Board Briefs

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

Board President Jessica Riddick welcomed everyone to the new school year: "Like many years before, last year brought its share of challenges, and while I'm sure this year will as well, I actually believe we're getting stronger at recognizing our obstacles and addressing them with thoughtful and data-driven strategies."

We were proud to welcome the third cohort of student representatives to the Board of Education for the 2025-2026 school year. These students will continue the tradition of bringing forward ideas, experiences and perspectives from their peers, ensuring that student voice remains a key part of Board conversations and decisions that impact our schools.

Dr. Michael Connolly, superintendent, highlighted several events that happened over the summer and thanked staff members who were instrumental in those events, including:

• Literacy on the Lawn
• National Night Out
• Back-to-School Bash
• Back-to-School 5K Family Fun Run

He also thanked members of the district's Operations, Technology, Maintenance and Custodial teams for another summer of hard work and dedication.

Further, the new assistant principal of London Middle School was introduced to the board.

The district's Communications and Community Engagement team offered a year-end review of the communications and community engagement efforts made by the district over the past year.

• 5.9: Approval for Sidewalk Repair at Field Elementary School - APPROVED
• 5.10: Approval of Plumbing Upgrade for Kitchen Ovens - APPROVED

Vice President Debbi McAtee said the organization, over the next several months, will work on updating its articles of agreement and its operating structure. She also highlighted a presentation that NSSEO Superintendent Dr. Meg Schnoor gave on the operational board.

Board member Bill Harrison recapped the organization's Legislative Breakfast, which was held at the District 21 Community Service Center and Administrative Offices earlier this month. He also previewed ED-RED's first member meeting of the school year, which will be held on Nov. 6.

Harrison previewed the IASB North Cook Division dinner, which will be held on Oct. 22. He mentioned the association will also be hosting virtual workshops on the proposed changes to its constitution.

Board member Arlen S. Gould continued to discuss updates on the organization's potential relocation, as it has outgrown its current facility.

Board member Iliana Guzman highlighted the partnership between the district and Indian Trails Public Library to provide library cards for all students in the district.

The next regular meeting of the Board of Education will be held at 7 p.m. on Thursday, September 18, at the Community Service Center and Administrative Office, 959 W. Dundee Rd., Wheeling.