Board of Directors Meeting Minutes

January 2013 Board Meeting Summary

Jerry R. Birkey Re-Elected as IESA Board President; Golf Finals Moved to Peoria; Bowling Finals Remain in Joliet; Emerging Sports Policy Approved

The IESA Board of Directors elected officers, approved a recommendation to move the golf finals to Peoria, approved a recommendation to keep the bowling finals in Joliet at the Town and Country Lanes, reviewed and approved an emerging sports policy, acted on committee recommendations in several activities, and tied up other loose ends at its regularly scheduled meeting on January 18, 2013.

Mr. Jerry R. Birkey was re-elected to serve as President of the IESA Board of Directors. He has served on the IESA Board since 1997. He has been the principal at Mt. Zion Jr. High School since 1994. Prior to that, Birkey served as the principal at Morrisonville from 1989-1994 and has also worked in the Momence and East Peoria #86 school districts. Birkey has previously served as both the vice-president and treasurer of the IESA Board. Mr. Tony Ingold, Superintendent of East Peoria District #86 was re-elected to the vice-president position while Dr. Scott Herrmann, Superintendent at the Bannockburn school district was re-elected to serve as the Secretary-Treasurer.

Golf Finals

Kellogg Golf Course in Peoria will become the home of the IESA golf finals starting this fall. The Board approved a recommendation to move the golf finals to Peoria for the next three years after holding the finals at the St. Andrews course in West Chicago the last two years. "We are very pleased that the Golf Division of the Peoria Park District is genuinely interested in hosting the IESA golf finals," said Steve Endsley, IESA Executive Director. "Bill Woolard, Superintendent of Golf and his staff are committed to providing a wonderful experience to the 150 boys and girls golfers who will compete in the IESA golf championship. The fact that they will be closing the course on the day of the finals was further evidence that they will provide a first class championship." The 2013 finals will be held on Saturday, September 14; the 2014 finals will be held on September 13; and the 2015 finals will be held on September 12.

Bowling Finals

The Town and Country Lanes in Joliet will continue to serve as the host for the IESA state bowling championships through 2016. The site has been the host for the first two years of the bowling competition and the initial three-year agreement was through 2013. "The Town and Country Lanes in Joliet continues to be an outstanding site for our bowling finals," said Endsley. "Their willingness to accommodate the students and the schools who participate in our finals along with the cooperation we receive from Jeff Bailey, the bowling center manager and his staff made the decision to return a very easy one." The 2013 finals will be held on March 22-23.

Emerging Sports/Activities Policy

The Board of Directors approved a policy regarding the addition of future sports and/or activities. The policy will detail steps schools will be required to follow if they want a new activity or state series added. The policy will be added to the IESA Handbook distributed to all schools at the beginning of the year and will also be posted on the IESA website.

Activity Committee Action

Baseball -- Approved a recommendation to change the starting times of the baseball state finals in East Peoria. The 1A finals will start at 9:30 a.m.; the 2A finals will start at 10:00 a.m. and the 3A finals will start at 10:30 a.m.

Cross-Country -- Approved recommendations from the advisory committee to have a recommended starting time for the sectional meets at 10:00 a.m.; that the number of sectionals each year will be determined by the number of entries in the state series; and the starting times for the state races begin at 9:30 a.m. and every 45 minutes thereafter.

Softball -- The Board received the report of the committee. There were no committee recommendations.

Speech -- The Board approved recommendations to allow an additional duet selection as long as both selections are completed within the time frame already established; adjusted the number of participants in the Team Improv category to 4 to 6 performers; will now require an adult facilitator for the Team Improv event and require a student who participates in Team Improv to also participate in a scripted event; and will increase the annual speech workshop fee by $10 starting in 2013.

Golf -- The Board approved recommendations to change the Circle 14 scoring rule and eliminated the Continuous Putting section in the Terms and Conditions.

Soccer -- The Board approved the following recommendations: Establish separate boys and girls state series; conduct the state series in boys soccer and girls soccer during weeks 42 and 43 of the standardized calendar; and allow practice to begin on Monday of week 7 in the standardized calendar. The Board did not approve a recommendation to remove the number of contest limitations.

Other Business Items

Scholar Attitude: The 14th annual Scholar Attitude Award luncheon will be Tuesday, April 30, at 11:00 a.m. the DoubleTree Hotel in Bloomington. Only one student from each of the 15 membership divisions will be selected. The deadline for receipt of nominations in the IESA Office is Feb. 22, 2013. Judges will meet in the IESA Office March 20, 2013, to select the winners.

Division Meetings: The Board heard a report regarding "attendance" at the required Division Meetings that were conducted online for the first time this fall. Only 17 schools were placed on probation for failure to attend one of the online meetings. No schools will be suspended for failure to attend in two consecutive years.

Fisher Athletic: The Board approved an agreement with Fisher Athletic Company to provide the majority of equipment used at the state track meets. Schools will have the opportunity to purchase the equipment used in the meets. Information on how a school would purchase the equipment will be posted on the IESA website.

Treasurer's Report: The Board received and accepted the treasurer's report for the fiscal period ending December 31, 2012.

Board Meetings: There are two regular meetings remaining in the 2012-13 school year. One is scheduled April 5, 2013, and the other is scheduled June 14, 2013.

Bowling Co-ops: Approved a staff recommendation that effective immediately, schools can co-op their bowling programs.

Bradley St. Joseph: The Principal and athletic director appeared before the Board at the Board's request to address sportsmanship issues that have arisen at the school. They outlined steps the school is taking to address the sportsmanship issues that have arisen with their coaches. The Board placed Bradley St. Joseph on probation for the remainder of the 2012-13 school year and for the 2013-14 school year.

Division Reports

At each meeting of the Board of Directors time is devoted for each board member to report on communication with and requests from the member schools in the member's division. In addition, Board members also may make observations regarding the operation of the Association. Following is a report of those from the January 18 meeting:

Division F: Mr. Frost indicated he was contacted by a member school regarding the amount of time a school can practice volleyball. No action was taken.

Division H: Mr. Ingold received a question concerning the placement of a possible soccer state series in the IESA calendar.

Division L: Mrs. Young received a call from a school in her division about the open gym policy.

Division O: Dr. Stuart received an email from a school in his division asking that a policy be developed requiring all schools to host contests. Discussion followed that some schools simply do not have the facilities to adequately or safely host. No action was taken.