001It is now 77 p.m. and I'm reconvening to open session and calling to order the regular board of education meeting for Indian Prairie School District 204 on Monday, November 17, 2025. Michelle, will you please call the role? Miss Grover >> present. >> Mr. Kurubis >> here. >> Mr. Rising >> here. >> Miss Gint >> here. >> Miss Deming >> present. >> Miss Fasic >> here. >> And Miss Donahghue >> here. We have a quorum. Miss Grover, will you lead us in the pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, liberty and justice for all. The next regular board meeting will be held on Monday, December 15th. We have two board salutes today. Uh, Miss Grover, District 204 students achieved
002success at World Robotics Olympiad. The board salutes Niga Valley freshman Srira Sharma, sophomore Ana Gartik, and Cone Middle School eighth grader Hamsini Chenupati for their outstanding achievement at the World Robotics Olympiad. America's Open Championship in Panama City, Panama. Competing together as robot penguin, the all girls team earned fourth place internationally, the highest finished ever for a US team in this competition. Congratulation on this stellar achievement. [applause] Miss Dming >> Illinois Principal Association DuPage Region Elementary School principal of the year. The board salutes Fry Elementary School Principal Laurel Hillman who was named the elementary school principal of the year from the DuPage region of the Illinois Principles Association. The award recognizes elementary school principles who have demonstrated a positive impact on their students and learning community. Congratulations, Principal Hillman. [applause] >> I would I would like
003at this time, if I may, to bring to the front Dr. Keyme, principal of um Brookdale Elementary, and Mr. Dan Krauss, both of whom from the Illinois Principal Association, and they will present an award to Miss Hillman. >> Thank you so much uh for having us this evening. It's our honor and privilege to uh award Lori with the elementary school principal of the year for the Depage Region of the Illinois Principal Association. With more than 6,000 members, 23 regions across the state, she's now one of 23 elementary school principles that is being recognized uh this fall. She is now uh also a person that would be in contention for the state elementary school principal of the year. Has an incredible track record of success as you know 31 years in education, 12 years as the
004principal at Fry and does a tremendous job. So it was a unanimous choice uh by our board to select her as the elementary school principal of the year. >> Yes. And although I'm here today as a part of our IPA board, I have the great pleasure of having Lori as a colleague. And I will say there is no one more well-deser deserving of this award than Lori. Not only is she an amazing mentor and colleague, but she always puts students at the center of everything that she does and that comes out in everything that she um does through her actions and her mentoring as well. And she always keeps that district perspective. So I am here as a proud board member uh but more importantly as a as a colleague. So congratulations Lori. Welld deserved.
005[applause] Thank you very much. [applause] Thank you. Those of you who know me know that I do not miss an opportunity um to use words. Uh but this is one of the very few times that I really don't have a whole bunch to say other than thank you so much. Very honored um for taking the time um to recognize me this evening. just very proud to be part of the district and to be recognized in this way and just really um appreciate all all the kindness that comes from this kind of u award. So, thank you [applause] Next up, we have our student representative report by Kylie Tran from Nqua Valley High School. Good evening. My name is Kylie Tran and I am the student representative for Nua Valley this school year. I am pleased
006to share the great things our school has been up to since my last report in September. We are more than three weeks into the second semester and NIGA has stayed active across academics, activities, and athletics. Juniors are happy to have completed their PSAT testing last month. And at the same time, our freshman, sophomores, and seniors took advantage of flex blocks to receive extra academic support, meet with teachers, and make up assignments. Additionally, at the end of October, we held our annual career fair to provide the student body with opportunity to explore different pathways, welcoming our 100 parent volunteers to share their professional backgrounds. Our guidance counselors also coordinated a college fair with over 30 colleges for students to discover post-secary options. Both of these events fostered excitement for the bright future that lays ahead for
007our students. At the end of October, our music department held its annual spooktacular concert with students performing in festive costumes and playing scary tunes to celebrate the Halloween spirit. Last weekend, our theater department showcased its fall play, Tony Tony and Tina's Wedding with all shows sold out. Earlier this month, we also honored our veterans within our community in the annual Veterans Day ceremony. This year, all students were able to view the ceremony either live in the auditorium or through a schoolwide live stream to pay respects to those who have served. Additionally, Interact Club hosted a successful blanket making event. Student volunteers had a great time working in collaboration to make over 98 blankets that will be donated to DUP page pad shelter, families in our school district, and Alliance for the Children. Finally, fall sports
008have concluded with the winter sports in full swing with competitions heading into this week. Next week, students and staff will have Thanksgiving break for time to rest and recharge. We head and before we head into another three weeks of school before winter break in December, we look forward to the annual Crystal concert highlighting our talented students in the music department as well as academic planning night to help families start preparing for next year. Thank you for this evening this your time this evening and go Wildcats. >> Thank you. [applause] All right. Next on our agenda is our school spotlight and this this week it's Clow Elementary. So we will have a presentation by Miss Katie Bennett, Mr. Ryan Henry, and Mr. Elliot Burke. Good evening, Dr. talent and members of the board. Forgive me for
009my voice this evening. Fortunately, I'm not doing much of the talking. Uh thank you so much for the opportunity to be here with you tonight. We are excited to highlight one of our extracurricular activities um that we offer to our students. I am Katie Bennett and I am the very proud principal at Clow Elementary School. I'm happy to be joined by Mr. Ryan Henry who is the general music teacher at CLA and also at Fry Elementary School. And we're also here with Mr. Elliot Burke, who is a current Niqua Valley High School senior and a former Proud Cloud Cougar. We are able to offer lots of extracurricular opportunities for our students, some of which are included on uh the board this evening. Um we really think that these offer students opportunities before and after school
010to engage in a different way outside of the classroom. Tonight though, that uh we want to celebrate our young composers club. This is under the direction of Mr. Henry and he's really excited to share more with you about it. >> Awesome. Well, thank you so much for this opportunity. So, our young composers club um you can go ahead and hit the next slide. Uh project overview, we really started with this question. Uh there was a day I was sit in my classroom and just kind of dreaming. I like to have some dream time. And I had this question of why don't I see young kids composing anymore like you know the old Mozarts and the Beethoven starting at age five. And then I had this realization is well I need to teach them. I'm the
011music teacher. Um so we decided to launch this club that would cultivate musical creativity in fifth grade students through rich and engaging composition lessons. Um giving the students high um access to high quality composition software like noteflight and providing really life-changing live performance opportunities actually with members of our local community. Um some of the brief history of our club is it launched at cloud at 2016 became my master's project. So I got to research different uh strategies the best practices for teaching young kids how to compose using actual notation. Um we launched it over at Fry in 20 2019 with Mrs. Helman's support. And this club usually uh has about 15 to 30 students in it. Um it's had a rich history of local and international collaborations. And in its time, 10 years, it has
012premiered over 150 student compositions, which is pretty exciting. And then the next slide, we'll just show you um some of these compos uh some of these collaborations. We've done a recital with the DUP page Symphony Orchestra where they premiered our students uh music, which Elliot will be, you'll see that in just a second. One of his pieces was performed. We've had North Central College composition students uh give feedback, video feedback to our students. Um, Gregory Middle School mentors after they leave our program, they've come back to help mentor our students. We've actually held like Nilo Alcala, a Filipino American composer, um, actually provide video feedback to our students scores. So, we usually have a a deck of about 10 composers every year who are getting their scores and giving them feedback. Um, Niqua Valley uh,
013music theory mentors also provide feedback in Noteflight for our students. And my favorite Niku Valley and Wubanzi V band band chorus orchestra students actually perform our students music at the end of the year in a field trip. And so here's a quick example. There's Elliot. If you see over there on the right hand side the gray and red shirt. That is Elliot right there as a fifth grade composer. All right. And here is a example of what he did with the DuPage Symphony Orchestra. This one's called Waves of Harmony by Elliot Burke. And Elliot's here tonight. There he is. Come on over. I wrote this composition thinking about the waves on the ocean. This is a fourpart piece for a violin, obo, bassoon, and a bass drum. I decided to put these four instruments in
014harmony. That's when I decided to name it Waves of Harmony. Music surrounds us every day. For example, there is a lot of music in waves. If you stop and listen. [applause] perform for our composers club. And uh then we'll skip the next video for time, but he is in this video and he counts off the ensemble and they perform one of our fifth graders music from last year. Um I want to give Elliot a quick shot here to share a little bit. >> Yeah. So, hi, my name is Elliot Burke. The Young Composers Club was dedicated time and space for me to just sit and compose whatever came to mind. Armed with notation software and a crash course on how it worked, I set off and wrote my first piece, which you guys saw, Waves
015of Harmony. By the time I was in fifth grade, I had already been taking guitar and percussion lessons outside of school. But composers club was an opportunity to get more involved with music through school. The most significant part of being in Young Composers Club was getting to see the DuPage Symphony Orchestra perform waves of harmony for me. I remember thinking that it was so have a professional musicians perform my composition in front of an audience. Very impressive for fifth grader. >> From sixth grade on, I have been involved in curricular bands in middle and high school. I've been in the highest band at the Niko Wind Ensemble for the past two years. I'm a member of the Nikico Valley Symphony Orchestra, the Niko Valley Steel Band, and the Marching Wildcats ending on center snare. I'm
016currently taking music production and AP Music Theory, where I once again am using Note Flight, which is the very same software that I used to compose that in fifth grade. and I learned it at my very first young composers club meeting. A full circle moment for me was when I got to play Tony on pictures at an exhibition with the DuPage Symphony Orchestra last spring as a member of the Nika Valley Symphony Orchestra. And there's a picture of that on slide right there in the all the way in the right corner playing Tiffany in the back. My involvement in Young Composers Club helped me ignite my passion for music. Although I don't plan on majoring in music in college, I know I will continue to find space for it in my life as it definitely
017shaped who I am today. Wow, that's awesome. Full circle. So, I just want to say thank you so much because all the access that our kids have, it is doing something and it really matters. We appreciate you all. Thank you. >> Oh, thank you. [applause] Very, very amazing opportunity for students and just a great story seeing that. >> Can I make a comment too? Yeah. My oldest daughter who's now 27 had Mr. Henry in elementary school for music. Uh I don't mean to age you. Sorry, Mr. Henry. Um but um you know, wonderful what Clow is doing and thank you for highlighting this and I'm sure he's doing something very similar at Fry as well. But I think it's also just a testament to all our music teachers across the district who consistently inspire our
018students and spark that love of music. So I just wanted to make that comment briefly, but yes, >> we invite you all to come in the spring to come and hear. Yeah. >> Thank you. [applause] >> All right. Our next um area on the agenda is our safety contest. Safer, stronger, side by side. Presented by Mr. Ron Wilkkey and Lisa Barry. >> Not Lisa. >> Good evening, Dr. Tally, President Donahghue, and board members. Thank you for allowing us time this evening to present awards for our winners of our school safety contest. I'm joined by district 204 school resource officer Alonzo Hedgepath from the Neighborville Police Department. I also like to thank and acknowledge Carrie White from Rival 5 technology support engineer who will be handing out the awards and prizes. Thank Rival 5 for their
019generous sponsorship again of this program which is allowing us to give away these prizes and we appreciate those who participated on our judging panel which included members of our local law enforcement representative from our sponsor Rival 5 and school district administrators. We thank them for their time and effort in selecting the winners who will be awarded this evening. We'd like to welcome all the student winners and their parents who are here tonight too. This is district 204's second annual safety contest in which students were encouraged to create posters, digital designs or video PSAs to raise awareness about school safety and fostering safe learning environment. School safety is a shared responsibility and it is crucial that students, staff, and the community work together to create a culture of awareness, vigilance, and action. This initiative underscores District
020204's commitment to ensuring that every student feels secure, valued, and supported in their learning environment. By participating in this contest, students are not only showcasing their creativity but also playing an active role in promoting safety and responsibility amongst their peers. We are proud to see our students with using their voices to make a difference and we look forward to continuing this important work together. Tonight we will award first, second, and third place prizes for each level, elementary, middle, and high school. These entries along with those being given an honorable mention are displayed on the back wall of the boardroom. We'll begin with awards for elementary level in which students submitted a drawing or poster focused on school safety awareness. When we call your name, please come up to the front, receive your certificate and prize
021and stay at the front for a group photo will be taken when each student for that level is up here. Our third place winner at elementary level receiving a $100 Amazon gift card is third grade student from Owen Elementary, Serena Khan. Please come up to receive your award. [applause] Our second place winner receiving a $150 Amazon gift card as a fourth grade student at Brooks Elementary, Srian Kamenni. Please come up to [applause] our first place winner at the elementary level. And receiving $300 Amazon gift card is a third grade student from Watts Elementary, Jasmine Panda. Please come up and receive your award. [applause] >> Let's please give all our elementary winners one more round of applause. [applause] >> We're going to do a picture of the elementary level and then we'll members. >> The parents
022want to come up to get a better picture, feel free. Moving on to the middle school level, students submitted both digital designs and video PSAs focused on school safety, anti-bullying, responsible and respectful behavior and reporting concerns to a trusted adult. Again, we will call your name. Please come to the front to receive your certificate of prize and stay at the front while we do a group photo. Our third place winner at the middle school level receiving a $125 Amazon gift card is an eighth grade student from Gregory Middle School, Taylor Vic. Please come up to receive your award. [applause] Our second place winner receiving a $200 Amazon gift card are seventh grade students at Hill Middle School, Don Efanic and London Johnson. Please come up to receive your award. [applause] For first place, we actually
023had a tie and both winners will receive a $400 gift card thanks to Rival Thor Technologies. First of our first place winners are eighth grade students from Hill Middle School, Muhammad Mavia and Arise Ansari. Please come up to receive your award. [applause] And our second place or our second first place winner couldn't be here tonight is it's actually her birthday. It is Eva Katani from Gregory Middle School. Let's give all of our middle schoolers a round of applause. [applause] And finally, we will award students at the high school. When we when we call your name, please come up front to receive your certificate and prize and stay in front for a group photo. Our third place winner at the high school level receiving a $125 Amazon gift card is a junior at Nqua Valley High
024School, Mayun Kim. Please come up to receive your award. [applause] Our second place winner receiving a $250 Amazon gift card is a senior at Matia Valley High School. Tanya Marine Aival, please come up to receive your award. [applause] And our first place winner at the high school level and receiving a $500 Amazon gift card is a junior at Niqua Valley High School, Arnav Gandi. [applause] Please come up and receive your award. Congrats. Congratulations again to all of our students who won awards during this year's safety contest. We would also like to acknowledge all the students who participated in the contest and the parents and teachers who supported our students in this process. We appreciate your partnership and recognition that safety of our schools is a shared responsibility and takes all of us working together. We'd
025also like to thank Carrie White again and the team at Rival 5 for their generous sponsorship of our second annual safety contest. Thank you everyone. Thank you. [applause] >> All right. Tonight we have no public comment. So we are going to move to our consent agenda and superintendent report. We will start with the superintendent report. Dr. Tally. >> Thank you Miss Donahghue, members of the board of education and the Indian Prairie community. I start my comments with sad news. Recently we learned of the passing of Mr. Tom Gibbs. A longtime Indian Prairie educator, Mr. Gibbs passed away on November the 6th. He began his career in 1966 at Indian Plains as a teacher. He did leave the district in 1970, but returned in 73 and opened Wubanzi Valley in 1975 as principal. In 1987, he
026was the assistant superintendent for secondary education. He was instrumental in the design of Nika Valley. He retired from the district in 2000. Mr. Gibbs made a difference in our district's early development. I ask that we take a moment of silence in honor of do of Mr. Gibbs. Thank you. Saturday, November 15th was was designated as schoolboard members day. We want to thank these volunteers who sit up here for their hours of service to the students and parents and staff of Indian Prairie. These seven members have demonstrated their commitment to ensuring that our school system is the best it can be. They question. They are engaged. They support. They listen. They work as a team. They may not all agree. However, they respond as a unified team. That is what is needed. And I respect and
027appreciate the ways in which they serve our district. So to all of them, I say thank you. Please know how thankful I am for all of you who contribute to our school system and make it the best ever. Just today, I received thank you cards from students in Miss Huff's first grade first grade class at Young Elementary, thanking me for reading to them as part of Miss Huff's Mr. Reader program. I am thankful for the opportunity to read for to the students and pleased with their cards. As this is the last meeting before Thanksgiving, I wish to wish all of our students, families, and staff a happy and safe Thanksgiving. And I'm now going to turn it back to Miss Donahue. Okay, time for our consent agenda. I need a motion to approve consent agenda
028items D through K. >> Make a motion that the board of education approve consent agenda items D through K as presented. >> Second. >> Any discussion? Michelle, will you please call the role? >> Mr. Rising? >> Yes. >> Miss Gins? >> Yes. >> Miss Grover? >> Yes. >> Miss Deming? >> Miss Donahghue? >> Yes. >> Mr. Kurubus? >> Yes. >> And Miss F? Yes, >> the motion passes. I now need a motion to approve the US history and French three high school course offerings as presented. >> I move that the board approve the US history and French three high school course offerings as presented. >> Second. Is there any discussion? Michelle, will you please call the role? >> Miss Fazic? >> Yes. >> Miss Grover? >> Yes. >> Mr. Rising? Yes, >> Mr. Kurubis. >>
029Yes, >> Miss Deming. >> I, >> Miss G. >> Yes, >> Miss Donahghue. >> Yes. The motion passes. >> I need a motion to approve the high school US history interactive textbooks and accompany digital resources as presented. I move that the board of education approve the high school US history interactive textbook and accompanying digital resources as presented. Second. Any discussion? Michelle, will you please call the role? >> Miss Gint? >> Yes. >> Miss Grover? >> Yes. >> Mr. Rising? >> Yes. >> Miss Deming? >> I. >> Miss Donahghue. >> Hi. >> Miss Fazic? >> Yes. >> And Mr. Kubz? >> Yes. >> The motion passes. Now I need a motion to approve the do adopt recommendation of the resolution committee for resolutions 1 through 10. Are you modifying that, Miss Dummy? >> Yes, we did
030have uh as requested, I did hear from two board members. So, I would like to pull items two um delegate assembly and item three, nominations, please. >> Do we want to move this to a different part from the agenda for efficiency? >> You want to move it later? Yeah. Okay. >> I I would I would second that motion. >> All right. We'll move that to after our discussion items. Okay. We will now have a presentation from Mr. Ron Wilkkey regarding SRO updates. >> [laughter] >> stand. >> So, many of you were probably wondering what were all the police officers doing in in the back there to set this up a little bit. U Dr. Tally and I talked several months ago about um state of school safety and a little bit about our school resource
031officer program which has been around for a long time. um consists of nine dedicated officers right now and and uh who I work with on a daily basis for a number of things. But as Dr. Tally and I were talking about um sometimes people uh have the understanding that that maybe the legal and the law enforcement are are their main roles and really that's kind of the farthest from the truth. And I've brought these gentlemen in here today both to introduce themselves because we've had some new members so that you know who is working in our schools and also talk a little bit about day in the life and what their duties are besides those law enforcement related which are again a really small part of their general day. So I'm going to start over
032here with John Callo and let him introduce himself and tell you what schools he's responsible for providing assistance. >> Grab a mic. Yep. >> So you're okay. >> Yeah. >> Uh good evening. I'm Jonathan Callero, Neighborville police officer. I've been a police officer for a while. I've been an SRO for a little over three years. I'm also a proud dad, uh, district 204 dad. My son Johnny attends Peterson Elementary. He's second grade in the special needs program there. And [clears throat] my heart uh goes out to everybody, his teachers, his aids, they're absolutely unbelievable with him. Uh just this last Friday, they invited me to go and be with his class along with three other special needs classes where I read him a story. I hung out with them, played with them. Uh we did
033a craft together and that is one of many things as an SRO that we do. uh it's we are a resource you know if there's issues with uh students staff parents of course we are there to bridge the gap between the police department and the school but in my personally what I believe is to humanize this what we are wearing our role as a police officer my sole goal is to humanize this show that I'm a person as well be relatable to the kids uh it's easy to because again I can remember like it was yesterday being in elementary school, junior high, high school. So that is my I told myself when I first became an SRO, as long as I humanize this and I have fun with it, I think I would be successful.
034I I believe I am. I enjoy what I do. It's been a nice change of pace from uh being a patrol officer. Um that's that's all I have to say. Thank you for letting me speak and I'll pass it over to my partner, Lonzo. >> Oh, I'm so sorry, too. I'm a freshman SRO at at Niqua and I just came from Gregory and Hill which officer Rooney is there and he'll share as well. I apologize. >> All right. Hey everybody, I'm Alonzo Hedgepuff. Uh I am the SRO at Cone and Scullan middle schools as well as U six elementary schools and Gail McKenzie. Um I became an SRO in January. Um, basically what you see is what you get. Uh, I the exactly how I patrolled is exactly how I do it in uh the
035schools. I was in uh for the past 10 years. Uh whether I was in Richton Park, Illinois, where I used to police or here in Neighborville, I was always big on community policing. Uh I feel that uh that's the only way I have solved several crimes based on the community and helping the community and the community helps me right back. I am a dad so that's all I am as in the schools is like a second dad to everybody. Um uh I love to uh just be up in uh communicate with all of the children. uh uh the the the ones that have the most problems I gravitate to the most. Uh and they uh give the respect right back to me. Uh it it's really surprising how much if you put in the energy
036the energy that you'll get right back, you know. So that's what I've been appreciative of of um of since I became one. It's busy. Uh, but it's a good busy, you know, because you get things that you would never get on patrol, you know, like the the level [clears throat] the the level of of how it fills your heart and mind. It's paramount above everything. And uh it's a position that uh where you had to you had to give a thought. can I commit to this? And then you found out really fast that yes, I can. So, yep. I appreciate this time and thank you all very much. >> As you guys can probably tell, he's uh well respected and and the kids love him as evidenced by him winning the musical chairs at the
037end of the year. He'd only been there a couple months and got mobbed by the kids. They were cheering for him. And when I hang out with Alonzo, he he's fighting off fist bumps. And that's really what we want to see when when we go with the student. I visit the SRO's on a daily basis and I am never not um just just happily um not shocked but surprised at the amount of time students come up and make connections with them and they talk about sports or extracurricular activities or anything that they're doing but they truly do gravitate and that's what we're looking for is that relationship building. So who's next? >> Yeah, Mark. >> Hello. I'm Mark Schumacher. I'm the SRO at the Nika Valley main campus. I've been an SRO since uh since
0382019. [clears throat] Uh I was at Hill and Gregory. I was at Cronin Scullan and at the freshman center and now at the main campus. So um it's been great. The seniors that I have now in Nigua. I had them when they were sixth graders at Cronin Skullin. So it's been uh it's been a lot of fun. I love being an SRO. Um I'm also a 204 grad. So been spent a lot of time in 204 school. So it's been a lot of fun. So, I'm not as longwinded as my partner. So, [laughter] >> who's next? Who's next? All right, Ray Morris. >> Well, good evening everyone. I'm Ray Morris. I'm the SRO of Wubanzi. I've been at Wubanzi for the last three school years. I've been a police officer for 19 years. Uh 17
039years here in Aurora. Uh my main focus is uh safety and security within the schools. also just building those relationships with the kids, keeping the lines of communications open with the staff, students as well as their parents. So, thank you. >> Well, good evening. Uh, I'm Officer Leardy with the Aurora Police Department. I'm also the school resource officer at Matia. Um, I've been a police officer for the past six years and I've been at Matia for three years. Um, I'll just say the job is just about building those relationships with our students. I think it's it's critical to really bridge the gap with the students at a young age. I can't tell you how many times I go to Target or the store and there's students chasing after me. They want to introduce me to
040their parents or whoever they're with. So, it's a really rewarding job. We do much more than just, you know, what people think we do and then which is the enforcement. We, you know, for instance, I was in uh many classes the last week in criminal law. We teach in government class. I was on a teacher student panel this week. So, we just do uh way more than what people realize. One things one thing that SRO's do too, I know my partners do, if there's an issue outside of school involving a student, we always notify the staff members and the administration because we want to make sure they can provide resources to those students when they get to school. So, we're really that bridge between the uh staff members and those students as well. So, if
041you have any questions, feel free to stop by Matia. We'd love to see you there. Thank you. >> I'm Sergeant Excuse me. [clears throat] I'm Sergeant Michael McLean with Neighborville Police. I've been here for about 21 years. I don't work in the schools, but I supervise our SRO's. Um I was a 204 grad, went to Brookdale, Hill Wanzi. My kids are currently at Matia. Uh I will say the one thing I have to offer this because I'm actually not in the schools. I get to see these guys do it. The one thing about this position that I think people don't realize is they have to be a little bit of everything. They are counselors. They are teachers. They are police officers. They are role models. They are mentors. And then they also have to handle
042any type of call that comes through. Like if I'm on the if I'm in patrol and I have a fairly high level crime, I'm dealing with a financial crime or whatever that goes to a very specialized group. They get everything that comes through the school because it's theirs to have to deal with. So they have to kind of be a jack of all trades. And to see them do that on a regular basis and still have those close connections with their community of kids that they deal with is is super impressive. It's been fun to be a part of. I've been doing it for now about a year. didn't have any experience as an SRL. So, it's been kind of a learning curve for me to kind of jump in and figure it out, but
043it's been neat and they're a lot of help and guide me along that path. So, thank you for your time and I appreciate this. >> Good evening. I'm Dan Rooney. I've been a school resource officer for a total of two weeks. [laughter] Just started my third week uh this morning. Um it's uh but just kind of the way um when the position opened in Neapville and number of guys I think seven or eight people applied for the positions. Um just the one thing I did my interviews is I've been coaching pretty much my adult life since I graduated high school. I coached sports park district sports and I have two daughters who I coach a lot in softball. Um and so I just take kind of a coaching mentality to it. Just a mentoring mentality.
044Um, I I also gravitate kind of towards the kids who struggle a little bit more or kind of the the tougher kids. Um, I coached wrestling for 10 years, so I was around a lot of those kinds of kids. Um, but yeah, that's just I I always when I first came in two weeks ago, I I told my administrators that, you know, my job, my role is in the name. I'm a resource officer. So like if there are issues at home or outside or happens outside. Yeah, bridging the gap there, but I'm also a resource and I'm not a know-it-all. I don't know everything, but I have access to a lot of resources, social services through Neapville Police Department. And so, uh, I'm pretty good at trying to fix problems and and and be a
045resource to them. Good evening, Officer Nike. Uh, I'm the new SRO in the middle schools on the Aurora side. So, Fisher, Granger, and still. I've been in the position for about three months now. Uh, eight years of law enforcement experience before that. I was a field training officer. Uh the number one thing for me being a new SRO this year is to build a lot of connections with the staff and obviously the kids. I have [clears throat] three schools, so I try to get myself out there. Passing periods, gym class, lunchrooms. Um it helps when I have good peers that I can rely on. Officer Leonardi and Morris have guided me through a lot of situations that have presented themselves, so I'm learning as much as I can as I go. Um, one of my
046favorite experiences thus far has been teaching drug class at all the middle schools. So, I've been approached and happily volunteered to teach a two-day drug class. I guess they enjoyed it so much that they want me to come back for the second half of the school year now and teach the other half. So, uh, learning as I'm going and trying my best just to be a good role model, be a happy face and and be out there and build the human connection. So, thank you so much. I'm last up. I am. Yeah. Matia Valley and Ranger. >> So, just letting you know who, as you heard, some of them are are newer, some have been around for a long time, but these are uh the people that our students and our staff rely on, as
047Dan mentioned, as a resource, right? And and my role is to kind of be that liaison between district 204 um and and our district staff. So, they mentioned a couple things about assisting with school safety and security and and of course emergency preparedness. They all work with me with our school emergency operations teams to make sure we're ready for critical incidents and crisis response. Um they work on building the relationships with the students as you said that for everything from you know like I know Mark judges the chili cookoff. He he he's good at that and they do forensics classes and driver's education and um all different things that are um maybe things you wouldn't think of from the uh besides the chili cookoff maybe. So um provide guidance to students and staff. Again, we
048have um even, you know, as you know, people with lives outside of of that. So, sometimes they could be a trusted ally if somebody's going through something, meaning a staff member in their own personal life or have questions about things. Um and uh we also did um parent universities, which you may see is is a nice um is a nice resource for them to have for our resource officers, which explain internet safety and school safety and some of the other things. And the last thing that um they are integral parts of is our threat assessment teams. We have one of these at the district and every one of our schools has those. Two main goals for those are to prevent future violence and then resolve conflicts. And that's where they come in with that to
049um both try to be ahead of and be proactive so that we don't have student issues down the road and and we can learn and work on how to resolve that. um but also on on trying to be forward thinking and working with parents who might have access to weapons and firearms and making sure they do home visits, provide education on that. Make sure they're safely locking them, provide locking mechanisms if needed. So, um all of the things that we're all worried about with school safety, right, is is where they they come into that. So, um just so that we're we're not too far, does anybody have any stories you'd like to add just about things that had that was For sure. >> So, as Ron mentioned, you know, when [clears throat] we get a
050threat and there's some kind of threat towards the school, student, staff, whatever, we conduct home visits. And there's a couple uh purposes for that. Obviously, you want to investigate the students home with the uh parents permission of course, which I would say 10 times out of 10 parents are willing to cooperate. We visit the home. We handle it in a educational way. We explain do everything that I me personally everything that I do with a home visit and why I'm there. I'm explaining the whole reason and the process for it. So, we make sure that there's no nothing of uh concern in the student in the student's room. You know, no certain lists or pictures or anything on the walls. Um, also we ask if there's any firearms in the house and there has been
051instances where parents do have firearms and they're unsecured. They're on their nightstand. They're accessible to the students. So, it's a learning piece also for the parents. And there's been times where I actually had to force a parent uh to get a safe and he was a little hesitant, but ultimately he did. He showed me the receipt of it. He showed me the delivery of it. And it and I explained to him it's peace of mind for the school, uh the students, the parents, the school district, and and of course myself and the police department. And and eventually he understood that. But the reason for that's the reason for those home visits is to explain it to the child to investigate the room, make sure there's nothing of concern, but more importantly to make sure that
052parents are on board with properly securing their firearms because there has been times where they are not. But it's kind of like a blessing in disguise. And had that not happened, who knows how long it would that would have gone where, you know, weapons are unsecured and these certain situations arise. Anybody else? >> Yeah, I'll just provide an example of some of the things that we do. >> Um, a couple years ago, we had a student at Matia who was addicted to heroin. And I had been working with the student for months uh and also the deans and the administration. I was at school and we heard a call come out that he left school and he was um not conscious and not breathing. He was basically dead. So officers, they came uh to the
053house, they administered Narcan, they brought him back to life and then we worked with him throughout the entire year and he's cleaned today and we still have relationships with them. So these are just some of the little things that we do and some of it, you know, starts off pretty rocky but with our involvement, you know, anything can happen. So that's that's a good story. >> Anybody else? And lastly, so just um with that, but does anybody have any questions of our school resource officers or the program? I'll just open up if anyone has any questions. >> I just want to make a comment because in the past SRO's throughout society have gotten a bad rap and and I've personally as a parent had interactions because of something that happened with my student. Um, I've
054had interactions with SRO's and then just being in the school and seeing how the all the kids interact with you guys and you're like one of them and you've developed those relationships and um I I just have nothing but kudos and thanks to to go out to all of you for what you do because honestly you probably think of all those kids like they're they're your own, you know, so I know you guys would do anything to protect them and to make sure they stay on the right path. So thanks Do you want to say something? >> Just thank you. I had an opportunity to attend a presentation that you did um over at Granger a couple years ago that one of your peers did just trying to illuminate the uh significance of and and
055challenges of internet safety. and uh I was just there attending. I was invited by the principal um as a board member to attend and just I'm just so appreciative of the manner in which you shared with parents and and that Granger community um just the importance of things to look out. So so many things that you do uh from an educational making sure that parents are safe um and the entire um family is safe in addition to the children. So thank you. So, thank you all very much. We um truly appreciate all the work that you do in our schools. Uh we're often there for different reasons and have seen and witnessed some of the interactions and things that we've um seen with various students and with staff and it is an like you said
056the word resource is there for a reason. that's like um something that is helpful across the board within our schools and thank you for also making um students comfortable with police officers and um not seeing them as a enemy but as a a help and a resource for everyone. So, thank you so very much all of you. >> I just want to say um it truly is a partnership that we have. Uh I appreciate Ron Wilkey and what he does, all of the SRO's in what they do. I um echo what was said whenever I visit the schools the relationships between and among the SRO and the students is truly remarkable. U they go to the students go to the SRO the students engage with the SRO and that is done because of the relationships
057that have been built. Uh I I am so proud that we have their SROS that we have in our buildings and the and the work that they do uh on a daily basis. It's a great thing for Indian Prairie. So I thank all of them. >> Thank you. >> So the students sign their things. [applause] >> Oh, okay. So do they do they have to leave when the meeting over? Okay. All right. We will now have a presentation from Matt Shipley regarding the tenative levy. >> This is the excitement of the evening. >> All right. Yeah. Good uh good evening members of the board of education. Uh as mentioned tonight is our tentative levy presentation for the 2025 uh levy year. This is a discussion item that's required uh associated with the levy adoption by
058um Illinois state law. It's consistent with strategic plan priority number four uh and board policy revenue and investments. Um tonight's agenda, I'm just going to provide a quick overview of the property tax cycle and process. Uh just cover uh some of the roles that that several other uh entities uh and organizations throughout the state play in in the the property tax process. I'll detail our tax levy request that I'm making this evening. Uh we'll show the individual taxpayer impact which includes again some some disclosures that are required by state law. And then finally, I'll cover next steps. will be required to adopt this as our 2025 levy. Um so first just just a quick quick overview and again this is trying to um make this uh diagram as simple as possible but there are many
059other uh entities uh really throughout the state that play into into how taxes are assessed and ultimately levied against taxpayers in Illinois. Um and so the school district's levy, the the portion we're working on this evening is just a just a slice of that overall process. Uh the process starts with the township assessor's office. Uh so within Indian Prairie, we're in four different townships. So we have four different township assessors we work with. Those are the individuals that are actually responsible for um assigning fair value ultimately equalized assess values for properties within the township. Um that data is provided to that data is provided to the county supervisors who review um those assessments and then also the Illinois Department of Revenue plays a role in the equalization process. So there's um work being done on
060our behalf both at the township, the county and the Illinois Department um level. Uh this is occurring throughout the summer and is even ongoing now. So we'll talk shortly that we don't know some of the final numbers associated with our levy and that's because this work is still ongoing. Um once we do Yeah, >> let's switch off to another one of the mics because that one seems to be going in and out >> and we'll see what happens. >> All right, I'm on the third one now. So, let's see how this goes. Okay. All right. Uh the what once we adopt the levy in December, we will file it with both counties. Again, we're in multiple counties, so we'll file it with both DuPage and Will. and then it'll be up to the county to
061issue our final extension and then ultimately the county treasures who bills our residents on our behalf, collects funds and ultimately remits it to the school district. Um, so just to reiterate, the district is not responsible for the actual assessment of properties, applying exemptions, administering any of the assessment challenges, or even billing or collecting funds. However, these are all steps that do impact the district's levy, how it's applied across taxpayers, and ultimately how how the funds are remitted to the district. Um, and so I would encourage anybody with with more specific questions on any of that piece of it to to work with their township assessor or with the appropriate uh county officials. Um, we we do work closely with our assessors and with the counties, however, to just understand sort of some general trends that
062are occurring within the uh counties. Um, so we do know that um, 2025 is a standard re-evaluation year. So once out of every four years is is a full reassessment of all properties in the district. This year is not one of those years. This is a year where the assessors are really just taking a general factor and applying it to all properties based on the current market. um other valuation changes, you know, resulting from from significant additions or or changes to a property's type. That's being done on a selective basis as opposed to being done to all properties in the district. Um we do expect to see significant increases in assessed values once again this year. Uh again the the broader market when you sort of talk about fair market or or what you see
063maybe in real estate um transactions is starting to slow down a little bit but when we talk about assessed value that tends to lag actual market values and so we are continuing to catch up with significant residential market increases we've seen sort of um in that postcoid real estate market from 2020 2021 and on. Um we do expect this to be a year where we see significant new property. We're expecting about 70 million of additional um equalized assessed value being added to the district. Um that represents a little over $3 million of new revenue to the district. Uh that includes some some um good commercial and industrial um development, but it does also include some recent housing or residential developments uh as well, primarily in Will County with the Sawrass development. And then finally, u
064we do expect to see a decreased tax rate for the with the district's tax rate um being among the lowest in 15 plus years. This is a result of that, um increase in assessed values compared with a um an increase to our levy being below what we're seeing in market values. I'm going to add to the trend tonight of taking water and seems like it's our first first uh first meeting this year where everyone's got a little bit of a sore throat, but um between that and the microphones uh struggling a little bit tonight. So, [clears throat] all right. So, moving on to our tenative levy request. I do want to emphasize this is this is not necessarily reflective of what the individual taxpayer will feel, but this is showing the district as a whole.
065Um so we u we are recommending a tenative operating levy of $360,500,000. Um that's about a 14.4 million increase from last year about 4.1%. Um the bond and interest fund levy which is shown here the board does not take action on. That is already determined by the counties based on our outstanding bonds and interest and and paperwork we file when the bonds are issued. So that amount is increasing slightly as well in line with the um safer stronger 204 referendum, but we're not taking specific action on that as as part of uh tonight's presentation. Um so the operating levy increase under PEL is limited to the 2024 CPI which is 2.9% plus an allowance for new property. So that 4.15% represents 2.9% for CPI and then a little bit over 1% related to new property.
066Um, and then the final piece of this is that because we do not know the exact new property amount, the county will adjust our levy down to whatever the actual new property amount is once that is determined in the spring. So, our obligation tonight is to to pass a levy that will capture all that new property and uh we are this uh tenative request does reflect a levy that that should capture all uh new property in the district. Um, just wanted to provide a little bit of background on why we are making tonight's tender levy um, justification. Um, I I'll start by saying that this levy is consistent with the uh, 2526 budget that was passed in September. So, when we passed that budget, we did assume a levy that would go up by approximately
067that that 4.1%. Um, property taxes continue to represent the largest and most consistent revenue source for the district at about 77%. uh it is the only revenue source that has come close to keeping up with inflation uh as state and federal revenues have have basically been held stagnant or or increased very very minimally over the past several years. Um as board members know our state of Illinois evidence-based funding percentage is at 84%. So this is recognizing that the district does not have all resources necessary to meet EBF components. Um and while EBF recognizes that the the incremental increase each year again from the state um is coming in at below inflation levels. Um I do want to um uh recognize that we are required to disclose our cash position at June 30th of 2025. Uh
068that was approximately $222 million. Um again this amount is is although large and it is large at at June 30th specifically that is a high point for the district. uh we see a significant amount of cash and investments held in the summer months. Then we gradually spend that down throughout the year. And so that 222 million uh does is offset by some significant salaries and benefits payable, accounts payable, construction commitments, and then the amount necessary to ensure we fund our obligations throughout the year. Um just moving on to taxpayer impact. Then again this slide shows some some information that's more specific to the individual taxpayers's experience with their tax bill. So as mentioned earlier we do expect to show a declining tax rate again uh this year. Uh as shown in the chart uh we
069are back to about where we were in 2008 with the t total tax rate about about 4.5. So we're not quite to where we were in 2008 but we're getting close. Uh again, you can see the impact that the Great Recession had on tax rates with with a four or five years of of a grad of a pretty significant increase. Uh peaked in 2014 at a rate just over six. And then we're showing kind of a slow decline over the last uh 10 plus years to try to get back to that level we were in in 2008. Uh we estimate that the average home val home value uh fair value in the district is just over $500,000. And for a home at that that value, we estimate an increase of $187 in the uh annual
070property tax payment or about 2.9%. Um, but again, an individual taxpayers's impact will vary slightly based on uh changes to their their uh individual property. And then again, the difference between that 2.9 and the 4.1 we showed earlier is tied to uh new property uh that we are anticipating uh coming online in both DUP page and W counties. Uh the next next steps associated with this levy then December 15th board of education meeting we will hold a public hearing where we will uh provide the public an opportunity to comment on the hearing and then we will look for the levy to be formally adopted by the board later in that meeting. Um the levy as mentioned earlier is filed with both DUP page and will counties. We are required to complete that filing by the
071end of the calendar year and then uh once that is done our our levy will will formally be be um uh be extended by the counties in the spring. um that next steps after that then I just want to mention that our fivecast five-year forecast presentation will be presented in February 26 which again our current budget and forecast that we that we've been presenting to the board do assume a levy that is consistent with the levy being presented as as a tenative levy this evening and we do continue to to offer monthly uh financial reports as well which um demonstrate the collection then the collection process and the timing um of priv previous previous levies as well. Um, so with that, I'm available for any questions on tonight's tenative le. >> Okay. Tonight I'm just
072gonna let anybody that has a question ask their question. Gonna call in each person, but so Mr. Rising. >> So every year, Mr. Shipley, I get this question and I just wanted to clarify it. So if you go to the previous slide, if this board decides to levy for 2.9% which is current CPI and people receive their tax bills and they compare their school line item to the previous year's school line item and they say my taxes went up for that school five or 6% from what it was last year, but the board only levied 2.9%. And their tax bill would it appear to be what up 5 to 6%. Can you explain? I know the answer, but can you explain why that happens first of all and then clarify that even if their tax
073bill from the school appears that it went up five or 6%. The school district still only receives that 2.9%. Can you just clarify that? Uh so yes, as as mentioned earlier, we uh we do not control the the assessment process of properties or how that that total levy is spread across our tens of thousands of taxpayers throughout the district. Um so what we are estimating here is that the average impact for district 204 taxpayer will be a 2.9% increase. Um there are there are taxpayers that will see higher than that 2.9% but then that also means there'll be taxpayers that will see below 2.9%. Um so one thing we have seen in the district over the past several years that we continue to monitor is this concept of a shifting of tax burden among different
074property types. Um so we we have seen some tax burden shift from commercial or industrial properties as those values have sort of stagnated in the current economy to residential taxpayers. But overall all taxpayers if you averaged every single tax payment made um to the district the average would be 2.9%. >> And we will even if somebody's bill goes up three four 5% the district still just sees the 2.9 >> 2.9%. That's correct. But it's it's because of either the way it's assessed, the property shift, or the assessed value that could raise their rate higher than the 2.9 that we would levy. >> Their their percent increase could be higher than 2.9%, but it would be because their property value increases more than the mean throughout the throughout the district. So again, we're we're anticipating properties
075across the district will increase by say eight or nine%. Uh again, that number is not finalized yet, but if a property, you know, has a has a reassessment and it's up by 15%, then they will see higher than a than a 2.9% increase. >> Thank you. >> Are there any other comments or questions? All right, I think that's it for the night. >> Thank you very much, Mr. Shipley. Now it's time for our legislative advocacy and board of education and we'll go back to our approval for the resolutions committee. >> Before we start, should we make a motion? Um, I don't know if we have to appoint Susan as our delegate rep, but you are our IASB rep, but I know we need uh elected alternate. >> Sorry, we did appoint me. Okay. Some at
076some point, but we do need to um we we would like to appoint an alternate. >> All right. So, should I make a motion for that? >> Yeah. Um, I move that board of education uh appoint Natasha Grover as the 2025 IASB alternate delegate for the delegate assembly on behalf of our board of education. >> Is there a second? >> Any discussion? >> Michelle, will you take >> Mr. Rising? >> Yes. >> Miss Gint? Yes, >> Miss Donahghue. >> Yes, >> Miss Fic. >> Yes, >> Mr. Kurubis. >> Yes, >> Miss Deming. >> I, >> Miss Grober. >> Resolution passes. The motion passes. >> All right. Okay. Now, I need a motion to approve. Do do adopt recommendation on resolution committee for resolutions one and four through 10 as presented. I move that the board
077accept uh the do adopt recommendations for the constitutional amendments item number one and then item 4 through 10 as presented. >> Second. >> Any discussion? >> Okay. Michelle, will you please call the role? >> Miss Deming, >> I. >> Mr. Rising, >> yes. >> Miss Grover, >> yes. >> Mr. Kurubus, >> yes. >> Miss Donahue, >> yes. >> Miss Gitz, >> yes. Miss. >> Yes. >> The motion passes. All right. So, Miss Deming, >> do you want to call and then we'll have a discussion? >> Okay. All right. I need a motion to approve recommendation of the resolution committee. Do adopt for resolution two as presented. >> Second. >> All right. Discussion. So, u I heard from two board members um on item number two and that was the discussion that we had regarding the
078um if you'll recall this was presented as a do adopt uh the um by the constitution committee and this is the one with a change for uh a vote in another manner other than in-person voting for the delegate assembly. This particular item just to share has been questioned by was questioned by a number of districts. In actuality, this particular the way that the intent uh is made is for there not to be a change at this time by any means that the voting would remain in person, but it is to allow the board of directors flexibility in case in the future there is any type of manner which would prevent the delegate assembly from meeting in person in order to provide them the opportunity not to have to um address the constitution again. The second
079thing that I did want to share is that the concern there people wanted to know if this had come about because there was a concern of certain boards not being able to afford attendance at the conference. through the research they actually found out that there are approximately 300 districts attending the conference but who were not sending a delegate. So the concern about some of the districts not being able to pay in order to come and vote at the or attend the delegate assembly. uh they determined that they really needed to do a lot more education and encouraging districts who were present who are present to attend and make sure that their voice is heard. So um they anticipate that there will be quite a bit uh increase in the number of delegate delegates this year
080at the um at the assembly meeting. So again, this is their intent is not to change currently, but to allow for the board of directors the future to make a change if necessary. So I'll just I don't think that was clear in the write up and I think that the way it was written, it gives some flexibility to change it for whatever reason. like all of a sudden they decide that they want to let people vote by email or whatever. And um I think that they should have written it in a different way where it was clearer about what the intent of this thing was for. So I will be voting no still. I will be voting no too because um after hearing Miss Deming's explanation um it just doesn't sound like a good reason
081to have a vote by email just because they didn't want to show up but they were there at the conference and if there is ever such a situation as a pandemic or another crisis at that point they can visit at that time and I'm sure um they have other protocols in place what to do. So, I will be voting no. >> I I I agree. I and I would support um at least board member Donahghue and board member Grover's thought process um regarding that. I think that if the board of delegates um if if the board of directors needs to make a change, then there's not much difference having to make this change versus addressing it with the constitution. constitution amendment. >> So as a board of director at the state level um it was
082originally suggested that there should be a method for email voting and that was shut down you know unanimously. Um, [clears throat] I go either way on this. And why I say that is because listen, I I want all boards of education to go to the conference. And I would like all boards of education to have a delegate rep go to the delegate assembly to vote. That should be an expectation. But on the other hand, do we want fairness of all voices even if people aren't there or can't attend? I mean, you think Southern Illinois, that's like six hours away drive for subdists. Um now the way I read this more it says that if any proposed changes would happen um for an alternative method for voting um it would first have to go to resolutions
083committee and then they could recommend an alternative method for voting if determined necessary and beneficial to members. That recommendation would then go to the board of directors. there's 21 of us uh to make the final decision as its members are elected by the divisions and the board is composed of active members across Illinois and therefore equipped to ensure a fair voting process. Now, do I think they're going to make this change just randomly? No. But I think why it partially also came about is because of the pandemic and that >> they had to go through all these hoops to have an alternative method because we didn't go in person that one year. So, I am okay with people voting no against it. Um, because maybe it should be a little more clear. Um, and a
084change just can't happen because let's be honest, the majority of the students are majority of the students in Illinois com are composed of about four or five divisions and there's 21 divisions in the state. So, if four or five divisions vote one way and all the other directors vote another way. That that's not representing the majority of the students in the state of Illinois. >> So, I'm okay if certain board members vote that way. >> I have not quite made up my mind yet. Mark, I didn't want I wasn't going to get into the real specifics, but the reason that this actually came about was because there was one um board member. He never shared which district he's from, but three years ago, he attended the delegate assembly, saw that there were only 400 uh
085districts represented and thought, you know, we have 700 plus uh districts. So, uh that's why he brought forward the the potential email which was voted down. second year he brought it back again and they did do um he did a small survey of survey of downstraight downstate uh districts and then um the uh um office personnel actually did some research and again found out that there are over 300 districts attending the conference but not coming that weren't coming to the delegate assembly. So there was a little concern because certainly that had been a concern as to whether or not there were districts who weren't doing at the delegate assembly because they couldn't afford to come to the conference. And they did say that there um a district can send a member to the delegate assembly
086and they do not have to attend the conference. But um it looks like the concern of districts not being there due to not being able to afford it may not be exactly what's happening. So they're going to to be reassessing as they see this year. They've done outreach to try and have more districts attend that are actually at the conference. >> This is kind of crazy to me. If you take the time to go to the conference, >> why on earth would you not take your vote, right? >> Yeah. You'd be surprised how many boards of education don't even have this conversation, >> right? >> And they just appoint a delegate rep and they send them and they vote however they want to and they don't even have >> they don't have they haven't even
087had the discussion at the board table. >> They talked about that. So >> yeah, >> I'm going to uh support the resolution. Um I think we can kind of release some of the reins on voting. Let's reduce some of the barriers to voting. I don't see why we can't delegate some of the decision making on how to structure the voting to the structure of the IASB. Um even though they districts might be attending and not sending a delegate, that to me signals that they agree with what's happening there and they don't need to go and vote and say yes, I agree. Um I'm not hearing any information on districts that don't attend. Um and we have 850ish districts. Um in the state of Illinois, how many are IASB members and how many also don't attend?
088Um that's a significant that's a number that obviously aren't voting. Um, so I think if we can increase the ability of districts to be able to vote, I'm all for it and let's reduce some of the barriers. I I would agree with email voting, remote voting, virtual voting. Um, we don't vote based on students. We vote based on districts. That's that's how the IASB works. Um, so I, you know, we get one vote. we don't get 26,000 votes. Um, so I I will be supporting this resolution. Yeah, I think it could be, you know, worded better and tightened up and stuff, but I think from a resolution standpoint, I support it. >> Yeah. I think one time I did ask IB how many districts in the state are part of ISB and it was like
08996% or something. I mean, it was a lot. >> 700 plus. Yeah, I also think that they do provide in the past year options if you can't afford to drive six hours and pay for a hotel room for one night to be able to be there to vote. I I strongly feel that you should be there to vote if you're attending the conference. All right, any more discussion? Okay, Michelle, will you please call the role? >> Do we need Yeah. Do we need to make clarification so that >> we made a motion to approve? If you don't agree with that, you will vote. No. >> To vote now. >> Thank you. Okay. >> I just need to know who made the motion. Did you make the motion? >> No. >> I did not make >>
090Did I make the motion? >> I think Lori said, "Can I get a motion?" And you said second. So >> All right. I need an original motion then. Um, I'll make a motion uh make a motion to approve do adopt for item two of the delegate assembly. >> Is there a second? >> I'll second. >> Okay. Michelle, would you please call the roll? >> Mr. Rising? >> No. >> Miss Deming? >> No. >> Miss Grover? >> No. Mr. Kubis. >> Yes. >> Miss Fet. >> Yes. >> And Miss Gibbs. >> Yes. >> You too. >> Out of here. >> No. I vote no. >> Four to three. >> So we have four to three. >> Do not. >> So my direction then will to be vote no. Do not adopt for item number two. All
091right. So now I need a motion to approve the do adopt recommendation on the resolution committee resolution number four as or number three as presented. I make a motion to adopt uh constitution amendment number three as presented regarding article 4 elections with the change to um two-year terms versus one year >> there second >> second okay discussion >> I will just share very briefly that the discussion this was the second one that there was discussion on and the only discussion was the reasoning was that they wanted to move this more in line to most of the way that board um officers serve terms, which is two years. And the um other uh reasoning that they stated is that although these are one-year terms, usually the person who's holding the presidency will take it that second
092time because it's a one year with the max of two um opportunities. So, that was the reasoning this was brought. That's all we'll share. >> Yeah, it it's it will be interesting to see what happens because more oftentimes than not in the past history of IASB officers at the state level, someone gets elected a vice president and then nine times out of 10 in the past, the next year they move to president. Then a year after that they moved to past president. So that's a three-year term from vice president, president to past president. Now going to two years, that's a six-year commitment. And there are not many board members in the collar counties that honestly serve more than six years. I will tell you greater than 50% chance in downstate districts they're serving 10 15
09320 years. I've met board members that have served 35 and 40 years as board members because they just sign up to run again and no one runs against them. So it will make my guess is this is going to pass at the state level. It will make it very interesting to see what happens if that continuous process of somebody being a vice president, president, past president stays in place because that is a six-year commitment now. Um so yeah, that would be interesting. >> Yeah, I think at our last meeting, Mr. rising. Um you spoke about that process and how long people are in those offices or the chain of evolution, let's just say. And um you also mentioned that there might be somebody being nominated from the floor at the um >> yeah at this
094year's at this year's delegate assembly. >> The president vice president is up for election. And I heard somebody will be running from the floor this year. Um but I can't confirm that until it actually happens. So, and thinking more about that and all kind of comes together and um again my comments about a lock from downstate districts, small districts that have long-term board members or whatever um on IASB and the officers previously the resolutions that they were putting forward but even electing officers from the floor that's absolutely impossible right because all of us have already >> discussed who are you going who's our delegate going to vote for? Well, now a new name pops up. So, they put in place processes that protect themselves and only allow other um evolution in the chain that they
095already set up. And I just worry that this is another step towards letting that be a longer cycle again. So, again, I will be voting no. I I I will probably end up supporting this. Um there's part of me that thinks it's inevitable and let's let's see how it plays out. Maybe it will open up opportunities to break break that cycle of vice president, president, past president. U maybe it'll break up that cycle because in some ways that also wasn't a good cycle because you should have fresh people there. But having run for a position at the state level, um I am happy the person that w that got that nomination because I did not um I'm happy for that person, but that person has also been a school board member for 27 years. And
096it makes me question, did did people on the nominating committee appoint that person over me because they've known them for so long versus, you know, and and I can not confirm nor deny that, but and again, I'm happy for that person, but that does enter in my mind as well. >> I recognize this is not a direct comparison. Um, but when I read this, it brought me back to, maybe Katie can speak to this also. Um, this is often how a PTA functions as well. >> And I do fully support and believe in that learning curve that happens. >> Yeah. >> And I I understand, you know, what you said about succession and how that's gone from vice president to president, etc. But this is a also discourage some of that because people are looking
097at it as a six-year commitment um to break it up somewhat. I I think there's potential for that. But I do I do support the idea that to be really effective in your role, having that time to truly learn it >> while you are doing it is different than watching as as a vice president or whatever. So, um for that reason, I will as it's written. I understand where your concerns about um it being do you know leadership being dominated by people down the state. Um but I think that's partially on us to encourage more people in color counties around here to get more involved. >> Yep. I'm going to be supporting the resolution. I think it it's a two-year term. We're not talking about um some major power shift in the association. It also
098aligns with our appointment of officers um with our local policy. So, I think it makes sense. I think there might have been a practice where um well vice presidents around here decided not to run and go up the chain as well. So, I think that might um that might become the practice. I appreciate the learning curve. I don't see I don't really see the downside. I'll be supporting. >> Any other comments? All right. Michelle, will you please call the role? >> Miss [clears throat] Deming. >> I. Miss Gint. >> Yes. Mr. Rising, >> yes. >> Mr. Kurubus, >> yes. >> Miss Grover, >> yes. >> Miss Fosik, >> yes. >> And Miss Donahghue, >> no. >> The motion passes. [snorts] All right. And then Miss Dming, you will be on a panel that >> I
099will. C. Um I'm sorry. Um President Donahghue, can we go ahead and do the um resolution, please? uh at the top of the the school bus safety funding. >> Oh, okay. >> I didn't hear it. I didn't receive it. I didn't receive any comment on that. So, we can if if we can make that assumption um that everyone agrees unless we want to take a quick >> we probably should take a vote on that since we since we didn't really we voted on the ones below. So, >> that's fine. I'll make a motion um for resolution uh yes to do adopt resolution number one school bus safety funding. >> Second. Any discussion? >> How about they fully fund transportation? >> Agreed. Topic for another day. >> Yeah, exactly. All right, Michelle, will you take please
100take the role? >> Mr. Rising. Yes, >> Miss Gint. >> Yes, >> Mr. Kurubus. >> Yes, >> Miss Deming. >> I >> Miss Grover. >> Yes, >> Miss Donahghue. >> Yes. >> And Miss Bet. >> Yes. >> Resolution passes or the motion passes. All right. Um, our board will be attending the Illinois Association of School Boards uh this coming week, Thursday through Sunday, to become more educated and have our voice in these resolutions um at the delegation um session. And on top of that, Miss Dming will be participating in a panel on Sunday morning on um how to involve legislative advocacy in your district and um we're looking forward to all of that learning. Is there any other uh legislative items to talk about? >> Nope. Just want to thank all of you because this
101is a volunteer job and we're taking time off from our own families and our professional jobs to attend this conference. So >> we don't want to forget about the len breakfast on Saturday morning. >> Thank you for and I'll just want to say thank you um for us having the discussion as board member Rising indicated. Um I understand that very few are there there there are less than um we would think boards that have the discussion that we have to make sure that we um really reflect on what's best for our district and our stakeholders. So thank you for the conversation and directing me on how to represent us. >> Appreciate that. Yes. All right. Then I need a motion to adjurnn. >> Motion to adjurnn. All in favor? >> I I