USD116 BOE Update: Nov. 19, 2024

Congratulations to the 7th grade Lady Tigers on their 28-24 Regional win over Mahomet! They will play in the Regional Championship Game at Edison at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 20. Go Tigers!

There was a First Read on modifying Policy 2:230 related to Public Participation at School Board Meetings and Petitions to the Board, with the goal of making the Board Meetings more efficient.

Background: Several Board Members wanted to look at the process related to public comment. Board members worked with the attorney to come up with modifications to the current policies.

Changes:

The time for any one person to address the Board during public participation shall be limited to three minutes (formerly 5 minutes).

In an effort to keep Board of Education meetings at three and one half hours in duration or

less, total public participation shall be limited to one hour (60 minutes). In the event more than twenty people sign up to address the Board of Education during public participation, the sixty minutes period shall be divided by the number of people who have signed up and completed Citizen Statement Forms in order to determine total time limit for individuals to comment or speak.

• a. The Board President has authority to extend the total duration of public participation where matters on the agenda result in a large number of people seeking to speak.

In addition to public comment during Board of Education meetings, each board member is expected to attend at least two school-based meetings (e.g. PTA, Open House, Curriculum Night, Welcome Back to School Night, Community Roundtable, etc.) per fiscal year in order to meet with members of the public and hear concerns. No more than two board members shall attend any individual meeting in order to comply with provisions of the Open Meetings Act.

The following procedures govern the responsibilities of Board members related to Public Participation.

• Board Members shall share individual Board Reports, if any, following public participation. Individual Board Members shall be limited in time for Board Reports to the same time limit as imposed on individual citizens during Public Participation.

• In addition to Board of Education open meetings: Board Members are expected to attend at least two school-based events in the District at which the public is expected to be present and have the ability to engage with the Board Member(s).
• Board Members shall notify the Superintendent or Designee of the school-based event they intend to attend at least five (5) days prior to the event.

This will come back for a second discussion and vote on December 17.

Chief Financial Officer, Dr. Mary Ann Scholz, discussed the 2024 Proposed Tax Levy. The Board approved the Proposed Tax Levy at Tuesday's meeting. Following Board approval, the levy will be brought back to the Board for a public hearing and final approval in December.

This is not an increase most homeowners will see. The effect this has on an individual homeowner is if their individual property value increased at a higher rate than everyone else's.

View the Property Tax Levy Presentation

The Board of Education was given an update on the Student Services Department. This included a follow up from last year's presentation, a review of the special education data, highlights from the year, and current efforts.

Since January's Board report, the department has:

• Improved discipline decision making
• Continued training and working with staff on threat assessment and crisis intervention
• Prioritized implementing a Progress Monitoring Tool
• 504 compliance and understanding

Highlights from spring and fall:

• UECS earned a Gold Circle of Quality Rating through their ISBE Compliance Monitoring
• Curriculum updates
• Training for building administrators who serve as an Local Educational Agency Representative/LEA
• Training and Collaboration through Open Gyms
• Vocational Experiences at the High School

Some items the department will be focused on:

• Continue to identify instructional materials we are using for specialized instruction and what we need for our students
• Data driven IEPs
• Grow partnerships with Parkland and U of I

View the full presentation

Q: With fewer psychologists, how are you managing to get the IEP and 504 plans completed?

A: We have great psychologists who have stepped up to support one another. We also have had to take a look at what our psychologists have traditionally done, in order to manage the workload.

Q: The compliance requirements for specialized staff is different than traditional staff. Are there changes you would like to see in the next contract negotiations?

A: One of the biggest priorities is how to have access to general education teachers. That is hard because of time constraints. Our department has done staff meetings at different buildings.

12.2 2024 Proposed Tax Levy Approved

Dr. Ivory-Tatum's Superintendent Report: Nov. 19 Supt. Update

Highlights:

• UHS Community Thanksgiving Dinner is Nov. 28 from 4-6 p.m.
• The UHS Drama production of Mamma Mia! has been selected to perform at the Illinois High School Theatre Festival in January.