Bremen CHSD 228 board approves minutes, bills, policies and personnel; disposes of older closed-session audio

The Bremen CHSD 228 Board of Education held several routine votes during its Jan. 21 meeting at Oak Forest High School, approving minutes, January bills, an overnight baseball field trip and multiple personnel recommendations. The board also voted to keep closed-session minutes closed and to dispose of audio recordings that are older than 18 months, with exceptions for recordings tied to ongoing litigation.

Minutes and routine approvals A motion to approve the Dec. 17, 2024 regular and closed meeting minutes was moved by Miss Gleeson and seconded by Miss Motley. Roll-call votes recorded Gleeson — Aye; Motley — Aye; List — Abstain; Blott — Aye; Whitcomb — Aye; Tresler — Aye. The motion carried.

The board approved committee minutes from Jan. 14, 2025. The motion, moved by Miss Motley and seconded by Miss Gleeson, passed on roll call with members recorded as Aye: (Smiley, Gleason/Gleeson, Bliss, Lodge, Whitcomb, Ressler). The transcript shows some variations in spelling of names; votes are recorded as provided at the meeting.

Bills and field trip The board approved the district’s January 2025 bills (presented by Dr. Morrison) on a motion moved by Miss Gleeson and seconded by Miss Motley. Roll call recorded: Leeson — Aye; Motley — Aye; Blitt — Aye; Lott — Aye; Whitcomb — Aye; Ressler — Aye.

The board approved an overnight field trip request for the Oak Forest varsity baseball team, presented by Dr. Sephora, for a day of school visits the day before spring break at no cost to the district. The motion was moved by Miss Motley and seconded by Miss Lott. Roll call recorded votes including Motley — Aye; Lott — Aye; Leeson — Aye; Glist/Gleason — Aye; Whitcomb — Aye; Dressler — Aye.

Closed-session minutes and audio disposal The board conducted its biannual review of closed-session minutes and audio recordings. Board staff recommended that listed closed minutes remain closed and that audio recordings older than 18 months be disposed of except where litigation might require retention. A motion to adopt that recommendation was moved by Miss Gleeson and seconded by Miss Lott. Roll call recorded Gleeson — Aye; Lott — Aye; List — Aye; Molly — Aye; Whitcomb — Aye; Roster — Aye. The motion carried.

Policy revisions and personnel The board approved revisions to press-related sections of board policy after committee review and legal recommendation. The motion was moved by Mr. Whitcomb and seconded by Miss Otley; recorded roll-call votes included Whitcomb — Aye; Motley — Aye; Lisa/Leeson — Aye; Blost/Blitt — Aye; Lott — Aye; Ruskler/Ressler — Aye.

Personnel recommendations were presented and approved, including resignations (Thomas Coker, Sean Donnelly, Michael Ceryk, Tom McAuliffe), a maternity leave (Jacqueline Strizic), a medical leave (Diane Polbecki) and new hires (Michael Prescott, Daniel Simon, Araceli Martinez). The personnel motion was moved by Mr. Whitcomb and seconded by Miss Lisa; roll call recorded Whitcomb — Aye; Gleeson — Aye; Glitzen — Aye; Lamley — Aye; Russel — Aye.

Public comment and adjournment There were no substantive public comments recorded. The meeting adjourned on a motion moved by Miss Gleeson and seconded by Miss Lott; members responded "Aye." The board announced upcoming meetings: Committee of the Whole on Feb. 11 at 6:45 p.m. and the next regular board meeting on Feb. 18 at 7 p.m., both at the high school.

A note on names and transcription: multiple roll-call entries in the audio transcript show inconsistent spellings of member names. This article reports vote outcomes and lists names as they were recorded on the meeting transcript. If the district publishes an official, corrected roll-call record, that record should be used for archival purposes.