january 20
regular board meeting
The bOARDBuzz is put together following District 25 School Board Meetings and serves as a recap of what occurred.
For the full agenda of the meeting, please click below:
REGULAR MEETING RECORDING
1. CONVENE INTO CLOSED SESSION | 6:00 PM
2. OPENING OF THE PUBLIC MEETING | 7:00 PM
3. RECOGNITIONS AND PRESENTATIONS
SCHOOL RECOGNITIONS
At each meeting in the past few months, the Board of Education has invited principals from each school to come and share some highlights and things they are looking forward to and want to celebrate for this year.
At this meeting, Eric Larson, Patton Elementary School Principal, presented.
For a PDF of Principal Larson's presentation, click below.
To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.
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FISCAL YEAR 2020-2021 AUDIT REPORT
Presented by Jason Coyle from Baker Tilly, LLC
Baker Tilly, LLC gave District 25 their highest level of assurance possible over District 25's financial information.
To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.
4. PUBLIC COMMENT
Community members addressed the Board during this public comment portion of the meeting. According to Board Policy, public comment is heard for 30 minutes at Board of Education meetings. At this meeting, the public comments begin at the 14:27 mark of the meeting and can be viewed by clicking here.
Public comments were also submitted via an online Google form prior to the meeting. Submitted public comments were read aloud at the meeting until the 30 minute mark was reached.
Any public comments submitted prior to the start of the meeting at 7:00 pm on Thursday, January 20, 2022, are available in full and can be read by visiting www.sd25.org/120Comments.
5. CONSENT AGENDA
MOTION: APPROVED
The Board of Education approved the items on the Consent Agenda as follows: (A) Personnel Report and Addendum to Personnel Report; (B) Treasurer's Reports (C) Invoices; (D) Fixed Asset Disposal Report; (E) Public Hearing on the Tax Levy minutes of December 9, 2021; (F) Regular and Closed Session Meeting minutes of December 9, 2021; (G) Special Committee of the Whole meeting minutes of December 16, 2021; (H) Closed Session meeting minutes of December 16, 2021; (I) Board Bills.
The consent agenda documents can be seen by clicking here to visit BoardDocs.
This portion of the meeting can be viewed by clicking here.6. COMMUNICATIONS FROM BOARD MEMBERS
- NSSEO
- Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB)
- ED-RED Education Research Development
- A Board Governance Framework
- Other Board Communication
This portion of the meeting can be viewed by clicking here.
7. COMMUNICATIONS TO BOARD MEMBERS
- AHC PTA
- ABC25 Foundation
- ATA (Arlington Teachers Association)
This portion of the meeting can be viewed by clicking here.
8. STUDENT LEARNING
There were no items presented by the Department of Student Learning.
9. STUDENT SERVICES
There were no items presented by the Department of Student Services.
10. BUSINESS AND FINANCE
information item
FIVE YEAR FINANCIAL FORECAST
Assistant Superintendent of Business and Finance, Stacey Mallek, CSBO, presented the Board of Education with District 25's five year financial forecast. This presentation is a piece of the framework to assist the Board as they discuss some anticipated financial topics/decisions:
- funding for District 25's Capital Project Plan,
- the possibility of full day kindergarten,
- teacher negotiations,
- and yet to be determined Strategic Plan actions.
To view this in BoardDocs, including any documents associated with this item, click here.
For a PDF of this presentation, click here.
To watch this presentation, click here.
To watch the Board discuss this item, click here.
11. FACILITIES MANAGEMENT
There were no items presented by the Department of Facilities Management.
12. PERSONNEL AND PLANNING
action item
MOTION: APPROVED
2022-2023 School Calendar
District 25's Assistant Superintendent of Personnel & Planning, Brian Kaye, presented the Board with the proposed 2022-2023 School Calendar. The calendar was put together by the the District Calendar Committee that met on multiple occasions through a collaborative process. The District Calendar Committee was comprised of representatives from the PTA Council, the Arlington Teachers’ Association, and District 25 administrators.
For a PDF of the 22-23 Calendar, click here.
To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.
To watch the Board discuss and vote on this item, click here.
13. SUPERINTENDENT REPORT
information items
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT REPORT
Superintendent, Dr. Lori Bein, updated the Board on some Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests from the public. Those include:
- Tracy Falconer requested information on Board member training; a response was provided on December 7, 2021.
- Ewa Wojcik requested information on the SEL programs considered by the district; a response was provided on December 7, 2021.
- Alina Laurie requested information on a directive from IDPH; a response was provided on December 15, 2021.
- Ewa Wojcik requested information on the ESSER funds allocation; a response was provided on December 20, 2021.
- Angelika Babich requested information on communications between the Arlington Teachers' Association, the Superintendent, Board members, and/or state unions; a response was provided on December 29, 2021.
- Karen Wolff requested information on bonds/insurance information; a response was provided on January 5, 2022.
- Christy Witherow requested information on communications between a school district law firm and Board members; a response was provided on January 10, 2022.
Glenn C. Ronaldson of Ronaldson & Kuchler Law Offices requested information on reports related to anyone accessing the roof of Windsor Elementary School; a response was provided on January 10, 2022.
To view this in BoardDocs, including any documents associated with this item, click here.
To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.
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UPDATE ON PANDEMIC PROCEDURES & DATA
Superintendent Dr. Lori Bein presented to the Board of Education an update of the pandemic procedures & District 25 COVID-19 data. Dr. Bein highlighted how District 25 Administrators continue to adjust procedures as the District continues to receive updated pandemic information and guidance. Dr. Bein expressed her gratitude for the home-school relationships and the partnerships District 25 has with parents and staff.
Dr. Bein reviewed the updated guidance that was distributed by IDPH on January 11, and updated the Board of Education on the following:
- District 25 Dashboard
- SHIELD Testing
- Pandemic-related Procedures
To view this in BoardDocs, including any documents associated with this item, click here.
For a PDF of this presentation, click here.
To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.
To watch the Board discuss this item, click here.
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STRATEGIC PLAN | STEWARDSHIP OF RESOURCES ACTION TEAM
Assistant Superintendent of Business & Finance, Stacey Mallek, CSBO, updated the Board on what the 13 Student Achievement Goal Action Team members have been up to.
The group met twice, on Monday, September 13, and again on Wednesday, October 27. Structured activities were provided to the group to guide member engagement and positive dialogue. Through focused discussion, the group brainstormed and decided on four objectives aligned with the Stewardship of Resources goal.
- Extend use of Debt Service Extension Base to fund capital projects to maintain facilities
- Ensure investments are forward looking, not just replacing what we have
- Technology
- Furniture
- Building Improvements
- Consider Return on Investment when making financial decisions
- Cost vs academic impact
- What experiences are kids getting or losing
- Staff support and feel supported
- Initial investment vs long term cost
- Allocate resources to allow for diversity in opportunities to address spectrum of student needs
On Thursday, November 30, all Strategic Plan Action Teams met together to share objectives and discuss overlaps and gaps/conflicts. All of the objectives will now be shared with staff who will begin working toward the objectives and overall goals of the Strategic Plan.
To view this in BoardDocs, including any documents associated with this item, click here.
To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.
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STATE SCHOOL REPORT CARD
Superintendent Dr. Lori Bein updated the Board of Education on the 2021 Report Card. In response to the pandemic's disruption on public education, the 2021 Report Card has three releases of data this year. Community members can access each District 25 school and the district-level report card at illinoisreportcard.com. All public school report cards in Illinois can be found at this site.
To view this in BoardDocs, including any documents associated with this item, click here.
To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.
To watch the Board discuss this item, click here.
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FIRST READING OF POLICIES | PRESS 108
To view this in BoardDocs, including any documents associated with this item, click here.
To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.
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FIRST READING OF POLICIES, FIVE YEAR REVIEW | PRESS 108
To view this in BoardDocs, including any documents associated with this item, click here.
To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.
action item
MOTION: APPROVED
Board Meeting Dates
Approved motion: That the Board of Education change the following 2021-2022 Board meeting dates so that District 25 Board members may attend District 214 Board meetings which are currently scheduled on the same dates:
- Change Thursday, April 7, 2022 to April 5, 2022.
- Change Thursday, May 26, 2022 to May 23, 2022.
To view this in BoardDocs, including any documents associated with this item, click here.
To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.
To watch the Board discuss, motion, and vote on this item, click here.
14. PUBLIC COMMENT PORTION
The District 25 Board of Education offers a second opportunity for public comment at each Board Meeting that takes place once all the agenda items have been presented, discussed, or voted on.
To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.
15. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS
TOPICS WITH DATES TO BE DETERMINED
To view this in BoardDocs, including any documents associated with this item, click here.
To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.
NEW TOPICS
- Remote Academy Update
To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.
UPCOMING BOARD EVENTS
SPECIAL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2022 @ 7:00 PM
This Committee of the Whole meeting will be held at the Dunton Administration Building and broadcasted live and recorded. The link for the livestream can be found on the Board Agenda page (www.sd25.org/BoardAgenda) the week of the meeting.
No action can be taken at a Committee of the Whole meeting. This Committee of the Whole meeting will focus on District 25's kindergarten programming.
This meeting will allow audience members in the room.
Visit www.sd25.org/BoardAgenda closer to the day of the meeting for any potential changes in how this meeting will be held, due to COVID-19 regulations.
Public Comments
Anyone who has a public comment and is not going to attend the meeting in-person is welcome to submit their comment by filling out the public comments Google Form.
Meeting Recordings
A video of the meeting will be recorded and uploaded to our site the following day on the 'Board Agenda' page and on our 'Catch up on Meetings' page.