CAT Tracks for September 15, 2011
REGULAR BOE MEETING...MINUTES

The Cairo Board of Education held its regular meeting on Thursday, September 15, 2011, at 6:00 p.m. Below is an annotated agenda to serve as minutes...

Prior to that meeting, the BOE conducted a public hearing on the budget (2011-2012) for Cairo School District Number One. Immediately below is the agenda for the public hearing, followed by some "minutes"...

I. Call to Order - 5:51 p.m. (Present were McBride, Coleman, Harris, Moore, and Burris.)

II. Review 2011-2012 Budget - Interim Superintendent Swopes called upon District Business Manager Justin Miller to make the budget presentation. Mr. Miller gave a clear and concise report in a volume suitable for listening and understanding. Some of points made:

  • The budget for FY12 will be a deficit budget...the District will be spending more than it takes in. (Last year's budget anticipated $8.9 million in revenue; this year's budget anticipates only $7.2 million. In anticipation of this deficit, the District made $523,000 in cuts. There is also provision in the budget for "contingencies"...padding for "rainy days". If that doesn't happen, the eventual deficit for the coming school year will be approximately $600,000.

  • As to "Why?" the bad fiscal news:

    • Loss of General State Aid (based upon enrollment which has steadily declined over the past decade.) The State calculates General State Aid based upon the last 3-year average. The reduction for CSD #1 is 13%.

    • Reduction in federal funds. The "jobs money" was a one-time thing and has now ended. There has also been a decrease in monies allocated for the various "Title Programs".

    • The District received a #$250,000 energy grant in the past fiscal year...another one-time thing.

    • In fact, the energy grant is a double whammy. It boosted the revenue figures for FY11, but Mr. Miller anticipates that of the $250,000...$200,000 will have to be sent back. (The figure was awarded based upon the belief that the District would be making the eight classroom addition to Cairo Elementary.) Since that expansion project has fallen through, the funds (except for the amount appropriated for a new boiler at CES) will have to be returned...plus interest.

Mr. Miller concluded his presentation by recalling his comment closing out FY11...that "It was a very good year", noting that this coming year would be payback time...to the tune of $425,000.

III. Receive Testimony - There were no questions or comments from the audience.

IV. Adjourn To Regular Meeting - A motion was made, seconded, and passed to adjourn the budget hearing at 6:01 p.m.


CAT Tracks Editor's Note:

If you are a money person...a spreadsheet kind of gal/guy...here is the handout that Mr. Miller used in his presentation to the BOE.

Enjoy...

Cairo School District No. One
"MAKING A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE!"
2403 Dr. M. L. King Jr. Avenue
Cairo, Illinois 62914
Telephone 1-618-734-4102
Fax 1-618-734-4047

CAIRO BOARD OF EDUCATION
CAIRO SCHOOL DISTRICT NUMBER ONE
REGULAR SCHOOL BOARD MEETING
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2011
6:00 P.M.

AGENDA

I. Call to Order - 6:02 p.m.

II. Roll Call - Coleman, Harris, Moore, Burris, and McBride were present.

III. Examples of Excellence - CJSHS Principal Zena Madison commented on the finalization of sports schedules and that discipline at CJSHS was continuing to improve as evidenced by a decrease in referral again this year...ony half as many as last year (which had dramatically improved from the year before that.) Principal Madison then informed the BOE that CJSHS had just completed holding its class elections...that the various candidates had been allowed to give campaign speeches to their respective classes. She then introduced 7th Grader Jaylen Vinson to give his campaign speech...a speech that resulted in his being elected class president.

IV. Recognition of Guests/Comments From Public And Employees - CAT President De De O'Shea informed the BOE that she had dropped off some correspondence for their consideration and asked them to please read it. (Whether the BOE members read it or not became moot later in the meeting when they voted to approve a matter over which CAT had raise legal issues. And the lawyers sing "Cha-Ching!"

V. Approval of Previous Minutes - A motion was made, seconded, and passed.

  1. Special Minutes of August 11, 2011
  2. Closed Minutes of August 11, 2011
  3. Regular Minutes of August 18, 2011
  4. Closed Minutes of August 18, 2011

VI. Approval of Agendas - Interim Superintendent Swopes made two additions for matters requiring action/decisions by the Board of Education. Namely, the approval of the FY12 Budget and the hiring of a "Family Educator". A motion was made, seconded, and passed.

  1. Regular Meeting
  2. Closed Meeting

VII. Approval of Treasurer's Report - Interim Superintendent Swopes read the highlights. A motion was made, seconded, and passed.

VIII. Approval of Payment of Bills/Payroll - There were no questions. A motion was made, seconded, and passed.

IX. Informational

  1. Prairie State Achievement Examination - School Performance Profile - Grade 11 - Interim Superintendent Swopes reported that the number of students meeting or exceeding state standards had doubled in both math and reading (with improvement in science and writing)...but that the majority of students were still failing and that much work remained to be done.

  2. Attendance/Enrollment Counts - Interim Superintendent Swopes gave the BOE members an update to the material that they had received in their packets...better news than original thought...still a decrease, but not as much as earlier feared. He reported a continuing concern about the high school enrollment of 123 (only 108 if you don't count students CHS students attending programs elsewhere.) He reminded the BOE of the magic number discussed last year...an enrollment of 95. According to Interim Superintendent Swopes, if/when the CHS enrollment decreases to 95, it would be financially better for the District to send Cairo students elsewhere to be educated. He went on to say: "I'm not saying to do it, but..."

  3. Interim Superintendent Swopes reported that the District had received a $51,000 truancy grant. He noted that the person who used to do the program had been reassigned and so it had yet to be determined how it would be handled.

  4. Interim Superintendent Swopes reported that he had received a letter from the Illinois Education Association concerning the need to decertify the "secretarial union"...the CAESP. He commented that he thought that it had already been done. He then informed the BOE: "That's one less union you will have to negotiate with."

  5. Interim Superintendent Swopes made the BOE aware of HB0200...a bill concerning head injuries among student athletes...that this might require the adoption of a new board policy.

  6. Interim Superintendent Swopes then informed the BOE (ironically in light of the previous item) that the District was looking into expanding the PE curriculum to include roller skating.

  7. Checks Deposited - District Account

    $170,243.22 - State Aid - FY 12 - 1st Payment
    1,374.20 - State Free Lunch & Breakfast
    8,483.48 - Personal Property Replacement Tax
    4,744.00 - TAOEP Grant Payment
    1,433.00 - Early Childhood Block Grant
    6,177.08 - TAMES
    170,243.22 - State Aid - July - 2nd Payment
    396.60 - State Free Lunch
    2.40 - State Free Lunch
    718.00 - Early Childhood Block Grant
    739.37 - National Board Certified Initiative
    671.60 - State Free Lunch
    4,744.00 - TAOEP Grant Payment
    43,243.00 - Early Childhood Block Grant
    22,879.00 - Early Childhood Block Grant
    110.91 - TAMES

X. Closed Session - The BOE voted to enter closed session at 6:19 p.m. The BOE voted to exit closed session at 7:49 p.m.

XI. Requiring Action/Decisions By Board of Education

  1. Personnel employment, resignation, release, discipline, or compensation

      a. Recall Lorraine Johnson, Personal Aide - Retroactive to Sept. 8, 2011 @ Salary of $17,359.65 - Step 18 - A motion was made, seconded, and passed.

      b. Recall Bessie Lambert, Personal Aide - Retroactive to Sept. 6, 2011 @ Salary of $12,251.12 - Step 3 - A motion was made, seconded, and passed.

  2. Approve Title I District Improvement Plan - A motion was made, seconded, and passed.

  3. Approve Application For Recognition of Schools: Cairo Elem. & Cairo Jr/Sr High School - A motion was made, seconded, and passed.

  4. Approve Membership Renewal - Illinois ASCD - A motion was made, seconded, and passed.

  5. Approval to Change District Bid Amount to Match State Board Bid Amount of $50,000 Limit - A motion was made, seconded, and passed.

  6. Approve Board Policy Manual Updates - A motion was made, seconded, and passed.

  7. Approval to Attend or Send Representative to Area VI Wide McKinney-Vento Homeless Training - A motion was made, seconded, and passed. (The person to attend has yet to be decided...maybe whoever handles the new truancy program.)

  8. Approve Accepting Gift of $1,100 (from Rose Gayle Pickett to reward students who met or exceeded on last year's ISAT.) - A motion was made, seconded, and passed.

  9. Approve Interim Superintendent's Addendum - A motion was made, seconded, and passed. (Not sure what this is about...something called "Rule 85"...something about curriculum? This just in...Approved the Interim Superintendent’s Addendum which included: 1. model to improve classroom instruction, student performance and learning environment; and 2. use of weekly science publications to improve science instruction.)

  10. Approve FY12 Budget - A motion was made, seconded, and passed.

  11. Approve the hiring of Erica Brazier as "Parent Educator" - A motion was made, seconded, and passed.

XII. Other

XIII. Old Business

XIV. Adjourn...A motion was made, seconded, and passed to adjourn at 7:56 p.m.

CLOSED SESSION IS FOR THE PURPOSE OF CONSIDERING INFORMATION RELATIVE TO THE APPOINTMENT, EMPLOYMENT, PERFORMANCE OR DISMISSAL OF INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYEES WHICH MAY BE OF A TEMPORARY CONFIDENTIAL NATURE, STUDENT DISCIPLINE, PLACEMENT OF SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS, DISCUSSION OF LITIGATION PROBABLE, IMMINENT, FILED OR PENDING AND COLLECTIVE BARGAINING OR RELATED ISSUES.