001Board of Education for District 57 to order. Can I get a roll call? >> Member Deitsch. >> Here. >> Member Dorner. >> Here. >> Member Faye. >> Here. >> Member Kowalczyk. >> Here. >> Vice President Leno. >> Here. >> Member Nelson. >> Here. >> President Bennett Kill. >> Here. >> And let's stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. Okay. Amelia, did you want to do the >> Yeah. >> All right. Well, I just wanted to congratulate the board for their um wonderful honor of being presented with the Illinois Association Association of School Boards with the School Board Governance Recognition Award. Um we were able to celebrate um formally earlier this week at the IASB dinner. And this award is given to school boards throughout the state of Illinois who are chosen based on a competitive process,
002and they're evaluated based on their accomplishments, their governance, and um the way that they conduct themselves for the the good work of um overseeing school districts. And so um it was really a joy to be there to witness the honor, and I will pass around the plaque. And what's cool about this is that um they've designed it so that we have many more years ahead of us to fill. And one of the other um awarded school districts sort of taunted a little bit that they had more of those magnetic pieces, and I said we're coming for them. So we will continue to celebrate, but I thought what an awesome thing to start tonight and just recognize the significance of this group of people, how generously they give their time, and what high standards they have
003for the work that they do. So, thank you. Thank you, Mary. You got to tell me who it was so we can, you know, do some one one of the school >> districts. >> I'll tell you, yeah. No, but it was all all good fun and we But we like competition, so yes. We're coming for them. >> for them. 100%. >> Okay, before we can move into the community comments portion of the agenda, I wanted to just um share a couple of thoughts since this has been a um intense period for our our school board and our community. So, I'm just going to read this and then we'll move into our and then I'll do our um our regular preamble for the community comments and then we'll move into any comments that are that you
004desire to share. So, the subject of civil civil immigration enforcement operations is one that has inspired big feelings. And we are fortunate as a district to have a community filled with caring, energetic, and committed citizens who generously share their thoughts and opinions with us. That engagement is vital to the health of our district and the decisions we make as a school board. And we welcome your presence and voices. And as I said, you guys can still come. And what is just a regular meeting. Just saying. We'd like to see you out there. So, before we begin the community comments portion of the agenda, I'd like to address two issues of speculation and concern that have been raised by the community. First was the concern about a possible conflict of interest held by one of our
005board members. There is no finding of a conflict of interest as it pertains to members work, and in the opinion of board counsel, there are no legal barriers to their participation in the conversation regarding the resolution. Further, the resolution under discussion, the original draft, and the majority of resolutions passed in the surrounding area, makes reference only to civil immigration enforcement operations, not to specific agencies tasked with immigration enforcement. The second was regarding the availability of alternate language to the public prior to this meeting. The alternate language document document is an internal working document subject to ongoing revisions, updates, and discussion. It was not proposed for formal board action. As such, it was determined to be an internal document and not included in the public board packet. The draft resolution that will come out of this
006meeting will be brought forward for board action at the March 19th meeting, and will be available for public review in that meeting's public packet. All right. The District 57 Board of Education welcomes community participation. In an effort to both listen to our stakeholders and keep the meeting moving, I want to remind everyone of our public participation procedures and guidelines, which is available in board policy 2:230. Individuals wishing to address the board can do so during the community comments portion of the agenda. Individuals should provide their name and limit their comments to 3 minutes. Please remember that this is not a dialogue between you and the board. The board is in listening mode during this time. Individuals wishing to contact the Board of Education are welcome to do so via the D57 website under the Board
007of Education tab. Individuals should behave with respect and civility towards towards others, and abide by board policy 8:30 visitors to and conduct on school property. Are there any members of the community that I like to speak. >> No. Hi, Carol Martz, resident of Mount Prospect and grandparent of a D57 child. Um as you all know, many of us fear that ICE will be ratcheting up their terror campaign in the spring, possibly targeting families and students in and around our schools. And of course, it's imperative that the school board and we as a community do everything we can to ensure their safety. I've reviewed the Illinois School Safety Act and it makes clear that there's certain language, of course, which I hope will be included in the document that we have not seen yet. Uh specifically
008um prohibiting civil immigration from school property for staging purposes, as well as the requirement of language stating that judicial warrants are required if immigration officials request entry into or onto school property. Again, I feel that that those items must definitely be included in this proposal that's going to be discussed tonight. In addition, in comparing a number of the documents from other schools districts, uh you know, elementary as well as high school, the only thing that I see that's different, quite frankly, they're like almost the same, is the addition of some kind of signage on the property that will indicate front and center that we don't want civil immigration uh individuals on our property or the school property, not my property, the school property, so that they have a heads-up that they need to do take
009step additional steps if they wish to come onto the property. Uh frankly, I'm still a little perplexed by why a revised document was needed at all. In reviewing the initial document or the draft document that was on your website, um it appears that all the things that were necessary to be included were included there. I understand that you're looking for consensus and that some of the members wanted some additional language in there. Yeah, I think that's fine, but the reality is there was a vote taken and there was a majority opinion. I hope that that will be respected. Thank you. >> Hello. Hi. I'm Robin Jennings. Um as a teacher at Westbrook and a parent, I would be greatly remiss, um devastated, if I did not try everything within my power to help protect the
010children and families of our community. I can no longer mince words about what is happening to our country. A fascist regime is quickly being instilled and they are implementing hatred and fear against immigrants to fuel it. The latest egregious disregard for humanity comes from Buffalo, New York where immigrant agents callously threw Nurul Amin Shah Alam, a nearly blind refugee who knew little English, out into the parking lot of a closed Tim Hortons wearing light clothing and nothing but orange booties during freezing temperatures, leaving him to perish from the elements miles from his home and his family. The Department of Homeland Security has lied about the circumstances of this latest death at their hands, claiming that this man who spoke little English directed them to this coffee shop and that the coffee shop was open. It
011was not open and there is video evidence that proves this important fact. The abject lies and deceptions being used by this administration makes it even more essential that we attempt to limit their access to our children as much as we possibly can. The possibility that the children I teach and love may have to interact with these inept, untrained officers who have proven time and again that they have little to no understanding of neurodivergence in any way is a terrifying prospect. The kids I teach have difficulty complying with me and they love me. So, how is this How is some untrained agent going to react to a nonverbal child who can't comply or doesn't understand? I'm going to direct um certain board members um to school board member Kimberly Faye. If there is an issue with
012specifying CBP and ICE in our resolution, can we not include all federal agencies in the language instead? Though it has been heavily stated that this resolution can't be enforced, I say taking a stand and loudly vocalizing dissent against the fascist regime is a monumental and brave act. I know that I want to teach my child to be brave in the face of adversity, and this brave act coincides with the facets of our portrait of a graduate. Constitutional laws are being broken on a consistent basis as well. Does this mean that we should just disregard the Constitution since it isn't currently being enforced? If you feel that this resolution does little, I would love to hear some suggestions from you and from everybody of more tangible ways that we can protect our children. Please propose direct
013actions that will protect both immigrants and our darker-skinned citizens. Our Our district could implement school bus stop protections, grocery store runs for our most vulnerable families, outright bans on corporations that have heavily donated to the federal administration. Looking at you, Amazon and OpenAI. If you don't think loudly stating that we condemn the illegal actions of a federal entity is doing enough, then let's do more. Protecting one child against illegal seizures is protecting all of our children. The ease that this administration has taken people's legal immigration statuses away from them should frighten every American, immigrant, citizen, refugee. To school board member Chris Lato, >> I'm sorry. >> you say that this >> We've uh moved past our 3-minute mark. >> Can I just say one last thing? It's It's like 20 seconds. The resolution is reit-
014reiterating more clearly this already law. The federal entities are not allowed to congregate or stake out members of our community in our school parking lots without a signed district warrant. We have a 3-minute rule for a reason and that's something that I will enforce for all members. But, please um stay and after we can continue to have this conversation. Can you read um and hear all of your comments after the meeting. Okay. Okay. We There also is a second opportunity for community comments after the discussion. Are there any other comments? >> Hi, my name is Kathy Heidekamp Manogue. Um I have worked in the district for over 13 and a half years. I first worked when my children were younger in this building. Um took a break from education and I came back. Um I've
015always been attracted to at-risk children and I currently work in the STEPS early childhood program. Where some of our children have no idea even when we call their name that we're even talking to them. So, as someone who has lived in the community and has taken part in a lot of other things that go on, the PADS program, um I have family members, my sister Carol Heidekamp Kelly and her family have raised their children in the district, my brother John Heidekamp who also subs raised his children in the district. I my cousin Mora um Suzy Rushki has always have has raised her children in the district. We were drawn to this area due to the fact that they would We knew they would do best for our children. We knew they had children and staff
016in mind. And I currently believe, as someone who personally deals with this due to a family member that is in fear, they have a green card, They have a uh an extension on their green card. But, when ICE is in town or any kind of thing like that goes on, our family is on the edge. So, I know how these people feel. We don't know every day in and out some people what their anxiety level is at. But, I think what we need to do, just like we want our buildings painted and bathrooms cleaned, we need to make sure that they feel safe and I feel safe. Because I currently in this world and in this country, I think all of us are at risk. And I hope you will do what's best as you've
017done before for our children. Thank you. >> Hi. My name is Kathy Donington. I'm a 35-year resident of Mount Prospect, and my son went to school uh District 57. I um I I watched the video from last uh the last board meeting when this topic was brought up. And um it it did seem like it was kind of falling into two camps of of of really stressing how much we value our children and all of that versus you know, supporting the community with some actual actions that will help reassure them that we're going to be taking care of their children uh while they're in our care. And um I I have to think that the school board has a policy somewhere that tells I mean, I know this is a resolution and and you uh
018Corrine, you defined resolution versus a policy, was it? And a resolution doesn't have teeth or, you know, enforcement or something like that. But, there should be and I would imagine there has to be a policy at the school already as to what principals, teachers are supposed to do if federal agents show up to to to want to come on the campus. And I'm saying if you work back if if if you have that, then that means you have made assumptions and opinions leading to creating this policy. So, I'm saying just work backwards. If you've If you've got a plan in place to check identifications, to not let ICE into the office, to restrict certain parts of the community of the school, then if you've already told people this is what we're doing, make make the
019resolution and state what the resolution is to do. I think it's the utmost importance for students to feel like they have a safe place to be. If I were a If I were a parent and and I was in danger of either myself or my child being snatched away, it would be the the fear I mean, all I can all I can compare it to was my stepdad was in the military and we were in Tampa during the Cuban Missile Crisis. And I remember every day having the drills where we put our little heads under our desk because we thought the atomic bomb was coming. And that fear interferes with learning. It it creates an atmosphere that is not conducive, which I know is not the is not what this school board has created for
020your students. So, I say press on. Clearly state what your policy is and then clearly state what your procedures are so that the families and the parents know what they can expect. And you've done it under worse circumstances in terms of school shootings. I mean, let's face it, a lot of heat came down and well, teachers, well, what are we supposed to do? What are we supposed to Somehow you figured out to the best of your ability to keep your to try to keep your children safe. And it included procedural things. So, I would just encourage you to hold this as something that isn't really important now, and it might be even more important in the future. Thank you. Would anybody else like to speak? No. Okay. As I said, we're going to have a
021second opportunity for community comments at at the end of the meeting. All right. We have no new business. Um so, we're going to move on to board discussion. So, I have something else to read. Lucky you guys. And I'm really just going to talk about the purpose and the goal of this meeting, some of the um thinking that underpinned the the the language that we're going to be discussing, and just kind of get us all on the same page for um what we're going to be doing moving forward. So, the purpose and the goal of the meeting. So, during the February 19th board meeting, it became apparent that the majority of the board was willing to consider additional language that met the concerns of the minority. It also became clear that one of the obstacles
022to engaging in that discussion was a lack of clear understanding of what the minority members had in mind. I asked the minority members that I asked the three minority members provide a sample draft. Its intent was to illuminate the thoughts and ideas expressed by the minority during the February board discussion, so that all seven of us would have a more concrete understanding of each other's positions in order to facilitate as productive a conversation as possible at the March 5th meeting. It was requested as a tool for understanding, not a draft in lieu of the original draft. The goal of this meeting is to produce a draft resolution that addresses the concerns of the minority as well as the addressing this moment. The seven of us are not so disparate in our beliefs and goals. The
023resolution that comes from this meeting will have an adopt do not adopt vote at the March 19th meeting. So, how the how these drafts came to be. We had um let me preface this. We had the original draft resolution that was presented at the February meeting. There was a the the the language that the minority members shared about what their thoughts were on um to share with the rest of the the board. And then there is a third draft that is a attempt to kind of bring all of that together. That's what I'm talk about right now. So, that third um how that third draft came to be. The working draft that will act as our jumping off point for this discussion has three goals. It addresses this moment in our community with language identifying
024civil immigration enforcement operations as one of its objects. Two, it describes how the authority of the board to make decisions restricting the use of district property is called out in board policy, school code, and state law. And finally, third, it contains affirming language that reiterates this board and district's community a commitment to the physical and emotional safety of our students, families, and staff. This language was drawn but from both the original draft resolution, the collaboratively written alternative language previously mentioned, and ideas and statements from the recently passed District 214 and Maine 207 resolutions. Resolutions and board discussions from surrounding school districts that have also taken up this topic were reviewed and consulted to help inform the scope and the language used in this draft. So, I would like to start our discussion if everybody else
025is okay with that with reading through draft C just so it can bring everybody in the same page. So this is Can we? Maybe. >> Sorry, Mark. >> We can try. >> Take your mark and you win. But it might be helpful for the audience if they can see what we're >> Certainly. All right. While Mark is working on that, I'm going to read and we are going to then discuss this. And as I said, the purpose of this is to bring us together around a resolution that supports both the intent of the original board resolution and the concerns of um all the members of the of the board. So this is a resolution affirming School District 57's commitment to a safe educational environment, school access, and immigration enforcement protections. Whereas the Board of Education
026of Mount Prospect School District 57 is the governing body of Mount Prospect School District 57, Cook County, Illinois, a public school district serving students from preschool to 8th grade. And whereas the Board of Education of School District 57 affirms that students achieve their full potential in environments where they feel safe, cared for, and respected. And is committed to ensuring all students, parents, and teachers are treated with dignity and respect. And whereas the Board of Education of the School District 57 understands that there are many factors that can disrupt students safe sense of safety safety and belonging. Including factors in the broader environment outside of their homes and schools. And whereas 105 ILCS 5/22-105A Well I can repeat that or we can have that put up. Um And the Safe Schools for All Act requires school
027districts to protect the integrity of school learning environments and ensure that no student or parent is discouraged from attending or participating in school due to the threat of immigration enforcement or other law enforcement activity on school property. And whereas the Board of Education of the School District 57 provides equal education and extracurricular opportunities to all students regardless of their immigration status among other factors in accordance with board policies 7 colon 10 equal education opportunities. And whereas pursuant to board policy 7 colon 150 agency and law enforcement requests, which is effective December 16th, 2025, and consistent with the previously stated 105 ILCS 5/22-105C3, the Board of Education of School District 57 will neither disclose nor threaten to disclose the actual or perceived immigration or citizenship status of a student or associated individual except where required by
028law or lawful court order, nor deny any student an education based on the actual or perceived citizenship or immigration status of the student or their parent or guardian. And whereas pursuant of board policy 8 colon 30 visitors to and conduct on school property and section 10-22.10 of the Illinois School Code, the Board of Education of School District 57 has broad authority to control and supervise access to district property including school buildings, grounds, parking areas, school vehicles, and locations used for board meetings or school sponsored activities, and is responsible for managing such property and resources to prevent interference with school operations or the learning environment. And whereas the Board of Education of School District 57 has authorized the administration to develop internal guidance clarifying that district property, including outdoor playgrounds, athletic fields, and parking lots, is
029non-public space requiring express permission, clear legal authority, or legitimate school-related purpose for access. Now, therefore, be it resolved by the Board of Education of Mount Prospect School District No. 57 affirms the following principles and directives consistent with 105 ILCS 5-22 5/22-105 and related guidance. Section 1 Commitment to fiscal safety and the integrity of the learning environment. We're halfway there. A. Protection of non-public spaces. The Board of Education hereby affirms its authority over all school district property, including buildings, grounds, parking areas, and athletic fields. Per existing board policy, access to school district property will only be granted to individuals who have a legitimate school-related purpose for doing so. Access to school property by law enforcement authorities is subject to the terms and restrictions outlined in board policies 7:150, 8:30, and 8:100. Any applicable intergovernmental intergovernmental agreements
030or express permission of the superintendent. B. Prohibition of staging areas and operation spaces. Consistent with its duty under 105 ILCS 5/22-105. That's the Safe Schools for All Act. Just so everybody knows. To ensure that no student or parent is discouraged from attending school due to fear of enforcement activity, all district property is designated as non-public space for purposes of immigration enforcement operations. No district-owned or controlled building, ground, parking lot, athletic field, vehicle, facility, equipment, or staff resource shall be used by law enforcement, including civil immigration enforcement authorities, as a staging area, processing location, or operations base for activities unrelated to district operations, except as required by a valid judicial order. For purposes of this resolution, a staging area means any location used to assemble, mobilize, or deploy personnel, vehicles, or equipment to carry out civil
031immigration enforcement operations. C. Protocol for law enforcement access. In accordance with policies 7 colon 150 and 8 colon 100, law enforcement authorities, including civil immigration enforcement agents, shall not access school district property, school buildings, non-public areas, or students for purpose of immigration enforcement operations, unless granted express consent of by the Board of Education, superintendent, or her designee, or upon presentation of a properly executed judicial warrant. All such requests shall be immediately referred to an administrator designated by the superintendent and reviewed in consultation with district legal counsel. Any employee who becomes aware of an attempted or actual use of district property as a staging area, processing location, or operations base for civil immigration enforcement shall promptly report the matter to their supervisor, who shall notify the superintendent or designee. Section two. Commitment to belonging and emotional
032safety. The district affirms that no student shall be excluded from or denied the benefits of any program or activity based on their parents' or guardians' actual or perceived citizenship or immigration status. The district will comply with state law and board policy to ensure equal education and extra educational and extracurricular opportunities, implement procedures to prevent fear or intimidation from deterring school attendance, develop policies and proceed and practices aligned with its mission and values, and promote belonging and inclusion through staff professional development and cultural awareness and sensitivity. Section three, scope. Implementation of the prohibition in section one of this resolution may be superseded by any conflicting terms of any existing lease in place on school district property as of the effective date of this resolution. Nothing in this resolution limits the execution of lawful judicial warrants, the
033enforcement of criminal law, or any rights under state or federal law, nor does it prohibit the lawful use of district property for purposes unrelated to staging, processing, or operation spaces for civil immigration enforcement. The district shall not provide access I'm sorry, the district shall not provide voluntary access to non-public areas of district property unless consistent with the law and subject to a judicial issued warrant. Furthermore, for safety reasons, no member of the District 57 community, including students and non-administrator staff, should approach or engage with any immigration enforcement activity occurring on or near district property. Any concerns should be immediately directed to a designated district administrator. Section four, effective date. This resolution will take effect upon its passage by the Board of Education of Mount Prospect School District 57. I know that was a lot. I
034know, right? Brevity is not our strong suit. So, I'd like to again start this conversation with this is sort of our our starting point. Um and with the understanding that this is an attempt to find our middle way with both um meeting the intent of our original resolution and addressing the concerns so we may find consensus cuz we would like to speak as one voice as a board. Um Eileen, want to start? All right, I got these three lovely documents in front of me. I have to say I do love the third one. It mirrors the first and the second. I have I appreciate um Kim and Alan and Chris for definitely putting all the policy and all that in there because we didn't have it in the original document. We just had the the
035105 ILCS. So, I appreciate that and that designation with board policy and marrying that. So, that's great. Um and then adding like the 214 um So, I think they all have that one prohibition on use of school district owned property. They all have that in there. And I think this gives a little bit more of what you guys were asking or putting in forth with, you know, the values of students and things. So, I do appreciate you you putting this together, too, Karen, mirroring the two and putting that together. So, I'm for draft C. So, that's where I stand. >> Chris. Well, first of all, thank you for reading all that without taking a drink in between. That That was impressive. Um yeah, I I've never thought as a board we were that far apart
036on this issue despite what it may have seemed like in some of our conversations. Um I think that And again, I think you did a great job, Karen, of putting sort of our additions, and they really were mostly additions to the original draft that we had, and coming up with what I think is is a a great resolution. I think it combines a very loud statement of our values. And ultimately, what what is going to keep our kids safe every day is us living those values every day. And we had some amazing staff speak here tonight who make sure that happens every single day, and we're darn lucky to have them. And I love the fact that we stated that so clearly in this document. It clearly references existing policy, which, you know as as
037I had said and and Kim and Alan I know as well I think is absolutely critical. The point is we we have policy that already largely controls a lot of these concerns and we had a community member mention that that hey if you have policy say so. And we do and and it it clearly addresses a lot of the concerns regarding civil immigration enforcement and I think it's critical and this resolution does it to state exactly what that is and exactly how it applies. And I think it also makes a a good reference to why are we creating this resolution in the first place and and it it explains how we're meeting this moment with our values and policy that we already have. And that is how we're going to help keep our kids safe.
038And this is really needs to be should be and I think for all of us it is this is all about the safety of our kids and our students. So I absolutely support this draft C and I applaud the work of everyone who went into creating it and hope we move forward with that. >> Alan. >> Ditto. Um this draft C is in my opinion the most polished and legally comprehensive of all the materials that we had been passing around and and talking about over the last month or so. Um it preserves the additions that Chris alluded to that we had been working on. Um it also restores things from the first draft um regarding the employee reporting requirements which I think was a miss on my part and so I'm glad to see that
039in draft C. It also includes some of the um great things from the 214 community safety language, which I think is um also an important add. Um so I also support draft C and thank you very much for all of the hard work and many hours to get us here. >> Thanks, Alan Marie. >> Did you know we're going around the table? >> Going around the table. >> Okay. Um I don't necessarily have anything new to add. I again I have was uh supportive of the original draft resolution. I do believe that this draft is a better version of that. Um I appreciate and I, you know, try to do some of my own homework to help support um the delivery of some of this information related to like specific board policy that calls out
040um sort of existing um uh guidance to the school district and, you know, about how to behave it or how to act in these sort of situations. So I appreciate that it's explicitly stated in there um and I think from my perspective I also appreciate that um it sort of uh does a good job of both addressing, you know, and affirming the values and the things that that the district is committed to doing while also very explicitly talking about this issue of civil civil immigration enforcement, too. I think it does a really nice job. Again, I'm uh really happy with how this draft has turned out and again I'm supportive of it. >> Kim. >> Um I just want to, I think, start by echoing Corrine, what you said at the outset with regard to
041those who came to speak to us tonight and who have submitted comments throughout this process. Your engagement is so important and so integral to the work of the board. So to the extent that it's come across as though we've disagreed or you know, maybe the conversation you're hearing at the table isn't what you'd like it to be, um I I hope you're all aware of that. To those of you in the room and those that have submitted comments who aren't here tonight, um that interaction and that conversation is really important. Um I also want to thank you, Corrine, for providing the opportunity for those of us who were looking for a resolution that looked a little bit different to provide that clarity. I mean, as was mentioned, right? You didn't have to do that. Um
042strictly speaking, sort of by the book, that was not required. Uh but I think it speaks really highly to the culture of our board and to the culture of our district that you provided us that opportunity. And I'm pleased to hear that even from those who had originally um supported the original draft, now that we've had that opportunity, it sounds like we've come to something that's actually um sort of an improved version of that. Um which we wouldn't have if we had just, you know, washed our hands and moved forward with it. So, I'm really grateful for that. Um I I don't have anything different to say in terms of the substance. Um I think what was important for me as we were considering the original draft was the understanding that because the original draft
043was focused primarily on immigration enforcement, which I understand is sort of the inciting incident that brought the conversation to our attention in the first place. Um it limiting the language to that particular issue does not reflect the fullness of the protections that the law and that our policy offers when when comes to who can access our schools. And so, this draft, I think, reflects that comprehensiveness. It It's clearly a prize applies not just to the civil immigration enforcement that we're all concerned about, um but it goes broader than that. It goes beyond that to say this is the full scope of the law and the policy that we have at hand to be able to effectuate these things. Um and the fact that it is rooted in policy and that it's so um you know,
044it drills down into what exactly the policy requires us to do or allows us to do is really important. I think that was a crucial piece that was missing from the initial draft. Um and again, some of my concerns were that the language in that first draft, sort of because it didn't have that, makes it seem like we as a board can just declare and it will be done. And that's not the reality of where our authority comes from. Our authority comes from state law and then from our internal policy. So, I I'm in favor of this version and I'm I'm grateful to have had the chance to you know, to have been a part of bringing us to this place. Pam. >> Again, I'm sorry I was late. Um I I'm glad to see
045this. You know, it it was a process getting here and we had different uh iterations of this, so I'm glad to see it. Um I I have a few questions. Um the the paragraph in section three on the last page just indicates that students and non-administrator staff should not approach or engage with any immigration enforcement, but that they should go uh to a designated district administrator, rather than saying, "What are you doing here? Who are you? Am I understanding that correctly? >> Yes. >> Okay. >> Yes, and then that administrator will then contact the superintendent. >> And I just want to reinforce two um two things that really uh bothered me um at the February 19th meeting and when we were discussing this a resolution against um illegal non-judicial civil immigration enforcement is never it
046in this day and age here in this country. I don't necessarily mean here in this room. I uh particularly mean what we've seen in the past in uh fall of 2025, what we've seen um on the south side of our community, Mount Prospect. Um to call it a political statement was extremely offensive to me. And to ask me uh specifically why I uh was telling law enforcement how to do their job my two responses to that are there is a citizens advisory committee pretty much all over the country that does tell um law enforcement how to do their jobs. The fact that this is a federal government agency that is acting outside of the law of the Constitution doesn't matter. We still should be standing up as we're doing with this saying we know that
047civil law and that that someone coming over the border, any border of a Canadian or um Mexican, anyone coming over without uh >> Pam, I'm going to interrupt you just so we can keep back on the um the content of the resolutions so we can I know all of us can go home as soon as possible. >> I know. I know. I I I have a dog waiting for me at home. Um, well, I I just wanted to finish that um, it is it is not a criminal offense as I was told it was. It is not. It is a civil offense unless someone overstays their visa or does something that really is criminal. So, I I just wanted to put those two uh thoughts forward. Um, we all need to be on the same
048page and recognize what the law really is and what it isn't. So, that was my comment. >> Do you have any issues with us putting this forward for a a vote in a an uh Mar- end of March March meeting? >> I I'm glad to see this. I think that it um, covers what was not made public before in our policy but was had been um, accepted as policy. So, I'm glad to see that it is um, together that it is a strong a resolution um, I against uh any any entities that would be uh attempting to do something illegal on our property. Um, and and I am glad um, that we will have it in a few weeks um, as as something that we can point to just in case promises aren't kept by
049DHS. So. Thanks, Mayor. Um, well, I really liked the resolution in part because I put it together. >> You knew that you can't vote against it. >> I know, right? Like you guys love it. I hate it. I think this is a terrible idea. Um, and I just want to I I will echo what everybody has said I the the points of this and this is what I tried to convey when I was talking about the the goals of uh our of this resolution is that it again it's it's it's specific about immigration enforcement operations. It um very clearly describes our authority to put those limits out and also it is a reiteration of the values and um ideas that underpin all of our decision-making when it comes to the well-being of our kids in
050the school district. Um If everybody and um I also wanted to say thank you to Chris and Alan and Kim and Ray for the amount of time and effort you guys put in to articulating your positions. It was really your work that was allowed us to come to this place where we have that balance of the um the desired intent from the original um bringing it originally to the the table and also making sure that we can as one voice as one board move forward and say this is what we um this is our stand on this particular issue. So unless there are any objections or any more questions or comments um do we let's do a little straw poll to see if we want to bring this forward to for vote at the March
05119th meeting. >> Yes. >> With just one small caveat. >> Oh. >> Um I just wanted to point out I didn't notice that anything had been done about that very last whereas paragraph. Um I think there had been some concerns shared with us from council that that language around like express permission for example to use playgrounds might be a little more limiting than we intended, right? Like we're not trying to keep kids off the playground. Um Um so with the exception of maybe an edit to that piece to clarify I think it's good. >> Mary, were you able to check in with >> Ultimately, um our council was quite um occupied with um different work not from our district, which is always positive. Um but I would be happy to work with um him on
052that topic just to make sure that it's refined so as not to be unintentionally restrictive in a way that we don't intend it to be. >> Right. I think the Well, the crux of that paragraph is that the district has authority Yes. to control its space, right? It sort of um naturally follows after um the one just before. And I wonder maybe if the two of them could just be combined. >> Probably. And I'd be happy to work in a way that I think addresses that sure because I think it's probably just um some polishing and some language cleanup to capture the the heart of it and if the rest of the board agrees that it's just not it's not going to be major in its edit to the rest of it that would be
053fine. >> Okay. >> And I'd be happy to provide it and ahead of the meetings. >> I I actually have one other uh just I Yes, let's go forward with that. Is there a way I I I think it's important for us to be as transparent to the community on where we've landed on this? Is it possible that we could somehow publish the draft we're going to move >> Sure. >> to vote on at the next meeting before we actually publish the agenda for the next meeting which is not for a couple weeks now. Uh if if we can't do that, fine, but the sooner we can do that >> include it in my superintendent message, which is posted online if that's cool. >> Perfect. >> That'd be fine. >> Perfect. That's cool. >> we
054post that, make that available online to anyone in the community. >> Awesome. >> Okay. >> Thank you. >> But I would do that well, let's say let's do that pending um this cleanup. Or maybe I'll maybe since that one will go out, but I think we might put a caveat to say that some of the language may continue to be refined, but the the majority of it, you know, if they just for expediency we'll do it sooner. Is that okay? >> That's fine by me. >> Okay. All right. Well, hey, thanks. This was a much briefer meeting than I feared. So, um what's that? Oh, I'm sorry. Yes. All right. We have no need of closed session. And >> We need to close session. >> Yes, sorry. We do have another opportunity for community comments.
055Is there anyone else who would like to address the board at this time? Come on up. >> Hello. I'm Ada Benedetto. I have two students that went here a long time ago. Um and I just want to say that I they are both brown. And that has nothing to do with me being here cuz but I just wanted to add that. Um that my my son is actually always asking me what would happen to him because he definitely looks Mexican be well, because he is. Um I just thought I want I wanted to share that with you guys um because it's it's my why, right? It's not the all why cuz I would be here regardless. Um but anyway, I want to say thank you. You guys are group of adults. Um I'm so impressed
056with you all. You're all so thoughtful. You put an enormous amount of time into your decision-making. You're very civil with each other for the most part. I mean, I This is a heated topic. But I wanted to have two questions and they're kind of related to the same things. There were There was words in there and I was trying to find them over here. I think it was the the third page that was in up there. Um there's words that something like if somebody has a warrant, they could ask the immigration status of a student and I know you can't respond to me, but there is wording in there that it makes me question who could come and say, "Hey, what is X's immigration status?" Like, I don't know, that really bothered me. I I
057can't imagine what legal authority someone could have to come to a school and say, "What What is the You know, what judge would sign off on that?" And I would not send my kid to school knowing that the school could that you know, respond to that in that way. And then I also worry about playgrounds and this is probably a way big thing that I don't need to worry about, but I think the staff on the playgrounds, you know, they're they're they're overwhelmed, right? So, what if immigration enforcement does come onto a playground and is racially profiling people? You know, like the playgrounds are kind of at it and Like, I think of Fairview and I also think of Lions Park. I mean, they're kind of vulnerable in a way, right? I mean, you can
058see them, but it's you know, scary. What authority does an aid who has this group of kids, I know there's more than one aid, to say, "Hey, go away." You know? And does it put the kids in a vulnerable situation? And I don't feel like this really addresses it other than it did have like language like that you go to the administration, but I think sometimes things happen very fast. I mean, we saw what happened at 7-Eleven. I mean, if there was that many people calming at a at a school playground, it would be overwhelming for even three or four people on the you know, three or four adults. So, you know, I thank you guys and I'm very happy with the resolution. You guys did a great job. Anybody else? Kathy. >> I'm going
059to echo a little bit of what May said. I'm a nurse and so we have drills all the time for emergency situations and when I heard about when when I was listening to the revision, by the way, I think it's beautifully revised and pretty much does seem to include everything that people were asking about. But I think the first 10 minutes of presence on the on the on the school campus is going to be really important. And I don't know that this policy I I haven't seen this the policy. I've only heard what's going on here. I would encourage everybody to take a little bit more thought into this possible scenarios that could be happening on the school campus. And and and deal with those just like you know, like there's a school Pardon me
060for keep ringing up school shooters, but there's a drill. Like if you have if that word gets said, actions happen, safety, doors are locked and all of that. So, I would encourage So, that's that's another thing. So, it's really just to kind of do the well, what if they're there? What if they're there? And and really kind of tighten that section up a little bit so that your staff know what to do and and that the agents don't end up in the in the facility when they shouldn't have gotten in there to begin with. Thank you. Carol Martz, I think that was a very great point, actually. Um, I think you need to at least the teachers and staff need to know directly what the the line of action is if something does occur. I
061know they have walkie-talkies on the playground and I was told I couldn't let my grandson pet his dog as I was walking because I was not allowed on that playground. So, I think those aids would make that clear, but again, it's a little bit more intimidating when people are walking around with AK-47s, etc. Uh, thank you for projecting. I'm visual and hearing kind of person. I'd still like to see it again, obviously, but it did help. I wonder if there is a plan where MPPD, Mount Prospect Police Department, will be provided this policy or resolution so that they're well aware of where you all stand on this issue. Um, I didn't catch it. It may have been said, but how are you handling uh, children on school buses, on the property or off the property?
062Do you have any authority over that? I don't know, but I wonder if that needs to be included. I still do think there should be signage included in um, any resolution that's developed here. Um, I think I had might one time sent Corrine maybe not, a picture of a sign that is used on one of the local school district property just to alert immigration enforcement they're not allowed to come on unless they have a judicial warrant. I'm also wondering if volunteers are going to be educated about how to handle these situations. Uh, you know, just as Kathy said, you need everybody needs to know what their job is and not only what they would do as a volunteer, but also what can volunteers what kind of information could a volunteer give out about immigration status?
063They shouldn't obviously and perhaps that's already included in your volunteer guidelines. I don't know. Um so I appreciate this. Um I do know that there was a conversation about conflict of interest. I would appreciate if at that at some point that board member would share why this is not a conflict of an interest in development of any guidelines. So I think for transparency um for the community at large to feel comfortable in the way in which business is conducted that I do think that that board member should probably make some kind of a statement at some point. Thank you. >> Um I first just want to apologize. I'm not usually a rule shirker and I feel really bad that I went over time. I try I was just in you know the speed reading. Um
064so I just and it's kind of a moot point because I feel like this resolution is I think that you all did a really wonderful job of coming together and um you know just hashing out a really I feel well-written uh piece of resolution. Um I just wanted to to state that you know my hope is that you know the resolution basically reiterates more clearly what's already law um and that the federal entities are not allowed to congregate or stake out members of our community in our school parking lots without a signed judicial warrant. Um and the mere fact of them being there, should this occur, means that they're not enforcing civil immigration law, they're breaking it. So um I'm really glad that this resolution, you know, um uh points that out. And I'm just
065very happy that that you've all come to a consensus on this. Thank you so much for listening to us. Thanks. >> Um I wanted to state something when I said we were vulnerable on the playground. I I want you to also understand um as staff, we are heavily staffed on the playground. We have assigned areas, and the vulnerable children all have one-on-one aides. Um we can clear a playground so fast, which we have done as storms roll in. We have whistles, we have radios. We're in constant We can get a hold of the office, the principal, the vice principal. We so many people who would be who wait for us at the door. So, I I want members of the community to know that we all take our jobs very seriously, and we have cleared
066playgrounds so fast. We do not allow people on our playground at the time children are out there. And the community is very good about following those rules. And I will have to say, coming from a family of 12 children, um you guys did really well tonight. Thank you. >> Go ahead. >> Um I appreciate everybody's collaboration on this. I think it's a super important thing. Um I would like to echo also that, you know, having our actionable response to this would be, you know, having some sort of just like we do fire drills and the unfortunate other drills that we've had, um for our kiddos to practice the clearing the playground kind of a thing for staff to to do these so our our kids and our staff are fluent in this. I think that
067we know um from experience, we've had a couple like oopsy things, and they didn't really go as we planned as much as we wanted them to. Um so I do I do think that, you know, practicing these things is super important um for our staff and our kids just to have that fluency with how it goes, the people outside or the lunchroom people. And there's so many variables in our school day um for those things to happen. Um yeah, so please uh consider some kind of an an an actionable practice for our staff and kiddos. Um and then also the signage I do think is important. So we have um you know, we we had community members that didn't even know our schools were not private or public. So I think that, you know, we
068need to make sure that um everybody in our community knows, "Hey, this is this is school grounds. Like this is a special place. It's a protected place." So um and not only, let's say, immigration authority, but what if we have just some other wandering folks through the community, and and our staff needs to say, "Hey, listen, this is protected property here. You need to get off." Um and I think that it is um it's good just to have that visible signage to say um you know, exactly what it is and what the space is purposed for, that it's not a public park, it's not, you know, someone's great big backyard, it's actually our school. Um and it's a it's a special protected place for our kiddos there and our staff. So thank you again for
069collaboration. I really do appreciate it. Um I know it's it's momentous, but um it's it's a really super important momentous thing for our community to have as well. >> Thank you. Does anybody else want to speak? No? Mary, do you want to quick um speak to our administrative policies? >> Yes, so um we do have procedures for staff. Those have been shared throughout, you know, since last spring. And then in addition to in the most recent um you know, um providing it to staff, um all staff were invited to um attend office hours with me where I would go into the buildings and have conversations and talk through scenarios. Um we're continuously revising and reviewing based on any updates both within the world as we become aware of changing environments as well as council. And
070I would assure you that the topics that were raised tonight were excellent ones and ones that we are prepared for related to outside our transitional times, movements with kids before, you know, during arrival or dismissal. And absolutely to our amazing team members point, a lot of it comes through a lens of our safety and security procedures for unexpected situations. And we have been really fortunate to work closely with the Mount Prospect Police Department in developing our safety crisis response protocols to be really global in our thoughts around preparedness and not be so narrow in identifying what specific antecedents have to occur in order for us to respond, but rather to be prepared for just about anything and to trust any member of our team's ability to make a decision based on the information they have
071at the time and the judgment they make. So we are very um stressing of the importance of not having a hierarchical response where you need to get permission from the supervisor or someone with a different title in order to make a game time decision, but quite the opposite that we want to even have our substitute assistants and volunteers and any of our staff, no matter their position or experience level, feeling capable, equipped, and knowledgeable about how to make a decision any environment throughout the day to make sure kids and staff are safe. Um and I that is just the approach that we take in all of our um, crisis response plans and I think next month um, it would be um, no problem for us to maybe talk about that and um, provide a little
072bit more information. Perhaps um, that might be helpful to the community just so they have not necessarily the specific procedures because that would not be our protocol, but that we can make reference generally to the things that we have in place and what and our commitment to continuing to keep revising um, and prepared and making sure um, it's a task to make sure everyone has that confidence level to have that fluidity to do something, but yeah, thank you. >> Thanks, Mary. All right. Can I get a motion to adjourn? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Member Dorner? >> Yes. >> Member Faye? >> Yes. >> Member Kowalczyk? >> Yes. >> Vice President Lotto? >> Yes. >> Member Nelson? >> Yes. >> Member Deitch? >> Yes. >> President Benekos? >> Yes. >> Thank you all for
073coming.