Board Meeting Highlights

April 23, 2019

Complete meeting packet 

REGULAR MEETING

BOARD ASSIGNMENT REPORTS

Committees

  • School Finance – Frank Panzica reported- Several topics were discussed: 1) flexible furniture for K-4, piloted at McKenzie with plan to move into other schools; 2) Harper construction bids slightly lower than expected and will be reviewed later in the meeting; 3) Next steps for adding air conditioned spaces; 4) The new Forecast5 software allows more detailed look at expenses; 5) Operating funds tentative budget – noting capital projects as the largest controllable item and year over year special education headcount; 6) Future involvement in IASB; and 7) Lunch fee policy.

Liaison

  • Educational Foundation – Jon Cesaretti reported – The Ed Foundation meeting was very well attended last week. Dr. Lechner was recognized with a special fund- Ray of Light Fund – to support inclusion. WJHS science teacher Dr. Peter Ower did a fantastic presentation about Moticams. Movie night was a success. The Pub Crawl is coming up on May16th and Fashion Show is already scheduled November 13th.  

Legislative Update – Tracy Kearney – News about several bills in Springfield:

  • Senate bill addressing time for PE was halted when a sponsor declined to move it forward due to opposition from IASB and Ed-red.
  • Bills approved in House and Senate would increase minimum teacher salary to $40,000 by 2023 and will likely go to the Governor.
  • Bills addressing forced school district consolidation are moving forward.
  • A bill lowering the compulsory age for students to start school is being reworked due to problems with language. Amendment expected shortly.
  • Bills to amend the Illinois Pension Code are being discussed that would revert back to 6% rule for end of career earnings increases.
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INFORMATION ITEMS

Announcements from the Superintendent

McKenzie Interim Principal - Dana Nasiakos was chosen as McKenzie’s Interim Principal for the 2019-2020 school year. The District is fortunate to have such a well-qualified person internally. Dana has been the assistant principal at Central Elementary School for the past two years.

New Assistant Principals - With recent internal promotions we have two new Assistant Principal hires. Anthony Haduch is recommended as the new Assistant Principal for Central and McKenzie. Anthony is currently a 3rd grade teacher at Central. Linda Moric is recommended for the new 5th Grade Assistant Principal at Highcrest. Linda recently taught 4th and 5th grades at River Trails School District 26 for sixteen years.

New Communications Director - Since Holly Goldin will be retiring in June, a new Communications Director is needed.  Chike Erokwu is being recommended as the next Communications Director. Chike has been the Communications Coordinator for the last four years in Kenilworth, District 38.

Annual Student Registration - D39 annual student registration has begun. Last week parents were sent an email with log-in and general registration instructions. We begin student scheduling soon, so we ask all parents to please register your children!

Community Email Lists - In an effort to build better connections with residents who do not have children in school, we launched a new D39 Neighbor email distribution list. These email lists will provide news about District changes, individual school events, or construction for those who live near D39 buildings. Residents can sign up on our website by choosing the neighbor email list for their school of choice. We are sharing this through the Village e-news, on our website, in newsletters, and on social media. Please feel free to share this news with neighbors.

FOIA

Annual Business

  • Harper 2019 Construction Bids – Mrs. Crispino - As District 39 steps toward Kindergarten Enrichment, each elementary school will require some construction.Harper is the first with construction to begin this summer; the project will require two summers to complete. The District received many qualified bidders, and the bids came in lower than estimated. The bids are ready for Board approval.
  • Harper 2019 Variance for Fire Protection System – Mrs. Crispino - The Harper 2019 construction requires a fire alarm system variance. D39 wants to continue its use of sprinklers, rather than a new voice evacuation system.
  • Fiscal Year 2020 Operating Funds Tentative Budget – Mrs. Crispino – The Operating Funds represent 98% of the total District budget.FY20 budgeted revenue for Operating Funds is projected at $63.1 million, which is a 3.2% increase over the prior year’s budget.The Operating Funds expenditures are estimated at $61.5 million, representing a 4.2% increase from the FY19 budget. Additional expenditures of $3,822,257, which includes construction costs, results in a projected net overall operating funds deficit of ($2,131,801) for FY20.
  • 2018-2019 Final School Calendar – Dr. Lechner - Due to the weather-related school closing on November 26th, the school calendar needs to be adjusted. The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) refers to school closing days as Emergency Days (ED). Because the District meets the legally required number of student attendance days, one ED is moved to November 26th. The last day of the school year continues to be June 14th, an early release day.

BOARD ACTION

The Consent Agenda was approved including the following:

Outgoing Board Members Recognized
Outgoing Board members Tracy Kearney and Alice Schaff were recognized for their service to the community. Each was presented with framed artwork created by a D39 student. These pieces will hang at the MEC.

REORGANIZATIONAL MEETING

  • Newly elected Board members Amy Poehling and Erin Stone, and returning Board member Frank Panzica, were sworn in.
  • Board officers were elected: Lisa Schneider-Fabes as president and Frank Panzica as vice president.

Information Items

  • 2019-2020 Board Calendar - The Board needs to approve its calendar of meetings for the coming year.
  • Board Policy Approval - Each newly seated Board needs to approve the Policy manual. This is a way of reaffirming to the community that establishment of policy that governs the District.

BOARD ACTION

The Consent Agenda was approved including the following:

The next meeting of the District 39 Board of Education will be on Monday, May 20, 2019 at 7:00 PM at the Mikaelian Education Center.