Brown County Community Unit School District No. 1 Board of Education met July 29.
Here is the minutes provided by the board:
The special meeting of the Board of Education was held at 6:00 p.m. in the Brown County Board of Education Office and via Zoom video conference. The meeting was called to order by board president Philip Krupps. The minutes were recorded by McKenzie Taute.
On roll call: Krupps, yea; McCaskill, yea; Blaesing, yea; Fullerton, yea; Hughes, yea; Blakeley, yea; Heinecke, yea.
In person attendance: Vicki Phillips, Kris Gallaher, Tracy Conley, McKenzie Taute, Shelly Sheffler, Sally Ruble, Pollee Craven
In attendance via Zoom: Philip Krupps, Brian Heinecke, James McKay, David Phelps, Dan Long, Lori Roberts, Charity Feld, Whitley Walters, Deana Metz, Bri Ham, Jenna Vermillion, Roger Ehret, Mary Ingram, Jillian Theis, Laranda Parnacher, Andy Turner, Kara Jarboe, Lynn Tomlinson, Joan Gandara, Gail Gallaher, Debbie Kemper.
Public Comment: Mrs. Phillips read aloud a letter sent in for public comment from Ashely Behymer. The letter indicated that the questions and concerns listed were from several teachers within the district. The questions were related to the Brown County Return to Learn Plan and what that might look like for staff and students.
Correspondence: Board Member Dawn Hughes read aloud a letter she was sent from Theresa Eidson. Eidson’s letter was concerning the state of Illinois mandating all public schools to teach LGBT history in the classroom. Hughes said she explained to Eidson that teaching LGBT history was a requirement from legislature and not a board or districts decision. She also encouraged Eidson to stay abreast of developments in the Illinois House and Senate.
Motion by Blaesing, seconded by Fullerton, to approve the Consent Agenda.
Roll call: Blaesing, yea; Fullerton, yea; Blakeley, yea; McCaskill, yea; Hughes, yea; Heinecke, yea; Krupps, yea.
Motion by McCaskill, seconded by Blaesing to enter closed session at 6:40 p.m. for the following subjects: a) the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees of the School District; b) collective negotiating matters between the School District and its employees or their representatives, or deliberations concerning salary schedules for one or more classes of employees.
Roll call: Blakeley, yea; Hughes, yea; McCaskill, yea; Heinecke, yea; Krupps, yea; Fullerton, yea; Blaesing, yea.
Motion by Blaesing, seconded by Heinecke, to return to open session at 7:31 p.m.
Roll call: Hughes, yea; Heinecke, yea; Krupps, yea; McCaskill, yea; Fullerton, yea; Blakeley, yea; Blaesing, yea.
Motion by Fullerton, seconded by Hughes, to approve the minutes of closed session.
Roll call: Blakeley, yea; Fullerton, yea; McCaskill, yea; Blaesing, yea; Krupps, yea; Heinecke, yea; Hughes, yea.
Motion by Hughes, seconded by Blaesing, to approve the Brown County Return to Learn Plan for Brown County High School.
Mrs. Phillips gave a presentation about options for in-person learning, remote learning, bussing, and student lunches. Phillips also discussed the extra sanitization that will be put in place to ensure the health and safety of both students and staff. The board discussed the three options for the high school in the Brown County Return to Learn Plan.
PLAN A: Students choosing the district’s high school in-person learning option would attend every other day based on alphabetical designation. This in-person, blended learning option will allow for students to return to the building, yet also limit the number of students and allow for limited physical distancing guidelines. Green Day students will attend on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of the first week, and will then switch to Tuesday and Thursday the following week. Gold Day students will attend Tuesday and Thursday of the first week and switch to Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of the following week. As a result, only half of the high school’s students will be in the building on any given day, promoting physical distancing, cleaning, and safety needs.
On days students are in attendance, they will be given additional work to be completed the following day when they are not in attendance. Student opting into Advanced Placement classes and upper level courses may be expected to attend class virtually on days when they are not in attendance in the building.
Self-contained special education students will have option to attend in-person each day per State of Illinois recommendations.
PLAN B: Students choosing the district’s high school in-person learning option will attend every day in a modified block setting (A-Day: Blocks 1-4; B-Day: Blocks 5-8). Students will be grouped in a classroom with supervisor and 10-15 peers and remain in that classroom throughout the day. Students would log on to receive instruction with their classroom teachers in real time per the block schedule. This in-person, self-contained option will allow for students to return to the building, yet also limit the number of students in contact daily and allow for limited physical distancing guidelines. Teachers would be responsible for the 10-15 students in their classrooms while they deliver instruction remotely to students throughout the school who are seated in other classrooms. Students would be attending 5 clock hours (approximately 1 p.m. dismissal) with teachers working a full day to plan and deliver this virtual instruction and possibly meet virtually with individual students in the afternoons.
Students choosing to eat lunch at school will be provided the opportunity to do so after dismissal, or if students are leaving the building after their last class, they will have the option of a “takeout meal.”
Self-contained special education students will attend in-person each day per State of Illinois recommendations.
Seniors/juniors who are not in credit deficiency will be given the option of a “reduced classes” school day if this choice can be accommodated in their schedules and if it supports their future plans. Students who choose this option would only be on campus during the times they were scheduled for class. Credit requirements for graduation will be adjusted yearly as needed to reflect this option.
PLAN C: Students would attend school remotely every day in a modified block setting (A-Day: Blocks 1- 4; B-Day Blocks 5-8). Students would log on to receive instruction with their teachers in real time per the block schedule. Students would be attending 5 clocks hours each day (approximately 1 p.m. dismissal) with the teachers offering office hours in the afternoon to meet with students remotely or “in-person” by appointment.
Meals would be available for pickup using the same method of distribution that was utilized during the summer food program.
Self-contained special education students could attend in-person each day pers State of Illinois recommendations
After much consideration, the board decided that Plan C was the safest option for both students and staff. Plan C was accepted as a hybrid plan that will allow for a smooth transition back to in person learning.
Roll call: Fullerton, yea; McCaskill, no; Heinecke, yea; Blaesing, yea; Blakeley, yea; Hughes, yea; Krupps, yea.
Motion by Krupps, seconded by Fullerton to approve the Brown County Return to Learn Plan for Brown County Middle School and Brown County Elementary School.
BC Middle & Elementary School will be implementing a more restrictive schedule that allows for less movement between students/rooms/teachers than a traditional schedule would allow. Class sizes will be limited with the attempt to make classes as small as 12 if possible based on staff availability. The fewer the number of students in a class, the greater the attempt to implement social distancing to the extent possible in every setting. The teaching of English Language Arts including reading and writing along with Social Studies will be grouped together for a block of time where the same students and teacher(s) will be in one classroom without moving to/from lockers or different classrooms. Likewise, the teaching of Math, Science and Computers will be blocked together for a contiguous period of time with the same students in the same room with the same teacher(s) without moving to/from lockers or different classrooms. The State requirement for 8th grade Health class will be provided to all students remotely via the Illinois Virtual School. Students will be responsible for completing the class requirements over the course of the entire semester and will be monitored by BCSD staff. This is all in the effort to mitigate the possibility of the spread of the virus.
Roll call: Fullerton, yea; McCaskill, yea; Heinecke, yea; Krupps, yea; Hughes, yea; Blaesing, yea; Blakeley, yea.
Motion by McCaskill, seconded by Blaesing, to approve the purchase of student laptop chargers in the amount of $18,041.15 using funds from the Emergency Relief Grant.
Roll call: Krupps, yea; Heinecke, yea; Blaesing, yea; Blakeley, yea; McCaskill, yea; Hughes, yea; Fullerton, yea.
Personnel Listing - July 29, 2020 BOE Meeting
Approval:
Kember Logsdon – Bus Monitor – Beginning of 20-21 School Year
Jennifer Ward – Long Term Sub Special Ed at Elementary – Beginning of 20-21 School Year
Resignation:
Sandy Barr – MS Paraprofessional – immediately
Erica Jensen – MS Science Teacher – immediately
Motion by McCaskill, seconded by Fullerton, to approve Recommended Personnel Action (Employment, Resignations, Transfers, Retirement, Dismissals, Mentoring Application)
Roll call: McCaskill, yea; Hughes, yea; Heinecke, yea; Blakeley, yea; Krupps, yea; Fullerton, yea; Blaesing, yea.
Motion by Fullerton, seconded by Blaesing to adjourn at 7:39 p.m.
Motion carried by acclamation.
http://www.bchornets.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/DRAFT-MIN-SPEC-July-29.pdf
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