The Duneland School
Board held off on lowering the ceiling for pay for non-benefited classified
hourly staff at its meeting Monday.
Duneland Human
Resources Manager Regan Keating recommended the Board approve a raise for
non-benefited classified hourly employees and consider lowering the top end
of the pay range for those employees.
Non-benefited
classified employees, such as aides and food service staff, are paid between
$11 and $15 per hour based on experience. Keating proposed reducing the
ceiling for the range from $15 per hour to $14.50 per hour because she found
the maximum hourly pay Duneland offers to those employees is a bit higher
than the offerings at other comparable schools.
Actual compensation
for those employees trends lower at Duneland when compared to other schools,
and a raise of 25 cents per hour keeps up with cost of living, per data from
the Social Security Administration, according to Keating. Keating said
reducing the ceiling for the pay range wouldn’t affect any current
employees, most of whom are closer to the lower end.
The Board voted to
approve the raise, but tabled the matter of lowering the ceiling for the pay
range at the behest of member Alayna Lightfoot Pol. Pol said she wanted to
further discuss changing the range when the full board was present. Board
President Brandon Kroft and member John Marshall were unable to attend
Monday’s meeting.
2020-2021 Calendar
Duneland Schools
Superintendent Dr. Chip Pettit reported Duneland is dropping an eLearning
day from the 2020-2021 calendar, so eLearning will only be used on election
days (May 4, 2021 and Nov. 3, 2020) and for inclement weather closures.
Board Secretary Ron Stone was happy with the change.
School will start
for the 2020-2021 school year Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2020 and the year will end
Wednesday, May 26, 2021. In an effort to minimize student conflicts due to
Memorial Day and athletic events, the class of 2021 will graduate on a
Wednesday: June 2. Spring break will be March 22 to 26, 2021.
Students will have
an extra day of winter break so teachers can have a professional development
day Jan. 4, 2021. Teachers will also have a professional development Day
Oct. 22, 2020, the day before fall break, and there will be no school. On
that day parents are also invited to make appointments for parent-teacher
conferences between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. Pettit said he anticipates all
teachers will be able to accommodate parents that day.
Athletics
The Board approved
several expenses for CHS athletics, including $6,000 to get a rolling flag
for the gym, $6,500 for electrical work in the gym, a new gymnastics vault
table $4,600, some new electronics in the pool room for $2,665, and $500 for
a new radar gun for baseball and softball. The total is approximately
$20,000 to be paid from the general sports budget. Athletics Director Gary
Nallenwag said the Athletics Department is also looking into buying a new
set of gymnastics bars, estimated cost between $5,000 and $7,000, next year.
In other athletics
business, the Board approved $2,000 annual stipends for seasonal athletic
supervisors Fred Mitchell and Adam Tenbarge.
Other Approvals
The Board approved
paperwork that will allow Wellness for Life, the company that runs the
School wellness clinics, to pursue a joint venture partnering with Proactive
MSO. The new entity will be called Proactive MD.
The joint venture
doesn’t constitute any changes to the agreement in place with Wellness for
Lifer or the wellness program itself, but Wellness for Life is pursuing the
joint venture to hopefully expand services, Assistant Superintendent Robert
McDermott said.
The Board also
approved a resolution to close the accounting year; conducted a first
reading on a group of policy updates, and approved another group on final
reading; and approved annual travel stipends of $3,000 for Director of
Support Services Greg Lindy and $1,500 for the Assistant Athletic Director.
Reasons for the stipends are that Lindy was not given a district vehicle for
work-related travel this year, and the assistant athletic director is a new
position that requires travel, Pettit said.
PR Information
Public Relations
Director Bridget Martinson reported Freshman parent night is tonight,
Thursday, Dec. 12 from 6 to 7 p.m. in the CHS cafeteria.
CHS is also
sponsoring their holiday food drive, as usual. Donations of both food and
cash will be accepted through Dec. 12 at the CHS main office.
Martinson said
parents and students should look out for a new Duneland Schools website.
First the main website will change, either before or during winter break.
The individual school websites will follow suit later.
Superintendent’s
Comments
Pettit noted
achievements by Westchester Intermediate’s Spell Bowl and Robotics teams.
Pettit also said Brummitt Elementary and Chesterton Middle School were
recognized as Common Sense schools for their efforts in teaching digital
citizenship.
Pettit said digital
media and technology are evolving at a dizzying pace, and staff at Brummitt
and CMS are preparing students to both be creative with media and know the
newest risks of online activity. “We commend both CMS and Brummitt for being
at the forefront of teaching our students the digital citizenship skills
they need,” he said.
Pettit also praised
the recent madrigal dinner, an event he said is unique to the Duneland
community, and wished everyone peace, health, and happiness this holiday
season.