Board RECAP
October 19, 2023
May 16, 2024
The Township High School District 211 Board of Education met on Thursday, May 16, 2024, in the Board Room of the G.A. McElroy Administration Center. Below is a recap of key items acted on and reviewed.
Recognitions
The Board of Education recognized students for state-level achievements; staff for state-level honors; and Booster presidents at all schools for their contributions. The individuals were:
Palatine High School
IHSA State Journalism Tournament
Presenter Sean Berleman
Megan Cox: 3rd place in Advertising
Siomara Valdez: 3rd place in Photo Storytelling
Karim Melek: 5th place in Headline Writing; 5th place in News Writing
Marissa Parchim: 4th place in Yearbook Theme Development
Grace Wang: 4th place in Yearbook Theme Development
Tessa Faltinek: 6th place in Sports Writing
William Fremd High School
Family, Career and Community Leaders of America State Conference
Presenter Kevin Homan
Jaren Reyes: Most Outstanding in Culinary Arts
James B. Conant High School
Family, Career and Community Leaders of America State Conference
Presenter Jackie Brown
Alexander Waterman: Most Outstanding in Apparel Construction Casual Wear
Duncan Whiteside: Most Outstanding in Frosted Decorated Cake
IHSA State Journalism Tournament
Presenter David Gwizdala
Zehra Ozcan: 3rd place in Editorial Writing
Alexa Orlowski: 6th place Yearbook Copy Writing
Infinitec 2024 Outstanding Student Technology Award
Schaumburg High School student Abby Fisher received an Outstanding Student Technology Award from Infinitec, noting her exceptional skills in the use of assistive technologies.
IADA New Athletic Director of the Year
William Fremd High School Athletic Director Hamid Mehreioskouei has been awarded the State New Athletic Director of the Year Award from the Illinois Athletic Directors Association, recognizing him as a dynamic leader with a passion for athletics and community service.
Those Who Excel Awards
The following District 211 staff have been named winners in the Illinois State Board of Education’s 2024 “Those Who Excel” awards program, for excellence in public education.
Educational Support Personnel
Donna Adcock, Principal’s Administrative Assistant
William Fremd High School
Student Support Personnel
Nate Elzinga, Psychologist
Schaumburg High School
Early Career Educator
Machaela Leno, Art Teacher
Hoffman Estates High School
Classroom Teacher of the Year Nominee
Adrienne Stewart, Business Education Teacher
Palatine High School
Team: Conant High School PRIDE
Jeannette Ardell, 12-Month Assistant Principal
Jennifer Langer, World Language Teacher
Austin Sobey; Counselor
Jodie Weintraub, World Language Teacher
Booster Presidents
Palatine High School
Rachel Stevens and Mindy May, Pirate Booster Club Co-Presidents
Jennifer Krieg, Parents Music Club President
William Fremd High School
Verlyn Suderman, Viking Booster Club President
Melissa Schlesinger, Music Association President
James B. Conant High School
Traci Garcia, Cougar Booster Club President
Dawn Herman, Band Parents Club President
Schaumburg High School
Dawn Hoelzer, Very Interested Parents (VIPs) President
Vicki Shadel, Band Booster Club President
Hoffman Estates High School
Pam Conway, Loyal Partners (HELP) President
Julie Worsham, Music Parents Association President
2023-2024 Budget and Five-Year Financial Projection Update Introduction
To sustain and uphold the educational excellence and extraordinary learning opportunities that District 211 has delivered for many years, the District utilizes a yearly operating budget of more than $300 million.
Our commitments to developing college and career readiness skills demand that we provide quality instruction from highly qualified professionals within a rigorous curriculum that integrates the use of technology within effective learning environments and facilities. This requires excellent financial planning and strategy integrating the current financial position into a projected financial forecast that accounts for numerous influences within the organization and outside the District’s control.
Chief Operating Officer Lauren Hummel and Controller/Treasurer Barbara Peterson presented an update of the 2023-2024 budget and a five-year financial projection.
View the 2023-2024 budget five-year projection update report here.
The presentation can be viewed here.
Approval of Minutes
The Board of Education approved the minutes from its April 25, 2004 meeting.
Acceptance of Donations
Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting
Annually, the Association of School Business Officials International recognizes school districts that demonstrate high standards and best practices for financial reporting and accountability through the Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting Award. For the 17th year in a row, District 211 was named a recipient for the fiscal period ending June 30, 2023. This award confirms the District’s commitment to financial accountability and transparency through its financial reports.
Energy Conservation Update
The strategic plan commits to annually continuing to improve safety and modernization of facilities with a specific target to annually enhance energy efficiency. District 211 maintains a comprehensive energy management program with the goal to reduce energy consumption and lower utility costs for electricity, natural gas and water. Energy initiatives include utilization of building automation systems to maintain control settings all hours of the day, replacement of facility systems with more efficient replacements and competitive pricing solicitation for energy rates.
The Board reviewed a report detailing energy procurement and current and future energy efficiency initiatives.
The full report is available here.
Superintendent Search - Search Firm Selection
At its April 25, 2024 Board meeting, the Board was presented information from the two superintendent search firms selected by the Board through a request for proposals process. Alma Advisory Group presented a proposal based on 32% of the predicted salary, less a 12% discount. The total estimated cost is $82,640 including services described in the proposal, advertising and Alma employee travel expenses. Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates presented a proposal with a consulting fee of $29,900 plus additional costs for on-site days beyond four days at $2,500 per day, customized questions added to the community engagement survey for $1,000, and additional background screening through an independent third-party at $1,950 per finalist.
The Board approved the engagement of Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates at a cost not to exceed $35,000 to lead the superintendent search process.
Student Photography Vendor Services
At the April 25, 2024 Board of Education meeting, the Board did not approve a vendor for student photography services. The selection committee recommended Visual Imaging Photography (VIP) as its first choice and HR Imaging Partners as its second choice. The item returned to the Board for further discussion and clarification, and the Board approved the hiring of VIP for the 2024-2025, 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 years.
More information is here.
Panorama Education Software Platform
Panorama Education was first approved by the Board on June 17, 2021 to assist in monitoring students’ mental health and supporting Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) within District 211. Once approved, we began integration and implementation.
Over the past three years, we have fostered a strong partnership with Panorama Education. This collaborative effort has resulted in a software platform that provides access to valid, reliable student and staff survey tools, and a comprehensive system that can manage tier I, II, and III behavior, academics, and social-emotional learning intervention strategies.
The Panorama survey tool supports the wellness goal within the strategic plan; specifically the indicator of a sense of belonging, trust and safety. The platform enables District 211 staff to continue to assess and monitor social-emotional health by administering Panorama’s validated, research-backed social-emotional learning surveys to students and staff. These measures will allow staff to gather information about our students’ development and application of key social-emotional learning skills, such as grit and growth mindset, as well as information about the District’s and individual schools, and support for social-emotional development. In addition, the results will allow us to better understand and support our students and then provide interventions and programs to improve school climate and social-emotional learning.
The Board approved a one-year agreement with Panorama Education at a cost of $121,500.
ELLevation Software Platform
The Illinois School Code requires that public schools provide two types of programs for students identified as EL to support them toward becoming proficient in English.
The ELLevation software platform will enable District 211 staff to continue to assess, monitor, and effectively support EL students in District 211 classrooms. ELLevation is a comprehensive EL program management platform that organizes all EL student data, supports critical meeting and monitoring processes, enables accurate reporting and supports instructional planning for multilingual students.
The Board approved a one-year agreement with Curriculum Associates, LLC to purchase ELLevation at a cost of $41,549. This will be covered through Title III funds.
Consolidated District Plan
The Federal government provides a variety of education grant programs to support eligible school districts across the nation. In the past, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) managed access to these grants for Illinois school districts through separate and distinct application systems. Effective with the 2019-2020 school year, to comply with legislative regulations contained within the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the ISBE began managing federal grants under one Consolidated District Plan (CDP). Each Illinois school district accessing Federal grant funds must submit a single unified grant application to the ISBE after seeking approval of the CDP by its local school board. District 211 participates in the Title I, Title II, Title III, Title IV and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Federal grant programs.
The Board reviewed and approved the 2024-2025 Consolidated District Plan to utilize the Federal Title I, Title II, Title III, Title IV and IDEA grants totaling approximately $4,298,810 as presented. Full details of the plan can be viewed here.
Spring Curriculum Report
District 211 offers a comprehensive high school experience with more than 700 unique courses offering an extensive array of opportunities for every student. The District 211 Curriculum Committee meets three times to ensure the rigor and relevancy of course curriculum, instructional methodology and alignment of coursework across the District.
The Curriculum Committee is made up of department chairs from each school along with principals and the assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction.
While the Curriculum Committee is composed of eleven members, the process of curriculum development and modification is a collaboration between teachers and administrators. Each group is engaged in the process at different levels of our organization to ensure that our curriculum remains dynamic and relevant to our students while continuing to align with state and national standards as well as to meet the expectations of our post-secondary partners.
The Board reviewed and approved the curriculum committee report as presented.
Supplemental information regarding AI can be found here.
Northwest Suburban Special Education Organization Budget
The Northwest Suburban Special Education Organization (NSSEO) amended annual budget for 2023-2024 and proposed annual budget for 2024-2025 were approved by its Governing Board for transmittal to member districts on April 3, 2024.
Chief Operating Officer Lauren Hummel and Director of Special Education Renée Erickson participated on the NSSEO Finance Advisory Committee that reviewed the amended 2023-2024 annual budget and developed the proposed 2024-2025 annual budget.
The Board ratified the NSSEO amended 2023-2024 annual budget and the NSSEO proposed 2024-2025 annual budget and agreed to pay the District's proportionate share of the proposed budgeted revenues.
Full details are available here.
The 2024-2025 Budget Chart can be viewed here.
The 2024-2025 Budget can be viewed here.
District Mass Communications Platforms
In 2017, the Board authorized the Superintendent to employ the services of Blackboard Inc. to rebuild and subsequently host the District’s eight websites. In April 2022, the Board approved an additional Blackboard-supported mass communications tool that greatly expanded communications and messaging capabilities. The new service has allowed the District to communicate more effectively and in a timely manner with parents and other audiences and translate text and email communication to every language requested by families (32 languages currently). In September 2022, Finalsite, a global leader in K-12 school website development, hosting and digital communications software and services, acquired the Blackboard K-12 Community Engagement division, which includes the web community manager and mass notifications platforms used by District 211. The product is now known as Finalsite + Blackboard K-12.
In line with the District’s Strategic Plan, the communications team has been working to determine the feasibility and desire for a District 211 mobile application (“app”) as an additional piece to the Finalsite + Blackboard K-12 communications package. The intent is a system that could notify students and parents in urgent situations, including school closings, beyond email and texting, and maintain key information in one spot.
The Board authorized the Superintendent to execute the renewal of the Finalsite + Blackboard K-12 web community manager and mass notifications platform with technical support at an annual cost of $38,145; and authorized the development and implementation of a new District 211 mobile application for an initial cost of $7,100 with the option to renew for four additional one-year terms at an annual cost of $5,200.
Utilization of Tax Advisor for Internal Revenue Service Federal Fuel Tax Credit
In late 2022, Congress re-enacted a Federal fuel tax credit related to liquid propane gas and compressed natural gas purchases made by businesses. The credit is provided to incentivize movement to alternative fuel sources, including vehicles of governmental entities. In 2023, District 211 submitted an application to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to receive the fuel tax credits. For the past year, the District has attempted to make contact with the IRS using multiple measures regarding the status of the application and associated fuel tax credits without response.
Mr. Brett Duvall is an attorney with TransTax Advisors, LLC. His firm assists governmental agencies with pursuing tax credits through the IRS through verifying eligibility, calculations, submission of invoices eligible for credit and follow-up with the IRS to complete the process. His firm has also worked to dispute denials of eligible claims. At this time, it is estimated the District could be eligible for approximately $76,000 in fuel tax credits for purchases made from 2020-2022. Once 2023 purchases can be submitted, an additional $30,000 of possible fuel tax credits is estimated. TransTax Advisors has a fee of 20% of awarded fuel tax credits received for a three-year contractual period.
The Board authorized the execution of a three-year contract with TransTax Advisors, LLC and authorized limited Power of Attorney to TransTax Advisors, LLC for the purpose of applying for the federal alternative fuel tax credit purchases made by the District.
Proposed Policy Revisions
The Board reviewed proposed changes to or deletions of seven Board policies. Revisions were reviewed by the Administrative Board Policy group comprising Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Joshua Schumacher, Assistant Superintendent for Administrative Services Kurt Tenopir, Director of Administrative Services Matt Hildebrand and Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion LaShaunda Sandifer.
JFC Student Conduct
JG student Discipline
JFCG Tobacco Use by Students
JFCE Student Discipline for Students on Psychotropic or Psychostiumulant Medication
JGC Social Suspension
JGA Corporal Punishment, Use of Physical Force, Isolated Time out and Restraint
JFCH Prevention of and Response to Student Bullying
List Price for Student-Built Home
The Board approved a list price of $700,000 for the most recently completed student-built home on Gloria Lane in Elgin. This home was completed as part of the Building Construction Program, with students working under the supervision of educators and professionals.
Next Board Meeting
The next Board of Education meeting will be held Thursday, June 20, 2024, with closed session beginning at 6:30 p.m. and open session beginning at 7:30 p.m.