Chester BOE approves OMA resolution
<p class="p1">A five-month saga appears to have ended for the Herald Tribune and the Chester District 139 Board of Education.
<p class="p1">During its regular July meeting on Thursday, the board agreed to a resolution that would release to the media and the public the portion of the executive session of the board's May 17 meeting in which it discussed the Public Access Counselor's pending request for review of the board's January and February meetings.
<p class="p1">Three days later on May 20, the PAC announced its decision, stating that the board violated OMA by discussing topics during the closed sessions of both meetings that did not meet proper exemptions under law.
<p class="p1">On the agenda for Thursday's meeting was to "Consider Approving a Resolution to Resolve Attorney General Complaint 2016 PAC 42082."
<p class="p1">"That's the second open meetings act violation that we had," District Superintendent Rick Goodman told the board, when asked by board member Troy Clendenin what it was.
<p class="p1">After the item was motioned and seconded, Goodman explained to the board what it meant.
<p class="p1">"We worked out an agreement through the (Illinois) Attorney General's office, with the newspaper, to release that portion of the closed session relating to the conversation we had about the first Open Meetings Act violation.
<p class="p1">"It's approximately eight seconds long, so we will make that available to the public."
<p class="p1">On Friday, District Secretary Sheri Coughlin released a 15-second .MP3 file containing two sentences of audio from Goodman.
<p class="p1">"The Open Meetings Act, um, how long has it been since we got a letter, a week or 10 days ago?" Goodman said on the recording. "Possibly maybe they may know something in a couple weeks, we have yet to hear anything, um."
<p class="p1">In June, the attorney firm that represents the district, Guin Mundorf LLC, responded to the Herald Tribune's Request for Review of the May 17 meeting - in which the newspaper questioned whether the violation can be deemed "litigation" and able to be discussed in executive session.
<p class="p1">"Producing a copy of the verbatim recording will not better inform (Public Access Counselor) on whether a discussion of a pending Request for Review is a proper topic for closed session," wrote attorney Shawn M. McLain. "Further, producing the verbatim recording would force the District to release litigation materials directly to the administrative tribunal that decided the case.
<p class="p1">"Such discussions could also contain privileged and confidential information about the District's litigation strategy. A practice of divulging such information to a court or a tribunal would be extremely unusual."
<p class="p1">McLain also quoted the dictionary in his response.
<p class="p1">"PAC is an administrative tribunal with the ability to decide such cases and controversies, including whether a public body has violated OMA," he wrote. "A 'Tribunal' is specifically defined by Merriam-Webster as 'Something that decides or determines.'"
<p class="p1">In discussions with the newspaper, Assistant Attorney General Neil Olson - assigned by the PAC to resolve the dispute - acknowledged that the board's attorney had some valid points, but noted that whether or not a pending Request for Review could be considered "litigation" had not been tested.
<p class="p1">Olson told the Herald Tribune on Wednesday that if the resolution was not approved, the PAC would proceed further with the Request for Review and test the exemption.
<p class="p1">The resolution states that the district agreed to the resolution "solely to avoid additional inconvenience and expense of litigation and maintains its legal position that Request for Review No. 2016 PAC 42082 is completely frivolous and without legal merit."
<p class="p1">In other news, the Chester BOE approved new fee increases at Chester High School. Registration fees will be $80, with a $75 driver's education fee and a $15 parking fee.
<p class="p1">Physical education, CTE and science lab fees will not be raised. The registration fee was formerly $50.
<p class="p1">The driver's education fee is anticipated to increase to $100 for the 2017-18 school year
<p class="p1">"I think you can put it in your memo to expect another increase next year," said Board president Mitch Hammel, regarding the fee increases.
<p class="p1">Board Member Trent Vasquez asked Hammel about the sinkholes in the CHS parking lot.
<p class="p1">Hammel noted - after speaking to Road District 2 Commissioner Matt Young about the situation - that it was recommended to apply coal patches as necessary.
<p class="p1">The board also spent a considerable amount of time discussing paid or volunteer coaching positions at Chester Grade School.
<p class="p1">CGS Assistant Principal/Athletic Director Dave Kaiser noted that assistant coaches were paid for the first time "in a long time" during the 2015-16 school year.
<p class="p1">Board Member Troy Clendenin explained that the district previously had paid an assistant coach if there were enough players to field two teams and the assistant would coach the second team.
<p class="p1">Board Member Debi Caraway noted that coaching stipends are negotiated with the Chester Education Association as part of collective bargaining, and the issue of teachers coaching is typically addressed through contract negotiations.
<p class="p1">"Given everything we're facing, my feeling is go back to the old," said Board Member Tom Welge, referencing the old way of grade school assistants being volunteer coaches.
<p class="p1">Kaiser was asked how many schools fielded two junior high teams and he said he could get between six or eight games on an A/B schedule.
<p class="p1">"And that's a big maybe," he said.
<p class="p1">The board members agreed to further examine the district's coaching contracts to resolve the issue.
<p class="p1">During the board presentations segment of the agenda, the board got an update on the CHS science lab renovations from Baysinger Architects Project Manager Ryan Dodd.
<p class="p1">Dodd noted that between four and six truckloads of materials will be delivered next Thursday with installation to take between seven and 10 days.
<p class="p1">"It's looking like we'll be able to turn that second level over to the teachers on Aug. 10," he said.
<p class="p1">Dodd said that the lower level is a little behind schedule, with the installation of materials to begin on Aug. 11.
<p class="p1">Completion is anticipated by Aug. 25.
<p class="p1">Dodd was asked about change orders and he said there are seven amounting to $19,856 - around 2.4 percent of the cost of the total project.
<p class="p1">The change orders mostly involve unforeseen issues, including two additional safety valves that were not expected and plumbing adjustments.
<p class="p1">"Overall with the complexity and the unknowns, it's going pretty well," Dodd said, adding that there were on-site observers working with the various contractors.
<p class="p1">Roundup
<p class="p1">- The BOE approved the second readings of the 2016-17 CHS student handbook and extra-curricular Code of Conduct.
<p class="p1">- The BOE approved changing the date of CHS's graduation to May 21, moving it a week before the traditional Memorial Day date.
<p class="p1">- The BOE approved the addition of a Coffee Bar account to the CGS Activity Fund.
<p class="p1">- The BOE accepted bids for paper (Premium Paper and Packaging), milk (Chester Dairy) and bread (Moore Food) for 2016-17.
<p class="p1">- The BOE approved employing Tabatha Colvis as CGS head softball coach for the coming school year.
<p class="p1">- The BOE approved Kirk Danbury as the CHS 8-hour night custodian at $9.25 per hour.
<p class="p1">- The BOE tabled a contract for Shirley Stegmann as district curriculum director.
<p class="p1">- The BOE approved a resolution to clarify CGS Principal Tim Lochhead's health insurance benefits and cash option in lieu of health insurance.
<p class="p1">- School registration is Aug. 1 through 4 at Chester Grade School and Aug. 1-3 at Chester High School.