Board of Directors Meeting Minutes

Ron Graham Re-Elected to Serve as President of IESA Board of Directors; Approves Parameters to Conduct Boys Volleyball and Soccer State Series; Sets Soccer State Series Calendar

The IESA Board of Directors selected officers, made committee assignments, set guidelines for conducting the boys volleyball and soccer state series, set the calendar for the soccer state series, and tied up loose ends at its regularly scheduled meeting on January 21, 2011.

Ron Graham, Assistant Superintendent at Girard North Mac, was re-elected as President of the IESA Board Directors at the January 21, 2011 meeting of the IESA Board of Directors. Mr. Graham was the superintendent of the Virden district from 2007 until 2010 when it consolidated with Girard to form the North Mac district. With the consolidation, he is currently serving as the district's assistant superintendent. From 1993-2002, he was principal of Virden Middle School and from 2002-2007 he was principal of the 6-12 jr./sr. high school. Before joining the Virden system, Graham coached football at Assumption for 5 years and Fairfield for 4. Craig Carr, principal at Montrose Grove Grade School was re-elected to the Vice-President position while Jerry R. Birkey, principal at Mt. Zion Jr. High School was re-elected to serve as the Secretary-Treasurer.

Board Committee assignments were approved as follows:

The By-Laws Committee includes; Jeff Libowitz of Shorewood Troy; Cindy Pozzi of Oglesby Washington; Tony Frost, Elmwood, and Melanie Ogle, Paris Mayo.

Finance Committee includes Jerry Birkey of Mt. Zion, James Bunting of Watseka Glenn Raymond, Joe Buresh of Annawan GS, and Chris Collins of Glendale Hts. Glenside.

Staff Relations Committee includes Scott Herrmann of Niles Gemini, Fred Lamkey, Riverton, Dana Isackson of Macomb and Chris Graham of St. Joseph.

Board members also are appointed on an annual basis as a liaison to each of the advisory committees. Advisory committee assignments for teh2011 calendar year: Baseball - James Bunting, Basketball - Chris Graham, Cheerleading - Dana Isackson, Cross Country - Joe Buresh, Music - Tony Frost, Scholastic Bowl - Jeff Libowitz, Softball - Chris Collins, Speech - Melanie Ogle, Citizenship & Sportsmanship - Fred Lamkey, Volleyball - Cindy Pozzi, and Wrestling - Scott Herrmann.

The following is a summary of other action taken during the meeting:

Advisory Committee Action

Baseball -- Approved a recommendation to set the starting times for the state baseball finals at 10:00 a.m.; 12 noon; 2:30 p.m.; and 4:30 p.m. The Board tabled a recommendation that the IESA Office shall not assign regional or sectional hosting responsibilities to schools that use a portable mound. The financial report for the activity was shared with the Board.

Cross-Country -- Approved a recommendation to distribute the timing chips runners wear in their shoes when schools pick up their packets at the state meet rather than at the starting line; Approved a recommendation that no school may organize or participate in any type of organized race on the IESA state cross country course the day of the state races prior to the all of the state races being completed. In recent years, several schools have been conducting a race for non-state participants on the course prior to the Class A girls race. This has led to confusion amongst teams, race officials, and fans. Any school that violates the new policy will ineligible to participate in the state series the following year.; Approved a recommendation to add one additional sectional to each class; A recommendation to give medals to the top 3 placers in each sectional and ribbons to those who finish 4-10 did not receive a second. The financial report for the activity was shared with the Board.

Softball -- The Board receive the softball minutes. There were no recommendations. The financial report for the activity was shared with the Board.

Speech -- The Board approved clarifications to judging when a last minute replacement is needed; that judges must rate an entire entry and not just an individual; and to emphasize that all selections are to be presented from memory. Approval was given to create a judge representative video to be posted on the IESA website to assist judges in knowing the rules and events. The Board heard a report of the 2010 selections in the Coach award program. Winner of the Class Act Award is Cheryl Horne of Cerro-Gordo. Winner of the Distinguished Service Award is Liz Martin of Crescent City. The financial report for the activity was shared with the Board.

Boys Volleyball -- The Board has previously approved the formation of a boys volleyball state series beginning with the 2012-13 school year. A recommendation to require 40 schools committing to participate in the inaugural state series by September 1, 2011 was approved. If 40 schools are not committed by September 1, then there will not be a boys volleyball state series in 2012-13. Only when the Association has at least 40 schools commit to participating in the state series will the Association move forward with organizing the state series and then the IESA administrator for volleyball will determine the state series format based on the number above 40 who will participate. The Board also approved that the net height for the boys volleyball activity shall be the same as the net height for high school girls---7'4 1/8".

Soccer -- Similar to Boys Volleyball, at least 40 schools will have to commit to participating in the state series by September 1, 2012 in order for the soccer state series to be held in the 2013-14 school year. The Board did approve that the soccer state series would only be a co-ed division. Rules regarding the maximum number of boys or girls on the field at any one time still need to be reviewed and presented to the Board for approval. The Board did set the timeline for the co-ed soccer state series as follows:

Golf -- The Board approved a number of recommendations that will be added to the Terms and Conditions. The first-ever IESA golf championship will be held Saturday, September 10, 2011 at the St. Andrews Golf Club in West Chicago. Deadline to enter is June 6.

Other Business Items

Chess: Nicole Schaefbauer updated the Board on the status of the chess competition which will be held on February 18-19, 2011. There are 334 registrants representing 38 schools. Final entry deadline is February 1. The Board approved a recommendation that there shall be no videotaping or electronically recording of any round of play in the state chess tournament.

Morris Nettle Creek: The Board penalized the girls basketball team for participating in too many contests. The 8th grade girls basketball team will only be allowed to participate in 14 games in 2011-12 and the 7th grade girls team would be only allowed 18 games.

Scholar Attitude: This year's 13th annual Scholar Attitude Award luncheon will be Tuesday, April 26, at 11:00 a.m. the DoubleTree Hotel in Bloomington. Fifteen (15) boys and fifteen (15) girls will receive the Scholar Attitude Award. Stephen Bargatze will again be the featured speaker. The deadline for receipt of nominations in the IESA Office is Feb. 22, 2011. Judges will meet in the IESA Office March 16, 2011, to select the 2011 winners.

Division Meetings: The Board heard a report regarding attendance and an evaluation of the required Division Meetings that were conducted for the fifth time this fall.

The IESA Constitution requires that each member school principal or designee attend the annual division meeting. IESA conducted a total of 22 divisional meetings statewide in 2010 with a total of 661 individuals attending representing 720 member schools. 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 competition for a period of one year beginning January 1 following the school's second consecutive non-compliance. Twenty-seven (27) were placed on probation for the 2011-12 school year for failure to attend a meeting in 2010. Thirty-eight (38) member schools were placed on probation for the 2010-11 school year; Forty-eight (48) member schools were on probation for 2009-10; 49 member schools were on probation for the 2008-09 school year, and 57 member schools were placed on probation for the 2007-08 school year.

Event Pro Photography: The Board approved a contract with Event Pro Photography to take and sell pictures at IESA events for the next five school years through the 2015-16 school year.

Treasurer's Report: The Board received and accepted the treasurer's report for the fiscal period ending December 31, 2010.

Board Meetings: There are two regular meetings remaining in the 2010-11 school year. One is scheduled April 8, 2011, and the other is scheduled June 17, 2011.

IPA Cyberbulling Workshop: The Board approved a $250 stipend to be paid to the IPA to help sponsor a cyberbullying workshop that will be held in Bloomington on August 10, 2011.

Luncheon for Kane/Kendall County Schools: The Board approved the expenses for a meeting to be held in April to help recruit schools from Kane and Kendall counties as well as other nearby schools who are not members.

Catastrophic Insurance: The Board received quotations to offer catastrophic insurance to the students of IESA member schools participating in IESA events. The Board ultimately declined to proceed with catastrophic insurance due to the cost. Costs ranged anywhere from $6,600 to $63,000 per year with a $25,000 deductible.

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 January 21 meeting:

Division C: Mr. Collins indicated he was contacted by a member school regarding several issues surrounding the championship game of the 8th grade Class 4A girls basketball tournament. Mr. Collins is expecting a letter outlining the issues and will share that with Mrs. Schaefbauer if and when it is received.

Division K: Mr. Chris Graham informed the Board that a school contacted him inquiring if the IHSA basketball pre game "run-out" policy will be adopted by the IESA. Mrs. Schaefbauer indicated that it will be placed on the basketball advisory committee agenda.

Division L: Mrs. Ogle was contacted by a school regarding many of the online seeding policies including not allowing schools to view the actual seeds. After discussion, no action was taken. She also inquired as to whether or not 8th grade players are allowed free admission to the 7th grade state series games and vice versa. She was informed that 8th grade students should be paying admission when attending 7th grade state series games and 7th graders should pay admission when attending 8th grade state series games. She indicated that this is what her school does but apparently there are schools in her area that allow the other grade free admission making it difficult when they apply the policy correctly.