The Park District will take ownership of the school’s multi-use courts and green space along Riverside Drive, and the School District will get the parking lot by the ball fields along IL-78. The Park District pursued the land swap to add outdoor pickleball courts and other possible amenities, while the School District will have the parking lot for potential development down the road, with previous discussions held about a new bus barn and bus parking.
The land swap consists of 1.1 acres of school district land and 0.92 acres of Park District land. Both districts will also fix the main parking lot between their buildings; that project is in the works for next year. The cost will be a one-time 65/35 split, with the Park District paying the higher amount because it is receiving more land.
Superintendent Heidi Lensing reviewed the resolution, which included the intergovernmental agreement and details such as ingress and egress easements, warranty deeds, a declaration of transfer for the State of Illinois, and an intergovernmental cooperation act regarding the parcels.
After the board’s unanimous vote of approval, the two districts will move forward on officially transferring the properties through the title company, with the expected delivery of possession of land and deeds on September 1, 2026.
Reports and Correspondence
Lensing reported that auditors will be on-site this week for a day, saying the paperwork is ready to go. She noted that due to ESSER funds and Covid they’ve been double auditing and filing electronically for the past few years, which has been a time-consuming process. She hopes they can wrap up the audit quickly and return to their previous schedule. There were no committee reports to share, and FOIA requests have been higher, which is normal at the beginning of the school year.
Campus Principal Janet Barnhart reported that the Student Leaders group held the first assembly of the year and praised them for doing a good job since it can be hard to present in front of peers. The Student Leaders were joined by the cheerleaders and taught the students the fight song, with the PLT Drumline playing as the students arrived at the assembly. The students have been working on a video of the assembly to post online.
The group has been setting goals, looking for ways to improve the school, vision boarding, coming up with themes and messaging, and gaining leadership skills. Each student is given a chance to lead an activity, and they’ll be tracking their activities this year. “They’re setting up goals and acting on them and learning to be ready for leadership,” said Barnhart.
Informational Items
For the facilities update and progress on ongoing building renovations, Lensing said they’re still waiting to hear from Armstrong Flooring on the claim for the red tiles in the hallway corridor between the commons and older part of the campus. They discussed getting heavy rugs to put on the floor when they remove the tiles needing replacement.
Maintenance crews plan to fire up the boilers when the weather gets cooler next month to make sure it’s good to go for winter. They’re also “working through the pieces” of the new PA system, with installers and integration specialists getting it set up and the school’s maintenance team working on trouble-shooting the computers, since the speakers weren’t working and the bells were off the first few days.
Lensing next reviewed the FY27 Tentative Budget, which has been published in the newspaper and can be inspected at the District Office during regular business hours. A budget hearing will be held prior to the September board meeting.
She first discussed revenue, including a 20% increase for CCPRT (Corporate Personal Property Replacement Tax), where they projected lower and budgeted $410,000 but should have $480,000 coming in. The 1% sales tax should bring in around $580,000, and they have $576,000 in payments on the alternate revenue bonds. Expenditures have also increased due to staff wages and salaries, electricity, and the EP Co-op.
Lensing said she’s most nervous about the Transportation Fund, since bus costs, gas, salaries, repairs, and insurance all went up, and transportation is still needed for school, practices, and extracurricular activities. She noted that one vehicle insurance policy did go down by $8,000. Transportation Director Dawn Fisk is looking into a 10-passenger transit van but is working through red tape pieces. Since they’re not fully staffed in the transportation department, there are possibilities to do things different without affecting other funds. For this budget cycle, they have $514,000 in revenue and $673,000 in expenditures.
For IMRF and Social Security, Lensing said they will levy at a higher rate this year. Those accounts are unrestricted funds and their accountant advised them to spend down the balance and then bring it back up. “You levy what you need to cover your costs,” said Lensing.
For capital projects, Lensing said the numbers looked inflated due to the alternate revenue bond from last year, which is coming back down. The 1% sales tax is the biggest supplier of funding. Projects for this next budget will include the high school parking lot, $134,000 for Veregy, and the new PA system for campus, which was a 50/50 maintenance grant for $98,000. Lensing said they’ll put in extra funds for $375,000 in the account, in case “something big happened,” though they don’t anticipate any major repairs.
The Working Cash Fund has $875,000 after loaning $250,000 to the transportation fund, with this fund allowing transfer to different accounts as needed. The unrestricted TORT Fund includes items from the risk management plan and pays for property casualty, the school’s SRO, having an ambulance at football games, and a portion of salaries. The Fire Prevention & Safety and Health Life Safety Funds include asbestos abatement and improving fire safety at the high school, such as $49,000 to get one side linked and hooked into the working fire system.
The budget will be up for a vote following the public hearing at the Sept. 23rd meeting.
Next was the discussion for the EP co-op after a couple things came up recently. Lensing first noted the increased coaching costs due to their different negotiation schedules than Erie. The district has been paying the same rate that Erie pays, which is leaving them “not in control over our dollars.” Lensing said coaching is not an easy thing to do and coaches deserve to be fairly compensated for all their efforts, but the district had to increase that line item by $50,000, with the wages and transportation costs significantly adding to their co-op costs.
The next co-op meeting is Wednesday, Sept. 9th, with an opportunity to bring the concerns before the Board of Control. Board member James Melton said the PLT #3 District took the coaching salary out of the teaching salary while Erie’s coach salaries are tied to the rate of teachers. They want equal representation between the Erie and Prophetstown coaches, but increased coaching costs, transportation costs, inflation, and facility payments have made this more difficult. Melton asked for the co-op’s total costs for the last five years to see depreciation, and Lensing will work on those numbers.
Lensing next reported that she received a letter from athletic trainer and chiropractor Dr. Owen McConnell expressing concerns about safety issues with the football field due to previous injuries, field hazards, field conditions, sidelines, and his own professional concern. Some of the issues stem from the “track squishing in” which leaves less space inside the track, so the board needs to come up with a plan to fix it.
Athletic Director Damian DeMay is working on quotes to put five 6×30 track mats on both sides of the field, with a general estimate of $830 each. They can also remove some of the equipment and benches that someone can run into.
Lensing also sent the letter to Attorney Tim Zollinger, who assured them that their field is similar to other high school fields. However, since a medical professional deemed the fields unsafe, they shouldn’t host any games until someone—whether the IHSA, insurance, architects, or medical personnel—can confirm the field is acceptable for play. Lensing said she’s not sure who has certification and could give the go-ahead for play. The letter won’t exempt them if there is a wanton injury, Lensing also noted. She contacted their Property Casualty insurance and is waiting to hear back from them and the IHSA to follow up. She asked about moving the next JV game to Erie while trying to have something installed before the next home game on Friday, Sept. 4th.
“We made a commitment to the community to have Friday night games, so we need to get it in shape,” said Melton. They should aim to have it fixed before the Homecoming game next month, though dealing with it will take some time. “If we’re going to do it, we need to do it right,” said Lensing, who agreed to get the project in motion.
Public Forum/PLTTA Report
District Media Specialist and 6-12 Campus Librarian Laura Crisp provided the first PLTTA report of the new school year, saying they’ve hit the ground running and to keep in mind, they’ve been in school for one week:
The music department continues to grow, with several new students joining. The high school band was ready for their first two performances of the year in just two and a half days—the football game on Friday and the pep assembly on Monday—and did an amazing job.
Mrs. Brower and Mrs. Mosher at the Campus had a fantastic first lab experience with their Farm to Fork class, a new class with 23 students in the kitchen. Since they had many cucumbers ready to be processed, the teachers created four different recipes for the students to make and try: refrigerator pickles, bread and butter pickles, creamy cucumber and onion salad, and an Asian zing cucumber salad. Six student groups worked well together despite the crowded kitchen space. They also had the opportunity to try each type of pickle/cucumber creation. Students were encouraged to try each one, even if they didn’t think they’d like it. Several students admitted that they did end up enjoying the recipes despite not liking cucumbers. Students also rated their recipes and reflected on flavor, texture, appearance, and overall enjoyment. What a wonderful beginning to a class that will certainly be a joy throughout the year!
The freshmen entered the year with a great understanding of what they learned in 7th grade science for Biology. It’s been such a good start to the year, with all students able to use what they’ve learned in the past and build on it from the beginning.
One teacher mentioned what a joy it was to see Mrs. Fouts leading the drumline play for the students before the student-led pep rally on Monday. New Spanish teacher Mr. Seneli has partnered with some students to start a Spanish Club where students can have fun, practice Spanish, explore Hispanic cultures, enjoy food and music, play games, watch movies, and participate in exciting activities. It’s been great to see what the new staff bring to the Campus.
Crisp concluded the report by saying it’s been a busy start to the year with many exciting opportunities to come, led by passionate members of the PLTTA.
Action Items
The board approved the land swap resolution and Lensing’s recommendation for the gas bid with Gibson Oil, as presented.
She also recommended health insurance renewal through Blue Cross Blue Shield with a 13.5% increase. She explained that initially, the plan had a 35% increase, which they negotiated to 27%. They also went to United Healthcare for competitive pricing to bring it down to 14.6%, then had another 1% discount to apply.
Lensing said it was important to keep costs down for members and their children on the plan. They chose the Blue Choice Select plan for medical and dental, which will have a minimal increase of deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses. They’ll have a smaller network of preferred providers but there should be minimal disruption. Lensing thanked Crisp and Dawn Huffstutler for their efforts in helping with the process, saying they “put a lot of thought into it and didn’t just casually make a choice.”
Personnel Report
The board approved employment of a High School Spanish teacher.
Consent Agenda
Approved by the board were July 29th regular meeting minutes, August bills and payroll in the amount of $1,301,396.81, Treasurer’s report and investment schedule, activity account reports, and the 2nd reading of Press policies.
The next regular meeting of the Board of Education will be on Wednesday, September 23rd at 7 p.m., with the Budget Hearing at 6 p.m.
