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Dunlap CUSD 323 board approves $6.5 million in bills, trainer contract, AI policy and multiple hires
Summary
At its May 20 meeting the Dunlap Community Unit School District #323 board approved payment of $6,500,369.51 in bills, authorized an athletic training contract for two full-time equivalent trainers, adopted Board Policy 6:236 on Student & Educator AI Use, approved administrator contracts and a long list of new hires.
The Dunlap Community Unit School District #323 Board of Education on Wednesday approved payment of $6,500,369.51 in bills, authorized an athletic training agreement covering two full-time-equivalent athletic trainers, adopted a new student and educator AI policy and confirmed multiple administrator contracts and personnel hires.
Board President Tom Feldman called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. and the board heard the Superintendent's Report, during which Dr. Dearman noted six new FOIA requests had been completed by Mr. McKenzie and reminded the community that the last day of school is tomorrow with early dismissal. Coach Sarsfield introduced members of the DERT 2040 Robotics Team, and the board recognized Dunlap High School students Kenzie Davis and Adryan Morrow with the Eagle Tallon Award for life-saving actions at a March traffic accident.
Why it matters: The board's approvals set the district's near-term financial obligations, personnel roster for the coming year and a new policy governing artificial intelligence use by students and educators. The athletic training agreement establishes the district's staffing level for athletic trainers, and the Consolidated District Plan covers how federal funds will be used.
The board approved the Consent Agenda, including the open and closed session minutes from April 15 and the 2026–27 school lunch fees, on a motion moved by Tyra and seconded by Nicolas Yemm. Roll call on the consent agenda was Feldman, Boudjarane, Hall, Yemm, Wagenbach — Aye; Holshouser — Nay. The board then approved payment of bills totaling $6,500,369.51 on a motion by Youssef Boudjarane, seconded by Theresa Holshouser; the roll call vote was unanimous in favor.
The OSF Athletic Training Agreement was approved on a motion by Mick Hall, seconded by Nicolas Yemm. Hall clarified that the motion covered two full-time-equivalent (2.0 FTE) athletic trainers; the roll call vote was Boudjarane, Hall, Yemm, Holshouser, Feldman — Aye; Wagenbach — Nay.
On matters affecting district programs and governance, the board unanimously approved the Consolidated District Plan for Federal Funding (motion by Hall, seconded by Yemm) and adopted Board Policy 6:236, "Student & Educator AI Use" (motion by Youssef Boudjarane, seconded by Tim Wagenbach). The transcript recorded the policy label as "Al Use," which is corrected here to "AI Use" in the board's official policy title.
The board approved administrator contracts (motion by Nicolas Yemm, seconded by Mick Hall) with a roll call showing Wagenbach voting against that motion. The Human Resources Consent Agenda, which included a lengthy list of new hires and position assignments across the district, was approved unanimously on a motion by Theresa Holshouser and seconded by Tim Wagenbach. Examples of recorded hires include Jenni Anderson (3rd grade teacher, Banner Elementary School, effective 8/10/2026), Justin Hansen (5th grade teacher, Banner Elementary School, effective 8/10/2026), Breanna Basso (Spanish teacher, Dunlap High School, effective 5/20/2026), and Kale Maupin (assistant principal, Dunlap High School, effective 7/1/2026). Several hires carry effective dates in April and May 2026 and many are summer start dates for the 2026–27 school year.
No public comments were recorded at the meeting. Dr. Andrews presented information about the Boundary Advisory Committee and process; Mr. McKenzie will present a quarterly financial report and year-end budget discussion at the board's next meeting.
Votes at a glance: Consent Agenda — approved (motion: Tyra; second: Nicolas Yemm); Bills payment — $6,500,369.51 approved (motion: Youssef Boudjarane; second: Theresa Holshouser); OSF Athletic Training Agreement (2.0 FTE) — approved (motion: Mick Hall; second: Nicolas Yemm); Consolidated District Plan for Federal Funding — approved (motion: Mick Hall; second: Nicolas Yemm); Board Policy 6:236 (Student & Educator AI Use) — adopted (motion: Youssef Boudjarane; second: Tim Wagenbach); Administrator contracts — approved (motion: Nicolas Yemm; second: Mick Hall); Human Resources Consent Agenda — approved (motion: Theresa Holshouser; second: Tim Wagenbach).
The meeting adjourned after recording multiple personnel approvals and scheduling a finance update for next month.
