One stop spot for meeting info-we'll see how it goes.

Sorry to the few of you who have continued to check in on this blog. I have been careless in my intent to use this blog format to keep people better informed about meetings and such, in District 131.

I wanted to make sure I do not do anything that violates any rules concerning sharing of information with the public. I believe I have asked the right people and can proceed as planned. I hope to provide a place to find dates, times, places, agendas, and minutes of meetings. I can only post online information that has already been shared with the public, but may have not been posted on the district website.

Also, on occasion I may give my personal opinion as a community member and continue to welcome feedback.

This may be a short lived task, if the school district finally updates it's website and becomes more user friendly and more concerned with keeping our community informed.

Until then.....Here is the agenda for Next weeks Board meeting-NOTE the change of date. The minutes from the previous meeting are below the agenda.
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Agenda
Board of Education Meeting
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
7:00 P.M.

I. Roll Call

II. Pledge of Allegiance

III. Approval of Minutes

IV. Communications from the Superintendent
· Motion to Approve the Calendar for the Board of Education Meetings for the 2007/2008 School Year – Vice President Bob McCue
· Student Recognition– Mr. Clayton Muhammad
· Community Relations Report – Mr. Clayton Muhammad

V. Comments of Board Members

PUBLIC COMMENTS/QUESTIONS

VI. Curriculum/Programs Committee, Mr. Donald L. Herbig., Chair met June 11th at 6:00 p.m.
A. Informational Item
· Meeting Schedule – Monday, July 9th at 6:00 p.m. at the SSC
· Curriculum/Programs Committee Meeting Minutes of June 11th
· Calendar of Meeting Dates
· Grant Update
· District Improvement Plan Update
· SES Update
· TBE Application
· Additional Bilingual Teacher

B. Action Items: None

VII. Buildings & Grounds Committee, Bob McCue, Chair, met June 6th at 4:00 P.M.
A. Informational/Discussion Items
· Meeting Schedule – Wednesday, July 11th at 4:00 p.m. at the SSC
· Buildings & Grounds Committee Minutes of June 6th
· School Improvement Final Report for the 2006/2007 School Year
· Building & Grounds Committee Calendar for 2007/2008
· Bleacher Bid
· Freshmen Center Timeline

B. Action Items:
· Motion to Approve the Change Order Request for the Removal of Unsuitable Soil in the Freshmen Center Parking Lot at East High in the Amount of $20,436.47

VIII. Finance Committee, Mr. Russell Pietrowiak, Chair met June 6th at 6:30 p.m.
A. Informational/Discussion Items
· Meeting Schedule – Tuesday, July 10th at 6:30 p.m. at the SSC
· Finance Committee Meeting Minutes of June 6th
· Employee Benefit Renewals
· Budget

B. Action Items:
· Motion to Approve to Hire a Bilingual Science Teacher and Two Overloads for the East High School Science Program
· Motion to Approve to Hire a Grant Secretary for the Early Childhood Center
· Motion to Approve the Following Resolutions:
Ø Ordinance on Prevailing Wage Rates
Ø Resolution for Depositories
Ø Resolution to Establish Imprest Revolving Fund
Ø Resolution to Establish Petty Cash Revolving Fund
Ø Resolution Appointing School District Treasurer (Jay Augustine)
· Motion to Approve the 2008 Department of Human Service Contract
· Motion to Accept a Donation from MPZ Masonry for the Brick and Labor to Install Columns on the Existing Marquee Sign at the High School
· Motion to Accept a Donation in the Amount of $1,000 from Hector Huitron (Aurora Soccer Federation)
· Motion to Accept the Following Bids for Custodial Supplies:
Ø 1st Ayd in the Amount of $178.25
Ø Green Clean Solutions in the Amount of $1,084.50
Ø HP Products in the Amount of $4,871.05
Ø Janco Supply in the Amount of $153,877.96
Ø Ramrod in the Amount of $8,274.92
· Motion to Approve the Following Monthly Financial Reports
Ø Treasurer’s Report
Ø Financial Statement
Ø Payroll Report
Ø Petty Cash Report
Ø List of Bills

IX. Executive Session: None

X. Action, if any, Resulting from Executive Session

XI. Personnel & Policy Committee, Mrs. Juanita Wells, Chair met June 7th at 5:00 P.M.
A. Informational Item
· Meeting Schedule – Thursday, July 12th at 5:00 p.m. at the SSC
· Personnel & Policy Committee Minutes of June 7th
· Additional Bilingual Teacher
· Committee Meeting Dates for the 2007/2008 School Year

B. Action Items
· Motion to Approve a Grant Secretary for the Preschool Center
· Motion to Approve the Personnel Report as Presented

XII. Adjournment

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Board Bits
Monday, June 4, 2007 – 7:00 P.M.
School Service Center
417 Fifth Street

Present: Donald L. Herbig, Russell Pietrowiak,
Juanita Wells, Dee Weaver. Carol E. Farnum, Rayanne Carlson

Absent: Bob McCue

· Roll Call

· Pledge of Allegiance

· Approval of Minutes
o Approval of the Board of Education Workshop Minutes of May 21, 2007

· Communications of Superintendent
o Dr. Roberts thanked everyone for coming out this evening. He had the opportunity to attend the Hope Wall graduation last week. It was great to be there. Also, the middle school promotion ceremonies took place at all three middle schools. Dr. Roberts attended and it was wonderful to see just about 1,000 students being promoted to the 9th grade.

o Dr. Chris Aird recommended for approval Community School Graduates Megan V. arrellano and Michael J. Turacek.
o Mr. Clayton Muhammad, Community Relations Coordinator, highlighted several events that have taken place in the last two weeks. On June 1st the district held a memorial tribute to for our three fallen marines; Hector Ramos, Eduardo Lopez and Jesse De la Torre. The ceremony was held in the serenity Garden at East High School. Also, the Memorial Day parade was very well represented by O’Donnell, Waldo and East High School. The East Aurora Alumni Association made a debut with its own float as well.

o Last month we celebrated our mentor and protégé celebration. We have a team that works with the Human Resources Department called NEST (New Educator Support Team). This team works with new educators in the district. These individuals received the ICE Award for their time, dedication and support of our new teachers. They are: Aggie Berger, Cindy Boinga, Chris Boyles, Meg Callahan, Jill Doyle, Cynthia Fioromonte, Amy Huggins, Sara Imthurn, Karen Jensen, Shari Johnson Pelki, Joyce LeFeber, Annette McMahon, Denise Menesis, Rosa Moreno, Mike Morkert, Myrna Parks, Minerva Rivera, Sebastian Rodriguez, Loretta Solfisburg, Kris Weatley and Michelle Zwart. Mrs. Hollingsworth as well as her assistant Pat Wynn received awards for their commitment and dedication to these new teachers.

o A final ICE Award went out to our East Aurora High School foreign exchange student from China, Deyu Meng and his host family; Stephanie Kifowit.
o Mr. Rich Davis, Building Trades Teacher at East High, presented the superintendent with the keys to the house that our students helped to build at 800 Arthur Way. This home features 4 bedrooms and 3 ½ bath. Mr. Davis teaches the afternoon class and Kurt Roley teaches the morning class. Mr. Davis thanked the board for their support of this program over the years. Students in the past have come from are West High, Nequa Valley and Waubonsee to attend the program. This program has been in place since 1991. There will be an open house scheduled for this home in the near future and that date will follow. The next project will take place at 825 Benton Street. For this new home we will be teaming up with the Joseph Corporation to build a fortified home which is a concrete wall home that will have 2 ½ inches of concrete, 3 inches of foam insulation and 2 ½ inches of concrete. This type of home has been featured on Fox News. It is an affordable home that will be tornado, hurricane and earthquake proof. It will be a great experience for our students. The progress of this home can be viewed at http://www.aurorafortifiedproject.org/

o Mr. Nestor Garcia gave a presentation on the progress of our Freshmen Center and the planning stages that have brought us to where we are today. We will have full occupancy of the Freshmen Center on August 15th. Tours of the Center will take place on June 14th.
o Dr. Chris Aird introduced Judy Judy and Roger Sanders who presented information on the district’s strategic visioning process.

· Comments of Board Members
o Mr. Bud Herbig congratulated our East Aurora High School graduates.
o Mrs. Rayanne Carlson attended the Memorial Tribute at East High School last week. Mr. Muhammad did an excellent job with the families. Mrs. Carlson hopes to research and “catch up” on things that the board has already done so that she is up to speed on district business.
o Mrs. Juanita Wells thanked everyone this evening on their presentations. There was a lot of good information shared.
o Mr. Russell Pietrowiak informed the board that the State of Illinois has not created a budget as of yet. It is very important that we do not let up on holding our legislators accountable for doing education funding reform. District 131 has been involved above and beyond more so than any school district that he is aware of in working with A+ Illinois which is the premier lobbying group. Mr. Pietrowiak attended the Hope Wall graduation and encouraged everyone to attend one of their graduations in the future. Attending this ceremony really puts things into perspective. Also, the Golden K’s always supports the students at Hope Wall. They should be commended for their commitment and dedication. Finally, it is great to know that we will be looking into revamping our district website.
o Mrs. Dee Weaver attended graduation as well which was wonderful to be a part of. Mrs. Weaver also attended the Memorial Day parade and mentioned that Mary Taylor who helped with our band students did an outstanding job.
o Mrs. Carol Farnum attended the high school graduation, Hope Wall’s graduation and all three middle school promotion ceremonies.

· Open Meeting: None

· Curriculum/Technology Committee
o Their next meeting will be held on June 11th at 6:00 p.m. at the SSC.
o There were no additional informational or action items.

· Building & Grounds Committee
o Their next meeting will be held on June 6th at 4:00 p.m. at the SSC
o There were no additional informational or action items.

· Finance Committee
Their next meeting will be held on June 6th at 6:30 p.m. at the SSC.
Approval of Self Funding the HMOI Plan Effective July 1, 2007

· Executive Session for the purpose of discussing the Appointment, Employment and Dismissal of a Specific Employee
o Adjourned into Executive Session at 8:25 p.m., reconvened into open session at 8:50 p.m.
o Approved the Minutes of the Executive Session

· Personnel and Policy Committee
o Their next meeting will be held on June 7th at 5:00 p.m. at SSC
o Approved School Board Policy Section 705.04-R (Student Attendance Areas)
o Approved School Board Policy Section 710.07 (Student Appearance)
o Approved School Board Policy Section 500.112 (Administrative Supplemental Early Retirement Program)
o Approved the Personnel Report as presented

· The meeting adjourned at 8:52 p.m.