001to order at 5:03. >> Today is Monday, January 12th, 2026. Um, the time is 50:03 p.m. Roll call. Uh, Oakdike >> here. >> Wymer >> here. >> Wilkins >> here. >> Anderson >> here. We'll move into public comment. >> We have six people. Members of the public are welcome and invited to address the board during open public meetings. Speakers are discouraged from using the public comment area period to air specific concerns about staff members being mindful that the public comment period is not a suitable form for factf finding or resolution of disputes. Rather, we encourage members of the public who have concerns about specific district employees to follow district communication guidelines found in the student handbook. Please remember to state your name and that you have three minutes to address the board. Speakers may not
002yield their time to someone else. Please refrain from applause between speakers, so we may respectfully allow all speakers the opportunity to be heard. Also note that it is not customary for the board to respond to public comment. The best way to correspond with members of the board is by emailing schoolboard district.net. Our first speaker is Jamie Hopka, Katie Armstead, Jean Clipperton, Estabban Quas, Kelly McCabe. Good evening. Thank you for hearing me out. I'm Jamie Hupkkey. I want to say thank you to Pat for anointing Nicole and Maria to continue to work with the community to find solutions to our financial problems that this administration has chosen to ignore. I'm deeply concerned based on this memo that you'll be discussing tonight that this administration is continuing on their war path against what the majority of parents
003want even with Nicole and Maria's efforts. I'm completely against closing and selling Lincolnwood and we'll be contacting all of my state reps about this. With a deadline of potential financial and enrollment mandates only eight months away, the board needs to control this administration spending. Hiring Mosaic again is unacceptable. Giving 4% raises this past June for the top administrators during a financial crisis is unacceptable. In that same meeting that And that Andrew again warned us that the state could take us over. He happily supported giving the superintendent and her army of admin raises costing us $600,000. Is that what the state would do during a financial emergency? reward a wildly overspending administration with large raises? I don't think so. I also find the utilization requirement that this administration continues to push to be deeply offensive. What
004parent wants their child crammed into a classroom of 25 to 28 students? In fact, the community clearly stated that one of their top priorities is maintaining small class sizes. I would love for my child to have a 1 to1 11 teacher student ratio like our only award-winning school Orington. And it's worth noting that the top 10 Illinois elementary schools ranked by US News all had low teacherto student ratios averaging 14 to1. I know utilization is this administration's main trick. That's all I focus on. But how about moving that high bar you put on UNI utilization rates instead on substantially raising I AR scores and bringing students back into the district. I know one parent on SA's leadership team who said that they have over 400 students on their weight list and I guarantee you many
005of those are Evston kids. In conclusion, I fully support our Kingsley teachers and my heart goes out to the Kingsley kids. As Maria has said in the past, I expect that we leverage Kingsley as a swing school to move kids into while we fix up our other schools throughout the year. Thank you. >> Uh, hi everyone. Katie Armistad. I founded Invest in Neighborhood Schools. Uh, I am waiting for the day when I'm the only public speaker and you give me 60 minutes to talk. Just kidding. Kidding. I wouldn't do that. Um, I just wanted to to share a brief comment for the Kingsley families. Um, you know, I think I've met so many district 65 parents over the past I mean years, but past few months in particular, and you're hardressed to find a group
006of parents who are more committed to the long to long-term health of this district than the Kingsley parents. Um, even if it comes at a disadvantage to their own family's personal circumstances, uh, they're a real asset to the to the district. And I really think the Lincolnwood community is looking forward to wel welcoming all of them to Lincolnwood. I know you guys throw a really fun fall fest. I can't wait to go to that. Um I do think though, Maya, you have to meet with them. Um and if you're not willing to meet with them, I think we should transition their board liaison for for the next few months. Um and then lastly, I really hope uh this administration and the board listens to their feedback over the next few months um as you transition
007transition them. Um and we look forward to helping however we can. Thanks. Hello, I'm Jean Clipperton. I'm with the Legion of Data Nerds. Um, tonight the nerds are excited to help support the board in their decision-making process. Our hearts go out to the Kingsley and Bessie Roads communities and we want to ensure other neighborhood schools don't have to go through this experience. We're excited for this new direction and look forward to the months to come. We're excited in particular for the plan to get the budget in better shape and how we can help provide information and clarity. We have preliminary analysis up on our website for comparable staffing across Illinois districts, finding that we still have room to cut administrative positions. We are prepared to help support the board on comparable budgets and how to
008strategize using our resources more effectively. We are also able to work with other groups to discuss opportunities for maximizing our buildings and possible revenue streams as presented by the Washington task force. In short, we remain enthusiastic supporters of the board and our district 65 community as we begin this next chapter. We are eager to help in any way that we can. >> Good evening. Hi, my name is Estan Kinones and I'm part of the Legion of Nerds as well. Um thank you for the time today. I really appreciate what I see as a productive collaboration moving forward. Um the resolution while we may all you know take issue with specific elements I think is a step in the right direction and that's something that many people in the community are recognizing there's pragnatism there's compromise
009and there's uh goodwill right and working together. uh that's you know extremely encouraging to me but you know we I think we have to understand the overall framing that we've come to this room right we're in a crisis because of decisions that were made beforehand and that has eroded trust right and we need more than one one compromise or one uh clear instance of working together to res restore that trust and to strengthen the uh the district. Um, one point that, you know, a friend mentioned to me is like, "This is great, but why aren't we voting to seat a seventh member today and I, you know, I I empathize with that. I I I understand that. I think that we still need to take many more steps forward." Similarly, someone I was talking to
010was saying, "Listen, you can think of this resolution two ways. one as this step forward that is allows us to really work together but you know based on what some would you know call a unattainable goal it's a basically it's a two school closure under a different name I don't think that's what it is but it can be perceived that way and I think it's very important that the board think clearly about how to communicate that um because that's definitely a reaction that number of people are having and I understand where they're coming from so you know with that in mind I think We need really clear accountability, transparency and a thorough understanding of what metrics are achievable within, you know, the specified uh timeline. And there may be reasons to think about a different
011metric or using one as a sort of initial benchmark, right, that's followed with something down the road. With that in mind, one thing that I know many people in the community are excited about is thinking about building use, right? What is what is a predictive productive building use? Um and so we want to reimagine that right and some people have suggested things along the lines right of health centers, library spaces, right? Early childhood education, uh food pantries, right? These are ways that we might think about utilizing school spaces that do in a sense for you know uh I think work in a productive manner for the community but also reduce right the the overall capacity which then allows the utilization rate to uh to jump. The same is true in terms of, you know, providing
012more for-profit children's programming or art classes, right? Some people have suggested things like colllocating city services or you or uh setting up senior elderly programs. Um there are sort of an endless amount of possibilities. We have to think carefully about which ones make the most sense. You know, event spaces, theaters, things of that sort, but things that serve the community. Um, and none of those involve one that I think also needs to be considered is administrative space use, right, in schools. So, thank you. [music] >> Hi, good evening. My name is Kelly McCabe. I'm a part of the Legion of Data Nerds. I'm also a Washington tweet parent. Um, and I just wanted to say firstly that I commend the unanimous vote at the meeting last Friday. I think that it represents important progress and
013it's encouraging to see the district moving forward, even if just a little. However, I'm still deeply concerned about the ongoing deadlock over seating a seventh board member. It's both embarrassing and frustrating that some board members continue to oppose the obvious and logical decision to seat the next highest vote getter, delaying decisions and forcing us to seek external intervention for what should have been a straightforward internal decision. If we want par parents and families to come back to district 65, you all have to do better. We need a renewed focus on partnership and student achievement. Focusing solely on school building utilization as the primary metric of success is misguided. The true measures of student excellence is not how many bodies fit in a room, but the quality of education and support services that students receive. We
014need to prioritize student outcomes, not occupancy rates. To do this effectively, we need to foster even greater collaboration with community partners such as District 202, the city of Evston, Northwestern, and Oakton College. In fact, tonight's meeting was originally slated to be a joint district 65202 session, an opportunity that had it happened would have been very inspiring. Valuable feedback has already been provided by the very families that you serve. However, this district has yet to comprehensively understand what drives families away in the first place. And importantly, you need to pay attention to the families who are about to face very difficult transitions. Those at Kingsley, Bessie Roads, and the Twe families at Willard. Please listen to them and act on their feedback. The board's role is to hold the administration accountable, ensuring that community and student
015needs are always prioritized. If we are looking to make further cuts, let's start with the administration. Let's bring our district in line with peer districts, rightsize this administration, and remind them that the community is their boss. The board holds them accountable, and students must come first. The district's future depends on effectiveness, not outsourcing decisions to consultants. Board members, it's time to listen to the families and taxpayers of District 65. If we're really committed to bringing people back to the district instead of pushing them further away, we have to leverage all available resources, partnerships, and hold this administration to a higher standard. We need to do so much better, and you have a lot of people willing to help you along the way. Thank you. >> That concludes the public comments for tonight. I move that
016the board approve tonight's meeting agenda as presented. >> Second, >> yes. >> Wymer, >> yes. >> Wilkins, >> yes. >> Anderson, >> yes. >> Next, we're going to move into finance personnel and building and ground led by Maria Upike. >> Thank you. Um so first we're going to uh get an update on the financial audit. Um there are two bids that were submitted. Um and so I wanted to uh just acknowledge that those were received. Um they were kind of long so I don't know if you all had an opportunity to read through them. >> Okay. >> Yes. Um, I wanted to, uh, you know, I guess first we can do general comments and then, uh, you know, thoughts that you may have about the bids, um, goals that you want to see achieved in
017this. Andrew, do you want to start? >> Sure. Yeah. >> Um, I think at the end of the memo, there's some really important questions for continued engagement. I'd be open to us to doing a round of engaging the biders further. Um my concern here is right. So, there's a a significant price difference uh bid bid total difference of um I'm now my mind is it was roughly 75,000 160,000 um in the scope of what I expected based on Tamara's comments and my memory of them from a couple months ago. I was expecting um higher bids in general. >> So, I was pleased knowing of course that these may rise with um incidental cost and such. Mhm. >> Um the Crow proposal in its scope and the breadth of its scope and then the substantiation depth
018seems to be what we need. I'm very concerned that we get this right so we can put this behind us. So um but if we could go back to the lower bidder and see if they can cover this, I'd be open to that. So that's just some initial reactions. I I really hope that we get this right though. Um and we know from experience that sometimes the lowest bid is not the best bid. um thinking to our work on the SGP with the titles, right? We went with the lowest bid and we didn't get the title for the documents for Lincolnwood for instance. Um so so that's a concern. So I I'm happy to do more but I I'm leaning towards Crow because of the depth and detail of their work. Tamara, can you um
019give some additional information on what the what riskbased sampling means in terms of the forensic audit because that seemed to be the driver one of some of the differences in the bid costs and would that so what does that mean? >> So good evening everyone. Um, as far as riskbased sampling, I would defer to that respondent and for more clarity on that. I don't want to respond for them and provide the wrong answer. I'm happy to ask that question to them to get some more detail on exactly what that difference is and why that could be that potential cost driver. >> Okay. because I'm assuming that the if it's the sampling is based on a criteria that their sample may be smaller than what the other bid >> it could be. Um the I'm looking
020at the summary for BDO. So BDO provided some maximums uh or not maximums but a scope a range of transactions that are included in that price. So, it's possible that Crow's price um includes more of a sample, but since they didn't include that sample number, it's difficult to make that sideby-side comparison. Um, but I'm happy to put that question out there to them and ask the question of are they limiting the number of samples? Um, and then if we want to get an applesto apples comparison, just ask them if you're reviewing 100 contracts and stipens and 85 to 90 transactions, what that would look like. >> I would be interested in that. >> Okay. >> Yeah, I think that would be good. But I mean, my reaction to this is that um you know, I'm
021I'm just wondering what we expect or what we hope to gain from this because I'm looking at the price tags and I think that like especially in the environment that we we're in, we have to be we have to scrutinize every dollar. And so I think, you know, this is another example of let's just make sure what we do in the bid that we go with or how we decide to move forward um is really going to be worth the cost. Um and thinking about it like I I don't know if we expect to recoup any money from this. Probably not. I think that you know it it it just it it provides something that will just enhance trust and give us more support. But like we we also have to remember this is you
022know this is money that could be used somewhere else. So we should take that into consideration given where we are now. >> One of the things I thought um it seemed like a big driver of the price too was the differential in the hourly rate. >> Yeah. >> Um and uh from the BDO bid the um experience that they had in the public sector that they highlighted. Um, I'm sure Crow also has experience in the public sector, but they had a lot of school-based experience. Now, they had charter school experience, so it wasn't public school district experience, but they had school experience. And so, I was sort of more comfortable with BDIO because of that school experience because it seemed their hourly rate was more reasonable. Um, but I do think it's important to look
023at the the scope apples to apples. I agree with Maya that, you know, I don't think we're going to recoup any money out of this. I think from my perspective, what I hope to get out of it is to better understand if there were if there still exist after all the, you know, work that Dr. Turner and her administration have put into um our systems and processes and procedures. If there still exist any places where we can uh where this audit might inform um additional processes and procedures that can help prevent um any kind of malfeasants in the future and then also um inform potential board policies that would need to be um added. I know we have a separate work item uh comparing the policies in ISB, but um I don't think that this
024the goal of this should be to recoup any money because I just don't think that that's realistic. >> Well, and the proposed the proposed completion line is in April, >> right? So, we will be moving forward with >> budgeting, but I I agree with you on >> let's take a look at what happened and see if we can move forward so that we move forward with transparency and build on the practices and structures and processes so that we can continue to move forward because one of the some of the u criteria for the school I mean we're talking about a balanced budget in 90 days. And I just want to make sure that we provide ourselves and the community with a clear picture of past practice and appreciate how we're moving forward to correct many
025of those >> concerns. So, >> so the the one thing that I was leaning towards Crow was because of their their substantiation, the transaction tracing tracing to bank records, >> vendor employer legitimacy checks, um, payroll anomaly considerations that I didn't see in the BDO. And so if we do um you know if if the the majority are leading towards BDO, can we just go back and see if we can get a little more from them um or if they're going to do this deeper level of substantiation because >> yeah, I think that um it makes sense to clarify whether that's included. I don't I don't remember reading that they were going to exclude those things necessarily. So they may just not have stipulated that they were including them. So, it'd be helpful to know that.
026Yeah. >> Can you just name those three things? So, I have them down here. >> Yeah. And it's on page two under the the the crow if you need to copy and paste it in easier. Um, but it's transaction tracing to bank records, vendor employee legitimacy checks, payroll anomaly considerations, and credit card spending reviews. >> Thank you. Um, Tamara, do you have any concerns about um supporting this forensic audit in the timeline that's proposed here? >> I don't. Um, I think between the team members that we have uh in the financial services department and then working with whichever firm we decide to go forward with, I think we'll be able to pull everything that the firm would need to review. Um, with any audit, I personally have not been through a forensic audit. Even with
027financial audits, as they get into testing, sometimes timelines can be extended. So, both firms um proposed a timeline where they could be finished by April, but as they get into the work, it could be that that extends beyond April. We just won't know until we get started with the work. >> But I don't have any concerns or reservations about the staff being able to get the work done. Okay. Um, a couple other comments that were in the memo here that I think are important. Um, the not to exceed language >> uh is important and then Tamara for the for the two questions that we've posited here, you'll go back to you can go back to BDO and ask them. Yes. >> Okay. Are there any other questions that stood out to you? I know you
028probably were wrote this memo, but any other things that when you read these two that you were wondering about? >> No, not for me. Just um putting into perspective the price difference between the two and really wanting to get an understanding for what the driving force is behind that price difference. um because it is a substantial price difference >> and that now would the board be interested in having each come in for an interview or would you like me to just engage in kind of question and answer with BDO? >> I would like for you to engage. We have a >> pretty heavy schedule coming up. >> I mean I wouldn't mind I I wouldn't mind if >> Yeah. if we were going to have I mean we did that for the um help me
029remember you know what I'm talking about and I thought that was very helpful to to listen to them both present and I mean this is a substantial amount of money >> so let's do the song and dance I guess okay >> I think that would be helpful to see >> and I can make myself available during the day we can coordinate schedules okay and I mean >> can we do a two-phase approach so like first start with question one and kind of see the apple to apple comparison and and if it's still makes sense to bring them both in for an interview. >> You could be clear. Yeah. Based on responses >> and based on your question, first question, Pat, is uh the sampling size question at the end that you offered. I assume this
030was I didn't look for who wrote the memo. I'm sorry. Um but um that'd be an important question, I think, as well. >> Can we just recap the two questions? I want to make sure Tamara is clear on the two questions that she's going back to engage in so we're all just on the same page. >> Sure. So the first question as I have it is to confirm with both um both biders the number of transactions in the sampling. Hang on let me get to the table so I know exactly what it's called here. >> Um the methodology posture. So BDO lists a risk-based approach and CRO lists a deeper substantiation steps um and better understand what the level of transactions that will be reviewed >> in each of these bids. That was question one.
031And then question two is to confirm the um or to ask BDO if their process includes um payroll legitimacy uh tracing transactions to bank records um any payroll anomalies. Wait, hang on. Yeah. Uh yeah, bank tracing, vendor legitimacy and conflict checks, payroll anomaly review and credit card review are included. >> And then I guess while you're at it, >> confirm with them, I'm sure this is possible, but just confirm with them that we can do a not to exceed amount. >> Not to exceed And Tamara, you might have more familiarity with this. Uh, so BDO limited five interviews, I believe. Is that enough to address our scope that we we've laid out? That just seemed very low to me. >> It might not be. Yeah. >> Um, so that's another one of those areas where
032the price tag could go up. Um, so we're in what rather than just asking BDO these questions, I'll go back to Crow and ask some deeper questions as well, um, to get an idea for what limits their thinking since their price is so much higher because they I don't remember what their language said about interviews, but um, I don't believe it was capped at five. So that's a the way that BDO's proposal is written. >> In my opinion, there's a lot of room for that price tag to go up as they start digging and adding things on. So not that it may get to the level that Crow is, um, but it could definitely be more than the initial proposal. >> Any other questions or thoughts on the forensic audit? >> Those are my three
033babies. >> Okay. Um, next we have the property tax revenue and tax anticipation warrants. Um, so the county's inability to implement their software has cost us about a million bucks. >> Um, which is disappointing to say the least. um in this hang um I think I appreciate you Tamara for being conservative and issuing those tax anticipation warrants because we didn't need them >> and I know that you'll do that ongoing. >> Um so thank you for that. >> I don't have any questions personally about these tax anticipation warrants and why we need them or what they cost. Does anyone else have anything they want to discuss or ask? >> No, but I think the um the resolution that is part of that >> information should definitely go forward because of the we're still in the
034middle of it and we don't have a clear path in terms of a resolution from the county. So, I think that's appropriate at this time. >> I will support the resolution as well. And I did want to ask Tamara just generally, this is a lot of money. Um, so we're already above a million dollars it looks like. And did you budget for this? I What I'm just trying to anticipate what our our end of fiscal year this is going to dramatically impact us it feels like and I just want to hear from you about that. >> Is the aside from us not getting the money and having to borrow. So we're incurring those interest costs. It's costing us interest revenue as well. So, um, and that interest revenue, the longer we don't get the money,
035the more that compounds. So, at the end of the year, we'll see how it all shakes out, but at this point, we're over a million dollars down as far as lost interest income. Um, and that's money that we won't be able to recoup because interest obviously is earned as the money is sitting there earning money. Um, so it's it's unfortunate that this happened with the county. They don't have a resolution on the horizon right now. Um, and that's why it's being anticipated that the spring installment, that first distribution, is going to be delayed a month. So, that's where the additional estimate is coming in as far as like almost $220,000 worth of lost interest on that distribution as well. So, it's just this ongoing continuing thing that we don't see an end to. Unfortunately, they
036have to come out of this, but it's >> we just have any no positive news right now? >> How are they updating us? >> They're not. [laughter] >> Okay. >> Yeah, they're not. Um it's there's the North Cook Superintendent Group has been really really good about um gathering the North Cook superintendent and North Cook school business officials. So, they have this uh Cook County Tax Coalition, I think it's called. There's weekly meetings with that. So, that's really where the resolution came from. Um there's an attorney that works with Franic uh whose focus is property taxes. So he's the one that drafted the resolution and a lot of the districts have already passed the resolution and then there's many who are putting it on their January board agendas. So that's why I wanted to share it
037with you all to see if there's an interest in getting it passed. The outcome that people are hoping for is that um there could be some um money that comes back to districts from the county because of all of this lost interest and then the interest cost that districts are incurring as well. So even though we paid back our uh TAWS early, it still cost us almost $120,000 in interest cost. The issuance cost was 275. Yeah, $27,500. So, that's money that we can't get back. Um, so that's really why they're gathering all of this data to present and who knows what's going to come of it, but perhaps the more districts that get on board with it in the county, um, we may be able to get some relief. >> Thank you. Um, do we
038technically need we need to take a vote on adopting this resolution? Do we have enough people to do that or do we wait? >> We don't have it on the agenda for adoption right now. >> I'm just looking at the Okay. So, we'll do it on the 26. >> Perfect. >> January 26. >> Maya, are you interested? >> Yeah, I think for this one we need >> That's why I brought it up because I feel it's really something we need to do to address this. a formal to make a formal statement and to put it into the record because it's having a significant effect on not only our finances but many other areas, many other school districts. So, >> okay. >> Any other finance op um anything else that anyone wants to comment on? Okay,
039that that concludes the finance portion. >> Moving to curriculum and policy, Maya. >> Okay, the first item on the agenda is the press 119. Um I I don't know if anyone can give just a brief recap of of just not I know it was page seems like a lot of it was five-year reviews, some language changes. Are there is there anything in there that we should be paying particular attention to? Um it looked like most of it was just just regular updates but want to check. >> Yeah, I I'll let Adila chime in because she's been kind of managing press 119, but essentially it was a lot of um board policies to review this particular time. We leverage um the expertise of IASB who already has a group of um um attorneys who have reviewed
040these and then we look at it at the district level and to see if there are any uh changes each of the departments reviewed that. um if there were changes we we you know we brought forth but I think for the most part everyone was in alignment with the language of what the policies currently say um because they align to all the other school districts in in Illinois and so there were very little um updates or revisions to what has already been recommended. >> Got it. That's what it seemed like. Just lots of pages. >> Yeah, it [laughter] it it was lots of pace. I don't know if you want to add to it's always like that when you do the and and they come in sporadic in terms of the amount of policies to
041uh review at specific times. Sometimes it's not as heavy and then sometimes it's heavy. We don't we don't know until it's time for the review. But Adila, you want to add? >> Um a lot of the policies that we reviewed in this batch for press were five-year reviews as was noted. A lot of it is just legal updates to the footnotes. Those don't appear on our policies, but it's just on the back end. Um, what we did internally was just review all the policies to ensure that our language was genderneutral. That was uh requests by the board by the seated board when they began. Um, and we'll continue to do that as we review um future policies. We do have press 120 uh just around the corner >> and we don't know how many um
042policies will be included with that just yet. But we do >> uh not yet because >> right because they have Yeah, that's what I thought. >> Okay, that sounds good. Um so do we approve this one? We can vote. you will approve this then we can make the updates any all the language updates will go in and um it takes about two weeks to appear in our policy manual. >> Great. Okay. So I move that the board approve press 119 as outlined in the attached memo. >> Second >> yes >> Wymer. >> Yes. >> Wilkins. >> Yes. >> Anderson. >> Yes. >> Okay. The next agenda item is the 2026 2027 school calendar. Did anyone have any questions or thoughts on that before we vote? >> Um my only um note is that there is
043the um the the Monday we come after come back after winter break I think. There just needs to be a notice to remind the community that that's a school improvement day because with the activities of the holidays and all of those things and all of the things that happened then I think the community just needs a reminder that that's not an attendance day. And so that's it's not an adjustment to the calendar, but it's just something to help it flow better for the community. >> Yeah, thanks for bringing that up. And I I want to just add too because I think there's a misconception that the district uh creates this calendar. This calendar is done in partnership with uh several different folks and we do leverage uh the five bargaining units here to provide us
044feedback and be thought partners with us around that. Um, we know that it's not ideal, um, that the day coming back off winter break is a professional learning day. Um, but to be quite honest, that's the only day that the district is able to come back with staff since August, um, which are the institute days coming back into school. And so if you really think about it, um in an ideal world, if I had a magic wand, we would have more, you know, days to be able to bring staff together because it's opportunities for cross uh school collaboration and other things that we engage in u in terms of professional learning. And so, um, it's not ideal, but it's it's necessary for us to really think about coming back off of winter break, having to
045complete the first half of the school year, and then being thoughtful about how to reset and plan for the second half of the school year. And so, um, we're we want to say to families, thank you for understanding that that's necessary, uh, for staff to do, although it it might seem, you know, an inconvenience to some. So, just wanted to just name that. >> Can I ask a quick question about um election day? Is that only in every two years that we have that day off? I don't recall. Okay. Okay. >> It's not you want to talk about that because it's not it's not something that happens every and I think we only do the national ones, but you go ahead. >> Yeah. So, on the presidential election years, that's something that we've historically taken
046off as a federal holiday. Um, in 2024 though, however, the state of Illinois made the midterm election year a state holiday. Um, the guidance from Isby this year encouraged districts to consider having alternate plans in place or to have it as a non-attendance day, especially if they're a district used um for polling places, which many of our schools are. So, um that was in an effort to align with ISB guidance um this school year. However, it is not a required holiday at this point in time, but they've indicated that could still change um in the coming months or over the summer. >> I think many of our schools are polling places. >> Yes. >> Have kids there when >> there's a bunch of adults. >> Yeah. >> Flowing in and out. It's unfortunate that there's
047a early dismissal the next day also, but that's just how the cookies crumble. >> Yeah, it is. And it's part partly and I mean you could talk about this uh Melissa, but it's partly like how we schedule among all of the other days off holidays and um half day uh professional development days and school improvement days, you know what I mean? Like so we're trying to juggle and fit in all of the things that we're mandated to do and it just ended up with with that unfortunately being the case. Okay, that makes sense. >> Okay, so that concludes the curriculum and policy. >> I do want to have just I just have one add. So, um it's not on the agenda, but I do know that at the last I believe committee of the whole
048or the regular board meeting, there were public comments that were brought forth in terms of concerns with the Willard Tweet program um being a magnet program. And so I just wanted to follow up publicly with the board and with the community to say that we know historically the website and all the things have everything. And so what my team and I now at this point are trying to pull all of the historic places where it indicates that twe is a magnet program. We are assessing that with our legal counsel and then we will determine next steps and bring that forward to the board and the community in terms of next steps and where uh the direction in which we need to go moving forward. And so that'll be we'll give an update and bring that
049back to the board at the January 26 board meeting. So wanted to just publicly um bring that. it's not on the agenda because we don't have anything at this moment to discuss with you, but we wanted to just let the community know. Um, that is what we're doing and working diligently to try to figure out and resolve. >> Can I actually also ask I know we have the school age childcare um summer memo in here. >> Yes. >> Um and we we got a couple of emails about it. So, I just wanted to have a brief conversation if that's okay. Okay. Is that okay? >> Before we do that, I would like to finish >> Oh, I'm sorry. >> calendar. >> Oh, I'm so sorry. >> I was just about to vote. >> Sorry. My
050bad. >> And we'll come back to that. >> All right. I move that the board approve the 2026 2027 school calendar as presented. >> Second. >> Oakdike. >> Yes. >> Wymer. >> Yes. >> Wilkins. >> Yes. >> Anderson. >> Yes. And now we can move into >> the SACC discussion. That's right. >> The FY. Yeah. >> The FYI. Yeah. Well, yeah. FYI. >> Yeah. >> School A child care summer. >> You want to come up, Dr. O. Thank you. >> Good evening. >> Hi. Um, can you tell me a little bit about the sort of genesis of this summer program and when it started in district 65? >> Do you know >> the actual like when it originally started? >> Started providing the summer program for school age childare. >> The exact date I do
051not have that information. >> How old it how old it is? >> Yeah, I I'll I'll interject here. Um, >> it doesn't have to be exact. I'm not going to hold you to it. >> No, but anything I say here is held to it. Um, and so the answer to that is we really don't know. Um, we have been trying to put the pieces together to really understand this program for the past few years. I'm told it's been many, many years. >> But in terms of an exact number, I don't know because none of the folks who, you know, maybe like 30 something years. I don't want to quote that, but I don't know. We've tried to look at all and find all of the historical stuff um that's here. Nothing. A lot of stuff
052has been manual for us to try to put the pieces together. Um I just want to commend Dr. O because this has been a herculean process that she has been charged to undertake of just really understanding all of our programs and partnerships, not just this particular program. and she's done a really great job of trying to really um untangle the pieces of that and this is the second year in a row that she continues to to try to do that. And so what we essentially discovered last year coming last school coming into last school year when you first took on the role. Um, we saw some inconsistencies and some things during that summer that we spent the entire year trying to just do the untangling with and put the pieces together based off of the
053information that Dr. O collected. We made the collective decision to re-evaluate that program because we were looking at how much money the district was actually spending out and we were actually getting in recovering from that program that we re-evaluated it which is the program that was implemented this particular past summer. Um and which is why correct >> that's the data that she has because >> that's the most act we can tell you how we've tracked it and all the things from when she implemented it from the reimagining of it this particular >> past summer. >> I think thank you Dr. Turner I appreciate that. I think you know even up until five minutes before this meeting started I'm still finding out more and more information. is kind of that onion peel, right? And trying to
054also verify some information that I've received um of why we have seen um increases in some areas, decreases in other areas. Um so this year really uh moving forward, the board and Dr. Turner and her team have charged my team and myself to really take a look at trying to figure out how this program operates. Right? A lot of stuff historically has not been documented and it has been it's it's been done manually. Um so we put some systems and structures in place particularly starting from summer July I want to say July one but it really happened for June for summer uh school age child care moving forward these systems in place so that we could actually track the data and I'll give you a prime example. Attendance data was never tracked in P school
055until this summer. So I couldn't run you data. I didn't have it unless I had to go tally up different points and hoping that was accurate. Right. So this summer we started um working with um the um rep team of really getting those students enrolled in powers school and being able to take attendance, training our staff so they knew how to use powers school and take attendance, track data, and so we can have that moving forward. we implemented this year of school age child care for before and after school to also be tracked in powers school. So we now have that data so we could run reports, we can send memos to parents um all at once. We don't have to send separate emails. So just putting some basic uh fundamental systems and structures in
056place so that we can move forward and get some accurate data because we can't uh do an analysis on the program if we don't have these systems these basic things in place to really take a look at. >> So let me ask a question with this with this um endeavor. One of the things I am concerned about is shifting from the school-based to community-based um offerings. And so what's what's your plan in terms of how you're going to communicate with the community and the parents in helping them find alternatives? >> Absolutely. I've been having conversations of what programs are out there and I think it is important for me and my team also to have it done in a timely fashion because we know um programs for the city start to open in February. So
057we don't want to make decisions in and put information out uh in March and in April when some of those deadlines they won't get one of their first choices. Right. Also working with our partners that we currently work with um to find um alternative, you know, experiences that would still enrich and also have possibly an academic piece but give kids those experiences which they could, you know, be with their peers. They could be also in the community which also have scholarships working. They have uh sliding scales for our parents most in need. And so really looking at what is out there and then having that information also on our website taking a look at um historically who have been in our summer programs whether it's SAC and and other summer programs that might not occur
058this year and sending out specifically to those families because everybody was in powers school last year sending out hey here are some options. we don't have this, but we do have this, right? And and having that information out uh also to PTAs and to have that information out in principal uh newsletters and just really communicating that we do have options. It's just not we don't have a program for you. >> And let me answer the the first question that um Maria had answered. It looked like uh members of my team did some research during this time. SACC started in 2017. Oh, so not that long. >> Not that long ago. >> The the summer program, >> the summer pro the summer program, I'm sorry, SAC summer program. I just assumed she understood that, but I
059should have specified the summer program for SACC started in 2017. The other thing that I want to really call out and Dr. O can talk about this is um the uh members of the SACCC team >> are members of the EACCP bargaining unit. >> Their contract says that and which it was not happening before last year which is why we instituted it. Their contract says that the board has to approve the summer program every year, >> right? >> You have to take you have to approve that. >> It's an optional program. It's not their contract goals. >> It's not it's not the before and after school during the year. The summer program is an optional and additional program and part of their contract states that the board has to take a vote on that. So
060when we noticed that last year, we have brought it forth to the board. We're bringing it forward to you um this time because after the reduction and and you have seen and heard um some of the feedback that have come to you in terms of the comparison of the year before it being 61 students in the program. Last year was 24 students in the program. Prior to some of those 61 students were not students that were enrolled in district 65 schools. And so it becomes a hazard, you know, especially when we were using a manual system and we were taking kids on nice trips to the beach and but we got paper information on the kid that can easily get lost and if you know how do how do we maintain the safety and security.
061So, it's it's it goes beyond just a um us having this program every year to really being thoughtful about the systems, processes, and structures that we put in place to run an effective program. So, just want to just name that for the board as added pieces of what helps us to determine whether or not, you know, this program is really giving us a return on our investment every summer and what makes the most sense, especially in a community that's saturated with summer programming um already that if we communicate ahead of time, families can have the opportunity to participate in the other summer programming that exists across the city of Evston. And I think >> I remember we had an extensive conversation about this last year school board meeting where we wanted to look and we
062wanted to have more data in order to be able to make an informed decision. So it's really helpful to be able to see some of those numbers now so that we have more information. >> Thank you. That was yeah that was the charge at that time to then implement some of these structures in place um which then we have right um there was something else I was going to say but I think I lost it. Um, oh, the communication piece. I think it is, uh, priority number one, um, to really reach out to school age child care summer families, um, to make sure that they get that information directly sent to them, not saying from the principal, but from my team saying, "You've enrolled at some point in one of these programs for the summer.
063We would like to make you aware of these opportunities." And now that we can track those students in P school, we can directly send them with a, you know, put together the the the email or the flyer and say, "Hey, you know, here's the information." And so for me, I think that's super important. That's priority number one to make sure the families who have been in SACC get that information first. >> This program doesn't have any educational content in it, does it? >> No, it is not an academic based program. >> Right. So, but it does have some of the same people that work in the district year round in it in the summer, right? >> Well, SACC staff members are district 65 employees. Yeah. >> Yes. So, the site coordinators and the group leaders
064and then pair of professionals based on need through the IEP. >> Those are all district 65 employees. >> And I'm just curious about accessibility. um the city of Evston's programming can be harsh and unforgiving if you don't get right on it in re reserve and um just ways that we can be proactive. I also know we've got developing partnerships with the city is I mean just what strikes you as far as ensuring that folk can have accessibility um and sometimes yes there is an abundance of summer programs but they can be very cutthroat to get into some of them as well. >> Yes. I I agree. You know, uh it's just like also with um any other child care program throughout the city. They open online and it's like people are sitting there waiting to
065click, right? Um I think you know I am working with one partner for the YMCA which are doing outreach to do registration there on site as well um for a 10 week up to 10 weeks. You can pick one week, two week, three weeks also with sliding scales. So getting that information to parents. Uh I'm wondering if it would be a possibility um to also have some um at conferences that are coming up in February having some information there. We also have our we're connected with the digital backpack in Elite. So some of our families are getting information that also have funding through there that they can spend those elite dollars on summer programming as well. So um I I welcome the question. And I think I'll take that back to my team and also
066problem solve with not only the OST team but the AC we all sit on the academics team as we partner in this work and really start to dissect what that could look like for those families. >> Yeah. And I think you started off by saying that you know depending on this once the decision is made then your team will be contacting your SAC families and doing the necessary outreach uh with them. So I think that's that's really the biggest is helping people to understand the dead, you know, when the city is going to go live with with their summer programming and then really helping people to, you know, uh leverage the digital backpack and elite, you know, to to get into summer programming and, you know, the other folks who don't qualify for that to
067also be thoughtful about how to get on and get get in. But we'll try to do a lot try to do that as best we can with the SACC families. And I think you were planning to do your you and your team were planning to do that anyway. >> Yes. I also want to leverage, you know, our relationships, our our site coordinators and our group leaders that see see parents every day in the morning and afternoon and leveraging them and opportunities to have conversations as well as my team making direct contact >> and and another piece of that communication I think once the decision is made has to go to the prospective employees that have previously worked in the program so that they can also plan make the plan their plans for the summer because
068in the you know historically they've depended on that income. >> Um so I I do think communication is really important. >> Yeah. I think Yeah. I think Yeah. Oh, sorry. Go ahead. >> No, you go ahead. Um because you know when I was when my kids were in in the district is just dealing with summer camp and trying to navigate the city and then for people who need resources so that they can take advantage of these programs. I think it's really it's a challenge. So, I just I applaud your um focus on communicating with people because it's it's it's a big change and um you know, it's January 12th, but summer will be here next week. So, um it's it just takes a lot of planning for parents to get their schedules together for summer.
069And if you were employed in this capacity, those people also need to start making plans. So that's that's my focus is just to get the word out, get the information out, and help people access the information >> so that they can plan for a successful summer. >> Absolutely. Thank you for that. I have that written down. >> Thank you for that discussion. >> Okay. >> Lost my train of thought. >> Five seconds. >> No, I understand. It's >> I think you said it. We were saying the same. >> Okay. Okay. It's just yeah, summer camp is a whole another ball of wax. So, um >> February 7th for anyone who's listening is the >> city of Evston. >> The city of >> Evston. >> So, >> like next week, >> unfortunately, the summer camp guide
070is down right now. It was up earlier today when I looked at it, but it's down right now. Hopefully, it'll be up tomorrow. Um any any discussion on um [clears throat] the update on the landmark nominations? That was for Willard and Lincolnwood. I think that was >> I'm sorry. Any other questions for me? >> I'm sorry. >> It's okay. I could stand here if you need me to. >> Thank you. >> Okay. You're welcome. >> Thank you. >> Of course. Um, I just want to be clear that the memo, the title on the agenda says landmarks for Willard and Kingsley, but the memo says Willard and Lincolnwood. I just want to be clear. >> Yeah. Okay. Yeah. >> You did. I'm try I'm trying. >> I'm trying. I'm trying to use my whole brain. Okay.
071Well, with no further business, I move that the board adjourn the meeting at 6:04 p.m. All in favor say I. >> I. >> Thank you. Can I ask you a question? Thank you so much.