201 School Board meeting 6/14/2006

[Berwyn Patsy]

Tonight's meeting started 14 minutes late. Absent were Margaret Kelly and Joe Keating.
Action items were interesting enough.  13 requests for approval of expulsion items, 2 formal expulsions and 9 students approved to return to home school after successfully completing  the alternative school. Most of these students seemed to be expelled for 2 years.
Approval of Employment of personnel was next which was more replacements for those leaving.
Request for Approval of 2006-07 budget items was tabled.  A special Board meeting will be held on June 28th, to be re discussed at that time.  Also a request to approve Student Code of Conduct was not ready at this time and will be brought back up on June 28th.
Farewell's and goodbyes to the 4 retirees.  The West principal, the Director of Special Education, Dr. Luca and Dr. Cunneeen. 
The meeting in itself was as usual, quick and to the point everyone goes along with aye, aye and aye.
Audience comments.  The girls gymnastic team is doing well, and have been working very hard on fund raising.  Seems they have met their goal and one of the team even went to state finals.
Teri Shonder a member of C.A.R.E.S. presented a proposal of Residency and Registration Verification Policy to include Berwyn School District 98, 100 and Morton High School Dist 201.  She left a copy with Dr. Nowakowski.  Dr. Nowakowski said the residency issue was discussed at the last meeting and he hoped they would be moving forward with this issue.
Mark Titzer, also a C.A.R.E.S. member stated that The discussion of Residency was never put in the minutes of that meeting, and asked the board to reconsider amending those minutes.   I thought what was discussed at an open meeting had to be included in the minutes??
The meeting ended at 8:00 P.M.  We were all invited to stay and have retirement yummy looking cake and ice cream.

[mustang54]

  Board member Garcia was also absent from the meeting. Out of the 18 resignations that were approved the one that stuck out was Hector Garcia the principal of East resigned. That was quite a surprise. Was nice to see the girls gymnastics parents raised the money they needed to raise. They along with boys water polo were dropped because of funds but went out and raised the money to save the program. A very nice group of parents who worked VERY hard so the program could be saved.
  Great summary Patsy. How was the cake?

[Bear]

Tonight's meeting started 14 minutes late. Absent were Margaret Kelly and Joe Keating.
Farewell's and goodbyes to the 4 retirees.  The West principal, the Director of Special Education, Dr. Luca and Dr. Cunneeen. 
  We were all invited to stay and have retirement yummy looking cake and ice cream.

Patsy, Im glad they at least fed you after screwing you as a taxpayer and the children
after all these years...

Will they be sharing their 100k per year  retirement pension and condos in FL
with you as well?...

I'm sure Cunneen saved a slot for us to come and visit

[ms_president]

It seems as though Berwyn Patsy has conveniently forgotten one other item that was brough up by the audience...

[Berwyn Patsy]

Oh really ms president!  Sorry if I might have missed an item or two. Believe me it was not done conveniently. I was probably having a senior moment, but please do tell
I did not stay for ice cream and cake but was very tempted!

[Berwyn Patsy]

I wonder what process the school board will adopt when replacing Hector Garcia?  The school board in my opinion has a lot of work cut out for themselves between now and September.  Hirings, polices and hopefully working more on the district 201 website.  Seems to badly need to be updated.

[mustang54]

  During the audience comments 3 former students from the West campus said the 2004 and 2005 graduating classes raised money for a new sign on 26th and Harlem. They wanted to know what was going on with that sign. Dr. Nowakowski explained what was being done to get it put up. Being the person he is he did not mention who was in charge of that project and did not get it done. Last year that person gave a status report more than once at board meetings.
 It was nice to see former students come back and question the administration in the professional and classy way these three young ladies did. It again shows what type of people the majority of Morton graduates are. WTG girls!

[Terri]

Dr. Nowakowski  graciously responded to the Residency and Registration Verification Policy presented on behalf of C.A.R.E.S.  We were told he has meet with the registrar and enrollment office to put procedures in place and those procedures have been forwarded to the Law Dept.  He also assured us that procedures will be altered for the August enrollment, but did not elaborate.  Additionally, when report cards are mailed, there will be a note on the bottom letting parents know proof of residency will be needed for registration.  They are considering mailing a letter to parents in August informing them the process will change.

We left a copy of the Residency and Registration Verification Policy with Dr. Nowakowski. 

I contacted Morton last month via e-mail asking about the web site.  A reply was sent letting me know they had contracted with a web site development company and it would be up in June. 

Terri

[Berwyn Patsy]

Thanks Mustang 54.  I do remember the 3 girls, and also thought they were right in speaking up for something that was to be done 2 years ago.  We need some Morton students like that on our C.A.R.E.S. team. They did give the impression that they care about their school and it's conduct.
The thing that really keeps bothering me, is the fact that the discussion about registration verification was not reflected in the minutes of that meeting.  When it was brought up last night the board seemed to not think much about it, just to say it wasn't forgotten in their heads??  I am sure it wasn't but that does not excuse the omisssion of that subject in the minutes.

[shopgirl]

The rules of Parlimentary Procedure require that the proceedings of a deliberative body (a school board) be made of record, usually referred to as the Minutes. Those "minutes" should include:

1) The type of meeting (i.e. regular of special),

2) The name of the organization or assembly,

3) The date, time and locaton of the meeting,

4) The presence of the chairman and secretary (or substitute),

5) Whether the minutes from the previous meeting were approved,

6) All motions and the disposition of those motion,

7) All secondary motions,

Previous notice of motions,

9) Points of order and appeals,

10) Time of adjournment.

The purpose of the Minutes is to make a record of what is "done" by the assembly, and not what was said. If there was not official action taken, the discussion is not relevant for purposes of creating a record. Any mention in the minutes of discussions or statements had during the course of a meeting is nothing more than surplusage, not harmful, but not required.

[Berwyn Patsy]

Thanks for the information shopgirl.