Regular Meeting Minutes Board of Education ♦ Niles Township High Schools ♦ District 219 ♦ Cook County, Illinois September 8, 2015 I. Call to Order and Roll Call Board President Sproat called the meeting to order at 5:45 p.m. Board Members Present at Roll Call: Carlton Evans, Ruth Klint, David Ko (6:00 p.m.), Linda Lampert, Brian Novak, Joseph Nowik, Mark Sproat. II. Closed Session It was moved by NOVAK and seconded by SPROAT to recess into closed session to discuss the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of employees and collective bargaining. A roll call vote was taken. Voting Aye: Evans, Klint, Ko, Lampert, Novak, Nowik, Sproat. The motion carried. The Board recessed into Closed Session at 5:45 p.m. III. Open Session It was moved by NOVAK and seconded by NOWIK to return to open session at 6:45 p.m. A roll call vote was taken. Voting Aye: Evans, Klint, Ko, Lampert, Novak, Nowik, Sproat. The motion carried. IV. Recall to Order President Sproat recalled the meeting to order at 6:50 p.m. The Pledge was recited. V.
Public Hearing on the 2016 Budget It was moved by NOVAK and seconded by EVANS to open the public hearing on the FY 2016 Final Budget. A roll call vote was taken. Voting Aye: Evans, Klint, Ko, Lampert, Novak, Nowik, Sproat. The motion carried.
VI. Audience to Visitors on the Budget Susan Schram, an Environmental Science teacher at Niles West, discussed the GCSI funding which she said is being cut from $100,000 ($50,000 for each school) to zero. This grant is a student directed, student centered, student led grant where students within the high school can be anywhere from 9th graders to AP students. The students look to see where there are environmental deficits and where improvements can be made within and around the school. The students spend a long time writing these proposals, are supervised by a teacher and get to see their ideas come to fruition. Ms. Schram said this GCSI grant supports Board Goal 1 – Challenge, as many of the students go into AP and it is a very rigorous activity. It supports Board Goal 2 – Articulate, by definitely providing a college experience and there is anecdotal evidence from alumni to support this. It supports Board Goal 5 – Involve – It involves students in extracurricular activities, i.e., Green Team, NARWAL, etc. and it supports Board Goal 6 – Build by being physically responsible. The students have to report a budget and see how their project will pay back in the end. This can be defined as financial or environmental. Also when District 219 won the Outstanding Organization award from the Green Building Council, part of that was the student participation in this kind of grant experience. Ms. Schram read a list of things that GCSI has
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accomplished – all student supported and student ideas, i.e. outdoor classroom, revitalizing greenhouses that were once storage spaces, bird houses, etc. Tom Jodelka, a Biology teacher at Niles West High School and also the club sponsor of NAWAL, also spoke about GCSI grant. He said they have hundreds of volunteers doing thousands of hours of restoration work and that would not be possible without the money from GCSI. He appealed to the Board to continue the project. His proposal is to decrease the budget rather than eliminating it. He said the GCSI Committee consists of members of the administration, staff, teachers, buildings and ground administrators. He also said the money that is spent is heavily scrutinized. Chris Barnett, an Environmental Science teacher at Niles West, said this program has become an integral part of instruction for a very rare opportunity for students to come with an idea, see it through and go through the whole process and enrich their experience to the school, community and District 219 as a whole. He said this program has really helped our students in careers, projects and has served the District. These projects have saved the District money and energy in terms of planting trees and other landscaping projects which have been a net savings to the District. BaoTran Lee, a senior at Niles West and Vice President of NAWALS, the Ecology Club said that GCSI is very important and gives back to the school and the community. She explained various projects that that would not be possible without the grant. She asked the Board to reconsider eliminating the budget for GCSI. Mr. Novak had requested a list of projects that were approved by GCSI and he passed them out to the Board members so they could see some of the budgets and projects that were approved and the projects submitted by the two schools. Spencer Schwartz, student representative for Niles North High School, said GCSI impacted her experience in understanding environmental science and gives students the ability to understand how they can make changes and why. Michele Hettinger expressed her opposition to the Board’s proposal to double the field trip bus fares from $5.00 to $10.00. She said field trips are an important experience that enriches students’ lives outside of the classroom. These field trips allow students to see plays, go to museums, farms and be able to incorporate this into their classroom learning experience. Ms. Hettinger said students pay for the cost of the trip, lunches and the bus and feels this is an issue of equity. Ms. Hettinger gave a number of examples of why the bus fare should not be raised. She said public transportation is less than $5.00 for a round trip. If you raise the bus fee, you will severely limit the number of students who can go on field trips. She thought that when District 219 purchased the buses, it would also save the District money. Therefore, it seems unfair to pass on this fee. Ms. Hettinger said field trips are what students remember after finishing high school. She asked that the Board reconsider raising this fee, which would make it difficult for students to go on field trips. Sharon Swanson is a teacher at Niles West and also lives in the District also questions doubling the field trip fee and asked why with the purchase of our own District buses we had to raise fees. She does not understand why the bus fees need to double. It was moved by NOVAK and seconded by EVANS to close the public hearing on the FY 2016 Final Budget. A roll call was taken Voting Aye: Evans, Klint, Ko, Lampert, Novak, Nowik, Sproat. The motion carried. VII. Changes / Additions to the Agenda The green personnel handout was added to the Consent Agenda. The EBS Service Agreement for Occupational Therapy and the Professional Staffing Agreement for Speech Therapy Services were moved from the Consent Agenda to Business.
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VIII. Student Highlights President Sproat said that during this segment we will recognize students, teams and teachers that have gone above and beyond. Dr. Roloff said we started the year talking to, directors, administrators and teachers about bringing student stories to the Board meeting. We are bringing to you today a wonderful student, Eric Robinson who attends Niles Central. Anne Hellmer, teacher at Niles Central, said that Eric is one of the senior students who had an amazing experience this summer. Joy Cheng said they had an opportunity to connect a student with the French Pastry School, which is part of the Chicago City Colleges and is a very the prestigious school in Chicago. This school is regarded as one of the premiere schools outside France for pastry, baking and confectionery arts. Ms. Cheng worked with an intern last year who had a connection at the school and they talked about trying to involve one of our students. One of the head chefs heard about Eric and was so impressed with him and some of the challenges he has overcome, and offered him a paid internship over the summer. Eric commuted an hour and a half each way, a shuttle and two trains, leaving before 6:00 a.m. in the morning. Eric learned various aspects of baking and pastry making going through each of the segments. This involved a lot of education, math, artistry and many other things. Eric was invited back to a special reception in August at which Chef Sebastien Canonne, Academic Dean for Faculty & Programs at the school was knighted in the Order of the Legion of Honor, the highest decoration a civilian can receive from the country of France, granted by the French President. In attendance were the French Council and a chef from the White House. Eric’s internship was so successful that the school is now considering having an intern each summer based on his experience. After Eric graduates, advisers at the school encouraged him to keep in touch for possible continuing education. Eric was presented with a plaque by the Board of Education for his diligence, hard work and dedication. IX. Student Representative Comments Niles North – Spencer Schwartz, a junior at Niles North High School, is on the Junior Class Board and also a member of Student Government. She highlighted some of the events at Niles North. 30 clubs participated in the Niles North Activities Fair during the lunch period on August 27 in the new courtyard. She said it was a wonderful opportunity for students to learn what their peers are doing around the school. Student Government sponsors Viking and Vikings every week which is where one individual, team or sports organization is chosen because they have shown outstanding leadership in the school. This week Vikings was Girls’ Tennis who won their tournament this weekend and the Viking of the Week was Shaista Khan, who placed second in the medical terminology at Skills USA National Leadership Championships in Kentucky, where 50 students competed and she was first place for Illinois. Homecoming will be on Saturday, October 3 from 7:00 p.m. to 10:30 pm in the Main Gym. Students will decorate the school hallways on the first floor on Saturday, September 26. Spirit Week is September 29 to October 2, where there will be dress up days, music and a DJ in the café/courtyard. It starts off with the Powder Puff Football Game, where the junior girls play the senior girls in football. The Pep Assembly and parade will be on Friday, October 2 and Homecoming parade that night at 6:30 p.m. The varsity football game will start at 7:00 p.m. The dance will be on Saturday, October 3 at 7:00 p.m. in the main gym. Niles West – Sidra Kallan, a junior at Niles West is in Student Government, Junior Cabinet, Engineering Club and Book Club. She gave highlights of Homecoming and Student Government. Student Government has been working on the Constitution, reviewing and revising it. They are working on changes and getting more students involved in government and bringing everyone together. For Homecoming the theme this year is Disney. They will have a hall and float decoration competition before the Pep Assembly. Spirit Days will start September 24 to October 2. This year there will be a window painting competition with several businesses in Skokie who are allowing Niles West students to paint their windows in the Disney theme. She asked for Board members that would like to judge the competition. Ruth Klint said we could get some businesses in Lincolnwood. Dr. Ness will send the Board members the dates for judging the competition. X. Community Representative Comments No community representatives asked to speak. XI. Approval of Consent Agenda It was moved by LAMPERT and seconded by EVANS to approve the Consent Agenda, as amended. A roll call vote was taken. Voting Aye: Evans, Klint, Ko, Lampert, Novak, Nowik, Sproat. Minutes of the Regular Board Meeting of September 8, 2015
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The motion carried. Included in the Consent Agenda were: − Monthly Bills and Payroll in the amount of $12,950,429.81 − Personnel −
Approved the employment of the following administrators for the 2015-2016 school year:
NAME Oddo, Eric Silverberg, Ivan −
EFFECTIVE DATE August 10, 2015 – June 30, 2016
$110,000
August 10, 2015 – June 30, 2016
POSITION Fine Arts – BA / Step 1 Special Education – BA15 / Step 2 Social Studies – BA / Step 1 English – MA / Step 1
FTE .3 1.0 .4 .4
EFFECTIVE DATE January 11, 2016 August 17, 2015 August 10, 2015 August 10, 2015
Approved the changes for the following licensed staff for the 2015-2016 school year:
NAME Garoppolo, Michael
Moy, Karissa
POSITION Physical Welfare From: BA / Step 1 Previously approved on 5/18/15 To: BA15 / Step 1 Mathematics – BA / Step 2
Ralfs, Jessica
English – BA / Step 2
−
SALARY $110.000
Approved the employment of the following licensed staff for the 2015-2016 school year:
NAME Brent, Elizabeth Gould, David Slefo, Amanda Souferis, Christine −
POSITION Director of Communications, 205 day calendar Director of Communications, 205 day calendar
FTE 1.0
EFFECTIVE DATE August 10, 2015
From: .8 Previously approved on 5/18/15 To: 1.0 From: .8 Previously approved on 5/18/15 To: 1.0
August 10, 2015
August 10, 2015
Approved the employment of the following support staff for the 2015-2016 school year:
NAME Chae, Nu Lee Hansen, Kimberly NAME Isaac, Marla Koontz, Rosalie Moy, Joan Park, Andrew Przekota, Kristie
POSITION Paraprofessional, English – P1 / Step 2, 186 day calendar Paraprofessional, Mathematics – P1 / Step 2, 186 day calendar POSITION Paraprofessional, Science – P1 / Step 2, 186 day calendar Paraprofessional, Mathematics – P1 / Step 2, 186 day calendar One-on-one Paraprofessional, Special Education – P1 / Step 2, 186 day calendar Paraprofessional, Digital Literacy - P1 / Step 2, 186 day calendar Paraprofessional, Special Education – P1 / Step 2, 186 day calendar
Minutes of the Regular Board Meeting of September 8, 2015
FTE 1.0
EFFECTIVE DATE August 14, 2015
1.0
August 10, 2015
FTE 1.0
EFFECTIVE DATE August 18, 2015
1.0
August 10, 2015
1.0
September 2, 2015
1.0
September 8, 2015
.5
August 27, 2015
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−
Approved the resignation of the following support staff for the 2015-2016 school year:
NAME Rosin, Christina Saleh, Thomas −
POSITION / LOCATION Paraprofessional, Mathematics / West Paraprofessional, Digital Literacy / North
Approved the employment of the following part-time/temporary staff for 2015-16 School year:
NAME Al-Bayati, Amal Alfredo, Jose Batti, Tanya Bhakrani, Asma Edmond, Kathryn Khan, Sedra Khatoon, Nahin Langia, Zakira Latchin, Simila Lay, Amanda Mannancheril, Annie Marin, Karina Philbin, Cynthia Pitu, Naomi Plotnik, Mari Poland, Juwon Quadri, Syeda Shroff, Vraj Thomas, Alisha Viloria, Nicolle Wahdan, Mustafa Zabin, Rafah −
POSITION / LOCATION Library Monitors / North Lab Assistant / West ELL Testing / North < 600 Hours Lab Assistant / West Athletics / North Library Monitors / West Library Monitors / North Library Monitors / West Lab Assistant / West Lab Assistant / West Lab Assistant / West Library Monitors / West ELL Testing / West < 600 Hours Library Monitors / West Human Resources/ District < 600/hours Textbook Center, West Lab Assistant / West Lab Assistant / West Library Monitors / West Lab Assistant / West Library / North Lab Assistant / West
SALARY $8.25/Hr. $8.25/Hr. $48.14/Hr. $8.25/Hr. $8.25/Hr. $8.25/Hr. $8.25/Hr. $8.25/Hr. $8.25/Hr. $8.25/Hr. $8.25/Hr. $8.25/Hr. $48.14/Hr. $8.25/Hr. $16.00/Hr. $8.25/Hr. $8.25/Hr. $8.25/Hr. $8.25/Hr. $8.25/Hr. $8.25/Hr. $8.25/Hr.
EFFECTIVE DATE September 9, 2015 September 9, 2015 August 10, 2015 September 9, 2015 September 9, 2015 September 9, 2015 September 9, 2015 September 9, 2015 September 9, 2015 September 9, 2015 September 9, 2015 September 9, 2015 August 10, 2015 September 9, 2015 August 17, 2015 September 9, 2015 September 9, 2015 September 9, 2015 September 9, 2015 September 9, 2015 September 9, 2015 September 9, 2015
Approved the change for the following part-time/temporary staff for 2015-16 School year:
NAME Stacey, Rosanna
−
EFFECTIVE DATE August 5, 2015 August 19, 2015
POSITION / LOCATION Security < 600/hours / North
FROM $14.00/Hr. Previously approved on 8/4/15
TO $16.00/Hr.
EFFECTIVE DATE August 5, 2015
Approved the employment of the following stipend positions for the 2015-2016 school year:
NILES NORTH Pom Pon, Head Pom Pon, Assistant International Club, Sponsor Gay Straight Alliance (GSA), Sponsor Student Government, Sponsor Girls Volleyball, Assistant S.A.D.D., Sponsor D.E.C.A. Club, Head D.E.C.A. Club, Assistant Green Squad, Sponsor Poetry Slam, Sponsor Poetry Slam, Sponsor Model United Nations, Sponsor German Club, Sponsor Softball, Assistant Softball, Assistant
NAME *Norman, Rachel Wall, Kerry Andritsakis, Eleni (.5) Paulis, Sarah (.5) Andritsakis, Eleni Salem, Omar Pickett, Kia Sinnick, Jennifer (.33) Sinnick, Jennifer (.33) Sagan, Arlene Ordonez, Jean (.5) Paulis, Sarah (.5) Powell, Rachael (.5) Neal, Thomas (.5) Kessler, Joel Rafferty, Molly
NILES WEST National Art Honor Society, Sponsor Cheerleading, Assistant
NAME Sortino, Deanna Batista, Adrian (.5)
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Cheerleading, Assistant Girls Golf, Assistant Boys Soccer, Assistant FCCLA, Sponsor Strength and Conditioning Coordinator D.E.C.A. Club, Head D.E.C.A. Club, Assistant Gardening Club, Sponsor Chinese Club, Sponsor Chinese Club, Sponsor German Honor Society, Sponsor French Honor Society, Sponsor * Not a full-time school year employee −
*Gianpicolo, Marissa (.5) *Hester, Nicholas *Dabizljevic, Milos Romanchuk, Kaitlin *Pazik, Tyler Brown, Tricia (.2) Brown, Tricia (.2) Jackson, Kristen (.5) Hsing, Wileen (.5) Kim, Gloria (.5) Neumayer, Josef Capuzelo-Akechoud, Linda
Approved the employment of the following substitute teachers for the 2015-2016 school year:
NAME Axel, Paul Mankoff, Melissa McWherter, Zachary Vaisler, Aviel Vana, Chris Wittleder, William −
Approved the employment of the following licensed staff for the 2015-2016 school year:
NAME Noll, Jacob −
POSITION Executive Secretary, Human Resources – S4 / Step 1 260 day calendar POSITION Paraprofessional, Digital Literacy - P1 / Step 2, 186 day calendar
POSITION Buildings and Grounds
EFFECTIVE DATE September 10, 2015
FTE 1.0
EFFECTIVE DATE From: September 8, 2015 To: September 3, 2015
EFFECTIVE DATE May 7, 2017
Approved the employment of the following stipend positions for the 2015-2016 school year:
NILES NORTH Mock Trial, Sponsor Girls Basketball, Assistant NILES WEST Play 3, Other Play 1, Other Play 3, Other Play 4, Other Play 5, Assistant Play 5, Other Debate, Assistant * Not a full-time school year employee −
FTE 1.0
Approved the retirement of the following support staff:
NAME Mendes, George −
EFFECTIVE DATE September 9, 2015
Approved the change of employment for the following support staff for the 2015-2016 school year:
NAME Park, Andrew
−
FTE .25
Approved the employment of the following support staff for the 2015-2016 school year:
NAME Plotnik, Mari −
POSITION Science, MA / Step 5
NAME Sharma, Pankaj Wick, Karin NAME Sinclair, Andrew *Hummel, Leah *Hummel, Leah *Hummel, Leah *Hummel, Leah *Morris, Kimberly *Corrigan, Abraham (.25)
Approved the employment of the following substitute teachers for the 2015-2016 school year:
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NAME Ford, Nicholas −
Approved the Minutes of the August 4, 2015, August 10, 2015 and August 25, 2015 Board of Education Open and Closed Sessions.
− Approved the appointment of Eric Trimberger as the IMRF Authorized Agent for Niles Township High Schools District 219. −
Approved the acceptance of the donation from Evanston Subaru through AdoptAClassroom.org of $250.00 for supplies to be used in the Special Education program at Niles North High School.
− Approved the acceptance of the donation from James Lundgren of a 2003 Buick Century for use in the automotive program at Niles West High School. − Approved the International Field Trip for Niles North and Niles West High Schools to participate in a cultural learning exchange program and trip to Spain. XII. Business −
Final Budget Approval – Fiscal Year 2016 Mr. Trimberger discussed and highlighted the Budget for FY 2016. The budget has revenues of $148.9 million dollars and expenses of $144.2 million dollars and an additional $19 million dollars in capital projects for year 3 of our 5 Year Capital Plan, as well as funds to purchase land for the bus terminal and renovation of the site. Other highlights for the budget are the operating expense per pupil. When the administration presented the preliminary budget, the operating expense per pupil was $26,551 and for the final budget it is $24,497, a reduction of $2,055 per pupil which represents a reduction in the operating expense per pupil of $9.3 million dollars. The budget also includes a $5.3 million dollar transfer to cover the bond abatement from the 2014 tax levy. The administration will be asking the Board to make an abatement of $3.2 million later this fall as part of an overall levy increase of 3% for the FY 2015 levy. Mr. Novak thanked Mr. Trimberger and his staff for their diligence and hard work with regard to the preliminary and tentative budgets but asked Mr. Trimberger to explain how the decreases to the budget were made. Mr. Trimberger said that at the time of the preliminary budget, the staffing levels were already set for the year. Salaries and benefits make up a significant portion of the budget. The administration reviewed discretionary line items that could be reduced. Salaries were reduced, because historically there were areas where they were unspent, i.e., midyear hires were reduced and support staff vacancies that typically were unspent were reduced. The request for $500,000 for athletics was reduced to $250,000, intern vacancies were reduced. Mr. Novak asked how this affected students i.e., field trips. Mr. Trimberger said travel was reduced 40%. The field trip budget was reduced $60,000 and debate $25,000. Tuition reimbursement was reduced $215,000. The initial request was for $360,000. Mr. Trimberger discussed tuition reimbursement for the union and the administration. Hospitability was also discussed. Mr. Novak asked if it were possible to increase the budget on some of the items and Mr. Trimberger said it was at the Board’s discretion to direct the administration to do a budget transfer into those areas. There was a discussion on the reductions that were made. Mrs. Klint asked that this budget be passed and go back and look at the budget for more realistic costs. It was moved by NOVAK and seconded by KO to approve the Final Budget for FY 2016. A roll call vote was taken. Voting Aye: Evans, Klint, Ko, Lampert, Novak, Nowik, Sproat. The motion carried.
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−
TIF Update Mr. Trimberger said the Village of Skokie has proposed amending the downtown Science and Technology Skokie TIF. This TIF was created in 2005 to develop the former Pfizer property and as part of that development 8 buildings were demolished and 3 were renovated. This has been a successful TIF; the equalized assessed value of the TIF increasing by $17 million dollars and $2.3 million dollars in property tax revenue. This revenue is being used to pay off bonds issued by the Village of Skokie when the TIF was created. The Village of Skokie is proposing to add 63 properties with an equalized assessed value of $6.5 million dollars with this TIF. These properties have decreased in value by 40% since 2009. The Village believes that they need to spend $17 million dollars to acquire property because some of these sites are not big enough for development so they want to acquire adjoining properties and make site improvements on the properties to make it more attractive for development. The existing TIF has 13 years remaining and improvements would have to be made to the sites. Each TIF can go for 23 years and could be extended for an additional 12 years. The Village said they have no intention of extending the TIF. The Village had a Joint Review Board meeting on September 2 to review the proposed amendment. The taxing bodies that were present were the Skokie Park District, Skokie Public Library, District 69 and District 219. District 219 has historically chaired the Joint Review Boards so Mr. Trimberger was elected to Chair. A vote was taken and all taxing bodies voted in favor of the amendment with the exception of District 219 which voted to abstain, as directed by the Board. The Village Board will vote on this amendment on October 7. The Village believes that if they can develop a couple of sites on this property, the EAV can easily increase from $58.6 million dollars to $95 million dollars. If their projections are accurate, District 219 would see $1.9 million in new revenue when the TIF expires. Mr. Novak also had an opportunity to attend the Joint Review Board meeting and he also attended District 69’s Board meeting, where the Village of Skokie presented their argument for this TIF. Mr. Novak asked Mr. Trimberger to speak about the effect this TIF would have on the taxpayer in District 219. Mr. Trimberger said the current property value is about $6 ½ million dollars which would stay on the tax rolls. Mr. Trimberger said if the Village believes they need $17 million dollars it is his presumption that they will issue bonds to do so and the residents of Skokie would see an obligation of $17 million dollars on the books of the Village. They are going to count on this TIF to pay it back. If this fails, the residents of Skokie are ultimately responsible of this $17 million dollars, no matter which district they live in. The TIF was amended so it will include Madison School and by including Madison School that property would be eligible to receive funds from the TIF for development. The Village shared with us when the downtown TIF was created in 1990 both Madison and Lincoln Jr. High was included and District 69 received approximately $1.5 million dollars. The Village believes there is an equity issue across the elementary districts in Skokie because Districts 69 and 73½ do not have a tax base compared to District 68 which has Old Orchard Shopping Mall or District 72 which has some of the Touhy corridor. The taxpayers that live in Districts 69 or 73½ have a very high tax rate compared to the other sender districts within the Township, so the Village feels this is a way to provide some relief to the taxpayers that live in those elementary districts. Mr. Novak said we would be stuck with this TIF for 13 years. The next meeting at the Village of Skokie is October 7. There is dissention in some of the other taxing bodies as well. Mr. Novak said this will hurt our taxpayers. The Village does not have a developer in place, but they are trying to redevelop the site.
−
2016-17 Calendar Mrs. Klint suggested the Board consider partnering with our sender districts in having similar school days off. She feels it is essential to align holidays and spring break with the sender districts and suggested that the Board authorize the administration to go back and work with our sender districts to better align with them. The other concept she said needs to be reviewed by the Board is field trip block outs. This is where no one goes on field trips, i.e., AP testing, etc. She said we should recognize the top two most sacred holidays in the face of our community, so that we would know for sure those would be field trip block out days, ensuring those students would have excused absences to observe their faith and are not penalized for attendance and missing a day of school.
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Mr. Novak gave the Board a copy of District 73½ Board’s policy. Several years ago District 73½ created a holiday neutral calendar to make sure the students are not penalized if they take off their holiday and teachers are asked not to schedule tests or quizzes if the students are anticipating an absence. This would allow the District to push forward the start date from early August to a little bit later in August. The calendar has been a real issue to summer plans for parents. President Sproat said he and Dr. Roloff had an opportunity to meet with the Superintendents and the Board Presidents and the subject of how we can work better with the sender schools was discussed and the calendar was brought up in this discussion. President Sproat asked Dr. Roloff to continue to speak with the other Superintendents on this because it is a very important issue. Dr. Roloff will bring a revised draft of the calendar to the next Board meeting. Dr. Roloff stated that the 2016-17 Calendar does not have to be submitted until January or February. She will be meeting with the Township Superintendents again between now and October and she will have a draft calendar for the Board to review. −
Policy and Procedures First Reading The following policies were removed: Policies 4:150, 4:151, 4:160-AP1, 760, and 6:240-AP. Mrs. Klint said that the wording of Policies 4:150, 4:151 and 4:160-AP1 should be aligned throughout the document. Policy 6:240-AP should be updated, since we now own our buses, and the wording corrected. Policy 760 was discussed, but there is still some non-alignment in wording which should be corrected.
−
EBS Service Agreement Mrs. Klint questioned wording in the EBS Service Agreement regarding the right to dismiss. The contract is written such that EBS has a right to leave, but District 219 does not have that right. She would like to have the contract amended so that we also have a right to dismiss. Dr. Marcello said he would have the contract reviewed by our legal firm for amendment.
−
Professional Staffing for Speech Agreement Mrs. Klint questioned wording in the Professional Staffing Speech Agreement regarding the right to dismiss. The contract is written such that GE Speech Associates have a right to leave, but District 219 does not have that right. She would like to have the contract amended so that we also have a right to dismiss. Dr. Marcello said he would have the contract reviewed by our legal firm for amendment.
XIII. Interim Superintendent’s Report Dr. Roloff highlighted some aspects of the ACT Report. We received a final report on the 2015 class that just graduated. These reports are always received at the end of August. This report shows the last score a student has for 2015. The 2015 class was the last class to take the Prairie State Exam in their junior year. If you look back at 2012, scores were higher, and then there was a drop in scores because ACT started reporting some scores that they had not reported in the past. Dr. Roloff said we are seeing now is that scores are rising again and almost back where they were in 2012. She said this is a real testament to our teachers. ACT has recently done away with EXPLORE and the PLAN tests. The District is using retired exams and will continue to do so until we know what is happening with the PARCC Exam. It is still undecided for this year whether we will use ACT or SAT. What’s important is to know the growth a student makes from the EXPLORE to the ACT. Dr. Roloff also talked about interventions which are in place for our students. Principals’ Report Niles North – Dr. McTague said it was a great start to the school year. Transportation is fantastic. There were many positive comments from parents on our buses. This weekend Saturday, September 12, is the 5th Annual Niles North vs. Niles West Skokie Skirmish. The varsity football game begins at 1:00 p.m. Our 5th Annual Faculty & Staff Family Fest will start at 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., where Athletic Trainer Dawn Palmer was selected as this year’s Wall of Honor Recipient which will commence at 11:30 a.m. The Crosstown Classic will be taking place this weekend - girls’ volley ball and girls’ tennis, starting at 6:30 p.m. tomorrow night. The communications Department is a new Department where three of our Niles Minutes of the Regular Board Meeting of September 8, 2015
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North Communications programs (News Production, Broadcast Production and Yearbook Production) combined to broaden their equity awareness with respect to journalism and mass media production. They craft and disseminate all of the messages that our students see. With this power comes enormous responsibility to make sure we are serving the needs of our diverse community and to make sure messages are accurate. Niles West – Dr. Ness said we are twenty days into the new school year. It has been a busy start to the school year. The new buses are running great. The Open House was held last Thursday and was a great success. We are very excited about Homecoming week at the end of the month. There will be a Hall of Fame Dinner at Niles West that evening. Niles West Theatre kicks off its 2015-16 season Thursday, September 10 at 10:00 a.m. (community performance) and Saturday at 4:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. in the Black Box Theatre with “Songs for a New World.” This musical is a 3rd Annual Thespian Honor production and is rarely produced and never produced by high school students. Board Members’ Comments There were no Board member comments. XIV. Board Committee Reports Policy Committee – A date will set be for the next meeting. Facility Committee – A date will be set for the next meeting. Classrooms First Committee – There will be a meeting tomorrow evening at District 69. Equity Committee - Mr. Evans met with Corrie Wallace and discussed the Affinity Group meetings that have taken place and got off to a great start. A meeting date will be set after the approval of the budget so the Committee can move forward to other things. XV. Old Business There was no old business. XVI. New Business There was no new business. XVII. Audience to Visitors (on items related to District business) Lorenzo Fiol asked questions regarding the investigations of Superintendent Gatta. President Sproat said that no information can be shared at this time. We will be able to speak on this at the proper time. Katherine Gudgel, spoke on the TIF and encouraged the District 219 Board of Education not to support the Village of Skokie proposed amendment to the Science & Technology. She said this affects anyone in District 219, whether they are in Lincolnwood, Morton Grove, Skokie or Niles. It also affects to a less extent, Oakton Community College; and everyone in Cook County, even though ultimately the Village of Skokie has to approve the TIF. District 69 did vote for this because of the technicalities, however, in the public meeting, she said her Board does not endorse the TIF, which is public record. A significant number of properties that the Village of Skokie has proposed to add to this TIF are already owned by the Village. She feels that the Village of Skokie could give a developer a good deal without the TIF. About half of the properties are owned by District 69, the Park District or the Village of Skokie. The Park District and District 69 properties will not increase in EAV. Mrs. Gudgel explained why the TIF should not be supported. Mrs. Gudgel’s second question was regarding the budget for the Village of Skokie. She feels the budget is not clear and the Village wants to double the budget, however, the budget does not say where the $22 million dollars was spent. She encourages District 219 to not support this TIF. A public hearing will be held on October 7 and the Village of Skokie will listen to any interested parties. The actual vote on the TIF will be on November 7. She said this will have a huge effect on taxpayers. XVIII. Information Items − Monthly Financial Report – July 2015 − EIS Administrator and Teacher Salary and Benefits Report
Minutes of the Regular Board Meeting of September 8, 2015
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− 6 Day Enrollment 2015-16 − FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) XIX. Closed Session It was moved by NOVAK and seconded by KO to recess into closed session to discuss the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of employees, collective bargaining, purchase of property, security procedures, student disciplinary cases, selection of a person to fill a public office, the placement of individual students in special education programs or in other matters related to individual students and/or pending litigation. The Board will not be coming back into open session for discussion. A roll call vote was taken. Voting Aye: Evans, Klint, Ko, Lampert, Novak, Nowik, Sproat. The motion carried. The meeting adjourned to closed session at 8:38 p.m. XX.
Adjournment It was moved by NOVAK and seconded by KO to adjourn the meeting. A roll call vote was taken. Voting Aye: Evans, Klint, Ko, Lampert, Novak, Nowik, Sproat. The motion carried.
The meeting adjourned at 10:44 p.m.
_______________________________________ President
Minutes of the Regular Board Meeting of September 8, 2015
___________________________________ Secretary
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