Retirees and Years of Service

The Board recognized three staff members for their years of service on the eve of their retirement from District 103.

• Daniel Wright Technology Specialist Ann Blomberg will retire after 25 years in District 103

• Daniel Wright Secretary Janet Lyman will retire after 24 years in District 103

• Sprague First-Grade Teacher Helen Friedli will retire after 9 years in District 103

Of their retirement, Dr. Scott Warren, Superintendent, said, “Each of them has played a crucial role in helping our children grow to be leaders in learning and preparing them to be role models even after they leave our district. These retirees leave a legacy of positivity impacting our families.”

Student Recognition

The Board of Education recognized Daniel Wright teams that advanced to their highest competitive level over the past year. These groups included the History Bee and Geography Bee, MATHCOUNTS, Scholastic Bowl Team, Science Bowl Team, and the Science Olympiad Team.

Board President Anne van Gerven said, "On behalf of the school board we applaud our dedicated staff who have given years of their time to our school district and to our talented students who continue to do so well in these high level competitions."

D103 Learning Update

• Vaccination for Students

• Pfizer vaccine is widely available to ages 12 and above.

• DW is offering a vaccine clinic on May 23.

• There are many other sites available for vaccines.

• Close Contact Review

• Lake County is conducting a pilot program regarding changing the close contact distance to three feet in schools with all other mitigations in place. Results of the pilot will be available later this year

• Close Contact Tracing

• The district is postponing its research on offering a tracing product until the Lake County Health Department pilot is released.

• ISBE Resolution on Remote Learning

• ISBE is voting on a resolution that remote instruction must be provided for students who are ineligible for the vaccine and that they are under a quarantine order by a local public health department. Clarification regarding the resolution will be provided after the vote.

• Looking Ahead

• The district will survey parents, staff, and students regarding learning needs during the past year and in the future.

• Metrics

• The positivity rate in Lake County is currently at 2.6%. The incidence rate in D103 zip codes is 5.8 and we want it to remain below 7.

ELC Update

The Exceptional Learners Collaborative Governing Board met on May 6, 2021, and approved the articles of agreement based on the new usage model. The new model is based on the amount of service each district utilizes from the ELC rather than the number of students with Individual Education Plans. This model is more equitable as districts that use a greater proportion of ELC services will be responsible for more overhead costs than districts that use fewer ELC services. The new model will result in savings for District 103. The articles of agreement will be considered by the Board for adoption at its June meeting.

Budget Presentation

1. Amended budget: “When items are substantially known to have changed after passing a budget, it is good practice to amend the budget to account for it”, said Patrick Palbicke, D103 Assistant Superintendent for Business. Since the Fiscal Year 2021 budget was passed in June 2020, COVID affected revenues and expenses throughout multiple areas within the budget causing the need for amendments. The Board will approve these amendments at its June meeting.

2. Tentative Budget for Fiscal Year 2022: Administration presented a balanced budget with total expenditures budgeted to be $35.93 million and revenues budgeted to be $37.28 million. One of the largest expenses, salaries, is budgeted to increase 2.2% overall. Another large expense item is health insurance, which is anticipated to increase by 3.6%. However, employer contributions to a non certified pension is expected to decrease, which helps slow the rate in which benefit costs increase. The Board is expected to consider the final budget at its June meeting.

Facility Improvement Plan

The Board reviewed the D103 Facilities Improvement Plan, which shows improvements throughout the schools over the next several years with a lid of spending at about $800,000 per year for capital outlay from the O&M Fund. Improvements include everything from building security to replacing boiler pumps and improving ventilation.

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