Oswego Community Unit School District 308 Board of Education met Aug. 19.
Here is the minutes provided by the board:
1. Call to Order – Executive Session (6:45 pm)
The meeting was called to order at 6:47 p.m. by Mrs. Lauri Doyle 1.1 Roll Call:
Upon Roll Call the following members answered present:
Matt Bauman, Lauri Doyle, Ruth Kroner, Brent Lightfoot, Toni Morgan, Heather Moyer, Alison Swanson
Members Absent (at roll call):
None
2. Closed Session
2.1 Enter Closed Session under statute(s): 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(1) The appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees of the public body or legal counsel for the public body, including hearing testimony on a complaint lodged against an employee of the public body or against legal counsel for the public body to determine its validity
A motion was made by Mrs. Ruth Kroner, second by Mr. Matt Bauman, to enter closed session under statute(s): 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(1) The appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees of the public body or legal counsel for the public body, including hearing testimony on a complaint lodged against an employee of the public body or against legal counsel for the public body to determine its validity
Final Resolution: Motion Carried 7-0
Aye: Mr. Matt Bauman, Mrs. Lauri Doyle, Mrs. Ruth Kroner Mr. Brent Lightfoot, Ms. Toni Morgan, Mrs. Heather Moyer, Mrs. Alison Swanson
The Board of Education entered closed session at 6:49 p.m.
2.2 Return to Open Session
A motion was made by Mrs. Ruth Kroner, second by Mrs. Heather Moyer, to return to Open Session.
Final Resolution: Motion Carried 7-0
Aye: Mr. Matt Bauman, Mrs. Lauri Doyle, Mrs. Ruth Kroner, Mr. Brent Lightfoot, Ms. Toni Morgan, Mrs. Heather Moyer, Mrs. Alison Swanson
The Board of Education returned to Open Session at 7:16 p.m.
3. Call to Order – Public Session (7:30 pm)
The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. by Mrs. Lauri Doyle 3.1 Roll Call:
Upon Roll Call the following members answered present:
Matt Bauman, Lauri Doyle, Ruth Kroner, Brent Lightfoot, Toni Morgan, Heather Moyer, Alison Swanson
Members Absent (at roll call):
None
Administration Present:
Superintendent of Schools Dr. John Sparlin
Associate Superintendent of Educational Services Faith Dahlquist Chief Financial Officer Mrs. Christi Tyler
Director of Communications Mrs. Theresa Komitas
Others Present:
Board Attorney Maureen Lemon, Ottosen Britz Kelly Cooper Gilbert and DiNolfo, Ltd; as well as employees of the District and members of the community.
Recording Secretary:
Ursula Coan
3.2 Pledge of Allegiance
Pledge of Allegiance was led by Board President Lauri Doyle
4. Public Comment
4.1 Opportunity for the Public to address the Board of Education
There was no public comment this evening
5. Comments/Reports
5.1 Board Member Comments
Toni Morgan commended the support staff and teachers for a job well done to get everything ready to welcome back the students. Ms. Morgan also gave a shout out to our transportation department for preparing the bus drivers for their new routes and getting the information out in a timely manner to the families.
Heather Moyer echoed the last comment for having a smooth start to the school year and she added a thank you to the communications and tech department for their work related to the Tyler System roll out.
Lauri Doyle shared that she had the opportunity to test drive a couple of cars during the OHS Marching Band fundraiser. Mrs. Doyle stated that she too was impressed with the start of the school year and felt that the transportation department had one of the best starts this year with buses being on time on the first day already.
5.2 Board Advisory Committee Updates
Finance and Facilities Committee – Mrs. Kroner stated that all members were eager to help in any way possible and asked questions and discussed the budget presentation. The next meeting, Finance 101, will be geared towards the new members.
5.3 Superintendent’s Report
Dr. Sparlin shared that since the last meeting, there were two days of professional development for the teachers before welcoming back the students for this school year. One of the traditions for the superintendent is to ride the school bus for the first day of school. Dr. Sparlin started with an OHS route, then on to Traughber Junior High and finally to Prairie Point Elementary. It was an opportunity to talk to many of the parents as well as staff members. Dr. Sparlin’s goal is to visit every school by the end of this month and to make the time to speak to staff members for a few minutes. It seemed everyone is positive and happy to be back at work.
Dr. Sparlin also shared the celebrations at the high schools this coming Friday to kick-off the fall athletic season.
6. Approve Consent Agenda
6.1 Approval of Minutes from previous Meetings
6.2 Acknowledgement of Freedom of Information (FOIA) Requests
A motion was made by Mrs. Ruth Kroner, second by Mrs. Heather Moyer, to approve all items under consent, including 6.1 Minutes from the August 5, 2019 Board of Education Meeting, Open and Closed Session and 6.2 to acknowledge the FOIA Requests
Final Resolution: Motion Carried 7-0
Aye: Mr. Matt Bauman, Mrs. Lauri Doyle, Mrs. Ruth Kroner, Mr. Brent Lightfoot, Ms. Toni Morgan, Mrs. Heather Moyer, Mrs. Alison Swanson
7. Information Only
7.1 Financial Statements
The Board members had no questions regarding the Financial Statements for the month of June.
7.2 Board Member Pledge
Mrs. Doyle stated that she would like to propose instituting a Board member pledge after our pledge of allegiance. This would be a pledge regarding the code of conduct and the oath of office. This is a short pledge and in line with what many other school districts are already doing.
Brent Lightfoot stated that he does not see the need to start that, since every board member swore to uphold the code of conduct and oath of office.
Toni Morgan stated that she would also vote no. If anything, Ms. Morgan would rather have something more connected, that if a particular subject was being discussed, the code of conduct that refers to that could be reviewed.
Mrs. Swanson felt that it was redundant.
Heather Moyer and Ruth Kroner both stated that they were neutral on this and did not see any harm if it were to be implemented.
Mrs. Doyle read the proposed pledge and commented that it was more for the board members to refocus their thoughts on the goals we have when we are here, a way to remind ourselves and our community.
“I pledge to uphold the code of conduct and oath of office, represent the interests of the community and focus on the achievement of the students we serve”.
Mrs. Moyer and Mrs. Kroner felt that there is a purpose to this pledge, to give the public a reminder of why the board is committed to their roles.
7.3 Salt Storage Bid
In the fall of 2018, the Township building that was used to store bulk salt was sold. Currently, the salt is stored under a tarp at the Operations facility at 71 Stonehill Drive.
Mr. Allison, Director of Operations, stated that the most efficient solution would be to build our own salt storage building on the 71 Stonehill property, since the tarp coverage does not provide adequate protection from the elements. It is recommended to use our DSEB funds. The lowest bid received is $187,762.00.
The dimensions of the building would be 30’ wide by 40’ deep and the peak height would be about 33 feet, which would give us about 1,200 square feet of usable floor space. The capacity is approximately 566 tons.
Mrs. Moyer asked if there was conversation with other entities about a possible partnership. Mr. Allison stated he checked with the Village in regards to sharing their facility, but they also do a wet application, therefore it is not just bulk salt for them. It would be problematic to calculate the numbers on how much each of us takes. It could be done, but the logistics would take some time. Mr. Lightfoot added that the Village makes a brine that they apply to the roadway before a weather event. Mr. Allison will get a cost on the brine as well as the different equipment that would be needed. The additional information will be given to the board ahead of the next board meeting.
7.4 Fuel Bid
Mrs. Simosky stated that the contract with Gas Depot that provides our diesel/unleaded fuel is coming to an end. The district released a bid and three proposals were received. Mrs. Simosky shared that the fuel rate is based on the Chicago Opis Low Rack Rate on the date of delivery plus a margin. The current providers margin for diesel fuel is.0275 and for unleaded gasoline.0225. The new contract has a margin rate of.0402 for diesel and.0337 for unleaded. Administration recommends the contract be awarded to Petroleum Traders in Indiana.
Mr. Lightfoot asked why there is a substantial difference in the margin rate from the current contract. Mrs. Simosky was not sure of the driving force behind that increase.
7.5 FY20 Tentative Budget Presentation
Mrs. Christi Tyler, Chief Financial Officer, at this time presented the FY20 tentative budget to the Board and the audience.
Mrs. Tyler stated that the focus will be on the District’s Operating Funds, specifically:
Educational Fund
Operation & Maintenance Fund
Transportation Fund
Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund
Working Cash Fund
There are two additional funds in our budget, the Bond and Interest Fund and the Capital Projects Fund. The budget serves as the financial plan for the district and provides spending and taxing authority to the district. The Board of Education will review the budget in its tentative form. Tomorrow, the budget will be available for public viewing for 30 days, after which time there will be a Public Hearing held and the budget will need to be adopted before the last day of the first quarter – September 30.
Mrs. Tyler stated that we just received the 5th MCAT payment, so for the first time since 2008, the State of Illinois has caught up in distributing the mandated categorical payments to the district.
The projected FY20 beginning balance for the operating fund is at $14.6 million. Mrs. Swanson asked to clarify that all the registration and athletic fees are going into the general operating fund. Mrs. Tyler confirmed that statement and added that it has always been the case. The fees go into the general fund and athletic stipends and transportation are paid out of that fund as well. Mrs. Tyler noted that all the board approved fee increases are included in the revenue and more money is being added to the education fund in order to chip away at the deficit that this fund has shown for several years.
Mr. Lightfoot noted a 4% increase in salaries and Mrs. Tyler stated that a $1 million contingency was added as well as hiring more staff than we originally budgeted for. Mr. Lightfoot asked for more clarity going forward, regarding the hiring of staff and if/when that puts us over budget. Mrs. Tyler shared that the State of Illinois has calculated the cost of educating a student in our district at $12,696.70. The goal of the evidence based funding is to bring every district to 90% of the adequacy target by the year 2027. At this time, our district is at 63% adequacy.
Dr. Sparlin commented that there still is much inequity in the State, since some districts are as low as 51% of their adequacy target and some are as high as 269%.
Mr. Lightfoot stated that while we do have a better funding formula, we live in a State that can’t afford it.
Mrs. Kroner asked what expenditures are paid out of the purchased services account.
Mrs. Tyler named the following expenses:
Food Service
Outsourced Transportation
Phones
Internet
Copier Leases
Mrs. Tyler stated that a budget is normally a best guess on future expenses. The history is considered and what costs normally go up from year to year. Many of those costs are not in our control and difficult to predict. Mrs. Moyer asked what the recommendation of a healthy fund balance would be for a district of our size. Mrs. Tyler stated that board policy states to strive for 25%, which adds up to approximately three month of expenses. We currently have less than one month. Dr. Sparlin added that ideally, if we had a higher fund balance, we would not need to sell the Tax Anticipation Warrants and pay the roughly $130,000 in interest.
Mrs. Tyler commented that once the budget is adopted and the audit is completed, the 5-year projections will be updated. Mrs. Doyle asked for the 5-year projections to show some scenarios on what would need to happen for us to achieve the desired fund balance of 25% or three month of our expenses. Mrs. Doyle also commented on the air conditioning units that need to be replaced and requested an update on our Facility and Maintenance Plan. There was some discussion on the $ 1M contingency being enough to account for additional FTE’s hired as well as unforeseen maintenance requirements and/or repairs, especially with the projected surplus in the budget just being at $217,000.
The complete budget presentation, including the audio can be found at the following link: https://www.boarddocs.com/il/oswego308/Board.nsf/vpublic?open
8. Action Items
8.1 Approval of Bills for Payment
A motion was made by Mrs. Ruth Kroner, second by Ms. Toni Morgan, to authorize the payment of bills in the amount of eleven million, seven hundred eleven thousand, eight hundred seventeen dollars and thirty-one cents ($11,711,817.31) as presented.
Final Resolution: Motion Carried 7-0
Aye: Mr. Matt Bauman, Mrs. Lauri Doyle, Mrs. Ruth Kroner, Mr. Brent Lightfoot, Ms. Toni Morgan, Mrs. Heather Moyer, Mrs. Alison Swanson
8.2 Approval of Board Member Pledge
A motion was made by Mr. Brent Lightfoot, second by Mr. Matt Bauman, to postpone the Board Member Pledge approval indefinitely
Final Resolution: Motion Carried 7-0
Aye: Mr. Matt Bauman, Mrs. Lauri Doyle, Mrs. Ruth Kroner, Mr. Brent Lightfoot, Ms. Toni Morgan, Mrs. Heather Moyer, Mrs. Alison Swanson
8.3 Approval of Resolution calling for a Public Hearing on FY20 Budget
A motion was made by Mrs. Ruth Kroner, second by Mr. Matt Bauman, to approve a Resolution calling for a Public Hearing on the FY20 tentative budget and place it on file for public inspection until the Public Hearing for said budget on the 23rd day of September.
Final Resolution: Motion Carried 7-0
Aye: Mr. Matt Bauman, Mrs. Lauri Doyle, Mrs. Ruth Kroner, Mr. Brent Lightfoot, Ms. Toni Morgan, Mrs. Heather Moyer, Mrs. Alison Swanson
8.4 Approval of Extension of Real Estate Broker Contract to sell the District 308 Center Property located at 61 Franklin Street in Oswego
A motion was made by Mrs. Ruth Kroner, second by Mrs. Heather Moyer, to approve an extension of the existing listing agreement with Les Robinson of Baird & Warner, Naperville, IL to December 29, 2019
Final Resolution: Motion Carried 7-0
Aye: Mr. Matt Bauman, Mrs. Lauri Doyle, Mrs. Ruth Kroner, Mr. Brent Lightfoot, Ms. Toni Morgan, Mrs. Heather Moyer, Mrs. Alison Swanson
8.5 Approval of Agreement with the Oswego Foundation for Educational Excellence (OFEE)
A motion was made by Mrs. Ruth Kroner, second by Mrs. Heather Moyer, to approve the Director of Development Agreement with Oswego Foundation for Educational Excellence
Final Resolution: Motion Carried 7-0
Aye: Mr. Matt Bauman, Mrs. Lauri Doyle, Mrs. Ruth Kroner, Mr. Brent Lightfoot, Ms. Toni Morgan, Mrs. Heather Moyer, Mrs. Alison Swanson
8.6 Approval of District Administrator Contract
A motion was made by Mrs. Ruth Kroner, second by Mrs. Heather Moyer, to approve the District Administrator Contract as presented
Final Resolution: Motion Carried 5-2
Aye: Mr. Matt Bauman, Mrs. Lauri Doyle, Mrs. Ruth Kroner, Ms. Toni Morgan, Mrs. Heather Moyer
Nay: Mr. Brent Lightfoot, Mrs. Alison Swanson 8.7 Approval of Personnel Report
A motion was made by Mrs. Ruth Kroner, second by Mr. Matt Bauman, to approve the Personnel report as presented
Final Resolution: Motion Carried 5-2
Aye: Mr. Matt Bauman, Mrs. Lauri Doyle, Mrs. Ruth Kroner, Ms. Toni Morgan, Mrs. Heather Moyer
Nay: Mr. Brent Lightfoot, Mrs. Alison Swanson
9. Adjournment
9.1 Adjourn
A motion was made by Mrs. Ruth Kroner, second by Ms. Toni Morgan, to adjourn. All were in favor unanimously to adjourn.
Final Resolution: Motion Carried 7-0
Aye: Mr. Matt Bauman, Mrs. Lauri Doyle, Mrs. Ruth Kroner, Mr. Brent Lightfoot, Ms. Toni Morgan, Mrs. Heather Moyer, Mrs. Alison Swanson
Meeting Adjourned at 8:54 p.m.
https://www.sd308.org/site/handlers/filedownload.ashx?moduleinstanceid=9932&dataid=56116&FileName=8.19.19%20Board%20Meeting%20Minutes.pdf
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