Across the Board in D303
Notes from the District 303 School Board Meeting
Meetings are tentatively being held in the Thompson Middle School LRC, located at 705 West Main Street. A permanent meeting venue will become available later this year.
August 5, 2024
Meeting memos, presentations and other documents in BoardDocs
School Board
Joe Lackner, President
Thomas Lentz, Vice President
Matthew Kuschert, Secretary
Kate Bell
Heidi Fairgrieve
Becky McCabe
Ed McNally
For Action
Individual items up for approval by the Board, generally introduced in prior committee meetings.
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Rejection of Athletic Training Service Bid #24-12
Motion Passed 7-0
The Board approved a recommendation to reject the bid received for athletic training services. Administration has continued to hire athletic trainers as District staff members, and it was determined that there is not a need to outsource the services for the 2024- 25 school year.
Nomination and Election of Board Vice President
Thomas Lentz Appointed Vice President
With the Vice President officer role currently vacant on the Board, nominations were requested and a final vote held. Thomas Lentz and Becky McCabe were nominated. Thomas Lentz received a majority of the votes with four. Board members nominate and elect all officer positions each May unless a vacancy becomes available at a different time throughout the year.
Superintendent's Report
Dr. Paul Gordon shares updates on District initiatives as well as school, staff and student activities.
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Summer Recap
District 303 is far from quiet over the summer months as we work through annual updates, hiring, various trainings and routine maintenance and upkeep of our buildings and grounds.
Our facilities team oversees 2.1 million square feet of school classrooms, hallways, and offices that are cleaned over the summer for our students and staff. On top of that, District 303 has made significant changes to several facilities as part of the repurposing of Lincoln School and Haines Center for our Transition and Early Childhood programs, respectively, as well as safety upgrades like air conditioning installation and door access control.
The technology services team works primarily behind the scenes but does fantastic work to ensure our technology is ready for our students and staff. Summer is also one of the busiest times for our staff in the Human Resources Department to fill vacancies and onboard new staff. Many of our current employees also engage in professional learning sessions over the summer. This summer, we had 415 seats filled with District 303 educators in order to grow as professionals and elevate our service to students.
High School Safety Review
Student safety is a priority in District 303, which starts with effective partnerships between staff and the students themselves, as well as their families and local law enforcement. In adherence with District 303 Board policy and procedures, each incident of alleged student misconduct starts by evaluating their safety, follows with an investigation, a notification to families, and connections to support services.
“Student safety is of the utmost importance,” said North Principal Shanna Lewis. “Not only just creating classroom environments where students are safe to learn but also creating a safer environment in the larger school setting.”
Recently, high schools have resumed randomized K-9 searches each month within hallways, lockers, and restrooms. They've also changed hallway supervision patterns, and have increased the visibility of its anonymous online reporting tool.
"Because we have such a strong relationship with our students and with our school community, oftentimes they're the ones that come to us with this information that allows for us to be very proactive in these situations to be able to stop negative behavior; whether it be related to substance abuse or other things happening in our schools," said Principal Richter.
Goal Update
Dr. Gordon provided an update on his 2024-2025 goals, which can be found on the Superintendent's webpage. Summarized below are each of the superintendent's eight goals. Embedded within each are the pillars of the District 303 Strategic Plan; the Commitment Statement, Core Values, and Strategic Priorities.
High school experience
A comprehensive and cohesive 12+-EC academic program is necessary to ensure each
student meets the CCR benchmarks and successfully transitions into the post-secondary pathway of their choice.
PLC implementation
PLCs are a key component of improving student learning outcomes. They provide the
structure for educators to monitor their impact on student learning, enhance and refine their practice, and collectively take responsibility for each student’s learning.
Enhancing leadership capacities of principals and assistant principals
Principals and Assistant Principals are critical in aligning district structures within the building and implementing the District’s Strategic Plan. They provide a consistent feedback loop with District Administration. They are responsible for leading and monitoring the implementation of district initiatives, including aligning the structures and promoting instructional coherence and effective collaboration to ensure a more effective system.
Multilingual students whose home language is Spanish
Our multilingual students whose home language is Spanish experience the widest achievement gaps in District 303. We are committed to designing high-quality multilingual programs and structures that greatly enhance academic achievement for this group of students.
Succession planning
Succession is essential to building a strong and effective leadership pipeline. It involves four stages: defining core leadership responsibilities that support the Readiness of Succession criteria, assessing current talent, developing talent, and monitoring talent progress.
Financial stewardship
Maintaining responsible and transparent management of taxpayer resources, ensuring efficient use of funds to meet the needs of students, staff, and facilities, foster trust in the D303 financial practices.
Safety
We will continue to improve our comprehensive and robust safety plan across all district facilities to ensure the physical and digital security of students, staff, and resources.
Communications
Promote ongoing two-way conversations with parents, community members, students, and
staff regarding district initiatives.
Reports to the Board
The following summaries were provided by Board committee chairs on meetings that took place in July. Additional information reports may be provided, as requested by the Board.
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Business Services
In July the Business Services Committee received a presentation on the Fiscal Year 2025 Draft Budget for District 303 and Mid Valley, which will receive public hearings and are up for adoption at the September 9 meeting. Recommendations were also requested for HR's Frontline software, a request for quotes (RFQ) process for electricity services, and the 2024-2025 list of hazardous bus routes. A construction update was also provided, and plans for furniture purchases, vehicle leases, and software renewals were provided.
The next Business Services Committee meeting will take place on Monday, August 26 at 5:30 p.m.
Consent Agenda
Grouped agenda items up for approval in one action.
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Motion Passed 7-0
The consent agenda included items such as:
- Minutes from Previous Committee Meetings
- Personnel Reports
- List of Bills, Treasurer's Report, and Payroll
- Financial Reports
- D303 & Mid Valley Budget on Display, Public Hearing
- Annual Approval of Hazardous Bus Routes
- Electricity RFQ
- Enterprise Lease for IT, Operations
- Citrix Renewal
- Frontline HR Software Renewal
- Change of Authorized Agent for IMRF
- Districtwide Furniture Purchases
- Gifts and Donations
For Information
Informational reports are typically provided monthly to the Board. There is no action taken.
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Topics for information included:
District 303 Financial Report
Mid Valley Financial Report
FOIA Requests
District Enrollment
New Business
Board Members May Introduce New Business Items for Future Agendas
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- Committee Reports at Regular Board meetings