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 Monday, April 20th, 2026 in the office of the Board of Education. Board members present were Mr. Brady Shull, Mrs. Jackie Schackmann, Mrs. Mandy Rieman, Mr. Evan Semple, Mrs. Nichole Mulvey and Mrs. Mandi Utley. Board members absent were Mr. David Blecha.
All votes are considered unanimous unless otherwise noted.
Mandy Rieman called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m.
Approval to Adopt the Agenda.
Mandy asked for Recognition of Guests and Public Comments. Jennifer Bower expressed her concerns about the removal of RTI at NCHS effective next school year.
The District received five FOIA Requests. FOIA request #1, from Star Bridge, requested all executed contracts, purchase agreements and purchase orders with Professional Learning/Development from the last three years. FOIA request #2, from Star Bridges, requested all purchase orders and/or payment records for non-person/vendor entities such as companies, organizations, or contractors from January 1, 2025 to present. FOIA request #3, from Michael Henry, requested information regarding law firms who have provided services to the district with the past eight years. FOIA request #4, from CT Mills, requested electronic copies of any existing records identifying employees responsible for leadership, oversight or coordination of functional areas at the district level. FOIA request #5, from Sunlight Records, requested an electronic summary of purchase orders issued by the school district from January 1, 2022 through February 28. 2026.
Approval of Consent Agenda as presented.
Regular Minutes and Closed Session Minutes from March 16, 2026 & Special Minutes and Closed Minutes from March 23, 2026,
Bills and Payroll,
Presentment of monthly financial reports,
$459 from the Athletic Sports Boosters specifically for a stopwatch for the Jasper County Junior High Track/Cross Country teams,
$750 from Athletic Boosters for Girls Basketball summer camps,
$750 from Athletic Boosters for the NCHS Cheerleaders summer camps,
$100 from Scott Ghast for Student Lunch Accounts at NES,
Declare list of Library Books at NES as surplus,
Declare 19 student desks at NES as surplus,
Under the Superintendent’s Report, an overview of handbook changes was discussed for the 2026-2027 school year. The district is also preparing to apply for the 2026 Energy Transition Grant. This will be the third installment of the Energy Transition Grant. The first two portions focused on the designs of the NES Building Addition and paying for the current construction.
Approval to Bid out for the NCHS Plumbing/Bathroom Project via Health Life Safety Work.
Approval to Bid out for Air Conditioner Units for the 1999 Addition and Mini Splits for Newton Elementary School.
Approval of the Agreement with OPPA Renewal for the 2026-2027 School Year.
Approval to enter executive session at 7:21 p.m. for 1.5 ILCS 120/2 (c) (1) – To Consider Information Regarding Appointment, Employment, Compensation, Performance or Dismissal of Individual Employees; 1.5 ILCS 120/2(c)(2) – Collective Bargaining matters between the public body and its employees or their representatives or deliberations concerning salary schedules for one or more classes of employees; 1.5ILCS120/2(c)(10) The placement of individual students in special education programs and matters related to individual students.
Approval to return to open session at 8:56 p.m.
Approval to accept the letter of retirement from Amy Harris as a JCJH English Teacher effective at the end of the 2028-2029 School Year.
Approval to accept the letter of retirement from Debra Weiler as a JCJH Math Teacher effective at the end of the 2028-2029 School Year.
Approval to accept the resignation from Cathryn Homan as a NCHS Full Time Substitute effective at the end of the 2025-2026 School Year.
Approval to accept the resignation from Abigail E. Jansen as a NES School Counselor effective at the end of the 2025-2026 school year. Ayes: Mulvey, Utley, Shull, Schackmann, Rieman. Nays: None. Abstain: Semple. Motion carried 5-1.
Approval to accept the resignation from Jamie Martin as the NES Yearbook Sponsor effective at the end of the 2025-2026 school year.
Approval to accept the letter of retirement from Susan Niemerg as a NCHS/JCJH Cook effective October 16th, 2026.
Approval to hire Kelsey Deadmond as a full-time JCJH School Counselor for the 2026-2027 School Year.
Approval to hire Autumn Peddycoart as a full-time NES Substitute Teacher for the 2026-2027 School Year.
Approval to hire Brooklyn Herman, Taylor Gray, Abby M. Jansen and Ashley McLeod as Summer Bridge Teachers at NES.
Approval to hire Ryan Meinhart as the NCHS Head Soccer Coach for the 2026-2027 School Year.
Approval to hire David Murphy as NES Cook effective immediately.
Approval of a Maternity Leave of Absence for Morgan Lidy, NES Primary Cross Cat Teacher, beginning on Monday, August 17th, 2026 and ending on Monday, September 7th, 2026; and a 12 Week Leave of Absence for Kelsie Green, NES Paraprofessional, effective at the beginning of the 2026-2027 School Year.
Approval to advertise for three Summer Help Workers for the Jasper County School District.
Approval to advertise for a NES Yearbook Sponsor for the 2026-2027 School Year.
Approval to advertise for a NCHS/JCJH Cook for the 2026-2027 School Year.
Approval to advertise for a NES School Counselor for the 2026-2027 School Year.
Meeting adjourned at 9:14 p.m. Next regular board meeting is scheduled for Monday, May 18th, 2026 at 6:30 p.m. at the Board of Education Office located at 1401 Clayton Avenue.
