Board RECAP

The District 211 Board of Education met Thursday, September 21, 2023, in the Board Room of the G.A. McElroy Administration Center. The following is a recap of key items acted upon and reviewed by the Board.

Section 5/17-1 of the School Code of Illinois requires that each school district conduct a public hearing and adopt an annual budget before the end of the first quarter of each fiscal year. The Board of Education approved a Tentative Budget for 2023-2024 for public display and inspection on August 17, 2023 and held the public hearing as required.

The Board approved the minutes from its August 17, 2023 meeting.

The Board formally accepted donations of a 1998 Toyota Camry from James Carlson, to be used by the Fremd High School automotive classes; $1,000 from Emerson & Elder, P.C., in support of the Cougars in Need program at Conant High School; and $1,920 from Tate & Lyle, for the cost of ServSafe food handler exams for Hoffman Estates High School culinary students.

The safety of District 211 students and staff is a top priority. District administration and local police departments have open and effective communication regarding assessments of safety protocols, audits and updated safety technologies. In partnership with local police departments, annual safety and security reviews of technology advancements and personnel support occur. These reviews include recommendations from local police departments, Secret Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Homeland Security.

The Board reviewed the safety update, which can be viewed here.

Illinois School Code requires the annual reporting and posting of administrator and teacher salaries. School districts also are required to report administrator and teacher salaries and benefits to the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). In accordance with Public Act 97-0256, this information must be reported to the ISBE each year no later than October 1, complementing other financial and reporting deadlines and allowing for the reporting of actual salary and benefit information from the prior school year. Therefore, the salary and benefit data that must be reported to the ISBE by October 1, 2023 reflects the actual base salaries and benefits provided to all licensed or certificated staff for the period of July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023. The District 211 Salary Compensation Report will be sent to ISBE and posted online.

Each summer, District 211 provides extraordinary opportunities, innovative teaching and exceptional learning experiences during our two semesters of summer school. First semester Summer School 2023 began Thursday, June 1, 2023 and ended Monday, June 26, 2023. Second semester started June 27, 2023 and ended July 20, 2023. Total summer school academic enrollment was 3,779. The Board reviewed this data and also was provided a cost analysis of Summer School 2023. The full report is available here.

On June 16, 2022, the Board adopted the District 211 Strategic Plan: Forward Together 2022-2027.The Strategic Plan builds on the Board-adopted Academic Goals, Equity Plan and identifies ten key priorities aligned with subsequent goals, indicators, strategies and targets to move the District forward. Throughout the year, the Board has received detailed updates on the goals of the plan. The Board was provided a summary of the 2022-2023 targets in their entirety.

The progress report is available here.

Public Act 103-0500 (SB1872), signed by Governor Pritzker on August 4, 2023, amends the School Code provisions regarding tenure acquisition and the deadline to provide notice to teachers regarding non-renewal and Reduction in Force (RIF). The amendment also changes the deadline for issuing probationary teacher non-renewal notices and honorable dismissal notices (RIF notices) from 45 days before the end of the school term to the fixed date of April 15.

Probationary teachers must now be provided written notice by certified mail, return receipt requested on or before April 15. For teachers first employed as a full-time teacher on or after July 1, 2023, the timeline in which a teacher is eligible for tenure has moved from four years to three years. To qualify for tenure, a teacher needs to receive summative evaluation ratings of at least “Proficient” in the second and third years. Non-tenure teachers who receive two consecutive summative ratings of “Excellent” will receive tenure in two years, referred to as “accelerated tenure.”

These changes necessitate modifications to our Teacher Evaluation Document for non-tenured teachers. Specifically, the Evaluation Program Timelines will be adapted to the new timelines. Additionally, the Non-Tenured Teacher Portfolio requirements will be changed to address all of the Teacher Domains of Professional Practice within the new tenure acquisition timelines.

The Board operates as a single entity responsible for its governance and processes. In May 2016, the Board, in conjunction with the Superintendent and a representative from the Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB), compiled a list of agreements and expectations by which to work together to conduct the work of the District 211 community. The agreements were approved again by the Board in 2017. In 2019, 2021, and 2023, the Board reviewed the agreements in conjunction with the Superintendent and an IASB representative. In August 2023, the Board approved the protocols with one revision.

Property taxes play an important role in financing for District 211 and are the primary source of annual revenue, comprising over 81% for the 2023-2024 fiscal year. The revenue received from local property taxes supports the continuation of quality instructional programs and operational support for students throughout the District. Each December, the Board approves a levy that determines the amount of property taxes requested from taxpayers to fund educational and operational needs of the following school year. The Board reviewed a document that summarized the property tax appeal and assessment process and the rationale for continued intervention in property tax appeals. That document can be seen in full here.

Property taxes play a primary role in financing District 211. For the 2023-2024 school year, property taxes will comprise approximately 81% of the District’s total revenue. Each year, taxing districts determine the amount of revenue necessary through property taxes for the following year’s budget. The amount of taxes requested by each taxing body is called a tax levy. Each year, the tax levy must be filed with the Cook County Clerk, who determines the tax rate necessary to assess property taxes in order to generate the amount of the levy filed by each taxing body. All Cook County taxing districts operate under the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (PTELL) commonly referred to as the “Tax Cap.” This limits the rate at which a taxing body may increase its levy from the prior year’s levy amount.

The 2022 CPI-U rate was 6.5%. Under PTELL, a taxing body levy is capped to an increase of the lesser of the rate of CPI-U for the prior year or 5%. For the 2023 levy, a PTELL limitation of 5% will be used in conjunction with the increase in new property. It is anticipated that for the 2023 levy, the District will be eligible to receive new property growth of 0.2% from new property development within District boundaries. Additional 2023 levy information will be presented for discussion and consideration at the October 19, 2023 Board meeting.

More information is available here.

District 211 provides employees and eligible retirees with health and dental benefits through a modified self-insured program. The District is continuously seeking means by which healthcare benefit costs can be reduced. In prior years, plans have been eliminated, employee contribution and premium rates have increased, stop-loss levels have been adjusted, and most recently, the District moved to an Administrative Services Contract for prescription drug coverage, which increased rebates offered for qualifying prescriptions. While all these changes have had a positive financial benefit to the District, healthcare claims trends continue to outpace the rate of inflation.

Truveris is an independent pharmacy benefit solution that offers claim-by-claim review of current pharmacy pricing compared to the agreement, contract negotiation and procurement services for prescription drug coverage, and offers a member engagement tool to inform participants of lowest cost access to their prescribed medications. Through assessment of the District’s current contracts and prescription utilization, they offer multiple layers of service for ongoing support and targeted cost reduction. On average, Truveris clients recognize a total savings of 20%. Truveris represents clients across the United States. The Board authorized the Superintendent or a designee to engage Truveris to provide pharmacy benefit solutions, including an auction for Prescription Benefit Management services, at a rate of $0 through December 31, 2024 and $146,666.67 for each of the remaining three years of the agreement for the services provided, assuming that savings greater than the fees are identified.

The Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB) Policy Reference Education Subscription Service (PRESS) offers a service called the IASB Policy Manual Customization Project. If used, this customization begins the process of aligning a school board’s current policies by section and number to the IASB Policy Reference Education Subscription Service (PRESS) policies.

The use of the IASB PRESS policy system is the typical alignment of policies of school districts in the State. After speaking with the IASB PRESS service department and other large high school districts, at this time, it is not recommended to implement the IASB Manual Customization Project. Instead, it is recommended to use the IASB PRESS 5-year policy review cycle to review the current District 211 policies that align in concept to the PRESS policies and then re-evaluate the ability to convert to the PRESS system as the review cycle proceeds. The Board reviewed additional provided information and a summary of next steps.

Read the full details here.

The next scheduled regular Board of Education meeting will be held Thursday, October 19, 2023, with closed session beginning at 6:30 p.m. and open session beginning at 7:30 p.m. in the Anne Koller Board Meeting Room at the G.A. McElroy Administration Center.