Board Meeting Highlights

January 28, 2019

Complete meeting packet 


REGULAR MEETING

BOARD ASSIGNMENT REPORTS

Committees

  • School Finance – Frank Panzica reported – Efforts to find an outside firm to perform an expense review were not successful. Instead, the District will use a software program called Forecast 5 that organizes school finances. It is used by other districts and allows analysis and comparisons. Student fees were discussed student fees and will be presented later tonight. Fees will be revisited at the next Strategy meeting along with the prioritizing of budget items. The contract of our audit firm was extended, but an RFP will be issued before the next renewal. Next meeting is February 11th at 8:00 am
  • Facilities Development – Alice Schaff reported – Two topics were discussed: 1) HMS Phase 2 – project is out to bid and completed bids are expected on February 15th. Board will vote at the February meeting on moving ahead with construction in June. 2) Harper construction in preparation for Kindergarten Enrichment – plan is to go out to bid in March with a vote to approve at the April Board meeting. Construction scheduled to begin in June. Next meeting is February 11th at 8:00 am
  • Strategy Alice Schaff reported – Two topics were discussed: 1) Current strategic plan updates - in preparation for tonight’s meeting, annual business initiatives were reviewed. 2) Suggested CRC topics for 2019-20 - committee agreed to recommend Sustainability for CRC to study next year. Next meeting is February 11th at 8:00 am

Liaison

  • Educational Foundation – Tracy Kearney reported – Upcoming events: Trivia night on February 2nd - changes this year are a new location at St. Joe's and a different structure to the evening; Bingo night is March 1 at Highcrest this year; Pub crawl sponsored by the Wilmette Chamber of Commerce is May 16th. Next meeting is February 13th at 7:00 pm
  • IASB/ED-Red – Ellen Sternweiler reported - This is a new report for the D39 Board. We have been members of IASB for some time, but have not been actively involved until recently, when we almost missed a vote on a resolution regarding the arming of teachers in schools. We should have been aware of this earlier. We have now appointed a Board member to be a Liaison to IASB to vote on future resolutions. ED-Red is a research and lobbying group representing suburban school districts in Cook, Lake, and DuPage Counties. The most recent meeting focused on summarizing recent activities in Springfield including positions on specific legislation, primarily tax swaps. We are monitoring to determine if greater involvement in ED-Red would benefit D39. Next meeting is Feb 1st.

Legislative Update – Tracy Kearney

Relevant issues in bills that are submitted and/or expected include minimum teacher salaries and minimum hours for a  school day.

INFORMATION ITEMS

Written Communication

Announcements from the Superintendent

League of Women Voters Student and Government Leaders Program
For nearly 50 years, WJHS 8th grade students have participated in the League of Women Voters Student Government Program. Students learn about local government and civil service. They are assigned a local official – Village Trustee, School Board Member, or D39 administrator. Tonight, students interviewed their governmental counterpart in preparation for a mock Board meeting that will be televised in March.

2019-2020 Select Administrators’ Contracts
Ellen Crispino and Romy DeCristofaro have served in Interim positions for the past year. We are recommending them for permanent positions for the 2019-2020 school year as Business Manager/CSBO for Mrs. Crispino and Administrator for Student Services for Dr. DeCristofaro. Their contracts are ready for BoE approval.

Board Meeting April 23, 2019
The Board meeting scheduled for Monday, April 22nd will be moved to Tuesday, April 23rd to allow the canvassing of electoral votes from the April election. Three Board seats are open for election this spring, and outgoing Board members will be honored at this meeting. 

FOIA

Strategic Plan Updates

  • 2018-19 Strategic Plan Update - Annual Business Section – Ms. Lee - On September 24, 2018, the Board of Education approved the 2018-2019 District 39 Strategic Plan.  This executive summary report provides mid-year updates of the Annual Business section including school safety, standards-based learning and reporting, instrumental music, science curriculum, and sustainability planning and practices. 

Annual Business

  • January Special Education Child Count Dr. DeCristofaroEach January a Child Count report is generated and provided to ISBE for special education funding and monitoring trends in disability. The overall number of students who qualify for special education services in District 39 has increased from 504 students in 2018 to 559 students in 2019. The percentage of students with disabilities has also increased from 13.97% to 15.72%.
  • Proposed 2019-2020 School CalendarDr. Lechner - Based on input from administration, teachers, and the township, the final calendar is ready for Board approval. It is then submitted to ISBE for final approval.
  • 2019-2020 Student Fees – Mrs. Crispino - We are recommending three changes to fees, which were discussed at the School Finance Committee.1) a $10 increase to the 8th grade instructional material fee for iPad insurance. This follows the practice started in prior years for grades 5-7.2) a 10% increase in athletic program fees to cover increasing costs, as athletic programs are intended to be self-sustaining.3) elimination of the $4.95 transaction fee for Instructional Materials payments made through RevTrak. 

BOARD ACTION

The Consent Agenda was approved including the following:

 

The next meeting of the District 39 Board of Education will be on Monday,
February 25, 2019 at 7:00 PM at the Mikaelian Education Center.