Eastland School Board Plans
for Disposition of the Eastland Elementary Building in Lanark
A special meeting of the Eastland Board of Education was held on Tuesday, February 19, 2013. Vice-president Woessner called the meeting to order. The Board approved the Treasurer’s Report and the payments of all bills and claims for the month. They also approved the minutes of the January 16, 2013 regular meeting.
During Board Input, members were reminded to file statements of economic interest with the County Clerk and to mark their calendars for the board re-organization meeting to be held on Wednesday, May 1. They were also reminded about the IASB Spring Dinner and candidate’s workshop on March 21, 2013 in Prophetstown, and the mandated trainings that will be held at HCC on June 7-8, 2013.
As a first item in Old Business, the Board approved a resolution providing for the issue of $140,000 General Obligation School Bonds for the purpose of increasing the Working Cash Fund. The bonds will be paid back over a five year period. Proceeds from the bond sale will be used along with reserves to finance the repair and replacement of the flat roof at Eastland High School. The work is scheduled for summer, 2013.
Eastland music teachers Ayn Coleman and Kevin O’Keefe made a presentation on their Indicators of Success for K-12 music. Four out of eight Indicators were met, including all K-2 students received a score of at least Satisfactory on their assessments, 100% of 5-8 instrumental students scored an average of 90% on Smart Music exams; All 9-12 band and chorus students scored an 80% or better on their written semester finals, and all band students performed, from memory, the Star Spangled Banner and EPC Fight Song on the marching field and passed an individual playing exam. Ayn Coleman also reported on positive trend data on the number of middle school students enrolling in band and chorus over the last four years.
Superintendent Hansen presented a 2nd quarter budget update. At the half-way mark, the district has spent 50% of the funds budgeted for the year. The Education Fund is at 51% expenditures, Transportation at 53% and Operations and Maintenance at 55%, but some of those expenditures are attributable to large outlays at the beginning of the fiscal year. Hansen explained that there has been some delay of state payments for general state aid and transportation.
Eastland Elementary
As a last item in Old Business, the Board approved a process and timeline for disposition of the Eastland Elementary Building in Lanark. Starting in March, 2013, the Board will advertise the building for sale to private entities. The window for accepting bids will be through September, 2013.
If no private entities bid on purchase of the building, the Board will contact other governmental entities to determine if any are interested in executing a transfer of ownership. If no private or governmental entities are interested in the building as of March, 2014, the Board will solicit bids for the demolition and disposal of the building.
Superintendent Hansen was directed to prepare an advertisement for private sale and to share it with the Board in February.
Continuing, the Board discussed the resolution to sell the Eastland Elementary School in Lanark. Dr. Hansen was authorized to work with the attorney to purchase the legal description of the property and to obtain appraisals that might help the Board set a minimum acceptable bid to include in the resolution.
Once approved, the law requires that the sale be advertised for three consecutive weeks and bids opened publicly. Action to approve the resolution is scheduled for March.
Superintendent Hansen reported on bids received for the sale of Eastland Middle School Fitness Equipment. Due to irregularities in the bids and a subsequent determination that the rubber flooring cannot be removed “intact,” he recommended that the Board reject all bids and re-open the bid process. The Board approved a motion to reject all bids and scheduled action to approve a bid in March.
The Board also approved the school calendar for 2013-14. The first day of student attendance will be Tuesday, August 20. Spring Break will be March 31-April 4, 2014. The last day of student attendance will be Thursday, May 29, if no snow days are used.
As a final item in Old Business, the Board approved a master co-location agreement with iFiber to house infrastructure in the Eastland Elementary School in Shannon. The agreement is for a 20-year lease of space in the existing server room. The advantage for Eastland is cost savings of more than $36,000 for connectivity to high speed Internet.
New Business
District Bookkeeper DiAnn Adolph made a presentation on the Affordable Care Act and impact on the 2013-14 district budget. Impact on the Eastland budget is projected to be minimal as all qualified employees currently have access to the district’s group health plan. However, some of the rules concerning the Act are still being set, and future updates will be necessary.
Continuing, the Board approved a motion declaring the old bleachers on the Eastland Middle School stage to be surplus equipment and authorizing the superintendent to contract for their removal. They also approved the Race to the Top mid-year monitoring report, and heard a summary report on the first year with the new teacher evaluation plan. As a final item of New Business, they approved 6th, 7th and 8th grade field trip requests.
Closed session
The Board approved a motion to enter closed session at 7:40 p.m. to discuss: The appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees of the District or legal counsel for the District, including hearing testimony on a complaint lodged against an employee or against legal counsel for the District to determine its validity. 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(1).
The Board exited closed session at 8:55 p.m. and approved the closed session minutes. As a final item of business, they took the following personnel actions:
Approved the hire of the following students and graduates as summer crew workers for the Summer of 2013: Tyrus Hartman, Austin Hansen, Alex Todd, Alyssa Folk, Brady Hazelbower, and Brad Dunlap.
Approved the re-assignment of Bonnie Freidag as Eastland Elementary Secretary in Shannon for 2013-14; approved the hire of Michelle Atherton as a temporary substitute for the Eastland School Nurse effective February 19, 2013; and approved the hire of Hunter Allspaugh as Technology Assistant effective July 1, 2013.
The Board approved three-year employment contracts for Monica Burkholder, Eastland Jr/Sr High School Principal with increases of 3%, 3%, and 3%; and Eric Haan, District Technology Director, PK-12 with increases of 3%, 3%, and 3%.
