001Mhm. >> I will now call back to order the Lake Forest School District 67 Board of Education meeting for May 19th, 2026. May I have a roll call, please? Ms. Engelberg? Here. Mr. Adamo? Here. Mr. Lavin? Here. Mr. Remus? Here. Ms. Yaman? Here. Motion carries. Good evening. I invite all members of the board, administration, and community to stand at attention facing the flag with their right hand over their heart to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. >> All right, we're going to start right off with the school spotlight on Cherokee this week and I'll turn it over to Kim Return. Hi, my name is Emily Hamming and I'd like to introduce some of Cherokee Elementary School's fourth-grade student leadership team members. Hi, my name is Emily. Hi, my name is Anna. Hi, my name is Catherine.
002Hi, my name is Lydia. Hi, my name's Magnus. Hi, my name is Miles. Hi, my name's Reese. Throughout the year, our student leadership team has helped lead many special projects and activities at Cherokee focused on our portrait of a learner skills. We've worked to build positivity, celebrate each other, and help create a strong Cherokee community. We are excited to share some of the amazing learning, leadership, and teamwork happening at Cherokee with the board. The Cherokee student leadership team consists of third and fourth-grade students. This year, we worked really hard to make both our school and community a better place. We want to share some examples with you tonight. For kindness day in November, we made cards for every Cherokee student that had a positive message for them. And after winter break in January, every cheetah
003had a welcome back card waiting for them on their desk. We have fun promoting school spirit by creating themed out Thursdays once a month where students dress up according to the theme. My favorite one this year was teacher student swap looks day. We also hosted a pop tab competition between grade levels to collect pop tabs that get donated to the Ronald McDonald House of Charities. Cherokee collected about 67 pounds of pop tabs that will go to help kids and their families. We had fun helping to design and decorate the new Becky Bell Pollinator Garden at Cherokee. We submitted design ideas for planting and glazed ceramic bunnies so that all students and families can enjoy the garden for many years to come. The garden has just been planted and we are so excited to watch it
004grow. We really enjoyed SLC this year because it makes us feel a part of the our school community and we would like to help the other students at our school feel good, too. Cherokee is filled with kids who are proud of their school and like to do positive things for others. We love Cherokee and we love being cheetahs. We want to thank you for this opportunity to showcase all the hard work we've been doing to make our school an even better place than it already was. We've been taking fourth grade role models very seriously and are excited to pass the honor to our rising third grade cheetahs. Have a great cheetah night. >> [applause] >> And I'm Kim Ritchey, and principal of Cherokee, and I just want to say I'm very fortunate to have been
005able to spend at least one year with this fourth grade group. They are an amazing group of kids and I'm excited to have gotten to spend the year with them. Thank you, everyone. Thank Thank you very much. I think this is very symbolic for the fourth graders. They're They're done with Cherokee. They're ready for DPL. Kim will you invite them back for a picture with the board? >> All right, we're going to move on to the president's report and I want to take this opportunity to um kind of give an end-of-the-year recap, if you will, as we approach the end of the school year to talk about where we are now and and where we're going in the future and what the board is working on and and focusing on. Um where we are now
006is that we have a fantastic school system in Lake Forest. Um this is a school system, this is a district that this community should be proud of. Um academic scores are up. Academic growth is up. We're in excellent financial shape. Um these are certainly not the only measurements and metrics of success, but they're very important measurements and metrics of success. So, there's lots to be proud of in District 67. Um but we don't rest on our laurels. Um the district is not perfect. Lots of areas that we want to improve on and continue to strive towards perfection. Academics are always important. We're always striving to improve our scores. We've seen great academic improvement. We want to continue to drive academic improvement. In particular, at all levels, not just average numbers across each class, um but
007all levels within each class, whether it's advanced learners that are very good uh and can strive more with a little bit more challenge. Or perhaps there are learners that need a little bit more help. All growers, all learners uh need that help and support. We want to make sure everyone is growing equally. Student climate is always important. We want to make sure our students are happy, comfortable, safe, and engaged. All our metrics indicate that overwhelmingly they are. But there's always exceptions, and for those students that don't feel happy, comfortable, and safe, what can we do to help them out and address that? Finances are equally important. We have a number of ongoing, very expensive, but equally important projects within District 67. Uh just over spring break, we got started on a roofing project. There'll be
008more work this summer, and it's important that those projects are done, and the board is working closely with the administration to make sure those projects are completed on time and on budget. Uh another major project that the administration, in cooperation with the board, is working on is uh negotiating the next contract with the teachers union. Um teachers are tremendously important to the success we've seen lately. Uh we have enjoyed a great relationship with the teachers union in the past, uh and we see that continuing going forward in the future. Um when we're working with the teachers union and negotiating, we want to make sure that we continue to pay teachers what they're worth, and that we continue to attract the absolute best teachers we can to serve the students of Lake Forest. We also, of
009course, need to balance that with the interest of the community and being fiscally responsible in agreeing to that next contract. So, while we have a lot to be proud of and celebrate in terms of student achievement, we've got a lot to work on that we will continue to work on and we look forward to working with the community going forward. That is it for the president's report. I will now turn it over to Dr. Montgomery for the superintendent's report. Thank you, sir. Uh tonight's report will include numerous topics as we race to the finish uh for the end of the school year, uh but I'll start with staff appreciation which we celebrated last week. Uh it was a great time to celebrate teachers and staff and many organizations came together to help with that celebration
010and I know that um from what I was hearing among the teachers and staff, they felt good about each day experiencing some new gratitude uh for jobs they do um that uh go well and above and beyond um serving the students within this community. So, it's always a good week uh for us to celebrate. Uh in the spirit of celebration, we had educator of the year award nominees we uh through Lake County and I just want to highlight the staff members that were uh honored with the recommendation. We have Deb Berry at Everett, Nicole Birmingham at DPM, Ashley Considine in Sheridan, Susan Harmon for both 67 and 115, Dan Mortensen for 67 and 115, Mary Beth Sauser for 67 and 115, and Michelle Weiner uh for DPM. Of course, many, many people could get recommended
011for these awards for going above and beyond. However, I am thrilled for this year's honorees as we celebrated them with other districts across the county. Tonight, I have the distinct pleasure of introducing and welcoming our new safety director of safety and security. We are recommending Mr. Joe Blanchette for approval as the next safety director at tonight's board meeting. He was recommended and approved for 115 at last week's meeting and tonight is 67. The director of safety and security for District 67 and 115 oversees the district safety programs and protocol across all schools and facilities. To ensure a smooth transition, the current director of safety and security for this District 67 and 115, Mr. Chuck Walsh, will continue to oversee safety and security across both districts through the end of June, ensuring continuity ahead of his
012retirement. Mr. Blanchette joins District 67 and 115 as he transitions from a 28-year career in law enforcement, retiring from the Illinois State Police. He most recently served as troop captain, providing leadership and oversight across four counties, serving over 2,393 square miles, supporting daily operation and personnel. Mr. Blanchette began his career as a patrol officer with the Palatine Police Department before joining the Illinois State Police, where he served in a variety of leadership roles, including acting district commander, lieutenant, and sergeant. From a pool of 57 candidates, Mr. Blanchette was selected through a thorough and collaborative process that include meaningful input from not only teachers, board members, and administrators, but also LFHS students. If you can join me in and Mr. Blanchette, and Joe, if you want to come up and say a few words. Joe, if
013you want to come up and say a few words. I'm sorry. I don't think I was clear at the end. >> [applause] >> Thank you, kind kind sir. And I saw him at the red carpet event with Mr. Walsh on Saturday getting to see some of the busier activities that are happening on campus this spring and I know he'll be able to also see commencement which is the probably the highest profile experience that we have each school year. So, I'm grateful for this overlap between Chuck and Joe during this time of transition. Moving on, I wanted to touch on elementary class size and sectioning because we received so many comments and questions about the guidelines and how we make the determinations. So, we sent out an email maybe a week ago, but I thought it
014was an appropriate time to just take a beat and talk through what the guidelines are. So, in District 67 class size is one of several importance we consider in creating strong learning environments and as a part of our annual planning process, we use administrative guidelines to inform placement decisions. Recently, due to additional registrations, we added a fourth section at both third grade for Cherokee and Everett. I want to share that process that our team goes through when working through these decisions. The class size guidelines are for kindergarten through grade two, 22 students per class. In grades three and four, 25 students per class. These guidelines are not District 67 Board of Education policy, but are long-standing and trusted points of reference used in our planning. In fact, I think they've been our guidelines for the
015better part of a decade, maybe even 15 years. Class size and section decisions are based on a comprehensive review of multiple factors and have been in place for the duration that I after mentioned. The factors that we take into consideration when popping a section are as follows: staffing ability and classroom space, student academic and social emotional needs, classroom composition and learning environment, and the impact on student continuity and relationships. We take a thoughtful, measured approach to ensure decisions are educationally sound and provide stability for students and staff. Class sizes alone do not define the classroom experience. High-quality instruction, strong relationships, and appropriate supports are essential to student success. Each building team proactively plans for the unique needs of each rising class and ensures the right supports are in place from the start. This may include
016adding did support staff or prioritizing co-teaching partnerships, which can often be implemented more effectively and consistently over fewer sections. We are committed to designing learning environments where student academics and well-being can thrive, and we will continue to monitor enrollment and look forward to finalizing class sections this summer. While class sections will not go down at this point, they may still go up as summer registration continues to come in after the school year has concluded. I'd like to talk a moment on the CIC learning walks that happened between April 27th and 29th. We hosted the Consortium for inter-district inter-district collaboration learning walks welcoming educators from neighboring high-performing districts to visit schools, observe classrooms, review student work, and engage with staff, students, and families. Early feedback highlighted strong relationships and a sense of belonging across the district,
017along with collaborative staff culture, intentional instructional practices, and systems that support student engagement and whole child development. The full CIC report will be shared later this spring and will help guide future improvement efforts. Dr. Kane Osborne will present an overview of the learning walks and initial feedback at the June Board of Education meeting. Keep an eye on your mailboxes later this month as we will be mailing out this year's The Bottom Line, which provides our community with a closer look at District 67 school finances. If you flip it over, you will also be able to review our finances for District 115. This is the second year that we've issued this report. So, it received positive feedback last year as dedicating one of our district-wide publications to finances. So, I'm excited to see this year's edition.
018Graduation, believe it or not, is on our immediate horizon. It is different from past years because it usually was the day after Memorial Day. The way Memorial Day is falling this year being so early with next week this coming weekend, our 8th DPM graduation will occur on Monday, June 1st at 5:00 p.m. It is held at this campus, 300 South Waukegan, and please mindful that traffic coming in and out will probably require a little extra patience with the widening of the road that's happening right outside the building. So, just be mindful when you're arriving or departing that it may take a little bit extra patience to get everybody in to the facility. Next topic is around band, orchestra, and choir. We've received several emails and also have had parent meetings around this topic. I wanted
019to just level set of what's happening for next year. There will be no changes in programming in band, orchestra, and choir. How it's being provided will change, however, because we are celebrating Dr. Diane Renner and her career at the 67 and really across all grade levels. She had a profound impact on the students in this community, and we are going to miss her. Her position will not be replaced, rather we will be changing who is offering that instruction. As an example, the elementary music teachers, there's one per elementary, will be providing instruction for orchestra in grades four. So, will we still have orchestra in fourth grade? Absolutely. It will be the building music teachers that are providing that instruction. They are certified, and they have time within their day to be able to take on
020those additional responsibilities. In DPM, we will be working with the team. We met with them last week. I don't remember the day, forgive me, but they're working collaboratively to figure out is Mrs. Struding going to take on the bulk of it? Is it going to be shared between Dr. Ames? So, they're having those active conversations. They're meeting as a team this Friday with Dr. Shin and Mrs. Paulson or I said that wrong. Uh Dr. Shin and Mr. Paulson uh to figure out the best pathway forward uh collectively. I think they have four meetings scheduled before the end of the school year to make sure that when they leave for the summer, they know exactly what's going to happen and who's going to be teaching it. But the level of programming will not change across K8.
021There was discussion um in the community around potentially changing DPM schedule. Uh I'm uh I want to reinforce that DPM schedule will not change next school year. There is a possibility in future years that we look at DPM schedule differently. If that becomes a possibility, there will be a great deal of community engagement around that schedule. That schedule has been a highly debated topic uh I think for the better part of a decade uh as they've tried to figure out how to offer everything that the community wants and needs and to make sure that we're um we have the appropriate staff. That will be a much bigger discussion, but I want to reinforce there's no changes that are happening for next year in DPM's uh schedule. If you have any questions, feel free to email
022myself or Dr. Fitzsimmons. I know that Renee is meeting with parents uh in small groups to try to answer their questions uh and she had one of those meetings as recent as uh last week. Uh so just reach out if you need us. It is spring music season to stay on that topic for just a minute. Uh all of the sings uh the spring sings have occurred, so Sheridan was earlier in the month and then the most recent one was Everett spring sing. Uh so there's been a flurry of performances. The DPM uh orchestra concert uh to celebrate Dr. Renner as well was on uh May 6th, so that was her uh final performance. And then DPM uh the DPM choir performance was on the 14th. So, there's a great deal of the arts as
023we wrap up the school year. This was a special one. Certainly um was a wonderful tribute to a former Cherokee. So, and this happened last Friday. So, on May 15th, the community gathered to dedicate a new little free library at Cherokee Elementary School in memory of former student Finn Maxwell. A passionate reader who love whose love of book touched many. Finn's family, friends, former teachers, classmates, and neighbors came to honor his life and lasting impact following his courageous battle with a rare cancer. Made possible through the generosity of the Maxwell family, the Spirit of 67 Foundation, and the Cherokee APT, the Little Free Library will continue to inspire reading, connection, and kindness in Finn's in Finn's memory. And to see the profound impact that this had on Finn's mom and dad, and to see the
024family and friends come together, it was incredibly moving and I thought a beautiful tribute to his legacy. On a much lighter note, we had the Gardening to Grow Annual Garden Market, which was held on March or excuse me, on May 16th in Market Square, bringing the community together to support school gardening programs through plant sales, student crafts, and floral bouquets. We are grateful to the Gardening to Grow for its continued partnership and to Mariani Landscape for their generous support of both the market and recent improvements of the Becky Bell Memorial Garden. The students talked about that in their presentation for Cherokee Elementary. With support from a 2000 Illinois Department of Natural Resources Schoolyard Action Habitat Grant Habitat Grant, that was a mouthful. The space has been transformed into a native pollinator garden and outdoor learning
025environment for students. The project was made possible through the collaboration of many partners including the city of Lake Forest, the Junior Garden Garden Club of Lake Forest, and the Spirit of 67 Foundation. And student leaders who helped shape the garden through months of learning about pollinators, native plants, and garden design. A huge thank you to the APT along with families for supporting the D67 APT spring food drive. Over 7,000 food items were collected including Everett of 2,562, Sheridan of 3,004, Cherokee of 1,000, and of note, DPM doesn't count their items. Um so, I don't know what their number is, but I bet it was incredible. Uh our community's generosity uh will be benefiting our neighbors through North Chicago Community Partners. I'll conclude with upcoming events, and we only have 2 and 1/2 weeks left, folks.
026So, uh we have a half day of school on Friday, May 22nd. No school on Monday, the 25th. We have the cross-town challenge party on June 2nd for Sheridan who won this year, and then our last day of school, notice the departure times of note, K-4 is 11:00 a.m. and 5-8 is 11:45 on Friday, June 5th. Thank you for your kind patience. I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have. Any questions from the board for Dr. Montgomery? All right. Next up, we have an opportunity for public participation. Uh for those who may not be as familiar with the board meetings, there are two opportunities for public participation. This first opportunity is limited to items that are on this evening's agenda. There will be time for comments for other Excuse me, other items that
027are not on the agenda later in the meeting. Are there any members of the public who would like to address the board concerning anything on tonight's agenda? Seeing none, we'll move on to the liaison report. Um on the legislative front, I do not have anything to update beyond what I reported on last month. Um Greg, is there any update for True North? No. We'll move on to the action items. Um First action item up, uh approval of the 3-year Frontline Forecast 5-year renewal. May I have a motion, please? So moved. Second. Any discussion? I do have a question for Brittany. If you could Could you just explain what this contract is? Give a little background as to what it is and why we need it. Yeah, so Frontline Analytics is our financial reporting and planning
028tool that we've used at the district since 2013. The platform's designed specifically for school districts. Um and we use this for your our long-term planning, when we do our 5-year projections, our short-term planning, and your monthly financial reports. It also has a comparative analytic database to it, so we can compare to other school districts. Typically, this has been a annual contract that we would just renew year to year. However, this year we negotiated a 3-year contract cuz we continue to see value in the platform and we'll continue to use it. So, what by negotiating that 3-year contract, we captured some cost savings. Great, thank you. Any questions or discussion? All right. May I have a roll call vote, please? Mr. Adamo? Yes. Ms. Yan? Yes. Ms. Engelberg? Yes. Mr. Lavin? Yes. Mr. Remus? Yes. Motion
029carries. Second action item is approval of the three-year LINK renewal. May I have a motion, please? So moved. Second. Second to approve. Brittany, could you just give a little background on this contract as well? Yes, of course. So, this is our ERP system or enterprise resource planning system that we use for budget, finance, payroll, and HR. We've used LINK. Previously, it was called Alio since 2006 when implementing the shared service model. We continue to find value in this product. In the last 5 years, they made some significant enhancements that allowed us to move forward on some operational things within our HR and business services team and improve internal controls. For that reason, we are going to continue to recommend that we use this system for the next 3 years. Thank you. Any questions or discussion?
030May I have a roll call vote, please? Ms. Yahn? Yes. >> Mr. Remus? Yes. Ms. Engelberg? Yes. >> Mr. Lavin? Yes. Mr. Adamo? Yes. >> Motion carries. Moving on to the third action item may I have a motion to approve the consultant consultant to conduct special education evaluations for the 26-27 school year. So moved. May I have a second? Second. Phil, I think this is in your wheelhouse. Could you just give a description of what this contract is and why it's necessary? Yes, thank you. So, this contract is related to psych services that are provided above and beyond our schools and our staff. It includes services that we legally provide to parochial schools, summary evaluations that are done, and move-in students. So, as these are somewhat fluid and unknown, the request is for up to
031$75,000, and this year we've spent approximately 50,000. Thank you. Any other questions or discussion? This is for Phil, this is for services that we don't have in-house, is that fair to say? Correct. Yeah, it's typically summer stuff that our staff are on summer break for. Any other questions? All right, may I have a roll call vote, please? Ms. Engelberg? Yes. >> Mr. Adamo? Yes. >> Ms. Yahn? Yes. >> Mr. Levin? Yes. Mr. Remus? Yes. Motion carries. Uh final action item is uh approval of the first reading of press. May I have a motion to approve the first reading of press issue 121. So moved. Second. Second. Any questions or discussion? May I have a roll call vote, please? Remus? Yes. Mr. Levin? Yes. >> Ms. Engelberg? Yes. Mr. Adamo? Yes. Ms. Yahn? Yes. Motion carries.
032We'll move on to the consent agenda. May I have a motion to approve the consent agenda items listed on this month's meeting agenda. So moved. Second. Any questions or discussion on the consent agenda? May I have a roll call vote, please? Mr. Remus? Yes. Mr. Adamo? Yes. Ms. Engelberg? Yes. Mr. Levin? Yes. Ms. Yahn? Yes. Motion carries. Next up, we are moving on to board officer elections. We are at the end of the two-year term for president and vice president, so we'll be electing a new president and vice president. First up, vice president. Um Megan Engelberg is vacating the office of vice president for two pursuant to board policy 2110. The board will now hold an election to fill the vacancy. May I have a nomination for the office of vice president of the District
03367 Board of Education? I will go ahead and nominate Monica Yahn. May I have a second? I can. May I have a roll call vote, please? Mr. Lavin? Yes. Ms. Yahn? Yes. Mr. Remus? Yes. Ms. Engelberg? Yes. Mr. Adamo? Yes. Motion carries. Pursuant to board policy 2110, the board elects a president to serve a 2-year term. The role of president is now officially open, and the board will proceed with the election to fill the office. May I have a nomination for the office of president of the District 67 Board of Education? I nominate Mr. Adamo. May I have a second? Second. May I have a roll call vote, please? Mr. Remus? Yes. Mr. Lavin? Yes. >> Ms. Engelberg? Yes. Mr. Adamo? Yes. Ms. Yahn? Yes. >> Motion carries. Next up, summary of FOIA requests for
034this month. Uh Ted Bobarsky, one of two. Carla Carlos, one of one, is completed. Apex Media, one of one completed. Benjamin Crawford, one of one completed. Michael Henry, one of one completed. Heather Kerr, four of four completed. O'Shea Smith, one of one completed. Frank McCormick, five of six completed. Data Branch USA, three of three. Those are in progress. Jeff Brincat, one of three. Those are in progress. Philip Mallin, one of five. Those are in progress. The board will now hear public comment subject to board policy 2230. The Lake Forest Board of Education welcomes public attendance and participation at all meetings. It is hoped that by utilizing these guidelines, participation will be maximized both in terms of fairness and organization. This opportunity may be limited to 60 minutes. Are there any members of the public who
035would like to address the board? I'll just I'll welcome you in a second. We've just got some rules. Um after being recognized by the board president, interested speakers should state their name before addressing the board. Members of the public will be granted a maximum of 3 minutes each to provide comment on school district matters. In unusual circumstances and when an individual has made such a request in advance to speak longer than 3 minutes, the board president may allow an individual to speak for more than 3 minutes. If multiple individuals wish to address the board on the same subject, the group is encouraged to appoint a spokesperson. Everyone has a right within reason to be heard respectfully. Members of the public will not be allowed to speak a second time until all members of the audience
036who wish to speak have been allowed to do so. Public comment should not be redundant and all comments should be directed to the board. Observe the board president's decision to shorten public comment to conserve time and give the maximum number of individuals an opportunity to speak. Observe the board president's decision to determine procedural matters regarding public participation not otherwise covered in board policy. To provide accurate response, detailed questions posed to the board during public comment will be listened to and taken under advisement. The public is always welcome to meet with school officials to receive information, discuss ideas, or express concerns. If the public has any letters or other written materials, they may be submitted to the board clerk for public record. With those guidelines out of the way, I will welcome anybody who would like
037to address the board. Can you hear me? Okay. My name is Courtney Payne, and I have a current fifth grader at DPM, and a current third grader and first grader at Cherokee. Last month, I spoke openly on behalf of the Cherokee teaching community. However, I failed to name the one person I referred to throughout my speech on needs improvement, Mrs. Marygold MG Morehead. I honestly don't know where to begin with all of the amazing things I have to say about MG. I have the unique perspective of being a parent whose child received the best gift of having her as a teacher. I have had the fortunate opportunity to be able to work with and learn from her as an educator, and maybe best of all, I am lucky to call her a friend. This spring,
038MG was forced to submit her letter of resignation after receiving nine needs improvements in her review. In her 16 years with the district, MG has never received one, not one needs improvements. This woman doesn't represent the gold standard for teaching, she is far above that. MG is what you hope and dream of when you think of the teachers you want surrounding your children, advocating for your children, and teaching your children. My daughter Eleanor, currently a third grader, had a tough first grade year. She has an IEP and is pulled from regular instruction multiple times throughout the day to work one-on-one with a learning specialist for extra support. This can be very frustrating and at times exhausting for her. That school year in particular, her specialist left in the fall on maternity leave, and Eleanor had
039a difficult transition connecting with the teacher assigned to replace her. Hearing about the situation, MG took it upon herself to step in and work with Eleanor instead. MG worked to learn everything there was to know about Eleanor, what made her tick, her quirks, her likes, her dislikes, what made her happy, what caused her frustration. I could go on and on. But most of all, she made my daughter feel safe and love learning again. This isn't a unique story. I could stand here and confidently say that every single parent of a child that MG has taught has a similar tale. That's just her way. That's just her standard, and that's just the type of person that she is. To say that losing MG as a teacher at Cherokee and this district as a whole is an
040absolute devastation would be an understatement. Her warmth, her vivaciousness, her sense of humor, her ability to make every child feel unique and like they're the only one who matters are singularly unique to her. Like I said before, she is above and beyond the gold standard. Board members, I implore you to ask questions about why MG was forced to resign and the timeline in which she was pushed to do so. I beg you to reconsider her formal resignation and instead reinstate her position as a learning behavior specialist at Cherokee. Do not take this administration's word for it. You are not getting the full and accurate picture. I will end by saying this. MG, there are no words to describe the gratitude that is felt not only by me, but by this community for your love, your
041dedication, and your true devotion to our little people. You are the best of the best, and you deserve to be back by our kids' sides next year at Cherokee. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Are there any other members of the public who would like to address the board? Hello, my name is Diana Rapay and I'm a third grader at Cherokee Elementary. Miss Miss Morehead was my teacher in first grade. She was the best teacher ever and I love her. When learning was hard Miss Morehead made it fun. She made me happy and she made me laugh. I also looked forward to working with her. I'm really sad that she won't be at Cherokee next year. Other kids should get to work with Miss Morehead because she is a great teacher and she's she is super
042kind and funny. Thank you, Miss Morehead and thank you for all you do. Your Your students love you. >> [applause] >> Okay, good evening everyone. My name is Terry O'Donnell and I would like to share my experience with District 67 and it certainly was not need improvement, need improvement, need improvement. I had the best experience with your school um I don't want to say Cherokee. I'm no, I'm sorry. I'm nervous. I met Dr. Shin about 11 years ago and she ran a program over at Sheridan for 3 to 5-year-olds and then we went to Cherokee, our district school. We My son, Frank he's autistic on the spectrum and survived COVID. COVID was hard for all the kids. We all know that. Uh we had plural principals at Cherokee. We all know that. But, guess what?
043We had the teachers. I I had the best experience with your school that I I couldn't complain. Let Mary do her magic. Let the teachers teach. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Are there any other members of the public who'd like to address the board? Good evening. Um I don't May have a couple May have one extra minute? I think I'm well within the time uh under three, but just in case I'm sometimes Let's aim for three and see how we're doing. Thank you. The clock doesn't start until I start, right? Okay. >> [snorts] >> Good evening to you um Chairman Remis, board, [snorts] and the administrators that are here this evening. My name is Mary Gould Morehead, and I'm a learning behavior specialist in second grade at Cherokee School. And I stand before you this
044evening in gratitude and in appreciation. Thank you for allowing me this time to speak. A long time ago, my parents tried to teach me these three things. To always try my best. To stand up for what is good. And to act [snorts] in service for something greater than myself. These are the pillars I continue to strive towards and that give me courage tonight. My husband and Jamie and I moved to Lake Forest with our small children because of my belief in District 67 and its mission, vision, and its goodness and Dr. Shin. My service at Cherokee began in 2002 and still today has allowed me to fulfill this service of something greater. The students and the families at Cherokee. >> [snorts] >> I'm honored to have served alongside you, Chairman Remus, Miss Ingleberg, Mrs. Jahn,
045and Dr. Fitzsimmons and Dr. Montgomery as a contributor to the valuable works of the portrait of a learner and the strategic plan for our District 67. It is these values and our collaboration and alignment for our students that I return to this work tonight. The portrait reminds and challenges us to be a community of critical thinkers, to understand the bigger picture, to propose solutions that are mindful of the impact that they may have on other parts of a system. The portrait tells us that we must think about our communication with one another, to listen effectively, to decipher meaning, including knowledge, values, attitude, and intentions. It encourages our bravery and our citizenship to respectfully contribute and collaborate to make the world a better place. It is these values It is in these values that I find
046peace tonight. I would like to address the board specifically on my resignation and to share with you that it was not my choice. This year in second grade, there were changes proposed and changes were made. >> [snorts] >> It could have been better. We wanted it to be better. I, as well as others, tried our best to advocate for our second grade students, their services, and the invaluable staff members who still desire partnership. I tried to stand up for what was good and right for all with sincere intention and good faith. In November, problems occurred with my evaluation and concerning irregularities ensued. I am [snorts] disappointed in the way that I was treated and the way that I was spoken to. The things that were said to me. I am disappointed that You can conclude.
047Thank you. Thank you. I am disappointed that more understanding, clarity, and communication were not offered >> [snorts] >> with my unprecedented evaluation right writing and on the multiple irregularities that continued. My resignation messaging was delivered with a sense of pressure, urgency, and coercion that I and and I was beside myself in the short days leading up to the submission date I was provided. I was told there were no other options. This is not the outcome that I sought and it is not the outcome that I still seek right now. I now better understand my options. I know the unfortunate way that things transpired and the way in which I would like to continue to represent myself and my hopes in going forward with District 67. It is my hope that you still found find value
048in my abilities and in my dedication to our missions and to the students and families in District 67 and at Cherokee School. It is my hope that we are able to connect after this evening to find a way forward together. I previously reached out to you all to seek this connection and I have not heard anything back yet. It is my hope to continue serve the building that solidified my foundations. Continuing to serve the greater good is important to me whether it be in the open learning behavior specialist role at Cherokee or the section that's just opened in third grade with the children that I'm currently serving. >> [snorts] >> I'm almost finished. I would like to thank the board again for your time. And to close how I opened with gratitude. It has been
049the honor of my career to teach in District 67. >> [snorts] >> And to have our own children benefit from its countless valuable teachers, staff, and administrators. >> [snorts] >> Excuse me. In closing, the immense kindness that has been shown to me by the parents and families in the last couple of months and the broader Cherokee community is something that I will never forget. >> [snorts] >> Regardless of outcome, as a former Cherokee parent who now leads an incredible yoga class here in town recently shared, "We are only as strong as the community that surrounds us." It is true and I'm forever grateful. Thank you. >> [applause] [applause] >> Are there any other members of the public who would like to address the board? I am Blair Gunther and my teacher went on maternity leave
050last year and she basically taught my whole class and she was the best case manager I had ever had and at TPM some of the people that were in my class still talk about how great she was. >> [applause] >> Anybody else who would like to address the board? Good evening. My name is Michelle Madima. I'm a learning behavior specialist at Cherokee Elementary and have been an LBS at Cherokee for the past 9 years. Please know that it is not easy to get up in front of you all tonight. However, I was taught to always stand up and advocate for what is right even if it's hard. In my 19 years of experiences as an LBS MG brings forth all of the qualities that someone in our role should possess. Accountability, adaptability, flexibility, creativity, collaboration,
051empathy, care, openness to learn and grow, and the ability to develop strong [snorts] relationships. Just look here tonight. A great gift to our district, truly, if you ask me. And that is something that is hard to find these days as you all know. Our district and department emphasize belonging for students, families, and staff. As you have heard tonight, Mary Gold Morehead is truly something special. MG has a true magical talent with belonging. Her students, families, and colleagues all feel like they belong and truly matter while in her presence. She creates that safety, Mr. Remus, you talked about that we need for some of our students. She is that person. I too also value that sense of belonging and so do many of my Cherokee colleagues, including our Department of Student Service staff. I have here
052for you several staff members that stand behind that sense of belonging to have MG remain a part of our school community. You'll see some staff members have signed their signature as staff member with a number as they have witnessed the unfortunate events that have taken place with MG this year. However, I'm not going to focus on that. What I'm going to focus on is advocating for the students, for the families, and for the district, as well as the entire Cherokee community for this this board to now do what is right and find the solution that brings MG back to where she truly belongs, a Cherokee Cheetah. Families, students, and staff want MG to remain a part of the Cherokee community because without her, it is truly a devastating loss to our school district, our school,
053but most importantly, to the students' lives that she has and could change for the good. I do have this if you would like reference. Um and thank you so much for your time. >> [applause] >> Are any other members of the public who'd like to address the board? My name is Susanna Lee. I have a second grader and a fifth grader at DPM. Um I'm just here to support Ms. Morehead as well. Um my second grader is a highly spirited child for those of you that know him. Um and MG was able to connect with him right off the bat. She was able to create a connection with him that allowed him to feel safe and feel seen and heard. She has made a mission of working with my kid one-to-one and even going so
054far as bringing him out to after school, walking [snorts] him out the door with me, making sure he's regulated, and touching base with me on a daily basis. She has gone above and beyond in numerous capacities all over the district and all over Cherokee, and she makes a huge difference every day to our kids. And I hope that you'll sincerely reconsider her opportunities to continue at Cherokee. >> [snorts] [applause] >> Would anybody else like to address the board? Hi, my name is Kirsten Smith. I have two kids at Cherokee, and I'm also a regular substitute teacher at Cherokee. And in that role, I have had the pleasure of working alongside of MG. I've subbed for MG. I've co-taught with MG. I've been MG's TA and I'm strongly strongly asking you all to reconsider. I think
055it would be a horrible loss to our school, our community, our kids. I see firsthand how gifted she is. She goes above and beyond every day. Um and I just feel like we teach our kids that it's okay to make mistakes. We learn from them. We grow from them. I'm asking you to acknowledge this is a mistake and it's okay. Let's learn from it. Let's grow from it, but let's not lose MG as a teacher at Cherokee. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Any other public comment? Um I'm sorry. This may have been on the agenda. It's it's slightly moving a little bit off topic, but um it's in regards to class sizes at Cherokee that I just wanted to touch base on really quickly. Um again, my name is Courtney Payne and I'm speaking on
056behalf of parents with current first graders who are worried about our class sizes um at that grade level. Um and I know that we addressed this tonight. Uh we are deeply concerned that there's no plan to expand from three sections to four sections in the upcoming school year. As of today, the three sections of first grade at Cherokee have 21, 22, and 22 students respectively. Two of the classes have already met the district guidelines for class sizes, which mentioned earlier would not exceed 22 students at that grade level. Um with families moving into the district over the summer and considering students from Everett and Sheridan will be allowed to attend Cherokee in uh for their second grade year through their enrollment in Mandarin. It is reasonable to expect that we will meet or even exceed
057the cap for third and fourth grade class size levels, which is 25 kids per class. Um for comparison, the second grade level uh class sizes in neighboring districts um and comparable um districts as ours, Highland Park is about 20 kids per class, Deerfield is approximately 20, Wilmette 20, Winnetka 19, Hinsdale 19. While we think it's wonderful news that the incoming third grade will be able to keep their fourth section based on recent information about additional uh registrations for this class, given the current enrollment and projected increases for our grade level, it's imperative that we start planning now. Do not wait until August to hire whatever teachers remain in the recruitment pool. I know firsthand the impact of late hiring and continuing to monitor enrollment levels, as my son was in the fourth grade section we
058fought hard for 2 years ago at Cherokee, when one section was going to be taken away from his grade. Two days before school started, we magically had enough students to get that fourth section back, and the district hired a brand new teacher to teach my son's class. It was his worst year at Cherokee. His regression in learning, both academic, social, and emotional, made it exceedingly difficult year to get through and hindered his ability to be prepared for fifth grade. We've been there and done that at Cherokee over the last few years with late hires and it did not work out in the best interest of our children or the school. Please don't let history repeat itself again. We'd appreciate your prompt attention and response to this matter. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Any other public
059comment? I have public comment, Mark. My public comment concerns the number of uh emails and questions I received uh from members of the community questioning in light of our not tonight's meeting, but the past meeting, whether we ought to have a more specific communication policy uh about things that happen in the school, things that may occur in the course of a school day. Our district has extensive written policies covering a wide range of student safety concerns, such as bullying, harassment, discrimination, retaliation, Title IX concerns, and many others. We do not have a single unified policy dictating communication. I personally do not believe it is possible to have one. Unfortunately, communications in these systems depend in these situations will depend on the natures of the incident, student privacy laws, personnel confidentiality rules, collective bargaining agreements, and
060whole host of other considerations. These are not laws that our board wrote, and they are not policies that our board can rewrite. They constrain us and our administrators in ways that frustrate families, and frankly, they frustrate me as a board member. Parent Parents sometimes ask, "Why didn't you just tell us X?" The answer is sometimes because telling you X would violate federal law and expose the district to litigation that takes the money takes money out of our classrooms. I say this not to deflect responsibility because I want parents to they're entitled to know the regulatory framework in which we operate. I'd also like to take to this moment to advocate for frankly more deregulation and greater local control in educational policy. We have excellent schools, talented and caring caring staff, very engaged parents, many of
061whom are here tonight, and a community that knows its kids. We would be better served by less educational policy from Springfield, not more. Every new mandate often seems reasonable in isolation, but the cumulative effect is a system in which we spend enormous amount of time and money on lawyers navigating overlapping rules that are written by people who have never met our students. So, I trust the people in the community and my board members here far more than I do our legislators in Springfield and Washington. Please understand, sometimes when issues arise, it is not a question of do we can we explain everything away. Sometimes we simply cannot do that. These are my own thoughts on this. They do not reflect any of my board members. These are personal and general. I just wanted say a
062few other things about our students because there was a lot of social media attention about the last meeting. The overwhelming majority of our students show up every day, treat their classmates with respect, work hard, and make this community proud. We have remarkably talented students who succeed and go on to a terrific local high school, and we should be proud of their achievements. On disciplinary matters, sometimes the problem, as in every school, as in every workplace, is there are a small number of individuals who account for a large share of serious incidents. The lesson from the places that have handled it well is the same. When you hold that small number accountable firmly and consistency consistently, the behavior stops and the environment improves for everyone. When you hesitate, you water down consequences, you treat the misconduct
063as a misunderstanding to be processed, you teach every other student in the building that the rules are optional. That is not the path that I believe the school has chosen. So, I broadly support our administration. I broadly support our our principals and vice principals in their efforts to more rigorously enforce anti-bullying restrictions, and I have a great deal of faith in them. >> [applause] >> Lastly, just a couple announcements. Dr. Montgomery covered most of them. Uh June 15th is the next board meeting that will also include a finance and ops committee meeting. And then on June 22nd, we've got a Board of Education special meeting. Uh may I have a motion to adjourn the Lake Forest School District 67 board meeting for May 19th, 2026. I moved. I second. Second. May I have a voice
064vote, please? All in favor, say aye. Aye. Yes.