The meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m.

The agenda was approved.

The board moved into closed session at 6:04 p.m.

To discuss: the placement of individual students in special education programs and other matters relating to individual students. (5ILCS 120/2(c)(10)).

The board reconvened in open session at 7:05 p.m.

Mr. Steckling presented the monthly What's Good in 109 report, which included:

• Kipling 5th graders getting clapped out by the whole school during their final dismissal of their elementary careers;
• Field day pictures from Walden & South Park, where students tackled challenges like thawing a frozen t-shirt and clearing a pool noodle hurdle;
• 5th graders across the district getting a chance to "fly up" and check out their new schools, Shepard & Caruso;
• Early Learners students participating in a stuffy sleepover where their favorite furry friends got to spend the night at the school;
• Recognition for our conference champion 8th grade boys & 7th grade girls track teams from Caruso

For the year, including tonight's featured guests, we will have honored 167 students in front of the Board as part of What's Good in 109.

Our featured presenters were "The Obnoxiously Corny Ducks", our Global Champion Destination Imagination team! You can watch their presentation and the rest of the segment by clicking below:

Mr. Simeck presented the monthly superintendent's report.

A big congratulations to the Shepard and Caruso graduates. Both ceremonies were wonderful and it was great to see so many family members and friends out to support students in this major chapter in their lives.

The spring/summer issues of The 109 Way magazine is in production and will be in mailboxes in the next few years. It is very important that we do this so we can reach the vast majority of our taxpayers and stakeholders in the area who do not actively have a student attending one of our schools.

A popular question that comes up during this time of year for administrators is "do you work in the summer?" One could argue it's actually the busiest time of the year as we roll up our sleeves in preparation for the upcoming year. Strategic plan leaders across the district already met this week. We had an administrative retreat this morning to reflect on the year and look ahead. Summer maintenance work has also already begun in earnest across the district.

We are happy to announce that DPS 109 is partnering with six other local districts on a Consortium for Inter-District Collaboration. This will serve as an educational rounds of sorts, where there will be a team that comes in to help the host district evaluate a big issue/answer a big question. We are happy to partner with Districts 65, 67, 70, 112, 113 and True North. 109 and 70 will serve as test sites for the proof-of-concept visits next school year.

One important note out of Springfield: there has also been the passage of SB 3606. This "allows for tuition reimbursement for special education students who are educated in public day schools in the same way in which districts currently receive reimbursement for students who attend private day schools." It's unclear what impact this will have on us just yet.

There was one speaker who addressed the board concerning seat belts & school buses, imploring them to adopt a policy requiring that buses have belts and that they are used.

Dr. Filippi presented two different Freedom of Information Act requests. More information is in the board packet.

Dr. Arnold and Mr. Steckling presented the update.

Goal 4 is all about improving internal and external connections through consistent structures and differentiated opportunities for staff/the community to interact, listen, and learn from one another.

Some wider or district-led examples this year include:

• Teacher-Led K-5 Seesaw PD
• Report Card terminology updates
• The addition of spring parent-teacher conferences
• The beginning of implementation of recommendations from the communication audit
• The development (and very soon launch) of a new website
• The calculation of our Net Promoter Score for the 2nd straight year
• In 2023, DPS 109 was rated with a 46.2. This year, we scored a 53.4. Above 50 is considered excellent, while above 80 is considered world class.

Some school-specific examples include:

• At Caruso, they had a fun compilation of exercises/GIF's made by students for peers to do prior to MAP testing
• At Shepard, they developed a formalized peer observations and feedback system for teachers
• At Kipling, they strengthened their "Krewmate" staff buddy program and held monthly themed lunches
• At South Park, they created a new community event, the VIP (Very Important Penguin) Day
• At Walden, they have focused on consistent, schoolwide Seesaw usage to engage families
• At Wilmot, they held their first ever Family Reading Night and they are going to have two open checkouts over the summer where the library will be opened up for Wilmot families to come hang out and check out books

You can watch the presentation if you click below.

Ben Kostecki, business manager, presented the tentative budget to the BOE for their review.

For our property tax receipts, we are at 99.5% anticipated collection. 94% of our revenue comes from local property tax revenue, 4% from the state and 2% from the federal government.

Mr. Kostecki said that we spend approximately 56% of our money on salaries, and he provided detail of other revenues and expenditures.

Of note, we are projecting a 5.4 FTE decrease in FY25.

Our operating fund balance stands at 27%. This is above ISBE recommendation of 25%. DPS 109's operating budget is balanced for the 20th consecutive year.

The final budget will go to the board for a vote on July 25th.

Click below to watch his presentation and see the charts.

Dr Filippi presented the Olson Transportation contract for renewal. The proposal calls for a 6.1 percent increase for the 2024/2025 school year. After this, they will go back to the negotiation table for future years.

This is a requirement to designate these positions every year. Dr. Filippi recommended that he serve as the district's treasurer and Mr. Kostecki serve as assistant treasurer.

Dr Filippi presented the resolution, which is completed by the board on an annual basis.

If the Board of Education wants to transfer interest between school district funds, they have to pass a resolution on an annual basis allowing themselves to do so. This will be up for action later in the meeting.

Board policy 4:30 dictates that the Board approve a list of authorized bank depositories each year. This will be up for action later in the meeting.

The meeting minutes, personnel items, and bills for payment as part of this item were all approved.

The report was approved.

The policy was approved.

The resolution was approved.

The agreement was approved.

The resolution was approved.

The recommendation was approved.

The resolution was approved.

The resolution was approved.

The list was approved.

The minutes were approved.

Mr. Morrison gave a Policy Committee update. PRESS released some updates this week and there will be a committee meeting in July to review the recommendations.

Mrs. Jakymiw reported on the recent True North board meeting.

There were no speakers present.

President Montgomery thanked everyone who helped plan and execute the middle school graduation ceremonies. She thanked Dr. Filippi & Mr. Kostecki for their work on the budget. She thanked Dr. Arnold & Mr. Steckling for their Goal 4 Strategic Plan presentation. She also thanked everyone for their work in making spring conferences a success this year.

The meeting adjourned at 8:58 p.m.