january 14

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 Regular Meeting, please click here.

This meeting was recorded and that recording can be viewed here: www.sd25.org/0114FullMeeting.

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

6:00 PM

This was an opportunity for the public to speak on the proposed waiver of administrative cost cap.

To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.

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

A. South & Thomas Band & Choir Members | ILMEA District 7 Honor Band Participants

The Board of Education recognized and congratulated the South & Thomas Band & Choir Members that participated at the ILMEA District 7 Honor Band. The Board also recognized and congratulated the music and choir teachers, Oksana Lukaszewskyj, Carolyn Schneider, and Kenneth Cook from South and Candi Horton and Dana Berry from Thomas..

The following were the students recognized:

South - Concert Band

Alyssa Culley, flute

South - Choir

Jack Hemmila - Baritone | Natalie Jares - Alto | Vada Johnson - Soprano | Max Lange - Alto

Elan Pattie - Baritone | Ava Rosciano - Alto | Siobhan Simpson - Baritone

Thomas - Concert Band

Ian Jung - Clarinet | Harshan Rajkumar Anusha - Tuba | Andrew Rice, Clarinet

Landon Rice - Euphonium | Ishaan Varma - Alto Saxophone

Thomas - Jazz Band

Colin O'Brien - Trumpet | Io Shigefuji - Piano

To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.

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B. Presentation of the 2023-24 Financial Audit

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 as an individual 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
• ED-RED Education Research Development
• Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB)
  The Board presented on the Board's experience of the Joint Annual Conference in November.
  For a PDF of this presentation, click here.
• NSSEO
  Elizabeth Nierman presented on NSSEO's next strategic plan (25-30)
  For a PDF of this presentation, click here.

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.

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

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 Reports (C) Invoices; (D) Regular and Closed Session Meeting Minutes of December 10, 2024; (E) Board bills.

With the approval of the consent agenda and the personnel reports, the Board approved the next principals for Dryden Elementary School and South Middle School.

• Jessica Martinsen was named the next principal for Dryden Elementary School.
• Steven Prorok was named the next principal for South Middle School.

Both will replace retiring principals (Akemi Sessler at Dryden and Dr. Jim Morrison at South).

The consent agenda documents can be seen by clicking here to visit BoardDocs.

To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.

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

• AHC PTA
  
• ABC25 Foundation
  
• ATA (Arlington Teachers Association)

To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.

There were no items presented by the Department of Student Learning.

There were no items presented by the Department of Student Services.

MOTION: APPROVED

A.Resolution For Waiver of Limitation of Administrative Cost Cap for FY25

That the Board of Education approve the Resolution for Waiver or Modification of Illinois School Code 105 ILCS 5/17-1.5 For Limitation on Administrative Costs for School Year 2024-25.

To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.

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

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

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MOTION: APPROVED

B. Issuance of General Obligation School Bonds

That the Board of Education approve the "Resolution providing for the issue of not to exceed $15,000,000 General Obligation School Bonds, Series 2025, of the District, for the purpose of paying certain costs of those capital projects approved by referendum at the June 28, 2022, general primary election, providing for the levy of a direct annual tax sufficient to pay the principal and interest on said bonds, and authorizing the proposed sale of said bonds to the purchaser thereof."

At the last Board meeting the District's municipal advisor, Elizabeth Hennessy of Raymond James, presented the recommendation to sell the remaining $15 million in bonds approved through the June 28, 2022 referendum based on bond guidelines and our expenditure projections.

To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.

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

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

MOTION: APPROVED

A.2025 Capital Projects Approval

That the Board of Education approve the proposed 2025 capital projects as presented.

These 2025 capital projects are primarily intended to be completed during the summer of 2025. These projects are intended to maintain and improve District 25 facilities. Approval of these projects will allows the District to finalize the designs, send out to bid when necessary, and make final recommendations based on the prices the District receives and the overall goals and budget of the improvements. Approvals of bids will be brought forth at future meetings, as necessary.

To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.

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

To watch the Board discuss this item, click here.

A. INSIGHTex STAFF SATISFACTION AND ENGAGEMENT

Assistant Superintendent of Personnel & Planning, Kendra Perri, presented the results of the INSIGHTeX survey given to staff at the beginning of the year. The purpose of the survey is to put data descriptions into District 25' beliefs about the District's work culture. Staff provided input into all aspects of their work environment, and staff are the ones who collaboratively determine action steps to continuously improve their work environment.

For a PDF of the presentation, click here.

To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.

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

To watch the Board discuss this item, click here.

Prior to beginning the Superintendent Report, Dr. Brian Kaye expressed to the Board his intent to present the results of the Full Day Kindergarten survey at the February meeting.

To listen to this part of the meeting, click here.

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A. Freedom of Information Act Report

Superintendent, Dr. Brian Kaye, updates the Board on Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests from the public. The following were the FOIA requests:

• William Boodro requested information on electric bills; a response was provided on December 19, 2024.
• Sheri Reid, Dada Acquisition Specialist of SmartProcure, requested vendor information; a response was provided on December 23, 2024.
• William Boodro requested information on the Westgate plumbing project; a response was provided on January 3, 2025.
• Molly Hudgens, Deputy Director of Research, SEIU Local 73, requested custodial and Building maintenance staff information; a response was provided on January 7, 2025.
• Joann Johnson requested information on enrollment in advanced math and language arts; a response was provided on January 7, 2025.

To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.

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

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B. First Reading of Policies | PRESS 117

To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.

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

To watch the Board discuss this item, click here.

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C. Illinois Vision 2030 Resolution

In October 2023, the following organizations worked together to write Vision 2030:

• Illinois Association of School Administrators (IASA),
• Illinois Principals Association (IPA),
• Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB),
• Illinois Association of School Business Officials (IASBO),
• the Superintendents’ Commission for the Study of Demographics and Diversity (SCSDD),
• Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of Schools (IARSS),
• Illinois Alliance of Administrators of Special Education (IAASE), and
• The Association of Illinois Rural and Small Schools (AIRSS)

Together, they launched Vision 2030 to articulate what the education community stands for and aspires to realize. The District recommends that the Board of Education adopt this resolution, showing our commitment to the Vision 2030 framework.

For a PDF of the presentation, click here.

To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.

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

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

• No future agenda items.

NEW TOPIC

• Professional Development

To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.

To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2025 @ 6:15 PM

*The meeting will begin with Closed Session at 6:15 p.m., followed by the Regular Open meeting at 7:00 p.m.*

This 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.

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.