IN BRIEF
April 10, 2001

 
This is a sumary of the actions of the Oak Park and River Forest High School Board of Education at its last meeting on Tuesday, April 10, 2001.
 
Recognition The Board expressed its heartfelt thanks to resigning board member Stephen C. Bruner for his superior leadership skills, his preparedness, and his warmth as a human being.  His presence on the Board will be sorely missed.  The Board and the administration gave him a standing ovation as they wished him the best in his future endeavors.
Board
Actions
approved the consent items: minutes of March 22, 2001; personnel recommendations; and financial reports; 

approved the Resolution for Canvassing and Declaring the results of the April 3, 2001 School Board Election; 

accepted John McCulloh’s resignation as Board member of his full-term and president of the Board to immediately accept his newly-elected two-year term;

re-elected John McCulloh as president of the Board until November 2001;

appointed Carlotta Lucchesi to fulfill Mr. McCulloh’s remaining full term from April 10 through November 13, 2001;

accepted Stephen C. Bruner’s resignation as Board member effective immediately;

appointed Paul Wolfman to fulfill Mr. Bruner’s remaining term from April 10 through November 13, 2001;

accepted with gratitude donations made to the music department in honor of graduate, Teddy Phillips, by Ms. Mary Simms Lazopoulas (sister of Mr. Philips), Ms. Teresa Cairo, and Mr. Ken Hawkinson;

approved the abatement of emergency days for the 2000-01 school year;

approved the resolution authorizing Notice of Reduction of Educational Support Staff;

expelled student EXP 4/10/01-16 for the remainder of the 2000-01 school year and summer school, but held the expulsion in abeyance contingent upon completion of enrollment and regular attendance at BEACONS Academy for the remainder of second semester of the 2000-01 school year and ongoing counseling; and

approved a $2,000 contribution to the OPRFHS Faculty Senate Student Scholarship Fund.
 

Textbook
Assignment
 Board members volunteered to review the following textbooks for the divisions as indicated:  Special Education Division—Study Strategies Made Easy/A Practical Plan for School Success, to be reviewed by Mr. McCulloh, and HM Learning & Study Skills Program Level One, to be reviewed by Mr. McCulloh; History Division—The American Nation, to be reviewed by Mrs. Leavy, Comparative Politics – A Global Introduction, to be reviewed by Mrs. Fisher, World History: Patterns of Interaction, to be reviewed by Mr. McCulloh, Kaffir Boy, to be reviewed by Mr. Stewart, and HERLAND, to be reviewed by Mrs. Leavy; Foreign Language Division—En Espanol 1 and soft cover workbook to be reviewed by Mrs. Peterson, and En Espanol 2 and soft cover workbook to be reviewed by Mrs. Peterson.
Reports Dr. Bridge reported that: 1) four faculty members will be involved in Fulbright programs—Naomi Jackson, has been offered a position in Glasgow, Scotland for a full year; Marie Urbanski was selected to go to Japan this summer; Mr. Boulware was also selected to go to Japan in November; and Mr. Goldberg was selected to go to India this summer; 2) there will be 19 valedictorians at commencement who are working collaboratively on a single valedictorian speech in which they will all participate; 3) all (parents and students) are invited to the Community Panel Presentation on teen drug and alcohol involvement specific to Oak Park and River Forest on April 23, from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. in the South Cafeteria; and 4) on Sunday, April 29 at 2:00 p.m., 160 alumni will perform at the OPRFHS Choir and Orchestra Alumni Reunion Concert under the direction of their retired directors, Robert Fuller, choral director, and Jack Wirtz, orchestral music director.  Proceeds from this event will be used to assist 70 current choir, orchestra, and band students traveling to Italy this June.  More information may be obtained through the website at www.mrwirtzsopus.org.

 Mr. Edgecombe and Evaluation Committee members Paul Noble and Marcia Hurt presented the extensive Proposed Performance Review for Tenured Staff, which will be brought to the Board for approval in May after the faculty has had an opportunity to review and comment on it.

The Board Members reported on their various Board committee and liaison representative responsibilities.

Personnel Certified Staff
Appointments  Jamie Bender, Science Teacher, effective 8/22/01
Melinda Poe, Art Teacher, effective 8/22/01
Call backs Sharon Bole, Mathematics Teacher, effective the 2001-2002 school year


The next regular Board Meeting will be on Thursday, May 24, 2001 at 7:30 p.m. in the Board Conference Room.

OPRFHS Home Page         Board of Education       tcieplak@oprfhs.org      4/12/01