CUSD 7 News
Board names Cooper assistant principal for district
Meeting in special session Wednesday night, members of the Community Unit School District 7 Board of Education voted 6-1 to hire Tara Cooper as the district’s assistant principal for the coming academic year. The board also voted 6-1 to accept Cooper’s resignation as Gillespie Middle School principal and to post a vacancy for a building principal. Board member Dennis Tiburzi voted “no” on all three actions.
Cooper was hired as GMS principal in May 2020, a final step in reshuffling administrative positions after Shane Owsley moved from high school principal to the district superintendent’s spot. The board created the assistant principal’s position earlier this year after current building principals articulated a need for the position. A formal job description was approved last month.
Cooper essentially will lend support to the three building principals, including filling in when one of the principals is absent. Many of the job duties, such as supervising district employees and administering student disciplinary policies, are congruent with duties assigned to building principals. Supt. Owsley said Cooper will be working under an 11-month contract instead of the 12-month term extended to building principals.
Wednesday’s board actions leaves the middle school without a building principal two weeks before the start of the 2022-23 school year. Owsley told the BenGil Post the board anticipates convening a special meeting next week to hire a middle school principal from among the individuals who applied for the assistant principal’s position.
If a new principal is hired next week, the school year will start with a complete staff with the exception of a speech and language pathologist. The speech and language pathologist spot became vacant last month and the district currently is soliciting applications to fill the position. The school year starts Aug. 15 with two days of teacher development workshops. Aug. 17 will be the first day of student attendance.
The personnel actions followed a brief 15-minute executive session.
Following the board meeting, Supt. Owsley met with the board’s three-member Building and Grounds Committee to discuss current and future capital development and maintenance projects. Maintenance Director Brian Page and school architect David Leggens also attended the committee meeting.
Board President Mark Hayes said the purpose of the meeting was to create a “wish list and prioritize the wish list.” Items discussed Wednesday night may ultimately end up as part of the district’s new Five-Year Plan to help direct development over the next five years. The previous Five-Year Plan expired this year.
Projects tentatively discussed included improved lighting between the BenGil Elementary School and High School, drainage improvements, creation of a high school science lab, improvements to athletic facilities and creation of a circular drive and parking area in front of the high school’s main entrance. Owsley said the new entryway and parking area would resolve what he regards as a security issue, establishing a more direct access to the school’s office for delivery services and visitors.
Page recommended the purchase of a Computerized Maintenance Management System to better track maintenance needs and help direct personnel. Owsley said more detailed tracking of maintenance issues should allow the district to better maintain equipment and save money in the long run. The board is expected to consider whether or not to acquire the software during the regular August meeting which is set for Monday, Aug. 15.
Comments
Members of the Community Unit School District 7 Board of Education on Monday night voted to direct the District Superintendent to begin developing a budget to govern spending for the upcoming fiscal year. The action followed the board’s biennial reorganization during which members re-elected on April 1 were seated, and officers and committees were appointed.
By unanimous votes, the board canvased the Consolidated Election balloting and certified the vote for three incumbent board members who were re-elected. Dennis Tiburzi was re-elected with 796 votes, according to the tally certified Monday night. Peyton Bernot was re-elected with 592 votes and William “Bill” Carter, who ran as a write-in candidate, won re-election with 80 votes. All three were unopposed on the April 1 ballot.
Tiburzi, Bernot and Carter were seated after taking an oath of office administered by President Mark Hayes. Hayes was re-elected as board president by acclamation after being nominated by Bernot. Weye Schmidt was re-elected as vice president by acclamation after being nominated by Carter, and Bernot was elected as board secretary by acclamation after being nominated by Hayes. The board also voted unanimously to accept Hayes’ appointments to board committees, which are unchanged from the previous two years.
Board member Kellie Vesper was reappointed as the board’s representative to the South Macoupin County Special Education Cooperative.
Kathy McDaniel, a four-decade veteran, was reappointed to serve as the board’s recording secretary.
Essentially the reorganized board remains the same in composition and organization with the exception of Bernot assuming the role of board secretary, a role previously filled by Carter.
On a motion by Tiburzi, seconded by Bernot, the board voted unanimously to direct Supt. Shane Owsley to start work on developing a tentative fiscal 2026 budget. The routine end-of-the-year action authorizes Owsley to develop a document estimating estimated revenues and expenditures for the fiscal year beginning July 1. State law requires the district to adopt a budget by the end of September. Owsley typically presents the tentative budget in August every year, after which the document will be subject to public review for 30 days.
Last year’s budget came in at about $19.5 million, but both revenue and expenditure estimates can change during the year contingent upon unexpected expenditures and/or fluctuations in revenue.
The board also directed Owsley to prepare an amended fiscal 2025 budget to reflect changes in revenue and expenditures that occurred during the fiscal year that concludes at the end of June. That amended budget is likely to be adopted by the full board next month.
Additionally, board members voted unanimously to authorize the Superintendent to make necessary operational expenditures between July 1 and the end of September when the final budget will be adopted.
Also in the area of school finances, the board voted unanimously to amend the district’s Risk Management Plan to cover 80 percent of salary costs for the school resource officer from the Tort Fund budgetary line item. As a result of the action, the board will be able to levy Tort funds to cover 80 percent of the resource officer’s salary, starting with the 2006 levy for property taxes payable in 2027.
Because the school district is subject to the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (PTELL), commonly known as tax caps, the change will not result in additional taxes for district property owners. However, the change will allow the district to shift 80 percent of the resource officer’s salary from the Education Fund to the Tort Fund, potentially freeing up additional money for educational expenditures.
Tort Funds typically are earmarked for risk management cost, including attorney fees, legal expenses and insurance costs. Owsley said he consulted with the district’s attorney, who agreed the district could legally use the Tort Fund to cover a portion of the school resource officer’s salary.
PERSONNEL
Following an hour-long executive session, the board voted unanimously to hire Ashlee Gibbs as a high school summer school math teacher, and hired Jennifer Brown and Rob Macias as summer school drivers’ education teachers. GHS Principal Jill Rosentreter confirmed about 18 students have enrolled for summer classes at the high school level.
The board also voted unanimously to post a vacant position for a middle school summer school teacher. GMS Principal Patrick McGinthy told the board he expects eight to 10 middle school students to enroll in summer school.
By a unanimous vote, the board hired Alicia Sloan and Amanda Manley as cafeteria workers for the summer school programs.
The board voted unanimously to hire Addison Mays, Glen Carbon, as the new BenGil Elementary School music teacher for the 2025-26 school year. Mays is a 2025 graduate of Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville. Mays will step into a vacancy created by the resignation of Aubrey Morgan last month.
With one dissenting vote, the board hired Andrew Hirstein as a six-hour cafeteria worker, pending a routine background check. The hire was approve 6-1 with Tiburzi voting “no.”
In other personnel action, the board hired Shari Scott as a district paraprofessional for the 2025-26 school year, and accepted the resignation of Lexi Busman as Gillespie Middle School cheerleading coach and posted the position as vacant.
AI-GENERATED FOIA REQUESTS
The routine approval of the board’s consent agenda prompted a discussion regarding the relatively new phenomenon of Freedom of Information Act requests generated by artificial intelligence. Supt. Owsley reported to the board that he and his staff responded to nine requests under the state’s Freedom of Information Act for voluminous amounts of information for data regarding annual expenses paid to vendors, firms and individuals for multiple fiscal years between 1998 and 2023.
Responding to questions from board member Bernot, Owsley said the Illinois Association of School Administrators’ Legislative Committee is working on ways to address the issue of AI-generated FOIA requests with possible new legislation.
“You had nine FOIA requests?” Bernot asked.
“Yes,” Owsley responded.
“And they were all AI-generated?”
“They were,” Owsley confirmed.
“Whoever is behind it, these AI requests were sent to every school district in the State of Illinois?” Bernot asked.
“Yes,” said Owsley.
Owsley told the board he checked with the district’s attorney several times. “Unfortunately, there is no law about AI-generated requests,” he said. He told Bernot that collecting the information to respond to a single request took two to three hours for him and another staff member.
Bernot said he was aggravated that the district had to spend so much administrative time responding to what amounts to an anonymous FOIA request. He suggested simply ignoring the request to force whoever is responsible for them to file a complaint with the Attorney General’s Public Access Department. “My understanding is that they have to use their name to file a complaint,” Bernot said. Bernot said the AI-generated requests all came from a blind email called ad.cuius.bonum@proton.me. The proton.me suffix suggests the email is being routed through foreign servers to shield the IP address of the sender.
“No one really knows where they’re coming from,” Owsley noted. “I felt a little better knowing we aren’t the only ones receiving them.”
DISTRICT FOCUS
Kayla Wills, FFA sponsor, accompanied several Gillespie High School FFA members to the meeting to discuss recent competition successes and upcoming programs.
“This is really a good group of students who have chosen to step into leadership roles,” Wills told the board, adding that the FFA program challenges students to take on new opportunities and “try things that can be a little scary.”
“This is one of the best groups we’ve had in the seven years I’ve been here,” she said. “I can hardly keep up with all the new ideas they bring forward. I can definitely say they’ve have done a lot for the community.”
Current FFA Vice President Kayden Koelker told the board the club’s Parliamentary team placed first at the sectional competition but fell short of advancing to the state level, placing third at the district level. “I’m confident that with the team we have for next year, we will make state.”
Landon Higginbotham told board members that the FFA Ag Power team swept all of their competitions at the sectional and district levels and were scheduled to compete at the state level this week in Construction, Surveying, Welding and Electricity.
Payton Bertolis described a Barnyard Day the group has planned May 8 at BenGil Elementary School during which FFA members will teach students about various farm animals and give students a chance to pet and interact with them. Tember Miller discussed a new outreach program allowing FFA members to teach ag-related topics to middle school special needs students.
Brooklyn Crockett, junior greenhouse manager, announced dates for the FFA’s annual greenhouse sales during which plants grown by FFA members will be available to the public. The greenhouse will be open for sales this Friday, Saturday and Sunday, May 2-4, as well as next Friday, Saturday and Sunday, May 9-11. Senior Greenhouse Manager Nate Spencer told the board that he is managing the group’s sweet corn plot. “This year we are using phased planting so we’ll have sweetcorn all summer,” he said. Proceeds from sweetcorn sales and greenhouse sales help support FFA scholarship funds.
Cedrick Krieter described a tractor/vehicle safe driving event the club has planned for May 20.
Also during the District Focus segment, Jennifer Parker described a cross-curricular Volume Unit recently completed by 70 fifth grade students. Students were assigned to research an animal before constructing a representative of the animal using cardboard boxes. The students then were required to measure the boxes and determine the total volume of their model. Determining volume and area is a large part of the IAR assessment test fifth graders take.
Students also were assigned to write a poem about their animal and speak about their project during a special parents’ night, bringing language arts and public speaking aspects into the program.
Parker said students enjoyed the program, which “gives them an opportunity to be creative and work together.”
EARLY GRADUATION REQUEST
With one dissenting vote, the board approved an early graduation request for Hunter Hegel. The measure will allow the student to graduate at the end of the first semester of the 2025-26 school year, provided he has completed all graduation requirements. Tiburzi cast the sole “no” vote.
“I think our early graduation rate is too high,” President Hayes noted, adding he would like to know how the rate at GHS compares with surrounding school districts.
GHS Principal Rosentreter said the school typically approves 12 to 15 early graduation requests every year but some of those students later opt to complete the school year. The majority of early graduates chose to leave school early in order to enter the work force, she said.
“We have some things—positive things—coming up that will help deter (the number of early graduation requests),” she said. The district is looking at a work-school program that would allow students to enter the workforce while continuing their education for the final semester.
Supt. Owsley said the district also could consider making graduation requirements more stringent.
“Our graduation requirements are less than some other districts,” he said. “We require two years of science, for example. I think that could easily be bumped up to three years.”
OTHER ACTION
In other action, the board:
• Renewed the district’s membership in the Illinois Elementary Schools Association at a total cost of $1,415. The membership fee is based on the number of competitive sports, including Scholar Bowl, the school offers.
• Approved a fee and textbook rental schedule for the 2025-26 school year. The textbook fee remains at $75 per student. Lab fees remain at $25 for elective classes other than drivers’ education, which remains at $100. Student lunches and breakfasts will continue to be free of charge, provided the federal government releases USDA funds to subsidize the free lunch program for low income school districts.
• Approved an intergovernmental agreement to offer more than a dozen dual credit high school courses in cooperation with Lewis and Clark Community College.
• Amended the current school calendar to reflect adjustments in the dates for parent-teacher conferences during the past year.
• Agreed to move the date for the board’s June meeting from June 23 to June 30.
Comments
Gillespie High School proudly celebrated its senior athletes on Wednesday, April 9, as they signed letters of intent to continue their academic and athletic pursuits at colleges and universities nearby.
The ceremony honored the dedication and achievements of these talented students, who will now take the next step in their educational and athletic journeys:
- Haylie Otten will attend the University of Health, Science, and Pharmacy in St. Louis, where she plans to major in nursing and continue her passion for soccer.
- Mia Brawner will join Lewis and Clark Community College to pursue a major in sonography while competing on the basketball court.
- Corinne Fellin has committed to Lincoln Land Community College, majoring in radiology and continuing her soccer career.
“We are incredibly proud of our seniors and their accomplishments both on the field and in the classroom,” said GHS Athletic Director Jeremy Smith. “Their dedication and hard work have truly paid off, and we look forward to seeing all they will achieve in the next chapter of their lives.”
This year’s signing day highlights the strong tradition of student-athlete success at Gillespie High School, where academics and athletics go hand in hand to prepare students for bright futures.
Comments
Citing financial uncertainty in the near future, the Community Unit School District 7 Board of Education declined to take action Monday night on a proposal to make cross-country a school-funded sport, leaving financial support for the program in the hands of parents at least for the time being.
“Taking on cross-country as a school-sponsored sport is not a huge financial commitment, and I’m not saying it’s not a good idea,” Supt. Shane Owsley told the board in making his recommendation to take no action on the issue. “What I’m saying is it’s not a good idea to take it on now.”
Owsley said school districts are being told to “hope for the best, but prepare for the worst” regarding federal funding in the immediate future.
“It’s something we’re constantly hearing about in regard to the possible elimination of the Department of Education,” he said. “We don’t know what exactly that’s going to look like—whether there will be substantial cuts or whether there will be zero cuts.”
Owsley said funding for so-called Title programs reportedly are risk, as are funds to support free lunches for schools with a high percentage of students from families living below the poverty line. Currently, schools are eligible for free lunch and breakfast programs if at least 25 percent of the student body comes from families with incomes below the poverty level. Proposals for the coming year would raise that threshold to 65 percent.
School districts are being told to anticipate 20 percent less in federal funding next year.
Federal funds comprise about 20 percent of CUSD 7’s total budget, Owsley said.
At the state level, Owsley said there is a strong possibility of Chicago Public Schools become Tier I schools under the state’s evidence based funding formula. In essence, other Tier I schools like CUSD 7 would have to share Tier I funding with the behemoth Chicago school system, meaning fewer dollars for downstate schools.
Though not yet approved by the legislature and subject to change, Gov. JB Pritzger’s proposed state budget anticipates no new money for education. To rein in school funding, the budget calls for reducing funding for several “categorical,” including transportation, special education transportation and special placements. Funding levels for those categories would fall, respectively, from 78 to 70 percent; 77 to 70 percent; and 69 to 51 percent.
“Those are all historic lows,” Owsley said.
Pending state legislation, if approved and signed into law, would ban cell phones from classrooms. To accomplish that, CUSD 7 would be required to purchase security bags to secure individual devices at a cost of about $22,000.
Other pending legislation would require school districts to eliminate names and images of Native American mascots, meaning Gillespie Middle School would have to choose a new mascot, buy new uniforms and eliminate references to the GMS Indians on buildings and signage.
Owsley said there also is proposed legislation to increase the minimum wage for non-certificated employees to $20 in the first year, $21 in the second and $22 in the third year. Statewide, that change could cost lost school districts another $120 million.
Given all the budgetary uncertainties the district is facing, Owsley said he recommended leaving cross-country a parent-funded sports.
Parents of cross-country athletes attended the board’s meeting in January to lobby for making cross-country and school-funded sport. Speaking for about 20 parents at the meeting, Dustin Fletcher estimated the district would have to cover about $13,375 in expenses to make cross-country a school-sponsored sport.
Board President Mark Hayes told parents Monday night the issue was one the board could revisit at a later date as budget concerns come into clearer focus.
PERSONNEL
Following a 45-minute executive session, the board voted unanimously to accept the resignations of Aubrey Morgan as BenGil Elementary School music teacher and GMS/GHS choir teacher Ben McCollough, both effective at the end of the current school year, and to post both positions as vacant.
In preparation for summer school offerings, the board also voted to post vacancies for summer school English, math and drivers’ education teachers, and two summer school food service workers.
In separate actions, the board accepted the resignation of Jake Kellebrew as assistant GHS men’s basketball coach, and hired Kellebrew as the head GHS mens basketball coach.
DISTRICT FOCUS
During a District Focus segment, seven Gillespie Middle School sixth grade students presented first person biography presentations for the board. The students—Mackenna Hendriex, Harper Thackrey, Sydney James, Eli Blevins, Levi Katava, Jaxsyn Raynor and Carter Plovich—were participants in a Language Arts unit that encouraged them to learn how to research, write a third-person essay, write a first-person presentation, and develop a public speaking presentation. An eighth student, Stephanie Timmermeier, was unable to attend.
“This is my walking wax museum,” said GMS Language Arts teacher Kim Henderson.
She said students were assigned to select a famous or notable person to research and write about. Students were encouraged to speculate about positive personality traits associated with the person they selected. Finally, the students presented story boards about the person they selected and prepared a first-person presentation about their celebrity. Presentations ranged from Barack Obama and Donald Trump to Princess Dianna, Grace Kelly and sports figures.
“A lot of my students came out of their shells for this,” Henderson told the board. “Some of them said they didn’t want to do it, but when they did it, they loved it.”
GMS Principal Patrick McGinthy said he encourages students developing public speaking skills.
“This was a great way to introduce public speaking early in the sixth grade,” he said.
SCHOOL CALENDAR
The board unanimously approved a school calendar for the 2024-25 academic year that was tentatively presented last month.
The calendar calls for teacher institute days on Aug. 11 and 12, with the first day of student attendance on Aug. 13. The last day of student attendance would be May 26, but could be as early as May 18 if no emergency days are required.
School holidays include Labor Day on Sept. 1, Columbus Day on Oct. 13, Veterans Day on Nov. 11, Thanksgiving, Nov. 26-30, Martin Luther King Day on Jan 19, Presidents Day on Feb. 16, and Memorial Day on May 26. Winter Break would run Dec. 20-Jan. 4, and Spring Break would run April 2-6. Teacher Institute days are scheduled Oct. 24, Feb. 13, March 20 and the day after the last day of student attendance.
Classes will dismiss at 1:45 p.m. on Oct. 17, Oct. 22, Oct. 23, Dec. 19, March 13 and for the last day of student attendance.
Commencement is set for May 17.
EARLY GRADUATION REQUESTS
On a motion by Amanda Ross, seconded by Bill Carter, the board approved early graduation requests for Xzavier Burch, Andrew Grossman, Keegan Jett, Aiden Manley, David McCario, Myles McKee, David Noville, Lukas Parish, Mitchel Chalk, Sierra Steelman, Claire Wallace and Owen Boyles. All 12 seniors will be eligible to graduate at the end of the first semester of the 2025-26 school year, provided all graduation requirements have been completed.
OTHER ACTION
In other action, the board:
• Accepted a fuel bid from M & M Service Co. to provided gasoline at a fixed price of $2.962 per gallon and bio-diesel at a fixed price of $3.177 per gallon. The bid is a cooperative bid secured by several area school districts.
• Voted to renew the district’s IHSA membership for the coming year.
• Approved a certified employment list for the 2025-26 school year.
