Following is a summary of minutes of a regular meeting of the Board of Education of Jasper County Community Unit School District No. 1 held on Tuesday, January 21st, 2025 in the office of the Board of Education. Board members present were Mr. Brady Shull, Mr. David Blecha, Mrs. Jackie Schackmann, Mrs. Holly Farley and Mrs. Mandi Utley. Board members absent were Mrs. Mandy Rieman, and Mr. Bill Meinhart.
All votes are considered unanimous unless otherwise noted.
Approval to appoint David Blecha as President Pro-Tempore.
David Blecha called the meeting to order.
Approval to Adopt the Agenda.
David asked for Recognition of Guests and Public Comments. There were none.
There were no FOIA Requests.
Approval of Consent Agenda as presented.
Regular Minutes for December 16th, 2024,
Bills and Payroll,
Presentment of monthly financial reports,
$200 from First Financial Bank to the Girls Basketball Team,
$456 from the Newton Athletic Boosters to purchase two tv’s for the weight room,
$250 to go towards overdue lunch accounts from Shiloh Christian Church,
$520.65 from Illinois State Council K of C Charities to go towards Special Education programs and students,
Steve Browning and Billy Briscoe as NCHS Bass Fishing Volunteer Captains,
Second Reading of PRESS Policy Updates-Unchanged:
2:140 Communication To and From the Board
4:10 Fiscal and Business Management
4:40 Incurring Debt
4:160 Environmental Quality of Building and Grounds
4:190 Targeted School Violence Prevention Program
5:30 Hiring Process and Criteria
5:35 Compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act
5:150 Personnel Record
6:20 School Year Calendar and Day
6:340 Student Testing and Assessment Program
7:160 Student Appearance
7:165 School Uniforms
Second Reading of PRESS Policy Updates-Changed:
2:105 Ethics and Gift Ban
2:110 Qualifications, Term, and Duties of Board Officers
2:120 Board Member Development
2:200 Types of School Board Meetings
2:220 School Board Meeting Procedure
2:260 Uniform Grievance Procedure
2:265 Title IX Grievance Procedure
4:30 Revenues and Investments
4:60 Purchases and Contracts
4:150 Facility Management and Building
4:170 Safety
5:10 Equal Employment and Opportunity and Minority Recruitment
5:20 Workplace Harassment
5:90 Abused and Neglected Child Reporting
5:100 Staff Development Program
5:120 Employee Ethics; Code of Professional Conduct; and Conflict of Interest
5:125 Personal Technology and Social Media and Conduct
5:230 Maintaining Student Discipline
6:60 Curriculum Content
6:65 Student Social and Emotional Development
6:135 Accelerated Placement Program
6:270 Guidance and Counseling Program
7:10 Equal Educational Opportunities
7:20 Harassment of Students Prohibited
7:100 Health, Eye, and Dental Examinations, Immunizations, and Exclusion of Students
7:180 Prevention of and Response to Bullying, Intimidation, and Harassment
7:185 Teen Dating Violence Prohibited
7:200 Suspension Procedures
8:10 Connection with the Community
Approval of the Second Reading of PRESS Policies.
Under the Superintendent’s Report, Mr. Sornberger discussed Illinois Vision 2030. Ten years ago, education leaders from five statewide organizations came together through their professional organizations to advocate for initiatives that would advance K-12 public education, including evidence-based funding to ensure all schools have the resources needed for local educators to be able to provide a safe, rigorous and well-rounded learning environment. Vision 2020 also included enhancements to teacher recruitment policies, college and career readiness initiatives and the development of Illinois Balanced Accountability System, which establishes standards for K-12 student performance and school improvement in Illinois. Now, we have come together again to set a vision for the next decade with a priority on future-focused learning. This includes keeping schools safe, attracting and retaining high quality educators, enhancing post-secondary success and more effectively measuring what is working well in schools in a timely, usable manner.
Approval of Fuel Bids with Wabash Valley Service Company.
Approval to establish Newton Community High School Graduation Date for May 17th, 2025, at 7:00 p.m.
Approval to Amend the 2024-2025 School Calendar.
Approval of the Contract with the Newton Boys and Girls Park.
Approval of an Appraisal LLC Proposal for Newton Power Station.
Approval of the Resolution of Support for Illinois Vision 2030.
Approval to enter executive session at 7:09 p.m. for 1.5ILCS 120/2 (c) (1) – To consider information regarding appointment, employment, compensation, performance or dismissal of individual employees; 5 ILCS 120/2 (c) (21) – To discuss minutes of meetings lawfully closed under the open meetings act. (January 17, 2022 – December 19, 2022).
Approval to return to open session at 7:30 p.m.
Approval to hire Callie Probst as a NCHS Art Teacher for the 2025-2026 School Year and Ryan Meinhart as a NCHS English Teacher for the 2025-2026 School Year.
Approval to hire Megan Hall as a NCHS/JCJH Cook for the 2024-2025 School Year.
Approval to hire Brooklyn Herman as the JCJH Assistant Track Coach for the 2024-2025 School Year.
Approval to accept the resignation of Shanelle Julian as a District Paraprofessional as of January 12, 2025.
Approval to post two NES Elementary Teaching positions and an NES Elementary Music Teaching Position for the 2025-2026 School Year.
Meeting adjourned at 7:34 p.m. Next regular board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, February 18th, 2025 at 6:30 p.m. at the Board of Education Office located at 1401 Clayton Avenue.
