001Um, at this time I'd like to call the regular meeting of the board of education of November 19th, 2025 to order at 6:00 p.m. Andrea, can you call the role, please? >> Andrea Delati here, Allison Dow >> here, >> Tina here, >> Stephanie Fiori >> here, >> Sada here, >> Jennifer Ziggler >> here. Also in attendance, we have Dr. Cartsmith, Dr. Stabro, Dr. labor, uh, Miss Megano, Mr. Humbles, Mr. Groby, Mr. Moronto, Miss Groy, Miss Howlett, Mr. Amsler, Miss Sendelbach, Miss Fishells, Miss Magleion, Miss Bassler, and Miss Buo. We have a quorum. Please stand for the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Okay. Up first, we have
002the appointment of board member to the Schiller Park School Board. Do we need a motion for a video? All right. I'd like to entertain a motion that the board of education appoint Patricia Bocock to the Schiller Park School District 81 Board of Education. I'll second. Any questions, comments, or concerns? Seeing none, Andrea, can you call the role, please? Sada, >> Ziggler, >> yes. >> Delati, yes. DS, >> yes. >> Iano, yes. Fiori, >> yes. Okay, motion passes. Now talk to me that I will safely discard that I safely of the office of Florida of the office of member education. In order to constitution according to the United States of Illinois and the law of the laws of the state of Illinois to the best of my ability. Thank you. I further swear I further swear
003I shall respect taxpayer interest by serving as a faithful protector of the school district's assets. I shall respect taxpayer interest by serving as a faithful protector of the school district's assets. I shall encourage and respect the free expression of opinion. I shall encourage and respect the free expression of opinion by my fellow board members and others who seek a hearing before the board. By my fellow board members and others who seek a hearing before the board while respecting the privacy of students and employees. while respecting the privacy of students and employees. I shall recognize that a board member has no legal authority as an individual. I shall recognize that a board member has no legal authority as an individual and that decisions can be made only by a majority vote at a public meeting and
004that decisions can be made only by a majority vote at a public board meeting. I shall abide by majority decisions of the board. I shall abide by maj majority decisions of the board while retaining the right to seek changes and such decisions through ethical and constructive channels while retaining the right to seek changes in such such decisions through ethical and constructive channels. As part of the board of education as part of the board of education I shall accept the responsibility for my role in the equitable and quality education of every student in the district. I shall accept the responsibility for my role in the equitable and quality of education of every student in the school district. I shall foster with the board extensive participation from the community, formulate goals, define outcomes, and set the course
005for Schiller Park School District 81. I shall foster with the board extensive participation of the community, formulate goals, define outcomes, and set the course for Sheller Park School District 81. I shall assist in establishing a structure in an environment designed to ensure all students have the opportunity to attain their maximum potential through a sound organizational framework. I shall assist in establishing a structure and an environment designed to ensure all students have the opportunity to attain their maximum potential through a sound organizational framework. I shall strive to ensure a continuous assessment of student achievement in all conditions affecting the education of our children in compliance with state law. I shall strive to ensure a continuous assessment of student achievement in all conditions affecting the education of our children in compliance with state law. I shall serve
006as education's key advocate on behalf of students in our community schools to advance the vision of Schiller Park School District 81. I shall serve as education's key advocate on behalf of students in our community school to ad advance the vision of school um of Schiller Park School District 81. I shall strive to work together with the district superintendent to lead the school district toward fulfilling the vision the board has created. I shall strive to work together with the district superintendent to lead the school district toward fulfilling the vision the board has created. Fostering excellence for every student in areas of academic skills, knowledge, citizenship, and personal development. Fostering excellent forever excellence for every student in the areas of academic skills, knowledge, citizenship, and personal development. Welcome to the board. I give you a high five.
007[applause] And now you sign your life away. [clears throat] >> [applause] >> Yeah. Yeah. So pretty. Thank you. Thank you. >> All right. We have to invite Patricia up to the table. We're going to call the new Would the family like to take a picture before we continue with our meeting? I feel like we have to capitalize on being here. [laughter] Kathy would love to take a picture in front of the step and repeat and then we will um get ready to continue with the meeting in a little bit. Got you. Got you. You're lost. I think you only had two children. Oh, no. No. [laughter] The whole family. Get up there. Those are her parents. >> Yes. Okay. So, well, we thank you for, you know, this is not only just, you know, the
008board members that are here. you uh the family gives up time for um their family member to be a part of this new family. So, we thank you for sharing Trisha with us and we know she's going to be a great board member. Um we know she's going to make every decision with that student student centered. Um and we are very happy to have you part of the board. So, to make it official, Andrea, can you please call the new role? >> Patricia Boach. >> Yes. >> Andrea Delati here. Allison DS here, >> Tina here, Stephanie Fiori, >> Inasada here, >> Jennifer here, >> and we officially have a full forum. [applause] Okay. At this time, I'd like to entertain a motion that the board of education establish the consent agenda as presented. So move.
009>> Any questions, comments, or concerns? Seeing none, Andrea, call the role, please. Sada, >> yes. >> Ziggler, >> yes. >> BCO, >> yes. >> Delati, yes. DS, >> yes. >> Dwanio, >> yes. >> Fiori, >> yes. >> Okay, motion passes. I'd like to entertain a motion that the board of education approve the consent agenda. >> Any questions, comments, concerns? Seeing none, Andrea, call the role. Sada, >> yes. >> Ziggler, >> yes. >> BCO, >> yes. >> Felad, yes. DS, >> yes. Hey, yes. >> Motion passes. Okay, there are no items removed. So, we'll move we'll go to public participation. Do we have any public participation tonight? All right. We just ask you fill out a form if you wish to speak. There'll be another one at the end. Um, next item is the principal's report
010and enrollment reports. So, we've had a busy uh month at all three of our schools. So, you can take a look um in your board packets. You'll see some collages from Kennedy, Washington, and Lincoln. Lincoln was busy with um Battle of the Bolts that is coming up um in selecting teams and captains. We had the musical the musical reveal that took place at Lincoln and they had a haunted house field trip, the trimester 1 dance. So, it's been a really busy time at Lincoln Middle School. At Kennedy and Washington, um, students participated in the annual Veterans Day performances and concerts. Um, we had our Steam night at Washington School, which was a a huge success. Staley, the Chicago Bears mascot, visited Kennedy students to talk about um, ways to prevent bullying. And they also had
011another author visit come to Kennedy School, Jacob Grant, a local author from Oak Park. So, it's been a busy month at all three schools, but um great job keeping our students engaged and our community and families engaged as well. >> I heard the veteran say it was very, very nice. >> Nice. >> You did a great job. >> Yes. My dad said, "This place is infectious. He was kind of crabby and then he came home and my mom's like, I'm sending him to District 81 every day. [laughter] Such a good mood." >> That's sweet. Great. >> Okay. Next is our example of excellence. Um, and at your seats as as our schoolboard members, you'll find some beautiful homemade gifts from students at all three of our schools. Um, we just want to thank you for
012being present and active in our learning community. We see so many of your faces, not only here at the board table, but supporting all the events, and that's truly appreciated. Um, in honor of Illinois School Board Members Day, we are really extending our heartfelt appreciation to each and every one of you for your leadership, for your student centered decision-making, and for um all your dedication to our district 81 learning community. So, tonight we're really proud to recognize you and all of your efforts. Um, and so we have a special video that we want to present to you tonight. Um, but we want to thank you for your time volunteering. This is a volunteer position. So all the time you put in and all the decisions you make have a profound impact on our learning community.
013So we thank you very much for all that you do and we hope you enjoy the video. >> Thank you. >> To our district 81 board members, thank you on board appreciation day for your outstanding leadership and service. Your guidance shapes the vision and direction of our schools every day. >> You make a powerful difference in our community. Your thoughtful decisions and genuine care ensure that every student has the opportunity to thrive. Your dedication, leadership, and tireless efforts contribute significantly to the success and progress of our schools. Thank you for your commitment to fostering a positive and inclusive learning environment where all of our students feel supported and inspired and ready to achieve their best every day. Thank you for always keeping our learners at the heart of every decision that you make. For the
014countless hours you dedicate to ensuring the best possible outcomes for our students, from board meetings to school events, we say thank you. Your time and energy truly make a difference. >> Your passion, vision, and heartfelt service make a lasting impact. The work that you do drives our district forward and inspires all of us. Because of your leadership, our district stands for equity, inclusion, and excellence, truly championing learning for all children. Your commitment to being fiscally responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars ensures that our resources are used wisely to benefit every child in district 81. Thanks to your vision for creating modern, welcoming facilities. Our students have the very best places to learn, grow, and discover their potential. Thank you for supporting a wonderful learning environment that allows students to be curious, creative, and collaborate. Every decision
015you make at the board table touches every corner of our schools from our classrooms to our playgrounds and we are so grateful for your steady commitment and service. Today we celebrate you for your commitment to district 81, your advocacy for students and staff and for making our community a wonderful place to live, learn, and grow. We are wishing you a day filled with appreciation and gratitude for all you do. You are valued, respected, and deeply appreciated today and every day. On behalf of all administrators, staff, and students, thank you, District 81 Board of Education, for your leadership, vision, and unwavering dedication. We are proud to serve alongside you. >> Thank you. [music] Our school is a great place to learn. OUR VOICE supporting our schools and helping us learn and grow every day. We have
016the best classrooms and building. Thank you for education for all you do. We love you. You are wonderful. They do mean the same language here. >> We love you. [applause] >> So on behalf of the entire learning community, >> OH MY GOSH, [laughter] WE'RE SO GRATEFUL. [laughter] We love you a lot. >> We hope you know it and you feel the appreciation. [laughter] >> Happy member day. [laughter] >> Just what you wanted [laughter] to take that moment. [laughter] My word right in front of [laughter] the table. THANK YOU. >> [laughter] >> OH MY GOD. [laughter] >> Oh my god, that is so funny. Oh, enough doesn't want to stay. [laughter] >> Nice work, girl. Well, thank you. That was so sweet. And [laughter] Oh, and I don't It's a lot. I can't wait to scare
017my family with that. BUT, [laughter] YOU KNOW, but thank you. You know, um being a part of this board has been like it's been life-changing for me, right? Like I've even changed my career. So, um you guys make it look easy. You guys do a great job. You bring us in and accept us into everything. keep it, you make us really feel a part of district 81. Um, even, you know, not having kids in the district anymore. You know, I still feel like I still very still feel very very connected to the district. And I just want to thank you all for all that you do for our students um and [clears throat] making us feel special. So, thank you. >> Thank you. >> Okay. [laughter] Um, up next is we have the the fun
018never stops. We have triple eye conference this weekend. It's a great weekend um for us board members to get together, bond, learn. Um so yeah, at your seats you'll see uh Kingo has prepared a really detailed lovely folder. I think you'll really appreciate the work that she put into that. So remember to bring it with you and it will outline um all of our workshops and our conferences and our plans for this weekend. >> And a new name tag. >> I love it. Thank you. I will I will give them to everyone when we check in. >> Okay. >> Yes, I have them. [laughter] >> They'll be all set. >> Okay. Um and then we have another event coming up. It's the Leiden area board dinner. >> And there's a signup sheet going around. Um
019and I think there's an invitation to somewhere, right? >> It's at East Liden this year. >> Oh, nice. So, it's at East Lid. Great. Um, up next is old business. There's none, so we'll move to new business. All right, we have the audits. We have Dan here. >> Thank you, Misha. >> Hi, Dan. How are you? >> Okay. Well, thanks for having me tonight. It's always a fun meeting. I feel like I'm going to bring down the energy, but no, maybe we'll [laughter] maybe we'll keep it up. Um, so here to present the audit results for the June 30, 2025 financial statements and federal compliance audits. There's [snorts] a number of um a number of documents that are the responsibility of of my firm, the audit firm Crow. Um, so first we'll start off with
020the financial the the um the finan your financial statements. So, we've issued an unmodified opinion on those financial statements. Um, which would mean maybe for the new board members that's that means that the AICPA gives you an opinion that says if these numbers are good, use this. So, it's unmodified from that stock opinion. Um, so suffice to say that that's the best opinion you can get. So, there you go. Um, based on the procedures we performed, um, that that's how we get to that opinion. Some of the key procedures we perform are review of your property tax um receipts. So, we'll confirm that with the county as well as your state and federal grant receipts, most of which come from from ISBY. So, we can confirm all those on the Isby website. The other procedure
021we'll do with respect to your grants is um confirm that the expenses have actually been spent since you have to spend the money to uh to earn the revenue. So, those are the the key revenue procedures. Another area we spend a lot of time with is your your pensions. We'll obtain the actuary reports for the various pensions as well as the um health health insurance post-employment plans. We'll obtain all those actuary reports um perform some procedures and that's a a larger liability that appears on your um on your balance sheet and then we uh we take a look at your cash and investments as well. Agree those to the bank statements and then review cap large capital asset additions. So those are the kind of the the key procedures we perform. I'm trying to summarize,
022you know, hundreds of hours worth of work here into into a few minutes, but it's it's it's more than that, but that there's a brief summary for you. Um, overall, the district performed well this year. [snorts] Um, general fund grew the financial profile, which is a metric that is used to judge school districts in the state of Illinois. You guys ended at a 3.7 out of four, which is the recognition designation, and that's a a designation that you've held for ever, it feels like. Um, and that's a that's a good spot to be in. One thing I'll point out, um, which maybe speaks to how well you've done is one of the criteria in there is um, debt is a percentage of EAV and your your debt is above that category. So immediately you're kind
023of down in one of the categories and it's it's you could argue that it's kind of a a silly way to to judge, but it's part of the metrics and that's why they kind of you're not bad if you're under four. Um, but then it means you have to do well in every other category. So then you get the max in every other category and as a school district you only have so many levers you can pull with your with respect to your revenue. So it's really coming down to cost control and um I think you guys have done very well with your with your cost control controlling what you can control on the expense side of things. So um that's on the financial statements. We also issue a compliance audit over your federal funding.
024Um the the accounting standards say you know based on certain criteria here's what we will audit with respect to your federal funds. We had two programs that we audited this year. Child nutrition cluster and title one to two the usual suspects that that we'll typically audit. Um there's several procedures that are outlined by the federal government that we have to perform on those. The main one being testing of allowable costs. So we we test a lot of costs to make sure that those are um allowed under the terms of the grants. One notes you may have heard the government was shut down. Maybe this I think it still might be shut down if I've at this point lost track. But they never finalized the compliance supplement for 2025. Meaning we can't issue the AICPA has
025said you can't issue these single audit reports until that um until that compliance supplement has been finalized. There's a draft form. We don't think that any of the procedures are going to change. We just can't um we just can't sign it until they say we can. Um so not anticipating anything change changing there. that that testing was um was clean and we did not find any errors with any of the testing we performed there. All right, last thing I got for y'all. We perform a few non- test services. We're required to required to communicate non- test service meaning um a a service that's not an audit service. So a non-est service meaning um we help input the data collection form into the federal website. It's just a a clerical clerical activity [snorts] we perform. Same
026thing with the state the state AFR. you have to you have to put your financial statements into this clunky that's not quite fine this Excel file that the state issues we assist with with doing that um and then we also assist with preparation of the financial statements so those are the the amount of test services that we provide um Pasquali will review all this so there there's oversight by by management um and just overall thank you to Pasquali Dr. Melissa, nice working with you in this first year. Kathy, I'll have to give you a shout out as well on the grant side of things. So, um, we moved pretty quickly this year. I think we were done middle of October, which I think there was a year or two or three, maybe we slipped to
027being a little bit later, but this year we we were back on track. So, it was, um, yeah, nice to get this done. And I got booted from October. I think you guys sounded like you guys had a full agenda last month. So, happy [laughter] to be here tonight. And, um, that's what that's what I got for you all. If you have any questions, I can answer those. If not, then thanks for having me tonight. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> You're welcome to stay for the tax levy presentation, but we understand if you have your dollar. [laughter] >> Thanks for coming. >> We're going to keep the fun rolling. slowly. >> Yeah. [laughter] Put the covers. >> We should um stock up when there's like vloggers. Red day. [laughter] >> I think so. >>
028I do like my necklace. cuz I think the possibil possibilities are >> I got those too. Possibilities. >> Did you get a necklace though? I put it on. That's cute. >> My necklace was taped to my book. >> That's adorable. [laughter] But >> they don't have to stay. >> [laughter] >> All the best parts of the meeting already happened. I can guarantee. Promise. >> Oh, yeah. No, please. [laughter] >> I don't want to put you guys to sleep. It's okay. [laughter] >> Enjoy your cookie. Your favorite. >> Dan put them to sleep. It's fine, guys. [laughter] There we go. Yeah, blow some bells. Yeah. All right, so let's talk levy now that the audit is over. Just riveting things back to back. Um, as a board, uh, one of the primary functions and one of
029the most important functions besides the budget, appointing a superintendent and [snorts] policy is figuring out the levy for the year. So, let's just talk about the levy in general. It represents about 68% of district revenues. Um besides the federal and the state side tax distributions are right around 2/3 every year depending on if we get certain certain grants. During the co time we had a little bit uh more federal money coming in with all the funds. So that percentage goes down a little bit. Um but we always float around 2/3 of total district revenue. So very important. Um the levy itself we have to create a tentative levy that's no less than 20 days prior to adoption. We always do that in November at this meeting and then the adoption in December. Uh the certificate
030of levy has to be filed with the clerk by the last Tuesday in December, which is the 30th. Um but once approved, we always do it the day after. It's all online. Now, uh important to note that being in Cook County, the district is tax capped. Uh [snorts] and the most important part of that to remember is that we can only levy a maximum dollar increase of the lesser of 5% or CPIU which is the urban inflation percentage. Uh this year that number is at 2.9%. And it's important to note too which was applicable last year is that new property and terminating tiff increment is not included in that first year. Tax payments. Let's talk about this. This is very relevant uh especially now. You guys probably have just gotten these in the mail. So
031tax payments normally in Cook County are March 1st and August 1st. March represents 55% of the prior year's levy and then August will true it up with the remainder of the actual extension. Um for this year special uh Cook County delayed that uh the second payment until December 15th, which is when it's due. Um they blamed it on a new property tax billing software implementation delay. Uh it seems like a lot of fingerpointing. Um it was the assessor's office that was pointing it at the board of review that was reporting it at everybody else. Fun process, but we are back now and uh planning on getting that money uh mid December. Also, we have just been hearing some murmurings that uh because of how late this payment was, the first payment for next year, we're
032hearing no sooner than April 1st, but that is still to be determined. Uh just a quick graph of inflation over the past 10 years up to our max 5% which we can levy at without truth and taxation. Um so we're just above average right now. Uh it's actually at last year was 3.4% which you see above and this year we're at 2.9. So going down a little bit but still above the 10-year average. Uh some important graphs here to talk about the actual tax extension itself is the equalize assessed value times the tax rate divided [snorts] by a th00and. Um it is important to note that EAV and the taxing rate are indirectly proportional. So as EAV goes up the taxing rate goes down. Um so these are just some graphs over the past 10
033years. Um you can see increasing EAVs and every third year is a trienal for our area. Um so if you can see the large jumps in 2022 and then the uh outlying decrease in the rate in 2022 was from a trienal year. Um and it's also very important to note that a tax rate increase does not necessarily equal a property tax bill increase. This public act um it's been I believe 3 years since they started it. Um it's the levy recapture act. Um so any losses from certificates of error, board of review decisions or PTAB appeals um the uh district itself receives a supplemental levy to recapture that and it's automatically extended without any action by the district. So the county will put that they'll do their calculations for um what was distributed and then
034or what was withheld and then we'll put that on the next year's levy not subject to tax cap restrictions. Um, and the county certifies those amount those amounts by November 15th. Just because they certify them by November 15th doesn't mean that we get them on November 15th. Um, so we still have last year's number. We were just short of uh 500,000. Um, and this year they're not published yet. I just checked uh before the meeting started. So [clears throat] hopefully we we will receive those soon. Uh, and then another public act just uh is that districts must disclose cash reserve balances on operations. Uh just for transparency, we just put our uh fund balances per our treasurer's report at the end of the most completed month. So that would be October. And for all funds
035shown, that is what you see on the screen. Okay. So let's talk about last year's levy. Very important. So we had two terminating tiffs. The first one was the Franklin Park O'Hare East TIF, which was the more important of the two. um with that terminating that's when the district has the opportunity to levy to um receive that incremental value in that year that it's termin uh terminating. So it had these certain companies, it was large warehouses um just beyond uh Davis and Nickels uh to the east. Um and then we were anticipating about 300 uh 33 million in new EAV from this terminating tiff. And the other one which is a little bit smaller um was the Irving and Coy tiff which had mantra sway bar Nelly beauty and the Grace Park condos um that
036was also terminating last year and we were approximating about 3 million in UAV from this tiff. So let's talk about it now that we've uh received those uh actual valuations. And so we anticipated 36 million. The actual [snorts] new AV for these tiffs came in at just short of 35 million. And that new incremental value um that we had for last year's levy was about 1.5 million from these tiffs. Um so it's important to note that last year the biggest thing was um we had to do the truth in taxation to try to capture all this incremental value which is why we levied at 12.6% um above the cap. [snorts] um because of that truth in taxation um and the board support all the expiring tiff EAV was captured in last year's levy and then
037it's also important to note if you don't capture it you lose it in perpetuity since it is part of the prior year um extension and if you don't get it in the prior year then everything moving forward that increases off of that lower amount new property Mango car wash um on River Road. Um we're expecting just under about a million in new taxable EAV from the car wash. [snorts] Um but besides that, not too much going on in Shiller Park. Um but this is also something [snorts] that we're really excited about and we worked with the village to uh get some information on. Truth and taxation requirements. This is what we did last year. Um we're recommending to the board to levy at 4.99% which would make it not applicable for this year. Um but
038just the requirements above our public hearing website notice and notice into the paper. Uh let's quickly talk about the trial reassessment. So um every 3 years the widen area has their reassessment. Uh important to note that in 2022 our reassessment uh for the district was at a 26% increase. Um [snorts] definitely a large reassessment. It see it seems like the assessor is trying to uh catch up with the data and the market value of properties for commercial and industrials. Um they preliminarily sent out some information on the uh the township website. Um [snorts] so we're actually anticipating maybe a 15 to 25% increase in residential assessed values. >> [snorts] >> uh commercial. They haven't received we haven't received any reports yet and we haven't gotten any information on it yet uh from their website. [snorts]
039Um but we're estimating that they might end up increasing it close to maybe 40%. This is all still preliminary and we base our levy based off of last year's extension and it's important to remember that we can still only get uh the 2.9% increase plus any new property. Um but we have to, you know, remain vigilant with seeing where EAVs are going. Uh and then let's just talk about some assumptions for this levy. We do have the trienal reassessment because the reassessment last year uh or 3 years ago was at 26%. Uh we're estimating that it's possible that this levy could be about 25% growth in EAV too. Um we're anticipating maybe 5 million in new property. That is a conservative rolling average. Um that new property last year was a little bit different because
040we had the ter the terminating tiffs. uh this year we don't have any terminating tiffs and we're not anticipating large new property within the um within the district boundaries itself and we also have to remember that we have that 2.9% inflationary increase um that we can levy against the last year's extension. Um and then let's briefly talk about with fund balances the strategy that we're recommending. Um, so the education fund, which is our largest fund that we pay the most expenses out of, is also the most malleable fund for transfers. Um, so we're recommending increasing the educational fund to meet that 2.9% that we can levy at. Um, and then we also as a district have to uh tell the county where to reduce funds if we don't end up getting all that we levy
041against. So, if we recommend levying at 4.99%, but we can only get the 2.9%. The county will reduce it after they have all of their data and we basically just tell the county, okay, if there's a reduction, where should it go? Um, last year because of the terminating tiffs, we did it out of the education fund because that's where we were doing the increase for the levy. Um, and we're recommending that same thing for this year. Um for this levy uh we recommend a decrease in O andM for just maintenance efficiencies. All of our schools are updated brand new Washington. That means new mechanicals, new buildings and not a lot of a large maintenance efforts. Um so we have healthy fund balances there. Uh [snorts] we're recommending minor increase in transportation for future expenses and
042reduced reimbursements. Um, so [snorts] outsource transportation becoming a lot more expensive and we're anticipating the possibility of mandated categor. So this just is a minor increase to levy to make up for that. Um, social security fund, working cash fund, special ed fund, all consistent with yearly expenditures. We've gotten them at a good point where we're levying at the amount that it's approximately being expensed out. Um we're anticipating a or we're recommending a minimal IMRF levy just to decrease the fund balances in there. Um because of our requirement for CPPRT in that fund and large CPPRT receipts in previous years. Um that fund balance just needs to be reduced through the levy. And then bond and interest payments. We do have four remaining bonds. Uh the most recent was the Washington bonds. Um [snorts] so we
043have those that automatically get included into our levy. Um, and then we always keep a $1 levy in fire prevention just to keep the fund open. So for the tenative 2025 levy, uh, we're recommending the extent or the levy on the right. So the levy on the right is the actual amount that we're levying before the county loss per uh, percentage that they [snorts] put uh, that they increase our levy for on our behalf. Um, the numbers on the left are the actual extensions. So as you can see based off of the strategies that we talked about in the previous slide minor decrease in uh on& and m and that money gets end up uh ends up getting moved to the education fund a minor increase in transportation and then all the funds are pretty
044consistent. Um, an important thing to note that we talked about was the public act 1020519 for the levy recapture on the left for the extension. That includes bond and interest payments with the county loss and that uh just short of 500,000 for the public act. And [snorts] then the number on the right is just what we're levying at. That gets booked up by the county loss percentage. And then because it's not tax capped in that year, um anything that the state says that we get in that recapture will be added to that amount. And then just the next steps. So if you guys have any questions, obviously let me know. Um but on in the December meeting, we will present the final levy for board approval. Um in that time, if any data comes out
045that we think we need to make tweaks, obviously we'll let the board know. Um, we're not anticipating it, but sometimes it occurs. Um, on December 18th, once it's approved by the board, the district will submit the certificate and the documents to the county clerk online. Um, and then we post the certificate on the district website. Um, we used to have to drive it downtown, which was not fun. Um, but now it's all done online, which is super nice and easy. And they have a very user-friendly portal now, um, where we can see everything and get the confirmations. Um the district receives the levy edit in around April, May in a normal year. Um [snorts] and then we receive our preliminary rates in around June in a normal year. So like I said, if you have
046any questions, district office, Dr. Cartus and I let us know. Um and thank you. >> Thank you. >> Very informative always. Thank you. Um up next is District 81 annual summitive designations. So each year um the state board gives um designations to public schools. This year two out of our three schools earned the commendable designation and one of our schools received a targeted designation. So in your board packets you'll receive um the letter that we we received from Isby. Um, LMS received the targeted designation as a result of one subgroup of students. Um, our students with um, exceptionalities or students with disabilities subgroup did not meet expectations. So, as a result, we are going to head into a 4-year improvement plan with the state. And so, we thought this would be a great time. Our
047next item here on the agenda is just a fall 2025 data update. So, Dr. Savu and the principles are going to be sharing with the board of education how we performed on IR which was one of the eight components um that goes into receiving a summit of designation. So they'll show how um each of our schools fared on IR and then we'll also share with the board where we're starting for this school year so that you can see the data that we used at each of our school buildings to create our goals for this upcoming school year as it relates to student achievement. So, we're going to welcome up Dr. Stabru and the principles. Good evening everyone. Um, tonight providing an overview of the updates for our 2025 fall data, which will include information on
048the Illinois and NWA map fall results. We will highlight what was released regarding state assessment changes, school designations, and fall benchmark data for NWA. So every year the state of Illinois releases information about the state assessments that were administered to school to students the previous year. The the AR assessment measures performance in English language arts and mathematics whereas ISA measures the student science performance in grades five and 8 only. So families will be receiving individual reports for these assessments during parent teacher conferences this December during their conferences and they will have an understanding of their child's performance and growth. This year is be released all all district and school level results on October 30th 2025 and this data is now live on the Illinois report card site. These results directly influence our state summitive designations
049each year, including how achievement and growth are calculated. So, here are some changes that were made to the proficiency levels. When looking at previous results, ISBY determined that there was a need for change due to the fact that previous proficiency data was misaligned and didn't accurately reflect what students actually knew. Students that were college ready were told they were not based on their performance while others missed opportunities for academic acceleration. So thus it was determined that a new system was needed with benchmarks that are truly aligned with college and career readiness expectations. So Lisby implemented the new unified performance level across our state assessments ISA and ACT. The system is now simple, clear, and consistently uses only four levels. This structure replaces that old fivelevel system that use inconsistent terms like developing and partially meets
050as shown in that bottom graphic. The four levels are above proficient, proficient, approaching proficient, and below proficient. These changes were not made lightly. is be followed a transparent 18-week researchbased process that was led by educators and validated by expert outside experts. Importantly, students I mean, excuse me, educators can continue to track individual student improvement over time by using the student growth percentile. This means we still see how much each student learns from year to year. So proficiency tells us if a student has met the bar for their grade level. It's really a snapshot of a current achievement. The high achieving student will most likely get a proficient or above proficient. Growth tells us if a student is on the a positive trajectory. An assessment could show a student at below proficient but their growth could
051be high meaning they made significant improvements from where they started. It's very port important that we utilize both proficiency and growth. We need to use these metric both of these metrics. Proficiency sets the high bar for our standards, but growth is the crucial metric for determining the quality of instruction and the progress of each individual student. We briefly spoke about the changes regarding proficiency levels that are new to this year. We also want to mention what has not changed. Please note that the assessments have not changed regarding the format or complexity and they're based on the same state learning standards as before. So now once all the data is in what happens the state generates a school report card to do this uh to to do this data is processed and analyzed. This graphic illustrates
052how raw data from school district is processed into a single comprehensive rating. It takes a four-step process. Step one is the performance data is calculated. This is the point where the data is gathered and calculated your various pieces of raw performance information. Step two, it converts to an indicator score. Each piece of performance data is converted into a standard score between zero and 100. Step three is weight to an index score. So the standardized indicators are combined into a single comprehensive index score. Each indicator is weighed according to the plan. This means certain indicators like profic proficiency or growth may count more toward the final score than all the others reflecting state priorities. And finally step four is the the rank of the summitive designation. So the final index score det the final index score
053determines the school's summitive designation. Here's a nice graph which kind of shows you that it's broken up the indicators are broken up as an academic indicator and oopsie there we go. The the school's overall performance score is then broken up into two main categories. And the first one is the academic indicator which is 75% of the score. So within this this vast majority of the school's rating is based on academic performance with a strong emphasis on growth as you can see. Please note that the growth is indicated by 50% and it is the single largest component of the entire school rating indicating that continuous improvement for every student is top the state's top priority. It's not proficiency, it's growth. And we have to remember that because every child, they start where they at. We just
054make sure that they keep growing and growing. Uh the second um category is school quality and student success indicator. This is 25% of the total score. And this category focuses on the school environment and school engagement. Please note chronic abs absentis absenteeism is 20% of the total score indicating how important school is it is for kids to come to school. So here we go finally to all the summitive designations and a school receives an annual designation on the Illinois state report card every year. There are five summitive designations that a school can get based on the report card calculation already discussed. So there's exemplary which is what we all want to be. Um it's the top 10% of all schools in Illinois. They and they have no underperforming subgroups or student groups. commendable which is
055ours overall performance not is not at the top 10% but very strong must have no underperforming student groups targeted support one or more student groups special ed or English language learner are performing at or below all student groups in the lowest performing of the schools. So the school rece receives a targeted support to address specific performance gaps for identifying that student group. Finally, there's there's four uh comprehension support which is the top 5% bottom 5%. And then intensive, but we don't want to talk about that if you ask me. I I don't want to go past three. I'm not going to [laughter] lie. So that's so these are these are all the designations that you can get based by the state. So at this time I would like to introduce the principles to come ahead
056and come out and give you their subjective designations. All right. So Kennedy school um received a commendable overall rating um with a score of 74.02. Um and you can see in that little schoolhouse the different components that make up the overall score. uh ELA proficiency and growth, math profici proficiency and growth, English learner progress to proficiency, and chronic absenteeism. Okay, so Washington School received a commendable rating for the 2024-25 academic school year with an overall score of 77.45, which just like Kennedy is based on the multiple academic and school quality indicators. And for Lincoln uh you will see that we are designated as targeted over although our overall score is a 70.75 we did have one subgroup um in which you will see that our subgroup is students with disabilities. I think it's important to
057note here last year uh we were not fully staffed in special education until January. Um [snorts] and all of our special education staff last year was brand new to the district. Even the one veteran teacher we had took over a different business position within the district. So um is so what are the next steps for the targeted uh thing? We're on a four-year journey with the state of Illinois to make sure that we uh no longer get that designation of targeting. Um so we are going to uh start with a school improvement plan. We're going to identify and prioritize the special education students needs. So we make sure that we are meeting where they're at and giving them uh all the supports they need to be successful. Um, we are going to implementation of effective
058evidence-based teaching strategies. So, we'll continue to use what's the best practices for students with special needs. And then we're going to monitor the benchmarks and their progress of the students frequently to make sure that we're making those necessary gains as we go along. Um, and then we're going to look at the second step is to look at our instruction, our inclusive practices. So when the students are in the mainstream classes to make sure that the special education students receive core instruction with appropriate and additional supports uh to support them in the regular classrooms. We're going to strengthen that co-teer model. So the special education teacher working alongside the classroom teacher to make sure they're on the same page and working to help those students within that classroom. And we want to make sure their IEP
059is aligned to their grade level standards. And then uh the last one is to make sure that our intervention program is matching the students skill deficits. Okay. So our students in district 81 take the NWEA MAP three times a year. We look closely at the data from our fall, winter, and our spring MAP testing to help us drive our instruction to meet all of our students needs. We take a lot of pride in our work um that has been done with analyzing the data and using it to drive our instruction. So this year um NWA put out a new set of norms um for student achievement. um they developed these new norms for 2025 based on the scores of 116 million students across the US during the 2022 23 and 23 24 school years. Um
060so these new norms um reflect postcoid shifts in national performance which give a more accurate up-to-date comparison group. One that better reflects the challenges and context that today's students are navigating. So you'll see two charts here. The top shows math and the bottom shows reading. And these show um how the scores changed uh within each percentile group. Um so some of the scores changed quite significantly. Some of them there wasn't much change. Um but it's important to know that our 2025 fall scores kind of need to be a reset. So a restart of new norms, new numbers that we're looking at. Um, and we're going to focus really on where they're starting in the fall, moving towards winter, and then where they ultimately end up at the end of the school year. And here is
061just another chart that kind of breaks down what the 50th percentile looks like um for each grade level K through 8. Um, you can see the bottom number shows the previous fall 2020 score, what was considered 50th percentile versus the top number is the new score for 2025. So again, I think it's important to remember that a lot has changed um for our students over the past 5 years. We had a pandemic. Students were learning in a very different way. Um and so based on the previous two school years of um test scores, they've decided that these numbers more accurate accurately refle reflect uh student achievement. Okay. So the following bar graph shows our overall results as a district from fall to winter fall from fall to winter to spring of last year. In the
062fall as a district, you can see that 42.5% of students met or exceeded. When we take a look at this year in the fall, almost 49% are starting at the 50th percentile or above. Um, this is definitely a celebration for our district. Uh, we are starting with more kids on or at grade level. The same goes for reading. In the fall, only 45% were at the 50th percentile or above. And now when we take a look at this year, we started with 48%. We're at the 50th percentile or above. The bar graph gives you a wonderful visual of the hard work that our teachers and staff are putting into their instruction. You see that the historical data is improving and that is a direct reflection of the work that our teachers are doing meeting the
063needs of our students. Um, for the first time since the pandemic, we are back to having on grade level discussions and we're excited as a district to know that what we're doing is working. And this these this chart here is math and the second one will be reading, but it kind of breaks down a little bit more of the percentiles with any entire grade level. So, we're very excited because we are starting to see that we're starting to have those grade level discussions. But, it's important to note like if you look at sixth grade, you can look at the different number of students that are in each of the different percentiles. So, this means that our teachers are still having to do a great job of differentiating their instruction to meet every child at their
064level. So, what we want to see here is an increase in the green and blue bars on the right as we keep going. And hopefully that will continue the trend will continue to increase as we go. But, uh, [snorts] we're very excited about that. But it's really important to note our teachers are still having to do a great job within those classrooms to differentiate the instruction and make sure they're meeting every child where they're at. And here is reading and kind of the same thing again. And then lastly, although new norms have been established and this year is a baseline year again for our school data, uh what [snorts] we're doing in the classroom isn't changing. We're going to continue to meet every child where they are. We're going to differentiate the learning and continue
065to help each child meet their goals. At the beginning of each year, each staff creates a school improvement plan to help guide our instructional practices to address our students needs and achievements. Thank you. >> I I think it's really exciting that we get to start talking again following the pandemic about the number of our kids who are at grade level. Um, you'll hear when we present again at the winter time, you'll hear us still share the number of our students who meet their targets or exceed their winter targets because that means that, you know, they were receiving instruction that was just right for them at their level so that they could meet their next goal. But I think it's really exciting that we're also starting to talk about how many kids are starting at grade
066level and having more incredibly lofty goals to get more and more kids to a higher starting point at the beginning of the year so they can continue to grow as well. So there's been a lot of changes with AR and now with the new map norms. So I just want to say great job to the principles and Dr. Stavu. I think you helped us understand where we get the summit of designations from and it's a great place to know where we're starting so that we know where our next step is to reach our goals by the end of the year. >> Are we fully staffed specialist? >> We at at Lincoln we are not at Kennedy. >> Not at Kennedy. [laughter] >> Great great mentors. great [laughter] special ed mentors over there. >> Well, thank
067you again for sharing. Um, we look forward to seeing, you know, the end of the year achievement where we get to see all the growth. But this was very informative. I learned a lot. So, thank you and I hope every all board members, too. >> Okay. So, we'll move on to new business. Um, I'd like to entertain a motion that the board of education approve the 2025 audit as presented. I think Dan did a great job going over everything in the audit and thank you to Pasquali and your office for getting everything together and Kathy all your work on the grant. [laughter] >> Yes, [snorts] I'll tell them to sign it. No, I'm just kidding. Um, so are there any questions, comments, or concerns? No. Seeing none, Andrea, can you call the role, please? Sada,
068>> yes. >> Ziggler, >> yes. >> Bo, >> yes. >> Delati, yes. DS, >> yes. >> Dwanio, >> yes. >> Fiori, >> yes. >> Motion passes. I'd like to entertain a motion that the board of education approve resolution 2603 of the board of education authorizing an amendment of the intergovernmental agreement relating to the O'Hare Norris compatibility commission as presented. Any questions, comments or concerns? Thanks for the reminder that we do this every 5 years. I was like what is this? Um, so um, Andrea, call the roll. >> Sada, >> yes. >> Ziggler, >> yes. >> Bocock, >> yes. >> Delati, yes. DS, >> yes. >> Motion passes. Um, we do not have anything for executive session, so we'll skip over that. Um, I'd like to entertain a motion that the board of education approve the
069personnel report for the month of November as presented. I'll move. >> Any questions, comments, concerns? Seeing none, Andrea, can you call the role, please? Sada, >> yes. >> Ziggler, >> yes. >> Bo, yes. >> Delicati, yes. DS, >> Yes. Fiori, >> motion passes. Um, we've reached second public participation. Okay, we'll see if we have any. Um, so with that, I'd like to entertain a motion that the board of education adjourn the regular board meeting of November 19th, 2025 at 7:03 p.m. >> Okay. Um, for your call to roll, please. Sada, >> yes. >> Ziggler, >> Yes. DS, >> Yes. Pori. Okay. Motion passes. Meeting is adjourned. Thank you all. Have a great Thanksgiving. Two days left. You can make