CLAY CITY SCHOOL BOARD MEETS

(2/21/25) pg

The Clay City School Board met Thursday night in the district library with a quorum present to conduct school business.  Attending were Board President Misty Lindeman, Stacy Kessler, Brenda Cailteux and Oliver Bangert.  Absent were members Erin Boyd, Amanda Noll and Mary Jo Patridge.

As the meeting was called to order, Misty Lindeman asked if any of the small group of visitors wanted to make a comment.  Jill Lewis and Olivia Lewis each spoke briefly and asked the board to consider adding additional sporting activities at Clay City Schools.  Lindeman encouraged them to stick around because they would address their request a little later in the meeting.

The board then approved the meeting agenda and past meeting minutes.  Superintendent John Neubaum went over the district financial report speaking about problems with the Egyptian Trust.  He also talked about how the E-Rate Grant Program will help with technology expenses such as Wabash Communications and their vendor for computer products.  He briefly mentioned they might eventually save on their utility purchases, but stated they are still locked in with the current high prices for another two years.  Members approved the financial report and then moved on.

Board President Misty Lindeman called on high school student Keidra Kuenstler to talk about the proposed senior class trip.  Kuenster explained that the nine seniors plan to travel to Branson, MO May 1-4.  They have 2 sponsors for the seven females and two males who will make the trip.  She briefly went over a few items from their itinerary and how they plan to use the money they have raised for their trip.  The board quickly approved their request, and offered a couple of suggestions over how the class may spend any remaining funds.

Supt. Neubaum updated the board on district enrollment figures and the progress of updating the district handbook.  Neubaum also briefly addressed the district effort to secure additional bids for insurance services.  He said with the new process they are using, they’ll likely see additional companies soliciting the district’s insurance business.

In the Principal’s Report, Shelly Phegley noted that Alyssa Gerard competed at the Regional Poetry Out Loud Competition in Carbondale.  Calin Stockwell won the Clay County Spelling Bee.  Mus Hutton will take Jocelyn Thompson and Calin to compete int eh Regional Spelling Bee.  Clay City High School competed in the ACES competition at Olney Central College on February 5^th.  The team placed 4^th in their division with several students placing individually in their categories.  Jaxon Prochazka placed third in engineering graphics.  Johnnie Mooney and Mason Morehead placed 1^st and 2^nd in computer science, respectively.  Johnnie and Mason advanced to the sectional competition at EIU.  The high school scholastic bowl season is winding down with five meets remaining including the Masonic Tournament on February 22^nd.  Junior High Scholastic Bowl begins next week.  Both teams worked the concession stand to raise money for their teams.  Phegley also noted that it is FFA Week.  Five FCCLA members competed at the Section 9 competitions.  Jake Farris won a silver for Creed.  Marlee Rawls earned silver for cake decorating.  Kendra ?  Silver for Entrepreneurship, Kamryn ? a silver for Interior Design, Taylee ? a bronze  in Early Childhood Education.

Brian Wattles went over elementary achievements this month.  Kindergarten students celebrated the 100^th day of school with counting, singing and talking about the number 100.  First graders had a movie party and celebrated Valentine’s Day and are looking forward to Ag In The Classroom.  Second graders are focusing on one minute math while third grade students are working on their design a zoo challenge.  Fourth graders are busy achieving their goal of making 600 A’s for the quarter while fifth grade students are learning about the ocean and marine life dealing with pollution and also learning about President’s Day.

In New Business, the board voted to approve the 2025/26 Calendar.  They also approved amending the 2024/25 School Calendar, with all snow days exhausted and the last day of school set for May 29 with 12:02pm dismissal.  Members approved High School Graduation on Friday, May 9^th and Eighth Grade Promotion on Tuesday May 13.  The board accepted the resignation of Brooke Hustedde as paraprofessional.  They also approved the annual retainer for legal services for the district with the firm Robbins Schwartz.

Members then talked about the possibility of adding additional sports at Clay City Schools.  Supt. Neubaum said it doesn’t really matter how many students will participate.  The major stumbling block is finding teams for local teams to play.  He noted schedules for next year’s sports are already on the books.  He suggested the best way to determine a path forward is to seek admission to the Midland Trail Conference.  They will meet in March and consider Clay City’s request to join the conference.  He suggested the most likely additions would be Boys’ Basketball and Girls’ Volleyball and someone else suggested Cross Country, which is available to both male and female students.

The board then moved into closed session the results of which were not immediately available.