Board RECAP

The District 211 Board of Education met Thursday, January 25, 2024, in the Board Room of the G.A. McElroy Administration Center. The following is a recap of key items acted upon and reviewed.

District 211 is committed to preparing students for their future. We strive to build the following skills in each of our future graduates: academic growth, college and career readiness, student involvement, global competitive skills and wellness. These skills form the foundation of our District 211 Strategic Plan. A benchmark of the Plan is to continue to implement student support systems while increasing communication and understanding with parents and our community.

Josh Schumacher, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, and Michele Napier, director of college and career readiness, will present on the District’s progress toward Goal 7 – Post-secondary Success within the District 211 Strategic Plan.

View the full presentation here.

The Board approved the minutes from its regular meeting on December 14, 2023.

The Board formally accepted the donations of $1,000 from the Palatine Lions Club for supplies supporting visually impaired students, and a 2013 Cadillac SRX from Triton College for use by the automotive classes at William Fremd High School.

Each January, the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the Consumer Price Index for Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the prior calendar year. The CPIU is the measurement of change in prices paid by consumers for goods and services over a period of time. For calendar year 2023, the rate of CPI-U is 3.4%.

A 10-year summary of historical CPI-U rates was provided to the Board for review.

Each year, the Board establishes student fees for the use of textbooks, instructional supplies, driver education behind-the-wheel, student parking, transportation, school breakfast and lunch, and summer school. For the past four years, District 211’s Board has waived student instructional fees to provide relief to families during the COVID-19 pandemic. The District has been able to relinquish this revenue in its annual budget due to its stable financial position.

The Board reviewed proposals for and formally adopted 2024-2025 student user fees.

The Board agreed to reinstate the student textbook/instructional supply fee at $75, down from a former fee of $170; maintain the previous driver education behind-the-wheel fee at $400 for the regular school year; maintain the previous student parking user fee remain at $75 per semester; set the under-1.5 mile transportation fee at $250 per year; and maintain the late registration fee for transportation at $35. The Board also set the price of a standard school breakfast at $2 for students, with the reduced-price standard school breakfast remaining at 30 cents for students; and set the price of a standard school lunch including milk at $2.75, $3.25, and $3.50 including milk for students, with the reduced-price standard school lunch remaining at 40 cents, including milk for students. Finally, the Board agreed that summer school fees remain unchanged as presented.

The full report is available here.

According to Policy BCE Board Committee Appointments, the Board shall create two Standing Board Committees: 1. Parent-Teacher Advisory Board Committee to review student behavior policies and other factors related to safety of the school, pupil and staff, in accordance with the Illinois School Code, and report back to the Board, and 2. Behavioral Interventions Board Committee to review policies and procedures on the use of behavioral interventions for students with disabilities who require behavioral interventions and report back to the Board.

Full details are available here.

Since the COVID-19 emergency school closure in March 2020, the U.S. Congress has passed three stimulus bills with the aim of providing funds to the Elementary and Secondary Emergency Education Relief (ESSER) fund. Portions of this money are designed to assist states that are expected to distribute at least 90% of the money to local education agencies (LEAs) based on their proportional share of funding received from the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title-IA. District 211 is considered a local education agency and thus has and will receive ESSER funding into the 2024-2025 school year.

To date, three different versions of ESSER funding have been approved by the federal government. These versions include the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act; the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations (CRRSA) Act; and the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act. These so-called stimulus bills seek to provide additional funding to states and school districts to successfully support students as we recover from the impact of the pandemic.

The Board reviewed a summary of ESSER expenditures and results, including the effectiveness of ESSER-funded staff who had a positive impact on student social emotional and mental health. Based on the report, the Board voted to support the addition of 13 licensed student service staff members to the typical staffing allotments beginning in the 2024-2025 school year.

The full update is available here.

Every year, the District has expanded camera system capabilities by adding new camera units, replacing analog cameras with digital units, expanding camera systems infrastructure and closing gaps in camera coverage in all facilities. The previous pace of work was incremental, but over the past two years the administration increased the rate of replacement, addition and upgrades to address deficiencies and to improve coverage. Additional camera coverage with digital cameras, upgrading camera system capacity and software are needed to assist administration and local police departments during safety emergency situations.

The District has prioritized the replacement of analog exterior security cameras with high-definition technology. Palatine and Fremd high schools have been completed. Two price quotations for the purchase of high-definition exterior cameras, software and mounting systems for Conant, Schaumburg and Hoffman Estates high schools were obtained and reviewed.

The Board approved the purchase of security cameras from Esscoe in the amount of $72,741.62, the lowest price quotation.

Section 5 ILCS 220/6 of the Illinois School Code authorizes public agencies to form joint insurance pools for the purpose of seeking prevention or lessening claims and losses for the individual agency. The Secondary School Cooperative Risk Management Program (SSCRMP) is a risk sharing insurance pool governed by High School Districts 207 (Maine Township), 211, 214 (Wheeling and Elk Grove Township), and 225 (Northfield Township). The pool provides comprehensive insurance coverage at a lower cost than the school district can obtain individually. The pool provides coverage for property, liability, crime, boilers, pollution, cyber, foreign and excess liability. SSCRMP continues to successfully manage claims, member equity and excess loss reserves. A separate loss fund is maintained for workers’ compensation claims.

The SSCRMP contractual term is a five-year period and renewal will be on the February 2024 SSCRMP Board agenda. SSCRMP has served as a beneficial pool for District 211 over the past 35 years. The District has averted costs through pooled insurance coverage, effective claims management and through a pooled self insurance retention level. Through coordination with the SSCRMP pool administrator, risk management team, insurance carriers and workers’ compensation adjusters, the District has been able to reduce risks and costs associated with claims and provide personalized service to employees on workers’ compensation.

The Board supported a five-year term extension for membership in the Secondary School Cooperative Risk Management Program, effective January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2028.

In accordance with Board policy BHD (Board Member Expenses), the Board of Education must preapprove the expenses of any Board Member. The Board approved the Pre-Approval Form for Future Expense Reimbursement for Steven Rosenblum to attend the IASB North Cook Division Dinner Meeting on February 28, 2024 as submitted.

The next scheduled regular Board of Education meeting will be held Thursday, February 22, 2024, with closed session beginning at 6:30 p.m. and ope session beginning at 7:30 p.m. in the Anne Koller Board Meeting Room at the G.A. McElroy Administration Center.