Not only is it more affordable, but it lasts a long time. Our field will last a long time if it's properly maintained. So, turf, they say artificial turf really only has like a 10-year span, and then you have to replace it. And I see that. It's expensive. It's like 1 point 2 million just to turf. Well, probably in the same situation to save you water and electricity. >> Yeah. Artificial turf. And then sod, you'd have to have to water it. Yeah. And so, under the grant, is there I know some grants have this. Is there a a specification, a qualification that the field has to be maintained to a certain level or you lose the grant? Um, that's a good question. I'm sure it does want to see it maintained. Um, but I I don't know what that entails. Sorry, I didn't try to put you on the spot.
Uh we call it the casita. Do you have do you have another name? Well, that pretty much do casitas. >> It's the casitas. Okay. >> So they generate $550 per month times 12 months of the year is if we do it and they're 100% around 66,000 a year. The debt service 138,000 a year for about five more years. And once we break even and have all that debt service paid, then we'll be making uh perhaps a surplus. We'll be in a surplus situation. It's not a profit. It's just a surplus because we do have people coming and going and we use those funds also for paying electric bills when people leave and we've got to pay $150 electric bill hook hook up utilities there. But at this point, that's where we're at. We got five more payments of that $1 138,000. That's fun 580. Kudos to high school student council uh for the prom.
Wow. This is an increase of over 1,200 tickets compared to the previous year. Whether it's maintaining 58 boilers, 16 chillers, or having to maintain 560 acres across the district, this team is doing more with less. They aren't just fixing things, they're providing a safe, clean environment for 17,000 students. Their dedication is the only reason our 20-year-old buildings still feel like world-class learning environment. Despite our funding challenges over the years, we have been strategic. This past year, we successfully completed RTU replacements at Brokaw and Traughber. The new gym floor at Oswego High School and theater repairs at Oswego East High School. Looking ahead to this summer, we are maximizing every cent of our limited budget. Our capital improvement lists include the ADA sidewalk installation at Hunt Club, removal of outdated carpet in the Wheatlands and Lakewood gyms, extensive pool and diving board renovations at Oswego East, and a district-wide shift towards LED lighting to reduce long-term energy costs.
I don't know how you have friends. I don't know how you have hobbies. Um, that they're just super impressive. Um, biochemistry obviously as a science teacher I was very excited to hear that. Um, you have amazing schools to choose from. So, I envy your position, but I don't wish it, uh, is the phrase goes, um, getting the chance to, uh, in my, uh, professional side, um, teaching a lot of biochemistry majors, teaching a lot of researchers, sometimes they struggle in the they do the science really well, but they don't know how to tell their story. um hearing the rest of your accolades tonight. Um you already have that down as well. So, it will truly be an honor and privilege to see where you end up in and your story as you write it. >> You know, the really other special thing about Nancy in addition to all the accolades is and there are many people who know her personally, including myself, she's one of the nicest, sweetest, most humble people you would ever meet.
And then, um and then the truck that Ross uses is not working again. So, >> I know they had some damage in one of the batting was it the batting case >> and they had Yes, I think they were able to get someone to weld that to fix that, but the track stuff just they're going to be working on prices. So, yeah. Yeah, it was a lot more damage than I can't believe that big heavy mat blew from the high jump pit all the way to the other side of the baseball field. >> Yeah. >> Crazy. All right, Mr. Kers, you got anything for us tonight? I recognize you're here. You got any any pertinent information or >> Great to be here. >> That's good to hear. All right, M. McGee, you got any anything additional for us? >> No, I think that's that's it.
Um making sure you have good communication and making sure that you collectively and collaboratively plan for the changes. It's not something that happens quickly. It's not something that one person sits up here and says, "This is it. This is it. This is it." It's got to be done collaboratively to be effective. For what if for nothing else other than the buy-in, right? We need everyone who's who's stepping into the role, particularly for academic purposes and instructional purposes and working with those kids, to have some buy-in. Some ownership and some buy-in. So, looking forward the district wants to collect information from your stakeholders. And the first step in that was would be to distribute survey. We're We're supposed to meet next week in our elementary schools just sharing more this information again, making it available if there's community members who want to come in and hear about it and and the staff that maybe what wasn't here tonight wants to hear about it.
So we want to celebrate Kids Hope. So Kids Hope was start with Chris Hess and so we Landis got to join was was able to join in this year. Kids Hope is a way to connect members from churches with our students. And so they go our members from from churches which the two churches we work with are Faith Community and Logansport Church they go through a process to learn what Kids Hope is the expectations how it looks what needs to be done when you're you're in a school what can't be done a pretty lengthy training and then they also do a background check before that they're able to join to join our building. The expectation is one hour a week. So seven members from from these two churches have already joined our team. And so we have them at at different places in our and they're at different days but some there's some overlap so we have them in little nooks and cranny or crannies around our building.
So as I speaking to different um teams that was a consistent question that came up. What when we're doing this are we going to be able to be in the same room and on the same teams with our elementary colleagues. Great. Mr. Nunes?
Staff might be and it goes to other things, too, like social media interactions with students by teachers. Is that right? That was in We're supposed to be getting something in ASB as far as And they're hopefully going to have policy updates sooner than later this year because of what's happening with the legislation. That's fine. I just wanted to Good good thoughts. So, who wants to talk about the results before uh in the middle school and the elementary? Sure, I can go first. Um couple couple year or I guess it would have been seems like a couple years years ago. My first year was one of the things the board wanted was for middle school kids to have PE every day. And so, we're still able to do that. Um if we ever went to a seventh period day, I think it'd be pretty tough to still to be able to to to get kids into PE every day.
>> [clears throat] >> Any opposed, same sign. Motion passes. I move to approve the resignation of Justine Delavo as fourth grade teacher at Wilson Elementary School at the end of the 2025-2026 school year. I'll second. Motion by Allison and second by Josh. All those in favor say I. I.
>> No, it's okay. That's a good question for you. One question that I can go look at my consultant to get kind of lay out what the situation is. But I can get back to you on that. One question I have is the women related record in the track is that my understanding regardless of the surface of the track, there are other aspects of the track that are not up to the modern code, per se, okay? That this would be able to shoot. The problem is the track is way too close to the bleachers. And the fact that we have the curve, but I understand the curve is probably going to be all right with this change. But you still have the track that far from from the bleachers, which is not usable for track use. Therefore, quality women safety for track purposes. I don't know about that.
We do have the venue paid for and the DJ paid for. You've been busy for the trip to Disney. We've got for 65 students going to to Disney. We've got the bus paid for and the tickets purchased. So, that's a big big deal. Now, we got some more fun, some more some more good news. Go ahead. >> I've been contacted over the weekend. Um, I had one couple that wanted to donate some money towards the senior trip and then I was contacted again and um, Willow Hills Baptist Church has been very kind to us and they are donating more money as well and the education foundation donated um, $1,000 for spending money for our students. So, our students are very well taken care of. >> That's awesome. >> So, thank you. >> That's that's [snorts] great. Just just two more things then on on buildings.
We are making these not because we have an abundance of resources, but because we have prioritized the safety and experience of our students. In closing, we are at a pivot point. Our buildings are aging and our funding has not has been tight. But our team has been resilient. By supporting the master facility plan, we are hoping we are helping you are helping us to transition from a culture of patching to a culture of planning. Thank you for your continued support of the operations team that keeps SD 308 running. Thank you. And I would just be remiss if we didn't acknowledge the ladies and gentlemen sitting behind him. Those are the the troop. They do all the work every day. WHEN IT'S COLD, THEY MAKE SURE WE HAVE HEAT. When it's snowing, they plow the grounds to make sure the buildings are accessible. They have to be here every day, and most [clears throat] of the time they are the first face faces that our student our children see when they start school every day.
and all that stuff. You would never know it from Nancy, which is u really it uh says so much about you, Nancy. The fact that we don't hear it from you, we just watch it and admire. >> All right. Well, that wraps up our Celebrating Orioles Marathon for this evening. Um, everyone is welcome to stay, but if you don't want to stay for the remainder of our packed uh full meeting, this is a great time to head towards the door. But everyone's welcome to stay All right. Well, we will move on to the next item on our agenda, which is number four. Um, comments from the board president. Um, I just wanted to thank um the participants and the administrative staff that host Oral Advocates. They just wrapped up another round uh of class um that has been around since 2014 and it has evolved in many many ways.
>> All right. Any any comments from board members? >> No. All right. I'd like to recognize our upcoming dates. Uh regular session board meeting in May will be on May the 11th. Last student day uh is May 21st. Quickly quickly coming. Uh so I need a motion and a second to adjurnn. >> I'll make a motion to adjurnn. >> Second. >> I have a motion a second to endure.
But then the next step the following week would be to issue the survey. Give the people opportunity to weigh in. And hopefully it also helps them to have an understanding of why you're looking at this and what some of the consequences would be. Once you get to that point, you get your you get all your information collected from your stakeholders, then if the district decides that you want to move forward with it, that's when you start with your planning committees. And that's when the long process begins. The real work. And again, it looks like if the district went with this you'd be opening your your reconfigured buildings like in the fall of 2029. So. It's not an easy task, obviously. But it can be very meaningful. It can strengthen your program. It can be very effective for your kids, for your communities, your parents. That's a big factor as well.
And what they're working on is building relationships with these students and it's long term so if they're with a student this year they're with them next year and then the next year so as long as they're still working working with Kids Hope and with us they have the same student from you one year to the next year. And so we can be in the in the Kids Hope representatives ear and say okay this student is having a hard time with da da da a little bit more TLC. So they're doing projects with them they might be doing Easter eggs something something might be making Valentines they it's not about it's not about hey you're in trouble and da da da da da da not at all it's a building positive relationships. And so we will probably double in numbers by this time next year. It is it is a process to get them started.
Yeah, thank you Madam Chair. Thank you very much. A great presentation. Question that I have just in general is how do you determine you know how many vendors and publishers out there and how do you determine who you're going to you know which ones you're going to try and whittle down and pilot and that type of deal? So I think we're going to start with what Dr. Tibo talked about with Curate and EdReports. We we want to make sure that what we bring in are high-quality materials and then um again so I'll say for Bridges, right? We've used Bridges for the last five years. Our kids our data really has trended in the in a good direction. So sometimes it's it's things that you've used or that some of our educators have used. It was really some of our educators who have brought programs to us that they've they have colleagues who use or they have friends who use or um I'm sorry if you wanted to add on to that.
Um the the strength, power, and speed class, we're at capacity. We've been at capacity at 42. Um and there are a few kids that are on the waiting list for that. Um so, I think that's awesome that, you know, we started this 2 years ago. Um we're quite at capacity and then and every kid wants to be able to do it um within that. So, um maybe we can expand that in the future. Uh all kids get to roller skate except a few. Um maybe if you broke your arm last year like one of my kids, you did not participate in roller skating. You did not want to. Um and then also, you know, seventh grade and hunter's education is a huge huge hit. We're going to look at making that uh even more involved next year. Um you know, the the Lonnie Jasper Foundation uh bought pizza for the kids.
Any opposed, same sign. Motion passes. I move to approve the resignation of Ted Long as teacher and counselor at Wilson Elementary School at the end of the 2025-2026 school year. I'll second. Motion by Allison and second by Josh. All those in favor say I. I.