Text Box: BOARD NOTES FROM THE NOVEMBER 13, 2007 MEETING OF THE PRINCEVILLE BOARD OF EDUCATION... Text Box: The Princeville Board of Education began their regular meeting recognizing some of the good things happening in the Princeville School District. Princeville Applause was given to Fran Streitmatter — for her generosity in donating $340 to the PGS library. The money was her profit from making and selling decorative holiday gourds; the PHS Ag Business Management Team—who competed at the National FFA Convention at the end of October and placed 6th out of 43. Congratulations to Mr. House and his 2007 PHS Graduates!; PHS 2007 graduate Leah Baer—for placing 13th out of 160 students at the FFA National Convention and earning a $500 scholarship; PHS 2007 graduate Nick Calvin—for placing 16th out of 160 students at the National FFA Convention; and Miss Elizabeth Tuazon, Music Instructor—for her outstanding job of hosting the 2007 Lincoln Trail Conference Choral Festival. The LTC Choral Festival was held at PHS on October 29. 385 students from 12 LTC schools participated.  The festival was a huge success! Tim Custis, CPA, of Gorenz and Associates presented information from the fiscal year 2007 audit. In action items, the Board approved attendance at the Texas Migrant Convention with a Texas school visitation and approved the October Grant Report. Other action items included approval of a final change order for the last phase of the Princeville High School HVAC project. The final cost of this summer’s work was $409,132. Also approved was a proposal from Venovich Construction for demolition in the old PHS dark room in preparation for summer 2008 life safety work. The area will be used for mandatory District record storage. Helen Gualandi was employed as a transportation driver, beginning by driving a van route, and Shellie Blair was hired as a substitute driver. The Board accepted a letter of intent from Superintendent Kathy Hanneken for her retirement on June 30, 2008. Mrs. Hanneken presented the proposed 2007 tax levy for the Princeville School District. A public hearing on the levy is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on December 11, in the unit office. Mrs. Hanneken discussed the recommendations of the Outdoor School Facilities Committee. The committee has generated a list of recommendations for the school grounds and athletic fields. A school community survey will be conducted concerning a PHS track and renovation of the tennis courts. The total improvements to the PHS and PGS campuses will be formed around the District architect’s recommendations for building expansions should they be required in the future. A long-range plan will be developed taking all aspects into consideration. Other District information was shared with the Board including a history of enrollment, migrant population, low income count, and certified staff. Financial information included budget revenues vs. expenditures, Education Fund budget accounting procedures for supplies/textbooks/equipment, and an analysis of state and federal grant income All contents lost in the fire have been replaced for an insurance cost of $125,804. Insurance coverage for other aspects of the fire loss have resulted in an additional $128,117 expenditure to date. Mr. Colyott noted activities at the high school including a successful “Heart of a Prince” chaired by Laura Walcott, student council activities, and the Youth & Government Project under the direction of Mike Isaacson. Mr. Colyott featured the Peoria Journal Star article on Princeville High School that highlighted the placement of PHS as one of the top five top schools, out of 26 Tri-County high schools, based on students’ 2007 PSAE performance. Mrs. Michel reported a comparison of Princeville Grade School 2007 ISAT scores. The comparison showed that PGS students performed better than all other local districts with the same low income level. A Tri-County comparison indicated that Princeville placed 11 with area schools, all of which had a significantly lower percentage of low income students. Although a low socio-economic income cannot be used an excuse for lower achievement, the two items are often statistically linked. BOTH PRINCIPALS PRAISED THE DEDICATION AND HARD WORK OF THE PRINCEVILLE PROFESSIONAL STAFF IN PROMOTING STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT