District 15 Board of Education News
November 15, 2023
Pledge of Allegiance - Thomas Jefferson Elementary School
Thomas Jefferson Elementary School Ambassadors led the Pledge of Allegiance at the November Board meeting.
As a way of celebrating their last year of Thomas Jefferson being an elementary school, they have looked for ways to create leadership opportunities for their students who will be at Thomas Jefferson Middle School next year.
The 6th grade Ambassadors have been called upon throughout the summer and school year to help TJ. They have attended several night events providing much-needed help and even led new student/family tours. These students possess great leadership skills, consistently demonstrate being kind and caring individuals, and are great role models for others. According to Assistant Principal Olson, the TJ Ambassadors truly exemplify what it means to be a Jaguar.
Thank you Kayla D., Addison S., Miles T., Neil S., Sahil P., Elin K., Isabella P., and Cole R. for helping lead the Pledge and for your leadership at TJ.
RECOGNITION
Student Recognition: Abby, IAEA Statewide Student Art Show
District 15 was honored to recognize Abby, a student at Marion Jordan, who had her artwork selected as part of the annual Illinois Art Education Association (IAEA) Statewide Student Art Show! Each year, members of the IAEA submit student artwork from grades K-12 for selection into the annual IAEA Statewide Student Art Show. This year, 581 pieces were submitted by 74 teachers. Out of the 581 entries, 45 pieces were chosen for the show, including Abby’s! We are so proud of her. Way to go, Abby!
Student Recognition: 6th Grade Cross Country
On Monday, October 23, 2023, Intramural Sports participants from our D15 elementary schools ran a mile during the 6th Grade Cross Country Invitational Meet at Rolling Meadows’ North Salk Park. We had a total of 318 runners compete. 45 students ran under a 7 minute mile and 1 student ran under a 6 minute mile. Dr. Heinz and the Board of Education were thrilled to recognize the first-place winners at the November meeting.
The first-place winners were: Addie M. (Hunting Ridge), Emilio P. (Hunting Ridge), Lynn Y. (Frank C. Whiteley), Matthew C. (Virginia Lake), Allie B. (Central Road), and Wyatt V. (Central Road). Congratulations to our runners and a big shout out to their coaches!
Above and Beyond Staff Recognition: Officer Jenae Taylor
Palatine Police Officer and District 15 School Resource Officer (SRO) Jenae Taylor was selected for the Above and Beyond recognition for the month of November following a nomination by Jason Dietz, Principal of Walter R. Sundling Junior High School. Jenae is the SRO for Walter R. Sundling, but also supports Gray M. Sanborn, Hunting Ridge, Jane Addams, Lake Louise, Marion Jordan, Pleasant Hill, and Stuart R. Paddock.
Principal Dietz, Taylor’s nominator shared, “Jenae has been the School Resource Officer at Sundling for three years. During her time at our school, her focus has been on school safety and building strong relationships with the students, staff, and families within our school boundaries. Officer Taylor has become embedded in and an integral part of the day to day operations of our school. Jenae can be seen in the hallways talking with students, participating in our school spirit weeks, and sitting in on parent or school team meetings to support all parties. Jenae supports not only our feeder elementary schools, but has worked on many safety items with our district as well. Jenae is a kind and caring person who always puts others before herself. She can be counted on in any situation to provide support, constructive feedback, or encouragement. Her office is constantly open and filled with students and staff who have questions, or just want to talk (including me). She is a true Paladin and a very important part of why our school is a great place to be!”
Thank you, Jenae! We are so honored to recognize such an amazing staff member for going Above and Beyond!
Staff Recognition: Those Who Excel
Since 1970, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) has sponsored Those Who Excel and Teacher of the Year to honor individuals who have made significant contributions to our state's public and nonpublic elementary and secondary schools. Those Who Excel Awards are presented in five categories: school administrator, student support personnel, educational service personnel, community volunteer, and teams. In addition, ISBE hosts a Teacher of the Year program to honor that category of educators. District 15 was honored to recognize the five District nominations for individuals or teams who will advance onto consideration at the state level. We are so lucky to have these talented educators working in District 15. Good luck as you advance to the next level. Congratulations to:
Gaby Kaszuba (Stuart R. Paddock) for her nomination as Teacher of the Year;
Cristina Santana (Stuart R. Paddock) for her nomination as Early Career Educator;
Matt Warren (Conyers Learning Academy) for his nomination as School Administrator;
AIME Team (Gray M. Sanborn) members Elizabeth Skylakos, Brooke Marshall, Melissa Souden, Kelly Harmantas, Dawna Schuster, Makala Musgrove, Laura Taylor, and John Nesse for their team nomination; and
Rebecca Lawson (Winston Campus Elementary) for her nomination as Educational Service Personnel.
Board Member Recognition
Sponsored by the Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB), School Board Member Day is celebrated across Illinois on November 15. This day provides a special opportunity to thank the nearly 6,000 board members serving in 863 school districts for their volunteerism and in District 15 for their tremendous dedication to our district.
At the meeting, we joined other Illinois districts to share our sincere thanks to our wonderful elected Board for championing the work of educators, for fully supporting our continuous improvement efforts, and for helping shepherd the Moving 15 Forward plan through to a YES vote. Their work as a Board fully embodies this year’s theme of Learn Together – Lead Together. On behalf of the entire staff, Dr. Heinz thanked the Board of Education for all they do for our students, staff, and schools.
PRESENTATIONS
Social Media Litigation
Dr. Heinz, Superintendent of Schools, and Attorney Mike Hernandez, Partner at Franczek Law Group, presented an overview of the Social Media Litigation to the Board of Education.
Mr. Hernandez shared that on behalf of more than five hundred school districts nationally, Frantz Law Group, in coordination with multiple law firms representing school districts across the country, has filed lawsuits in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. Filed lawsuits are against Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, and other social media companies for allegedly causing harm to students who use these platforms. Frantz's legal team contends that the various defendants’ manipulative algorithms cause significant addiction and severe emotional distress to students which have led to significant interference with the educational process and the learning environments in schools.
The Board voted to authorize the Social Media Litigation and Fee Agreement.
View Social Media Lawsuit Memo along with other supporting documents in BoardDocs.
Illinois State Report Card
Lori Lopez, Ph.D., Assistant Superintendent for Teaching, Learning, & Assessment presented the Illinois State Report Card results. The Illinois Report Card is published annually by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). Report cards share a wide range of information about student achievement, school/district environment, finances, students, teachers, and administrators.
Dr. Lopez shared information about our schools’ ISBE Summative Designations as well as an overview of performance on the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR), the Illinois Science Assessment (ISA), the ISBE Equity Journey Continuum, and the Illinois 5Essentials Survey.
The District continues to accelerate growth for all students through high expectations, alignment of curriculum, instruction, and assessment, and using data to inform our instruction. Moving forward, the District will provide an annual October update on student achievement and an annual November update of the Illinois State Report Card. Additional student achievement information will be communicated in December when the Strategic Plan dashboard is shared.
Tentative 2023 Tax Levy
Diana R. McCluskey, Chief of School Business Official, and Anthony Fashoda, Director of Fiscal Services presented the Tentative 2023 Tax Levy to the Board of Education.
Per state statute, the tentative levy is presented to the Board of Education at least 20 days prior to adoption. The final levy is scheduled for adoption at the Board of Education meeting on December 13, 2023. Overall, approximately 73% of the District's revenues are from property taxes.
The levy is the ask by the school district to the Cook County Clerk's Office to extend property taxes for 2023. The District is subject to the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (PTELL) which limits the increase in the tax to the December 2022 CPI-U of 6.5% or statutorily 5%, whichever is less. The applicable increase is 5%. The final extension will include new properties that come on the tax roll for the first time. New Property includes finished construction and tax increment financing districts that have expired and both are taxed at the full rate. The LY23 proposed levy is $153,580,221. The Board of Education will vote to adopt the final levy at its next meeting on December 13, 2023.
Emergency Expenditure of Funds for Emergency Transportation Agreement for Unassigned School Bus Routes with Determination of Approval
Claire Kowalczyk, Ed.D., Deputy Superintendent, and Thomas Bramley, Director of Transportation presented information regarding the emergency expenditure of funds for emergency transportation agreement for unassigned school bus routes for approval by the Board.
Last year, the District utilized its Emergency Provision within the DTU collective bargaining agreement to go out to bid to hire seven supplemental drivers to cover unassigned routes. The provision allows the District to use supplemental drivers for 90 days.
The District may again need to use this Emergency Provision to try and address the shortages and ensure all routes have assigned drivers. In October 2023, District 15 solicited bids, in accordance with Section 10-20.21 of the School Code, from private transportation companies to cover the five unassigned routes we had when “route pick” took place before the school year began. An update on recruitment efforts was provided.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
ED-RED Committee
Board Member Annerino shared that the Illinois State Legislature concluded its veto sessions and there was not much discussion related to school districts. The Invest In Kids Program will no longer continue. The Kosher Meals Program was vetoed.
one-five Foundation
Board Member Taylor shared that the one-five Foundation recently wrapped up its mini-grant program and will be announcing winners soon. Additionally, the Foundation is still looking for trustees. If someone is interested in learning more about the mini-grants program or becoming a trustee, they can visit www.one-five.org.
Finance Committee
Board Members Hunt and Wang shared that the finance committee met on November 14 to discuss the tax levy presented at the November 15 meeting.
Equity Committee
Board Members Khan and Ader shared that there is nothing to report at this time.
2023 IASB Resolutions Committee Report
Through the Resolutions Process and Delegate Assembly, Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB) member districts provide critical direction as IASB represents members’ interests before state and national policymakers. Every member district is entitled to one voting delegate. This year delegates will vote for the election of IASB Officers and the adoption of their Position Statements on issues that reflect the interests of Boards of Education across the state. The Board held a discussion and voiced opinions for or against each of other the following resolutions:
Industrial Construction: IASB recommends not to adopt and District 15’s BOE recommended not to adopt
School Resource Officer Funding: IASB recommends to adopt and District 15’s BOE recommended not to adopt
Bus Driver Regulations: IASB recommended to adopt and District 15’s BOE recommended to adopt
Employment History Review: IASB recommends not to adopt and District 15’s BOE recommends not to adopt
Alternative Safe School Funding: IASB recommends not to adopt and District 15’s BOE recommends not to adopt
Zubair Khan will represent the District 15 Board Resolution meeting at the upcoming Joint Committee.
Watch the Board’s discussion around these resolutions on our Youtube channel.
Read more about the resolutions on BoardDocs.
ACTION ITEMS
- 9.1 Approval of Personnel Report: Recommendations for Administration, Certified and Non-Certified staff members - approved
- 9.2 Approval of Safeway Transportation bid and the Agreement for Unassigned School Bus Routes - rejected
- 9.3 Approval of Bid Award #24-001 Treated/Untreated Rock Salt & Bagged Salt - approved
- 9.4 Approval of the Resolution Estimating the Aggregate Levy for the Year 2023 - approved
- 9.5 Approval Authorizing Social Media Litigation and Fee Agreement. - approved
- 9.6 Approval of Standard Long Term Substitute Daily Rate for Related Services Positions - approved
- 9.7 Approval of Resolution Awarding and Assigning Trade Contracts for Renovations related to Wold Phase 3 Projects - approved
- 9.8 Approval of School Maintenance Project Grant Application - approved
- 9.9 Approval to Ratify DTU Tentative Agreement - The DTU contract was not ratified, therefore, Action Item 9.9 was no action taken
