Board Meeting Highlights - March 20, 2017

Complete Meeting Packet


Board Assignment Reports

Facilities Development & School Finance – Alice Schaff reported – Committee of the whole met and discussion included the McKenzie roof replacement up for approval tonight, bids for the Learning Commons at Romona and McKenzie that are being revised, the space study underway at Highcrest, bids for a new phone system, the FY18 Non-Operating Funds Tentative Budget presented tonight, operating fund parameters, capital project priorities, and future funding sources from bond counsel. Next meeting Monday April 10th at 8:00 AM.

Community Review Committee – John Flanagin reported – Audit subcommittee is refining guidelines. Survey on school climate has been sent to all District parents and is getting a good response. School climate subcommittee is working on current and best practices. Next meeting April 17th at 7:00 PM.

Educational Foundation – Alice Schaff reported –Math in the Real World presentation is coming up on April 6th featuring Greg Mayer. Tickets are now on sale for the 10 Everyday Heroes event. Three Gripp Grants were recently approved totally more than $20,000. Next meeting April 19th at 7:00 PM.

WCSEA – Tracy Kearney reported – The 2018 Budget and Budget Calendar were approved. Fiscal year 2017 activity to date was approved. Next meeting May 22nd at 4:00 PM at the MEC.


Legislative Update – Kimberly Alcantara reported

Senate debated the proposed “Grand Bargain,” a series of 13 different bills all interlinked for passage. Impacts of these bills include income tax, tax credits, property tax freeze, and pension reform. Governor Rauner has said he would not accept an income tax hike without a permanent property tax freeze and the Senate plan would limit the property tax freeze to only two years. Another bill proposed - HB 3082 -  says that if a school district has a fund balance of 50% or more their extension would be 0%; this was intended as an alternative to the Governor’s proposal which said that all school districts would have an extension of 0%.  Pension reform discussion came up around the introduction of Senate Bills 2172 and 2173. These are a combination of ideas seen previously in SB 16. The new bills added funding for CPS pensions and now the Governor indicated that he would sign these bills if they got to his desk.


Information items 

Written Communication

Announcements from the Superintendent

Go Green Wilmette – The annual Go Green Wilmette event, held on March 12th at Michigan Shores. D39 had Green Teams from each of our schools. Students, teachers, administrators, and parents created displays of our sustainability efforts including a mini-composting station. We highlighted the District’s new Sustainability webpage that can be found on the District website under “About D39.”

Area Spring Environmental Group - In keeping with the Green theme, on Wednesday, March 15th, Lisa Winter, Food Service Coordinator and Sustainability Liaison, hosted the Area School Environmental Group Meeting at Highcrest Middle School. District 39’s lunchroom recycling, composting, and waste practices were showcased.  

McKenzie Variety Show -  The annual McKenzie Variety Show was last week, and I had the pleasure of “dancing with a limousine” as part of my annual cameo. This was another amazing evening supported by over 120 parents and staff. There was a moving and tearful tribute to Dr. Denis Welter who retires from McKenzie this year, after 10 years of dedicated service. In keeping with the theme, this year’s show was another Thrillmette moment!

Administrators’ 2017-2018 Contractual Salary Increases - Administrators are ready for contract renewals.  For FY18, recommended salaries are CPI +1.3% which means an aggregate increase of 2.0%

FOIA  

Annual Business

  • Fiscal Year 2018 Non-Operating Funds Tentative BudgetMs. Buscemi - This is the start of the budget cycle for FY18.  The non-operating funds are comprised of the Debt Service, Capital Projects, and Life Safety Funds.  The School Finance Committee has reviewed the tentative budgets.
  • Summer 2017 Construction Project Bid - Ms. Buscemi - This continues planned summer construction projects. At this time, the Board is asked to approve a roof project at McKenzie Elementary School. 

Board Action

The Consent Agenda was approved including the following:


Strategic Plan Updates

Dr. Lechner introduced the two reports that were follow-ups from last month and were the main focus of the meeting. He noted that the teacher meetings and parent forums were especially helpful. Feedback from these groups helped fine-tune the focus and the result is the second proposal. This revised proposal was sent to teachers and parents on Friday.

  • Revised K-4 School Day Schedule Update – Dr. Glowacki, teachers, and administrators from the K-4 Scheduling Committee – The within the day schedule is contractual in nature. The report includes more about the new longer K-4 school day for next year, as well as adjustments that teachers made in response to parent feedback.
  • Revisions to Proposed School Start/End Times – Dr. Lechner – A revised proposal was presented based on feedback from parents and staff. This report provides details of the revised proposal, that addresses many of the needs identified.

 

The next meeting of the District 39 Board of Education will be a Special Meeting on Monday, April 3, 2017 at 7:00 PM at the Mikaelian Education Center. The next regular meeting of the Board of Education will be on Tuesday, April 25, 2017 at 7:00 PM at the Mikaelian Education Center.