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4 | May 4, 2017 | The frankfort station news
frankfortstation.com
Summit Hill D161 Board of Education
School Board welcomes, swears in two new members
Meredith Dobes
Freelance Reporter
At its first regular meeting
April 26 following the
tallying of official results
from the April 4 Consolidated
Election, the Summit
Hill District 161 Board of
Education welcomed new
members Joy Murphy and
Jim Martin and welcomed
back Board President Rich
Marron and Board Secretary
David Faber, who were
re-elected.
Murphy and Martin filled
the seats of former members
Pam Kohlbacher, who
did not seek re-election, and
Rich Ward, who lost as a
write-in.
With all members present,
following the administration
of the oath of office,
the School Board unanimously
voted to reinstall
Marron as president, Stacey
Borgens as vice president
and Faber as secretary, and
readopted its board policies.
Under old business, the
board unanimously approved
the 2017-2018
technology budget and the
2017-2018 operations and
maintenance budget, which
were separated from the
general fiscal year 2018
budget because projects associated
with the budgets
needed to be planned prior
to the summer, Marron said.
The technology budget
includes the installation of
Wi-Fi, as well as the preparation
of tablet carts for the
2017-2018 school year. The
operations and maintenance
budget includes the replacement
of two classroom windows
at Arbury Hills School,
the installation of tile floor at
Indian Trail School and repairs
for the rear parking lot
at Hilda Walker School.
The School Board voted
4-1-2 in favor of adopting
an amended budget for fiscal
year 2017, with Borgens
voting “no,” and Murphy
and Martin abstaining. The
amended budget reflected an
Round it up
A brief recap of action and discussion from the April 26
meeting of the Summit Hill School District 161 Board of
Education
· Board members Joy Murphy and Jim Martin abstained
from the consent agenda vote, while the rest of the board
voted “yes,” as they said they had questions regarding the
Treasurer’s Report and bills payable.
· A new board member orientation is scheduled for May 8 as
an open meeting.
· The board unanimously approved the 2017-2018 parent/
student handbook, as well as the purchase and installation
of internal cameras at Summit Hill Junior High School for
$6,375.
· Members approved a $27,250 audit services renewal with
Mack & Associates.
amended amount of approximately
$860,000 the district
received from the State of Illinois,
Marron said.
Borgens said she voted
against the amended budget
because she does not like the
practice of amending budgets
and did not see a reason to
amend the FY 2017 budget
because the School Board did
not legally have to do so. Murphy
and Martin said they abstained
because they did not
know enough about the budget
to feel comfortable voting
on it.
The School Board postponed
voting on the appointment
of members to
serve on committees, as
Marron said he wanted to
allow members time to
consider which committees
they would like to serve on.
However, he did appoint
himself as the Lincoln-Way
Area Special Education
District 843 representative
and Faber as the alternate,
as those appointments were
time-sensitive.
Curriculum update
Arbury Hills Principal
John Snipes, who will become
director of curriculum
at the beginning of next
school year, provided the
School Board with an update
on the district’s progress
toward a comprehensive
grading scale.
He said that after meetings
with staff and parents, the
district is going to move to a
system where a student’s total
grade is composed of 75
percent summative exams,
which the student takes following
learning information,
and 25 percent formative exams,
which the student takes
as practice while learning a
subject.
Snipes said some parents
have voiced concerns about
consistency with grading,
so the district will continue
to have separate English
language arts and math
committees to work toward
aligning curriculum and ensuring
grading is consistent
with teachers from kindergarten
through eighth grade.
He added that educator
and speaker Rick Wormeli
will visit the district at 6
p.m. May 22 at Hilda Walker
School during Parent
Night, will address the Assessment
and Grading Team
May 23 and will return in
March 2018 to address all
staff at a half-day in-service.
Wormeli will focus
on curriculum and grading
consistencies, Snipes said.
Superintendent Barb
Rains said that this will
be a multiyear process,
and the district’s main focus
is getting consistency
in place.
“That will help us determine
where to head with
teachers and parents,” she
said. “We still have a long
way to go.”
Frankfort 157-C welcomes new board members
Staff report
Returning board member
Gina Briese along with
new members Brett Cosich
and Christopher McFadden
were took the oath of office
at a special meeting of the
Frankfort School District
157-C Board of Education
April 26.
Briese acknowledged Brian
Sasso, who served for one
term from 2013-2017, and
Mike Turner, who served
from 2011, for their service.
The board also passed a resolution
of appreciation on
their behalf.
Superintendent Maura
Zinni recognized their work
in approving $3.1 million
in tax abatements, passing a
teacher contract and approving
the 21st Century Continuous
Learning Plan and
widening the net to include
more students in advanced
courses.
The board then approved
the canvass of votes as presented
by the Will County
Clerk’s Office, which showed
that candidates Brett Cosich
received 2,652 votes; Gina
Briese received 2,700 votes;
and Chris R. McFadden received
2,775 votes. Board
secretary Edie Adamski administered
the oath of office.
Briese was then nominated
and re-elected president;
Tom Reidy as vice president;
and Adamski as secretary.
All will serve as officers for
two years.
In addition, Adamski
will serve as special education/843
board liaison;
Cosich will serve as the liaison
for the Frankfort Township
Planning Commission;
Kevin Regas will serve
as the Board of Education
Hearing Officer; Edith Lutz
will serve on the District
Insurance Committee, and
Reidy will serve as the Illinois
Association of School
Boards (IASB) delegate.
Dates were also approved
for the board’s upcoming
meetings for the next
year. The Board of Education’s
next meeting is 7 p.m.
May 17.
Frankfort School District 157-C board members (left to right) Gina Briese, Brett Cosich and
Christopher McFadden are sworn in after the April 4 election. photo submitted