District
Office
201 W. Mulberry
Chatham, Illinois 62629
(217) 483-2416
(217) 483-2940 - fax
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News from the
January 25th Board of Education Meeting:
In his “Good News” report, Superintendent Gillum
noted the following:
*
The K-4 Design Team has completed its final document
review on January 20.
* ISBE payments for Special Education reimbursement totaling
$689,916 were received on January 20.
* Signed resolutions in support of the Ball-Chatham School
District’s withdrawal from SASED by the boards of
education from area SASED affiliated districts are
now being received.
* The B-C School District is scheduled to host
Dr. John J. Medina,
author of “Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving
and Thriving at Work, Home, and School,” on June 16th.
Dr. Medina is a
developmental molecular biologist focused on the
genes involved in human brain development and the
genetics of psychiatric disorders.
The Board adopted the final calendars for the
2010-2011 and 2011-2012 school years. They can be
accessed online by clicking the calendar buttons to
the right of this page.
The K-4 Design Team representatives from Ittner,
Inc., presented the proposed detail and final
drawing modifications for board approval. The team
had provided responses, modifications and
alternative options for every aspect of the school
design. The presentation included modifications
since their last report to the Board and an updated
budget estimate. It was also noted that two
independent peer reviews were conducted on the
proposed geothermal and structural designs, and
suggestions from the peer reviews were incorporated
in the final designs. Doug Lin, from Gilbane,
reviewed an updated program cost budget and showed
that the total program cost of $16.9 million hasn’t
changed. Board members gave their approval to
proceed to bid, and specifications, drawings and bid
documents will be available to the public by
February 1, 2010.
The Intergovernmental Agreement between the Village
of Chatham and the Ball-Chatham School District
continues to be discussed among Board members. It
was noted that the Ball-Chatham School District’s
legal counsel will review the agreement and make
final recommendations. The agreement should be ready
for approval at the next BOE meeting.
The Board approved a Project Labor Agreement (PLA)
which allows for the potential award of bids to
non-union contractors and keeps conflict resolution
at the management level where it is less likely to
impact those performing construction related labor
tasks on the site. Authorizing the PLA was
recommended and the legality of the document has
been reviewed by district legal counsel.
The Board also adopted a K-5 Internet Safety
Curriculum.
The Board of Education expressed interest in seeking
bids for auditing services. They approved a Request
for Proposal to be released on January 25, 2010,
with the proposals being due on February 26, 2010.
Proposals will be reviewed and will seek approval at
the March, 2010 Board meeting in order to schedule
the audit for this summer.
Action Team #53, which is charged with the task of
redistricting our student population to reflect a
restructured grade level configuration, had its
first organizational meeting in January. Team
member, Jim Neuses, updated the board on the
multi-phase infrastructure plan, and noted that a
final district boundary reconfiguration
recommendation will be presented for approval in
approximately one year.
A mid-year review of our current financial condition
was presented by Dr. Brent McArdle, Interim CSBO.
He noted that the CPI has been established, state
and federal budget proposals are under review and
the district can begin to forecast the impact these
variables may have on a budget development.
Lastly, the Ball-Chatham BOE discussed the topic of
supporting a county-wide, one percent sales tax
initiative. Superintendent Gillum recounted for the
board how two years ago he had brought the idea to
the previous board, which supported the idea. He had
then set up a committee comprised of Sangamon County
school superintendents, less the Springfield and
Rochester districts which at that time declined to
participate, to investigate the matter further. It
now appears that Springfield District 186 may be
interested in pursuing such an initiative, and the
current Ball-Chatham BOE members were all in
agreement to support the initiative as a way to help
underwrite the cost of infrastructure improvements
in its aging buildings.
