Board of Directors Meeting Minutes

IESA Board of Directors Fall Meeting Synopsis---Steve Endsley Announces Retirement as IESA Executive Director; Nicole Schaefbauer Named Next Executive Director; Alternative Plan for 2020-21 Activities Revised; Renee Marski and Allen Duncan Appointed to the Board of Directors; Financial Implications of COVID-19 Discussed

The Illinois Elementary School Association (IESA) Board of Directors held its regularly scheduled fall meeting via a zoom conference call on Friday, September 11. In an extraordinarily busy meeting, several items were discussed including the announcement that Steve Endsley will retire as the Executive Director of the IESA at the conclusion of the 2020-21 school year. His last day is scheduled for June 30, 2021. Nicole Schaefbauer, the current Associate Executive Director, has been named as Endsley's replacement and will take over the duties of Executive Director effective July 1, 2021. Click here for additional information. Steve Endsley to Retire as Executive Director of the IESA; Nicole Schaefbauer Named as Next Executive Director

The Alternative Plan for the Return to Play of IESA activities was revised. Specific dates have now been set for regional play in the activities of boys basketball, girls volleyball, and girls basketball. "When we approved the IESA plan for 2020-21 in July, we indicated the plan for the activities would be fluid," said Steve Endsley, IESA Executive Director. "As we reviewed the plan for these three sports, it became apparent that we needed to add an additional week for regional play to accommodate the 8th grade level. The new plan now details the starting dates for regional play at both the 7th grader and 8th grade level." To view the updated plan, click on this link: https://www.iesa.org/documents/health/IESA-AltSeptPlan.pdf. In addition to setting the regional playing dates, there were two other adjustments to the IESA Plan:

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 Appointments: Mrs. Renee Marski, Principal at Shorewood Troy and Dr. Allen Duncan, Principal at Edwardsville Liberty were appointed to serve as Board Members for Divisions D and O respectively.

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.

State Cross Country Site: The Board approved accepting proposals for an entity to serve as the state cross country host stating in 2021. Those bid specifications will be released shortly on the IESA website.

Treasurer's Report: The Board accepted the August, 2020 treasurer's report and received a five year comparison of income and expenditures through FY 20.

FY 21 Budget: The Board approved the FY 21 budget and discussed the financial future of the Association. The budget approved by the Board has expected income of $154,279.00 This amount is 1.6 million less than what was approved for FY20. Conversely, expenses for FY 21 are projected at $855,140. "The financial impact that COVID-19 has had on the finances of the Association are devastating," said Endsley. "Our athletic tournament receipts for 19-20 were down over $450,000 from the previous year. That has taken its toll financially on the Association. We generate almost 60% of our total revenue from athletic tournaments and given that we were no able to host our state wrestling, volleyball, and track and field finals this past winter and spring, we are now facing some real financial struggles. Our Finance Committee will be meeting in the early fall to review all financial aspects of the Association to determine the best course of action so that we can continue to keep our doors open and continue to operate."

Workshops/Division Meeting: The annual athletic director, speech and scholastic bowl workshops have been canceled. The Division Meeting will be posted online the week of September 14. Each member school is required to view the Division Meeting online before December 18.

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

2021 Cheerleading Competition---The Board approved a staff recommendation that the January 23, 2021 competition be postponed until there is approval from the Governor's Office, ISBE, and DCEO to hold such an event. If there is approval given at a later date to host a competitive cheer event and assuming schools will have adequate time to safely prepare for the competition, it is the intent of the IESA to hold the competition.

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 11 meeting:

Division A---Mr. Haupt was contacted concerning refunds of activity fees if schools were not able to participate due to COVID-19. The issue of refunds/credit toward future participation will be discussed by the Finance Committee when they meet.

Division M---Mr. Davis was contacted by several schools in his area regarding portable pitching mounds. After discussion, the Board approved that portable pitching mounds may be used in regional play for the 2020 baseball regionals.

Several members commented that they had received positive feedback from schools in their divisions for moving forward with the activities of golf, softball, baseball, and cross country.