001Good evening. First of all, apologize for keeping everyone waiting. All right. Since Since 5:33, the Board of Education has been in closed session um for the appointment, employment, compensation, comp- uh dis- 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 negotiating matters between the school board and its employees or their representatives, or deliberations concerning salary schedules for one or more classes of employees, the purchase or lease of real property for use of for the use of the school board, including meetings held for the purpose of discussing whether a particular parcel should be acquired. I will entertain a motion to come out of closed session. So moved. Second. Motion has been moved and seconded. Please call the
002roll. McMillan Aye. Guerke Aye. Blastic Aye. Wolinsky Aye. Kush >> Aye. Kosminski Aye. The motion passes. We are in open session. Good evening and welcome to the May uh sorry, to the April I'm getting ahead of myself. April 6th, 2026 Board of Education meeting. Our mission is to empower students to develop a learner's mindset, demonstrate adaptability, communicate effectively, think critically, and become global citizens. All right. Um please join the uh oh sorry, please call the roll, Mrs. Patton. Board members present this evening, Charles Kush, Christine Guerke, Amanda McMillan, Joe Kosminski, Holly Blastic, and Mark Wolinsky. Okay. Please join the Board of Education in the Pledge of Allegiance. Okay, item four, recognition. Item 4.01, good news. Okay, we do have a lot of good news to share this evening. Start uh with the Teacher of the
003Month recognition. Matt Snyder, Naperville North, was recognized as the March Teacher of the Month, presented by WGN News and Ankin Law. As part of the recognition, WGN News anchor Lauren Jiggetts traveled to North to film a segment for the broadcast. The segment highlighted his unique, high-energy teaching style and his deep commitment to his students. Mr. Snyder is not only a teacher, but also a track and cross country coach, and he oversees the Project Positivity Group at North, which aims to encourage students to support one another. He was nominated by junior Molly Groves, who says that his kindness and his care for us doesn't stop at the classroom door, it goes far beyond that. He teaches that failure is an essential in life. You need it to grow. Congratulations, Mr. Snyder. For the third year in
004a row, Dress Up 203 hosted a pop-up prom boutique at Naperville Central High School. Dress Up 203 is a parent group that works to provide prom dresses to North and Central students who do not have the financial means to afford their own formal wear. This year, over 600 dresses were donated from local businesses, and each student had their own personal shopper who helped to find a multiple dresses to try on. There were also volunteer seamstresses doing alterations if needed. Dress Up 203 was able to offer each student uh with jewelry, thanks to donations from the community, and had raffles for pre-dance nail, hair, and makeup appointments. Central's prom is April 18th, and the North prom is May 2nd. For the third year in a row, city of Naperville has been ranked number one in the
005best cities to live in America list by Uh we're honored to be included in the factors that contribute to the ranking alongside our friends at Indian Prairie District 204. Big thank you to everyone who makes up our 203 community and helps us excel. >> [applause] >> The Bloom Room at Connections Transition Services has received a Make Kindness Count award from the Collaborative Youth Team of Illinois and Kids Matter. 18 Connections students were recognized for this award. The Bloom Room has four groups of students that participate weekly in making flower arrangements with flowers provided by Trader Joe's. They are then delivered to 203 schools and offices, as well as to local businesses throughout the community. The students learn the basics of making flower arrangements and performing all tasks independently, allowing them to perform job skills while
006expressing their creativity. The Bloom Room was chosen in recognition of its ability to perform a selfless acts of kindness throughout the community. Both organizations nominated the Bloom Room for this award as they delivered joy and flowers at Each student was awarded a certificate and flowers in appreciation for their contribution to spreading joy and flowers throughout our community. >> [applause] >> An additional Make Kindness Count award was given to Kathy Mel, a dedicated member of our HURRAH volunteer team. HURRAH, which stands for Happy, Upbeat Retirees, and Residents Actively Helping, is our volunteer program that provides a range of opportunities from regular classroom assistance to helping with one-time school events, allowing volunteers to tailor their commitment to their schedule. Kathy's been a part of our HURRAH team for 3 years, providing support to students and educators across
007Naperville 203. She shared that the program allows her to follow her passion for helping others through direct student interaction, saying, "I enjoy it. I feel like I'm making a difference." Her time provides students with extra attention and support while easing the daily workload for busy teachers. Her volunteering mostly consists of helping with an activity or assisting with those small, crucial tasks that keep a classroom running smoothly. HURRAH volunteers play a vital role in supporting teachers, boosting students' confidence, and providing guidance that helps shape the future of Naperville's youth, which is why we have been chosen to re- why they have been chosen to receive recognition for their immense contributions to providing kindness to the Naperville 203 community. So, congratulations. >> [applause] >> That's good news. All right. Thank you for all of that wonderful good
008news. Okay. Item five, public comment. 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 to 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. Uh at this point, I would like to welcome Alicia Smith. Uh um and Alicia will be followed by Dan Alamino. Alamillo. Good evening and welcome. Hello. My name is Alicia Smith. Up until February, I was one of the math specialists at Scott School. I am currently the math specialist at River Woods. The administration and
009school board have implemented two important measures to combat academic inequities toward black students and other marginalized students. The first measure is to be aware of schools' demographics in order to make sure that no school is overwhelmed. As a result of this, every single school in District 203 is well above the state average in both reading and math. The second measure that you implemented to combat academic inequities occurred in 2017, when you made a commitment to closing the gap. You added an additional math specialist to every elementary school with a higher low-income percentage title schools, except for one. Adding the additional support was very successful. Three 203 title schools have earned the National Blue Ribbon award. All of the title schools who received the additional supports in 2017 have earned the state's exemplary designation. Scott School
010received an exemplary designation for three consecutive years in a row. Scott School has the second highest math growth out of all the district elementary schools. I am concerned that you will reduce the FTE of specialists at the title schools, since this is where the attrition is occurring. There were two math specialists at Scott School until I filled the resignation at River Woods. Now, there is only one. Administration has said that Scott School only needs one specialist. That is not true. In addition, a math specialist at Mill Street will be retiring this year. When you added an extra math specialist at Scott School, it resulted in success. Scott School has had incredible math growth, but unfortunately, growth is not the goal. Growth tells us that we are on the right path, but the goal is to
011close the gap with achievement or proficiency scores. Scott School has the highest percentage of black students in the district. It also has the second highest percentage of low-income students. The proficiency levels for these groups are nothing that the district should be proud of. Scott's multilingual learners' math proficiency scores are the lowest in the district. Their ML teachers focus on literacy, not math. Even worse, administration is now asking math specialists to teach honors math. This is happening both at Mill Street and Scott. So, you are taking a resource from vulnerable populations in order to support privileged populations? We have many vulnerable students in our district. Their supports come from the specialists. The FTE of math specialists at the title schools should not be reduced. Thank you. Okay, our next speaker will be Dan Alamillo. Good evening
012and welcome. Hi, good evening everyone. My name is Dan Alamillo and I'm the parent of one current and one future D203 student. I want to thank the board members who heard the concerns of the students, teachers, and parents regarding the proposed staffing reductions. It does really mean a lot that you listen to the community and thank you for that. Um in addition to thanking you for standing with the community, I also want to encourage you to keep pushing the administration to create better and more thoughtful solutions to tackling the budget deficit. Uh to the administration, I would just ask that you please be responsive and transparent with the board throughout the process. It was frustrating to hear that some board members were still waiting for answers to their questions and getting financial figures on the
013day of the last board meeting. Uh that's not how a well-run district should function. And additionally, please be flexible and willing to change your plans based on feedback that you receive from the board or the community on any new proposals. Um for instance, one of the tenants of the last proposal was maintaining a relatively equal cut between personnel groups, reducing educator positions by just under 6% and administrative positions by just over 6%. But what we learned from the last board meeting uh is that way of thinking ignored the fundamental reality of the issue, which is that even if the percentage of cuts between groups is equal, the impact of those cuts on students is not. Students and remaining teachers and staff for that matter suffer more negative consequences when educator positions are cut. Um so
014if in the future cutting positions must become a reality, uh we need to find a way to do that while minimizing the impact on students. Um one thing we could explore would be bringing our administrative staffing numbers in line with neighboring districts. I contacted some surrounding district offices and was surprised to find how much overhead D203 carries compared to some of its neighbors uh based on the ratio of students to administrators. For instance, D203 is just over 16,000 students and 103 administrators. Naperville 204 has 10,000 more students, 12 Excuse me, 10,000 more students and 12 less administrators. So to align with their ratio, we'd need to cut 47 administrative positions. Winfield District 200 has 11,500 students and 58 administrators. To align with their ratio, we need to cut 22 administrative positions. Uh Plainfield District 202
015has just under 25,000 students and 128 administrators. So to align with them, we'd need to cut 20 administrative positions. Budget deficits don't just go away. Uh everyone understands action need to be taken and tough decisions will need to be made, but the process can be better than what we've seen so far. Um hopefully personnel cuts don't need to happen in the future, but if they truly must be considered for the sake of balancing the budget, we should do whatever is possible to avoid targeting the educators who are in our classrooms working with our students every single day. THANK YOU. >> [applause] >> OKAY, I HAVE NO MORE SLIPS OF PAPER. Is there anyone else in the audience who wishes address the board? Okay. Seeing none, I will That will conclude our public comment period. Um
016as a reminder, I encourage the board policy issues raised in public comment will be taken under advisement by the Board of Education. Um Uh because the questions raised in public comment address district operational matters, the superintendent is the board's designee to coordinate response to public comment and will apprise the board accordingly. Okay, again, this will conclude our public comment period. All right, we have now 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 board member's responsibility to prepare for each meeting. Um and additionally, we understand that it is our individual responsibility to effectively communicate our concerns either to the superintendent or board president prior to any meeting in a timely manner. Uh Mr. Bridges, did you
017receive questions from the board members in advance of tonight's meeting? Uh yes, I received uh questions from six board members. Okay. Thank you very much. All right, item six, action by consent. Item 6.01, personnel report. Actually, Yeah. And yeah, I've a motion to approve the items on the consent agenda. So moved. Second. Motion and second have been heard. Any discussion? Please call the roll, Ms. >> Benn. Kozminski. Aye. McMillan. Aye. Bilinski. Aye. Gerke. Aye. Blastic. Aye. Kush. >> Aye. The motion passes. Okay, if I could with the action by the Board of Education on approval of the personnel report in the consent agenda, uh it is my pleasure to introduce Mark Leeper as the next principal of Highlands Elementary School. Mark, welcome to Naperville 203. Great to have you here. >> [applause] >> Thank you,
018sir. I appreciate it. I appreciate this opportunity. Um just really, really excited to uh meet the students, staff, and families of Highlands community. Um just really pumped to just get in there and start building those relationships and doing my part to continue the tradition of excellence that is preceding me. So thank you again. I appreciate the opportunity. Thank you, Mark. Welcome. Thank you and welcome. >> [applause] >> All right, um item seven, communications. Um item 7.01, Board of Education reports. Um would anyone like to give a report on anything that they've done in the Oops. I'm sorry, Charles. Did we have to go back to 602 and 603? No, we did them No, we did them all as a consent. Oh, okay. Oh, okay. Mhm. Okay. No, no worries. Good question. All right, item seven,
019communications. So item 7.01, Board of Education reports. Would anyone like to give a report on anything that they Oh. Yes. Okay, so we have Amanda and then Joe. Go, Amanda. Great. Um I would like to give some updates on some state level committees that I've been uh able to participate on. Some updates regarding those. Um first of all, uh for the past year or so, I've been um participating in the um uh social emotional learning revisions committee um at uh for I Illinois State Board of Education. Um the SEL standards haven't been revised for like 20 years or something. And so um we've gotten to the point where those have been revised. Um they went to public comment and stuff like that. And now what they're doing is um we're consulting on how to release
020that to the public, which is mostly through a website and how um to you know, they'll be accessed uh via educators, via parents, via administrators, etc. Uh stuff like that. So that's been a really uh rewarding process um to be a part of that. There's uh you know, people throughout the state, all different types of experiences and uh expertise that have been uh part of that. So um I don't know exactly when that'll be finalized, but just wanted to kind of give you an update cuz I hadn't talked about that in a while. Um the other um uh privilege I had was to be part of the Illinois Association of School Boards strategic planning process. So they're going through a comprehensive strategic plan. They um did an environmental assessment um where they um you know,
021uh surveyed school board members throughout the entire state. Um had hundreds and hundreds of responses and they consolidated that. Um they also did focus groups on different um key partners um and interviews. And then we were able to meet with a group of about uh 20 uh representatives of school boards, um some members of the ISBE board, um and some members of IASB um for a two-day an overnight uh session. It's one of two. So we have a second one coming up at the end of this month. Um and we were really focused on um evaluating this uh environmental assessment and being able to really provide clarity of where we want IASB to really go as an association. Really um they're making it very intentional to be member-driven strategy, which I really have a lot
022of respect for uh respect for and providing a vision of like where we want to go in regards to really engaging such a diverse state, you know, cuz the suburbs and um downstate and Cook County are all very, very different and have different needs. So it's it was a very meaningful conversation. I really enjoyed it. I look forward to um participating in the second part and I'll give you updates after that. So thank you. All right, thank you. Um I just wanted to pause for a moment. I forgot to say it earlier, just to remind the community, um our timekeeper for this evening is Christine. You did a great job. I was trying You did. I was trying to flag you down, but it didn't But you you were right on point. Um just um
023uh the Board of Education has uh implemented a, at least a temporary policy for now, um, to try to limit ourselves just to make the meetings a little bit more efficient. So, our designated timekeeper for this evening is Christine. You did a wonderful job staying within that even without being prompted. So, way to go. Okay. Joe. Go right ahead. Yeah, thanks. Um, about a week ago, um, at well, before spring break, I guess, um, uh, I got to uh, visit Mill Street, uh, which is one of my adopted schools with uh, with Dan. And uh, we had really a a great visit. Uh, we got to see a couple of the classrooms in action. Uh, we we uh, met with some home and school members, staff member. Uh, we got a presentation from the student
024council, um, on uh, an event that they're planning and it's really student driven. Uh, it was really a a a a wonderful wonderful presentation uh, and it sounds like a very fun event that they're putting together. Uh, with the support of home and school. Um, just uh, uh, a lot of really uh, good things going on um, at Mill this year. Um, coming up and uh, I also got to uh, meet the two principals for the day, which was also uh, a lot of fun. So, uh, I just uh, got to see a a lot of stuff that uh, at Mill and I really appreciate uh, their hospitality while we were there. Fantastic. Mark. Thank you, Charles and uh, I uh, prior to the spring break, uh, I visited Madison Junior High School with Dan
025as well and we toured the building. Uh, didn't have all the things you had mentioned, Joe, but uh, it was a very good meeting. We were able to go to some of the classes, uh, see how those were working and talk to the students and teachers. So, it was a lot of fun. Awesome. Anyone else? Christine, Holly? Okay. All right. Um, I will uh, so, we'll move on to item 7.01, presence report. So, um, my report is also prior to uh, spring break. I had the opportunity to visit one of my adopted schools um, with Dan. Uh, we went to Connections, had a great visit. Um, and if you haven't had the opportunity to see the facility, it is a beautiful facility. We were there for the opening. How long ago was that, Dan? A
026while ago. Yeah, back in the fall. Um, but it's a wonderful facility and one of the things that I had enjoyed prior to the facility being renovated, but now even now, they have an outward facing kind of coffee bar. So, if you want to go get a great cup of coffee, um, I'm not sure exactly what their hours are, but they were open then. It's great opportunity for um, those who are at that program to um, learn skills and things like that and uh, great cup of coffee and very reasonably priced, I'd like to say. And um, it was good. So, I'd encourage anyone who has the opportunity to pop by, please do so and and support that program. So, Dr. Cohn will actually be working with Principal Langosch to include some information uh, in
027a board memo that you'll uh, for Friday's update. So, Fantastic. Thank you. All right. Uh, I did not have anything else. Uh, so now, item 7.03, superintendent staff school report. Mr. Bridges. All right. No report. Item eight, discussion without action. Item 8.01, new course proposals. Okay, I'm going to invite uh, Jennifer Donatelli, Director of Curriculum and Instruction and Andrea Schapanski, the Lead Principal of Education and Innovation and Workforce Development to come up to the table uh, to uh, present uh, our recommendation to the Board of Education for courses for implementation in the 2026, 27 and 2027-2028 school years. Uh, Karen Mocanu, Assistant Principal of Curriculum at Neuqua Valley North is also here. I'll turn it over to Jennifer and uh, Andrea. All right. Good evening. Thank you for having us this evening. Tonight, the administration
028is recommending the Board of Education's approval for several new high school courses that are aligned to college and career readiness and emerging path pathway development. The courses include AP Computer uh, Science Principles, AP Networking, Exploring AI, Culinary 2, Baking and Pastry, Advanced Acting and French 5. Curriculum for these courses will be developed during the 26-27 school year for implementation in the 27-28 school year. The addition of French 5 uh, reflects the transition from AP French to dual credit model, ensuring students have the opportunity to earn guaranteed college credit while still maintaining the option of taking the AP exam. This shift um, is informed by upcoming changes to the AP language exam format beginning in the 26-27 school year and associated um, with the instructor training that goes along with that um, the changes from AP.
029As part of the district's ongoing high school pathway visioning work, the administration is recommending the retirement of several courses including Honors Latin 3-4 beginning um, in the 26-27 school year as well as Computer Programming 1 and 2, Information Technology Systems 1 and 2 and Culinary 2 beginning in the 27-28 school year. The course retirements reflect efforts of streamlining offerings, reducing redundancy and better aligning with student uh, interest, industry trends and post-secondary pathways. Course overviews with additional details is available in BoardDocs. Happy to answer any questions. Questions from the board. Mark. Thank you, Charles. I had asked this question in advance, so I I just want to uh, just say thank you very much uh, for the Exploring AI class. Uh, in response to my question about whether or not uh, we were also going to
030cover the risks and proper usage of AI uh, so that the students understand the dangers of misuse, um, I got a very clear response that yes, this is going to be covered and especially when you hear uh, so much today about the positives of AI, but also the negatives. I think it's very important that as we go forward with this class, we are teaching the students properly proper use of AI as a tool that it can be used. So, I'm very glad to see that. So, thank you. >> You're welcome. Joe. Yeah, thank you um, for your your uh, presentation and I um, uh, I just want to uh, applaud you again for this um, kind of transition to uh, you know, taking courses that uh, you know, have suited the the district and the
031students in the past, the programming and and for uh, courses like that and um, kind of rethinking them and uh, making them, you know, kind of more modern and and developing those skills that uh, the students need now. I saw Programming in Python, which warms my heart. Um, and then uh, uh, I don't know. Um, and then uh, also kind of moving um, away from the APs to the dual credit uh, classes. I I I think that's really valuable uh, for the students. You know, it's guaranteed college credit if you pass the class and uh, since these are through uh, COD, um, you know, they they uh, should all have uh, IAI Illinois Articulation Initiative credit, so they should be transferable basically anywhere in Illinois, no problem. Yeah. Um, and then a lot of other
032states as well, but um, now I I I think uh, this this is really beneficial uh, for our students. And I'm curious, are you going to look to transition you like AP Spanish and other uh, language classes uh, that way as well? That is That's a very good question. Uh, we are always looking to include more dual credit classes. Um, for example, next year we are um, exploring seven more. Um, Spanish is not necessarily on the list, but it is something that we will consider. Um, we when we align an AP class with a dual credit class, we can't call the class AP. That's why the French name is changing um, with COD. So, um, all of the um, world language curriculum has been under review over the last two years and will continue to
033um, be under review. Right now, we're aligning to some new resources. So, definitely a consideration. Mhm. Thank you. Holly. I asked this ahead, but I suspect my email maybe didn't make it into the list. Um, I wanted to clarify with Advanced Acting cuz it says it's building on Acting 1 and 2, but then I kind of saw a a new name. So, are there three levels now or is it replacing Acting 2? No, there will be a total of three classes. So, we're just realigning the levels. So, level our Acting level 1, Acting level 2 and then the Advanced Acting is the new course for level 3 and 4. Okay. Thank you. You're welcome. Uh, Amanda. Um, can you just explain it for me again? Like, what's the difference between AP and dual credit? That's
034a great question. Yes. AP is um, those are courses that are offered by the College Board. So, the College Board um, has a large list of classes that we can adopt here and kids will have to take the AP test at the end of the course to um, potentially earn college credit at uh, post-secondary institution. It is not guaranteed. Oh. >> So, when we align courses to College of DuPage, we actually have about six um, partners right now for dual credit. Um, that is guaranteed college credit as long as the student earns a C or better. It is transferable credit. The benefit to that as a parent is that saves parents a lot of money. All of our courses from College of DuPage are free of charge. That's incredible. I mean And I'm very proud
035to say we'll have 40 classes next year that are dual credit with about seven more we're exploring for the 27-28 school year. So, we're very excited with our new offerings. I really appreciate you explaining that cuz I don't think I ever even realized that cuz I like I have kids that I'll go AP AP because of the college credit, but I didn't realize that you could just take a Okay, dual credit. That's really really helpful. And then this is I didn't send this in advance, but just kind of help help me understand how would you take a French five if you're in high school four years? That is a good question. Our students in eighth grade can take French one and therefore >> did, right? >> Yes. Yeah, that's eighth graders. Yep, they get the
036full year. It's an equivalent same course that the high school students receive. They match. >> now this is adapting to allow them to get up to that college level. That's cool. Okay, great. Thanks. Other questions? Okay. I just want to make a couple comments. So, I just want to piggyback on the dual credit thing. I just think that's awesome. You guys had me at hello way back when we started talking about this. I think it highlights a couple of things. One, just the amount of rigor that we are exposing our students to. Our students are going to be successful if they choose to go down the path of college because they're already used to the rigor. And I heard that anecdotally from when my daughters were here as well. Some of their friends when they
037came back from their freshman years of college that they were like, oh yeah, college wasn't isn't a big deal cuz you know, they half the stuff they taught me they taught me when I was in in high school at 203. So, [snorts] and then and many of their peers said the same thing. So, I just think that it's a great opportunity for us to not only demonstrate, but help our kids to be much more competitive at the next level. Through that exposure. And then not to mention as Amanda pointed out the cost benefit for for parents. And then also the opportunity because if you knock some of those credits out of the way, not only is a cost benefit, but students have the opportunity to take other classes that they may not have had the
038opportunity to take while trying to fulfill college credits or earn earn different credits. So, it gives them a broader range of things they can take once they get to the collegiate level. And then my other part That was my comment. My question And I apologize I did not ask this in advance, but I just thought of it sitting here. How close are we to being able to have an opportunity for a student to be able to graduate with their high school diploma and an associate's degree on the same day? Or within the same couple of weeks. That's a good great question. You know, we are working towards that. Next school year we are offering English 1101 and 1102. And so that is our first our first real break into the core academic classes. I think
039one of the barriers that we have is teacher credentialing to be able to be credentialed to teach at College of DuPage. So, we are working with other partners to you know, board staff the opportunity to go get those extra 18 credit hours they need to be credentialed to teach in their math content or in social studies or whatever the case may be. So, we're we're getting closer. We're working towards it. That is fantastic cuz that I mean I can't wait to shake the graduate's hand. It's the first person to do that. So, that would be phenomenal. So, thank you so much for everything that you're doing in that regard. Any other questions or comments from the board? Okay. Thank you so much. See. What do we got? Item 8.02 instructional resources. >> I will now
040shift to instructional resources. Our team will stay. I bet Jenny's going to take this one. I'll present our recommendation to Board of Education for resources for approval at the April 20th board meeting. Hey, thank you. Resource identification is an important component of our curriculum development process. We regularly review resources for three main reasons. To replace dated curricular materials with updated resources that have online digital access, to support the implementation of new curriculum, and to ensure that we meet the diverse needs of our students. Teachers review resources to determine the best alignment to our district curriculum and also the Illinois learning standards. The criteria for evaluation are established by district leadership and the curriculum teams. The criterion evaluation data is utilized to identify core and supplemental resources. And based on the data and feedback collected, those
041resources have been selected for Board of Education approval. In board docs, you will find a comprehensive list of all K-12 instructional resources that are recommended for the 26-27 school year. This year there are minimal resources that we are recommending for Board of Education approval. The majority of our resource budget will be used to renew existing digital licenses and platforms and resources that have been previously approved by the Board of Education. I'll open it up for any questions that you may have. Questions from the board? Amanda. Could you provide I'm sorry I didn't send this in advance, but could you provide more explanation of kind of like the vetting process of these resources and like input especially from community or like parents or I don't even know if that's a consideration or not, but just if
042you just like give a little bit of background on that. Yes, as we as we have our curriculum teams as we identify areas where new resources are needed we have teachers from across buildings um in that content area that identify the criteria that we're going to use to evaluate the resources. We also use best practice information given to us by the state as to what their resource evaluation guidelines are. Then as a leadership team in collaboration with our project managers, we identify based on EdReports and other resources where um which resources have are best aligned to standards and we bring the top three to five resources to a team to evaluate using that data and criteria. Holly. I have to apologize I did not ask this one in advance and if you don't know it,
043it'll be fine for the next meeting. There's really good books in there that I see that are extended texts. I know as parents when we get the fees, there's like a novel fee. And this may not be a question for you. What's the difference between an extended and then when we're paying for those novels? They're the same thing. It's just a different terminology. So, those extended texts are the novels that the fees go towards. Okay, that's very helpful. Thank you. Great question. Other questions from the board? Okay, seeing none. We will move on to item 8. Oh. Thank you so much. All right, item 8.03. Policy review policy 7.180 preventing bullying, intimidation, and harassment. >> Okay, Dr. Marcone, our deputy superintendent is actually going to take the next three. He helped facilitate the annual policy
044review for each of these three policies. He'll provide a brief overview of just procedure and practice and then talk about the meeting of the committees in the review for each of the policies. So, starting with 7180, Mark. Sure. Policy 7180, the big change is being recommended was actually a press change. We've been holding that back since the press update in October regarding bullying and harassment. It expands the definition of cyberbullying to include digital replicas. So, someone using an AI tool for example to take an image of an individual and then make you know, what you generally produce something that is less than flattering. So, that definition was expanded in school code and so that that policy has been expanded. The discussion around that was fairly robust. I think there was some conversation from students about
045well, what if it's funny now, but it's not funny later. So, there was a very much a an interesting conversation about once an image is out there and how would it how it can endure over time. We recommend that you accept the press policy as presented. And just as a reminder, Holly and Amanda are the board liaisons to this committee and had opportunity to present. So. Okay, questions or comments from the board? Amanda. Well, I just wanted to kind of follow up with that. So, >> [clears throat] >> to me this is a very unique um policy in the way that we really engage very intentionally board, parents, students, staff, deans, and then you know, they also provided data from the past several years of incidents of um broken down by category, right? For everyone
046to review and be able to see and what we noticed was that with some of the changing in the policy and the way that we're implementing things like um restorative justice that the number of incidents have significantly gone down over the past several years, which is really great cuz we had a huge spike coming back from COVID. And so to be able to see that huge reduction since that point was just really demonstrating how um getting feedback and buy-in from the students that are experiencing um or witnessing different types of um conduct in the schools uh really is making a difference and the students themselves said they feel safer. Right, which is really uh powerful. Um the other thing too, I just uh so the big addition was around the um adding the uh AI
047components, which I we all agreed was important. There was also a component here in the memo on page two that was talking about um notification requirements of a school staff member observes any person in possession of a firearm on or around school grounds, right? Um the press update struck the term or around, but we as a group felt like it was important to keep that language. And just so do you want to just share a little bit of the history of like why they said let's take out the or around and we can maybe and then why the group decided to keep it in. Sure. We're bleeding over into 8.04, which is okay because it's all in the same memo, but that's all right. Uh no, no, that's okay. That's okay. Um so 7190 student
048discipline is where that's found in the and um technically the definition of school grounds can extend 1,000 ft, um but as it was pointed out in a board question, there there's a section in the very front end of the policy where conduct will apply and it can say basically on on the way to and from school. So the students safe routes to school, bus stops are protected. Also anything within a visual range of the school um could also be uh considered to be school grounds. Basically anytime there's a nexus between a student's participation in school in the in the area around it that that's a part of it. Um so while the legal definition of uh you know, 1,000 ft or you know, is kind of buried inside of the definition of school grounds, it
049leaving it there I think brought some clarity to the uh you know, brought some clarity to the policy. There's no And Joe, our attorney from um Addison Bretton also agreed that that that should stay. Sorry for the confusion of jumping between policies. They one big meeting. >> No, that's okay. Um in dove-dove tailing off the conversation or the comments you made earlier as well. Yeah, this year um the attendance related discipline is even a bigger part of the overall numbers of disciplinary referrals. We've seen at the high school level about 70% of our overall referrals to high school level related to some sort of either tardiness or truancy. Which yes, it is a difficult you know, that is a a difficult problem to solve, but that means that the other things that you would consider
050to be disciplined, you know, that the really strong, you know, you know, more robust behaviors, those things are becoming less and less of what it is that our deans are dealing with, which is actually a wonderful thing. Uh cell phone referrals being then probably the biggest uh behavioral incident that has decreased a significant amount at both of our high schools with the way they've changed uh how they enforce enforce those um infractions. So a lot of good news coming out of the meeting and good conversations with the kids. Yeah, I believe the students called it cell phone jail. >> They did call cell phone jail, yeah. But they liked it I think too because it was less distracting. Other questions or comments from the board? Okay, so it looks like we've covered 8.03 and 8.04.
051Yeah, and then code as far as the code of conduct co-curricular uh review is concerned. Um the code of conduct has not changed in any significant way. We did review the data on student codes of conduct. Um you know, of the 98 codes of conduct that have been issued over the last two years, um only five of them were second or you know, were second or third offenses. Only five of them were were were recidivism. So it was due to recidivism. So uh generally when a student receives a code of conduct violation, that that's something that happens once in their high school career. Uh which is a a good sign that it's deterring those behaviors that we we we would not want to see in those students that represent us and our leaders. Um uh
052there was a recommended change in the exhibit for the code of conduct that is very particular to activities that don't have defined season length. The IHSA has a number of contests that are maximum for basketball or football or baseball or swimming or water polo. Um those things that maybe are just performances one-time performances that the activity directors did a really nice job of kind of diving into the list of activities and teasing out those things and in those in their experience have been more tricky to manage and trying to find ways that are you know, things that are more appropriate and fair for students that participate in those activities. So you know, great conversation with students from across all different walks of uh and from all different aspect of corners have our two high schools
053that kind of chimed in and gave us feedback. Holly. Would you be able to just briefly explain like the the option to opt in to the restorative process and how that impacts? Sure. The yeah, the RCAP process designed to give students the opportunity to lower their sanction or their penalty for a code of conduct by participating in restorative process with our student advocacy specialists um you know, working with the dean of either student activities or the athletic director. Uh it's designed to make it a teachable moment so that one incident does not have to necessarily derail students athletic or activity career, uh but the turn an opportunity to be something positive both for them and for their families. Um and so that RCAP process is is the data is brought what bears out um has
054been very, very successful in reducing any sort of you know, second or third offenses. Very cool. Other questions or comments? I would just like to say uh Mark, thanks for all of your work on this. Um and also to Holly and to Amanda for representing the board on this work. Uh really important work and really appreciate everybody's engagement on this. All right, so that's 8.04 and 8.05, correct? Okay. All right, 8.06 facility rental fees. Okay. Uh Chuck Fry and Melanie Brown are going to take the lead on this. Uh the addition of some new facilities has caused the need for us to begin to review facility rental fees and so they have a recommendation for the board for your consideration to address that and we may address uh future steps that we'll need to take
055also. So Melanie, Chuck. Yeah, just some kind of initial comments. Um so Melanie's really done her due diligence in kind of reviewing uh all of our current fees, which include um fees for spaces, but also uh in terms of kind of the staff costs that are sometimes associated with rentals. Um this work actually began with looking at a need to add a fee for a new space we have, which is the turf field over at Naperville North uh that we um kind of opened up late last fall. Um that's not a fee that fee to this this new space was not so simple. Um so the memo that you have in front of you um outlines uh with a little bit more complication uh some of the other things that she's found that needs to
056be updated um and um in addition to that um kind of recognition that uh really to do our due diligence in terms of spaces, uh classrooms, gymnasiums, stages, etc. Um we really need to gather some additional data uh comparative and internal uh to do that very well. Our current system a little antiquated, it's hard to do that. Uh it's hard to go through uh triplicate forms and pull all that data in that way. Um and so uh we really want some additional time to come back to you in uh 2027 with more comprehensive view. Uh so really tonight's action is simply um not so simple um to really review the proposed fee for our turf field uh in Naperville North um as well as the um associated staffing fees that would really apply to any
057spaces, not just the turf fields, um but any spaces that that are rented. Um so you'll see some some charts with lots of numbers, some categories. Uh there were some wonderful questions earlier today from board members about what the Roman numerals mean, which are different categories associated with different agencies and organizations that might rent from us. Uh for example, we don't wish to you know, sort of charge a nonprofit organization the same as a for-profit. So that's where those categories were uh probably um originated uh many, many years ago. I think the the thinking is solid, um but that made our comparisons to with other districts who don't quite have the same categories um comparing apples to oranges. So that's why we didn't come with the the comprehensive. Um so um with that kind of
058context, uh we're happy to take any questions that you might have in addition to or um kind of in repeat fashion from questions that you uh posed earlier today. Sorry, Melanie, anything else to add? Questions from the board? Mark. Yeah. Chuck, thank you for that. Um and and thank you for answering my questions uh that I had sent you guys. Um one question I I do have that I did not ask in advance and and you kind of addressed it a little bit is coming back in 2027 with a full list of all the facilities that we rent. Um I I just want to make sure that um when we do get that that complete list, will that be able to tell us because uh depending on the the different types of uh entities that
059we deal with from of all the way to for-profit companies that are outside of the district, um we have different costs uh fees that we charge them. Um so, I just want to make sure that we get visibility into both the volume that we're we're getting as well as whether or not we are making money on any or breaking even on any of these. Because I think as we had a discussion earlier in the year, especially with where we are from a financial perspective, I I think this may be another opportunity for us to look at things and just say, are we willing to go into some of these contracts um where we're losing money and basically we're having the taxpayers uh subsidize that cost for for businesses that may not even be in the
060district. Uh so, I think getting some visibility into that information would be very helpful in us making some some hard decisions here. Yeah, I a couple quick comments if I can and I'll ask Melanie to certainly check my accuracy and add on to this. Uh first, um we do have it's very rare for us to to rent to a for-profit organization. Um so, so that's that in terms of volume, uh that's what I think you can anticipate is that the low the the higher the category so so to speak in Roman numerals, the lower rate of uh of rentals. Um and then um also in terms of um sort of philosophy, we believe that when rates were set many many years ago, um the rates that are in front of you right now, um that
061the um the idea then was to sort of break even. Uh so, the reality is because those rates are old, we're no longer breaking even. So, I think um any input the board may have collectively about philosophy would be helpful before Melanie brings back before you in 2027 uh new rates. So, if the philosophy is to break even, of course those rates would be set one way. If there was a different philosophy in terms of what rates should do for rentals, then that might you know, trigger a different set of recommendations. So, I think as we build the uh board planning calendar for 2026-27, um we'll make sure that we mark on there we'll in our planning on when we anticipate coming so that we can have a little bit of a a trigger or
062warning to be able to get some input from the board or have board conversation to give them some guidance before um she goes to put those together. Uh I know this is discussion without action, but it is discussion though. So, should we just kind of just get a general sense? Or Well, I I would kind of let her do a little bit of research first actually because we may have information to share with you in terms of how other districts I mean, obviously, you have to make your decision you know, for our community and kind of our situation, but having some background on how some other districts approach it may be helpful to you. So, Okay. All right. So, we'll do that. Other comments, Joe? Yeah, >> [clears throat] >> um so, I didn't ask
063this, but I found it very helpful uh in the questions that um yeah, I I looked at the current rental fees and I'm like, wow, these are great. Um and there's some you know, pretty uh there's some significant uh increases in those fees. Um but can you just tell us when the last time these fees were updated was? As best we can tell, July 2009. So, that's personnel rates and rental fees. Um so, I I I really appreciate you you going through this uh and and uh kind of bringing them up. We've had a little bit of inflation since 2009. Um so, I I think uh yeah, just kind of keeping that practice of, you know, looking at the fees every few years um and updating them as needed um it is important. Amanda. Just
064piggybacking off piggybacking off of that, this is a great example of the administration diving into all the nooks and crannies to see how we can like really level out our budget, you know, so I mean, this may be a small source of revenue, but it's still important. So, where we're looking at facilities versus staff. So, thank you. Other comments? Okay. Um I just want So, I'm looking forward to uh well, we are we would be voting on this set of fees and then we'll have a separate discussion around the broader look at the other facilities and things like that. Okay. Um but I just dis- I'd wanted to take an opportunity just uh say to you, Melanie, uh really appreciate the rigor and the professionalism that you bring to the table and how you, you
065know, have really taken a deep analytical approach to everything you do on behalf of the district. Uh it is much appreciated. Um it was a different thing that you did when you first took the role you have when you color-coded all the charts and I was like, that was just awesome. That was awesome. Cuz it really yeah, it was it made it really clear to understand, okay, this color is this color is really great. So, really appreciate the perspective uh and the and the lens at through which you look at uh everything we're doing and it especially given all the the budget challenges that are no secret to anyone, it's really helpful just really as Amanda pointed out, you're leaving no stone unturned. So, really appreciate that. So, thank you. You're welcome. All right, that
066was item 8.06. Thank you. Item nine, discussion with action. Item 9.01, consideration of Board of Education expenses. >> Yeah, we have some uh requesting approval for some professional learning expenditures by board uh members. Uh board policy 2125 requires all board member expenses for travel, meals, lodging to be approved by roll call vote at an open meeting of the board. Recommend the board approve these expenses as presented. I'll let it tell first of all well, I I need to entertain a motion. So moved. Second. Motion and second have been heard. Any discussion? Seeing none, please call the roll, Mrs. Patton. Kush. >> Aye. McMillan. Aye. Kozminski. Aye. Blastic. Aye. Wolinsky. Aye. Gerke. Aye. The motion passes. Okay, item 10, old business. We have no old business. Item 11, new business. We have no new business. Item
06712, upcoming events. Item 12.01, schedule of events. >> I'll highlight the next Board of Education meeting. Uh it is on Monday, April 20th, uh 7:00 p.m. It says PSAC, but we actually going to relocate that meeting. That's the meeting when we will have um Superintendent Student Advisory Council come to present. Uh so, we're going to need a little bit more space for the presentation. I think we also have a significant number of recognitions. So, um I think we're at Washington. Yes. Washington Junior High School. Okay. Uh and if that's So, that's where we're going to be for sure. Okay. Perfect. Awesome. All right. Thank you so much. Uh all right, item 13, adjournment. And I item 13.01, motion to adjourn. I move to adjourn. Second. Motion and second have been heard. Any discussion? All right,
068please call the roll, Mrs. Patton. McMillan. >> Aye. Blastic. Aye. Gerke. Aye. Wolinsky. Aye. Kush. >> Aye. Kozminski. >> Aye. The motion passes. We are adjourned. Thank you, everyone. Please get home safely.