District 157-C October 16, 2019 Board of Education Meeting Recap

FRANKFORT, IL — The regular Frankfort School District 157-C Board of Education meeting of October 16, 2019, was called to order by Board President Edith Lutz at 7:00 p.m. The roll call was taken, and a quorum was present. The Board recited the Pledge of Allegiance.

The Board received one letter of correspondence from Mike Turner regarding the tax year 2020 levy determination. Board member Gina Briese thanked him for sending his letter and said he is very attuned to the budget.

The Board approved the Open and Closed Session minutes of the Regular Board of Education Meeting of September 18, 2019.

The Board and Superintendent Dr. Maura Zinni recognized former student and current Lincoln-Way East sophomore Eddie Walenga for his immediate response delivering life-saving CPR to his mother, Kristen, who experienced sudden cardiac arrest. Walenga learned CPR while attending Hickory Creek Middle School. The Walenga family was in attendance at the meeting, as were Eddie’s teachers who taught him CPR when he attended Hickory Creek. Eddie received a standing ovation for his quick action.

During Public Forum, Stephanie Pearson-Davis discussed concerns about bullying policies at the District.

During Administrative Reports, principals updated the Board on the District’s October 11 Institute Day. At Grand Prairie, teachers worked with Language Insights consultants, who shared how impressed they were with work going on in classrooms. Teachers also reviewed grading practices, the use of technology in lessons and social emotional learning. At Chelsea, teachers learned about responsibility-centered discipline and how to support students who are having conflict and not following behavioral expectations. Teachers also reviewed the structured word inquiry approach to learning vocabulary, and how to expand the practice to science and math. At Hickory Creek, during the Institute Day, staff discussed digital citizenship, practices in English and math, and increasing student engagement in science. In social studies classes, students are planning for Veterans Day assemblies. The annual Veterans Day Concert, presented by the symphonic band and orchestra, is set for 6 p.m. Thursday, November 7, at the school.

Supervisor of Buildings and Grounds Rodney Davis said his team is preparing heating systems for cooler weather and preparing trucks for plowing.

Director of Curriculum and Instruction Janet McClarence said teachers are undergoing trainings on FastBridge, structured word inquiry and Carnegie math. The District’s Social Emotional Learning Committee is undergoing training with Deep Equity on cultural competency.

Director of Special Services Jen Bajda said the District received notice that its preschool program will be monitored for compliance with its Preschool for All grant between November 4-22. Some staff members are receiving training on Creative Curriculum, and Bajda said she is excited to incorporate things the District hasn’t done previously to improve outcomes for kids.

Director of Human Resources Shayna Cole said staff had the opportunity to get onsite flu shots in early October. Looking ahead, one-on-one meetings regarding insurance will be available at the end of the month, with Open Enrollment coming in November. Cole also started sending out an HR newsletter to staff to cover topics related to health and wellness, benefits, and insurance.

Director of Technology Jacob Nelson said his team is looking ahead to Thanksgiving and Winter Breaks, preparing to migrate library and nursing software to new machines, and move the firewall to a new server.

Briese provided a recap of the recent District Insurance Committee meeting.

Board Secretary Edie Adamski provided the Board with minutes of the September 9 Advisory Board and September 24 Governing Board meetings of Lincoln-Way Area Special Education District 843. She said the District is in need of bus drivers and is actively hiring.

District 157-C Education Foundation President Tayo Hill provided an update about the Foundation’s progress and plans. Last year, the Foundation fulfilled more than $150,000 in teacher-written grants. The majority of its money is raised through its annual Casino Night fundraiser, hot lunches and additional monetary donations. The Foundation is beginning to plan this year’s Casino Night and is seeking donations and sponsorships. The Foundation is also seeking more volunteers, and anyone interested in joining may email ef157c@gmail.com for more information. Board President Edith Lutz thanked Hill and the Foundation for all that goes into raising funds for and fulfilling grants for students in the District.

Zinni provided an update on behalf of the District 157-C Family School Partnership. The FSP is in the midst of fall book fairs. Hickory Creek’s and Chelsea’s were successful, and Grand Prairie’s is set for 5:30-8 p.m. Wednesday, October 23. FSP Family Fitness Night is set for Thursday, November 14, at Grand Prairie. SCRIP gift card sales are underway. A percentage of sales goes to the schools, and the last day to purchase cards is Monday, October 28.

During the superintendent’s report, Zinni provided an update on health and wellness in the District. The District offers physical and health education five days a week for grades K-8 and recess five days a week for grades preschool-5. It works to provide nutritional hot lunch options, refrains from offering food at classroom parties and school events, offers athletic extracurricular activities and sports, and sponsors events centered on raising funds for health-related causes. For staff, annual wellness screenings, access to Hickory Creek’s fitness room, annual flu shots, access to Blue Cross Blue Shield’s Benefit Value Advisor, virtual doctor visits and wellness activities during trainings are provided.

Zinni said the District is still looking into developing a master plan for Chelsea. Architects are doing a space utilization study of all three schools, and the District is having a demographic study done to determine how many students it can expect to come through the District in coming years. She said she hopes to have these results in the next month.

Zinni said the District had a very successful first Tiger University of the school year on social emotional curriculum. The next Tiger University will be provided in two sessions, 12:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. Tuesday, October 22, at Hickory Creek. It will feature Tom Kress, of Your Power Project, who will present on building confidence. He will also provide assemblies to students at all three schools.

Zinni said the District has mandatory school safety drills upcoming. In early November, it plans to do active shooter drills, which are required by law, and parents will be notified. District Resource Officer Chad Riff will assist with the drills.

Ambrosini provided the Board with the September 2019 Treasurer's Report and Graphs. The total fund balance increased by $10,566,351. Monthly revenue receipts totaled $13,112,128, primarily due to Will County property tax receipts and evidence-based funding. Monthly expense disbursements totaled $2,545,777, primarily due to payroll and accounts payable.

The District received one Freedom of Information request that was responded to in a timely manner. Stephanie Pearson-Davis submitted a FOIA request regarding investigations in the District.

In discussion, the Board reviewed the Illinois Association of School Board’s 2019 Resolutions Committee Report, including a resolution to allow school districts to choose to permit arming teachers in Illinois schools. Board member Dr. Larry Kociolek explained that the IASB creates a list of items to lobby for in the State legislature, and this topic was pulled off the IASB’s consent agenda last year. He said he feels strongly against the resolution, as there is no evidence that arming teachers leads to school safety, and he has not heard from a stakeholder in favor of the resolution. He said he fully supports school safety and would be in favor of the IASB lobbying for increased funds for districts to hire resource officers. “We should not support other districts to make bad decisions for children,” he said. “We should push the IASB to find better, evidence-based solutions to the problem.” Briese said she agreed. Adamski and Lutz said that though they supported the resolution last year, they would not this year after learning more about it and constituents’ views against it. Board member Brian Skibinski said teachers are not trained the same way police officers are when it comes to responding during high-pressure situations, and the District is fortunate to have a resource officer. Board member Michael Bouck said he is concerned about the three- to five-minute response time it takes for police to arrive during an emergency. “We don’t want to hand teachers guns, but we need to keep an open mind on what’s best to secure kids,” he said. Lutz said the Board will vote on the resolution next month to give the public time to provide feedback to the Board.

In discussion, Ambrosini gave an overview of the tax levy process and asked the Board which potential tax levy scenarios they would like to review in November, including with no abatement, an abatement out of the Debt Service Fund, an abatement out of the Education Fund, and a blended abatement out of both funds. Briese said she would like to see what the abatement process looks like after 2021, when the District pays off all of its debt and can no longer abate out of the Debt Service fund. Board Vice President Brett Cosich said he would like more information on the Chelsea master plan before deciding on abatement. Ambrosini said the abatement does not need to be decided until January.

In discussion, Ambrosini provided an overview of the three-year Capital Improvement Plan. The fiscal year 2019 projects were completed at a cost of roughly $2.3 million, including roof, carpeting, condensing unit, mechanical, lighting, flooring, furniture, safety, parking lot, truck and plow, phone, and generator replacements and repairs, respectively. Projects for fiscal year 2020 are underway, estimated to cost between $1.4 million and $1.8 million. Ambrosini said she wants to bring the plan back to the Board in January or February to discuss fiscal year 2021 projects.

In discussion, Ambrosini said the District is looking into using a contractor for residency investigation services. She said there are typically few cases that require investigation, but they can present safety hazards to District staff. She recommended National Investigation to provide these services.

In discussion, Ambrosini said the District’s annual statement of affairs for fiscal year 2019 has been prepared and is ready to be published, in part, in a local newspaper and on the District website, as required by law.

In discussion, Zinni reviewed Objective 5 of the District’s 21st Century Continuous Learning Plan. She recommended the District create a new, full-time position for community engagement and partnerships. This person would be present in schools during the day and at afterschool and weekend events to collect and disseminate stories, and coordinate events and activities for community stakeholders. Zinni said it is a common role in other school districts, and she would look into job descriptions and the potential cost.

The Board took action to approve employee health, dental, vision, life and EAP insurance plans for fiscal year 2020.

The Board took action to approve the employment of Kristen Ortiz as a full-time Special Education Paraprofessional at Hickory Creek Middle School with a start date of October 14, 2019, contingent upon the receipt and evaluation of employment documentation required by District 157-C and the Illinois State Board of Education.

The Board took action to approve the employment of Laura Burke as a full-time 10-month Building Secretary at Hickory Creek Middle School with a start date of October 21, 2019, contingent upon the receipt and evaluation of employment documentation required by District 157-C and the Illinois State Board of Education.

The Board took action to approve a pay change and title change of Chad Burvant from full-time Custodian at Grand Prairie to full-time Head Custodian at Grand Prairie.

The Board took action to approve a request from Susan Payton for an unpaid leave of absence tentatively beginning November 11, 2019, and tentatively concluding November 18, 2019, depending on the need.

The Board took action to approve the payment of bills for September 2019, as presented.

In the consent agenda, the Board approved the annual statement of affairs for fiscal year 2019, and updated and new Maintenance Department job descriptions.

The Board entered into Closed Session at 8:56 p.m. and began Closed Session at 9:03 p.m. for the purposes of discussion of personnel matters, student issues, pending litigation and collective bargaining.

The Board adjourned Closed Session at 11:05 p.m. and adjourned the regular meeting at 11:06 p.m.

The next regular District 157-C Board of Education meeting will be held on November 20, 2019, at 7:00 p.m. at the District Office, 10482 W. Nebraska St. in Frankfort, Illinois.