Board of Directors Meeting Minutes

January 2007 Board Meeting Summary

IESA Board Expands To 15 Members; Divisions Redistributed

BLOOMINGTON - The size of the Illinois Elementary School Association (IESA) Board of Directors will increase by one member following a redistribution of the schools into 15 geographical divisions under a plan that was approved at its regular January meeting Friday (Jan. 19) in the IESA Office.

The IESA Constitution required that the Executive Director review the composition of the divisions in January of 2007, and every five years thereafter, or earlier if deemed necessary. It also authorizes the Board of Directors to redistrict the state accordingly.

"This expansion will allow our Board members to represent divisions involving similar numbers of member schools, and that paves the way for much better communication between Board members and their constituents," said Executive Director Steve Endsley. "It should impact the manner in which IESA conducts its programs and business in a positive manner. Twenty years ago we had 500 member schools. Today we have nearly 750 and most of that growth has been in the Chicago area. Adding the additional Board member in the Chicago area will give better representation to all of the schools in current Division A."

The redistribution plan approved Friday impacts all but one of the current geographical divisions. Traditionally, IESA Board boundaries have been drawn along county lines. The new alignment mirrors that concept wherein possible. The schools in Cook County and the surrounding collar counties will be assigned to three divisions compared to two divisions currently. The number of member schools allotted to the respective 15 divisions also becomes more uniform. Current Division A includes 159 member schools and current Division C includes 77 member schools. Under the new allotment, most of those schools will be assigned to Division A (79 schools), Division C (66 schools) and Division D (56 schools).

Old Divisions	New Divisions
Click a map for larger version

Following is the county-by-county breakdown of the new Board Divisions:

The number of schools allotted by new divisions will be: A at 79, B at 51, C at 66, D at 56, E at 61, F at 44, G at 37, H at 51, I at 44, J at 36, K at 42, L at 44, M at 52, N at 40 and O at 42.

The change in Board Divisions is effective July 1, 2007. The new geographical split of schools will allow all 14 current Board members to retain their seat. An election for a board member in the new division (Division C) will take place this spring. In addition, Tom Cox principal @ Stewardson-Strasburg and current Board member for Division K, is retiring at the end of the school year and so an election will be held for that division--new Division L. The 15 board members will not run for office again until the spring of 2010. The three-year terms of office beginning in 2010 will be staggered. There will be elections in Divisions B, D, F, H and J in 2010. Elections in Divisions C, G, I, K and O will be in 2011. Elections in Divisions A, E, L, M and N will be in 2012. Replacement of Board members who retire or move to a position outside of their division will be handled in accordance with By-Law 1.038.

Strategic Planning

The Board received reports from two of the Strategic Planning action teams and acted accordingly:

Membership Action Team -- The Board approved a recommendation to survey all schools in the state that are not members of IESA, as well as member schools that only enter two or less IESA state series or activities. The intent of the non-member survey is to learn why these schools are not members. The intent of the limited participation survey of member schools is to learn why they do not expand participation opportunities for their students. Currently, 210 member schools enter two or less IESA state series. There are approximately 1,900 schools in the state that are not members of IESA. Presently, there are 746 member schools in the Association. The Board also approved development of a printed brochure that can be used as a membership recruiting tool.

Communication Action Team -- The Board accepted a series of concepts designed to expand and/or enhance the information provided by the Association to member schools, state series hosts and officials who work IESA events. Among them are creating directories in the IESA Member Center listing athletic directors and another listing the school's contact person. In addition, the person named by each member school as its Contact Person to the IESA Office will be the one to receive the annual "Pass Card Mailing". The action team recommended two topics to be included on the agenda for next year's required Division Meetings. One is a review of the FanZone. The other is a review of the Contact Person (responsibilities, how to designate, how to change).

Baseball Advisory Committee

The Board received the report of the committee. The committee made no recommendations.

Cross-Country Advisory Committee

The Board approved a recommendation to set a deadline for member schools to submit their Sectional Entry Form online via the School Center by noon on Wednesday preceding the sectional meet. Schools that do not meet the deadline will be disqualified from the sectional.

The Board approved a recommendation to increase the number of sectional meets from seven in each class to eight in Class A and nine in Class AA. The number of schools entering the state series has grown by 40 schools in the past four years, and the growth has caused some sectionals to have 15-16 schools assigned to the meet. The number of schools assigned to the sectionals needs to be smaller. In addition, almost all Class AA schools enter full teams in the sectional. Many Class A schools do not enter full teams. The top three teams and the top five runners not on one of the qualifying teams advance from the sectional to the state final. The Class A races in 2007 will have 208 runners while the Class AA races will have 234 runners.

The Board tabled a recommendation to use computer chip scoring for the 2007 state final.

The Board approved a recommendation to place all five individual runners from the same sectional in the same starting box at the state final meet. The runners who finished 1, 2 and 3 in the sectional will start in the front of the box and the runners who finished 4 and 5 will start at the back of the box.

Girls Softball Advisory Committee

The Board approved a recommendation to change the playing days for the regional games to quarterfinals on Wednesday of Week No. 10 in the Standardized Calendar, semifinals on Saturday of Week No. 10 and the finals on Monday No. 11. In 2007, the quarterfinals will be scheduled for Sept. 5, semifinals Sept. 8 and finals Sept. 10.

The Board approved a pre-game protocol for warm-up in state series games. Each team will be given a 10-minute warm-up on the field with the visiting team taking the field first. In all state series games, a coin flip determines the home and visiting team.

A motion to increase the maximum number of players on a school's state series roster from 18 to 22 did not receive a second and therefore was not approved. The maximum number of girls that can be listed on the softball regional entry form remains at 18.

Speech Advisory Committee

The Board approved a recommendation that the IESA Office assign the Judge Representative to all state series speech contests.

The Board approved a recommendation that all participant information must be submitted online via the School Center by Tuesday of Week No. 15 in the Standardized Calendar. In the 2007-08 school term, that date is Oct. 9.

The Board approved a recommendation regarding fees for changes in entries after Tuesday of Week No. 15 in the Standardized Calendar. A fee of $25 per event change must be paid to the IESA Office prior to a deadline established by the IESA Office. Participant name changes within an entry or the elimination of an entry will continue to be accepted by host sites with no penalty.

The Board approved a recommendation that makes Storytelling is own event with this adjudication criteria: understanding of selection, characterization, stage presence, body and facial expression, articulation, pronunciation, fluency, audience interaction and eye contact. The story should have a clear beginning, middle and end. The story should creatively present the sequence of events. The ending should have a sense of closure.

The Board approved these points of emphasis for 2007-08: a) How to deal with a problem the day of the contest; b) Storytelling; c) Deadlines and entry protocols; d) Audience protocol.

Sportsmanship Advisory Committee

The Board approved a recommendation to conduct the division sportsmanship voting to May 1-15, beginning in 2008. Under the system only those schools within each Board Division that enter at least 50 percent of all IESA state series are eligible to win the award. The Board determined that only those schools eligible for the award can vote.

The Board approved a change in by-law 2.091 to require member schools have an administrator or school representative other than the participating coaches in attendance at all home contests.

The Board did not approve a recommendation to add two questions and answers for by-law 2.020. They were:

The Board did not approve a recommendation that would require each member school to submit its plan for handling fan ejections. It was consensus among Board members that the Association must address the issue of member schools exerting local control over the behavior of its coaches, players, staff and fans regarding sportsmanship and the ethics of competition.

The Board approved a change in by-law 5.125 to include fans with coaches and players in the categories of people whose ejection from a contest will impact a member school. The new by-law reads: "Any school that receives two ejections in a school year (this includes players, coaches and fans), that school administration shall be required to communicate in writing with the Sportsmanship Review Panel on the steps the school is taking to address the issue. The panel may recommend additional sanctions to the Board of Directors if they deem necessary."

The Board approved a pre-game procedure to be used prior to player introductions at all team sport state finals. The procedure involves a player from each team, accompanied by the head coach, reading the following messages. Team A (Visiting) Player: "It is important to me and my teammates that we play the game within the ethics of competition. At our school we are taught that good sportsmanship by everyone on the team is required. Our coaches tell us not to react to the calls that officials make, that their calls are part of the game." Team B (Home) Player: "At our school we play to win, but we also play by the rules. We request that all fans here today (tonight) support our teams in a positive way. Thank you for your support. Enjoy the game."

The Board heard a report of the sportsmanship logo contest. The winning design was created by Cassidy Kingery, a seventh grade student at Heyworth Junior High School. A total of 245 different entries were submitted by students in grades 5-8 in IESA member schools. Visit the IESA web site www.iesa.org to see the winning logo and read an article regarding the contest.

Other Business Items

Scholar Attitude: This year's expanded luncheon will be Friday, April 20, at 11:00 a.m. the Chateau Hotel and Conference Center in Bloomington. Fourteen boys and fourteen girls will receive the Scholar Attitude Award presented by State Farm. Stephen Bargatze will again be the featured speaker.

Wrestling Bracket Boards - The Board authorized the purchase of sectional tournament bracket boards from All Star Publishing & Awards of Naperville.

Division Meetings - The Board heard a report regarding attendance and an evaluation of the required Division Meetings that were implemented for the first time this fall. The IESA Constitution requires that each member school principal or designee attend the annual division meeting. IESA conducted a total of 20 divisional meetings statewide. The first year a school misses attending the required meeting the school is placed on probation. If a school misses a meeting two years in a row it is suspended from participating in all IESA state series for a period of one year beginning January 1 following the school's second consecutive non-compliance. Fifty-five member schools are on probation for the 2007-08 school term.

Board Committee Meetings - Dates for three Board Committee meetings were set. The By-laws and Finance Committees will meet at a date to be determined prior to the June 8, 2007, meeting. The Staff Relations Committee will meet March 30, 2007.

Board Meetings - There are two regular meetings remaining in the 2006-07 school term. One is scheduled March 30, 2007, and the other is scheduled June 8, 2007.

Co-op School Names - The Board discussed the pros and cons of using the name of the host school, of using the names of all schools involved in the cooperative team, and using hybrid names developed by the schools in a respective cooperative. The Board instructed the IESA staff to revise the Co-op Application Form.

One-Year Co-op Request - The Board denied a request from Decatur Our Lady of Lourdes to form a one-year co-op in girls basketball with Decatur St. Patrick. IESA By-law 2.152 requires that co-ops be "established for a minimum period of two consecutive school years and shall designate a sponsoring school".

Project Manager Report - The Board received an update regarding the status of current and future sponsorships, and an update regarding publication of the six fall state final programs.

Sectional Track Merchandise -- The Board heard a report regarding the resolution of financial obligations of two sectional meet host schools with Cubby Hole, the Association's official apparel merchandiser.

State Series Host Reports - The Board discussed the problems created by member schools which host state series events that do not file their financial reports to the IESA Office within 30 days. The Board directed the IESA staff to inform them when a member school in their division does not comply with requests from the IESA Office to finalize their report at which time the Board members will communicate with the school involved.

IESA Portable Display -The Board authorized the redesign of the table top display that is used by members of the staff at functions like the annual IPA Fall Conference and the annual School Board Association Joint Conference. The current display is nearly a decade old and not contemporary.

Personnel - The Board went into Executive Session to finalize a personnel matter. The Board authorized the Executive Director to fill a full-time position on the support staff.

Online Seeding - The Board authorized the staff to pursue the concept of member schools seeding schools assigned to their first level of competition in the respective state series online. Presently, a coach from each participating school must travel to the host school site for a seeding meeting prior to the start of competition in the state series at the site. Ways to handle online seeding were discussed.

Host School Allowances - The Board discussed the existing policy regarding the distribution of gate receipts at the regional and sectional levels in the state series. No changes to the current procedures were made.

Financial Reports - The Board accepted the financial reports for the state series in Girls Softball, Boys Baseball, Cross-Country, Cheerleading and Speech.

School vs. Non-School Teams - After a thorough review of the philosophy and application of By-law 3.043, the Board authorized the IESA staff to create a Policy Statement reflecting the Association's position on prohibiting students from being on a school team and non-school team during the IESA sport season. The by-law stipulates students who are on member school teams cannot participate on non-school teams, or in non-school competition in the same sport, during the IESA sport season in the respective sport. The by-law provides an exemption to students in baseball and softball at what would be the end of their summer team's season.

Multiple Ejection Schools: The Board heard a status report of the progress being made with two member schools that have had multiple ejections this school term. Letters have been sent to the two schools requiring them to communicate in writing to the IESA Office the steps they are taking to address the issue. The schools are Bloomington JHS and Hartsburg-Emden.

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 Jan. 19 meeting: