001New York Academy. But I'm the The meeting is now on Tuesday, May 19th, at 6 Now the code school district hold our regular meeting here at 21. Mr. >> And now our Lincoln leaders are going to lead us in the pledge of allegiance. To the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all. We're Now opening the floor for public comment. If you'd like to address the board, please fill out the signs in the beginning as you walk in. Additionally, please be aware that comments made during this time are not protected from potential legal liability. As a reminder, the board will not respond to or engage in dialogue with individuals choosing to make a public comment. The board reserves
002the right to limit the length of public comments. and has exercised that right for this meeting. Individual comments are limited to three minutes with the approval of no more than 30 minutes allotted for public comment. We also ask that all comments be made respectfully and in a manner that does not disrupt the meeting. With that said, we invite our first speaker to address the board, K Lord. Good evening. My name is Kate Lanford. I've been working as the secretary for buildings and grounds and safety for nearly a year now. Uh I'd like to address the search for a new superintendent. I came here from a district that lost its superintendent and it was a total mess trying to find a new one, a suitable replacement. There was so much uncertainty and that led to rumors
003which led to good employees deciding it was time to move on or retire. Seeing what I've seen and knowing what I know after that experience, it boggles my mind that you're willing to spend what some people don't even earn in a whole year to bring in someone that doesn't know the district or the people working here. Especially when you have a qualified, committed employee that has spent her entire educational career here who takes pride in the district and has established strong personal connections. Her phone rings constantly with questions that she happily answers. I ask you why you would let such a valuable asset go to another district that will most certainly feel fortunate to have her. I wonder if you thought about the repercussions of your decision, how long it will take to find a
004new superintendent. Will they be a good fit? How long will it take them to get up to speed to cultivate relationships? Some people don't like Carrie Tish. I happen to think she's amazing. And if you're looking for someone that everyone likes, you're going to have a very long search. Thank you. Next, we have Hello, my name is Ran Canella Zman. I'm not here today as a city clerk of Blue Island. Today I'm here as a retired District 130 teacher of 35 years. I have given my heart and soul to this district, but I'm not here to tell you everything I have accomplished in District 130, but yet to share an idea. Anyone that has worked with me will say, "Oh no, Zilman has an idea." I would love to be at a committee for the
005new superintendent. I truly believe all board members should take a minute and think, why are we here today? I hope you all can say for the children of district 130. I have worked under several board members that have has left an impression on staff and students. Steve Tersia, Jane Healey, Jason Slatterie, Pam Castro, Lynn Lorenziac, Joyce Palooi, those are names from the past. As long how long have we been here? This is why or you could say why. Why would you want um them to why were they good people? Because they were everywhere. They showed up at all school events. They came out. They spoke to staff. They asked their our opinions. I believe they even came to a few team meetings as it asking us for our input. They listened. So basically before making
006any decisions like for superintendent or even maintenance staffs, ask your teachers, families, and even students. I believe district 218 did this exact thing. And we all know, we all love Dr. Josh Baron. Thank you. They look good. >> Unreal. Hello, my name is Elizabeth and I currently have two um girls that are attending Lincoln school. Um first of all, today was the kindergarten uh celebration for the kids and there was no AC working in the gym which there that was concerning because it's not had been going on just today. It's been going on for a few days also. um before May 5th uh and then also last night, the cleaning crew didn't show up to Lincoln and the school was left open during the entire night. And I am concerned because my daughter's attempt to
007this school and I am concerned because anybody could have broke in during the night, which of course that's my daughter's safety and also the staff, which is something that I don't appreciate. Also, um there uh there's also certain stuff that I'm not okay with. Um which is that the school needs more help which the cleaning because it's just one um one custodian that's here during the time that the there's the school hours. And also I want to thank um the the school principal for Lincoln uh because he's been doing such an amazing job with um helping out the students and also helping out the staff which is something that um they should not only be doing that but also the rest of you. Um, and also I want to um I want to address that
008I am not happy with the superintendent and that they're basically showing that they don't care for the staff for district 130. Um, they should show at least more of their appreciation to the staff, not just fire them from one day to another because of course that's not fair for them. Good evening everyone. My name is Stephanie Wendrum and I am the president of the pair professional union and I just want to say we don't have any concerns or questions. The board and the administrators and um um have been very very cooperative with us. We wanted to thank you all again because every need that we have address have brought to their attention, it has been addressed and it has been met and I thank you for that because this is my first time as president
009and I really appreciate that. So um I encourage you all to bring your concerns to the superintendent to the to the board as much as possible. But I can tell you we have had a great year and we appreciate that and we wishing everybody a happy and a great summer. Thank you. Merry. >> Hi, I'm Mary Slom and I first want to address what um Stephanie said. Um I have brought many things to you guys and I have not gotten a response. So I would like to point that out. foot. I'm here again tonight to speak about transparency or the lack of it. In my foyer request, I asked for any communication between board members regarding Gastner or saying on March 18th that board members were needed to call a special board meeting to remove
010the president. No documents were provided. That raises a serious concern. How was that that determination made without any documented discussion? Situations like this erode public trust and raise questions under the Illinois Open Meetings Act, which exists exists to ensure that public business is conducted in the open, not through private coordination. That brings me to the superintendent search process. This is one of the most important decisions this board will make, and the community deserves clarity on where things currently stand. I'm asking for a transparent update on the process itself, which stages it in, how the search firm is being used, and how staff and community input is being incorporated in a meaningful way. The board stated that an outside search agency would lead this process to in ensure a fair, neutral, and professional search. I'm asking
011that this not become a formality while decisions are shaped elsewhere. If that agency was brought in to build trust, then their role needs to be visible and genuinely impactful. There has been a growing level of concern from staff, families, and community members about the direction of the district and the impact of current leadership. Many have expressed frustration and in some cases have chosen to leave the district altogether. Whether or not every perspective is shared by this board, it is clear there is significant unrest that cannot be ignored in a process that's important. Those voices deserve to be heard in a way that is not just symbolic but actually reflected in the process. So tonight I am asking for clarity, accountability and transparency in the superintendent search process moving forward because without that trust in this
012process and in this board continues to erode. Thank you. Good evening. I'm Pat Desabo. Um to piggyback on what Miss uh Zilman had to say. Now, District 218 led by Superintendent Josh Baron, if you follow them on social media, he is everywhere in these communities. Richards, Eisenhower, Shepherd on the weekends, during week nights showcasing what is going on, the positivity of District 218. He cares. When's the last time you seen anybody from this administration? How often do you see them at any events in our communities? >> Not very often. And let me tell you, the last 20 years, you guys have a real big image problem. The last 20 years, you talk to families who have a child and then they leave. They move. Why do they move? The number one reason 90% of the
013time, the school district, so they leave. Now, if you care about that, you do something about that. You know, you see district 218 about a week ago, their seniors announced where they were going to college. So they posted it on social media, very proud that their kids are going to college, where they're going to college. Now, the high schools like to take credit for that and they deserve some of the credit, but you too, you should too. Without elementary school, grade school, you lay the foundation for that. But do you guys put anything on social media saying that's a district 130 graduate, he attended Washington, she attended Kirk Veterans, there's nothing. So, that's an image prop. You should take as much pride as district 218 takes in this. Did you know that you have a
014District 130 graduate who is graduating from Eisenhower High School who has a $91,000 scholarship reward to Yale University? >> I would think you would plaster that everywhere cuz that's something to be proud of. beyond her volunteering leadership. You know, my wife and I put as much importance on having a child that's respectful, that's a leader, that is just a good quality person as much as being a great academic student. It's just as important nowadays with the bullying that's going on in social media. But you folks have to really the school board, and I'm not absolve the the ones who were recently elected. They've only been here a year and I know most of them care because they do have students in district 130, but I don't know the rest of them who have no students
015here, what their agenda is, but they've been here multiple terms and this is what's been going on, the image problem in this district. And if you care, you're going to do something about it. Now, you're hiring a firm. You're the eyes and ears of these this community. You should be making that decision. That's what we elected you for. And now you're going to pawn it off. And some of you are up for reelection in April or whenever March. You're going to make this decision and then you're not going to go for reelection or you're going to lose. And then we're stuck with this next superintendent. Well, I hope there's a candidate. If there's a candidate running for superintendent that is a District 130 graduate or worked in the district at some time or another and
016still resides in the district, which should be mandatory, any superintendent should have to live in this district cuz they're going to care. They're going to listen to their neighbors. They're going to know more about these communities, not drive 30, 35 minutes away after school. So, I hope you guys take that in consideration. If there is that candidate out there, it's very important because they they will care more being a resident, being a graduate of District 130. But folks, you got an image problem. It's going to take some long hours. It's going to take time. But if you really care about the kids, these communities, you'll take the additional time needed to get it done and reverse this trend of people leaving these communities because of this school district. Thank you. Good evening. My name is
017Janice Castile. Oh, thank you. I'm the president of the secretary union. Um so, uh superintendent Dr. communicate um board members and staff. As we come to the close of another successful school year, I would like to extend a sincere appreciation to everyone for your dedication, collaboration, and continued commitment to our students and school community. This year has been filled with many accomplishments, challenges, and opportunities for growth. Through teamwork, professionalism, and perseverance, we have continued to support and encourage student success each and every day. On behalf of BISPA Local 330, thank you for the important work you do and the support shown to our staff throughout the school year. The dedication demonstrated across district does not go unnoticed and is truly appreciated. Wishing everyone a safe, restful, and enjoyable summer. May the months ahead provide time
018to relax, recharge, and prepare for another successful school year. Thank you. this car. >> Hi, my name is Candace Carr. I'm a secretary at Veterans Memorial Middle School. Um, I was looking at the agenda for tonight's meeting and buried pretty far down in the consent agenda under personnel report, um, I noticed that Ashley Brink is, um, up for appointment to athletic director for the district. I just wanted to say I've worked with Miss Brink for several years now. I can't think of anyone who would be better suited to the physician. She shows enthusiasm, professionalism, and dedication in everything she does. Um, I don't know where she is. She was sitting there. But I'm going to say this, Ashley. You're going to miss me when you're gone. Good evening everybody. My name is Shay Marshall. I'm
019the division director for 1173. Many of you will notice there's a wall of purple brought their family back out into the hallway here. For almost the last year, we've been in negotiations. Unfortunately, our experience with the board and the administration has not been as pleasant as some of the other unions. This board, much to Frank Gasmir's dismay and lies, has always said, "Oh, we can have a great relationship with you. We've never had a great relationship with them." They target our stewards. They terminate our people. They try to have them arrested. Happens all the time. And then when we make a fuss about it, they sit in bargaining for an hour and a half or two hours and complain about whatever this week's incident was instead of sitting down and trying to bargain a contract.
020They make racist comments. All of you with kids in here, they probably made racist comments probably about wherever you're from. I've heard him say it myself. this school district, this board is not in your favor. Frank will get up here later and say, "Oh, don't believe the man behind the curtain. Don't listen to them. He's nothing. It's all lies. All of it." They don't want you to see what's actually happening. They don't want to see want you to see that they're blowing through money, bringing in an outside company that's not securing the buildings at night. leaving them unlocked >> and dirty and missing equipment. Your tax dollars flushed the air in here. How convenient. But this is what they do. It's time that all of you here hold them accountable. It is past time for
021that. It is time for all of you to make sure that this district is actually working for the students, the families, and the community that it is supposed to be serving, not trying to lord over. Colleen McKay, you cannot leave fast enough. Have a good night. Sorry, I was getting really >> Doug Taylor here. I am also one of the SEIU folks who helped work with the unit here. Uh, and tonight I just want to talk about safety and security. I had taught for 33 years elementary and I would tell my students my first job is to keep you safe and your first job is to help me keep you safe. First thing before we got to learning, you know, all the reading, writing, all the other things we're doing, the management here has failed
022to keep the schools and your students safe and their staff. We've had several instances since the this outsourced this contracted out company has been here where buildings have been left un locked. The alarms have not been set. Uh we they staff come in and it doesn't quite feel right. The building hasn't been shut down appropriately. So they're not doing their best to keep the students and the staff safe. And that's a minimum expectation of when you go into work, right? You're going to go into a place of learning that it's going to be safe. Please do better. If you're we've got three staff members in your unit supervising the custodial maintenance folks and you've got a director of security, there should be plenty of folks to make sure that the buildings are locked and alarms
023are set and the lights get turned out appropriately as buildings are closed down. This is a function of the short staffing our people have been suffering with for this entire year since I came on board with the group that they're expected to do more and more with less do better. Jeffrey Howard Good evening board, members of the community, SEIU local 73 members. Who are we? >> You know, I came here before and I don't have a long speech because we all kind of know that. We know what's going on and I'm going I'm imploring you to do better by these workers. This is the end of the year. We don't want to be at your school board meeting. This is where students get to celebrate. I've made it through a school year. We get to
024celebrate accomplishments. Uh the young man spoke earlier about a student who got a scholarship to Yale. Those are the things we should be doing here at these meetings. We don't want to come here and say do right by workers. Quit harassing stewards. Quit firing members. Quit targeting workers. Quit coming to the table and um doing surface bargaining. Bargain a contract. Give these people what these need. Provide these school safety. Make sure these schools are locked. Take care of these workers. They live in this community. Their childrens go to these schools. Do right by these workers. Board, I implore you. Do right by these workers or we'll be back. There are no more public comments. We'll move on to the next agenda item board under comments. At this time, do any members of the board have
025any comments? Two things. One, two, various blessings for that. >> I can't hear you. Sorry, I'll do my best to quiet. >> All right. So, thank you everyone for being here. So nice to see so many faces. Out of concerns over recent action by the board recent actions, I ask that the board president please provide an updated TV on the superintendent search. In particular, a primary concern I have is that any further delay could potentially reduce the pool of qualified applicants as well as the board's ability to define what it means to be qualified. Of the various things the board considers, it's hard for me to think of anything more important. And here >> I'll start start over. Of the various things this board considers, it's hard for me to think of anything more important
026and more consequential than our children's well-being and success than the selection of the new superintendent. To underscore this importance, I would like to request that a standing agenda item be created for each open session between now and when we fill the superintendent position for the sake of providing a regular search update to both the board and the public. Sorry, I do have a couple comments myself. I just want to say I want to talk about the Adams family musical. in our board folders. There's the little um the program from the show. Please take time and scan the QR code. It's got pictures from there. Um all three shows were sold out and each performance got better than the last. So, I'd like to give a gigantic shout out to all the performers and crew. You
027were all amazing and I can't wait to see what you all do next year, whether it's here in our district or in high school. And I'd like to, just so I don't miss anybody, um, thank you all the directors, the volunteers, the staff, and the parents that made this year's school musical a success. This production wouldn't have occurred or been possible if it wasn't for all of you. Um, I'd also like to acknowledge our student advisory members and say thank you for your interest in learning more about our school board and for being here with us every month. Your voices and opinion mattered >> and I hope that you all felt heard. I wish all of you the best of luck in your next adventure and thank you to the parents for providing transportation to
028the ch your children and allowing them to be here at these board meetings. And because it was pretty much demanded of me, I would like to share as I did with the board in an email, there are no updates to be given to the search firm because we have a board have not met with them. I'm in the process of getting dates for us to meet with them in June. And as soon as I do, I will email and share with the entire board. From my understanding is that meeting is a board meeting. After we meet with them, we will have more information to share and include the public in. But right now, the board has not even started with with them yet. So, as soon as that occurs, I will make sure the board
029will make sure that the community is kept up to date and what that process will look like. Right now, we don't have a timeline for that in this moment. Could that address anything? Are there any other board comments at this time? Um, we'll move on to commendations and recognitions for the class of 2026 validictorian saludiatoran. Um, may I have the middle school principles come and present, please? Oh, I'm sorry. Good evening. Uh, welcome. Uh, my name is Ann Marie Mayorga. I am the principal at Veterans Memorial Middle School. Um, on behalf of the middle school administration, we would like to recognize the validictorian and saludiatoran of the class of 2026. The valadictorian is the highest achieving student uh with the grade point average um that that demonstrates academic achievement um for the graduating class. The
030valadictorian uh will give the farewell address at the graduation ceremony um to the class of 2026. The saludiatoran is recognized with the second highest grade point average um and they will um address the um pledge of allegiance tomorrow at the graduation ceremony. Uh the presentation of the graduation stalls will also take place tonight. Um, so I will start with recognizing our validatoran for the class of 2026 for Veterans Memorial Middle School, Aliaaz Shake. Sorry. Um Alia is um a member of the National Junior Honor Society um student council. She is a member of the art club, yearbook club. Um she was in the east side band. She played the flute. Um she participated in inter mural sports and she also attended PRP and PRI. Ali is bilingual in Hindi and is a proud Muslim. Ali's
031favorite memory was the Springfield trip in 7th grade. Alia had fun learning about historical sites and spending the entire day traveling and learning with her friends. Alia recognizes and sincerely thanks Mrs. Loxis for supporting her ideas, encouraging her growth and inspiring inspiring her uh to achieve her goals. Thank you, Miss Loxis. Alia plans to attend Maris High School. She looks to study um get ready to study um medicine and she plans to go to Harvard after her time at Mars. So, congratulations Ala. The Veterans Memorial Middle School saluditorian uh for 2026 is Roxanna Garcia. Come on over, Rox. Um Roxanna is a member of the National Junior Honor Society, the Art Club, Yearbook Club. She's in the East Side band. She plays the clarinet. Um, she played soccer. She attended Lincoln here as a kindergartener
032and then she went to PRP and PRI. Roxanna is bilingual and Spanish and a member of St. Diana's Catholic Church. She um shared that her most memorable year was the end of seventh grade where she made fun memories with friends. Roxanna also recognizes and sincerely thanks Mrs. Vanderwal. please stand um for motivating and encouraging her to academically achieve her goals in math. Um Roxanna will attend YD Eisenhower High School. She also plans to study medicine and also plans to attend the University of Chicago. Congratulations, Roxanna. Here you go. And now we'll move into um her middle school. I'm sorry. I think I'm >> Good evening everybody. My name is Paul and I'm the principal Middle School tonight for all of you. Heat. Heat. Why don't you stand up here, buddy? So, you can see the
033selection. Um, now to tell you a little bit about this outstanding young man. Uh, Elias has been with District 130 since preschool. He earned the honor of validator by maintaining a 4.0 GPA throughout his middle school career. When I was when I had a chance to talk to Elas and ask him what his most impactful school experience was, he said second grade. When I asked him why, he said second grade was very special to him because he had a really nice teacher by the name of Miss McQuinn. So, Mr. McQueen definitely made a huge impact on your his experience in second grade and possible shape his learning and growth over the next couple years or next years of his educational career. So, Miss McQuinn is here tonight, but special thanks to Miss McQueen. In addition
034in addition to his outstanding academic record, um Eliza is also heavily involved in extracurricular activities. He's a member of the National Junior Honor Society. He spent two years on our IESA affiliated um boys basketball team and he participated in our intramural soccer team during both his sixth and seventh grade years. Elias will attend Shepard High School next year where he plans to continue his academic um continue to his academic achievements. His goal at Shepherd is simple yet powerful. He plans to keep working hard, be a strong student, and continue striving for excellence. Please join me all. Now I want to introduce to you a second outstanding individual from our school, our student, Nicole Jasmine Basquez. Nicole has also been with our district a long time. She's been with District 130 since kindergarten. And she earned
035this honor by also maintaining a 4.0 GPA throughout her middle school career. When I had a chance to talk with Nicole, uh she shared with me that her most impactful experiences from her school career with her participation in athletics, particularly her participation in girls soccer. Beyond athletics, um Nicole participates in other extracurricular activities. She's a member of our national junior honor society where she also volunteers as a peer tutor. She participated on student council for two years and she was a member of our unity club. Uh a notable experience in unity club was last year as a seventh grader where she was a master of ceremonies for both our black hero celebration and also world culture celebration. She took a lead role in leading two very impactful very meaningful schoolwide events. Nicole also plans to
036attend Shepard High School next year where she plans to continue her soccer career. When I asked her what her goals were, she said her goals were to broaden her horizons of stepping out of her comfort zone and embracing new learning experiences. Please join me in congratulating our senator Nicole. And now we recognize the validictorian from K school. >> Good evening everybody. Uh my name is Megan Hill and I am the principal of Ever Middle School. We are so excited to see all of you tonight and recognize the valadictorian and saludiatoran here um at Ever Middle School. We would first like to welcome up our validictorian, Michael Dage. Michael Nassik, valadictorian of Everett Fer Middle School, has demonstrated outstanding dedication and achievement throughout his middle school years and beyond. During his eighth grade year, he was
037actively involved in band. And outside of school, Michael shared that he enjoys playing baseball in his free time. When asking Michael what his plans are for the future, he's still a little undecided, which we said is normal for eighth graders. Yet, he does plan to pursue his interest in digital arts and drawing during high school and beyond. While he is still exploring his future career path, he indicated that he attend intends to attend college after his years at Dwight D. Eisenhower High School. Michael would like to recognize Mr. Livingston, who is here today, for his impactful teaching, expressing appreciation for the extra support, engaging projects, and meaningful activities that made learning both enjoyable and rewarding during his seventh grade year at Everett Fker Middle School. Mr. Please join me once again in in congratulating Michael
038Dashic as he is our third middle school valator. And next up to the stand, we'd like to recognize our ever middle school saludiatoran, Gabriel Diaz. Gabriel Diaz, the saludiatoran of Everett Fker Middle School, has demonstrated exceptional commitment to both academics and extracurricular involvement throughout his middle school years. During his time at KUR, Gabriel actively participated in band ensemble and crew for the KMS VMS musical production. So to to point out um the recent shout out there, Gabriel was a part of that amazing performance as well. He also went the National Junior Honor Society, Math Bowl during his eighth grade year, and art club. Outside outside of school, Gabriel shared that he is also dedicated to folkloric dance and he did explain that to me too. He didn't show me any moves but he did explain
039it to me. After his time here at Kerr, Gabriel plans to attend Dwight Dy Eisenhower High School and after that he plans to pursue a career in mechanical engineering and aspires to attend the University of Illinois after high school. So I told him, don't forget about us little people when when you're doing really big things later on in life. He would like to extend his gratitude to first Miss Damian who's here with us today. He shared that he would like to thank Miss Damian for the many opportunities she provided this year, including his participation in math bowl and her engaging, meaningful approach to teaching mathematics. Gabriel would also like to thank Mr. Livingston for being an outstanding teacher and a positive influence. He greatly appreciates all that Kerr has to offer and reflects fondly on
040the experiences and opportunities he has enjoyed during his time at this school. Gabriel also shared that he has had some of the most wonderful teachers throughout his time here in district 130 and he really would like to extend his appreciation gratitude to all. So please once again help me in congratulating our saludiatoran Gabriel D. advisory board members. You guys want to step on over I'm so lucky to be back up here and thank you to Mr. Martin. I did not bring the bags up. I was not planning properly. So, thank you Mr. Martin for um the uh the bags for our student advisory board. It has been such an honor and a privilege to be the sponsor for the student advisory board. Um this is my second year um having the opportunity um to have
041a full board. The first year was the inaugural year, but this is the second full year with the student advisory board. They've really been on this amazing journey with us, you know. Um, in our last meeting, we called it tea time because it's just it's just fun to sit with them and be with them and and just enjoy them. I'm going to not cry because, you know, I'm a sap to begin with, but I'm going to miss these kids dearly. They're truly wonderful. So, I'm going to share some things about them. If you could please come up when your name is called. First, we're in alphabetical order. We've got Kalia Brown. Pia Brown is a student advisory board member from Nathan Hill Middle School. She will be attending Alan B. Shepard High School in the
042fall. Uh for her future plans, she plans to be a college graduate. She also hopes to be a restaurant or bakery owner in the future. Some activities that she participated in during her time in middle school include NJHS, student council, band, choir, art club, girls club, volleyball, basketball club, and outside of school, she likes to play softball and attend camp. I mean, could she do anymore? Really? Um, and when asked for a piece of advice for future learners, future eighth graders, she said, "Try a bunch of things and see what fits you. Explore your options." Thank you for your service. All right, next we have Natalia Cabo. Natalyia is one of our student advisory board members from Veterans Memorial Middle School. Natalya will be attending Dwayne D. Eisenhower in the fall. She shared that her
043future plans include college and she hopes to major in photography or at least keep it as a hobby. Her activities during her time at Veterans Memorial Middle School include yearbook club, choir, art club, NGHS, and student council. When I asked Natalia about advice that she had for future eighth graders or students in middle school, she said, "Everyone start somewhere. Try your best." Please help me in in congratulating Natalia for her service on this advisor. Okay, next to the stand here we have Kayn Hernandez. Kayn is a student board member from Ever Ferrer Middle School. Kayn will also be attending Dwight D. Eisenhower High School in the fall. Her future plans include a lot of college because she would like to be a veterinarian in the future. Her activities in her time at Kerr include choir,
044band, volleyball, and the musical. If you saw the musical, you might recognize her as Wednesday Adams. Everybody, a piece of advice from Kayn to her younger peers is to stay motivated and never give up. Please help me in congratulating Kayla Hernandez. Okay, next we have Sophie Victoria Teresa Prep. Sophie is a student advisory board member from Nathan Hill Middle School who will be attending Alan B. Shepard High School in the fall. Sophie shared that her future college graduate hopefully you ofi maybe her and Gabriel will be in the same class. She would like to study psychology. Her activities again extensive list of activities. She was involved in art club, yearbook, volleyball, band, martial arts, NJHS and figure skating as well. When Sophie shared advice that she has for her younger peers, she shared, "You don't
045have to fit in or be better than what people say. Don't listen to what others say about you." Please join me in congratulating Sophie for her work on the board. All right. Next we have Donald Noah, our token male on the student advisory board. Donald is a student advisory board member from Veterans Memorial Middle School. He will be attending Dwight D. Eisenhower High School. Donald shared that he's unsure of future plans, which is absolutely appropriate in 8th grade, but he thinks that he would like to attend college, and I know he's going to do great things no matter which choice that he makes. activities during his time at veterans include band, chess club, NJHS, and of course the student advisory board. Donald's advice to younger peers include get involved and make new friends. That's perfect
046advice. Get involved. And that is something that all of these students have demonstrated for sure. Please help me in honoring and celebrating Donald. All right, last but certainly not least is Destiny Topia. Destiny is a student advisory board member from Everett Eper Middle School who will be attending Dwight D. Eisenhower High School in the fall. Destiny shared that she also would like to be a future college graduate. Unsure of plans completely, but I believe she talked about veterinarian um in her future as well. Am I right on that? Okay, good. She was involved in lots of things during her three years at Ker Middle School, including choir, band, no choir. No band, choir, volleyball, and the Kerr Middle School Veterans Memorial Middle School Musical as well. Destiny's advice is to don't let anyone put you
047down and always put your grades before the drama. Stay determined and never give up. Thank you to Destiny for her time on the board who's helping me celebrate. Thank you again to our student advisory board members and giving them the time and the space each and every month to learn from the board, grow with the board, and you know, I I see future leaders in all of them and hopefully um you know, they stick around uh to come back and share all of those wonderful things with us. Thank you again. Next on the agenda isurricul. instructions will be recognizing this year. Good evening everyone. Uh the South Cook Math Bowl 2026 was held on April 30th, 2026 and on May 1st, 2026 at Prairie State College, bringing together talented young mathematicians from across the region
048for two days of challenging problem solving and academic competition. This annual event fosters collaboration, critical thinking, and a passion for mathematics among students. I would like to thank parents for all of your support for our program throughout the year and I would formally like to offer my gratitude to our 2026 math bowl coaches. If any of you are present, please stand and be recognized. Eileen McLaclin served as our district coach and division division B coach for Nathan Hale Primary School. Michelle Robinson, Division B, Paul Rivere Intermediate School. Karen Johnson, division C, Paul Rivere Intermediate School. Karen Aidens, divisions C and D, Nathan Hale Middle School. And Martha Damian, division C and D, Ever Furer Middle School. Thank you, coaches and parents. At this time, I would like to invite our district coach, Eileen McGlaughlin, to
049the podium to present our awards. Okay. Leading up to the regional event, talented young mathematicians dedicated their time to regular practice sessions, working collaboratively to sharpen their problem solving abilities and deepen their understanding of complex mathematical concepts. These sessions fostered teamwork, perseverance, and a love for learning. We proudly congratulate the following students and I do ask to please hold your applause until all names are read on the list so that all the students can hear their names especially after they're here. Thank you. Josiah Andreana, Leah Gokale, John Holidayiday, Le Chazarsski, Nicholas Muggles, Kalia Smith, Meline Sokin, Harper Taylor, Yasennia Cavalero, Brian Deila, D'Angelo Ingram, >> Samuel Lemon Hernandez, Emiliano Mendoza, Gabriel Diaz, >> Ali Fraso, Emmy Ro, and Allison Silva. That concludes the list. You may clap. One more. So, Gabriel Castillo. We also want
050to congratulate all the students who proudly represented our district at the math bowl. Your hard work, dedication, and enthusiasm for learning are truly commendable. For our division B, we had John Holidayiday, Le Sherowski, Vivana Solera, Wises Mesa. For division C, we have Samuel Lemon Hernandez, Owen Talasi, Julian Para, Lucas Ornelis. And for division D teams, we had Gabriel Diaz, Eric Cernell, Allison Silva, and Emmy Ro. Thank you so much. Thank you again to all of our mathematicians. Don't forget to stop and get your cookies. We got lots of good cookies on the way out. So, thank you again to everyone. The next item on the agenda is special Olympic principal specialized student. >> Hello and good evening. Um, I am very excited to be here this evening because it at this moment I have the
051absolute best job of tonight's meeting. I get to recognize some pretty incredible um Cook County School District students. Um, so we're going to start with um our special Olympics. >> Well, I have one kiddo who's a triple threat, so he's going to be announced a few times, but right now he's taking a break. Right there in the front is David Atorga. Next, I want to recognize our two eighth graders. First, I have Delaney Copney and I also have Emma Molong. We do have other um participants too. They just weren't able to make it this evening. I also want to recognize, could you please come over this way? Our two coaches that have done a lot of work with our kiddos. We have Miss Madam who is our ICP social worker. And we have Mrs. Dual
052who is our NHM ICP teacher. So thank you all for your participation. All right. Next I have our our students that have participated in our buddy club which we had asked the board to approve this year and it has been running since January. We had a lot of interest. There was actually 33 students who participated. So, we had to run two groups um for it and they have even told Miss Young and Miss Nan that they would like to do it again next year and they said they need to open up to fifth grade because it was pretty much fourth graders this year. So, they want to make sure they get to participate again next year. So, they had a really wonderful time. Um so, my people here that have come, Ava Holiday, Patrick, Andreas
053Reena, and I do want to mention about Andreas that he absolutely loved the club. He would tell us every single day he would ask if we were having buddy club, bloody buddy club. He just kept repeating it all the time. And then, as I said, we'll see him again. David Atoga and Finn Lock. Where are you? One more too. Ready? >> Marty Marty Medina. In addition to being a part of this club, they also um held a fundraiser at Culver's in order to purchase. It is a communication board that will be placed at NHI and it can be moved into out onto the playground or into the gym so that everyone has access to it and is able to communicate together. So, they've done a great job and they raised just under $500 to purchase
054that. I also want to thank um Miss Young for getting this club off and going and Miss Gan for joining us with that and being the two heads up. Thank you. All right. And lastly, if you got a chance to enjoy some treats, that was due to our snack shack crew. And so, you're going to see some of our kiddos again. They have been working very hard at NHI to provide order forms and to go around getting um snack orders from staff within the NHI building and the uh Nathan Health Primary Building. Also, um they've done the job of collecting, of getting the money for it, packing the bags. As you can see, they were operating the entire um snack shack there themselves and practicing their math skills. So, we're really appreciative of all the
055work that they've done. All right. So, my first one is Marty. We're going to start with you, Marty. Marty Medina. Andreas Raina. Sorry, we have a few that didn't come. And we have who I said would be up here a few times. David Atoga. And of course, this could not run without Miss Young, Miss A, and Miss Roland. So, we appreciate all their efforts. more than just kind I actually most Thank you. You want to I did wonderful. I blew my eyes. No, you have to try. Hit me. >> Give me whatever. Yeah. What's up? Oh, hi. >> Don't wait in your pocket. Good evening. I'm Carrie Tish, the assistant superintendent for human resources and um standing next to me is Mr. John Deltik, our director of human resources. And we have the pleasure tonight
056to talk to you about our service awards for our faculty and staff here in district 130. As we gather today um to celebrate our staff service award recipients, we take this opportunity to recognize the dedication, commitment, and countless contributions each individual has made to our school community. Your years of service reflect not only professional excellence, but also the care and compassion you have on our students, families, colleagues each day. Because of your commitment to our schools, we proudly honor and thank you for lasting for the lasting impact you have made on our district. At this time, I will be calling up in groups the years of services that our faculty have provided. What I ask you to do is we can applaud as you come up to get your um certificate. And once you get
057your certificate, you can walk out the door. Mr. Hulesman is standing right by the door. Um once we gather all of the years of service, we will have your picture taken and you can get your awards out at the um table with Miss Alvarez and Miss Mononttoya. Okay. So, congratulations, Hannah Agner. Oh, sorry. Oh, I'm sorry. Sorry. We're going to have the board members stand in front so that they can come up and shake hands. Um if you don't mind, please. In front of the table. When I do call your name, if you can go to the very ends, shake the board members hands and then come get your certificate. 10 years of service. Hannah Agner, Katherine Aante, You can clap if you'd like to. Yolana Ariano, Megan Dargan, Alisia Diaz, Jessica, Juan Boys, Margaret
058Barbie, Amelia, Danielle Kramer, Heather Gray, Leonard Gutierz, Alisa Curts, Terry Smro, Lyn Paul, Susan Reynolds, Shannon Stephy, Tel Sh. Next we have our 15 years of service. Carrie Tony Hud, Britney Gilbert, Kevin Ho, Brandon House, for 20 years of service. Patricia Elise, Anna Yelli, Alvarado, Rebecca Bton, Teresa Casola, Kicker, Lanca Castanada, Janice Castile, Sarah Thomas, Mary, Ariana Espa, Jamie Diana Fstone, Alison Garcia, Stacy Irvine, Elizabeth Papano, Luciano Marino, Lynn P, Laticia Rodriguez, James Sparks, Catherine Stevens, for 25 years of service. Cameron Bowman, Martha, Karen Johnson, Sandy Martinez, Joy, and F. Stru 30 years of service. Edith Castillo and Kimberly Deario. Thank you. And would the board members please be seated? We do have a presentation for our retirees. To honor our retirees tonight, I ask that the four retirees please come forward and stand before
059the audience and watch a little video um to honor and celebrate you as you enter into this new adventure of retirement. Mr. Bill Caribbean and June Tucio. Will you please stand in front here so that you can watch your video or sit if you'd like to and so you can see the video. Okay. Okay. And then we'll shake the board members hands. Okay. Go ahead, Miss Greenberg. >> Congratulations to our retirees physical education teacher Nathan Hale Middle School 3 years service. Wishing you all the best in your retirement. Thank you for your years of education and the dedication and enthusiasm you bring each day. May this next chapter bring you happiness, relaxation, and new adventures. Congrats, Britney. Mr. Cares enjoys working with students and teaching them both athletics and life lessons through the game of
060basketball. Mr. Cares also did a very nice job when he coached our internal basketball team during his first year in the district. Principal Greg Hall. Bill, congratulations on your retirement. I hope you enjoy the opportunity to relax and focus on your personal interest. Wishing you all the best in this next chapter. Amy, congratulations on your retirement. You truly deserve it. Thank you for everything you do for our students. You will be greatly missed by William. Thanks for your constant efforts to give your best day in and day out. Enjoy your retirement, buddy. Screw just Jim Tell us custodian ever at her middle school. 19 years of service. June has been a dedicated member of the Kerr family for 19 years. She knows her inside and out and takes great pride in her work each and
061every day. June has been a true asset to our team and her hard work, commitment and caring presence will be greatly missed. We thank her for her years of service and wish her all the best in retirement. Megan and staff of her middle school, custodian, veterans from Middle School and district office. 21 years of service's kindness and bright smile will forever live in district 130. Enjoy retirement. Theres her positivity and kindness immediately make your day better. Lois is always lifting up those around her with her kindness and unwavering willingness to help anyone in need. Terry Campos, she works hard to maintain a clean and safe learning working environment. I will miss greeting her every morning when I come to work as she's often the first person I see, John. Miss Lois was incredibly kind and
062welcoming from the moment I came to the district, always making me feel comfortable and supported. She consistently lends a helping hand whenever I need it, and her positive attitude truly makes a difference. Kristen Palmer. She's usually the first person I see when I walk in, and she's never missed an opportunity to say good morning with a smile. Kindness helps set the tone for the day. Jeffrey Park. Joanne Mcernney, library media pair professional, Nathan Hill Primary and Intermediate School, 21 years of service. Her warm personality and car and spirit helped make the library a welcoming and happy place for everyone. The impact Joan made on students and staff will not be forgotten and she will be deeply missed. This is It has been a joy getting to know you, Joanne, over the past four years. Thank
063you for sharing your space with us and always thinking of our students. Best wishes for a happy, peaceful, and exciting retirement. I believe you brought one. It's been such a pleasure working with you over the years and even more special knowing I had the chance to teach your son. You've made a lasting impact here with your dedication and great sense and humor. Now it's your turn to relax and have fun. Katie Joanna, congratulations. I hope that you find much comfort, happiness, and laughter in retirement. Thanks for always bringing us a chuckle, keeping us on our toes. Relax, enjoy. Joanne, thanks for starting happiness. and all. May what comes next bring you joy and fulfill welldeserved retirement. Thank you for always making us smile. It's been a joy working with you. Congratulations to all of our
064retirees. Heat. Heat. Moving on to presentations. Good evening everybody. Thank you for coming out. Before I get started, I want to stand without the year. look at our one school, one team, one quarter that'll make a little bit more sense going. So again, we look at our community success. So we have approximately 300 students in all backgrounds in our career grade approximately 60 staff members teachers proaries. We had somebody speech language pathologist occupational therapy social workers again who made the difference. Uh our mission empowers the whole child both academically, social and emotionally high expectations. Uh and we want our students to feel safe and value while they're one of our primary focuses here at Lincoln this year has been uh growth both academically, socially and emotionally. Um we are so proud of our students for
065being both um in PLA and in math over 100% uh annual annual progress towards its typical growth. We had amazing growth in both the LA and this year we're significantly reducing the students in our tier three band and our two band and increasing the students in our one band has been phenomenal. um our school link our week leaders that was a initiative that we brought back this year. Um it provided students with authentic leadership opportunity throughout the school day. Uh these students have been Okay, here we go. Okay, sorry. Okay. Um, so going along with our our growth, we are celebrating our students. We have been celebrating our students this year who have made their growth uh goals. uh we we have been um setting realistic smart goals with students and we are happy to
066say we had uh 165 students meet their ELA SLA goals for the end of the year and 176 students meet their math goals for the next year. So again we want every student to feel value and want to come to school. So we start every day um with with something positive. So we have staff members greet our students getting out of the car, walking into the building. Again, just trying that kind of getting that family feel of you're welcome here at Lincoln School on a daily basis. Again, starting a student off with a smile is probably the easiest thing that you can do together on the right. So this is a picture of our social worker. She's in the back there. She was focused on >> WGN tun about the positive positive effects we have
067on a great student. So again building positive relationship building that connectedness belonging home started the day and then part of our positive behavior got started. Um, a couple other things that we do throughout the year is we did minute minutes to minute activities. Um, just randomly we may just go up to a grade level and play a game, you know, get get them get their blood flowing, you know, once blood flowing. So, this one was grass is a scarcely fast. So, this was a first group. Um again it doesn't matter whether it's ran by myself or Mr. Char or social workers or counselors or just a teacher. Uh every grade level had an opportunity to do a minute to win a game. Not really winning anything but just kind of starting the day off with
068some fun getting some energy going. So this is kind of just one of the community at Lincoln. Um our four uh expectations for daily behavior. So the war model so respectful uh use kind words and actions organized be prepared and ready to go achieving always your personal best and complete your work and responsible goals. Okay. And we um teach those starting day one with station rotations continuing out the entire day um reteing and commending students for for meeting those expectations um throughout the year. So those are our And on every Friday at the hallway, two over every classroom. So again, we talk about social emotional learning and providing a calm atmosphere. Every class has so if a student is not feeling right or they're not They may not be a class, they have the opportunity
069to take a break, kind of reset themselves and then kind of get back on. So some of our corners and anything that could refocus them into we also follow the PBIS for positive behavior intervention. So what we do is again increasing positive behaviors whether it's a transition whether it's in the classroom students earn a bragging that they can use in our shop again reinforc proactively reinforcing positive behavior we also so we also started implementing positive student shout outs so our teachers providing it as well throughout the throughout the year right school 25 students are proactive in the classroom. Again, focusing on the positive rather than class. So again um PBIS so every quarter we wanted to focus on positive behavior so trying to decrease officers referrals minor offensive girls. So anything like those negative behavior.
070So what we did we had quarterly celebration in the fall we did our celebration or quarter two we had snowball talks where we had three back and forth. We're free to celebrate Spice's birthday and that fourth students rotated through different activities every grade level. We brought back our leaders this year. This was an authentic leadership opportunity for students. Um they were phenomenal group. We actually take a look at the application process and interviewed and then they were selected. These students we We've been doing live announcements every morning for all classes. So every morning all classes tune in. We do live announcements. We announce the weather. Um we do activities. So they're also promoting social emotional um skills. We do attendance challenge. Happy birthday to students who have birthdays and they also do positive shout outs.
071And then they also um so we offer announcements. They're doing traffic. So they're out handing out those positive engagement. doing an awesome job our school planet a lot um one of the things that we've been so we we know we we have identified institution and we are trying to be proactive about this one of the things that we have done at the school level is um implementing weekly attendance calendar. So we shout out students for being here. We never shout out students for not we never so the students who um are classes whereas 95 93% of whatever um they get on fire they can just spin the wheel for a ride. We had phenomenal success on average. Um we also show every Friday what our average week where we can and this is a picture
072of but it is our wonderful technical. So again, thank you for taking time to listen to our video kind of sum it all up. Christmas. the team made me become a smarter person and help me achieve my goals. And I was amazing at school. So I swim in the kitchen. >> My favorite part of music is when I go outside cuz I made a lot of friends. Thank you. >> Thank you. Good morning. If there are none, may I have a motion to approve agenda items for this meeting? Item number five. A C H I J K L M N O V Q R S T U V W and X there. Yes. Now to action items. The first action item is language collection. So, one of the things that we do is In addition,
073you are able to share Some of our team We had I have a question that we look We are so Are there any other questions? Any discussion? May I have a motion to approve proposal for additional change? All right. Heat. Do I need to? Okay, sorry. Um, the next item on the agenda is just the Lincoln site improvements, the safety considerations. This is for ongoing discussion or next steps of action. Anyone from the board have a comment? I believe there's a lot of uh options that we looked at currently earlier today and that we need to uh further look at before we take any action probably put this off to the side in another meeting so we get all options uh looked at. There's a lot of options that we need to look at uh
074when we were out there uh earlier before the meeting today and we need to uh look at all of them before we make any decisions on anything because there's a lot of different moving pieces out there that would uh make this happen. So, in my opinion, we uh move it on for a discussion, another meeting after we get all the options that are out there. Uh the city has some that they would be involved in helping us with the monies. So, uh we really got to take a look at what we want to do. I'll repeat that. I'll repeat that. I think it's a simple pedestrian safety issue. We need a sidewalk so children don't have to cut through a parking lot. There is no parking lot on the north side of the building. I
075mean, sorry, there's no sidewalk on the north side of the building. Um, I just I think it's very straightforward and um I hate to see it delayed even further. >> After looking at it or before the meeting, um, we stood there and watched like four or five families struggle to figure out which way to go towards the building and then walk through the grass. So I do think a sidewalk um should definitely be something that is proposed or we get a accurate quote or presentation. Um before that though I do think a gate and speed bumps are like first priority. I think that would also help a lot of issues. Bill, Bill, would it be possible to uh just extending pavement all the way to the building instead of a sidewalk? Maybe put a a
076trough as a a sewer gutter system. >> Yeah. instead of a sidewalk just to pave the whole area, eliminate the lawn. >> Yeah. I think it'd be a more practical solution as opposed to the sidewalk. Let's uh investigate the cost of that. just extend the pavement all the way to the building. Well, where the lawn is there, where the the pavement ends, where those concrete bumpers are, just continue the pavement all the way to the building. I think ultimately though you're getting at the same idea which is just provide a safe path for children to walk, right? Okay. Thank you. using black top. Oh, >> it sounds like this is a topic that we are going to need to continue to gather information on before we reach a decision. Yes. >> Hi, Mr. Can you
077tell us what the next steps were? We haven't decided on anything. Um, this again, this seems like an ideal project for uh TIF eligibility. Has anyone looked into using TIFF funds for this project? >> I can't sure. But have they looked into using TIFF funds specifically? The city, I understand the city wants to split the cost 60/40, but could we use TIFF funds, which are already a shared pool of funds that the city and the district have both paid into and have eligibility to use? I think it's worth asking again. This seems like an ideal project for TIF funding. It's a benefit for both the city, the students, pedestrians. I think it uh should be eligible and we should look into it. Before I sit down, does anyone else have something to say? Okay. Can
078I ask you a question? Our quote that we were presented last month for the sidewalk, how long is that quote um good for? >> Through the summer. Thank you. >> Sorry, B. I didn't realize Shamrock was here. I heard you say that. But um Okay. Can I put you on the spot for a minute then? And in in looking out there, you you've heard us talk about maybe extending the pavement and I know there's like it's been explained there's a lot of like drain pipes and stuff over there that need to get rerouted and moved and whatnot. Would in your best educated decision right now would paving that be an option? So they take over and then Target. Thank you very much. Are there any other comments about the safety considerations for Lincoln School? Move
079on to theformational items. Yes, I made a note to add. Thank you. Did anybody have questions on theformational items that were on the agenda? >> Okay. So, we will move on to routine reports. The president's report. I already said what I wanted to earlier. Um, I did I should have read this earlier and my apologies. I'm going to read something from BISPA local number 330. Congratulations to the eighth grade graduating class of 2025 2026. On behalf of the secretarial union biepa local number 330, we proudly celebrate your hard work, dedication, and accomplishments. Today marks an important milestone in the beginning of exciting new opportunities ahead. As you move forward to high school and beyond, continue to believe in yourselves. Work hard to strive for excellence. Your future is bright and we are confident that each
080of you will achieve great things. We wish you success, happiness, and continued growth in all you do. Congratulations, class of 2026. Now, the superintendence report. As we close out the 202526 school year, I'd like to extend my sincere appreciation to our staff, families, and board of education members for your continued support and dedication to our students and schools throughout the year. Tomorrow, we do look forward to celebrating our graduates as they reach this important milestone and prepare for the next stage of their educational journey. These celebrations are meaningful opportunities to recognize the accomplishments, growth, and hard work of our students. I'd also like to recognize our service award recipients and student groups honored this evening. Their leadership, commitment, contributions have positively impacted our schools and helped strengthen our school community throughout the year. And lastly,
081the last day of school is Friday, May 22nd, and I wish all of our students, staff, and families a safe, relaxing, and enjoyable summer break. Thank you. At this time, do we have any comments from the BIA? >> Hi. Um, BIA does not have anything to publicly address with the board at this time, but we do wish everybody a safe and restful summer and we are looking forward to Friday. May I have a motion to go into close session for the re for the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance or dismissal of employ of specific employees, individuals who serve as independent contractors or specific volunteers. ers of the district or legal counsel for the district, including hearing testimony on a complaint lodged against an employee, a specific individual who serves as an independent contractor or an
082volunteer of the district of against legal counsel for the district to determine its validity. collective negotiation matters between the district and its employees or the representatives deliberations concerning salary schedules for one or more classes of employees. Security procedures, school building safety and security and the use of personal equipment to respond to an actual a threatened or reasonably potential danger for safety of employees, students, staff, the public or public property. Pending litigation, establishing reserves or subtle claims, classification and discussion of confidential matters. Roll call, please. Yes, >> we'll now go into the close session. Heat. Heat. Yeah, I know. I just We're not getting >> We're now returning to Okay. Yes. Yes. >> Yes. >> Moving on to possible action after close session. the approval of general release claims. I have a motion to approve the
083general release of claims for close session and to authorize board signatures. >> Yes. >> Motion approved. Uh, since there's no further business, may I have a motion to adjurnn the meeting? meeting at 901.