Below are highlights from the District 39 Board of Education meeting on June 27, 2016.

Complete Packet


 

Board Committee Reports

  • Strategy Committee– Cindy Levine reported The committee held its first meeting and discussed the committee's purpose. The Strategy Committee will be a forum to prioritize current strategic goals and suggest new ideas for the annual Strategic Plan. Committee meetings will be in June to review the Community Review Committee Report, in September prior to fiscal year planning presentation to the Board, and in January ahead of the February plan updates that the administration provides. The committee also discussed sustainability goals, performance contracting, and part time coordinator roles. Next meeting is September 18th.
  • Facility Development – Kimberly Alcantara reported – Committee received a report on replacement of a water meter at MEC. Committee was updated on the scheduled initiation of work at Harper and WJHS. There was a visit by Ingersoll Rand to determine if we have District sustainability projects suitable for potential performance contracting. Technology update indicates we are at the end of work for cabling and engineering. New scheduling model for FDC and SFC meetings was discussed, and both committees will now meet on the same day back to back. Next meeting is September 12th.
  • CRC – Alice Schaff reported – This was a joint meeting of outgoing and incoming CRC members. Officers were elected; Erin Stone is incoming president. Board of Education members attended to discuss topic ideas – options included wellness, digital and financial literacy, student growth, diversity and inclusion, and online learning. No decisions were made. Next meeting is July 11th at 7 pm.
  • Educational Foundation – John Flanagin reported – The 2016-17 budget was approved. New trustees were elected. Margie Karabas is incoming president.

Legislative Update - Kimberly Alcantara

Conversations around K-12 education budget continue with multiple bills and funding options under consideration. No proposals were advanced by May 31 deadline. As a result, future legislation will require a 3/5 supermajority vote in both chambers for passage. Discussions on changing the school funding formula will likely continue over the summer. A bipartisan working group continues to meet regularly with the goal of getting a K-12 budget passed before July 1. The issue is the overall additional revenue for K-12, and negotiations are looking to compromise between the Governor's $55 million in new funding for General State Aid and the $700 million adopted by both chambers.  It is rumored that a stopgap measure could maintain needed service through the end of 2016 when only a simple majority vote would needed for passage. Illinois lawmakers return this week. Language could be added to extend the current funding formula for one year, which would mirror the current proposal to maintain districts at their FY16 funding level and add $700 million in equity grants based on low income population.

 


Information items

 

Written Communication

Announcements from the Superintendent

  • The Summer Enrichment Program got off to a great start at Romona & Wilmette Junior High. There will be full report at the September Board meeting.
  • Once again, we had a successful graduation at NTHS. The space was able to accommodate our largest 8th grade class, as 470 students crossed the stage. I had an opportunity to speak to graduates about the challenges in our world today, and that we need to celebrate differences. D39 takes diversity seriously. We hope CRC takes this topic on for next year. The District is planning a forum for parents to discuss this important topic in the fall.
  • As we do each year, we increase sections as summer enrollment increases. We have added a fifth section of first grade at both McKenzie and Central. 
  • Each June we set administrators salaries for the upcoming year. For FY17, recommended salaries are CPI +.8%. This means the aggregate increase for administration pay is 1.6%.
  • Tonight we will be able to conduct all summer business and can officially cancel the July Board meeting. The next Board meeting will be on August 29th.
  • The District, in partnership with New Trier Township, will intervene before the Property Tax Appeal Board for a residential property located at 15 Linden Avenue.

FOIA request

Community Review Committee


Strategic Plan Updates

  • Mrs. HorowitzReview of 2015-2016 District 39 CONNECTED Strategic Plan – This report provides an update of the 2015-2016 District 39 CONNECTED Strategic Plan. Outcomes and Measures are provided within the body of the report, followed by appendices detailing action steps for each goal area. 

  • Ms. LeeEvolving Performance Series Student Growth Model – This report updates the Board on the emerging model for analyzing student growth using Performance Series data in math and reading. This new approach helps District 39 distinguish between student performance (attainment) and student growth (gain) to guide instructional decisions. Next steps will be included in the 2016-2017 District Strategic Plan, which will be shared next fall.

Board Action

The Consent Agenda was approved including the following:

 

The next meeting of the District 39 Board of Education will be on Monday,
August 29, 2016 at 7:00 PM at the Mikaelian Education Center.