School Board Meeting 9/8/25

001So, ever since then, I >> Good evening. >> Welcome everyone to the September 8th board of education meeting. Could we have a roll call, please? >> here >> Thank you. I apologize for our tardiness. We just had a few things to tie up in our closed session, but we are now in open session. Um, the first item on the agenda is comments from the public. Dr. Davis, do we have any comments from the public? >> We have no comments from the public this evening. >> Okay. Thank you. Okay. The next item on the agenda is written communication. Dr. Davis, do we have any written communication? >> We have no written communication this evening. >> Okay. Thank you. Okay, then we're at items for information and the first item is new courses, course changes, and course

002deletions and proposals. [Music] All right. Thank you. Uh first of all, uh our new courses are aligned to district goal one and our new course proposals are direct directly support our district priorities. They enhance post high school planning through internships and early college opportunities. They foster social emotional learning by engaging students in identity exploration and community leadership through our e-lead program. And they advance equity by providing targeted supports for special education students and expanding access to early college courses. Uh just a word about process. Um the recommendations for new courses start with department chairs. They develop the initial recommendations. Um, I get input from curriculum forum, teachers, department chairs, other administrators. Whoops, we cut out. We're over here. Okay. So, if you look over here, uh, you can see and now I'm back. All right,

003good. Um, we also, uh, you know, the assistant superintendent, board of education, I I sign off an agreement to bring him here. The school board, of course, has the decision on new courses. This is our standard process and if approved by the board of education teachers with the department chair develop curriculum and assessments for the courses. Our new courses, we have two new courses uh in our academic support area. These are uh our e-le courses. Uh we've extended our uh leadership and identity seminar second year of leadership. Uh it's leadership is local. Uh that's e-le year 2 advisory. We also have a very unique AP offering for our e-le cohort. It's actually exclusive to our e-le cohort and that is what is called English 10 AP seminar. Uh students apply research skills and writing skills

004to real local to local issues. So it plays on that leadership is local theme. Uh and it it's it's a nice entry into advanced placement coursework, early college work. Uh in the 10th grade, uh you'll see for our arts and innovation, for the first time, we're going to offer a uh summer internship course. Uh we're very excited about that. That brings our uh I kit summer internships to a new level. Uh offering course credit for those uh throughout the duration of summer school. We're very very happy to bring that to you this evening. Uh we also see an early college AP business and personal finance course. It's our first AP course in our business and finance area. It's a capstone. Uh we also see fashion merchandising dual credit. That's with Harper College and that's uh

005we have this will be our third fashion course. Uh so we're very excited for that. It's a dual credit early college opportunity for students in that pathway. And then concert orchestra is a bridge between string orchestra and symphony orchestra. Currently we have two. We have a string orchestra and a symphony orchestra. And this will occupy that middle ground. And it's all auditionbased. For special education, you see algebra 2 foundations and you see life and physical science for special education science. Those are both uh instructional program courses. And finally, under multilingual services and math in partnership, you'll see one algebra dual language and geometry dual language. And this plays off the work we uh previewed last year with our Spanish language arts 1 and two. uh this is the next step in developing a dual language

006two-way immersion prek12 pathway for uh students in Edmonston. So if you think about twe uh this is this is that next level of twe. We started with Spanish language arts and now we're going to teach uh both algebra and geometry offer sections in Spanish which is pretty cool. Uh and we're looking to expand that in the coming years but we thought we'd start with with mathematics. Um, you also will see in our in your packet, we also have a series of course changes. Those typically deal with uh prerequisite changes or just clarifying the pathway. We did uh change some titles. We have Spanish uh language arts 3 and continue with that Spanish language arts one and two that we did last year. So, we took our uh our heritage course and we've transformed that into

007Spanish uh language arts 3. Uh, are there any questions about any of these opportunities? >> Any questions, Leah? >> Um, I have a couple of positive comments and a couple questions. Um I just wanted to lift up that um I think I was really really happy to see that for special education there's the algebra 2 foundations course which can serve as a bridge then to um a math elective fourth year and um and really uh enable special ed students to integrate into general ed math as well as the science the life physical science which gives an opportunity for students who their most appropriate setting is a special education class to have three years of science. That's something that I think is just amazing and is something I think that you know uh is is a

008is a really is really good for students. Um, and then I wanted to ask, um, for the AP business and personal finance class, is there a prerequisite or is that just something that like a student would take instead of a >> introductory class? >> They would have to have an introductory class in business uh, in the business area. >> Okay. Just was curious. Y >> um and then um with the summer internship um can that fulfill a graduation requirement or is it just a general credit? >> General it's a CTE credit so I it could fulfill a CTE credit. >> There's so many things to do. So then a student could do it and still get a credit towards CTE. Okay. Um and then my last thing was um so with two chem fizz um

009I know um that we you know our goal is to make sure that our students um particularly students who are underrepresented our bipok students um have the uh the access to um and pathway to be in our most accelerated classes and who haven't always been represented in those classes. I noticed that the prerequisite now um is having to have already taken advanced to algebra honors instead of geometry honors, which seems given the I mean I understand mathwise, you know, that you want to have the right math to to set yourself up for success in that class. But given that um they would need to take that in freshman year, do we know and have we articulated with district 65 that we know students are having the chance to get on that accelerated math class tracked?

010So then when they're here, they have an opportunity to do this. >> Yes. Uh two things. One is uh the reason for the advanced to algebra is because you actually have to take chemistry with physics junior year. So that's why we need the uh I mean calculus with physics. It's physics based calculus junior year and that's why we need the students in calculus. So we have to figure out a way to get them there. >> We've done a lot of work in our summer school offering to uh to take geometry in the summer. We've also done work with our Alex uh geometry and setting the cut score uh so that students are successful in when they place into advanced to algebra and that's diversified our students uh taking advanced algebra right now. So we think

011this will this will work. >> Great. Thank you though. Appreciate it. >> Thank you. Um Pat, >> thank you. Um I have a couple comments and a question. So first of all, I loved reading about the academic support classes and the fact that we've got an AP class in there was just it really really just struck me how wonderful that is. And I and I would really encourage anybody who wants to understand a snapshot of what our equity work is is to look at the the descriptions on these two classes. Incredibly deep, incredibly thoughtful, um tied to our community, um giving our students who haven't in the past had AP options, um particularly at the sophomore level. So, I I just I just applaud the thinking that went into this and I'm just really excited

012and I really hope again if somebody wants to know just quickly what our equity work looks like, take a look at these two classes. I think it's impressive. My one question was, and I'm sure you have a good answer for this, but in the dual language algebra 1, >> it said it would be open to any student 9 through 12. Yeah, >> we don't want anybody taking algebra 1 in 12th grade. So, help me understand what that was about. >> If students come in from other schools, if students transfer in, if they have l if they're fluent in in Spanish, it would be it would be an opportunity to do that. We also do have sophomores who take one algebra. >> Got it. Okay. Thank you. >> Yep. >> Welcome. >> Um, I have another

013I have another quick question about the AP business and personal finance. Is there like a standard or a lower level personal finance course that's being offered? >> Yeah, personal finance uh is a um financial literacy is a graduation requirement. So that that is offered at all of our um introduction uh business classes pretty much. So they would have that opportunity. >> Great. Thanks. Um, I personally was in the tweet program and I found it really jarring to go from math and Spanish in fifth grade to math and English in middle school. Um, and then I worry that it would be jarring to go again to math and Spanish in high school. Do we have a plan with D65 to keep math and Spanish in middle school also? >> Yes, we do. >> Okay. >> Great

014question. Thank you. >> Yeah, it's a good question. All right. All right. >> Well, these courses sound great and I agree with Pat. I love uh reading uh about the the courses that lead uh that lead course AP offering e-lead sounds really interesting. >> Yeah, we're really thrilled and Teresa take it myself. >> Theresa Collins is doing great work in the e-lead program. So, shout out to shout out to Teresa >> for her work. uh they're off and running right now the first cohort. So as you see each year we'll be bringing an offering to the school board similar to what you saw last year and this year as we as the program matures. >> Great. >> Thank you. >> Yes. Great. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. All right. You're going to stay there? >>

015Yeah, I'll stay here. >> Okay. All right. The next item is the first reading for press policy issue 119. And I believe that's in your packet board. You've seen that? >> Yes. Uh the press uh we had a a policy committee meeting. We reviewed the policies and uh you'll see the first reading is is in there along with the recommendations from the policy committee. >> Okay. And as per our policy, we will we look at the policy at this board meeting and then next month we'll vote on it. >> Okay. All right. >> All right. Thank you. >> Okay. The next item is communications and engagement reports. >> So, we have uh Rain Hannah, our director of communications, along with uh Alexia Herrera, our community engagement uh liaison, and uh Mike Jacobson, assistant director with

016presentation. >> Good evening. Uh members of the board and administration, uh my name is Rain Hannah and I proudly serve as the director of communications here at ETHS. Um I'm pleased to be joined this evening by my wonderful colleagues, Michael Jacobson, who serves as both our assistant director and our FOY officer. Um and Alexia Herrera, who is our uh family and community engagement coordinator. Um, I would also like to acknowledge our colleague Sabrina Stark, who is not here tonight, but plays such an integral role um, in the communications office. Um, almost exactly a year ago, as you might recall, the three of us sat here and walked you through a long list of new things that we said we were going to do, and we're happy to be back here tonight to report that we've

017done them. Um, so, um, over the course of the past year, we've implemented a new communications and engagement strategy designed to strengthen and expand how ETHs connects with our families, our students, our staff, and the broader community. Um, in many ways, it was a learning year for us. Um, learning more about the community, um, immersing ourselves in ETHs culture and allowing those insights to really inspire and guide our work. Um, I think I speak for the entire team when I say we're very proud of what we've been able to achieve in this period of time. Um, and prouder of the way that we've represented our district. Um, I think we've created a window into life um, at ETHS, giving our community a glimpse into all of the amazing things that happen um, in our school

018every day. Um, so our efforts this year um, have represented I forget about this part. Um, our efforts this year have represented a uh shift towards a more intentional, purposeful approach to our communications. We centered our district goals and four strategic priorities as guidelines for our work, laying the foundation for stronger connections, more informed families, um, and a deeper and sustained sense of connection within the ETHs community. And so this evening, our report will highlight the progress that we've made in implementing our new strategy, as well as the initiatives designed to elevate student voices and experiences, uh strengthen community connections, advance equity, and ultimately support the district's mission through our work. And one of our most significant projects this year has been uh the launch of our new website. And I'll turn it over to

019Mike to share more details on that. >> Yes, thank you uh Rain. So yes, uh, eths202.org. So we at the communications office launched this new redesigned ETHS website almost two weeks ago with a deliberate focus on our primary audiences, which are our students and our families. So from the website's content to its structure, every aspect is designed to prioritize student and family needs. uh we want to ensure that essential information is easy to find that's easy to understand and also easy to use. So this redesign focus on plain language also clear navigation and visual storytelling all of which raises the website's usability and its impact. So the new website integrates the district's strategic priorities in meaningful ways. Equity is embedded in how the site is organized. You can see how we prioritize access and how

020we work to ensure every family can find what they need. Social emotional learning helped inform our framework which shaped our tone. The website uses language that is welcoming, clear, and student centered. Literacy is supported throughout the website by presenting content in clear, accessible language and a logical structure that helps users read, understand, and navigate information effectively. And post high school planning as a district priority has moved to the main navigation to create intention and visibility. The tab beyond ETHS helps students and families navigate all the options a graduate has when they leave this campus and embark on their next journey. So besides ETHs 202, we also unveiled two additional platforms. Our athletic website, a standalone site that better reflects the full scope of programming, support, and opportunity within our athletics department. I know that they

021are very appreciative of this site. and also our staff hub, our our uh internet if you will. That's a centralized space for staff tools, forms, resources, and more. So, yes, that's three websites that we put together. Uh and and and we're very very very proud of it. So, these sites represent a fundamental shift to better align with our school culture and strategic priorities, not in just what we say, but in how we structure and present informations. So I also want to talk about the tone. Um you can see like a before and after. So the old website which uh we launched uh before I was here like in about 2015. So this is a 10-year-old more than a 10-year-old website. Uh we're getting away from the talking about instead of now we're getting to the

022tone of talking to or talking with uh and and using plain language. So it's just an easier way um for people just to look at the site. Look at it right now on the left. It's a really it's it's textheavy and when you look at the right it's just it's easier to understand and actually it's it's more fun to look at quite honestly. So, um, decisions were made thoughtfully, but that doesn't mean that they are perfect. And the site will continue to evolve to meet the needs of students and families. And I can't, uh, underestimate this that a big thank you goes out to the many people, there are too many to name, but I will specifically will specifically name the IT department, uh, who helped and will continue to help us along the way

023in this journey from our old site to our new site. Thanks. Okay, another big uh undertaking this year was reimagining our um digital media strategy, which of course includes um social media. Um you know, we recognize that social media is a key way that our community stays connected and informed. Um and we understand that social media plays an important role in students daily lives. Social media, I think, over um the course of the past year, has become a central thread for our school community that celebrates student voices, uh establishes belonging and showcases the richness of our school community. And we have just had so much fun collaborating with our students and staff to develop content. And it's been so rewarding to see the real time engagement um and impact. And actually, Alexia and I are

024now both known among our students as the ladies who do the Instagram. So, if I can propose an official title change, um, uh, people sometimes underestimate uh, the value of social media as a critical tool for connection, engagement, and storytelling. It's not just a way to share updates, but it's really a platform that reflects the energy, diversity, and achievements of our students and school community. And so by leveraging social media intentionally, we are creating platforms and spaces that reflect our students, our school, and our community in real time. And each platform is used intentionally with its primary audience in mind. For example, Instagram is mostly for our students. Um whereas Facebook um is where our parents and alumni uh tend to be more active. Um, and by tailoring content for each audience, we are able

025to connect and form and build stronger relationships across our community. Um, I also want to share that actually our impact has grown significantly. Um, in we're going to focus on our Instagram followers just an as an example. Um, so in the course of the past year, our Instagram followers actually doubled. Um, so at this point, um, last year we had 3,775 followers. Um, and today we are close to 9,000. Um, in addition, engagement um, has just skyrocketed in August alone. Um, our Instagram uh, analytics dashboard told us that our content generated uh, over 1.2 million views um, in the month alone. Um, and so it might be a little silly to be talking about, you know, an increase in followers and views in a board report, but it really is a reflection of something more

026meaningful. Um, ultimately it means that more people in our community are connected, informed, and um, you know, are uh, invested in what's happening at ETHS. And so I just want to really call out so in um in the 10ear span I guess where we uh started last year um we had you know close to 4,000 followers. We've now doubled that in just one year. So we're excited to continue um building on that. Oh, where did the newsletter slide go? >> Oh that's what >> that's okay. Hi. Thank you. Um so we also created a Wildcat weekly newsletter. So if any of you have received it, it is a weekly newsletter um that we created to be engaging, accessible, and an effective communication tool for connection. So the purpose of the newsletter was to connect with

027students, families, and staff while prioritizing clarity, readability, and relevance. Um some of the goals while creating the newsletter was to highlight important updates, upcoming events, student achievements, and resources. Um, and we also direct people to the website when they need more uh in-depth resources. So, while we did the newsletter, we decided to create more informed contact by tracking um the click rates and the open rates. And we had a our data shows that we had 60% open rate, which is huge. That's about three times more than the average uh newsletter from K to 12. Um, so for us, this signals that families rely on the newsletter and it's a key source of information for them. We did a survey in May of 2025 where a parent said, "I have loved loved loved the Wildit weekly.

028It's just the best. I'm not on social, so ene is what I prefer. I have my second child at ETHS and already feel more connected than I did when I first started there. I go to the website to get more specific info, but not news. I love getting this newsletter. Please keep it. Are we missing? Oh, there we go. All right. Um, Alexia touched on uh on just storytelling through the newsletter. I do want to expand on visual um storytelling more broadly. Um over the course of the past year, we've really made a focused effort to capture highquality photography and visual content that reflects the full scope of life at ETHS. And these visuals do more than just document. They really elevate the story of our school. Um, and visual content supports multiple communication channels.

029So, our social media, our newsletter, the website, promotional uh promotional materials and so on. Um, creating a cohesive and visually compelling narrative that showcases student learning achievements and experiences at ETHS. And by professionalizing and systematizing the capture and use of visuals, um, our office really ensures that all content aligns with the district's mission, brand, and equity centered priorities while elevating the visibility and impact of the work happening every day at ETHS. And I actually want to note that um, I picked this particular photo for this slide intentionally. It is my favorite photo that we captured last school year. Um, and by we I mean the photographer that we hired. Um, not us. Uh, it shows uh the exact moment that Dallas Amos of the class of 2025 crossed the finish line in the 4x400 and

030became a state champion. Um, and when our photographer sent this uh to me, I just couldn't believe it. It tells a story on its own um in a way that words just never could. Um, and a side note, the state track tournament was actually held at Eastern Illinois University in St. Charles, which is about 4 hours away. So, naturally, none of our usual photographers were available. Um, but it took some time and a lot of effort to track down a local photographer who uh would document the meat for us. And I remember on the morning of the event, I was thinking like, are we extra? Like, are we doing too much? And then we saw this photo and I was like, nope. Um, because, you know, more than anything, our students deserve to have moments

031like this, big and small, uh, preserved and celebrated. And this image not only captures the team's incredible achievement but also gives us such a beautiful way to add to the story of ETHs. >> So um you should be seeing an underlying theme in our presentation so far tonight. Uh the effort to share the authentic story and stories here at ETHS. So, this effort only strengthens our media relations to proactively share ETHs news, highlight student achievements, and provide accurate, timely information to the broader community. So, as you can see in this picture right here that we're using, I hope you're all able to see ABC7 anchor and ETHs alum Karen Jordan's back to school special uh last month where she returned to ETHS and reflected on her time as a wild kid and shared insights with

032current students. The communications office has and will continue to cultivate relationships with local and regional media outlets. The coverage they provide helps reinforce the school's role as a vital part of this community. Our outreach is coordinated and in step with our own communication initiatives, including social media, newsletters, the website, creating a timely, consistent, and strategic narrative across all platforms. So we strive to ensure that ETHs stories from classroom innovations and student performances to athletic accomplishments and district initiatives receive positive and accurate coverage. So this visibility not only fosters pride among students, staff, and parents, but also builds trust and transparency between the school and its vast community. So, our approach emphasizes equity and representation, making sure that stories reflect the diversity of our student body and staff, and that all voices here at ETHS are

033visible, valued, and heard. >> So, we are reaching the broader community. We're reaching our students, but we also want to reach our parents. Um, when I first started here, I remember thinking, ETHS has so many resources. It has so many things to offer, but do the parents and the guardians know how to access them? So, we created a series called Parent University. It's a monthly workshop for families um to kind of teach them how to access resources at ETHS. Some of the topics covered here are academic strategies, social emotional learning, college and career readiness, and other relevant topics related to ETHs. Um this new series was designed to engage and empower families with the knowledge that will support their student success. So the goal while creating parent university was really to build a stronger relationship

034between home and school. Um it's a monthly workshop and participation varies from small group discussions to large events. I think our highest attended event was over 100 people. We also introduced board briefs um last school year. Um this was a way to provide concise, timely summaries of board meetings for families, staff, and the broader school community. Um they're really designed to increase transparency, improve understanding of what happens at the board table, and make board of education governance more accessible to all stakeholders. Um, this initiative directly supports district goals by supporting engagement, promoting trust, um, and providing an equitable way for all community members to stay informed. And anecdotally, we've received a lot of positive feedback from families and staff in particular, um, noting that these briefs make it much easier to understand what's happening and

035just, um, stay informed and feel connected to district priorities. Um, as part of the next phase of our work, we are excited to highlight the new Be H here be great campaign, which is the first in a new series of strategic initiatives designed to support key district priorities and areas of focus. um launched at the start of the school year. Uh be here be great is a student- centered attendance campaign that shifts the narrative from uh the narrative of attendance from uh compliance to one of belonging, aspiration, and personal growth. And so the campaign reframes attendance as a critical part of each student's journey toward their own definition of success, whatever that looks like. Um at its core, it's really about centering students and their dreams and aspirations. and through visuals, storytelling, and consistent messaging

036across communications channels, the campaign um will celebrate student identity, ambition, and achievements while underscoring uh the notion that every day of presence here at ETHS moves students closer to their goals. Um, this campaign launched with our back- to-school video featuring our superintendent and principal. Um, and will continue throughout the year with a variety of initiatives and, um, communications reinforcing the message that everyday matters at ETHS. Um, and so, uh, collectively, our work has really elevated ETHS's communications, build stronger community connections, and established platforms that both celebrate student achievement and support informed engagement. Our office will continue to refine and expand on these initiatives uh, with strengthening community engagement as our top priority for the year. As part of that, we're looking to make more progress in terms of our community engagement plan for the board

037of education, which you will recall was developed last year. And while implementation is still being rolled out, we are deeply committed to it as the part of the next phase of our work. Uh we really believe that ETHs is deeply woven into the identity and fabric of this town. And as the central institution connecting nearly all of Evston's youth and so many of its residents, we're really committed to strengthening our partnerships with families, community organizations, and uh local stakeholders. >> Yeah. So, in addition to that, we recognize, and you've heard us say it, this was a learning year, but it is also I also recognize that we are always going to be learning. Um it's an ongoing effort. So, we're looking forward to intentionally build stronger partnerships with our Latino community as a priority. We

038aim to foster deeper collaboration and connections with our Latino partners um through this learning gear. We recognize that traditional outreach methods do not work for everyone. Um while ETHS has had really great um you know outreach with our Spanish speaking Latino, we recognize that language is not the only barrier. Um so to better serve our Latinos communities, we are exploring new approaches to meet families where they are and to hear from them directly. Our goal through this in the next phase is to deliberately build trust and to provide resources, support, and opportunities to make our Latino communities feel heard, welcomed, valued, and considered at UTS. And so, in closing, I just want to say that we've received a lot of positive feedback uh about our work from students, from families, from colleagues. Um, and it

039certainly has been energizing. Um, but we do want to emphasize that all we have done is shine a light on the incredible things that happen in this building every day and we are just so inspired by our students and staff. Um, it's truly a privilege and a joy to be part of the school community and to help tell its story. Um, so that's everything that we have, but we are happy to take questions. >> So exciting that you have um come here and done all the things you said you do. I mean, love I love that opening. Like, how many people can open that way, you know? So, that's really good. Um, I just love the presentation. I bet my board has something to say. And Pat, we'll start with you. >> Thank you. Sorry.

040Um, well, you know that I was thrilled to read this. I'm just so proud of you and the work that you all have done. This is outstanding. Um, and I uh, you know, the the breadth and depth of what you've done is amazing. Um, and that you've done it in a year is crazy with the three of you, maybe a fourth. Um, so just I can't say enough about how great it is. And just to punctuate that, I and I don't even do it all the time, but I share on Facebook various things from ETHS. The number of people, people that have never been to Evston that live on the East Coast, friend, old friends of mine, will comment, will send me things like, "This is amazing." >> I love that. My husband went to

041this school a very long time ago. Sorry, David. and he all of his friends will message me or I'll see them and they'll say, "I'm so glad you shared that about ETHS. I didn't know they were doing that." And I'm not exaggerating. In the last year that maybe one or two people said those things before that happens all the time now, you know, a small proof point, but it really it speaks to the work you've done and how impactful it's been. So, thank you. And I know you're going to get back to us on the board piece. That was my question which I don't have to ask because you said you're going to do it. But I just I do want to encourage you for um >> what you said about shining a light on

042all the wonderful things is so important. >> But in these times I think showing a very concerted and strong uh collaborative front with the board with the administration and with everyone is really important. So, you know, utilize us cuz we I know we've talked about this a lot and I can say honestly our every colleague I've ever been on this board with has been willing and eager to support in that way. So, find whatever you need from us, let us know. >> Thank you for sharing that perspective. We're certainly committed to doing that. >> Yeah. No, I know you are. I just I just want to punctuate it. But, thank you. Great job. >> Thank you. >> Move. >> Hi. I just had a comment. Um, so I am an Instagram person. Um, I've been

043a photographer since the 90s, so Instagram is my jam. And I've been on the school Instagram for probably six or seven years. Um, it's always been great, you know, informative. Um, and I just wanted to say that like in the last year, it's just really gone through the roof in terms of just um prolevel quality visual storytelling. like the photography, the film work is so cool. I'm like, who's out there doing that? Who is making this? Um it's just it's just become this really dynamic, beautiful um site to to follow. Like even if I wasn't a part of this community, it's just really quality, beautiful things to look at, the students, the um you know, the games and the the school pride. Like there's just so much going on there. And um I just wanted

044to commend you for that. I love it. Thank you. >> And um I did notice like I try to sometimes I try to share I mean my personal account is private, right? But >> um I do share a lot of stuff on my personal account from the ETHs account and uh I can share posts but I can't share stories. Have you ever noticed that? >> Yeah. I think the way that Instagram works is unless you're tagged in a story, you can't share story. Okay. >> But you can always screenshot. >> Yeah, I definitely do that. But sometimes there's like a really cool video, you're like, "Oh, I want to share this." You know? So anyway, thank you so much. Looks great. >> Thank you. Thank you for that feedback. It really means a lot. >>

045Leah, >> so I just back on the visual storytelling. Um, it really stood out to me how you made the point that this gives people a glimpse into the life of ETHS and I and that really struck me and it really does and I think that's such a rich way of connecting people with the school. So, I just wanted to highlight that and and and and you know lift that up. Um, I also thought it it's interesting too how while you're doing all this, you're also looking at data and sort of seeing like what are people clicking on, what are they responding to, what do they want, and not just making assumptions. So, I also applaud you for that. >> Thank you. And um Alexia, I just also wanted to highlight your point about how

046reaching out to the Latino community. It's not the only barrier isn't always Spanish speaking and that we have Spanish speaking um community and we have um maybe not a Spanish dominant uh Latino community and that the outreach to the whole community uh with its differences and and diversity is so important. So I'm really glad that you brought up that point. So well said. >> Great. John, >> I Yeah, I just I had a couple of comments like kind of echoing what what Pat said um coming into a meeting and saying, "Remember a year ago, these were the things we said we could do. They're all done." Maybe it's not the exception, but that doesn't happen very often. So, so just like that in and of itself is just astonishing and and like and and I

047wanted to touch on the new website and the comment of three websites in one, which it absolutely is. >> And if that was the only thing on the list, I would be impressed that you did that in one year, let alone that being just one of the things. So, that's just astonishing. And I also something that I was not aware of that I'm I'm glad I learned about that's amazing is the parent university that you highlighted and hearing that you are getting attendees cuz sometimes these are great ideas in theory but >> the the transition to um and and it sounds like people are coming and that's fantastic because just people you know knowledge is power right so so people having that um information about the different tools resources that are available that's that's fant

048Fantastic. That's great. >> Thank you, J. >> Thank you. Um, so I'm just going to add on all of the things um because I really um am appreciative that you've helped us to to really carry out the values and our goals um in ways that I think are um maybe even beyond what we could have predicted um prior. And one of the things I was thinking about as I was, you know, playing around with the site is that how profound the use of um language is and how you simplified some things so that also it could be translated. >> Um and so I just, you know, that can't go without um elevation. I I really appreciate that and I think everybody will who's using that >> uh function. And then um I don't know all

049of a sudden when you started talking about the board piece, I just want to put this note out there. I love that you took out all the bio because there's a democratization of of who we are and what we're about that I think that does for us and doesn't, you know, we don't have to stack up our credentials. And so >> I just hope you don't try to add anything back. I really think that there's something beautiful about that and that is a a move towards our equity work. Um so hopefully it'll stay. So thank you. >> Thank you for that perspective. >> Thank you. >> Anything. So, um, we have been talking for years about how to tell our story and I I for the first time since I've been on the board, I

050feel like this is now happening. We've been trying to figure out how to get the word out. We know there are great things going on at ETHS. I know. I know that. I see it every day. And it's frustrating when there's it's not known in the community. So I really do believe you know Michael you said that the theme there's a theme here that theme of telling our story orally visually um any way we can. um showing all these exper these experiences and you know I've run into you Rain out in the community you know with your camera and and true they're not necessarily big events they're just these little events and there you are because our students are there >> and you capture it and the kids are excited to see you and then

051it shows up you know a few days on the website. So, um, I am hugely impressed. I really want to tell you how much I appreciate you and all that you do. You do this and more. I I know that. So, to you and to your team, thank you so much. Let us know if if let us know, as Pat said, what you need from us, how can we support you? Great. um you know, just let us know because we're happy to and we're just so pleased. >> Thank you. >> With the website is amazing. It's great. >> Thank you. >> I could I've I've spent so much time more than I ever have and I should know this stuff, right? So, thank you so much and thank you for preparing this presentation. The slides

052were great. Um and just thank you. >> Thank you. It's so energizing. um and uh rewarding to hear that it's had this impact in so many different ways. So, thank you. >> Yes, absolutely. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> All right. Now, >> so Kendra, now we're going to take a twohour break. >> Take a twoour nap. I have to find my stuff. I have it. I do have it. Here it is. Okay. Now we are going to move into the finance committee. The finance committee is the is the board all the board the board as a whole. Um, so we are going to move into the fiscal year 26 budget hearing. The hearing for 20 for the 2526 budget for Evston Township High School is now called to order. The first order of business

053is the acceptance of the notice of publication. >> Thank you, President Savage Williams. On July 31st, 2025, the notice of public hearing for the final budget was published. The notice of publication is included in the board's packet. >> Thank you. Can I have a motion to accept the notice of publication and the budget hearing? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Okay. Can we have a roll call, please? >> Yes. Yes. Okay. The next order of business is a short presentation of the budget by our CFO, Kendra Williams. >> Oh, it's raining. Apologies, board. Not even my laptop wants to go early. Give me a moment. Will it go forward and backwards? >> All right. >> Yeah, it's responding now. >> It's not doing it there. >> Let me just see. Okay. >> Like it's stuck

054on something. like you got to minimize here. Minimize. >> Okay. So that's the only thing that's All right. Well, thank you everyone for your patience. We can get started with the Evson Township High School District 202 final annual budget presentation for FY2026. So, love to just start on a high note. Uh we have a balanced budget that's being presented to the board for approval this evening as we have presented bud balanced budgets for the 19 years now. So always exciting to see that number go up once again each year um and present a balanced budget to the board. So, uh, with this balanced budget, we've managed to keep our cash reserves and fund balances within the district's acceptable ranges per our fund balance policy and really just demonstrates a strong commitment uh, from the district

055to long-term fiscal sustainability. This just gives an overview of the timeline for the budget. Uh, I really like this um this graphic because it just shows that it never stops. Um, it never it never right. Do I like it? Uh, I was having a conversation with Dr. Campbell, was that last week maybe about how we had a really good discussion as a leadership team last year about the budget. And I said, I know I did it sometime in the fall. All I know after I did the bud budget presentation to the board, uh the final budget presentation, he said, "You did it the next day?" I said, "That was the next day." It never stops. It never stops. So, we continually have discussions um and and also um planning and everything else that we have

056to do here. Uh and that's not just me and my department uh which I'm so grateful for in this work, but also uh my colleagues across the district. And so we're always just working to make sure that we're doing what we need to do to uh be aligned with our district goals. So when we're looking at the financial considerations that went into the budget, uh we know corporate personal replacement tax continues to be at risk. We'll have another slide later on that talks about it and how it was flat for this year, but we know that we've seen some significant reductions in this budget line uh uh this revenue over the last couple of years and we know that we may still continue to see decreases um in future years. And so um with that,

057we have to keep that in mind when developing the budget. Also, threats to federal funding. at this point. Um, we've had an opportunity to talk about this at the um at this table about how we don't always know what's to come when it uh it relates to federal funding right now. The way that the landscape is uh sometimes it seems like it could it's here today and could be gone tomorrow. Unfortunately, it's how it feels. Um and so while we have received a number of our allocations for this fiscal year 2026 and uh things have remained flat, we also know that we are still on shaky ground right now just with the way that um things are lined up with this administration. So we also have the state's financial condition. Um we know that we

058have some pretty significant revenue streams that come from state funds as well. And so as there are pressures to uh the state's financial condition that could affect us as well. And so we're always monitoring that. And then uh one one thing too which if there were pension shifts for example um based on the state's budget that could impact us. And then also moving on to PEL which we've talked extensively about how we know that when we are levying for property taxes that we are subject to um the property tax extension limiting law which means that even when there's high inflation our um our ability to increase our property taxes which is our largest revenue stream is not always able to meet inflation. And so then what do we do with that? Uh and then the

059current labor market of course would is a consideration uh as it impacts our budget as well. Speaking of PEL, we have uh the history of CPIUS for PEL here. And so this lays out the last 10 years. So we can just kind of see how things have trend um been trending. And we're on a downward a downward slope right now. And while we hope that it doesn't go down too rapidly, we know that it it's likely to continue to go down. And so what that means is that when we were developing the budget, the um fiscal year 2026, because um property taxes are done on a calendar year, and our uh fiscal year goes from July 1 to June 30, it's a blend of the 3.4% and the 2.9%. Right? And so then um we

060have to combat but when we're combating that we know that we're seeing our expenditures um happening at a much higher rate than the blend of 3.4 and 2.9 and so it is something that we have to work through when um developing the budget. So some specifics about this year's budget would be that uh it's 118.4 4 million for FY26, which is 4% more than FY2025 and.3% more than the FY26 tenative budget that was presented in June to the board. The operating budget is 102.4 million and this is 2.9% more than 2025. And so those operating funds are the education, operations and maintenance, transportation, working cash and tort fund. And then the other funds are non-operating funds would be bond and interest. I am a ref and social security and capital improvement. And just some specifics

061about what those changes were between the tenative and the final. We had CPPRT which increased by 120,000. Um but over the course of the previous two years it decreased by 3.5 million. So while I was happy to see that it did not further decrease because that's what happened last year and the year before we had one figure budgeted in the tentative uh budget and then um those numbers usually get published at some point in August and when the num uh the estimates got published in August we learned nope you have to cut that by over a million dollars and then had to do the mad scramble to figure out what do we do with this and so thankfully I did not have that mad scramble this year. Um, but it did go up by 120,000.

062So, if only it would go up by what it was decreased by, that would have been e I would I would love to scramble to figure out how to spend the money rather than the other way around, but here we are in reality. So, um we also had some other local revenues such as food service income and interest that were increased just based on where the numbers ended once we had um everything booked for FY25 and we were able to see where some things landed. Uh we always want to budget as conservatively as possible with our revenues, but we felt like we could realistically expect to see some slight increases in this category as well and budgeted for that accordingly. And then also we had um the truance alternative and optional education program grant that

063um since June when we discussed the FY26 budget, we realized that we were going to be able to get some funds uh to support some of our work around truency and um attendance. And so we're we added that to the revenue side and then of course there is a corresponding allocation on the expenditure side to spend those funds as well. And then uh speaking of the expenditures, there was also an increased budget amount for special education personnel, namely our pair professionals. Since June, we learned that we are going to need some additional uh pair professionals to be hired in order to support the work that is happening um in our special education department. And so I believe it ended up being an additional five um pair of professionals that were hired over last year just

064really demonstrating the increased need of our special education department. And so that's something else that you would see when examining the budget and recognizing the differences between um the tenative budget and the final budget. Some highlights regarding revenue. So, um, as I mentioned, property taxes are our L largest source of, um, revenue. Uh, 80 over 80% of our revenues are property taxes. And so, um, and we also were able to talk about how PEL affects that. And so, we know that our property taxes are a blend of the 3.4 and 2.9% for this year. And so we're seeing an increase, but unfortunately, like I mentioned, and we'll go over later, not an increase as significant as what our expenditures are going up. Consistent state revenue expected, especially when it comes to like evidence-based funding. We've

065been seeing uh that revenue stream be around 3 million each year and expect to see a similar um revenue line this year as well. And then federal revenue includes title grants, Medicaid, and IDA funding. And this is fairly flat for this year at this point. Um, but like I've mentioned in the past, we continue just once again recognizing the time that we're in and that even the things that appear to be guaranteed may not be. We continue to be diligent about planning around um these federal grants um and determining, okay, if something were to happen, how quickly would we be able to pivot and what would we be able to do to ensure that the work can continue in the district as it needs to for our students. Uh so the operating fund and property

066taxes are increasing by 2.4%. Um, as I mentioned, EBF and CPPRT are expected to remain flat and categorical state aid is increasing by 19% and federal aid is expected to remain flat. And then this is just a pigraph showing some of the things that I've just discussed uh where property taxes you can see are 84% and then you can also see some of the other categories and what they represent in our revenue pie. Moving over to expenditures. So for expenditures, these are the different categories that we have. Salaries and benefits are the largest part of our expenditure um our expenditures and greatly driven by negotiated contracts. They are increasing by 5% from FY25. And so uh as I mentioned we have right property taxes going up by about 3 2.9% that's our largest revenue stream

067and then we have our salaries and benefits our largest expenditure going up by 5%. So challenging um but we were able to uh make cuts in some other areas uh capital LA being one of them which is decreasing by 13.4 43% in the education operation operating and maintenance funds. And then this shows uh our expenditure pie with salaries making up 70%, fringe benefits making up 9%. So that's nearly 80% of our expenditures. Um so you know I think I've mentioned before this is a people a people um business, right? um it doesn't happen without uh all of the wonderful people that we have showing up each and every day for students in whatever capacity they serve here. Um so yeah, and then also we had 8 million budgeted for capital improvement. So I just want

068to give some highlights around our capital improvement fund. The district issues uh debt every other fiscal year to address capital needs throughout the building. And so, uh, this year would be the, um, the year that we would have a debt issuance. And so, even in, um, on the agenda for this evening under the items for action, there's a resolution for the intent to issue working cash bonds. And so, that's what that this is related to. I know that the board has seen this, like I said, every two years. So, familiar with the process. And so the only difference is that I typically we issue in the spring, but there's actually going to be an opportunity where we were going to be able to save on issuance um costs by doing it in the fall because

069we're going to have a refunding opportunity. We're going to have the ability to issue debt this fiscal year. And then also, as we've discussed before, we have the life health safety bonds uh that we'd be moving forward with. And so, um, in consultation with, uh, Raymond James, we're able to determine, hey, if we do everything at once, we can save money here. And as you guys know, we are always, always, always looking for a way to save. And so, uh, we're just seeing that a little bit earlier than we typically would. Um, but it's still the same thing that happens every two years. And that's what that item is about on the agenda. And then also leading to this increased amount in the capital improvement fund which in previous years we may have seen amounts

070like 2.5 million three million and so I just wanted to uh make sure the board had context around why it was so high. So the debt issuance being one and then the other being that um the capital campaign that's happening with the ETHs foundation to support renovations in the arts and innovation wing. So because of that, we're also expecting to just see um a higher amount of cash uh coming from the foundation to support that work and um always want to be able to just ground our work. You know, I said earlier that we are always working, not just myself and my my department, but also uh everyone in the building to make sure that we're upholding our district goals. And so when I talk about upholding those district goals for with the budget, I

071know everybody's mind always goes to goal number three. But it's not just goal number three, right? It's the budget really tells the story about how we go about providing equitable and excellent education, how we are centering student well-being while also being fiscally accountable and making sure that we're keeping an eye on community engagement and partnerships. It's all of the things together. Um, and I know that it's not, you know, as visually appealing or maybe as riveting as, uh, what my colleagues were able to present before when it comes to Instagram, but it really does also tell a story, right? The budget tells a story as well, and it's one that we are quite proud of. Um, although I know that it doesn't necessarily capture people in the same way. And so when we talk about

072uh budgeting, always making sure that we are holding on to the values-based budgeting model that we have had for years here at the district where we recognize that there are limited resources, but that we can still with these limited resources work together to further initiatives that we can still keep instruction as a top priority. Um despite whatever challenges come, we want to adhere to these values. um maintaining a reasonable student teacher ratio and avoiding personnel layoffs wherever possible. And so some of the things that have come out of this values-based budgeting focus is just the continual uh commitment to funding our equity work to address racial disparities and achievement, additional supports and student services uh related to MTSS. We have managed to expand lit uh literacy interventions facilitated in the lit literacy lab and then

073um also our dual credit opportunities and then we've even talked tonight about e-lead and how amazing that work um has been as it kicks off with the first cohort and so even that is uh reflected in our values-based budgeting and I will say you know I feel sorry like of course you We're talking about the challenges. We're talking about what we made sure that we held on to. And I will say the transmitt letter, you know, also provides just a number of other things. I didn't want to I would have had to probably put up at least five or six more slides in order to go through all of the different things that we are um really demonstrating in our budget that we're committed to, but that transmitt letter really does a u great job

074of laying it all out. And so I would encourage everyone to read it because it talks about our challenges but also about our commitments um that we that we remain steadfast with. Um and of course I know that others may be thinking or some may be thinking okay well you're saying that you're challenged. You're saying that you're committed to doing things. What what do you guys do to make it all you know put it all together? How are how are you working through these challenges? And so just like some concrete examples, you know, as I met with various leaders throughout the spring to talk about, okay, what are we going to do? Um I talked to the board about how we're going to be doing zerobased budgeting. This uh year was the first year that

075we did that. And so just really being able to have frank discussions about yes, we may have thought that this was the best answer at one time, maybe a software or program, are we getting the return on that? do we need to look at how we can do some of these things differently? And so I had some um leaders that were able to take a step back and look at how we were doing things and come back and say, "Hey, you know, we have a contract with this vendor and we've been doing this, but maybe we can have a different approach. Maybe we can do some of this work inhouse and have some savings, some cost savings. Maybe we can actually go back to teachers and see if they're utilizing the software the way that

076we intended for it to be used. Is this the best software? Is there something else that we can be looking for? Working with the IT department as well to talk about all of the different um things that we have in the building and if there were any um cost savings that could be had going back and really leveraging the relationships that we've had with vendors for years. You know, some of these vendors and um that we've had we've been with for over 20 years. We're in a spot and we cannot continue to operate in the same way. So, what are you going to be able to do um in order for us to continue this relationship? There's just a number of different things that we employed to ensure that we're able to get to this

077spot where we could have a balanced budget. Um so, we're pulling all of the tools out of the toolkit here to make it happen. And that's not just a me thing. So, I really applaud everyone that was able to come together and do that work. With that said, this is the fund balance projections uh chart uh chart that talks about just our long-term financial planning. And as you can see uh on the orange line, that's our minimum fund balance that we would need to have per our fund balance policy. And the blue is showing where our fund balances will be going without further intervention. So, like I said, we're using the toolkit, but this really shows us that we have more work to do to make sure that we don't ever reach that point because

078we know that it is so important to have a healthy and strong fund balance and we cannot take that for granted and I cannot say that enough. Um, you know, we talk about a balanced budget for 19 years. We talk about having a healthy fund balance and we just can't get too comfortable to allow anyone to think that that means that it's always going to be that way. It doesn't just happen without careful planning, without being diligent about the budget, without monitoring how the spending is happening throughout the year and making decisions that are going to keep us with a healthy fund balance. Right? This shows what happens without if we do nothing. And even right now we are being challenged because once again for the third time in four years we have not received

079our property taxes in a timely manner. And even as I sit here today in September, typically we would have been getting this money already over a month ago. Even as I sit here today, I can't even say that we'll have it in 30 days. So, what do you do when your largest revenue stream, which you need in order to pay bills to meet payroll, isn't coming in. We're able to rely on that healthy fund balance right now. So, without that, we'd be in trouble. We would have already we would be looking into short-term financing. we would be looking into paying interest at whatever rate we had to pay to make ends meet right now if we didn't have that healthy fund balance and it's not a a position that we want to be in. And

080so I just it bears repeating that we can't take it for granted. Um so yeah so this forecast is not does not account for mitigating strategies which we will continue to uh implement. Um, like I said, the work does not stop when it comes to budgeting and so we will continue to work at it to make sure that we're not getting to that point in two years. Oh, financial strategies. Let's look at what they are. So, of course, monitoring revenues and expenses. Um, you know, just making sure that all of our leaders because we, you know, have some new leaders and of course everyone can benefit from a refresher. just making sure that everyone is always able to monitor um their expenditures and have the support needed to make sure that they are staying on

081track throughout the year and then continually developing efficiencies in the budgeting process. Expanding revenue growth opportunities. So, uh one example of that would be like the truency grant that I mentioned earlier, right? We know that we have an area that needs some significant support and so this grant is new. Uh we had it for the first time last year. We're going to have another opportunity to have it again this year. And that is just one example. We've also gotten some mental health grants in the past. Just looking for all of these opportunities wherever we can find them um to expand our revenue and support the the muchneeded work that exists here. And then uh installing capital expenditures that reduce operating costs. So LED lights is the quickest um that I can think of. But also,

082you know, whether that's even like high efficiency hand dryers in the bathroom, whatever it is, we're always making sure that we can try to do the best that we can um to have savings in the future. And then ongoing benchmarking of plans versus outcomes. And so, you know, I spoke some on that on some of that earlier. Just making sure that yes, we may make a decision now on what we think is best given all of the factors, but we know that um our student population changes over time. Sometimes we have to examine the tools that we thought were best 5 years ago and determine is that the best tool right now? Are we investing in what's best right now? Do we need to um have another look at it or make a different determination?

083And so that just that ongoing benchmarking and then planned reorganization based on analysis as needed. And so just always making sure that we're examining when we have vacancies. Um that's just one example of when we have an opportunity to look at if there's an ability ability to reorganize or if the structure that we have currently is what is uh fitting next steps. All right. So, we are having our uh budget hearing and final budget approval today, September 8th. And then um within 30 days, the final budget has to be filed with the county clerk. Questions? Thank you so much. What a document. It's long. 19 years of a balanced budget is not something to take for granted. >> Especially these days, the last few years have been um how did you describe it? You felt

084like it was shaky. It could be here today, gone tomorrow. Literally, we know that to be true. Unfortunately, we know that to be true. So, we have to plan for a future that for me feels ominous and um almost certain. I hate to say it, but that's what we have ahead. So, um, I just appreciate all the work and I just want to say and I know that others will speak to this as well. I know this took a lot of work on the part of on your part and your team, but not just you and your team. Everybody here is a part of this. You said that it doesn't stop. You started with that cycle. >> It doesn't stop. Um, and everybody has to weigh in on this very tight budget. So, um, I

085appreciate you and I appreciate all here, everyone here in this this district, in this institution. So, thank you. >> Thank you. >> And I'll start this way, Leah. >> Okay. Um I I just also wanted to say that I um so even though the b the budget isn't riveting, I do look through it carefully. Um and it's just I'm so impressed and I'm so grateful that um you and the district uh can continually create this balanced budget, but that it is really so values values driven. I think that that is just really really important to always lift up. Um I think that our students, our goals, our strategic priorities, our mission all really clearly manifest themselves in the creation of the budget and it is all the more impressive um given the current economic and

086political climate. So thank you. >> Thank you >> Pat. So, I always start with a huge thank you and I I won't go as far as I maybe did would if I was first because a lot of people have said, but um this is amazing. This isn't the norm. This isn't what there are school districts all across the state, the country that would give anything to be to have you first of all. So, they don't here's you don't they don't get you. We're you're ours. We we are keeping you. Um, but also just the work that goes into this. And you know, you made a joke about you weren't as fun as the Instagram, but you know what? All the wonderful things that Rain showed us, all the incredible classes that Pete talked about, that

087wouldn't happen without you and without this work. So, it is just as important um because it allows all those other things to happen. And you know, that is amazing. And I'm just continue to be awed and grateful for you and for your team and for all the work that goes into developing yet again a balanced budget even in these really taxing and difficult times. So, you know, you deserve every bit as much gratitude and props as uh people with beautiful pictures and great great students. And I like your dots. I like your dots. are very cool. Um, I did so, so that's the main thing I want to say, but I did just want to ask about the we've talked in the past about federal threats and I, you know, I know that most of

088our money comes from local sources, but just maybe at a high level, like what you've talked about this, I think, in the past, but just maybe it bears repeating if we had a situation where we were to lose some or all of our funding or it wasn't really in our interest to take it given that we would have to be a very different institution if we did. Um what's kind of some of the back thinking on that or or strategic planning on that? >> It would be catastrophic. >> Yeah. >> Um we're talking about $4 or5 million on top of an already tight budget. >> Yeah. >> Where we don't have any room. It would be utterly catastrophic. Could we navigate it and get through it? Absolutely. Would it be very nasty and would change

089the face of what ETHs looks and feels like? Absolutely. So, um, everything is more expensive. Um, and you know, I'm glad we've the budget is balanced and it's not a budget that Kendra and I say, "Yay, we give each other high fives on." Absolutely not. >> Um, because as she mentioned, without any intervention, we're in we're in bad shape. Okay. So, um it would those federal dollars if all federal dollars were to go away, I think it's what I heard you say, it would be catastro. >> Yeah. >> Some or all, you know, um it would be it would be very a very bad fiscal situation, >> right, Kendra? >> No. Agreed. And it it really depends on which of the sum goes away, you know, which plan we pull out between A and C.

090Um and and we even had a moment this summer where uh the title allocations happened and there wasn't anything allocated for title 2. We were like, "Okay, all right. Well, I think that was plan D. We're pulling up D." And so, um and then fortunately, we did get an allocation, but it was smaller than what we typically get um for title 2. And so which is heavily related to like our professional development opportunities. Um and so even with that a much more a smaller pivot than what we had in plan D but still a pivot nonetheless where we had to go back and say okay this is what we're able to accommodate of the request that we had. And so even um for some professional developments that's paid for with local funds though, we've had

091to examine what cadence are people able to go to professional development opportunities, right? Um and that might look different for some than it did in the past, but that's the point that we're at, especially when we're trying to make sure that we can keep those cuts as far away from the classroom as possible. um you may not be able to travel, you know, for that um enrichment opportunity at at the same cadence that you were in the past. It just might not be plausible. >> And what about IDA? >> IDA as well. Like that would be >> catastrophic. >> That would be Yeah. >> Yeah. >> That would be >> Yeah. especially as I'm just sat before you and talked about how we have the needs for our special ed department going up at a

092pace that we have not seen in the past um where we've had to expand the resources that are dedicated to that department greatly um over the years and so to then lose funding for um for that population would be awful >> and that's hard to plan for. >> Yes. Yeah. >> Surprises. Yeah. >> And I'm I'm guessing it's safe to say that next year won't be any easier, right? You know, we're making it right cuz we're we're feeling some of the cuts that you that you made in order to get there. Mhm. >> Um and so now that cycle, that first slide that you showed, now you have to start thinking about um how this shows up again next year. >> Mhm. >> Absolutely. >> Right. Yeah. Cuz it's I mean this is not a

093one year done in you know. Yeah. We're living with this for a minute. >> Yep. >> Right. Absolutely. which is why you made it very clear that fund balance is is critical. Um but the reality is we don't know what next year is going to to bring. This is like a foreshadowing of >> Yeah. >> Yep. Well, good job this year. >> I mean, you know, it is literally one step at a time. So, the fact that um that you were able to accomplish this, you and the team and the school, the entire school, um speaks volumes. I'm I'm wondering, are you seeing what we're experiencing internally? Um are you seeing it through our families? Are they do they have deeper needs or are they requiring you know more assistance or are we seeing that

094as well coming from the outside in? Are they requesting more support? So our so one of the ways that we monitor that is through our free and reduced lunch >> um um population. like typically that's a strong indicator of you know where our families are and what the needs are and so that has been almost um so so that has been fairly consistent over the last few years um >> yeah I I think the needs that we've seen demonstrated for for families haven't necessarily been financial right like we've talked about some of the things that we've started started like referral GPS um where there's just been a higher need like um maybe for like supports >> resources and supports but it's not always financial but then it does have a financial impact for us as

095we look for ways to meet those needs >> still yeah >> so >> and just as a point of clarification um you were talking about us not receiving payments from Cook County you just kind of elaborate on that a little bit is I just don't want that to be lost when you talked about fund balances and us not receiving payments. >> Yeah. So, the way that it works is that um we have property taxes as our largest revenue stream, which means that we need money to come in in order for us to uh pay our bills to make payroll to I hate to say that. Nobody think that we're not going to make payroll. We're not going to we're not going to allow that to happen. But, you know, we need money to do it.

096And in the absence of that revenue coming in, we now have to dip into our fund balance, which is like our savings to meet these needs. So, of course though, right, like for anyone, just to bring it to like um an analogy for any household, if you stop getting a check from your job, if your revenue stops coming in, you may have savings, but the savings can only take you so far. >> And so, how far your savings can take you depends on how strong your savings account is. How strong is our fund balance? Um, and so we have a fund balance that it'll be able to take us for some months, but I mean, our fiscal year started in July. We would typically start seeing money in July. Definitely large sums of money in

097August. We're now in September, and I don't even know if we'll have it in October. So, it's it's insane that we're in this position again. Um, >> so is that the is that the the delays in the property tax bills that >> have not gone out yet? >> Yeah. So everybody >> we we typically receive that >> quasi real time then it sounds like like if we if it was coming in like they it's not like a threemonth delay beyond the due date individuals receive there may be something. Can you elaborate on that part? >> Yeah. So, usually property tax bills go out, I want to say in like July. >> Yeah. >> And then they're due in August, right? They're due like 30 days after they're sent out. >> And so, um, as people

098start paying their bills, Cook County will turn over the money to us. >> Yeah. >> Um, but if they have not even build, then they're not collecting, then they're not turning over any money. And so, right now, that's what I'm saying. I know they have not build yet, >> right? And also >> yeah we know that >> they have not even given an estimate of when they are going to bill. So in the past you would hear you know something to the effect of like we haven't built but we intend to build by October 1st maybe that has not happened and I and so and we well know that if no bill is issued we cannot expect to see anything. And so that's what I'm that's why that's what I mean when I say I

099know that like even for the next 30 days we're not going to receive money. Um which >> this isn't just us. >> No >> this is a systems issue. >> Yes. >> Which is disappointing to say the least. >> May I ask one more clarifying question? I forgot to ask with the the CPPRT the corporate personal property >> replacement tax. Um, is that based on how healthy the business community is in only our area or in or throughout the states? >> Throughout the state. >> Okay. >> Mhm. >> Other questions or comments? John, >> I have a Yeah. Um, thank you. So, one one comment is just kind of echoing what what's been said so far. Like this is amazing, very impressive. It's wonderful to see um balanced budgets um especially over this period of

100time. No, I forgot what I was going to say. Well, we were talking about the the property taxes. So, so that was my first question. Oh, I remember now. Um, so it I I think it's interesting and something that I think we should all be aware of like when you showed the the pie chart showing you know 79% of expenditures are related to salaries essentially salaries and fringe benefits. So $4 million being taken away, we almost need to put that to the side, right? Like because that's almost a fixed cost from the perspective of, you know, short of layoffs. But but that's because it's pre-negotiated, right? So the 4 million has to come from the other 21% which really exacerbates its impact, right? Instead of it being a 4% impact, it's a 16% impact or

101it's a 20% impact on whatever that is. So, I just wanted to make sure that was kind of highlighted because it shows just how, you know, the the dance that that would have to be done with with the loss of federal funding and just how >> potentially catastrophic, to use Marcus' word, it could be. Um, with all of that said, the fund balance is something we we're we need to rely on right now from other more local from where the bulk of our fi funding comes from. Um, and we we saw that chart that I know I hate seeing lines cross like that on on charts on line graphs. Um and and you said like you know short of of mitigation techniques have have the thought process gone into what those mitigation techniques are or

102will be yet? Is there anything you could share? >> Yeah. And so um some of the examples that I gave before, but of course we know that there's likely going to be um have to be even greater mitigation than what we've seen thus far. And so we're having um that conversation internally like uh one of the things I mentioned like examining whether or not the reorganization might be necessary in different areas of the district and what that would look like and we'll be coming forth with some proposals. >> Yeah. the um I also loved the the the slide of the circular pretty much continual budgeting process just like for again just kind of like to for for public comment almost like what is that budgeting process look like for the individual department leads or what

103what is how does that work? Do you give them a number? Do they come to you and say this is what we think it will be? What does that interaction look like? >> Yeah. So, um I'll use last year as an example where, you know, we started off in the fall talking about what does zerobased budgeting mean. >> Um just like an overview and then allowing department heads to digest that information to start to pull information. I assisted some of them in even pulling information on like let's look at exactly what you're spending, what are your um what what is you know everything. Let's drill down into these transactions and determine what changes we can make and kind of work through that and you know allow people to sit with that for a moment and

104you know let's set some benchmarks for what we think that we're able to reasonably reach without completely altering the work of your department. And um and then in some cases just, you know, like refining that process uh all through the spring is what that looked like. >> Yeah, that's that's great. I just wanted to hear it again. I'm sorry. I know >> the zerobased budgeting. >> I could talk about this all night. >> Yeah, I know. I could too. So, we're going to have to figure out a way to let everybody else. >> That's okay. [Laughter] Um, but but I think that I I wanted I wanted to to to hone in on that again. I remember the meeting when you went through that. That was a great presentation. And it's it's some it's it's

105somewhat novel though, too. Um, at least from what I've seen um in in the public school district arena. And and I think it's it's really takes ownership and it and it puts a lot of thought into it that you're getting to the right number. And you know, it's it's things like that that we continue to see a 19 consecutive years of of balanced budget. So, um I just wanted to to kind of call that out in indirectly. So, thank you. That was great. >> Yeah. Thank you. >> Well, thank you. Speaking of sitting with this th this is a lot to think about and set with. I one thought I had um or question I guess is um with the money that we are not seeing and and the billing that's not happening >> is

106there any way to I mean are you inquiring or how does that happen? >> You said they haven't even sent the bills. >> They have not sent >> they haven't sent them out. They're not saying that it's gonna happen October 1st or whatever. >> Nope. No. And as a matter of fact, I think it might have been two weeks ago that I got in I don't even know if it's been a full two weeks that they sent out an email regarding some levy information that needed to be verified. And in the email they put in like red we still do not know. >> Oh, so they're saying >> like >> don't ask the question, right? >> Stop calling us essentially, you know. So not only are you not don't you and schools are depending on

107this, right? like and not just school taxing bodies. Taxing bodies, not just schools, taxing bodies are relying on this and just kind of a wait and see game right now unfortunately. >> Do you have a sense of why >> I know why they say >> I don't they they said that um their software >> with Tyler Technologies has prevented them from being able I'm so sorry. I can't I can't keep it straight. >> Oh my god. >> So, obviously this has been a little frustrating for me, but um yeah. So, they they said that they're having trouble with their software that they've now had for years um in getting everything together so that they can appropriately bill. Now, I will say in the information that had to be verified that they emailed about, there was

108information there that was wrong across many districts to where they had to reissue the information. And so, clearly something is a miss in their in their software. I don't know what's going on there. Um, and I hope it's right now, but yeah, they're kind of a mess >> with all that's going on. >> We didn't have enough to worry about. >> Yeah, like >> we can all talk later about how I really feel. No, I'm just >> Thank you. Okay. So, back to the script. Thank you, Miss Williams. Not me. That Miss Williams. I will now Well, I've heard comments from the board. Uh, next is the public comment portion of the budget hearing. Are there any comments from the public? Hearing none, I will now declare this hearing adjourned. The board will take action

109on the budget later in the meeting. Thank you. >> And once again, thank you board for your oversight and support. >> Thank you. >> Okay. All right. So, we are at item eight, which is foyas. Uh Dr. Davis. >> Yes, there are seven foyas in your packet. One from Randall, two from Southerntherland, one from Perry, one from Martin, one from Moses, and one from Chevik. And the responses are in your packet. >> Okay. Thank you. All right. Next item is board committee reports. Um, it's early in the year. Are there any reports from the board committees? Okay. All right. Next is the student board report. Ava, >> hello everybody. Um, this is my first student board report, so bear with me if I mess up. This past month marked the start of the 2025 to

11026 school year. This month marked a lot of change in terms of coming back to school after the summer or coming to high school for the first time for the freshman. And I think for most students, it was exciting. Um though for some I'm sure it was stressful as the beginning of school always is. We have had three student union meetings since the beginning of the year and I thought I'd report on one of the discussions we have had in those meetings. Though it is important to keep in mind that the opinions of the members of the student union are probably not representative of the entire student body. I still think they are valuable. One discussion centered on the cell phone policy bell-to-bell no cell with many students remarking that it felt a lot easier

111to follow the cell phone policy now that we've had it in place for two years. Many feel that they are used to it and that it overall has positively affected their learning experience. As a student union, we are currently preparing for the student voice forum on November 3rd. The student voice forum is an opportunity for students to communicate with the ETHS administration on their experiences here. Uh the student union then uses the data collected at this forum to plan out their priorities for the year. So we're really looking forward to this event. Planning for the anti-racist workshop has begun by ETHS staff and students including myself. The anti-racist workshop is the first of the affinity series here at UTS and focuses on educating students on the presence of white privilege in our communities and dismantling

112systems of oppression. It will be held on October 1st. Lastly, I was lucky to attend the National Student Board Member Association Conference on the weekend of August 15th to 17th. At this conference, I learned a lot about how school boards work and I feel wellprepared to serve as your student representative. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> Wonderful. Thank you. Thank you for that report. >> Okay, Dr. Campbell, you get to follow that. >> I know to do that. Thank you. Uh so the start of school is always an exciting time and there's something special about the energy that fills the halls this time of year and students finding their ray connecting with friends and stepping into new opportunities. ETHS has always been more than the school. It's a community built on connection, creativity and care.

113And I got to say the the school is not the same without the students >> who are in it every single day. We're here all summer and it's really boring. So um happy that the kids are back. Um, at the same time, we know that this is unsettling time for many in our community, and we want to assure you that ETHS is remaining steadfast in our commitment to the safety and dignity and well-being of every student, staff member, and family. Uh, earlier today, I sent out a statement reaffirming this commitment in light of recent reports about the potential for increased federal agency presence in the area. And I want to reiterate that ETHS will continue to serve as a safe haven for students and staff to the fullest extent permitted by the law. And we

114are fully committed to protecting the rights of all students to a free public education regardless of immigration status. And we will hold our responsibility to ensure that every student has access to education resources and a safe place to learn. And so the safety and well-being of our students and families will remain our highest priority. and we're providing continued guidance to administrators and the appropriate staff, including safety personnel on student rights protections and protocols for handling any potential interactions with federal agencies. And we remain close in communication with the city of Evston, the Evston Police Department, uh our legal team, uh including a coordination around the potential uh deployment of federal troops in the area. Our sponsors will be developed in partnership with these agencies to ensure a unified approach and prioritize the safety and wellbeing

115of our school community. So, but beyond that immediate focus on our student uh safety and well-being, we continue to look forward and strengthen the ways uh to that we work as a district. And tonight, I want to touch on just a couple of one item and that is this new report structure. Tonight uh well, not tonight that you all will see over the course of the year. Uh this year we're introducing a new approach for how reports are structured and delivered to the board to better reflect the interconnected nature of our work. We're moving away from the standalone year end one- on-one reports that the board normally gets and uh into more um of a u report structure that the board can actually progress monitor its goals and um outcomes and measures. This streamlined approach

116will allow for more meaningful updates, better illustrate how initiative intersect across the district and provide a more comprehensive picture of how departments are working together to support student learning, equity, and belonging. So, you'll get one report that's in the rear and everything else will be um uh more direct or real time and progress monitoring. Okay. And lastly, uh really happy to to share this news uh this evening. The board of education will be voting on a proposal to rename the upstairs theater to the Witherspoon Theater in honor of my predecessor, Dr. Eric Witherspoon, who served this district with distinction for 16 years. This proposal comes in recognition of a 1 million uh dollar anonymous gift made in his honor to the Evston to everywhere campaign led by the ETHs foundation. This general gift generous gift

117will expand opportunities for students, strengthen our programs and help students and help ensure the future generations of Wildcats are supported as they pursue their goals. So renaming of theater is not just a tribute to Dr. Witherspoon's tenure as superintendent. It's a reminder of the lasting impact we can have when we invest in our students and believe in their potential. In that spirit, I urge the board to um consider this evening's proposal and rename the upstairs student in honor of Dr. Witherspoon. Uh we had a talk about it. He's very excited about it. And so that concludes my report tonight. >> It's great. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. All right. So we are at items for action. The first item is approval of the final fiscal year 2526 budget. Could I have motion please? So,

118>> so second. >> Liz made the motion and Pat second. Um, roll call, please. >> Here. >> Yes. >> Oh, sorry. >> Yes. But what am I saying? >> It's the budget. Oh, yes. I'm sorry. Thank you. Yes. >> Yes. >> Turn your mic on, Lisa. Yes. >> Yes. The next item is approval of final park school budget. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Roll call, please. >> Martin, >> yes. The next item is approval of consideration and action on a resolution of intent to issue $6 million working cash fund bonds to increase the district's working cash fund and directing that notice of such intention to be published in a matter provided by law. >> So move. >> Second. >> Roll call, please. >> Yes. >> Arson, >> Yes. road. >> Yes. >> Martin, >>

119Yes. The next item is approval of the naming of the upstairs theater that Dr. Campbell just told us a little bit about. >> So move. >> Second. >> Roll call, please. >> Carson, >> yes. >> Martin, >> yes. >> Sing. >> Yes. The next item is approval of resolution regarding the dismissal of an educational staff support staff employee. And I'm going to read the Resolution authorizing notice of dismissal to educational support staff employee. Whereas the district, the board of education of Evston Township High School, District 202, Cook County, Illinois, has received reports and recommendations from members of the administration concerning the conduct of educational support staff employee Dana Frasier. Whereas such reports and recommendations indicate that the board should dismiss Dana Frasier effective immediately for just cause. Now therefore be it resolved by the board

120of education of Evston Township High School District 202 Cook County Illinois as follows. Section one, that Dana Frasier, an educational support staff employee, is hereby dismissed from her employment in this school district effective immediately and that the president and secretary of this board are hereby authorized and directed to give Dana Frasier by s certified mail return receipt requested a written notice of this board's decision to dismiss effective immediately Which notice shall be substantially in the form of exhibit one, which is attached hereto and made a part here too, that this resolution shall be in full force and effect upon its adoption. And it was adopted upon vote this 8th day of September, 2025 by a roll call vote. And I'm going to ask you for the roll call vote now. Can we have a motion,

121please? >> So moved. Second. >> Roll call, please. >> Pete cars, >> yes. >> Andy, >> yes. >> Martin, >> yes. >> Carson, >> yes. >> Sandy, >> yes. Okay. The next item is approval of Latino Heritage Month proclamation and that's going to be read. We'll start with the Spanish and uh Lisa Deaf is going to start reading the Spanish and then Leia Picards will read it in English. Western Latina. important. Next paragraph. You do you want us to go paragraph by paragraph? >> Paragraph by paragraph. Sorry. >> No, the whole thing. You just read the whole thing. >> No, you want the whole thing. >> No. >> Oh, that was the first paragraph. Okay. Yeah, just do paragraph by paragraph. >> Okay. Throughout our history, our nation has been enriched by the storied pasts

122of all who call the United States of America home. Ancestors of America's Hispanic Latino community have been on this continent for centuries, preceding the current boundaries of the United States, and generations have woven unique threads into the diverse fabric of our country, and played an important role in shaping our national character as a people of limitless possibility. Extraordinar. Economia song. Natural natural linguist. Hispanics and Latinos contribute to our nation's success in extraordinary ways. They serve in the military and government, attend schools across America, and strengthen the economy. They are the father who works two jobs to give his children a better life, and the mother who ventures out to take a risk and start a business. They are the student who pursues their greatest aspirations through higher education. They are the lawful permanent resident who

123seeks to naturalize and become a citizen and the business leader whose loved ones have lived in the United States for generations. They are oftentimes bilingual, an invaluable intellectual language skill we strive to provide all our students. Each day we see the tremendous impact they have on our communities and they reflect an enduring truth at the heart of our nation. No matter where you come from or where your roots are, with hard work and perseverance, you can make it in in America. Seago to honor the achievements of Hispanics and Latinos in America. The Congress by public law 1402 as amended has authorized and requested issuing annually a proclamation designating September 15 through October 15 as National Hispanic Latino Heritage Month. Latino [Music] Latina preparatorio. de Evston. Therefore, we the board of education of district 202 proclaim

124that in celebration of past, present, and future exceptional Hispanic Latino American leaders and the valuable contributions of the Hispanic Latino community do hereby proclaim September 15, 2025 through October 15, 2025 as Hispanic Latino Heritage Month at Evston Township High School. Thank you. Thank you both. Can I have a motion for approval of the proclamation, please? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Roll call, please. >> Yes. Okay. Okay, the next item is the consent agenda which includes approval of ED red membership, approval of minutes from a August 4th, 2025 regular and close session meetings, release for public information minutes of closed sessions from January 2025 to June of 2025 and the destruction of closed session tapes. Treasurer's report from June of 2025. Approval of bills and personnel report. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Roll call,

125please. >> Yes. >> Martin, >> yes. Okay. Um the next item is old and new business. Is there any old or new business that should be presented? Anybody? Polling of the board. Any final remarks? If not, can I have a motion for adjournment? Yes. So moved. >> Okay. All in favor say I. >> I. >> Opposed. This meeting is adjourned at 9:56 p.m.