Four New Administrators Join IESA Board of Directors; FY 18 Budget Approved; Requests to Host IESA State Wrestling Finals to be Accepted

The Illinois Elementary School Association (IESA) Board of Directors held its regularly scheduled quarterly meeting on Thursday, September 7 at the IESA Office in Bloomington where four new members were seated on the IESA Board of Directors ; the FY 18 budget was approved; and approval was given to accept bids to host the state wrestling finals beginning in 2019.

Mr. Darryl Hogue, Superintendent of the River Bend School District in Fulton (Division B); Dr. James Mitchem, Jr.. Superintendent of the Valley View School District in Romeoville (Division D); Mr. Jeff Owens, Principal at Marseilles Elementary School (Division E); and Mrs. Julie Marquardt, Principal at Mt. Zion JHS (Division I) were all seated after being appointed to the position by Board President, Mr. Tony Ingold, following resignations/retirements of their predecessors.

The Board approved the budget for the 2017-18 school year. Anticipated receipts are budgeted at $1,564,585. Anticipated expenses are budgeted at $1,705,730 which includes an additional $50,000 to be paid toward the building mortgage. Executive Director Steve Endsley noted that the additional amount would only be paid in the spring if the amount can be paid without affecting the ordinary operating expenses of the Association. He pointed out that the 16-17 budget had approximately $109,000 more income than was projected yet expenses were about $19,000 less than budgeted. The principal of a member school may request that a copy of the budget be mailed to the school.

The contract the IESA has with Northern Illinois University to serve as the host of the state wrestling finals expires in 2018. The Board approved a staff recommendation to accept requests to host the wrestling finals for a five year period starting in 2019. The RFP will be available around November 1 and will be posted on the IESA website. Proposals will be due in the office by March 15 and the Board is expected to announce its decision based on the proposals received at their April 6, 2018 meeting.

In addition to the above mentioned items, the Board tied up other loose ends at the meeting. The following is a summary of the meeting:

Board of Directors Meeting Dates: The Board set the dates for the remaining quarterly meetings for the 2017-18 school year. They will be January 19, 2018; April 6, 2018; and June 15, 2018.

Scholar Attitude Luncheon: The Board heard a report that the date for the 20th annual IESA Scholar Attitude Award will be Tuesday, May 1, 2018. The luncheon will be held at the Doubletree Hotel and Conference Center in Bloomington. Nomination forms will be available beginning on November 1.

Treasurer’s Report: The Board accepted the July, 2017 treasurer’s report and received a five year comparison of income and expenditures through FY 17.

Audit: The Board approved the annual audit of the Association by Striegel Knobloch & Company, LLC of Bloomington. The principal of a member school may request that a copy of the audit be mailed to the school.

Sponsorships: The Board received an update regarding the status of the sponsorship with Rawlings and a possible new sponsorship with Sylvan Learning Centers.

IASB Session: Members of the IESA staff will attend the Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB) Annual Conference November 17-18 in Chicago.

IPA Meeting: IESA staff will present a division meeting on Monday, October 16 at the IPA conference in Springfield. They will also staff the exhibition booth the same day.

Speech Workshop: The Board received a report that the 43rd annual speech workshop will be held on Friday, September 15.

A.D. Workshop: A workshop for athletic directors will be held on Friday, September 8.

Board Elections: Information was shared with the Board concerning the upcoming elections. The Board members who are up for election are: Tim Haupt (Division A); Jeff Owens (Division E); Danette Young (Division L); Tod Davis (Division M); and Pat Drees (Division N)

NFHS Summer Meeting: A review of the 2017 NFHS summer meeting was held and a list of the Board members scheduled to attend the 2018 summer meeting was distributed.

State Host Sites: The Board approved Bolingbrook Brooks as the 7th grade Class 4A girls state basketball host and the Urbana as the 8th grade Class 4A boys state basketball host. A complete listing of 2017-18 state hosts is available at this link: https://www.iesa.org/activities/stateHosts.asp

Home School Eligibility and Charter Schools: The Board received a request for an interpretation of a student who is home schooled and his eligibility to participate for a charter school. The Board interpreted by-law 2.034 that a home schooled student is only eligible to attend the public school he or she would regularly attend does not include a charter school.

Rockford Eisenhower: The Board heard a report on the status of the coaches from Rockford Eisenhower coaches related to meeting IESA coaching education requirements.

Unified Games/Illinois Special Olympics: The Board heard a report on the Unified Games offered by Illinois Special Olympics and ways the IESA will work collaboratively with Special Olympics.

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 September 7 meeting:

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