Regular meeting:

MINUTES OF BOARD OF E= DUCATION MEETING

Homewood-Flossmoor High School, 999 Kedzie Avenue, F= lossmoor, Illinois

January 18, 2011=

Mrs. Scariano called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m.&n= bsp; The following board members were present for all or part of the meet= ing:

Mr. Lindstrom &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp;

Mr. Lites &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p;

Dr. Mayer<= /span>

Mrs. Scariano &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp;

Dr. Farrell, Mrs. McI= nerney-Lubeck and Mrs. Sutton were absent.=

The presence of a quorum was noted and the meeting declared duly convened. Superintendent Mansfield, Principal Pitcock, Dir= ector of Curriculum & Instruction Spaniak, Human Resources Director Thieman, = and Business Manager Parchem were also present.

Representatives of the Sout= hTown Star, HFPA, HFEO and the Citizens for Homewood Schools were also present.

A= pproval of Minutes. Mr. Lites moved, seconded by Dr. Ma= yer, that the Board of Education approve the minutes = of the Tax Levy Hearing of December 21, 2010 and the regular meeting minutes of De= cember 21, 2010. Roll Call: Ayes – Mr. Lindstrom, Mr. Li= tes, Dr. Mayer, Mrs. Scariano. Nays – N= one. Motion carried.<= /p>

Comments.= Dr. Pitcock stated during the last= Board meeting, a group was given kudos from the Board and they were recommended by Dr. Farrell to be invited here this evening. Dr. Pitcock stated it is a pleasure to have Mr. Dave Kush and two students from the Model United Nations Club= here tonight. Mr. Kush stat= ed it is a pleasure to be here and extended his thanks for the invitation to spea= k. He also thanked the H-F Foundation for their support. Mr. Kush introduced Isaiah Sciford, a sophomore member of the club and Emily Car= roll a senior member. Mr. Kush stated students represent a country in a simulated model UN. Recently, they represented Israel = in the different parts of the UN. The students participate in current issues and current events. It gives the students an opportuni= ty to learn about parliamentary procedures. Emily stated she has been involved in the Model UN for four years. She added it is a combination of a= ll the great subjects she loves and she gets to put them into action. She said at the Model UN students = get to pretend they are policy makers making important decisions. It is a great way to learn about t= he world and view different points and perspectives and understand how our government works. Isaiah stat= ed he has been part of the Model UN since the end of last year. He added he is an international relations junkie and this gives him a real practical outlook. Isaiah added he has made a lot of friends and it gives students the opportunity to meet other students from around the world. Dr. Mansfield stated the Model UN students do a phenomenal job year in and year out. He extended a thank you = to Mr. Kush and the fantastic students in the Model UN. Mrs. Scariano= asked how many students are involved in the Model UN. Mr. Kush responded there are appro= ximately 15 to 20 members. She also as= ked how many conferences the club participates in. Mr. Kush answered usually two with= one being longer one being shorter. Mrs. Scariano asked if the students could describe w= hat is involved during the longer conference. Emily stated the four days are basic= ally non-stop committees with an opening ceremony with a speaker. This year it was the grandson of <= span class=3DSpellE>Ghandi. After the opening ceremony students are in committees all the time with full sess= ions and are up and ready to go again at 6 a.m. the next day. The first committee work is on iss= ues and later working on resolutions to problems and conflicts. Isaiah stated he feels we have just enough time to make everyone believe we are right. Mrs. Scariano= commented to Emily and Isaiah that they are so serious about it and asked e= ach of them where they are going with this in the future. Emily responded she really likes discussing the humanitarian aid issues and wants to go into public policy a= nd work for humanitarian aid. Is= aiah stated he has no idea where he wants to take it and he’s glad he is only a sophomore and has a lot of time to think about it. He added he does an even= t in Speech where students have to be well-versed and said Speech together with = Model UN is a great 1-2 punch. He s= aid right now, it really just helps him in class Comments (co= n’t) and helps him look more seriously to the future. Mrs. Scariano= addressed the students and stated we appreciate how well you represent our high schoo= l, the way you speak and carry yourselves.&nb= sp; You are great models to us. <= /span>

David Tracy, Executive Director of the H-F Foundation introduced Foundation officers Mary Lou Coleman, Sandy Rude, and Susie Goldberg.&n= bsp; He stated he has been the Executive Director of the Foundation for f= ive years. He added it is student programs likeThe Model UN Club that the Foundat= ion is happy to fund. Sitting here, listening to those young students is one of the thing we like to do is fund students. He added The Founda= tion invites students to speak so we can hear what they need. We help in administering scholarsh= ips and there are two new scholarships on the list. Last year we added Elizabeth Barry and Bruce Keene scholarships and we still receive a lot of interest f= rom outside. We are also offering= our non-profit to the HFPA. One o= f the things I noticed since coming on the Foundation’s Board and also duri= ng the twelve years I have worked in the non-sector, I have never seen the kind of depth and involvement that I have seen here at H-F. It is very impressive. You really have a wonderful thing here. Sometimes from the insi= de you don’t see it but I can tell you from the outside it is a wonderful th= ing. The Foundation is at a crossroads = and we are having some difficulty right now in terms of our ability to support unfunded/under- funded worthy student activities. We are seeing a decline in the Fou= ndation calendar sales. We have added= a new event and are providing vouchers for Chili’s Restaurant in Homewood.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> We are trying to reach out to the community at large. We welcome ideas as well as your support. We hope there might be some consideration given to some other types of fund raising. The Foundation has b= een looking at web streaming, a technology that is o= ut there now that can create a revenue stream for both the school and the Foun= dation. We are here to support the student= s. All of us get the same great feeli= ng after watching students present like the two students this evening and we w= ant to continue to support the students here.&= nbsp; Our goal is to support as much as we can and continue to find ways to find more revenue to do that. We also have been working with various alumni groups. It would be wrong not to garner the support from the community around here.&nb= sp; Dr. Mansfield stated his appreciation for the Foundation. He added we are very proud of the = work The Foundation does and they are a very committed group. They have been dedicated individua= ls for a long, long, time. We are cu= rrently completing our interviews for the Director of Development and Alumni Relati= ons position and look forward to that person working with you on the kinds of things you help in supporting the school.&= nbsp; Thank you for all the time you have put in and look forward to it co= ntinuing into the future. Mr. Lites as= ked if the Foundation starts from ground zero each year. Mr. Tracy responded all scholarshi= ps are for only for one year. Howeve= r the Mahers are in the midst of revising their scholarship= and it will be four years underwriting for one student. Mr. Lindstrom stated thank you to = the Foundation for all they do. H= e said it really gives us the opportunity for some things we couldn’t do wit= hout The Foundation’s assistance. The young people this evening wouldn’t happen without you. We appreciate everything you do an= d look forward to working with you for many years to come. It is just terrific. Mrs. Scariano= said I think age is good and I remember when the foundation started and we = had a duck race across the pond it was a fund raiser and look how far we’= ve come. She added you’ve = made it big and you’ve made it better. We are all in it, working together in these things. All of you in the audience have do= ne something and it has helped our school.&nb= sp; Thank you again and please come back.

Shelly Marks, Homewood School District 153 Board President introduced District153 = Superintendent Dale Mitchell. She also intro= duced Mr. Tom Dockweiler past School Board President for = 12 years. She also introduced Al= ex Bosch who is chairing the Citizen’s for Homewood Schools Committee for the = referendum effort. Mrs. Marks stated it = is all about the kids and it is great to see the students from 153 be so successful here at H-F. She referred to the handout that she distributed. On the top slide on page 1, we have the mission statement that states “All children will learn; All child= ren will be served.” For decades and have reaffirmed our mission in long-= range planning. When I got to the district, it was one of the first things I was told by the former superinte= ndent. This is what we always go back to.= I am confident we complete this mi= ssion on a daily basis. When I visit other schools in our district, I hear wonderful feedback and I know H-F tak= es those kids and brings them to a higher step. Ninety percent of the graduates fr= om James Hart go onto college. W= e try to get better and take our students to a higher level. Intervention blocks during the day= to help kids below reading levels. We have gifted instructors for kids reading above their reading levels. We have psychologists, social work= ers, etc. We want to attract and r= etain the best staff. Over the past= three years we have lost zero staff to other districts. It is our goal for Homewood to be a destination to everyone. I me= et new families and they say they want the best schools – the Homewood schools. It is a lot of pressure but it is = the faith these parents are putting in. We probably have at least 5 to Comments (con= ’t) 10 staff members who were H-F graduates who have come back to teach. She added we also have a fiscal responsibility. The last refe= rendum was in 1992, nineteen years ago. &nbs= p; Eighty-five percent of our budget is salary. We think we do a great job and del= iver a great product for less. We sp= end nineteen percent less than the state average. We are at a point where we have to continue with that proven track record of success and to prepare our students for H-F High School and it is very difficult right now. We = use interest based bargaining when we talk about contracts with our faculty. We look at what we believe in toge= ther and also at our common interests. We applied this same principal when we talked about the referendum. Fortunately most of our teachers s= pend most of their time on learning and not on behavior. We get to spend majority of time on doing what we believe is best for kids.&nb= sp; We want to maintain this. Parents send us the most precious thing they have, their children and trust us to do what’s right for them. = We are also responsible to the rest of the community that do not have students att= ending our schools. During this tough economic time, we also want to minimize the impact to our homeowners. This is a time people are worried = about their finances and we want to be sensitive to this. We want to be able to improve academic/behavioral successes and maintain our top-tier status. We want to continue to maintain po= sitive relationships and trust with staff, Board, parents and the community. We want to improve our overall fin= ancial health and have money in the bank. We want to continue to attract /retain high quality staff want to ke= ep it and continue to attract people who fit in the model. Last, we want to maintain appropri= ate class size, 22-25 and existing programs. Children learn best in class with 22-25 giving the best opportunity for kids to develop their passions and sk= ills that await them in the future so they become good citizens down the road. Mr. Dockweile= r posed the question why a referendum now?&n= bsp; In 76 days from today we ask tax payers to raise their taxes. There are a lot of things I’d rather do then to ask tax payers to raise taxes. There is never a good time= to do it and frankly this is a terrible time to do it. But what would be worse is telling= 3000 kids your education is going to slip and it isn’t going to be the sam= e exceptional quality 153 has been delivering over the years. Why? Because t= he tax payers supported it with their billfold. Those are all the reasons why we a= re so good. Therefore in 153 we nee= d a modest increase – fund balances are slipping. It would be really easy to blame t= his whole thing on Springfield and the listener would probably buy it. Tax caps are more the need for a referendum than Springfield. = If CPI is low, your tax increase is going to be low. You are capped at 1.7 percent or 1= .5 percent and that’s’ what you get. Tax caps are probably two thirds o= f the reason and Springfield gets the other third. Springfield still supports the schools, but at an incredibly low amount.&= nbsp; They get their share of the blame, but not all of it. Another piece is the TIF. The largest TIF in Homewood is on = Halsted Street and it will finally be expiring.&nb= sp; Some people think when a TIF expires they think one word “windfall.” In th= is particular case, it is not true. We have benefitted by the surpluses over the years. As you know when Springfield sees l= arge amounts of revenue then Springfield decreases the state aid. Springfield owes us $800,000 but t= hey have also eliminated some major grants over the year and cut back on transportat= ion funding but haven’t cut back on the requirements that they impose. The overall costs of the district = are increasing faster than revenues. On the bottom of page 3 shows a graph that represents if we don’t do anything. Revenues are indica= ted in green with expenditures in orange. The fund balance will drift down to levels that just aren’t acceptable. Mrs. Marks added = how did we get here 19 years ago when Tom Dockweiler was president of the Board? We we= nt to the taxpayers and asked for a 75 cent tax increase. At the time we said it will last 5= to 6 years and we made it last for 19 years. But now we have bills to pay even t= hough we have cut costs. Dr. Mitche= ll stated our staff took a pay freeze in the middle of a contract year. Mrs. Marks added our superintenden= t hasn’t had a raise in two years. The hardest thing I have ever done is going to staff and asking them to even consider a pay freeze. Overwhelmingly, they said yes because it is the best thing for the k= ids so we were able to capture nearly $800,000 for this year. They took a pay freeze and it is permanent and not retroactive. Further reductions will impact learning, Classes will go up in enrollment and we will ultimately lose some of the programs we have. We will be jeopardizing our track records of success and our kids will not get what they are getting anymore. Mr. Dockweiler added there are two very important points; when the public hears pay fr= eeze, they think well they’ll make it up to the faculty down the road ̵= 1; it is understood it will not be made up.&n= bsp; Our staff approved it and accepted it anyway. The second point they’ll still graduate, and they’ll probably be ok but it has never been our intent= ion to deliver kids who are just ok. It has been our goal to deliver them strong to H-F. The bottom of page 4 is the soluti= on – what are we going to ask for to fix this. As you know when you talk about a = tax referendum, it is an increase to your tax rate and it goes forever. About 3 years ago, the state appro= ved a working cash bond. Working ca= sh bond referendum allows for the tax bill to go up by a fixed amount of dolla= rs and stays there for a fixed amount of years and it dies. In our case we are going to ask fo= r 30 cents per $100 of assessed dollar of assessment. It is the last Comments (con’t) thing we want to do, but second only= to the distaste of telling 3000 kids they will have a diminished quality of education. I want to keep that increase amount of dollars in perspective. $200 or $250 to a lot of people rig= ht now is a whole lot of money and there are a lot of people having financial prob= lems. That is real. I don’t want to minimize that dollar amount and respect that dollar amount very much. But we are going to ask them to ke= ep that number in perspective and look at what that amount is going to do and = we are going to tell them it is worth it.&nbs= p; We think that in April, 2011, during arguably the worst recession of= any of our lifetimes, we are confident they are going to say we think it is wor= th it. That’s our pitch, t= hat’s our story, that’s how we are going to do it. It is also a reality it = will die in 7 years. This one will= not last 20 years or even 15. This may mean we may need to come back to you down the road. But for now, while waiting for som= e of these unknowns to get sorted out, this does it for us. It is a modest amount, it is faire= st to the property owner and it solves our problem. Mrs. Marks added we believe the co= mmunities that maintain the things that they value are the communities that people are going to look at for their destination when this recession is over. They are going to go to the commun= ities that kept their schools strong. While we don’t want to do this right now, we don’t have a choice but we believe it will serve our community well. This referendum will allow our sch= ool district to maintain our interest by protecting our children, our district = and our property values. Mr. Alex= Bosch added thanked the Board for listening to their presentation. He said I graduated from H-F in 19= 87 but didn’t have the fortune of going to 153. He added I have 3 kids in the Home= wood district doing well and love it and I want them to come here. Mr. Dockweile= r and I will be organizing as many community members as we can to come and he= lp get the word out to encourage people vote “Yes.” We have sat around for hours and discussed why we think this referendum is great and will share this with community members and persuade them to vote yes. If you are a citizen of 153 please= vote yes and help us get the word out. One way is to attend a kick-off mee= ting on Feb 2^nd at James Hart. It is an opportunity to get people to come together and help us get = the word out. This is the last th= ing any of us want to do but it is something worthwhile. This is not funneled through the s= tate or any other funding. I came = to ask this Board, a Board that I know in 2002 put a referendum on the ballot and = came and asked for the support of District 153.= I am asking you to do the same for us. I have a list of contact names, me= mbers of the H= omewood community, joining Mr. Dockweiler and I. I will leave a list of contact nam= es in case you want to come help our cause. Mrs. Marks asked if the Board had any questions. Dr. Mayer stated we just had a state i= ncome tax increase. Does anyone know how this will impact sch= ools. Dr. Mitchell responded they are go= ing to use that increase just to pay off vendors they owe. The earliest any funding will come= to schools is in 2015. We know t= his doesn’t help us, but what people have to understand most of the fundi= ng will not come to 153 schools. We won’t see it for years and where do you put your trust. Dr. Mitchell added people laugh wh= en they say that. Our referendum will expire for sure in 7 years. It goes away and we can’t do anything differently except go back to the voters. Our mission is to keep students successful. Mr. Lites stated something that resonates with me is you are telling the tax payer an exact value. Raising money un= der 2% is something you can count on so you have total control with what happens w= ith those dollars going forward. You’ve earned a Blue Ribbon and your referendum was 20 years ago. So if there is any histo= ry in your district, it is that teachers are there because they want to be there. Well done and thank yo= u for the compelling presentation. = Mrs. Scariano read a resolution supporting District 153. “We, H-F as an educational community, feel that Homewood’s referendum for education is worth it. Your students are our students. We will help get the word out to the community. We support education and we will v= ote for it and continue to support it.”&= nbsp; Mrs. Scariano thanked the members of Dis= trict 153 for attending tonight’s meeting and for presenting on the referen= dum.

Dr. Mansfield stated just a quick thank you to the school board for coming in e= arly for preparing for the staff pancake breakfast last Friday. It is always a great opportunity t= o get together since we don’t get to see a lot of staff on a regular basis.

Mr. Lindstrom said he always enjoys the staff breakfast and enjoys seeing who c= an flip the worse. It is a fun m= orning and it is great to see everyone. He is excited that the grading period is here and he can see the enthusiasm on= the teaching staff. Mr. Lindstrom= said he has had to miss the last two Board meetings and thanked the Board for th= eir support with his recent health problems.&n= bsp; He added he is enjoying watching both girls and boys basketball team= s and they are doing so well. It is= nice to see the new rankings in the newspaper with our boys at 3 and girls are at 17. If you get an opportunity= come out and watch those games. Th= ere are so many wonderful things happening here and H-F is represented so well = by students and staff. He said i= t is a great honor being a part of this Board and doing the things we do. Nice also to see our feeder distri= ct here and we support them and thank them for being here.

Comments (con’t) Mr. Lites stated ditto to Mr. Lindstrom’s comments about the staff breakf= ast and added he saw something he hasn’t seen before. He said Mr. Lindstrom is a pretty = good dancer as he flips pancakes. = The annual breakfast was a lot of fun. The teachers and administration really enjoyed the morning. He added we talk a lot about our sports teams and it is really gratifying. We have a = lot of good teams but my hat’s off to our Special Olympic teams and I wish it was a little easier to get to some more of their games. Those kids are really terrific, ve= ry committed and just fabulous. =

Annual Purchase of Liability and Property Insurance. <= /span>Mr. Lites = moved, seconded by Mr. Lindstrom, that the Board of Education authorize the purcha= se of liability and property insurance through the Illinois School Insurance Cooperative (ISIC) and Arthur J. Gallagher & Company, Rolling Meadow, I= L, in accordance with section 10-22.3 of the Illinois School Code (105 ILCS 5/10-ss.3), in the amount of $162,803 for the period of December 31, 20= 10 to December 31, 2011, as recommended by the Business Manager and the Superintendent. Mr. Par= chem stated the district has been a funding member o= f the Illinois School Insurance Cooperative since 1984. This coverage applies to liability.= There is a 3.88 percent increase o= ver last year. Roll Call: Ayes – Mr. Lindstrom, Mr. Lites, Dr. Mayer= , Mrs. S= cariano. Nays – N= one. Motion carried.<= /p>

Benefits Insurance Renewa= l.= Mr. Lites = moved, seconded by, that the Board of Education contract for specific excess stop-loss health insura= nce coverage with HCC, with a monthly rate of $30.59 per covered employee and $= 90.07 per covered family for calendar year 2011, as recommended by the Business Manager and the Superintendent. Mr. Parchem stated HCC is a preferred carrier of CoreSourc= e and is an A+ rated company. T= he specific/individual stop loss recommended is $100,000 with a $50,000 aggreg= ating corridor with the annual aggregate limit set at $2,054.577. There is a 1.34 percent increase f= rom last year. Mrs. Scariano offered her appreciation to Mr. Parchem for negotiating such low overall increases to our fixed health insurance costs. Roll Call: Ayes – Mr. Lites,= Dr. Mayer, Mr. Lindstrom , Mrs. Scariano. Nays R= 11; None. Motion carried.<= o:p>

= Mr. Lites moved, seconded by Mr. Lindstrom, that the Board of Education contract for excess aggregate stop-loss health insurance coverage with HCC with a mo= nthly rate of $4.68 per covered employee (single and family) for calendar year 20= 11, as recommended by the Business Manager and the Superintendent. Mr. Parchem stated this is the sec= ond level of coverage. We have a = cap on the overall plan. Roll Call: Ayes – Dr. Mayer, Mr. Lindst= rom, Mr. Lites, Mrs. Scariano. Nays – N= one. Motion carried.<= /span>

= Mr. Lites moved, seconded by Mr. Lindstrom, that the Board of Education renew t= he contract with third party administrator CoreSource of Matteson, Illinois at $12.90 per covered employee per month for medical, $3= .20 per covered employee per month for dental, $3.50 per covered employee per m= onth for pre-certification utilization review, $1.15 per covered employee per mo= nth for COBRA administration, $.50 per covered employee per month for Medicare = Part D, $325 per month for flexible spending plan administration, a one-time mon= thly fee of $4.00 per enrolled employee for flexible spending plan enrollment, $= 600 annual maintenance fee and a New York filing fee of $25.00 per month for calendar year 2011 as recommended by the Business Manager and the Superintendent. Mr. Parchem commented there is a total increase of 2.58 percent from last year. Roll Call: Ayes – Mr. Lindst= rom, Mr. Lites, Dr. Mayer, Mrs. Scariano. Nays – N= one. Motion carried.<= /span>

= Mr. Lites moved, seconded by Mr. Lindstrom, that the= Board of Education contract with Private Healthcare Systems for Preferred Provider Option services at a monthly rate of $6.50 per covered employee for calendar year 2011 as recommended by the Business Manager and the Superintendent. Roll Call: Ayes – Mr. Lindst= rom, Mr. Lites, Dr. Mayer, Mrs. Scariano. Mr. Parchem stated there is no increase from last year. Nays – No= ne. Motion carried.

Mr. Lites moved, secon= ded by Dr. Mayer, that the Board of Education contract = with Begley Insurance Group, Inc. for insurance consulting services for calendar year 2011 for a fee of $12,000 as recommended by the Business Manager and t= he Superintendent. Mr. Parchem s= tated there is no increase from last year. Roll Call: Ayes – Mr. Lindstrom, Mr. Li= tes, Dr. Mayer, Mrs. Scariano. Nays – N= one. Motion carried.<= /span>

Residency. <= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Mr. Lites moved, seconded by Mr. Lindstrom, that the Board of Education, after considering the findings of the Hearing Officer’s report, finds student #19772 is not a resident of School District 233, and that the legal guardian of student #19772 owes School District 233 tuition for the time in which that student was attending Homewood-Flossmoor High School, and that student #19772 be removed from the roll immediately, as recommended by the Superintendent. Roll Call: Ayes – Mr. Lindstrom, Mr. Li= tes, Dr. Mayer, Mrs. Scariano. Nays – N= one. Motion carried.

= ;

Approval of Expenditures.<= span style=3D'font-size:10.0pt'> M= r. Lites moved, seconded by Mr. Lindstrom, that the Board of Edu= cation approve the proposed expenditures in the amount of $1,156,346.89. Roll Call: Ayes, Mr. Lites, Dr. Mayer, Mr. Lindstrom, Mrs. Scariano. Nays – N= one. Motion carried.

Reimbursement to the Imprest Fund. Mr. Lites moved, seconded by Mr. Lindstrom, that the Board of Education authorize= the reimbursement to the Imprest Fund in the amount= of $36,770.37. Roll Call:

A= yes - Dr. Mayer, Mr. Lindstrom, Mr. Lites, Mrs. Scariano.= <= span class=3DGramE>Nays – None. Motion carried. <= /p>

Ratification of Payroll. M= r. Lites moved, seconded by Mr. Lindstrom, that the Board of Education ratify the De= cember, 2010 payroll in the amount of= $2,103.622.06. Roll Call: Ayes – Mr. Lindstrom, Mr. Li= tes, Dr. Mayer, Mrs. Scariano. Nays – N= one. Motion carried.

Adjournment.= Mr. Lindstrom moved, seconded by Dr. Mayer, that the Board of Education be adjourned at 8: 50 p.m. Motion carried.<= /p>

______________________= ______ &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; ____________________________

= President &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = Vice-President/Secretary =