ACROSS THE BOARD
August 2022 Committee Meetings
August 1: Policy Committee
August 1: Business Services Committee
August 15: Learning & Teaching Committee
August 29: Business Services Committee
Agendas, minutes, documents, and recordings from all meetings are available to view on BoardDocs.
Revisions to Policy Manual from PRESS Issue 109
The Illinois Association of School Boards revised a few policies for the Board to approve. The Policy Committee discussed the following policies:
Policy 2:230 – Public Participation at School Board Meetings
- The policy was updated to reflect the removal of minimum time periods for public comment. It was recommended the policy be updated to indicate the Board does not want to establish a maximum time limit for public comment.
Policy 5:80 – Court Duty
- The District is required to pay full salary during the time an employee has to serve for witness duty and jury duty.
Policy 6:135 – Accelerated Placement Program
- Students eligible for automatic enrollment in accelerated programs can choose to enroll in alternative coursework that better aligns with the student’s postsecondary education or career goals. This will be implemented in fall 2023.
Policy 6:60 – Curriculum Content
The District does not provide anti-bias education and intergroup conflict resolution, but is working to develop this for students.
The Board offers National Sex Education Standards (NSES) and/or developmentally appropriate consent education, but the Board will not communicate the curriculum chosen in this policy.
The Board does not offer a unit of instruction in grades 9-12 about the process of naturalization pursuant to 105 ILCS 5/27-23.15
Policy 7:315 – Restrictions on Publications; High Schools
The Board chose not to provide student journalists more flexibility.
The student media advisor can provide student journalists with written justification prior to limiting materials.
View the full list of policy revisions
All policies were approved during the Regular Board meeting on August 8.
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Policies Updating the District Nondiscrimination Coordinator, Complaint Managers, and Title IX Coordinator
Due to changes in the Cabinet, Nondiscrimination Coordinator and Complaint Manager roles need to be reassigned and updated.
Nondiscrimination Coordinator: Marci Conlin.
Complaint Managers: Audra Christenson and Jarrod Buxton.
These roles apply to the following policies:
- Policy 2:260 – Uniform Grievance Procedure
- Policy 5:10 – Equal Employment Opportunity and Minority Recruitment
- Policy 5:20 – Workplace Harassment Prohibited
- Policy 7:20 – Harassment of Students Prohibited
Marci Conlin is also designated as the Title IX Coordinator according to Policy 2:265 – Title IX Sexual Harassment Grievance Procedure
Future Agenda Items
The next Policy Committee Meeting is scheduled for Monday, September 26 at 5:00 PM.
Superintendent Report
Opening Day
Staff started the school year with an Opening Day celebration at East High School.
Opening Day took place on Monday, August 8.
First Day of School
Students joined us on Wednesday, August 10.
“We’re excited to get them back into our buildings and get started” - Dr. Gordon
For Discussion
Financial Reports
Presented by Mr. Justin Attaway, Assistant Superintendent for Business Services
Mid Valley: Revenues trending just below, and expenditures trending a little higher. No issues at this time.
District 303: All financials trending close to where they need to be and no issues to report. Detailed items will be presented in September.
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Demographer Proposal
Presented by Mr. Justin Attaway
As part of the Facility Master Plan, the District solicited proposals from demographers for a detailed enrollment study and facility capacity study to ensure the District is utilizing its current buildings efficiently. Conducting these studies will allow the District to make the best data-driven decisions in the short- and long-term.
If approved, studies will be conducted through the fall. A draft of the analysis report will be completed in December. Results will be brought to the Board in January.
District recommendation: Contract with RSP & Associates for a total cost of $27,650.
Board decision: Approved during the Regular Board meeting on August 8.
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Facility Master Plan Update
Presented by Mr. Justin Attaway
Administration has worked with Wold Architects to review the findings provided by the Educational Facility Planning Committee and created a list of guiding principles to help prioritize projects for the Facility Master Plan.
The guiding principles will serve as a supplement, not a replacement of the work of the planning committee
Facility Master Plan Guiding Principles
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Fiscal Year 2022-2023 Budget
District 303 Final Draft Budget
- Total revenue for all funds is estimated to increase by 3.64%. Total revenue for operating funds is estimated to increase by 5.28%. Property taxes make up 82.5% of revenue.
- Total expenditures for all funds are estimated to increase by 4.05%. Total expenditures for operating funds are estimated to increase by 5.29%. Salaries and benefits make up 76.9% of expenditures.
- Increases in expenditures reflect a high Consumer Price Index.
Budget on Display and Schedule Public Hearing
The fiscal year 2022-23 budgets will be on public display for 30 days. A public hearing will be scheduled for September 12 with final budget adoption planned for the same evening.
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Annual Approval of Hazardous Bus Routes
Presented by Mr. Justin Attaway
Students are automatically placed on a bus route if they reside over 1.5 miles away from their school. Transportation may be provided for any student residing within 1.5 miles from school where conditions are potentially dangerous for walking to school.
This is an annual action - there are no updates from previous years.
List of Approved Hazardous Bus Routes
District recommendation: Approve the Hazardous Bus Routes.
Board decision: Hazardous Bus Routes approved during the Regular Board meeting on August 8.
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K-8 Food Service Contract Amendment
Presented by Mr. Justin Attaway
ISBE allowed all school food service providers to propose increases to their contract agreements for 2022-2023 to offset rising food and labor costs.
Organic Life proposed amending their contract from a 4.0% increase to a 6.0% increase. The District will be able to cover the additional cost with subsidies from the government.
District recommendation: Approve the contract amendment with Organic Life.
Board decision: Approved during the Regular Board meeting on August 8.
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Construction Update
Presented by Mr. John Pahlman, Assistant Superintendent for Operations
- St. Charles East: Rooftop HVAC unit has been replaced and is in operation.
- Thompson: Track has been resurfaced and repainted.
- Wredling: Completion of the track was delayed but the project is expected to be completed before cold weather sets in.
- Davis: Installation of rooftop HVAC unit was delayed due to supply chain issues. The current unit can be maintained throughout the year and will be replaced when school is not in session.
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HVAC Control Infrastructure
Presented by Mr. John Pahlman
- The District recommends the purchase and installation of JACE (Java Application Control Engine) controllers to replace obsolete and outdated HVAC controls in the majority of district buildings.
District recommendation: Purchase and install JACE (Java Application Control Engine) open protocol controllers for a total cost of $77,451.
Board decision: Approved during the Regular Board meeting on August 8.
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Technology Purchases
Presented by Mr. Matt Smith, Executive Director of Technology
VMware Renewal
- VMware is a service and software that makes more efficient use of server room hardware and systems and allows the District to build dozens of servers into hardware. Contract renewal will last for 3 years.
District recommendation: Renew the VMware contract for a 3-year agreement at a total cost of $33,000.
Board decision: Approved during the Regular Board meeting on August 8.
PLTW Monitor Purchase
- The monitors currently used in high school Project Lead the Way labs are too outdated to fit current software. All 150 monitors are slated for replacement.
District recommendation: Replace all 150 monitors for a total cost of $35,100.
Board decision: Approved during Regular Board meeting on August 8.
Future Agenda Items
- Facility Master Plan
The next Business Services Committee Meeting was on August 29. See below for the summary.
Review of Equity Audit
Overview
An equity audit was completed during the 21-22 school year as a means to understand the disproportionate student outcomes. The audit serves as a tool to gain insights into where inequities exist within our systems and to provide recommendations for the next steps.
The Catalyst for Educational Change (formerly the Consortium for Educational Change) conducted surveys and focus groups from January to April 2022. Adjacent to this, Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago analyzed District academic and school climate data to look for any phenomena that might suggest inequities within our system.
Overall, both reports found that inequities were not widespread throughout the system; rather, there were pockets of student groups that warranted attention.
Key Findings
Achievement gaps are found along the following demographic characteristics:
Race, specifically Hispanic/Latino and Black/African American
Socioeconomic status. This mirrors national trends.
Gender. Females outperform males in ELA, and males outperform females in math.
Male students tend to have stronger student-teacher relationships and a stronger sense of belonging than female students.
While families generally reported a sense of belonging at most schools, there were reports of microaggressions and disrespectful behavior that need to be addressed.
There is a significant desire across all stakeholder groups for a more equitable system and a culture of dignity and respect.
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Key Recommendations
Provide professional learning to more effectively support students from backgrounds that are different from theirs.
Establish a strong sense of community across the district.
Make intentional efforts to recruit, hire, and retain more diverse staff.
Acknowledge the role that complex systems and structures within public education play in creating achievement gaps across races/ethnicity.
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Next Steps
District 303 Administration recommends a Superintendent’s Committee be formed to develop an action plan based on the audit findings. This work will become part of the upcoming District Strategic Plan. The committee's scope will be outlined and provided at the Regular Board meeting on September 12.
Future Agenda Items
The next Learning & Teaching Committee Meeting is scheduled for Monday, September 19 at 5:30 PM.
Superintendent Report
Student Enrollment
The Cabinet is exploring student enrollment data to examine schools where class sizes are full. In the early winter, the Board will be presented with short-term solutions on ways to reduce some pressure in some of the grade levels. A possible solution to explore is moving the registration deadline sooner to have more timely data.
For Discussion
District 303 and Mid Valley Financial Reports
Presented by Mr. Justin Attaway, Assistant Superintendent for Business Services
No big update at this time. No areas of concern
Fiscal year report – no areas of concern.
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Facility Master Plan Update
Presented by Mr. Justin Attaway
During the August 8 Regular Board meeting, the Board approved a contact with RSP & Associates to complete an enrollment and capacity study.
The contract is currently being negotiated with RSP to clarify some contract language.
The study is projected to start within the next few weeks.
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Copy Paper Bid Results
Presented by Mr. Justin Attaway
On August 11 the District published a request for bids for copy paper for the 2022-23 school year. 3 bids were received by the due date.
Though Quill was the lowest bidder, the bid does not conform to specifications and should be disqualified from consideration. The next lowest bidder was Garvey’s Office Products.
District recommendation: Award the bid to Garvey’s Office Products for a total cost of $235,296.
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Energy Consultant
Presented by Mr. Justin Attaway
District 303's energy consultant, Sandee Whited of Energy Purchasing Services, Inc., is retiring and EPS will no longer be providing energy purchasing services.
Working with a consultant helps the District identify the best time to seek out bids for service. A new energy consultant will be identified before the natural gas contract expires in March.
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Technology Purchases
Presented by Mr. Matt Smith, Executive Director of Technology
WeVideo renewal
- WeVideo is a web-based video editing software that both students and staff can access.
District recommendation: Approve the WeVideo renewal at a total cost of $26,798.16.
UPS Battery Replacement
- The Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) keeps essential technology running in the primary server room when power is interrupted. The current system has reached end of life and needs replacement.
District recommendation: Approve the purchase of a modern UPS and system bypass for a total cost of $41,589.
Juniper Network Switching Support Extension
- Network switching provides access and connectivity to the internet for all District 303 devices.
- The 5-year contract with Juniper Network Switching Support is expiring and needs to be extended for an additional year to maintain updates and support. After the extension, it is anticipated that this hardware will be at the end of its useful life and will need to be replaced.
District recommendation: Approve the purchase of the Juniper Network Switching Support for one year for a total cost of $62,850.00
Future Agenda Items
- Food Services
- Facility Master Plan
The next Business Services Committee Meeting is scheduled for Monday, September 26 at 5:30 PM following the Policy Committee Meeting.
St. Charles, IL 60174-2664
(331) 228-2000