apr 21 | bOARDBuzz

The bOARDBuzz is compiled following District 25 School Board meetings and serves as a recap of what occurred.

• For the full agenda of the Regular Meeting, please click here.

This meeting was recorded and that recording can be viewed by clicking here.

As always, the bOARDBuzz is archived at www.sd25.org/BoardBuzz.

6:15 PM

7:00 PM

A. Battle of the Books Winners from South Middle School

The Board of Education recognized and celebrated the Battle of the Books winners who were from South Middle School.

Fiona Ennis | Eleanor Ennis | Anna Henry | Katarina Macho-Cierna

Anna Petratos | Evie Polifka | Rilla Puckett | Colette Schroeder

The Board recognized the Battle of the Book Sponsors, Kelly O’Kelly of South and Becky Fahnoe of Thomas.

To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.

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B. Wrestlers from South and Thomas to State

The Board of Education recognized and celebrated the South and Thomas wrestlers who qualified for the State Wrestling Tournament.

South Middle School

Atricus Harkey | Thomas Irmen

Thomas Middle School

Noah Carvajal | Lucas Daub | Ryan Pham

The Board also recognized their coachesJay Bingaman and Dan Burdi from South, and Anthony Greco, Ben Hamilton, and Dave Kozik from Thomas.

To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.

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C. Thomas Middle School 7th Grade Girls Volleyball Team to State

The Board of Education recognized and celebrated the Thomas 7th Grade Girls Volleyball team who took 2nd in the State Tournament.

Alexandra Dorner | Lylah Kalnes | Gabriela Kisiova | Addison Korba

Samantha LaValle | Leighton Mattix | Katie Neary | Suhani Parekh

Stella Schmit | Bridget Skotnicki | Alyssa Sprovieri | Ellie Varrato | Katie Veselinova

The Board also recognized their coach Sureiya Peshek.

To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.

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D. Thomas Middle School 8th Grade Girls Volleyball Team to State

The Board of Education recognized and celebrated the Thomas 8th Grade Girls Volleyball team who qualified for the State Tournament.

Amelia Bieganski | Karina Boduch | Marlow Das | Lexi Doktorczyk

McKenna Fox | Kaya Giersz | Alexa Lockhart | Adrianna Marinescu

Kavinaya Muthukumar | Finley O'Brien | Mathea Ong | Daniela Storelli | Krishna Vullakula

The Board also recognized their coach Todd Slowinski.

To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.

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E. PTA Reflections Participants

The Board of Education recognized and celebrated the students who participated in the Arlington Heights Council of PTAs Reflections art program!

Dryden Elementary

Hannah Bode | Maddie Bode | Mila Johnson | Hazel McQuillan

Olive-Mary Stitt Elementary

Eloise Berglund | Joey Berglund | James Lee | Madison Lee | Thomas Lee

Patton Elementary

Madelyn Anstandig | Elle Boylan | Guinevere Ceniza | Mabel Cooper | Walter Dalton

Olivia Dames | Luke Fontana | Lauren Hager | Addie Hendrickson | Emery Hendrickson

Ayden Kizhake | Gianna LaMonica | Emilia McCarty | Sara McCarty | Emery Messmer

Hannah Murray | Clare Naughton | Aashvi Parekh | Ananya Parekh | Kaitlyn Peterson

Natalie Sanchez | Claire Schneider | Eleanor Steinbeck | Quinn Sudol | Olivia Wojtaszek

Grayson Zurek

Westgate Elementary

Ender Alkin | Nathan Alkin | Cullen Daley | Gannon Daley | Alexandra Dziedzic

Christian Dziedzic | Emma Gavin | Henry Halliday | Savannah Halliday

Layla Kaufman | Aurya Mahakumarage | Ellie Martin | Aiden Walker | Tyler Walker

Katarzyna Zapart | Scarlet Zapart

South Middle School

Addison Daley

The Board also recognized Erin Lakomski, AHCPTA President and Shelly Daley, Reflections Chairperson.

To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.

MOTION: APPROVED

A. Appointment of President Pro Tem

I move to appoint Kevin Michael to serve as President Pro Tem.

MOTION: APPROVED

B. Appointment of Secretary Pro Tem

I move to appoint Melissa Buchberger to serve as Secretary Pro Tem.

To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.

To view this in BoardDocs, including any documents associated with this item, click here.

MOTION: APPROVED

A. Appoint Board President

I move to appoint Greg Scapillato as President for a one-year term commencing today, April 21, 2026.

MOTION: APPROVED

B. Appoint Vice President

I move to appoint Kevin Michael as Vice President for a one-year term commencing today, April 21, 2026.

MOTION: APPROVED

C. Appoint Board Secretary

I move to appoint Elizabeth Nierman as Secretary for a one-year term commencing today, April 21, 2026.

MOTION: APPROVED

D. Appoint Board Recording Secretary

I move to appoint Lana O'Brien as Recording Secretary for a one-year term commencing today, April 21, 2026.

To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.

To view this in BoardDocs, including any documents associated with this item, click here.

MOTION: APPROVED

A. Setting of Meeting Dates & Times

That the Board of Education approve the school board meeting dates, times and locations for 2026-2027 as presented.

To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.

To view this in BoardDocs, including any documents associated with this item, click here.

In this portion of the meeting, the three organizations below addressed Board members.

• AHC PTA
• AHC PTA President Erin Lakomski presented an update to the Board.
• ABC25 Foundation
• There was no update from the ABC25 Foundation at this meeting.
• ATA (Arlington Teachers Association)
• ATA President, Allison Berg, presented an update to the Board.

To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.

Community members are invited to address 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 and members of the community have three minutes to address the Board.

*No members of the community elected to address the Board during this portion.

Click here to watch this portion of the meeting.

Please remember that the Board can be reached outside of Board Meeting hours by emailing boardfeedback@sd25.org.

MOTION: APPROVED

A. Approval of Consent Agenda Items

That the Board of Education approve those items on the Consent Agenda as follows: (A) Personnel Report and Addendum to Personnel Report; (B) Treasurer's Report; (C) Invoices; (D) Fixed Asset Disposal Report; (E) Regular and Closed Session Meeting Minutes of March 10, 2026.

With the approval of the consent agenda and the personnel reports, the Board approved the next Associate Principal for Thomas Middle School, Mr. Kyle Mengarelli and the next Assistant Principal for Olive-Mary Stitt Elementary School, Mrs. Nikki Martin.

The consent agenda documents can be seen by clicking here to visit Diligent Community and scrolling to this section of the agenda.

To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.

In this portion of the meeting, Board members catch one another up on the happenings each member has experienced individually since the last meeting. Also, some Board members are appointed as representatives to attend meetings on behalf of the District 25 Board of Education for different organizations. Those members convey relative information to the entire Board at the monthly meeting.

• Board Member Updates | All Board members reporting
• Legislative Report | Kevin Michael reporting
• Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB) &
  Consortium of State School Boards Associations (COSSBA) | Dr. Anisha I. Jogee reporting
  
• NSSEO | Dr. Brian Kaye reporting
  

To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.

There were no items on the agenda from the Department of Student Learning.

There were no items on the agenda from the Department of Student Services.

MOTION: APPROVED

A. 2026-2027 NSSEO Budget

That the Board of Education approve the NSSEO Budget for 2026-2027.

To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.

To view this in Diligent Community, including any documents associated with this item, click here and scroll to this section of the agenda.

To watch the Board discuss and vote on this item, click here.

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MOTION: APPROVED

B. Release of Claim for the Dryden Fire

That the Board of Education approve the release of claim E2J25528 related to the March 2024 fire that occurred at Dryden School.

To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.

To view this in Diligent Community, including any documents associated with this item, click here and scroll to this section of the agenda.

To watch the Board discuss and vote on this item, click here.

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MOTION: APPROVED

C. Bus Company Contract Approval

That the Board of Education approve a five-year extension of the contract for bus transportation services with Cook IL/First Student, Inc. as presented.

To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.

To view this in Diligent Community, including any documents associated with this item, click here and scroll to this section of the agenda.

To watch the Board discuss and vote on this item, click here.

There were no items on the agenda from the Department of Facilities Management.

There were no items on the agenda from the Department of Personnel & Planning.

A. Superintendent Update

Superintendent Dr. Brian Kaye noted the following:

• Dr. Kaye recognized School Volunteer Week, thanking Board members and Arlington Heights Council of PTAs President Erin Lakomski for their continued support, and presented an orchid to Mrs. Lakomski in appreciation.
• Dr. Kaye also acknowledged Administrative Professionals Day, expressing gratitude for the essential role administrative professionals play in keeping the district running smoothly.

To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.

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B. Freedom of Information Act Report

• Sandra Koslowski, Account Manager of Beary Landscaping, requested information on the grass cutting bid results; a response was provided on March 10, 2026.
• CT Mills requested employee responsibilities for specific areas; a response was provided on March 17, 2026.
• William Boodro requested information on the March 2025 closing bond memorandum; a response was provided on March 23, 2026.
• Justin Wenig requested information on professional learning contracts, agreements, and purchase orders; a response was provided on April 1, 2026.
• William Boodro requested information on the Miner School window replacement; a response was provided on April 9, 2026.
• Carla Carlos of Employee Research Data LLC requested information on district employees; a response was provided on April 9, 2026.
• Oshea Smith of Sunlight Access requested information on purchase orders; a response was provided on April 10, 2026.
• Justin Wenig requested information on purchase data; a response was provided on April 10, 2026.
• Jules Goonewardena of North Cook News requested information on email communications; a response was provided on April 13, 2026.
• Michael Henry requested information on district law firms; a response was provided on April 16, 2026.
• Tom Johnson requested information on purchasing data; a response was provided on April 16, 2026.
• Ellis Erickson, Account Executive of genesisONE, requested information on printer and copier lease agreements; a response was provided on April 16, 2026.
• Dave Jamnik requested information on South Middle School employees; a response was provided on April 17, 2026.

To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.

To view this in Diligent Community, including any documents associated with this item, click here and scroll to this section of the agenda.

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C. Strategic Plan Update

Superintendent Dr. Brian Kaye, along with Strategic Plan Refresh Team participants District 25 Director of Student Learning Andrea Luessow, student Graham McGann, constituents Suchi Joshi and Ilinca Wallace, and David Nienhueser, presented the team’s recommended Strategic Plan Refresh following a collaborative, yearlong process.

The recommendation outlines five strategic goals focused on student learning and growth, well-being and belonging, staff excellence, community partnership, and organizational effectiveness. It also introduces a Portrait of a Learner framework to define the skills and dispositions District 25 aims to cultivate in every student.

The Board will review the proposed plan, with consideration for adoption in May 2026. Upon approval, the district will move into implementation, including defining success metrics, aligning improvement efforts, and providing regular progress updates.

For a PDF of the presentation, click here.

To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.

To view this in Diligent Community, including any documents associated with this item, click here and scroll to this section of the agenda.

To watch the Board discuss this item, click here.

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D. Student Voice

This topic has been discussed at each regular Board meeting since January 2026. Following these discussions, Dr. Kaye developed a recommendation outlining how student voice—through Student Board Ambassadors—can be incorporated into Board meetings and work. A memo detailing the proposed plan is available for review.

A memo to the Board outlining the proposed plan can be seen by clicking here.

To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.

To view this in Diligent Community, including any documents associated with this item, click here and scroll to this section of the agenda.

To watch the Board discuss this item, click here.

The District 25 Board of Education often 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.

*No community members chose to address the Board during this public comment at this meeting.*

To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.

FUTURE TOPICS & TOPICS WITH DATES TO BE DETERMINED

• There are no future topics with dates to be determined.

NEW TOPICS

• There were no new topics in this meeting.

To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.

To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.

TUESDAY, MAY 19, 2026 @ 6:15 PM

*The meeting will begin at 6:15 p.m. at which time the Board will move into Closed Session until approximately 7:00 p.m. Following Closed session, the Regular Open meeting will begin.*

This meeting will be held at South Middle School and broadcast 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.

Public Comments

Anyone who wishes to make a public comment can do so, in-person, at our Board of Education meetings. The Board hosts two public comment opportunities on their agenda: 1) at the beginning of the meeting, prior to any agenda items, 2) at the end of the meeting after the agenda items have been discussed/presented.

Meeting Recordings

A video of the meeting will be recorded and uploaded to our site on the 'Board Agenda' page and on our 'Catch up on Meetings' page.