001Wonderful. All those in favor? Anybody abstain? All right, motion carries. And now we get to do the fun part of tonight, which is the Student Ignite Award. Yes, it's always wonderful to see so many people here, uh especially to recognize the great work that our students are doing. So, we're going to have our first principal come up, Mr. G, to present uh your students. Yep. Good evening. Um we have two fourth graders and two fifth graders that we'd like to honor tonight. I do have one of our teachers that are here to read her nomination, so I'm going to invite Miss Plouplis Svingcano. Isabella, would you like to come up here, please? Okay, this is Isabella. Um she is a new student this year at Greenbrook School, and immediately she came in knowing how to
002be a Gator and what it meant to be a Gator. She has been a wonderful addition to our classroom. She immediately became a role model by following our Gator expectations each day. She shows kindness to all her classmates and helps them in any way she can. She is extremely responsible, not only at school, but also at home. She works hard and will even challenge herself to do hard things. I am so proud of you, Isabella, and I'm very happy you came to our school and that you're part of our class. Great job, girl. >> Here our next fourth grader, Ariana Rogel. All righty, let's see if she shows up. But our fifth graders, our first fifth grader we have is Jean-Pierre was nominated by Miss Rosansky. He is an excellent example of what it means
003to be responsible, respectful, and safe here at Greenbrook School. He excels in the classroom as well as outside the classroom. He asks meaningful questions, advocates for himself and his peers. He's hardworking and always makes sure everyone is included. He participates the socks in the story society and there he got to show off his creativity, his collaboration with his peers and his creative theater puppet performance. John Pierre is always inclusive in class inside and out. He is getting a new He's getting to know new students every trimester and he looks forward to those new students. He takes them under his wing and he shows them the way things are at Greenbrook School and helps them in any way possible. He's always respectful and polite to any adult that enters our classroom. He always shows up to
004school happy. He's ready to learn and he shows enthusiasm all subjects. I'm so proud to have him as a student in my classroom. Congratulations. And our other fifth grader is Breanna Perez. Breanna was nominated by her teacher Miss Larocco. She's a bright student who doesn't always come who always doesn't come to school to get through the day. She comes ready to learn, to grow and to give her best effort in everything she does. She is consistently shows responsibility, perseverance and a positive attitude. Even when working in challenging times. Breanna is enthusiastic learner, generally very kind to everyone in class. She's always not afraid to ask any questions nor to help others if needed. She's a leader in our classroom community and makes a positive impact on those that she encounters by her upbeat demeanor and
005her true support of everyone. She's always a wonderful friend. She's kind, respectful, and is always willing to help any students in the hallways. Follows all of our classroom rules, listens carefully, is an exa- great example of what it means to be a Gator. She has demonstrated her social awareness and relationship skills through her work in her enrichment math class. She recognizes that her behavior has a positive impact on her peers. Often, she's completed far more than required work on online math practices minutes, which has inspired to everyone around her. She communicates respectfully to her peers and to other stu- staff members in the building. This year, we've noticed her peers struggling, without any hesitation, she walks over, helps them with math skills, helps them with their language, and even helps new students when they speak
006Spanish to help them explain what it expects in the classroom. She is a true, outstanding student, and I'm glad to have her in my class. All right. Well, good evening, and thank you everyone for coming out tonight. Uh it I will be introducing the other half uh of the Plouplis family. I told them as they walked in, I said, "You know, you guys don't have your kids here tonight. This qualifies as a date." So, Mr. Plouplis, bring up your wild crazy self on on your date night to introduce your students. Um as talk as telling Dr. Pecora, this is probably we've been in this district for over 20 years the two of us. It's the first time we've been at a board meeting at this on this at the same time cuz our kids have
007always been too young. One of us had to stay home. So, finally we could leave them home alone and you know, we could present together on the same day. So, it's pretty cool. Um the first person I would like to uh nominate I'm nominating two people and both of them are just fantastic human beings. I just love having both in my class. Um well, I'll start off with uh Riley uh Bukowski. You want to come on up? All right. Uh yeah, Riley, she is just so cool. But, you know, I I I got to stay focused. I got to stay on here. But, um I'm nominating you um because um you're exactly the kind of student who makes the classroom better just by being in it. Um Riley is incredibly smart and a high achiever.
008She's in uh math plus enrichment uh uh language arts enrichment. She's just an incredibly smart um person. Um but, what really stands out to me is how self-motivated she is. I never had have to remind her to stay on task or push her to do her best. She already holds herself to a really high standard. Whether it's a tough assignment or a group project, she just dives in and gets it done. Usually going further than what was actually asked of her. On top of her schoolwork, she's just a great person to have around. She's consistently well-behaved, polite, and has a level of maturity that you don't always see. You know, she's like the oldest of, you know, she's got her little brother she talks about all the time, and I think that really brings a
009lot of maturity with you. She's kind to her classmates and is always willing to lend a hand if someone else is struggling. She works really hard. She stays focused. She stays positive. And she definitely deserves this award. So, thank you for Congratulations. Thank you. All right. And for the next person I'd like to nominate, Alan, do you want to come on up? All right. Alan Sanchez. What an amazing student Alan is. And also he is in enrichment for ELA. Miss Gillette just really hooked up my class with two fabulous students. So, thank you very much. Um Um I like to nominate Alan for this Ignite Award. He is a solid student who consistently shows up ready to work and has a really positive impact on our class. Alan is great during class discussions. He always
010has his hand raised and he's always sharing his ideas. Uh he's always focused. Uh sometimes more focused than the teacher, really. I'm just joking. Uh but anyways, uh he's always focused and shares thoughtful ideas that shows uh that he's really paying attention and putting in the effort to learn. He's also just a well-behaved, respectful student who makes my job a lot easier. Uh one thing that really stands out is that Alan has uh three really important classroom jobs and he takes them very seriously. One, he's in charge of the library books. You know, cuz sometimes on Fridays they have to put all their books in a bin and bring them down to the library. As Miss Subatis knows, Mr. P tends to forget these things. You know, but this year I've never had a problem.
011They come down on time and that is fantastic. Yeah, she knows. Um another job he's in charge of all the messaging and uh on the whiteboard in the back and he does a good job with that. And of course, he does a good job delivering uh lunches to uh the lunchroom. He takes his job very seriously. He does a great job with them and I think the class would be lost if he wasn't doing these jobs for sure. Um but um it's a big responsibility that he does. It shows that he has a lot of maturity and a real willingness to help out the whole school. Alan is a hard worker and a great teammate and it's great to see him recognized um for being such a model citizen, uh a wonderful wildcat. Thank you
012very much, Alan, and congratulations. Congratulations to Riley and to Alan. My next teacher I is Miss Painter. Come on up. As Miss Painter makes her way up, thank you to all the Waterbury staff I see out here tonight. Miss Gillette, Miss Sabados, Mr. Able, Miss Sabula, Miss McCookey, and Miss Stanzusky. So, thank you every a couple Get come on. I was just waiting to helping just So, thank you for coming out. And here's Miss Painter. Okay. Hi. Okay. I'm glad Mr. P loosened up the crowd. Cuz I'm the opposite. I my first one is Ola. Come on up. Yay. Okay. All right. Here we go. Can you hear me? Okay, great. Ola is one of the kindest, happiest, most thoughtful kids you could ever meet. She is an absolute joy to work with every day.
013Her smile has brightened my day more times than I can count. I'm type A and most children are not. And on the lunch cart every day I say, "Can you please place your lunch boxes nicely so they don't fall over?" And they throw them in a big mountain every day and she'll come over and she'll just fix them all and and she's just like, "This really bothers me when it's like that." And so that that's really nice. Um she makes sure to say hello and goodbye to me every day. Her pure heart brings so much joy and peace to our classroom. She loves learning and is always engaged in our lessons and trying her absolute hardest. Uh for any of the teachers here, it's so nice when there's a child who is actually listening while
014I'm talking and um when the kids, you know, another child will say, "Where do we put this?" and she'll say, "She just said that." And that's like praise. It's such a nice quality. She loves to help others and has a fun personality, has a lot of friends in class. Everybody loves her. Um because of her hard work, she has made amazing gains in both reading and math this year. She reads books often during class, even during break times. She also loves to write and does very well when learning new math skills. Ola is a very special girl and I know she will maintain her positive attitude and work ethic into middle school, high school, and adulthood. I'll do another one. Okay. Uh Jocelyn. Okay. Ooh. Jocelyn is a wonderful student and human being. I'm the
015one who writes this and I make it sad. I don't know why I do this. She is one of the hardest working students I have ever had. She made it her goal to learn English this year and she has worked tirelessly every single day to achieve this goal. She comes This is bad. Sorry. She comes to school every morning happy and excited to learn. She never complains or backs down from a challenge. She listens to every single word I say and follows directions immediately. I'm sorry, Carter. Her listening skills are so good that she is able to keep track of things that her classmates need or are missing and gives them reminders throughout the day. And their first language is English and she's keeping track for them. As she becomes more comfortable speaking English, she
016has started raising her hand to participate in lessons. Jocelyn is extremely bright. Not only has she made huge gains in reading, writing, and speaking in English, but her math skills are exceptional. She is able to solve challenging problems and make them look easy. She completed all 13 of the Challenge Math packets I have in the room before Christmas. She then asked for more. I made eight more, which she already finished. Jocelyn attends EL classes during the day and her teachers, who all came today, rave about her work ethic and progress as well. Jocelyn has shown nothing but kindness to everyone in her class. She is well respected by her peers because she sets a wonderful example. I am beyond proud of all that she has accomplished and feel lucky to be her teacher. >> Mr.
017Fro is here. Okay. We have to do it in Espanol. estudiosa y respetuosa Es una de las estudiantes que trabaja más Ha hecho su meta aprender inglés este año escolar. Y ha trabajado bastante todos los días para alcanzar esta meta. Viene todas las mañanas felices y lista para aprender. Nunca se queja y siempre acepta cualquier reto. Siempre escucha cualquier instrucción que les esté dando. Y aparte de eso es una buena estudiante en que mantiene toda la orden de las tareas que ella necesita y también asegura que sus compañeros estén siguiendo >> Here to uh um go ahead and present the award, the Student of the Night Award for 6th grade. Uh this is for Aiden Sensale. Aiden is doing very well in the classroom. He puts so much effort into his schoolwork. Currently, Aiden has
018straight A's for the second trimester. His grades were identical in the first trimester. Oh, yeah. Come here, man. Come over. This is awesome. Uh in the first trimester, the way Aiden conducts himself in Springwood is perfect. He follows hallway expectations, classroom expectations, and even after school activities expectations. Aiden is respectful, responsible, and safe in everything he does. He follows the eight keys of success and strives to go out of his way to be kind to all. He is willing always willing to work with his peers that might not have a group during collaborative work time. He is willing to lend a helping hand to all of the students as well as staff. Aiden, thank you so much for being a positive influence here at Spring Lake Middle School and at the office. Thank you so
019much. Sabella Always right here. Sabella is an outstanding student. Academically, she received received straight A's for the first trimester. She is doing a great job in the second trimester as well. She is a leader in and out of the classroom and is kind to all peers as well as teachers. She brings a positive energy that is contagious amongst her friends. She is willing to lend a helping hand to anyone that needs it. Sabella does an outstanding job following the eight keys of success. She is consistently speaking with good purpose and giving compliments to her classmates. She is very kind. She is willing to work with her classmates that might not have a group to work with during collaborative activities. She did an awesome job on cheer and works as a team player. The sixth-grade team
020is lucky to be able to work with her this year. Congratulations. Awesome. I love it. Keep it up, okay? And Ms. McMail is here to go ahead and give the nominations for seventh grade and Ms. Byam. >> All right, our first nominee that we have for seventh grade is Aleah Head. And I don't know if I saw her. I don't think so. So, we'll speak for her. So, for Aleah for Aleah, she is a great great choice to receive the ignite award because she checks every box that you wanted out of a student. Miss Brask specifically wanted me to make sure that she says how much she's proud of her before she went on leave cuz she could not be here tonight to say congratulations. But first of all, in her class, she does well
021very well academically. She's always participating and trying her best in classes, and she's always there to support her teacher and her peers with no problem asking for help also when she needs it. Aleah's also a crucial member on the girls basketball team for Springwood. Mr. Campbell wanted to make sure to note that she has hard work and dedication that makes her a crucial and ideal athlete. Her commitment and integrity to the game and her coaches and her teammates makes her an all-around athlete for Springwood. She also is a great member of the Springwood community. She has kindness, respectfulness for her peers and for her classroom, and she goes out of her way to lend a hand when anybody needs it. She's a great role model for her peers, and we couldn't be proud of her.
022So, congratulations Aleah for your ignite award. More proud. More proud. >> Couldn't be more proud of her. >> I'm I'm certified for language arts, but I'm rusty. I'm rusty. I teach math. Our second student is Damian Sanchez, and I don't know if I saw Damian. Damian. All right, so for Damian, Damian is the perfect example as well for the student to deserve and receive the ignite award. He's always putting forth his absolute best effort in the classroom, no matter how challenging the subject or task maybe. He regularly goes above and beyond in the classroom to learn from his mistakes and has no problem advocating for support whenever he needs it, whether that support come from his teacher or his peers. He's an excellent role model and has exceptional social emotional skills and makes the classroom
023that he's in even more fun, friendly, and calm for his peers. He is readily able to encourage others while also expecting the best of himself. He's also a wonderful member of our Springwood community and has participated on the soccer club and has worked hard to improve every skill on that field. Mr. Shamit and Mr. Campbell wanted to make sure to note that he also has a deep drive for the sport and a passion to be his absolute best. So, congratulations, Damien. Mr. Carner is going to go over the nominations for eighth grade. Good evening. Um when the eighth grade got team got the email that it's, you know, time for ignite, we need some nominees. Uh I immediately when we sat down, I said, "You know, I got two kids." And they were like, "Yeah,
024absolutely. Let's do these two." So, uh the first one, Nathan Mel Publus, come on up. Uh I'll do generic stuff and then I'll talk a little bit more. Uh Nathan is highly motivated student, has a positive impact on the classroom environment. He's always striving to do his best and is willing to help others. Uh Nathan is very kind and respectful to his peers and teachers. Uh, he is involved with NJHS and handles his responsibilities extremely well. I also have the pleasure of had having Nathan in advisory um every morning. And one of the things we do each week is we do what's called like a weekly check-in where we kind of briefly call the kids up, kind of look at their grades, look at their missing assignments. And sometimes I have to say, "Dude, come
025on, you know, you got 25 missing assignments and you got some low grades here." But when Nathan comes up, I go, "Nathan, you have no missing assignments and straight A's." Like every single week. I mean, that it's it's amazing. So, but a wonderful kid. He's a perfect example of what we want from our soon-to-be graduates that we're sending over to Lake Park High School. And I see very big things in his future. So, I'm very proud that he has um won this award tonight. Uh, the next one is Olivia De Nuzzo. Uh, Olivia is a high-achieving student um who strives to do well in her classes. She also has a positive SEL skills and always willing to help others. Um, Olivia is very kind and respectful to her peers and teachers. She's also involved in
026NJHS and does very well to pri- prioritize her work and responsibilities in school. Um, she's also extremely involved in sports here at Spring Wood Middle School. She's done track, girls basketball, and hopefully about to win us a conference championship in volleyball next week. Okay? Um, and I know she's planning on doing um Oh, she did cross country in the beginning of the season and then we'll do track. And she even does swimming outside of school. Um, she also has kind of helps me doing hall duty for some reason and during study hall and we study she stands out there and you know, one day I'm standing out there and I'm just watching the some of the boys go by and just acting like goofs and I just literally turned to her and I said, "Olivia,
027why can't every kid be like you?" I mean, she literally is the type of kid that you know, you would want your daughter to be. Um but and I'm looking forward to taking her to DC next weekend and we'll have a wonderful time but um she's a great kid. And then I'll I'll wrap up by saying this. You know, we we recognize these the students but what I also think this is is a recognization recognization of the families. You know, I in my 30 years, one of the things I've learned is your kids are a reflection of you. And the fact that your kids are being nominated also speaks well of you and your family and you should be very proud of that as well. So, congratulations to all the families here today. As I
028started the meeting and said that it's always a wonderful to see a full house here, especially when we're recognizing our students. Uh and uh Mr. Cardner uh said it, you know, before I could say it where thank you so much for your continued support, okay? We together in this partnership that we have between home and school is what creates the environment for our students to be successful. So, thank you so much. Really appreciate you parents, guests. Uh it's really great. Uh muchas gracias a todos los padres de familia a los invitados que vinieron aquí hoy. Es un placer para mí ver a tantas familias aquí uh reconociendo el buen trabajo que hacen nuestros estudiantes. Uh es este algo que hacemos juntos >> All right. You don't have to wait for the stay for the rest
029of the meeting. This is your cue that you can leave. So, thank you for coming. Another applause for the students. Thank you. Another applause for our students, guys. All right, so you don't want me to even read this chapter? You have to read this just in case. Oh, okay. I was just checking. No, no, I'm just saying. Okay. I didn't Oh, got it. Okay. That was just in case. That was just in case. Yeah, I knew it was in the written reports. Yeah. Cuz you might as well be crazy. Yes. When you can. Where are all the teachers that you take? Oh, here they are. Just >> There's a few that are sitting by. That's the fun part. Good job. All right. >> You did it. Amanda's got water right next to her. She might
030need to replenish. Yeah, I got it now. You're just following Mrs. Painter. Injured spirits, you and Mrs. Painter. >> Kindred spirits, you and Mrs. Spencer. All right, you're good. All right, so we will continue with the regular consent agenda. So, may I have a motion that the Board of Education approves the consent agenda as presented? So moved. Is there any items to be pulled? I'm sorry, I was supposed to do that first. Is there any items to be pulled for individual discussion? All right. So moved So moved again. Is there a second? Second. Great. Maria, please call the roll. Sarah Valerius? Yes. Frank Capoferri? Yes. Amanda Collazo? Yes. Mr. Slater? Yes. Natalie Trancoso? Yes. Sherry Taylor? Yes. Motion carries. Anyone wishing to address the board may do so at this time. If multiple individuals wish
031to address the board on the same subject, the group is encouraged to appoint a single spokesperson. Please state your name and affiliation with the district. You're asked to limit your comments to 3 minutes and abide by the public participation policy of the district. Please understand that the board will not respond to your questions or concerns during the meeting. A member of the administration team and or board will follow up with you after the meeting. Nobody? So, we'll move on to the self-monitoring report, which I have not received, and SASID to Dr. Castillo. Uh yes, the SASID Board of Directors met yesterday. Uh there were several items for action. Uh they included they accepted the annual financial audit report. Uh they approved the OTPT compensation increases. Approval of proposed revised 2026-2027 school calendar. Uh they adopted
032a resolution for uh dismissal of a PEL license uh employee uh not in their final year. Uh in force, and then approval of the school year 26-27 classroom lease. Under discussion and information items or was enrollment reports, staffing, strategic plan progress, as well as the board committee updates. A closed session was held last night to, uh, discuss negotiation, negotiations, and other personnel matters. All right. Then we'll proceed to the parent teacher advisory committee. Uh, the PTAC held its second meeting of the 2025-26 school year on February 10th. Key highlights included school updates. Principals shared several recent highlights. The early childhood center reported strong participation in preschool screenings, health screenings, and its Animal Quest family engagement event. Greenbrook met its trimester two goals as it works toward trimester three goals, and engaged students in Black History
033Month activities through the library. Warwood Elementary highlighted its PBIS Olympic themes kickoff, Read Across America Day activities, and talent show at Lake Park High School. Both elementary schools celebrated the 100th day of school and 101 days of kindergarten, and hosted kindergarten roundup sessions for the 2026-27 school year. Springwood emphasized its focus on the failure leads to success key of excellence, Black History Month advisory activities, and the positive feedback from Lake Park High School regarding students' academic and behavioral readiness. Talked about communication tools, and principals proposed implementing nightly Chromebook downtime from 10:30 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. to support healthier habits, which has since gone into effect. Staff, uh, staff and parents shared feedback on Parent Square, including the development of a shared Q&A guide, ongoing video tutorials, and the platform's first use for invite-only parent-teacher conferences
034in February. District also announced the launch of a new monthly newsletter, the first of which has been published on Parent Square, featuring department updates, school highlights, educator spotlights, and Parent Square tips. Family engagement, the district promoted the Illinois 5Essentials Survey, which closed on March 13th, with all schools successfully reaching the required response threshold among students, staff, and parents to receive reporting data. P-TECH also celebrated the success of B-PAC's recent ish Holidays Around the World event, which welcomed more than 300 attendees and featured cultural foods, crafts, piñatas, a phone booth, a Santa visit, a photo booth, a Santa visit, and take-home books. Dual language and EL students contributed 130 handmade ornaments for the cultural display, and planning is underway for B-PAC's upcoming International Day of the Child on April 20th, with families encouraged to participate in
035monthly B-PAC meetings leading up to the event to support planning. And the next P-TECH meeting will, the final for this school year, will be on Tuesday, May 12th at 5:00 p.m. Thank you. All right. Brian, you get to start our dashboards with the financial stuff. Dashboard up. I'll go through this. Um, there are a couple items I'd like to highlight as well. They're in the action items. Um, touch on briefly at the end as well. Uh, so we'll have uh the finance dashboard. This is year-to-date through February 28th. So, we'll first look at the revenues here. And the year just keeps marching along or right through February. Um, so this is the revenues for the fiscal year through February 28th. Uh, most revenue lines are on track. You can see that very top line, local
036property tax. Virtually all property tax revenues come in. Uh, CPPRT is trending low. The majority of those payments come in the second half of the year, and based on guidance from the state, that might be a little bit less than expected anyway. But, a lot of that comes through the second half of the year. Uh, state revenues, that's EBF and some transportation claim from the state. You received a second installment out of four installments for the transportation claims so that you see state revenues catch up a little bit. You have another April and June installment for the transportation claim so probably end that state line pretty close to on budget. All other revenue lines are pretty much on track for the year. Uh the next slide is expenditures for the fiscal year through February 28th.
037Uh most lines are on track so far. A few lines down there other objects that is trending a little high it's like 98% of budget revenues. Um that's largely tuition for out place students. There's the there's a pre-bill but there are some students who are needing services so that line is trending a little high. Um salaries benefits are actually trending a little bit low and might end the year slightly under budget um on salary benefits. Uh and then towards that bottom by fund fund 30s that that debt service which come up here has been paid for the year. Uh fund 60 that's largely the Greenbrook expansion price that's been paid for the year. Um and then again all all virtually all expenditures are pretty much on track uh at this point of the year. Uh
038all expenditures about 21,324,000 or about 66% of the budget expenses. Uh this next slide is the fund balance. This is a fund balance report for all funds through February 28th. Uh that revenues column all revenues are about 24.7 million. All expenditures are about 19.9 million. See that fund transfer columns to pay for capital projects. Uh the ending fund balance for all funds through February 28th is about 24,596,000 555. It's like a 79% fund balance or 280 days uh cash on hand. On the bottom right there is operating uh through February 28th is 24,163,400 or an 86% fund balance. About um 312. >> Yeah, thank >> 312 days. And this is a treasury report. Uh this is simply a visual representation of that total fund balance of that 24.5 million. Uh the current year is the
039yellow. You see it following similar trends as previous years. You see that all funds, you see with the operating too, a little less than previous years at this point, just that planned deficit spending to spend down against fund balance. This next slide is the same thing, just operating. So the the current year is the purple. Similar trends um as previous years. Uh we start with a high fund balance and we spend down against that. Uh lastly on the finance dashboard, CPI for February. This is the CPI report uh through February. Uh the data shows inflation actually held steady at 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Figure is unchanged from January. Uh it's kind of in line with expectations. Uh although inflation remains above the Federal Reserve's target of 2%, uh but at least this shows that
040inflation is not getting worse. Just kind of hold at 2.4. Um maybe that's the new normal, I don't know. Uh most economists believe the Fed is going to simply um see and wait or hold and wait pattern. Probably hold rates through through the spring. And again, we'll leave that December one throughout the year. That's that's what we'll use for the next tax levy kind of a reference point. Uh okay, so ironically enough, in March, we did not plan a finance committee. There weren't any action items when we planned the year. Uh but now we got three action items. Uh this first one here is a technology lease agreement. Usually done in May, but it was done earlier just it was recommended to do it early because of a supply shortage just make sure we have
041the devices ready for next school year. Uh so in the action items, approval of a three-year tech lease agreement with American Capital Financial Services. So, the district's device replacement plan, we get new devices every year for kinder, third, and sixth grades on a three-year lease every year. Um, so this year 350 HP uh touchscreen Chromebooks, 350 Google Chrome licensing, and these hard shell cases for those in and for some of the existing Chromebooks. You have 48,160 per year for three years. And worth noting there, that's a savings from last year was 67,114. It's like a $19,000 savings, yeah. So, kudos Jen Engstrom worked really hard in shopping around for these uh Chromebooks. Um, and also we just happen to have a little bit of a surplus, if I'm not mistaken. Um, so we didn't have
042to order as many. And then again is we didn't have a committee. Um, so just an update on the architect RFQ and the architects we'd like to move forward with DLR Architects. They're very kind enough to come tonight and pay us a visit. Um, so we have believe we have Ed Wright and Hilario Navarro, is that correct? Yeah, if you guys feel free to come up, I'll give a quick high-level highlight here. Um, so as you guys know, we did the RFQ. We need help with help by safety facility assessment. Thorough evaluation, we have nine really highly qualified submissions. Um, we want to move forward with DLA Architects. Experience what we're looking for. Experience is just our size, they're local. Uh, and they just wanted to say hello, right? Absolutely. Thank you, Brian. Awesome kids
043you guys have, by the way. We are not nearly as interesting, but we did want to come out and just introduce ourselves, put a face to the name, uh let you know how excited we are for the opportunity to work with you all. Um, my name's Ed Wright, as Brian said, I'm a principal at DLA. I've been with the firm 20 years. And two of the things I happen to specialize in are facility assessments and life safety, so excited to get to know your buildings and help you out in that endeavor. You want to introduce yourself? >> Hi, I'm uh my name is Ilario Namaro and I'm a project manager with DLA and I've been with DLA for uh a little bit over 25 years. Wow. So, I'm a very excited uh to work with
044the district. Very uh nice uh very uh brought back a lot of memories uh seeing the kids. I was just telling Ned uh it was kind of reminds me of my upbringing. Seeing the kids, seeing them uh um first master the or trying to learn the English language and that was me in those shoes back when I was their age. So, it brings back a lot of memories and the the struggles and the and the the the uh the the the dedication. >> Yeah. So, um very excited to work with the school district. So, thank you. Really on behalf of DLA as a whole, we're just excited to be having opportunity to work with you all and having a another district so close to the office. It we we love when we can get over
045here and respond very quickly. And just here to answer any questions should you have them. Otherwise, we don't want to take up any more of your time than necessary. Yeah, any questions? No. All right. Appreciate it, guys. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Thanks. Uh and then another item on the agenda, another action item. Uh we had this opportunity to refinance some series 15, series 16 bonds. Um So, Adam from Raymond James, they're our uh debt service company. And Anjolly from Chapman and Cutler, the legal team that put together the resolution. They were kind enough to visit us. Uh so, you guys feel free to come up and I'll give a quick high-level summary and you guys can probably explain it better. Um so, we talked about this a little bit and um
046this is opportunity with lower rates. Uh little new development. When this was written, rates were lower uh Uh, and this is based on something called a present value savings target of at least 3%. So, we're going to save at least 3%. >> Yeah. Um, with the war and with the Iran war and the oil crisis, um, energy rates have actually gone up since this was since they gave this us. And that that savings target of 3% would actually be under it right now. Um, so as of right now, it probably not be advised to do it. But this resolution would give us the opportunity to if we get that opportunity the next within the next 6 months where we have at least this threshold of 3% savings or more, then we'd be able to move
047forward with it. Yes. Did I say that right, Adam? So, you're saying So, you're saying we vote on it today and if it passes, then it's good for up to 6 months when it goes under that. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. >> Got it. Yeah. Is that right, Adam? >> Yes. Nailed it. Yep. Love it. So, if we The other option you don't, you know, rates go down, say July, well, we don't have our next board meeting till August. >> Yeah. We put this together. So, when this was put together, rates were low. But given the recent international, you know, situation, uh, everything's impacted, including bond rates. So, I think the that, uh, present value savings, what is it? What would it be right now? Isn't it like 2. It's 2.5% right now. So, um, this
048was as of last month. So, interest rates have gone up about 0.3% since then. Yeah. If they go down .2%, um, then you're back in business and it's above 3%. So, it doesn't, um, you're it's not like you're far off, uh, but we'll see how this conflict shapes out. And it's crazy sometimes how events far away from us affects, uh, a school district in Illinois trying to lock in a a refinancing. So, Right. We'll keep a a very close eye on how, uh, rates behave so we can move forward if it's attractive. And I think it's written in, with certain parameters to protect us, so to speak. So, in the bond resolution, I do believe it says a 3% minimum savings. Anything below that is a no-go. Um similar like Correct me if I'm wrong
049here. Similar like when you're buying a house, you have a mortgage, you you're in foreclosure, and it says as long as within a certain, you know, interest rate Yeah. similarly there's like a threshold, and if it's below that, it's a no-go. Yeah. Um but I think it seems like it makes most sense to move forward with the resolution then if we have that opportunity I believe the resolution says I and the board president would have to give them the authorization to do it. That makes sense. Yes. Any other questions? All right. Thanks. Appreciate it, guys. Thanks for having us. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Appreciate it. Yep. All right. Now we get to do a different dashboard of attendant. Yes. So, you will notice our attendance if you compare it to last month, it's
050uh looks a lot better. Um but we still had a few days in there that we uh had a number of students out, so looks like today When Lake Park had a day off. >> Yeah. Yeah, definitely one of those days. It was a Lake Park non-attendance day. Thank you. Thanks for coming. They're trying to sneak out, are you? Calling them out. Why I don't have heart with you, John. So, uh looking at uh Greenbrook, uh we had 2 days where we were over uh the 10% uh which we it was February 23rd, and most of those uh were out uh due to uh being being students being sick. Uh there's some there was five that families were on on vacation. Um for March 2nd is the one that you're talking about where >> Day.
051Yes, Pulaski Day where we're in school but the high school's out so some families thought that we didn't have school that day so you know, they were off too. So we had about 26 people that called in sick. But they some of them did say that they thought there was no school. At least they were honest. It's complicated when the schedules don't match up. >> looking at February very similar but there's only one Waterbury. Looking at Waterbury there was only one day which was on the 20th. There we had 35 students who were sick. So that's what got us over that 10% so 35 students were sick. That is a lot. And then for Spring Wood Spring Wood had on February 13th. So they had 22 or 16 students that were sick. But nine parents
052did say they were out of town and again remember that's February 13th is tied is you know Half day the next day. Correct. So some people do use it to and take a extended holiday especially when it falls on Valentine's Day you know. So but that's right Thomas. Wasn't looking wasn't looking too bad and we do do the extra cleaning at the buildings when that happens. Looking at the staff again you know, Monday through Thursday is pretty even there and then Friday's still our our day with the most absences. Um Here's looking at the comparison between last year and this year and then administrators, support staff and teachers. That concludes this report. And then you just get to keep going with this >> Yeah. report. So one big item on the superintendent's report this month
053is the compliance review. So every four years the regional office of education comes into our district into district office to conduct a compliance review. So, what does this mean? They're coming in here to you know, make sure that we are doing everything that we're supposed to be doing following state and federal laws and and and all the paperwork is correct. So, what what are they check What do they check? So, it's it's it's a very big undertaking. It's a very comprehensive audit. It covers personnel files, state licensure requirements, health and life safety records, mandated instructional units to ensure that we are fully aligned with the Illinois School Code and federal requirements, student record compliance, verification of mandated trainings that our teachers have to do. Attendance and truancy procedures and all district policies and administrative procedures
054being up-to-date. So, it's it's huge, okay? So, I am pleased to share that preliminary conversations that we had with the auditors uh were that they're very happy with the work they were doing. They actually said, "As soon as I walked in and sat down, they said, 'Dr. Castillo, I have to tell you, your staff here is wonderful. Everything that we pulled is great. I mean, they actually set the standard that we're going to put other people up to when we when we walk into other districts.'" So, when you walk into a meeting and they tell you that, that makes you feel really good. But, I know they they do and it's a it's it's it's a lot of work. I mean, it's a lot of work. So, good thing it only happens every 4 years.
055But, the work they do throughout the year is what happens makes that happen. So, I would like to you know, just commend the the hard work that our district office staff does making sure that everything is in compliance. So, very very big thanks. So, Item two is trimester two discipline report is in your packet. So, it's there. If you have any questions, I can take any questions. Item three is our spring break is uh March 30th to April 6th. Uh classes resume on April 7th. Again, remember April 6th is our spring holiday that is attached to spring break this uh time. And remember, we haven't we haven't been able to get that Monday off for a few years because of uh snow days and stuff. So, actually our teachers are very happy that we get
056it off. So, uh it it's Yeah, if we get it Well, no, I think for for if we get a snow day or any day next week, it'll definitely be a uh remote or um a remote learning or whatever we call it nowadays. E-learning. So, um but yeah, we're very happy that we get So, I just want to take this opportunity to wish everyone a fun and safe spring break. And then the uh last thing we have for you is the uh district leadership team is going to present and give you another update for our strategic plan. Again, this will be the uh last update that we give on this strategic plan. The next time we're here presenting in front of you uh regarding a strategic plan, it'll be for our new one. That'll take
057us uh to 2031, I believe. It's 5 years, so it's crazy. Yes. Oh my gosh. When will the new finalists presented? Is there any ETA? The next time. Uh about Well, no, not not tell me no The next time is the strategic plan. So, it'll Our goal is to have it presented in uh in June Okay. uh and then approved in August before school starts. Uh if we can do it sooner, we'll do it sooner. All right. Oh. We can't present without the presentation. Well, you can So, we'll make sure Does Mary have it? Well, go ahead. You can carry You can start talking. Or Colleen, you can start talking. first. So, um I forgot the name of climate and culture. I was like blank there, threw me in. Um we had several goals and
058the first one was centered around um creating more opportunities for students after school, which we've talked about. We've done a great job at that. Um one of the things that we met last time and talked about is Special Olympics. Yeah. >> And I'm happy to say we have some actual athletes signed up and we're um set to participate at the track and field events on May 2nd and 3rd. So, smaller number, but I think once we get it going at Varmint. I think it's Aurora. Yeah. Okay. But, very excited. Um you know, kind of getting the word out there. I think we'll just continue to grow and grow. You have to start somewhere, right? >> Right. The second goal centered around social emotional learning um and uh we've um done a training with our our
059teachers and adults on reframing behavior and it really looks at the neuroscience behind behavior, actions we can take, um our awareness, and then building those relationships. So, um we wrapped that up this past week um but plans to continue that um for next year are for the adults bringing in an executive functioning. So, working on teaching our um staff some more strategies and tangible things that they can do with kids to work on those executive functioning cuz a lot of behaviors they bring to us really center around executive functioning. So, expanding on using the reframe perspective, but now taking it up a little bit and um honing in on executive functioning. But, also taking the training that we developed for staff and now coming together over the summer and then creating a training for students.
060Yeah. So, just as it is important for us adults to understand why behavior's behavior and the communication that comes with behavior, um we want to you know, expand that to the students so they understand. I mean, they don't often know what they're going through or feeling. Um and so, the next step is teaching that to them. Um our last goal really centered around um, recruitment and retention, which again, I think we've really done a great job of doing. Um, but we talked on different ways to, you know, continue to work on staff uh, wellness and supporting our staff wellness. Um, as well as opportunities for growth and then um, abilities to of advancement within the district. Um, opportunities for staff feedback through surveys and what we're calling listening sessions and giving them a stronger voice.
061Um, and then collaborative committees and advisory groups in hopes of really um, building leaders within. And so, the idea is that if you build within, more people want to stay and we can continue to grow as a district. So, those were our goals. Well done. Thank you. Thanks, Mandy. All right, the teaching and learning updates goal one is data utilization. Our our building administrators shared out their progress towards their spring goals. Each administrator shared where they were and what they're working on. Our instructional leadership teams or ILTs at each building have already reviewed fall and winter data. They reviewed their fall goals. They sought to talk about if they met winter and they set their spring goals. Yep. And um, the progress on individual student student goal setting was shared. Mr. Aliano shared that the
062kids are very excited and eager and they're sharing their um, map growth and we know Mr. G is always talking about how the kids run down to him and they're like, "Hey, I I went up on my on my maps on my map score on my FastBridge score." So, everybody shared out where the progress was with their data. For professional development, the district has really been focused on reframing behavior, which is like Ms. Flores was talking about. This training has been continued throughout the year and it was presented during um, team meetings and staff meetings and also like that's also during our Wednesday early release time. The instructional coaches continue to work with Greenbrook and the DuPage ROE on our IAR and ISA, that's our state tests. They're bringing the data to the grade levels
063and they're really training them and helping them in how do you use this data to drive into standards, which standards are we meeting really well and which standards do we need to put a little little bit more effort with? And Springwood continues to focus on their building specific professional development on co-teaching with through the support of SASED staff, their training continues and the staff are actually participating in co-teaching activities to take what they're learning and play put it into place in the classroom. And for technology, the tech committee met in November and January to develop a monitoring tool for our building administrators to kind of track how is digital literacy guideline implementation going within the classrooms and to finalize communications regarding the new clever sub badges and that means so that when a substitute comes
064in, they scan the clever badge and then they have access to everything that they need. So for in a in elementary for example, it would be HMH, Eureka, Amplify so that they have access to everything that the teacher typically uses within the classroom. And in January, the committee focused their or shifted focus to a train the trainer model and then we had a professional development day where they focused on Magic School AI and they taught everybody a whole lot of sessions on AI in the teach the teachers really had a choose your own adventure and they went to all sorts of AI and tech sessions. Thank you. Just need to read it out to There's more of any. Yeah, the presentation might be slide 11. >> All right. So, excited to share trimester two's school
065community engagement updates. Starting with goal number one focused on branding and communication. So, branding and visual identity. We created a district 20 fact sheet to support with outreach recruitment for staff to use at various job fairs throughout the year and to really just support that consistent messaging throughout the district. We also created district 20 vinyl stickers to really drum up pride for the district and and help build up visibility there. We also created We worked with a local marketing agency leading up to March 2nd when registration for next school year went live to create postcards for both general registration but then also kindergarten roundup at both Greenbrook and Waterbury elementary schools as well as some yard signs. So, I believe there are some visuals of those on the next couple of slides. We've got the
066general registration postcards and yard sign there. You might have seen it around the community. And then our kindergarten roundup postcard front and back as well as those yard signs there. Incorporating the new branding that went into effect last summer. Continuing on with goal number one. Um we have shared press releases with local media and we're very excited to secure a Daily Herald article around the Chicago Wolves visit to Waterbury elementary for the Read to Succeed program. And then we also um, the left hand side there you can see it, uh, scrolling, we launched our, uh, a monthly District 20 newsletter. Um, we we took a look around, saw that, um, all of the schools on a uh, building level, um, either create weekly or monthly newsletters, and we thought, let's do one at the district
067level, right? There's there's tons of exciting and, um, you know, and fun updates to share. Um, so we we put our first one out, um, earlier this month, recapping February. Um, and these include everything from announcements, um, general reminders, um, different updates from the various departments, um, as well as, um, some highlights and some pictures from each of the schools. Uh, we have our Dr. Cristillo's Corners, um, some educator spotlights in there, um, as well as our virtual backpack section, which is on our district website, but we thought, let's promote it here as well. Um, and then some upcoming key dates, um, through the month ahead. Um, so our next one will come out at the end of March, again recapping, uh, the month of March. I like it. Uh, as it relates to diversity
068and inclusion, of course, we continue to promote Parent Square as our primary, uh, school-to-home communication platform, um, and of course, that supports multilingual communication. Uh, then families can receive, uh, messages in their preferred language. Um, we also, this was brought up earlier in the meeting tonight, but, uh, our our BPAC Holidays Around the World event in December, uh, very successful. We saw more than 300, uh, students, staff members, community members, and families, uh, attend the event, um, and we're very thankful that, um, we were able to involve the students as well. Our our English learner and dual language classrooms, um, got in on the fun and decorated some, um, some ornaments that we displayed at the event. Um, and then each of the schools, um, had held various activities and, um, incorporated various lessons in
069as it related to Black History Month. I know Greenbrook Elementary had had some library displays. Um I know that Waterbury had a "I Have a Dream" hand display where where students were able to you know feature their hopes and dreams for the country but also the world. And then I know Springwood they had some Black History themed trivia during advisory period. So a lot of celebration going on there. And then two-way communication and digital engagement. Mentioned this we've got our ongoing series. Our two primary ones are Dr. Castillo's Corners and our Educator Spotlights. Um we were also able to for the first time utilize Facebook Live back in December uh relating to the Greenbrook and Waterbury Winter Sing Along Concerts and those saw great engagement on Facebook. Um the way that that works is that
070they those videos if you can't tune in live they stay on the on our Facebook page for about 30 days afterward. I believe at least 30 families were were tuning in live so that was great. Tons of positive comments. Each got a couple thousand views so um very encouraging for us to see and we will likely utilize Facebook Live streaming moving forward for exciting events in the future. Um and then we've of course also recap various events throughout the schools in various highlight reels on social media. Um Greenbrook's Fall Fun Day, um Waterbury and Greenbrook's 100th Day School Celebration, the Early Childhood Center's recent family engagement activity with Animal Quest. Um we also promoted the Illinois 5 Essentials Survey through March 13th. Closed last Friday. And we're very happy to share that every single building
071did reach the required threshold by the state on the student, the staff, and the parent surveys. So um thank you to each of the buildings for helping to promote that. Um so, we will be receiving data um in each of those surveys. And then, another exciting update, we recently at the start of trimester 3 um launched Student Square um exclusively at SpringWood for our 6th through 8th graders um and really excited to hear how this is going. Um it's very re- very new, very recent. So, um you know, we'll continue to um you know, stay close with with staff and and with students to get their feedback on how the platform is going, but this um is essentially integrated with Parent Square um and allows staff uh to communicate directly with students um right in
072the Parent Square platform. So, um they can create groups um if they're part of clubs or um they can share, you know, various um lessons or homework on the on the Parent Square app as well with students. So, just another way to streamline that communication. Looking ahead to the next slide, goal number two, family engagement. So, um again, holidays around the world uh in December um and then looking ahead to next month, April 20th, we have our International Day of the Child event. And uh we had our most recent BPC meeting tonight uh just before the board meeting um where we are encouraging families to um to come join us and to help us plan for the event um one of our most anticipated ones uh every spring. Um so, we're looking forward to um
073to celebrating next month. Um as it relates to family resources and support, we included a find food Illinois interactive map on our district website um to help families identify um various food pantries uh where they could pick up food, SNAP and WIC friendly resources as well. Um and we also um of course promoted Parent Square as the um primary tool to schedule parent-teacher conferences uh this past February. And then, community programs and events promoted. Uh we've got a few things there, uh but we're always keeping the uh the district website updated with with local programs and events, um a few of which are are listed on screen there. And then finally, goal number three, on the next slide, are community engagement and partnerships. Uh so, an update as it relates to multilingual outreach and resources,
074we recently updated our dual language journey promotional video um to include a a couple new staff members. Um so, that is now up on the district website, and we did also share that with families at the 26-27 kindergarten roundup last month. Um and then relating to family and community program promotion, um as mentioned, we continue to share various enrichment and youth programs through our district virtual backpack, both on the website and in our newsletters each month. Um a couple of which uh included the Hanover Park Park District's winter playbook, which had a ton of options uh sports options for our students. Um and then Arts C's college dance winter 2026 program. So, um always always keeping that virtual backpack updated with uh with local programs and events going on. Thank you, Michael. Uh okay, a
075lot a lot of this uh we're familiar with already, but just uh recap here. Three goals. The first goal, preparing for the contract negotiations and use of resources. Some monthly updates given to the board on year-to-date actuals, expenditures and use of fund balance. Also, the business office, we have ongoing meetings with department directors and the building admin looking at year-to-date actuals, comparing it to budget, discussing how we meet student needs. We're starting that process uh to plan for next year's budget with the department heads. Uh continuing implementation of the contract. We are currently in year two of four-year contract. Uh so monitoring salaries, benefits, and planning for year three next year. And then lastly, just making the most of state and federal grants to support student learning. Uh the next slide we talked about this
076a little bit with the architect, long-term capital improvement plan. Most capital projects that are in the plan have been completed. Um like recently the parking lots, updating bathrooms. Uh just this past summer, the Greenbrook main office expansion project, we're familiar with that. And then moving forward, working with architects to do um a facility assessment and a long-term capital plan that'll hopefully guide kind of future capital plans. And the third goal, effective management of resources, ongoing review of operations contracts, doing that here in the spring, evaluating rates, terms, service levels. Uh we're going to be seeking renewals for a few things in the next few months like custodial service, food service, landscape. We're actually have to go to bid for transportation services in the next month or so. Um so we're in that process now. Also,
077in the next couple months, I want to do a five-year financial forecast every spring. Um so we'll do that in April. Um and then working with uh our investment company PTMA and Fifth Third, developing a cash flow analysis and strategy for short-term and long-term. Questions? That's why it's time for a new plan because everything in the other plan we've uh We've accomplished that. So keep it up. Good job. Um all right. Now we get to do our action items. So, may I have a motion that the Board of Education approve the DLA Architects for the life safety survey as presented? Is there a second? Second. Anybody abstaining? Maria, please call the roll. Brent Beecher? Yes. Amanda Coppola? Yes. Lynn Steiner? Yes. Danielle Charsky? Yes. Terry Taylor? Yes. Sarah Valyria? Yes. Oh, motion carries. I was
078waiting for Farwa. Sorry. I know she's down here, too. All right. May I have a motion that the Board of Education approve the technology lease agreement as presented? So moved. Is there a second? Second. Anybody abstaining? All right, Maria, please call the roll again. Amanda Coppola? Yes. Lynn Steiner? Yes. Danielle Charsky? Yes. Terry Taylor? Yes. Sarah Valyria? Yes. Brent Beecher? Yes. Motion carries again. May I have a motion that the Board of Education approve the resolution providing for the issue of not to exceed $4 million general obligation limited tax refunding school bonds series 2026, for the purpose of refunding certain outstanding bonds of the district providing for the levy of a direct annual tax to pay the principal and interest on said bonds and authorizing the sale of said bonds to the purchaser thereof. But
079again, this only applies if we reach that threshold as previously discussed. So moved. Is there a second? Second. Is anybody abstaining? All right, please call the roll. Lynn Steiner? Yes. Danielle Charsky? Yes. Terry Taylor? Yes. Sarah Valyria? Yes. Brent Beecher? Yes. Amanda Coppola? Yes. Motion carried. May I have a motion that the Board of Education approve the resolution for the honorable dismissal of teachers, which nobody wants to do, but everybody has to, Madison Bunton, Caitlin Erickson, Marina Pellegrino, and Christopher Shama as presented? So moved. Is there a second? Second. Anybody abstaining? All right, Maria, please call the roll. Natalie Kotarski? Yes. Mary Taylor? Yes. Sarah Valerius? Yes. Brandy Heifer? Yes. Amanda Coppola? Yes. Lynn Steiner? Yes. All right, motion carries. Again, may I have a motion that the Board of Education enter closed session to
080discuss the appointment, employment, compensation, performance, or dismissal of a specific employee of the district or legal counsel for the district, including hearing testimony of a complaint lodged against an employee or against legal counsel for the district to determine its validity. Is there a second? Second. Anybody abstaining? Maria, please call the roll. Natalie Kotarski? Yes. Mary Taylor? Yes. Sarah Valerius? Yes. Brandy Heifer? Yes. Amanda Coppola? Yes. Lynn Steiner? Motion carried. There is no action meetings after the agenda or after the closed session. Then we are done. Great.