Update Regarding Reprimand of Superintendent

At our last regular board meeting held on November 19, the Minooka CCSD 201 school board voted unanimously (Mr. Hannon was absent) to reprimand Superintendent Al Gegenheimer for unprofessional conduct and directed the board's attorney to draft a letter of reprimand (see newspaper article relating to reprimand).  Last night at a special meeting, the school board adopted the letter of reprimand to be placed in Mr. Gegenheimer's personnel file by a vote of 5-1.  Those voting "yes" were Mrs. Allen, Mrs. Crouch, Mr. Martin, Mr. Satorius, and Mr. Skwarczynski.  Mr. Clucas voted "no."  Mr. Hannon was absent.  Hopefully, we can all move forward in a more positive manner.

Next Minooka 201 School Board Meeting

The next meeting of the Minooka CCSD 201 school board is Wednesday, November 19, 2014. The Committee of the Whole Meeting starts at 6:00 p.m. in the board room (the old library) at the Minooka Primary Center located at 305 Church Street in Minooka. The Committee of the Whole Meeting will be followed by the regular Board Meeting at 7 p.m. Both meetings are open to the public, and everyone is encouraged to attend. You can find the agenda for each of the meetings here.

Last Tuesday (November 11th), I requested that three items be put on the agenda for this meeting:

First, a motion to approve a new board policy (click here for the proposed policy) regarding lunch times and a second recess for grades 1 through 4.  You can find this under the Action Items on the Regular Meeting Agenda as letter "g."  This will be the first reading of this policy (board policies require three readings for approval).  For background information regarding why I believe this policy will benefit our students in grades 1 through 4, please see the information at the following links: here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.  This item is also on the agenda to be discussed at the Committee of the Whole Meeting.

Second, a motion to approve a new board policy (click here for the proposed policy) regarding snacks in the classroom.  You can find this under the Action Items on the Regular Meeting Agenda as letter "h."  This will be the first reading of this policy (board policies require three readings for approval).  I believe this policy will benefit all of our students.  This item is also on the agenda to be discussed at the Committee of the Whole Meeting.

Third, a motion to reprimand the Superintendent for insubordination and unprofessional conduct and to call for the Superintendent to make a public apology to the teachers, the school board, and Mrs. Kristan Crouch (a board member).  This motion will be discussed in executive session (see item "H" on the Regular Meeting Agenda) and motioned under action item "I" on the Regular Meeting Agenda ("Action as a result of Executive Session").  As a result, the board will not consider this item until the very end of the regular Board Meeting.  For background information regarding why I believe this motion is necessary, see my previous posts here, here, here, here, and here.