One could almost sing it in their head, to the tune of Megan Trainor’s “All about that bass.”
After countless hours and meetings over ball fields, it seems like Peotone School District 207-U is going to make the first move. At least, that’s how they voted at their June 16 board meeting.
Quotes were discussed by Building and Grounds Director Chris Singleton that he obtained from vendor Sportfields, Inc. Singleton had met with a couple of park district representatives, Peotone Baseball Softball Association, and several members from the school board. In that meeting, the needs of the ball fields were discussed.
The price tag was far more significant than the $4,000 that PBSA rep Nick Chapman said the fields needed. The Cadillac quote, which included rebuilding mounds and moving home plate, was $69,000 for the baseball field. The softball field, which also included adding mix, grading, and rebuilding the mound and home plate, was $32,000, with a total cost of $101,000 for property the district doesn’t own.
That was the clincher for board member Tim Stoub, who has been vocal about his suggestions to acquire the park district fields.
“One of the things I would like to give them to consider is, basically, for the school district to acquire the land,” said Stoub.
Uthe said another option was to work with PBSA to get the fields playable for the next year or so, while the fields are being built at the high school. Uthe asked the board why the district would want to own those fields.
Board member Mark Jones was the first to reply that the park district stated, time and time again, they didn’t have the money to maintain those fields with 207-U students using them, traffic situations, along with ownership were reasons for him.
Because the property is owned by the park district at the moment, everything would have to go through them, including if it went out for bid. The school district would only be able to approve the dollar amount they’re willing to invest in property that isn’t theirs.
Singleton added PBSA has money, but it was discussed by the park district and PBSA as to where else those funds could be used, such as fencing, dugouts, painting, or replacing wood on the backstop.
Stoub said without owning the fields his opinion is to invest the bare minimum; Uthe added it’s not the bare minimum.
Uthe said he agrees on only investing the bare minimum in those fields.
Board member Stachniak said she’d like to see the district acquire the fields for the junior high students’ use. “The athletes are playing on garbage right now, and then they’re going to come to the cream of the crop at the high school. We can develop better athletes if we start them sooner on better fields.”
Uthe asked why junior high couldn’t play on the high school fields, but while schedules didn’t clash, it still required transportation involvement from the district that’s already looking for bus drivers.
Moe said there’s no time. She didn’t mind the idea of acquiring the park district fields, but there was no time to get it done in six weeks.
Stoub said there’s a delay no matter which direction they take – either acquiring or just investing in park district property; it requires an IGA.
Moe asked why couldn’t the district use the 31-year-old IGA. Stoub said they’d have to update the IGA. Moe said it couldn’t be done before the start of the season; Stoub said they have to act fast. Asst. Supt. Carole Zurales confirmed the IGA would have to be updated.
Additional discussion and more kicking around ideas went on for another 40 minutes.
The consensus was to move forward with a proposal to create an IGA, with the school district acquiring the fields from the park district with an agreement for use for the building.
Stoub made the motion to approve baseball and softball field investments not to exceed a specific amount, pending approval of acquiring park district property.
An IGA with the Blue Demons was tabled, as well, for further discussion.
Bills, Bills, Bills
Board member Stachniak came with a printed packet in hand, along with tabs and post-its, ready to inquire about bills in the consent agenda.
After board member Jones pulled the minutes out of the consent agenda to make a correction, Stachniak pulled the Treasurer’s Report, the General Fund bills, and the Activity Fund balances.
Stachniak’s inquiry was in regard to the nearly quarter of a million in outstanding fees not paid to the district. Business manager Fulgencio said the state tied the district’s hands, but there were options to send to collections. Discussion was centered around creating incentives to pay those fees.
She also questioned the nearly $130,000 paid in one month to out-of-district special education tuition. Director of Student Services Crystal Johnson said it was for 20 students, and that Federal reimbursement does occur. Stachniak said she would prefer to see those students educated in-district.
She inquired as to the use of P-cards, or purchasing cards, noting that more than $25,000 was spent on the card in one month. Business manager Adrian Fulgencio said there’s policies regulating use, but they’re not being followed – $500 transaction limit, $1,000 per month. Stachniak also inquired about tax exempt status on purchases, and Fulgencio said it was up to the purchaser to provide the form or submit the tax dispute. Administrators currently have access to the P-Cards, and it was agreed that practices and strengthening of protocols would be enforced moving forward.
Stachniak also inquired about the purchase of a John Deere lawnmower by Buildings and Grounds, water testing, $183,000 charge from the architect for baseball field plans that weren’t used, $1.2M for the PES HVAC project and how much was left to pay – which is an additional $3.1M, and if legal was on retainer or paid per incident.
She also inquired about activity fund account usage and suggested that any club attending any state competition have their lodging and expenses paid by the district exactly the way sports does.
All in all, it was clear Stachniak read her packet thoroughly.
Board One Offs
A vote on the approval of the second reading and adoption of Press 118 board policies was approved, with Moe voting no.
Approval of registration and lodging fees for the IASB, IASA, IASBO joint annual conference in November was unanimous. Jones asked if it’s normal to pay before the approval, since the fees were paid in early June. Fulgencio said it’s always been done that way. Suggestion was made to approve the fees before they’re paid.
There was unanimous approval of closure of certain activity funds no longer in use.
There was also unanimous approval of opting out of ISBE’s College Career Pathway Endorsement.
The PHS/PJHS student handbooks were approved, with Stachniak questioning the errors. It was motioned for approval with corrections, with Moe and Board member Jodi Becker voting no.
Unanimous approval was given to the PES/PIC student handbooks and memorandum agreements with the teacher’s union, along with revised ESY and credit recovery, job description for district registrar/bookkeeper, and personnel approval.
I believe clarification is due as Nick Chapman’s sharing of a $4k expense was just to show a bare minimum amount needed to ensure the fields could be PLAYABLE for the upcoming Jr. High seasons. This number was never an estimate to get the fields to even a proper level of maintenance; purely a bare bones budget paired with eager parents and community members who have been willing and standing by to do the labor to support the kids.