Board of Education Meeting 08/04/2025

0011 and I am reconvening to open session and calling to order the regular board of education meeting for Indian Prairie School District 204 on Monday, August 4th, 2024. I forgot to ask for okay with the recording. Okay. Michelle, will you please call the role? Miss Gens, here. Miss Fostic here. Mr. Rising here. Miss Deming present. Miss Jane yes. And Miss Donahghue here. We have a quorum. Miss Jane, will you lead us in the pledge of allegiance? I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. The next regular board meeting will be held on Monday, September 8th. It is now 7:02 p.m. and I am calling to order the public hearing for the e-learning

002plan renewal, Dr. Lee. Thanks. All right, there we go. Good evening, President Donahghue, members of the board, Superintendent Tally. Uh, tonight's public hearing is being held for um the three-year renewal as rec required by the Illinois school code of our e-learning plan. Um, the hearing has uh met the requirements as mandated by the state of Illinois. Notice of the hearing has been placed in the uh local uh newspaper. We've also provided uh notice to our parents and guardians. We've also provided notice to all staff members who are part of our collective bargaining agreement. And again, we are seeking approval um later on during our action items for approval of this threeyear learning plan. Again, our e-learning plan, it's important to um several things that we like to do uh tonight is first define what the

003e-learning plan uh e-learning is. We want to talk through the use of of e-learning days and how those uh are are used with the emergency day use. What are the legal requirements regarding an e-learning plan uh the process and the plan development and then finally next steps and any questions from the board. So, e-learning defined uh it's not the uh again taking away uh snow days as as uh was outlined when we first did this, but it's district-wide days that we allow student instruction to continue uh in lie of the district's scheduled emergency days. So, the use of e-learning days uh are several reasons. Uh it continues to build um just strength around our school calendar. We uh are required by Illinois school coal to provide uh extended emergency days at the end of the

004calendar. The use of the e-learning days can give us uh uh some consistency in knowing that we have these days presence if needed. Uh allows again for that constitu continuity of instruction to continue uh if there are emergency days that are used. And then again, very important connections to everything that we're doing with our SEAL uh services for all of our students and um how that also relates to our portrait of a graduate instruction. So in terms of a history uh going back to 2013 2014, this actually shows the use of emergency days. So uh if you if we go back in time just for a minute uh uh BC before COVID uh it's very important to know that uh in 2018 to 2019 as a district um the state of Illinois in 2015 had

005uh set aside three school districts who could pilot uh e-learning program uh Leen High Sky School District uh West Chicago and uh Gurnie. And so following that pilot, districts were able to apply uh for the use of e-learning days and we were one of the early adopters with that and that happened. We planned for that 2018 2019 and then this board approved that plan for the 2019 through 2020 school year. Very strategic of the board because we all know what happened in March 2020 of that year. And so um as other districts were scrambling to to get learning plans, many districts were formed based on ours. uh because we were we were one of the early adopters in the state. So from that the state then came out with additional school code that said that

006every three years we must present uh for approval to our school board and then for approval to the ROE. So uh we've are in the third time of of approval for our e-learning plan for the 2025 2026 school year all the way through 2028. So what are the legal requirements? Some of those I've just outlined. Uh we have to have this plan first approved by this board pending board approval. Then we'll make sure that that gets passed on to the ROE. Well, they'll be looking for certain things of the plan. And some of those things are spelled out that we're making sure that we continue to provide professional development training for all of our staff. Um this e-learning plan has never been stagnant. It's a very dynamic plan because we know uh every single school

007year as learning continues to evolve so does the the manner in which we deliver that instruction in a remote environment. Uh we want to continue to to provide notice to our parents because when e e-learning day is called uh they are they are always our partners but they become our big partners on those days uh especially on day one of that plan. uh we have to make sure that our plan continues to show five hours in of instruction. And then we want to make sure obviously that since it is an e-learning plan that we do provide uh access and opportunity for all of our students uh so that they can um uh connect to the plan electronically. So, as I already talked about the development of that plan, we took a whole year meeting with

008various stakeholders within our school district. That included everyone from not just our teachers but our students. It was it was really important that we get their input on this. Uh we talked to supporting staff, talked, of course, to our building leaders and that was all of that went into the first plan that the school board adopted for the 2019 2020 school year. So, what does that e-learning look like? Well, uh if an e-learning day is used, uh for day one, the superintendent would make that decision and day one would be an asynchronous day. Uh uh and all of those assignments, we use Google Classroom as sort of our LMS, a learning management system. And then, uh those assignments are posted and students are able to uh contact teachers and parents via email during designated office

009hours. If we have to go to a day two, again, that's decision will be made by the superintendent. Then the instruction will sync to synchronous. Uh and then again, there's a set e-learning schedule that's outlined uh by level, not just for elementary, but for middle and for our high school students. It's also important to know that there's a limit on the number of e-learning days that we have. Uh that limit is five. And so, uh, when we are making that a decision to use an e-learning day, we have to be very strategic about it and making sure that it falls in line with what our our, um, procedural guidelines when we're looking at the use of emergency days. Also, it's important to know that election days uh, do count as an e-learning day. So, and

010it does count as one of the five uh, from that. So, what are some additional considerations that we take a look at the the use of digital tools? As I mentioned earlier, it's really important that students have access to the e-learning plan. Um, you'll find in our e-learning plan, we've carved out uh, you know, pretty much an opportunity where we're continuing supporting our students. And what does that support look like? Well, first I'll start with the number 300. Uh, and talking with our chief technology officer, we have 300 hotspots that are available districtwide uh, for the use of our students. and we've had that number and that those are sustained and ready and available. We have never exhausted that number. Uh so we feel confident that that's a a good number for our students to

011have. What we do know is that as we continue to um use our our and and have a a greater um reliance on our uh energy grid that we know that a blackout can happen or a shortterm time of of short-term outage. And so if that happens during an e-learning day, then we have to have a provision in place for our students who may uh not no longer have access uh because maybe they can't create a hot spot on on someone's phone or they're that they're they're just in a situation where their their electricity uh they can't have that Wi-Fi access. If that's the case, then really is dependent upon that individual teacher to make those arrangements. What would that look like? um they're not going to be able to go up to the school

012of course um because obviously we've caught that day because it's a a emergency day for weather. More than likely it's going to be something that the teacher will be following up with them the next day or an email that may occurs later at the end of the day to let the teacher know, hey, I wasn't able to access during this time. Um and the teacher might provide an alternative assignment u whether it be physical that they're able to take home the very next day or something electronic. But the key there is that one-to-one relationship between the educator and the student with parent support to make sure that that student is not falling behind just because of a power outage on an e-learning day. So what are our next steps? Um we'll be I'm asking the

013board to approve uh the e-learning program uh for a three rear renewal uh tonight. Uh from this pending port approval, we'll forward this on to the ROE. We'll continue to communicate this e-learning plan uh to all of our stakeholders uh including staff, students, and parents. And then we'll continue to provide uh layers of professional development uh ongoing not just this year but over the three years. Um and so for that um that's that's where we're at. Okay. So we have no public comment on this portion of the meeting. Okay. I need a motion and a second to close the public hearing. Make a motion to close the public hearing. Second. Any discussion? Any questions for Dr. Lee? Does anyone have I'm not going to call people. Any questions? Okay. I'll still be back. All right.

014Michelle, will you please call the role? Mr. Rising. Yes, Miss Gint. Yes, Miss Demi. Hi, Miss Donahghue. Yes, Miss Jane. Yes, and Miss Fost. Yes. The motion passes. All right, we have two board salutes tonight. Miss Gent. Kowanis Key Club Scholarship Awards. The board salutes four District 204 graduates who received Key Club scholarship awards from the Kowanas Club of Neighborville. The recipients are Sai Munadar, Mut Mutiala from Matia Valley and Pranali Takar, Sammy Badsha and Wing Yuing from Wubanzi Valley. The scholarships were funded through generous donations from the Kowanas Club of Neighborville. The scholarship recipients were recognized for their volunteer leadership and community service as members of the Kowanas Key Club as well as their academic achievements. Congratulations to all involved. Mr. Rising, distinguished young women of Illinois state finalist. The board salutes Wubanzi Valley

015High School seniors Deafne Archroar and Juliana Philipek for being named state finalists in the distinguished young women of Illinois program. Selected among the top 22 senior girls across the state of Illinois. They excelled in scholastics, public speaking, talent, fitness, and interviews. We wish them all the best at the state showcase on August 10th at Carl Sanberg High School Performing Arts Center in Orland Park. Congratulations Deafany and Juliana. Let's give a hand for all of those accomplishments. Okay, it is now time for public comment. 60 minutes is allowed and each person is limited to three minutes. When addressing the board, we ask that you respect the confidentiality and safety of our students and school district personnel. We also ask that those addressing the board be cognizant that this is an open meeting and is available to

016all age groups and as such ask that you consider who the audience members are this evening and keep comments age appropriate. Public comment represents the voice and opinion of the speaker. There will be no feedback from the board members during the meeting, but followup will be provided by an administrator as appropriate. Although this is not required, it is helpful for the board to know whether the comments and concerns we hear are being raised by residents. So, we ask that you state if you live in the district and if you currently have children in our schools or are in our schools. Um, we have three public speakers tonight. The first is Ashala Naga Shawara. Good evening everyone. My name is Achelenic Grac and I am a rising junior at Matia Valley High School. I'm here because

017I deeply care about something that affects every student in our district. The future of our environment. District 204 is known for its academic excell excellence, strong leadership, and rich resources. But with all we have achieved, we are still missing a clear carbon action plan. This not only acknowledges how climate action affects our environment, but also our health and education. This isn't just a global issue, it's a local one. According to National Education Association, climate change is already affecting students abilities to learn due to extreme weather and air quality issues. And the EPA reports that poor indoor air quality, often tied to outdated systems, can decrease student performances and increase student absenteeism. Now, this is a real problem, but one concern that is always brought up is money. Will sustainability be well within our budget? Now,

018this is a common misconception that's not only wrong, but dangerous. Our inability to see the truth stunts our ability to make changes. Study after study shows that sustainability saves money. A 2020 report by the US Green Building Council found that green schools uses 33 less% less energy and 32% less water than traditional schools. Over time, those savings could directly go back to students. better facilities, more resources, and healthier spaces for learning. Even small changes matter. Conducting audit audits, upgrading insulation, and incorporating so solar panels are steps our other districts are already taking. In Illinois alone, districts like 203 have adapted sustainability frameworks. This includes renewable energy and green building practices without cutting corners elsewhere. We have always said that we are preparing students to be leaders of tomorrow. But what about today? Leadership starts now

019with us. Let's lead by example. Let's show that in district 204, the future of our students includes our planet. Thank you. Second speaker is Ayana Mukerji. Oh, okay. And the third one is Jackma. Good evening, President Donahghue, Superintendent Tally, and members of the board. My name is Jack Ma, and I'm a rising senior at Nua Valley High School. I want to thank you for everything you have done to make our schools a place where students are not just taught, but truly prepared for the future. And I want to thank you for your leadership and for listening to student voices. and in the creation of the strategic plan where you state that students should embrace their role and responsibilities within their community and world. I am here today to embrace that responsibility. I am asking the

020board to speak out against the Illinois Municipal Electricity Agency or the IMEA's proposed $2 billion, no 2 billion, 10 plus 20 year contract extension with the city of Neapville. This will not only affect a community, but will affect the entire electricity utility costs for district 204. The strategic plan says clearly that you aim to optimize resources and operations and that facilities should be properly maintained and support the environment. But accepting the predominantly coalbased energy from IMEA until 2055 would go against everything we stand for. I find many issues with the IMEA rushing this contract. Firstly, this contract is acting in opposition to the principles and values held by this district. Secondly, this contract is attempting to rush Nateville into a non-competitive into rushing Nateville, the city of Napville without into accepting this contract without competitive

021bids, which violates Napville municipal code 194. Thirdly, this also has additional issues with state legislation with the Clean and Actible Jobs Act, which means the Prairie State coal plant will be reducing its operation by 2038 and has to shut down by 2045. These issues that we find now are also reflected with how much we're going to be paying in electricity because in the past when Prairie State was being created, the cost overruns exceeded 1.6 6 billion and that led to higher electricity costs for our people in Napville as well as this district. If we are to move on and accept this contract, we believe that the district of Napville, no past performances does not dictate future results. What IMA wants to claim is that if we accept this contract, we're going to have cheap and

022stable energy, but their energy is going to be slowly reduced by state legislation. And that's a big issue. And as we've seen in the past, when IMA is trying to transition and move somewhere, it costs a lot of money. And there's often cost overruns that will be reflected back in your utility bills. And that is a reasonable issue uh we face. If we stay silent, Miss Donnie, the speaker's time has ended. Thank you very much. Thank you. Next, next we move to our consent agenda items and superintendent report. We'll start with the superintendent report. Dr. Tally, Miss Donny Hugh, members of the board of education and the Indian Prairie community. Tonight, I start uh my comments with sad news. Um, Miss Nancy Young, an educator for whom Nancy Young Elementary School was named, passed away

023on July 15th. Miss Young began her work with Indian Prairie School District as a media specialist at Leonzi in 1975. In 1981, she became the learning center director at Hill Middle School. And from that position, she opened the media center at the new Gregory Middle School. She retired in 1994 from Indian Prairie. She made an impact on how media centers were seen and used in our schools. We send our condolences to her family and may they know what an impact Nancy had on our school system. I ask that we take a moment of silence in remembrance of Miss Nancy Young. Thank you. As this is the last meeting before we officially begin school, I want to share some information. As we begin the 2526 school year, Indian Prairie School District is proud to continue to

024offer no cost mental health supports through the Indian Prairie Cares community advocacy, resilience, engagement, and support afterchool program. This homegrown equity centered initiative provides vital mental health services directly in our schools. Since its launch three years ago, the CARES program has delivered over 5,000 free sessions within Indian Prairie and more than 13,000 sessions across 20 partnering school districts that have franchised our program model. This year, five CARES afterchool clinic sites will operate across the district one day per week. after school hours at Matia Valley, Niko Valley, Granger Middle, Georgetown Elementary, and Longwood Elementary Schools. Information about how to access these clinics may be learned from the social workers or professional school counselors at your schools. We have been very busy this summer with construction projects across the district. I've tried to note some of these

025projects through my Twitter X account showing the progress of these projects. Work has included replacing the floors at 12 schools, creating secured vestibules at 11 of our schools, starting work on the auditorium at Wanzi Valley, redoing some classes at Nika, paving at several schools, and replacing HVAC systems at some. at a board of ed presentation in se September. We'll be able to share more of what has been done this summer. Our HR, our human resources team and principles have been busy as well. I'm able to say that almost all general education positions have been filled, meaning all students should have their teachers in place unless someone is in our is out for medical reason or something else. We've done a great job in hiring teaching assistants. However, we still need more. Additionally, lunchroom assistants are

026also needed. Please check our website for any positions. First student was awarded uh I'm sorry, first student awarded Neapville the National Transportation Location of the Year Award. This award is a national award given to the location providing superior service, reliability, and safety to their clients. As we are the Neapville location, this award goes to our bus service. Additionally, Miss Linda Andress was awarded the regional location manager of the year award. This award is given to location managers that demonstrate exemplary uh leadership and professionalism to the location, staff, drivers, and clients served. And she is one of our managers, our regional manager. Both of these awards are recognized nationally and show the true operational partnership we have with First Student to provide safe and reliable transportation service to the Indian Prairie 204 students. We are very

027proud of our relationship with First Student. It is a strong partnership that continues to grow over time and tomorrow I'll be speaking to all of our bus drivers and attendance uh at at the welcome back ceremony for them. I'll now turn the meeting back over to Miss Donahghue. All right. Next, we move to our consent agenda items. I need a motion for approval of consent agenda items D through N. Make a motion to approve consent agenda items D through N. I second. Any discussion? Michelle, will you please call the RO? Mr. Rising? Yes. Miss Jane? Yes. Miss Deming? I. Miss Gent, yes. Miss Donahghue, yes. and Miss Fostic. Yes. The motion passes. I need a motion to approve the e-learning plan renewal as presented. Motion and second. I move that the board of education approve

028the e-learning plan renewal as presented. I second. Okay. I get another opportunity to ask Dr. Lee questions. Different angle. Maybe somebody will think of something. I mean, I I I am thankful for uh efforts to renew this. I think it's a good option for our district and uh as you said, it doesn't take away snow days. Um but it gives us more options for protecting our calendar and not having to go into the summer and things. So, okay. Michelle, will you please call the role? Miss Gint, yes. Miss Jane, yes. Miss Deming, I. Mr. Rising, yes. Miss Donahghue. Yes. And Miss Fostic. Yes. The motion passes. We will now have a presentation from Mr. Matt Shipley regarding the 202526 tenative budget. All right. Good evening, members of the board of education. Uh tonight we are

029presenting the 2526 tenative budget. Uh no action is required by the board this evening. Uh but this is a required presentation by this uh state statute before we do bring the uh budget to you for approval at the September 8th board of education meeting. Uh by law we're required to pass a budget within 90 days of the beginning of the fiscal year. So roughly September 30th and we're required to do this presentation of at least 30 days prior to that approval. So, uh, how the calendar works out is that we're in front of you tonight to to present this as a discussion item and we'll be, uh, bring it forward again for your approval on September 8th. Um, tonight's presentation is in line with board policy 4.10. It's strategic plan priority number four. And some

030of the concepts we'll be discussing tonight, uh, will be refreshers from from, uh, prior presentations that'll also tie to vision 2030 priority number four. Um so first I will start with a a brief summary of the prior presentations. Again this is the first the third time I've been in front of the board to discuss the 2526 budget and and sort of our financial conditions. Um so most of this information is materially consistent what we presented before. So I'm optimistic I get the same number of questions Dr. Lee just got. Uh and we can maybe get out while it's still while there's still some sunlight. Uh we'll move on to to just a summary of our budget initiative. So before we start looking at some numbers and charts and graphs, just really want to talk through

031what what some of the key priorities were for our administrative team, for our building leadership as as we built and really worked through this year's budget. Uh we'll then transition into talking about some specifics about our operating budget. Uh we'll talk about our non-operating budgets and then we will there will be time for uh next steps and then just a a question and answer session as well. Um so again just to kind of briefly cover our prior presentations uh we presented uh a five-year forecast in both February and May for the board. Uh these forecasts were balanced uh but it it required some reductions from our current trend in order to balance that and that that did mean some staffing reductions are present were presented in those those forecasts. Uh that includes some staffing uh

032reductions that are included in tonight's budget for the 2526 year. It also includes about 10 to 12 reductions that we're projecting for fiscal year 27 as well. Uh we spent uh a decent amount of time in in both presentations talking about um some some opportunities to use some one-time funds to further support our educational program. And in May, we recommended uh supporting technology needs with a one-time fund balance transfer to capital. And that is included in tonight's uh budget. And I will show how that affects both the operating and non-operating funds as we work through this presentation. Uh I did want to reiterate in both presentations and we'll continue to cover it again tonight that our tax rate our property tax rate is the lowest it's been in over 10 years. Um that's due to

033a strong housing market, a strong property uh market uh nationally, but but really even exceeding the trends here in the in the Napil and Aurora area. So we are seeing that continued strong demand and that does lead to a lower tax rate. Uh with that said, the dollar amount of those taxes um do increase each year tied roughly to the consumer price index. Uh spent a lot of time specifically in February talking about uh some state and federal funding challenges um and how that's impacted our long-term projections. Uh so we'll cover that again in a little bit more detail tonight, specifically on how that's impacting our plans going into the the the next year. And then finally, our non-operating budget does reflect the impact of the successful safer, stronger 204 referendum. Um the first bonds

034uh first two issues actually of those bonds have now been issued without a tax rate increase. So we've been able to um issue those bonds consistent with the promise we made to the community back in November. So moving on to our budget priorities. Our first priority is to adopt a sustainable and transparent budget. Uh so tonight's budget is a balanced operating budget that maintains necessary operating reserves to ensure the stability of the district. uh we project to receive the recognition status from the state board of education. This is the highest financial status the state uh state board of education awards and I just want to to highlight uh you know again just just some real highlights if you will of the transparent and accountable process that we believe we we run through the through the

035budget. I I'll reiterate the budget is really a year-long process as well. So, a lot of these things occur on a regular basis for both the board and the community and our administration to really um demonstrate transparency and accountability. Um, but we are compliant with all hearing and posting requirements. That includes tonight's presentation as well as the adoption uh that's proposed for September. Uh, we are subject to annual financial and compliance audits and again we we've passed all those audits with with uh you know, really a a clean bill of financial health. Um, we are current with all our regulatory filings. Now that we are uh active in the bond market, uh, we're required uh to post regulatory filings similar to what a publicly traded company would do. And we, um, we we are up

036to date and and you could find those, uh, through through the Emma database if any community member is interested in seeing those filings. Uh, we've maintained two strong bond ratings with a double A plus bond rating from Moody's as well as a AAA bond rating from S&P. So this reflects not just the financial position of the district, but also the governance and management of the district as well. We're one of just 26 school districts in the state of Illinois to obtain that AAA rating. And again, now that we're issuing debt, that's not just a sign of our financial stability, but it does save the district and the taxpayers money in the long run because we're able to issue these bonds at a lower interest rate than we otherwise would be able to. Um, as we

037we talk through our our sustainable and transparent budget, I do just want to highlight that we continue to deliver high quality services at a cost per pupil that is well below the state average and also is the lowest of our eight peer districts. Um, so you can see here Indian Prairie's uh cost per pupil is is uh roughly about $16,500. Um, again that compares to a state average right at $20,000 and again the lowest of our eight peer districts. Our peer districts are the highest performing unit districts in the state. We are competing and comparing ourselves to the best districts in the state and we are um you know our student performance is on par with those districts while spending significantly less money per pupil. Um one thing that's interesting about this chart uh not

038you know Indian Prairie's always been below the state average. I think as long as the district has has been around all 50 years, I' i'd uh like to strike a bet, we've been below that for for at least 49 of those 50 years. Uh but one thing that's interesting that that's changed a little bit is that you'll see most of our peer districts are now falling below the state average as well. So that state average has really climbed up in recent years. Uh that is that is kind of one of the uh consequences or or benefits of evidence-based funding is that we've seen a lot of districts a lot of districts throughout the state kind of catch up to where some of the the higher performing districts have been from a funding standpoint. Uh but

039it it really hasn't raised much more than the floor. So we're kind of seeing the floor raise from evidence-based funding. But as a district that that's a tier 2 district, I always like to say we're kind of stuck in the middle. we're not receiving that additional state money on an annual basis, but we also don't have the the local property tax base or the property tax wealth that many of our peer districts have. And so, so here we are kind of sitting in in year nine of evidence-based funding, kind of patiently waiting our turn for for some of those uh significant uh influx of state dollars. Um, moving on to budget priority two, uh, you know, we want to ensure programming stability while managing in an uncertain revenue environment. So, uh, I I've spent about

04025 years working in municipal and, um, K12 finance. And I'll say, uh, the the one thing that's kind of been predictable that whole time has been the unpredictability of of revenue at the the state and federal level. Uh I think this this round of it if you will is a little unique in that um there are forces uh primarily at the federal level probably exclusively at the federal level that you know have opinions that that actively want to to reduce funding to to K12 or or significantly change that model uh even if the funding amount remains the same. And I think that's a little different. There's always been a concern about the um ability or availability for state and federal to to pay. I think this is the first time we're in an environment where

041where we're really questioning the will or the the political desire to fund K12 education. And so um with that said, I think it it does require a little bit different approach than maybe we've taken during during prior financial uh challenges. Uh so first we're m we're ensuring that we continue to maintain operating reserves to provide stability in case of further funding freezes or delays. So again, it's not just it's not just the elimination of funding that can be harmful, but it can also be the delay of funding that adds unpredictability. It it could put us in a position where we have to to decide whether or not we're going to fund a program. Um I I've seen some headlines in the last week or two where districts are reducing some of their afterchool supports or

042some of their um intervention programs because they're not sure if the federal funding that supports that is going to be there. So that's why it's critical that we maintain those operating reserves so we can fund them even if the funding is delayed three months, six months or a year. Um we do continue to actively manage our grants. We're ensuring compliance and that the funding is reaching the intended student populations. Again, there are concerns coming out of the federal uh level that maybe some of these grants aren't being used for their their intended students. And I want to ensure the board that our administration takes that grant compliance work very seriously. Um I also want to credit our um uh sort of uh uh gr grant specialist Tara Bell who does a lot of good work

043um both managing sort of our our um entitlement grants but also pursuing competitive grants as well. So that hopefully as as we have some funding challenges on the entitlement side, we can hopefully start to fill some of those holes by by receiving some different competitive grants or some unique funding opportunities. Um, and so with that said, we do intend to fund all current schedule programming and that's that's represented in tonight's tonight's budget, even if the state or federal revenues are further modified. Um, the third third priority, which again I alluded to earlier, is that investment in classroom technology and technology infrastructure. So uh the reality is that with with some tighter operating budgets both both this year and in the future uh what our uh operating budget was making available for technology was not um

044sufficient to to allow our technology team to really keep up with their needs. Um and again that that's both classroom technology as well as um the infrastructure that that supports our technology whether that's uh switches, Wi-Fi hotspots, uh u ensuring that the safety and security of our network. Um these these are all things that um that realistically we were not in a position to fund out of the operating budget without further reductions uh to programming. And so we recom we are recommending this evening a one-time transfer to support these district technology needs into a capital fund. Um this will give our technology team about um about three years worth of funds that then they can can get caught up on some some deferred needs and really put our district in a good good place moving

045forward to ensure that that uh annual a lotment that's coming from operations is sufficient to support uh to support the technology needs throughout the district. Um fi our final priority then is our capital investment. Um, so we are anticipating spending $50 million of referendum funds uh in this current fiscal year. So a reminder that when we are approving this budget, this is this is on a July 1 to June 30th basis, which sometime doesn't necessarily line up with projects, especially projects we're doing over the summer or or you know, multi-year projects. Um, but this is this is all $50 million worth of referendum funds for the this this 12-month period we're approving tonight. Uh we'll continue to update the board on our on our progress with our capital investment side through our safer stronger 204

046website as well as our our update in September. And as you know, we also presented in June about some of our uh really exciting plans for Niqua, Wubanzi, and Berquette that will get started uh this fiscal year as well. Um we're sort of rotating through um a handful of images that are kind of show in progress work uh as we speak. And you'll you'll see um you know we're really excited about about the work we've done this summer whether that's the Wanzi auditorium work uh improving the safety and security throughout our um elementary schools with the installation of 11 secure vestibles uh continue to do do flooring upgrades um and and I'll also highlight uh a lot of focus on energy efficiency and working through some LED lighting projects as well. So with that, we'll

047we'll we will start looking at the the budget and looking at some numbers. Uh ju just a brief overview of of what we mean when we talk about our operating funds. Uh the district maintains six operating funds that includes education, operations and maintenance, transportation, IMRF and social security, a working cash and a tort fund. Um this fund and uh is set out by the state board of education and so we are u maintaining compliance with state board uh requirements by maintaining these six separate funds. And the real focus of these funds and the focus of our discussion is going to be the day-to-day operations of the district. So the both the revenues uh that that support day-to-day operations as well as the expenses that come with it. This does not have a direct impact on

048our safer stronger 204 referendum. So just showing how the operating budget looks uh in that in that form again in a form that's that's kind of standard across the state for all 800 plus school districts. Um you'll see a lot of numbers but I just want to hi uh focus on the two that are circled in red. So across all six funds we are projecting in excess of just short of $211,000. So that is a balanced budget on just over 455 million of revenue. Um this will uh the next line you will see that $ 122.1 million transfer. So that's a transfer of fund balance. So it's not necessarily hitting our expenses or revenues but it's it's a reduction of that fund balance or reserve number. Again, a one-time reduction that's shown here. And then

049that would leave us with an estimated fund balance of just uh of 156.6 million or roughly 34.5% of revenues. So when we presented to the board uh started talking about this concept in February of this this fund balance transfer, we were without the transfer we were projecting a fund balance of about 39%. So, this is kind of the first step to get that fund balance more in line with the 25% um amount that's listed in our board policy. Uh again, we still believe that uh the 25%'s an appropriate amount. We do uh as we've already said reiterated several times uh this evening, administration is very concerned about maintaining operating reserves uh in any environment, but especially in the environment we're in now. We do believe this still leaves us sufficient fund balance to to do

050that. Um, again, I think this is a uh this is a pie chart that hasn't changed much over the past um you know, really 20 plus years. I think the only thing that's happened is that that property tax um um chunk of the the pie chart continues to to grow uh ever larger. So, um this continues to show that property taxes are over three4s of our revenue source. Um it is a stable source of revenues. Um but again, it does it does put pressure uh some pressure on our our local tax base. Um just as a result of being so so highly funded by property taxes, um the state and federal revenues that are in in tonight's budget do reflect the most recent information that's been approved at the federal and state level. Um as

051of tonight, there's no frozen funds, there's no embargoed funds, there's no reductions we're aware of coming out of the federal and state level, but again, it's been been a little bit of an unpredictable environment. Um, as of a week or two ago, we did have about $600,000 worth of grants that were temporarily frozen at the federal level, but uh, as of tonight, all all federal money has been unfrozen and, uh, again, is is reflected in tonight's budget. Um, again, as as discussed, we we do continue to lower that property tax rate. Um, and so our 2026 budget does project that consistent tax rate and an operating increase consistent with inflation. So based on tonight's budget, we will be bringing a property tax levy um for discussion in November and approval in December that would recommend

052an increase in line with inflation. Um again what this this chart shows and again our commitment to our taxpayers, the safer stronger 204 proposal resulted in no tax rate increase. Um and then just a final point that I think we we talked to talk about and and and I do want to reiterate any chance we get. Um it is critical that we continue to work to to grow our commercial industrial tax base. Uh I know administration myself and Dr. Tally both both have good relationships with both the cities of Nateville and Aurora. Uh we do have a seat on the Napville development partnership. Um, but I I just want to continue to reiterate that because that that's what's going to be critical to keep this number at where it is now. Um, we've we've had

053a lot of lot of good progress with our tax rate, but we have to ensure that we don't continue to see that that burden kind of creep back to taxpayers or that rate start creeping back up uh due to a lack of investment in our commercial industrial properties. So, moving on to expenses. Tonight's budget does include all known contracts obligations and reflects our most um recent agreements with both our unions and all our significant suppliers. Um, as you could see and and again something that hasn't changed much um between years, we are a people business. Um over three4s of our projected budget is related to salaries and benefits. And I'll p uh recognize that that purchase services number of 15% that includes a lot of people as well who are interacting with our students on

054a daily basis because we do uh have an outsource model that purchase services includes our bus drivers, our food service workers and our custodial staff. So when you include all those we we do get to almost 90% of our funding, our spending being directly related to people. Um some significant increases that that we are budgeting for compared to the prior year. Uh again, one that one that's kind of been a a frequent flyer on this list has been our transportation costs. Um continue to see challenges uh in that environment. We we think we're kind of at the end of the tunnel and and hope optimistic. This is sort of our last increase above consumer price index associated with transportation, but we are budgeting an 8% increase for this year. Um health insurance has also seen

055a a significant increase. We are uh we we've had some good discussions with uh through our insurance committee about about I um trying to work to to minimize that impact in in the future. But for this year, we are projecting a 6% increase on health insurance. Um electricity, we're we're budgeting a 23% increase for electricity next year. So that's about a $1 million increase. And so um you know, again, total budget for electricity is about $4 million. Budgeting it for $5 million next year. um maybe not the largest line item, but I just want to talk through that that percentage increase a little bit. Um first of all, there there's um kind of interest uh a lot of interesting things going on in both sides of town, both the Aurora and Neighborville side when it

056comes to um electricity. Uh so you may have heard some about that or or read about it. The focus of this increase is really on the KMED side. uh where starting in June 1st, comment bills went up about 20% due to what's known as a demand capacity charge. Uh so I I think we've we've shared with the board in the past that we as a large user are able to negotiate directly with our energy suppliers. Uh we uh have as practice tried to lock in um you know four or fiveyear contracts when rates seem pretty favorable to ensure kind of price stability. And so right now we're paying about 10% less than the going rate for energy supply. The problem is we don't have any control over transmission charges. So what KMED charges us to

057physically bring the electricity to the district. And we don't have any control over this demand capacity charge which increased over 800%. Uh in June and so uh it you know the reality is that we're budgeting a 23% increase. It's also why part of our capital plan really um really focused on energy efficiency and specifically the LED lighting work and we further um focus that on work in that KMED territory. So uh our our large schools uh Matia Valley our our middle schools Granger for example our middle schools in Aurora that was really our first focus in that LED lighting and it did almost feel like we're in a race against time to kind of get those lights up and in before those rates increase. So, um, we're optimistic that that we won't need this full

058increase, that the the the savings for those lights will be, um, recognized, and then our hope is that whatever budget surplus is left over, we can then kind of turn that into a revolving fund that that reinvests in other energy energy efficiency, um, projects. So, we have about $20 million in the safer, stronger 204 initiative that's budgeted exclusively for energy efficiency. And again with LED lighting being the first project we're tackling, but then hopefully we can kind of create some operating funds surplus here uh you know this year and potentially ongoing that can continue to layer in additional projects as well. And then finally we had a 5% increase for out of district tuition. This does kind of reflect our our recent experience with with this line item. Uh I you know I think as

059the board knows our uh philosophy within special education is we want all students in the most inclusive least restrictive environment as possible. Um and so this is this is not our first second or even third choice for for many of our students. Um but the reality is we we do have some unique situations that that's really driving this increase from prior years. uh that includes um students or families that are moving into the district where this is their their um uh this is how they're being serviced already. And so we kind of inherit that out of district uh that out of district designation and then you'll kind of have to work through through Indian the Indian prairie process to try and try and bring them back to to district 204. So um again hope hoping

060that that this budget increase is is sufficient to cover any excess costs. We are actively working to manage that and that's not our first choice for any student but that is a budgetary reality going into this year. Uh just wanted to show what the total staffing plan looks like that's again incorporated in that budget. So if you think about we showed a a pie chart that shows you know over three4s of the revenue going to our staffing. This would be a a pie chart of that pie chart. Um we're showing a a total target FTE for of 3,200 33 33.5 um employees. So FTE stands for full-time equivalents. Um this does represent about a 10 and a half FTE reduction from the prior year. And again, that that's been communicated with the board that that's

061that's primarily tied to just trying to to step down or have a gradual reduction of of force coming from the the loss of our SR funding. Um, you know, I'll point out when you when you look at the largest share here, this is licensed teachers representing about twothirds of our um of our employees. Teaching assistants represent another 22% of that and nurse nursing and other health um related services represent about 3% of that. So over 90% of our employees are interacting with our students on a regular basis as part of their job description. less than 10% of our employees are providing administrative or other support services. We continue to have one of the highest pupil to administrator ratios in the state. So that does reflect that we are putting the most amount of staff possible

062directly in front of our students on a daily basis. Um moving on to our non-operating funds. Uh we do have two non-operating funds maintained by the district which are capital and debt service fund. And unlike the operating which is focused on day-to-day and maybe the the short-term one-year period, these really have a long-term focus uh focusing on district facilities and then the repayment of any debt related financing. Uh as you know, there's very limited recurring revenue available for capital investment. Um and I do want to ensure the board that we are monitoring our safer stronger referendum dollars. Uh again, in line with all IRS and SEC requirements, uh starting this evening, as part of the U financial package that was approved in consent, you received an additional report which shows specifically how those funds have

063been spent down and and that ensures compliance again with with various IRS um requirements. And then uh again, we talked about the uh operating impact of the transfer we're recommending. We'll show here in a second uh how the local capital funds will will be impacted by those technology upgrades. And so again, this is our capital projects fund broken out between the the local funds which are now going to be designated for technology for the next couple years as well as those referendum funds. Uh you'll see that the the technology that 12.1 that was a transfer out of the education fund is shown as a transfer in here. Uh we're projecting our technology team has about $3.4 4 million of projects of that 12 uh earmarked for this year and then the remaining balance will carry

064forward to next year. Um within the referendum funds uh the bond issuances shown here have uh already been issued. Funds were received on July 15th and those funds are now available to to fund our projects. Uh again, what what's shown here is is that June July 1 to June 30th view. And so that includes projects that that have been ongoing for for the last uh couple months. Uh including some some bills that were approved this evening. Um as well as the work that we're beginning in the spring of 2026, most significantly the work at NUA and Wanzi. Uh that that service fund or or how we're going to repay those those bond issuances is shown here. Uh again, the budget includes all scheduled principal and interest payments for all um outstanding bonds again including both

065the 24 and 2025 issuances which have occurred recently post referendum. Uh ju just an important point again something we try to reiterate every time these are known fixed rate interest payments. So when we issue bonds we issue them at a fixed rate so that we provide predictability and stability to the district and the taxpayer. Um the bond and interest rate it will be below the referendum commitment of 37 cents. So the actual rate for 2024 was just over 33 cents and we're projecting it a rate just under 35 cents for the 2025 rate. So again we've managed to to issue a significant amount of of bonds so far. We're doing some really great work in the district uh and got some really exciting plans and we are doing it without a tax rate increase. So

066with that, uh, the tenative budget is now available for review at the ipsd.org/business office website. Uh, as mentioned earlier, we have a budget hearing scheduled for the September 8th board of education meeting. Uh, we will also be presenting a a building operations and capital projects update on September 8th. So we'll get to dive a little bit deeper into that non-operating budget and those referendum funds. Uh again do want to reiterate from the last time uh we spoke in in June. We've continued to update that safer stronger 204 website. Uh it does now include include uh budgets that are being updated regularly for the significant projects as well as uh you know images and and videos and and really again some of the some of the more fun stuff associated with with all this great work.

067And then again the the biggest uh revenue source again continues to be property taxes. Uh, our property tax levy hearing is scheduled for December of 2025. Uh, and again, I'll just reiterate that the the levy we are that that would be tied to this budget would include a uh increase tied to the consumer price index for next year. And so with that, I am available for any questions. Thank you. Um, Miss Dming, thank you. um Matt as always uh for providing us with update and um you know there are a couple things that I just wanted to really acknowledge uh the work that we do and one is first of all you've you know chatted a little bit about being a little bit different um as far as um some of the things that we

068um are experiencing this year and so thank you for keeping a breast of what's happening um from a federal perspective and how that impacts us. Uh, and especially because I can envision just as you indicated there was something last week or week before last and that's changed already this week. You know, thankfully we're seeing those funds come in, but um certainly it means that you have to make adjustments uh sometimes when you've already planned things. So, thanks for staying a breast of that. And then the other thing that I just one of the things that I really wanted to highlight again reiterate for the public and you talked about it um on slide four but just the impact positive impact that the strong ratings that we receive um from Moody's and S&P and the impact

069that that has on how we are able to access funds and being able to look at ways to save uh uh make sure that we're paying attention to, you know, to to being um financially conscious um for the district. Sometimes we don't we receive those ratings so often. Sometimes we just take it for granted, but now that we are really um going back to issue bonds, it really makes a difference. So, thank you for the work that you and your team do to continue to make sure that we are strong financially. Um, slide six, you talked a little bit um about intervention challenges that um could potentially I I think we've been fortunate, but there was um I think that we had one that uh we had had a program um that we had to

070look at making a little change on um for some of our students as we were looking at being able to provide opportunities. Um you mentioned it a couple of months ago, but um it was one where we had looked at for students um and helping make um when interventions during um as far as helping students make choices um when Oh yes. Um our reset for Yes. Yes. So, um, right now is that the only one that we've that we've Okay. Okay. Yeah. The reset program we were using, um, we had use ESSER funds at one point in time and then, um, but that was the position that we did have to cut. Okay. But that's the only one. Okay. That's the those are the comments that I just had and just wanted to re confirm

071that one. Thank you, Miss Bazd. I'm gonna echo first what Susan said about the braidings. Um you've continued to keep us in a really good position based on your um diligent and organized leadership of our budget. So, thank you for that. Um, and thank you also for the reassurance that in the face of potential federal and state funding cuts that we still intend to fund everything and that you have continue to keep a balanced budget so that we have the option to do that for our students. That's all. Thank you, Mr. Rising. Um, if you'd go to slide five. Um, I just wanted to kind of point something out. So this is the one where you had the operating expenditures per pupil and showed how we're the lowest of our comparable unit district, high performing

072unit districts. Um, you know, I I just want to make a clarification because sometimes people um maybe aren't entrenched in this like we are is that us spending the least amount isn't by choice. And you kind of you had mentioned that a little bit, but um I I just wanted to reiterate that that is no choice of ours is because what our property tax base is that we are only allowed because that's the money we have to to be able to spend towards our students. Um so it isn't something that we're trying to stay low, although we are very proud of that because we're as high achieving if not higher than every single one of these districts uh academic wise. Um, but we are forced to spend as low as we as low as we

073do because of our property tax base. And I know everybody's property taxes are high. I get that. Um, but you know, that's the amount of money that we have that forces us to spend as low as we do. And as measured by the state, our adequate funding that we get is lower than every single one of those districts as well. So, I I just wanted to clarify that, Matt, if that was okay. Um, slide 11. Uh, you know, I I remember something at the you gave us a one of your four updates, the one on May 5th. Um, when you talked about the um, and I guess this would be the state other, I think, but maybe you could clarify. Um when you talked about the proration of the mandated categoricals, um what really shocked

074me from that is that the reimbursement rate that we will get from the state for regular and special ed transportation are the lowest they've been in 15 years um if not longer. Um that's just the data you gave us is the last 15 years. And then private tuition is is the lowest it's been in like 10 years. And if you could just speak to that because I think that also plays into less than money that we need to find elsewhere and accommodate for and is that that state other just that that is correct. So um as shown here evidence-based funding it it is the largest part of that that that state contribution but the the the overwhelming majority I'd say of that other category is those categorical payments. Uh and I think uh just to

075kind of kind of tie it to some of the expense things you mentioned earlier, the three categoricals are for transportation and out of district tuition, right? And when we talked about our expenditures and we talked about two items that are that are growing above the the consumer price index and in transportation's case has been growing for for several years now. uh you know that those are those are the some of the largest areas and so we have a revenue source that at the state level the uh the appropriation has has stayed relatively flat the last two years I think it was exactly flat this year there's maybe a marginal increase last year um but it's staying flat at a time where the expenditures that are supposed to be associated with it are growing significantly and

076uh again that there there's an algebra equation there uh you know where where one side is is growing cash from the other that leads to that that pration number. Uh and again, that's one where uh sort of all the costs throughout the state are kind of um combined to kind of kind of determine what that that paration number would be. But what what we've seen is we've seen that that de that decrease o over the last several years really. and and the um you know the part that I again I think as a tier 2 district uh is a little challenging is that uh EBF continues to to be funded and the state's made the commitment to to the the new money each year for EBF but that's really going to a much smaller subject

077sub subset of districts you know that's going to your tier ones um and and again in some cases you know even uh you know there there's there's a wide variety in what districts are are receiving from that. Um the categoricals go to go to every district and so you've got a situation where one source of revenue that's going to all districts is is sort of stable and and again that that's creating that that pration. Uh and you have another source that that is kind of um you know has some significant discrepancies. you have some so you have some districts that that are making out pretty well with that that uh trade-off and then there's some districts that that are kind of struggling and again as a as a tier 2 we're one that uh isn't

078receiving a lot of EBF is is uh you know maybe breaking even or or staying about flat with the categoricals but then we've got this tier 2 designation that shows that there's a a a demonstrated need at the state level for add additional funding so it is a tough situation and then to that point slides 13. Um because you're kind of reading my mind there. So remind me again what CPI was last year that we were able to levy on operating because we kept flat nonoperating like we told our our community we would. But what were we able to levy on operating? Was it? Yeah. Great question. So the the the two the the sort of most relevant CPI numbers right now uh 3.4% it was uh what was associated with last year's um levy.

079This year's levy will be 2.9%. And then again, we're about halfway now through the 25 calendar year. Again, it looks like CPI is kind of settling into that 2 and a half to to 3% range for and I'd like to point out I mean because our our property taxes is our largest source of revenue and we are prop capped at CPI and I think it's important for the community to realize how some of these expenses go up. Transportation 8%, health healthcare 6% electricity 23%. I mean, and then we get pr-rated as well on some of the reimbursement and um so it is constantly a juggling act. Um and uh oh one other question before I wrap up the 800% the the why is the stress on the grid what is the reason for that? Is

080that because of the data centers up ideal? Yeah. Um that that's a great question and we could have another uh presentation all on that. Uh last Monday on the Neighborville side of town there was about a 5-h hour presentation on uh the future of of the grid and and future of electricity in this area. Um so that's a charge that comes from PJM. PJM is sort of the the super grid if you will. um you know it is includes several states kind of throughout the the Northeast up into the the Chicago Midwest area. So that's a charge that they're passing on to every electric electricity user throughout several states. Okay. Um so so that's passed on directly to Kameed from from PJM. Uh again it's nothing it's nothing direct with our usage. It's not, you

081know, Indian prairie, you use a lot of electricity or you you have a uh, you know, you have a high load at at certain times when when demand is high or the grid is stress. It's nothing with us specifically. It's it's literally a rate that's being applied to to a significant amount of electric users throughout the country. Uh we're not as we're not exposed to it yet with Neapville because um Neapville um owns a owns a a share of a a coal powered plant and so uh there is that charge but then because the power plant is producing electricity they become kind of the beneficiary of that and there's there's a break even. Okay. Uh the nature of the charge though is uh to your point is tied to concerns about the the stability and

082reliability of the grid. It's it's the it's how PJM effectively ensures that there's some um um surplus generation or backup generation available for peak hours. So bottom line with all the you know our adequate funding level um the fact that we kept taxes flat on the non-operating side um lower pration higher cost on so many of these things the fact that we came in and balanced the budget. Thank you Miss Gunz. I want to start by echoing my my fellow board members and thanking you. Um, none of this is ever an easy job and slide four really does speak to frankly the importance of what you you do and the difference that it makes really in the entire district. I just had a couple questions, more clarifications. Um on slide 13, could you just remind

083me and possibly the community what the increase in transportation is consistently made of? Uh yeah. So so that so so a significant portion of it over the last several years has been has been wages and and employee benefits. So, uh, you know, again, similar to what we've seen with, uh, um, specifically our classified union, as far as just getting caught up with some minimum wage, um, increases that have occurred over the past several years, um, increasing employee benefit costs. There's been some significant um, wage increases there. The the transportation and and the school bus industry, I think, been been uniquely hit just because of the nature of who they compete with. They compete with Amazon. They compete with um you know they compete with other home delivery uh sort of sort of things that have

084that have grown in use over the that time as well. Um you know it used to be that if you had a a CDL license or were you know able to drive large um trucks, heavy machinery, uh you know your choices were to to to drive cross country and you know be on the road and and kind of live that life. and now you can you can work for Amazon and work a pretty traditional 9-to-five schedule. And so so that's that that is a reality of the the school bus industry is that we're kind of competing with that um again with with the Amazon um model in particular. Uh you know the similar uh costs when we talk about uh fuel costs again that's a cost that I think when you've go to fill up

085your own car it's kind of risen above inflation and so that would be another significant cost driver in there as well. Okay. But but definitely the majority is is that that wage component. Okay. Yeah, that makes total sense and something I didn't even think of. I might be partially to blame for the Amazon need for Amazon drivers. Um but you're you were saying you think that will maybe level out more next year where we won't we're optimistic. Yeah. So we're on a we're on a one we're on a one-year renewal basis that we we just have a contract out through next fiscal year. So, we don't we we will probably start negotiating the next contract here and probably shortly after the first day of school and to get ready for next year. Uh, you know,

086I think just in in kind of doing some market comparisons and comparing with other districts, we're we're optimistic that that this may be the last of the significant increases. Okay. No, that's that's great. Thank you so much. I know it's it's hard to factor all of this in and figure all of it out, especially with the big unknowns with the funding. Um, that was actually my big question. So, just a big thank you again for despite the funding issues we always have, you helping to make it work and coming out with a balanced budget. Miss Jane, um, I love my board members. They ask such good questions. Um again I I'm just I just feel like I have to say that even in a stable environment the juggling act uh that board member Rising used

087that phrase. I like that phrase. The juggling act in terms of all the variables that are at play and and keeping a balanced budget is so complex and um given the environment we are in to have um to have such a presentation with a balanced budget is is I think remarkable. And for me, slide number six really is what we're always I I'm looking for. I know my board members are that we are continuing our programming the best we can with the exception of the program board member um Deming um identified. So I I think that's pretty remarkable, especially two weeks ago having funds frozen and now they're not frozen. I mean um it's important to remind ourselves that the kind of environment that we are in and the uncertainty that we are in and

088hence the slide that shows our fund balance and the reasoning behind it as to why we're at 34.4% 4% and why that cushion is needed in this environment I think is um really important to keep in mind and you've done a really great job and making us understand that. Um I also appreciate the explanation about the electricity increase and the complexity around it. Um, I hope we are in the future going to be able to find ways to become more efficient and be in a position to explore. And so I I don't know if today's that day to talk about what could be those possible um uh efficiencies that we explore, but I I hope in the future we'll be in a position to do that. Yeah. I and I I'll just just make that

089comment because I I you know, we did talk about a lot of the work we've done this summer and and started this summer, but I don't want to give the impression that we just started thinking about this uh this summer. You know, we've uh we've really had that energy efficiency focus for for several years, and I think we've presented uh uh each summer on on a handful of capital projects that really had that that efficiency of of systems uh in mind. So, uh, so that the LED lighting was kind of the, um, the big piece and and maybe the lowest hanging fruit that we had to take care of. Um, and we are in one of the rooms that is has the LED lighting now. Um, thank you for pointing that out, Dr. Tally. We

090went from uh, I think we we started this summer with maybe two rooms in the district that had LED lightning uh, to uh, that we kind of piloted last year, and we're we're getting caught up really quick. So yeah, I don't want to make it sound like this was something that uh that we that we just kind of thought of in the last year or two. Um it is something that that that's been a focus uh outside of the the building operations side. But talking about transportation, I'll point out, you know, we are uh when we did our boundary changes a couple years ago, we saw 19% reduction in miles driven. Yeah. Um, so again, a real significant uh testament to to trying to operate operate efficiently. And you know, our our lens has always

091been that that's what's good for the bottom line is is generally is good for the environment when it comes to some of those sustainability initiatives. I think we believe that um you know that there's plenty of viable avenues through through on the operation side where where that there is a return on investment. So that continues to be our focus. Um there is some other uh projects to to your point that I think we're we're working on and and starting to think about for next summer. And uh yeah, today's probably not the the right, but hopefully pretty soon. We do we do uh hope in September when we present our building operations overview to have some additional um projects in in line for next summer. I would just add in our facility plan, there are two

092pages that talk about our sustainability. So if I think it may be pages could be off on this 23 and 24 but two full pages about our sustainability. Yeah. Thank you. I appreciate that. And um I also am excited to see how we'll use our 12 million with technology and to see how you know because I know Mr. Mac and his team have been talking about that about what what what's needed and um I I do look forward to hearing more about that. So, but thank you. Thanks. So, thank you. Um I since we're talking about the 12.1 million um transfer for technology, I just want to repeat that and you brought it up that that's not a sustainable model for funding um those ongoing expenses. It's like a one time over many many many

093years we've c we've had more money flow into our fund balance than we need or We want to keep that fund balance at a certain point so that we have enough to cover our district in case of financial pressures from the federal, state, or even local um government. But it's like you you do walk a fine line of wanting to keep it in a certain range um and stay in good status with the state, but um it's not something that we're going to be transferring or able to transfer 12 million out every year or every five years. It's it's um I mean our budget is within 200,000 right of balance. So it's not like we're generating millions of dollars every year that we put into that fund balance reserve. That that's said very well. Yes.

094Okay. Um also I know we talked a lot about electricity and I asked the questions ahead of time because I saw that jump out at me. So that the um 800% comeded bump is aimed at Aurora Aurora Electricity. So Neighborville isn't getting hit with that because of the private um company. That that's correct for for the next year. So So right now, uh Neighborville electric prices are a little are lower than Kameed. They're a little more stable. Um but but again I think we're at a really unique point uh um again in both communities where where uh looking to the future I think I think the only thing that's known is that there's there's some unknowns on on what what our uh you know what electricity prices are going to look like in the future.

095I think that the best thing we can do is to um use as use as little electricity as possible. Start there and uh again that that's a lot of the work we're doing. Well, and um so the 23% is primarily coming from Auroras. Yeah. The Yes. The actual budgeted increase is primarily the Aurora schools. Yes. And I um I know that I know personally and I know several of my board members have also probably been driving everybody crazy like every single month like what's our state and federal funding look like? I mean, how much are we not getting or how much are we getting? And so I think we were all breathing a sigh of relief with the latest round of um hearing that funding has been released. Um although we were being reassured a

096bit that maybe we only were going to be impacted by $600,000 in grant money. So I mean it was like a a continuous discussion behind the scenes of all of us trying to find out you know how we might be impacted by that. So, we're really hoping that's a stable view now from both on all sides. Um, also on transportation that um 8% like we've had very significant increases the last couple years and primarily and we had a major shortage of bus drivers. So that they had to increase that um wage rate significantly to bring in people to to drive our buses. And uh yeah, yeah, good point. And that's one thing I I could have mentioned to to board member again. One one of the the things that makes us cautiously optimistic that uh

097that some of these these increases a large increase are subsiding is uh you know our our vendor for student is is under a union agreement. So, we do know the terms of those. Um, and so we're able to generally forecast a little bit off of that. And then we are um projected to have a full crew for the first day of school. Uh um so so we're really, you know, again, it's been it's been years in the making, but we do finally feel like we're we're starting to to to turn it around on on on transportation. But but as Dr. Dr. Kelly mentioned in his his opening comments, I you know, I do want to give a lot of credit to to the transportation team, both our team internally as well as for student um

098because in spite of all that, we we still do maintain a very high um on time percentage. Um you know, I I think uh the safety record speaks for itself as well. And so we're um you know, we've been very satisfied with the service and the and the operations. Uh you know, it's it's just when it comes to cost where we've had some challenges. Yeah. But even so, I mean, if I recall, um, we were way high in double digits the last year, at least, maybe two years. And but, um, comparing that to other district increases ac across the area, it was significantly lower. So, there was tough negotiations going on to get to those price points. But, I mean, at some point though, we had even Ron possibly going to drive a bus because

099of shortages, right? So, I'm very happy that that's stabilizing. Yeah, we're again, we we do feel like we're in a better position uh to to start this school year than than we've been over the the the past several and and probably probably even going back before co Yeah. Well, I did anyone have I was just wonder did did were we at um we were at cap capacity the last year, weren't we? Were weren't we at the end of the year? At the end of the year, we were I think we still had some openings at the at the beginning of the year. Um, again, we're we're trying to staff not just for uh for every route, but also ensuring that there's some in reserve for, you know, substitutes and things. And also, we want to

100make sure that we can um if possible um have the availability to run our run our full charters and and sort of midday activities, field trips, things like that. No one likes having to leave the zoo a little early because because we got to get back to run a traditional route, right? So, we want to make sure that there's enough capacity for all those things as well. And I think we're we're uh again as as close as we've been in in a long time. Thank you. Thank you. We were also working on changing the certification for bus drivers. Is that progressing or It was It was um we were able to modify it a little bit so that the um bus driver license is a little bit different than what you would get if you

101wanted to be a a truck driver or something of that nature. So yes, they can now not they will not use this as a stepping stone to become a license for um a truck driver, right? Because they had to pass even a mechanics test like fixing the equipment or whatever. So it's like okay. So that that's all good. I um I appreciate all the work that goes into putting the budget together with all of the changes that are going on. And um I also appreciate all the hard work that's done on the safer stronger 204. And in fact, I think this week I'm going to get to see five tours of different schools um and the work that has been done this summer because the principles are all extremely excited and proud of um all

102the work that's been happening. So I'm very um interested in seeing that. So thank you very much, Matt. Thank you. Okay. Um the next item is legislative advocacy and board of education update and um you know Allison or Miss Fazdik has update. Um so in late June, Lori got an email from Isaac Warren who's the director of digital communication for IASB um about the podcast that he hosts called Inside IASB. and he was looking for some representation or someone to interview to discuss um how an idea from the joint annual conference was implemented in one's district. And so for this particular episode, he was interested in learning about student voice because um he had heard from some higher-ups at IASB about the great success so far of us being able to incorporate some student voice.

103Um, so Lori passed that along to me and I just recorded that with him last week. So that will be out at the end of September. Um, but it was exciting and it was reinvigorating to remember that we were just getting really getting rolling with our student advisory committee and students representation at, you know, at board meetings. when we went to the joint annual conference meeting in 2022 and got to go to a presentation by AIGO's district 308 um and hear from their student ambassadors um and really get a picture of what that looked like so then we could connect with them um have our students meet virtually share ideas um and how we really learned from that. So we had a good time chatting. It was my first podcast ever, so that it was

104a little nerve-wracking, but kind of exciting. Um, but that will probably be out sometime late September. Um, as he has a series of these leading up to conference in November. Very cool. That was fun. Yeah. Right. Mr. Rising, I do have a couple things and I apologize. I didn't let you know ahead of time. Um, so I just wanted to let the board know I did submit my application for an IASB officer on Friday. Um, I sent all that to Lori, but I will send it to all of you. I got it to her the day I sent it to IASB, which was Friday. Um, something you may be seeing from me, and I'm just giving you the heads up now, uh, as the DuPage division director. Now, um I am probably going to start

105to send out quarterly updates to all the presidents in DuPage County or DuPage division because I think there's been a lack of transparency and understanding of what the DuPage executive board does and quite frankly what the directors at the state level do. Yeah. And you know, and again, I'm not blaming it on former leadership in DuPage division, but I just think it's something that everybody is kind of lacking that insight. Um, ironically, that was one of my goals because as an officer, you have to put three goals. And that was one of the things that I think we should be doing absolutely at the division level, but the state level, too. because you know there's what 850 districts 7 there's 5600 school board members in the state of Illinois and they have no idea what

106the division directors do at the state level no clue like I've been a board member for how long and I don't didn't know what they do so um so that is one of the things that I hope to accomplish uh and then the last thing which just happened within the last two weeks um Kimberly Lee Small from IASB and Sarah Miller who's in charge of the advocacy at the state level for legislators. Um they asked me if I would sit on the and this is um Matt, this is kind of for you too. Uh they asked if I would sit on Isby's professional review panel which looks at evidence-based funding. So, I'll be sitting on that panel with Tony Sanders, a lot of state legislators in the state. Um, Kimberly and Sarah thought it would

107be great since we are one of those tier 2 districts that kind of has been in a weird awkward position through evidence-based funding that I sit on there and they know I can hold my ground to other legislators. So, um, so I will let you know. I I'm assuming it's just a tap on the shoulder, fill out an application, which I had to do and I'm on the committee, but I haven't heard any feedback yet. So, but just wanted to let you know that. So, voice there. Yeah. Yeah. It's good to have representation on that board for sure. Yeah. Um, remind everybody what the process is for the elections for the IAS. Oh, for the officers. Um so all the 21 divisions um the directors are getting together in August, the end of August um

108and um kind of doing a lot of stuff as it relates to the conference in November and having some constitutional discussions and things like that. Uh apparently they're going to interview us at that conference. Um it's a weekend conference and um so I'll be attending that on the weekend and I guess they interview us there and then they make their recommendations. I mean I think they uh the committee that's the officer committee. So the person that leads it is Simon who's the past president. Um which actually a couple years ago he encouraged me on the side to run. So hopefully that's a good sign. But I don't know or have any purview of how many people are applying for an officer position. Um, I did put in for VP because I reached out to Tracy

109who's the current VP and she was going to put in for president and I figured they will probably automatically give it to her just because she's been vice president. So, um, but they'll make the recommendations um at basically at the delegate assembly of who the next officers are. So, but I'm sure I'll find out before then and I'll let you know. Interestingly, um, we found out that the president of IASB for quite a number of years has been from a district that is teeny tiny, like 400 students. The current the current president of IASB is from a district that is 350 students. Um the vice president is at a unit district that is 378 students. Um the past president is from a district that's a thousand students. They haven't had a officer that is from

110a large district and a large district is considered over 3,500 students. That's a large district. They haven't had an officer since 2011 that has been from a district that has more than 3,500 students. So, um, I think that's problematic, honestly. Yeah, we'll see. We'll see what happens here. If anybody has any connections, you can bet I put that in my letter, too. Um but but truly I put it in in there meaning that we aren't like we all handle the same things. We all deal with the same challenges and struggles and things like that, but there's this perception of we want to all be valued equally across the state, but the representation at the officer level hasn't represented that. So um I made that one of my points in my letter. Yeah. I I just

111think there should be a distribution of different. Yeah. And we haven't seen that in a long time. So, long time. Yeah. All right. Anything else? Okay. I need a motion to adjurnn. Motion to adjurnn. Second. All in favor say I. I. I. Any opposed? Okay. We are adjourned.