001Mhm, okay. All right, good evening. Since 5:31, the Board of Education has been in closed session to discuss the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees or legal counsel, including hearing testimony on a complaint lodged against an employee or legal counsel to determine its validity. Collective and negotiating matters between the public body and its employees or their representatives, and security procedures, school building safety and security, and the use of personnel and equipment to respond to an actual, threatened, or a reasonably potential danger to the safety of employees, students, staff, and the public or public property. I will entertain a motion to come out of closed session. So moved. Second. Motion and second have been heard. Please call the roll, McMillan. I. Gerke. I. Blastic. I. Kelly Black. I. Wolinsky. I. Kush. I.
002Kozminski. >> I. The motion passes. We are in open session. >> [clears throat] >> Good evening and welcome to the May 4th, 2026 Board of Education meeting. Um, our mission is to uh, empower students to develop a learner's mindset, demonstrate adaptability, communicate effectively, think critically, and become global citizens. Please call the roll, Mrs. Patton. Board members present this evening, Charles Kush, Christine Gerke, Melissa Kelly Black, Amanda McMillan, Joe Kozminski, Holly Blastic, and Mark Wolinsky. All right. Please join the Board of Education in the Pledge of Allegiance. Okay. Item four, recognition. Item 4.01, good news. Okay. We recently had the opportunity to celebrate this school year's retirees at a special breakfast event. It was a fun morning filled with student performances, good food, departing words for the retirees, and reminiscing about their careers with the district.
003We're so honored to have been a part of your lives and want to extend a heartfelt thank you and congratulations to all of our retirees. >> [applause] >> A team of Naperville Central High School students placed first in the Illinois Personal Finance Challenge sponsored by the Illinois Treasurer. The contest is designed to provide students with an opportunity to build, apply, and demonstrate their financial knowledge in areas like income earned like you like earning income, spending, saving, managing credit, investing, and managing risk. The team will advance to the National Personal Finance Challenge next month in Atlanta, Georgia. Good luck. Kim Blaylock from Kingsley has been selected as the Illinois Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance Elementary Physical Education Teacher of the Year. Kim has been a part of the Kingsley family since 2014. She
004runs the cardio club, kicking off the day for over 100 students twice a week with fun and engaging running activities. She also plans a highly themed and detailed field day each year and collaborated with the adaptive PE teacher and PT to start a peer buddies program for fifth graders to mentor [clears throat] students in structured learning. Her high-energy teaching style keeps students engaged while she models and participates in activities alongside them. She will be honored at the organization state convention award ceremony in December. Congrats, Kim. >> [applause] >> The Naperville 203 Elementary Battle of the Books just finished its 39th year. The goal of Battle of the Books is to encourage elementary students to read quality literature of various genres from a 40-book list. Many of the schools start the year with a literature club,
005focusing on content from the books on that year's list. In January, interested students from the battle teams um, read and reread the books to prepare for the competition in April. A semi-final is held at Kennedy Junior High School where all fourth and fifth grade teams compete. The top four teams for each grade level go on to the finals at Nichols Library. And here are this year's winners. Fourth grade, first place went to Steeple Run. Second place, Meadow Glens. Third place, Elmwood. Fourth place, Highlands. Fifth grade, first place, Highlands. Second place, Meadow Glens. Third place, Maple Brook. Fourth place, Beebe. The Naperville Public Library and Anderson's Bookshop have partnered with the district on this event since its inception. We're looking forward to year 40. >> [applause] >> The Asian Culture Association stopped by the administration office
006to deliver 98 books that will be distributed to each elementary school in celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Uh, this is the sixth year that the ACA has donated books to our district and the partnership has grown over the years into a meaningful collaboration dedicated to enriching students' learning experiences through culturally diverse literature. The books donated this year follow the theme when East meets West, sharing history and cultural heritage, which helps students explore ancient Chinese history, East-West cultural exchange, and Asian American experiences. >> [applause] >> And then finally this evening, the Seal of Biliteracy. It is an award granted to high school students who demonstrate proficiency in two or more languages by graduation. This distinction recognizes bilingualism as a valuable and essential skill in today's global society. Earning the seal can strengthen
007college applications, may lead to college credit depending on the institution, and signals readiness for careers in an increasingly multilingual world. This year, 97 students in Naperville 203 earned the Seal of Biliteracy across 11 languages. This is a significant accomplishment that reflects our students' dedication, academic excellence, and commitment to developing multilingual proficiency. We're proud to celebrate this achievement and the diverse linguistic assets our students bring to our community. That's our good news. >> [applause] >> Okay, item five, public comment. We have reached the point in our agenda for Oh, sorry. Item 5.01. Uh, we have reached the point in our agenda for public comment. The Board of Education welcomes comments from the public at its meetings. Citizens who wish to address the Board of Education should identify themselves by name. Comments by individuals shall be limited
008to 3 minutes. If the individual is representing multiple individuals or group, they shall be allowed to speak for 5 minutes. The Board respectfully requests that speakers refrain from commenting about specific individuals. Do we have any No, I have no slips of paper. Would anyone in the audience like to address the Board of Education this evening? Seeing some contemplating, but seeing no hands, um, I will um, close this public comment session. Okay, item six, our consent agenda. I will entertain a motion for our consent agenda. I move to uh, approve the consent agenda as presented. Second. Motion and second have been heard. Any discussion? Okay, seeing none, please call the roll, Mrs. Patton. Kozminski. I. Kelly Black. I. McMillan. I. Wolinsky. I. Gerke. I. Blastic. I. Kush. >> I. The motion passes. Okay. Um, We did
009that pretty quickly. Uh, item seven, communications, Board of Education reports. But before I go into that, um, I forgot to read this. We have reached the business portion of our meeting. As a reminder to the community, the Board understands and has affirmed through our Board agreements that it is each individual's member's responsibility to prepare for each meeting. Board members have also agreed that avoiding no surprises paramount in displaying respect for all district administration and the community. In the spirit of no surprises, the Board has tasked itself to send questions in advance of each meeting to the superintendent. Uh, this allows the superintendent to provide the best possible answer for the community. Additionally, it allows for maximum efficiency during this community's meeting. Those same submitted questions may also be asked in open session along with new
010ones that may arise during discussions. Uh, Mr. Bridges, did you receive questions from the Board of Education in advance of the tonight's meeting? I did from all seven Board members. >> Okay, thank you very much. Um, additionally, as a follow-up to our Board Self-Evaluation, we've also agreed to limit ourselves to 3 minutes per Board member per discussion. And what we do to facilitate efficiency and effectiveness during these meetings, we have been rotating the um, timing responsibility, and this evening that falls to Alyssa. Are you ready to go? Okay, here we go. Awesome. Thank you so much. Uh, so with that, um, I will start us off on Board of Education reports. So, 7.01, um, is there a any Board member would like to um, talk about an something that they've done in the capacity of
011a Board member. Up. Okay, ready? Let me know when you're ready. Go. Amanda. Great. Um, it's, you know, a really exciting year or time of year when there's a lot of performances and demonstrations of um, things and a lot of community celebrations around schools. And so, I got a chance to participate in a couple of those. One was the senior art show at uh, Naperville Central High School. I actually went as a parent, but I just wanted to commend the amazing talent of our youth um, dem- uh, the seniors demonstrating, you know, their uh, documentaries and short films, the pottery, the drawings, the photography, everything. It's just like the talent in uh, this district is is phenomenal. So, I just wanted to commend that. That was a really amazing experience. Additionally, I attended the a
012color run. So, talk about Ms. Blytec at Kingsley Elementary. I got to see her in full action last Friday. They had a color run and the home and school was able to get sponsorships enough so that every single kid could participate without any fee. Um and and plus like they got sponsors to get every kid a shirt and also glasses. So, that when they got you know colored up they wouldn't have to worry about it. It was so much fun. It was a little chilly, but you know they the energy was high. The kids were having a blast. And you know when you have second grader with no teeth looking at you saying can I color you even though you're not prepared for it you say yes. And so I even participated in the fun
013there. Um so, I just wanted to commend what a amazing event. Love the energy and yeah, it was it was great. So, thank you. All right, Mark. Thank you, Charles. I just wanted to mention a couple of things. One is Mill Street had their 2025 uh Crosstown Classic over at Jefferson. So, they had to reschedule it but they will have the 2026 in the fall. And at the event I was lucky enough to miss to meet Ms. Blytec as well. Uh so, she was there cheering on her her team her school team which was great. Uh we also had the last carbon action plan steering committee uh for the school year and we said goodbye to some of the folks that will be going to be leaving our school district but going on in their
014in their educational career. So, we wish them well. And that really was the two things I had. Thanks. Awesome. Holly. So, last Monday I got to attend the final of the year diversity advisory committee led by Dr. Leeks in What I really appreciated is we had that opportunity to look back on celebrations and successes throughout the year. Um book events, student learning, staff opportunities and have discussed those celebrations. But what I want to plug now thinking forward even though it's May and we're all very busy is that Dr. Leeks has put together a calendar of culturally significant days. So, for planning in the next year people in home and school and volunteers can check that calendar and make sure we're being respectful of everyone in the school community when we're scheduling those special events. And
015that was you know, reflecting on all of our celebrations is one thing but thinking ahead and planning as we go into the end of this school year. Want to plug that resource. Joe. Yeah, I just want to kind of follow up on on Mark's comment about the carbon action plan meeting. It was a great event. It's been great to to hear the student voices on that committee all year long and some of the the students who are graduating are ones who worked on the carbon action plan. Um it was also a really nice overview from Chuck and Melanie about all the progress that's been made this year regarding the transportation facility, some of the um building roof analysis and also progress on the recycling program and the recycling committee and some exciting things that you
016know we'll hopefully be rolling out in the next year ahead of schedule. So, it's really good to see this plan being put into action. >> [clears throat] >> Awesome. Okay. Anything from you? Okay. Any others? Okay. All right. Um I'm moving Oh, Melissa, go ahead. I got to tie myself. Um some of you may know I wasn't here at the last two meetings. I did lose my mom and I want to thank the school district for sending some nice flowers but I really want to I've been overwhelmed with the amount of people from our community that have reached out and offered support. So, I we are so blessed to have such a great supportive community. So, thank you for everyone. And on behalf of the board just condolences for your loss. I know it's a
017tough thing. So, um nice to have you back though. Thank you. All right. I think I covered everyone. Anyone else have a Board of Education report? Okay. Um item number 7.02 President's report. So, um a couple of things for me. I had the opportunity to attend the Maplebrook Fun Fest this past Friday. Um great event. I'm told by Nicole Arendt who is the president of home and school there that they it's it's a it's a large fundraiser and they actually broke their own record for fundraising this time around. The sun had come out and then they had to end up having it will end up being a little bit windy but then end up being a wonderful day and they had the largest turnout that that they've had in in in quite some time. So,
018congratulations to that. It was a really well run event and just a great time to see all the community there. My favorite part of it was actually the cake walk which is kind of like musical chairs but the winner gets the cake or multiple cakes. Kids walking around with cakes it's hilarious. Um it was great. Actually, I'm sorry. Parents walking around with cakes that their kids won. That was really good. The other thing I had the opportunity to attend was the the success organization um um and the BSLA and the BLA at both Naperville Central and Naperville North. The event was held at the north. They had a an event honoring their graduating seniors. Um there were a couple guest speakers there. Dr. Janice Williams who is the city of Naperville's diversity and in person
019and Dr. Benny White who's on city council. They both came and gave remarks. Um but I was able to attend with Mark. So, Mark is the school board liaison for Naperville Central. I'm the school board liaison for Naperville North. And there was another board member that was mentioned at the meeting but couldn't attend unfortunately. So, I had to stand in and receive an award on his behalf and that was Joe Kosminski. And Joe was honored by that group with what I believe they call the ripple effect award. Um which was a very nice award that they provided with him. And it was for the work that Joe has done with that organization in basically bringing resources from his work as a physics the chair of the physics department I believe at Lewis University. Um and
020really providing some STEM education and supporting that organization anytime that they've called and asked to to do some kind of events Joe's always answered the call. So, they wanted to honor him in that way and so I just wanted to pass that along to the community to to thank Joe for his work there. >> [applause] >> You can tell by the look on his face he had no idea I was going to do that which is part of the effect. Love it. Okay. All right. That's that's all I had for my report. So, item 7.03 Superintendent staff school reports. >> Yeah, we're going to transition into 7.04 and invite executive director from the Naperville Education Foundation Wendy Kutska come forward. Uh our school district is blessed to have such a strong partner in the Naperville
021Education Foundation. While they certainly make an investment in our kids in our school district, they are separate entity and we are just happy to be in partnership with them and thank Wendy for making some time to just give the board an update on some of the amazing things that NEF has been doing. Wendy. Thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight. I'm excited to share all the great opportunities that the Naperville Education Foundation has funded this school year and give you and our community a peek at what's coming soon. At NEF everything we do is grounded in a clear mission to encourage creativity, innovation and excellence in Naperville 203 students by helping to ensure that every student in the district can take advantage of the opportunities to make the most of their education. As the
022philanthropic partner of Naperville 203, we are proud to fund the opportunities that go beyond the district's tax supported budget. With community support, we are able to advance student success in four key areas. Enrichment to district programs. These are programs that are run by the district staff and are either partially or primarily funded by NEF. Signature NEF programs. These are programs that are funded and run by NEF and NEF volunteers. Direct to schools or district. Well, as a 501c3 NEF acts as a vehicle for donors to make gifts to schools, school based activities, clubs and district wide initiatives. Scholarships. NEF administers between 40 to 45 scholarships each year to graduating senior seniors at both high schools. So, let's start with enrichment to district programs. NEF is proud to support First Lego League also known as FLL.
023An after school robotics program offered to fourth through eighth graders each fall. This year nearly 500 students across Naperville 203 participated in FLL developing skills in coding, engineering and research. But FLL is more than robotics. It fosters creativity, collaboration and critical thinking in every step of the process. The season ends with two exciting events, an in-district tournament for elementary teams, and a qualifying event for junior highs where teamwork and problem-solving take center stage. Since 2019, NEF has invested over $400,000 in FLL. This year, NEF provided $83,000 to cover robotic kits, registrations, materials, stipends for staff coaches, and all elementary tournament expenses. This ensures that each student can participate at no cost. And we couldn't have done this without strong support from our community partner, Molex. Since 2017, NEF has invested more than $106,000 to support
024high school entrepreneurial education through incubator and accelerator programs, including a projected 18,000 this year. With the support of community partners Calamos and Molex, NEF provided seed money for student teams to develop their minimum viable products, or known as MVPs, as well as cover expenses related to the public shark tank-style incubator pitch night. This includes funding for the event itself and prize money to help winning teams take their business ideas to the next level. And I say projected because pitch night is coming up this week, May 7th. So, we still have a few more expenses ahead of us. I hope you all are planning to attend. In Naperville 203, the school-based mental health professionals work tirelessly to connect students and families with a wide network of resources. But when the needs go beyond what schools alone
025can provide, NEF NEF helps bridge the gap. Through a grant from the Endeavor Health Community Investment Fund, NEF has provided more than $172,000 this school year to provide on-site behavioral health services at one high school, one junior high, and two elementary schools, while also supporting a web-based platform that connects students, staff, and families with local mental health professionals. And more details of all the impact of the funding will be shared tonight's student service student services presentation on rise. NEF also has provided $30,000 to support before-and-after school programs across all five junior highs and both high schools, reaching more than 700 students. From math clubs to homework help, every program is tailored to support the specific needs of its students. When school-based mental health professionals identify barriers to students' learning, Kid Booster anonymous grants also offer
026a timely, targeted support. This signature NEF program offers grants designed to meet unique needs of at-risk students, enhancing their educational experience and supporting their physical and social-emotional well-being. They serve as the missing link when no existing family, district, or community resources are available to address an urgent need. So far this year, NEF has provided $13,000 to cover the cost of specialized mental health counseling, lice treatments, personal hygiene items, clothing, access to camps and activities. And now, each of the 23 schools received um sorry, each of the 23 schools received a school appreciation grant of $1,000 to support their unique community. These grants are used at each school's principal's discretion to meet the each building's unique individual needs. And express grants provide up to $1,000 for immediate use and are available on a rolling monthly cycle
027throughout the school year. Naperville 203 staff and students can apply, and this year we were proud to award 19 grants across 14 schools totaling $15,000. From hands-on STEM projects to creative arts and experiences that enrich school life, these grants turn inspiration into action. And NEF acts as a vehicle for donors to make gifts to schools, school-based activities, clubs, and district-wide initiatives. And so far this year, we have facilitated $106,000 in donations to schools, as well as $40,000 of in-kind donations. The foundation also administers, like I said earlier, scholarships each year to graduating seniors. We're in the thick of scholarship season right now. Um and we anticipate awarding $125,000 in scholarships over the next couple of weeks. And new this year, we partnered with 203 to design and launch a new grant opportunity for certified staff.
028This grant is more than support. It's seed funding for educator entrepreneurship designed to help educators adapt and grow their ideas that have potential to transform learning spaces, ignite curiosity, and open doors for learners. And NEF was proud to provide $14,400 in support of educator entrepreneurship. The process began with educators submitting a letter of intent. Selected applicants then developed a full proposal and pitched their project before a review committee. Winning projects received funding to pilot their ideas in classrooms, and coming this fall, our very first Edupreneur grant recipients will bring their projects to life. And here are our winners. You can learn more about each of their innovative projects on our website, and we're excited to follow their implementation this fall. Also new this year, NEF recognized an opportunity to come alongside the district to support
029a critical area of learning, elementary science. NEF made a one-time investment of $59,000 to introduce LEGO Education Science, a program that transforms science from something students read about into something they build, test, and explore. And thanks to NEF's early support, Naperville 203 was among the first districts in the entire country to bring this innovative curriculum to life in the classroom. The LEGO Education Science kits are now in kindergarten through third grade classrooms, reaching over 4,000 students. And to prepare for this, 40 teachers participated in hands-on training, learning how to guide students through inquiry-based science. By mid-December, LEGO Education Science was in the classrooms. And from what we hear, it quickly became a highlight of the school day. That brings me to the total funding so far this school year. And I say so far because
030the school year's not over yet. Only with community support, we have been able to provide over $698,000 in opportunities for students. And speaking of community support, at our recent 33rd annual breakfast benefit where potential takes flight, we had a excuse me, we had 415 attendees join us. We were blown away by the generosity of our community and thankful for all the support. We were thrilled to have 44 sponsors step up in support of both the event and NEF's mission. While final results are still pending as we await company matching gifts, we're confident that this year's breakfast will be record-breaking. And now for that sneak peek that I mentioned. I know you're all dying to know. If you were at the breakfast, you already heard. Um NEF is expanding the Kid Booster anonymous program by establishing
031a dedicated, centralized resource center in collaboration with school-based mental health professionals. The center will provide essential support for students such as basic clothing, winter gear, and personal care of the Kid Booster Resource Center include for students, it ensures consistent, timely access to essential resources while protecting dignity and confidentiality. For staff, it simplifies access, centralizes resources, and removes barriers so they can focus on supporting students and not sourcing supplies. And for community, it connects our donors, our families, and our organizations, creating a shared system that gets the right items to students at the right time. And perhaps most meaningfully, the center will also create opportunity. The center will be housed at Connections and operated by students from the Naperville 203 special needs community, offering inclusive, hands-on vocational training and meaningful work experiences. So, thank you for
032giving me this opportunity to share our work and the work of the foundation that it is made only possible by our giving community. I am happy to answer any questions. >> [applause] >> Questions from the board? Amanda. Not really a question, but I just want to thank you so much. Um you know, being the leader of NEF, I know you've been in this seat for many years, and how you really focus on data-driven results and um using the best uh resources um with I mean you have a very small team and you know that does a lot of amazing work and so partnerships like this is what continues to make District 203 exceptional and providing these amazing opportunities for our students and our our team members and really driving equity. So I just want to
033thank you so much for your dedication and and commitment and to all the trustees that you know I know you guys meet very early. Yes. >> [laughter] >> Every month to and work very hard to you know select go through grants go through scholarships and everything to make the the best decisions and just seeing the results here how literally thousands of children in our school district have been impacted by by these programs is just exceptional and so thank you for your leadership and and contribution. Thank you. Other questions or comments? Melissa. I just want to reiterate what Amanda said is the work and the opportunity the work that your group does on a small staff and the volunteers that you have in the trustees they all dedicate their time to this and yeah we can
034see the numbers of how many of our students benefit and we run the gamut from you know enrichment where they're really thinking it's problem-solving to you know those that you know you have the academic like tutoring the before and after school and then you I love this idea of the um the resource center cuz I think it allows to have a central location but I I really like that we're getting our connections community that they are able to work there and learn those life skills and the interactions with the community I think it draws hopefully them in to feeling like they're really a part of our important part of our district. But again thank you for all you do and I know that raising funds and asking for donors is is hard work but you're
035amazing and I also want to thank all the people who have contributed cuz I know that people have been very generous. Thank you. Thank you. Other questions or comments? Christine. For whatever reason I'm feeling emotional. So [laughter] just I just forgive me in advance. This has been um It's I'm so sorry to everybody else but it's my favorite time my favorite committee to be on because one of the things I see there is well the community partnerships but the modeling of creativity and collaboration for our students. Although our students might not see that we're it gets to them you know what work happens on those Thursday mornings and then all the other meetings you guys have. Does go out to all of our students and so it's a joyful group for the different years I've
036been on it and we've seen different people on it. They're joyful they're committed um I don't even know if all of them have kids in our schools anymore you know this is like a broad reach of of people across different bring different expertise and while I sit at those meetings and I see the the work in pieces to see this presentation and to see what our community does in addition to what our schools already doing it that's probably why I feel emotional so thank you to to you Wendy and to your staff to all the trustees and all of the donors and the people who show up quietly um that we might not know their names but that they show up quietly and they they give of themselves in one way or another. Thank you
037you're going to make me emotional now. >> [laughter] >> All right anybody want to try to follow that? >> [laughter] >> No no takers? Okay. All right well thank you Wendy for your presentation. >> [applause] >> Item 7.05 Rise update. Okay we have a team here to present I'm going to introduce Missy here in just a minute but Wendy actually hinted at this in her comments as well NEF was a significant partner in the launching of Rise so Missy McKenney assistant superintendent for student services is going to kick us off and introduce members of your team. Good evening thank you for the opportunity to share information on the supports provided to students through our Rise pilots and our partnerships with Endeavor Health and Referral GPS. I'm excited to have with me tonight Kim Drysbach supervisor
038of social work services Heather Kosic our Rise coordinator Andrea Fischer one of our counselors through Endeavor in the Rise program and Amit Thacker the founder of Referral GPS. Today we would like to share and present information on supports provided to students through our Rise pilot program. Our outcomes for this presentation are to share information on the evolution of the Rise program and share data on the positive impact of this pilot program for our students. In partnership with NEF a focus group was formed in 2019 to learn about how we can build supports for students and families as the school district was seen an increase in behavioral needs for students. This focus group identified three key areas of support for the pilot program. Coordination services for the whole family that are essential to supporting students learning
039mental health services need to be easily accessible and supports need to be individualized to address needs within the family. Based on these areas of support the focus group developed a pilot program called Rise. Rise stands for removing barriers individualized support plans services for students and empowering families. So in the beginning of phase one of the Rise pilot program we began to collaborate with families around four concepts. Community and schools community resources wrap-around services and individualized plans that went beyond the scope of a typical educational setting. Through partnership with NEF and the grant received from the Endeavor Foundation the pilot was to support identified families in seven schools Mill Street Scott Elmwood Beebe Steeple Run Ellsworth and Naper elementary schools. Through the community and schools concept the Rise pilot program began to collaborate and partner with
040mental health providers that support students with gaining access to mental health counseling. For those needing that support it removed the barrier of transportation and access to care. Within the areas of community resources wrap-around services and individualized plans concepts the Rise pilot program connected families to resources within the community and also supported a variety of needs for students and families such as housing food education medical therapeutic counseling and transportation needs based on those identified needs. Through the first two years the pilot program supported over 25 families in connecting them to resources mental health care and individualized supports. At the same time we encountered several challenges that extended beyond the role and expertise of a school system. One barrier that we faced was housing. Affordable housing in Naperville is extremely limited and so our families face complex
041systems such as housing vouchers and county level resources which required specialized knowledge and navigation beyond what school staff are equipped to provide. Another obstacle we encountered was care coordination. In the pilot program while we worked very hard to connect families with mental health services and community programs maintaining consistent access across multiple external agencies proved difficult. Each program had different requirements and navigating systems across DuPage County and neighboring areas created ongoing challenges. Operations also presented as an obstacle. Many family needs were urgent and required immediate response. This created strain on staff capacity and disrupted other responsibilities as a small team worked to manage high intensity situations. Based on these learnings we recognized the need to refine the pilot program and our goal was to expand the reach of the Rise program while focusing our efforts where
042we could have the greatest impact. This included strengthening our identification process and target support toward reducing barriers to student mental health care that extend beyond the school setting. In phase two of the Rise program we sharpened our focus on supporting access to mental health counseling revised our eligibility criteria to expand our reach to impact a greater number of students and collaborated with agencies to develop a coordinated internal structure and process for referrals. This has allowed us to engage in collaborative partnerships with Linden Oaks to provide on-site behavioral health services at four schools as well as partnering with Referral GPS to connect to local agencies for behavioral health support. This coordination of services has led to access of mental health services for those that were eligible. As Kim just shared, the structural changes we made in
043phase two were all designed with one goal in mind, directly addressing the barriers to accessing mental health services for our students. By expanding our eligibility and refining our internal referral process, we have seen a direct and significant impact on our student population. Last year, those efforts allowed us to bridge the gap for 118 students who otherwise face these barriers to mental health counseling. This year, that momentum has only increased. We've already been able to support 146 students with mental health counseling. This growth is a clear indicator that when we actively work to dismantle these barriers to accessing mental health counseling, our students are ready and willing to engage in the support they need. Any student within our district who is facing barriers to mental health care has a path to support through the RISE Counseling
044Program. We utilize Referral GPS to bridge the distance for our families, offering them the choice between traditional in-person therapy in the community or flexible telehealth services. Additionally, we've taken a proactive step through our pilot program with Linden Oaks, which brings a therapist directly into four of our schools to provide counseling during the school day. As you can see by the breakdown on the slide, these referrals are coming from many of our schools, showing a high level of need all over our district. It only really truly demonstrates that the requirement for accessible support in benefiting students across our entire district community. When a student is experiencing stress or a mental health crisis, it truly takes a village. Our social workers, our counselors, our psychologists, and administrators all work together to provide that immediate safety net. But
045when But what this data really illustrates is the shift from crisis to connection. As students engage in counseling, they are building a vital toolkit of coping skills and emotional regulation. We see the results of that work reflected back in the classroom. There is a noticeable decrease in unscheduled student visits requiring immediate mental health support and classroom disruptions. When students feel supported internally, they are better equipped to stay present, manage their behavior, and remain fully engaged in their learning, resulting in a higher sense of belonging. Ultimately, our goal is to ensure that mental health challenges don't become a permanent roadblock to a student's ability to access their education. When students can address these concerns and utilize their new coping skills, they re-engage with their schoolwork in a meaningful way. These graphs provide the evidence showing an
046increase in the number of classes with passing grades for students participating in the RISE Counseling Program. By supporting the whole child through the RISE Program, we aren't just improving their well-being, we are directly empowering their academic success. Thank you. As part of a partnership between Endeavor Health's Linden Oaks Medical Group and District 203, we have two therapists who are now embedded directly within four schools through the RISE Counseling Program. I am one of those therapists staffed at two of the schools through this initiative, which was designed to improve access to mental health care by bringing services directly into the school environment and reducing common barriers such as transportation, scheduling, and provider availability. I wanted to share a successful story of one of the students who I've been working with. Uh details have been changed to
047protect the student's confidentiality. Rachel, a middle school student who has been struggling both at school and at home. Her teachers and school counselor noticed she seemed overwhelmed and disconnected. At home, her single mother, who has a disability, was doing her best to manage daily responsibilities, but transportation challenges and limited access to providers who accept Medicaid made it difficult to arrange counseling services for Rachel. In the past, finding a mental health provider could take weeks or even months with multiple phone calls and dead ends. However, the RISE Counseling Program has transformed this process. By using Referral GPS, Rachel's school counselor submitted a referral within minutes. Rachel was quickly connected to a Linden Oaks Medical Group therapist, which is me, through one of the schools who were were embedded in, ensuring she could begin receiving support without
048the typical delays and barriers associated with accessing care outside of school. During the intake process, Rachel's mother shared with Referral GPS that she also wanted therapy, but faced obstacles because of her disability, limited time, and insurance coverage. The Referral GPS team stepped in to help and successfully connected her to a local counseling agency offering telehealth services, making it possible for her to receive care from home. Through RISE, services were located in a timely manner for the parent to fully fund personally. Which With what began as one referral for a student in need turned into a transformative moment for an entire family. Both Rachel and her mother are now receiving counseling support, improving not only their emotional well-being, but also strengthening their connection with each other and their school community. Rachel is doing better overall. She's
049using coping skills she's learned in therapy, attending school more regularly, her grades are steadily improving, and she's becoming more engaged both academically and emotionally. She's also opened up significantly in counseling and has expressed appreciation for the support and services she's received. Thank you. Hi, my name is Ahmed for those that I haven't met yet. I am the founder of Referral GPS and I obviously work there operationally day-to-day. I started this organization with a mission to really help improve access to care. Any of you guys have been down this road of trying to find how to get into said care, it's often a kind of complex maze to figure out where to go to even after you've decided you needed help. So, we partner with schools and community organizations to help navigate this complex, overwhelming system.
050We've been partnered with Naperville District 203 since 2018, helping families along the way to kind of get into that care and find what might be the right place. This year, through the RISE Counseling Program, we worked together to support students who are facing barriers in accessing that mental health care. Uh and I want to show Similarly, I want to share a story. Uh a story with you guys that we've changed the details around to protect confidentiality, but kind of helps exemplify some of the work that's being done by all the folks on this team. Uh a student was navigating multiple mental health challenges, including ADHD, anxiety, depression, and they really had experienced uh a long history of suicidal ideation that had led to previous hospitalizations. So, quite acute from that component. He was struggling quietly
051uh and really started seeing symptoms of withdrawal and distress. Had a lot of difficulty in connecting with some of his peers here at school. Day-to-day life at school had become increasingly difficult, and after being identified by a school social worker, a referral was put in where they were connected with care navigation. Care navigation stepped in and helped his family find the right support. And as you can tell just from the background, like this wasn't a simple referral. Not that any referral is really simple, but the complexity and the acuity of this referral makes it more complex than kind of the average referral. It required a lot of thoughtful matching to a provider who can meet them that family and that student where he was. Uh it required a uh a lot of persistent outreach to
052help the family take the next step during a very vulnerable time. And this is where the work really becomes critical because identification of these students really isn't enough. Uh it takes that collaboration across teachers, social workers, care navigation, treatment providers, all of us kind of coming to the table with consistent follow-through and trust building to move a family from concern to actual engagement in care. Through this effort, that student was connected to a treatment provider and began care within a week. He's since remained in in engaged in care, building consistency and trust with the therapeutic process. At the same time, the team is working closely with the treating therapist to support continuity of care beyond the initial phase. With a plan for the family to transition to utilizing their insurance for ongoing services once the
053RISE benefits have have kind of concluded. This, I think, is that moment that matters the most. A student who once required higher levels of care and and hospitalization is now showing up, building trust, and receiving consistent support. And that shift changes his trajectory. Uh not just for his mental health, but for his ability to function, connect, and and move forward. So, that case is just one example how early identification paired with hands-on support and follow-through can help that movement and that student move from crisis towards sustai- sustainability and sustained care. These students bring our data to life. It shows that when we talk about barriers to accessing mental health services, we aren't just discussing logistics. We are talking about real students who were unable to connect with mental health services or were stuck in a
054cycle of crisis. As we have seen throughout this presentation, the RISE counseling program acts as a powerful barrier breaker for our community. Whether it is providing a therapist during the school day through Linden Oaks or using care's navigation through referral GPS to find the exact right trauma informed provider for a student, we are closing the gap between students needing help and students actually receiving it. By dismantling these barriers to mental health care, we are ensuring that every student in our district, no matter their school or their challenge, has a clear, stable path toward well-being and academic academic success. We're happy to answer any questions you have at this time. All right, questions from the board. I see Joe. Yeah, thank you for the presentation. I have to say it's amazing how this program has grown
055from that initial grant with NEF. Um you know, the the how how the services have expanded, um you know, how how how many kids and families have been helped. Um this is really a program that it should be highlighted in this district. Um And I guess my my question is how the the expansion and referrals from the different schools has really grown and it's great to see the um support on ground and virtually. But it looks like there is still a few about five elementary schools, a couple middle schools that have that don't have referrals on here. How are these services kind of communicated and encouraged to staff in these schools so that everyone can take advantage of them? Yeah, that's a great question. We spend a lot of time coordinating at the beginning of
056the year. And you know, that's really a lot of work from our RISE coordinator who collaborates with each building. And they go she attends each building an IST meeting to share information on the program with all of our social workers and psychologist who are kind of like the first people who see our students when they're in need. And she walks through the entire process. This year we were lucky enough to have our referral with collaboration through referral GPS. The whole process was kind of mainstreamed a bit to make it easier. But we do that at the beginning of every school year. And you're correct, we do have some schools that have not provided any referrals. So then when we see that trend happening, then she will go back second semester and kind of do a
057refresher with those schools. And you know, the reason may be maybe some of those students you know, the purpose of RISE is to provide services to students who have barriers. You know, it may be that school there's not the the barriers that would meet you know, the criteria for RISE. But we do try as hard as we can to make sure that our staff are aware of it and they understand the referral process. Thank you. And and thank you for your great work on this program. Amanda. I also just want to commend. I was on NEF when they initially had the pilot program and to see that we went from focusing on like being able to serve 25 families with highly intensive needs in a lot of areas, right? From housing to transportation to um
058doctor's visits, etc. To using that data to be able to hone in what the most common issue and what we could actually address more effectively, which is mental health. Um and seeing now just quick numbers here looking at now we're serving over 100 kids through the um partnership with Linden Oaks and the referral GPS. Um that's great. You know, to see that there's a a large expansion and that really addresses things like the challenges with insurance and transportation, which were one of the the biggest components. So I just want to commend again like those data driven decisions. And then also with this district commending the intentional partnerships like with referral GPS and Linden Oaks that specialize in these um components meeting a need in our school community where our our kids are especially with areas
059around anxiety and school avoidance and depression where that might be triggered in the school thing to be able to go straight to a therapist or counselor on site is um fantastic. Um I I mean I do have a question about the referral GPS. Like when a family is looking like the mother is looking for therapy externally and you're supporting them, um what kind of criteria would they might give you to be like, hey, this is what I'm looking for in regards to mental health services and how do you help try to best meet their needs? Okay. Um Honestly, every case is very individualistic. For some folks, it's a timing component, right? And it's I'm only available on Wednesday nights because on Tuesday my daughter has dance and if I pull her out of that, that's
060her entire sense of identity, things are going to get worse. And some of it it's a timing component. Some of it it's I have insurance. I don't know where to start. Right? And I've called my insurance company, they've sent me a 75 75-page PDF document where half the phone numbers don't work and I'm struggling. And so can you just help me figure this out? Sometimes it's I have insurance but it's catastrophic insurance because from a deductible perspective, if I got to choose between medication or food or utilizing therapeutic services, I'm going to go the other route. And so a lot of it really understanding that family's kind of situational perspective to say is it a language barrier? Is it a comprehensive barrier? Is it a stigma component? Is it and then figuring out how to
061meet them where they are. And so it's hard to say like these are the things that always come up cuz every case is is drastically different on what that barrier may have been. What we know is if they've come through us from the RISE program, there's some barrier existing that they've been able to justify and say here's why I need this help. And then we kind of work with them through care navigation to have that 30-40 minute conversation to truly understand what are the barriers that are going to keep you from getting that care. Yeah, that's great. And then like how big is your network to be able to meet the needs of all these families? So it's really dependent on what the family is looking for. So if you talk about like elementary school,
062telehealth really doesn't work well. Right. Right? Attention span perspective, everything else that goes into it. And so that network's much smaller and hyper local here. Particularly if there's a transportation issue, we're looking for practices that we partner with within a two-to-three-mile radius of the district or specifically near the building. For older kind of high school students, telehealth sometimes is the most convenient because I don't have the ability to come and drive somewhere and you know, there's two drivers in the house and both of them are at practice. But my kid can do a telehealth session. And so that makes the network really through the state of Illinois because we have the ability to say, hey, we found someone who really who specifically works with eating disorders who's really good but they're down in Decatur. And
063so they're going to be available at the time that you have available. And since you're telehealth only, we can go that way. So the network really expands based on what they're looking for. I'll tell you like language perspective is probably our hardest when you look at some of the more exotic languages or languages that are not prevalently spoken in the area. But that's part of why we've been forced to build that network to be able to cover some of these more specialized needs. Right. Thank you. Great program. Appreciate it. All right, Mark. Thank you, Charles. And and thank you for the presentation. This is clearly a a very important need in the community and you guys are filling a very important gap. One one question I have is you know, and I was very impressed
064with the what you had in the presentation. On the slide from crisis to connection and it shows the two years. What happens over the summer months? So if if if you have a student who's already in some sort of arrangement with the with the organization, what happens when the summer comes? Or what happens if a student has a crisis over the summer months? How do they get the support they need? Do you provide that? For our students that are in RISE and and they're continuing at the end of the year, that's an individual conversation between the counselor and the school team. And if there is a continued need for it, we have been able to continue to provide that counseling over the summer months. And and what happens if there's a crisis that occurs in
065the summer months and it's not a continuation of a an existing relationship? Then typically there's not then that would be reaching out to like local community resources if the student is not continued through RISE. Right. Thank Is that something that you're thinking about as you were discussing expanding the eligibility is is doing something with the kids over the summer one of the potential options for you? Continuing what we're currently doing is what we've been talking about. Um enhancing that we haven't because it um you have to meet certain criteria for those barriers through RISE. And so we could continue that's a conversation we could have. Uh we have not had conversations about um um elaborating on that at this point. Thank you. This is This is great information and thank you for everything the team
066is doing. Melissa? I think what stood out the most to me was the thoughtfulness. And I mean this in two ways. Number one, I was very impressed with the problem-solving process of how the pilot went and how you took these issues. You noticed. That's one thing. You noticed a lot of subtle things. I could tell that by you know, when you mention something like, "Oh, their dance class isn't there at that time and we have to rearrange it or it you really took the time to find out what the problems were. Then the other thoughtfulness that goes along with this is when you gave those testimonies, the things that stood out to me especially when you're talking about I know your instance, there was a student suicidal. I I think that's every parent's worst nightmare.
067So, I think that alone emphasizes the importance of this program. Um but you went into you talked about all the different things to make sure you get the right place for this person. And I think what happens to a lot of our families, you know, when they have to use maybe community service or they have to go through insurance, they don't have somebody helping them navigate through this. When you might have languages they might not know and you're in a crisis at the time. Um so I thought that I like that. I like that you went into um that you talk about the student and the family. That you're getting all the pieces. You can't just fix one part of it. Um the follow-up care that you realize the importance cuz I think a lot
068of people with medical or mental health, there can be a drop-off. And they feel lost and especially for people that are facing these challenges, that just adds more stress. Um I'd like to see the thoughtfulness also going to the planning was that you took the data and found out, "No, they're doing better academically." So, it's the well-rounded. It's the whole student. It's their whole family. And then the disruptions come down. So, it's our whole community. Our kids don't miss anymore, uh you know, you know, academic time. And we have the kids being self-regulated. So, I really enjoyed that piece. And then I think when you talked to mental health, I was there when 204 did their seminar. I'm almost But the the importance of doing this program in a way that builds trust so that
069people that may not have gotten help before feel comfortable and are supported as they go through it. So. Oh. Just my last question before my time is up. It is such a great program, but it is a grant-based program. And we have some financial concerns. What What do you foresee in this program? Where do you want to go and and how will that happen? It's a great question. Uh and one we've been working through. Um as you're aware, everyone knows it started with a grant. Um we are continuing to work um to be able to provide services through that grant. Uh we are currently uh researching um other grants that and um other partnerships that we can utilize to continue the program. So, it will uh continue through the use of grants and partnerships. Thank
070you. Christine. So, I'll start with a question. Um with the the financial aspect um what can we do as a board? Where can we advocate? Um you know, if the will existed say in Springfield or you know, like what what um what would what would you have us do? I think there's a lot of things that I know. I know. That's like a super big question. >> one of the things that um you you mentioned there um is probably an area uh we should look at more so is the advocacy for uh funding from the state level to support programs like this. Um and we look at the evidence-based funding model um mandated categoricals and other things that were are being forced to take money from our budget to cover expenses that we um should
071be seeing some more reimbursement from the state level. What would free up money within our budget then to consider for things like that, but I think it's multiple things. Uh continued advocacy for the need of these services. Um if you I don't know if you're like a social worker by trade, you're aware of, you know, places and people that can provide certain things like that. Connections, contacts, things like that. Um so, I think it's really multiple things. Thanks. Um you can we'll do what we can at you know, cuz when I this presentation, so Amanda was saying how when it first started with NEF by some stroke of luck, I was at the dining room table with a group of individuals when this was like put together and thought of. And I know Lisa was
072there. Um a former board member had us at her house. And it was her dining room. Um I believe a former principal was there. And so to see a group of people sitting around a table saying "This is what we think we could do if we could get it right." And then now to see it here is I mean, I could start crying again. You know, the fact that you and NEF are here together on the same night does not go well for mascara. But you know, I say that you know, because again, I'm seeing the intentional community partnerships with this. I'm seeing how um it can be viewed as well, if they could just get over this one hump. But one hump has so many aspects to it. The transportation, the scheduling, just figuring
073it out. And when you're in the middle of a crisis, whether it's you personally or your child or any family member or friend it's hard to think clearly. And so, there's that intentional partnership and Melissa mentioned this where if I can just have a moment and somebody lends a hand, I can probably figure this out a little bit better. And and do better by whoever it is I'm trying to help, whether it's my um in this case, my my child. But I I'm S- Oh, that was three. >> Sorry. Yeah. Oh, okay. Thank you. So, um I will just to start off with really just two words. Thank you. Um and you know, thank you for the effort you're putting into this. Thank you for um uh yeah, two of my fellow board members have
074now mentioned uh the thought of thoughtfulness. And and how you've thought through what's actually needed. And to hear the description of how you came to get to that point and understanding some of the things and the considerations and um you know, what it what it takes to to help someone um through something in a way that partners with them. Often times, organizations when they're trying to help someone, they're like, "Okay, let me tell you how I'm going to help you." as opposed to "Let's work together to figure out the help that you need." Right? I think that um that really comes through in this program. I do have a question around um the chart that was around the increase in passing grades by year. I found that very fascinating. Can Can you describe that a
075little bit more to me like like what was the story behind that? Was this that, you know, 44% of in Was this an individual? Was this overall? 44% of the classes they weren't passing and now by the end of that year So, can you just kind of give a little bit more shed a little bit more light on that subject? That's um from all of the students that were in RISE over the time. And so, that's quite a few students if you look at it, but it's um they're passing grades. So, it's basically we looked to see if there were failing grades, um which can be a symptom of going through a crisis, right? And with time and care through counseling and able to apply those coping skills, you can see they were able to
076re-engage in their education and their grades and they started to pass more classes, which was amazing to see it across this time from the last 2 years. It just Oh, sorry. It just shows the power of when when you're able to kind of get out from under a situation, right? This isn't So, this isn't about individuals who don't have the potential to be able to succeed and be successful. It's just they just need some way to break through that barrier that's stopping them. And it just it's it's a the the results are that it's it's just amazing just to see the chart just shoot to the top. Um so, again, I'll end where I started with a thank you for all you're doing. Any other comments? Um just thank you to the group and all
077the partners that have helped make this a success. Really appreciate all of your effort. Okay. All right. Item eight, discussion without action. Item 8.01, 2026-2027 tentative budget presentation. Okay, this evening we begin our series of budget workshops and conversations in regard to the tentative budget for fiscal year 2026-2027 loaded in BoardDocs is the budget book as well as a series of slides that we'll run through here very shortly. I want to remind the Board of Education that there are multiple opportunities to review this at a public meeting, this meeting May 18th and then there are two meetings in June on June 1st and June 15th where we would be pending board action this evening, holding a public hearing in regard to the proposed budget and then asking for action by the Board of Education that
078evening. As we know that the budget book contains a lot of information and takes a little bit of time to digest. We don't expect every question to be asked tonight or every question to be answered tonight. And you are invited to submit questions as you review the budget to me. We will we have once again begun the process of building a document to load into BoardDocs with all of the questions asked by board members and those responses. You received a draft copy of that today. We need to go back and kind of review and tweak some of those answers prior to being posted on BoardDocs to make sure that we did get them all correct and as you saw we will still continue to work through answering all of those. But again, no need to
079feel that you're the expert on the entire budget at this evening's meeting. Um I'll turn it over to Mr. Francis and walk through budget presentation. All right, thank you. I first want to give a shout out to Tracy who worked many, many hours on helping develop this budget and also to Lisa who also had a hand in helping with a lot of the narrative presented inside the budget book. So thank you both. All right, good evening. Tonight I'm presenting the tentative budget for fiscal year 20 27. I'm going to begin by saying clearly that this budget cycle has been unlike any other in recent history. It marks a critical turning point for our district as we pivot away from the temporary financial landscape of the last few years and move toward a more sustainable long-term
080fiscal model. To understand this budget, we must acknowledge that the pandemic recovery era has ended. For several years we benefited from temporary federal SR funding and favorable state reimbursement levels. We are now entering a sustainability era where we must rely almost exclusively on local resources and corporations. This shift is driven by three pressures. The complete phase out of federal the complete phase out of federal relief, declining state support which cost us 2.3 million in pro rated reimbursements in FY 26 alone and rising contractual obligations that continue to exert upward pressure on our expenditures. FY 27 is a pivot back to stricter long-term fiscal discipline. While the budget is a legal prerequisite for spending and a school code requirement, we view it much more than that. It is a management tool that reflects our district's goals
081and a plan for the receipt and expenditure of resources. This year we have leaned heavily into what we call the science of assumptions. We have meticulously balanced fixed contractual obligations against variable costs like utilities, supply chain fluctuations and state funding gaps to ensure this document serves as reliable, transparent road map for stewardship during a challenging economic period. The defining reality of this budget is almost is an almost $4 million operating deficit. This structural imbalance was created by multiple factors including the expiration and reduction of certain federal funding, a continued decline in state reimbursement levels for mandated categoricals and investment income and corporate personal property taxes moving towards more normal levels. Initially, the board directed a balanced budget, but after voting down a proposed reduction in force in March, that directive was modified. This allows for
082a more gradual transition that protects our core student programming while we work to close this gap over the coming cycles. To achieve long-term sustainability, we have built this budget on three pillars, strategic reductions, staffing streamlining and revenue maximization. These pillars ensure that we are not just cutting costs, but optimizing every dollar to match current enrollment trends and operational demands without compromise compromising educational quality. Because of this deficit, FY 27 is defined by a commitment to to core operations. There are no new budget initiatives proposed. To capture efficiencies, we have implemented a 15% reduction in school site budgets and a 25% reduction in department discretionary spending. This involved a line-by-line audit where we eliminated a non-essential professional learning, travel and duplicative software platforms including Zoom, Duo and Screencastify. Personnel is our largest investment. To ensure fiscal
083sustainability, we have begun the process reductions to right-size our workforce through retirements and attrition. For FY 27, we are eliminating 59 positions which is comprised of seven administrative, 43 certified educator and nine educational support personnel. These changes align our staffing levels with current enrollment trends and represent the start of a return to pre-pandemic staffing models where appropriate. Despite these reduction these reductions, personnel costs will still rise to 238.6 million for salaries and 59.5 million for benefits strictly due to our binding contractual obligations. On the revenue side, we are taking steps to ensure our general operating budget isn't unfairly burdened by specialized programs. The board has approved adjusted user fees including general student fees, drivers education and facility rentals to ensure they more accurately reflect the actual cost of materials and services. A key note, the
084cafeteria fund currently faces a $1.6 million deficit due to rising lunch supervision costs and the loss of some federal aid which will require future fee evaluations to prevent ongoing subsidies from the general fund. To summarize the numbers, our [clears throat] operating funds project 366.1 million in revenue and 370.1 million in expenditures resulting in the previously mentioned almost $4 million deficit. Across all funds which include our major capital investments, we expect 367.7 million in revenue and 407.5 million in expenses. We are utilizing our fund balances as a strategic bridge during this transition year. This results in a total fund balance decrease of nearly $40 million as we spend down reserves previously approved for infrastructure and construction per board policy 420 as a proactive approach to maintain and or improve our facilities. We've also found significant savings
085within our capital plans. Through aggressive negotiations of installation contracts and reducing new device counts, we reduced $1.65 million in IT expenses compared to the original five-year projection. In transportation, we captured $1.2 million in savings by temporarily reducing the number of replacement buses purchased for FY 27 allowing us to offset rising operational transport costs while still maintaining a safe, reliable fleet. We remain committed to the stewardship of our facilities. This budget maintains our annual $7 million commitment to facility health health as part of our operation and maintenance budget. Proactive management is not a luxury. It is a necess is it it is a necessity to avoid the false economy of much higher emergency repair costs in the future. This budget also funds four major multi-year projects previously approved by the board. The final phase of the
086junior high renovation renovations at Washington and Kennedy, the Naperville North High School addition and the construction of the new permanent transportation facility. Following tonight's presentation, the tentative budget will be available for public inspection starting May 8th. You can find it at the administrative center, the Nichols and Naper Boulevard libraries and our and on our district website. We invite the community to review these plans before our official public hearing and the final board adoption scheduled at the June 15th Board of Education meeting. In closing, while we while we have made significant stride work strides, the work continues. The nearly $4 million structural deficit underscores the critical need for unyielding fiscal discipline. Additional reductions will be necessary in future cycles to fully align our expenditures with our localized, limited, ongoing revenue. Every decision we make will continue
087continue to be meticulously calculated to serve the best interest of our Naperville 203 students and taxpayers. I'm now happy to take any questions. Charles, I have a quick question. Question from the board. Thank you. No, not regarding this with the Are we sticking since this is such a big comprehensive issue, are we sticking to the three minutes? That's really a board question. How does the board feel about that? Because I think the procedure that we said was that we do one round of three minutes and if we have further questions, we can do a second round if the board agrees that we need more follow-up. >> So then we start with the three and then if we go Okay, yeah. Then if we run up against that that we can vote on adding another three.
088Right. Okay. Yeah, I just if I had just a reminder, multiple meetings too, so Yes. Okay. So with that, questions from the board. Amanda. Mike, um could you I don't know if they can bring back up the slide, but um on slide nine, there's a breakdown of the operating funds day-to-day operations and the all funds includes capital and debt services. Um I'm not I don't know if I quite understand that. Could you try to explain it again for me like what's the difference between the two? Yeah, there there we have um eight funds. Okay. Okay, and they're all defined by the state board of education. And the state board defines operating funds as just the education, the operation and maintenance, transportation, uh those three funds and I M R A F at times. We also
089have um tort, which we define as an operating fund per board per board policy 420, working cash, same reason, and then the two funds that are not I've left off are our life safety Well, there's actually three funds. We don't use the life safety fund. Life safety fund, which is fund 90, fund 60, which is capital projects, and fund 30, which is debt service. Those are not considered operating funds, whether you look at the state financial profile or the state uh however that is be defined them, those are not operating funds. Those are not funds that you uh receive or spend on money on a typical basis on an annual basis. Typically use the same constr- Most districts use the same construction funds or their capital projects fund used to be called site construction, so
090that's why sometimes I mix my names of my funds cuz it was changed about 15 years ago. But the capital projects fund um is typically funded through a bond referendum. So you know, a district would pass a referendum and get a large amount of money for various capital projects. It could be a new building, it could be renovations to buildings, and that money typically would go into fund 60 and then be spent on those various projects. Those the timing of those revenues and expenses really skews the overall look of a budget on an annual basis cuz the budgets, remember, are 12 months, July 1st to June 30th. So you might be getting all of this money in 1 year and then spending it over many years, which is skewing, if you're looking at all the
091funds in total, what your expenses are growing or shrinking by on an annual basis. So we've separated those funds, like the state board has, to really uh really focus in and narrow in on the operat- the day-to-day operational costs of the run the school district as the the normal cost that you see in bills and credit cards on an monthly basis. Mhm. So okay. So we have some that like focus in on like debt and capital that isn't necessarily tied into our operational budget and then we have our operational expenses, which is our ongoing stuff like our education, transportation, cafeteria, those kinds of things, right? Yeah, that that's correct. And I didn't I forgot to mention that our our our debt service fund is actually very small. We have a very small amount of debt.
092Right. This year it's only $151,000 in interest. So again, that is typically money that is uh as typically as a result of a referendum and ours is too, a result of a referendum back in 2000, I think, in nine to do the work at Naperville Central. Those bonds are still being paid off. This year there's only $151,000 worth of interest on that bond, and so that's levied for separately and spent to pay down those those bond payments. Okay. And so that's what the the one on the right, the all funds includes everything, right? That's correct. >> And so when it says like a total deficit of four nearly $40,000, that's because of that >> I'm sorry. 40 million. >> million. 40 million. Yeah. Yeah. That includes like um bonds of like things that we have
093been like paying down loans and stuff like that. >> It's not loans or bonds. It's typically it's it's it's for the projects that the the board approved. These capital projects that were on slide So like the north and the >> 11, yes. It's those costs that are occurring typically over multiple years. >> multiple years, okay. >> Some of those costs are incorporated into the amended budget for 26 because some of those projects were approved after last year's budget was after the current budget was approved, we the board approved some of those projects. So we're amending uh the current year budget. You'll see that on the next agenda item or one of the next agenda items to amend for some of those costs, which are occurring that's already have occurred or are occurring before June 30th,
094and then the balance of those projects, which are between July 1st next year and the end of next year. Okay. So that's cross years. And so then why is the estimated ending fund balance larger with the all funds than the uh operating funds? >> Because there's a small balance left in the capital projects fund, Okay. which is a few million There's a couple million dollars difference between the two, and because there is still a few million dollars after this round of expenses that will be remaining in fund 60. Okay. Okay. Thank you. It it's it's a little complicated for my um my brain and training, but I appreciate you giving me a little bit more breakdown to help understand. So what we're really looking at though, and I mean we're looking at all of it,
095but like really paying attention to the operational funds because um our revenue and our ongoing costs is what we really are trying to eventually get to a balanced budget again. That's correct. >> Yeah. And um I do want to just say that I do appreciate all the efforts that were made to streamline services and reduce duplicative costs and you know, components. I know that um that's um you know, difficult work. But thank you. Mark. Thank you, Charles. And uh Mike, thank you very much for the uh budget presentation and also the budget package. I I did appreciate the additional detail that is in the budget package and the splitting between the operating operations budget and the total budget that you just uh went through and explained. I think this gives us a lot more visibility
096and and hopefully, as we go forward, uh not because of the situation we're in, but just in the name of transparency, we we continue to provide this level of detail in the uh budget book. Um a question that I had asked, and I'm not sure if it's been fully answered yet, um but because of the pressure that we're under, what additional steps are we going to be taking in terms of reviewing um on a on a monthly basis the spending uh at the school level, at the district level, uh just to ensure that we're doing everything possible to stay on budget or better and also find opportunities maybe not for this coming fiscal year, but for the future fiscal years to um to further reduce costs. I think the if we go back in time
097and look at on average or much more than average, it's the it's the norm that if a budget that someone and there's lots of people in this school district that are responsible for various budgets, from principals to directors, assistant superintendents, have their own budgets. They uh actually already have done do a very good job at staying within budget. The area that I'm most concerned about is not there them staying within their budgets, it's the lots of there's a lot of unknowns in in in any budget also. Not only on the revenue side because we're we're adopting a budget based on my best estimates of what the state is going to give us next year, and the state hasn't passed a budget yet. So those are estimated numbers. We also are estimating things like diesel fuel.
098Okay? Diesel fuel has gone through the roof in the last few months because of the war. And when is that going to come down? We we don't know. So again, those are those are the things that worry me more than individual someone ordering something and staying within their line item budget. So so you raise a good point. I mean, there are things that we don't know the answers to that are pretty significant, the state funding, the cost of gas, diesel. Um so what is our contingency plan? If let's say the funding doesn't materialize or the prices continue to go up, where where do we go in terms of having a plan B? Well, the I would say the the the good news is that because we have a sufficient fund balance, we can weather a
099short-term storm. Okay? If that were to happen though, we would have to make other we would have to look at how can we if if diesel fuel staying at $4 plus a gallon for the foreseeable future it is in our future, then something else is going to have to to give. But we do have a little bit of time to make that to see that actually happen and to make to react accordingly. Thank you, Mike. Anyone else? Joe Poling. Melissa Melissa Okay. Um I probably do not share the operating This is the first time our budget has been separated into the operating versus the all funds. Um my concern with this is it kind of can give a false impression because it's like your household budget. Whatever you have that money whether you're spending on
100an operating cost or something else, you still have a limited amount of money that we have to budget. So, I guess and then going back and comparing So, so saying this is just needed for operating is just a piece of the puzzle, but to look at how much do we have overall. For example I am extremely concerned cuz we're talking about the amended budget we're going to have versus what it was before a $31 million deficit. That's that's a big deficit. So, that should be a concern. We're transferring of that $24 million to capital projects. Now, just so people know capital projects are not operational and maintenance. These are new projects. That's that those those I'm going to say home ec, it's not rooms that we did that that's what it used to be. Now,
101we call it the CTE rooms. But for those four rooms and for the bus barn we have a big deficit. That's what's leading it. And if you look at the budget, you will see that it is not being caused by reduction. Our revenues are going up. So, when we say it's SR and all those, no, we're still getting more money in our pockets and we're spending more. So, not only are we amending our budget to have a $31 million deficit and we're taking a majority of that money out of our educational fund which directly provides services and instruction to our students. $12 million of that is coming out of that fund. So, I think we all sat through when we tried to do a riff. I think we could be, you know, we had students
102families community members, staff. I think we got the clear message that they don't want the money taken from direct services or reducing services. So, we need to start looking at things and I am can't just in good conscience can't look at them and say, "But you got a nice bus barn and really nice home ec rooms." So, I think we need to start reconsidering um you know, how we're spending our money. The next issue I have, real quick, I can't even get into this in 3 minutes is that the new budget they're proposing we're going to have a four they're proposing it with a $40 million deficit. This is not sustainable. This is the spending for capital projects we don't necessarily need. >> Can I just address a few of those comments? Um It was
103first commented that this is the first time that we're separating the budget between operating and and all funds. That's not true. If you look at last year's presentation on the budget, we did the same exact thing and part of the reason we did that is because we started doing some significant capital projects. And that was a way to really show the board that there is a difference between operating funds and and and um and on all funds, especially our capital projects fund. So, that was done in last year also and it's been done and it was pointed out by I believe uh board mem- member Willett Wolensky that our annual treasurer's report our monthly treasurer's report also separates uh the funds between operating funds and all funds. And that was a change made in our
104software this year also. So, we This is not the first time we're looking at at the funds between these two levels. And the >> In the budget book, just so we you know what I'm talking about. >> Melissa Melissa In the That's true. We did add that page for this year in the budget book. That's absolutely true. Um but in last year's presentation you'll see uh charts that show all the funds separated between just like that page that was added that we added into the budget book, which we did not do last year, but we did put it in last year's presentation uh between between those two things. Now, again, the the in the deficits that were were were mentioned are accurate but again, they're the the result specifically and explicitly because of policy 420.
105It's a board policy that the board passed five to seven years ago that specifically says, "If our fund balance of our operating funds is above a certain threshold and that's 10 to 20% of annual expenses then the administration is to bring a recommendation to the board to um I'm going to read it. If the If the fund balance exceeds the range and that's that 10 to 20% range, the administration shall present recommendations to the board for its consideration that include planned uses of the funds, timing and other pertinent pertinent information. Priority will be given to non-recurring expenses as well as a consideration for taxpayer relief." Those non-recurring expenses are exactly what we've been doing in the last couple years that we've been presenting to the board multiple times and those are capital projects. They're additions
106at a few of our elementary schools, the turf field at North, the building of our connections program and so on and the new transportation facility. That is explicitly why there's a larger deficit is because we're spending down the fund balance as directed by policy 420. Oh, I actually had extra time. Sorry. It expired while you were speaking. That's what happened. So, your own timer went off. You were timing yourself and it went off. Which while you were speaking. So, which prompted you to stop speaking. So there there according to you the way the recording Well, not the recording. According to the way your timing went you didn't have extra time. Joe >> [snorts] >> Um >> [clears throat] >> So uh I I really appreciate the uh clarity uh in this layout. But I think
107it's um a very transparent way to kind of lay out the the numbers. Um and I think the the way I think about it and uh you know, kind of correct me if I'm wrong here. Um >> [clears throat] >> the operating funds is kind of like, you know we I I take home a paycheck and that is the household budget, right? It pays for the food, it pays for the utilities, it pays for your car insurance, right? All of those things that you just have to do because you, you know, you you live here and and uh you know, you you need to eat and uh so kind of the those day-to-day things that that come up every every day, every year. Um the all funds the the the uh fund balance is kind
108of like your your savings, right? You try to stash away a little bit of money every month and um you know, every so often your you know, refrigerator breaks and you have to uh spend some of that money right? That you weren't expecting to. It wasn't in your budget, but you know, you got to fix the refrigerator. Or, you know, you want to do a renovation, you want to get a new kitchen. And you know, it's you've you've put that money away, right? It's in your your your fund balance and you, you know, spend more than you make that year by pulling that money out of savings, right? By pulling that money out of out of the fund balance. And that's what the board has opted to do uh with some of these capital uh
109improvement projects, right? Th- these are things that have been passed by the board already. These are not new items, correct? Um and uh the the budget is capturing those decisions that the board has made and has voted on in that all funds and the operating funds are, you know, kind of those day-to-day things that that make the district go. It Is that a good analogy? That's correct. Thank you. Holly Uh I think I kind of want to follow up on that cuz I know it's an analogy we say a lot, but it doesn't I think it needs to be explained a little more. So, thinking about No, I guess it's part of 8.01. In board docs, there's the the information about a transfer of funds. Um Could you kind of talk about what has been
110already voted on and allocated for the board by the board and where we're at in that spending that necessitates that transfer? I think to put it more in that context of what we've already approved and where we're at. Now, maybe too big of a scope for this meeting cuz I didn't ask it again, but I think expanding on that and clarifying that would be helpful. Um going forward into the next meeting, unless you have something to say on it now. Yeah, we we may have to get If you're looking for specific numbers and how much we've spent to date, I don't have those numbers off the top of my head. Um but the like for instance, the trans the transportation facility is already in progress. Uh this is something that the board voted on last
111summer. Again, uh it was right at or right after we adopted the budget. Knowing and I we've been I've been communicating this many times since then that an amended budget was going to be coming forth. Just for that alone. The other significant events that happened was the adoption of the teachers' contract after the budget was adopted. And then therefore and also the the the transfers that would be necessary to fund the capital projects, not just the transportation facility, but the other the other projects that were also approved by the school board the last time we looked at policy 420 subsequent to the adoption of the current budget. All of those items and we've tried to narrow it down. Again, this is an a future agenda item on the amended budget, I mean, later tonight, but
112those are we've tried to simplify to just really capture the major events that took place since last year's adoption so that we are more in line with what is actually going to happen between now and the end of the year for FY26. Yeah, I think that I Thank you cuz that's kind of what I'm looking for and I think especially for community members to kind of spell out where we're at already and you know, what those capital items are in one place, what we've already started, what we've already funded, what we haven't. I know this is separate and I think separating that out from what is the the increased expenses in the contract and for labor costs. I think splitting those out would be helpful and a good illustration of where things are going. Um
113and separate So, go >> just make one more point on that. It Changing the expenses for because of the capital projects in no way uh means that we're going over budget. It's just that we've are now because of the decisions that were made, we're going to have more expenses for those projects that the board voted on and then we have to account for those in the cost. Those budgets are set by by the Board of Education when they approved the bids for those various projects. Right, and I think a lot of them we ended up coming in under budget as well. But I think just spelling that out and what what those transfers are going to cover would be a good illustration. Um and then separate in a smaller amount, too, I think I was
114looking at There were a lot of questions on ahead about the IT. Um and a lot of the savings has been from getting rid of duplicative services and that's a great place to start, but I know I'm hearing rumblings at the earlier grade levels in elementary school, we don't want one-to-one devices, we don't want our devices to come home, we don't want the screen time in the same way. And I know we approved in fall 2025 that plan, but to see where we're at and if we do need the same investment um when we're hearing kind of those innovations and thoughts about less screen time, less screens, if that's a place if we've already gone forward, maybe it's too late, but if that's a place where we're at in that project as well. Okay. Um
115I do have one question. The first one is two questions, actually. The first one's kind of random one. You mentioned diesel fuel and the cost of diesel fuel. Can you give me an order of magnitude on roughly how much fuel we spend as a district? I believe our budget for diesel fuel is between around 650 to 700,000 dollars. All right, so over half a million dollars just on fuel. So, one of the other things I know a lot of times we talk about discretionary spending, right? Fuel is technically considered a discretionary spend, right? I would not consider fuel a discretionary spend. The same thing with utilities. >> But in the bucket in buckets in terms of where it falls in terms of a bucket or no? Well, it's it's it it's it's a it's a
116supply >> [clears throat] >> within the transportation fund. But it's an expense that we have to have. No, I understand that. I'm just saying I view discretionary spending is when I have actually have a choice between buying something and not buying something. We don't have a choice to not fill our buses with with diesel fuel. So, therefore, I personally don't view that as a discretionary item. So, we could not cut that. Earlier in the presentation, we talked about cutting discretionary spending by 25%. I can't cut fuel by 25%. Yeah, no, I I fully understand that. That's actually why I asked the question because I guess you said you don't personally see it and I don't either. Just to be clear. But my question is by pure definition, is it one of those things that right?
117Like the financial definition. I'm asking that question cuz I'm not a financial person, but if from a pure financial standpoint, is that considered a bucket that is discretionary or not? Uh no, I I would say no. If if we had actually the opportunity to make a decision about when our buses were running and how often they ran, then it could be considered discretionary, but we don't have that luxury. Got it. Okay. Nope, I just want a clarification on that. My other question is just for clarification. So, the budget First of all, the budget is approved by the Board of Education every year. All the spending that is that has happened as a result of board policy is one because of a board policy, which is the board decision, and two, all the projects it says
118that the administration is to bring forth projects. It doesn't necessarily mean that the board has to approve those projects, correct? That's correct. All the policy says is that the board makes a recommendation the administration makes a recommendation to the school board on how to potentially use fund balance. All right. So, when those recommendations are brought forward, it's up to the board to decide to spend or not. So, anything that was decided upon was the board's decision to vote yes to those projects. That's correct. The board voted on all of those projects. Okay. Thank you. Any additionals? Seeing none. Okay. Um so, this comes back to You have a question? Yes, I would like to know if I could have some more time. Oh, so we can How did we agree doing that were I'm fine.
119If she wants to do another round. Anybody else? Yes, yes. Okay. So, we will do another round of three more minutes. All right. Um So, Charles, to your point, yes, I agree that that those capital projects we have approved. However, one thing to note is the capital projects Oops, that's a different one. Um Oh my gosh. I am not good at this. I'm going to be fired from this. But um Sorry. Okay, go ahead. That we did approve those, but they are presented some of these as as by the administration. So, one of the nice things that I'd asked for for years, I'm sure you'll remember me saying that we want I wanted some comprehensive plan of capital projects. So, if the trust bus transportation was an issue, it should have been presented in the
120budget that these things were going to come up. I think the frustration I heard from parents and people in the community was that you know, yes, we vote at the time and we approve them, but we should the budget should realistically be what we expect to spend. So, but more over on this, one of the questions I sent ahead and I think Mike has said a lot of comments. I took note of them, but I'm running out of time, so I don't want to be careful. Is that we are doing this at a time when other boards don't do this because they do it later because yes, it is very hard Mr. Francis is guessing. We don't have when you look at that board the budget book, you'll see we don't have the numbers to
121see how close and far off we are. We don't have all our negotiations for contracts done. We don't have our attendance and the needs of our kids. Where other districts that do it say in August, they have realistic numbers. They know. So, one of the things I asked in my questions to Mr. Bridges was can we switch this? So, that we have more accurate um and informed budgeting cuz again, having this budget, the next one being 31 million in deficient this year with the amended budget and and planning ahead to have 40 million and it doesn't do contingencies like some other people mentioned. I'd like to throw that to my board members of the thought of switching the timing to this cuz it sounds to Mr. Like Mr. Francis is saying this adds a lot
122of uncomfortable variables. Can we switch that to a question to Mr. Francis of can you tell us the rationale behind the timing around why we do the budget when we do it and why not? >> take it. Yeah. You'll take it. I'm sorry. If someone could just explain to us why we do what we do, please. >> policy 410 on fiscal and business management calls for the goal to be completing the the board to approve the budget prior to the beginning of the new fiscal year. It has been our practice for years. I think there was a year when we had a transition in the uh uh chief school business official position where we delayed it a little bit. Statutorily it has to be approved by September 30th. So, we the administration prepares its budget
123based on the policy and the expectation of the board. The board were to change that then we'd follow that timeline. I uh you can add to my time. I didn't even do your time. >> That's all right. Um So, the fiscal year for the school district starts That's July 1. Right? Just clarifying that. So, that's why we try to get it done by June 30th and that also adds uh predictability for all the staff to know like what um to expect around salaries and um benefits and supplies and all that kind of stuff to get ready for the upcoming school year which starts really quickly in August, right? So, that's kind of like the rationale behind why we want to have that done with that timeline. It's It's uh best practice for our district, right?
124Um so, that's what I hear you saying. Um I think uh and then also the other comment I just kind of want to make is that um you know, it's not a guess. It's a estimation based off of years and years of tracking the statistics of what we actually get for budget and revenue with the state um and other and local taxes. Like it's, you know, maybe off by you know, a percentage a couple percentage points. Like that's what you do with any kind of research is um but you're it's pretty accurate and uh in the past, I know that you've been accurate to like the 1% uh multiple years. So, I have a lot of faith in your estimations. Um that that's just my That's just a comment of my personal experience in my
125five years on the board. Um So, I just wanted to make that clarification. Thanks. Mark. Thank you, Charles. I I just want to add to what Amanda said. In In all my experience of doing budgets, um when I look forward to the 2026-2027 budget, the only one that will be 100% accurate is the one we do on June 30th of 2027. But unfortunately, when we do budgets, we we don't have the luxury of waiting for that. So, every budget is going to have some level of estimation um and it it's going to not be 100% correct. And And we accept that because it gives us the guidance and direction that we need to plan financially for the upcoming fiscal year. But the other comment I I also want to make sure that we focus on
126is you know, we we we had a 12.1 million dollar forecasted deficit for 26-27. And we're we're at 3.9 million. So, first of all, it's great that we were able to reduce that forecasted deficit down to 3.9 million. And that is that is really good news and and we should we should appreciate everything that uh the team has done in order to reduce that. Uh the second thing is as we look ahead and based on feedback from the community, we we had decided that it was take it is going to take us several years to get ourselves in balance. So, I I don't as as we've had all these discussions on capital projects, I don't want us to lose sight of the fact that we do have an operating deficit that we still have to
127address over the course of this coming year and in the future years. So, I I I want to make sure we're all focused on how do we get that to zero. Um as as quickly as we can and without impacting the student experience. So, I don't want us to lose sight of that and as as we have all these other discussions and um you know, we'll need to hammer out some common understandings on things, but let's not lose track of the fact that we do have an operating deficit which basically means that our expenses are higher than our revenues. Um and and that's just something we we have to fix. So, I don't want us to lose sight of that. Thanks. Other comments? I still have 20 seconds left. I had you at 30, so
128take 30's good. Go ahead. Okay. If you want the job, Charles. I have more than Oh, oh. I I I I already I already have a job. Thank you. >> Well, there's no reason for us both to do it. >> I'm good. This is redundancy, Charles. It should be cut out. You're eating into your time, you know that, right? Okay. So, I want to just point out that the 420 or that just came out all wrong. The 420 policy about the 10% or 20% being used as a one-time, we can use that. It doesn't have to be capital projects. The other thing about that and the board policy stating when we do the budget, because we've always done it that way isn't always the best reason and we have the ability. Our job is to
129do policies that work well for our district. There you go. Other comments? Okay, seeing no other ones. Um So, this is coming I think the superintendent started off by outlining uh pretty you know, in a lot of detail around um the plan and for a later agenda item we will finalize that, but the tentative proposal is to have this go all the way into the 15th of June which is when we would have the hearing, right? So, I would just request that uh my fellow board members make sure that you get any additional questions. I think having these discussions and these discussions are good. They spark other questions. Let's make sure we get our questions in to uh Superintendent Bridges and team so they can um uh be prepared for the next time we have
130this discussion which will be in two weeks. Right? Okay. All right. All right, next agenda item is 8.02 2026-2027 board meeting schedule. >> All right. Okay, so you have a a draft of listed dates. Follow the typical process of first and third Mondays except where noted by an asterisk uh and typically two meetings a month again except for as noted by an asterisk just due to the way the calendar falls and what past practice has been. A great question was asked about looking at the board meeting calendar and uh alongside um the list of significant holidays and we did identify one on September 21st. Uh Yom Kippur begins at sundown on the 20th and carries on until sundown on the 21st. Um so, the board may wish to um move that meeting to September 22nd.
131Um Otherwise, everything else is okay. Happy to answer any questions. Questions from the board? Amanda. I like that proposal. I think it's great. Yeah, let's do it. Well, I'm in favor of doing that. >> [cough] >> This is without action today though, so we would come bring it back. Okay. >> But we would essentially direct superintendent to make the adjustment so that when it does come back for action, it would be reflective of that. Joe. Yeah, I also agree with that change. I'm seeing Holly's agreeing. Okay. Sounds like it's pretty unanimous. Okay. There you go. So, Superintendent Bridges, if you can may you bring that back, just amend that so that when it's with action, we'll be able to I take action on the amended version of that or the revised version of that. Other
132questions or comments? Okay, so we'll see that back for action in two weeks. All right. Uh next item item 8.03 press policy update 121. Okay, the policy reference education subscription service better known as press uh volume 121 update is ready for the board's review. Dr. Cohen has taken a look at these policies, written a pretty straightforward memo and I'm sure I don't know if he has anything to present or say. Be happy to answer any questions. These would be for action um potentially at the May 18th meeting. Questions from the board? Mark. Thank you, Charles. And And And thank you, Mark, for putting together the the package. It was very comprehensive. Just something I I maybe I'm thinking we make a recommendation to take an extra look at in policy 4.40 and 7280, we have
133additional language that was agreed to by the board. Um I I'm just thinking maybe for the next board meeting if this is still on the agenda. Um yeah, it's without action. Um maybe we just take a look at the other wording that the board has put in outside of what's in press for those two policies and just make sure we're comfortable with it. Uh this way we we have the current board is taking a look at it and just good good maintenance of the uh of the uh policies. Other? He said 440 and which one? >> 440. 440 and 7280. We can certainly run those by uh council. Okay. That'd be great. Thank you. Yeah, I don't see anything wrong with them, but I just figured just from a um good hygiene perspective, it's good
134to just take a look at it and and agree that we're fine. Okay. Joe. Yeah, I appreciate you uh catching that and and I think it's good to take uh a look at things that um might differ from you know things that uh the board has uh put in. Um as sometimes when we do this um we have a uh uh just a policy consent agenda for those kind of mundane you know reference changes and and law changes and things. Um would that be uh something we do then is kind of break out the the few that we want to discuss more and uh put those with you know pretty um non-substantive uh changes on a on a policy consent. >> makes sense. So breaking it out you said? We'll just put a policy consent
135agenda item together for the policies absent any that the board has identified to look closer at and so far we have 440 and 7280. Got it. Okay. Other questions or comments? All right, seeing none. I guess we'll see that back for action in 2 weeks. All right, item nine discussion with action. Item 9.01 establish date for public hearing and direct tentative FY 27 budget to be put on public display. Okay, as uh Mr. Francis has shared with the board, uh we have the need to present an amended budget for fiscal year 2026. Statute uh requires that uh there be a public hearing uh and that be notified at least 30 days ahead of time. We're we're recommending the public hearing be uh held on June 15th. Your action is simply setting the date of the
136public hearing. Did you say 26? The 2026 budget, the amended one. I I thought that this item was 27. No? Uh that's a uh that's the >> Okay, got it. Sorry. Yep, that's fine. Okay, so I flip-flopped it. Got it. Okay. So Yes. >> You read it correctly. It's been updated since you got that copy. Got it. Okay. All right, so um I'll entertain a motion. Wait, which policy are we doing? We're doing uh the 2026 amended budget. 9.01. I'll Move approval of 9.01 as to establish a date for public hearing regarding the FY 26 amended budget. Second. Motion and second have been heard. Any discussion? Please call the roll, Ms. Patton. Gerke. Aye. Blastic. Aye. Kozminski. Aye. Kush. Aye. Wolinsky. Aye. McMillan. Aye. Kelly Black. Aye. The motion passes. Item 9.02. Uh this is
137to establish a date for public hearing regarding the intent to affect interfund transfers. Right? And as noted, the fiscal year 26 amended budget includes fund transfers previously approved capital projects by the Board of Education for expenses occurring as part of the FY 26 amended budget as well as FY 27 budget and some of those transfers require a public hearing. So we recommend we hold that public hearing also on June 15th. I'll entertain a motion. So moved. Second. Motion and second have been heard. Any discussion? Seeing none. Oh, sorry. Wait, I need to prefer I speak. You're good. Um I'm going to vote nay on this because of my I feel like the variables to push it back, I'm not comfortable that the new budget has a $40 million deficit. The other So I feel like
138if we push this budget back we would have better numbers. There's a list of Mr. Francis's comments about it. Um the other issue is we still have negotiations, but the other thing is you know, one of the problems we had when people showed up is they weren't happy about how to address this the the um the the deficits. So if we push this back, we can get more specific and hopefully maybe even whittle down the 40% deficit we're anticipating now with this budget. So I'm going to vote no because I think our budget really should be as the other school districts do it that it's around the time so we have more information. We have the state funding so we know what we're going to get re- reimbursed for so that we know you know,
139what our attendance will be so we know our union contracts are settled. So I'm going to vote nay. Other questions or comments? Okay, seeing none. Please call the roll, Ms. Patton. Kush. >> Aye. McMillan. >> Aye. Kozminski. Aye. Kelly Black. Nay. Blastic. Aye. Wolinsky. Aye. Gerke. Aye. Uh the motion passes. Um item 9.03. Is this the >> Establish the date of the public hearing and direct tentative FY 27 budget to be put on public display. Um and so the process for adoption of the budget requires at least one public hearing after the tentative budget is made available. We're recommending that also that public hearing be held on June 15th. Motion to approve. Second. Yes, I'll entertain a motion. Thank you. >> Thank you, Charles. Sorry to jump in. No problem. It's all good. Uh the
140motion and second have been heard. Um any discussion? Hold on, I got to set my timer. Um Melissa. I actually flip-flopped my answers. So that was for the tentative budget that I voted nay, but I still would have voted nay for the other the public hearing regarded the effect of inner inner fund transfers. Um just because I'd like to get that information. I think Holly had some good points about um you know, how much have we spent um on these projects, how much do we anticipate, how much are they really impacting us. So again, I'm going to vote nay on this for the rationale. I flip-flopped my rationale. Thanks. Okay. Other discussion? Holly. Uh I'm just clarifying that this whole vote is just to set the date for the hearing and we will it all
141happen on June 15th. Correct. Yes. Okay. Other questions or comments or discussion? Sure, go ahead. Just just so you know, it's because I'm the reason is I know it's just for the scheduled, but we're starting that budget process and approving it. So that was why I feel like it would be better if we delayed that. Thanks. Further discussion? Seeing none. Please call the roll, Ms. Patton. McMillan. Aye. Blastic. Aye. Gerke. Aye. Wolinsky. Aye. Kelly Black. Nay. Kush. Aye. Kozminski. Aye. The motion passes. Okay, item 10, new business. We have no new business. Item 11, old business. We have no old business. Item 12, upcoming events. Item 12.01, schedule of events. >> Sunday, May 17th is commencement both at Central and North. And then the next board meeting is on May 18th. Awesome. And we all
142board [clears throat] members have their assigned school high schools. Okay. Um congratulations. I know that there are several board members who have students graduating. So it's always a wonderful and joyous occasion and it's my favorite day of the school year by far. Actually, that and first day of school. Two my my two favorites. Okay. Um so with that and item 13, adjournment. Item 13.01, motion to adjourn. I will entertain a motion to adjourn. Move to adjourn. Second. Motion and three seconds have been heard. Any discussion? Joe. >> [laughter] >> I knew that was going to happen at some point in my life. Please call the roll, Ms. Patton. Kush. Aye. McMillan. >> Aye. Blastic. Aye. Wolinsky. Aye. Kelly Black. Aye. Kozminski. >> Aye. Gerke. Aye. The motion passes. We are adjourned. Thank you, everyone, and
143get home safely.