Board of Directors Meeting Minutes

IESA Board Seats New Member; Acts on Committee Recommendations; Approves Other By-Law Changes

The Illinois Elementary School Association (IESA) Board of Directors acted on the recommendations of seven advisory committees; seated a new member, and acted on other general business of the Association during its regularly-scheduled spring meeting Friday (April 8).

Beth Lind, Principal at Frankfort Summit Hill, was appointed by President Ron Graham to fill the remaining term as the Division D representative on the IESA Board of Directors. Her appointment was the result of a resignation letter that was received from Jeff Libowitz from Shorewood Troy. Mrs. Lind's term will expire in January, 2013.

The Board took the following action regarding advisory committee recommendations:

Recommendations

Boys Baseball: The Board approved a recommendation that no state series contest can be held on a field that uses a portable pitching mound.

Boys/Girls Basketball: Several recommendations from the basketball advisory committee were presented. "There are quite a few changes to the IESA basketball program that our member schools need to be aware of," said Steve Endsley, IESA Executive Director. "Chief among these is a change to the mercy rule." The IESA Board voted to have the mercy rule in effect in all games next year, both the regular season as well as all state series contests. Previously, the mercy rule: - a running clock in the 4th quarter when a team leads by 30: -was in effect only for regular season games. "While the committee's recommendation was that the mercy rule be applied to regular season and at just the regional level, the IESA Board took it a step further and applied the mercy rule to all levels of the state series," said Endsley. "In many ways, it is very unfortunate that a rule like this even has to be discussed and put in place but we continue to receive reports where the winning team simply does not show proper sportsmanship and respect to their opponents. To that end, the Board felt the rule was necessary at all levels." The Board also approved changes to the roster/record and ranking deadlines; added Friday of week #22 in the standardized calendar as an approved playing date for the 8th grade girls basketball regionals; clarified By-Law 4.045; approved a pre-game run-out policy; and approved the use of 3 officials at the sectional level of play.

Cheerleading: The time limit for cheer performances will be changed from a 1:30-3 minute time limit to a 1:30-2 minute limit while the time limit for the routine performances will be changed from 1:00-3:00 minutes to 1:30-3:00 minutes. Due to a conflict with the Peoria Civic Center the state competition in 2014 will be held on January 18, 2014. The date is one week earlier than it is usually held. The Board approved the hiring of non-scoring judge to verify quality control at the state finals.

Chess: The Board did not approve a recommendation to award a Certificate of Participation to all participants and also did not approve a recommendation to conduct coaching workshops at the state final competition. The Board did approve an electronic device policy; the date for 2012 (February 17-18 at the Bloomington U.S. Cellular Coliseum); and approved the initial and final entry deadlines.

Soccer: Several items and recommendations related to the implementation of the soccer state series were discussed by the Board. A co-ed soccer state series is scheduled to begin in the 2013-14 school year. The state series will be held in the fall. The Board has previously approved the following timeline:

Forty (40) schools must enter the activity by September 1, 2012 for the state series to be conducted in 2013.

At the April 8 meeting, the Board approved parameters for a team to be co-ed. Two players of the underrepresented sex must be on the field at all times. In addition the Board approved that at least one IHSA licensed soccer official must be hired for all regular season contests; two IHSA officials must be hired for regionals and sectional and three will be hired for state final contests. A maximum of 22 uniformed players will be allowed on the tournament team and no school may play more than 16 regular season matches. Several exceptions to the NFHS playing rules were approved : play will consist of two 30-minute halves, metal cleats will be prohibited; home teams shall wear white or light jerseys and socks while the visiting team shall wear dark jerseys and socks; and a tie breaking procedure was approved. Complete rules will be posted in the Terms and Conditions when they are available. Julie Cochran will be the IESA administrator for the soccer state series.

Volleyball: The Board approved the recommendation to change the roster/record and ranking deadlines.

Wrestling: Approved a recommendation to seed eight wrestlers at the regional level instead of four; approved a recommendation to not allow a scale at the weigh-in site of the state series to check weight before the weigh-ins begin; approved a recommendation that regional and sectional hosts conduct the tournament on 3 mats; and added a line item on the financial reports of the state series for a trainer.

Other Business Items

Scholar Attitude Award Update: The Board heard a report about the selection of the 30 Scholar Attitude Award Presented by State Farm winners for 2011 and the plans for the upcoming luncheon scheduled for Tuesday, April 26, 2011, at the DoubleTree Hotel & Conference Center, Bloomington.

By-Law 2.082 & 2.083 Revision: The Board approved wording to emphasize that member schools can only practice against students from their own schools and may not practice against high school groups. They also adopted language regarding "open gym" participation.

ISBE Legislative Waivers: The Board approved a policy when a student lives out-of-district but whose parents teach in a different district and have been granted a legislative waiver to attend tuition free, that student will be eligible if he/she attends the school where the parent is a faculty member.

State Series Sites: The Board approved the majority of state final sites for the 2011-12 school year.

Strategic Planning: The Board heard a report from Associate Executive Director, Nicole Schaefbauer, on the Association's second strategic planning session. It will be held July 20-21 in Bloomington. IESA personnel interested in serving on the committee should contact Mrs. Schaefbauer.

Failure to Submit Online Record Seeding Information: The Board approved penalties for schools that fail to submit the required online record/seeding information. In the activities of boys baseball, girls softball, boys and girls basketball, boys wrestling, track and field, and scholastic bowl, a school that fails to submit the information will face the following penalties: 1st offense: school will be placed on probation; 2nd consecutive offense: School will be able to participate in the state series that year but will not be able to play in the state series the following year. The school may pay a $250 fee for reinstatement to the state series. "Our schools must be held accountable to submit the information host schools need to organize the regional contests," said Endsley. "Without proper regular season records and without all schools participating in the seeding process, pairings at the regional level will not be accurate. Schools that fail to go online and input the information required might not be allowed to participate in the future."

Bellwood Roosevelt Probation and By-Law 3.042 Violations: The Board received a report on the repeated violations on By-Law 3.042 by Bellwood Roosevelt. The Board approved a plan that requires Roosevelt to submit a written, detailed plan on what the school is doing to inform parents, coaches, and students about By-Law 3.042 and that such plan must be received by June 30, 2011. Failure to submit the plan by that date will result in Bellwood's membership being suspended.

Ford Heights Cottage Grove Forfeit of 7th Grade Class 2A 3rd Place Game: The Board approved a recommendation to place Ford Heights Cottage Grove on probation for forfeiting the 3rd place game of the 7th grade Class 2A boys basketball tournament. The Board added that Cottage Grove must reimburse the Association for the lost revenue of the contest and the cost of the officials for the contest.

Entry Deadline Changes for Bowling: The Board heard a report from Administrative Specialist Pat Bodame on the first ever bowling state competition. A total of 158 bowlers participated the first year. The Board approved changes to the initial (February 1) and final entry deadlines (February 15) for next year.

Treasurer's Report: The Board received and accepted the treasurer's report for the fiscal period ending February 28, 2011.

Personnel: The Board approved a recommendation to re-employ Administrative Specialist, Patrick Bodame, for the 2011-12 school year.

Board Meetings: There is one regular meeting remaining in the 2010-11 school year. It is scheduled June 17, 2011.

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 April8 meeting:

Division E: Mrs. Pozzi was contacted by a school in her Division regarding the time the admission open at the state track meets. It was explained that gates will open 30 minutes earlier this year to accommodate the crowds.

Division F: Mr. Frost was contacted regarding private schools involvement in the IESA and whether private schools should have some type of multiplier added to their enrollment. A short discussion followed. After discussion, no action was taken.

Division G: Mr. Bunting was contacted by a member school concerning the admission cost at IESA state tournaments. No action was taken.

Division H: Mr. Ingold was asked by a member school in his division as to the number of schools in their area that are planning to play boys volleyball. Mrs. Cochran shared that information with Mr. Ingold prior to the meeting.

Division K: Mr. Chris Graham was contacted about the co-op policy regarding both schools paying the activity fee. It was explained that the IESA has required all schools involved in a co-op to pay the entry fee from the onset of allowing schools to co-op. No action was taken.