Board of Directors Meeting Minutes

IESA Board of Directors Fall Meeting Synopsis

The Illinois Elementary School Association (IESA) Board of Directors approved new track and field qualifying standards at their regularly scheduled meeting at the IESA office in Bloomington on Friday, September 13, 2013.

Almost all of the qualifying standards for the 2014 state meet were changed compared to the 2013 standards. This is due to the fact that beginning this spring, only the first place finisher in each event plus those athletes who meet the qualifying standard in a given event will qualify for the track and field finals. Previously, the first and second place finishers plus those who met the qualifying standard advanced to the finals. "The whole reason we changed how an athlete qualifies for the state meet was to get a more manageable number of athletes at the meet," said Steve Endsley, Executive Director of the IESA. "This past spring we had almost 3,000 athletes participating each weekend of the state meets. That number of athletes puts a tremendous strain on the event in terms of parking, seating, facilities, length of the meet, and personnel. Our goal is roughly 2,400 athletes each weekend. With 20 sectionals in each class this year and the fact that most standards were lowered, we believe we will hit our target number. If we see the standards are too low and we have too many athletes, we will have to adjust accordingly for 2015. If the standards are too difficult and we did not get enough extra qualifiers, then we will lower them again for 2015. Our schools wanted to retain qualifying standards. The new standards were lowered in most events so that there are realistic marks an athlete can attain to advance if they do not finish first in their event."

The new qualifying standards should be posted on the IESA website by September 23. The Class A state meet will be held May 16-17 and the Class AA meet will be held the following weekend, May 23-24. Both meets are held at the EastSide Centre in East Peoria, IL.

In addition to the new track qualifying standards, the Board of Directors approved the FY2014 budget, approved the audit conducted by Striegel Knobloch & Company, L.L.C., Bloomington, IL, approved changes to interpretations of three by-laws, approved the development and implementation of the "One Team Award", and tied up other loose ends at its regular quarterly meeting Friday (Sept. 13) held at the IESA headquarters building.

One Team Award

The Board approved the development and the implementation of the One Team Award. The program will be designed to highlight the generosity and selflessness that is commonly on display by so many IESA member school teams. Any IESA member school team may be nominated. If a particular team within a member school has done something extraordinary, i.e. conducted a successful fundraising campaign for a classmate diagnosed with cancer, that team may be nominated for the award. The deadline to nominate a team for the award is April 7, 2014. The application process will require the team to submit a CD showcasing the team effort in media form (photos/videos), a recommendation from the principal, A.D. or community leader, and a team mission statement. The winning team(s) will be selected by the IESA Sportsmanship Committee and their efforts will be showcased on the IESA website. In addition, they will receive a commemorative plaque and some type of yet to be determined monetary award. Questions regarding the award should be directed to John Venerable, Assistant Executive Director, who will be administering the program.

By-Law Changes

The Board made slight changes to the interpretations of three different by-laws. Each is effective immediately. By-Law 2.062 was changed so that if a student who transfers from one school to another is eligible immediately and does not have to wait 11 days to become eligible if the school that he/she previously attended is in a co-op with the school to which he/she is transferring. By-Law 2.035 was changed so that junior high schools may allow students from feeder grade schools to represent the junior high in all activities. By-Law 2.110 was changed to reflect that coaches who need to take the IESA Coaching Education course may not coach at any time until the coach has completed the required course. This includes practices as well as game contests.

Other Business

Board of Directors Meeting Dates: The Board set the dates for the other quarterly meetings for the 2013-14 school year. They will be January 24 , 2014; April 4, 2014; and June 20, 2014.

Scholar Attitude Luncheon: The Board heard a report that the date for the 16th annual IESA Scholar Attitude Award will be Tuesday, May 6, 2014. The luncheon will be held at the Doubletree Hotel and Conference Center in Bloomington.

Treasurer's Report: The Board accepted the July, 2013 treasurer's report and received a five year comparison of income and expenditures through FY 13.

Budget: The Board approved the budget for the 2013-14 school year. Anticipated receipts are budgeted at $1,422,430. Anticipated expenses are budgeted at $1,527,546. Executive Director Steve Endsley noted that traditionally income is budgeted below what is normally received and expenses are budgeted a bit higher than actual expenses. Final figures from the FY13 budget which also had a proposed deficit budget showed an actual profit of $4,600. The principal of a member school may request that a copy of the budget be mailed to the school.

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 different sponsorships with Sports Authority, Rawlings, the Peoria Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, and Commerce Bank.

IASB Session: Members of the IESA staff will attend the Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB) Annual Conference November 22-23 in Chicago and present a session on Friday November 22.

IPA Meeting: IESA staff will present a division meeting on Tuesday, October 22 at the IPA conference. They will also staff the exhibition booth on Monday, October 21.

Speech/A.D. Workshop: The Board received a report that the annual speech workshop will be held on Friday, September 20. This is the 39th consecutive year that a workshop for speech coaches will be held. In addition, a workshop for athletic directors will be held on the same date. Both workshops will be held at the Doubletree Hotel and Conference Center in Bloomington.

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:

Division B: Mr. Buresh reported to the Board he had been contacted by a member school regarding the possibility of expanding track to three classes. No action was taken.

Division F: Mr. Frost reported being contacted by a member school regarding the eligibility of a student. Mr. Frost reported that Mr. Endsley had also been in contact with the school and the matter had been resolved.

Division M: Mr. Lamkey received a call about the selection of a sectional basketball site. He contacted Mrs. Schaefbauer regarding the situation for additional information. There was no action taken.