Board of Directors Meeting Minutes

April 2008 Board Meeting Summary

Board Adopts Plans to Implement New Coaching Qualification By-laws

BLOOMINGTON - The Illinois Elementary School Association (IESA) Board of Directors adopted the wording of the new athletic coaching qualification by-laws (2.120 inclusive), the questions and answers regarding them, and approved plans to implement the changes at its regular quarterly meeting Friday (April 4).

At the January, 2008, meeting, the Board determined that athletic coaches at member schools must either be regularly certified to teach in the schools of Illinois or must complete an approved coaches education course.

All athletic coaches must meet the criteria of these by-laws beginning with the 2009-10 school year. The Board recommends that member schools adopt a local policy for the 2008-09 school year that non-certified teachers on their athletic coaching staff pursue completing the requirements as soon as possible.

"Our Board is committed to improving the quality of coaching at our member schools," said Executive Director Steve Endsley. "We are working closely with the American Sport Education Program (ASEP) to create a course that meets the needs of our member schools and one that is cost effective for those who complete it."

Endsley said the IESA Office would be sending an informational mailing to the membership the last week of April, 2008.

The Board also acted on the recommendations of three advisory committees and tied up loose ends at the April 4 meeting.

The Board took the following action regarding these advisory committee reports:

Boys/Girls Basketball

The Board did not approve a recommendation to change the individual game limitations of By-law 4.045 that would have expanded the number of quarters of participation per night allowed for students on teams in Class 1A and Class 2A from four to five while keeping the maximum number of quarters in Class 3A and Class 4A at four.

The Board did not approve a recommendation to modify By-law 4.045 that would require 5th and 6th grade students who participated on their school's 7th and 8th grade teams to abide by all IESA rules and regulations during the season for that sport. If this recommendation would have been approved 5th and 6th graders who play on the school's 7th and 8th grade team would only had to abide by the individual game limitations and sport season limits during the IESA season for the sport.

The Board approved a change in By-law 4.043 that allows students at member schools to play in more than one contest per day in regular season tournaments, as well as in the regionals and the first day of the state finals.

The Board approved adding the post-season tournament roster as another factor to be considered in seeding. Adding or deleting players from the roster affects the strength of the team.

The Board approved a change in the time schedule for the first day of the state final tournaments that moved up the starting times for the semifinal games. The quarterfinal games will be played at 10:00 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1:00 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. Semifinal games will be at 5:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

Points of Emphasis next year will be: a) B Games; b) factors to consider when seeding; c) encouraging host schools to use Saturday as the tournament start date; d) undershirts.

Girls Volleyball

The Board approved a recommendation to allow on-line seeding for the regional tournaments. The regional manger shall determine whether to conduct the seeding meeting in person or on-line. Every school competing in the regional must provide on-line the following: team won-loss record, a written summary of the team and its schedule with results by Monday of Week 31 in the IESA Standardized Calendar. The on-line seeding must be conducted between Tuesday at midnight and Wednesday at midnight of Week No. 33 by the participating schools. The regional manager will post the seeds on Thursday of Week No. 33.

The Board approved that in regular season tournaments the game points of matches can be altered by the school hosting the tournament. For example, the third game can be to 15 points.

The Board did not approve a recommendation that would admit a school's eighth grade team to its seventh grade team's state series contests for free, and vice versa.

Wrestling

The Board approved a recommendation to move the starting time of competition on Friday of the state final from 4:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The Board approved a recommendation that wrestlers scratched after 4:00 p.m. Thursday preceding the state final meet will not be replaced.

The Board did not approve a recommendation that the coach (representative) from each member school entering the state series in wrestling attend the annual IHSA wrestling rules interpretation meeting.

The Board did not approve a recommendation to conduct a 7th-8th place match and award a medal to the winner.

Other Business

The Board took the following action regarding the other business of the Association:

Strategic Planning: The Board received the report of the Membership Action Team and discussed strategies regarding creating an information recruitment brochure, development of promotional items and involvement by IESA staff with the member school conferences.

State Final Sites - The Board approved sites for the majority of the 2008-09 State Finals. The list of sites will be put on www.iesa.org by the end of the school year.

Girls Basketball Financials - The Board received the financial reports of the 2007 IESA Girls State Basketball Tournament series. A copy of the reports is available upon request by the principal of any member school.

Cheerleading Financials - The Board received the financial reports of the 2007 IESA Cheerleading Championships. A copy of the reports is available upon request by the principal of any member school.

Income and Expenses - The Board received the summary financial reports for the school year from July 2007 through February 2008.

Special Projects - The Board heard a status report on existing and potential new sponsorships and the printing of the state final programs.

Track Awards Stand: The Board approved purchasing a six-step aluminum award stand which will be used at state final events beginning with the 2008 Class A and Class AA state final track and field meets.

IESA Office Calendar - The Board authorized the executive director to change the office calendar for the 2008-09 school year to have it remain open Thursday, February 12. Traditionally, Lincoln's Birthday is observed and the IESA Office is closed. In 2009, February 12 is the date for the 7th grade state finals in Class 1A-4A boys basketball and the day after the scheduled 8th grade boys basketball sectionals. The Board authorized the executive director to use December 22, 2008, as the date to be used for closing the IESA Office instead of February 12. In 2009-10, the Board approved observing President's Day Monday, February 15 instead of Lincoln's Birthday, Friday, February 12.

NFHS Technology Program - The Board authorized IESA Technology Coordinator to attend the 2008 NFHS Summer Meeting and to participate in the separate technology program that will begin Wednesday, July 2.

Treasurer's Report: The Board received and accepted the treasurer's report for the fiscal period ending March 31, 2008.

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 April 4 meeting:

Division D: Mr. Spezio received a contact from Mazon-Verona-Kinsman about the possibility of lengthening the volleyball season. Discussion followed about the length of the season. If it started earlier in the fall, there would be some conflicts with the girls basketball season and many of the same girls that play basketball would also play volleyball. If it were to go later, more conflicts with ISAT testing and spring break would occur. No changes were made to the current season.

Division I: Mr. Birkey brought a request from Stephen Decatur that the Board discuss the possibility of using a 5-8 grade enrollment to determine classification for any school that uses 5th and 6th grade students in contests. He also told the Board of the concern expressed by Stephen Decatur regarding supervision at contests. Both concepts will be discussed by the By-law Committee, which is scheduled to meet June 10, 2008.

Division J: Mrs. Isackson reported favorable comments she had received about the state final wrestling tournament.

Division L: Mr. Cameron reported that he had been contacted by Shelbyville Moulton regarding a decline in volleyball regional revenue because they are played all in one night, rather than over the course of several days.

The Board heard that when the regional is played in one day, competing schools save on travel costs but that is at the expense of revenue to the host school.