PROCEEDINGS
BOARD OF EDUCATION
ALTON COMMUNITY UNIT SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 11
December 11, 2006

A special meeting of the Board of Education was held at the Administration Center, 1854 East Broadway, Alton, Illinois on Monday, December 11, 2006 at 5:30 p.m.

Board members who answered present were: Benjamin Golley, Ed Gray, Michael Harris, Vivian Monckton, and David P. Lauschke. Others who attended were: Superintendent David Elson; Human Resources Director Mark Cappel; Henrietta Young, Alton Middle School Principal.

Board Secretary Vivian Monckton read the meeting notice which was to “Discuss Middle School Supervision.”

Superintendent Elson began the meeting by discussing his reasons for assigning two current and one former administrator to observe and assess the needs of the middle school. He compared the number of administrators and security staff for 2,200 students last year versus the number of personnel being used for the 1,500 current students in the same buildings.

Principal Henrietta Young explained some of the stressful challenges at the middle school which are listed below:

1. The “zero hour” has created a conflict for space between the physical education class and music classes. Next year, the "zero hour” will be eliminated and the number of exploratory selections will be reduced.
2. Broken lockers were a concern. Lockers have now either been repaired or replaced.
3. The telephone and voice mail system created numerous challenges. A new phone
system was installed and a live person answers the main line.
4. Depco lab computers and printers were missing or were not networked for the start up of school. That situation has been corrected.
5. School busses have been moved to a holding area where 3 busses at a time are being loaded.
6. In the Main Auditorium, an insufficient number of staff were responsible for watching 300-350 students. Nearly 140 of those students have been moved to other locations. 7. Textbooks became a problem when they could not be located at the middle school. New textbooks were ordered.
8. Parent group conflicts were a challenge at first but have now been resolved.
9. Fifty-three outside doors required constant security checks which caused a loss of staff hours. Outside doors with alarms will be installed.

10. More students need to be added to the alternative classroom. A possible solution would be to add an additional class at the middle school or high school.
11. Additional security staff is needed.

It was the consensus that the district should hire another security (9 month) and 2 additional sub hall monitors for the remainder of the 2006-2007 school year.

Motion: To Adjourn:
It was moved by Mr. Harris, seconded by Ms. Monckton, that the Board of Education adjourn. Voting on the motion was as follows: Harris-yea; Monckton-yea; Golley-yea; Gray-yea; Lauschke-yea. Nay-none.

The meeting adjourned at 7:05 p.m.

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Secretary



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President