Board Briefs
Summary of the April 18, 2022 Board Meeting at Westbrook
Before the Meeting...
Prior to the meeting, Board members Scott Nelson and Jim Baumstark, along with District 34 administrators, toured the construction at Springman and Westbrook with representatives from FGM Architects and Nicholas Associates construction management. The progress is exciting!
Springman
Westbrook
Board Meeting Recording
Superintendent's Reflections & District Celebrations
Each month, Superintendent Dr. Dane Delli updates the Board of Education and the community about programs, events, notable achievements, and other timely information and celebrations.
Dr. Delli said that in schools, the month of May typically brings many activities to schools, and this year, we have many end-of-year events to look forward to. He said that with COVID cases in our schools rising, he encourages the community to exercise caution and employ mitigations so that we can all enjoy those activities and events.
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.
During the first opportunity for community comments, the following community members spoke (there were no community members requesting to speak at the second opportunity for comments):
- Otto Reinish, community member, parent of former D34 students and current D34 substitute teacher, explained the experience of being a substitute teacher and provided suggestions to increase the number of substitutes who choose to work in D34.
- D34 students Anna Ortiz, Zayna Hafeez, Ravi Gill, Maya Nasilowski, Vivian Blanchard, members of Hoffman Student Activists, spoke about their wish to have healthier school lunches, and more choices, including Halal, Kosher and vegetarian options.
Consent Agenda & Other Resolutions
The Board also approved a resolution to declare intent to issue bonds, construction contracts, a contract for Unified Insights student data reporting and analysis system, contract for summer 2022 services for middle school English Learners, Board policy update and a staff notice to remedy.
Intent to Issue Bonds
Elizabeth Hennessy of Raymond James explained that the originally plan was for the District to issue $9.4M in bonds in August 2023. However, due to the Federal Reserve's work to decrease inflation, they have increased the Federal Fund Rate, and are expected to do so again in the future. She said that current rates are at January 2019 interest rate levels.
Therefore, she suggested that the District issue these bonds in August 2022 in order to act before rates rise again and save money for taxpayers.
The Board will hold a public hearing on June 21 and have an additional meeting on June 29 to approve the issuance of the bonds.
Construction Contracts
Dave Torres of Nicholas Associates provided an update on the construction contracts. He reviewed the scope and timeline of Phase 2 & Phase 3. As a reminder, at the March 2022 meeting, the Board approved contracts for referendum work for two of the four bid packages for construction phases two and three.
He explained that construction costs are continuing to increase. Nicholas renegotiated with low bidders for Base Bid No. 2 (Phase 2 & 3 at Glen Grove, Hoffman & Pleasant Ridge), for $1.5 million in savings. Base Bid 3, for work at Attea, is expected to be rebid this summer.
At this time, the total cost of referendum construction after the savings is $171,600,000 at this time. Dr. Delli wanted to clearly state for the Board that the costs associated with all of these projects are trending up. He said that the District must continue to engage in value engineering and find ways to save money on the remaining projects. Even with that, there is a likelihood that the District will need to spend more and the Board will need to consider an additional contribution of fund balance or removing project scope. In the process, the District will maintain the promise it made to the community through the successful referendum.
Board President Scott Nelson asked the District administration to convene the Citizens Finance Advisory Committee (CFAC) for a clearer picture of the District's fund balance.
Discussion
Curriculum Update
Assistant Superintendent for Teaching & Learning Dr. Matt Silverman and a team of instructional coaches shared an update on curriculum, and shared information about the standards to which the curriculum must align. Presenters discussed the following curricular areas:
- Literacy
- Science
- Social Studies
- Mathematics
- Global Language
- Life Skills
Park District Baseball Field Proposal
Ken Wexler, park planner of the Glenview Park District, asked the Board to consider the addition of a baseball field at the south end of the Westbrook property.
The Board agreed that the Park District should move forward with their investigation of this possibility.
Student Services 5-Year Review
They gave an overview of TrueNorth, the special education cooperative of which D34 is one of 18 member districts.
In the last five years, the District has established consistent leadership in student services, align to the mission, vision and core values of the District's strategic plan, and has done a root-cause analysis to develop an action plan. The department has built capacity within District staff and has reduced dependency on outside services, increasing the number of students served within D34 schools, where "all means all."
TrueNorth shifted their financial model. D34's usage has decreased significantly; D34 costs with TrueNorth have not decreased but remain high per our usage, so the department is looking for ways to utilize the expertise of the cooperative to gain value.
They shared the success in forging partnerships with parents, including:
- Hiring the Parent & Community Facilitator for Student Services
- Student Service Council
- Facilitated IEP Process
- D34 Parent Connect
Fiscal Year 2023 Tentative Budget
Assistant Superintendent for Business Services Eric Miller presented the FY2023 tentative budget. The Board will accept the tentative budget in June, publish notice and make the budget available for public review, and hold a public hearing of the final budget in September before approval.
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
Facebook: facebook.com/glenview34
Twitter: @glenview34