Galesburg Reporter

Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205 Board of Education met Oct. 17.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

Minutes of the Regular Board of Education Meeting held on October 17, 2023 at 7:00 p.m. in Board Rooms 215, 216, & 217 at 162 S. York Street, Elmhurst, IL, DuPage County

Call to Order: President Arvanitis called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m.

Board of Education Members

Present – Mrs. Athena Arvanitis, President; Mrs. Elizabeth Hosler, Vice-President; Mrs. Courtenae Trautmann, Secretary; Mrs. Kelly Asseff; Mrs. Kara Caforio; Mr. Jim Collins; Dr. Kelly Henry

Absent – none

President Arvanitis stated there are all 7 board members present, a quorum is present.

Administration

Present - Dr. Keisha Campbell, Superintendent; Mrs. Tonya Daniels, Exec. Dir. Communications; Mr. Rudy Gomez, Exec. Dir. Technology; Ms. Kerry Leuschel, Exec. Dir. Secondary Ed; Mrs. Katie Lyons, Exec. Dir. Elementary Ed; Dr. Kevin Rubenstein, Asst. Supt. Student Services; Dr. Joe Schumacher, Asst. Supt. Human Resources; Mr. Chris Whelton, Asst. Supt. Finance & Operations

Absent - Dr. Scott Grens, Associate Superintendent

Closed Session

President Arvanitis asked for a motion to adjourn to closed session at 5:30 p.m to discuss matters relating to The appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees of the public body or legal counsel for the public body, including hearing testimony on a complaint lodged against an employee of the public body or against legal counsel for the public body to determine its validity;

AND Collective negotiating matters between the public body and its employees or their representatives, or deliberations concerning salary schedules for one or more classes of employees. 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(2)

AND Discussion of minutes of meetings lawfully closed under the Open Meetings Act, whether for purposes of approval by the body of the minutes or semi-annual review of the minutes as mandated by Section 2.06.

Mrs. Trautmann moved and Mrs. Hosler seconded the motion. 

ROLL CALL VOTE: Mrs. Trautmann, Mrs. Hosler, Mrs. Asseff, Dr. Henry, Mrs. Caforio, Mr. Collins, and Mrs. Arvanitis voted aye. Motion carried.

Reconvene to Open Session

The Board adjourned from closed session at 6:36 p.m. and reconvened to open session.

Pledge of Allegiance: Board members led those present in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

Spotlight/Recognition

Edison ES Spotlight

Edison spotlight presented by Principal Pluskota and Assistant Principal McDonald focused on building relationships through Empowering Students to be Peer Leaders. They shared how 5th graders are buddies to kindergarten students, how student ambassadors are models of positive behavior to all Edison students, how 4th graders are helpers to 1st graders, and how students are reading buddies to multi-needs students.

Proclamation – Principal Appreciation Week

Dr. Campbell introduced that our state designates this week as Principal Appreciation Week and Friday, October 20 as Principal Appreciation Day. A social media video was shown highlighting the each of the D205 principals and can be found on the video link in BoardDocs. On behalf of the Board, President Arvanitis stated how thankful we are to have each principal in our District and highlighted some of the impactful work they do every day for students, parents, and staff.

Public Comments: There were no public comments.

Approval of Board Meeting Minutes

Approval of Regular Board Minutes: September 19, 2023

Approval of Closed Session Minutes: September 19, 2023

President Arvanitis asked if there were any changes to minutes and hearing no changes, the minutes were declared to stand as presented.

Reports and Presentations

D205 Assessment System – Fall Update

Dr. Campbell stated the presentation is an overview of our assessment system, specifically highlighting two Fall assessments. The presentation focus is on the framework of students success, specifically highlighting two assessments - one for student success and one for Social Emotional learning. The team of Mrs. Katie Lyons, Ms. Kerry Leuschel, and Dr. Kevin Rubenstein highlighted the specific ways that leaders, teams and teachers are responding to the data and taking action. They reviewed the comprehensive assessment system for both academic and social emotional learning, student data was shown through a variety of graphs and tables, along with including social emotional learning data to support actions.

President Arvanitis commented about the tier 1 interventions and how over the past few years the Professional Learning Communities (PLC) for staff indicates a successful PLC program and how it is benefiting our students.

2024-2025 Course Proposals & Program Update

Ms. Leuschel highlighted two new course proposals, 6-8 Heritage Spanish and Algebra 2 Applications, along with a reminder of the common process for course proposals throughout the district created several years ago. The process allows time to for instructional materials to be reviewed. She also provided an update on the elementary instrumental music program. The review process for the instrumental program began in 2020-2021 school year, where feedback from students and families was gathered through student surveys, family surveys, and focus groups. The plan is for the program update to take effect in the 2024-2025 school year. Between now and then, the first priority is to create and implement a stakeholder communication plan to ensure all stakeholders understand how the program is changing and how it will benefit them. The new design of the 4th grade instrument exploration experience will then finalized, along with administering the existing end of the school year survey.

The following is a summary of the Board’s comments and wonderings: Thank you for considering so many stakeholders, it’s appreciated; Love the idea of students being able to try different instruments; Important to have a robust 4th grade bridge experience; Wondered how current 4th grade students select instruments; and Are there any staff implications.

Medical/Dental Benefit Contracts

John McConnell from Assured Partners presented a 4-year history, along with historical insurance committee recommendations to the Board, reviewed the due diligence taken by the insurance committee, covered the employee communication timeline, and provided an overview of the 2024 renewal. He stated that the insurance committee will continue to meet to review potential solutions that show saving opportunities, while continuing to offer great benefits to the District.

The following is a summary of the Board’s comments and wonderings: Why is the district’s percentage increase higher than the average increase in Illinois; Clarified that the committee continues to work on creative solutions; 35% increase is not sustainable; Is there a way to assess insurance cost in the short-term based on our population; Were cost saving measures offered by Blue Cross Blue Shield; Can you tell us about any strategies to prevent the next wave of increase; Hope the committee brings every cost savings opportunity and are open minded; and Thank you for the work, time, and energy

Consent Agenda Items

Personnel Report

Financial Reports

Assistance League Chicagoland West (ALCW) Agreement

Second Read Policy Section 2: Board of Education - 2:80; 2:170

Second Read Policy Section 4: Operational Services 4:45; 4:100

Second Read Policy Section 5: Personnel 5:230

Second Read Section 6: Instruction 6:10; 6:190; 6:240

Second Read Section 7: Students - Policy Review 7:305; 7:330

Second Read Section 8: Community Relations - Policy Review 8:25; 8:95

President Avanitis asked for a motion to approve the following consent agenda items: A. Personnel Report; B. Financial Reports; C. Assistance League Chicagoland West (ALCW); D. Second Read Policy Section 2: Board of Education - 2:80, 2:170; E. Second Read Policy Section 4: Operational Services - 4:45, 4:100; F. Second Read Policy Section 5: Personnel - 5:230; G. Second Read Policy Section 6: Instruction - 6:10, 6:190, 6:240; H. Second Read Policy Section 7: Students - 7:305, 7:330; and I. Second Read Policy Section 8: Community Relations - 8:25, 8:95.

Mrs. Trautmann moved and Mrs. Hosler seconded the motion. ROLL CALL VOTE: Mrs. Trautmann, Mrs. Hosler, Mrs. Caforio, Dr. Henry, Mr. Collins, Mrs. Asseff, and Mrs. Arvanitis voted aye. Motion carried.

Agenda Action Items

First Read Policy Section 4: Operational Services 4:20

President Arvanitis provided a preview as to why Policy 4:20 is under action item. This policy was discussed at last month’s board meeting extensively and this policy review has been under significant consideration by the Board for over a year with many discussions. This policy is used as a matrix to measure financial health and to make important financial decisions for the district and community. Mr. Whelton added that we target the low cash point of May 31st, focused on operating funds, and ratio of operating fund balance to expenses, where the Board seek to maintain the policy ratio. Mr. Collins provided a comment as to why his vote will be no.

President Arvanitis asked for a motion to approve the Second Read Policy Section 4: Operational Services policy 4:20. Mrs. Trautmann moved and Dr. Henry seconded the motion. 

ROLL CALL VOTE: Mrs. Trautmann, Dr. Henry, Mrs. Asseff, Mrs. Caforio, Mrs. Hosler, and Mrs. Arvanitis voted aye. Motion carried. Mr. Collins voted nay.

Approve Medical & Dental Benefit Contracts

Mr. Whelton stated the report for medical and dental benefits was presented earlier in the meeting by Mr. McConnell showing a 36.8% increase on medical and zero increase on the dental.

Mr. Collins commented that the Board has contractually agreed to this process but it is not sustainable. This process needs to change in the future.

President Arvanitis asked for a motion to approve the renewal of BlueCross/BlueShield health and dental insurance plans for the January1–December31, 2024 year, as presented. Mrs. Caforio moved and Mrs. Hosler seconded the motion. 

ROLL CALL VOTE: Mrs. Caforio, Mrs. Hosler, Mr. Collins, Mrs. Asseff, Mrs. Trautmann, Dr. Henry, and Mrs. Arvanitis voted aye. Motion carried.

Superintendent's Communication

Options Fair Leaders

Dr. Campbell stated that on Wednesday, October 11, District 205 hosted the 2023 Options Fair for students with disabilities. The Options Fair was established to offer students with an IEP and their families an opportunity to meet with colleges/universities, college experience programs, trade schools, and agencies that can provide services after high school. There were close to 1000 people attending from high schools in DuPage and West Cook, with representatives from 80 agencies. Dr. Campbell acknowledged the members of our Bridges Transition who spearheaded the hosted event at York HS. They received incredible feedback and look forward to attending next year’s event to be hosted at Glenbard West. The following is a summary of the Board’s comments: What a tremendous opportunity for the students and families, along with being a huge undertaking to host an event this size; Congratulations on a wonderful event, the county and district appreciate it; and Thank you for hosting the event, it was an amazing opportunity for our students to attend the event at their home high school.

Fall Housing Enrollment Update

Mr. Whelton reviewed the fall housing enrollment update indicating the Illinois State Board of Education requires each school district to do a fall housing report as of September 30th each year. He stated our overall enrollment is stable with some small increases.

State of the District

Dr. Campbell shared we are bringing back the State of the District on November 1 and invited the community to join us on November 1, 2023 at 7:00 p.m. at York High School Commons. We look forward to the opportunity to come together, celebrate the many achievements of students and staff, we’ll look at data soon released from the State, and share how we will continue to tailor and focus our work to ensure alignment to maximize growth for each student.

FOIA – Freedom of Information Act Requests

Dr. Campbell reviewed the following FOIA requests since the last board meeting.

1 FOIA request for English learner and bilingual information, granted.

1 FOIA request for non-certified salary report, granted.

1 FOIA request for number of certified school librarians, granted.

1 FOIA request for radon testing from 2018, not in possession.

1 FOIA request for elementary literacy curriculum, granted.

1 FOIA request for staff grievance information, denied.

Social Media Highlights

Mrs. Daniel introduced the social media highlight video that was shown earlier in the meeting.

Board Communications: If applicable, Board members present reports and/or share information to the full Board. There was no information to share.

Upcoming Meetings

- October 25, 2023 Committee of the Whole Bd. of Education Mtg. at 5:30 p.m.- District 205 Center, Rms. 215 & 216

- November 8, 2023 Finance and Operation Committee Meeting at 5:30 p.m. - District 205 Center, Rooms 215 & 216

- November 14, 2023 Board of Education Meeting at 7:00 p.m. - District 205 Center, Rooms 215, 216, and 217

- December 6, 2023 Policy Committee Meeting at 5:30 p.m. - District 205 Center, Rooms 215, and 216

Adjournment - End of Meeting: The meeting was adjourned at 8:53 p.m.

https://go.boarddocs.com/il/elmhurst/Board.nsf/Public