Virtual Board Briefs
Summary of the February 15, 2022 BOE Meeting, Held Virtually
Board Briefs is a newsletter-style overview of the highlights of the Board of Education's discussion and action. You can find the meeting agenda online here, and look for minutes of the meeting to be posted after they are approved at the next BOE meeting (March 14, 2022).
Board Meeting Recording
Community Participation
Community members are encouraged to attend Board of Education meetings and contribute during the community participation periods. In all regular Board of Education meetings, the Board follows a set agenda that include two opportunities for community participation.
In this virtual meeting, community members submit their name and connection to the district in an online form, which opens before the start of the Board of Education meeting. Then, they pose their comments and questions virtually.
During the first opportunity for community comments (a 45-minute period), the following people spoke:
- April Perry, Parent of current D34 students, expressed support to continue masking
- Mary Beth Darr, Parent of current D34 students, urged the Board to remove the mask mandate
- Heather Cartwright, Parent of current D34 students, expressed appreciation for the support that allowed staff to create a positive learning environment and encouraged the District to establish metrics determined by health officials in deciding when to lift the mask mandate
- Anastasiya Ivanova, Parent of current D34 students, asked why the mask mandate was not lifted last week
- Mais Albazi, Parent of current D34 students, said that there has been inconsistency throughout the pandemic and that masks should be optional
- Rich Hughes, Parent of current D34 students, said that children are carrying the burden and that the mask mandate should end
- Liz McLaughlin, Parent of current D34 students, thanked the Board and staff for their hard work and recommends that the District continue to follow health official guidance.
- Nanette Ross-Meridith, D34 staff member, asked the District not to abandon the health and safety measures in place, and encouraged all to work together
- Laura Coleman, Parent of current D34 students, thanked the Board and teachers for creating a healthy and safe environment and asked the Board to continue following the advice of health
- Miruna Zamfirescu, Parent of current D34 students, said that children's needs should come first
- Colleen Konicek Scott, Parent of current D34 students, said that making masks optional would lift the burden on children
- Elizabeth Wirtz, Parent of current D34 students, asked what metrics are driving the decision to move to mask optional
- Renata Gherghiceanu, Parent of current D34 students, expressed appreciation for teachers, staff and the Board and support for a mask-optional environment
- Sanja Tomicevic, Parent of current D34 students, shared her concern about how students who don't wear masks are treated, is in favor of a mask-optional environment and encouraged all to follow Glen Grove's saying to spread positivity and be kind
- Chloe Koster, D34 student, said that in her two years at her school, she hasn't been to school without a mask. She wants to be able to see teachers' and classmates' faces. Her mother, Dana Russo, expressed that she also supports a mask-optional decision
During the second community participation period (which takes place after the business of the meeting and also is a 45-minute period), the following community members spoke:
- Anna Kowalski, Parent of current D34 students, is in favor of mask optional
- Vinny Milito, D34 student, asked for masks in District 34 to be optional. HIs mother, Kristin Milito, said that masks should be optional immediately instead of waiting until February 28.
- Karina Trapp, Parent of current D34 students, shared frustrated at the direction the district has taken in making decisions
- Cori Mohr, Parent of current D34 students, and representing students and families with disabilities, thanked the Board for taking into consideration students with IEPs
- Scott Steele, Parent of current D34 students, commended the Board for moving forward
- Margaret Rader, Parent of current D34 students, shared personal experience of COVID-19 and said that children are not “superspreaders.”
- Nanette Ross-Meridith, D34 staff member, thanked the Board for the thoughtful conversation
- Jen Patel, Parent of current D34 students, thanked the Board for finally taking the vote and expressed appreciation for the Henking principal and teachers
- Rishi Awatramani, Parent of D34 students, expressed concerns about how students who are not wearing masks in schools are being treated
- Jeff Duncan, Parent of D34 students, shared that his child has a medication condition but is at no greater risk than other children and urged a return to normalcy.
- Ninorta Gabriel, Parent of D34 students, expressed concerns about fear of teachers being able to speak out in favor of a mask optional environment
Consent Agenda
Discussion and Action: Mitigation Plan
Discussion
As you know, District 34 has been named as a defendant along with 144 other Illinois school districts in a lawsuit which sought a temporary restraining order, for both named and unnamed plaintiffs, to stop mandatory mask wearing and close contact exclusion in schools. On February 4, a circuit court judge issued two rulings.
The first ruling was to deny the requested class certification. This ruling made the temporary restraining order applicable to only those plaintiffs named in suit. The second ruling was in favor of the named plaintiffs which meant that the governor, IDPH, and ISBE could no longer mandate mandatory mask wearing and close contact exclusion rules in schools for the named plaintiffs. Our legal defense team has advised us that nowhere in the ruling is a removal of a local school district’s authority to enforce its own mitigation plan. This is why the decision was made to continue following our mitigation plan which contains mandatory mask wearing.
In the meantime, this lawsuit is on appeal and a decision on the appeal is expected on Thursday. As the legal system operates, I implore you to allow our teachers, support staff, and principals to do their work without threats and intimidation as we have seen. To our staff, please know that the Board will indemnify you from liability and defense costs in any legal action pertaining to this matter.
Setting aside for a moment the lawsuit and the legal system which needs to see this case through to completion, I believe it is important to understand that, since the start of the pandemic, governmental health agencies at the federal, state, and local level, have been been required to make decisions without the benefit of the totality of information that one would ideally desire. Decisions, however, are REQUIRED and pandemic related decisions, in particular, are about balancing risk …..these decisions are not binary and should not be viewed as simply good or bad. Along this COVID journey, we have always made a good faith effort to balance risks and I understand completely that people are entitled to judge our work through their own set of beliefs.
I’m not exactly sure how this pandemic ends, but I feel like we are moving toward the end of what has arguably been a very long neck on the hourglass. By any objective measure, and I understand for some there are no objective measures, our local COVID dashboard is much improved, positivity rates, hospitalizations, ICU patients, and deaths, all continue to decline. When we returned from Winter break we were confronted with double digit Weekly Positivity Rates….now in the low single digits. This is not to suggest that we have exited the pandemic but simply to say I believe this is a reasonable time to reconsider our mitigation plan, and more specifically, the future of our current masking requirement.
With respect to timing I can only say that the court appeal will likely be rendered Thursday, the governor has signaled that masking requirements for indoor venues will be relaxed on or near February 28…but not for schools, hospitals and nursing homes, and CCDPH has issued a memo stating that the vaccination and masking order can be lifted in a similar time frame. As recently as late this afternoon, the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules has weighed in on this matter.
So with that, I encourage the Board to proceed with this agenda item.
Board President Scott Nelson clearly stated that the decision to change mitigation practices lies with the Board. Board members discussed the current environment of decreasing cases and the high vaccination rate among staff and in the community. They discussed the complexity of the need to consider the needs and IEPs of and legal obligations to students who are medically fragile.
They shared their frustrations that the District is not a health agency and Board members and administrators are not public health experts and are not getting clear guidance from the local health authorities.
They expressed optimism that local levels of transmission, hospitalization and death are down dramatically in recent weeks. They are considering the educational and social emotional costs.
They affirmed the fact that school boards maintain local control, and have the ability to change in response to changing conditions.
Board members discussed the need to have enough time to ensure a smooth transition to a mask-recommended-but-not-required environment; there is an operational impact as well as a change in classroom policies and management, and habits and routines, as well as the need to fulfill legal obligations of IEPs.
They considered that in changing to a mask-recommended environment, the administration would have to review all mitigations.
Resolution
After their in-depth and lengthy discussion, the Board approved the following resolution:
That the Board of Education update its COVID mitigation plan to move to an environment that strongly recommends but does not require mask wearing in school buildings, as follows:
That the School District shift to a mask-optional, but strongly recommended, policy for all staff, students and visitors, on February 28, 2022.
That masks shall remain mandatory (1) on buses, and (2) for any students returning after a 5-day exclusion due to a positive test, for days 6-10 as recommended by the CDC.
But that if the TRO is stayed or reversed by a higher court at any point, the District shall return to its prior mask-mandatory plan so long as that stay or reversal remains lawfully in place.
That the Superintendent is directed to update the District’s COVID mitigation plan consistent with tonight’s Board action.
Other Resolutions
The Board also approved the following resolutions:
- Resolution to formally establish intent to implement full-day kindergarten, as required by the Illinois State Board of Education
- Contract for asbestos abatement
- Memorandum of understanding for internal subbing
Discussion
Staffing Allocations & Phase 2 & T3 Construction
Assistant Superintendent for Business Services Eric Miller continued the conversation from the last Board meeting about options to reduce construction costs.
Glenview District 34 is governed by a seven-person Board of Education, elected by the community, that consists of the following individuals:
- Scott Nelson (President)
- John Heggie (Vice President)
- Mike Korman (Secretary)
- Jim Baumstark
- James Dolan
- Natalie Jachtorowycz
- Diane Stefani
You can contact the Board at board@glenview34.org.
About Us
Email: news@glenview34.org
Website: www.glenview34.org
Location: 1401 Greenwood Road, Glenview, IL, USA
Phone: 847-998-5000
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