I. Call To Order - 6:00 p.m.

II. Roll Call - Burris, Jones, Mallory, Gooden, and Griggs were present. (Posey arrived at 6:10 p.m.)

III. Recognition of Guests/Comments From Public And Employees - None

IV. Approval of Previous Minutes - A motion was made and seconded to approve the Regular Minutes and the Closed Minutes of February 17, 2005. The motion passed.

V. A motion was made and seconded to approve an amended agenda. The amendments were to:

1. Approve 2 years experience for Judy Hughes.
2. Discuss employee resignation.
3. Discuss Garrison Building.

The motion passed.

VI. Approval of Treasurer's Report - A motion was made, seconded, and approved.

VII. Approval of Payment of Bills/Payroll - A motion was made and seconded to approve payment of bills/payroll. The motion passed.

VIII. Informational - Superintendent Samuel Harbin commented on the following items:

1. Report on calendar collaboration process involving Cairo, Century, Egyptian, and Meridian - good progress being made. A common calendar has been made and approved. Excellent progress has been made on sharing classes at the elementary level and secondary level. Sharing of classes includes Shawnee College. Our people will not be displaced in this effort.

2. The four school boards will meet at Riverlore for a dinner meeting on April 22, 2005 at 5:30 p.m. There will be no agenda - just a "meet and greet" meeting. The meeting should last 1-2 hours.

3. Early Childhood and Headstart habve been meeting to try to come together in a collaborative effort. Headstart is having some funding problems. since both are good programs, there is a feeling that we could work together.

4. Amend school calendar with the ending date of May 26th.

5. Construction grant has Cairo moving from 34th on the list to 92nd. This is a 10-12 million dollar range for funds. A referendum would have to be passed. The facts need to be gotten out to the public about the taxes and how much they would go up. Dr. Harbin feels that if we get organized and get the facts out, the referendum would pass.

6. The BOE will have a work session on March 23rd from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The purpose of this meeting would be to discuss a co-curriculum for the four school districts.

7. Checks Deposited - District Account - No comments.

$181,633.19 - State Aid -January- 1st Payment
12,000.00 - Title II Teacher Qua.
31,472.00 - Early Childhood Block Grant
36,761.85 - Special Ed. Personnel
32,779.00 - Title II Teacher Qua.
42,493.24 - Special Ed. Extraordinary
15,456.00 - TAP Grant Payment
2,563.87 - State Lunch
54,807.43 - Regular Transportation
181,633.19 - State Aid - January - 2nd Payment
16,836.99 - Special Ed. Transportation
26,279.90 - Federal Lunch
14,801.85 - Federal Breakfast
1,580.00 - March-Cairo Jr. High Major Repair Fund-ROE
4,740.00 - March - Cairo Jr. High Rent-ROE
1,224.00 - Workers' Comp. Self-Insurance Trust Audit Return
1,813.48 - Mobile Home Tax- Alexander County
50.00 - Laidlaw – Rent

IX. Requiring Action/Decisions By Board of Education

1. Recommendation
Approve GEAR-UP Program with "In-Kind" contributions - A motion was made, seconded, and approved.

2. Recommendation
RIF - 2005-2006 School Year - There will be no further RIFs.

3. Recommendation
District Insurance Package Renewal - Insurance on Garrison will be less than last year. A motion was made, seconded, and approved.

4. Recommendation
Judy Hughes requested that two more years of experience be added to her years, as she had worked as a sub-aide and has the necessary hours for the added years. Dr. Harbin stated that he had checked into the matter and agreed that this was indeed true. A motion was made, seconded, and approved.

X. Closed Session

The BOE voted to enter closed session at 6:24 p.m. The BOE voted to exit closed session at 8:30 p.m.

1. A motion was made, seconded, and approved to hire Gary Whitledge as superintendent, with details of contract to be worked out.

2. A motion was made, seconded, and approved to hire Dr. Harbin for up to three months to help Mr. Whitledge with the transition into the position.

3. A motion was made, seconded, and approved to accept the resignation of Helen Green as BOE secretary and to advertise the position.

4. A motion was made, seconded, and approved to develop a plan for Smart Start of Illinois to lease or buy the Garrison building.

XI. Old Business - None

XII. The BOE voted to adjourn at 8:34 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. >

A big "THANK YOU!" to De De O'Shea who took notes and typed the minutes for this issue...

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The following article is from the March 31, 2005 edition of The Cairo Citizen...