001126 at 5:30 p.m. in the unit office conference room, 500 North 10th Street Herrin, Illinois 62948. Will everyone please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance. >> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> This time Mrs. Hastings would please call roll. >> John Hodgkinson >> Here. >> Miss Atherton >> Here. >> Cindy Miller >> Here. >> Ali Green >> Here. >> Steve Young >> Here. >> Brad Blankenship >> Here. >> Steve Robinson >> Here. >> This time we'll recognize anyone who'd like to address the board. Statements are asked to be limited to 5 minutes in duration. Mrs. Hastings will keep time on those that 5 minutes and when you are recognized,
002please state your name. Would anybody like to address the board at this time? Okay. >> My name is Ali Thompson. Um, I'm a second grade teacher at the elementary school. I'm also the grade level leader for second grade and I would just like to uh speak on behalf of second grade. I'm just going to read a letter that we typed up. So, Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to speak tonight on behalf of our second grade team and most importantly our students. Second grade is an exceptionally strong team. We collaborate well together, support one another, and work daily to ensure that every child succeeds academically, socially, and emotionally. This year our students have made magnificent gains and we are incredibly proud of the progress they have achieved. Second grade is a critical year in
003a child's educational journey. It is the foundation for essential skills in reading, writing, mathematics, encoding, decoding, oral reading fluency, comprehension, and problem solving. It is the last grade level that students receive foundational skills to learn to read, so that when they get to upper grade levels, they can read to learn. We are the last stop on the reading train. If students do not have these strong foundational skills, we are taking a risk of students not being successful on reading and math assessments, including value-mandated state testing. The growth we have witnessed this year has been unlike any other, and we strongly believe this success is directly connected to our smaller class sizes. If you look at pages three and four of the packet that we have provided, you will see evidence of this growth and progress.
004Students aren't the same as they were 10 years ago, and teacher requirements aren't the same as they were 10 years 10 years ago. Larger class sizes directly impact student performance when teachers are required to do so many other tasks that have little to do with teaching. With smaller class sizes, student behaviors are more manageable, instruction is more effective, and teachers are better able to meet individual student needs. We are able to build meaningful relationships and connections with our students. The very connections we are encouraged to foster as educators. These relationships create safe, supportive learning environments where students can thrive. Because of our current structure, we are not only able to cover more academic con- content, but we are also able to provide experiences and events that create lasting memories for our students. These moments matter.
005They help shape confident learners and compassionate human beings. The climate within our grade level is strong, positive, and encouraging. We truly operate like a family. Our team is made up of veteran teachers, newer teachers, and national board certified teachers who bring a wealth of experience, fresh ideas, and effective instructional practices. We collaborate constantly, share strategies, encourage one another, and work together for the benefit of our students. We believe our team is the strongest it's ever been, and the data we've mentioned above and in the provided packet will prove it. At the heart of this issue, we want it to be understood that we are not focused on money or numbers. We are focused on children, their growth, their progress, their confidence, and their future. We are focused on building strong foundations so our students can
006continue to achieve success as they move into upper grades and beyond. Removing a section from our grade level will place a significant strain on collaboration and the learning environment we have worked so hard to build. We respectfully ask that you please reconsider the proposed change to our grade level. Not only does this affect our grade level as a team and our students, but personally affects an important piece of our puzzle. This teacher holds a master's degree with a reading specialist endorsement and an English language learning endorsement and is also a national board certified teacher. With all of these qualifications, she would thrive at whatever she does. However, with her strong reading background and the hard work that she has put into the literacy plan, Youth Fair Scope and Sequence, being a member of the science
007and ELA committee, and helping with the implementation of our new writing program, we would be losing a huge piece of our puzzle. This teacher has experience with teaching older students but has a passion for working with primary students and helping to positively influence their future success. This move could negatively impact her mental health, overall well-being, and effectiveness in working with students. If a move must occur, we ask that a fair and equitable process be considered when making transfer decisions. Thank you for your time, your consideration, and your continued support of our students, teachers, and school community. >> Thank you very much. >> Would anyone else like to address the board? >> To start, I wanted to introduce myself. My name is Aaron Wilson. I've taught third grade at Heron Elementary for the past 8 years
008and I've been a Tiger myself since I was in kindergarten. I've always been proud to be a part of this community and to go through the Heron school system myself. I'm here today to speak on different changes that are happening within the elementary school for both myself and my fellow third grade third grade colleagues, Rebecca Gerold, Julie Langford, Cara Monti, Sarah Scrinio, Madden Sievers, Esther Creamer, and Matt Milligan. In third grade, students are no longer primarily learning to read. They're now reading to learn. It's the first grade where they're expected to read, comprehend a story on their own without any help. In order for these students to succeed in third grade and every grade after, they need a solid foundation to build upon. I truly believe that by closing a section of second grade and
009involuntarily transferring Adrienne Hardwig to fifth grade, we're giving room for class sports. As mentioned earlier, Ms. Hardwig is a very valuable and successful teacher. There is information about this statement. However, what the data does not show is that Ms. Hardwig's dedication to make sure each student in her class has the tools to be successful before moving on to the next grade level. It doesn't show her commitment to the curriculum, and it doesn't show how she opened her classroom to other teachers who didn't feel comfortable teaching that on their own yet, myself included. From a third grade's perspective, it's devastating to think of losing such a strong teacher to another grade level. We can't expect our building to remain strong if we keep taking from the foundation. Just like in Jenga, if you keep pulling from
010the bottom, your structure's going to collapse. Closing this section of second grade could have the potential to interfere interfere with future student success. With nine sections of second grade, each classroom has around 16 to 17 students. According to the National Education Association, the ideal classroom size is between 15 to 18 students. If we're able to keep our class size closer to this range, we need to take this opportunity. The typical classroom does not look the same as it did in the past. There are many different emotional, behavioral, mental health issues that have not been prevalent in years before. In order to meet all of these needs while also teaching these extremely important foundational skills, it's crucial that the class size remains small. In addition to an involuntary transfer not being best practice for all students,
011it can also be very taxing on a teacher's mental health. By the time May comes around, everyone's looking forward to summer when we're able to rest and heal before the upcoming school year. It shouldn't be filled with dread thinking that you may be forced into a grade level that you're not passionate about or that you'll have to spend your summer moving your classroom or learning a new curriculum. Allowing teachers to stay where they are, where they're happy and thriving, translates into successful classrooms. It also makes you question your own teaching ability. Is it something that I did wrong? Is there something I could have done differently? And if I'm receiving praise for my successes, why does it feel like I'm getting punished? I believe that there are times that we forget that there are vast
012differences between grade levels and that the word teacher shouldn't be all-encompassing. Yes, I am a teacher, but that doesn't mean that it's appropriate for me to teach high school math or even for me to teach kindergarten. This is not something that would be appropriate in other job fields. If there was an orthopedic surgeon that was doing a fantastic job, they would be praised and looked at as a strong leader for their department. They would not be approached with, "You're doing so good, but you just don't have enough patience in orthopedics right now, and you were the last person hired in your department, so we're going to need you to open to your movement. We're going to need you to move to an open spot in neurosurgery instead." Teachers have strengths and weaknesses just like every
013other job. So, let's start praising strengths in teachers and looking to them as pillars, not just objects that can be moved from place to place and still expect both success and positive sense of climate and culture within the workplace. If we want is what is truly best for the students in our community, we cannot keep making moves that are based on just convenience. Thank you. >> Would anybody else like to address the board at this time? >> Hi, I'm Jen from McKay. I'm a reading teacher at Heron Elementary School. So, at Heron Elementary, there was a fifth grade teacher who was at a who unexpectedly resigned. Um that position was internally posted, but no one wanted that position. So, we are not losing a classroom to attrition. Attrition and turnover are two different things. Attrition
014focuses on the reduction of the workforce in the spots that are left vacant. This is not a second grade position that's being left vacant. There is a fifth grade position being left vacant. We are involuntarily transferring a teacher out of a second grade classroom, moving that teacher to fifth grade, and reducing the overall workforce. We are, for all intents and purposes, riffing a second grade position, not a second grade teacher. The reason of least seniority in the grade level was provided as to one why Ms. Hardwick was chosen. If we are going to say that lack of seniority is the reason that Ms. Hardwick is being involuntarily transferred, then it would be in the best interest of the union for seniority to be used as the determining factor for voluntary transfers as well. That's not
015what happens. Why? Why is it okay to use lack of seniority to involuntarily move someone into a position where they don't want to be, but not able to use seniority as a reason for someone else to move into an available position that they want? Educating primary students in K through in K through 2 is very different than educating students for in grades 3 through 5. It's just very different developmentally. All teachers have their strengths, but a primary teacher's main role is how to teach kids to read. In fact, we only teach students to read in grades kindergarten, first, and second. That's it. Students go from not knowing their letter sounds to reading multi-syllable words like creation, tricycle, erosion, civilized by the end of second grade. Our second grade teachers teach those skills so that students
016can read the words fluently on a page. Right now, our second grade students can decode almost any word we set in front of them, truly. But, we cannot continue to move our strong foundational reading teachers out of the primary grades and into upper elementary grades because because those grades are standardized testing years. That move is perpetuating problem. Our primary teachers set the foundation. Our upper Our teachers build the structure. They cannot build the structure on shaky ground. To say that this move from second to fifth grade is an upgrade that should be celebrated as a compliment devalues every primary teacher in our district. A genuine compliment shouldn't be followed by asking a teacher to do something she has no desire to do. In one year, we have eliminated four primary classrooms. Mrs. Douglas, Mrs. Kay,
017Mrs. Coleman, we lost to attrition. They're not being replaced. And now this one. Losing four primary positions is a hit, a hit that we all will feel. It also makes little sense to eliminate all of these positions at the primary level when we have the least amount of enrollment data to look back on concerning these classrooms. At most, we have 2 years' worth. I understand that there is a financial crisis in education. Education goes through fat and lean times. But this teaching salary was already on the books for next year until the fifth grade teacher resigned. A new teacher costs the district around $55,000-ish. Let me preface this next statement by saying I am all for universal pre-K. I think the benefit of it provides for our community and especially for our working parents with
018young children, that benefit is astronomical. But that one program is costing the district hundreds of thousands of dollars with the hope that in the long run, special education referrals will drop because of early interventions and supports for pre-K students. I hope that it does, and it might. But do you know how many special education referrals second grade had last year? Zero. None. Not one. If what we are doing is working, why in the world are we making financial cuts there hoping that other financial debts make the difference that's already being made? It It make sense. Mrs. Harbeck planned on being here tonight, but she's not. She's somewhere else. These decisions impact people. Human beings. They're not just line items on a budget. There has to be a better way to protect our strongest teachers. And
019we're looking to the board to help us figure out what that better way is. Thank you. >> Would anyone else like to make a comment at this time? Thank you so much for your comments. We appreciate those and take them and we will take them under consideration. Moving on to the consent agenda, need a motion, a second, and a roll call vote to approve and adopt the items listed and not extracted on the consent agenda presented Tuesday, May 26th, 2026. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Cindy Miller? >> Yes. >> John Hutchinson? >> Yes. >> Brad Green? >> Yes. >> Brad Lackey? >> Yes. >> Susie Gapter Dun? >> Yes. >> Steve Robinson? >> Yes. >> Steve Young? >> Yes. >> Mr. Wilson, at this time would you provide some information with regard to the
020new and revised press policy? >> Yeah, not a lot of updates in the press policy for this month. Our first read was last month. Bigger updates will come this fall after the legislative session has wrapped up. Um but right now, nothing significant to speak of. >> With that having been said, we need a motion, a second, and a roll call vote to approve and adopt the school board press policies as presented. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Brad Green? >> Yes. >> Cindy Miller? >> Yes. >> Susie Gapter Dun? >> Yes. >> Steve Robinson? >> Yes. >> Brad Lackey? >> Yes. >> Steve Young? >> Yes. >> John Hutchinson? >> Yes. >> Moving on to our special reports. Um we're very proud to recognize the accomplishments of our student and faculty in hearing unit four.
021We will be providing a new episode of Let's Talk Tigers to recognize all of those students and those accomplishments in our district. Would you like to address the summer projects at this time, Mr. >> we have some different projects going on this summer and just make sure everybody understands and clear what's going on. So, at the high school, we're putting a a rail fence around the parking lot for that visual barrier. We took down the chain link fence up there this last fall. We're putting that in. That'll be coming from our sales tax funds. We're also remodeling the men's and women's bathrooms next to the commons area at the high school. Those need some major updates. That's coming through our full service community schools grant. It's estimated to cost about 40,000 on remodeling those bathrooms.
022New partitions, new sinks, new flooring in both of those bathrooms. At the junior high, looking to get that playground finished up that from the once our gym was all done and wrapped up, those playground improvements we need some fence out there to keep balls from rolling out in the street, etc. Going to keep the kids contained. That also looking at some shade structures as it's super not shady on that playground. And we'll be getting hopefully a few pads of concrete poured for some additional games. But, that cost a little over 40,000. Again, sales tax, full service community schools will take care of that. And here in elementary, we'll be providing or installing the new level second level security doors as you enter into the building now at that four-way stop, if you will. There'll be
023another set of doors going in there, which will keep people from just walking in and being access having access to the entire building. And that was approved at last month's meeting. That's coming through a CDBG grant. And so, that's good about 55,000, but uh come through a grant cooperating with the city of Herrin on that grant. At Northside, we're hopefully going to get another playground structure out there to replace one of their old dilapidated structures. Again, coming through our full service community schools grant. And at 3K, to be able to get their playground improved with the climbing structure, shade structures in the same. And that's going to additionally come through full service community schools. So, just wanted people to know what we've got going on in the district uh a summer project standpoint. Good news
024about that, we have a little bit of sales tax money going out on that. From the district funds though, um we're not spending district funds that could be utilized in other areas. So, um if you see those things going on, that's what's happening and uh glad we can do those things. >> Mr. Wilson, I just had a question about the playground structures. Will these structures be inclusive for any children with disabilities? >> Yeah, they're going to be meeting, like, for example, the pre-K level, whatever the heights requirements are and things like that, and we'll be able to add pieces that will be inclusive. Add inclusive options. >> I know in the past we've had a little problem with trying to to do that, and we want to be sure that they're included in that. >>
025Yeah. So, yes. >> Thank you, Mr. Wilson. Uh moving on to new business to discuss the amended budget. Mr. Wilson, would you like to >> Yeah, amended budget time. Uh we don't like to have to amend the budget. This year we are amending the budget, and that's due to our sales uh our sales tax bonds that we refinanced back in the fall. Uh we had a pretty good idea of what that was going to look like, but when it came down to it, we had enough of a difference between what the premiums were based on the rate, based on the proceeds, that we needed to make that adjustment in the budget. So, that is the only thing in the amended budget that we are amending is the uh bond interest and the bond principal amount
026that was uh processed last fall. Uh the difference in what we had and expected it to be was justifiably more than 10%, which means you have to file an amended budget. Took care of that. >> Is that 10% less? >> 10% We had just estimated what the numbers would look like. We weren't real sure what it was going to come out based on the rates and everything. >> Any other questions with regards to that? Need a motion, a second, and a roll call vote to authorize the summer guidance hours for the district. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Mr. Young? >> Yes. >> Mr. Blakey? >> Yes. >> Don Hutchinson? >> Yes. >> Steve Robinson? >> Yes. >> Kelly Green? >> Yes. >> Susie Atherton? >> Yes. >> Sidney Miller? >> Yes. >> This time
027I need a motion, a second, and a roll call vote to close the meeting in accordance with section 122A of the Open Meetings Act, citing the following exceptions as contained in section 122C to discuss student disciplinary cases, to approve closed minutes, to discuss the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance evaluation, and dismissal of specific employees, to discuss litigation, and to discuss land acquisition. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Susie Atherton? >> Yes. >> Steve Robinson? >> Yes. >> Steve Young? >> Yes. >> Don Hutchinson? >> Yes. >> Sidney Miller? >> Yes. >> Kelly Green? >> Yes. >> Brad Blakey? >> Yes. >> Motion. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Steve Robinson? >> Yes. >> Don Hutchinson? >> Yes. >> Brad Blakey? >> Yes. >> Steve Young? >> Yes. >> Susie Atherton? >> Yes. >> Sidney Miller?
028>> Yes. >> Kelly Green? >> Yes. >> Need a motion, a second, and a roll call vote to adopt the closed minutes from the meeting held April 28th, 2026. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Brad Blakey? >> Yes. >> Susie Atherton? >> Yes. >> Steve Robinson? >> Yes. >> Don Hutchinson? >> Yes. >> Kelly Green? >> Yes. >> Sidney Miller? >> Yes. >> Steve Young? >> Yes. >> Need a motion and a second and a roll call vote to approve the personal personnel recommendations as presented. Resignation: Amanda Coffee as a paraprofessional for the elementary school, Lexi Barton as a nurse at Northside Primary Center. For employment: Cindy Fish as a teacher for the Pre-K Center, ball coaches for the junior high school, Don Barnfine as a dollar coach dollar golf coach for the junior high
029school, Camden Banks as a summer worker for the district. Vacancies to be posted: a paraprofessional for the elementary school, a nurse for Northside Primary Center, and a math teacher for the junior high school due to anticipated resignation. >> So moved. Second. >> John Hutchinson? >> Yes. >> Do you have anything? >> Yes. >> Cindy Miller? >> Yes. >> Kelly Green? >> Yes. >> Steve Young? >> Yes. >> Brad Likins? >> Yes. >> Steve Robinson? >> Yes. >> Need a motion, a second, and a roll call vote to approve Tiffany Young as a teacher for the pre-K center. >> So, moved. >> Second. >> Steve Young? >> Abstain. >> Brad Likins? >> Yes. >> John Hutchinson? >> Yes. >> Steve Robinson? >> Yes. >> Kelly Green? >> Yes. >> Susie Atherton? >> Yes. >> Cindy Miller?
030>> Yes. >> Need a motion, a second, and a roll call vote to approve the fall coaches for the high school. >> So, moved. Second. >> Susie Atherton? >> Yes. >> Steve Robinson? >> Yes. >> Steve Young? >> Yes. >> John Hutchinson? >> Yes. >> Cindy Miller? >> Abstain. >> Kelly Green? >> Yes. >> Brad Likins? >> Yes. >> Need a motion, a second, and a roll call vote to approve the purchase of property at 621 South 13th Street, Herrin, Illinois. >> So, moved. Second. >> Cindy Miller? >> Yes. >> John Hutchinson? >> Yes. >> Kelly Green? >> Yes. >> Brad Likins? >> Yes. >> Susie Atherton? >> Yes. >> Steve Robinson? >> Yes. >> Steve Young? >> Yes. >> A budget hearing on the amended budget for 2025-2026 will be conducted at the beginning
031of the June board meeting. The amended budget for Herrin Community Unit School District number four will be on file and conveniently available for public inspection in the unit office on the 27th day of May 2026. Having completed the items on the agenda, we need a motion, a second, and roll call vote to adjourn to the next meeting scheduled for Tuesday, June 30th, 2026 at 5:30 p.m. in the office conference room, 500 North 10th Street, Herrin, Illinois, 62948. >> So, moved. >> Second. >> Kelly Green? >> Yes. >> Cindy Miller? >> Yes. >> Susie Atherton? >> Yes. >> Steve Robinson? >> Yes. >> Brad Likins? >> Yes. >> Steve Young? >> Yes. >> John Hutchinson? >> Yes. >> Thank you, everyone.