NORMAL – Normal-based Unit 5 School Board formally certified the results of April 5’s election, and swore in a Board newcomer and three incumbents as part of the group’s regular meeting on April 26 at District headquarters.
Mike Trask, Normal, running for the Board seat vacated by Scott Lay, was sworn in along with three incumbents: Gail Ann Briggs, Towanda; and Wendy Maulson, and Mark Pritchett, both Bloomington. Two-term Board member Scott Lay opted not to seek re-election after serving two terms on the Board.
Following the swearing-in, Board elections were held. John Puzauskas was elected to serve as Board President; Jay Reece was elected to serve as Board Vice President; and Mark Pritchett was elected to serve as Board Secretary.
Prior to the swearing-in, Board members honored Lay, addressing his time and contributions to the Board, as well as giving welcome statements to Trask as he joins the group.
“I truly appreciated your insights,” Puzauskas told Lay. “You were a great helmsman when I was on the Board my first two years.”
Board member Jay Reece lauded Lay’s ability to “cut to the chase” on matters before the Board.
Lay opened his closing thoughts to the Board, joking when his microphone did not work properly as he was about to speak. “You know it’s time to go when the battery on your mic is dead,” he said, generating laughter from those in attendance. “The last four years have been positive. We didn’t always agree, but that’s the nature of a good Board.
Addressing Trask before the swearing-in, Lay told the Board’s newest member, “Mike, you’ll recognize this isn’t a popularity contest. You’ll gather facts. You’ll make decisions. You do the best you can. Recognize your job is to make decisions that are in the best interest of the District.”
Board members then turned their attention to Trask as he prepared for the job at hand.
“Mike, you will be a wonderful addition to the Board,” Reece said.
“Mike is very well prepared to come on the Board,” Board member Gail Ann Briggs said.
District To Join Energy Consortium: Once the new Board was seated, the group voted unanimously to accept the recommendation of District Business Manager Erik Bush to join the Illinois Energy Consortium, and to buy energy at a discount. That discount would come as a result of Unit 5 entering into an agreement with Blue Star Energy Solutions. Doing so would lock in the prices the district would pay for energy in the future. Together, entering into the two agreements would have a cost savings of between $100,000-$200,000. The agreement between Unit 5 and both Illinois Energy Consortium and Blue Star Energy Solutions will last for two years.
Prairieland Elementary’s “Good News”: Board members were introduced to John Burton, a custodian at Prairieland Elementary School. Burton was honored for having received formal recognition by Normal Fire Department for saving the life of a Prairieland student who was choking.
On March 28, Burton performed the life-saving Heimlich Maneuver on first grader Hope Mikala Knoerle. During the school’s lunch hour, Burton noticed that Knoerle was unable to breathe or speak. Knoerle lost consciousness and was turning blue as a result.
Burton carried Knoerle to the school office to call for an ambulance. While carrying the girl, the obstruction in her airway became dislodged and she began breathing again. She did not require further medical attention.
“John went above and beyond in this situation,” explained Prairieland Elementary Principal Carmen Bergmann to Board members. Burton received a standing ovation from the roughly 40 people attending the meeting.
District’s “Good News”: Board members heard from Dayna Brown, assistant to the superintendent, about the partnership between the district and the Normal Rotary Club to help Unit 5 students in need to receive coats, gloves and hats so that they would be properly prepared to come to school during the winter months.
Brown said Normal Rotary members approached Unit 5 asking to help the district collect those items to help students. Brown said the project started out just collecting gloves. She said she was informed by Club President John Bishop and Club Community Service Director Ron Timmerman the Club wanted to do more. Brown said that is when she informed them about some students in need needing coats.
“The Club helped us with all of those items,” Brown told Board members. “In the past two years, Normal Rotary has purchased enough coats to ensure that every student in Unit 5 who needs a coat has one.”
Brown said Normal Rotary Club has already purchased the coats that might be needed by students next winter. They are currently in District storage, Brown said.
“We are very glad to do this,” Bishop told Board members. “But it would not have been possible had it not been for Dayna identifying the problem to us. We really didn’t know the need existed until we were informed of it. We’re just happy and privileged to be able to solve that particular problem.”
Rotary Club members have also been serving as tutors at Unit 5 Schools to help student prepare for their ISAT testing, Brown added. As a result, students at Oakdale Elementary achieved the State benchmark of Adequate Yearly Progress, Brown explained.
HS Credit Recovery Program Discussed: Board members heard from Sandy Wilson, Unit 5’s director of secondary education, concerning a credit recovery program available to students at the district’s two high schools. The program helps students who fail classes to try to recoup credit hours by doing so online.
The program is done through an online program called APEX. Wilson said APEX has a vast amount of curriculum options for credit recovery, honors, and Advanced Placement courses for students, giving students an opportunity to obtain credits for classes students have failed.
Students needing APEX go to a lab at their respective schools, which is available for an hour a day, four days a week. In the lab, students work individually on lessons in courses specific to their needs. The courses range from Introductory Algebra to Geometry to Chemistry to History to various English courses to Reading Skills.
Should a student not master the information through the APEX Program, remediation will be provided through the course content, Wilson explained.
The program began in March. Previous to the use of the APEX program, students needed to attend Summer School.
Wilson said the APEX program will be offered in the Summer for the first time, beginning June 6. It will run through June 30, and be available to students Monday-Thursday from 8a.m.-10a.m. The Summer Program has a fee of $100.
Student Fees To Increase: An item on the Board’s consent agenda which was approved was an increase in fees. Among the fees going up is student insurance. Around-the-clock school insurance is going up $5, from $90 last year to $95 beginning in 2011-12.
Lunches are going up a dime – from $1.70 to $1.80 at the elementary schools and from $1.75 to $1.85 at the secondary schools. Adult lunches at both elementary and secondary schools are going up in price as well. Adults will pay $2.30 at the elementary schools, while paying $2.35 at the secondary schools – a jump in price of 10 cents at both levels.
Student breakfast prices are going up at both elementary and secondary levels, too. Elementary and secondary level students will pay a dime more for breakfast beginning next fall, paying $1.20 per meal. Reduced price breakfast meals will remain at 30 cents.
May 11 Board Meeting At Evans Junior High: The next Unit 5 School Board meeting will be on Wednesday, May 11 at the new George L. Evans Junior High School, 2901 Morrissey Dr., Bloomington. The meeting will begin at 7p.m.