Marshall Library Trustee Resigns, Board Approves $24,967.96 in Bills

Marshall Library | August 12, 2026

Article Summary: The Marshall Public Library Board of Trustees accepted correspondence from Trustee Steve Schofield announcing he must resign because he is moving out of the area, and approved $24,967.96 in total payments, at a meeting held away from the library at a Mattoon restaurant following a tour of the Mattoon Public Library and History Center.

Marshall Public Library Board Key Points:

• Trustee Steve Schofield notified the board by letter that he is moving out of the area and will need to resign from the trustee board; the minutes record no action on the resignation and no appointment.
• The board approved the August bill listing of $24,867.96 plus a $100.00 add-on for staff development guest speaker Janet Cler, by a 5-0 roll call vote.
• Five of nine listed trustees attended; four — Jody Green, Jenn Smitley, Melissa Strait and Steve Schofield — were absent.
• The meeting lasted 13 minutes, from 6:14 p.m. to 6:27 p.m. CDT.

MARSHALL — The Marshall Public Library Board of Trustees on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, received a letter from one of its own members announcing he must step down from the board, and approved $24,967.96 in combined payments, in a 13-minute meeting held at the Original Burger King restaurant in Mattoon following a tour of the Mattoon Public Library and History Center.

President John Tarble called the meeting to order at 6:14 p.m. CDT. Board members present were Devon Burkybile, Mike Cameron, Janet Hasten and Herman Wallace. Also present were Director Alyson Thompson, Head Librarian Jamie Poorman and Library Clerks Edie Breneman, Stacey Dunn and Sarah Martin. Jody Green, Jenn Smitley, Melissa Strait and Steve Schofield were recorded absent.

Resignation Letter Received From Trustee

Among several items of correspondence received was a letter from Schofield “stating that they were moving out of the area,” according to the minutes, and that “he would need to resign as a member of our trustee board.”

The minutes record no motion to accept the resignation, no vote, and no discussion of filling the seat. Schofield was absent from the meeting at which his letter was read. The record does not state an effective date for the resignation, where Schofield is moving, how long he has served, or what process the board will follow to fill the vacancy. No appointment was made and none was discussed in the record.

The resignation would reduce a board that the attendance record implies numbers nine — the five members present plus the four recorded absent. The minutes do not state the board’s authorized size.

Other correspondence received included thank-you notes from Tina Maurer, the Clark County Democrats, and Audra Cottrell, described in the minutes as “the state representative for the Dolly Parton Imagination Library.” The minutes do not state what any of the three were thanking the library for.

Bills Approved by Roll Call

The invoices on the August bill listing were reviewed. On a motion by Wallace, seconded by Burkybile, payment of bills in the amount of $24,867.96, plus one add-on for $100.00 for staff development guest speaker Janet Cler, was approved by roll call. The minutes record the vote as: Tarble—yes; Cameron—yes; Wallace—yes; Burkybile—yes; Hasten—yes. The motion carried 5-0 with no member opposed.

The $100.00 add-on connects directly to the meeting’s only other action item. On a motion by Wallace, seconded by Burkybile, the board voted to close the library on Thursday, Aug. 13, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for staff development. The minutes record only that the motion carried, without a tally.

The agenda for the meeting described the same item as “Annual Staff Training Day” and specified “Library Closed 10 AM – 4 PM, Open 5 PM – 8 PM,” indicating the building would reopen for evening hours. The motion as recorded in the minutes addresses only the closure.

Neither the bill listing itself nor any breakdown of the $24,867.96 was reproduced in the materials available, so the vendors, purposes and individual amounts behind the figure are not part of the public record reviewed here.

Finances and an Unresolved Insurance Claim

Thompson reviewed her director’s report for July 2026. She reported difficulty reaching the insurance company to check the status of the library’s storm damage claim. Members present “felt she should proceed with getting the awning replaced as soon as possible,” according to the minutes. No motion was made, no vote was taken, and no cost figure for the awning replacement appears in the record. The minutes do not identify the insurer, the date of the storm, the amount claimed or the scope of the damage beyond the awning.

Bank account balances as of the end of July were reported as: Operations, $83,337.43; Retirement, $10,000.00; Special Reserve, $44,494.02; for a total of $137,831.45.

Poorman reviewed the librarian’s report for July 2026. Highlights recorded in the minutes were that the summer reading program had the highest number of reading minutes on record, and that a flyer outlining other summer reading program data was included in the board packet. Neither the reading-minutes figure nor the flyer appears in the materials reviewed.

Thompson also reported, through her written report, that the Marshall Area Public Library District was covering the cost of renovations to her office. No amount or scope is stated.

Cameron moved to adjourn, seconded by Wallace, and the meeting ended at 6:27 p.m. The next meeting is set for Sept. 9, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. in the Dale McConchie Meeting Room of the Marshall Public Library.