[5/5/25] D65 - Committee of the Whole Meeting

001like you want. No, it's fine. That is an interesting question. Can we keep our name tags? [Applause] these. Yeah, ours is on the outside still. You can if we don't I'm not going to like go up and grab it on my way out, but I might for Everybody I got an email from everybody or just to me. Good evening everybody. Welcome to the committee of the whole. Going to ask Adila to please do the roll call. Today is Monday, May 5th. Um, the time is 4:31 p.m. Roll call. Kim here. Hail here. Wilkins. Lindsay Ryan here. Sue here. Salem here. Hernandez here. Okay, we don't need it. Uh, the next item up on your agenda is the land acknowledgement. We take time to acknowledge that the land we meet on is the traditional homelands of

002the council of three fires, the Paraadame, Ojiway, and Odawa. This land also served as an important meeting place for Miami, Ho Chunk, the Manami, Inoka, Sack, Fox, Fiora, Arapjo, Cheyen, and other tribal nations. This land has long been a center for indigenous people to gather, trade, and maintain kinship ties. Located at the intersection of several great waterways, the region has become the site of travel and prosperity. We acknowledge Evston and John Evans are tied to the massacre of the Arapjo and Cheyenne for railroads and westward expansion upon which John Evans developed his wealth and founded Evston. This land was violently taken under settler colonialism through genocide and open warfare. And the region that is now Illinois and Chicago land is still home to thousands of native people who are actively struggling for sovereignty, self-determination, and

003justice. The genocidal acts of settler colonialism extended to peoples of Africa and their enslaved descendants. Despite Illinois eventually prohibiting slavery, slavery was an accepted practice before and after statehood, the vestigages of slavery remained throughout the United States and directly affect the descendants of enslaved peoples, rich and heterogeneous communities who help define the African diaspora. Genocidal patterns of violence against peoples of African descent and indigenous people have been replicated to exclude and harm people from many intersecting marginalized identities in the United States. religious, minoritized, disabled, and LGBTQ identified peoples, black and indigenous people of color, and people of color at large. These patterns demonstrate that the pursuit to end state sanctioned violence against BIPAC is a daily struggle for liberation from continued social, political, and economic anti-black racism and oppression. Today, we acknowledge that we are

004living, breathing, loving, grieving, laughing, and sharing space on unseated territory. May we learn to honor the historical and contemporary presence and power of the people and the belief that we must be caretakers of the lands and waters for the livelihood of future generations. We encourage everyone to continue to expand their knowledge and reduce their harm through awareness of local mutual aid models for survival and through engagement with online and local resources such as the Chicago American Indian Community Collaborative and the Shorefoot Legacy Center. With that, we we have some statements uh and we'll approve the agenda. I don't I think it's not on the agenda. It's not later. Did you want to do it later? Okay, great. So, the next item up is a meeting. I move that the board approve today's meeting agenda as

005presented. Second. Kim, yes. Hail, yes. Wilkins, yes. Lindsay Ryan, yes. Sue, yes. Salem, yes. Hernandez, yes. The next item up is public comments. Members of the public are welcome and invited to address the board during open public meetings. Speakers are discouraged from using the public comment 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. Also note that it is not customary for the board to respond to public comments. The best way to correspond with members of the board

006is by emailing schoolboard district 65.net. And with that deal, do we have any public comments? Yes. Um the first speaker signed up is Terry Shepard. Good afternoon. used to say good evening, but the meeting starts so darn early. It's afternoon now. So, good afternoon. My name is Terry Shepard. I've been a resident of Everson since 1979, and I was and continue to be an advocate for the African-American children in district 65, especially those students enrolled in the African centered curriculum studies at Oakton Elementary School. The ACC program has been located at Oakton for 21 years. Many parents and unfortunately educators don't understand the importance of this curriculum. At the core of African centered education lies a profound commitment to celebrating the rich heritage, history, and culture of African and African-American communities. This educational philosophy recognizes

007that traditional curricula often fail to represent the experiences and contributions of black individuals. African- centered education seeks to rectify this omission by infusing the curriculum with content that is not only relevant but also empowering for black students. I recently attended an ACC parents meeting where they were asked to share the AC what ACC meant to them and their children. comments were community, confidence, self assurance. They see themselves as a holistic education, black identity and excellence, love of self and culture, honesty and being true to oneself, pride, presence, and enrichment. I was hardly encouraged to hear these comments as these were my and others hopes as to what students would gain from the program. I ask you, what parent wouldn't want to share these same sentiments about their children's educational experience? In another district 65 meeting

008I attended, the math and English scores of children participating in the ACC program were compared to students across the district. In many instances, these students scored equal to or better than their peers. Evidence that this program should be shared with students at other district 65 schools. Foster School, which will soon in 2006 2026 reopen to students in the fifth ward. Uh many students now middle-aged have expressed their desires to see the school recreated for the students who will be attending Foster. It was the African-American community who suffered the loss of this school for more than 60 years. These adults believe that Foster School was their school, and for many, the loss is still painful. I encourage you to see the documentary Stolen School: What Disgregation Took and One Black Community's 60-year fight to get it

009back. In addition, the Amplifying Black Voices survey indicated that African-American parents wanted a STEM program and the continuence of the ACC. STEM has yet to be created, but still believed to be a program that would greatly enhance the education of D65 students. However, the ACC is currently in existence and as stated above is in its 21st year. There should be curriculum available to future African-American foster school students, placing them at the center of all programming. I am hopeful that you will continue to see the ACC as a viable option for incoming foster students. I've heard the buzzer, but I want to say to you outgoing board members, thank you for your service. I know at times it didn't appear that we appreciated you, but we did. I've sat there. I know what it takes. Many

010of you have stayed there a lot longer than I did. I gave up after four years. So, thank you very much for your service. To the incoming board, I hope your service meets all your expectations and good luck to you. Next, we have Dan Coin. board president, uh, Dr. Turner, board members, administrators, and staff. I'm Dan Coin, wearing different hats, but all my hats. I'm a neighbor from Monroe Street, a Menanite from Reeba Place Church, a board member of Reeba Development Corporation, um, and also a district 65 school social worker. in all my circles and the people that I connect with, we want to say thank you for your service. And that's what I wanted to say today. This is a difficult job that you've been sitting in and enduring thousands of meetings and conversations.

011But I want you to know as a uh as your neighbor and as a parent and as a school social worker, it makes a difference to our kiddos. You have made a difference. Thank you. [Applause] And then we have Dr. Baker. Oops. Good evening, Dr. Turner Council Evson community deck members. My name is Dr. Baker. I am currently serving as the deck president and this is probably my last speech before you as deck president. So as I when I began my role two years ago, I found a quote that said people who can say cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it. As I reflect on my two years in this role, it has certainly been a learning experience to say the least. the problem solving, the collaboration, the bringing the forefront

012of issues and concerns that weigh on the hearts and minds of our educators. I've been blessed with the opportunity to support educators across the district. I've enjoyed the challenges that have come along with sitting in this seat. All the issues I've experienced I will take with me wherever I go and wherever I do. As I step down from this role, I want to express my deep gratitude for the opportunity to serve in this role with such committed and compassionate educators and members of the de of the district leadership team, the board members as well. I've been blessed to have opportunity to meet with you on a regular basis just to connect and to collaborate to share thoughts of members that I've worked with over the over the two years. Um, it's been an honor to

013advocate for our collective voice, which is our students, and to stand in solidarity during both challenges and the victories, and to witness the strength that unity does bring. Leadership is never a solo act. It's the result of many hands, hearts, and minds working together. And I am proud of the work that we've done and the progress we've made and the integrity we've upheld. Thank you for your trust and collaboration and that your unwavering commitment to this work. And though my role was challenging, my support of this union and our members remain steadfast and I leave my position with confidence the foundation that has been built will continue to be strong and solidified under the new leadership. Finally, congratulations to the new members of the school board as you're welcoming in. uh your willingness to serve

014our students and families and educators is both commendable and deeply appreciated. As I as you step into this role and know that your leadership matters, the decisions you will make shape the future of our schools and impacts lives in lasting ways. May you lead with integrity, transparency, and a deep commitment to equity and excellence. And with respect and solidarity, that's my speech. [Applause] That concludes the public comments for tonight. Thank you, Adila. Thank you, public commenters. Next up is our finance finance personnel and building and grounds. Joy, take it away. All right, so our first item is the approval of policy 4.70, the resource conservation policy. Um, so we'll do a motion and then any discussion or questions. I move that the board of education adopt the recommended amendments to policy 4.70 resource conservation policy.

015Second. So this is if I understand the reading this is just updating the policy so that the language matches with the sustainability plan that was presented at our last meeting. Yes, that is correct. It directly references the sustainability plan that we have developed and reviewed last meeting. Great. Any other questions? Okay, I'll take the vote. Kim, yes. Hail, yes. Wilkins, yes. Lindsay Ryan, yes. Sue, yes. Salem, yes. Hernandez, yes. Motion passes 70. Item B, we have a SAP 3 update. Do we have a I'll help drive as soon as I find the clicker. And this All right. Today's Mon Monday. Happy Monday. Wow. It's Monday and I don't even remember the day. Um, so for our SAP 3 update, we've been making some amazing headway. We have had 11 meetings so far with our foster

016uh transition committee. Thank you. And a lot of the work that we've started to do has really shifted down into three core subcommittee groups that we've been looking at. The analogy that we've used for this committee is thinking about right now we have the physical walls of Foster being built. This committee is building the community walls of Foster. We know that we're bringing students from Bessie Roads. We know that we're bringing students from seven other um schools. So, as that is starting to take place, how do we make sure that everybody gets connected and rooted together so that they know each other as they're walking into the school? So the three core subcommittees that we have formed um in this group, one focuses on student and family belonging. The other focuses on equity and historical

017legacy and the third group focuses on the resources partners and subprogramming uh committee with this work. Um the subcommittee also this committee also helped to look at how we can uh do the survey for foster school principles. So they were a part of the team that reviewed that prior to it being used to help formulate our profile for a foster principal. We are excited that we have narrowed it down to a candidate who will be coming forth to the board on May 19th. So as we've been working in the subcommittees, um, one thing that really came to light is how many of our families know that they are future foster families. And so we thought it would be very important for us to start getting the word out into the community even more so that

018families know what their different enrollment options are. Are they able to grandfather in uh at their current school? When will they be able to opt into foster? What are their different options if they have incoming younger children? So we have three meetings upcoming uh in May. The first one is on May 14th. It'll be specifically for our Bessie Rhodess families. And this meeting will give them an opportunity one to see the progress that's been made so far on the school, the principal update, but then also thinking about what's your pathway. When you think of all the different scenarios that can play out for our families, it'll allow them to identify what their um potential choice would be. So on the 14th, we have the future um the meeting for the Bessie Rose families. On the

01915th, we have the meeting for the other future foster families that will take place at Fleetwood. And then on the 20th, we have a Zoom meeting for anyone who wasn't able to make it to either of the previous two. This is a layout of what families will be able to kind of work through. So, if I am a family who currently has a kindergartener through a fourth grader in school this year and I live in the foster boundary lines and then they can work their way through to see what their different scenario is. when they click on the link description, it'll do a print out for them so that they'll know exactly what their options are. If I am a Bessie Rose student and I choose foster and then I click on that last link,

020then it'll take me to what my options will be for the 2627 school year as a future foster student. If I do not live in the Bessie, if I am a um Bessie Ro student who is a nonfoster student and I follow that over and click on that link, it'll show me where I'm going. At the very bottom, we also have the map there where if you click on that link, families can type in their address and they'll be able to see if they are in the foster boundary lines or not. So, it's just a nice little tool and resource for our families to use to know what their different options are as we prepare for the opening of foster school. We thought this would be really important to do as we're preparing to bring

021in the principal so that any coming families once that principal comes on board, we'll be able to really start the work of building that community and knowing who our families are that'll be walking into the school. We're excited to announce that we are also planning from this um team our first big gathering which is our future foster family block party. that'll be taking place on Saturday, June the 14th from 12 to 3. We noted that that is the day before Father's Day, but we were competing with a lot of days in June. So, this was as good as we could get. We have 12 to three at Twigs Park. And it's an opportunity for our families to meet the principal, to get to know each other, and to start doing some of those um key

022team building pieces. And even walking in their dual identity is something we're calling the dual citizenship. So, if I'm a Lincolnwood slash um foster family, being able to have some Lincolnwood foster swag, things of that nature, so our students and families can start to build their identity. Any questions? No, it's it's exciting that that again that you're meeting with community and centering community throughout this whole process um and uh ensuring that families are going to be transitioning as best as possible uh humanizing this approach. So really appreciate the work that you and your team are doing uh with STRP3. Thank you. Have we worked with the city to make sure that there's no other events at Twigs Park that day? Yes, we have the date reserved. We worked with the city. We worked with um

023Fleetwood and other community members just to make sure we weren't conflicting with any other big dates or activities. Thank you. Thank you. Our next agenda item is uh item C, the foster school update. And I think there's going to be an update and then we have an approval of a bid package as well. Good evening board um and community. Uh so for our May May Foster Board update, thank you Adila. Well done. Um just a quick update and kind of our standard format talking about the project and where we're at. Uh look at the schedule, look at the budget, and then any outstanding items. And today we're looking at specifically approval bid group number four. Uh that's a recent photo from the sky and you can see that is the roof framing for the kitchen,

024the cafeteria and then the large uh gym next door. So all along the side of Ashlin Street. You can see that the framing is going in um there. So current current work is a lot of steel work and they're putting in the columns and the framing for the roofing. Uh the top picture you can see the framing down the hallway leading down the classroom corridor and separating the first and second floors. Uh the right picture is actually the ceiling and the decking for the kitchen. Um this week starting tomorrow I believe they're going to be building storm trap number two. That's storm trap number one, but it gives you a sense again uh of the of the magnitude of what they put underground to address uh water runoff around the building. Uh and that's a

025state and city requirement specifically because we're create we're putting a building on where there was a field. We have to make up for it in terms of the impervious uh runoff uh impervious surface that we're putting um to make sure that we're not adding to the problem but we're contributing to the solution. Um we'll also be putting in a storm and sanitary connection to the street along Ashland right outside the entrance to the construction and that'll happen in midday. And then lastly, they're doing a a lot of work on digging trenches where all the piping is going for the underground plumbing and electric. So, um that's currently happening right now. Uh at the end of this month, they'll be putting in the actual slabs. So, they'll be covering it all over with concrete on the

026first floor and then concrete will also be going on the second floor, second floor or ground floor, and then the floor between the first and second floors. That's what we're looking for in May. Uh in terms of schedule, we as I talked about, we're we finalizing the um bid group number four today, which is the flooring and kitchen equipment. Uh we are ahead of schedule, but um ahead of schedule just now because we know that um that's tenuous, but working hard to keep and stay ahead of schedule, and things are looking currently uh good. Um, again, the final goal is to be in the building ready to go all set by mid July of 2026. Uh, just a budget update because we do have budget updated budget numbers with bid group number four. Um, as

027you remember in December and January, bid group number three came in almost $4 million under budget. When that happened, it changed a little bit of the perspective of our project because up until then we were all about meeting budget and being worried that we weren't going to make budget. Um, so when that when we came in $4 million almost $4 million in the under budget, it gave us pause and said, is there anything that we took out that maybe we should reconsider and the critical point that we could do at that point that wasn't contractually um negotiated yet in terms of bid was our flooring. So we went back to we went back and we increased the flooring budget. Um and basically what that what we meant took out is we took out vinyl flooring

028and we replaced with porcelain tile stone flooring and that is high high quality. It's long-term almost forever. It's low low maintenance uh and just it's just a good investment for the building. It's money that we could have and it's a long-term investment that makes a lot of sense. Um, and that will we'll still have vinyl uh high quality vinyl flooring in the classrooms, but in the all the hallways and some of the specialty rooms and in the uh cafeteria and in the the atrium will have um porcelain tile. So, we went back and made that major upgrade and that's the difference between the budget in uh the original budget of 1.3 million um now at 1.9 million for the kitchen and flooring equipment. Um the other part of the budget that's changed is what Cordon

029Park likes to do is just say, "Hey, when we're looking at the next bid group, bid group number five, we we should go a little conservative and we should add to the budget to make sure that we're make sure that it's flexible there." They also did talk and go through a couple items that could be affected by tariffs in that in that um bid group. um specifically around the playground, specifically around we're we're going to be buying a lot of AV equipment and AV equipment is especially uh under tariff threat because of uh all the electronics related to it from China. So um that's just a contingency uh and it's a very very high estimate for the budget, but we put that in there as well. Um nonetheless, we still have almost $4.6 6 million

030in allowances and contingencies on the on the hard cost side and we have almost a million dollars owner contingencies. So, as Cordon Clark says in their memo to you about bid group number four, we're 5 million plus in contingency and looking strong uh budgetarily overall for the project and our overall budget is still at the same number of 48.479 48 48 million479. Got it. Uh and then lastly, uh we're looking for you to vote on the the bid group four. As a summary, those are the two vendors that have been selected or the low biders. Uh the allowances um are usually around 10%. Um and the total contract came in just over $2 million for the two of them. Any questions? Um, in terms of the positive on the budget, um, in the plan a

031while ago, the amount of money that was estimated for furnishing the building was not included in these bid packages. And correct me, was that around $6 million? No. Um, to furnish the I'm I'm just seeing if you look if you look Joey, if you look at uh kind of middle of the yellow tab part of the table, FFN. Yeah, that's furniture. Okay. So, it's budgeted and we put a high budget on 980. We've been working on the furniture budget for the last six weeks. Uh, working through um several vendors to get bids going through a co-op process through the state of Illinois. Our initial our initial numbers for that are in the low 600s. So, um, and that is pre-tariff. We're all getting pre-tariff pricing. As long as we approve those bides by June, we'll

032we'll we'll uh avoid the tariffs that they're expecting. And we also expect to come in quite under budget from what we have listed there. That's great news. Part of that 982 is that we are not buying new furniture for any adult purposes. So, offices uh and uh administrative spaces, etc. Um we know we're going to have a plethora of of furniture available in the district when foster school opens. So, we will be reusing adult related furniture but looking to buy new uh student facing furniture. Okay. Thank you. Any other just had a quick question about the AV equipment. Is there any opportunity to purchase those ahead of schedule so that you can buy them before the tariffs? Yeah, we t I we were talking about just that issue today. Okay. And if I go back

033to the schedule, um you'll see in in bid group five is where AV is going is going to be in in and that is at October, but we're actually looking to push that up into June. Okay. Um I'm not sure we can avoid that. But the scope and the scale of that is is looking at that. And we do have we are also looking to reuse all the AV equipment we can in the district and reposition it, repurpose it for foster, but there will be some Yeah. that will need to be purchased. Thank you. Any other questions? Thank you. So, without Thank you, everybody. So, we'll move on to the uh motion for the bid package. I move that the board approve and accept bid package number four for flooring and kitchen equipment contracts for

034the Foster Elementary School for a total of 2 million87,963 as outlined in the memo from Corgan Clark dated April 29th, 2025. Second. I'm sorry, who seconded? Kemp, yes. Hail, yes. Wilkins, yes. Lindsay Ryan, yes. Sue, yes. Salem, yes. Hernandez. Yes. Motion passes 70. Thank you. Our next item is item D, the STRP update. Good evening everyone. Um, I have just a brief update that I would like to go over this evening. Um, since we Thank you, Melissa. Uh, since we had Dr. Harkin out last month to do a presentation. So, just a quick agenda, we'll revisit our Y for SDRP phase 3. Also review the SDRP ecosystem, update on stakeholder engagement, review our subcommittee meeting schedule. We'll discuss each subcommittee's purpose, review the SDRP timeline, and then share some very high level highlights of our

035discussions to date. So, as we're considering the need for uh school consolidations or closures, the three biggest areas of concern there are pictured on this slide. Uh so, our uh as far as financial stability, we need to ensure the financial long-term financial stability of the district. As far as our facilities, we're in need to chart a course or financial pathway to address buildings in need of significant repairs and renovations. And then as far as our student enrollment, we need to better align our footprint with our student population as we continue to experience declining enrollment for the next several years. Uh this information was presented during our committee meetings as well as during the first steering committee meeting that we had to ground our work and pictured here on the slide again is our finance perspective,

036facilities perspective and then students perspective. So from a finance perspective, we know that we need to address the structural deficit that's been in place and existed in the district for quite some time. uh going back to referendum times 2017, the expectation at that time was that the district would be able to get through this fiscal year through FY25 without deficit spending. But what wasn't known at that time was the fact that there would be a pandemic that would kind of derail all of that and all of the difficulties and challenges associated with that pandemic. From a facility standpoint, we have 18 buildings, all but one being in poor or very poor condition. um and we need to have a financial pathway to improve or renov renovate those buildings. And then lastly, from a student enrollment

037perspective, we have been experiencing declining enrollment and are projected to continue to experience that declining enrollment through the 203435 school year. Um that the rate of decline will slow, but the student enrollment will continue to decline until that point. And so that we are in phase three of the SDRP at this point again to better align our student population with our physical footprint. And I will pass it over to Melissa for the next couple of slides. Thank you Tamara. So we showed this visual at all of our community engagement uh sessions that we held earlier, well now last month, but this is really just a visual on our communal approach to phase three. Um we've received a lot of questions about how stakeholder staff will be involved in the process. So um what we show

038here is our three SDRP committees, our finance, facilities, and student programming committees. There was an open application process that was for all staff and all community members to participate. There's about 15 uh committee members across each of the three committees. Um I believe there's been two meetings held thus far. The next one is later this week, but these are really the groups that are going to be working to put scenarios and recommendations together in each of these areas. Additionally, Dr. Turner hosts a superintendent parent caregiver advisory council on a monthly basis through this school year and will continue to do so next year. That's really meant to serve as a check and balance to these committees because we know representation is important and we can't we don't have all school communities represented on each of

039the committees. Um and so really it's just information sharing back and forth. A lot of the same work is happening. Information is being shared across these groups and the steering committee is really representative of all three of those committees coming together. We know that the work is largely interconnected and so it's really important that that information and scenarios are being checked across those committees for feasibility. And additionally the board of education is ultimately those responsible for any decision making related to school closures and consolidations. So while they sort of sit at the top of this circle, ultimately it's all rooted in stakeholder voice. Um and Tamara, if you want to go to this next slide here. Um so we held a series of stakeholder engagement sessions um over the course of April. This is really

040just a stop in the series. We anticipate a lot of engagement around each of the key milestones in the process. Um so we held five different um sessions, two for staff, three for community members. Additionally, uh, Superintendent Dr. Turner held two community coffees that were held um last month as well, and we offered an online survey knowing that not everybody can come out to all the in-person sessions, but to still give that feedback. Ultimately, we were looking for stakeholder feedback on criteria. So, if we were to close schools or need to consolidate schools, what criteria should the district be considering in these committees? Um, additionally, we asked for creative solutions, um, which is really an opportunity to brainstorm around what can we do as an alternative to closing schools or knowing that 10 to 15

041million are necessary, what can we do in addition to that. Um, so I'm not going to go through each of um, the responses, but you can see we had about 260 participants in person and 140 who um, submitted it online and a lot of ideas to go through. Um, those are not necessarily unique ideas. Those are ideas that could have bubbled up multiple times. Um, but we're engaging our partners at Northwestern who are working to complete the analysis right now. Ultimately, it will be used by our committees um to review and inform their scenarios and will be publicly available and shared with the board um online and ultimately the sessions were wellreceived. We received about 70 exit survey um responses on on what was held. All right, thanks Melissa. Um this slide is a schedule

042our meeting schedule for subcommittee. So we began the meetings back on April 9th. So so far we've had two to date. Um and we have our third meeting scheduled for just a couple days from now on Wednesday. Those first few meetings were scheduled for an hour and a half. And just about every committee member when we surveyed them uh made reference to the fact that they didn't think that was enough time. So we'll be talking about uh discussing with the committee members moving forward for the May 21st meeting and beyond having those meetings be two hours so the committee members have enough time to discuss uh and we have enough time to share out as administration as well and provide them with the information they need uh to inform the decisions and the recommendations that

043they're going to be making. So those meetings go through June 18th. We are scheduled to have a presentation to the board on June 23rd. That presentation on June 23rd will be uh criteria that the committees are recommending for school closure or consolidation. We'll be on a break for the month of July. As far as the committee meetings, the internal team administration will be working during the month of July continuing to gather information continuing to plan and then we'll be back on with our committee meetings in August. Those committee meetings in August may or may not be on a bi-weekly schedule. Each committee at that point, each subcommittee at that point will be able to determine if that frequency of meeting is needed. Um, one group may need to meet more frequently than another, but for

044these first few meetings that are happening this spring, we want everybody to be on that same bi-weekly schedule, revisiting each subcommittee's purpose. So we have our finance facilities and program subcommittee. So essentially the finance subcommittee the purpose is to assess the feasibility of proposed options and creative ideas based on available funding. This will involve assessing the district's current financial position as well as gaining an understanding of various financial levers for consideration for facilities. That subcommittee will be providing feedback on criteria for school closure or consolidation. And then our program subcommittee will be assessing current programs and providing feedback on optimal location of those programs. So again, all of those subcommittees are working together to come up with the uh criteria to be presented to the board. This is our SDRP phase three timeline. So, right

045now we are at step three on this timeline. Um, and I'm going to look at my screen because that looks very small up there. So, this timeline extends through June of 2026 and assumes that the board will vote on proposed scenarios in November 2025. So, again, we're on step three right now. Um, that will go through the end of June. Again, ending with that presentation on June 23rd to the board. Um as we move into July and August, we will begin modeling uh with those criteria that are presented in June and again those committee meetings resuming in August. Um and then we will um with the the board potential board vote or possible board vote in November from that point move forward with any legal proceedings that need to happen December and forward and then

046uh planning as far as any buildings that would be closed or consolidated as well. And just a brief subcommittee recap of what the each group has talked about so far. So again, we've only had two meetings. Um, but I know in my room it was very rich discussion. Um, and in addition to the discussion that we've had in the meetings, we have a shared Google drive where there's a lot of information for each subcommittee presented in those folders as well that committee members can access. So for finance, the first meeting was really all about school finance 101. So level setting with everyone, getting a shared understanding of school finance terms, uh understanding our revenue sources, how we spend our money, understanding of fund accounting and how it's different than typical corporate or private sector accounting,

047and then revisiting the why for why we're even having these conversations. getting an understanding of what a structural deficit really is, how long the struct structural deficit has existed in the district and uh really getting an understanding of how those expenditure growth rates have outpaced the revenue growth rates. The facility subcommittee uh reviewed the master facilities plan really digging into the facilities condition assessment and then also they took a deep dive into the 2024 demographic study. Um what I didn't touch on earlier that that demographic study highlighted as well aside from declining enrollment, declining birth rates. Um so that really answers some of the question of are we are the number of students available to us. Is that number declining or not? And it is declining based on those birth rates. And then the student

048program subcommittee, they covered an overview of the district's programs. And then just this most recent meeting took a deep dive into magnet programs. So again just the first two meetings very high level discussions and we'll be getting more two more in-depth discussions as we move forward through this process and then I just wanted to share how we close out our meetings. So each subcommittee closes out with this slide asking these four questions and it really does help to inform what we're doing not only as a subcommittee but how we're sharing information with each other between subcommittees. So the finance subcommittee can say we need a bit of information from the facilities subcommittee and vice versa. All of the uh things like that. So this is these are the four questions that we ask as we're

049closing out each meeting. Um and it really does help to tie everything back together. We bring everyone back into the room together at the end of the meetings so we have all three subcommittees in the same space. Um so that's a a really nice way for us to close out those meetings as well. And that's it. Any questions? Thank you. Any questions? Uh the only question I have is like uh you're taking a hiatus then the committees are coming back. Will they be the same? They'll be the same makeup. Okay. Yes. I'll say I appreciate all of the thought that's going into this and all of the opportunities to hear from community members and to get input. I really think that'll get us to the best case scenarios because we've got so much brain power

050going into this and I think that's exactly what we need. Um I just have two quick questions for clarification. So the superintendent steering committee is that meant to be ongoing? The superintendent parenting advisory council, right? Yes. Yes. Okay. So that I just wanted to just sort of point out that there there are opportunities just to continue to get feedback after this process is over. And then just to clarify, so if there are school closings or consolidations, none of that will go into effect next school year. It will be the following school year. Correct? I know there have been lots of questions about that. So, just want to make sure everyone knows next year would be more planning and making decisions and then the following year is when things will be implemented. Correct. Thank you. One

051thing I'd like to like us to make sure we're engaging some of our most vulnerable student groups, right? So, our our multilingual students, our um students with diverse learning needs, uh our folks that are in early childhood. I know we have structures, right? Our bilingual parent advisory committee is really good. Uh so it'd be great to maybe share just this presentation to kind of give an overview of how how we're um again what how the process is unfolding and as a as a means to recruit right uh some more members to these committees. Um again these are just again exist existing structures uh but again wanting wanting to make sure that we have as diverse uh input from the community as possible. So, are we still adding members to these committees or these are set?

052These committees are set at this point. Any other questions? Thank you. That was a very thorough update. Um, our final agenda item for this uh part of the meeting is item E. It's the approval of the bid for the 2025 summer asbestous abatement. I move that the board approve and accept a bid for completion of the scoped services as outlined in the accompanying memo to NES Environmental for Washington School with a cost of $87,875 and Valor Technologies for Haven School at a cost of $31,100 and Willard School at a cost of $36,400. Second. Any questions? This is the standard asbestous abatement that we do little by little. Yes. And there'll be a flooring bid that follows next meeting. That is the second half of the work. And this is in places that won't be disrupted

053by summer activities or these buildings are not hosting summer programs. So, we've closed those buildings to do this work and some additional work at these sites. Great. Thank you. I will take the vote. Kim, yes. Yes. Wilkins, yes. Lindsay Ryan, yes. Sue, yes. Salem, yes. Hernandez, yes. Motion passes 70. Before we close out the finance part of the meeting, there are a few FYIs in this agenda packet that are good for public consumption. It's a nutrition services contract with district 202, a recommended meal price increase for fiscal year 26, as well as the fiscal year uh 26 consolidated district plan for title and IDA grants. Those will be coming to the board for approval at in the future, but they are there for public consumption now in the FYI. So, next we have the curriculum

054policy committee meeting. All right. Uh let's start with the committee review document. Do folks have any questions about the document? I feel like most of the updates in that document were already presented. I agree. Exactly. I don't have any questions. Are the I had a question about the professional development. There's about $30,000 in outofstate conferences. That was all part of built into the grant. So it's grant money that was designed to be spent that way. Absolutely. Thank you. Any other questions? Okay. Uh, please note that the FYI FYI items press 118 will be reviewed and approved during the June meetings. Okay. So, the next item will be the appointment of the president prom. I move that the board of education appoint Maya Wilkins as president prom. Second. Kim, yes. Hilpern, yes. Wilkins, yes. Lindsay Ryan,

055yes. Sue, yes. Salem, yes. Hernandez, yes. All right. Okay. All right. So, um, we're going to the next item and I just want to, uh, acknowledge and give recognition of board service. So, on behalf of our district leadership team, I would like to recognize and thank our outgoing board members, Biz, Donna, Joey, Sula, and for their dedicated service. Serving on the school board is no small task. It requires time, thoughtfulness, and a deep commitment to public service. Over the past several years, this board has grappled with very complex and often difficult issues that have had a real impact on our students, our staff, and families. Through it all, they have shown courage, compassion, and a steadfast focus on what they believe is best for our children. Over the past two years, under my leadership especially,

056these individuals have laid critical groundwork for important progress in working towards financial sustainability, including approximately $20 million in budget reductions. During their combined 23 years of service, they have also set strategic vision for equity, academic achievement, and community engagement. While there is more work left to do, we are deeply grateful for all of your service, advocacy, and the countless hours they have given on behalf of our schools. Thanks to each of you for helping to shape a stronger future for the students here in District 65. [Applause] I just have to say just before you all jump in how fortunate I feel to have had the opportunity to work with each and every one of you through the last over the last few years like for showing me the ropes and never have I had to

057question what your intent was or where your heart was in terms of serving students and trying to do what was best for our district and I just feel so fortunate to be able to have served on a board with those types of board members. So, thank you and really appreciate your service. It's not easy, but you all did well. Yes. Yes. And I wanted to jump in as well again. It's just been an honor and a pleasure to work alongside you to advance equitable access for all students and families across the school district. uh you've been doing you did this work before you were uh board members you did it during and one of our toughest times right through co co um and you I I know you will continue to do the work as

058a citizen uh because again I I know in your heart and I feel it in my heart and soul that you all really really care about ensuring that we continue to have the best outcomes for all students and families across this school district and this So again, it's not a goodbye, but it's like, hey, we'll I'll see you later. I'll see you on the streets because again, we need to during in these current times to continue this this really good work during these challenging times. So, thank you. Thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart uh for again being some incredible board colleagues and lending your resources and your time. Um and we thank your families as well because this is again they they also put up a sacrifice. Absolutely. Um we all

059know this as board members. Uh so again, thank you for all the wonderful work that you've done here and just so so proud to have served with you. I hope you all find something fun to do with your Monday evenings. Think about me while you're there. Thank you all. All right. I also have some thank yous. Thank you. Um so Dr. Turner, thank you for your passion and your Tyler's tireless efforts to put this district on a stronger footing academically, social, emotionally, financially, and ethically. Um, and your cabinet team and central office staff. I know firsthand how difficult administration can be, um, especially when you're trying to make significant organizational changes. um instructional leadership, culture and climate, special education services, technology, RAD, HR, finance, uh communications, buildings and grounds, nutrition services, sustainability, professional development, special

060projects like foster school and SAP and STP, summer learning, transportation and safety, and much more. I hope I didn't leave anyone out, but all those are critical um to the working of this district. Um educators and support staff and building leaders who are the ones engaging with our children every day in the schools. Thank you for your tireless work. Um Adila Keshi, board secretary extraordinaire. Uh we couldn't have done it without you. Uh fellow board members, I have tremendous respect for every one of you and the different lenses and expertise you bring to this work. Um it was I I leaned on all of you on your different experience and um and um yeah and deep knowledge and care. Um of course I want to thank my family. Um, I thank my two children who

061were 11 and eight when I started and are now 16 and 13, both teenagers. And it turns out teenagers are not less work. So, this is a really good time for me to up. Um, I missed many family dinners and story times and at least one orchestra concert and they took it all in stride. And to my husband Chris, without whom none of this would have been possible, thank you for holding down the home front while also working a demanding full-time job. It's been quite the juggle and journey, and I'm deeply grateful to my lifemate for his unwavering support. I didn't think I would get that emotional about that one. Um, a friend recently asked whether I regretted being on the board. Despite the difficult years, the pandemic, the post-pandemic return to schools, the barrage

062of angry emails and threats, many with racist rhetoric and coded anti-blackness, the misrepresented budget numbers and feelings of betrayal. I guess all the years have been difficult. I don't think there was a year that wasn't difficult uh in one way or the other. Um despite all of that, um I don't regret having served. Um because despite all the resistance and heat from the community, we did also manage to do some worthwhile things. Updating the curricula, social studies, literacy, math, and science. I think we touched them all. Um to be more rigorous, inclusive, and evidence-based. Reducing the racial disproportionality in discipline, expanding social emotional supports, closing the opportunity gap in our early childhood programs, committing to sustainability goals, supporting translation services throughout the district, and expanding dual language to middle schools, and of course, returning a

063school to the fifth ward. I recently toured the building site and then the very next day got to attend a screening of stolen school which Dr. Shepard mentioned made by NU faculty and shorefront legacy center about the painful history of the closing of the original Foster School and the subsequent efforts to bring it back. And once again there was so much push back and naysaying uh in this latest effort. And even now there are people questioning why we're building this school. and I hope they'll watch the film. But I'm proud of those of us who didn't waver, who resisted calls to delay, which would surely have killed the project, and who voted to press on despite the budget setbacks. Overall, despite some disappointments and heartbreak, it's been an honor to see up close the work

064that goes on in our schools and to be able to steer the ship somewhat during some very tumultuous and uncertain years. There's a lot more work to be done and many more challenges ahead. Public education and education writ large is under threat as never before and it needs fierce defenders. So, new board members, I hope you're ready. Congratulations on your win and for stepping up into this unpaid, often thankless role. I know you campaign hard over the three short months for the opportunity to serve this community and I wish you well as you tackle the big tough decisions ahead. I hope you'll build trust with each other and with Dr. Turner and her team because that will be essential in getting things done. I think the board agreements uh is an underrated document. You will

065have access to information that the public does not and you will not always be able to share it. You will have friends and neighbors bending your ear and pleading their case. You will have local media editorializing about your decisions. Sometimes the interests of adults, even parents, will not be in line with the best interest of students. Sometimes you will have to choose among bad and worse options. But through all of your community engagement, data analysis, and deliberations, I hope you will always keep students, all students, but especially our most marginalized, at the center of your decision-making. And please be good to Adila. Don't take ever take her for granted. We would be lost without her. She is absolutely essential to the smooth functioning of the board, and her integrity and dedication are unparalleled. Good luck

066to you [Applause] all. Um, thank you to staff, educators, cabinet, uh, Adila. Yes, we could we could do a whole board statement about Adilo. Um, and thank you to my wife and kids for riding this ride with me. As Sula mentioned, it's a lot of sacrifice for the families. Um, I'm wrapping up 11 years of thinking about and trying to improve our district daily. After five years of serving as a consultant, I have spent the last six on the board. My best estimate of my board service is that it was about 3,000 hours, or if you prefer, 125 days or 18 weeks or 4 and a half months worth of time spent trying to make decisions that will serve our community for years to come. So, I hope you'll indulge me in sharing a few

067things that I have learned. We are navigating a world that wants to challenge so much of what we as a community hold dear. The level of external threat to the fundamentals of education is staggering and the threat has been weaponized to attempt to stop us from caring for our most vulnerable. We see educational institutions abandoning their values and in the process their constituents in an effort to mitigate the financial repercussions of having essential funding withdrawn only to have it withdrawn anyway. I urge our community and our next board to remain steadfast in its commitment to all our student success, to maintain an inclusive and safe environment where all students can thrive and ensure that we prepare them to be global citizens that understand the realities of power, oppression, and justice, and how to engage in

068a world around them in ways that make everyone safe, respected, valued, and included. While we may not be able to control what is happening federally, we are responsible for the ways we engage in our community and our ability to dictate what the experience is for our residents of Evston and Skoi. We have so many choices in how we navigate this external threat. And I hope that one of the strategies we choose is to have more care, consideration, and empathy for each other than we've demonstrated over the last few years. I'm shar sharing my perspective on this not because it will help any of us leaving the board. We have already found a way to survive. Um but because it's necessary for our community to change so the next board and administration can be successful. The

069level of vitriol from our community has made this job nearly impossible. The amount of people willing to volunteer countless hours for a job that is really hard and that receives constant criticism from folks that rarely have all the information is already a pretty small group. But the constant foyas that imply wrongdoing, questioning of our intelligence, character, and integrity, and claims that we don't care about kids make it completely undesirable. Nobody who doesn't care about kids gives thousands of hours of their time to do this job. Other communities are not like this. We do not have to be like this. Feedback, advocacy, and critique exist everywhere, but the level of insult, rage, and threat does not. We can have healthy conflict that solves problems without destroying everyone involved. We can do more than profess to be

070in an inclusive community. In six years on the board, most of the hardest moments are when adult feelings get centered and the grown-ups spike to have their needs taken care of at the expense of kids. And when those contentious moments happen, I've not seen a single board member make a decision because they didn't care about the outcome or its impact. I've never seen a board member try to avoid staying extra hours when there was conversation that needed to happen. And I've never seen a board member just accept that a decision would hurt the community. There is always an effort to find another way until all alternatives are exhausted and a decision is made to do the least amount of harm to the least amount of people. Because the reality is that we often aren't choosing

071between a bunch of decisions that are good for everyone. There is often a choice between what is good for one group or one school over what is good for the whole system or several unpleasant choices and we have to pick the least bad. Folks are doing their best with the information they have and they will absolutely get it wrong sometimes, but they are not operating with apathy or malice. I ask that as you find yourself frustrated that you remember that these volunteers have spouses and children that they regularly leave to come do this work. And those loved ones have to read Facebook posts and roundt articles and hear folks on the playground that demonize their loved ones and characterize them in ways so foreign to the way their families know what is true about them.

072Board members and administrators accept that some of this is part of the job. But as a community, we should not want our board or our administrators to constantly be demeaned and insulted. We should want our leaders held accountable and push to give their best and to thoughtfully consider the impact of all of their decisions. But we can do that without injury and harm and expense to their well-being. One of my greatest learnings from this job is understanding that what I read on Facebook or what I hear folks talking about is one part of the equation. That there is always more information and perspective that I may not have access to. and assuming that one's one person's perspective is the entire story is dangerous. By all means, ask questions and share concerns. But if we can

073do that while still believing that the people who disagree with us on approach or decisions are still still worthy of respectful engagement, it would go a long way for the discourse as a community. The way our community operates is not up to someone else. Each of us has the power to engage in ways that positively contribute to our community and build relationships and partnerships that bring us together and allow us to collaborate to solve the big problems of our community and our world. After all these years, I remain an optimist and have a great deal of hope for our district. My sincerest hope is that while this next chapter will have challenges that we are able to harness our immense resources and talents to build a better, more inclusive, more affordable, more just Evston and

074Skoi that other SCO communities can benchmark and emulate. Thank you for the opportunity to serve this district. I hope this next chapter sees our students realizing their full potential and surpassing their dreams, surrounded by adults that see them and support them every step of their journey. Thank [Applause] you. Okay. Well, I I think this is the transition moment. This is a bittersweet moment where we say goodbye. [Applause] Heat. Heat. You guys done? Yeah, we could do it. Yeah. Can we do it? Clear than scripted. [Applause] I'll be there more. Okay. All right. Okay. [Applause] [Music] That was me. Okay. Although I guess not in my Oh, okay. Okay. We are now going to welcome our new board members. Based upon official 2025 consolidated election results from the Cook County Clerk's Office, the following individuals secured

075a seat to the Evston Ski School District 65 Board of Education. Patricia Anderson [Applause] [Music] Nicole Pinker. [Applause] Maria [Applause] Dyke and Andrew Wymer. Okay. They have been elected to a four-year term commencing today until the 2025 consolidated election. Welcome new board members. [Applause] That's good. Okay. Yeah. I'll do a picture. Okay. All right. Is everyone ready to take your oath? I think you are. Okay. With that, um, we can start. So, I say your name. swear that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of member of the board of education of Epsoni school district 65 in accordance with the constitution of the United States the constitution of the state of Illinois and the laws of the state of Illinois to the best of my ability I further swear that I shall respect

076taxpayer By serving as a faithful protector of the school district assets, I shall encourage and respect the free expression of opinion by my fellow board members and others who seek a hearing before the board while respecting the privacy of students and employees. I shall recognize that a board member has no legal authority as an individual and that decisions can be made by a majority vote at a public board meeting. And I shall abide by majority decisions of the board while retaining the right to seek changes in such decisions through constructive channels. Congratulations. You got one picture with the newborn. [Applause] Okay. Yeah. camera. [Applause] Okay. Okay. Congratulations. Thank you. I got to figure out where you get that. Oh, great. Thank you, Maria. We are meant to always be sitting. I'm an O and you're

077a P. It's more than that. It's just a blessing. Take your time. Just completed that. Oh, sorry. Never mind. Unless she's like [Applause] Shall I do roll call? Uh, yeah. Okay. I think it's time. Yeah. So, I will take roll call of the new board. Wilkins here. Salem here. Hernandez here. Anderson here. Stinker here. Oakdike here. Wymer here. Okay, with that we will move to our first order of business um for a new board members and returning board members. Adoption of the ISSB recommended code of conduct for members of the school board. So I move that the board of education adopts the IASB recommended code of conduct for members of the school board. Second. Second. Wilkins. Yes. Salem. Yes. Hernandez. Yes. Anderson. Yes. Pinker. Yes. Optek. Yes. Wymer. Yes. Motion passes 70. Okay. So, we

078will now move to the election of president. Um, and Omar Salem and Sergio Hernandez have submitted a letter of interest in serving as the president of the district 65 school board. Are there any other nominations including self-nominations for this position? All right. So, do they read their statements? All right. So I'm going to read a quick statement. So I want to express my sincere interest to serve once again as president of the Evston Koki school district 65 school board. With nearly nine years of experience as a board member, two of them in the role of president, I remain deeply committed to the collective work required to advance our district's mission and meet the moment of opportunity and change. As we enter a new board term, we welcome fresh perspectives and renewed energy. The values and

079priorities brought forward during this recent election reflect the concerns and hopes of our community. Enhancing educational equity, fostering meaningful community partnerships, ensuring fiscal responsibility and transparency, and strengthening student belonging and academic excellence. I want to directly acknowledge that the past two years have presented some significant challenges, some of which I I could have navigated better. Communication, both within our board and with the broader community, has not always met the standard our constituents deserve. I take full ownership of this and it is not fair to expect new board members to carry the weight of these complexities without clear leadership and structure. I commit to making improved communication a top priority moving forward. These goals can and must be realized through the systems and structures we have at our disposal. Our structural deficit reduction planning process will

080continue to provide a forum for transparent equity centered financial decision-making through our finance and buildings and grounds committee. We will examine resource allocation and bu and facilities planning to ensure long-term sustainability without compromising our core. Our policy and curriculum committee can serve as a driver for aligning instructional practices with culturally responsive pedigogy and inclusive policy while also supporting educator voice and leadership. Our city school liazison meetings as well as the 2026 meetings offer us opportunities to build cross- sector partnerships that strengthen wraparound supports and deepen our alignment with community initiatives. Additionally, we must continue lifting the family the voices of families and students through our PTAs, bilingual parent advisory committee, the caregiver coun caregiver council for diverse learners and headstart parent policy committee. These bodies offers direct insight into the lived experiences and aspirations of

081our stakeholders and will be essential in grounding our work in authentic community centered engagement. I seek to make sure the strengths of each board member are tapped and that all members are given time and space for their voices to be heard. As a group, we will work with the superintendent and her team to design and implement a more responsive meeting structure. One that ensures all sectors of Evston receive clear, timely information and have accessible, trusted vehicles through which to engage. In this new term, I propose that upon completing SDRP, we host a board retreat to reflect the evolving needs and strengths of our our team. Should I be entrusted with the role of president, I will work in full partnership the vice president who will take on public facing spokesperson role alongside me. This model

082reflects the collaborative leadership we need during this critical stretch of the SDRP3 process as we navigate the complexities of the federal lawsuit. In a time when public education is facing increasing political pressure and ideological attacks from the current federal administration, our district must remain steadfast in our commitment to equity, inclusion, and the protection of every child's right to learn in a safe and affirming environment. Now more than ever, we must lead with courage, clarity, and purpose. I believe this next phase calls for equity centered leadership grounded in humility and transparency. I'm committed to showing up differently, working in deeper collaboration with each of you and ensuring that our decision reflect the values of the communities we serve, particularly during the moment, this moment of fiscal restructuring and legal scrutiny. Should I be entrusted to lead

083again as president, I pledge to foster a spirit of collaboration, transparency, and mutual accountability, ensuring that each board member's vision contributes to a shared roadmap for progress. Together, we can transform the challenges ahead into lasting change that benefits every student in our care. Thank you for your consideration. I'll just start by saying Sergio and I Sergio and I have talked uh we both agree we think um contested elections are a good thing. So, there's no hard feelings between us at all. Um and I'll just I didn't prepare anything, but I'll just share that um you know, I really want to kind of be this bridge here. I think, you know, having been on the board for two years, we have four new folks coming on and I really just want to kind of balance the

084way we've done things while also making sure we have some opportunity for change. I think the community has made it clear that we need some change. And so my goal is to my goal really is just to ensure that every single board member has the opportunity to be heard uh internally within our board, but also externally within the community. So that's all. Thank you to both of you. And with that, we will now take a vote to elect a board president for the duration of one year. For the vote, please indicate your choice for the position. Um, I'll start with Wilkins. Okay. Sergio Hernandez. Salem. Me. Salem. Hernandez. Hernandez. Hernandez. Anderson. Omar Salem Pinker Sergio Hernandez Hernandez Opike Omar Salem Salem Wymer Sergio Hernandez Hernandez. So the vote is four for Hernandez and three for

085Salem. The majority is for Hernandez. Thank you. All right. Congratulations. Um Our next order of business is the election of vice president. Nicole Pinkard has submitted a letter of interest in serving as the vice president of the district 65 school board. Are there any other nominations including self-nominations for this position? Did you want to read a statement or um I guess I should. Um, dear members of the community and the board, um, as we transition into a new area of leadership, district 65 faces signific significant challenges and opportunities to rebuild trust across our community. I believe that strong, strategic, and collaborative board leadership is essential to supporting the superintendent and advancing our mission of opportunity, equity, and excellence for all students. With professional experience leading cross- sector educational partnerships and a long-standing commitment to Evston's

086youth and families, I believe I can offer valuable strengths to the vice president role. I have worked close closely with district 65, our civic partners in the broader community to align efforts that expand a access to learning opportunities. Also, my background as director of the office of community education partnerships at Northwestern and my work founding the digital youth network have prepared me to help our board navigate complex civic landscapes while keeping student outcomes at the center. If elected, I am committed to supporting the board president, collaborating closely with my colleagues, strengthening partnerships across the city and ensuring that our governance works in is transparent, strategic, and communitydriven. I am familiar with the responsibilities outlined for board leadership roles and am ready to step into this position with thoughtfulness, humility, and a deep sense of purpose.

087Thank you for considering my candidacy. I look forward to continuing to serve District 65 community with care, commitment, and collaboration. Thank you, [Applause] Nicole. We will now take a vote to elect a board vice president for the duration of one year. for the vote. Please indicate your choice for the position. Yes. Okay. Um Wilkins Pinker. Thank you. Salem Pinker. Thank you. Hernandez. Nicole Pinker. Anderson. Nicole. Pinker. Pinker. Me. Pinker. Wymer. Pinker. 70 for Pinker. Congratulations. All right. Next, we will elect our secretary. I move that the board of education accept the recommendation and elect a dealer Keshi as secretary for the Evston Ski School District 65 board of education until its next reorganization meeting. Second. Okay. Wilkins, yes or no? Yes. Salem, yes. Hernandez, yes. Anderson, yes. Hanker, yes. Yes. Wymer. Yes. Motion passes 70.

088All right. So, we are now going to move um to the Oh, we can move back. Good. Okay. All right. So I think now we're moving on to the review of the 2025 2026 uh board meeting calendar draft. Uh so please review the proposed dates for the 2020 2025 20226 board meeting calendar which will be brought for board approval at the May 19th board meeting. So that is part of our shared out in our agenda. All right. So, I wanted to um as promised to the community and um to the new board as you were part of those conversations um during December and January, really wanted to come back with an update on where we are with the structural the implementation of uh phase two of our STEP as well as the organizational restructuring uh

089for the SY 2526 school year. I'mma try to use this. Uh, okay. So, I I just want to really um start with this particular slide and really just talk about, you know, with with the transition of a new board. The goal is really to be in partnership with the new board. Um, this slide is really to help the community understand the school board governance is the framework that really guides how decisions are made for our school district. Um, I'm excited to welcome all of the new board and I look forward to this continued partnership as part of our organizational structure. It's important that we instill a framework for governance and decision making and this framework that you see here is the one that is presented by the Illinois Association of School Board. And so again,

090just really want to hone in on our shared focus around establishing goals, setting policies, um the hire and evaluate school boards hire and evaluate the superintendent and then making the decision. School boards make decisions based on the input from stakeholders and from the superintendent. And you saw that presented earlier with all of the community uh stakeholder feedback that we're soliciting as well. I'll turn it over to Tamara who's going to just talk about uh revisiting the need for our phase 2 budget reductions just as a reminder for our new board. All right. So, this slide uh the graphic is both historical and a future timeline of the structural deficit reduction plan. So, the initial planning began in the spring of 2024 when $6.5 million worth of budgetary reductions were identified and those went into effect

091for this fiscal year uh FY25. The next phase then happened uh immediately after the budget was approved for this fiscal year and that is uh that phase included a hiring freeze for this fiscal year for non-essential positions an elimination of vacant positions, purchase services reductions wherever we could make those purchase services reductions without impacting our students in a negative way. And then the development of the SDRP framework was also built in the fall of uh this fiscal year as well. Phase two is the stabilization phase of SDRP that included over $13.2 million of reductions that the board approved in January of this year. So just a few months ago, there was stakeholder engagement involved in that decision-making during December and January. And all of those budgetary reductions will go into effect in just less than

092two months now for July 1st of 2025. Uh so that will be FY26. Looking forward, we are considering another 10 to$15 million in reductions that will bring the district to financial sustainability. That is phase three of the work that we are in right now. Um and that go that will go into effect July 1st of 2026. We have, as we mentioned earlier, begun the process of engaging subcommittees for finance programs and facilities to make recommendations for criteria related to school closure or consolidation. This slide is um a graphic of what our reality would have been had the board not voted to uh implement those phase 2 reductions moving forward into FY26. So that FY25 number there, that is a budgeted deficit for this fiscal year. Had the board not taken any action uh as far

093as SDRP phase 2, then that FY26 budgetary number was forecast to be at a deficit of over $16 million. But with those budgetary reductions, um we are we're building out the FY26 budget at this point. There's still a small deficit that we're projecting right now, but it will be nowhere near $16 million. That was forecast as our reality had those cuts not been implemented. All right. So, I'm going to go into the next this this is really uh phase two, the staffing impact and what the organizational restructuring is going to look like. And so, I just want to want to uh really go into a little bit of detail around this. So, as a reminder, uh, a focus for our SDRP phase 2 reductions really, you know, this was presented in January, and the focus

094really was to make sure that the reductions that happened in phase 2 had minimal impact on students. Um, we tried to minimize the impact of staff that directly support students. Uh we tried as best we could to minimize racial inequities and and really with the focus on key areas identified by the administration and approved by the board. And again, these decisions all were approved which landed us at $13.2 million in reductions to go into effect in into effect for this upcoming school year. So this particular slide here as you may recall approve the approved plan included the reduction of 26 central office FTEES and so this is where we landed on essentially with with what was agreed. So you'll notice or if you can remember back the original number of reductions was really 73 FTEES

095but we were really able to get to a reduction of 91 FTEES. The biggest thing I want to really call out is originally central office administration we had 26 reductions there. We landed on 25 and that is simply because we added a payroll position to support the needs of this team. It was it's a critical function. We had some transition um earlier part like right after we approved the reductions in February. And so it was important that as a as a part of responding to those changes, we had to consider um some pos keeping some positions in the payroll department. In some cases, we reduce higher cost positions achieving the same or greater savings with fewer FTE reductions. Um our goal really is to continue to monitor and evaluate especially in phase three of the

096plan. But we will as always remain committed to our fiscal responsibility, transparency, and long-term sustainability. So really want to call out um what the estimated savings were uh with the actual position redu reductions. This particular slide here just talks really looks at all of the positions that were closed which includes a combination of retirements, resignations, and honorable dismissals. And so this is where, you know, the mystery we've we've gotten the foyers and all the things from folks. As I said before, we do things in decency and in order and we bring a level of humanization to this work. These are the positions that were impacted. we say we would come back later and communicate that out. These are the the the positions that were actually impacted. So this particular slide and this particular slide shows

097that essentially we estimated 26, but we really had a total of 32 position closures uh in our central office administration um area. And so just really want to call out these particular positions as the actual positions that were actually closed. In addition to closing positions, we still have to be thoughtful about the maintaining of our teaching and learning and some of our other specialty programs. And so these positions were re-imagined. The primary goal in restructuring this was to create the efficiencies by combining responsibilities and building systems for increased productivity that aligned to our current strategic goals and priorities. These were newly created positions that were absorbed responsibilities from some of those position closures to ensure continuity of the important work. And so we are increasing support to provide greater service to our schools in support

098of students with disabilities. and we and receive individualized education services. So I just want to really really highlight here um the re-imagine roles uh that we have to take into consideration to make sure that we sustain our teaching and learning and uh some other areas that are of focus for us here in the district. So with that being said, here's the streamline district leadership team. I want to just really call out specifically on my cabinet team because that was a big big factor as well. There was a reduction of four FTEES from the cabinet team. You'll see here that we went from 11 FTEES now down to this is the new structure. And so you'll see that Dr. Spe will serve as the assistant superintendent of academics. Tamara will serve as our chief financial officer.

099Tiffany Taylor will serve as the executive chief of human relations. Dr. Beersley will serve as the assistant superintendent of accountability. Melissa will serve as the assistant chief of communications. And Adila, you've heard all of the wonderful and great things that she does to support the board. She will continue to serve in that role and work alongside me as the superintendent. All right. Additionally, we also had section reductions that impacted teachers and specifically this slide addresses classroom teachers and fine arts PE library. On an annual basis, we take our enrollment projections report and we look essentially take that data, go school by school and determine the number of sections that will be allocated to the school on an annual basis. And when we did that this year, what we saw essentially in elementary was that we

100were decreasing a total of 14 sections districtwide. And we had a reduction of sections at the middle school as well. And so what you see for elementary teachers and middle school teachers, these are section closures due to low enrollment levels. And we're able to project fewer sections at specific grade levels based on those enrollment trends. When we reduce sections for second grade or fourth grade, that also reduces the number of classrooms that our fine arts PE or library teachers need to teach. So we then look essentially at our staffing and a lot of our fine arts folks work across schools. So we revisit their assignments to try to make sure that their assignments are as basically as close to full as possible. This year that did lead to four additional reductions across fine fine arts

101and PE because with those section reductions we did not need to maintain the same level of staffing for fine arts uh for fine arts and PE that came to a total of 20 educators. We also have defined essentially a class- size minimums uh process where three weeks prior to the opening of school, we will revisit what the enrollments are in the sections across the district. And if they are below the minimum sizes that we have defined, we will look to close those sections and consolidate in order to try to maximize our class sizes within deck guidelines. And so that is an important process and a little bit of a lesson learned from last year because we had a closure pretty close to the start of school. Three weeks allows us to make those decisions prior

102to sending communications out to families about classroom teachers. So the next slide you're going to see that there's school level nondist instructional closures. Um, currently, shoot, Haven, and Nichols all have a principal, an assistant principal, and then two assistant principles and an instructional coach. We have shifted that so the middle schools will have one principal, one assistant principal, and one instructional coach. The chute assistant principal will be vacant as of 71. Um, and Reman Schneider is moving into the principal role. Haven, uh, assistant principal position has been vacant, um, for most of the school year, and Nicholls will go down to one assistant principal. Um, Jaws, Lincolnwood, and Orington will have um no assistant principles. They will have a principal and an instructional coach. And Dwey, Kingsley, Lincoln, Oakton, Walker, and Willard will have a

103principal, have lost their instructional coaches, and they will have a principal and an assistant principal. So, we've um aligned this to the Illinois, state of Illinois evidence-based funding model for staffing structures. We take a look at the student population and it also allows for a more strategic uh use of resources. It focuses on equity across the district rather than one-sizefits-all. What how many students are in a building and what is the the model for that building. We are also consistently applying models around IE coordinators basing that number on the number of IEPs 504s and speech onlyies. um social workers, health office personnel, interventionists and guidance counselors will also remain. Guidance counselors are only at middle schools. Um we have a reduction of central office personnel who provide support services to the schools. We had increased

104staffing after the pandemic and we are re realigning this to um strong foundational support but really we want to provide greater autonomy and collaboration with opportunities for schools. We want to focus on schoolbased leadership um and supporting school leaders as instructional leaders in their buildings. So these reductions are our non-personnel reductions that were approved as part of phase two of the SDRP. Um the uh for as far as purchase services for transportation that number that reduction is based on the FY25 budget. So in recent months we have shared that we are trending um at least a million dollars better than budget. So I just wanted to be clear about that that that $2.3 million number is based on that FY25 budget. Um however due to some implementations this year by the transportation team we are

105set to end the year at least a million dollars better than budget. Our purchase services that are non-transportation about $1.6 million worth of reductions. supplies. We're looking at reducing just over $400,000. Um our other objects, which that would be um out of district tuition, as well as things like dues and fees, various memberships, that's at just over $370,000. And in our summer learning, we are looking at a reduction of just over $400,000 for a total of about $5.16 million of non-personnel reductions. The combination of our personnel impacts as well as our non-personnel impacts is what brings us to that 13,322,272 amount of approved budgetary reductions for FY26. Um and again, all of those will go into effect as of July 1st. for next steps. Um this is uh basically a road mapap of where we've

106been and where we're going. So we will continue our committee work through June, our subcommittee work through June with a presentation to the board scheduled for June 23rd. That presentation will include recommended criteria for school closure and consolidation the month of July. Uh the internal team will continue information gathering, planning, etc. Uh with those committee meetings resuming in August and community engagement resuming in September, the board will be presented with scenarios for possible approval in November and then uh following that we would begin any necessary legal hearings questions. Um one clarif one clarification on the 13 million the 8 million for uh salaries in some sense and then the 5 million for um non-personnel other expenses is the assumption that the 5 million will be saved year overyear so to add up to the or

107I I definitely see that 8 million is those are positions that are gone um like the 5 million saving in um um purchasing Is that a are we setting our budgets to stay there or is that a one time? For the most part with the those non-personnel budgets, we generally will put um an escalator on there of about 2 and a half or 3%. As much as we would like to hold at that amount every year, the cost of things just naturally go up. But for next fiscal year, that's our target number. Exactly. These are some um pretty big changes both on the school side and at the district side. Can you talk a little bit about like the transition planning and just sort of how this is being communicated out to schools in particular

108so they feel prepared? Um and then anything on the district side too. Yeah, that's a good question. So, we've we've been talking about this for a very long time. um since the January 27th board approval started the process of you you know it's a whole process because we have contractual people impacted we have people that are um and when I say contractual part of bargaining units then we have people that are under contract that was impacted and all of that process has just been over time with with the communication but in addition to that we started really before we even came to the decisions in January of just assessing the work that people do in this district to get a workload analysis to then be able to say where where are the places where there

109are some things that we will um we might have to stop doing or we have some systems processes and structures in place that are good. We need to figure out how to create a playbook for these things so that people have something to go back to if we don't have the personnel to to do that. And then how do we reorganize and be thoughtful about what it is that people will focus on with the folks that are remaining so that people don't feel like with the elimination of positions, people are getting crowded with work. We're still in the process of working some of those things out because to be very honest, every day something comes up where we're like, "Okay, now where did that come from? Where's the breadcrumb?" So, it's not like it's a

110a real easy process to do. Um, but I think what we're trying to focus on is just getting clear on making sure that the folks who are remaining know and are clear on what their workload and what they will be responsible for doing because that will be the work that they will be enacting come July 1 when we go and then thinking about if there's anything that needs to stop or phase out the runway now to is to do that. And so what does that look like for us in terms of phasing out particular work at the school level? You know, we've been just spending a lot of time talking and shifting with this position, um meeting with school leaders, meeting with other folks roles that we'll will be changing. So an example is we

111just met with our IEES coordinators last week and instead of you know it being a district level support they will now be filtered where they will report in schools that they're assigned to. Some schools are getting depending on their the IEES case loads they have at their school, they are being assigned a one FTE full-time at that school because the demand at that school requires they need that level of support. When we factor how many students with 504s and how many IEPs we actually have or schools where the IEP numbers aren't high, but there's there's a need. How do we think about supporting them? So, it's a it's a it's a lot of different moving pieces to this that the team has been working on. Um, and it'll be continued work that we'll continue to

112try to brainstorm to see what's working and then making adjustments as needed. Got it. Yeah, this is tough work. So, thank you for that thoughtful for your thought for your thought process there and how you've come full circle on this with us. I' I've been at the STRP meetings and appreciate the the thoughtfulness and work that has been done. Um, can you just describe how your team evaluated the the the cuts as it relates to instructional coaches and um uh the and I'm I'm the tutors that are in the that are in each of the schools. So that those are really affecting the most marginalized students and instructional coaches helping newer teachers and the tutors helping um striving. I'll start I'll start with the academic skills tutors. We talked months ago um in previous board

113meetings around how the original design or plan for the academic tutors is not what was actually being enacted. Um, when we when the when the district decided to put the academic skills tutors in place, there was a criteria set for a certain um student that was targeted for that level of support. What ended up happening was over time, I think it it became a little bit difficult for us to target those students. And so the students who actually originally benefited from that program, we started putting students into the program that didn't benefit. So when the board would ask, hey, well, what's the data on the kids? We we were comparing apples to oranges because we weren't the the original design of the program were not getting us the results that we needed. So there was

114tons of evaluation around that work that was done that made us say, "Hey, at this point we might need to stop this." It was pulling teeth with with some schools. Some schools did not want to have the academic skills tutors, some didn't. And it just wasn't a a a we weren't getting a return on our investment for what we were spending out for the academic tutors. And so that's what made us make that re-evaluation of the academic skills tutors. as it relates to the instructional coaches, what what was your question again? So, how do you anticipate the assistant principles supporting new teachers and teachers within each of the school buildings that lost a instructional coach? You want to talk a little bit about that? Yeah. So, we have what we did is we looked at

115this our model was schools with over 375 students had a principal and an AP and an instructional coach. Oh, sorry. Um, schools with under 375 students have a principal and an AP and schools with under 300 students have a principal and an instructional coach. Our uh specialty schools remain the same. So what we are working on is providing um much more of a PLC model and a rather than one size, you know, one size fits all, everyone gets the same thing. really collaborating with our principles and our assistant principles and our instructional coaches to focus on what that school needs. We recognize that each school is a unique organization and each team brings its own strengths. So, how do we as the the academics team and the school's management team support the needs of those

116school leaders? Right now, we're working on surveying school leaders, surveying various departments to see what those departments, you know, how is it, how's it been for them and what does school leaders need. We are working within our school leader collaborative to discuss what school leader collaborives look like next year. How can we utilize the strengths that we have currently within building leaders to support each other and how do we still cons continue to group our school leaders so they can deepen their instructional um leadership within their building. Thank you. Dr. Beth, can I ask you a question about the um the instructional coaches? So you said that the decision was made based on the school population. Yes. Um was there any consideration given to the academic performance of the students at that at those schools

117and how those instructional coaches may have been in place to help support that. We focused principally on school population numbers. We wanted to make sure that it was equitable across the board. So we focused on school numbers. And then we're also focusing on if there is academic needs, how do we work with principles, APS or instructional coaches to support educators within their classrooms. Um so the I think the first slide um one of the slides that had all the everyone leaving um central administration um h and then there's seven there's a slide of seven new indiv new positions no back keep going this one and the one before are these seven taking on the responsibility of the two slides ahead and in addition the um principles and the schools in essence some of the responsibilities

118from the slides before then are going into the into the principles is that say that again so if you go back one more slide yeah this one and the other one right so these are the positions that are no longer in central administration right and those so now go forward those two slides become technically in the district become this slide these individuals positions not all of those positions Right. So an example, math, science, social studies. If you go back here, literacy, these director humanities and a director of STEM steam essentially instead of having four directors, we're down to two directors that would take on the teaching and learning aspects of the district. Right. just want us to I just want to just make sure we're all under like I'm understanding actually not make sure I'm

119understanding the implication and the workload from the district those two individuals um all those are people in positions that are now gone and then these are the the positions that are left right so um a lot of conversation and work and making sure you know what you know everyone I trust everyone was doing uh doing their job so there's a lot of um systems redesigned that are going to be necessary between now and July to make sure that um as you said what work continues and what work um gets cut. So I just that sort of went quickly. I just you know that's a lot and also the last thing is is the principal's it seems is the principal's contract or is the principal taking is their role changing in essence as we're saying that

120they're becoming the um greater autonomy is going to the school um is that a different role for them or just more so the same thing they're doing just more more u more responsibility and accountability I think their role is changing because right now what exists is a lot of decisions is a top down district is now what what district support essentially will look like is what are the needs at the school. So it's going to require school leaders to be very clear on what are your unique needs at your school and then district figure out how we go in and to and support your your unique needs. Um the other piece that you said too in terms of um on the the teaching and learning side as it relates to I agree 100% going back

121to this idea of the top down approach top down a lot of the decisions what professional development we want to do all of those things we've run over the years have run into challenges of making a lot of decisions and we haven't been as collaborative as could be with our some of our with I'll just say with our debt educator bargaining units and so in going through negotiations this year and really trying to fine-tune the purpose of the joint committees that are embedded in their contracts. One specifically is the staff development committee. So now in this staff development committee, it includes district folks is at the table, deck exec leadership is at the table and we're collaboratively planning what the professional learning looks like within the bargain professional days that we got, institute days, the

122number of staff development days, the half days that we got. I'm trying to shift to a very collaborative inclusive process so that it's not the district is saying hey this is the professional learning that we're offering and then we we have problems we would have challenges where deck would come back and say over at this school we can't do that at this school we can't do that versus let's plan out what let's agree on what the professional learning offerings are let's give them to schools and then whatever the needs are at schools schools can then decide But we have worked with the bargaining unit to say this is the approved professional learning and schools will still have the autonomy of deciding whatever their focus is on where they want to lift up for professional learning.

123So really trying to shift to a collaborative process. Is is it 100% perfect? No. But it's our first step at really trying to move away from how we've operated which in my opinion is has been heavily in silos and how do we now get more collaborative and working together toward the same common good or same common goal um and and instead of everybody having their own agenda if that makes any sense. Yeah. Thank you. To that point Dr. Ker, I mean, I think obviously there's a lot of work. Commend you the whole the whole throughout the whole process, but I think what you just said really is the most important point is that we became very topheavy. And that's not just D65 district. I mean, I think this was a trend in education we've seen

124over the last 10. But let's also be clear that D65 was one of the, you know, one of the heaviest. So, with all due respect to the administrators and the central office staff we have, um, you know, larger class sizes isn't going to close the the achievement and the opportunity gap, right? And I think I've said it before, but we really need to find ways to keep our class sizes small. I know we have debt guidelines, but 23 kindergarteners, 25 fifth graders, like those are not great numbers. Um, especially if we want to close the gap. And so I'm again I know we are where we are with this and that's fine but just you know for my board colleagues and my new board colleagues let's make sure that if that's a priority to us

125we're communicating that to Dr. Turner cuz that's um I think a way we're going to see. And then the other thing I'll say too is and this came up during negotiations was like really putting some of the power for curriculum and decisions into the teachers hands like we talked about um stipens, right? And so with fewer directors, there might be opportunities for like coordinate, you know, a lot of my old district had like a coordinator for each subject and that was a teacher who was teaching and they'd get an additional stipen to coordinate with their colleagues. Like I know that's where we're trending and I think that's great and I really would like to see more of that. Yeah, I think that this really is a move in the right direction. I think like this

126is for for you all, but for us as well as board members. I think we're really going to have to be accountable to measure and see what's working, see what isn't working, and be like open to making adjustments. Um because, you know, no big changes ever go through smoothly without any hiccups. So, just just seeing what it's doing for students. And then I know like to Maria's point like like especially with the elimination of you know academic skill centers just and I know we talked about this at an earlier board meeting too just making sure that we do have supports in place for students who need it even though it's not being handled in the same way. Just making sure we are still giving students the resources they need to improve when they need that

127improvement. Yeah. And and that's a good point. I I want to capitalize the elimination of the academic skills center. The district still have academic interventionists that still provide intervention and targeted support toward the students that need it and and need to receive it. So just because that one factor was removed, I I want to make want to be very clear in saying the district also is keeping into consideration that And and and to be very honest, the academic skill the the interventionists those are taught by certified teachers. Our academic skills tutors you know they were people who had degrees and those kind of things but they were not skilled as our academic interventionists are which are educators in our district. So just want to give that context as well that that consideration was taken into

128consideration. Go ahead. Yeah. So, I'm curious. There's a there was a list of administrative positions that have been um eliminated. Um it's still hard to conceptualize this in a systems way. What's being impacted? What upstream and downstream? So, um a flowchart would be helpful to visualize the whole and the impact that's coming. Yeah. We didn't we didn't want to give you a lot cuz this is what the the community wanted to ask. This is what they've been asking for and we gave you what we heard was they were most concerned so much so about the cabinet. We're coming at a later meeting to give you the entire restructure of what the departments look like and that will go publicly facing on our website as well. Great. Thank you. I just wanted to make one more

129comment along the lines of what Pat I think was talking about and I think Maya mentioned it too and that you know change leadership is hard and having plans and circling back and overcommunicating those changes I think is really important. Dr. Spith, I was really happy to hear you say that you were going to survey principles and teachers. I would love if we could see what the results of those surveys are if that's appropriate. Um because my concern is that by using school size as an indicator for support at the administrative level that we may end up with some um schools that have larger populations with greater need. So just to keep an eye on that as we move forward. Sounds good. Any other questions? So, uh, the next item up is the, um, motion

130to recess into close session. So, I move that the board of education enter into close session on May 12, 2020 2025 located at the Joseph Eh Hill Education Center at 3 p.m. to discuss the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees, litigation, and self-evaluation, practices, and procedures or ethics in meeting with a representative of a statewide association of which the public body is a member. Second Wilkins, yes. Salem, yes. Hernandez, yes. Anderson, yes. Hanker, yes. Oakdike, yes. Wymer, yes. All right. So, with no further business, I adjourn this meeting at 6:35 p.m. Welcome, new board members.