Board of Directors Meeting Minutes

Minutes of Regular Meeting of the Board of Directors

April 14, 2023

The regular spring meeting of the Board of Directors was held in a hybrid format on April 14, 2023.

The meeting was called to order by President Ingold at 10:05 a.m. The following members were present in person: Haupt, Marski, Johnson, Ingold, Marquardt, Scott, Vanausdoll, and Drees. Present via Zoom were: McAlister, Isenhower, and Davis. Also present were Nicole Schaefbauer, Kristen D’Alfonso and Charlie Shempf from the IESA staff. Not present were Hogue, Yoder, Chavers, and Duncan. Thoughts and prayers were extended to Dr. Hogue and his family.

Motion by Marski/Marquardt to approve the January 2023, regular meeting minutes as presented. Carried.

Mrs. Schaefbauer presented the Treasurer's report. Motion by Ingold/Drees to approve the Treasurer's report as of March 2023. Carried.

Division Reports

Division A---Mr. Haupt was contacted by a school in his division regarding wrestling host responsibilities, difficulty finding wrestling hosts, and host financial compensation. The IESA staff will review the financial report for opportunities to support hosts. Mr. Haupt was also contacted by another school in his division regarding moving the bowling season to the Winter. Mr. Shempf has placed this suggestion on the Bowling Advisory Committee agenda. Mr. Haupt received an inquiry from a school in his division regarding the adoption of soccer as an IESA activity. The IESA Emerging Activities Committee will be meeting this year to discuss soccer and other potential new activities.

Division J—Mr. Scott regarding the track and field event order at state. The current event order was designed to alleviate as many conflicts among sprinters as possible. Mr. Scott also passed along his compliments to the 7th and 8th grade 1A State Volleyball hosts. His teams qualified and had a wonderful experience.

Division L—Mr. Vanausdoll inquired about the track and field class divisions. The IESA staff will begin to track full teams and events/weight divisions/brackets for track and field and wrestling. This is already being done for cross country. There was a brief discussion about using different percentages for each activity.

Administrative Reports

Charlie Shempf, Assistant Executive Director- Reviewed the IESA Wrestling State Finals. The tournament went very smoothly and was well attended. Introduced a recommendation to distribute wrestling coach passes in the following manner: For a school that has 1-4 wrestlers, two coach passes will be distributed; For a school that has 5 or more wrestlers, three coach passes will be distributed. Motion by Vanausdoll/Marquardt to distribute wrestling coach passes as presented. Carried. Possible streaming options for the IESA Wrestling State Finals were presented and discussed. Shared with the Board that he is currently working on securing a new venue for the state tournament for the 2025 State Finals. Updates were provided on the bowling state series and baseball. A proposal from Central Illinois Sports regarding livestreaming some of the IESA post-season events was presented. The board directed staff to pursue further discussion and a possible contract for presentation at the June meeting.

Kristen D’Alfonso, Assistant Executive Director- Reviewed the cheer state championship. This was the first year the Championships were held during the week and there was positive feedback from the participating schools. As we look forward, there are discussions of working with the IHSA at their current venue. Updates were provided on music, the volleyball state finals and Mikasa. A proposal was brought forward to compensate the softball state final announcers. The Board asked for further information and the proposal was tabled for the June meeting.

Chris Frasco, Assistant Executive Director- Updated the Board on the Basketball State tournaments. All tournaments were well attended and the use of GoFan went well. Updates were also provided on Scholastic Bowl, Sportsmanship Advisory, Emerging Activities, and golf.

Nicole Schaefbauer, Executive Director- An update was provided regarding the events that have been hosted at the Peoria Civic Center. With contracts for Cheerleading, Chess, and Scholastic Bowl expiring within the near future, the staff will begin exploring new venue options. The Board was provided a status update on discussions with TPG, a marketing company. A conversation has begun with Dissinger/Reed to review our insurance coverage and provide recommendations. Updates were also provided on the work of the Recognition Services Committee, the progress of the re-enrollment, and transgender applications.

Old Business

Scholar Attitude- Winner information was presented, and congratulations extended to those selected. The Board was reminded that the presentation to the winners will be at the IESA State Track and Field meets.

By-law 1.440- New wording was presented for by-law 1.440 to provide clarity in use and intent. Motion by Scott/McAlister to adopt the updated wording presented for by-law 1.440 beginning in 2023-24. Carried.

New Business

State Final Sites- Basketball state final sites were presented. Motion by Marquardt/Johnson to accept the basketball state final sites as presented. Carried.

A&M Products Proposal- A three-year proposal was reviewed, and the increases discussed. The Board expressed concern over the rate of price increases over the last two years and encouraged the staff to discuss this concern with the vendor going in to the 2026-27 contract negotiation. Motion by Haupt/Drees to accept the A&M proposal for the 2023-24, 2024-25, and 2025-26 school years. Carried.

Board Committee Reports

Staff Relations- Dr. McAlister presented the Staff Relations Committee recommendations. Motion by Drees/Johnson to approve recommendations 1-6, including the promotion of Chris Frasco to Associate Executive Director, as presented during the Executive Session. Carried.

Finance- Mr. Haupt presented the Finance Committee recommendations. Motion by Scott/Marski to institute a $25.00 Intent to Participate fee for Music and Speech. Carried. Motion by Drees/Vanausdoll to restructure the payment of Scholastic Bowl State Final moderators from a per match compensation to a flat fee. Carried. The Finance Committee membership and activity fees with no recommendations. The Board discussed the financial philosophy of the Association over the next several years and the role fees played in meeting long-term financial health.

President Ingold recessed the meeting for lunch at 11:45 a.m. and reconvened the meeting at 12:18 p.m.

Advisory Committee Reports

Athletic Director— The Athletic Director Advisory Committee met on March 21, 2023 in a hybrid format. The recommendation to restrict scheduling contests once a team’s post-season has begun was tabled. The recommendation to change by-law 5.073 (forfeiture of contest) was tabled to the June meeting.

Basketball—The Basketball Advisory Committee met on March 28, 2023 via Zoom. The recommendation to move the Sectional start time to 6:00 p.m. died for lack of support. The Board reviewed the post-season financial documents. It was noted that the girls basketball regional and sectional officials cost was $81,120.00 for 2022-23. A short discussion regarding host deficits was held. The IESA staff is to continue to monitor and research solutions/options. Full minutes may be found at the following link.

Cheerleading--The Cheer Advisory Committee met on March 8, 2023 via Zoom. Motion by Vanausdoll/Johnson to approve recommendation #1 (move the competition date to the Wednesday of Week 32). Carried. The recommendation to combine the cheer division was tabled for further feedback from coaches and officials. Full minutes may be found at the following link.

Chess--The Chess Advisory Committee met on March 31, 2023 via Zoom. Motion by Johnson/Drees to approve recommendation #1 (increase in participants from 7 to 10). Carried. Motion by Vanausdoll/Johnson to approve recommendation #2 (adjustment to state final time schedule). Carried. The recommendation to add Rule 21- Section 12 died for lack of support. Full minutes may be found at the following link.

Wrestling—The Wrestling Advisory Committee met on March 23, 2023 via Zoom. Motion by Scott/Markski to approve recommendation #1 (true wrestleback format at the sectional). Carried. Motion by Vanausdoll/Drees to approve recommendation #2 (seed meeting moved to Thursday of Week 34). Carried. Recommendation #3 to add a third official at the regional level based on entries died for lack of support. Motion by Dress/Marski to approve the administrative recommendation of #4 (to add a third official at the regional level and increase Regional official pay to $160.00 and Sectional official pay to $225.00). Carried. Motion by Vanausdoll/Drees to approve recommendation #5 (consistent weigh-in time for regional and sectional tournaments). Carried. Full minutes may be found at the following link.

Volleyball-- The Volleyball Advisory Committee met on March 29, 2023 via Zoom. Recommendation #1 to raise the net height to 7’4 1/8 died for lack of support. Recommendation #2 to create an exception for NFHS Rule 4-2-4(f) was tabled for further research. Recommendation #3 to allow ball-handling prior to the coin toss during the post-season died for lack of support. Full minutes may be found at the following link.

The dates of the remaining meetings for 2022-23 were announced.

Motion by Haupt/Johnson to approve the expenses of the meeting. Carried.

There being no further business, motion by Haupt/Drees to adjourn the meeting. Carried. President Ingold adjourned the meeting at 2:09 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Nicole Schaefbauer