001We have a full meeting of Proviso Township High School Board of Education. So moved. Thank you. Miss Sexton, call the roll. Miss Molinaro. I. Mrs. Sexton. >> I. Mr. Ocampo. Uh absent. Um Miss Flora. I. Dr. Fisher. I. Miss Barber-Hand. I. Mr. Smith. I. Motion carried. Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. At this time, the Board of Education opens the floor for public comments. The Board will receive public comment from any individuals present this evening and have submitted a request to address the Board for the established procedures. Comments will be limited to 3 minutes in accordance with Board Policy 2230. We believe that
002all participants in the meeting desire the best outcomes for our students, families, and communities. As a reminder, this meeting is being live-streamed and will also be archived and available on the district website. Miss Natalie Ramirez. Um hello. Good evening. Good evening. Um I'd like to speak up and talk about an impact the impact that a art teacher here, present in this room, has left on me as a sophomore year since I've met him. I have been lost initially trying to find out what is my future, how can I dedicate myself to it, and where can I go? But where do I start? I lost everything. But with his support, I was able to not only find my dream, figure out who I am, and also find the education right for it. Currently, I am enrolled
003in this class. Um and I'd say it's it's a big journey. Really is. From going to basic art techniques, from just being under-skilled, thanks to his help, I was able to learn a variety of things such as um texture, angles, um basically more confident in art. Um I'd say that thanks to him, I wouldn't be able Thanks to him, I'm able to attend the after-school like meetings, after-school activities, and just be part of the community that Proviso West is, and that I'm able to connect with other teachers, other instructors who are willing to help kids bloom into like what they really should be. Right? And he spends countless hours, just a lot of time, into just nurturing students to make the environment more comfortable for them, to adjust the way that he like teaches things
004for their like easier understanding. And for me, I realized that, man, I I really want to become a teacher, too. I want to become a teacher just like him. And I I get it. He has some silly hobbies here and there, but I've seen it firsthand not only on friends, but also random students they don't know. His hobbies made a huge impact on others, and it's from what I learned, it's a great way to relieve stress, too. And incorporating that into after-school activities further just nurtures that. He's wonderful. Thank you. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Christopher Christopher Peoples. >> [applause] [clears throat] >> Good evening, everybody. Good evening. I'd like to say thank you for the opportunity to speak this evening with you all. Being a representative not only myself as an educator, but as
005a community member of Proviso West High School, has allowed me to build a rapport with colleagues, students, and other staff. I've had students that have regularly commented to me that they have considered me one of their favorite, if not their favorite, math teacher in their history of teachers, at least. They have come up to greet me in the hallway, ask, consider, and make sure that their lives are going okay, and informing me of their in their progress. I say that to say this, I do not agree with the recommendation that has been put before you tonight about my non-renewal. I do not agree for many reasons, and I have a list that I can provide regarding my evaluation that can contradict much of the summative and contradictions that are contained within. I ask as a
006relatively new, but experienced, professional that received proficient grading one to prior years of exemplary service, as well as references that can be provided from departmental colleagues, co-teachers, students, and former supervisors. I would like to thank you for this consideration, and thank you for your time this evening. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Shaving Burton. Yes, please. >> [applause] >> Uh Thank you guys for allowing me to approach the bench. >> [laughter] >> No, but uh I'm coming on behalf of uh my colleagues, Mr. Peoples and Mr. Dolazal. I've been working with them for the last three to four years, how long they How long for long they've been here. Uh Dolazal was an intern working with Miss Nachke. Uh he's, you know, just a cool guy. Uh And then uh he joined forces with me to
007uh to take the video game and e-sports club team to the next level. Uh we've been in tournaments. As you see, these kids love him. Uh I was the head of the e-sports team, but I was like, "No, you be it, because they love coming to you. They love being around you. Uh just keep doing what you're doing, and also give me time to raise my son, cuz you like you said, he's putting in extra hours. I don't have that kind of time. I have a 2-year-old. And so, I just really appreciate all that he's done for this club. And I'm fighting to keep him here, because, you know, in order to spend more time with my son, cuz these kids are going to need me if he can't stay. So, if you find it
008on your heart to make that adjustment to keep this young man, I'd be amazing. In addition to uh Mr. Peoples, that's my time. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Mr. Luke Dolazal. >> [applause] [clears throat] >> Members of the Board, thank you so much for taking your time to hear me. I want to say once again, thank you for let me speak. Um Um, I want to start off by telling my favorite story. As was mentioned, I served out here as a student teacher working with Miss Natchi. At the end of that, I was looking for schools, somewhere where I wanted to call my home after finishing my experience. And one of my students, who I just met couple months of working together, he was asking, "Mr. Dozal, where do you want to teach?" I was
009like, "Oh, you know, I'm looking around, like I'm looking here, I'm looking at a couple places near me, maybe even the school high school that I was taught at." He looked me in the eye and said, "Mr. Dozal, don't work here. You're too nice." And it was at that moment that I knew Proviso West High School was the school that I wanted to teach at. If I could have a student that cared so much about me, that was so inspired, so moved, that he didn't want to see me lose that special touch that I have, that care and compassion that I share with not only the athletes I work with me, not only my colleagues, not only the head of departments of admin, of parents, but just the random students that I have. I always
010have students in my classroom coming with me, talking to me. I've got contacts all across Illinois and expanding the boundaries and community of the students that I've had the immense honor to work with. This is my home and I could not even imagine being able to work anywhere else or be able to impact the lives of the students, the community, and my colleagues as well. Thank you so much for all of your time today. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Julian Palomino. Um, um, hello. Hi. Um, thank you for having me here today. Um, first off, I want to say that I really enjoyed having Mr. Dozal as my coach for e-sports and also as a teacher. I learn a lot from him and he's also an inspiration to me. He goes out of his way
011to make sure that we have the best time and training. And he means a lot. Um, I just I remember before I ever joined e-sports, I was alone. I didn't know my place in school and I felt all alone. I just felt lost. And one day, I met Mr. Dozal. And [clears throat] we played a game. We played this game called Super Smash Bros. And he saw potential in me. And that made me really happy. So, I decided to join his club. It's e-sports. And through that club, I made lots of friends and even found my place in the school. And I really appreciate that. It means a lot. Also as a teacher, he helped me to learn a lot about art. I never knew I can do things like really cool with a pencil.
012He is a great teacher and he makes sure he makes sure uh, we learn even if we have to do a project every week. It still helps me learn a lot. I'm very thankful to have him as my teacher and I hope you guys reconsider. Um, yeah, love you all. Thank you. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Andres Garcia. >> [applause] >> Um, hello, uh, hello, uh, my name is Andres Garcia. How close I have to be? Is this fine? I hope this is fine. Is it fine if my colleagues come up with me in the back maybe like emotional support or something? This is really like nervous. Hold on, hold on. Uh, I understand you guys have made up your mind that it's all over, that you can just put forth some names and be
013done with it. You better think again. It was brought to my attention that we were letting go Mr. Dozal and Mr. Peoples. I have seen some of your reasoning and evaluations and I'm asking you to think again. Think again. I know these two men personally. They are men of integrity and they are for the people. These men are masters at their crafts and are always willing to go above and beyond the call of duty. So, think again. Think again. I've seen some of the most unreachable students be reached and the hopeless given hope. So, think again. Think again. They've had an impact on students that did not believe they would have a career path, students that lacked confidence, students that did not have a friend group. So, think again. Think again. If you try to
014present these father figures, mentors, and future leaders as unworthy of your school, you better think again. Think again. Uh, uh, personally, these teachers have been mentors. Mr. Dozal is my biggest inspiration as to why I want to go into teaching. The way he puts a lot of time and effort into these students as the students that have gone before me have told and to how much they have been inspired by this one. I think you guys should rethink your evaluation and decision on his position in this school. He is a great mentor and he is a role model to multiple students. He's created a safe space for students of all ages, freshmen to seniors. It doesn't matter who they are, what they are, what background they come from. They all feel space, they all feel
015safe in his room because he just brings comfort. Also a great teacher. Really great, really great teacher. I ain't going to lie, really great teacher. See you. Uh, that's it. Uh, yeah, think again, please. >> [applause] >> Anjanette Gucciardo. Good evening. I'm Anjanette Gucciardo. I'm also known as Mama Gucci at Proviso West. It's what the kids call me. I want to take the time and thank you for me to share who I am both as a person and an educator. I am human, I am flawed, and I make mistakes. In one instance, I misspoke and it was inappropriate. I took full responsibility. I approached the situation with honesty and transparency. I have used this opportunity to grow, to develop and strengthen my mindset and become better not only for myself, but my students. My dedication
016to my students' success, passion for teaching was publicly recognized by the valedictorian in her graduation speech, which I believe reflects the meaningful impact they strive to make each day on the mindsets of all students. In addition, I was honored to be nominated several times for the Golden Apple Award. I am also a 12-time recipient of the Teacher Excellence Award. In 2019, I was selected by my district to shoot the puck at the Chicago Blackhawks game, which I successfully scored supported by over 350 students that nominated me. The moment was celebrated district-wide including a visit from the famous Andrew Sharp, further highlighting the strong relationships I build with students and community. Academically, I dem- demonstrated measurable impacts. This past year alone, I improved AP scores by two points with multiple students receiving threes and fours. I
017remain deeply committed to fostering a rigorous, engaging, and supportive learning environment that promotes academic growth [clears throat] and student confidence. Returning to Proviso, where I grew up, was deeply intentionally a decision of my own. After a successful 18-year career, I chose to come back to the community I shaped and that shaped me to complete my journey where it began and I wanted to give back to the students I strongly related to. Teaching is not just a passion for me, it's my life's work and my family's sole source of stability. Being a role model for my students and my two children is the most important aspect I can leave as a legacy. Despite death, divorce, suicide, disability, I have remained unwavering in my professional [clears throat] responsibilities and my commitment to my students. I have always
018treated my students with the same care, advocacy, dedication as I do my own. This is clearly evident by my four excellent review evaluations, my numerous encouraging emails sent to administrators from parents and students over the past two years. That day of my position, the loss of my position would create significant hardships. I'm asking to not be defined by a single mistake, but nearly two decades of unwavering dedication, impact, commitment to students who rely on me. Thank you. >> [applause] >> I'm sorry if I mispronounced your name. Yelena? >> [applause] >> Hello. Um I don't have much to say, which I do, but hopefully I have time. But um as one of the students and a member of the e-sports team, I can proudly say that Mr. Dolton does a lot for not only me, but
019everyone here that's supporting him. He stays after school not because he has to as a club sponsor, but as a great mentor and a companion. He believes that everyone can succeed and coming from a senior, seeing what I've seen, he's right. I never wanted to do competitive video gaming, but he pushed me to just try it and I ended up liking it a lot. So much so that I want to continue it, want to go to college. I know that I'm graduating soon, but I'd like to see him continue teaching because I know he loves doing it and I know the students love him. Please hear me when I say he deserves his position as a teacher. Thank you. >> [applause] >> I don't know if there's other public comments. Thank you. Um Mr. Ruback,
020can we move it on to our Yep, finance update. I'll turn it over to Dr. Hill. Good evening everyone. Good evening. The very first topic is the insurance plan renewal update. That's it. Good afternoon, everyone. Good evening. Good evening. Be nice to I don't know what to say. I don't know what to say to this. Um so we did meet today with the insurance committee on April 7th to review factors impacting the district's upcoming health insurance renewal. The district experienced a 17% increase in enrollment along with a notable rise in high cost claimants. So 15 were were in the current year compared to that of 11 in the prior year. Um these claims include complex and high cost medical conditions contributing to increase overall expenses. Based on these trends, the district is projecting an 11.3%
021increase in expected fixed cost and claims liability, that's approximately 15.35 million, and a 13% increase in maximum liability, approximately 18.28 million. After reviewing these factors, the insurance committee discussed strategies to manage costs while maintaining quality coverage for all employees. The committee reached a preliminary recommendation that includes reducing the wellness incentive from 1,255 to 1,000. That also means we'll be changing um to Marquee rather than Wex and then implementing a 10% increase in premium rates. >> [laughter] >> Uh and and implementing a 10% increase in premium rates. Uh the dental, the vision is all voluntary. The dental is the same, vision is voluntary. And Teladoc benefits would remain unchanged while uh stop loss coverage is projected to increase by 20%. So the final renewal recommendation is going to be brought to the board for the approval
022at the April 14th board meeting um showing the um the committee's vote to go that way. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Any questions? Um next up for the consolidated district plan, Dr. Walker, our coordinator of federal and state programs, will present this slide. Good evening, members of the board. Good evening. Again, I'm Dr. Walker and I'm going to be reviewing the consolidated district plan. So the consolidated district plan addresses the planning portion of the grant application process um which um our team has been working on that you guys will look to approve in May. Um all districts that intend to submit an application for one of the 12 federal grants included within the consolidated district plan must have an approved consolidated district plan with the Illinois State Board of Education prior to the
023application being approved. So the focus of the consolidated district plan is student achievement, inclusive practices, um staff capacity, and family engagement. Components of the consolidated district plan consist of Title One Part A, improving basic programs, Title One Part A of the school improvement Part uh 1003 um and that's our work with Acro, which is a state approved vendor that's working primarily with Proviso East High School. It's Title Two Part A, um preparing teaching our teachers uh for training recruiting um which the goal is to work and have high quality teachers, principals, and other school leaders so that they can receive the necessary training so that they can impart that wisdom to the staff that they work with so that we can enhance student learning. Also Title Three, which is language instruction instructional program, Title Three
024of the immigrant student education program. Also Title Four of the Part A student support and academic enrichment in addition to IDEA, Individuals with Disability Education Act Part B flow through and that is our special education program and our funding to support our diverse learners. Are there any questions? No. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And there will be an extended presentation for the consolidated district plan at the April board meeting. So thank you. Thank you. All right, next up we have Dr. Ruback, Dr. Ruback, I'm sorry. Perkins and Will? Yeah, Perkins and Will is going to come up and present. >> [clears throat] >> Good evening, board. My name is Carl Jimity. I'm a senior project architect with Perkins and Will and I've been asked to attend this board meeting give you an update on
025three ongoing design projects that we currently are working with the district to execute. Uh I will start and speak at length uh predominantly with the toilet room renovations as that project is currently out to bid. Then I'll give an update on the East High School tennis court renovations as well as the Proviso West ceiling and light replacement project. And so And so just to review what the scope that's entailed by this project is, it's a toilet room renovation to a selection of toilet rooms at East, West, and PMSA. These toilet rooms the selection of the toilet rooms was provided to the to the design team. We did provide some guidance on some configurations of the toilet rooms that would be renovated in order to maximize construction efficiency and budget efficiency and typically what we try
026to do is renovate toilet rooms in vertical stacks as the piping starts you know starts at the bottom starts at the top and goes down and so there's efficiencies to be gained in stacking those toilet rooms. So here at Proviso East, there are collection of six student or multi multi-user toilet rooms that are slated to be renovated. And these are the ones the men's and women's along this hallway actually right here to my right as well as a collection of stack toilet rooms in building B that currently serves as the staff toilet rooms. These these toilet rooms as they are currently constituted across the board are not accessible or compliant with ADA and as these toilet rooms are renovated state and federal law requires that they be updated to new construction requirements for accessibility. Uh
027similarly at Proviso West, uh the district provided guidance on which toilet rooms they would like to see renovated and then a selection of a stack of toilet rooms rounded out the scope. And so at the west corners of buildings B and D are the student toilet rooms that will be renovated. There are also two toilet rooms in the staff lounge that will be renovated and those are single user toilet rooms. And the last two toilet rooms that will be renovated are not shown here on plan, but are the toilet rooms next to door one that are the kind of entry toilet rooms. Those currently are multi-user toilet rooms and they are big enough that they'll remain multi-user toilet rooms. And then at Proviso Math and Science, there are two toilet rooms next to the cafeteria
028that will also see renovations. And just to dive into a little bit more detailed description of what the scope is and what you can expect to have happen when these are renovated. This will consist of a removal and replacement of the existing toilets, urinals, sinks, uh, floor tile, wall tile, uh, toilet partitions, uh, will be completely, uh, uh, gutted and and refinished. Uh, predominantly at Proviso East and West where the aging galvanized piping plumbing work, uh, it exists in the chase walls. The chase walls will be opened up and the galvanized piping for both the, uh, domestic water supply as well as the sanitary piping will be replaced. It will not be replaced entirely back to, for instance, the incoming water service or domestic water heater. That would be a much, uh, more significant project.
029However, it will be replaced to what we call the drops where they enter into the chase. So, that way in the future as, uh, galvanized piping replacement continues, you will not have to open up your plumbing chases for the toilet rooms that you just renovated, uh, and rip open those walls a second time in whatever period of years, uh, that, uh, piping replacement project would proceed at. Uh, at Proviso Math and Science, uh, because it is a newer building, that piping is copper there. So, there is a lot, uh, a lot more limited, uh, uh, invasive construction needed. So, it'll be predominantly replacing fixtures, finishes, uh, reconfiguring, uh, fixtures for accessibility, uh, as well as the, uh, wall tile, floor tile, ceiling, and lights. And so, uh, we prepared a conceptual project budget and schedule.
030And, uh, this is a project that, uh, we've currently, uh, estimated the project cost to be approximately $5.1 million. The construction cost, so, uh, deducting, uh, owner, uh, owner fees, um, uh, overhead, things like that, would be $4.4 million. Uh, one thing that I'll take some time here to focus on a little bit is the project schedule. Uh, we were approached with this project, uh, in the middle of January of this year. And typically for a, uh, a bit, uh, for the school bidding schedule, the ideal time to issue for bid is, uh, October, November, December. October is really like the ideal early date to get out to bid. Um, so, being approached, uh, in January for this project did put us, uh, uh, you know, did present some challenges, uh, to this project in
031terms of the bid timeline. We are currently out to bid right now. The bid due date is April 17th. Uh, at that point, the apparent low bidder, uh, the bids will be reviewing the apparent low bidder will undergo a scope review to make sure that they included all the documents. So, one thing we are finding because of the later bid timeline, uh, we are experiencing some challenges, uh, in terms of, uh, getting bidder interest. Right now, most, uh, most contractors that do school work in this type of work, uh, have already filled most of their, uh, schedule for the summer. Uh, however, there there have been a couple that have shown interest that we are anticipating, uh, bid selection. One thing that we did to make sure the district has as much flexibility as possible
032when receiving bids is we provided numerous options on the bid form, uh, for contractors to bid. So, there are three options, options one, two, and three A here, uh, that are presented that, uh, that are on the bid form. So, contractors can choose if they can, you know, if if they have the availability and the, uh, manpower to do so, is to perform this work over this upcoming summer, summer of 2026. The second option is we, uh, selected about half of the toilet rooms and those toilet rooms would be renovated in this upcoming summer and the remaining toilet rooms, uh, renovated in the following summer. This will allow them to bid on a reduced scope for each summer's work. Uh, the third option is for contractors that don't have the ability to bid this upcoming
033summer is to perform this work entirely in the summer of 2027. Uh, there is a fourth option that, uh, I do want to present and, uh, uh, uh, we'll have discussion with the, uh, administration about, uh, possibly pursuing is since there is are these additional projects, for instance, the Proviso West West, uh, ceiling and light replacement, it could be advantageous for the district to package, uh, two smaller projects together to make it a larger project. Especially with the bid timeline, the expected bid timeline for the West ceiling and lights is this upcoming October. That is a prime period, uh, to bid and get the most competitive bid. And by packaging this together, it makes it a very lucrative project to get bidder interest. And the more bidder interest, the more competition, typically the better value
034that, uh, the district will see in in terms of bidding this work. And so, uh, that is something that we're continuing to discuss with district administration. I'm happy to answer any questions that you may have about these options. Um, but this is something that, uh, as we, uh, as we receive bids and determine, uh, you know, what the, uh, bid environment is for doing, uh, work this summer, uh, we want to make sure that we provide the district as many options as possible. >> So, I have a quick question. So, option three A and three B says disadvantages is cost escalation. Correct. >> So, with option three B, you said it would we might get a better deal because it's a bigger project. So, can you explain why that would be a disadvantage and a
035cost escalation? >> Sure. Yeah, every year that goes by, we see materials, uh, appreciate in value. >> So, you're just talking about So, talking about materials, yeah, and the project, yeah. >> I have a question, too. Yeah, so, it, you know, it could be more competitive, which could offset any potential material increases and and so, yeah. >> Okay. Thank you. Mhm. Any other questions? So, just to recap, uh, this the bids are out now. We expect to receive bids on April 17th. Uh, once we do a bid review, uh, we will issue a letter of recommendation if there is a, uh, responsible and responsive bidder, uh, that wins the bid. We'll present that to the administration. The administration can present that to the board for acceptance. So, the second project that I want to pro-
036provide a brief update on is the reconstruction of the East tennis courts. Uh, so, this is the, uh, one slide and there's a lot going on here. So, I'll, uh, take a minute just to point out a few things. Uh, the existing tennis court, uh, across the street, uh, across First Avenue here is experiencing significant pavement deterioration. Uh, and what we've been told by the athletics department is that, uh, it has gotten to the point where, uh, uh, school tennis teams are refusing to play at Proviso East due to concerns about the pavement deterioration. And so, we were approached to look at the, uh, uh, most efficient way to, uh, renovate these toi- uh, tennis courts. Obviously, anytime we touch anything on the site, we are very concerned about triggering any storm water requirements. And
037so, in order to expedite the replacement of these tennis courts as well as maintain, uh, budget control, the footprint of the tennis court renovation project will be limited to the existing pavement footprint. Uh, however, that does give us some opportunities to, uh, enhance the offerings that Proviso, uh, uh, has currently on its campus. Uh, based on meetings with the, uh, athletic staff, uh, at Proviso East, the correct number based on the project, uh, the, uh, program size of tennis courts, uh, would be about six tennis courts. Right now, you currently have, uh, I believe, uh, 10 out there that are, uh, very compressed together. This allows us some breathing room to incorporate pickleball courts, which is a, uh, an offering that Proviso does not currently have. The scheme that you see here currently has, uh,
038four pickleball courts, although, um, as we've been working with, uh, Terra Engineering, the civil engineer for the project, we've actually been able to incorporate two additional pickleball courts on there. So, the, uh, current number, uh, for this design, uh, of course, would be six tennis courts, six pickleball courts. Uh, it's expected that this total project budget would be about $1.7 million dollars with a construction cost of about $1.4 million. Uh, [clears throat] the pickleball courts will be bid as an alternate. Right now, the alternate is priced as about, uh, $600,000 for those items. The project schedule, uh, we are currently in, uh, design, uh, design development and we'll continue through the, uh, through the spring and bid this in early, uh, in early summer for a midsummer construction start. And we expect this to be
039completed in October of 2026. And so, there will be coordination with the district. Uh, obviously, the tennis courts will not be usable, uh, for the first couple months of the fall semester. Any questions about this? Okay. And then, the last ongoing des- uh, design, uh, project that is, uh, currently being worked on is the Proviso West ceiling and light replacement. And, uh, this is a project that, uh, uh, we are, uh, just beginning and holding project kickoff meetings. But, uh, to describe the scope, this is a demolition of the adhered ceiling tile and surface mounted light fixtures that exist throughout the buildings B, C, D, and the administration wing at, uh, Proviso West. Uh, what you can see here, I have, uh, the three plans highlighted. The red portions, uh, is the extent of the
040scope of work. Omissions, uh, to the red, uh, represent either the science rooms that have already seen their lighting, uh, replaced or, uh, the corner rooms, which as part of the FMP project saw their ceiling and lights, uh, being replaced. And, uh, as part of this project, new if energy efficient LED lighting will be installed, uh, in all the spaces. Uh, it will have occupancy sensors, dimming, and daylight harvesting as part of the energy efficiency control measures. Uh, along with the energy efficiency, uh, our MEP engineer, uh, MSA Engineering, will be coordinating on the district's behalf uh, application to ComEd for energy credits. And that will allow the district to realize cost savings as ComEd provides energy incentives for organizations to replace lighting with more energy-efficient fixtures. Also, as part of this, a Proviso West
041campus-wide digital clock system will be installed. The current analog clock system will be replaced. And so, right now we are targeting October 2026 for the bid issuance. And this work would would be performed during the summer of 2027, ready for the 27-28 school year. The expected construction cost for this work is about $9.9 million with the total project cost of about $11.4 million. One thing that we are One thing that we are doing for this project, as we do not have a construction manager, this will be bid to general contractors, is after the initial schematic design phase, included in this in this project is a third-party cost estimator that will review the documents and provide a professional opinion on the cost of construction for the work. So, that way we can maintain budget control as
042we proceed through design. And so, that wraps up the three projects that we currently have ongoing. I'm happy to happy to answer any questions comments from the board on it. So, we're going to get rid of all the analog clocks? >> [laughter] >> So, typically what we do actually is we provide the analog clock. It's a digital clock, but it still has the hand, minute, [clears throat] and hour hands in the classrooms. And then the corridors get the digital readout clock. But, there are systems that allow both both options. Cool. Thank you. Yes. Thank you. All right. Thank you so much. Hello again. I have two items. The first one is in the West and East seal coating and crack repair bid. We only received one bid. Um, we would have liked more, but it's
043just one bid. And basically, um, this is going to provide, um, it doesn't provide [clears throat] competitive pricing. Yeah, unfortunately. But, we were going to be moving to sport to present, um, to award it to the one bidder and then present it at upcoming meeting. And so, um, this is what we have so far. Just to make sure the seal coating and crack repair occurs for both schools. And then we have the repair kitchen suppression deficiencies at East here. Um, this is more going to be, um, a remodeling that's occurring here. Um, the scope of the work is just the inspection of corrections of system deficiencies. Um, we had a small little fire last month regarding this, too. So, we wanted to make sure that we are addressing this. Um, there's a replacement repair of
044non-compliant components, systems testing certification upon completion. And then we are going to bring this, um, to at the next board meeting. You're first. And that's it for operations. Thank you. Oh, wait. There's IT. IT IT. Okay. So, the the first one we will have one bid. Is there a problem with how we do the RFP or RFB process? I'm not exactly sure. So, this was, um, sent out and put in the newspaper. So, whatever they get, I don't think it's a problem necessarily. It's more like, uh, it's the time of the year, too. They might have been already in a different different project. But, it's what we have right now. >> only the newspaper does not like We We also put it on our website. I got to make sure if that's true, though. Because
045I know the last one we did put it on our website as well, too. Okay. I just get worried that like if we keep getting low bids, then I Yeah. I I feel like that's been a theme. And I know I'm new words to the board, but correct me if I'm wrong, is it that's a continuous theme? Maybe we need to reassess how we do the RFP or RFB process. I know for larger projects, I obviously did the RFP for the architects. That was the one I did. I'm not I'm not familiar of the RFP for these and what they look like. I can look them up for you, though. Cool. We should We could look at different options for posting these bids, but I also know that a lot of the companies do subscribe
046to services that kind of sweep looking for bids out there on websites and on newspapers. Um, I'm not sure if you're aware of any of the services, but I know talking to vendors, a lot of them do subscribe to them. So. Can I I think we talked about this before and and we we talked about the bid process and we talked about subscribing to those So, maybe we can start doing that within the next couple of months or I don't know if it's anything we subscribe to, but we could look into it. Okay. I think this did run out a couple months Yeah. Yeah, this was the last one. It did. Yeah. And it's a specific thing, you know, coding and crack repair. >> Right. So, right. Sure. Thank Thank you. I just No, you're
047you are Okay. I mean, we want more. Yes. Yeah. Definitely want more. >> [snorts] >> Sort of like what we had for like 15 we got four. Yeah. No problem. I'm going to bring Mike up for the E-rate switched ethernet renewal. Good evening, board. Good evening. So, I got three items here. The first one is our E-rate switched, uh, WAN renewal. We do it I do it every year. Um, you can do a 1 3 5-year cycle, but because of the way things have changed in pricing, um, we've been sticking with 1 year and it keeps it competitive. Our price is actually this year, I want to say it was close to like 48,000 and then we went up for RFP again and actually went down. So, um, yeah, so that was positive. And the
048positive part of it is that, um, it's a 40 40,856 dollars of this year's contract is reimbursed by E-rate. So, we're only out of pocket about, um, $5,000. And what this service does is it just keeps our buildings >> Mhm. >> Oh, now you're getting fancy. >> I know why. >> [laughter] >> All right, can I move on? Yes. The agenda says one. This is something we're bringing to the board. Um, we're we're bringing it to you for information, but we are requesting approval. Um, next week on this in in in April. Uh, but Jenkin is going to explain why uh Go ahead and I don't want to steal your thunder. >> [laughter] >> Good evening, everybody. Good evening. So, this is a tech product that is specifically designed for high schools because one of
049the uh many differences between elementary schools and high schools is the complexities around scheduling in a high school. And we've just discovered this tool that um after doing some research and talking to other folks who use it, we really believe that having this tool available to us could greatly improve our master scheduling process and outcomes. So, this is a tool that works in conjunction with and alongside of PowerSchool. And we'll take much of the labor and work we've already done to this point in the master scheduling process and make the next important phases really much more efficient and much more turn-key um from the user perspective. So, um by efficient, I mean that we anticipate that this will save 50 to 100 hours of work time. Uh and we also believe that because of the
050way this particular system um is configured, it will lead to a much more efficient master schedule in the end. And what I mean by efficient is that more students will be able to have the courses that are their primary requests and will be able to do a uh better job with placement of students with IEPs and students who are multilingual learners in courses that they need for language with the right levels of language supports, which is something that we have continuously been working on, but remains um a struggle for us. Um what will be really different is that this will give multiple options for what the schedule could look like. It will give us analytics for each one. So, we'll understand what the tradeoffs are of going with one option versus another option versus another
051option in terms of, you know, like things like how many teachers would need to have six assignments. What are the class sizes? Uh how many what percentage of students have all of their required course requests that they put in. With this version, it's 85% with this master schedule, it's 95, but here are the tradeoffs that you have to get to get to the 95 or 97. And so, we'll be able to have transparency around that. We'll be able to have real conversations and make informed decisions because we'll have those analytics. And so, um it's a subscription-based program. And we have identified funds that exist uh in the budget for it um Dr. Hill will tell you I think that I've been very frugal. Extremely frugal. [laughter] And so, um you know, so we're coming to
052you now because we believe that we could implement this in time for it to have an immediate impact. Um so, uh I will put um in the board memo and I'll put in the board update links to a study from Bellwether and a couple case studies that can give you more information about this because I know the the timing is not where we would want it to be, but we would hope to move forward soon so we could implement it and use it right away uh on the builds that we're that we're about to do uh for the coming school year. Cool. So, we haven't started the master schedule yet. We've done a lot of steps on the master schedule in terms of getting student course requests [clears throat] entered into PowerSchool correctly, thinking about
053sectioning, and thinking about which courses teachers will teach, um doing a lot of work on the ML and on the multilingual and students with disabilities side. And all of that work will still all be useful. We're like at this point right now where we were just about to move much of that over into PowerScheduler, which that is the other option is to use the the tools that exist in PowerSchool to do the build. Um which is something we could certainly do. It's what we were planning on doing. Um it is much more labor-intensive in terms of just um like the user-friendliness of the system. Uh and we won't get those like analytics and options in the same level of depth that we would get with this product. It will require It's a lot more manual
054work on the back end to make it work for everybody. Mhm. >> Okay, so that's what but that's what we've been using Mhm. um in the past. Yeah. And who's You you're doing this master schedule this year? Well, it's I mean, I'm facilitating it, but it's really a process that's led by each building because they know their students and their counselors and their teachers best. Have them just walk them through the whole process that we started and the difference it would make to to get more voices into Before you do that, with the time we contract, um have you already kind of reached out to each building and got their feedback on what they think about the time What what was their feedback on using it? Well, a lot of the individuals who are going
055to be working on the next phase are people who are newer to the process and need to be trained or retrained on PowerSchool anyway. And so, anything the the feedback was essentially, you know, if we can make this process smoother for individuals learning and if it's truly a more user-friendly system and easier to learn and it gets us a better master schedule, I think that's the biggest thing. We've all said from the beginning that you know, we started this much earlier, we put many more voices into the process, and we've been using all that feedback as we've gone forward. Um but we all were agreed that the master schedule has such a profound effect on on everything, especially at the beginning of school year, that we just we want it to be better at the
056start of the year. We want there to be fewer students in the wrong classes, fewer students with holes in their schedules, fewer students with no schedules. You know, that's also why my colleague made the excellent James talked about registration. Like registration is moved up so that so that scheduling can also happen in a more efficient way. So, like all of these things are connected to us having a first day of school where students walk in, have schedules, and go to the right classes. Okay. And the other feature with what we currently use is already embedded into what we use. This is just going to be kind of like a add-on. Okay. Yeah, so I'm I'm especially proud of how we're doing master schedule this year because we have brought more voices to the table. We
057brought the people that really make the decisions that are that are connected that that have a role in this. So, I remember being in this building with probably 40 people in the district from teacher, counselor, to administrator, really talking about what the way that Jen facilitated this was our first meeting was what does what does the ideal master schedule look like? And what what impact does that have on our our school? And so, we defined what as a group we collectively defined what success looked like. And from there backwards mapped where we are to get a better understanding of all of the different steps and stages and changes that we need to make, who needs to make them, what we need to look at. With master scheduler, as Jen mentioned and Dr. Kearns mentioned, it
058is there is more time intensive portions to this, which means there are more people that there are more hands in it, which then oftentimes can lead to some errors. And from my perspective, I'm looking to make sure that we're also effective and efficient. So, we're running classes that are appropriately sized. So, not having classes of 30, but also not having classes at 10. Okay. And so, looking at all the different options as as as she mentioned to say, you know, if you if you choose this model, here are the tradeoffs. You're going to have X many classes that are high or low or whatever the the case may be. So, we're we're just getting a better opportunity to make some decisions. So, when we when we land with our final master schedule, we know with
059certainty or as much certainty as possible as to what the next year's going to look like. Okay. So, we'll be in a better place beginning of the school year with happiness. Correct. And we know scheduling has been a challenge in the district. It's gotten better [clears throat] each year, and I think this could really help us get to that next level. And so, because it's subscription based, it'll be this 49 5 or in the vicinity of plus hopefully mine is the never mind is right, but in that vicinity of >> [laughter] >> This is true. This is true. Okay, so there's hope. But it'll be in that range of a annual cost essentially. >> And it is it they charge per school regardless of the size of the school. So, another thing we could we
060could think about is is you know, double checking with all three principals and scheduling teams at the schools if this is something they want to do this year. If not, then we would just buy for whoever does want to do it or we try it at all three and if we if we decide like actually this didn't make enough of a difference, then we just don't subscribe and we go back to doing it the other way. So, one school could opt out and two can do So, there's flexibility. Perfect. I mean, for implementing it, it makes sense to do it all three. >> Yeah, cuz otherwise the training would get tedious. Perfect. Cool. Thank you. Thanks. All right. And just as a for information, I just wanted to provide the board that we are looking
061to do a retirement celebration this year. We want to make a we want to have an event, a very special event. So, we're looking for a banquet style, anywhere from 100 to 200 staff members and the honorees and possibly their families. We're looking to identify a date in May. And so, we will provide more information to you through the through the the weekly updates. And I just want to thank board member for helping with this and the many tapping into her expertise in this area. So, we can really, you know, have an opportunity to really celebrate our teachers and our our staff that are retiring. This is not in any way take away from our plans that we have for staff appreciation in early May. So, this will be in addition to. So, I'll keep
062you all updated on that. Quick question. Yes. Graduation's the 23rd of May, right? Yeah, I know. I just checked. I'm like, it is. >> [laughter] >> Yeah, okay. I got a thumbs up from the audience. Um and so, before we move on, there's just a couple of things. We are moving into a very difficult conversation here. We're going to be voting around the the the approval of the non-renewal or dismissal of some of our non-tenured teachers. And so, I also want to mention the fact that some of these teachers are being non-renewed because of a change in state law. And so, recently in 2023, there was a state law change that said any teacher that receives an "improvement needed" in year two or year three must be non-renewed at the end of year two. And
063so, this is a mandatory non-renewal that must happen and and we are adhering to that law. Um we know that these are very difficult decisions. We also recognize that this was a law change that a lot of people did not know about that we found out about later on in this year, a lot later than we would have liked to. And we have worked closely with the union to make this as palatable as Um so, as we read these names, know that some of these are part of that mandatory while others are part of decisions, hard decisions that school leaders have made through the course of this year through evaluations. Thank you. Is that it for information items? All right. We're moving on to our voting items. We're going to go to 8B. May I
064have a motion to authorize the resolution to non-renew the following probationary teachers not completing their final probationary year of service who shall be dismissed as of the end of the 2025-2026 school year and not reemployed for the 2026-2027 school year. Lamont Bryant, Anjanette Gucciardo, and Alexander Gammino as presented. So moved. Second. Ms. Smith, please call the roll. Ms. Mallinaro? I. Mrs. Taikina? I. Mr. Ocampo? Absent. Ms. Morris? I. Dr. Fischer? I. Ms. Barber-Hand? I. Ms. Smith? I. Motion carried. 8B. May I have a motion to authorize You want to pull one to vote separate? Mhm. Okay. Mrs. Taikina would like to pull separate from 8B, which name? Christopher Peoples. Christopher Peoples. Okay. So, Evan, we'll vote on Mr. Peoples separately. May I have a motion to authorize the resolution Do we need to vote to
065pull? No. Okay. 8B. May I have a motion to authorize the resolution to non-renew the following probationary teachers completing their final probationary year of service who shall be dismissed as of the end of the 2025-2026 school year and not reemployed for the 2026-2027 school year. Thomas Koziara and Christine Krichi as presented. So moved. Second. Ms. Smith, please call the roll. Ms. Mallinaro? I. Mrs. Taikina? I. Mr. Ocampo? Absent. Ms. Morris? I. Dr. Fischer? I. Ms. Barber-Hand? I. Ms. Smith? I. Motion carried. May I have a motion to authorize the resolution to non-renew the following probationary teachers completing their final probationary year of service who shall be dismissed as of the end of the 2025-2026 school year and not reemployed for the 2026-2027 school year. 2026-2027 school year. Christopher Peoples as presented. So moved. Second. Can
066you Ms. Mallinaro? Nay. Mrs. Taikina? I. Mr. Ocampo? Absent. Ms. Morris? I'll vote Hold on. Let's Let's go back. Let's Let's start over. I'll I recall the motion. May I have a motion to authorize the resolution to non-renew the following probationary teachers completing their final probationary year of service who shall be dismissed as of the end of the 2025-2026 school year and not reemployed for the 2026-2027 school year. Christopher Peoples as presented. So moved. Second. Ms. Smith, please call the roll. Ms. Mallinero. Yay. Mrs. Hickson. Nay. Mr. Ocampo, absent. Ms. Morris. Nay. Dr. Fischer. Aye. Ms. Barbahead. Aye. Ms. Smith. Aye. Motion carried. No. It's a it's a Motion failed. Motion failed. Yeah. Yeah, it's a tie. I apologize. It's a it it fails. Motion failed. May I have a motion to approve the 2025-20
06730 collective bargaining agreement between the Board of Education and the Proviso Custodial and Maintenance Union SEIU Local 73 CTW as presented. So moved. Second. Please call the roll. Ms. Mallinero. Aye. Mrs. Hickson. Aye. Mr. Ocampo, absent. Ms. Morris. Aye. Dr. Fischer. Aye. Ms. Barbahead. Aye. Ms. Smith. Aye. Motion carried. Item 10. Uh the upcoming items to be approved at the April 14th Board of Education meeting. Do you have slides for these or is this just if we have questions? >> Just if we have questions. >> No questions. Does anybody have questions on A through M? No, I do I do I do. I'm sorry. Go ahead, Mrs. Hickson. Yes. Student expectations and code of conduct. You know, we discussed the the metal glasses. Are we putting that in there? Superintendent >> No, this was about
068just changing the language. Just changing the [clears throat] language? >> That is something we're looking at doing around the metal glasses. Yes. Yes. That's something what we we'll bring that forward for the next school year. Okay. I'm trying to make a change immediately. Okay. All right, thank you. Ms. Mallinero, do you have a question? No, no, no. No. Thank you for >> Anyone else? No. Old business? New business? Can I have a motion to adjourn? So moved. Second. >> [laughter] >> All in favor? Aye. Any abstentions? Thank you for joining us tonight. Thank