Attached are my notes from the May Board meeting. All of the notes in parentheses are my own thoughts. These are very raw, so please forgive any mistakes. I'm posting these under opinion for that reason.
The general feeling I had of the Board meeting is that the public does not feel heard. It is unfortunate that Coffee with the Superintendent was canceled this morning, but that does not change that everyone is allowed to comment during the prescribed times at the Board meeting. Remember to keep comments brief and without personal attacks.
Here are the agendas for today's meetings: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UZzsLoRzd_zjWL_mJ55OFjKVWfg9PzjPuJZKFXZAbOA/edit
Here is the packet for the main Board meeting:
Some things I noticed from the packet and questions I have:
Can the camera be moved so that all of the Board can be seen? While I enjoy looking at the Trustees' screens and seeing when they aren't paying attention....it's probably better if all of their faces are visible.
Superintendent Begger stated he would do a better job about including correspondence in Board packet. The track team sent a thank you note to the Board that was not included and I have been made aware of other scholarship recipients who have written thank yous that were not included.
Why is there no AD report for the second month in a row? State track has not been discussed, nor have fall sports numbers, yet coaches are being hired.
What are the qualifications of the high school/middle school assistant cross country coaches? These interviews were conducted in private, outside the hiring or activities committees. Considering they fired the only coach with any sort of formal education and training, without cause, it's a valid concern.
The notes state that the District Clerk and Superintendent's Recommendation is that the Board of Trustees approve transfer authority for year end funds. I could not find information about what those transfers will be in the Board packet. This makes it hard to make an informed decision.
Those testing scores that have been published over the past couple months really don't look that good....
The organizational chart shows the AD as supervisor over the coaches, but there were never supervisory duties listed for either of those positions. Does this chart need to be changed?
It seems the Handbooks and Strategic Plan are being constantly updated. Why are there not official copies and working copies until they are made official? If the standard we are holding ourselves and students to is constantly changing, how can we enforce anything?
$650 to Felt Martin PC (attorneys, May 10)...3 incident statements, 2 coach nonrenewals and 1 staff issue are listed as the charges. It's quite possible this is a result of my Uniform Complaint and another poorly handled coach nonrenewal, but that is just conjecture on my part.
Areas of concern from survey data:
Teachers feel bullying is an issue. Teachers do not feel their pay is commensurate with industry norms.
HS students are not overwhelmingly happy with the school's food program or the range of classes and electives. There also appear to be concerns about teachers applying discipline equally and an unwillingness to tell a teacher when someone is breaking the rules. HS students do not feel the school helps students resolve conflicts with one another either.
The parent survey received the most responses. Out of 110 answers, 26 answered strongly disagree or disagree that their child enjoys going to school. 20 answered neutral. Considering our kids spend so much of their time at school, I find this to be very sad. 40 out of 111 believe that discipline at the school is not consistent and fair. 24 were neutral. 46 feel that bullying is a problem and 47 felt student drug and alcohol use are a problem. A greater percentage of parents felt the school offers an appropriate range of classes and electives than students. Perhaps most disturbing is that of the parents who responded, only 35 out of 103 felt that classes/time at Joliet prepare students for college and 32 out of 100 felt classes/time at Joliet prepare students for a job after graduation. To bring it full circle, 32 out of 110 feel they can not approach the school board with concerns, issues or ideas.
My hope is that the School Board and Administration realize we all want what's best for our kids, school and community. To get there it's going to take a variety of different ideas and perspectives. Continued personal attacks and vilification are unacceptable. We all need to start working together and facing the hard questions/realities if we expect to grow.
Hope to see you all tonight!
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