Board Briefs

Board Briefs is a newsletter-style overview of the highlights of the Board of Education's discussion and action. You can find the meeting agenda online here, and look for minutes of the meeting to be posted after they are approved at the next BOE meeting (October 18, 2021).

The meeting was streamed live on the District 34 YouTube channel; you can view the recording below.

The Board of Education held a public hearing on the 2022 budget. Eric Miller, assistant superintendent for business services. As Mr. Miller has presented at previous board meetings, the budget aligns resources to the strategic goals for the year. It shows an operating revenue of $77M and operating expenses of $79M. The budget includes $60M in construction costs associated with the successful referendum.

There were no community comments, and the Board approved the budget during the regular meeting.

Each month, Superintendent Dr. Dane Delli updates the Board of Education and the community about programs, events, notable achievements, and other timely information and celebrations.

Dr. Delli applauded the achievements of two District 34 students who received awards from Infinitec, an organization that provides information about assistive technology as well as support and resources for its use. Assistant Superintendent of Student Services and Assistive Technology Specialist Erin Ross gave a presentation to honor Quinn Lynch, who received a certificate of excellence, and Evanthia Karones, who received the Outstanding Student Technology Award.

Dr. Delli an other members of the District 34 administration gave an overview of the start of the year: what has been working well, and where the District can make improvements. The primary challenges are with providing instruction for students in quarantine. Assistant Superintendent for Instructional Innovation Brian Engle explained the limitations of the current model for quarantine instruction. He explained that ISBE, after the start of the school year, changed the mandate away from a focus on full in-person learning to add a requirement that remote must include 2.5 hours of direct, synchronous instruction. The administration's proposed changes address that mandate. The environment will be adjusted to allow students in quarantine to Zoom into the class for one-way instruction. Students would get their questions answered and any clarification or reteaching needed from the grade center teacher. In addition, building teams will develop plans for each student to ensure smooth transitions back to in-person learning.

SHIELD testing is expected to begin September 27. Seventy-four percent of students have opted into testing. Test to stay will allow students who participate in SHIELD screening and remain asymptomatic to stay in school if they are close contacts in a school setting when both the positive case and close contact are wearing masks.

The community is encouraged to attend Board of Education meetings, and contribute during the community participation periods. In all regular Board of Education meetings, the Board follows a set agenda that include two opportunities for community participation.

During the first opportunity for community comments, the following people spoke:

• Mary Kosinski Dolan, parent of D34 students, commended the District for starting the school year successfully. She shared appreciation for the work of Lyon Principal Stefanie Shefler, Lyon school nurse Sydney Hellmer, and grade center teachers Ashley Stanley and Morgan Richmond.
• Valerie Montague, parent of D34 students, described her family's experience with quarantine instruction and shared appreciation that the District is moving toward direct remote instruction.
• Nanette Ross-Meridith, techer and president of Glenview Education Association, said that teachers would like more time before implementation of changes to the environment to allow for the continuation of collaborative decision making.
• Jennifer Patel, parent of D34 students, expressed disappointment with the Board in not taking a vote on masking.
• Dr. Mary Carleton, parent of D34 students, shared her concerns about continuing mitigation protocols, and inaccuracies in COVID-19 testing.
• Elena Bezman, parent of D34 students, encouraged other parents to speak up against masking.

During the second community participation period, the following people spoke:

• Anastasiya Ivanova, D34 parent, said that the District should fight ISBE and state mandates requiring masks.
• Scot Castellaneta, D34 parent, asked the District to provide statistics on how many children have been hospitalized or died from COVID.
• Anna Citko, D34 parent, asked about guidance for students who travel for sports and about optional masking.
• Teodora Bogdan, D34 parent, expressed the position that the District's funding is not at risk if D34 doesn't require masks because a mandate is not a law.

The Board approved the consent agenda, which included a personnel report and payroll and vendor warrants, health and dental rates for 2022, approval to accept donations, disposal of surplus equipment, salary and benefit report, and policy changes. The Board also approved other resolutions:

• Adoption of 2022 budget
• Approval of bids for new playground surface
• Med-Call (SHIELD) agreement
• Superintendent's contract
• Supplemental services for English Learners
• Memo of understanding

Dave Torres from Nicholas Associates gave an update on the progress of construction. He said that he is encouraged by the progress, and gave the timeline to complete this phase of construction by August 2022.

Troy Kerr and Ron Richardson of FGM Architects provided a look ahead to phases 2 and 3 of construction. In those phases, all classrooms in every building will be renovated. The work will include:

• Classroom Finishes Replacements
• Science Lab Renovations at Springman and Attea
• Mechanical Equipment Replacements
• Office/MPR Renovations at Hoffman
• Office Renovations at Lyon

Due to the level of infrastructure work, buildings will remain offline in the summer of 2022 and 2023.

Dr. Delli celebrated that the construction made possible by the successful referendum is allowing full-day kindergarten in District 34 beginning with the 2022-2023 school year.

He said that during referendum information sessions, and previous Board meetings (note: the item was on the January 27, 2020 Board meeting agenda), the District shared that there would be a fee associated with full-day kindergarten (FDK) to address the additional $1.6M in annual operating costs associated with FDK. As required by the state, the district will continue to offer a half-day kindergarten program available for those who do not wish to send their children for a full day; that program may be a District-wide half-day program at one location, or students may attend in a FDK classroom, but attend for a half day.

Assistant Superintendent for Business Services Eric Miller shared a breakdown of those costs. He shared that the District expects to offer a fee waiver for FDK; eligibility would be based on the National School Lunch Program guidelines. In a review of other local districts that offer a fee-based FDK program, the average fee charged is $4,165; the average private-school tuition for FDK is $13,500.

Mr. Miller proposed that the District offer an early-bird discount to encourage early registration, which will help the District appropriately staff.

Glenview District 34 is governed by a seven-person Board of Education, elected by the community, that consists of the following individuals:

• Scott Nelson (President)
  
• John Heggie (Vice President)
  
• Mike Korman (Secretary)
  
• Jim Baumstark
• James Dolan
• Natalie Jachtorowycz
  
• Diane Stefani
  

You can find information about Board members, meeting dates, Board policies and more on the District 34 website.

You can contact the Board at board@glenview34.org.

Email: news@glenview34.org
Website: www.glenview34.org
Location: 1401 Greenwood Road, Glenview, IL, USA
Phone: 847-998-5000
Facebook: facebook.com/glenview34
Twitter: @glenview34