd41.org/newsphotos/district/budget/presentation.pdf2009-2010 Projected EnrollmentLast year the Rock Island School District projected enrollment figures for the 2008-09 at 5961 students, a decline of 52 students from the previous year. Instead, current enrollment figures for this year are at 6024 students, and increase of 63 students over the projection. The actual increase over the 2007-08 year is 11 students, however there was a considerable decrease in the number of Special Ed students. The enrollment projection for next year is 5,977, a loss of 47 students.Naming of New SchoolBoard members felt no sense of urgency to decide on a name for the new school and delayed the motion until early spring.

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ROCK ISLAND-MILAN SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 41Board of EducationRegular Meeting AND COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLERock Island High School – LibraryTUESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2009 5:00 PMA reception will be held at 5:00 p.m. to honor the “Above andBeyond” Thoms Family Scholarship finalists. The winner will beannounced at 5:30 p.m.I. Call to Order and Roll CallII. Updates from the SuperintendentIII. CommunicationsRequests from persons wishing to speak on certain agenda items will be called upon atthe appropriate time.IV. Blanket MotionOpportunity will be given for the selection of items that need no discussion tobe approved at the appropriate time on the agenda. The following items arerecommended for the Blanket Motion:

V. B. Student ExpulsionVI. C. November FinancialsVI. A. Miner Portfolio ChangesVI. D. Bills for PaymentVI. B. Student Club at R.I.H.S.

V. OperationsA. Request for Waiver of Building Fees . . . ActionBoard members will consider the request from the Quad Cities XtremeAthletics, Inc. to waive the $150/hour rental fees for an event in March 2009.B. Student Expulsion . . . ActionIt is recommended that the Board of Education approve Student ExpulsionNo. 01/17/16 as presented.VI. Business/FinanceA. Miner Fund Portfolio Management Change . . . ActionIt is recommended that the Board of Education approve the transition of theMiner Fund Portfolio from Citi Smith Barney to UBS Financial Services.B. Student Club at Rock Island High School . . . ActionIt is recommended that the Board of Education allow the SankofaPerformance Art Ensemble to form as a recognized student club at RockIsland High School as presented.C. November Financial Statements . . . ActionIt is recommended that the Board of Education approve the NovemberFinancial Statements as presented.D. Bills for Payment . . . ActionIt is recommended that the Board of Education authorize Bills for Paymentdated December 15, 2008 ($2,736,763.84) and December 31, 2008($3,015,264.31) as presented.VII. Committee of the WholeA. Building Excellence Update . . . InformationBen Hott and Mike Oberhaus will provide an update on the BuildingExcellence plan progress.B. Budget Considerations . . . InformationThe Board of Education will review the initial budget considerations for the2009-10 school year.C. Enrollment Projections . . . InformationMike Oberhaus will provide the enrollment projections for 2009-10 through2013-14.D. Naming of New School . . . StudyBoard members will continue discussion of naming the new school.VIII. Executive SessionIt is recommended that the Board of Education move to executive session todiscuss personnel.IX. Adjournment