Gillespie High School students will have an opportunity to participate in a 12-day trip to Europe to tour sites associated with the Holocaust following action by the Community Unit School District 7 Board of Education Wednesday night, although the trip’s $5,000 price tag may be an hindrance to many. In other action, the board approved the 2024 property tax levy request and signed onto a multi-agency document setting statewide goals for education through 2030.

The meeting was moved from the fourth Monday of the month to meet a deadline for filing the tax levy and to avoid the start of the district’s winter break starting on Friday.

Without taking formal action, the board agreed to allow Gillespie High School students the opportunity to participate in a 12-day trip to Europe to tour sites associated with the Holocaust with CANDLES Holocaust Museum and Education Center, Terre Haute. GHS teacher Katie Prange, who also serves on the museum’s board of directors, outlined the trip for board members and briefly discussed the role Holocaust survivor Eva Kor played in establishing the museum and organizing the trip.

Kor, who died in 2019, and her sister, Miriam, were among the twins notoriously experimented upon by Joseph Mengele while incarcerated at the Auschwitz concentration camp. Liberated by allied forces in 1945, the twins were transferred to a nearby orphanage before eventually making their way to the United States. CANDLES is an acronym for Children of Auschwitz Nazi Deadly Lab Experiments.

Before her death, Kor led annual trips to Europe to tour Auschwitz and other sites associated with the Holocaust. After her death, according to Prange, the museum’s board of directors decided to continue the tours.

The trip is open to both students and adults, Prange said. The experience is not recommended for persons under the age of 16 because of the emotional intensity associated with visiting the concentration camp. This year, the museum is partnering with the Anne Frank Center to include Amsterdam and the Anne Frank house and museum. From there the group will travel by motor coach to Berlin to visit historic sites associated with the rise of the Third Reich. The trip will conclude in Krakow, Poland, where participants will visit the Krakow Ghetto and Auschwitz. The tour will leave Chicago on June 21 and return on July 3.

The cost of the tour includes airfare from Chicago to Amsterdam and from Krakow back to Chicago, lodging, transportation, tour fees and two meals per day. 

Further information is available at candlesholocaustmuseum.org.

TAX LEVY

Board members formally approved a $3,725,100 property tax levy for 2024 taxes to be collected in 2025. The levy is expected to generate an estimated $3,590,500  due to the impact of the Property Tax Extension Law (PTELL), commonly known as tax caps and adopted by Macoupin County voters in 1995. PTELL allows the property tax extension (the amount generated from property taxes) to increase by no more than five percent or the consumer price index, whichever is less. This year’s CPI is 3.4 percent, meaning the extension cannot increase by more than that amount.

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School districts and municipalities typically request more than they can receive in order to avoid eroding the base extension for future levies. The actual tax rate, the amount that must be applied to the total equalized assessed evaluation, to generate the maximum extension possible is set by the County Clerk.

During a brief public hearing held earlier in the meeting, Supt. Shane Owsley said details of the levy were unchanged from last month when he presented a PowerPoint presentation to the board. For the first time in five years, he said he received a phone call from a district resident concerned that his property taxes would increase by an unreasonable amount. He said he explained how the levy request exceeds what the school district can receive and sent the individual a copy of the PowerPoint he presented to the board last month.

In somewhat related actions, the board approved a resolution transferring $75,000 from the School Facilities Sales Tax fund to the Bond and Interest Fund to service indebtedness for previous capital improvements. The resolution also abates an equal amount in property taxes in keeping with a pledge the board committed to prior to voters approving a one percent School Facilities Sales Tax.

The board also approved a resolution abating taxes previously levied to service a $1.6 million General Obligation Bond Issue approved in May last year to finance capital improvement projects over the following three years. Those bonds are being serviced with revenue from the School Facilities Sale Tax fund in lieu of property tax revenue.

Both resolutions are routine items approved by the board on an annual basis.

VIRTUAL SPEECH AND LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY SERVICES

Board members unanimously approved Owsley’s recommendation to contract with Stepping Stones Teleservices to provide speech and language pathology services at a rate of $75 per hour. Owsley said Stepping Stones offered the lowest price of three companies contacted by the district. Additionally, the district already contracts with the company to provide virtual instruction in Spanish.

Owsley said he interviewed only one candidate for the speech and language pathologist position following the resignation last month of speech and language pathologist Beth Sies. The single candidate, however, withdrew her application before it could be presented to the board.

State law requires school districts to offer speech and language pathology services, prompting Owsley to investigate contracting with a virtual provider until such time as the district can hire a staff member. He said finding a candidate, however, may be challenging since many qualified candidates can find higher paying jobs outside the education field.

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PERSONNEL AND STUDENT ISSUES

Following an hour-long executive session, Board President Mark Hayes announced the board conducted an annual evaluation of the superintendent in closed session and would take up the issue of renewing Owsley’s contract during the board’s January meeting.

On a motion by Amanda Ross, seconded by Weye Schmidt, the board voted unanimously to return a student to Gillespie High School as of Jan. 7 for the start of the district’s second semester. In September the board had voted to “hold in abeyance” the student’s expulsion, enabling the student to attend Alternative School and continue to earn credits toward graduation.

On a motion by Bill Carter, seconded by Dennis Tiburzi, the board voted unanimously to re-employ fall athletic coaches as follows: Cory Bonstead as head football coach; Nate Henrichs, Korbin Clark, Alex Jasper, Jarrod Herron, J.O. Kelly, Trenton Cleveland and Florian Seferi as assistant high school football coaches; Jordan Bartok as head high school volleyball coach; Shelsie Timmermeier as assistant high school volleyball coach; Tim Wargo as head middle school baseball coach; Trae Wargo as assistant middle school baseball coach; Michelle Smith as head middle school softball coach; Jim Matesa, Joe Kelly and Melissa Height as assistant middle school softball coaches; Jay Weber as head high school cross country coach; Jack Burns, Chase Peterson, Liz Thackery, Jacob West and Laura Peterson as assistant high school cross country coaches; Jack Burns, Laura Peterson, Jacob West and Liz Thackery as volunteer assistant middle school cross country coaches; Casey Sholtis as head golf coach; and Jake Kellebrew as volunteer assistant golf coach. 

The board voted unanimously to hire Quentin Heyen as a full-route bus driver, and accepted “with regrets” the resignation for purposes of retirement of Cathy Edwards as district secretary, effective August. 15, 2025, and posted the position as vacant.

As a formality, the board voted to keep all current closed session minutes closed to the public.

VISION 2030

Board members unanimously approved a resolution in support of Vision 2030, a policy recommendation ratified by the Illinois Association of School Administrators, Illinois Association of School Boards, Illinois Principals’ Association, Illinois Association of School Business Officials, Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of Schools, Superintendents’ Com mission for the Study of Demographics and Diversity, Illinois Alliance of Special Education Administratorsand the Association of Illinois Rural and Small Schools. The document calls upon the state legislature to pass legislation to implement goals outlined in Vision 2020.

Owlsey said Vision 2030 is an outgrowth of Vision 2020, a previous policy statement that resulted in implementing Evidence Based Funding for Illinois schools—a policy change the increased state funding for the local school district from 62 percent of full funding to 70 percent. 

“A lot of the legislators who were advocates for EBA are no longer there,” Owsley said, emphasizing the need to pursue new legislative objectives to protect EBA and improve other educational objectives.

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Among the objectives of Vision 2023 is limiting unfunded mandates imposed on local school districts by the state, emphasizing future-focused learning to allow for more college and career exploration, enhancing student safety, attracting and retaining top educators, and promoting curriculum and instructional flexibility to meet the needs of individual communities.

Owsley noted that CUSD 7’s long-range plans already address the parameters of Vision 2030’s Future-Focused Learning initiatives. “I was really proud to see what we’ve done in our district,” Owsley said. “All of these things are things that we’ve been addressing.”

Vision 2030 also calls for reforms in school assessment practices and stabilizing state funding expectations.

DISTRICT FOCUS

Owsley recognized department heads during a District Focus segment early in the meeting. He called out Maintenance Director Brian Page, Technology Director Mark Carpani, and Transportation Director Tim Besserman.

“Often times these people get taken for granted,” Owsley said. “I come to work everyday and everything runs as it should because of their work. You get spoiled because those things just get done. We couldn’t do this without you and I can’t imagine doing it without you.  I can’t say ‘thank you’ enough.”

Owsley pointed out Page’s dedication to seeking out information to improve operations, Besserman implementing software to design bus routes and reducing paperwork by having drivers use electronic pads to record information, and Carpani for marshaling more than 1,600 electronic devices, along with networking.

Carter praised Page’s efforts to improve student safety.

“I was shocked to see the steps Brian had taken to (ensure communication with first responders in the event of an incident),” Carter said.

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“Tonight is just a small token of our appreciation,” Owsley said. “We need to say it more often.”

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Members of the Community Unit School District 7 Board of Education on Monday night, Nov. 25, celebrated BenGil Elementary School’s earning of “exemplary” status from the Illinois State Board of Education, and reviewed a tentative $3.7 million tax levy for 2024 property taxes to be collected next year. The board and school district also recognized BenGil Principal Angela Sandretto upon being named Elementary Principal of the Year within the Illinois Principals Association seven-county Kaskaskia Region.

During a detailed presentation regarding the state’s annual School Report Cards, Superintendent Shane Owsley noted that BenGil Elementary earned exemplary status, the highest level possible, while Gillespie Middle School and High School each earned a status of “commendable.” Exemplary status means BenGil’s performance was in the top 10 percent of schools statewide and that no student groups underperformed state standards. Commendable status goes to schools with a minimum graduation rate of 67 percent with no underperforming student groups.

“We have no underperforming student groups in any of our schools,” Owsley announced. “That’s a huge, huge thing. I’m extremely proud.”

This marks the first time a local school achieved Exemplary status. According to Owsley, BenGil Elementary is the only school in the county to reach exemplary status with this year’s release of School Report Cards.

Upon learning BenGil Elementary was rated among the top 10 percent of elementary schools in Illinois, Owsley said he contacted the State Board of Education, in part to confirm the announcement was accurate but also to explore how the state agency assesses school performance. That information may influence how the district approaches specific issues in order to boost scoring. For example, a small part of the score is based on the number of students who participate in a “climate survey” in which students assess teachers and administrators. Schools earn full value in that category if more than 95 percent of the student body completes the survey.

“They don’t care what the surveys say,” Owsley said. “They just want to make sure a 95 percent of the students complete it.”

Owsley said the complicated formulas used to assess elementary schools emphasizes academic growth in English/Language Arts and Math. Academic growth in those areas comprise 50 percent of the score for rating elementary school performance.

“What’s important is that you’re improving,” Owsley said. “That makes a lot of sense for a school district.” Scoring for high schools, however, “makes no mention of growth whatsoever.” 

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BenGil Elementary, Gillespie Middle School and Gillespie High School all lost points due to chronic absenteeism. 

“Absenteeism is a big thing,” Owsley noted. “If students are in school more, they’re going to score better (on assessment tests).” The district is “working to find ways to address absenteeism,” he said, including programs to reach out to parents and students when a student is chronically absent. 

If the emphasis is on growth, board member Peyton Bernot asked, how can a school continue to reach Exemplary Status if more and more students are performing at the level of state standards. Owsley said he asked that question of ISBE representatives who told him they are looking at revising the formula because they “realize there are schools out there that are consistently doing well every year.”

Owsley said he looked into how the Report Cards are calculated because he sees them as sort of a “scoreboard” for school performance. “When there’s a scoreboard, I want to know how they keep score so we can improve our score.”

Owsley told the board that Gillespie Middle School came close to an exemplary rating, missing state averages by only a few points. 

“Look at how close those numbers are,” he advised. GMS matched the state average in English/Language Arts  proficiency and came within nine percentage points of exceeding the state standard for academic growth. Likewise, growth in math skills came within about eight points of the state standard.

ISBE gave Gillespie High School a score of 60.33 percent—enough for commendable status but about 30 points shy of exemplary status. While no student groups were underperforming, GHS students fell short of state averages in academic proficiency in virtually all subject areas. While the school earned a commendable status, GHS Principal Jill Rosentreter said numbers reflected on the report card were disappointing.

“These numbers lit a fire with the High School staff as far as setting goals,” Rosentreter said. “Teachers saw these numbers and said, ‘We have to change the way we teach.’ We’re not happy with these numbers.”

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Rosentreter said the staff is strategizing to address some of the areas in which the school fell short. 

The four-pronged approach includes strategies to improve student attendance and behavior, programs to implement mentoring for teachers and professional development, programs to help students prepare for ACT testing which comprising a large part of the state’s overall assessment, and a social/emotional learning component to help students cope with emotional issues.

“If you’re shooting for perfect, you can get great,” Owsley commented. “We have one school that is exemplary and I’m convinced we can get the other two schools there.”

Earlier in the meeting, as part of a District Focus segment, Elementary School Principal Sandretto addressed the board about how her staff achieved exemplary status for the school. 

“We are exemplary because I have an exemplary staff,” Sandretto said. She said teachers made a commitment to individualize instruction to meet specific students at their current performance level and bring them forward. “What the staff has done is say, ‘This is where we’re at. I’m going to work every day to bring that kid forward’.”

“We spend a lot of time talking about our challenges,” Owsley said, noting that small rural school districts perceive themselves to be hampered by lack of funding, higher poverty levels, and social/economic factors that would seem to make it impossible for them to compete academically with larger, wealthier school districts.

“What they’ve done at BenGil Elementary is prove 99.9 percent of the state wrong,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what your social/economic status is or how much the state underfunds your schools, if you have the right people in the right places, and they love what they do and they do it every day, you can reach the summit. With every barrier they faced, they simply stepped over it.”

TAX LEVY

Board members reviewed a $3,725,100 proposed tax levy for 2024 taxes to be collected next year. The new levy is available for public review either at the District Office or on the District website for the next 30 days. The levy is expected to be finalized following a public hearing on Wednesday, Dec. 18, prior to the regular monthly meeting of the board.

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The new proposed levy exceeds last year’s tax extension of $3,464,254 by less than $300,000 but is expected to generate only an estimated $3,590,500 due to the impact of the Property Tax Extension Law (PTELL), commonly known as tax caps and adopted by Macoupin County voters in 1995.

Owsley emphasized that the levy is the amount of money the district is requesting while the tax extension is the amount the district will actually receive. The amount levy typically exceeds the extension in order to capture the maximum amount of money the district can receive. He compared the process to a child’s Christmas list, noting, “if it’s not on your list, you’re not going to get it.”

Taxpayers are protected by PTELL, which limits next year’s extension to five percent or the Consumer Price Index (whichever is less) of the previous year’s extension.

“Because of tax caps we would leave money on the table indefinitely if we don’t overshoot,” Owsley said. The district can ask for more money than it is likely to receive, he said, because tax caps protect taxpayers from being overtaxed.

While the levy must be approved in December, Owsley said there are some factors affecting the levy that will remain unknown until sometime next year. The district’s total equalized assessed valuation (EAV) will not be known until after the first of the year. The average increase in the district’s EAV over the the past 10 years is slightly more than four percent, but reached 8,59 percent last year. To preclude undertaxing, Owsley said he prepared the levy proposal based on a 13.95 percent increase in the EAV, even though the actual increase may be far less.

“If we base the levy on an increase of 10 percent, and it turns out to be 13 percent, we will have lost out on that three percent forever,” Owsley said.

The Consumer Price Index, basically the rate of inflation, for this year is 3.4 percent, meaning next year’s extension will be limited to no more than 3.4 percent in excess of this year’s extension.

Once approved, the tax levy will be submitted to the County Clerk, who will make the necessary adjustments in regard to PTELL and the district’s finalized EAV.

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Broken down by various funds, the levy requests includes $1,650,00 for Education, $437,000 for Operations and Maintenance, $180,000 for Transportation, $42,500 for Working Cash, $117,500 for the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund, $105,000 for Social Security, $240,000 for Tort, $32,500 for Special Education, and $920,600 for Bond and Interest.

CROSS COUNTRY RECOGNITION

During a District Focus segment, the board recognized the GHS cross-country team that represented the school at state playoffs this year.

“For those of you who have never been involved, I can tell you this is a group of boys that are like family to one another,” GHS Principal Rosentreter said.

Head coach Jay Weber told the board the team was “dead last” in their conference two years ago.

“We set a mission to improve and get better,” he said. “They’re out running at 7 a.m. every day during the summer and in 10-degree weather in the winter. That’s just a testament to their work ethic.”

Weber said the work paid off about mid-season when the team won the Coal Miner Classic meet, as well as invitationals at Southwestern and Carlinville. They placed sixth at sectionals and qualified for state despite temporarily losing one of their top runners, who suffered a stroke at school. 

The team placed 27th overall at state.

“Mathematically, our team should not have made it to state,” Weber said. Marshall Garwood missed sectionals but came back to run at state, Weber said. “It was really just a crazy recovery.”

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Chaz Oberkfell ran a three-mile run in 14:31 to become the first state champion in GHS, county and SCC history.

PERSONNEL

Following a 40-minute executive session during which the board discussed personnel issues, board members voted unanimously to accept “with regrets” the resignation of Beth Sies, district speech and languages pathologist, effective Dec. 31. In the same action, the board agreed to post a vacancy for the position.

Board members also voted to post a vacancy for a district GEAR UP coordinator. A grant-funded program, GEAR UP is designed to help prepare for college entry upon graduation.

The board also voted to post a vacancy for a Title I reading teacher position for the 2025-26 school year.

In separate actions, the board:

• Accepted the resignation of Michael Rodriguez as assistant GHS Women’s Soccer coach.
• Hired Cora Schalk as head cook for the GMS/GHS cafeteria.
• Hired Brittany Harrison as a six-hour cafeteria worker.
• Accepted the resignation of Alexi Lumpy as GMS volunteer assistant cheerleading coach.
• Appointed Chase Peterson as head GMS cross-country coach. 

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In a stunning display of athletic prowess and determination, Chaz Oberkfell, a junior at Gillespie High School, crossed the finish line first at the 2024 Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Class 1A State Cross Country Championships, securing his victory with an impressive time and personal best of 14:31.9.

Rounding out the top five was senior Nicolai Martino of Winnebago (14:33.9), senior Gabriel McLain of Benton (14:33.9), sophomore Maxwell Kirby of Peoria Notre Dame (14:47.7), and senior Andrew Kurien of Rockford Christian (14:54.8).

The championship race, held at the scenic Detweiller Park, drew competitors from across the state, all vying for the coveted title. Oberkfell showcased his exceptional talent and training and was in second place before securing the first place spot toward the end of the race.

Oberkfell’s victory is a testament to his relentless dedication and the support of his coaches and teammates. Throughout the season, he has consistently demonstrated remarkable speed and endurance, often finishing races well ahead of his competitors.

The Gillespie community turned out in full force to support the team with many friends, family members, and fellow students cheering the team on Friday morning when the team bus was escorted through town and again on the sidelines Saturday morning. The triumph victory not only highlights Oberkfell’s personal achievements but also brings recognition to Gillespie High School’s cross country program. The team has shown tremendous growth over the past few years, and this victory is a significant milestone.

Also representing Gillespie in the state championship race were Carter Sies (16:59.4), Marshall Garwood (17:03.3), Hank Fletcher (17:15.4), Nolan Hostettler (17:23.9), Matthew Plovich (17:37.4), and Lucca Kapp (17:40.1).

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