So, it's going to help some of those conversations. But, what you're what you're asking are the right questions. It's going to take time. Um I know I've been able to go visit six of seven of our schools so far and um at each of the elementary schools this has come up as a conversation about it being very difficult to provide a letter grade and the standards-based grade right now. And so, it's a struggle that they're having um because it feels like sometimes it's competing um because I'm giving a two and then all of a sudden I give you I'm going to give you an A on it, you know, whatever it might be and that just that's hard for someone to do. >> Another question for you. How have you seen in your district going from the K-35 in the standards-based to then transitioning over to traditional grading?
They'll also be able to have the full visibility to what the student is doing just from their computer screen. And they'll be able to use the lockdown browser which is a widely requested feature that allows easier test preparation and things like that. So, we're planning to release Classwise at this point next early next school year. And the second piece of this solution is Custodia which is a parent app. So, with Custodia, parents will be able to have uh 24/7 visibility into what their student is doing on the BCSE provided device. So, they'll be able to see what uh websites they visit, what videos they watch, what searches they do. Um they will be able to see again the full uh history of internet use. Um but at home, so outside of school hours, they'll also be able to have certain control over that device. They'll be able to restrict the filter if they need to, um potentially even cut the internet access at all, or just set a certain um screen time allowance that they would like the student to have outside of school time.
Um, again, the completion date is August 1st, but you can see there that is Audubon Elementary um in the old art room. They did put some windows uh there so we can see um out. The sidewalks are complete. That is the new um music room because we're taking the music room and the storage room to make the dining space. So, they're uh completing the ceiling and the um duct work and the carpet. And I I believe Mrs. Spitznogle and her crew have moved some things into the new closet. This is at the new uh facility at uh Betton Central. So, they were putting sidewalks in. I don't even know if we have pictures of that yet, but that is in. >> Is it top the pool though? >> Oh, yes. Okay, yes, thank you. The two top ones are the pool area so that you can see they have the pool covered so they can do all the work.
They spoke very highly of those things. I do view audits as a chance for Central Noble to improve. So, we are not taking our findings lightly and we will continue to improve there. Some of these Some of the next things I want to talk about are just kind of starting a conversation publicly with you all about some changes that are coming up. Um you may recall that we've kind of touched on this before, but I do want to talk a little bit about a fees update. So, the state is now allowing public schools to implement some fees back to parents as long as the fees are supplemental to curriculum, not curricular materials themselves, and deemed reasonable. So, whenever we are talking supplemental, think things like a class that would have consumables like your family consumer science classes that were you're maybe making a having a food lab, or potentially items that students are making at school but then taking home with them.
I'd never seen the game, but apparently it's a game with a lot of LA in it. So anyway, but as much as we've traveled, Pablo has very much immersed himself right here in our community. Um he's really done well at school. He was actually invited to the National Honor Society. Um he played pups basketball and he also became a fixture at both of these robotics kids journeys. Um and he was also at the YMCA. I'd say about 50 to 70% of the days of the week. He really loved that. Um, and he's also been doing some public service that wasn't actually required from him, but uh about twice a week he visits a 96 year old uh elderly lady who is at a nursing home and she actually is from Spain so that kind of works out and sometimes she's forgetful. So she'll be speaking in English and then she'll something in Spanish and we're like Pablo what she say.
So, it just things stall and then they come up again the next Four sessions in a row by the way. Yeah. There's some version of that bill that's gone through. Yeah. Yeah. Skip skip the stuff is one of the the items on it. There's a expanded bottle bill that's trying to be passed too where you get more money back so and expand what can be brought back so more stuff will at least get into either landfill or at least one more recycling and that's I mean it's more it's not really reducing plastic but it's reducing garbage and I don't that one is that's important as well. But last question maybe because we we do want to save some time. rhetorical for Dr. Lee What do you say in the medical area? I walk into CVS and I wouldn't think of anything like anything medical or not that isn't inundated with plastic contents, the packaging, everything.
And I believe it was Mr. Crouch suggested that the LSPs that the ZBA had hired uh that their job was done. And once this uh was finished that the ZBA, they were through. And it in unless I have this wrong, and I don't uh it was stated by counsel at the time that there would be a condition that um that there would be subsequent LSPs um a subsequent peer review, as one of them being an LSP, uh to monitor the construction. Do you remember that? Yes, I do. Okay, you plugged uh turned on. >> Sorry, I do. Okay. Well, rather rather than speculating, why don't we look I'll endeavor to look at the permit and we'll come back and >> That's fine. Uh well, you I can say this to the board. We will have an LSP on site at all times during construction relative to the supplemental LSP or somebody additional to that, we'll we'll look at that, but um so Okay, thank you.
So you know I just think it it might be I think it might be a worthwhile endeavor um to so to show a good faith effort. Um, at the end of the day, I'm not gonna, you know, as they say, fall on the sword for this, but I think it's, you know, it's at the very least it's worth having discussion in, uh, amongst, uh, my colleagues here this evening. >> Other thoughts, Miss Coughlin? >> Yeah. So, um, I concur with everything that Chris said. Um I feel that we have given reports of how we use our monies, how we have tightened our belts already. Um I guess I'm fine with having an outside party certainly ask questions and put together a report. Um, but before we get much further, I'd want to know exactly what needs to be in the report. And I' I'd also like to say that whatever is going to be in our report, I think that all the departments in the town maybe should be answering the same questions because um the other departments might be smaller than us, but they they face the same obstacles.
divided by 1339 >> Yeah. You have 19. 19 grand per kid That's just like that is napkin math, right? Yeah, sounds great with that. That's higher than I thought it was. The issue is higher than tuition if you have your spend tuition if you're residential that may be costing 400,000 for one kid. That we change those numbers, right? Yeah. Okay. Um it would still be recording because the recording was Zoom server side. Yeah. Uh sorry, we had a power surge in the building. We're getting everything back up and running. We did pause the meeting and have only actually been talking about the power surge and the technology. So, sorry about that. We should be back momentarily. Just need to get the tech all up and running. That yeah. I don't where I live one time. We We've been in our house for 14 years only once we lost power.
Because there will be because I've I've heard from parents who are not happy about it. And I think it's up to us to explain to families why, right? If they're not eligible for an evaluation or an IEP or certain level of service that they want, you know, or seeking for their child. It's not about us being gatekeepers. It's about us educating families on the decisions that we're making and why and it's not in their child's best interest um to to receive whatever programming they're seeking for their child, right? Um that changes the tone of the meeting from no, your child isn't eligible for X, Y, or Z to here's why and here's why and here's what we can offer your child, you know, based on what they do need or what they qualify for. Um so, I agree with you. It that took a shift for me um as I was going through my career I I always complained, I don't want to be a gatekeeper.
Um and there really there aren't a lot of different options out there for high school physics textbooks for the course courses that we teach. So, we're looking at for our honors physics and our standard physics course um trying to find something that fits a true high school algebra-based physics course. Um which is what we offer for our students. So, in really looking outside the box a little bit, uh we looked at OpenStax Physics, which is an online textbook. It is really designed to be completely online. Um and it a unique factor about it is that uh the online access is free. Uh it's through a nonprofit. Um And so the online access is completely free. The only cost associated with it would be to purchase hard copies of a text if a student needed that for their IEP or 504. Um because again it's it's meant to be that that online.
I manage multiple million dollar budgets, 23 exactly. And I don't have the number of people in a central office that's here. We have an accountant, an executive payroll manager, an accounts payable coordinator, a business analyst, and a director for data, planning, and research. In the wave of technology and the way that automation is happening for payroll, we are not handwriting checks out with a paper checkbook and a pen anymore. That's a lot of people in finance. And with automation and reports that are auto generated, you can plug anything into AI and you need someone to validate what's coming out is accurate because we all do it. Many of us are using AI. So, for us to have highly salaried team members, and I choose to call them team members not employees, it's just not working. We're spending and we're hearing about cuts, but again, where is that money?
Keep your curiosity. Keep your ability to imagine things that aren't there yet. Never become so educated that you lose your sense of awe and always strive to remember the friends who are sitting around you today. Mil ends his Winnie the Pooh collection with what I think is one of the most beautiful and sweetest sentences in all of English literature. It goes like this. But wherever they go and whatever happens to them on the way in that enchanted place on the top of the forest, a little boy and his bear will always be playing. Your time in the amphitheater district and here at CDIO is becoming a memory. But that doesn't make it any less real. The versions of you that grew up here. The version that struggled with that math test. The version that cheered in the stands. The version that walked down the hallway and laughed with friends until it hurt.
So maybe we could stand up an opportunity for our students to interface with some of the students in that district. And if I have the district wrong, we can figure out which district it is and I'm sure we have connections there. So that that might be a good first step as well is to um connect up maybe this team and the kids congress with the folks who did the work um in that other district to find out what their process was like, what worked for them, what they would change if they were to do it again. Okay. >> Does that sound Does that work what I wrote down? Are there any other recommendations? Those were just the two that I've been have been mentioned to me. Is there anything else that you would like to see this committee work on? >> Okie do. I'm going to assume that we're good with that slide then.
Uh beyond sharing information, this uh role is also really about connecting with our community. So, I also have the privilege of serving as our community liaison through various uh facets, including uh our Des Plaines Chamber, our Rosemont Chamber. We uh support children in uh that community as well. And uh in order to really foster through trust and transparency, uh I also facilitate several groups such as our parent leaders, our community leaders. Hello Dwayne. Hello. Our superintendent council that is made up of staff in the district. And we also just work very hard to really highlight our district's excellence through various student and staff recognitions. And one of the other last components of what this department does is really support public engagement research. I think that the research is really such a foundation to our planning and our implementation, our evaluation process, and of course supporting the work of the five-year strategic plan.
Um, so for us, uh, we kind of tried to put together a comprehensive strategy to address it. And so I'm going to talk a little bit before I get into the data, a little bit about our strategy. So at the beginning of the year in access, we asked Northstars from North and our Blue Crew from South to work with our freshman access and our regular accesses and for sophomores, juniors, and seniors, we put together um, a list of all of the sponsors, what their contacts um, were, uh, what days they met, what their activities were like, and had a sort of activity where kids in class could talk about the activities they're in, what they get out of it, and all that good stuff. Then, they were asked to make a goal for participation. So, they all filled out a form saying like this is what I'm hoping to participate in this year.
>> Yeah, I I think they actually jump in middle school. It it's a natural transition because all of a sudden you have credit bearing courses. Potentially, you have courses um that kids might be in eighth grade trying to get high school credit. So, they start to feel that I need to do better and so, by sixth and seventh grade um and some kids that are accelerating maybe in seventh grade who might be getting high school credit as a seventh grader, um they just it they naturally start to transition. It's it's been it's been fine. Now, we've done a lot of parent education in my district. We had a companion of what does this look like? We had a rubric that were very transparent so families could see when you get a one, this is what the one means. Here's what So, I don't know I can't speak to the work that's been done there yet.
So, Custodia is launching very soon, on this Wednesday actually. Uh if a parent or guardian has um their email address on file with our schools, uh then they will receive an invitation to join Custodia. And of course, my daughter was one of the testing students for this. So, what you can see um as a parent is this is a 7-day kind of timeline that she was on her device for 3 hours and 36 minutes. It gives the top websites, um but it also gives parents control over certain things. So, you can shut off their one-to-one device at any time or adjust the web filtering uh if you'd like. So, there are some nice aspects to this as a parent and some oversight, and it was important for us to get this out before devices potentially would go home with middle schoolers or high schoolers over the summer, um and to get it in place before we start next school year, uh which is why it launched today, and we will be rolling this out this week.
And uh so, all above is where the new units will go. Um again, some more pictures here. You can see they they were forming for the concrete, but that's already done. Inside Here, they got the stripes and uh the cement down. So, it's it's coming along. And it's on on on schedule. And when it's done, we will plan our ribbon cutting.
So, that would not be the property of the school. Our textbooks and things like that we keep here, that's our property. Supplemental um consumable fees could be um assessed for things that children would take home. So, Central Noble is exploring this option, and we hope to have some sort of a a proposal around for the board at our June board date, and this change is meant to help offset the difference between what the state funds per pupil for curricular materials um versus what we actually spend. Um student debt update. So, we did not send any student debt to collections last school year as we received extremely generous donations to cover nearly $15,000 in student debt. As of today, Central Noble does have uh $7,315 in outstanding tech repair fees and $19,707.42 in unpaid student meal debt. If you add those together, that equals about 1.5 paras or 1.5 bus drivers.