001Michael's almost >> just joking. >> You're good. >> Probably the practice call for. >> Yeah, we're ready to answer. >> All right. >> Okay, I'm good. >> For real. This time time is 50 5:05. I'd like to call this meeting to order. Maya, can you please call the role? >> Sure. Her Johnson is off. Rosen >> here. >> Spurlock is absent. Moore here. Perez here. Kim >> here. >> Meeting policy orders 505. Okay. And so we do not have Oh, public business. We're going to the superintendent search presentations. And we have Johnny >> And Steve. I'll let you guys always a safe thing to do. >> You going to pull the presentation? >> Michael, >> are you pull up the presentation? >> Yep. >> Thank you. >> So, well, um, thank you all for having
002us. Um, my name is Johnny Thomas. Uh, I am, uh, an associate for BWP. Um, and I am also a current sitting uh superintendent, Bridge Township High School District 227. Um, I've been a superintendent now in the state of Illinois for 13 years and this is my um eighth year as superintendent of Rich Township High School District 227. Uh, some of my some of my current uh recent searches were um both in the Minnesota area, Minneapolis, and St. Paul. Thanks. My name is Steve Griezbach. I'm a partner with PWP and I'm I'm a retired superintendent. So, you got to get a guy who's really busy and connected with everybody and a guy who's got a little bit more time that can help out uh and support what's going on. My career started in Evston at
003Evston Township High School where I spent 10 years as a social studies teacher. It was called history and social sciences and then moved on as a principal and assistant principal um uh in um always in the suburban Chicagoland area from Park Ridge to Flossmore and then finished my career as assistant superintendent then superintendent in Gower School District 62 in DuPage County. Um I've done searches with Johnny a bunch of times but um we also both worked in Minneapolis and also St. Paul, but I also did Elcart Indiana. There's a question we're going to talk a little bit later on about that. And um just recently completed an expedited search in Monster, Indiana in six weeks that they have a guy they're really happy with. So I know that's another question you might have about us.
004But Johnny's going to take us through a presentation and I'm going to be here to to help him and answer it. But um when you think about who you're going to work with, you're looking at them. It doesn't get any better than this. So you you probably wonder why BWP um we have a tremendous track record of of success. Uh 99% of the individuals that we place in the superintendency complete their first contracts. Um which is which is pretty astonishing. Um and 95% of them get a second contract. And so we we not only are successful in identifying candidates but identifying candidates that have a a long uh tenure. Um not one of our candidates um has been uh dismissed for any uh malfeence. Um we have a really good strong track record of looking
005at backgrounds and making sure that we are bringing forth um people quality um to communities. Um, and then there's no has been no lawsuits against the firm itself, and we have a 95% client satisfaction rate. Um, BWP and Associates is a a very diverse um firm. Uh, there are nine directors and partners. Three of them are women. Uh, two African-American women and one African-American man. uh the managing director uh Miss Deborah Hill, which I believe is a former employee of Oak Park 97, one of the first African-American teachers here, is u the managing partner for for BWP. Um and so we we have a significant uh network of associates who um are are very diverse uh Hispanic, um African-American, and all other nationalities and races as well. you know, we have a good history of
006um helping districts find the leaders that match their needs. Uh and so, you know, one of the questions I think that you've asked is um you know, how will we recruit and find you a diverse pool? And I, you know, I' I'd like to say that it's because a lot of hard work and belonging to the right organizations and things like that. Um and I think that's all true. Um we get the word out. We know people. We're connected with people and and our our firm is connected with people on all different levels. I also think it's because we've got a history of being successful in doing that. Not only districts that are diverse, but in districts that are not as diverse, but that choose a diverse candidate for their position, which I will talk
007about a little later on when I answer one of the questions you've talked a bit about. Uh so we think that we can bring you a diverse pool of candidates that not only meet your needs but also can effectively do the job. Uh ultimately we don't hire the superintendent, we help you to do a great job with that. And so in our in our proposal, we're going to go through the the phases in which we work um to not only help to identify candidate but also on boarding and uh support uh long after the search has has ended. And so you we're going to talk a little bit about our organizing the process in the first phase. Uh then we move to uh marketing and recruitment, how we're going to put the word out about
008this great community and this this very strong district. Um, we do candidate assessment, making sure that, um, you go from a huge pool to a pool that is specific for V Park 97 and not for anybody else. Um, and then we begin to work with the board on um, what type of of uh, interview questions that they should develop based on what their leadership profile has been created. Um, and then, uh, from there, let you begin the process of identifying your appropriate candidate. Um, and then in the last phase, it's employing the superintendent. So, I'm going to let Steve talk a little bit about the the phases and he'll walk us through. I'm going to do it in a very brief way because I know that you've all read the proposal because you had some
009really specific questions based upon things in the proposal. So, thank you very much for that. We really think the first part is organizing the search you want to have, not the search we're presenting. So we really want to if if you were lucky enough to be hired by you, we first thing we want to do is sit down and meet with you and talk about what kind of search you'd like to have. So that's not only talking about the timeline, but also um what engagement would look like here because we think you have ideas about that. We've got some ideas of things that have worked well for us as well. We think community engagement is critical and we think it helps to build a couple things. Uh one is the community is always anxious about
010who's the new superintendent. So keeping them involved and engaged early in the process helps to to kind of alleviate some of that stress that they may be feeling. The second thing it does is it it the process should build credibility sports credibility um with the work that you're doing and the way you're involving people. The third thing it does if it really works well, it should also bring build momentum for your next superintendent because they're going to see how all the the dots connect between engagement to selection. And we do believe it's the board's job to select the superintendent. But we do think that the community has a really important role. So we'll want to talk to you a little bit about establish a communication plan, a marketing plan. How are we going to get
011a strong pool of candidates in there? And we not only believe that it's a a part of advertising, but it's also a part of actually recruiting, tapping people to the show, talking to people, connecting with people at conferences and things like that. Um and there's some some great opportunities in the Chicagoland area to reach a national national audience coming up this fall. Yeah. So Napsi is um going to be here um in the Chicagoland area, first time in a very very long time. And uh it's an opportunity for us to really network nationally with uh uh future superintendents from all over the country. And >> and that's the FCC. It stands for the National Alliance of Black School Educators, just so you know. Um, so we'll want to set up and talk to you a
012little bit about what that engagement looks like. Um, and then while that's going on and we're getting ready to do it, we're going to start a marketing plan that really talks about how we'll um, how we'll reach people. But I want to go back to engagement for a second because we believe that and really use four different tools for that. One is we want to have individual interviews with the board members. Believe it or not, um you have big constituencies here. Someone voted for you, right? You know, probably hundreds, maybe thousands voted for you to sit on this board because they believe in you. So, we want to know what you think. We also want to know what your community thinks. And so, we offer an online survey that is really not focused on anything
013other than providing useful information to guide the search. We're not going to look at whether they like this school or how they feel about changing boundaries or things like that. We're going to ask them and and I didn't mean to to to bring up a topic that you're not talking about, but um we're really focused on the qualities that you're looking for in that next candidate and the things that they're the work that they're going to need to do not only to maintain what's going but also add some things. So, um, so that's the survey. Everyone can take that, um, um, in your community, not just parents and not just staff members, but anybody in your community there's a taxpayer, um, can do that. The third thing that we do is, um, we will work
014with you and identify groups that you think deserve and should have a specific time to talk with us. We call those focus groups. And in those conversations, we ask three basic questions. And the same three questions we ask all over. What are the best things happening in Oak Park 97? What are the things that could be improved in Oak O Park 97? And then as you think about the next leader who's going to have to do the the work and lead the work here, they don't have to do all of it. They need to lead that work. What are the the skills, experiences, and personal qualities that will help them be successful in that role? And so, um, we do that. And then, um, then we also believe that we have open forums. That means
015anyone can show up and talk to us. We go those both both in person and online because what we learned through the pandemic was that people sometimes find it easier and they're really comfortable talking to us online and they're really comfortable with those formats. So we think you'll reach lots of different ways and we want to reach out to all areas of your community. So our survey is not only available in English but it's also available in Spanish and we've also in other communities we've worked with the school district to have it in Arabic. Um um Swahili Karin um gosh um I can't remember somebody else. Somali um so um we want to make sure that nobody everyone has a chance and nobody feels excluded. It's inclusive and everyone will have at least two chances
016to be involved. Um, all that information that we gather, we synthesize into a leadership profile that we present to you along with all the data we've collected and we share that with you in a in an open meeting so everyone can see where their thoughts and their time went. And then that is synthesized into a leadership profile which then becomes the tool that we use not only to help evaluate candidates but also to recruit candidates. and you will use it when you interview candidates and and make some judgments about who's right and who fits the profile and that'll be unique to Oak Park 97. Okay? I'm not saying that other school districts don't have same some similar qualities, but each one is different and they're different in very important ways. Um we believe that um
017and I'm already on phase three that uh that recruitment is key for getting you a good a good pool. But then we also believe that a a good candidate assessment involves more than just looking at applications and talking to people. It means reaching out to references both those they list and those they don't list. And then we also recommend that we do we do it but we also recommend to most of our clients that they consider doing an in-depth research into their social media presence. Just you want to know what's there and we don't want at the end for anybody to have um any surprises. So, we've got this big pool of candidates in. Now, we're going to filter it down through the leadership profile um into a slate of candidates we're going to present
018to you in close session. And we recommend it in close session because it allows people who are uh who may get the job, who are probably very successful in their current job to have some cover in their current jobs. and and and they don't have to risk that by letting everyone know that they're looking someplace else because it's a great opportunity. Um and and in that same time, we want to do a workshop with you and we think it's really important that you go into the interviews with candidates feeling really confident and prepared with a good set of questions based upon the leadership profile. um with ways of of collecting evidence because you want to be evidence-based in your conversations with each other and have some common language about how to talk about candidates and
019then ultimately um some way of of coming to consensus around who should move forward. So we we move it into a c a slate of candidates usually four to seven candidates and then you narrow it down from four to seven and in the first round of interviews into a second group and that's usually two to three candidates and at that point once again you're doing the interviewing um so the work has been transferred from us to you and you're also making those decisions and then often times we find some clients like to involve their community stakeholders in looking at the candidates and providing them with some feedback about the final three and we can help you with tools if that's a place you like to go. Some boards say we were elected to do this
020job, we're moving forward with it. Um we think that works well too. Ultimately it's getting the right person in the job and and and in your community. And then afterwards we work on helping you protect. We don't negotiate for them. We work for you. And so what we want to do is make certain they feel comfortable and ready to go. We answer questions. We can sometimes serve as liaons between you, but ultimately how much they make, the kind of benefits they have, the term and that sort of thing. Those are things between you and the client themselves. And then we will work with you on helping them transition the job, whether that be public announcements or um transition plans or um working with them after they get the job so they're successful. We provide mentoring.
021uh I'm meeting with one of the candidates uh that we placed this summer uh tomorrow and it's it's ongoing and because believe it or not and this if everyone says this sounds like a used car salesman which is not a bad thing but um we're only successful when the candidates and you're successful with whom you hire and and so we take that pretty pretty seriously and and really really digging in um to that connection piece. um this is one of the most important decisions that you all will make and so there there has to be a good fit um because you're going to do a lot of heavy lifting and a lot of work together and so that fit has to be there and that's why it's so important to us. So um one of
022the things that was asked uh um um through email was about an expedited uh search. Um we we can uh expedite a search if that's um the desire of the board. um we we don't recommend it um because we we really believe in that authentic connection with your community stakeholders, giving enough time for the information to get out not only regionally but nationally as well and then allowing for the appropriate people to apply, be screened and interviewed appropriately. Uh that that takes that takes a little bit of time and so um I know that question was was asked of us. We can we can customize the search to uh the way this board wants it to work. Um but but we also believe that the work we do is very important and every piece of
023it is very important. The times when we've done expedited searches, it's because their superintendent left to another job late in the school year, actually after the school year ended. And so I've done two searches that have been done in six weeks. Um, and in those cases, the board said, "We really care about doing this. We uh feel comfortable that we know what our community thinks about it, so we don't need to do all the engagement stuff." And um it worked out well. Uh retired from the district and the other one is just starting. So I'll just note that was my question and I asked it because in the proposal you had noted that was an option and I was just wondering if you all thought that we were at a place in time where we
024should be considering that. I think the preference is to not do it if we don't really have to or at least my preference I can't >> we believe it you are in the kind of later stages of the first round of candidates that are looking for a position. uh we believe that you are in a strong position to get a good um candidate pool. I don't think you have to rush. >> Okay, great. Thank you. >> And so, you know, we we're we're look we we have a proposed timeline here. It is just us trying to work through and look at what we think is appropriate and giving enough time for the process. Um but as as we said earlier, the these things always can be adjusted based on the needs of the board and
025where your timelines are as well. Um and so we think in October um you know you're going to you're going to make the decision about selecting the firm. Um then there is the process of um uh doing the planning meeting kind of laying out what the actual timeline would be and um what tools we'll use to help engage the community and um begin to to put together that rubric, that leadership profile that is then used to identify those six to seven candidates that you will then take and and provide further um interviewing of. Then in November, December, uh we would be begin the community engagement. Um we would report uh those engagement activities back to the board. Um and we would begin the process of of interviewing those those candidates that uh have applied for
026a position. The report we'll give you is something we think you should put on your website and share with your community. And candidates look at that. They want to see how they match up against it as well. So then in December and January um we will um come back and present a slate of uh candidates. Um we'll we'll do a workshop with the with the board and and any other parties that you would uh put in front of any of these candidates. Um and then the first and second round of interviews would would begin and then we believe uh somewhere around January or February of the board would be approving their their new superintendent. >> The next slide talks a little bit about fees. Um you're not keeping up with me. I'm sorry. That's okay.
027Um you know um we are there any questions on the fees? I think we explain those. Um we've tried to say what are the fixed ones and what are the optional ones. And so um for instance it is optional if you want to have a if you don't want to use the person we use to do social media research you can have someone else do it. We also do it as can as as consultants but you may have someone you feel really comfortable with that you think does a great job. Um if you have out of state candidates who come a long distance, you might have some costs for bringing them in to interview with you in person. Um and that's a really important thing. So those are there. Um advertising and marketing. Um it's
028all online. There's a lot of free sites, but we also think that you gather a little bit more national attention by using some of the websites that are paid with the American Association of School Administrators. Napsy, which which um Johnny mentioned, Alice, which is the um Association of Latino School Administrators and Superintendent. Um and so, um we think those are well worth the investment, um with those organizations to make sure that we get the word out. Um are there any questions on the fees? >> Um well, tied to the fees. So, social media history check, what are you checking for? Is it just like derogatory ter um like uh things that might not look so good like uh them saying outrazer stuff or what is exactly that you're looking? >> We'd be looking for those
029things things that would come up as red flags that might become controversial about them. We're also looking at all the information that's available about them and newspaper articles in their current places or before. um um maybe going so far as you know if they have any records of financial issues or things like that that could be something that you would want to know about later on. We believe that the goal of all the research we're doing on candidates is that when you announce somebody, the last thing you want to do is someone who's really quick and good in your community and and this is a a well educated involved community finding things out that you don't know about. And our goal is to make certain that we provide that information. We won't we won't present
030it with judgments. We'll explain it. But those are things that we want you to know about. And you are representatives of the community, not us. we would be we're helping but ultimately we want to support your work. >> We want to make sure we eliminate the surprises. >> Thank you. And so with the newspaper, is that only the search and articles and things like that? Is that only included in a social media history check or is that just something you do in general? >> We would do that in general. Okay. But, you know, that that that extra step with someone who that's kind of what they do is, you know, another piece of comfort you like to offer. And that's the, you know, $300 a candidate. >> Thank you. >> Good question. >> So, we're
031going to conclude um with a couple things and talk to you a little bit about what you can expect from us. So throughout this uh search process, we we're we are on call. Um we will make sure you have our personal cell phone numbers. Um if there are any questions that come up, if there's anything that's needed, um I am going to um lead the search and so I definitely will be available at any any time um that you need to to if you have any questions to help uh us move this process through successfully. Um, we make sure that we work uh very closely with the board president or uh their designate um to make sure that um we we have regular updates about where we are in the process, what we're running into,
032what types of supports we'll need um from from the board and the school system itself. Um and then making sure that at all times there are no surprises throughout the the process. Um, and that includes in the in the pricing. Um, we provide a 2-year uh guarantee. Um, so if a candidate isn't successful, um, from that 2-year period, uh, we come back and we will redo the search again for just expenses. Um, and then, um, we provide mentoring to the new superintendent. As Steve mentioned earlier, um, he's he's meeting with someone he's placed. uh I stay in contact with uh the superintendents in in uh Minnesota and so uh we make sure that we're we're providing that mentorship and that guidance to help them be successful and also we continue to work with the boards
033as well um to make sure that that that relationship is a very strong unified one because that's that's the only way the superintendent is going to be successful >> costwise what what would you say maximum people have spent for a successful I see there's a couple to be decideds in there >> some that are optional versus required. >> We'd be happy to work on a a not to exceed price, but I I think all in you're probably talking less than 35,000. >> Okay. >> If it would I'm just doing that off the top of my head, but I you know I think it it'd be might be lower. >> How about if we just say it won't be higher >> deal? tough negotiator. Um, you know, we we we looked at it and wanted to
034look at comparison districts. You asked for a similar size and demographics. Um, there aren't a lot in Illinois. There aren't a lot around the country. This is a unique community. Um um we've worked in what we wanted to do is say we've worked in diverse communities with diverse um populations of students, economically diverse um diversity in terms of the community, how they how they see things. Um and so when it looks at you look at Minneapolis and you look at St. Paul, well, those are 30,000 school students. They're not anything like your 4,500 student district. And so, uh, what we want did want to say is that, um, both of us have worked in districts that are, um, this size or smaller. Um, and so we we know how intimate this place is and how
035important it is to the community and it's the lifeblood. And so, um, we can't give you a list, you know, like that. So, I just wanted to make sure that you you saw that in our our conversation tonight. and and I and there there are a lot of indicators that show that you are u moving things forward. Um you've had several teachers uh who are nationally board certified, but that's a high level of teaching that's happening here and they're committed to it. Um you you have um strong extracurricular after school things for students, those who are are caught up and those who are trying to get ahead and so those reading initiatives and things of that nature. There's just a lot of amazing things happening. I think uh this is going to be a a
036really really uh good search for you all because this is such a strong community. >> There lots of things that will attract people to want to work here. So um with that are there any other questions we have have for us? >> Questions? >> I think you covered the ones that were sent in advance. Would you agree? >> Well, there was the Elcart question. >> Oh, yeah. Thanks. >> Yeah, >> thanks. I'd like to talk about that one because I did that search. Um, Elcart is a is a kind of a rust belt community. Used to be the head of the RV capital of the world. Um, and those businesses have left and the community has changed and Indiana is its own kind of interesting political place to work. Um, and so we did the
037search. We worked hard at we it was kind of typical. We worked with the board. We worked with the community. we were engaged and things like that. Um what we didn't realize was the board was pretty divided. It was a 4-3 board. Um and it was divided along lots of different things. Um mostly um the things that the country's fighting over. Um, and so we got them a mechanic and the only time they could ever agree on anything, they voted 70 once um in prior to hiring us and and that was to fire the last superintendent. So they could come together on some things. Um, but uh we we did the process. We worked gave them a diverse field of candidates and there was a a woman they were interested in hiring. At least four
038of them were, but three of them didn't want to do it. And the person said, "I'm one election away from not being here and I'm moving my family from Texas to here and I don't like that." So they went So she said no. So they went to another candidate who three people liked but four people didn't. So that didn't work out. So it's the only time I've ever had to rever to to repeat a search. So, I sat with my my colleague um Phil and we said, "We got to go at this differently." And we brought them in the fall, they had an interim superintendent. We brought them in the fall a completely new slate of 30 new candidates that we interviewed. And then we brought them a new slate uh five to interview. And
039um I said, "We just can't leave it up to them. We need to do some work." So, one of the things you'll find is that whether it's our leadership profile, anybody else you talk to, they're all going to have a lot of the same things. And uh if you go from community to community, they might have the same things. And boards will look at that way sometimes. But what you don't know is what are the ones that are most important on this list of things because otherwise it looks like a laundry list, you know, and some things are more important. So the first thing we did was we we had a a little workshop and we did an exercise where we asked them to talk about the the most important ones on the list. You
040know what they found? They agreed on the top three and they talked about it and they came at it from a little different way but they all agreed on it. And then, okay, then we talked a little bit about how you have a conversation around candidates because people started bringing in stuff that they they did their own internet research that, you know, one person was upset that one of the reference letters from one of the candidates was from a superintendent who they considered to be too woke. Okay, whatever that means. That was their boss. You get letters of reference from your bosses. And so he said, you know, we can't do that. So we did some things and we did a mock interview and we asked them to talk about how they'd evaluate us based
041upon the leadership profile and the things they agreed on. And it was really interesting. They both saw and my my colleague and I did that. We're the interviewees and we did kind of different approaches to each question, but they had amazing consensus around why they liked an answer, why they didn't like an answer. So they had to work through it. Well, um we left them and said, "Okay, time to do some work." And they did. And um you know, 3 weeks later, um they offered a contract um to a man. He's uh and they hired their first African-American superintendent ever. And um they were a 70 vote on him. And so, um, we think that what I learned there is that we took some things for granted the first time, won't ever happen again. We
042need to work harder on some of those things. And, uh, we need to help boards that are have some splits to find the common ground where they can talk about it. And, um, you know, he's had a really successful run so far. He's been there two years. And, uh, scores are up, graduation rates are up, and people are happy. they offered him another successor contract after a year and a half and giving him a lot more money because they realized they um they need to do that and um everything seems to be going well and I've been in touch with the board president who was no longer the board president but is still on the board um I've talked to her four or five times a year just to see how things are going. I
043talked to the candidate four or five times a year as well even though it's the second year. So that's us um we we care about what we're doing. We care about getting it right and we care about supporting your work with can your superintendent and their work with you so that it really serves the children in this community well. So I did have one. I think you you hinted at the answer to this question. Um but um how do you handle when you have regionally similar districts who are all searching at the same time? And I know we are short on time here. So you mostly touched on the answer to this. >> This this community is unique. um your your neighbors around you, Broad View, uh um um River Riverside, um um >> River
044Forest, they're they're different in their in their makeup and in their in their field and in their in the community stakeholders. And so um we we believe that this is a this this is a unique uh situation for uh a very talented uh superintendent who has similar values in terms of how they believe children should be educated uh to come to a very progressive very strong district and do some really good work. Our firm's got about eight searches going on in Illinois. Okay, that means out of the candidate pool that'll be probably totaling 250 or more, eight people are going to get a job. Um we are a team at BWP and so we talk to candidates and so in a way um it gets the word out and Johnny said this is different than
045so someone that's a um not a match someone that applied at El Grove may not be as good a match there as they are at Oak Park. Same thing with Forest. So, we actually think that it works in your favor because your timeline will be different. And we never pit boards against each other and candidates. You're either in Pearl Park or you're not, but given where you're at, um, most of those the early searches will be done if you look at the recommended timeline before yours actually you're making those final decisions. And so, we think it'll it'll really enrich your pool. And it isn't that you'll get leftovers because I think that sometimes the leftovers are not they're not leftovers. They just weren't right for that board in that community, but they're right here. And
046you'll know that by interviewing them and talking to them. And and in in my current circles, there is a buzz about this opening. And so we we do believe there's going to be a lot of really strong candidates. And >> I'm so sorry. You didn't get to answer ask your question. Um thank you. So when you look at the since you you've got eight current searches going on and you've done numerous searches >> not us personally though >> right across I mean but the pool is going to be the same. So my question is if you if I'm you're looking at the candidates is the pool existing superintendent or is is the pool have a lot of um folks who have recently been certified who are looking for their first superintendent role. >> It'll be
047a bunch of those things. Um we don't have a um a bench of candidates. Each search is unique. Yours will be its own. Okay. >> Um um but they'll, you know, you know, we would like to talk with you about it. Doesn't need to be a sitting superintendent. You want a rising superstar who's done great things and has, you know, u the ability to to bring a community together and has shown that. So, we're looking at that record because we actually believe that the best way to predict future performance is past performance. And so, um we'll be looking at those things. And so um uh think about it is that um you know what's going to happen is as as people in other pools don't move forward or don't get the job, they'll be looking
048at this job a little differently, but we'll also be looking at whether they match what you're looking for because it's all about fit. >> Yeah. >> In the end. And that's what we're really going to work really hard to do to bring you a a group that fits your leadership profile and you will be doing the same when you choose um your next superintendent. Did Did I answer that? You're looking at me a little like I didn't >> I don't feel like you answered. I I really was just kind of wanting to know >> what the trend is. >> Yeah. And so, you know, we we see a good we see a good mix of of both individuals wanting to become superintendent and superintendents who are looking for a new a new place to continue
049to grow their expertise. And so, um it's it's it it really depends on the type of leadership profile is put out there, what the community is looking for. Okay. that will then attract the the individual and and we can better answer that question once that >> I realize it may be a tough question to answer because the market's going to change depending on what the leadership profile and what everyone needs and >> people come in and out of the market. So, thank you for thanks though for giving me the space to let John answer. >> Well, thank you both. We want to respect >> Do we have time for one more do we have today? >> We're at um next one's supposed to be at 5:40. We started a little late though, didn't we? >>
050We did, but are they waiting? >> Yes, >> sure they are. >> Okay. >> Can we um >> Yeah, I was going to say, can we just email the questions or do you feel like it's important right now? >> I can you may well we could answer spend all the time talking about whether I should ask it. Uh so we can just go ahead. >> Okay. >> All right. Thank you, gentlemen. >> Thank you so very much. But do you have a a thought about when you might be letting us know where you're headed on this? >> We're going to debrief uh a little bit later today. So I would say in the next couple of days. >> Thank you very much for your time. Good luck with the evening and um >> thank you.
051Thank you. >> Oh yeah. Thank you. I appreciate the communication. I didn't say >> I'm so sorry I'm stuffing my face. It's been a long school day. >> Thanks for >> Thank you. I'm fine. Nice to meet you. >> Sorry we made everybody come hard to 45. Hi. >> Hi. How are you? Nice to see you. Good to see you, >> too. [Applause] How's it going? >> We all look the same. We all look the same. It's been a few minutes. Even Patty. Thank you. I'll take it. Just so we're um so we're good on time because someone didn't eat tonight. Um but then also so everyone's question can we do like the go around cuz we kind of jumped in front of Venus. So I just want to make sure that we >> I
052was actually about to apologize to her because I know we kind of people just jumped in and were asking were all the questions asked that were on the sheet and that was one of the ones on the sheet that wasn't as >> I understand. I just want to make sure that we're >> so apologized to say hi. Hey guys. Hi Nancy [Music] got it. >> Good. >> All right. >> So nice to meet you. I've never seen you before. >> Yeah. Stranger. Good to see you again. Yeah. All right. Good. All right. Uh >> oh. Testing one, two. All right. There you go. >> My grandson's not here to help with it. Good. Are we on? Should we start? >> Three. Are we good? >> All right. Good. Well, great. Well, thank you. We're excited
053to be back here. Our home, well, it's my home away from home. County's actual home in our park. So, we're excited to be back and uh we hope at the end of this presentation and especially the questions and answers where we want to be sure we answer every and all questions that you have that that you'll see that that Connie and I have the fire in the belly uh to help you work with you and for you as we facilitate this important endeavor. uh our expertise, experience and ideally our energy will earn your trust uh to work uh together on this. We are fresh off a search. We've just partnered with the Michigan uh Department of Education State Superintendent Search and we are what three4s of the way and then some maybe through Indian Prairie
054School District. Uh so we are we're excited to be together again and working on this one. As we go through, you'll see probably some familiar faces. And uh the reason that we have your students and in our slides is because that's who we want to focus on and that's who we work for. We know we are working for you. Um, and we know that you represent the community, but we know what we all have in common is the interests of our our students, present, uh, past alumni and of course our future students who the new superintendent and you will be uh, together. So, we Connie and I have share you know your vision as well that we want the students to get have an education is equitable, inclusive and focused on the whole child. So,
055we've tried to uh pull slides that that illustrate that and photos of these great students. Uh if you're looking for an executive summary, slide three is it. Uh the YHYA. And again, we believe that that all children uh have the right deserve the right to the highest quality of education. Um we're going to talk about our history about the phases of this search. But on this slide, what I really want to uh highlight is that middle piece that this is fully customized. So even though we've done a lot of searches together, including a previous one for Oak Park 97 and Oak Park uh River Forest High School 200, this will be different than the last one. It would be different than 200 that is going to be customized to what you need right now. the
056process, your needs, uh to the portrait, your strategic plan, the a recent portrait of an eighth grade graduate, the timeline, it will all be uh customized. And you've heard me use this example before. I have two middle school granddaughters who um you know can get customized bejeweled Converse shoes in 24 hours. We ought to be able to customize your search uh for you. Um Conniey's going to talk when we through go through the phases about the um the recruiting more than is on here. This is just a quick slide, but we do have something new since last time. In fact, we have several new additions to the the firm, but I want to draw your attention to the last one because when we talk about recruiting, and I know one of the questions we were
057given to ahead of time was about recruiting. We now uh partner with Howard University in a superintendent academy and central office academy. That's something that uh we have added since we met um since we met last. So this is our standard firm slide. They basically insist you put this in. This is our history, our clients, our satisfaction. We have we have QR code to that website in here later. And they have this decision point about which firm has the infrastructure relationships and expertise. But we don't think it's just about the firm. In fact, we we hope that uh we think it's more about the people uh who are who are committed to serve you. Uh we will be finishing up very very shortly uh the last search and this this is it for us. We
058have pledged to each other that we are not doing anymore. We're not doubling up anymore that this will be our search and it may be our last one. >> Um so we'll we'll we will see. But we're we are going to devote, you know, 24/7 to working for you. And our first job is to listen and learn the needs and desires that you have through individual interviews and that the elementary district stakeholders have. We'll talk about how we're going to do that in just a second. This is our our whole phased in program. You've seen this before. It's probably very similar to the other firms that you're uh interviewing. Um, and we'll talk about a few things that I think differentiate us along the way. What is a boldface at the top? It's that board
059portal. And um, I think we had this last time. It's a a shared drive where you get access to all the application materials all the time. So, we're not just going to bring you a slate. Hey, we we had 25 applicants. We think these are the five or seven best. We'll bring you that, but we want you to see every application. And it's again, this is your search. We're working with you and for you. So if you think uh we bring you 1 through 7, you say, "What about 9 and 11? We kind of like them." Well, we can add it to it. Well, we like 12 better than four. We'll replace it. And that's why we want to give you and be completely transparent on this uh this access throughout the process. So, I'm
060going to finish with slides 8, nine, and 10, and then turn this over to Connie. But I wanted to talk about the engage phase because this was one of the questions that that that we had. So we have committed in our our proposal um to at least 30 on-site and online interviews, focus groups and forums and we can do more. Um we as we did when we ran the recent um 360 evaluation, we had been contracted for 15, we end up doing 20. We have no problem if it's 40. I mean, we've done as many as probably 50 or 60 for for some searches. So, what whatever you need and whoever you want us to meet with, we will do so. Um, and we have a slide. We'll talk about some of those groups in
061a moment. The online survey is not an off-the-shelf survey. Now, HYA has one that they would be left to to have you use for an extra cost. We think it's more important to work with you to collaborate to de develop those questions that you want to hear the answers to. Now, it can be just about the superintendent, the superintendent's qualifications and characteristics, but we also recommend what do your what are your stakeholders think are the strengths of the district that that new leader has to sustain? What are the challenges that new leader is going to face? what are the priorities that different stakeholders have for the new superintendent? So, we we work with you to create those questions. Uh some are like scale, but we also think it's important to have open-ended or what do
062they call it? Student wants extended response opportunities uh for stakeholders as well. And so, a survey that we just finished up uh for another district, we had um 1,600 responses. We had over 2,000 uh handwritten responses wi-i which we uh analyze with the help of uh our back office. And so what you're going to get is our goal is to have everyone in this district feel that they have been heard that that that the opportunity has been there for a focus group and interview town hall forums. Con and I have run town hall forums. We've had five people show up and I think you had what Montgomery a thousand people or something show up. >> Yeah. So we uh again want to make sure that everybody feels heard at the beginning of this process. All
063this is rolled up into the leadership profile report I think uh which will be somewhere around 30 to 35 pages. Uh we also write a two-page executive summary for you and that we send out um to our uh all through our network of 135 uh independent consultants that literally work for HYA. Send it to our partners. Connie will talk more about that in the recruiting piece. So this leadership profile report, we use it to recruit question recruit candidates. We use it for interview questions. Uh we use it for interview questions um for us when we do the screening. We use it for interview questions and scenarios to recommend to you both the first and second phases. Um, so what does this engage phase look like? Who do we talk to? Well, the first thing we
064do is interview you uh individually at the very beginning of the process and any other individuals whom you think it is important for us to touch. We interview focus groups. We want to talk to students. We want to talk to advocacy group. We want to talk to of course your supporters and we want to talk to your detractors. So we want to hear from every group organization in the community who you think is important for us to listen to to get their input and feedback. Again, we'll do this in small groups of up to 15 and we'll do it in community forums. We'll do it with the cabinet. We'll do it with the leadership team. We'll do it with the association leaders. We'll do it with the schools. We'll do it at the schools if
065necessary. uh onsite and online. We like to think of ourselves as your ambassadors. And again, we have these different uh formats. I don't need to read them all. We've talked about various potential groups, flexible meeting times. Um but again, we want to walk the talk of being inclusive. I mean, it's one thing to say that equity matters, inclusivity matter matters. Uh we we you know Connie and I have lived and breathed this for years and and we expect nothing less than to to make every effort to get hear from every voice as many voices as possible. Uh again about what really matters most to them in the next year. I talked a little about the survey. I don't really need to to go into it too much other than that we again will work with
066you on deciding which groups we want data disagregated by. We can do it by school building. This is and this is not or school building uh time in the district. We can do by racial ethnic group. We can uh do it by special education services or not. So again those are conversations that we have as we build the survey together. So that closes out the engage phase and again we have a leadership profile report that becomes our measure for who do we recruit, how do we recruit and who ultimately do we determine to slate. Um what questions we ask them in the screening interviews, what evidence we want to see from them that they can fulfill what is needed here. With that on to Connie on the recruiting page. >> Good to be here. Uh,
067and as someone who's still in the Oak Park area and been here since 2005, then uh, you know, it's good to be able to come back see a different district office than what existed when I was superintendent here. So, uh, it's good to see everyone. Recruit phase, we have associates all over the country. Therefore, if uh a district is looking for a superintendent and you want to really be broad in where you look as far as the east coast, west coast, midwest, etc. We have associates in all places. And as they are interviewing for superintendents in other districts, they let us know, they know what we're looking for, and they will let us know there is a candidate I interviewed that you may want to take a look at. And uh even as we are
068looking at working with Indian Prairie right now, there are candidates that have come up from the state of Michigan and other places across the nation. So we take advantage of that. Uh basically we're also involved in state and national associations. So uh I was past uh secretary of NAPSI, National Alliance of Black School Educators. Still have contacts there. We work very closely with Alas, the Latino superintendent group and uh in fact we have done work with them and uh basically have been very successful in finding helping having them assist us in finding candidates etc. As Max indicated, uh we work with the uh Urban Superintendent Academy with through Howard University and so we have a close partnership with them and I send individuals to be trained through that and the aspiring superintendent academy for AASA
069and I was on the search team for the executive director of AASA. So we have worked very closely and u moved things forward also for vision 2030 here in the state of Illinois. I was on that committee after I worked together with IESA and we were able to put together the plan the strategic plan moving forward. Next slide. Um we talked about the board portal and so this really just sort of talks about what you get in the board portal. Everything is put in the board portal. So anything that uh we receive information on the candidates as well as looking at meeting agendas and the leadership profile report all of that so that you can refer to it at any time and you don't have to ask us. It's all there. So we feel that
070that has been something that has been very positive. Also there'll be sample interview questions and look fors, interview protocols, uh candidate feedback forms. So whatever it is that you need, we can provide that for you and we put it in the portal so that you can easily access it. As we take a look at the next slide, uh HYA walks the talk of equity and I can't say that enough. Max alluded to that. Equity is very important to us. uh when you take a look at who works for our firm, you will see that uh 33% of them of our firm is people of color and that 50% are women. So uh we have a very diverse uh you know employee group who works with us uh associates who are searching and so and they
071encounter a number of diverse candidates both here as well as across the country and are able to identify people who not only are diverse that's not enough but also meet the needs of the district and are able to do the work that you are requesting that the next superintendent do. So um we also as you take a look at the next slide uh the select phase we know that good intentions don't necessarily lead to good results. So we have to we must know the influence that group dynamics and unconscious bias can have on the employment process. you let us know what you're looking for and we are out there searching, having conversations and making it happen for the district. I know that diversity is something that Oak Park has been uh really supportive of for
072a number of years over the decades and that's something that has not stopped and so therefore it's always been uppermost in the minds of those who are here as well as those who are part of the firm. We take all the feedback from the finalists uh day in the district. If you request that they spend a day in the district so that they can go around and visit the schools as well as see what's going on at the community etc. We take their feedback and we also uh take information from uh the interview committees that you may identify and this all assists the board in identifying and you know who the next superintendent should be. So everything that is shared with us we share with you and we make sure that you are aware of
073whether or not community members etc feel that this is a good fit for the district transition phase. Uh we will assist the district with a 100day superintendence transition plan. We feel that this is something that is important. uh focuses on the development of board superintendent relationships as well as mentoring and supporting uh the the plan. The document is uh shared and we let you know what it is that we learned during the search process. We let the incoming superintendent know what did we hear? What did we learn during the search process? What is the community and the board looking for? Uh basically there's a complimentary enrollment in a six-month uh hya transition academy. This is something that did not exist the last time that we were here. So, um you know you can through the
074QR code you can find out what that transition academy offers and uh we will work with the district and with the new superintendent in drafting performance goals based on the priorities that are identified. The next slide shows a draft of a possible uh search timeline. This is just something for you to see. We would work with the board and during the planning meeting, uh a decision would be made as to what's what do we want the timeline to look like? What do you envision between now and the end of the school year and when the new superintendent starts on July 1st? So we will work with you to move that forward. Board satisfaction. Uh these are some testimonies from some uh board presidents that we have worked with. Max mentioned earlier that I was on
075the search for the Montgomery County Public Schools. And so therefore, this is a U message on here from the board president there. and then some other searches that have been done that Max has participated in. So, it's always good to know what do the board presidents or other board members say about the work that we did within their district. And I will tell you that Montgomery County, if you want to talk about a large district with a lot of people to talk to and I mean even when we had we had a webinex where we had over a thousand people and breakout rooms etc. and different translations and languages were uh provided. So, it was quite an experience and something that we share with a number of districts that were able to do that if
076you so desire. Next slide focuses on questions and you did give us some questions in advance and so uh we would be happy to at this time respond to the questions that we received and any other questions uh that you have. One of the questions um had to do >> you want to do that? Yeah. How do you want to handle that now? Sure. Okay. Okay. Great. >> We try to keep our presentation under 20 minutes. I think uh I had a two-minute warning. It hasn't gone off yet. >> Okay. Great. >> Leave more time for questions. >> Okay. One question had to do with how do we manage competing openings in proximity uh districts? I know that River Forest is looking for a superintendent at the end of this year. There are differences between
077River Forest and Oak Park District 97. That is a smaller district. Uh it's not as complex as district 97 is. So you would be looking for someone who could handle the complexities of this district and uh just when you think in terms of the number of buildings that you have as well as the diversity that exists within the district. So, has someone had experience dealing with all of these areas? That becomes really important. They uh River Forest we know is a great district, but they're not as complex as district 97 is. Also, when we take a look at um just the work that needs to be done in this district, there's a variation in what they need to do in River Forest versus what needs to be done here. So uh based on the makeup,
078the facilities, the size, just the amount of funds, capital outlay etc that is needed. So all of those things are taken into consideration to see have the candidates had experience in dealing with that or are they coming in and may not have a clue of what it is that they need to do. So we take a look at all of that uh as we're looking at it. You have about 5,500 students. River Forest has about 1,300. that is a large uh variation in the number of students. Uh also um when we take a look at the diversity and yes both districts are concerned about uh you know really responding to the diversity as well as the needs of the students within the district but uh this is a larger and more diverse district than what
079they have in River Forest and probably resembles the high school more as far as what exists. Um, let's see. Also, the person who is hired as superintendent would need to be really visible within the community. It's a larger community than what the one that exists in River Forest. So, that has to be taken into consideration. And so, you want to know what has the candidate experienced in being out in the community and really meeting and getting to know people. And so, um, those are some of the differences as far as, uh, River Forest and this. So, you may both be looking for superintendence, but what you would be looking for here would probably be somewhat different than what they were looking for there. Anything to add to that, Max? >> No, that was nice. >>
080Okay. So, the um, the next question? >> Yeah. The second question we received, can you explain your outreach and process to ensure a diverse uh applicant pool? >> Yeah. Yeah. So yeah, and I sort of alluded to this when I talked earlier and uh so we are we have never I believe not and I've been working with the firm since 2017 >> and we have never gone forward without having a diverse pool uh you know as we have presented candidates to a board uh because we know that there are people who excel no matter what they look like or where they come from etc. And so we want it to be that uh students as well as the community etc. see uh diverse candidates as we're working with uh Indian Prairie right now. Then uh
081you know their superintendent is African-American. They had not had an African-American superintendent before this time. They hate to see him leave and he's retiring at the end of this year and uh they would like to see him stay but he has um he's going back east where he uh you know lived prior to coming here but uh has done an excellent job and as we met with different groups I don't think we heard anybody say anything negative about him. He's been there for five years as superintendent and has done a great job. So therefore, I think sometimes people uh who may think that diversity doesn't matter, but getting someone in who really brings a lot to the table, that's what's most important and that's what we're focused on. Who is the best fit for the
082district and if it's someone who's diverse, then that's great also because that supports your beliefs as well as your vision and where the district wants to go. >> Yeah. And we don't sit back and wait for applicants. I mean we what is it probably 40 we had 29 we have 29 applicants you know actions speak louder than words at least a third are um African-American or Asian >> um uh I don't know if we we have to make one of Latino heritage >> um and and so this partnership with Howard University uh we also as Connie alluded work we're close we know the AES president all of us have a cell phone now who we work with uh I work with policy study institute um that's a womanowned business in Washington DC to do four
083years of superintendent academy first forpiring superintendentmies for them uh in the interim since we last served you uh hy has created a searchable candidate profile system so we have um our network or what our newsletter I think it was on one of the slides was something like 30,000 people um so we have a profile of all those who receive get our uh newsletter so we now have a searchable database. I mean, what kind of districts have they worked and what their jobs are now? Um, so we have upped upped the recruiting game and we will be relentless in in pursuing uh folks that will fit the profile from your district. >> And as we talk about um one of the questions was um how do you vet which candidates? >> Yep. Who will be sent
084to the district? We screen candidates before we bring them to the board. So, in fact, as we are with Indian Prairie, as we talked about, there are 29 plus uh candidates and a lot of the applications came in at the 11th hour. Yep. >> We are screening every candidate even though on paper it may not seem that they would be the best fit for the district, but you know what? We don't want it to be that we miss anything and then anybody comes forward who um you know we didn't get a chance to see what their strengths were. Uh we also have done a video >> with each of that was submitted by each of the candidates and uh also they wrote an essay. So therefore, it's been quite thorough in the work that we
085do before it even gets to the board. And then as we said in the board portal, all of this information is put in there. So the board is able to see it before they actually meet the candidates and interview them. So um that is something that HYA does as far as um vetting candidates. >> So we are relentless. I like that word in the pursuit of references too. And again, I think actions um speak louder than words. pursue references and work products and results. Um, I did a I was doing a search for a nonprofit of all things, the Goldie Haw Mound Up Foundation, and they fell in love with a candidate and and we found out that this is not the right person for the job. You're you're going to get a great interviewer,
086a great face person, but you're not going to get somebody that gets results. And they hired him anyway. he lasted four months and went on to went on to another job. So, you know, we we will share that at what we find with you and uh but again, it's a board that makes that uh final decision. Um or in that case, the CEO uh other things that we have done in since we've talked last, we have really incorporated artificial intelligence into into our screening. Um, we use it now what load the candidates's name, load the background, what are the strengths, what are the assets, is this a viable candidate? I mean, we're the ones who will finally, you know, with a slight may what are caveats, what are the controversies surrounding this individual? Um, what
087what probes can we ask? So, we we have um both Jean Chatgpt, there's other sources. So, it used to be just the old Google search and if you get to page three, you're lucky. But the artificial intelligence has been really a gamecher for us. Uh and and also and will be I think for boards in the future and kind of you know how we pursue candidates and and how we interview how we select them. Uh we've expanded our consultant networks. We've added uh I think last time we're here we have 100. We're up to almost 140. We use Baker Eubanks for the third party. They have um independent background checks. They've upgraded their transcript verification, their employment verification, their criminal records. They've also upgraded their price, unbeknownst to me. So, I think in our proposal,
088we kept our fee level. In fact, we reduced it $50 over what we charged you last time. Um, the third party background check, I think we said it was 1,100. That's that's for the the basic basic the thorough comprehensive one has gone out to 2100. And that's really up to you all. That'll be up to you all conversation we have. But if you want to pursue that again we will give you on every candidate we site a thorough we give you a one pager here's what we found out here's some links here's QR codes where you can go deep yourself related to this was do you use a rubric? Yes. In fact we developed one for you last time and I still have it. I have Venus and I worked on that. uh it was
089colorcoded and uh for the interview questions both and for the final rankings and and Connie and I did the same thing for the state department of Michigan. We developed a rubric for them for their interviews and for their final selection process. So well we we think that's important to have that. That was question three. >> Question four was this one. Do you rely on research that indicates or predicts success? So I think there's two parts to this one. And that's how we started the transition academy. Um we we offer a transition meeting. It's interesting because most boards don't take us up on that transition meeting that first two-hour session. A lot of board, no, we're good. We love this person and we know the research. You need to support that person through your your first
090year. Um, and we uh do have a a coaching piece, but we just started now this whole six-month transition academy to get people comfortable and get people up to speed with doing the job once once they get it. It's one thing to get a job, it's quite another thing to do the job and quite another thing to do it well. So, this is six months uh every other week, I think. And again, we had a QR code. I'll put that back on the slide. You know, here's how you set performance goals. Here's how you do board reports. Here's how you, you know, we'll look at your portrait of a graduate. How can you transform these words to actions and operationalize this? Um, I'll I'll back that up where the transition academy is. So, that's a
091research-driven addition that we have added as a firm. >> Let me just sort of add to that. you know many times um you know districts will provide uh coaches or mentors for teachers as well as for uh building level administrators etc. but they don't always do it for superintendent. And like for instance, right now I'm doing um I'm coaching a principal in a district um you know that through IPA, the Illinois principles association and uh even last year coached uh a district who was new to uh one of the districts on Northshore. But uh many times we feel that superintendents don't necessarily need the coaching and it's not provided. But that is very important also and I think we see that more and more that they can benefit from that. >> Yes, >> Max, >>
092you need whether you know it or not. Uh the other piece of research is we do we uh do offer uh $300 per county behavioral assessments. We use TTI success insights if if you are interested. We just started using those. Uh one of our colleagues is doing a search in Seattle and and swears by that and I think they use them. We did our firm declar Nevada a big district. So we uh we are glad to administer that yourself or work with you on on that. But um >> is it an online platform? >> Yep. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. They have other ones besides that, but that's one that our firm has used. The final question was HY know the final question we received ahead of time. HA knows our district well. In light of this,
093what do you see as important needs for our next superintendent? I'm going to be very straightforward here. Uh someone who is trusting and trustworthy. um someone who is a a not just a team builder and team player, but has that ability to appreciate and develop talent and to work with a team and for a team. Um the more I've worked in this district, the more I understand that the talent here is incredible and oftenimes it's not tapped. I mean the just looking around at the board table, I've gotten to talk to several of the administrators during the this last round and a few of the principles we had the survey. They they want genuine authentic collaboration. Someone who who will learn from others. Uh who will seek first to understand. Um who will provide open,
094trans, transparent, honest communication, who will have a commitment to equity and and also drive to get results. um someone who will be the public face of initiatives who can who can handle feedback and criticism without taken personally but use it as the opportunity to learn and to grow and to get better. Someone who as I just said a minute ago will transform words of the portrait of a graduate, words of the equity policy to actions and positive outcomes for for kids. I could go on, but I think those are probably the some of the the key points. And I Connie, you live here and maybe you want to add to that list as well. >> And I think >> from the community perspective, >> nailed it. And I think even the documents that have been
095created here within the district. I mean, when it comes to uh equity, when it comes to taking a look at children of color who were not performing well, that had always been a passion of mine when I was here as superintendent and put some programs in place. they didn't last necessarily after I left, but I see that now that conversation about really getting kids to achieve at high level and believing in the ability of all kids and the attendance because the attendance was an issue even at that time. So I think knowing what the issues are and really focusing on those and putting um strategies in place etc to address these needs makes a difference. Those were the questions we had in advance and I'm afraid we've used up a lot of our time, but
096if there was more, we'll answer them now or whenever. >> Yeah. So, we're at 6:20. Anyone have a burning question that you want to ask? >> I just have one I don't know if it's quick, but it's a follow-up to your answer to this last question, which is how do you figure out whether a person has those traits during the recruitment and process? >> Yeah. So that's where that relentless reference checking and finding people that know people who know of that person and that person's work and we we tell them we will keep your name confidential and this is not bought and we are going to find out everything we can about you and so it's very likely if you apply for this job that that some that your name may come up and we
097think it's important if you apply for this job that you ought to have Frank fishing skin on the game. they're not just doing this as a larger or an experience. So we we level with them right away. Uh we ask to see that, you know, to share their evaluations. Um is another let's see your last evaluation. We get down to the slated candidates, we're going to say this person, you know, this was a great evaluation. This is what what we learned where they had areas to grow. Um and again we we find um we find some through our own interviews but I I really think that relying and also relying on work products show us something that you have done that's that's made a difference. Mhm. >> Um yeah, but and that's another reason we
098started offering the firm started offering that TTI success indicator is, you know, let's use a behavioral assessment if we need to and find out where their strengths are and probe that. If there's, as we said before, if there's anything that comes up that uh gives us pause, we require written response to it too, Kevin, and others. I mean, it's not just, oh yeah, this is just something I had a board member that was mad at me. uh you know um we want to we want this written out and we will share it with the board. So we find sometimes people when we require them to write something out they you know I'm going to withdraw and we have had people withdraw from searches and it's good not to waste their time our time their time
099>> questions >> do you want to add to that? No, you you covered it. >> And our time is just about out, right? >> Probably some, I'm afraid. >> Thank you both. If we have any additional questions, we will reach out. Um, we're going to debrief tonight and then we'll probably be able to get back into get back to you within the next couple of days. >> Thank you. >> We can't wait to get started. >> Yeah, that's our question. When can we start? >> Thank you for coming. >> Thanks. >> Great to see you again. Give our best to Mr. Nice to meet you. >> Yeah. Congratulations. >> Good to see you. >> Great. Wonderful. Good. Good. Hi. Just fine. Good to see you also. Great. My pleasure. >> Good to see you. Yes,
100definitely. Thank you. >> Okay. Byebye. [Music] >> You got it. >> Yeah. What questions are on the list that we missed? Okay, >> one more. >> Connie, I thought you were leaving me your purse. I was like, "All right, thank you." >> Yes, my pleasure. Definitely. Yes. Good to be here. >> Good to see you again. You're doing okay. Stay in there. >> I don't know the camera in between. >> Okay. >> So, I completely missing Well, I just know >> times H. Yeah. Is the other form here? >> I think [Music] I think I saw one like earlier. Thanks for the t-shirt. >> I like the design. I don't know who's responsible for it. >> What's happening? >> Our gold team worked on it. Yeah, I like them. It's fun. I think it's my
101favorite swag so far. >> You don't like the >> backpack? I think it's light at the same time, you know? Like I can't figure out. >> It's like perfect for right now. >> Yeah, maybe. >> I've been wearing it like every day. >> Okay. >> And then I'm always like afraid to be like, "Hello." >> Good evening. >> Hi. >> Good evening. Welcome. >> Hi, Harley. Nice. Hi. Thank you. >> I'm so sorry. [Laughter] I'll just >> I think I should have thought of that. How are you? >> Oh, there. [Applause] >> Well, good evening. >> Good evening. >> Hi. Hi, I'm Dr. Carmen Ayawa. I'm with the Illinois Association of School Board. My colleague, uh, Alan Muli. Uh, we will be working together on the Old Park Superintendent Search. I will be the lead
102consultant. Um, I believe you have a copy of our resumes. We've gotten those with our proposal. There's extra copies in the folder for you. Um, if I look a little familiar to you, yes, I was a previous state superintendent of education during the pandemic, no more. Um, when I retired in 2023, uh, the Illinois Association of School Board cast out its net and reeled me in, and I've been with them ever since, supporting and assisting school districts with their superintendent searches. Um, I've been referred to as the equity warrior. If you look on your district report card and you see the equity journey continuum, that's mine. It's my fault. It's my fault that it's on the district report cards. Um just felt very strongly um about having something transparent that the public could see with
103regard to equity work. I also claim and am very proud that during my tenure as the state superintendent of education, my cabinet level administrators were the most diverse group as ISBY has ever had in the history of the agency. And I'm also an author of a book called Restoring the Soul to Education: How Equity Closes the Achievement Gap. And it tells the story of um the work I did in two districts. So, I personally would be honored to serve a school district like Oak Oak Park District 97 because it's an equity focused district in its search for its next superintendent and I saw that very clearly throughout your website. Something you should be very very proud of. I'll let Al introduce himself. >> Thanks. Hi, thanks for having us tonight. I'm El Mulby and uh
104I've been with the schoolboard association. This is my 11th year now doing executive searches primarily in the suburban area. I'm a retired superintendent from Cook County. I was superintendent in Hillside District 93 for uh 15 years and I've been the principal there prior to that. I had also been assistant superintendent in Mannheim School District 83 in Franklin Park North Lake area for 10 years. and then a teacher in Hillside and I also started my career teaching and coaching in Iowa. So I retired 11 years ago and started working with IASB then and uh work primarily out of the suburban uh area out of the Lombard office but uh as you'll see with our material and as we know our our consultants work with each other throughout the whole state. So uh but I am very
105familiar with with your district given having been administrator in Cook County. >> Like Al, I was also in West 40 and I was your neighbor as district superintendent of Berwin North District 98. So spent seven years there before I went on to the state. As you can see from the uh the slide on our PowerPoint gives just kind of an overview of of what we as an organization as an association kind of bring to the table. We are the market leader in Illinois as far as superintendent searches. Uh we've got a very strong national presence and network as you'll see from our material and as we talk further u we've got u been doing this for 55 years as an association longer than any of the for-profit firms that do the same thing. Um and
106also just when you add up all the time that all of our uh consultants have been in education, we have over 300 years of education experience. Uh we've got a very strong uh network and reputation that allows us to really attract a a strong um and very deep pool of candidates. And as your association, we always keep coming back to the reminder of why you're here as a board obviously and you're probably very familiar with the um foundational principles of effective governance. And obviously one of those key things is that your main job is to hire your superintendent. We recognize that our superintendent and uh we understand that completely. of the different firms that do the same thing that we do. Uh we're the only organization whose goal is to serve you as a board
107of education and Illinois public school. We only serve districts in Illinois. Although we attract candidates from all across the country, uh but we only serve the districts in Illinois because we're an association and it's your association as well. So we're we're very proud of that and take that uh take that very seriously. Uh that next slide is uh kind of gives us a an overview of the last I think 12 years here that or 10 years that uh the percentage of applicants and candidates that we get from out of state even though we only serve districts in Illinois. Like I said, we direct candidates from across the country and average about 20 to 25% of um uh candidates are from outside of Illinois that do come. And we also we've found that when somebody from
108another state is uh looking to relocate here as an administrator, one of the first places they look at at the vacancies are on our website. And we're linked to a variety of others that will be uh uh you'll be seeing as well. But uh I think that we uh we have a very strong presence in attracting candidates from uh from other states. >> All of our consultants are retired superintendants and they're all experienced superintendent predominantly in Illinois. Uh so none of our consultants are currently sitting superintendent. They're all retired. uh with over 55 years uh engaged in recruiting. This has resulted in a professional network of current and aspiring superintendent and these individuals uh receive our vacancy notices minimally at least four times during the vacancy period. Uh we do extensive professional association activities and
109networking. We're very much involved with the Illinois Association of School Administrators, IASA, the Association of School Business Officials, the Principals Association, and we also conduct professional advancement seminars. When we look at nationally, uh we also have a strong reach and network. Uh you probably have heard of NAS, the national affiliation of superintendent searches. They are 39 uh school board associations. That is what the affiliation and we all have superintendent search extensions. Um and so we also participate with NAS. I must get two to three emails every day from NAS whether it be a posting uh for a superintendent or some a question that they're asking about. Uh we also have a brand new uh application system called Revelis. Uh and it it has 17 states that utilize that system. And so anytime anyone goes into
110that system, they will see the Illinois job postings as well. Uh in addition to that, uh we post with the National Alliance of Black School Educators and the Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendent. Um so, one of the questions that you asked was how uh we can ensure that the opening the Oak Park opening reaches candidates outside of Illinois. Right. So we went through the revel system used by 17 states um going into the system and seeing those postings. Um we not only post on NAS and uh Alas and the NAVSI but we also post on Kazba and NASBY NAVI NASBY. There's just a switch of two letters there but one is the uh National Alliance of Black School Educators. The other one is the National Association of School Board, right? Um and Kazba is
111is the other uh national association for school boards. And so we also post uh in those um how do we manage those competing um openings in proximity? For example, we have a an opening in a next door neighbor, right? Um we have over 8,000 individuals that are a part of our list served if you will and so those 8,000 individuals receive the announcement of vacancy minimally four if not five times. So that's 32,000 emails that go out uh reinforcing announcing the vacancy here as well as other ways that we let people know. And so how can we uh explain um our outreach and process to ensure diverse applicant a diverse applicant pool? Um, we will advertise not only in the National Association of Black School Educators and the Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendent, but
112the timing of this uh announcement of vacancy is a good timing because of the joint annual conference that will be up and coming in November. And so that is an opportunity to speak to many people. I'm actually putting uh a session out called recruitment, hiring, and retention of leaders of color where I know I will get a big audience because I did it last year and it was standing room only. Um, and I will definitely invite those potential candidates that attend to apply. The other thing that I do is I have monthly virtual coaching, mentoring sessions for aspiring leaders of color who want to be superintendent. And so that's another way that I network out in the field. Um, and people know that I've got the big E on my forehead. So I look at
113everything through the lens of equity. And when I joined the association, Al I don't think knows this, but he'll know it now. Um, I interviewed them and said, "Look, my passion is equity and my goal is to put into the superintendent spot more leaders of color." Because when you take a look at the demographics of our student body across this state, over half of our students are children of color. And when you look at the percentage of black and Latino superintendent across the districts, it's abysmal. So if you're okay with me going out there and rallying up our leaders of color and motivating them and helping them and coaching them, that's what I want to do. And they said, "Okay." I said, "Okay, I'm on." So that's why I joined the Illinois Association of School
114Boards. Going to go over the timeline for you. Uh the next the next slide has the the first part of the timeline. Again, it's tentative. Uh we'll confirm it after after you engage us to do the search. We will meet with you to be more specific as far as some of these steps. This kind of gives you an idea of the time frame for uh most of these uh significant pieces of it. After you take action to uh to approve us, uh then you know we would move into the uh the posting of the position through the different sites that we uh work with. In the meantime, we would start putting together different facets of gathering input on putting together a profile of your next superintendent. Those pieces would include the survey um of stakeholders
115to gather information as well as then also putting together information about your district itself so that we can put that all into a an advertising brochure an announcement making vacancy brochure. Uh and uh we also would then as a as an additional piece uh would be to conduct uh focus group interviews in district to meet with different groups to get input on what they would like to see in the next superintendent. We gather that information as well. put together that along with the survey results and uh come meet with you and present that all back to you so you can get a sense of what that feedback and what that input has uh consisted of and then also what a brochure would look like that we're going to put out there to advertise the position
116itself and we would have a draft version of you uh for you uh within uh about a month and a half on uh after uh after that is uh after you've given your okay on that uh Then we would get that posted on all of the different sites that were linked to that Carmen referred to and get that pos get the position just out there as as broadly as we can uh to promote the information about the the vacancy itself. W it would be widely distributed. uh the tenative deadline as far as closing the application would be the uh 21st of January and then we would begin the uh analysis process of the applications themselves. >> One of the things that was recommended in the proposal was to conduct focus groups um in a district
117like Oak Park. I know that stakeholder feedback is very important to you. Um I have done in a district not too long ago uh 18 different focus groups um students, parents, community. Uh it was a larger district. So we had a couple of parent groups, we did students um and those uh voices and those patterns that rise up uh really gives the board a good indication of what it is the community is wanting. uh including staff, including the administrators as well. And so that would be analyzed for you and uh would be a presentation that we could do an open session for you. Um I also did some of those focus groups in espanol. So if you have a group of uh students or parents for whom English is not their first language, um it
118would also be an inclusive approach in that respect. The other part of the uh timeline also gets at uh one of the questions that you had asked uh because once the deadline or the position comes, then we begin to evaluate the 50 plus applications we're going to get for this district. I could just feel it. um we go through each of the applications and we use that ideal candidate profile that is in the announcement of vacancy. Now these characteristics are vetted through the professional standards for educational leaders. So they're researchbased and so there are 15 characteristics. your community through the focus groups and the survey rank those characteristics as this is the most important thing we want to see in our new leader and so we we look at those characteristics um and I use
119a spreadsheet and I would put down well does the person have superintendent lensure because without that they're not moving forward have uh do they have a doctorate maybe that's important uh do they have experience as a teacher experience as a principal, experience as a central office administrator, experience as a superintendent. And then we start I start listing those characteristics. And as I go through the applications, I start checking to see yes, they have this, yes, they have this. In the application, there will be questions that they will respond to. And so that's a piece that we draw from. So this spreadsheet uh gets a little long after a while. Um, I do this, Al does it, and probably another consultant. So, we would all be independently analyzing the applications. We come together as a team,
120and Al will say, "Okay, Carmen, who's on your list?" And we compare. And that's that inner raider reliability to make sure that we are hitting on those things, those traits and characteristics that this community feel are central to uh the next superintendent, making sure that they have those. Um and so that is the process that we use to bring it down to about 12 to 15 candidates. We then do a virtual interview and we ask questions to go deeper a little deeper into those characteristics that didn't come out through the surveys uh through the application and we narrow those interviews down to the top six candidates. Now we will do reference checks on the candidates. I know a lot of superintendents across the state, right? 852 school districts and at one point in time or
121another. I've had some contact Al with the years he's had in this particular area in particular, we know a lot of people. So, if a candidate's name came up and in one of their references, well, I know him, I'll just pick up the phone and say, hey, what can you tell me about soando? um it's an informal type of a reference check, but we do uh go in and take a look at each of the candidates. We would then present those candidates to you. That is a close session um conversation because it is personnel and we're looking at that uh potentially taking place around February 10th. February 10th is when you have a board meeting. So I tried to pick dates so that you wouldn't have too too many extra meetings, right? things that we
122can accomplish during a normal meeting. Um, we there is an option here for a practice interview session and we've done that with some boards. We actually go through a mock interview. We talk about the dos and the don'ts, what questions to ask, how to do follow-up questions. Um, and then we we have an actual practice if that's something that you're interested in. Um, so the board would conduct the first round interviews around midFebruary and again these are tentative. We'd have to tie down those dates at some point. Then you would narrow your six candidates to a couple of finalists. We'd have second round interviews. It is here where the the board has the final uh second round interviews and you have stakeholder groups that would have an opportunity to listen to the candidates. um not
123as many as 18 stakeholder groups of just a couple. And we flip-flop and we have a way to figure the schedule so that the candidate comes out, meets with maybe a parent community group, maybe an internal group and then meets with the board and then candidate B. So we work through those things. We collect the information for you and we provide that information in a close session. So you get a lot of pieces to the puzzle. The survey, the focus groups, the um stakeholder groups, the candidate, you get a full profile, the application, the lensure, the credentials, everything that we receive about the candidate, you get that information as well. Um you narrowed it down to then your candidate of choice. Some boards have had site visits. We talk through that and explain that and
124assist you with that. And then you offer the position, negotiate the contract, and we have anticipated here that in March, that would be when your new superintendent would be or could be appointed. If >> I can just jump in real quick back to those initial interviews of the slate of six that we would most likely bring to you. Sometimes boards want to include a lot of other people involved in those initial interviews and we kind of discourage that. We think it's important for that initial interview to be done just by the board because the more people you involve, everybody's going to like somebody and it's going to be difficult to really come up with a consensus on moving candidates to that final step. So, if it's just the board that's doing it, you're more likely
125to be able to come up with, let's say, your two finalists. And then when you conduct your final interviews, those can be much more extensive and involve much more a wider base of stakeholders, staff, whomever you choose in that in that last step. It's often better and easier for a board to really get to consensus by doing that rather than involving a lot of people on those initial interviews. um it looks good and people are like, "Oh yeah, they're including us on on these interviews, but then everybody's going to be liking somebody and somebody's choice isn't going to get advanced and then it gets kind of goofy." So, >> thanks, >> for lack of a better term. >> Um, so the superintendent comes on board and within 6 months after the start of the new
126superintendent, included in our proposal is your starting off on the right track workshop. that uh one of our is um IASB uh field services individuals would come out and do that with you. Um so that you set forth what your expectations are and the new superintendent does the same and you come up with an agreement for how you will work together as a team and that has been um very um helpful um to start off. So, the proposal indicated that I was at $10,400. That include that is all inclusive by all-incclusive. That includes the survey, the announcement of vacancy, the outreach, the copies, the travel to the district, the administrative assistance support, all of those things um at a significantly reduced rate because Oak Park is already an IASB member. Okay? And so that's why
127the rate can be as reduced as it is. Now, there are some options. Some districts take these options, some districts do not. It just all depends on what you want to do. I did recommend two of the options, the focus groups and the stakeholder interviews, which would then bring the total proposal to 17,900. And there are no other hidden costs. That is what the total would be. as we kind of come to come to an end here. Why why choose IASB to do your search? You know, there's a lot of a lot of firms, a lot of uh for-profit firms. Obviously, you've talked to a couple and everybody does a good job. We'd like to think we do it better, you know, because that's why we do. Uh but I I think that, you know,
128we're we're responsible only to the board. That's our, you know, we're not a headunting firm. our goal is to make it a successful eventual marriage between you and your next superintendent and then also make sure that it's successful from that point on. So I I think that's one of the things that's important. Our track record is is very good. Uh from over the last four years, 91% of the superintendent that we've placed in their positions remain have remained through their first contract. And that's significant. The superintendency is a it's a transient position. you know, people people changed this position for a variety of reasons over short periods of time. And so, I think the fact that we've placed candidates in superintendencies and they've stayed is significant. It says a lot for the whole process that
129uh you know that Carmen and I have described. We have a statement of assurance in that we will be with you till it's done. I mean, if we get through all of these steps and you interview those, you know, those final two and a final one and it just isn't, you know, the right fit, as we say, and everybody uses that term, the right fit, you know, we'll start again. We'll re restarted at no cost. We'll be with you until this process is successful. Uh, from your uh point of view. Also, as far as a guarantee of services, uh we, you know, we know that uh sometimes, very seldom, but sometimes things don't work out. If your next superintendent um leaves after the first year by your choice or theirs, uh we'll do another search
130at no cost as well. It doesn't happen very often. Uh sometimes things just come up that, you know, requires a change. And so, we would uh do that. As we said earlier, we we've got over 55 years of of doing this uh as an association. And as far as Illinois, you know, from 2001 to 2025, we worked in 85 out of the 10 whatever county 102 counties and we've uh we've served 411 school districts out of the 850. So, uh our track record is is is very good. As far as the, you know, the statewide searches, like I said, right now we, uh, we have 13 that were that are going on. Uh, by the end of the year, we'll probably be at about somewhere between 20 to 25. There's about 100 superintendent about 100
131superintendent changes every year throughout the state. Out of the 850 school districts, about a 100 superintendent change. Um, about half of those searches are done by boards themselves. Quite often that involves moving somebody up from the inside and so that it's kind of a inside search. Other times boards think that they can just do do it themselves and so they do. So the other half is then done by done by firms of which obviously we're one of them. Of those let's say 50 that remain we do about half of them and the others are divided up amongst the other major firms that that do this. So, uh, I think that that kind of speaks for itself, too, and that, uh, districts in the state like what we do and, uh, we do a good job.
132As far as, you know, as Carmen referenced earlier, you know, part of, you know, part of it being a successful search is what happens afterwards. You know, the follow-up training that, uh, uh, that's provided by our our outreach and training consultants. formerly was called field service directors but now they're in outreach and training consultants you know that that's a an extensive workshop that ISB does charge for but we'll uh because we would do the search and with a successful search then that becomes something that's done at no cost so that would be done usually within the first six months uh of the new superintendent's term where that's with the board and the new superintendent and the consultant would come in and uh do this uh workshop with I wanted to take a minute just to
133talk about mentoring and coaching because that question um sometimes comes up. Generally, a superintendent is supported by a board and lots of times in their contract they have membership to the Illinois Association of School Administrators, IASA, right? It's a benefit um because they already will have that membership. IASA provides mentoring for their first three years in addition to a whole slew of professional development opportunities. And I wanted to make the board aware that this is included in the membership and the board should not be expending additional resources for this. It's included in the membership uh that they have for IASA. We're a very strong partner with IASA. We do a seeking the superintendency uh workshop, full day workshop three times a year and IASA partners with us on that and so I wanted to make
134sure that I had mentioned that to you. So we are your advocate, right? at the Illinois Association of School Boards um really is the advocate for the school boards across the state and we have a vested interest for a couple of reasons. We want to make sure that Oak Park secures the best fit leader for its next chapter. But I wanted to let you know that we also have two members of our association that live in Oak Park and whose children attend Oak Park schools. And they are Jeremy Duffy, who's our deputy executive director, and Sarah Miller, who's our associate executive director for governmental relations. And so we will make sure that we do everything that we possibly can um to get the best candidates in front of you so that you can make the
135best decision moving forward in selecting the next superintendent of this district. So with that, I'll leave any questions that you might have that we can answer for you. >> Thank you. Anybody have any questions? Sorry. >> Um, so I not to compare, but um to compare the other two groups we've heard from so far have a more accelerated timeline. Um, and so I'm wondering if that is an option like for for your group to accelerate the timeline because I think theirs were ending in January, early February. Um, or if you see there's a benefit to this longer timeline. It is totally up to where you the board want to go. Okay. So, generally a search will take anywhere from four to six months. Um we can accelerate it, we can extend it. That's why we
136clearly put on there it's tentative. Okay. >> So, absolutely we can accelerate. >> Um do you have a sense of where like are we kind of late to the game in this? Should we have decided a month ago or >> there are a couple of phases if you will in the superintendent search process. I don't think that you are going to be affected by not having um good quality candidates applying to this district. Um if you would have waited and started the process maybe in February, I'd be saying something different. But I think that there's a good enough wave still occurring at this point in time that I like I said I think we're going to get 50 if not more. >> It's a very desirable district. >> Yeah, that's the thing. It's a quality
137district. I think that that's will set the tone as far as the number of applicants who apply. So I think that's it's a good question but I don't think it's a factor. >> You have a question. >> So I want to go back to the mentoring piece. I know you talked about the workshops. Um, I guess what I'm the things that you mentioned seemed a little larger in scale in terms of it may be multiple newer superintendents doing it. And if I'm misreading that, tell me. But I I'm wondering how often does that field service director meet individually with the new superintendent and set goals and and really coach the new superintendent. >> I think we have some insight into that because one of our consultants does some of that. >> He's one of the
138field service directors for IASA as well. I think >> I think on a monthly basis >> I think at least monthly he meets with new superintendent in his in his region and so whoever would be the field service representative for IASA in the suburban area or probably just the west suburban area uh they would meet I would guess at least monthly don't know for sure but I think that would be okay >> they they meet much more the first year >> and not as much the second and the third year. Um and especially if uh for some reason a brand new superintendent was selected um which for a district as established uh as Oak Park, you're probably going to be looking at a lot of uh experienced people wanting to apply to this district, which
139is a good thing. um they work very closely with newer superintendent much more than maybe a seasoned superintendent. I also know too that just in West Cook, the West Cook region itself, West Cook IASA, which would be the 39 or 40 superintendent in the West West Cook region, um they when a new superintendent is hired in this in the local region, they match up experienced superintendent with with that new superintendent as well. So, it's just another layer of mentorship um that can be done on a regular basis. I know when I started as superintendent hillside, my mentor was superintendent from Park, Jack Fagen. He was a superintendent that was assigned to me and so we worked together. Uh he guided me successfully, I must say. >> Yeah, mine was River Forest uh when I was
140um assigned to Burwin North. So in addition to the IASA, the West 40 provides a link to a neighbor superintendent that would work hand in hand with you. >> Why are we just finding that out? >> Okay. Thank you. >> Yep. >> Um so following up, you know, you mentioned that you have 13 searches ongoing right now for Illinois. um you're getting pool candidates from Illinois, 20% out of state. How are you aortioning those out to the different districts? In other words, how do you um make sure that you're individually looking at each of those districts and providing them with the best candidates where a candidate, for example, might fit several districts. >> Go ahead. You want me to lead off? >> Yeah, sure. Um and that and that's a I guess it's a good
141dilemma to have in a sense from our perspective when there are very good candidates that are in the pools that are u in the areas and you know we we don't limit a candidate as far as what districts he or she can be you know be brought forth and advanced in the process for but we also then the burden becomes ours to be uh a have a little bit more scrutiny in terms of what that best fit is going to be and if you got a very good candidate who to be a superintendent in a variety of places, especially in larger districts in, you know, suburban Cook County, you know, then we have to be really much more critical and careful as far as finding those best matches. Uh, and yes, it is true candidates
142will become a successful candidate could be even a finalist or semi- finalist in more than one more than one place. We always work together with all of the consultants that are part of IASB to make sure we have a sense of what candidates have applied where throughout the state. So we kind of know, you know, who might be advanced somewhere, but if they're a good candidate, our goal is to bring you the best candidate. And that person may or may not be best candidate somewhere else. But and same way if we're doing more than one search ourselves. You know, Carmen has some searches going on. I've got some. Uh but if there's, you know, if it's going to be a good match, a good fit, and we'll advance those people in more than one district
143because that's it's most fair to the district because you're going to get the best can, right? >> And the first step is the candidate applies to the district, right? Because the candidate is looking at what is it about this district that draws me to want to be the superintendent. So we always talk about the board wants to find the right fit but the candidate is also looking for the right fit. So those are all considerations that we take into place when we have a candidate applying in multiple districts or we see a few candidates that have applied here but hey what about over here and we start talking to each other and then the candidates. Um, one of the things that you touched on, Dr. Ayal, is the value of focus groups in ours as
144a community where community engagement is very important and where people having their voice heard in the process is really important. Um, I also think that one of one one of the things that's in addition to sort of like their values and understanding what our priorities are as a district, which undoubtedly distinguishes us from others, I think you are in the best position, Patty aside, around this table of what makes for an effective superintendent, right? like we can we have ideas about how we want our district to evolve, what we want for our kids, our staff, but being a superintendent, you know much better than I do, it's a very challenging and unique position. And I'm wondering um when you are evaluating candidates, how do you figure out or develop a sense of whether on a
145day-to-day basis this person beyond having value alignment and things like that really has what it takes to succeed in a position like this? >> That's a great question. >> Thank you. >> I'll start off right. >> Yes, please. >> Okay. Um, having walked in those shoes, you can tell when a candidate may be giving you a textbook answer. And how you ask follow-up questions uh can give you insight into their experience, their successes, and if they're very transparent, their failures, right? because we all fail and we all learn from those things. And so it's that radar, it's that experience that we bring to the process. It's also the questions that we would ask the candidates uh in the screening. Uh one of the most common questions that we would ask a candidate, what is their
146experience and understanding of the budget development process? talked to us about the budget as well as the levy. And if they can't answer that, that's not a good thing, right? Because budgets are big for districts. Um, we don't necessarily ask questions about, you know, how do you engage your staff in curriculum development? That might be a question, but I'm not listening for the process as much as how does the how in that question um of how they listen to staff, how they include staff, what processes are they familiar with? uh if they answer a question and say well you know we would do the textbook adoption and every five years we go through that cycle they don't have a clue right so those are the kinds of things that you would look for to make
147sure that the superintendent or a school district like Oak Parkin and any district really um would have those skills that are important to the district and that's why the focus group your survey responses, what you're looking for is important because you know this district better than I do. I mean, I have a little sense of it having been next door for, you know, seven years, but um you know what you're looking for in terms of a leader, in terms of your strategic goals and what your vision is for the future, and you want to pick a superintendent that's going to help you move those things forward. in addition to the continuous improvement and how they respond to those kinds of questions will give us insight. >> I think that's that pretty as much >> a
148good way of you want to add. I hate to think it's you know we we only depend on our experience and our our you know our wisdom of through the ages but I think we can get a sense often as far as how people are you know you know able to talk the talk and then if they really can then you know translate that into the walk and I think that that's you know I think it does come with experience and like Carmen said you know she's her knowledge of superintendent and administrators around the state as well as all of our other consultants too. We we wouldn't hesitate to contact, you know, have one of our other consultants who might know of somebody who's coming from a different part of the state and has a
149reference there that they would be able to share information with us. So, I think that that network of gathering information to help subsidize what our initial uh take from meeting and talking to these candidates is hopefully becomes a valuable piece of advancing them forward. And it, you know, you can tell when somebody's just talking obviously, but sometimes people talk. >> Pardon me. >> Hopefully you can. >> Yeah, >> you guys probably, you know, it starts to it starts to show. Yeah, >> we're running a little on time, but do you ladies have any questions? >> Okay. All right. Well, thank you guys so much. We're talking uh we're going to be here tonight and we will likely get into contact with it in a couple days. >> Great. Thank you so much for your time
150tonight. Appreciate it. >> Thank you. >> This portion of the agenda, >> we have any public comments? >> Anybody? >> We don't have any public [Laughter] They knew we were coming. >> Thank you. >> Have a good night. Thank you. Thank you so much. >> Thank you for coming. >> Okay, Lance's going to confirm we don't have a public to comment. Um and if not, we're going to move on to Superintendent [Applause] until she confirms it up there. I like those people. I don't know. >> Have some candy. >> I just given her one. She looks like she's looking at >> I felt like she was looking at the Okay. >> All right. Moving right along. We're going to go to the superintendent update. Um, good to see everyone this evening. Um, last week the
151district sent out some communication to the staff and the families regarding our commitment to safe and our welcoming schools and regarding um all the um thanks. >> Yes. >> Am I? >> Yes, we got >> Oh, and I have hearing it. So, you think I I can barely hear myself. So, so we want to take a a moment tonight to highlight what was shared just to reassure our community that District 97 remains a safe and welcoming place for all children. You know, as a school district, um we recognize that conversations about immigration can be deeply personal and for some families very difficult. Um we approach the topic with care, respect, understanding. Thank you, Amanda. Um, and you know, it's about the well-being of our children who walk through our doors. That's what we're all about.
152I know this. We also understand that recent discussions and events in our broader community have caused uncertainty, some concern, particularly for families worried about the immigration matters might affect their children's experience in school and after school activities. But we want you to know that the district is is committed to the ongoing review of our safety procedures. This is ongoing. This is not something that just started this year. I know that the safety committee meets um twice a month in collaboration with our community partners. Our response protocols are aligned with our values and our policies. So, our commitments are about our and continue to be equity inclusion. We uphold our policies to ensure that our children are safe and they're not discriminated against. There's no they're not harassed. They're not bullied. that's important to us regardless
153of their race or ethnicity, their religion, their na national origin, or their immigration status. We think and feel and believe that every child and family, regardless of their background or immigration status, is valued, supported, and they're safe in our schools. And that is always an ongoing um commitment that is been going on for a long time. I think that district 97 is is ahead of the curve in all of that. You know, we don't ask for students or families immigration status when enrolling in the school. We don't share student records except when legally required. Schools do not allow immigration enforcement agents to enter buildings without a criminal judicial warrant and must be signed by a federal judge. You know, we we're prepared. Um we keep our doors secure. We've trained our staff. We've trained um
154our administrators. We've met with administrators even last week to review all of our protocols. Our we keep our um district 97 website updated. Um the village of Oak Park offers a robust list of local immigration and legal resources. We community partners, our PTO is very involved and very much appreciated. Our volunteers are organizing ways to assist family in need including help with transportation and other supports. I mean, we've been comm contacted by some parents that said, "I'm here. I can help. Here's my phone number. Feel free to give that phone number to families that may be in need." You know, our schools are our staff, they're actually connecting with families that may be in, you know, impacted by everything that's going on. So, you know, what's our responsibility? The safety of our students, our staff,
155our families. That's our top priority, especially during high traffic times, um, like arrival, dismissal. Each school has a very wellestablished routines to support safety and supervision during those times. I know that you know they have these yellow bright vest and and we're going to increase the supervision if we feel that there is a need to do that. So they're very present and I think that's very important especially at dismissal and when when children are arriving you know it depends on each building. Um, we're committed again of maintaining safe, welcoming, inclusive schools for all students. Um, this includes enacting our standard response protocol, which I'm sure you're familiar with. Should there be a safety concern, any safety concern, any unwanted visitors, anything, anything that's, you know, will immediately is a danger to our schools or and,
156you know, anyone comes in regardless of that. So we utilize our different communication protocols and you can find that on our website depending on the type of emergency that occurs. Um our plan is to ensure clear timely accurate updates when our schools use the standard. I do have a copy of that communication protocols and I thought this is great. So depending on the situation there's different levels of when um how when and how we will communicate depending on what's going on in our schools. So, our standard response protocol was developed by the I Love You guys Foundation. It's a national organization dedicated to school safety. You know, we have those protocols everyone in the district and we're carrying it around depending on what the situation is. Um, it it has five actions that we take
157during an incident or an emergency. Hold, secure, and it's all on here. Lock down, evacuate, and shelter. Um, we've developed an extensive collaboration with experts, first responders, public safety, school districts, and communities. These actions are not new as a result of what's going on. They have been here, and they're in line with the district's existing emergency response protocols. Um, we chose to utilize ESRP because it provides simple language for everyone, very understandable visuals that can be shared with our staff, with our parents, with our students. So, we will continue to work closely with the community partners, including local law enforcement, to ensure that our procedures align with state and federal guidelines and reflect our district's values of inclusion. We're families can feel confident that we have clear systems, we have protocols in place to protect
158our students, and we'll continue to monitor and adapt as we go on. Um, you know, this is a constant. This isn't something that ends. They're constantly meeting. I was really impressed as a new person here. I was very impressed with all the protocols that are already in place and we carry our standard response protocols right on that little message here. Um, with that being said, there's a lot of really good things going on in the school district and I always like to highlight some of the good things. Um, we had heritage um, celebrations, Hispanic Heritage Month that was September 15th through October 15th. I don't know, Amanda. Oh, she did put all the pictures on there. Um, and the celebration of coffee across the district. That that's a really good feeling. We also can't forget
159our custodians. Um, we have National Custodian Appreciation Day. It was October 2nd. I mean, where would we be without without our our building engineers, our custodians, our maintenance staff. They keep our schools clean. They keep our kids opening. They keep our our schools very welcoming in my opinion. And we can't forget all the work that they do behind the scenes. you're very valued. Then this month is principal appreciation week is 20 October 20th to the 24th. Um we want to thank all of our principles and you can see these glamour shots of all of our principles up here. Um and for all it's for all the work that they do, for all the countless hours they put in and it's always about the kids and that's why we're here and and they are a very
160dedicated staff and I'm I'm proud to be able to to work with them. Um, also we have an Irving teacher who received a Fullbrite US teacher award, uh, Julie Stanganger. She's a second grade teacher at Irving and she's been selected for the Fullbrite teacher exchange award for the 2526 um, cycle from the US Department of State and the Fulbright foreign scholarship award. Um, she was one of approximately 400, it's pretty impressive, US educators selected for this prestigious award. um through the program and our cohort we're learning about implementing global education practices in the classroom and to prepare our students to be engaged global citizens. So congratulations studio lab that's quite impressive and then I at our green team they um had international environmental film making award which was truly impressive and they did get to
161meet Jane Goodall and which is interesting unfortunately she passed recently but they were able to spend some time with her that was an unbelievable experience for all of our children. So, there's a lot of good things going on um in district 97 and we're going to try to always highlight those and um congratulate all the people because we're all working together for for our kids. That's why we're here. So, okay. >> Thank you, Patty. >> Can I ask is that film on our website or is there somewhere people can access it? >> It's linked. Um if you go under the news section, there's um the this story is up there and it's linked. >> Great. Thank you. Pretty impress. >> Thank you. As the consent agenda, I got a motion. >> I move the board
162of education of Oak Park approve the consent agenda as presented. >> Second, >> yes. >> Perez, >> yes. >> Carmen, >> yes. >> Spurlock, >> yes. >> Kim, >> yes. >> Johnson, >> yes. >> Moore, >> yes. Motion passed. Excuse me. Uh 8.1 overnight an out ofstate 8th grade field trip. So I wasn't here the other day and I'm not going to rehash the presentation, but because I have an eighth grader, I've gotten a lot of questions and I didn't I read back went back and read the memo, but I didn't see the answers in them. I don't know if we have time to talk about any of them. Even Louise Louise can help you if she has the question. >> What she answered cuz I >> Hi. >> Yeah. Just and I'll be as
163fast as possible. I know you guys are talking about. So, the primary questions that are coming is the length of the bus ride versus the length of time in Nashville. Okay. >> And I didn't see any information about the length of the bus ride and kind of what the expectations are for kids to be on it. Are they going to be on screens for that whole time? And I've been to Nashville. It takes about eight or nine hours to drive from Chicago without any stops. So, a lot of curiosity because without about what they're going to do on this eight or nine hour bus ride twice. >> Yeah, you're right. Um, definitely it's projected to be like eight hours. That's what I got from from Eony as she was putting this together about the expectations
164of the trip. I think that something that we can work out and we really don't have an answer, but I can get back to you on those specifics. And with that, I think that opportunity for students to mingle during the time I think is something always something positive, >> right? And on the St. Louis trip, we stopped in Springfield, so it was never kind of a whole stretch of this length. They stopped in Springfield, so it was two and a half hours, and then it was like two more hours. So this is eight. And it doesn't look like any of the sites are a stop on the way. So it's kind of straight through um and kind of difficult and to un to figure out how kids stay just you know they can't disrupt the
165bus driver obviously and the driving but what that how we how we get them to Nashville not I mean I screens feels like the option I mean I think we all take road trips with our kids and screens are the option now and then the other question was about the sites of there's there's only four >> and I know it's supposed to be career exploration but do we know more it's two colleges music row and I can't remember what the fourth one is >> so so far like ideas are still finalizing that that will be finalized this uh coming week and then we have the parent meeting in couple weeks. So I know the team is getting together into finalizing the iterative but has been floated the idea of going to uh Fisk University by
166Centennial Capital Mall State uh state park >> and music >> and Brightarium. >> Okay. So so I think that this is supposed to be centered on career. I don't know when we made the switch from to career from civics especially with how democracy is in this country right now but um I guess I was a little confused about how that's career oriented a college obviously is but the other things >> yeah there's always opportunities to kind of talk about not only careers but also traits as kids explore those pieces I think that maybe that's something that that we can look into that, but pass that information to the team as we finalize that. >> Um, and then the only other thing was that um I've experienced lots of Confederate flags in Tennessee when I went
167with my family, like literally on the highway. I think some other people I talked to went to Tennessee and had pretty uncomfortable situations. My interracial family decided not to go out, only to go out to dinner and not really to spend much time >> in various places. Um, and I'm just curious how we're going to prepare our team going to a state in a that is not as friendly and not I don't even know what to call it, but a red state that um is not known for its civil rights. I don't I don't even know what I I'm worried about our kids going to Tennessee and so are some other parents. I 100% agree that not only as a as an educator or as a parent myself but definitely I think that's where supervision
168is going to be very important. We'll have like adults uh that we are joining and working with in these trips. uh we'll have administrators as well uh going through to this through this uh to this trip as well small group and things like that and be able to kind of work those things throughout our kids are like shelter and and and supported through that >> through the trip. >> Have we talked specifically to World Strides about like what kind of training they do if that happens if any of those kinds of incidents the list is endless of what could happen. >> Mhm. We haven't like talked about that detail but definitely that's something that's as we take our students into any any place safety is a priority. So that I think that you're bringing that
169concern that that I I'll bring it up to the team as we get ready. >> Okay. Well, those are three questions that have come up frequently with and I will tell you there is a group of people trying to, you know, fund raise and plan a different trip because they're very >> okay >> nervous about this situation and not necessarily in agreement with this being the right trip for our kids. >> Okay. And I think one thing, John, you might have mentioned last time that I thought was helpful is that it sounds like we were going to try to revisit this idea of what the purpose of the eighth grade trip is. >> Mhm. >> Yeah. I was just going to ask if there's an appetite for the rest of the board members I would
170like to put this on the agenda to talk about um after that maybe like in January before you guys start planning the next one because I do think um to that point is it civics? is a career exploration. Um, from looking at the slides, it doesn't look like we like significantly increased the number of students that we're going. Um, I know that one of the things and I appreciate all the work that went into this. So, I just want to start by saying that. >> Um, but I think if we're if the goal is to increase participation, it doesn't look like we significantly did that. Um, and just, you know, I think like just helping parents understand like why would I spend this amount of money? Um, and then what is my kid doing? Like
171what are they getting out of it? Um, you know, some some students might not be interested in college. And so just really trying to understand the the purpose and how do we get that buy in? So maybe it's that we do fundraising so that we can return to Washington or that we do a payment plan earlier in the year. I don't know what it looks like, but I I do feel like we haven't quite figured it out yet. And so I think before we roll out another trip, getting parent involvement, like was there any parent input on this, teacher input on this? Um, and even I think the students about 400 students voted on this. So, you know, just are they engaged or are they just kind of like whatever. Um, so that would be
172my just kind of wondering and if we could bring that back uh if the board if there's an appetite for it. I know I'm interested, but if other folks have um an appetite for that, maybe bring it back in like January. >> Okay. >> Can I just flag for that conversation because I would be in fact up for that. One of the pieces with the St. Louis trip because we went through Springfield, we got funding from the state for that versus the civics piece. So keeping things like that in mind and what trade-offs are um would be really helpful from a budgetary perspective >> and that was the reason given to us for stopping DC is that we could get title one funding but now we're not getting title one funding this year. >> Yeah.
173Okay. >> But are we not getting title one funding because we're not going through the state or because of all the changes that happened to the department of education. But I also think in fairness that wasn't the only reason. I think No, but it was one of them. >> The goal was to create a trip where we could afford to pay for students that couldn't afford to pay for themselves with or without title one funding. >> Yes. But last year was $669 because of the title one funding was >> I understand it's cheaper, but we're still doing a trip where we can afford to cover the students that aren't able to go. We could debate whether or not there was other options to cover a trip to DC or not and in a similar range,
174but that's a different I mean that's a fundraising question and a chaperoning question and a you know there there's a lot of decisions that went into that that made there are people in this community that were ready to fundra that we decided not to tap into in order to go to DC. I think for the purposes of this conversation, it's just to that point, is it career exploration or is it civics? Because I think traditionally it has been civics. And so I'm trying to figure out like why you guys aren't going to the capital like like what are they learning? What are they coming back to say like I did this that they can't do or they wouldn't do on a family trip. Um, and then I think like like I said the buy in
175we didn't get the at least from my perspective I was hoping to see like a much larger number of students that went and we didn't get that. So yeah. >> Yeah. from um my is like actually the the uh was the because it's a factor as well but also the portrait of the graduate was the the the the framing that was used to kind of like drive this out of school experiences as we were moving into that direction. So as career exploration is one of the components of of that of that portrait and that also that's where they linked into that vision was also extend extended into that. I guess I'm saying if you're trying to sell this to a parent on why they should spend this money, someone like me who has twins, right?
176>> Why am I going to spend that amount of money? Like what are my kids getting out of this? >> And so I think that's the part that's missing. We don't >> So another conversation, but um >> yeah, I I think like before you guys start the planning because by the time you know we this was presented to us, students had already voted. So >> I think just like being a little bit more proactive to say, >> you know, what are we doing? >> You're inviting. >> Yeah. >> Okay. >> Well, and we do a music trip already. So it feels like the career exploration of music grow. >> It's there like it that's that's a very small group of students are going to do music as their career. >> I mean music row is
177very cool by the way. I >> All right. So um can we get a motion? I guess I want to read the motion >> for the eighth grade over. >> Yeah. I move that the board of education Oak Park Elementary School District 97 move to approve the 8th grade endofyear overnight and out of state field trip as presented on September 16th, 2025 with fee waiverss related to board policy for semicolon 140 waiver of student fees not to exceed 124,00 962 >> second >> Ross Driven. >> Yes. >> Moore. >> Yes. >> Perez. >> Spurlock. >> No. >> Kim. >> Yes. Yes. >> For Johnson, >> yes. Motion pass. >> All right. 8.2 SEIU collective bargaining agreement. Can I get a motion? >> Just click off some now, but someone else can read it. I'll second
178it. Uh, I move that the board of education of Oakuck Elementary School District 97 approve the terms of a new 5-year collective bargaining agreement with the local number 73 service employees international union SEIU commencing 2025 2026 through 2029 2030 as outlined. Second is not present. Carney, >> yes. >> Spurlock, >> yes. >> Kim, >> yes. >> Her Johnson, >> yes. >> Moore, >> yes. >> Rost, >> yes. motion. >> Sorry. Math K5. Wait, did I >> H? You're right. >> Okay. math K resource review and budget request and action >> looks like Mr. Patrick Robertson, Tanda Lawrence. >> Patrick, your height was the topic of discussion today. >> My height. >> How tall are you? >> You are tall. >> 67 68. >> Oh my god. My girls will be like 67. >> I still
179don't want to. Oh, I think it means nothing. >> I think >> All right. Good evening. Um, so Dr. Lawrence and I are here to um bring forth um an update to the budget request for our K5 math pilot curriculum. Um, so there was some changes due to some section updates and to some other things that happened and so we wanted to just kind of bring forth um and talk to the board regarding some of those updates. >> Dr. Lawrence, >> thank you. Um, so earlier um this school year, we talked about our priorities for the year for core instruction and this math pilot is one of our priorities for grades K5. Um, at the end of last year, we met with both vendors of the two pilot programs that the K5 math curriculum committee
180decided to pilot this year. Um, we did receive initial um, quotes from both of them. However, since those quotes have been received, there were a few things that shifted. Um, one thing we realized after diving deeper into the Amplified Desmos math resource is that in order to cover all of the standards that we want students to know and be able to do by the end of the year, there are two volumes in which teachers will need access to volume one and volume two. Um also we had made sure that all teachers had access to the digital platform and in addition to that we wanted classroom teachers to have the classroom kits in order to implement the lessons. But since then diving deeper again we realized that we really wanted some of our special education teachers
181to also have those kits so that they can support um the students as well. So that was added on as well. And um as uh Mr. Robinson mentioned earlier, he did say that there were a few changes to our student count. Um and so that slightly impacted um the student um resources that we needed for the pilot. So we will be piloting um this resource at homes and um Longfellow this year in addition to all members of the K5 math committee will also participate in the pilot. And so what we are requesting from the board um is that you approve the final um total for the amplified decimals mass pilot which is $34,141. Um the previous estimated total was $22,310. Um and that is that is our request. >> So I have a question. >>
182Yeah. >> Um in light of what you learned, does that mean the whole if we adopt these curriculums, they'll be more expensive than we thought? >> Like to scale like if you have to scale that to all classes, >> right? So uh well it will definitely be more than the pilot, of course. >> No, no, no. I know. But if this is a 30% increase, do we expect if we scale it that this that we are going to pay 30% more for the whole curriculum cuz we need the volume one and the two and the kits and everything. >> So we will need volume one and volume two. One thing I can say a benefit if we were to adopt amplify decimals math everything that we have purchased now um we will not have to
183repurchase for those teachers. So it's not like we're using a pilot pack with a pilot pack it is specific for a pilot but the resources that we're using for this pilot through amplify decimals math we will teachers will be able to utilize it if we decide to adopt um in terms of the total cost of amplify math if we were to adopt I have not um gotten a quote for that just yet but just know that what we purchase here um for this year we teachers will have >> and is the other math than but is significantly less for the pilot. So does that mean it's significantly less if we went I no okay so the math learning center bridges and mathematics that is a pilot fee so we are not purchasing any of those
184materials however we are purchasing the amplified desmos math so that's the difference >> okay cuz I saw the difference and was wondering if we're testing two different programs that have a 5x difference that that would >> we might see what you're saying right do you know what I mean and then we would find ourselves deciding between and if they love amplify It's five times more expensive. >> Mhm. >> But that's not the how the math works. >> We can't fix that just yet. No. >> No. >> I would um ask if we could get that that uh quote and then if we can dig a little bit deeper to see how we can be a little bit more creative in terms of this pilot. Like are there other costsaving things that we can do? um
185just to so I just I worry like if we don't end up using this um and and then we have to like go with something else and then just because of everything going on at federal level just really being um conservative with our dollars and you know we know families are getting laid off and all those type of things and so just really being mindful of how we can be creative and think outside of the box a little bit more than usual. Like I know you guys always do that, but it's like one of those things like >> how are we going to make a way out of nowhere? Um >> so that would be my ask um just to come back and say this is an option, here's another option. And then you know
186if it if that is the best option, but I I would just like to dig a little bit deeper so that we're not coming back next year and say we forgot this part. Um so that at least we have a little bit of cushion. >> Questions. So I think I have two questions. The first is I know you said the math committee will also be piloting this. Yeah. >> So that's like one classroom because it's one person, right? But how many other schools? The pilot schools are Longfellow and >> homes, right? So that's K through five. Everybody's the whole school is piling it K through five. >> So how many other schools have a curriculum committee member >> that will be piloting this? So what other schools are affected by this? So there are teacher
187representatives from each of the eight elementary school. >> So it'll touch each one classroom and the rest of each throughout the district. >> Yes. >> Um Oh shoot, what was my next Oh, so my next question is we're piloting this for one year, right? >> Yes. So, I know you may have ideas or measurements for success plus delta about the pilot. But I I would also like to see and I what I'm about to say is going to mix apples and oranges. I would also like to see is this curriculum having an effect particularly at those pilot schools >> an effect on their math performance. >> So it's apples and oranges because that curriculum was different than this curriculum. But if we're piloting in a new curriculum, it's got to benefit our students and the
188only way we can benefit our students is with by measuring some of the testing. Right. Absolutely. >> So I want that to be something that is a part of measuring the success of this pilot if it wasn't already. Yes, we didn't get there yet. Right. Secondarily, I also would like to to to the best of our ability compare how these pilot schools are then doing to the non-pilot schools and the impact on some of on the students in terms of the depth of their math un understanding to the degree that you can. Um, but I think it's important that we are getting the biggest bang for our buck, but really measuring whether or not this is impacting our students and that we're moving the needle >> in whatever way that is. I I can't tell
189you, you know, because you guys are the experts, but I can tell you that's what I'm looking for. I can tell you that's what a parent would look for and a community member with this kind of resource. >> With the investment in this kind of resource. >> Absolutely. And that's part of our process. Um it is a data point that we have um for each pilot we administer a pre-assessment before the start of the pilot um and then a post assessment at the end of the pilot. We take that data we work with Dr. Coliner and we actually um have that as a part of the discussion when the MAP committee comes together and make that informed decision in terms of what we're recommending to the board for um for adoption. So that is certainly
190part of the process. Now, one thing we haven't done is taken that data and compared it to the non-pilot schools. So, that's something I would certainly like to work with Dr. Coliner um so that we can sort of put that in place for this year. >> Um my one last question and I promise >> I had to. >> So, I also would like for sometimes we see you in the beginning and then we see you at the end. want to to what whatever you determine incremental >> to see, hey, we are piloting this. This is where we are. This is what we've seen. This is what we thought we were going to see, but this is the direction that we're moving in and we like it. We love it. We're turning a corner. >> So,
191we would definitely um we're creating uh um Tanda is smiling right now. >> We got a lot of meetings. Um, so we do have just a schedule of meetings or board presentations to kind of come back and just kind of present the work >> so that when we do come back and say, "Hey, this is what we're recommending to the board that you have been part of the work and part of the progress." And so it's just not coming back in the end and say, "Hey, take our word for it. This is what we want. Here is the price tag at the end." And so we do want to be mindful and very intentional around like this is where we're at in the process. this is where we're at. This is kind of where we're
192leaning towards so that you're a part of that process every step of the way because a lot is happening within core instruction and so we just want to take you have you part of that ride with us >> because we're also piloting a reading curriculum. >> Well, we're implementing Yes. >> It's ahead of No, this one we're we're doing year one adoption >> of the K5 reading curriculum and then we're done piloting. We are done piloting. We are in it. >> We're starting >> full of course. And so now we're doing a resource review at the middle school for ELA resources to pilot next year. >> Yeah. >> John, can you translate what they just said for me later? >> Can I also highlight just one thing in this memo? I just want to um
193I don't know if Michael can scroll to the second page. There's a table there. And I just want to say that we did try our best to work with Amplify, our vendor, to get as much as we could complimentary. So, we're getting all of the digital complimentary. That's um no cost to us. And volume two is also going to be complimentary as well. So, we were able to negotiate that um with them. Um so the increase does not include the volume two which is complimentary and the digital as well. >> Thank you. >> Any last questions? >> All right. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Okay. Um title one programming Louis's for Evan. The >> same thing for Evan. Yeah. >> You look so different. [Music] >> All right. So, we have the memo linked
194here um for those of you who haven't had a chance to read it. So pretty much this is about the use of title one uh funding uh for for to provide supplement resources for students who qualify for for that grant and then uh with that there's three uh companies that we uh providers that we review which is the challenge island Friday night place and ya as uh ways to provide additional supports and when we say additional support about tutoring. We're looking um mentoring not only outside of school but also with during the school day and that's where opportunities and these partnerships have come into play and we are building on that. We continue building on that. Um the ones that actually they uh they that they made it through uh was the Friday Night Place
195and YMA. We feel like those two uh vendors, they were the strongest because they have more um knowledgeable about our community, about our students, about our needs. They have been working with us and they're also they're very um involved with the students and really making sure our students are successful. So there's a cost or expense that we're looking to do over 25,000 and that's what is coming to play. We have a jam bag going for 45,000 and the um and the other one the Friday night is going for 50,000. >> So I have questions. This is something I brought up the last time. Um so I guess question number one is what happens if we don't like award them this money? Can we use it on other things? >> We can only use these funds
196for our students who qualify for those funds. and they they have like it's like um ESP I give some some guidance of what can be used and what cannot be used. >> Okay. So my concern is that for many many years we seem to just give money to YMA and Friday night place without like an impact report. And so I talked to Ebony a little bit and what was um and I talked to Patty about it. What was included was about attendance and there was not like a significant like improvement in attendance and then it was the out of school or the referrals. There was nothing significant about that. >> And then the attendance is very low compared to other programs such as girls on the rise and boys on the rise. Um, and so
197I would be interested in like understanding the full impact of what these programs bring and if we're giving them this amount of money, but then comparing it to a program like Girls on Ars that has extended their program. I think they're in most of our schools. Um, they just took another like cohort, they expanded the boys on the rise. There's a waiting list to get a girls on the rise. So, I'm just not quite understanding. I know it's an RFP that was put out and so they didn't qualify. But I I just think that it feels like we're just giving them money because we've always given the money and we're not really seeing a return. One of the programs, and I don't remember which one at this point, but I think there were like five
198students served. Um, and so how is that a larger impact and could we be doing something more impactful with these dollars with our students? Whether that's tutoring in the school, before a school, whatever that looks like, >> it just feels like we continue to and and I don't doubt that these are great, you know, um, programs, but >> I have I have not really heard like a buzz about either of these programs. Okay. >> I haven't heard about any like significant partnerships or we've never seen the students come here and talk about things they're working on. >> So, I'm sorry to interrupt. Where did you get that data about attendance? >> It was embedded in one of the weekly updates. >> Okay. When you get Yeah. October 3rd. >> I was I was confused. No,
199no, no. October 3rd. But yeah, to to give them this amount of money for students to play basketball things that I I I just don't see how 45,000 for for kids to play basketball. Um I don't I don't understand the return on that. Like how is that improving academic excellence, which is the things that we we should be focused on. and and neither of those reports did talk about like scores improved, grades improved and it looks like the the the like referrals increased. >> Uh so >> yeah, >> so look for more quality data, more stories and also data that can be presented that I share with with you and the community. And this is all things that I asked for the last time we did this. >> Actively soliciting Girls on the Rise or
200providing support for other groups that we think might be as beneficial to make this a more competitive process. Cuz similarly, I'm not going to vote against it because it's we have to use the money one way or the other and we have what we have. But it it's frustrating to vote for something that doesn't seem to have any significant in terms of like measurable out um impact. Like it's >> it's not helping kids do better in school. It's not keeping them out of trouble. So it it feels like I mean like I said I I know we can't use the money anyway which way we want but it just seems like if we know there's not a great statistical outcome on these like are there ways we can develop other programs to apply is there
201a way we can do something inhouse or we can solicit um it just it's it's frustrating to vote on something that isn't that's not having a huge impact. I think in the future it would be good to look at our process, you know, why are we only attracting to, you know, our piece? Do you know what I mean? So that we can maybe, you know, make it much more widespread than just narrowing it and maybe they just automatically put it in and expect it every single year. Um, but the data I know that was in the October 3rd um update. Uh we did have some data in regards to that but >> we can talk about some different processes. Yeah. Because I know we only had three and one of them wasn't viable and then
202we only done to the two. Right. And then this is services also like this spring break program as well the summer program that also like uh connects to this >> right >> so what I heard what I'm understanding is like the importance of really making sure that we bring the data back and and the report back of not only a problem itself but how it's impacting in those different ways and those different opportunities that students have those access. So, can we is there an option to go back and and just hold on this and maybe solicit something else? Like we haven't we haven't approved it, so we haven't promised anybody anything. So, it's not like they're dependent on these dollars. I would like if it's feasible, I would like to see some other options because
203this is something I brought up before and like last year they did the summer program, we didn't get any information on that. um they did the summer program this year. We didn't get anything on that. So to John's point, it just feels like we're just giving away free money. Um and not really seeing the And I'm sure there there are some there's a lot of things we can do with this. You know, we have a summer math program. We have like so many different things that, you know, we are asked to approve a budget on. And so as we're like I'm asking them to dig deeper and find find creative ways to reduce the cost then we're going to so my thing is just I feel like we just keep rubber stamping that and that's
204not responsible. >> I don't know what the timeline is for the approval um if you have that that information available but we could bring it back for discussion but I don't know this is time sensitive. Well, and we do frequently with RFPs for like our buildings. If you only get two people apply, you just go back out again. >> Yeah. >> Like I don't think that's kind of atypical. I just looked at the numbers, too. Yeah. It seems like $45,000 divided by three people, like that's more >> like that's that's a lot of money per kid than I would expect. measurable outcome. >> I know like the submission of proposals it was as the memo states so on September 19 as a >> as a way for us to make a decision because that needs
205to be implemented. I think goes from November all the way to April those programming. Uh so we will start actually using these fun but uh I understand about the process of bringing this data back. >> So does the funding have timing requirements on it? In other words, are we using a specific funding source on this that we need to spend it by exp? >> Yeah, it's for the year. It's for the year that we have to utilize it within the year >> within the academic year. >> Yes. And then it's al also only for the students who are title reduced or they're considered like a part of the eligible for title one funds which we have about 118 total. So we could use this towards the eighth grade trip for students who were free, right?
206>> So it has to be supplemented and the answer is yes to that as long as it's in Illinois. >> As long as I'm >> only in the state. This is like state state funding. Can I ask um in looking at the RFP there's the section that's scope of services and it covers a a lot of different things that each of which is not necessarily like a light lift targeted tutoring enrichment activities skill building delivery of research based curriculum peer support programs mental health resources like looking at that list like $35,000 seems way too low to actually do all of those things. Um, and I guess I'm wondering like is the expectation, and it's okay if you can't answer this and we can talk about it again another time, is the expectation that somebody submits
207a proposal that speaks to every bullet under academic, social, emotional, and family supports is the expectation that they submit a proposal that speaks to some of them. Um, like how does that piece of it work? uh well like you say I'll get back to you and see like how the how the reply how the data >> and then the other the other thing related to that I think this question about like how are we um evaluating what the return that we're getting for it >> I would like depending on the answer to that is then are we in some way assessing yes this led to kids who participated built skills kids who participated uh you know their social emotional learning was you know how are are we actually assessing whether they're the kids are involved
208are improving along these different axes as well. Okay. We'll bring that up. >> I get I always put it, are we getting a bang for our buck? >> You know, is this beneficial with the money? >> And which bangs are we trying to get and are we getting >> any other comments, questions? Okay. All right. Thank you, Louise. >> Thank you. >> Uh moving on to 9.3 operations update matching facilities and sustainability. Hello. I I we got to finish our email. >> All right. Um so there's going to be two different things that we're going to share an update on. So appreciate the opportunity. We will go through this as uh as part of some of the stuff with the master facility plan and sustainability task force. We have a couple board members that are
209part of that. I'm going to do a quick overview on where we're at because there's going to be a number of times that we're going to be coming back over the next like three months around the master facilities plan while we sustainability task force and certain things that are happening. Uh we also have Becky Thompson here who has been here before. So, she's going to give us a little bit of like a current landscape update on some energy and some of the things that we're doing and considering that we would come back to the to the board and seek either direction or approval some efforts around some of our energy stuff and how it kind of aligns with the sustainability task force and master facilities money. So, I'm going to do a quick thing first.
210John will jump in at times, but the team that's working through a number of these things f uh the facilities advisory committee, our sustainability task force, so that's the district 97's task force and then the case the cross agency sustainability exchange. So as we think about that, so that group has been the joint between the village u district 200 some work with Gary Kunine C4 and some other partner agencies around here. So really that was the work over the last year getting to where we're at now. So some of that were looking at strategies and having a bunch of experts in the different areas that we were looking at. So um I'm like jumping around on that. So I'll talk about that in a second. Uh but again as we think about our operations like
211and you've seen this slide before like right we can't do this without in a in a silo just us. So it's how are we going back and forth and working with John and and before and uh I stole this slide from Tuan at one point we had arrows that went just outward and it's really not outward. It's how is that going back and forth and that constant dialogue. So it's important for us to continue to do that and work alongside as we think about the transformational goals. Um I realize I didn't change the the date on the slide. So 24 25 uh but we're we're talking about how are we aligning resources and and working through that with our facilities advisory plan and then some collaboration with Felicia and the comprehensive safety uh assessments and
212planning as well. So I will jump right in master facilities. Uh you you've heard this too a little bit from Jennifer. So Jennifer Castanza works with SDR who was working through us with us on the master facility plan. So really last year um and continuing into this year doing facility assessments, audits, I'm really looking at health life safety stuff, building systems, doing an audit of all of our mechanicals. So, it's pretty I mean the stuff that we have and again Becky and Gavin can speak to what has been put together around the the maps or the lists of all of the different things by facilities and then within each of those and we've got maps of all those buildings and the list of all the mechanicals and what's going on and their ages and the
213inventory of all of that stuff. It's been pretty great to continue to kind of use that as a resource moving forward and the experts that are around that table. Uh we can't I mean the facility advisory committee and I can't thank them enough for the work that they're doing and continue to help to prioritize and and lead us into what will come in the next couple months. Um, and as I talked to Li about that, some of the space utilization when we worked with school buildings, so Jennifer building principles, they walked around, looked at their facilities, had conversations around what's working, what are some things that are pain points or things that they'd like to discuss or potentially see um as part of this master facilities plan. So that was really last year coming into
214this year. Um, and then where we're at now. So the facility advisory committee is going through prioritization of each of the 10 buildings and looking at a number of different levels. So again is the critical most most critical things that have to happen like we've talked a little about this like if something were to happen that could close school for a period of time, right? So you have roofs or you have HVAC or any of those types of things and then ranking all of those things through. And again, we'll, if you remember, and again, we brought these sheets and kind of showed what that looked like. We'll have a little bit more of insight to that in the next month or two. So, as part of that process, now that we're we've prioritized all 10
215buildings, the committee has then over the next week to 10 days, they're going to review all of that and we're going to come back on the 27th. Now the 27th we'll have a little some additional financial elements to some of these priorities or the ones that we're looking at within the buildings. We'll discuss the financials but then make sure that our what our priorities any questions or comments or anything and really kind of beat that up a little bit if there's any additional changes or anything that we might have around that. So so that's that 27th and then after that we have a joint meeting with Fork in December and that's where we come together and look at some of those financials and we've talked with Crystal. So it's not going to be like we're
216waiting until December 2nd to have that. So there'll be information that we'll share so we can start some of that thinking and process and again got board members that are part of that and we'll really be on the 27th. So hopeful that uh when we look at that we'll have some numbers to it and be able to continue that and then next is kind of going on when we come to the board December and January to seek um approval on where that might go. So anything you want to add John? >> Nope. you did a great job covering and we have really have had a great job or a great help with fact and the expertise in there in people's willingness to spend the time and put in the effort. So, it's been great >>
217and as part of that and that's where like the sustainability task force like when we talk about electrification or solar or a number of different things and conversations are all being part of that conversation and we'll really see that over the next couple meetings to dig into that and see some costs of what that might look like. All right. So, real quick sustainability updates as I started to lead into the case uh case collaborative work. So, there's four main groups, food, waste, and gardens, energy, green infrastructure, and then climate change education. So they've been looking and working through what are some key strategies that could be district 97, district 200, the village, and then looking at all of our policies and see what might be things that align to to address some of our um
218outcomes that we're looking to address within each of them and what alignments are there. So over the last two and a half weeks each of those governing leads we call them um within the districts have come together and dug into each of those four areas to understand what were those key or high lever strategies and then that's going to be turned over to the different organizations to then go back to their for us it's the sustainability task force the village they have a different group and then D200 as well to now start putting action plans and start to enact what makes sense for for us would be for D9 97 and they continue to carry out some of that work. Um, so we'll continue to collaborate and work with them. Uh but that's that's where
219we're at between case and kind of I guess you could act as like a handoff to the sustainability task force and where that comes and and uh Gavin I know we talked last like looking at the metrics and identifying what does that look like and then having as part of the sustainability policy is what does that plan look like over the next three to five years and and a deliverable to and so that's where we'll be coming back to this group from that that team. So, >> some key outcomes. I know I'm longer than I said I was going to be. Uh some key things. So, community solar and uh uh Becky will talk a little bit about that today. Case strategies talked about that action plans, some baseline metrics for the group. Um some
220things just kind of highlight some things that John's already been doing around some of the energy management and some incentives or utility costs by cutting back and and putting some We utilizing our building automation system, the control schedule to kind of tighten up where we're at. Uh, as you can see here, 81,000 last year, $143,000 this year in savings. Um, so that's just from tightening up some schedules, controlling temperatures a little better, and uh, you know, leveraging our our technology to impact our energy usage. uh working with the village on there are some baseline systems to track some of these things too. So that's something that we've been working with them on and u will come in the future but as Jennifer shared and Felicia shared uh the phys physical security assessment that was part
221of some of this work too out that's in progress and I'll let her share more in the future on that. So at this point I'm going to I guess talk about next steps. um you have this sorry so we're looking at those strategies for our work groups working with Amanda to upstate uh oh my gosh to update and our website around sustainability and what does that look like because that that's something that we have heard from our group is what are we communicating out what are we sharing with everybody about what are the good things that are happening and there's some like really great things that are taking place already and how do we get that out to to our stakeholders um we'll audit this came up in our last meeting whenever we met recently
222about like who's members of that sustainability task force and getting more students involved and engaging them in that conversation. Talked about the baseline data u already doing some pretty big things with food waste and and Carla and our team and our schools. Uh some more to come there and then the alignment with the master facilities plan I talked about. So now we'll hand it over to Becky. Uh, we can do questions at the end or if you want to. It might make sense to do it at the end to see where things go. So, if that's cool. >> Yeah. >> Okay. All right. Let me move this quick. >> Can I use this one? >> You can hurry up before he changes mind. Start talking again. >> Did you have more slides to >> No,
223I know. I know. Michael, >> I'm just teasing Michael. >> Oh, well, thank you for having me back. I have been here on a few different occasions. So, you may remember my face. I have talked about on-site solar and community solar. Um, I'm with Nineia Energy and we are third party energy adviserss. I work with about 50 districts in the state and we uh touch on all things energy. And so, tonight is kind of a cohesive package touching on some of the things I just mentioned as well as a few extra little added bonuses in there to keep it nice and riveting and get you all really excited for energy this evening. Um, so we'll just do a general market update. Uh, this is energy is in the news a lot right now. There's a
224lot of news going on right now, but um, what the biggest takeaways that we need to realize and what you need to plan for as a school district as it relates to your operations and your budgetary constrictions in the future. Um, that plays into an update on on-site solar. You may remember that we did an RFP for three of your locations last year. Um and so providing an update to that, touching on community solar as Michael um mentioned, and then natural gas and electricity, fun stuff. Okay, so why are energy prices increasing so drastically? If any of you pay commed um directly, you notice that your bills probably went up pretty substantially this summer. And that was across the country. And the biggest reason is that um demand is outpacing available supply. crypto mining, AI,
225data centers, um industrial automation, EV charging, all of these things are massive energy hogs. Uh but we don't have new generation coming on and keeping pace. And so what happens when you have demand that's outpacing supply, we see prices reflective of that. Um so while you are sustainability minded and that is the lens of how we look through how you manage your energy cost, there's also a financial aspect to it as well as you're planning your fiscal years. um ahead. So, I already mentioned this a little bit, but what do all of these bar graphs represent? Um capacity is a fancy word for grid reliability, meaning that we don't have blackouts, that when we turn on our lights, our lights come on. And so, we've never really had uh infrastructure issues in our lifetimes, but
226that may change with some of the the things that I just described. And so, um, what this graph illustrates is just the changes to one portion of your electricity cost went up 800% in June of this year and is expected to increase another 30% next year. So, these are real life costs, realized costs that you are paying right now on your utility bills as a school district and also at your homes and is continuing to increase. So, um, kind of being proactive with your energy management strategies is of the utmost importance now more than ever. Um, natural gas follows electricity because we use natural gas to make electricity. So, natural gas prices are expected to follow suit. So, what can we do about it? Right? Um, really when you're looking at your utility bills, it
227is the total cost is a function of the price that you pay multiplied by the usage that you consume, right? So, we look at both of those um and how we can control those. And you can see some examples here. It sounds like John's already doing a great job on uh managing the amount that you use. And so this would just be um elevating that and taking it a step further. So first up is just an update to on-site solar. Um so federal tax incentives currently there's an investment tax credit uh to the tune of 30% of a project cost that that is expiring July 4th of 2026 if you have not started construction. If you have started construction then you have until I believe four years after 2030 to complete the project. Um, if
228you've not started construction by July 4th of next year, then the project has to be completed by December 31st of 2027, or else uh you are ineligible for that tax credit. So, um, pretty strict language around the the tax credits. Typically, in the past, uh, when there's been a change of administration, we've seen where they stairstepped down. And so, it was a a pretty big blow to the industry that it was just going to disappear. So that is kind of changing how uh school districts are looking at solar and maybe expediting how they were previously considering it. That said, the state programs in Illinois remain robust and there are already talks in Springfield about beefing up some of those programs to make up for the federal tax credits disappearance. Uh and so that I expect
229to see a little bit of news from that coming in the next year or two. Um, but really, you know, on-site solar meets both sustainability goals, but is also maybe a good cost offsetting measure for those those rising energy costs we just described. So, when we we talked about this last fall, we previously did studies and ran an RFP for an ownership model uh for Julian Holmes and Longfellow. Um and in in talking with administration here over the last over the summer um came back to us and asked if we would look at three additional locations um it was Brooks by and it's on the next slide Irving >> Irving >> uh and through those evaluations uh looking at the roof availability the different uh ages of the roofs the space that we could actually
230build uh rooftop solar on The recommended sites after we looked at all six of those those rooftops, the two top uh recommendations from our standpoint would be Julian and Brooks. Um you're able to offset a larger portion of energy consumption. These are some of your largest energy users. So you can see the annual offset for Julian is about 13% and Brooks being about 21%. But Julian, um the portion of the roof space there that you see that we did not put solar panels on in our model is because it was a 20-year roof. And I think we're already in years >> five or so. Uh so really don't have the 20 to 25 year roof life left and we would not recommend expediting a roof replacement to put solar on there. Uh but even though
231these are smaller offsets, it's still about half a million kilowatt hours annually. Um and so that's a pretty big chunk of energy consumption. for additional sites. If you were to consider going back out for requests for proposals and considering moving forward um with this at this time could use these as adder option sites. You can see that there are six and 9% offset. So relatively small systems as a standalone. We would not recommend going out to to bid for those. You would likely not get very competitive if any responses. uh but in addition to the two larger projects, they could be an adder additional option if you wanted to uh maintain some equity or or bring solar onto some of your other your other buildings. So, I think that that is a discussion that is
232coming in the future. We more just wanted to highlight what we've been talking about in the background and some of the studies that have been completed. So, with that, um, I'm going to glaze over this quickly as to not, uh, get into too many of the details, but really the the main two ownership options for on-site solar, um, at this point in the game is direct ownership, which we talked about last year, where you would own the system, you would pay for it outright using your capital funds or or issuing debt. You would be responsible for the operations and maintenance. The incentives would come directly to the district, either the federal or the state incentives. um and it would represent a larger cost savings because you are getting all of the benefit directly to you
233and there's not a middleman. However, given the current circumstances, this does present a little more risk uh based off of just the federal tax incentives alone if this was something that you wanted to move forward with quickly. Uh the risk of that 30% federal tax credit would fall on the district and meeting all the requirements to get that uh for the power purchase agreement. This is a thirdparty ownership model. So the solar provider themselves actually pay for the system. So there's no out of pocket. There's no capital uh required from the district. They assume all of the incentives. They're responsible for capturing those tax credits and they're also responsible for all operations and maintenance. Um it's kind of there's aligned interest with this model because the only way that a developer earns revenues or profits
234from the solar array is if it is generating kilowatt hours. So if it is down, if it is not op, you know, optimized and producing what it was promised, they're not getting paid. Uh so you kind of see this this aligned interest where they keep those a lot more operational and are much more quick to respond. Um but really this is the model that most districts are considering right now given the current uh situation in the marketplace. So just wanted to highlight those. So let's talk dollars. This is just u to highlight the the kind of um financial impact that this would have. So again, we have the four here. Uh you see Brooks and Julian up top. And then if you wanted to include the adder options, um you the year one incentives includes
235the comed rebates. Um some of the renewable energy credits that would come through the this assumes the 30% federal tax credits could be uh collected. And you can see where the payback period, the simple payback in years um varies pretty greatly based off of those system sizes. It's just under six years um if you were to consider all uh for about $1.7 million in net savings um over the 25 year life of the systems. Conversely, if we look at the power purchase agreement option, know I always disclaim that the PPA rate is intended to be conservative in nature. Um so usually the RFPs that we're seeing come back are are less than this, but we would like to if you can make a good financial decision up front. uh and then we can always come
236back with better results. That's kind of the side of caution that we like to air on. Um so with this, you know, it'd be year one savings. Again, no out-of- pocket capital. You're not waiting for that return. It's going you're going to be in the black after those systems are electrified and producing. Um but it is a considerable less savings over that 25 year life of about $500,000. So I just threw a lot of information at you very quickly. Do you want me to continue on with the presentation? Do you have questions about on-site solar specifically you want to pause on? >> I just have two really good questions where Lone Fellow and Lincoln consider saying that they're two of the bigger schools. I would imagine they produce a lot of energy as well. So
237right now I can uh right now we as we work through this process with the master facilities we've started to map out like what some of the buildings where we would that have maybe the greatest need of critical nature of roofs or HVAC or any of those things to look at the year of 2027 kind of like what we did with 2026. We had some stuff that we had to deal with this next summer before and we knew they were the most critical things that we had to address. So that's kind of how we've mapped out 2027, 2028, 2029. And we do see those buildings being later. >> They have additions on them and new roofs. Correct. Also, Longfellow, right? Longfellow, Lincoln, and Homes had additions where they do have new roofs in the last
238few years, too. >> Okay. >> So, part part of it that why they're there. And then, as Becky had said, you have to have you have to have a certain percentage of the project done >> and then fully constructed by a time. And you saw the that because of where the different sections of the roofs, the middle schools make the most sense uh for that offset too. So uh but we are trying to figure out like again where's the location of all of these things and and balance as we do that final master facilities what goes down in 2027 2028 we'll balance that in the village for what the summer program means in schools. >> Thank you. Yep. >> I just have a quick question on um with the solar panel installations, what does that
239actually do to the lifetime expectancy of the roofs on which they are installed? Does it change it at all? >> Not marketably. >> Okay. >> It stays pretty consistent because we still have the weather changes, temperature changes. It be a little less with the solar panel on top. >> It just moves where the heat hits the roof. So it does have some other impacts on it, but essentially it's going to be the same overall time span on the roof. >> Okay. >> I've not seen any studies that have quantified it that there's like implications of this maybe an ancillary benefit, but there's not like a quantifiable study that says it elongates your roof life by X amount with the addition. >> But certainly we're not hearing that it it detracts it takes away from the
240roof timing has not been something that's being reported. No, but with these being flat roof systems, there would be a ballasted. So, there's like one or two points of entry, but there's no additional uh it's just the the additional weight from the system itself. >> Great. Thank you. That's a great question. >> I had um two questions. One is you mentioned, Becky, that um one of the benefits in the current climate with going the PPA route is that they assume the risk of not hitting the deadlines for accessing um subsidies. And I'm wondering if you go with the uh ownership model, do the do do installers ab absorb any of that risk if they commit to getting >> when when you go the ownership model? No, they're not absorbing any of the risk. >> They
241won't commit to no because the incentives are your responsibility at that point. So you'd be working with your accountant to >> but if you contract with them and they agree to get things done by a certain point in time >> I like in that contracting process I'm asking can you >> just and I don't know you know the market better than >> um I mean you you could but uh there are so many factors that are largely out of their control if there's a supply chain disruption or you know um you have the complication of waiting for interconnection from KMED any of those delays that wouldn't be the contractor's fault where they wouldn't assume the risk >> and those could take you out of the >> And those could take you out. Yeah. Because essentially
242right now you would be looking for a 5% um 5% of the construction costs need to be purchased to meet the safe harbor requirements by July 4th in order to buy you those extra four years. And so we would need to work on a pretty escalated schedule based compared to what we talked about with the roofs that were available now, right? Is that my understanding? Is that some of these roof replacements were not by July of next year? >> So yeah. So and that would have Brooks Julian would be the next so they're in summer. So because we we would meet like that 5% safe harbor in 2026 >> if we do the PPA or other ways like they would be able to like kind of have most of that project done and could show
243documentation around that and then still plan for that 2027. That's some of that conversation the master facility the overall like what does that look like? >> And we didn't really look too much further. We've started to look at 2028 summer, but not really after that because there's just too many variables that could come into play. >> Yeah. >> So, >> because the savings difference is big. It's over three times more with self ownership. But I appreciate that. The other question I had is um you mentioned in one of your slides that on-site solar may lead to cost savings and I'm wondering if you could talk a little bit about maybe effective cost offsetting. Is that a very cautious and sort of specific way to put it or like ex why do you say may? Because
244if you have a seven cent PPA and something happens over the 20-year life where comed's costs drop, then it's no longer a savings at that point. And so I can't quantify I can't look in 20 years into the future. So it's a conservative statement because I don't have insights into what energy costs will be over the next 20 years. Based off of the market climate today and cost today, it is a savings to do an installation of on-site solar. And do you think it's fair to say that it's very likely to be a cost-saving >> based off of the current market? Yes. >> 20 years from now, technologies could sure >> all things could change. Um, so it's it's a little hard to say tend to stray away from always or never. >> Um, >>
245based off of what is known today and the projections for the next 5 years of energy cost continuing to escalate based off the factors we've already discussed, >> a PPA or a direct ownership model would both represent a savings versus >> Yeah. doing nothing. >> Thank you. >> Great questions. >> Go ahead and finish. >> Okay, great. >> Okay, so that was on-site solar. So, now we're going to switch gears to community solar. Um, and I'm going to give just a little I I think I've talked about this with this same board, but because it's coming off of the back of on-site solar, this is not necessarily solar that is in your community. This doesn't necessarily the the name is a little misleading in that some people think that it they assume that it will
246be within Oak Park, but what community solar is intended to do is make solar accessible for people that it's otherwise not. So, renters or um if you have a rooftop that it's not ever going to be suitable for on-site solar. So, this is an offsite uh community solar farm. If you've been driving down the interstate ever and you see these massive fields of solar panels out in the middle of nowhere and you're like, "What's that all about?" That's a community solar farm. And what happens here is an outside developer comes in, invests millions of dollars u to build these farms with the electricity going directly into the grid for Kameed. Comemed has some pretty strict law um rules of what they have to meet or state law of offsetting their green p or their brown
247power with renewable assets. And so this is a way for them to meet some of those qualifications to meet the state mandates. However, the the law is structured for community solar that the developers cannot just receive the credits for that energy generated directly to them. It has to flow through a third parties energy bill. Enter Oak Park School District. So you actually already have community solar for several of your locations. Uh we had previously left off the the three that we had considered for on-site solar last year. Um, and so as those credits come through, they come through in 100% on your invoice and then the developer bills you for their percentage of what they get to keep. So it's like a shared savings uh kind of model. So in this case, the developer retains
24890% of the credits, you keep the other 10%. Um, and so basically for being the middleman, agreeing to a long-term commitment to uh be a part of these community solar developments, you are attaining a 10% savings on your electricity bills. So, um, your current credits are expected to, there's two different firms. Um, you're expected to start receiving the credits by April of 2027. Um, being a larger school district or being a school district, you are committing to an asset that has not already been built. So, these can sometimes take a couple of years to to get off the ground and become electrified, but you your commitment to this long-term agreement is making the financial model, making the financial case for these developers to build these assets. So, like I mentioned, we had previously excluded Julian
249um Longfellow and Holmes. So, as you're figuring out your master's facilities plan, um you may want to consider adding in those three that we had previously excluded to community solar. It would be an additional estimated annual savings of about $18,000. Um, you may also remember that the contract that we negotiated with you um, allows for you to have a reduction in your total allocation if you were to install on-site solar as long as you give about a 2-year window notice in advance. So, as you are planning your on-site solar and what that schedule may look like, you may want to consider adding in those three additional facilities so that you can get those in the program. And if you do decide to move forward with on-site solar, then we can provide notice to your developer
250to remove them from that. And the the graphic over here just shows what you currently have um allocated for the nine nine accounts, I believe, that are currently enrolled. >> Okay, that was community solar. Any questions about that? >> Does our existing contract allow us to add those three schools or would we have to sign? >> So, it' be a new contract. It would be the same developer. Um, and the farm that the other accounts are signed to is already full. And so this would be a new farm. So that's why it represents a a new contract instead of an amendment. Um, but the credits are expected to flow with the farm. When I talked to Nexamp, um, they said that they expect the credits to flow at the same time for the two different
251farms. Okay. >> Um, the difference would be that you would get one invoice for one farm with all the locations and then another invoice for the other farm with the the additional locations. Any other questions on that portion? Okay. All right. So, um then we have natural gas and electricity. So, uh the supply for natural gas and electricity in the state of Illinois can be procured through a third party. You still have comment and Nyore in the background. They're who you call if you have a gas leak or a power outage. But the actual rate that you pay itself can be fixed through a third-party supplier, retail energy supplier to allow for insulation from volatility in the marketplace. Right? If you just have comed, you're paying the default to whatever it is, it's usually a
252reactive price that if we have a crazy weather event, if the rate goes crazy, that is you're subject to paying that. Um, what this represents is more of a proactive strategy of you fixing it in advance so that it's fixed over the term of the contract. It allows for budget planning, a little bit of insulation. It's basically like an insurance policy for your electricity and natural gas cost. Um, so typically the pricing is typically G will love this, uh, but usually the pricing is better than the utility. So there is a savings aspect to it, but it also allows that long-term planning um, and insulation from some of those crazy winter weather events and things that we have been having. So we did an evaluation to see where we're currently. Currently, your natural gas is
253part of the cooperative through Illinois Asbo. Um, it's called the IEC. This is kind of a set and forget. I think you guys have been part of this program for 15 or 20 years. Quite a long time. Um, and so it auto renews if you don't submit notice with 120 days. And so we actually just missed the the deadline for that on September 1st. So you are renewed through December of 2026 on this program. Um, so my recommendation would be to send the notice to shop to them now to stop the auto renew. So it doesn't cancel you from the program, but does allow you to have that competitive bid. Um, and we're seeing a lot of natural gas volatility return. Uh, we have just like I described with electricity. Uh, we are exporting more
254natural gas than we ever have before. Um, and we use natural gas to make electricity. So we're seeing that demand really go through the roof for natural gas pricing. Um, couple that with what's expected to be a cold and wet winter. We're expecting natural gas prices to increase pretty substantially. Uh, so my recommendation, and I think may come at a future board meeting, would be to evaluate options for that now. You can actually start looking at that for that December 2026 start date now versus waiting until the market um, increases over this winter period. So, just a little update on natural gas and then electricity. on that one. If you switch to a third party, is it similar where you it's an annual renewal type thing and the price is fixed? How long is price
255fixed for I guess? >> Yeah. So, so it's up to you. It's completely customizable. So, when we run an RFP, it's usually one through 5year terms and then you decide which term that you would like to go for. We weigh the pros and cons for each of those. So, it's not a standardized. Um, and the 120day exit notice and the auto renewal is not standardized. That is part of the cooperative. uh typically it's a 30-day and don't want to hold make anyone have to renew for 12 months if they wanted to get out of the program. So that is a standard of the cooperative that is not in a standardized agreement. So, electricity, same same concept. Um, competitively uh bidding it uh can just lead to better rates, a little more transparency. Um, this is
256currently on a month-to-month agreement and it does represent the larger cost between electricity and natural gas. Um, for this uh we would recommend utilizing what we call a reverse auction. So, it's like eBay but in reverse. There's so many suppliers for electricity in this great state and electricity is electricity. It's the same juice that runs through the lines. It doesn't matter who's on who's on the other end so long as all the contract terms are the same and it is a reputable supplier. Um, so what we have found to be really effective for school districts is actually taking this big pool of suppliers, vetting them, having them run through a qualifying round, and then vetting them, pitting them against each other in an online platform. Instead of submitting one bid on a Tuesday at 10:00
257and hoping for the best, we're actually having them compete against each other real time. They can submit multiple bids over the course of 30 to 45 minutes. And every time you receive an additional bid, it's money saved for the district for a commodity. Uh so it's a very effective process, very transparent and increases the the competition pretty substantially versus what the district had been participating with in the past. >> And it's gladiator style. >> I like that's how I I picture it because it it is it's uh you see the them go against each other. It's pretty cool. It's pretty I work in energy. I have to make it exciting. Okay. This is >> tigers coming out of cages on the ground. >> It it is it is really interesting though. and suppliers have a
258lovehate relationship with that style because they get transparency into the market that they otherwise don't get. Um, the reason that this proves so effective is like our company's been around 25 years or so and we would always get phone calls after we would run a bid saying why didn't you tell me where I needed to be? I could have shaved some off and it's like best and final is best and final. You should have showed up with that. Um, and because uh of the the laws around energy procurement in in the state, they're relatively loose for state procurement for for school districts, we're able to leverage that and really make sure that you get the best rate that we possibly can. Okay. So, in conclusion, even though energy rates are continuing to rise, I really
259do think the forethought um and building with the master's utility plan, your sust sustainability committee, um I think that you're going to be able to affect not only your energy rates, but your consumption long term with the plan that you're putting into place and looking at them all at the same time. Um while it can be an overwhelming presentation in a setting like this, I think that it is very valuable for you. >> There you go. You all stayed away. What questions do you have for me? >> Thank you. >> Sure. >> Thank you guys. >> All right. Thank you. >> All right. Operations recommendation. >> Is that you, Michael? Michael's not >> John. And I John, where you going? >> I was going to run away. Huh? Uh, so I'll make this quick and
260then answer your questions. So John and I have been reviewing uh all of the vehicles, where we're at, what the use really, like what is the use for them and and who's using it, where are we at with the age of them, and any repairs that are coming up or any of the function of that. And as we get into the winter, that's kind of some of the driving force, right? We need mainly trucks to be able to snowplow while also being able to the service, maintenance, and different things across the district. So, that's really streamlining towards that. We did look and I mentioned electric trucks. You cannot put a snow plow on an electric truck. Um, so that takes out um some of that for us to be able to do that at this
261point. Um, and talking with different people and as part of this conversation too, talking about the village because they have a number of electric vehicles too as we think of that second car that we're we're recommending. Um there was same conversation and they just continued to dig and see how they could do that. Uh the unit is just not available to do that right now. Um the second vehicle we're looking at. So again the function. So we've got a truck driver. If you see the big box truck that we have, they're driving that around and a lot of times they're driving that to pick up mail or drop off mail or just do that. And we've had some repairs because of some of that wear and tear. It's just not that type of functionality to
262do that. And then we have the the Chevy Colorado that would be another vehicle that our maintenance supervisor who we're interviewing right now for that position, but they overlap on two different times of the day. So, as we think about this, like we have an E and an electric van, they can serve with both of those people and then not have to have that additional vehicle in the fleet. Um so our recommendation is to cycle out an aging vehicle that is looking at some repairs that are coming up and then also to get rid of the one vehicle and then use the e the electric man for two different roles but to be able to go throughout the day and we think about the electric part of like what does that look like because we
263can't do anything with the trucks right now. We'd have those continue to remain and at most as we kind of think through the electric vehicles that the district would own. John right now has a has a whether SUV, small SUV, we could see as that one has to be cycled out in the future. That could be one that we would explore and look at and then potentially one other vehicle that would be electric and then it would just be all the big the trucks that we need for snow plows and then up to potentially three um within the fleet. But again, that's later on. don't need to do that now. Don't have to explore the first ones. These are the only two that we're looking at. And this allows us to kind of space out
264the age of some of the people so we're not coming in kind of bandating things right now and then come for like we need two or three trucks to do that in the future. So we're trying to spread that out that. So >> any talked a little bit about the big truck uh was recently in for some repairs. It's also a little more difficult to climb in and out of because you got to drop the tailgate every time. So getting anything small in and out of the truck uh uh is more difficult. So this would allow a secondary vehicle to be quicker around town uh easier uh to climb in and out of especially in inclement weather. Uh so it just makes sense to uh hold our large truck in reserve uh with the repairs
265uh and then have another way to function here more fuel efficient and and safer and easier to operate. and both of them are using state contracts. So there's a number of state contracts that have been put out um to for depending depending on the type of vehicle or any of those things. So they're both there and one again collaboration with the erransit specifically is something the village has used and purchased those. So it's one that we we spoke with them on what their experience has been positive and recommended at least this type of vehicle for similar purposes. All right. Any questions? >> So, we'll be asked to vote on this on the 28th. >> 28th. >> All right. Thank you. I think technologies you too. So, you stand up. >> Yeah, that'll be real quick.
266>> All right. >> Um, thanks. >> Thank you. >> Thanks, John. >> So, the tri consortium. So, this would be the second renewal. So, it's a cons triister consortium between 290. So, we started it I don't even know what does it say 2017. we first uh approved it and then we had a couple times where we could renew it to 2022 and now the high school has already signed off and renewed this um and it just gives us essentially buying power to be able to go in and collaborate on certain things and it actually it came up this last time around the sustainability of the case group when Greg was here are there some elements of that that we could come together and I just reminded them like hey we signed this agreement yes it
267was technology focused and it was around like or some of the fiber conversation or during co we used it for zoom which we're still having some of that collaboration with D90 on that um and even a little bit of 200 on it that allowed us to kind of procure things together and say we've got this consortium agreement this is what we're looking at but it it gives us the ability to think about that differently across the board too so no real cost to it just a renewal um and we'd be seeking at the next next board meeting so the high school's already done it. I don't believe D90 signed it yet. Um, so they may just come after us. >> so no downsides. >> No downside. No. >> Uh, really quick question. Can we get
268a copy of the original? So, we have the renewal agreement. Can we just get the original one as well? >> Yep. >> Thank you, Michael. >> Thanks. >> All right. Concluding items for remarks. >> Nancy, I have some just a very quick one. Um, and a little up here, uh, building off of P custodian appreciation day on October 2nd, I just want to say thank you for all the work that SEIU, our union, uh, does behind the scenes to make our district a welcoming space, keeping our buildings and grounds clean, safe, and running smoothly. Related, since we voted on their contract today, I want to say thank you uh to the board for passing that, and to um, SEIU representatives and the district admin staff who all worked on the contract. um and worked very
269hard on that contract, I should say. Um everyone at the table was actively listening and working to get a fair contract that is a win for both our SEIU staff and a win for our district students and the Oak Park community. So, I just want to say thank you and I'm so glad Jen is still here today to hear that. Thank you. Um and Michael as well. Um but just thank you to everyone who worked on that contract. >> Thank you. Thank you. another. All right, we'll go keep this party going. Four assignments shouldn't have that many, but if you have met since our last meeting last week, um if you have any uh under one minute updates, so a request for a longer update in the future um for um collaboration for early childhood
270and like by longer I mean like 10 minutes longer um just because we are looking at updating the um agreement. Okay. >> And doing things like having the chair be the current hosting party, but the vice chair be the next one up. Little improvements to the system. Um that I would like to just run by everyone at once for 10 minutes. >> Is it possible to put it? Sorry to >> Yeah, I'll make a Yeah. And then we can ask questions kind of. >> Exactly. That is what I'm looking for on that. >> Okay. >> But I just want to do it in public. >> Sounds good. Uh so fat PTC Mhm. >> I think we just got an update from pack so we're good there. >> I'm just going through just to make sure
271I don't miss anything. Iggov hope um where are we? >> Whatever first group I go. >> So quickly Iggov is in process of um working with the library to create a page where um resources and such that are developed by IGV can be >> readily >> promoted and readily available. Uh we gave an update on PTOC last week. Uh DNA have sustainability task force. >> I did have a question about PTO. Just a quick question or clarification. Um there were some families that were, you know, struggling whether it was to exit or get to school due to like the ICE raids or um and I wondered if PTOC had come together if it was PTAC or PTOC that was going to try to rally together to support families in the community. So, we talked about
272this at the beginning of the meeting and the superintendent remarks that families um parents are going to work with the um with their >> PTO's and the social worker. So, family should reach out to their the >> social Yeah. So, they should work out to the to the schools cuz that's going to be on a school by school basis. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Welcome. Um so, we talked about PTOC sustainability. Nothing there. That was basically the update. >> Yeah. I was like, that's good. >> Collaboration. You just said you're going to come back with something. Y >> uh OPF our first meeting tomorrow. >> All right. Uh OPF Community Council, >> we have a meeting on Thursday. >> RIT. Uh we haven't had our meeting yet, but there's just a couple quick updates. Um
273one is kind of like an FYI. Uh, ISBY has adjusted cut scores for its various state assessments. Essentially, kids were coming up as not proficient at the state test, but then they actually were. And so, they've realigned the cut scores for um IR, ISA, and the SAT for math uh and ELA, which they lowered the score. So more kids are going to seem proficient which would be in line with where we were doing like on a national level but then readjusted the science cut score to make it higher because our kids were coming up as proficient in science when they actually weren't compared comparatively on a national level. So that's just like a small thing if um on that. And then um for just their current action, they're asking folks to call the representatives to
274support SB243 um which allows school districts time to investigate suspicious FOYA requests which may be coming from AI. >> That's the only other thing. >> Thank you. All right. So just taking a glance into next board meeting. I was I said next week but next board meeting. Um so proposed items preview title one programming which we heard about today. Vehicle recommendation will be asked to vote on that. Tri district technology consortium consortium rather agreement renewal. Um and then Michael's going to get the original to you Nancy or to the board. Uh KP5 resource review and budget request. Um, and then for discussion items, we're going to talk about the SY26 summer programming with action on November 18th. >> Can I make a comment on that? I feel like that tends to be a really questionheavy
275meeting >> and and maybe if the team could look back at like the questions that we've asked, maybe get in front of that one a little bit. >> Yeah, >> I know that that's was a heavy topic last time. >> Um, do you know who will be uh presenting on it? Ebony is planning to come forward with uh that that discussion and I'm not sure if she's bringing another member of the team but >> uh yeah >> the summer >> Patrick Evony and Patrick >> so just wanted to make sure that we had that note that the questions we've asked last year if there's any way to go back to some of those questions so that we can kind of answer those in advance. board. >> And if and if I also ask you, no
276Venus, we're not. Um if there are folks that have Sorry. Um if there are folks that if you because it is a lot to ask them to go back to those questions. If you have questions that you know you've asked in the past or that you know you're going to be interested in, >> can you please send those to Patrick and Abony in advance? Uh Patrick, what would be a good deadline for us to get those to you? >> As soon as possible. >> Okay. As soon as possible. We're in a tight schedule. We have a whole lot in close session. And I want to get Patty to eat. >> Okay. >> And I would like to acknowledge the Mcgalli McGawan family on her passing because they're a very D97. They're part of our D97
277family and it goes deep and we just want to as a board express our condolences to the family. >> Thank you, Dis. >> President Moore, did you want to add the eighth grade trip to the next agenda or when are you planning to? >> We've already voted on it. >> No, no, no. You said in terms of the mission if we had an appetite for discussing that in terms of the purpose. >> I think I asked for like January. >> Okay. when you're planning for >> Yeah, because they don't have the agenda finished. They have to have the parent meeting. So, I think there are still a couple of things they need to work out. >> Um I'm sorry to go back to the summer. Do you want us to send you all the questions
278so that just one >> or so that they don't get a bunch of repeat seven different emails? Yeah, I was going to say um blind copy of the board, Senator Griff and Patty and then and Patrick and Ebony so that that way we're having visibility into the questions so we're not repeating the questions but also wanted to make sure that Patty and Griff have visibility into the questions that are being asked as well. >> Does that make sense? >> Yeah. Are you sure you don't >> is the plan that they'll just share them back out anyway? I don't need to get emails from everybody, but if they're going to compile them and address them, then that's fine with me. I think that's the protocol we talked about. >> All right, that's fine. >> Yeah, >>
279cuz I feel like they're I was just trying to avoid them getting like repeat questions, >> but >> I mean, somebody's going to get repeat questions, I guess. >> No, we get we'll compile it. We'll compile it and put it >> as it's just YouTube. >> Yeah. And are you >> send it to all four of us? Send it to all four of us because Griff and I are >> Yeah. So, send it to the four of them. >> So, send it. >> Are we asking that they answer them ahead of time or are these just questions to help them prepare for their presentations? >> I think it would be a good idea to answer them ahead of time. >> Yeah. If you have a follow-up questions, >> I would say it's two folks. So,
280if there are questions, they can, but there might be some they don't. >> All right. Um, nothing else is on this agenda. Can I get a motion to move into close session? >> I move that we move into close session for the purpose of appointment employment compensation discipline performance dismissal of specific employees collective negotiating matters matters relating individual students and litigation of an action against a public body. Second Johnson >> yes. >> Spurlock. >> Yes. Yes. >> Perez. >> Yes. >> Kim, >> yes. >> Car. >> Yes. >> Motion to go into executive close session. 857 p.m. >> Wait a minute. Every bike.