April 21, 2026 at 7:00 PM - Board of Education Meeting
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I. Welcome and Call to Order
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Our Mission, Beliefs, and Values Board Agreements and Protocols Vision 2025 Strategic Plan IASB Code of Conduct |
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I.A. Pledge of Allegiance
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I.B. Roll Call
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I.C. Recognition of Audience, Announcements and Correspondence
Description:
This is an opportunity to welcome guests, make announcements, and share Board correspondence. The Board received FOIA requests from Justin Wenig, the Lake County Gazette, and Michael Henry.
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I.D. Student and Staff Spotlight and Recognition
Description:
Since the last Board meeting we have recognized our teacher assistants in honor of Paraprofessional Appreciation Day, our assistant principals Megan Conlin and Michelle Roberts in honor of National Assistant Principal Week, Beth Dooley and Zainab Tapal in honor of National Library Workers Day, our employees with Ivy League Kids in honor of Afterschool Professionals Week, and last but not least in honor of Administrative Professionals Day, Amy Perez, Jess Chapman, Maggie Adelman, Kathy Mensik, Amy Underhill, and Gayle Wilson.
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I.E. Public Comments
Description:
This is the first opportunity for any guests to comment, per Board Policy 2:230.
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II. Consent Agenda
Description:
The consent agenda allows for approval of routine action items together in one motion when discussion is typically unnecessary. Upon the request of any Board member, a consent agenda item can be withdrawn and placed on the regular agenda for independent consideration. Questions in advance of the meeting are appreciated in the event any background information needs to be obtained.
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II.A. Approval of the April 21, 2026 Regular Meeting Agenda
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II.B. Approval of the March 24, 2026 Regular Meeting Minutes
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II.C. Approval of the March 24, 2026 Closed Meeting Minutes
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II.D. Approval of Personnel Recommendations
Description:
We have three items for consideration as part of our personnel recommendations, including three new staff, a contract that includes a new benefit for our school psychologist, and recommended salary adjustments for two groups of staff members for 2026-27.
New Staff Recommendations We had a great month landing three outstanding candidates to recommend for three hard to fill positions. The team did a great job screening and the recommendations, salaries, and notes on each are as follows: Marykate Trabulsy Concord and Cass Speech-Language Pathologist 2026-27 Salary: $79,590.45 Marykate has perfect experience for this role and comes highly recommended after spending the previous eight years in East Maine District 63. She also embraces the role across our two buildings. This is the vacancy that was originally created when Sharon Chacko left in December for a family move to India. Sarah Mueller Concord Speech-Language Pathologist 2026-27 Salary: $75,248.29 Sarah will replace the retiring Jane York, and has two years of experience in Addison's Early Learning Center. This is an ideal background since she will be working with our preschool and kindergarten students. Sarah also has great leadership potential and will raise the bar in meeting the needs of our little ones. Ryan Kuhlman Cass STEAM Teacher 2026-27 Salary: $57,540.40 The teacher in this unique role has to relate well to our kids in a dynamic and flexible learning environment, and be organized, resourceful, and an outstanding facilitator of learning and discovery. While licensed as a social studies teacher, Ryan nails the key things we were looking for and has experience as a teacher assistant at Hinsdale South working with both art and technology. He is also beyond excited about our e-sports program! We believe Ryan will take our STEAM program forward and build it to what we envisioned when we started this two years ago. School Psychologist Tuition Benefit I had shared with the Board that our school psychologist Sara Zimmerman is pursuing her doctoral degree, something we totally support in her professional growth. As part of our effort to keep Sara as a key team member for the future of our student services program, I am recommending that we cover the tuition cost of her doctoral program, a benefit that is otherwise extended to our administrators, and beyond the current teacher benefit of $300 per semester hour. Sara is not part of a regular contractor or collective bargaining agreement, so I am recommending a straightforward contract that outlines this and her other benefits going forward. 2026-27 Salary Adjustments While the Board approved 2026-27 salaries in February, we always continue to keep an eye on things that need to be adjusted one way or the other, typically for the harder to fill positions as well as market conditions. The first is to adjust the hourly rate to $20.000 for four of our teacher assistants, both to retain our strong people hired the previous two to three years, and also to provide a little salary separation from the newest ones and any we still hire. The cost for doing so is next to nothing and I think it will send a good message and set us up well. We are also doing a little bit of internal shuffling with our assistants for next year to make sure the right people are in the right roles. Overall, it is such a good group that we have and I appreciate the Board's support of our past salary adjustments to the market. The other group is our drivers. Keith Monaco and I thought we had a driver, but he went to First Student for the higher rate of pay. In looking at the private sector competition as well as some neighboring school districts, I am recommending that we increase our base rate from $23.00 to $25.00 per hour, and then we would need to likewise adjust our three current drivers to $28.00 for the two with the most experience, and $27.00 for the one with somewhat less. As much as I never prefer to adjust pay beyond the CPI, sometimes it is necessary and I think this is the right thing to do. Perhaps most importantly, it gives us the best chance to get another driver and then this will all be paid back and then some. The adjusted 2026-27 Compensation Schedule is included below with the recommended adjustments noted in red. |
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II.E. Approval of Monthly Financial Reports
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II.F. Approval of the District Bills
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III. Reports, Updates, and Informational Items
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III.A. Administrative Reports
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III.B. Review of Recommended English Language Arts Instructional Materials
Description:
Over the course of the current school year, our leadership team and teacher reviewed in depth our English Language Arts curriculum, resources, and instructional materials. This is an important investment as it provides the resources we need for ELA for the coming 5 years from kindergarten through 8th grade. As appropriate for each grade level, everyone came to consensus on what is necessary to best meet the needs of our students and focus on academic growth looking forward. The principals will review some of the key details at the meeting and welcome any questions.
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III.C. Review of Recommended Bids and Quotes for Phase III Facility Projects
Description:
Phase III Asbestos Abatement Quotes
Midwest Environmental is our asbestos abatement consulting firm, and we work through Midwest to secure qualified contractors, as well as monitor the process to make sure we are in compliance with all related rules and regulations. At their recommendation as the most cost-effective approach, we sought competitive quotes through Midwest Environmental. This resulted in three submissions, with Valor Technologies as the lowest at $35,000 to complete two Concord rooms that require abatement to complete the Phase III renovation project. We have had excellent experience with Valor, as their work was professional, clean, and on time on a recent job for the district and I would recommend that we move forward with their quote under action item IV.F. Phase III Interior Renovation Bids For our summer 2026 Phase III renovation project, we had four bids submitted, three of which were very close and competitive. Unfortunately, we determined that the lowest bidder does not meet three of the seven required bidder criteria and qualifications. The good news is that two of the remaining bids were also very competitive, and both contractors met all seven criteria. The next two best bid options both end up with Reed Construction as our general contractor for Phase III, as they were for our successful Phases I and II projects. Regarding cost, our original hope was to squeeze in both Alternate Bids 1 and 2. The move to our second lowest bidder is an increase of $48,000, to $1,330,000. While not a staggering increase, we have to keep in mind the potential for change orders or other unforeseen things that may come up as we tap into some of our reserve O&M funds, not to mention the other work we are completing this summer related to the parking lots and other routine maintenance. This is outlined in the bid opening results document below. As a slightly more conservative approach, the base bid captures the rooms with the greatest need at Concord, and the stage/band room wall is also a priority. This is the Alt Bid 2 option that also has Reed as the lowest responsible bidder at $1,175,000. While we could do it all, I want to be transparent that this would significantly tap into our O&M reserves, and it doesn't hurt to have some cushion for any change orders or surprises. If that is the approach, Travis and the Board can determine how to tackle remaining rooms in future projects. The rooms we have included in the base bid are by far the biggest priority, and if we do need to prioritize, I think the retractable wall is more important than the four additional Concord classrooms. Also included below is an in-depth review from our architects that outlines the bidder qualifications and breaks down the recommendations. Since we had an unusual outcome with a bidder that does not meet the criteria, I have also consulted with the attorney. We all agree that the Board does not have to award to the lowest bidder, but to the lowest responsible bidder who meets our criteria as outlined in the specifications and original bid documents. This has been shared in more depth with the Facilities and Finance members, and Dr. McGuire is fully engaged and also aware of the impact on his FY27 budget under either scenario, and is completely supportive of either decision. I will be happy to answer any questions in advance, and also welcome any discussion and direction at the meeting. I have no hesitation with the recommendation to move forward with the recommended Base and Alternate Bid 2 from Reed Construction totaling $1,175,000. If the Board wishes to get it all done, the Base and Alternate Bids 1 and 2 from Reed Construction would total $1,330,000. This action is under agenda item IV.E. |
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IV. Recommended Action Items
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IV.A. Approval of Final Revised 2025-26 School Year Calendar
Description:
The 2025-26 School Year calendar needed to be revised to include the eLearning Day on January 23. There have been no other adjustments to the calendar.
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IV.B. Approval of 2026-27 Federal Funding Consolidated District Plan
Description:
While a bit of a formality since this is mostly internal work, Board approval of the District Consolidated Plan allows us to move forward with the annual application process for our federal Title and IDEA grant funding. To make sure we do it the right way going forward, Katie Doyle and I completed a couple of the requirements at our most recent CARE meeting. Related documents from that meeting and related to the District Consolidated Plan are provided below, including our Parent Compact, parent engagement meeting that was held in conjunction with the April 13 CARE meeting, and the recommended Parent and Family Involvement Policy for next school year. Keep in mind that much of the language and references included are to make certain that we are compliant with grant requirements and able to access FY27 funding.
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IV.C. Approval of English Language Arts Primary Instructional Materials
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IV.D. Approval of Phase II Facility Project Change Orders
Description:
We have this on the agenda in the event we are ready with a necessary and previously planned change order. All of this is in an effort to get the final details on Phases I and II completed and paid in the current fiscal year.
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IV.E. Approval of Recommended Bid for Phase III Interior Renovation Work
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IV.F. Approval of Recommended Contractor for Phase III Asbestos Abatement
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IV.G. Approval of 2026-27 Food Service Management Company Renewal Agreement
Description:
We are entering the third and final year of our agreement with Just a Dash. We are required to approve the attached state renewal agreement each year. Additionally, our lunch prices have remained stagnant for the past two years, so we are also recommending a lunch price increase of $.25 per lunch to $4.25 for student lunch and $4.75 for adult lunch for the 2026-27 school year.
With full awareness of our collective frustration with the lunch program in general, I would like to take a few minutes to discuss a possibility for future consideration when Dr. McGuire and the Board has the next opportunity to pursue a new vendor and options beginning with the 2027-28 school year. |
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V. Conclusion
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V.A. Public Comments
Description:
This is the second opportunity for any guests in the audience to share public comments, per Board Policy 2:230.
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V.B. Board Member Comments
Description:
This is the opportunity for Board members to share any comments, as well as to announce the next meeting date, time, and location.
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V.C. Adjournment
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