Board Briefs

The Community Consolidated School District 21 Board of Education meeting was held on Thursday, November 13, 2025. The full meeting agenda can be found on BoardDocs, while a livestream of the meeting can be viewed on our YouTube channel.

Saturday, November 15, marks School Board Members Day in Illinois, and Board President Jessica Riddick took time to thank and recognize the board members for their "steadfast and reliable service; leadership; commitment to students, staff, the superintendent and his staff, and the community as a whole." "You've all shown your willingness to consider challenging and often controversial topics, and come to consensus on issues of disagreements in a civil and with dignity toward each other."

Chris Lapetino, director of teaching for student enrichment and support, celebrated the end of the season for middle school cross country, including particular honors for the Sectionals and State competitors

Lapetino also recapped the 53rd annual D21/214 Orchestra Festival, which included a piece commissioned for our middle school orchestras by guest conductor Dion Morales, called "Caribbean Tides."

Dr. Beatrice Reyes-Childress, deputy superintendent, offered an overview of the 2024-2025 Illinois State Report Card, a compilation of information provided for each school that gives an accounting of a range of pieces of data, including demographics and testing performance.

Lewis Roberts, executive director of human resources, recapped the results from the organization's partnership with Humanex for a climate and culture survey with staff.

Board members reviewed the proposed resolutions for the Illinois Association of School Boards' Delegate Assembly and provided guidance to the district's delegate representative, Vice President Debbi McAtee, on how to vote.

• 7.1: Approval of 2025 Property Tax Levy - APPROVED
• 7.2: Approval of Resolution Instructing County Clerk on PTELL Levy Reductions - APPROVED
• 7.4: Adoption of Resolution Prohibiting the Use of School District Property for Civil Immigration Enforcement Staging Areas - APPROVED

Michael Zagar, director of finance/treasurer, discussed the final property tax levy, which the board approved shortly after his presentation.

Board member Bill Harrison outlined the Board Policy Committee meeting held right before the regular Board meeting, during which members went through the 132-page PRESS Plus update, among other updates.

Vice President Debbi McAtee shared that the organization will transition to administering its Humanex survey exclusively in the spring. She added that leaders are also exploring the use of exit interviews—and even stay interviews with current employees—to better understand both why staff leave and why they choose to remain.

Harrison said the ED-RED member meeting for November was held virtually on November 6, and included three presentations. He mentioned that the December member meeting will take place on December 5 at Maine Township 207's administrative building, and the annual legislative dinner will be held on January 26, 2026.

Harrison previewed the IASB/Illinois Association of School Administrators/Illinois Association of School Business Officials Joint Annual Conference, which will be taking place from November 21-23 in downtown Chicago. He also encouraged members to fill out a survey sent out by IASB by November 30.

Board member Arlen S. Gould said he had no new updates on the organization's decision to move to a new center, but he was hopeful to share it at a later meeting.

The student representatives to the Board of Education shared updates from their schools and offered results from a survey of their peers on how the district's foodservice program is going. Dr. Michael Connolly, superintendent, mentioned this would be a topic of discussion at the next meeting of the Superintendent Student Advisory Council.

The next regular meeting of the Board of Education will be held at 7 p.m. on Thursday, December 11, at the Community Service Center and Administrative Office, 959 W. Dundee Rd., Wheeling.