001Good evening everyone. We're going to get the regular board meeting to order for May 18th at 700 p.m. Secretary, please call the role. >> Valencia >> here. >> Cuentes >> here. >> Reyes >> here. L absent. Olivas >> here. >> Moreno absent. Johnson absent. Please rise for the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of >> and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> All right, if I we're going to move on to public comment. Let me get that. All right, we have no public comment and at this point then we'll move it over to Dr. Halverson for communications from the superintendent. >> Thank you, board president. First, we have Miss Walker. She's going to come up and do some presentations
002for us this evening. So, I'll turn it over to our PR department. Thank you, Miss Walker. >> Good evening, everyone. We're approaching the end of the year, so I have several things to share with you all tonight. But first, we're going to start with Dr. Krueger, who's going to tell us about the Special Olympics. >> Hi board. Thank you for having us here and honoring us here tonight. We are so excited to be representing East Aurora, our whole district as our Special Olympics team. And we had our largest team to date with 66 athletes that competed at regionals. You can see some pictures behind you. So exciting. started with a little bit of rain, but then it all cleared up and we haven't had sun since 2017, so we're getting kind of used to it.
003But it wasn't snow and it wasn't sle, so we'll take it. But of the 66 athletes, we had 23 gold medals and then 20 athletes qualify as state qualifiers. So that's very exciting. Our state event is going to be June 13th down at Illinois State University in Bloomington. the whole state uh goes down there to celebrate and compete and just show how brave everyone is. The motto for Special Olympics is let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt. And I think all of our athletes have been super brave. So, and then we were able to expand both Hermas and Waldo this year. So, that's what helped with um increasing participation. And I really wanted to thank our administration ball and all the others that have been just an
004amazing support to our program and of course the board that's been an amazing support to our program and then to the coaches who are here and all the coaches who are not. We couldn't do this without the amazing staff that we have at all of our schools. So now Britney Walker is going to So we do have awards for the students that are present. Perfect. So first we have Dariana Cortez who did softball throw and 50 meter run. Elliot Garcia did the 50 meter run. >> We'll have them all up right here. >> Eros Gonzalez did softball throw. Aurelia Luga 50 meter run. >> Thank you. Welcome. >> Olivier Loya softball throw and 50 meter run. Arturo Morales mini javelin throw. Zorel Redmond softball throw. Jerene 50 m 50 meter run. Samantha Terzas Gyos 50
005meter run. Dakota Wolf shot put >> Edwin Leonardo tennis ball throw and 50 meter motorized slalom. Fernandanda Oha softball throw >> and then did >> we'll do all the coaches come and then we're going to have the board of education stand behind. >> Right. So let's squish all together guys. Squish squish squish. You know, everybody can hear good swishing. >> Oh, yes. Forward. Stand real tall and proud back there. >> Okay, parent. All right. Congratulations to all of our athletes. >> And athletes, you get to miss the rest of this meeting if you'd like. >> Yes. >> Cool. >> Right. Uh, even though I haven't set up even though I haven't set up my speech yet, I'm going to say to all all athletes, I am so proud of you for getting gold and you're
006all heading to state. >> All right. >> But what but what I'm going to but what I'm going to say is um keep keep exercising. Hopefully you can get a slightly better record compared to the regionals and hopefully you can get yourself goats as a state as well. >> Hang on. >> Hey Dakota, give me an Dakota. Give me an EA on three. Give me an EA nice and loud for everybody. Ready? Go ahead. >> Yeah. Go ahead. >> Hang on. Hang on. Hang on. Hang on. I'm I'm just going to say even though she tried to poke me, this is the code. This is Dakota W. This is Dakota W. This may see myself from a board. And as always, >> let's go Dakota. Let's go to the athletes. Awesome job, buddy. >> Can
007we have another round of applause for all of our athletes and coaches and administrators? Okay, I have several Oh, sorry. Go ahead. I'm so sorry. And we'll pause just for a second so we can make sure we give our athletes and their parents time to head out if they'd like to. Yes, definitely. And next we're going to turn it back over to Miss Walker for a continued public relations report. Okay, so we do have two more students that are here and we would love to recognize them. If I can Dion always looks so excited. If I can have our two board represent student board reps please come stand with me. Elizabeth Caral Mareno and Dion Liialwala. So these two students, Go ahead and turn around. They've seen you. Let's see your face. These two students
008have been here since September alternating giving their reports. So you've heard from the students perspective from their voices. They have sat on building leadership team meetings. they are members of multiple organizations whether it's sports, NHS, several different um organizations to make sure that they are telling the full student perspective. And today was their last official day of classes. They're still senior finals for the next two days, but we wanted to send them off well and someone told us that they were going to both Harvard and University of Illinois. So, right behind me but maybe you can take the one thing off the top. So, there's a lot of different things. It's a little EA care package. So, some things to kind of get their wardrobe started, but I'm going to be honest, I had to
009pick black because you have to keep the black and red in your life. So Harvard has the black and red. We're going to we're close. We're black and orange over here. You each have some some merch from your new schools, but you have some things to remind you of where you're from because once a Tom cat, so there's plenty of items in there for you to remember your home of EA. There's also some snacks in there, but they're healthy. They're like protein bars and such. Um, so in case you need a little snack even while you're preparing over the summer or when you first get to school. And then there's also a fan in there because we're your biggest fan. You have your pennants on the front. There's a lot of little cheesy things in
010there, but we just wanted to make sure that you you remembered where you where you're from here. Um, and you go on and keep making us proud. So, we just wanted to thank you for your year of service being the student rep for the board. And I don't know if you had more. >> Yeah, go ahead. Uh, Zeon and Elizabeth, I just have to say thank you guys. Um, one of my first days on the job, I think I was doing the interviews um, with you guys and you guys rose to the top. Um, it was definitely excited to have you both as student board members this year. You did a phenomenal job and the expectations you set out during that interview process and the way able were able to articulate your passions um, rang
011through and you guys carried yourself with such grace, compassion for our community this last year. We're excited to see what you're going to do at Harvard and U of I. Make sure you come back and visit us and keep giving back to ROAR. Okay. Thank you both for your your service. Really appreciate it. >> And this is officially your last board of education meeting. >> All right, a few more things. I'll be quick. So, the next thing is I just wanted to say that typically whenever we have our fifth grade champions, we do have them come in. It's the end of the year. They just participated last week. So, these are the names of the students who won our fifth grade volleyball championship from Bow Free Elementary. And we have a proud principal in the
012>> and I believe a proud parent in the building. But, um, these students will receive certificates later in the week. So, the principal will get those to all of the students, but their names are all listed here. Um, and they won the, like I said, the fifth grade volleyball championship just last week. So, another round of applause for those students. Up next, uh, the City of Lights tournament. There was a girls soccer tournament last week and Waldo came in strong, winning the entire tournament. But I want to point out, I mean, not to make it an East West thing, but each East middle school was matched with a West Middle School, and East won every game in the first round. Just saying. So, the semifinals and the finals were against all East schools. So, again,
013Waldo came through. They will be recognized at the City of Aurora board meeting tomorrow. If anyone is able to attend, I will be there to see our students be recognized for that. All right. And our next maybe final. Nope, there's two more. One more. Okay. So, next, another city of Aurora um project that's happening um this last month, the entire month of a um May, there was a sustainability project art showcase that took place from the city of Aurora. our ECC, so our early childhood students took the call and they were able to submit sustainable art, our preschool students. So, this art was done by our ECC preschool students. Um, it is still on display until the end of the week. It goes away on Saturday, but I want to tell a few stories about
014these pieces. So, the one at the very top is actually a very large bulletin board. This was art that was done and created by a class. um when it was time to take the art, they did this for the class. When it was time to take the art, there was no way to kind of dismantle it. So, our buildings and grounds team took the entire bulletin board. And again, it is a big bulletin board. Doesn't look like it there. Um it's also the one that's behind the gentleman here. Um and they took the entire thing apart, loaded it up, and got it safely over to um the the showcase space. So, again, those pieces, you'll see the ones on the table, buildings, and ground. Yeah. if anyone's here. Oh, AJ in the back. Um, and
015then of course our preschool students, their families. It was a family project, so there's a lot of art there. 75% of these art pieces had to be recyclable. They had to be plastics that were being, you know, saved from being in the oceans and things like that. So, um, all of these things are wonderful pieces and a great way for our students to one contribute to the environment and showcase their creativity and their art and abilities. Okay. So, please, if you haven't already, go check it out. It's still available um for the rest of the week. I believe the hours and I can get this information, but it's Wednesday through Saturday and it does get pulled down Saturday. Okay. And one more. Yes. Um little Daniel here. Daniel's a kindergartener at Benvitas. Benz. Okay. Um
016he's a kindergarter there and he just received a state recognition for art. Um, so he is going to be recognized in the fall for his art piece. So the what you're seeing behind him, behind his teacher, Miss Bonnie, um is he had to fold the paper into all of these intricate squares and then he um got to create color decorate each of the squares. So he his art was selected on a jured piece. It was jurored by 12 different judges. um and it is was selected to be amongst several that were um going to be presented in Shamburgg in October. So we might bring him back. Um but just because this just happened last week, we wanted to showcase that for you all today. I believe that was my last thing. >> Yes. >> Thank
017you, Miss Walker, for all the updates. We've got a lot to celebrate at the end of the year, so we had to do some of those electronically here. But uh once again, thank you for all the updates and thank you to our students and staff for all their hard work and representing Easter so well. Um, next communications from the superintendent. We're going to drop down to 4B1 and this evening I have Mr. Linton Ellis with us from Greater Well-being. He is the ambassador for culture and climate for the year. Um, and he is going to come up to present his work so far this year. And then we also have some principles here who have worked within this uh year so far as well as our culture and climate committee team and they're going to
018come up to be recognized after Miss Mr. Linton presents as well. So, let's welcome Mr. Linton Ellis. Thank you. Good evening everyone, members of the board, members of the EA community and uh the Aurora community at large. Um I was brought in this year to be the ambassador for climate and culture by Dr. Halverson and I've had the this the distinct pleasure of working with many of the members of the the school community and it's been a great experience and I just want to share with um the board and members of the community uh some of the work that we've done. But before I get to that I just want to um as I was thinking about the the uh presentation I did a exploded version of this for the uh principles. This is a
019paired back version of the same thing but um our the title we given to this is the culture the hidden variable in school improvement. So as I know we are in this the space we want to see improvement from the students and the school community at large. One of the things that we think is a good driving force towards accomplishing those goals is culture. So sorry I have my clicker in my pocket here. Okay. All right. So when I say culture being a hidden variable, I'm not essentially saying it's hiding, but what it means is that culture is one of those overlooked important pieces of um driving improvements. So it's often underestimated and undervalued. Right? So that's what I mean by when I say it's a hidden variable. Okay? So why are we talking about
020culture? Culture is the most powerful intangible force in any organization. It's not um it's not any of the other things that we would think about. Those things are built on a foundation of a strong culture and culture drives outcomes in organizations. So let's talk about our current operational style in the education space, right? It's management by objectives. And what that essentially means is you the organization defines the objectives. They align around teams and departments align around those objectives. They set individual objective individual and team objectives. And then we take action and monitor those action all driving progress and improvement. And then we take it and we in a circular cyclical kind of fashion improve to get better outcomes and make things better. Right? Then management by objectives the the essence of it is okay it's
021a very structured approach right it's goal oriented and it's resultsdriven but if you go back a couple slides let me jump back says culture eats strategy for breakfast right who said that the same guy who pioneered management by objectives he is the same person that says all the strategy you could put together. If it's not built on a foundation of a strong culture, the results are kind of all over the place. So culture is the thing that we should really focus on to help drive some of the outcomes that we're looking for. And again, strategy sets the direction. Culture is the thing that helps to determine the destination. All right. So look at this in terms of where we are as in the education space, right? two different organizations, same constraints. What are some of
022the constraints in the education space right now? Limited resources, staffing challenges, there's time pressures, there's account accountability demands on many fronts, and then there's complex student needs. When you're looking at two separate organizations having the same constraints, one is able to be successful and the other not so much. And the difference consistently is the level and the strength of the culture in which that organization is operating. Okay. So why am I talking to you guys about this right now? Leadership is the thing that shapes culture. So it said it said that culture is a lagging indicator of good leadership but culture is a leading indicator of performance. Simply put, strong leaders set leaders set the the the the vision. They cast the, you know, make decisions. They set actions and cast a direction. The culture
023that we're operating in is what is able to help us to get to the uh the outcomes that we're looking for. So, real quick, I want to dive into um I worked with nine schools this year, two um two middle schools and nine elementary. And first of all, we didn't start out working with deciding to work with that many schools, but as as soon as I started doing some of the work, some of the principles heard of what was going on and they didn't want their schools to be left out. So, they reached out and we decided to expand the group and work with nine total schools this year. So the next step is I'm going to just give a quick overview on the data and um just talk about a few of the lessons
024learned as it relates to u the outcomes and then talk about some next steps. Again, culture eats strategy for breakfast. If you don't get anything else from this presentation, understand that the strength of your culture is the thing that's going to drive the outcomes that you so strongly desire. Okay. So, here are the the composite culture scores on the left for the nine buildings that we um we did this year. And if you can look at it, it's a four-point scale and it's rated at a 2.5 or below. There's real great culture concerns requiring immediate attention. A 2.5 to a 2.9, a mixed and uneven culture. Um 3.0 to 3.3 generally positive culture and a 3.4 to a 4.0. know that's a strong healthy culture right so these are the composite culture scores for um
025the nine schools but I want to focus on the right side of the screen um at the district culture and again we didn't do an extensive um district level assessment because we were just trying to do individual building level assessments to see where these buildings are to figure out what are some of the the things that we could do the adjustments that we could make to drive and improve improve the cultures from a building perspective, but I just threw some questions in there about the district. And so, as you can see, the district score is a 2.87. And so, progressing, right? Uh, and one of the other things, if you look at the average response rate, that's a 74% response rate. So very very solid statistically significant sample that we could draw solid inferences from
026to say here is where these individual buildings are and here's a perspective that the the general populace share as we're looking to take that information and put it into an improvement plan. Um, so here's a couple takeaways. And some of these takeaways, they might seem like they're more general, but I promise these takeaways are based on feedback we got from the nine buildings. Culture is is very active, right? Every behavior communicates something about your culture. There is a cost to neglecting culture. and said if not done intentionally environmental factors will drive and shape your culture. So it's very important that when you're talking about trying to improve and bring everybody together in a unified way to coales around a vision and a goal that we focus on building and sustaining and improving the culture of
027that um that building. Other takeaways, culture supports wellness, right? It does not people can't really thrive in an environment where they're all in kind of survival mode. And I'm not saying people are all in survival mode, but truthfully, as I spend time with folks, there are quite a few folks who are kind of in survival mode. And so this opportunity to bring support around them and let them know that they are respected, appreciated, and valued is to me has made a difference because I've gotten a lot of feedback, emails, and and other otherwise from folks saying they appreciate the abil the uh the option that they have to get their voice heard and to be a part of something that's more forward thinking. So, so far we've had some decent little improvements and successes and
028uh you can easily take this to the next level. Oh, I think I I'm sorry I skipped over one one slide. Okay. One of the other things that was very clear is that leadership alignment is very important to to the folks. And the reason why I'm bringing this forward to the board as well, the board and the the the the administration and the teachers and the admin building admin, you all form a part of this leadership environment. And the unity that they see from leaders communicates a lot to the staff. And when when they see that it's easier to align with the vision and you know as you implement something people are more willing to adapt it and put their put their efforts behind it. So it's really important that leadership finds a way to
029get on proper alignment. It doesn't mean that there's always full agreement on everything but alignment. You guys understand and know what alignment is. aligning on what's the the core vision and how we're going to get towards accomplishing that core vision. Okay. Um my last slide is I basically took the mission statement and the mission and vision. And I created an image from in for myself in my head basically saying hey look the staff surrounds the student and the staff is those are the people who as the leader cast the vision and the staff adopt that. They they share that they they embrace it and they we we develop norms and everything around that vision and that is what we use to drive progress. And as the kids see that happening, they embrace that and become
030a part of that culture and proliferate that through the district and through the community as well. Um, so the three the three pillars that uh Dr. Halverson talked about in terms of his vision for the district this year is community involvement. That sense of belonging. That's a very essential part of culture and more than typical growth for the students. And again, culture that's built on trust and that has a foundation on relationship is the bedrock to driving forward these um desires and changes that the um I believe the district is trying to to get forward. So, um board members, do you have any question for uh Mr. Ellis about the work we've done so far this year or any comments? And I've got a couple other follow-up questions afterwards if So, Mr. Ellis, do me
031a favor. Can you go back real quick to your um the scale that you had and just talk through the why of a four-point scale real quick? >> Yes, please. Okay. Thank you. >> Yeah. So, we use a four-point scale because they typically they use a fivepoint scale, but the fivepoint scale has this midpoint where it's it's it's a neutral, right? And we didn't want in order for us to drive change in one way or the other. We really wanted to see where people fail. if they were more in one dimension versus the other dimension, we I I was really afraid that if we went with a five-point scale, we would get a lot of non-data responses. >> Perfect. And just the other thing that I want to be very clear about is Mr. Ellis's
032work this year. Um him and I have intentionally had a buffer when we talk, we talk thematic approaches because we want to make sure that building level admin as well as the teachers feel that he is a confidant they can come talk to. Um while Mr. Ellis has worked in the public sector and private sector. Um his background is not in education. He's got an MBA, he's got a masters and all those things, but it's important that the staff knows and administrators know that when they talk to him, they can talk to him in confidence and know that it's not coming directly back to the superintendent. So, him and I have been very intentional about that this year. So, I just want to make sure that I state that publicly. Also, Mr. uh Mr. Ellis,
033can you talk about I know we had a baseline score before um a previous baseline score and we as a district were up by about a point in that in that short period of time. Correct. >> Right. uh so a couple of the dimensions and I wanted to compare apples to apples. So on the dimension of support and trust there is a a.9 point almost a full point growth um in that score and while that is not it's not you know tremendous it's very significant because it's a three po um you have three points in which you could grow the lowest score you could get is a one point and the highest is a four point. So to be up by 0.9 uh 0.9% of a point is uh is a pretty significant growth from
034from time one to time two. And we deliberately delayed that for much longer and later because we didn't want the data to have noise. We wanted to be reflective of how people were actually feeling in that time and not being an emotional response based on some previous set of feelings. >> Perfect. The next thing I'd like to do real quick is if I can have the building principles who have worked with Mr. Mr. Ellis or the building administrators who have worked with Mr. Ellis that are here, stand up for me, please. And if you guys could walk up to the left side of Mr. Ellis, I'd appreciate it. So, up on this side here. Come on up. Don't be shy. Walter, way to lead the way. I appreciate it, sir. Thank you. And then I
035also have uh one of the other works that Mr. Ellis has worked with us on this year. One of the things he's helped out a ton with this year is our culture and climate committee. And I know I have some members here um from the culture and climate committee. If you guys could come up as well and stand on Mr. Ellis's right side there. And if you're on executive cabinet and you were a part of the culture and climate team, please feel free to go stand out there as well. And the the reason I'm asking that we do this and any members that are here from the administrative ranks at the building level or from the culture and climate team um you guys you can I'll pause for a second at the end and if
036you have anything to add about the work this year I'd uh feel free to but the reason I wanted to do this is if you look up here there's a strong group of leaders up here um that are leaders in various aspects throughout our district. We have administrators, we have teachers, we've had office professionals. This work is not going to stop because this is what's going to help move us forward as a district is continuing to improve the culture and climate in the district. We know that climate can adjust on a daily basis, but culture is real and culture in order for it to be improved needs to take sustained improvement, sustained effort. And we're going to continue to double down next year where our sense of belonging isn't just going to be in our
037school improvement goals. It's going to be the center of our school improvement goal. And that's not to say that we're not going to be strategic about the steps we're going to take when it comes to academics, but I think you can see in the research of Peter Ducker that if we don't get the culture right, everything else is going to lag behind. So, as a leader, this is the one thing that I will stand by is that we have to continue to continuously improve this culture. And when it takes a hit because we have a social capital withdrawal, we've got to be real about it. We've got to be transparent and we've got to be trustworthy and talk about what we could do next. Um, so once again, I want to thank Mr. Ellis for
038his hard work with the teams this year. and my leaders that are up there real quick. If you guys could turn and look at me, I want to thank you guys too for being brave, for stepping out and being a part of something major this year because I think it's really crucial to where we're heading next. And I see that Chief Goods got a microphone there and I know he's a man of few words. So, I'm going to turn it over to him to get any feedback there. >> Um, no sir. Actually, I just want to say thank you um for you and the board members. I could tell you from the being on the committee. Um, every little part, all of us have had a we've all been very intentional. It's been uh it's
039been tense at times, but it's been very um detrimental and as well as a great thing um to kind of tear it down, to build it back up and be realistic about it. And being I've been in this district now six years and seeing this change that's trying to actually happen is it's a it's a great thing. So, thank you. And Dr. Abvis, I just want to say one last thing. Um, one of the things I found that was very um it was very uplifting for me to see there was ne there was not one uh principle from a building that when we got the the um the research done and we we rolled up the numbers and we sat down to go over it. There was a lot of different areas where principles felt
040a little bit of disappointment but they never hung their head and they said okay let's coalesce around this to make it better and improve it. So I really I I think for for certain you guys have the right people in the in place and are not afraid to look themselves in the mirror and see what's happening and say what do we do next to improve it. So I think that's an excellent start in building a culture. >> I'll say something he's he's given me like a pointer. Thank you Mr. Gadio. really mucho. Um, I guess what I've mentioned before is the comfort level of the staff. When uh, Mr. Ellis came in and he met with them, I even said maybe I need to leave a room so that they could share their thoughts and
041then have that space. But what I appreciated afterwards was the staff members reaching out to him so that all of a sudden he would pop up and he has a meeting with this group of teachers or this this teacher or whatnot. So they felt comfortable enough to reach out to him to schedule those meetings with him and he didn't come back and share with me what they spoke. He went back I mean we we would discuss it later as to the opportunities and those themes that you mentioned that we needed to that I needed to focus on in my building. So I do really appreciate that they felt that he was um attainable and that they could reach out to him. Amy, you want to grab the table? >> All right. And we have one
042more item under the superintendence report. Um, so tonight, um, we have a motion to approve the collective bargaining agreement with East Aurora School District 131 and IF Local 604 for years 2026 to 2030. Um, and I'm going to turn it over to board president Suentes to make that motion, see if there's any questions, and then I have a couple words. Um, and we're going to sign the document all together here to continue to celebrate some of the great things we have going on. I'll turn it over to Board President Suentes. >> All right. Item number 4 C, motion to approve the collective bargaining agreement with East Aurora School District 131 and IF Local 604 for years 2026 through 2030. So move. >> Second. >> Do we have any questions from board members? Nope. All right.
043Secretary, call the role, please. >> Valencia? >> Yes. >> Olivas? >> Yes. >> Reyes? >> Yes. >> Motion carries. So, oh, we'll we'll clap at that. We So, board president, members of the board of education, East Aurora staff, families, and community members, tonight marks a historic and deeply deeply meaningful milestone for East Aurora District 131. I am incredibly proud to stand before you and announce that we have now passed and reached a comprehensive agreement for our 2026 through 2030 contractual school years. Throughout the entire process, our work has been grounded in a simple but powerful belief that defines who we are. That belief is we belong. And it's not you belong, it's not I belong, it's we belong. That commitment guided our conversations, our decisions, and our approach every single day at the bargaining table.
044The result is an agreement that reflects the immense value of every single member of our organization with absolutely no one left behind. This contract is something our entire community can be proud of. It represents a new day in East Aurora, one built on mutual respect, collaboration, and a shared focus on what matters most, our students and the dedicated staff who serve them. An achievement of this magnitude does not happen by accident. It required an extraordinary collective effort over the course of 10 intense bargaining sessions totaling more than 80 hours at the table and countless additional hours of preparation and followup. Both teams remain committed to thoughtful, respectful, and productive dialogue. Tonight, I want to publicly celebrate and thank the key leaders who made this possible. To our union leadership, thank you for your partnership, your
045fierce advocacy, and your steadfast commitment to ensuring that the voices of all employee groups were elevated and valued. To our district negotiating team, thank you for your tireless preparation, your problem-solving mindset, and the grueling hours you spent ensuring a balanced, comprehensive package that supports our staff, our students, and the longterm long-term stability of our district. And to our board of education, thank you for your continuous support, your vision, and your unwavering commitment to establishing a solid foundation for the future of East Aurora. Now for the signing of the agreement. This agreement sets a powerful new standard for how we work together to move our district forward. To formalize this monumental step, we're going to do something special tonight to signify our unity and shared vision. At this time, I would like to invite Union President
046Becky Royo and board president Juan Suentes to please step forward to be the first to sign this historic contract. So, board president Suentes and Union President Becky Royal, if you guys could proceed to the table there with Miss Morales, I'd appreciate it. It's like a signing day. If you guys ever seen the high school athlete athletes moving on to college, we'll give them time to do that the at the very end here for sure. Thank you, Becky and Juan. Your leadership has been instrumental in bringing us to this moment. If you guys can leave those contracts on the table for me, I'd appreciate it. Yep. So, next, we're going to go in a little bit of order here. Next, to solidify the district's collective governance and support for this agreement, I would like to invite
047each member of our board of education to please step forward and add your signature to the documents as well. So, if each board member could please step up to sign it, I'd appreciate it. Yeah. You guys you guys want to stand up yet? Because we'll give you time at the end. Thank you board members. Finally, to show the complete solidarity, mutual respect, and collaborative spirit that brought this agreement to fruition, I would like to invite all members of both negotiating teams to please come forward and join us in signing the contract. So, if I could have both sides come up to sign that contract, I greatly appreciate it. Little pep in the step. Little pep in the step. Let's go. Thank you. Here at least. Here's another one. Yep. I promise I won't try and
048keep this in close session forever tonight because it's taking a little bit longer. Yeah, if you guys want. Yeah. >> Yeah. Yeah. Board members, if you guys want to come back. >> Yeah. >> Thank you. So, in closing, let the record show that tonight we didn't just sign a contract. We signed a promise. a promise to continue building a district where every student thrives, every staff member is valued, and everybody knows without a doubt that we belong. Thank you to everyone involved, and thank you to the East Aurora community for your continued dedication to our students and to one another. Is Dakota still back there? Dakota, give me an Give me an EA, buddy. Ready? And with that, I'm going to turn it over to board president Suentes for any comments and also to Union
049President Royo after board president Suentes. Thank you very much, guys. I appreciate you coming forward. Thank you for all your hard work. >> I just wanted to take a moment to, you know, briefly say that I recognize and thank everyone who played a a role in reaching um this agreement. The approval of the new union contract represents more than just, you know, a negotiated agreement. It reflects collaboration, professionalism, and a shared commitment to our students and our district. So, I want to thank our teachers, union leadership, district admin, bargaining teams, fellow board members for their time, effort, and dedication invested in this process. This agreement, you know, is significant for our district. You know, it demonstrates that when we work together respectfully and keep students at the center of our decisions, we can accomplish meaningful
050outcomes. So, I believe this sets a positive tone for the future and strengthens the partnership between the board admin union and our educators. So, again, thank you for everyone involved. >> Becky, would you like to come forward? Yeah, go ahead. >> Good evening. I don't have much to add except um I think that we walk the walk and talk to talk and set the example for the rest of the district on how people can have mutually respectful relationships and uh it's powerful. So, and then I wanted to again thank my team and then Jen Jenta, will you stand up for a second? She's retiring. This is her last. So, that's >> Thank you so much. And with all of the positive outcomes tonight, that concludes my report. All right, that has been a lot. Um
051motioned um item five, motion to approve the following consent agenda as listed. >> So moved. Second. >> Any questions? >> Secretary, call the role, please. >> Quentes, >> yes. >> Valencia, >> yes. >> Olivas, >> yes. Yes. >> And we do have a introduction. I will send >> Dr. Baylor. You ready for our introduction, sir? >> Yes, I am. Just one moment, please. My file closed. Just one moment. computer problem. Here we go. It is my pleasure to introduce Alejandra Mendes who will be joining us as executive assistant to the superintendent. Alejandra brings over 20 years of experience in public education, spending much of her career at West Aurora District 129, where she has held several roles, including building office professional, special education secretary, office professional for assessments and ELELLL programs, and executive assistant to
052the executive leadership team. Currently, she serves in their community affairs department as a translation services specialist. Miss Mendes graduated from East Aurora High School and we are excited to welcome her back to East Aurora District 131. Congratulations on your appointment. That was it for introductions. All right, moving on to item six, finance and personnel committee with Miss Reyes. >> Good evening everyone. Was no atos. The finance and personnel committee meeting was held on Monday, May 4th, 2026 um here at the admin center and was called to order at 5:30. There were no com public comments that night. Uh Dr. Engel presented the district's donations and the March 2026 financial reports and we all agreed that both were in order. He then presented the fiscal year 26 amended budget as updates were necessary to align beginning
053fund balances with the finalized fiscical year 25 audit complete audit related transfers into the capital projects fund update state and federal grant amounts and revise evidence-based funding based on the state's final calculations. It was explained that the district's shift from tier 1 to tier 2 under the state funding formula resulted in a significant reduction in state funding, which is the primary reason for the projected deficit and was outside of the district's control. The amended budget reflects approximately $259 million in revenue and $269 million in expenditures, resulting in an estimated $9.3 million deficit. Dr. Engel noted that salaries and benefits account for nearly twothirds of district expenses and that increased special education tuition and outside placement costs also contributed to higher expenditures. We also discussed the importance of transparency regarding these budget changes and expressed appreciation
054for the detailed explanation. Dr. Angel went on to review the amended budget timeline, which included includes board action to approve the tentative amended budget, a 30-day public display, a public hearing on the June 15th board meeting, and final board approval that same evening. Discussion continued regarding the district's partnership with West Aurora for Hope Wall student placements. Although the agreement was intended as a 50/50 cost sharing model, historical data shows that the district has carried closer to 2thirds of the cost. After reviewing 10 years of financial and enrollment data, district leadership is seeking reimbursement credits that may total several million. West Aurora has acknowledged the need to revisit the agreement and expressed willingness to work collaboratively moving forward. Finally, Dr. Ballard reviewed uh revisions to several IASB press board policies, noting that most changes were minor
055wording updates and legal reference revisions. He highlighted policy 4165 regarding sexual abuse education, explaining that while state law no longer requires a 5-day parent notice and opt out option, the district recommends continuing this practice to maintain transparency with families. The meeting was then adjourned at 5:43 p.m. I have no um action items tonight. So, the next finance um committee meeting will be held on Monday, June 1st, 2026 at 5:30 p.m. here at the admin center. And that concludes my report. >> All right. Thank you, Miss Reyes. Moving on to curriculum and programs committee with Miss Valencia. The curriculum and programs meeting occurred today at 6 and our next meeting is scheduled for June 15th. I will then I will provide a full report on June 1st during our regular meeting. >> All right. Thank you.
056All right. With Mr. Loft, item eight. Mr. Loft is out today. Um I'm going to have I'm going to send it over to Mr. Allen to give a summary of the meeting real quick. >> Okay. Thank you. Uh the buildings grounds community meeting met on May 4th, 2026 at 6 p.m. here at the admin center. Uh the first order of business was the Oak Park gutter uh update. Uh the project was primarily complete. There's some small small odds and ends where the quarter and Clark and the contractor get cleaned up, but the project went very well and pretty smoothly considering we had a lot of weather changes up and down. A lot of rain that kind of held us back a little bit, but it came in on time. Uh second was facility assessment update.
057We do have a secondary quote that's come in. We're going to be bringing that back to the committee. Uh possibly we might have a third for your review and potentially move forward with that. Uh but that'll be coming soon. >> Yeah. Uh Mr. Allen, I just want to interject real quick when we do bring that back to our committee meeting um for buildings and grounds on June 1st. Uh there is a potential that I will request that that drops for action that night under the superintendent report just because we do need to get moving with that in order to figure out exactly where our facilities are. So I just wanted the board to have a preview of that. um that if there aren't questions that evening, we'll come forward with the recommendations at that point
058in time um during the whole meeting of the whole for the board of education. >> Thank you, Dr. Halverson. Uh next item on the agenda is cow herd bleacher update. Uh we brought forward to the committee that coward bleachers are in uh some damage shape and showing some major wear. Uh we have reached out to one party and got a quote. We're working on getting another quote for repair and we're also having a hard time finding a third. So, we're also going out to see what it potentially would cost to do a complete replacement just to make sure we spend the money wisely if we have to move forward because to repair them, it's take disassembling them all the way down and pulling pieces out. So, it's a lot of labor work involved in doing
059it, but we'll have more to come with that um soon. Fred Rogers facade update. So, we have an emergency repair still ongoing at Fred Rogers. Um some chunks of concrete or brick work facade did fall off, so we closed down door one. Um it is still open for business using other alternate doors. They've been doing a lot of fix work and major work to it. Um I will have a status update hopefully in the next week by by next next being we should be substantially complete on the emergency repair part of it. Uh and then we'll move into the summer phase of work still being done there. Uh EHS freshman gym update that was referring to the two broken drains in the sophets. We're having a hard time getting contractors due to the location and
060time of year to come look at it. We do have one quote that we'll move forward with automatically that's under all the limits that we have with the current contractor that'll be doing roofing work there this summer. We're trying to get one to come in sooner and get it taken care of before we have other potential damage. Uh last was ECC walk-in freezer update. We had some problems with the walk-in freezer at ECC. Uh both our team and an outside contractors put a lot of time and effort in the machine. I don't have an exact status of it right now, but it was operational the other day, but I think there's still some little hiccups with it. So they're still it's still ongoing uh right now. And the lastly was a resolution for sale of
061property of broken items and tables and such. The next uh meeting will be June 1st, I believe, 2026 here at the admin center at 6 PM and I believe there's one motion on the G report today. >> Two. >> There are. Thank you. >> All right. First action item. It is 8B.1 motion to approve the resolution authorizing the disposal and sale of personal property. >> A move. >> Second. >> Any questions? >> Secretary, call the role, please. >> Yes. >> Olivas. >> Yes. >> Reyes? >> Yes. >> All right. Next action item 8. B.2. Motion to reject the bid results for the 2026 secured entrance at East High School. So moved. >> Second. Any questions? Secretary, call the role, please. >> Quentes, yes. Valencia, >> yes. Olivas, >> yes. Reyes, >> yes. >> All right,
062moving on to section uh nine, executive session for the purpose of discussing land acquisition, pending litigation, workers compensation, and the appointment, employment performance, compensation, and dismissal of a specific employee. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Secretary, call the role, please. >> Reyes, >> yes. >> Valencia, >> yes. Quentes. >> Yes. >> Olivas. >> Yes. And there will be action. I'm waiting for Bob. >> All right. Motion to reconvene from executive session. So move. >> Second. >> Secretary, call the role, please. >> Here. Reyes. >> Yes. Yes. >> Olivas. >> Yes. >> All right. We do >> we do have an action item. Item 10.8. Motion to approve the dismissal of Morgan Engold. >> So moved. >> Second. Do we have any questions? Secretary, call the role, please. >> Valencia. >> No. >> Yes. Olivas. >>
063Yes. >> Sequentes. >> Yes. All right. Motion to adjurnn. >> Sam. >> Second. Secretary. Cut the roll, please. >> Valencia. >> Yes. >> Sees. >> Yes. >> Reyes. >> Yes. >> Oliv. >> Yes. Right. We're