001and Mr. Dowy, we are ready. Good evening. Welcome to the District 22 25 Board of Education meeting. Madam Secretary, would you please read the role? Mr. Dowy, here. Mr. Mr. Glowaki present. Miss Mullenbeck, Mr. O'Hara, Miss Siguin here, Mr. Shine present. Dr. Steinberg, five members present. I will now on item two to entertain a motion to approve the agenda for the meeting. So moved. Second. All in favor? I. Any opposed? Motion carries. Good evening everyone. Thanks for joining us on this lovely evening. Uh we're now into the final quarter of our year. Uh we have come off an election earlier this month. A new board will be sworn in actually at our next meeting. Um this evening we have uh an agenda with our typical o opening items. Our board and superintendent reports and recognitions
002followed by community comment and our consent agenda. There are two items that are related uh for our regular agenda. Both concern the proposed withdrawal from True North Cooperative. First, we'll have a public hearing regarding that withdrawal. And then second, we'll have a regular agenda item considering uh a resolution to begin the withdrawal process. We'll thereafter go into confidential a confidential close session. Uh we try to do as much as we can in public as always, but there's certain confidential items regarding employment uh and students and various teachers among other things in security uh that we have to be in close session for. But otherwise, we try to keep things as open session as much as we possibly can. I now move to item three on our agenda, which are our board and superintendent reports and
003recognitions. Dr. Thank you, Mr. Dowy. We have several exciting recognitions to do this evening. I'll start off with Dr. Georgees, who's going to recognize our Glen Brook South debate team. Good evening. Good evening. It is my honor to celebrate our Titan debate team for their performance at the Illinois State Debate Championships. Our students here earned second place in policy debate, third place in policy debate, tied for fifth place in policy debate. And it's very important to note that no school in the state had more students place than Glen Brook South High School. Tonight we have in attendance with us Evan Blitz, Serena Harjani, Anu Kesor, Louie Martinez Scari. Did I get right? Excellent. Neil Patel, and Maha Zulficar. Excellent. Um, Evan, a new uh Vivi, who could not be with us this evening because she's
004at Dartmouth. Correct. um and Maha were named to the allstate Illinois policy debate team as well. Serena does Congress instead, but she is one of the five academic all-Americans that we had along with Evan, uh Louie and Maha. Okay. Um besides their tremendous performance at state, five of our seniors were named as academic all-Americans. This honor is bestowed onto a very small percentage of students nationally. Not only do they have to be one of the top debaters in the country, but they must also carry a very high GPA. Our academic all-Americans are Evan, Serena, Louie, Vivi, and Maha. I would also be remiss to not also acknowledge the tremendous leadership of Miss Tara Tate. She's not only a GBS social studies teacher, but she is the sponsor of this team. Miss Tate took the helm
005of this team as an interim director of debate last year or excuse me, this year um to once again head the program she led from 2003 to 2014. During her previous tenure, Miss Tate coached hundreds of successful Glen Brook South debaters. We have a lovely picture of all of the the Tate debaters. Um, and she this includes the national champion policy debate team in 2014. The National Federation of High Schools also named her the National Speech Debate and Drama Teacher of the Year in 2018. She's a four diamond coach with the National Speech and Debate Association and a Hall of Fame coach with Emory University. She also previously won the NSDA National Debate Coach of the Year and the NDCA National Educator of the Year awards. When our former debate director had chosen to to
006step down, um, Miss Tate had offered to return to her former role to ensure the future sustainability of the program that she spent years nurturing to perennial success. GBS debate is currently thriving under her leadership and we are incredibly grateful for her sacrifice and dedication. Um right now she has two nationally ranked debaters in the top 10 of the country for the first time since the 2014 20 2013 2014 school year and I think that is a testament to her leadership and her passion. So if you could please give me a round of applause not only for our amazing debate students but also Miss Tate, I'd be grateful. Perfect. All right, we're back. [Music] Awesome job. Have a great evening. All right, so now we have our new administrators that we're naming. We have three
007new administrators we're very excited about to add to our team. Uh we'll start off with Dr. Georgees. Wonderful. It is my honor to announce Miss Courtney Middleton as the next associate athletic director at Glen Brook South. If you don't know Courtney, uh, during the last 14 years of her tenure at GBS, she has served this community in so many different roles and ways, but right now she is not only a health teacher, but she is a peer group adviser, us, and most importantly, she has been our assistant athletic director for quite a while. Um, she's joined this evening by her husband. Um, and we too thank him because of uh the amount of time and effort and energy that we know Courtney sacrifices to our Titans. Um, in her current position within Glenberg South Athletics,
008Courtney creates a positive environment where our student athletes and our coaches feel valued and supported. She's contributed to the athletic culture by providing input and support during the development of the departmental mission, vision, and core principles. Not only does she serve our school, but her vision and her commitment to athletics extends far beyond Glen Brook South. Um, this year she extended her leadership to initiatives like Empower Her Conference that created to foster ongoing for female participation in sports and positive lasting connections in athletics. Nationally, she has served on the NFHS girls lacrosse committee member, um, helping update rule books and creating exams for coaches and led presentations addressing points of emphasis in the sport of lacrosse. Courtney began her educ journey in education with a passion for health and physical education and coaching. She has
009a bachelor's degree in health and physical education from Illinois State University, a master's in curriculum and instruction from Concordia University, and a master's in educational leadership from National Lewis. Courtney's success as an educator and a leader is rooted in her deep commitment to building strong, authentic relationships, leading with empathy, and staying purpose- driven, always focusing on serving and supporting others. She is truly a servant leader. She's committed to helping all student athletes and coaches reach their full potential and continuing to strengthen the culture, pride, curiosity, and inclus inclusivity and respect our Titan values at GBS. It is my joy to welcome her to the administrative team. I can't understand pictures. You're going to go take a picture. Next, Mrs. Hughes will introduce our new administrator at Glenrook North. Right. Glenchrook North is pleased to announce
010Mr. Matt Perie as our new associate athletic director. Matt, will you join me? Matt Pertie's extensive experience and passion for athletics make him an exceptional candidate for this role. His 28 years of service to the district within our athletic department and across the school have provided him with a deep understanding of the department's needs and he is well positioned to provide a seamless transition for our entire athletic community. Matt has a bachelor's in sports, health, leisure studies, physical studies from University of Iowa, a teacher certification from Trinity International University, a master's in PE from Chicago State University, and a master's in educational leadership from Concordia University. In addition to that, Matt is a respected and approachable leader known for his ability to communicate effectively, build strong relationships with athletes, coaches, colleagues, and families. He's a
011skilled problem solver with a proven track record of navigating complex issues and developing creative solutions. Whether in his role as head football coach or in previous coaching roles such as wrestling, track, lacrosse, swimming, um as a referee for our annual hoopfest, a PE teacher, our assistant AD and Glenrook aquatics lays on. MAP prioritizes the needs of students, fostering connections to resolve issues and promote positive outcomes with a strong involvement in athletic organizations such as the IHSA and NISOC and the CSL. Matt is familiar with the requirements and policies governing coaches and athletic events. He's committed to developing the next generation of leaders, providing guidance and support to emerging talent. Matt's appointment will provide valuable support to our athletic department, particularly during transitions. He'll work closely with Molly and other stakeholders to ensure a smooth transition
012and continued success for our athletic programs. His extensive network and experience will enable him to facilitate the needs of the school and various teams. While his passion for athletics and commitment to GBN will drive his efforts to promote positive outcomes for our students and staff. And on a separate personal note, I just wanted to say I have always appreciated the care that Matt takes with holding dear the traditions and culture of GBN in such events such as our uh recognition of our football team that was a state championship. That was such a special event and that is uh not just a one-time care. That's a continuous care. We are confident that Matt's leadership will be instrumental in shaping the future of our athletic department and we look forward to his continued contributions to our community.
013Welcome. Congratulations, Matt. And our third new administrator will be introduced by Dr. Laura Cummings. Hi. Should have worn my foot. I stand on my tippy toes. Okay. Good evening. Julie Shellard brings a unique blend of expertise in both education and healthc care to her work in schools. She holds a bachelor of arts in English literature and a school nurse certification from the University of Illinois Chicago, a master of arts and teaching from Northeastern Illinois University and an associate in applied science from Harper College. Before her passion for science led her to pursue a nursing degree, Julie spent nine years teaching middle school and then worked as Yeah. Wow. So glad I'm back. and then worked as a registered nurse at Advocate Condell Medical Center, supporting patients and families across various units. Her background in education
014proved invaluable in providing compassionate personalized care. After four years in healthcare, Julie returned to education in a new capacity as a school nurse for the past 10 years. And how many 911 calls? Um, pretty many. She has served as the certified school nurse and lead nurse at Glenrook South High School where she combines her expertise in education and health care to support the well-being of students and the broader school community. She is deeply committed to working with adolescents and strongly advocates for health equity in schools. We're happy to welcome her husband and retired assistant principal of student activities, Jim Sheller. um in addition to her mom Gail, a retired district staff member and not to forget her dad Jim. Um but we are thrilled and so excited for you to join the team here. So
015thank you. May I get you? Yes. All right. Thanks so much. Hold on one second. All right. When Dr. Gavell has a moment to advance a slide, I want to show you just a preliminary picture of our transition service center. This is the new facility that we are building out on uh Shurmer Road in Northbrook. And this is where we're going to consolidate all of our transition services for our students. We're very excited. Last week, we had a team be able to tour this new facility. As a reminder, it's about 8,500 square feet, so it's quite large. Uh we have some good updates. Uh we received a special use permit from Village of Northbrook allowing the district to operate the space as a vocational education site instead of its original commercial zoning. Building permits were
016secured from both the North Cook Intermediate Service Center and the Village of Northbrook. Three construction bids were solicited by Mark Reality. They're doing the the construction instead of the district. The building management company is that's the the Mark Realy. The contract was awarded to the lowest builder, Trident Constructive Construction Group at $345,000 and the board approved the work not to exceed $365,000 with costs built into the first year's rent. A construction timeline has been established with completion expected by the end of June. Demolition and framing are complete. Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing roughins are scheduled to begin this week. Next week, sorry. Uh furniture installation is planned for early to mid July. And the facility will be ready for occupancy on August 1st. And everything's going according to plan. We're very excited. We'll have a more
017comprehensive update hopefully midsummer. All right. Finally, uh we we use this moment to say thank you and farewell to our retiring board member, Michelle Seiguin. Uh we I think all share the distinct honor of recognizing and expressing our deepest gratitude to her as a board member whose leadership and wisdom has left an indelible mark on our district. Michelle, over the past four years, you have served this community with integrity, courage, and a steady hand, especially during some of the most challenging times in recent history. Your role in helping guide our district through the uncertainty of the pandemic was nothing short of vital. You brought clarity when the path was unclear, calm when tensions were high, and an unwavering focus on what matters most, our students. Your advocacy and role on the facilities committee was instrumental
018in the creation of our health center, a project that will continue to benefit our families and staff for years to come. Your involvement in the renovation of the activities hall at GBN, the GBS theater, the GBN's upcoming renovations have had a very real impact on the environment that we provide for our students and staff every day. But beyond the major milestones, it has been your thoughtful presence at the board table and all the administrators have felt it. Your ability to ask the right questions, offer practical insights and leave with and lead with both intellect and heart that we will miss the most. On behalf of the administration and truly on the behalf of all of us, thank you. Thank you for your time, your voice, your belief in the power of education. We leave behi,
019you leave behind a legacy of service and a standard of leadership that will inspire us well into the future. We wish you the very best in your next chapter and we hope you take the long deep appreciation, feel the long and deep appreciation of this entire school community. Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Oh, go ahead. We're going to pile on now. Okay. Uh I'm going to have a tear here for a moment. Um thank you, Dr. Johns. That was beautifully put on behalf of all of us. Uh this has been four years of excellent service, Michelle. Um I recall when we first spoke, it was before you even put your papers in back in 2021 or 2020. And that took particular courage because we were in the middle of a pandemic as Dr. John's mentioned
020and I I have to tell you I came away from a half an hour call maybe and thinking I think she's going to make a terrific board member if she runs and gets elected and I have to say my hunch played out. Um you have brought an important and balanced perspective um to our board table. Your chief focus as Dr. John's just just mentioned has always been our students coupled with a sensitivity to our families and our communities. You continually brought in that perspective which is central to what we do. Your real time on the ground views help keep our policies grounded in reality. It's easy to be wandering off in policy land uh and and some sort of other space, but it made a huge difference the way you kept us grounded. Your extensive
021business background led to rational recommendations and decision-making and all of your things you did were almost underscored by the love of our schools and your deep appreciation for all we have. So tonight, as Dr. John's mentioned, we appreciate you. Thank you for all of your dedication and your thoughtful leadership. You will be sorely missed, but your memory will always be prized. Thank you. Thank you so much. And thank you for the gift. I appreciate it. Thank you. Well, it's been um it's been a great four years. Um I've learned a lot. Um sorry, I get emotional at these things. Um yeah, I've learned a lot I think from the beginning of um um looking at what we could do for the schools um for the investment and you know, changing the um classrooms and getting
022more tools for the teachers. that just seemed like a a great way to um come out of the pandemic and just give I think the teachers and um the students some hope and then you know that I love the arts so I was all for trying to do some things for the theaters and giving something for the kids and that investment because I think the balance of of the arts and um academics is super important. So, and I loved working with all of you and bringing R.J. on board. Um, yeah, it was it was a big step. So, thank you. I'm sorry I get emotional. Anyway, but thank you. I appreciate it. Well, thank you so much again for all this uh everything you've done. Well, we've had quite a bit of celebration so far,
023but we also have a lot going on in the building. So, I'd like to turn and to our principal updates, and we'll begin with GBN with Mrs. Hughes. Sure. And before I begin, I just wanted to offer um anybody who is is wanting to stay should certainly stay. If you were here for announcements and appointments only, you are welcome to stay as long as you'd like, but you'd also are are free to leave whenever you whenever you prefer. So, I just wanted to offer that. Um, so at Glen Brook North, uh, we're going to start with we were pleased to, um, celebrate our Northbrook Chamber of Commerce button micro business and also the a Glen Brook Foundation grant recipient uh, before right around spring break. Spartan Buttons is a micro business dedicated to empowering high
024school students with special needs through an innovative micro business environment uh with GBN to within GBN to foster and build independence, vocational skills, soft skills, and self-confidence. Led by GBN staff Senita, Anna Gerbich, Nick Capalo, and Chris Lfield, the North Brook Chamber of Commerce and representatives from the Glenrook Foundation gathered on Friday, March 21st 1st for a ribbon cutting ceremony to mark the opening of the business. Spartan Buttons first task was to create and distribute buttons advertising the Spartan Hoopfest basketball game, our annual crossdown basketball game of students and their peer mentors that was held the first week of April during GBN lunch periods. Um, and I'm going to skip ahead because I made a mistake in my order here. Um, one thing that I wanted to note is that our class act worked is
025underway. We have Spartan Pride Week coming up next week that will lead up to our annual Pride assembly and a schoolwide lesson for class act will be presented to all students. Um, in athletics, our GBN varsity badmitten team is currently undefeated with a team record of 50-0 for dual meets and separately. A total wins and losses for all of the positions combined. The team's record is 113 wins and five losses. So, they're doing an excellent job. Our girls softball team is on a four-game winning streak. The Glenreick North boys lacrosse team is off to a strong 6-1 start this season. And the GBM boys gymnastics team has also been off to a great start, winning their first invitational that they competed in entitled the President's Cup. This was a full team effort as it took
026the scores from each level, freshman, JB, and varsity to create the total GBN team score. This is the second year in a row that GBN has won the President's Cup. And in student services, we have had a renewed effort this year on or a new effort this year on our Spartan Closet that has a new and permanent home to store items for students in need. A small committee of student services staff and parent representatives have designed a mission statement and goals for the items and some fundraising strategies. And we're very thankful for the dedicated work of our team and we're excited for what the future holds for our students who will benefit from access to these items. Uh we also had um a fun exciting event last week. A group of students gathered in the
027student activity center um after testing to watch the Breakfast Club movie for the first time for their first time alongside a reporter from the Tribune in order to celebrate the 40th anniversary of GBN graduate and film director John Hughes's iconic film about Saturday detention. The tribute article um chronicled student responses as they watched the film, noting what was similar and different between the movie and GBN Life Today. It was a lot of fun for the students. Uh we also had our science olympiad um success this past weekend. We took 15 students to the state tournament at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champagne. They competed in 25 different events against 53 other high school teams. Last year was our first year seriously competing in a long time and this year's success demonstrates great growth. This
028year they made state got medals in two events um including second place in a category called write it do it which is a technical writing and building event and fourth place in ecology. So special thanks to our sponsors John Nichols and Randy Zal. And from FCCLA um I know this is something that Glen Brook South will mention as well. We had a great success as well. FCCLA brought back nine silver and 22 golds from the state competition and all 31 events qualified for nationals. So, we are very proud of FCCLA and I'm kind of a little Hey, that's okay. And I'm going to be careful with our time here. Um so as we get started as we transition uh I think it's just important to note that last Friday um was our annual basketball game
029between um our formal formerly our TLS basketball game now known as the Glen Brook Stars against Glen Brook North. It was a wonderful cross town event um where our students were able to participate in a game and we had different uh classes and staff come out to to cheer them on. There was also a wonderful uh honoring of uh Miss Jennifer Pearson who's retiring by the students um before the game started. But overall it was a wonderful experience that really models uh the inclusivity and inclusion practices that we're seeking at Glen Brook South. Um so yes, I I will mention our uh family career and community leaders of America. That's a a mouthful, but that's what FF FCCLA stands for. Um these are our Glen Brook South students. We sent 21 of them um to
030represent our school uh showcasing their talents, their leadership, and their creativity in a wide variety of events uh related to family consumer sciences. We are incredibly incredibly proud to announce that 14 of these students qualified for the FCCLA National Leadership Conference in Orlando, Florida from July 5th through 9th. We brought home eight gold medal projects. Uh and we earned five most outstanding awards for earning their highest score in the event category. Um what's also very important to note is our senior Tasia Gaelic um earned a 100% on her interior design project. So overall, the students did a phenomenal job and I'm incredibly grateful for our family consumer science class, particularly Miss Kelly McDonald, um, who helped our students, uh, achieve these outcomes and traveled with them to this event. Um, I would also like to
031share that 12 of our Oracle editors competed in the IHSA journalism sectionals, and seven of those 12 have qualified for the state finals on April 25th. Our overall sectional placement for the Oracle was fourth. Um, but we also had Shaina Fitzershine and Bailey Baker come in fifth place in their corresponding categories. Kate Shambo and Johnny Divine came in third, Caitlyn Jiang in second place, and Maya Weissman, Andrew Kuk, Kuku, Molly Tomzac, and Anna Ivangh uh all took first place in their categories. Um, this was an extraordinary event in the arts. Our GBS master singers last week were able to perform in a joint concert at Ravenia. Um it was a partnership with uh Glenberrook South, Niles North, Stevenson High School, and Lake Zurich High Schools. Um the concert was able to feature three pieces from
032each of the coral programs ensembles as well as an all choir combined piece at the end. It was an absolutely extraordinary evening at Ravenia and all of the choirs did a fantastic job. And watching our time, uh, boys tennis, uh, won the prestigious Liberty Bell Invite over the weekend. Bryce Aban and David Kaminsky won the doubles tournament. Shahan Jani and Gavin Johnson finished third place in doubles, and Alex Pop took third place in singles. There's a lot more going on in Titan athletics, but we've had a whole evening of celebration, so I'll wrap it up there. Thanks so much. Have a great week. Thank you, principles. That's it, Mr. Dowy. Thank you. Thank you for the always inspiring and and uplifting reports. Board members, anything you want to share this evening? Just my appreciation for
033Michelle for all the work over these past four four years, you know, from the first time we met uh to, you know, today. You've been a the heart and soul of the board and everything. So, appreciate everything. We now move to item four on our agenda is the recognition of community visitors portion of our meeting. This is an up to 30 minute portion of our meeting. We always value the input of our visitors. If you wish to speak to the board, you are allowed up to two minutes. We ask you to respect that mark. I please do give us your name and address uh as your as well as your connection to the district. You're not required, but they do help us with followup. We remind people of a number of items. First, the board
034does not respond at this point. We listen carefully. Second, please keep in mind that we maintain confidentiality and privacy. Please do not discuss individuals, students, or employees. Third, please note that the board does not control the topics raised during this period or the substance of public comment. Fourth, we remind speakers they should direct their comments to the board and should relate them to district business. This is not a political forum, nor is it about campaigning. Fifth, we remind speakers that their comments are not automatically protected by any immunity or other legal protection. And finally, sixth, we ask that everyone maintain civility and respect. With that preface, we've had per our procedures, we have five people uh sign up this evening to speak to us. Our first speaker is, is it Kenneth McCarthy? Am I reading
035that right? Hope I read your name right. You did. I have terrible handwriting, so I can never complain. No worries. Thank you for joining us. Thank you. Hi, my name is Kenneth McCarthy. I'm proud to serve as the president of the sophomore class of 2027 at Glenberrook South. Mr. President and members, I'm rising today because for many students that I represent, their families are being financially squeezed. Prices are up and wage growth is slowing and families in Glen View are living paycheck to paycheck. As sophomores, many of us are very excited to have the chance to score a parking permit at the school next year. So, when my good friend Mr. Joel Ryz released an email last week with the price of the permits, I began to worry about how families with demonstrated financial needs
036can have equitable access to our parking facilities. After consulting with with Mr. Ryz over email, it seems that parking passes are not board approved for a waiver or reduction for the $350 fee. This kind of pricing seems to be in line with across the board fee increases that are occurring district-wide to offset expenditures. But what differentiates this instance is that there's no ability to receive assistance, which makes discussions surrounding these prices essential. After participating in a student focus group for the village of Glenview sustainability plan in February, it's clear that walking, biking, and other modes of transportation into the school are structurally unsafe and inaccessible. For many families that I represent, such as those students with disabilities, private transportation is a necessity. But because of the permit price, we are effectively discriminating against families based
037on their financial capacity. Let's be clear, being sensitive to individual families needs by providing bus service at zero reduced cost for those students who qualify does not adequately address this problem. Offering a public transportation alternative wholly defeats the purpose of private transportation for those families and only serves as a concessionary measure to justify the unreasonable pricing. We understand that our parking facilities require funds for maintenance and other services, but we must explore gaining revenue elsewhere or reappropriating funds within the balanced budget to cover these costs. We should also encourage greater active involvement with the Glenrech Foundation and ensuring every family, no matter their financial abilities, can equitably access our parking lots. I'm excited to collaborate with the distinguished members of this board and the incoming board and the district at large to accelerate our mission
038of providing an exceptional education for our students while maintaining a high level of fiscal responsibility. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. McCarthy. Um our our second speaker this evening is Paul Eisenstat. Good evening, Mr. Es and nice job last four years. Congratulations. Good evening. Thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight. My name is Paul Eisenstat of Northbrook and I want to comply with the district directive. If you see something, say something. I saw something unethical that harmed me, so I am saying something. the actions of two board members who knowingly engaged in unethical behavior that undermined the integrity of the school board and elected officials. Specifically, I was harmed by the materials I have here by the materials distributed by Peter Kagi and Matthew O'Hara at an event where that material was prohibited. Not only
039did these actions knowingly violate the rules of the library, the League of Women Voters, elected officials ethics, and the Illinois Constitution, but this was investigated and they lied about their actions. Further Mr. Mr. Eisen, would you please arrest the clock? Yes. I'm going to ask, as I've done in previous meetings, do you stick with board business? This is board business. This is election business. No, this is not election business. This is I I've asked you to stick to board business. Please, please do not bring up election business here. Please stick to board business. Okay. Well, this was documented with security footage made at the North Brook Library that contradicts statements to investigators. So, this was um an unethical. They stated to investigators that they cleared material and after 20 minutes, but it was my wife
040who found these materials after two hours. Mr. Step, please arrest the clock again. I'm going to ask you to contain I we hear your points, but there's it's about the election. This is about the board here. If you would Sure. So, there was an ethics breach by members of the board. So, is that not something I can speak about? You I'm asking you to direct your comments to the board to the board. I want to say district business of the election. Please district business trust, ethics, honesty, and integrity are cornerstones of the school board. You asked this community to trust you to to trust the board with our children and $180 million budget. Yet, if we cannot rely on you to follow basic rules, how do we trust that you will act responsibly with our
041resources, with our kids and our money? Worse yet, lying during an investigation is egregious violation of public trust. So, this is the recourse for unethical behavior. That's the question that I'm asking to the board. I urge the board to take immediate action and ask the district 225 council to conduct an independent investigation into the actions that of the uh members of the board that were responsible for this. Additionally, I request that the individuals involved recuse themselves from the board's investigation. The board owes it to our community and our students to uphold the highest ethical standards. That's so this is about ethics and the board and their actions. Thank you, Mr. I think that's board business. I don't think that's election business. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Eisenste. Our next speaker is Mr. Julian Chang. Good
042evening, Mr. Chang. Good evening. Uh, good evening, members of the board. To Mrs. Seguin and Mr. Dowy who are retiring, thank you for your service. My name is Professor Julian Chang. Since 2007, our family has lived in district 225 and operated a learning center that has employed and served thousands of district students. Since 2016, I volunteered at both GBN and GBS, mentoring and jud judging student projects in entrepreneurship and engineering. Some past student project connected the students with the community, addressed harassment, and tried to prevent date rape. Last week and this week, I judged and will judge some thoughtful student presentations tackling real world challenges focused on environmental innovation and community well-being. You're all invited to the GBN Incubator Final on April 17th from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the North Brook Public Library. Last
043week I was invited uh next week I was I will be invited or I am invited to speak at a GBN about a healthcare robotics company I advise that collaborates with the NIH the ALS association and UIU which where I also serve as an advisory board member in September 20 24th board member Skipshine uh approached me to try and run for the board. He noted a lack of diversity, too many attorneys and ethnic makeup and encouraged me uh to bring my voice and experience forward. When district 225 families asked me to help them address problems such as harassment, discrimination, and misconduct going back to 2015 and continue to present. Um, despite my commitment to the district, I encountered delays, obstruction, retaliation, and silence by the district and board members. I brought up other issues community
044members expressed concern about, such as cockroach infestations, slumping ISBE district report cards, and low social emotional safety ratings. Rather than respond directly after I reported misconduct, some board members ignored, delayed, or minimized the concerns, even contacting my employer, previously attended a universities and local community organizations and municipalities. Since attending all board meetings since October, I've observed dysfunctional, unethical, and outofouch board members more concerned with optics rather than fixing problems or ensuring accountability. Tonight, I formally ask to invoke board policy 2070, the uniform grievance policy, and request an independent external investigation and complaint manager into the actions of four individuals that Mr. Mr. Chang, I have to ask you to wrap it up. Sure. Um, I also ask those uh members to step down from their board duties during during this investigation. Our wonderful students, teachers,
045administrators and community deserves ethical leadership, transparency, respecting uh respecting others and uplifting of all students. Thank you. The next speaker is Mr. Hayden Leven. Mr. 11. Hello board. My name is Hayden Leven and I'm a Glenberg North student. After coming to the board multiple times and going through associates, Miss Hughes, Dr. John's, and Dr. Grall, and more discussing how the school has failed to acknowledge Jewish holidays during their holiday concert, as well as on multiple other instances. I was promised a response by spring break in a follow-up meeting with these representatives to discuss the initiatives being taken to resolve the situation. I've not heard a word about this meeting and the representatives have not only failed to publicly acknowledge this error, but they've also failed to discuss it privately with the disputing party. I'd like
046to mention Deerfield High School had an incident of anti-semitism. Within 3 days, they had a full curriculum revision. It's been 4 months and there's been no visible progress at District 225. I'd like to also mention that Eid, Ramadan, Easter, and Good Friday were all mentioned and appropriately accommodated at D225. However, when it comes to Pesak, the school sent out a district-wide communication offering glot kosher for pesak meals. When in fact, the meals themselves were not all not kosher for Passover, but the options themselves were not all glot kosher. District 225 can recognize other religious occurrences, but when it comes to Jewish holidays, it's always done wrong. When addressing the principal, she admitted to not knowing the difference between kosher and kosher for Passover. The letter sent out was changed behind the backs of the public
047with administrators hoping nobody else saw the mistake and a response was halted until a week after the administration was aware of this issue. The school preaches student advocacy. Here's a student advocating, but the principal and board have ignored my further emails. To date, I've yet to see an apology over any issue from the school. When students draw something anti-semitic, there's an immediate response in the form of an email, part of which states there will be communication with impacted families. But when the district or school makes a mistake, it takes a week to respond. And that's if you even decide to respond. Good leaders lead by example and have effective communication. This administration has not displayed that. When there's an issue that the administration is aware of, their first move should be to notify the constituents
048that it directly affects. This district chose to withhold that information for a week for no good reason. This district has not fulfilled its promises to make change, has taken months to formulate plans when neighboring districts have taken days, and clearly has shown a lack of leadership qualities and no progression. As this board and its associates have recently been reelected, it would behoove you to start thinking about the future of the district and how you want to portray it. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Leven. Our final speaker this evening is Mr. Jack Downing. Got to say I'm pretty impressed with the students speaking. They're passionate and good. Get used to it. They're impressive. Uh my name is Jack Downing. I live in Glen View. I have five kids that have gone through Glenber South still. Two
049are still there. I just have two brief comments. First, I just wanted to comment on uh the accusation that was brought up tonight and at the last board meeting. It's also been posted on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram. um accusations claiming that Peter Glowaki, Matt O'Hara, Beth Hope, and myself knowingly violated ethics, library rules, the Illinois Constitution by distributing campaign materials during the League of Women Voters candidate forum back on March 16th. And this is simply not true. I know this is not a political I'm going to have to have you contain your comments as well to be fair. To be fair, my my integrity was questioned. So, I'm talking about my integrity. This claim was brought up to the Cook County Clerk, Cook County Clerk's Office, the League of Women Voters, Northbook Public Library that was
050investigated thoroughly and found no violations regarding campaign material and the matter was closed. I find it troubling and counterproductive that this is brought up again. This was resolved by an independent third party. which should have been done. This is not a board. This is not board work. Secondly, I'd like to say that the public comments portion of this board meeting is not should not be political. This should not be a place to campaign for the school board nor make accusations about your opponents. I wanted to set the record straight about who I am. I ran for the school board. I'm here tonight because I deeply care about District 225 and our students. moving forward. I'd like to work together, not in competition, for the best for our kids. Thank you, Mr. Dying. That concludes the
051public uh comment portion of our meeting, just to be clear, and we just heard this um regarding the library that has been investigated on multiple levels. Uh, and also to be clear, um, that other points that have been raised tonight have been investigated and if there are additional follow-ups that need to be done, uh, I would ask our administration to make sure that whatever follow-ups still need to be done could be done with with, uh, promptness and thoroughess as we always do, but I do want to be clear that we are a number of things raised tonight have been objects of things we've been working on. Uh with that, um okay, excuse me. No problem. We now move to item five on our agenda, which is the consent portion of our agenda. Dr. John's, any
052comments about the consent? There have been no changes to the consent items. Terrific. I'll entertain a motion to approve the consent agenda. I move to approve the consent agenda. Any discussion on the consent agenda? Hearing none. Mr. Glowaki, yes. Miss Mullenbeck, yes. Miss Siguin, yes. Mr. Shine, yes. Mr. Dowy, yes. Five members voting yes. That concludes our consent agenda for the evening. We now move to item six, which is our discussion and action agenda. Uh the first item uh and they're connected uh is our public hearing on the true north withdrawal. Uh before we begin that process, Dr. Johns, anything you need to add? Uh just a couple things I'd like to add. First of all, you'll note in the um resolution that we changed the date under the be it resolved section uh item
053number one. Now reads no earlier than July 1, 2025. Previously it said July 1, 2026. That was based on conversations subsequent to our last meeting. Uh just so that everyone knows I spoke with Dr. Schneider, superintendent of True North about this uh last week so that he was aware of the change. Uh we have also received no comments from citizens or members of the Glen Brook 225 community regarding this resolution. Uh just to note uh at the April 9th True North Leadership Council, there were a couple former leadership council members uh former board members who spoke out against the rumors that they've been hearing that member districts were considering withdrawal. Uh later in the meeting it was pointed out uh that a number of districts in fact I believe it was mentioned as being 11
054out of 18 were either planning considering or discussing withdrawal themselves. Uh so and then finally we had a letter that was sent to True North Leadership Council from a from a citizen not in our community that I shared with the board in the board packet but to reiterate we've had no objections raised within our community. That's it. Okay. We're now going to move into the public hearing. Uh and after that, we'll close the hearing and then we'll move to item 6.2 and we're going to consider resolutions. So, at this time, I'm opening the hearing on the withdrawal from True North Educational Cooperative 804. The question is whether Glenberg North High Glenberg High School District 225 should withdraw from the True North Educational Cooperative 804 uh as was pre previously discussed by the Board of Education
055on Monday, March 17th, 2025 and made available for public inspection on Friday, March 14th, 2025. Before I ask if anyone wants to speak on this particular uh com on this particular uh resolution uh at the hearing, any comments initially from the board? Mr. Shine? Um I think it's uh unfortunate that we have to come to this point with um True North and that both True North and the district have the best interest of special education students in mind. True North provides wonderful service, but unfortunately they have a financial model that's simply no longer sustainable or feasible. And although this district and others have tried for years to come up with a solution so that we didn't come to this point, um we are here tonight nonetheless because of a certain level of entrangence and our
056goal regardless of how much things cost which is always a consideration is to always provide the best possible service for students. And in the opinion, the expert opinion of our educators and what we have been presented with and provided to students over the last couple of years, it is felt that the district is well positioned to provide those services. And so it is for that reason I am personally in favor of of going down this path. Okay. And it seems very clinical when you read this, but there's a lot of students and services behind it. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Shine. So, I'm going to go to the after the public hearing. We'll have a chance to comment more if people want after. It's no problem at all. I appreciate that. Appreciate very much. Um,
057are there any questions or comments from members of the public at this time? Bruce, I had a question, I guess, as a from the board perspective and stuff. Uh, going forward, if we move forward with this motion and everything tonight, what would be the role the board's role as a representative on True North's board at this point? Well, we would continue to be members until our withdrawal dates. So whether that is uh June, July 1, 2026 or 2027, we will continue to be full voting members. Uh and we're seeing the same pattern in district 34 who's also withdrawn. Okay, thank you. Okay, that's been clarified. So I'm going to once again ask if there are any questions or comments from members of the public regarding the withdrawal from True North Educational Cooperative 804. I do
058not hear any questions or comments. See anyone? Okay. Uh I will therefore entertain a motion to close the public hearing on the withdrawal from True North Educational Cooperative 804. So moved. Second. Any questions on the motion? Uh discussion hearing? None. All in favor? I I'm sorry. I'm sorry. You have to have I'm sorry. I apologize. My apologies for not telling you. Um, Miss Mullenbeck, Miss Siguin, yes. Mr. Shine, yes. Mr. Yes. Mr. Dowy, yes. Five members voting yes. With a vote of five to zero, I declare the hearing on the withdrawal from True North Educational Cooperative 804 is closed. Now we will move to 6.2 on our agenda. This is when we formally consider approval of the withdrawal uh from North Educational Cooperative 804. Dr. Jones, I know you gave us some initial comments. Were
059there other things you'd like to share at this point? Well, uh most of my comments were gerine to what would be the consideration possibly for a vote on this resolution. So, it belonged in the hearing portion. Uh but I want to reiterate that fundamental to this move is our belief that we want to more fully include our students into our district, into our schools so they can be with their fellow students in our schools. Uh and then for those who are being served by our transition program, we want them to work, to live, and to be seen in our community. And right now for employment or education, these students often have the students that are not already being served by us, a fairly small number at this point, have to go to Highland Park, which
060is a lovely place to go, but they're being outside of their community to get those services. And we now have the capacity to fully involve and include these students within our our boundaries of our community. We think we can do that with excellence as we try to do everything. And as you saw the work that's already being done by uh our staff, we're working rapidly in that direction and and with great confidence. So, um this is the the those final transition students are the remaining students that we still have being served by True North. Uh we'll have a few others because we we've honored the the wishes of their families to complete out where they've been because they've been there for years and we want them not to have um the disruption of changing to
061a different school. We want to enable them st some stability but we're ready to move for the rest of our students and proceeding quite well. Thank you Dr. Johns. Uh board members any comments or questions? I know Mr. Chie shared Miss um I just wanted to say that I know that the administration and um the staff has done so much work on this. I know over the last four years since I've been here um we've had you know just multiple meetings understanding this well understanding the complexities. I know that, you know, I personally learned about a lot of the complexities. So, I know that the decision is not come lightly and we've done a lot of work around this. Everybody has. Um, so I just I know that I just think that's important for the
062public and for the families and everybody to know this is like this is a this is a significant change, you know, for the district, but I just wanted to mention that. But just to thank everybody for all that work and time. Thank you, Miss Seuin. Miss Millib, anything? Yes, I actually have um one question and then one comment. I'm sorry. Uh Dr. Johns, at the beginning of your comments, you talked about a date change to a document and I wasn't exactly sure where I should be noting that. So, if you go to a resolution um that is attached where you have my memo and then there's a resolution. So, the first three pages are my memo. The last three pages are um the resolution and you go I believe it's the last page of the
063resolution or the second page of the resolution where it's the be it resolved uh portion and it would be number one. So at the end of that paragraph uh previously we had indicated to withdraw uh July 1, 2027 we've moved that to July 1, 2026. That's consistent with the state law. Sorry, I just heard I thought you said July 1, 2025 and I thought that's coming fast. No, not that fast. There's a good chance there's a lot of dates running around in my head, so there's a good chance that you're accurate and I misspoke. No, no. I it's it's just wanted to make sure that we were clear on that because the date of course is very important. Um, as far as my comments, I want to echo um what Mr. Shine and Missin had
064to say. Um and also um point out that as part of what the board has heard and considered in looking at this issue um we have heard from the families that will be directly affected by this by our our services that we provide and and they're from what I understand largely supportive and I think that's very important to recognize that the people who are the stakeholders who have the greatest stake in what's happening um want this change or and and at this point frankly it's not even that big a change because already the district is providing most of these services and now with the new facility in Northbrook we can really bring it all home and to Dr. John's point, having these students in their homes community is a a tremendous value as well. Um,
065so overall, I'm very comfortable with what we're doing. I agree with Biguin that it's it's a change and it's something that um can't shouldn't be done lightly, but I do not think that that is what the board has done. Um the administration has um been very um deliberate in explaining to us what the consequences will be and um I think that we're making the right decision here. Thank you Miss Milbeck, Mr. Ki. Uh thank you everyone for all the work that you've done on this. This is does not come light in terms of the choice and everything. It's just we've heard from our folks. We've heard from a number of the True North folks as well too about the importance of bringing students into the community and being part of the community as part of
066this transition and how important that is. And so, you know, in support of that, I I agree this is the best use of our resources to help these students thrive as they can. Um the transition and this does not also preclude us from using True North as I understand it. Should there be service, it's just a now it shifts the scale in terms of the fees and things when it's appropriate. there was still an option for us. Uh but given the paths of how things are going and have changed uh with true notes focus as well, this seems just in our you know our students best interests and our with our limited resources as well to be mindful where we're using the dollars and where we putting our students. So um hopefully we'll find opportunities
067to work with them in a constructive fashion, but it will have to be in a different fashion. Well, thank you everybody for your thoughtful comments. uh this is uh this is a big a big shift but it's been going on on over time. It has been thoroughly uh looked at from on many many angles for a while. Uh I've had the privilege of being the uh the board member from our board at Trorth for the last four years. Dr. Johns has been the last uh two or three years I believe as the uh regional superintendent. So we've seen firsthand uh we've had many benefits from True North over the years but it is time for a change. um for all the reasons people have cited but the governing reason above all at towers and everyone
068said it is about our students uh and working with the families of these students and that's what we are doing uh in we believe the most helpful way and it is so important that we can have them in our buildings as much as possible. Um, and it's not just for the students to feel included, but it's good for everyone to notice that we're a large community with all sorts of learners, all sorts of abilities uh, and everybody benefits. So, this is the a positive uh, path on uh, every imaginable ground. So, uh, great appreciation to the administration, uh, and to the teachers who have worked so hard over the years to work with these students and will continue to do so and be taking on a greater responsibility, but ultimately for we believe for the
069benefit, uh, of our students. Um, and Dr. Jones, is there anything else you want to add at this point? Uh, I want to thank our special education department, in particular, Dr. Jennifer Pearson, for the vision she had that enabled us to get to this point, the the work she's done. Uh Stacy Wolf has had literally dozens of conversations with our families. Uh so has has Dr. Pearson. Uh so has our our instructional I'm sorry, our instructional supervisors of both buildings. So a lot of work has gone into this. Um I do want to underscore a point that that Mr. Shine made. Um you know, we have great respect for True North. They do a wonderful job. Uh we are at a point where we can best educate our students within our own umbrella. uh and
070we need the resources for that and that's how we came together with this conclusion. Uh but as as Miss Seuin pointed out there's this is years worth of work. It's careful uh was methodical in our process and and we did it this way so methodically because we care deeply about these young people and we want the best for them. So that's Well, thank you for that. Uh if there are not any other comments or questions at this point, uh I will entertain a motion. uh to approve the resolution. Mr. Gwaki, I move to approve the withdrawal from True North Education Cooperative 804 as presented. Second somewhere. I second. Any discussion on the motion? Hearing none. Miss Smith. Miss Sewin. Yes. Mr. Shine. Yes. Mr. Glowaki. Yes. Miss Mullenbeck. Yes. Mr. Dowy. Yes. Five members voting
071yes. Thank you very much again. We now move to item seven on our agenda which is a summary of our meeting. Uh we began with some uh really really uh wonderful recognitions of our GBS uh debate team and and uh Miss Tara Tate for years and years of dedication to the activity. Uh we celebrate the promotions of Miss Middleton, Mr. Pertie and Miss Shellard. Uh we got to have some uh viewing about our new transition services facility about which we're so excited and will be ready to go in the beginning of August. Uh and we uh had the bittersweet but uh wonderful goodbye from Miss Sein who's u meant so much to this district and given so much of herself uh on behalf of our community and our our our families and our students. Uh
072we've been most fortunate. Uh we had great reports from Glen North and Glen South uh about a micro business and Spartan pride week and various athletic endeavors uh advances with student services uh even enjoying the breakfast club which um some of us recognized from the first time around didn't have to wait 40 years and uh great news from the science Olympiad uh I don't know it was domination but it sounded like it of the FCCLA uh by both schools the TLS basketball game which is always a special event uh our uh students at Oracle qualifying for state finals and participating uh and our master singer is even performing at uh uh the hallowed uh pavilion at at Ravenium. So a wonderful uh report on that we recognized uh five community visitors on uh various topics
073uh this evening as well. We passed our uh consent agenda uh without change and then we had our public hearing on the withdrawal from True North Educational Cooperative 804 followed by the resolution that was passed unanimously uh to begin the withdrawal process. Item eight, uh pop possible topics for future board meetings. Uh feel free to pass those along to Dr. John's or for me for one last time. Uh and then item nine, we do have close session this evening. Uh so I'll entertain a motion to consider collective negotiating matters between the public body and its employees or their representatives or deliberations concerning salary schedules for one or more classes of employees. Student disciplinary cases and litigation when an action against affecting or on behalf of the particular public body has been filed and is pending
074before a court or administrative tribunal or when the public body finds that an action is probable or imminent in which case the basis for the finding shall be recorded and entered into the minutes of the closed meeting pursuant to sections 2C2911 of the open meetings act. So moved. Second. All in favor? Any opposed? Motion carries. We're going to go and close session. We'll come back. You know what? And Mr. Dowy, we are back. We are back in open session. Item 10 is possible action regarding topics discussed in close session. 10.1 regards a memorandum of agreement. Uh Mr. Flowaki. I move that the board approve the memo of understanding with the Glenberg Educational Support Staff Association regarding updates and clarifications to the employee evaluations. Second, please. Second. Second. Uh, any discussion on the motion hearing? None.
075Miss Smith. Miss Siguin. Yes. Mr. Shine. Yes. Mr. Glowaki. Yes. Miss Mullenbeck. Yes. Mr. Dowy. Yes. Five members voting yes. Item 11. Ajournment. Entain a motion. No, since it's Michelle's last one, I'm not Go for it. Make a motion. I'm keeping area. I make a motion to adjourn. Second. Well, I guess we're still here. Uh oh, okay.