001for them. Probably take a long time like your hand starts. Great work. Hello Huh? >> Is this good? Yeah. Okay. >> Huh? Huh? >> We'll be good. >> Sounds good. We're going to be called Test, test, test, test. >> All right. Um, >> we're gonna Hello. Is this is this live? All right. So, let's we'll start uh the recording in like maybe 30 seconds. Thank you. All right. Uh, I need to take care of one item before we officially start in this room. I will now call back to order the Lake Forest Community High School District 115 board of education meeting for October 14, 2025. May I have a roll call vote, please? >> Mr. Noble >> here, >> Miss Gam >> Miss Enzer >> here. >> Miss Connell Donahghue >> here. Mr. Sve >>
002here. >> We have a quorum. >> Thank you Tiana. Sorry about that. All right. Uh so if everybody in attendance we could uh stand and do the pledge, please. Thank you. To the flag of the United States of America, indivisibley and justice for all. >> All right. Thank you everyone. Uh for anyone that is watching, my apologies for us being uh a bit late. A few things went long in executive session uh on a single topic that we were having to kind of brief some folks on. So again, my apologies. Uh first off, love to welcome student council. Uh we are one report. I think Josie and Ethan are going to be our uh cheerleaders and representations of the student council to present to us. So welcome. Thank you for being here and uh we'll
003look forward to your report. >> All right. Hello everyone. I'm Josie and I'm the student body president at Lake Forest High School. I'm Ethan Frell and I'm student body vice president of Lake High School. >> Okay, so here's a little about homecoming which a couple weeks ago, but we started a new tradition which was a movie night. So we had car decorating um prior to the movie night. So students came, decorated their cars and got excited for the homecoming week. And then we had Jumanji um up on the big screen and students could lay down blanket, play some like spike ball, can jam, all that. And we also had food there. And it was a great success. We had like a little under 100 students between both the car decorating and movie night. And then
004just a little bit about homecoming. I won't take too much time on this, but we had window painting. So that was clubs and sports painting the windows throughout town. And then spirit week, of course, we're doing all the dress up days, getting students excited. And then the cereal domino box challenge. I think we had a little under a little under 200 cereal boxes, which was awesome. We donate we donated all those to the Northshore community partners. And then pep rally was a big hit. We had a bunch of new games that students loved. And then the dance big thing was the DJ. Everyone loved the MC the DJ. All right. So, and then throughout the last few weeks, me and Josie have been interviewing uh we interviewed nine students and a couple faculty members about
005just some emotional um like the emotional state of Lake Force High School they've been noticing and just their opinions on some changes that have been going around in the school. Um so, we asked some freshman about their transition and how they've been feeling with Lake Forest High School. And a big thing that we noticed was their struggle with picking classes and also the rigor. they weren't really aware of some of the rigor of their classes and the time that it would be taking. So, um, me and Jose are thinking if we had some student leaders in the spring go out to the middle schools and just like give the students some like firsthand experience and some feedback on different classes and what their like what their homework's like and how fastpaced they are just they
006can hear from a student because I think it's hard to really portray it just from your counselor. And then we also asked them if they felt welcomed at the high school because I know it's a pretty like like I don't know it's pretty intimidating environment to go into a new school with a ton of new people and but we've been hearing that all the students are very welcoming to them and they've been loving it so far and we asked them like a junior if they think that the students are treated any differently or if they're treated better or worse than how he was treated and he said that he thinks it's really similar and that he felt that he was welcomed with open arms as well. Another question we asked was, "What do you want
007the community to know about being a student at Lake Forest High School?" So, one of the students said that there are he does feel like there are pretty high standards set for Lake Forest High School students, but that all the teachers are always like making sure that they're prepared and have their best interest. And then the freshman said that he feels like already that everyone is treated equally. And then how do you feel about the new lanyard policy was one of our questions and overall students they don't mind it at all. I think it just took a little for them to be like oh I got to put in my backpack and just get ready to grab it in the morning. >> Yeah. People like expressed doubt in the beginning and they weren't a fan
008of it but now they say they don't mind it at all. So I think it's been a positive change so far. And then so we interviewed a few teachers. One of the teachers was Mr. Loveliner and he's an English teacher. he is on the um like a student improvement plan and he so he kind of had some firsthand impact and from their studies he was able to see that when they got rid of phones and started making kids put phone caddies up that phone caddies are little slots you put your phone in before you get into class and he thinks that that's made an environment where students are now communicating with each other instead of being on their phones. It's created a better classroom environment where everyone's communicating and just like being a better community
009overall. I also talked to Miss Lemi who's a math teacher and she really teaches I think she teaches every grade level in all different types of math and she's been she said that uh she doesn't know if the emotional state status is changing throughout the school but she's seen that students are more in tune with their emotional status and they're better at expressing their emotional feelings which she thinks is a great thing because now you have someone to talk to and you're not bottling up your emotions and tearing yourself down about it. And so during uh Hispanic Heritage Month with just ended, I think it ends tomorrow, um Cynthia McLamrock and uh Andrea Serado reached out to us and they asked us if we could play some Hispanic uh music, some Latin American music on
010Fridays. And so we played four different songs across different genres and it was to maybe widen some people's pallets and just get them listening to different music. >> And then we we really love doing that every Friday morning. We feel like it just set the tone for the weekend. So, we're trying to plan something to start doing every Friday that's a little more fun. And we were thinking about doing um Friday faculty favorites because Mrs. K brought it to our attention that uh English teachers at the school wanted to make reading more not like not just for school but like reading for fun. So, we're thinking of having like a favorite of what like Ethan's favorite book is blah blah blah the state on Friday mornings and then so here's our update from principal advisory
011council so the board mixer we would like to do in February we talked about doing it a little earlier but then we decided that it might be best to do it later in the year so that everyone like grows together as we meet more and just like build the community before we just go straight into something and And at our last meeting, we talked a lot about fruit food prices and how they've escalated a lot. So, we're hoping to kind of talk about that with um um Quest food and see if we can I know a couple of students on packed or are going to be a part of the food committee for Quest. And then another topic we talked about was separating world history and geography from like separating having regular and then having
012honors because they tend like when we took it honors was like one more sheet of work. But now it's kind of getting challenging when like you're mixing you're in the same classroom but you're half honors half regular. So we Tanisha, one of the students um one of the senior leaders on pack talked to Mr. Dunn about that already. So we're already working on that. And then breaks during block periods. A lot of teachers do not like have a set break during our 80-minute class periods, which for a lot of students is a struggle because you're sitting there in class listening to a lecture and you kind of need a break. So, we're hoping to implement more breaks and just like it could just be a brain break. Doesn't have to be like leave the classroom
013for 10 minutes. Like it could just be like Wordle or something. And then a big thing last year was subsidizing prices of AP tests. So like having the first three free. So we want to continue and really pull through with that one this year. And so something we've been working on with Melissa Oakley and Thomas G's Voxbox. And Voxbox basically like if you ever seen I think it's called Man on the Street with Jimmy Kimmel. It's basically like there's a camera and a microphone set up and you you can go up and you you can either just speak your mind about an issue at the school that you think a student council could solve and we'll also have a whiteboard up with four questions like designated with different themes. And at the one we have
014our first day is on October 3rd and we're asking questions about things that the students are grateful for just with Thanksgiving coming up and we're asking about their thoughts on the phone policy and also the lanyards and the I believe it's lunches if they have any opinions about the lunches. But it we think it's a great way for students to get their voices out there. And yeah, we're excited to get all the impact or the feedback. And then we're going to be posting some um editors on the for scout have agreed to post a column about like the summary of what we got back from Boxbox. >> And then last year we uh or the seniors started boograms. So we're going to do those again this year. And these are little goodie bags with just
015like a little Halloween candy. And we will be sell student council will be selling them at lunch for the week of I think we're doing the 20th to 23rd >> and it's $5 and all of the proceeds are going to go to the National Foundation for Cancer Research. Last year they all the proceeds went to Love for Libby which was a student um who went to Jerath who had leukemia and she's still battling it but we the money it was hard for Lake Forest High School to directly um donate because they didn't have a foundation. It's just a GoFundMe. So we thought that it would be great to still stick with that but in a different way. So, we're gonna write her a card and also another um little boy who is going through cancer.
016Um just like know that Lake Force High School is there for them. And yeah, and we have a some new Halloween festivities throughout the week of where Halloween is. And um one is put on by Miss K's and it's our pumpkin scavenger hunt. And it's basically just she's gonna hide these little toy pumpkins around the school and then if you find a if you find the pumpkin you can bring it to her room and she'll give you like a king-size bar of candy. We a little pop of joy like throughout the day just to I know brighten your day or your weekend, get you excited for Halloween. And then also we are bringing back door decorating and we're also starting a new costume contest which we think will promote like wearing a costume to school
017and like having a little bit more fun on the holiday. And we're going to judge the costumes and if anyone student council sees like a cool costume throughout the day then they're going to take a picture and submit it and then we'll judge them and they're going to get some prizes that we are still determining. >> Thank you guys so much. >> Awesome. Thank you. >> Any questions for these two? All right. Thank you so much. >> No worries. >> Thank you both for having us. >> Great job. >> All right. Uh I'm going to do a president's report uh and then we'll move on to a couple of the other items. So um uh I'll skip the Well, I'll say it. I guess it it is good to see you all tonight. Thank you
018for being here and for the work you you all do every single day. It means the world to me and to this entire community that each of you are a part of it. Over the past few months, I've had the chance to connect with many of our community members of all ages. Sometimes over the one one-on-one coffees I've met with, other times at events organized by Melissa and her team. at our 90th anniversary community reception with the his at the history center and our community celebration at Gorton. A huge thanks to the LFHS alumni team led by Leslie Fischer and all of the volunteers who made that day possible. Last month, uh we had the opportunity to hear valuable insights around artificial intelligence from members of our student council during our board workshop and other
019times through booster meetings which where I represent the board and other parent group discussions. project check-ins and even touring the construction progress at East Campus. All across all these conversations, one thing stands out to me that there is an unmistakable excitement and pride not just in what is happening right now, but where we are headed. The energy across the district, students, staff, teachers, admin, parents, and community is at a level that I've not seen before. This is not to dismiss the hard work of the past. It is simply to acknowledge more people are doing more good work in more ways than ever before. And that is special. Our 90th anniversary has given us the perfect lens to just see how far we've come. We are expanding opportunities for our students. More champions are stepping forward
020to support them. Leadership is coming in from every direction. Collaboration is stronger than ever. And for the first time, we are capturing and sharing student growth in ways that will allow others to see it and join in. We are not done, not by a long stretch, but the first steps have been taken. I'm incredibly proud of the portrait of learner work, our strategic plan, and the goals and priorities set by both past and current board. These are living documents. They guide us. They shape us and keep us focused. Lastly, thank you to our community. Your support, financial and emotional, make all of this possible. Because of you, we've built a learning environment that attracts and keeps the very best educators and leaders for our students. As we continue on this journey together, I'm humbled by
021the responsibilities and trust bestowed upon me and this board. This is a special moment, an exciting moment, and I'm grateful to be in it with you. Thank you. That concludes my president's report, and I'll turn it over to our district leadership, Dr. Montgomery and his team. >> Thank you, Mr. Noble. Tonight's topics will cover some of the things that were covered in workshop and then look aheads of some things that are on the horizon. We'll start with a topic that was presented in workshop, which was Paul Fallon being with the board and the members that attended the workshop this evening about the latest results from our community satisfaction survey. The survey ran through September 24th and reached both parents, guardians, and area residents, even those who don't currently have students in our schools. Responses are
022confidential and give us a broad perspective on community views. While the full analysis is still underway, preliminary results are beginning to reveal early trends and insights that can help us better understand our community priorities. There were 300 adults that were surveyed with a 5.65% confidence interval of 95%. And three takeaways that I walked away from the presentation was first 65% of the population uh rated that they got a excellent or good return on their investment for the taxes invested. 67% of the population rated the quality of education excellent or good. And then lastly, 75% of the community or those surveyed felt as if they rated the safety that the district provides as either excellent or good. We will continue to analyze the survey data in detail and share a more complete picture soon. These results
023will guide our planning and decision-making to align with the community feedback. I'll kick it over to Aaron to talk about the next topic. >> Right. Great. I will have um as we've been saying for the last couple of months, a more detailed report card report uh next month as we anxiously await the release of the report card. We've seen it preliminarily. All things are as they have been uh for quite some time still embargoed. But I just want to remind everyone that there are several categories that are part of our final summitive rating. Um, not only is it proficiency in English, math, and science, but we also see attendance. Chronic absenteeism is still a big part of our final summit of rating. So, attendance still matters. It It's always mattered and it will continue to
024matter. Um, climate survey participation, that is actually a portion of our percentage as well. So, just participating in that CSCI or climate survey, and that's a great data point for us because we take that data point to make school plans. So it's invaluable for us to hear from our students there. And then we have ninth grade students on track to graduation and then our graduation rate. So all of those things go into our final summitive rating that is embargoed. We will be very excited to share it though um as soon as we can release that once the report cards are released and then we will present precise details around each one of those categories for you next month. The bottom line is we are proud of our scouts. So proud of the work that they've
025done last year, the work that they do that they're doing this year. We know the work that you'll do in the future as well. Um, but we also see opportunities to grow and improve as usual and we will continue doing so. Thank you. >> Oh, please forgive me for the display. It says that I am still connected yet it is not seeming to be true. So, give me one moment please. It is saying it is not connecting. So, I'm just going to continue with the presentation and then we'll make sure that it's attached online so we're not wasting people's time. Thank you, Dr. Lonard. Uh, next topic is our next episode of Beyond the Budget, a series about our district finances and budgeting process will be released within the next two weeks. And now um
026now that we're in the month of October, our business services team asks and answers the question, now that the budget has been approved, what's next? Viewers will learn about the rigor that goes into the financial management of the districts throughout the year and what makes up our five-year projections. And I want to thank Dr. Hermus for being a part of this process. Lake Forest High School was proud to host Choices 2025 College Fair on Tuesday, October 7th. This event is designed for students with IEPs and 504s along with their families to explore post-secary options and connect with colleges, universities, and programs that provide supportive services. Following the presentations, families had the opportunity to visit with representatives from around 50 colleges and universities who were able to answer questions, share resources, and help students take the
027next step toward their future. I will finish with some some exciting things that are on the horizon or on the horizon, forgive me. The first one coming up this weekend, uh, which is the LFHS fall play trap. I encourage you to come out and see our students, uh, some of the finest in the area as they present their fall play to us. Next week on October 21st, we will have our first joint board community coffee of the school year. Uh, we will have not only uh Mr. Noble, but Dr. Lonard and then Mr. Reis from uh 67 as well as a couple other administrators. Mrs. Oakley will be there with us as as well. and we will be able to entertain any questions or any topics that come up with the community. Sometimes we have
028one person, sometimes we have 30 people. Regardless, we will be creating space uh to make sure the community knows we are available and at the ready to hear their concerns. On October 23rd, also next week, there will be an LFHS learning walk and I'm excited that that it will be two parts. Dr. Lonard is running point on this, but the first portion will be an update on where we are with the strategic plan and then the second hour will be out in the building in classrooms and we have invited the superintendent advisory council boards uh board of education members of 115 65 and 67 members from the foundation the executive a and then the presidents of pals boosters and applause. And um we have a good turnout already and I think it's going to even
029get bigger as these as people are finalizing their schedules for next week. October 25th is the varsity field flicks uh where we're showing Hotel Transennsylvania. Uh hopefully there will be great weather. That is next Saturday. Uh is that is that Saturday? Yes, Saturday at 6 PM. Uh and the movie is much shorter than Wicked. So, um, if you, um, have the endurance, this is about an hour and a half film as opposed to almost a three-hour film of Wicked. And then we will finish with a topic that I hope people are paying attention to, particularly those parents who are starting the college search process at Gorton on November 3rd at 7 p.m. I'll have the opportunity to interview Jeffrey Celingo in partnership with Fan. And I'm about halfway through the book right now and I
030am learning a lot. I would also say this is something that students would benefit from hearing because he is a lead researcher on how to find the right college for you. And I have been wowed by the first half of the book and I think it is on point for anybody who is in the college search process whether you're a senior um junior, sophomore or freshman. And I'm even telling my neighbors with younger students it would be good just to hear what he's saying even though the market is changing. uh just to kind of wrap your head around uh this idea of what is the right fit for my young person or for myself as a as a student. You're bigger than I'm sorry young adults. I'm sorry. You're you're on your way um to
031figuring life out. Let me know what you figure out because I'm still figuring out myself. Um that concludes the superintendent's report. Um of course, Dr. Lar'll be happy to answer any questions you may have. I just wanted to uh Dr. Hermas saying thank you for participating in the video series for the finance and thank you Melissa for getting that done. I know Dr. Hermes has her own video channel and YouTube and Instagram and she posts all the time on a regular basis. So >> yes, so it was I know it's a bit of a lift. So, I appreciate you actually being willing to do that and embrace and I think that'll be a really valuable point of uh bringing finance and a little bit better understanding to the things in the process and the questions
032that maybe some folks don't want to ask but it'll help them understand a little bit better. So, thank you for doing that. All right. Uh if there's any other comments or questions, uh I would offer up public participation at this time. Seeing none, we'll uh jump on forward. Um, Ed, Redd and legislative updates, uh, first off, they're in veto session right now, I think, opening up and, um, there'll be a few things that'll finish up the end of October. And then I have a meeting, uh, with a couple different folks in the first week or so of, uh, November around the special education topic. And I just wanted to call out and um, Matt's availability of opening up the door for with uh, Dr. Sturpin, Jenny, right? she made herself available to really us to
033kind of talk through some of the different possibilities within special ed funding and we were introduced to a couple different groups. Um so more news hopefully to come and maybe some legislation in the spring or next summer. Um but I think there's there seems to be some energy around um some changes uh in this world with that. So we'll we'll see. uh not any big updates I think pertinent to us at the moment and I'll try to write something up for November um and December meetings with that um love to pass on to uh Dr. Montgomery and and Amy around any uh updates on the True North Educational Cooperative. Uh tomorrow night, Amy and I have the pleasure of going to a true north meeting uh where we will be um asking the council to
034look at new articles of agreement based on the idea of reorganization. So that will be the first reading of those articles of agreement and then the council will come together again in uh de November or December, forgive me, but there'll be two readings and it'll either be in one of those two months and then if the articles are passed and reorganization actually occurs, the new structure will be in place for the start of the uh January where you will have an executive committee in partnership partership with the governing board and we are still getting favorable response from the districts that we think that this is on track for reorganization and I'm pleased but that we're making that progress but remember that as I said last month this is this reorganization is still coming at the
035cost of about half of the staff at True North to to maintain its operation. So it is not without um incredible impact on a lot of different individuals who have served that organization for a long time. Uh, but I am relieved that the organization, should the council support it, uh, will still be supporting some of our students with our greatest needs. >> Thank you for that. And then just clarify, that's January of this year. So that would actually move up the timetable versus what we were talking about before, which might be would have been maybe in July. >> Correct. Uh that being said, the changes in the staffing models would be discussed in the spring and those changes would not happen until the uh next school year, July one. >> Correct. All right. Thank you
036for that. All right. On to the action items. Uh, may I have a motion to approve action item number one, the approval of the 25 2025 2026 intergovernmental agency agreement, excuse me, for transition services at Exceptional Learners Collaborative West. >> Second. >> Um, can I get clarity on exactly this item for the uh just for >> Yes. was in the it was in the update and because of the sensitivity of an individual student, we can't talk about it, but it is providing special education services for a student that will be outplaced. >> Thank you for that. Um, any discussion? >> All right. May I have a roll call vote, please? >> Miss Connie, >> yes. >> Miss Enzer, >> I. >> Mr. Noble, >> I. >> Mr. Sylve, >> I. >> Miss Gam, >> I.
037Motion carries. >> Thank you. Item number two. May I have a a motion for the approval of exterior drainage project at East Campus for summer of 2026? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Uh any discussion on this? >> All right. May I have a roll call vote, please? >> Miss Gam, >> I. >> Mr. Noble, >> I. >> Miss Zinser, >> I. >> Miss Conno Donahghue. >> Yes. >> Mr. S. >> I. >> Motion carries. May I have a motion to approve the consent agenda items including item 1 through eight, please? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Any discussion? All right. May I have a roll call vote, please? >> Mr. Sylve. >> Miss Enzer. >> I. >> Miss Connell Donahue. >> Yes. >> Mr. Noble. >> I. >> Miss Cameron. >> I. Motion carries.
038>> Thank you. Foyer requests. Uh Jeff Brinket, one of one, one of two completed. Jamie Jordan, one of one completed. Frank McCormack, three of four completed. Uh Michael Roast, one of one completed. On Wang, three of four completed. Ted Babaus Baborski, one of one completed. Jared Pampen, one of one completed. Devo Johnson, one of one completed. Bo Kim, one of one completed. Uh this time for public participation. Uh seeing none, we'll move on. Announcements. >> Mr. No, before you go to announcements, I just want to say a change in the announcements for the grateful market. Um, there's due to some changes, we are going to be packaging and working at the high school instead of at Beacon Place. Same >> Saturday, October 19th, 2025, Grateful Market. >> Sunday, Sunday, >> Sunday, >> not Saturday. Yes,
039Sunday, October 19th, Grateful Market at 9:00 a.m. will be at >> the high school and we are contacting campus. >> Correct. and we are contacting the volunteers who signed up. >> Great. Uh Tuesday, October 21st, there'll be the joint uh board president coffee at 6:30 at the Gorton Center. Friday, October 24th, parent teacher conferences, so no school for students. Saturday, October 25th, will be the Varsity Field Movie Night at 5:00 PM at the West Campus. Um, Tuesday, November 11th will be the next board meeting which will highlight education committee of the whole for education and actually we'll have some finance at that time as well and then regular board meeting at 7 p.m. here right at Lake Forest School West campus please. >> And can I just so the breakdown for the 11th for those
040people who may be interested we moved the finance and ops committee from October to November. So you will have the education committee of whole between 5:00 and 6:00 and then what we would have discussed in finance and ops tonight will be from 6:00 to 7:00 at next month's meeting. Thank you. All right. Uh may I have a motion to adjourn Lake Forest Community High School District 115 board meeting for October 14th, 2025, please? >> So moved. >> Second. >> May I have a voice vote? All in favor say I. I. >> I. >> Meeting adjourned. Thank you.