Board Briefs
October 26, 2020
Deerfield Public Schools District 109
Board Meeting Details
The October 26 regular board meeting was held both on site at the District Office and remotely via Zoom. Due to COVID-19 gathering restrictions, only 10 people were permitted inside the boardroom at any given time, observing proper physical distancing and wearing face coverings. Members of the public could listen/observe the meeting by logging in to a designated Zoom webinar. For open/community participation, a laptop was set up in the District Office to accommodate live public comment. The district also created a dedicated voicemail line for public comment.
Superintendent Search Schedule Update
Dr. Ben Martindale and Dr. Linda Yonke from Exec Connect updated the Board about the search process. They noted that there has been a very strong group of applicants for the Superintendent position. The Board set some new dates for the next steps of the process that will be posted to DPS109.org.
Teacher Presentation -- Kipling School
The specials team from Kipling Elementary School gave a presentation on how they have adapted their teaching for the pandemic. You can see a copy of their presentation
here.
PTO Recognition
Eric Steckling, Director of Communications, shared some highlights from this past weekend's Pumpkinfest and also some other amazing initiatives and events that the PTO chapters from each school have been able to hold despite the pandemic. You can find a copy of his presentation
here.
Community Participation Relative to Matters on the Meeting Agenda
There were several voicemails played from the public comment line. Most referenced the decision to revert to remote learning and their agreement or disagreement with the school re-entry process. There were no live speakers.
Superintendent's Report
Mr. Rafferty thanked the teachers & staff for their tremendous work in pivoting to remote learning. He mentioned that other Deerfield agencies have been using the 109 COVID Data Dashboard to keep tabs on the latest numbers.
Mr. Fisher gave an update on the on-site COVID testing program. We completed our 12th day today. The district has completed 135 tests at a cost of just over $10,000.
Mr. Rafferty mentioned that District 109 has been in touch with several other districts about starting a surveillance testing program.
The administration and Board discussed the decision-making approach moving forward when it comes to returning to in-person learning.
Ms. Ford updated the Board on Student Services, and how her department has been intensely communicating with families about potential changes and how they will evaluate increasing in-person services.
Ms. Arnold gave a Teaching & Learning update. Discussions have begun about what it would take to return to 109 Online from the hybrid model at the elementary level, but no decisions have been made.
Mr. Steckling discussed the new district dashboard and the twice-weekly videos he is producing to provide context on the data.
FOIA Requests
Mr. Himebaugh discussed two requests.
2020 Tax Levy
Mr. Filippi gave a presentation on the 2020 Tax Levy. You can see a copy of that document
here.
2019-2020 Audit Results
Mr. Himebaugh gave an overview of the 2019-2020 audit.
You can read analysis here.
You can read the full audit here.
School Board Members Day Recognition
Superintendent Rafferty read a proclamation honoring the members of the Board of Education ahead of School Board Members Day, which is observed a day before the next Board meeting.
Consent Agenda
Personnel items were
approved.
Bills for payment were approved.
Destruction of Closed Session Recordings from April 15, 2019 was approved.
Special Meeting Minutes from September 8, 2020 were approved.
Regular Meeting Minutes from September 21, 2020 were approved.
Resolution to include PNC Bank as Investment Vendor and Depository was approved.
2019-2020 Audit Report was approved.
September Quarterly Treasurer's Report was approved.
Committee Reports
No official committee reports.
Board/Superintendent Other
There was nothing discussed.
Upcoming School Board Meetings
Monday, November 16, 2020 -- Regular Board Meeting
Monday, December 14, 2020 -- Regular Board Meeting
