001Welcome to our large audience. Very pleased to have you with us this evening. This is the regular meeting of Geneva 304 School Board for Monday, June 15, 2026. Bonnie, could you call the role? >> Here >> thank you. As I have welcomed you, the next step is the pledge of allegiance. The flag is back in the corner. I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. There is an attendance sheet in the hallway. If you'd like to register your attendance, that would be a fine thing. Next item is the approval of minutes. We have minutes for the regular session of May 26 and the executive session of May 26. Bonnie, have you received any corrections
002or additions? >> Does anyone have any at this time? >> Motion to approve the meeting minutes. >> Second. >> I abstain. I Hi. And we're gonna have to bring Dan in on by phone if that's uh something we're prepared to do at this time. >> So, I think we'll need uh somebody will need to make a motion to bring Dan in by phone. >> Motion to bring Dan in by phone. >> Second. Need a roll call. >> Need a roll call. >> I >> All right. Okay. I can I'll if we if we have um our awesome tradition of excellence uh recognition next, we can have the board do that and then as we finish that up, I can dial in on the phone after that. So, >> okay. >> Uh, how about that? >>
003Works for me. >> Okay. >> Item three on the agenda, recognition, awards, and presentation. First item is boys and girls tennis, track, field, and bass fishing. Who knew? >> Yeah. >> Awesome. >> But we're really happy. >> Nothing fishy about that. >> That's right. >> So, we'll have the board come around here and Mr. Rogers is going to brag. Very excited to have some students come in the summer because a lot of times in the summer we don't we don't get the opportunity to recognize our kids. So, thank you for being here. We appreciate you. >> And the first item on the agenda for this award uh presentation is our boys tennis team and they are the gentlemen that are here this evening. >> Well played, guys. >> All right. So um this is our
004final opportunity to it's not our final opportunity but will it will be the final presentation of tradition of excellence awards for this 2526 school year and we've got a lot of uh great accomplishments to celebrate tonight. And as I mentioned, the first is a doubles team from Geneva High School who represented us at the IHSA state finals back on uh Thursday, May 28th. And uh I'll introduce these two young men first and then I'll just tell you a little bit about their accomplishment. Starting with uh and by the way, they're a doubles team if I didn't mention that. Uh so they competed together. First of all, Tyler Haney. If you'd get up and go shake hands with Mr. Red Linsky on the left over there and then make your way down the line and then
005stay in front of the backdrop here for photos. And Tyler's teammate Cole Hecker. These two young men teamed up and won the sectional championship. Uh and in the finals match of that sectional championship, they defeated Betavia. uh they had already qualified for the IHSA state meet when they reached the semifinals, but they weren't satisfied with that accomplishment. They wanted a sectional championship under their belt and they earned it and that then earned them a trip to the IHSA state tennis finals where they uh unfortunately lost their first match, but then in the second match of the day, they were victorious. And that victory marks the first time in many years that we've had a boys tennis player or players earn a state uh match victory. So congratulations to these two gentlemen on a fantastic season.
006Congratulations Tyler and Cole. Mr. Baker is going to take a quick photo. Parents, if you want to get up, I know you've been taking them from there, but if you want to get up and take them from the middle of the room, feel free. All right, congratulations, boys. And once again, thank you very much for coming. Parents, thanks for taking time out of your summer to come as well. We appreciate you being here. The next group that was invited was our IHSA girls track and field state final qualifiers. The uh unfortunately none of them are here, so I'll go through this real quickly. Sophia Border earned all state recognition in the 3200 meter run and the 1600 meter run, earning sixth place in the two-mile, fifth place in the mile. She earned that opportunity to
007go by finishing second at the sectional and third at the sectional respectively in each of those races. And I think I can add that Sophia probably goes down as one of the most decorated runners uh female runners in Geneva High School history uh as she graduates and heads on to her next u step in life. Uh qualifying in the pole vault was Ava Marin. Also in the pole vault, Leah Fridy. Qualifying in the 100 meters and 300 meter hurdles were Alyssa Flat. The discus sectional champion and earning a spot at the state meet was Issa. Taylor Peele qualified in the 800 meter run as an individual and was also a member of the 4x400 relay that finished second at the sectionals. And the other members of that 4x4 relay were Elena Hamilton, Harper Cobbman, and
008Hadley Mason. Congratulations to our girls track athletes. Uh they are coached by Mr. Peter Rock. Next, our IHSA boys track and field state qualifiers. Um they competed at Eastern Illinois University on May 29th and 30th. And what an exciting weekend it was. Um I'm going to start actually because he took time out of his evening. Our head coach, Mr. Boon Thorgus. Boon, if you'd go up and shake hands. Boon has the pleasure of being the first and only head coach at Geneva High School in track to have a boys state champion. Uh Bennett Coni didn't win a state championship once, but he did it twice. He is the 100 meter dash champion and the 200 meter dash champion. Not surprisingly, he was the sectional champion in both of those events as well. So um he
009also in addition to those individual events he was a member of the 4x100 relay that qualified for the IHSA state state meet as well. Uh we will be honoring Bennett in the fall as his accomplishment came after the school year. So we will have an opportunity to celebrate his amazing uh historical uh first in boys track with two state not one but two state championships. Also qualifying for the state meet were Mason Halbeck in the 400 meter run as an individual and was also a member of that 4x100 relay. Brian Waters was a member of the 4x100 relay. Harrison Tiner qualified as a member of that 4x100 relay. And then Cam Ziggler qualified in the shot put by finishing sixth at the sectional and Lex Griffith was a sectional champion and qualified for the IHSA
010meet in the discus throw. So, congratulations to our boys track athletes. Finally, I heard it mentioned at the table a moment ago, maybe some people didn't realize that the IHSA sponsors a bass fishing competition every year, and we had two seniors qualify for the IHSA state finals in bass fishing. They qualified by uh the top six teams qualify for sectionals in the regional competition, and the boys were sixth. And then at the sectional, you have to be in the top 10 in order to qualify for state. They were in 10th, caught just enough fish, and those fish were just heavy enough to put them over the hump. And then they went down to uh Lake Shelbyville on June 5th and 6th with their head coach, Tom Anderson. And I really do appreciate uh being a
011coach of state of bass fishing and being a volunteer. We have some parent volunteers as well. They have to volunteer the use of their boat. They have to haul the boat to wherever those competitions are and then uh drive the boat and keep the boys safe. So, congratulations to Titan Sutliffe and Jackson Ferman who qualified for the IHSA state bass fishing finals. You know, I was going to say it's a beautiful night outside. Those two guys probably have a fishing pole in the water somewhere. So, thank you very much for this opportunity tonight and thank you very much for the opportunity throughout the school year to honor all of our students who do so many great things uh throughout the year. We appreciate the opportunity. Thank you. Yeah. >> Another year of football. No, I
012do not want your position. >> Hello, Dan. We uh just finished tradition of excellence and calling you in here. >> Great. Good evening, everyone. >> Hello. >> Hi, Dan. We need to approve the minutes now. >> Yeah, >> we have to redo the minutes. Yeah, >> hi Dan. We're glad we're glad you're here because we don't have a quorum without your active participation. So, thank you. And in keeping with in keeping with that rule, we have a minute approval for the regular session of May 26 and the executive session of May 26. We've already established that there are no corrections at this time unless you have one. And if you do not, we can go ahead and vote to approve the minutes for May 26th. >> Motion to approve the second. Second >> I >>
013abstain >> I >> So thank you for that. The the next item uh is the draft budget. Uh Adrien Ramirez is going to present an overview of the 2627 draft budget development to us all. Yes, Adrian's getting ready. Just want to um thank him for being here. And those of us who uh participated in the finance committee meeting just a bit ago, uh Mr. Laam presented uh gave this same presentation and I think we had some really good conversation. Um and so Adrianne's then here uh to join the full board and uh present present the same draft budget. Obviously um this is still a a bit early and we will get to the tentative um next month but glad to have the opportunity to look at these numbers uh now and and start having some
014of this conversation. So we'll pass it to you Adrian. >> All right. Thank you. So, good evening. As Dr. Barrett mentioned, I will be presenting the fiscal year 2627 budget for the district. So, this remains a draft. Um, we're still paying invoices, vendors, completing the June payrolls, the summer payrolls for teachers. Um, this week we're expecting one of our largest tax payment of the of the year. Um, so all this will impact next year's revenue. depending on the amounts received. Um you know we recently completed open enrollment so benefit costs will fluctuate based on the employee election and we are still in the process of filling in um open positions that we have. So all these items will impact our fund balances and how we end the year. So our budget is based on several
015key assumptions. On the revenue side, we are assuming approximately a 5% increase in EAV, a 3.2% increase in uh local tax revenues, continued uh evidence-based funding of approximately 4.28 million, approximately 7.9 million in new construction, investments returns based on 4.2%. And then lastly, our uh fund balance transfers to support the capital plan and fleet management. On the expenditure side, salary projections are based on collective bargaining agreements, administrative agreements, uh staffing plans, and anticipated attrition. Uh benefits reflect projected healthcare and pension costs, insurance rates are up this year with PO being up 5.9%, HMO being up 9.9%, and dental being up 2.8%. So purchase services, supplies, uh utilities, fuel, capital projects, and equipment replacement costs have all been estimated using current contracts, historical spending trends, and inflationary assumptions. Other expenses include items like dues, fees, contingencies,
016tuition for students, place in programs like Mid Valley or or Fox Valley Career Center. So the education fund remains our largest operating fund. Um right now we're budget we're budgeting revenue at 85 million which is an increase of 3.6% over projected fiscal year 26 revenue. So the majority of revenue comes from property taxes. Other local revenue includes items like student fees, rental income, investment earnings. Right now, we're projecting state revenue to be down. Part of that, one of the reasons is uh less private placement dollars. Uh federal revenue is down due to declining grant money and carryover funds being spent. So expenses are we're projecting at 88.2 million. That's an increase of 6.3% over the 20 fiscal year 26 expenditures. Um, the largest category is salaries, followed by benefits and purchase services. Supply expenses are
017lower than last year due to the purchasing of textbooks this past spring um to support the new curriculum. Capital and non- capital remain relatively uh consistent supporting our district tech plan, ongoing equipment and facility needs. other uses as I mentioned this includes tuition for outpaced students contingencies and other obligations is up. So I think right now what we're seeing is we're projecting to operate at a deficit of approximately 3.2 2 million. Um, but that does reflect ongoing investments um, in district programs and with our staffing. For the O andM fund, we're projecting approximately 17 million in revenue. Most of this revenue comes from property taxes, but this fund also receives evidence-based funding as well as rental income, interest earnings, and parking fees. For expenses, we're projecting at 14.9 million. This fund uh supports facility operations,
018custodial services, maintenance activities, utilities, and building improvements. So supplies is up due to inflation. Um I know we're also looking to spend more on ground and custodial supplies. So that's also included. Um and supplies actually also includes uh utilities. So capital is down due to capital expenditures being spent out of fund60 and um when you compare revenue versus expenditures um we're projected to have a surplus of around 2.1 million. So any surplus um helps us fund our capital plan. Um so that's historically what we've done is move these funds over to capital to our capital fund. um with anything that's left over. Our debt service fund remains stable. Uh revenue is budgeted at approximately 15 million and with the uh primary revenue source for this is property taxes along with some interest income. Um expenditures
019are budgeted at approximately 14.5 million. Um this fund continues to meet all the scheduled debt obligations while maintaining a positive um fund balance. On to the transportation fund. So this fund is we're projecting um close to 4.5 million in revenue. Um expecting more in property taxes. And um one thing I want to point out is state revenue is down and that's primarily due to the uh transportation claim reimbursements. So the transportation claim is submitted each August to obtain state reimbursements for qualifying expenses from this fund. In recent years, reimbursements have decreased due to limited state funding availability. Um, as for on the expenditure side, we're projecting 4.9 million in expenditures. Um, with the with the largest expenditure being uh salaries, fleet replacement, fuel, maintenance, and transportation services. Um, we're looking to exceed revenue by close
020to $400,000. Um, and that's just that reflects our ongoing spending on uh on replacing our buses. And that's all a strategy we use is we try to um replace our budgets within a five-year time frame. We're able to actually um count the the uh depreciation on our buses within a 5-year limit. So, that's one way we get more funding when we uh submit the transportation Uh on to the retirement fund, we're budgeted revenues of 3.3 million with the tax levy being the primary source of revenue for this fund along with some interest income. Um the expenditure side, we're we're looking at 3.2 million. This reflects increased IMRF and TRS employer contributions. So this is driven by salary growth um full staffing and higher benefit rates. This uh we're projected to have a small surplus in
021this fund. So the capital projects fund this is continues to support the district's capital plan. Um, right now this number may change, but right now, um, in talking with Todd and with Brian and Andy and the facility task force group, um, we're looking at 7.7 million in expenditures. Um, and right now we're projecting a transfer of 7.9 million from the education and on&m fund. Um, this fund also receives a little bit of interest income and as you know this fund is primarily used for facility improvements, for infrastructure needs, for equipment replacement and long-term capital priorities. So this uh fund is project based so we fund it as needed through board approved transfers and draw it down over time as projects are completed. So, I know some of the projects that we'll be working on this
022year are I think tennis courts, parking lots, the greenhouse, HVAC work, boiler work, uh generators, uh piping and masonry work. So, all that um I know is being worked on. Okay. The working cash fund, this is essentially the district's inner inner loan fund. Um this fund has really grown over over uh the past five years primarily due to the allocation of interest. Um so I think it's we built up this this balance and it's all always good to have reserves. Um you know this provides liquidity and can help out with cash flow um with the other funds if ever necessary. But for the most part, with our property tax income being our primary source of revenue and being in King County and living in this community, um I don't think we'll ever run into an
023issue where we need these funds. But it's always good to have avail to be it's always good that we have the uh these funds available. Uh the tort fund remains minimal and has no expenditure budget. Um Moving on to the life safety fund. Um, this fund is used to support facility improvement and projects to address health and safety and code compliance throughout the district. Right now, um, we actually levied a little more in this fund. So, we're we're projecting 216,000 in uh revenue and um with 500,000 um in the expend on the expenditure side. So, we'll use some of the fund balance to cover these expenditures. But, uh as I mentioned, this is to support life safety and facility compliance requirements such as replacing uh fire alarms and pl and uh plumbing. Okay, so this
024slide kind of provides other district revenue and expenditure categories. Property taxes continues to be the primary revenue source representing uh close to 87% of all revenue. So state funding remains stable. We're tier four district. So we don't expect um that source of revenue to change much. On the expenditure side, salaries, benefits remain our largest investment. And I I do think that reflects uh our commitment to maintaining quality educational programs and student support services. And this budget is also, you know, includes significant capital and facility investments. Um, so I think the district I think this budget shows that we're investing in our staff and we're uh investing our in our facility. So this slide shows the projected fund balances for each fund in the district as a whole when you take into account the draft revenues
025and expenditures as well as estimated fund balances. The fiscical year 27 budget includes 125.6 6 million in revenues and 133 million in expenditures and that's the results of that is a plan reduction in fund balance approximately 8.2 million. So again this is driven by capital investments and ongoing investment in staffing compensation and student services. Um even with these plan expenditures, the district is projected to end um the fiscal year with around uh a little over 60 million in total fund balances. And I think you know we're maintaining strong reserves and uh financial stability. So as we move forward, we have several factors that we continue to monitor. So, school districts continue to face uncertainty related to the economy, uh, state funding and other factors can impact revenues and expenditures. Inflation, um, you know, if it
026exceeds if it goes up to 3.5%, you know, that's going to impact our operating cost, um, we may see an increase in that. Um, fuel and utility costs remain volatile and can sign can significantly impact transportation and facility operating. uh budgets interest rates. Um you know, for the we've been very fortunate to have the interest rates that we've had in the past. Um last year we're probably looking at 4.5% and that's gone down a little bit. I think we've done a good job at investing money longterm. As you've seen, we have all that those funds and working cash. Those funds we've been able to invest for multiple years at high rates. So, I I do think um Todd's done a great job. Something I was really impressed by when I first started at the district
027was we've been able to invest money long term, and it's really helped us out. Um staffing changes, employee turnover, vacancies, and staffing needs can affect both operations and budget planning. Enrollment changes um that can impact the way we um are staffing um capital costs. So, we continue to monitor construction, maintenance, and equipment costs as they continue to rise. Um, bus replacement costs, fuel expenses um remain elevated compared to historical levels and changes in employee participation and healthcare utilization uh can affect benefit costs. So, all those factors, you know, we try to monitor as best as we can. And lastly, our year-end balances. Um we continue to monitor those closely as we finish up the fiscal year or there are a lot of factors. Um right now we're kind of coming to a point where we're
028no longer where we're starting to plan for next year. So what does that look like is we're um having staff put in invoices to be paid for next year and now. So, we kind of shut down um you know any purchasing right now for the current year being that there's only two weeks left in the school year. So, um we're trying to prepare for next year and that's the best we can do to try to project where we're going to end the year. Okay. So just um before any questions or comments, I just want to say that the the school's current financial position reflects uh intentional investments in our staff, students, our programs, and facilities. I think as we move forward um our focus will be on um ensuring long-term financial sustainability through strategic revenue
029planning in alignment with ongoing revenues and uh with ongoing expenditures. So, um you know, I think we're in a good position. Um we continue to spend the right way and continue to try to do our best for our students and for our staff. Anybody have any questions or comments? I do. >> Yeah. First of all, thank you very much for your very thorough presentation. I wasn't here for the financial um finance meeting, but um so and I I I appreciate you acknowledging that there are some unknowns like utilities and fuel costs like that. So, I'm just asking because I know it's a draft, but would there be a I'm just using uh not precise language, but is there a tipping point where those utility and fuel costs will make a make one uh make not
030make one, but make a uh criteria for not purchasing buses where you have to defer for another year. I mean are there just some costs that you just don't know especially electricity and so far that we know that AI is uh creating an impact not just locally but across the country. Um those are unknowns especially with fuel costs but are there some things that could be deferred like fuel I mean I'm sorry uh the bus purchases or that just still move forward in the budget. >> Yeah. So >> loaded question I'm sorry. I I think our approach to um replacing buses is making sure that if we replace one or if we sell one that it's it's within our spending range. So that's what really what we're looking at. Like the costs have of buses
031have gone up a lot and um it has changed our plans. We haven't purchased as many buses as we've wanted. Um so it does change. our loss, I guess, comes in where we can't claim depreciation on those buses. So, that lowers our reimbursement. So, if if we don't think it's a good time to purchase, we won't. But, we're not also looking to purchase new buses. We're possibly looking at purchasing um used buses from other districts. We've sold a few buses to other districts. So, we look at all different options when um looking at purchasing um for the transportation. Thank you for clarifying that because I was thinking that it was only new buses. So that's good to know. Thank you. Anyone else? Thank you, Adrian. Good job. Next item is public comments. Bonnie, have you
032received any requests for public comments? Anybody want to make a public comment? Thank you. Next. Legislative updates. >> Yes. Um, IASB did put together um an end of the session report. I haven't gone through all of it yet, but there was one bill in particular I wanted to mention tonight. That is House Bill 4416. That is the bill that was looking at potentially providing unemployment um benefits to education support personnel. That did not move forward in the session. It doesn't mean it's never going to come back, but um for right now, it is not moving forward. and uh I'll have a hopefully some more bills that we can talk about next time. That concludes my report. >> Thank you very much, Jackie. And next is the superintendent report, Dr. Barrett. >> Yeah, just a couple
033quick things to um highlight as we're getting summer underway. this uh first meeting of the summer. It it always feels like um probably said this before, feels like school uh last day of school was yesterday and six months ago. Uh it's kind of how that feels right now. So we um I I would say from from my seat actually Friday was maybe the first day it actually felt like it wasn't the school year just given all all that we've been uh working through since the school year ended. So, just some quick summer updates as the summer's getting underway. Obviously, um you know, we we recognized a lot of students here tonight. A lot of things continue to happen for students actually as um you know, the school year is ending. We had a lot of
034those competitions happening. Um just learned today, we weren't able to talk about it because we just learned today, but our Robo Vikes, who you've seen from before, they actually won the state championship this past weekend. Uh, so we just keep killing it in all kind of different bass fishing, robots, I mean track. It's it's um it's pretty awesome. It's pretty awesome. So um over the past couple weeks, we've been doing a lot of uh leadership planning for the upcoming year. uh looking at planning professional development, looking at our school improvement process um and you know talking about some tech and curricular related initiatives and had a really productive meeting with our entire leadership team last week. So that was valuable. You've heard a lot about the ongoing capital work that got underway and thanks to
035uh Brian Peterson and our operations team uh who you know works with Adrian and Todd um to get that work going. I know the the facilities task force um has really done a nice job of helping us get that work approved and going so much earlier in the year so we could hit the ground running and we've really been able to do that. Um again, I know uh Shaunette and George have been uh really working on some curriculum support and and development. Um Dr. Law and his team getting that staffing and hiring underway. Uh I think we have our first um our first session for new teachers this week, right? So a couple couple new staff members coming in this coming week. Um and planning for the school year startup. So So lots of work
036is underway so far. Also just wanted to thought it might be a a good time briefly to hit one more subject um and highlight um some of the just in a very preliminary fashion we'll have an opportunity for um uh Mr. Mr. Wilks and Mr. B Mezes and members of our, you know, our AI committees and tech teams talk more about this in the year ahead. Um, but we really are trying to have intentional conversations about uh artificial intelligence and and AI. Um, and I thought it would be important for uh, you know, the board and community to to hear just a little bit about how some of those conversations have um, been going. Right. So, uh, just a little timeline here for you, and we'll get to again more of this when we get
037everybody together, uh, and the school year returns, but actually in the summer of, uh, 2024 was when the district first started to develop AI guidelines. Um and in then leading into that school year 24-25, the district formed uh its first K12 AI committee um that looked at um AI guidelines summary and provided feedback uh to district on use cases and needs. Um then when we got into 2526 this year, we um officially uh formed K12 edtech committees at all levels. We had historically not had those at all levels. So now we have those at all levels. They've identified some initial formal resources. Um you know they're having some conversations about teacher and student needs um and looking at goals for 26uh 27. Um and while we've been doing that again we've been having ongoing work
038with our leadership council. I would say that was maybe one of our most impactful conversations um with our leadership team and our work last week was uh talking about um uh you know how we're going to have to adapt and evolve uh to AI and and these are kind of some of the big critical reflections and questions we were reflecting on. How is this tool being used by folks today in our district? Um and we asked you know how are teachers and administrators using it? How are uh kids may be using it in their real lives? Um how should we be thinking about all of that? Then the question is really digging into what are the benefits of some of these tools and what are the risks and we know that there's a lot of
039potential in both of those, right? Um, and then one of the things we really wanted to kind of start forecasting out was what do we think success with these tools might look like in the future? Um, and we want to start exploring and thinking about what should that use look like? What would the use case look like in three to five years as this situation um starts to evolve. So um you know those are the conversations that we're having right now. We think they're pretty uh critical. We know um you know right now we don't have any of these tools turned on um on district equipment for students, right? Um but our committees, our AI committee and our edtech committees are starting to talk about that and where that might make sense and certainly where
040that does not make sense. Um uh but we also know that um again there's a lot of potential benefits in being able to use this but also um some risks. I know there's a lot of apprehension on the part of some of our staff that um how kids could use this um ineffectively to to make their learning worse. And we don't want that to happen. We want it to only help support learning and make learning better. I think one of the things that we really kind of talked about um in our work last week is just that you know change we know change is inevitable but one thing that we feel pretty proud of is that our values um are constant. So yeah, change is coming, but our values aren't changing. And so when we
041think about, you know, those values of preparation, excellence, empowerment, um that's the lens through which we want to be thinking about um how these tools could be used uh in our district and by our educators. Um, and then ultimately by our students in a world where we know they're going to have access to them. Even if we don't have access to them inside kind of our our system at the moment, they've got access to it everywhere else. Um, and so how do we leverage our values about, you know, the important things we want our kids to know and be able to do, those knowledge, skills, and personal qualities that we want them to have. Um, how do we how do we best leverage that when we get to this tool? Lots of important conversations are
042happening. Um, and there will be uh there will be more to come and and we'll get the smart people like um uh Mr. Wilks and Dr. Pesis and the real smart people, the kids and the teachers to come and kind of share some more information with us in in the year ahead. So, um just wanted to give a little foreshadowing on that. Um and then last hit it last time but just a little bit more foreshadowing that we're getting excited for the upcoming school year um in Sweet Home Geneva where we're on a mission for on a mission for kids. Uh it's going to be a great year in store where we um kind of celebrate our educators and acknowledge the great things they're doing to set our kids up for um a lifetime of
043success and success beyond uh our school walls. So that's all I got. All right, thank you very much. U I'd have to just comment for a second on AI. I would expect that any AI use by staff or students here in Geneva would involve acknowledgement that AI was used in the process at any time. >> Of course. Of course. Seems obvious enough. >> Oh yeah. Just uh I appreciate I'm sorry. >> Yeah. No, don't. >> No. So I appreciate you saying that it's important that these things especially AI align with our values and I'm not projecting that I know what what all that means in the terms of of um the carbon u offset because it is there is one but I think it's important that we acknowledge things like lighting uh the facilities task
044force of course I'm not on that committee but I'm sure that they are thinking about the carbon offsets that would probably come with increased use of AI and I think the public would be, you know, um, better served to have that information made clear to them that we are trying, you know, to offset our carbon footprint. Um, because as you increase that use of AI also, it's going to increase other things that are quoteunquote risks that are not necessarily to the school but environmentally and other things like that. So that's my 39 cent. So >> fair. Thank you. >> Anything else? >> Thank you. Next item. Board dialogue topics pending action consideration item one policy updates. This is the second reading. Policy five 50 drug and alcohol-f free workplace. This policy has been reviewed by
045the administration and by the policy committee. It was presented for first reading on May 26 and is being presented at this time for second reading and adoption. Questions may direct be directed to the policy chair kind of. And uh so any questions at this time? Like a motion to approve in the absence of questions. >> So moved. >> Second. >> I thank you. Uh item eight, work study topics and future action considerations. The 2627 E curriculum recommendation and packet contains information from assistant superintendent Sims regarding textbook and instructional materials being proposed for the English learners program. This would be brought back at a future meeting for possible approval. >> Yeah. Um Mrs. Sims unable to to be here with us tonight, but Mr. or Dr. Benzes is here. Um, and this is a little outside
046of our normal timeline. So, I thought it would be valuable to have um uh thought it'd be valuable to have George just highlight uh why we're bringing this forward to you all tonight. um and having this uh be a little bit out of our typical kind of cascade because you you'll remember that um we sought your approval of uh for um adoption of potential curricular resources. Typically that happens in the spring. We did that earlier in the spring, put them on display, and then um you ultimately approved those. um this is one additional um resource um and there's some context behind why uh we need to move forward with this. So I'll pass this off to George to just share that with you briefly. >> Yeah, thank you Dr. Barrett. Um you know in looking
047at our uh EL numbers, we have about 185 EL students districtwide and that has been increasing over the se uh pretty consistently over the past uh several years. Uh so I find that to be a strength actually of ours and um in doing so uh there was a a question that uh we needed to look at districtwide K through 12 on the programming and the resources that we are utilizing to support our students uh our multilingual uh learners and uh we landed on English uh 3D which is uh from uh HMH which is same same company that uh we adopted for interreading for a literacy uh uh com uh curriculum and what 3D uh stands for actually it's uh really addressing the three dimensions of language learning which include interaction, academic language and literacy. Uh
048English uh 3D offers a path to proficiency. So what does that mean? A path to proficiency is simply uh getting our students to to understand the English language and be able to participate in a classroom without needing uh support. Ultimately, that is what um our goal is and that's measured through our uh access testing uh and we utilize that data to to determine how well are we doing in meeting the needs of our multilingual learners. uh and we felt that 3D accomplishes just that. It is uh WEDA aligned. Actually this morning I had to look what what does WEDA stand for? It's it's worldclass instructional design and assessment. And and what that means is it it uh really outlines best practices in working with multilingual learner uh learners. A big part of uh English uh
0493D is this concept of assetbased teaching. So rather than seeing English learners as being behind uh when compared to their typical peers, we see their home language as a strength, not necessarily a problem. Uh we value the cultural background and experiences they bring to our classrooms and we build on their existing knowledge and skills. This program is designed for students that are newcomers all the way through grade 12. Um so that is uh really nice. It's offers components of direct instruction and has a um a adaptive computerbased uh platform that uh teachers could use as well. This was a huge uh I would say a huge plus for us. As you know, we'd like to work with students with hands-on materials um but then also like to have a platform where we could um have
050students work independently on and ga uh gather data on it is very closely aligned to access and uh those um uh those standards as well. So in the end this is where we landed and there's a variety of re uh reasons. It's aligned with standards. It's data driven. purposeful uh intent to move towards proficiency. Materials are very engaging. Um and our partnership with HMH just down the streets allows uh some great professional learning opportunities along the way for our teachers. >> Questions? >> Thank you very much for that interesting presentation. So this will these resources will be basically now on display here for a little bit before they come back at at our next meeting. Um and I think you know uh as kind of noted in the memo and George noted here a little
051bit. I just want to be explicit about um part of the impetus for this happening right now is we participated in an audit with the state board of education. Um, and one of the pieces of feedback that came back in that was um, having some more robust instructional resources to to meet the supports of our EL learners. Um, and so it actually, even though it's a little later in the summer, it's actually kind of timely because we just made this uh, transition with into reading as well. So, um the fact that it's also from HMH and aligned with that, we we think we'll be good and hopefully this can be on display and um our EO and bilingual teachers will be able to use this in the fall. Right, George? >> That's right. That's correct.
052>> So, what's the what's the um I take it that these materials can be updated so we're not buying this again say in five years. I mean, how does this work in terms of the longevity of this? I mean because I've already heard so far uh with the German program that the materials were outdated and we needed to update them. So how does this square with in terms of the longevity the lifetime of it? >> Yeah. Well, so there are this is the the benefit in having the uh hard copy materials that we could use for small group instruction that we could have but also a platform. When the platform gets updated, it's updated for everyone. So uh that is a a huge plus. Um, but the hands-on materials that that we purchase, they they
053may need updating. Um, you know, I I I can't say every so often, but it's something that we um we try to re-evaluate our curriculum every five to sometimes 10 years, but okay. >> Um, we we meet with our teachers regularly to to assess, you know, are the resources that we're providing you, are they meeting the needs of your students? and our students change. Um I mean when we look at we have 185 uh I'd say about four years ago we were probably right around 130 140. So um we have more languages that are coming in. We have students that are not speaking any English. We have students that um um that come from different socioeconomic backgrounds that also have other needs that we are addressing in the school. So, uh, that's that is, uh,
054a reoccurring conversation that we try to have with all of our teachers. >> So, I can see the cost benefit of that. So, I just needed to get clarification that we're not buying this every three years or something like that. Thanks a lot. Anyone else? Thank you very much, Dr. The next item is information item nine, the foyer requests and board correspondence as well as item two, the suspension report. There's no discussion required for this. Item 10, consent agenda. My favorite one is a personnel report, resignations, retirements, leave requests, changes in assignment, full-time, equivalent, and new hires. Item two, monthly financials. Item three, fiscal year 27, hazardous bus routes. Item four, 2627 treasures bond. Item five, project authorization for 2728 capital projects. And six, AB staffing solutions LLC agreement. And uh if there are no
055questions, approval is recommended for the consent agenda. >> Hey Larry, Larry, I have one uh I guess more comment or question for for Andy in regard to tonight. We're going to be approving the and security coordinator um Mr. Creers. Um how did that all how did that interview and all that come um go and all our this is for our new leaison, right? This is our uh leazison resource officer. >> Uh no. Uh oh, good question. >> This one is for This one is for Mr. Baker. >> Yes, this is this would be the replacement for Mr. Baker's position. our our school resource uh officer um uh uh who will be starting in the fall. Um that'll be a different uh individual who's currently um GPD officer. Uh Curtis Shyon is his name. Um and
056so he'll be starting in the fall. Uh the position you all are approving tonight is uh safety and security uh coordinator and that's Mike Freers who's a also a a retired he's a retired GPD officer. He's currently serving in this role uh in a neighboring district. Um and so he's bringing not only the local connections um that we know are vital and important in this role and the uh you know law enforcement and first responder background that we know is important in this role. but also bringing uh experience having done the job um in a large complex district um and implemented uh some uh you know a lot of the important systems like we've been trying to implement here. So um we really think it's going to be a nice transition and and a great
057opportunity. Our interview team um just really felt very strongly about his candidacy and uh is excited to bring him on board. He's a parent as well, right? >> Yes, that's correct. >> Awesome. >> Yep. >> Great. Is he gonna be taking pictures at board meeting as well? >> Yeah, we're gonna have to talk through that. Duties not otherwise specified, right? >> Thank you, Dan. That's a good question. He certainly has big shoes to fill for Mr. Baker. >> Uh board member comments and reports. Let's see. As I look around Oh, we have to approve the consent. We didn't >> motion to approve the consent agenda. >> Thank you. >> Second. >> I got so excited that we actually had a comment. >> Okay. Now, board member comments and reports. And let's start with Willard. >>
058Yeah. just want to I didn't uh see I wasn't here for the last meeting but looked at the video. So I just say that uh one of the things I can say for today is that I'm really impressed with uh the track team and all the awards that have been for the tennis team as well. But to have a such a record-breaking um just pointing out just the track uh accomplishments, I thought that was remarkable. Of course for a district isn't that big, you know, so it's just really remarkable that we can make that kind of impact on the state. So that's all I have to say. All right, Jackie, >> I just wanted to mention uh graduation always a highlight uh of the year and really enjoyed hearing the speeches this year from not
059only the the selected teacher but also from the students. It was a nice event and um looking forward to hearing about all the great things that our graduates do as they move forward on their next steps. Congratulations to everyone who we saw tonight who are winning their tradition of excellence awards. But I also want to mention all the other um programs that went further than a lot than they have in many years. Um making it to super sectionals. Uh we really had a successful spring. It was pretty amazing to keep watching how everyone's doing and moving forward. I was was able to catch one of the playoff games for the soccer girls soccer team. So was happy to be able to do that. And that's about it. >> Very nice. >> Yeah. So, I guess
060we've moved from graduation season to graduation party season, I guess, at this point in time. Correct. >> Um, I can I see people setting up things in their backyards all over the place now. So, that's that's fantastic. And congratulations to the seniors that that graduated. and also to the juniors that are that are rising seniors and it's going to be an exciting time for them as they as they prepare to to step into that role as seniors for their for their final year in uh at Geneva uh schools. Um congratulations to the four teams that we had here for their tradition of excellence and also to the roboikes for your comment Andy on that. I thought that was a great that was very great. Um, one last thing, um, we had an opportunity at the
061facilities task force, uh, to tour, uh, three of the facilities, the high school, uh, Geneva Middle School South, and also Mil Creek, and to see some of the major projects that, uh, that are not only ongoing for this year, I mean, if you if you go to any of the schools, everything is tore up right now and and equipment is being replaced. um but also to talk about what's going to be needed for next year. And I think it's a great um situation that we're in where we're almost 12 months out planning and and already approving to to go and get the get the uh the uh engineering and architectural work done so that um so that we can do this and get the things done at a good price in a in a good
062time to do it also. So yeah, that's that's about it. Uh, everybody have a great summer. >> Well, I I second what everybody said as I usually do. It is is >> Oh, Dan, I almost forgot you, Dan. Go ahead. >> Yeah. No, I'm just because I'm on the phone, I I won't add to what everyone said. I echo what everyone said. Um, I guess the only thing I'll add is thanks for letting me join by phone tonight. >> No, it's the other way around. Dan, thank you for joining by phone. Okay, I'm basically agreeing with what everyone has said. It's a wonderful time of year. I thoroughly enjoyed the tour of the facilities, seeing what type of work is being undertaken. It's obviously very necessary when you see what's being done under approach and
063the district is cons continuing to do very well. Next, we have notices and announcements. I have none. I don't think anybody has any. Item 13, executive session to consider matters pertaining to appointment, employment, compensation, or discipline performance or dismissal of specific individuals who serve as an independent contractor in a park, recreational, educational setting or specific volunteers of the public body or legal council for the public body, including hearing testimony on a complaint lodged against an employee, specific individual who serves as an independent contractor in a park, recreational, or educational setting, or a volunteer for the public body against or for legal counsel for the public body to determine its validity. However, a meeting to consider an increase in compensation to a specific employee that is subject to the local government's wage increase transparency act may
064not be closed and must be open to the public and posted and held in accordance with the act of act 5CS. Uh student disciplinary cases also are part of our policy. In any case, motion to go into executive session. >> So moved. >> Second. >> I >> All right. Thank you all very much for coming. We'll go into executive session.