Batavia Public School District 101 Board of Education Meeting May 19, 2026

0017:00 p.m. Tuesday, May 19th, 2026 and I call this meeting of the Board of Education to order. Cindy, will you please lead the roll call? >> Gonzalez Thomas Present. Garrels Here. Kilgore Present. Mathews Present. Snyder Present. Susicki Present. Arlandu Here. Thank you. We will stand now stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. All right. Thank you, Tom. Are there any items to add or remove from the agenda? Uh none at this time. Uh [snorts] does the board have any questions or comments on that? I will entertain a motion to approve the agenda as listed. I move. So moved by Raquel, second by Second. Second by

002Aaron. Cindy, please lead us in roll call vote. Arlandu Yes. Garrels Yes. Gonzalez Thomas Yes. Kilgore Yes. Mathews Yes. Snyder Yes. Susicki Yes. Thank you. Motion passes. All right, item number three technically, but the first big one is approval of student board members to office. So this year the board made a decision to modify the student and the board student ambassador program and under Danielle and Rob, they proposed a board approved uh a under Danielle and Rob, they proposed and the board approved a student board member model. Um can we have Claire Lindstrom and Arnaud, I'm going to butcher it and I apologize. How do you say it? >> Dutoit. Dutoit, come to the podium. Thank you. Should have asked that in advance. Danielle and Rob, would you like to introduce? Sure. Um just to

003start off, we had 14 amazing and qualified candidates um who um applied. I think we interviewed 13 total. Um And there was a really diverse background of experiences, reasons for running, um but all seemed to kind of center around the true desire to bring student voice to our decision-making process and to advocate for one another. Uh we had many ideas ideas to share with us on how to reach other students at BHS and at our uh younger schools, Rotolo and the elementary schools. And a collective understanding of why it's important to center all voices, even those that they do not agree with. Uh one common thread was in the question of what students would say are critical issues regarding their education. We heard the growing hardship of balancing academics with extracurriculars and a personal life.

004And the other was the need for diverse learning environments. There's no doubt that every one of these students has a desire and drive to help that better the academic environment and successes for their peers and would be fantastic in a leadership role. That said, Rob and I had a really hard task to only pick two. Um And I think these two students stood out not only in their interviews, but also in their questionnaires. Uh Rob and I placed both of these students as our top candidates. So, when we came to it, we landed with both of you guys um uh for our junior and our senior. I have the pleasure of introducing Claire Lindstrom, who we recommend to serve our first 2-year term as an incoming junior. Claire had reviewed our meeting minutes, watched our

005board meetings. She came truly prepared and seemed to grasp what a student board member's role would be. Um you were genuinely excited about the idea of what this would grow into and I just I think that caught my attention personally just I can genuinely feel that and to reach out to our our younger students. It's something that we haven't been able to do and I just I want to say how much I appreciate that and I'm just so hopeful for what that brings. Um and I think another thing that stood out was you know, we really wanted to ensure that this position does not take away from your all's academic success. It doesn't make you stretch even thinner especially hearing that feedback. Claire, I love your calendar. I love the fact that you are ready

006to go. There is no doubt in our mind that you are ready to go. That you are going to embrace this opportunity. And I think that you will be able to advocate if you need to to pivot and and you know, let us know and I I do feel I think we we are very very very comfortable and we're just really proud um of this opportunity and to invite you on. Thank you so much for this opportunity. I really appreciate it. This is really exciting. Okay. All right, board and audience. Uh I want to introduce you to Arnaud Dutoit. He's probably going to have his name pronounced like 10 different ways. Uh but uh a little bit about Arnaud. Um very he's a well-rounded student first of all and uh let me say he's the

007rising junior. So uh Danielle pointed out that Claire uh our rising senior, Claire will be the rising junior and she'll serve a two-year term. So as we start this program uh one negative I guess you could say is Arnaud is only going to have one year uh within within the program. But going forward each person that fills these roles will have two years of experience uh in that. But um we know he's going to do a great job. But a little bit about uh Arnaud, well-rounded student um athletics-wise he's involved in football, track and field, wrestling, rugby. Um so I think he's pretty busy all season long. I think that covers all the seasons. Um other activities uh so he's already got a lot of experience uh in this area um of uh being involved

008in school leadership. So he's been a part of the principal advisory group uh student council. Um he's also participated in a um and I think I don't want to mess it up here, but uh it's a um oh, 2026 Kane County Youth uh Voices on Mental Health and he was a key contributor there. In fact, his his letter of recommendation from Aaron Hack, who's a counselor at the high school, um she made this statement about Arno. "From the moment I met Arno, he distinguished himself through his thoughtful engagement, intellectual curiosity, and genuine respect for others' perspective. He's not only articulate in expressing his own ideas, but he actively seeks out and considers opposing viewpoints." So for me, couple of key things there. Um genuine respect for other perspective and he actively seeks out and considers

009opposing viewpoints. So I think those are going to be two key characteristics for this position. We want that student voice. Um but we don't want it to be isolated. We want these these individuals uh these students to go and engage with their uh fellow students and make sure they're getting all perspectives um regarding an issue. So um with that, I'm going to say I would also recommend that uh along with Claire, I also approve uh Arno as our student board reps for the 20 6-27 school year. Does any board member have any comments or questions? Uh I just like to say welcome and thank you to Danielle for and Rob for uh interviewing the candidates. I know you had a lot of tough choices. One thing I would like to throw out to the board

010is I think it would be good for uh our student board members to have a mentor. Um one of us to be a mentor for them just as they transition and as on their own board just to have a a sounding board and someone they can go to uh if you have questions. Yeah. That's a great idea. Yep. Sure. Any other comments or questions? Hearing none, uh my only thing is to echo Aaron's appreciation for you two for all the hard work. This was really spearheaded by you guys. Danielle, I know you did some extra work even to start it off. So, thank you very much for your time and effort in that. And for you guys to really spearhead this and carry it through and do those evaluations and and kind of expedite this

011process cuz we were up against the clock a little bit. So, we appreciate all of those efforts and um not going to get ahead, but presuming this goes the way everybody expects, you know, congratulations in a minute. So, I will entertain a motion to approve the addition of Claire Lindstrom and Arnaud Detolle to the office of board of student board members. So moved. So moved by Katie. Seconded by Rob. Rob [laughter] so moved. Oh, did he just Katie will second. Oh, I misheard that. Okay, thank you. The other way around. Let's do it the right way. Thank you for correcting that. All right, Cindy, please lead us in a roll call vote. Slyker? Yes. Meadows? Yes. Gonzalez Thomas? Yes. Garrels? Yes. Arlandu? Yes. Kilburg? Yes. Susicki? Yes. Motion passes. Congratulations. >> [applause] >> We'll figure

012out where you sit later. That's not it today. Thank you. We're going to do a picture, guys. Roll call. >> No, no, no, no. I'm getting out of the way. Yeah, you guys can do your thing. I'm out of the way here. Do they have to do it now? Hm? Do they have to I'll get behind you guys. August. Yeah. One, two. Thank you very much. Make sure your parents get theirs. Thank you. >> [applause] >> You're welcome. Sorry. All right. Well, that was fun. All right, item four, recognition of Jen Hicks. Brad, would you please do the honors? >> [clears throat] >> We have a couple little uh appreciations for Jen. Uh Jen uh started student teaching in the district 35 years ago. Uh she has carried many titles since then, teacher, uh she

013was a division coordinator when that was a title uh back in the day. She was an assistant principal, an associate principal, and in 2000, uh when the world kind of fell apart a little bit, she became the principal of the largest elementary school in Batavia, which was the Batavia Virtual Academy, when we went online. So, Jen took that on, she made it absolutely incredible experience for our students and that really is the hallmark of Jen's leadership is giving students an amazing experience. She's so focused on that. She's a true inspiration to all of our district. Her leadership is marked by kindness, gentleness, and a firm belief in our students that they can do anything. And I'm so appreciative of working with her the past years and we're going to miss her quite a lot. So,

014the district has a little plaque for you, Jen. And then also for all of our retirees in the district, we have a middle school teacher who does woodworking and he makes these cutting boards so that when they're cooking or doing something in their kitchen, they can remember us here in Batavia. Thank you. >> [applause] >> I would just like to thank the Board of Education, the Batavia School Community, and my family for this acknowledgement and support throughout my career. It's been a true honor. Thank you. Thank you. >> [applause] >> I'm just sliding behind you. All right. Three, two, Perfect. Thank you so much. You'll be in here? Yeah. Yeah, do all the hiring. I just know you do sometimes we forget stuff. I appreciate you. Now I hear you. I have your help for

015another how many more? Okay. All right, uh next is approval of administrative new hirings. Item 5.1 approval of hiring a new principal at RMS. Steve. Yeah. So, uh right here we have Josh Lewis who we are recommending for approval for the Rotolo Middle School principal job. Um Josh has a lot of experience. He's a current standing middle school principal. He's been an elementary principal. And he was This doesn't happen a lot, but when we go through our process he was the unanimous number one choice of every single person on the uh uh RMS team which was made up of both BEA and Best Buy members. And then he met with our cabinet and Tom and he came forward as the right hire. He is a proud very proud Batavia graduate [clears throat] and Batavia resident

016and I think his family's back here, right? You guys can come on over. Let's go. Come on over. We can say hi to them. >> [laughter] >> I guess they don't want to. >> want to. And he has his own Batavia BPS 101 students. So, they all made it out today. So, I you know, so that's that's the recommendation. Okay. Thank you. Does the board have any questions or comments? Okay, hearing none I will entertain a motion to approve the hiring of Joshua Lewis for the position of principal of Rotolo Middle School on a three-year contract beginning July 1st, 2026. So moved. So moved by Rob. Second. Second by Aaron. Cindy, please lead us in a roll call vote. Susicki? Abstain. Slyger? Abstain. Matthews? Yes. Gilbert? Yes. Gonzalez-Thomas? Abstain due to spouse working at the

017middle school. Arredondo? Yes. Garrels? Yes. Thank you. Motion passes. Welcome to the family. >> [applause] >> Well, just a few short remarks here, but members of the Board of Education, Superintendent Kim, and cabinet members, thank you for this opportunity. It is deeply meaningful to return to a community that played such an important role in shaping who I am. To come back and serve in this capacity is both humbling and an honor. I look forward to building on the strong traditions that define Rotolo Middle School and to serving our students, families, and community with care, commitment, and pride. Thank you. >> [applause] [applause] >> Family photo time. Oh, family photo, right. >> [snorts] >> All right. In 3 Perfect. Thank you very much. Congratulations. Thank you. Congratulations. >> Okay, item 5.2 approval of hiring of new

018director a new director of curriculum and multilingual learning. Steve, would you please introduce them and walk us through that? Or Brad, or whoever. >> over to Brad. So, we had um when we posted this job, this is a big job for our district, and when we posted this job there were nearly 50 applicants that all had a wide range of experiences and expertise, but Lizette rose to the the top of that. We're really excited to have her. She served in many capacities um in school systems, uh as a teacher, assistant principal, principal, the director of multilingual learning, and we're really excited to bring her expertise to Batavia. We think she's going to be a great fit, and that's why we are recommending Lizette Jacobson for the new director of curriculum and multilingual learning position. Thank

019you. Does the board have any questions or comments? Okay. I will entertain a motion to approve the hiring of Lizette Jacobson for the position of director of curriculum and multilingual learning on a 3-year contract beginning July 1st, 2026. So moved by Raquel. Second. Seconded by Kristen. Cindy, please lead us in a roll call vote. Arlando? Yes. Swisegood? Yes. Slyger? Yes. Kilgore? Yes. Matos? Yes. Garrels? Yes. Gonzalez-Thomas? Yes. Motion passes. Welcome to the family. THANK YOU. >> HELLO. >> [applause] >> SO I'D LIKE TO START OFF BY SAYING THANK YOU TO THE BOARD of Education, Superintendent Kim, and everyone who participated in the interview process. Let me tell you it was rigorous. Um and throughout that process it became very apparent to me that Batavia just is that place that students are at the forefront of

020all of the conversations and I look forward to being a part of that. Um your strategic plan seems to have a lot of momentum in those kinds of systems and uh goals really get me excited. Um and interestingly enough, my high school alma mater, we were also the Bulldogs. So with that, go Bulldogs. >> [laughter] >> THANK YOU. >> [applause] [clears throat] [applause] >> IT'S A WEIRD TEMPERATURE. IT IS. OKAY, if that wasn't fun enough, we're on to celebrations. So first one is AFS Medallion Award. The Medallion program is a US Department of State program that it recognizes high school by hosting exchange students participating in programs State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Over the years since the scholarship program were instituted, BHS has hosted numerous AFS students, many of whom were on

021scholarships. This year BHS is hosting two FLEX students through AFS. They are from Serbia and Lithuania, and are here to introduce those students is Robin Lang, an AFS volunteer. Well, hello. Um good evening. My name is Robin Lang, and I am an AFS volunteer. I've been one for a very long time. And we are here to congratulate and thank Batavia High School for their long involvement with hosting international exchange students. Are all of you familiar with AFS? Raise your hand if you are. Oh, or our history? Okay, well. Um since 1959, Batavia High School has hosted 123 AFS students and sent more than 40 American students abroad. But since the 2001, many of them have also been here on those scholarships that were just named. Each year, more than 2,000 extraordinary young people from around

022the world receive these highly competitive and merit-based scholarships to study in a US school. The Medallion Membership School program is a recognition that the US Department of State has created for schools that enroll these students. Um these future leaders include students who participate in a Congress-Bundestag for Youth program, the Future Leaders Exchange program, which these two were on, and the Youth Exchange and Study program. Host schools like Batavia help build diplomatic bridges with other nations by leaving positive, lasting impressions of the United States on their exchange students, which you have which we have done this year. Batavia has hosted 22 of these students from 18 different, very diverse countries. Tonight, we have two of those students here to present the medallion certificate. I will let them introduce themselves, and then we'd like to present this

023certificate to Dr. Is Dr. >> [laughter] >> There we are. The girls are saying, "We don't see our principal." >> [laughter] >> So, I'll let them Sorry, was Uh hi everyone. My name is Sasha Ivanovich, and I'm from Serbia. And my name is Ugne Marija Grigaitite, and I'm from Lithuania. Um we would like to thank the BHS staff, the teachers, the school board uh for welcoming us to the school, for allowing us this opportunity to come to the US, and to making this a very welcoming environment from the very beginning, and allowing us to join your communities and experience all kinds of different things. We learned a lot of things during this year. We've taken so many different classes that we don't have back home, like business, um marine science, which helped us choose our

024career in the next few years. And we also joined a lot of activities, like sports and clubs. And we just really like the environment and the difference between our schools back home and here, like um now that when we talk to our friends back home, everybody was like, "Wow." Like, they're really surprised at the way you guys teach here, and the way we learn a lot more stuff. And we have a choice of what we want to learn, uh rather than just like academics, but also like I like this. We joined a variety of sports, like cheer, track, and tennis. So, uh was really a fun joining them and that Batavia even provided us with the opportunity to join join them looking at the fact that it's really competitive in the United States which now

025we're going to pursue some of the sports when we go back to our countries. And then finally we would like to present the certificate of appreciation to our principal Dr. James Smith. >> [applause] [clears throat] >> That was longer. >> [laughter] >> All right. Next one celebration is 2026 Educator of the Year nominees. We welcome Diane Cronin and Chad Clary to the podium. Where are they? Next sentence. Oh. Yeah, I understand also that Amy Miller is unable to join us this evening. She was one of our nominees this year. Each year the King County Regional Office of Education invites school districts to nominate outstanding school staff members for Educator of the Year recognition. We're incredibly proud to share that Batavia Public School District 101 is represented this year by three exceptional nominees: Diane Cronin, Amy

026Miller, and Chad Cleary. BPS 101 is filled with dedicated educators who go above and beyond for students each and every day, and these individuals exemplify that commitment. Tonight, we are honored to recognize them and express our sincere gratitude for the passion, care, and impact they bring to our students and schools every day. >> [applause] >> I lost at rock, paper, scissors in the parking lot. Did you want to say anything? [clears throat] >> [laughter] >> Thank you for the nomination. It was quite an honor. Absolutely. We we we work in a fantastic school district, and we're a small part of a fantastic team of teachers, educators, and support personnel. And all the work in your district, uh, and getting closer to retirement, I'm most excited to say that I feel like we're leaving the district

027better than we found it 30 years ago. So, grateful for all the work that our friends here do, uh, and that you do for us. So, thank you very much. THANK YOU. >> [applause] [applause] >> PHOTO. PHOTO. THE LAST ONE, I THINK. I HOPE. >> [laughter] [applause] >> All right, we are going to take a couple of minute break. So, about 5 minutes. So, feel free to get a drink of water and I will pause for 5 minutes and be right back. Thank you. >> Mhm. >> Anything to share this evening? Going to take that as a yes. >> Let's get this out of the way now. Yes, you can take a picture with me after I'm done. >> [laughter] >> Fine. I did my hair just for the occasion. Um there's a lot of

028uh shout-outs and uh thank yous, congratulations based off of the past like 25 minutes there. Um but in particular, uh Diane Chad named me. Thanks for representing our district. Uh and I want to say welcome to Lizette and uh Josh as well. Uh on their positions for next year. Uh we're going to go through very similar process next year at the high school when Dr. Smith transitions transitions out uh to Arjack. And um I've said this before, I really appreciate the opportunity that the district gives us to make sure that our staff uh has voice uh in that process. And you know, that shows to our staff that our voices are valued, appreciated, and respected. So let's uh keep doing that, please. All right. Uh congratulations are in order for the graduating class of 2026,

029and I'm very much looking forward to celebrating with them at tomorrow night's graduation ceremony. It's hard to believe that that's already tomorrow. Um I'd like to give a specific shout-out to graduating seniors Joshua Patterson and Charlotte Severson, who are the recipients of our BEA scholarship. Josh will be taking uh diesel technician training at WyoTech trade school, and Charlotte will be studying special education at Aurora University. And each of them will be receiving $2,000 towards their education through our scholarship. So congratulations to both of them. Uh the class of 2026 is a really, really special group of kids. If you've had the uh joy of being able to work with them. Uh and it might sound a little cliché, but if these are the people that are going to be our future leaders, then I'm very

030much convinced that the future is indeed bright. Really good group of kids. So all that being said, as we look towards next school year and beyond, I want to reiterate what I said to you at the March board meeting, uh because I think this is something that is going to be at the forefront of our discussions for the foreseeable future. In the face of economic uncertainty pretty much popping up anywhere that you look right now, uh we must make sure that our resource allocation is fundamentally rooted in investing in our students and that means investing in our staff as well. Um finally to our BA members, union educators like you are what make this district strong. You're a shining example of what's so special about BPS 101. You lift each other up, stand strong for

031what's right, and show up for your students every single day. I hope all of you get a chance to slow down and enjoy your incredibly well-earned summer break. Uh good night and good luck. And I look forward to seeing everybody tomorrow night. Thanks. Thank you, sir. All right, Holly. Do we have people wishing to address the board? We do. Okay. >> nine people. Okay. I'm sorry, 11 people. [clears throat] >> Okay. Good. Welcome to the meeting of the Board of Education. If anyone else wishes to address the board this evening, please see our recording secretary submit a form for addressing the board. Please put your full name and address on that form. In general, the board does not answer questions or engage in dialogue during public comment. This is not me our comments seriously. Uh

032the board values active community participation in the district's endeavors and encourages people to engage in district using appropriate channels and systems designed with your input in mind. Board members are not involved in the day-to-day operations of the district and cannot engage in district business individually. If you have specific questions or would like to further engage with the district, you may submit your questions using the website and the appropriate staff member will communicate with you. Holly, would you please start us off? Absolutely. Thank you, President Meadows. Speakers will be called up in order of form submission. The first form received is the first person invited to speak. When your name is called, please come to the podium so that you can be heard. All individuals speaking will be limited to 3 minutes. A 3-minute timer will

033be started once you are settled at the podium. At any time during this meeting, written comments may be submitted to Cindy Rodriguez to my right. Speakers should conduct themselves with civility and respect toward others. Our first speaker is Megan Kuba. Hi, my name is Megan Cuba. I'm the parent of a third grader at Louise White. And I'm here to speak about Chromebook use in the district. I've asked multiple people that work in the school and the administration exactly how much time our kids spend on their Chromebooks each day. And so far, no one has been able to answer that question. If we don't know how much time is being spent, how do we know if it's developmentally appropriate for their age? There are reports that Chromebooks are allowed during lunch in some schools. Sometimes they

034are used to fill down time or as a reward when a worksheet or a project is finished. This constant access to the internet is eliminating time for imagination, social time, critical thinking, and self-regulation. These are the skills our children need to become successful adults. We have started a parent advocacy group called Distraction Free Batavia to promote the use of intentional technology in schools. We currently have a petition with over 500 signatures of parents that would like things to change. The district should set clear boundaries and policies for the use of tech. Otherwise, it's blocking real-life experiences when it's used as a crutch and to fill every free moment. Recently, the Evanston-Skokie School District blocked YouTube access on student devices. The filters we have in place do not block [clears throat] all inappropriate content, and YouTube

035is a huge distraction for students. This seems like a good first step to create a better learning environment. I would also like the board to take another look at the learning apps being used. Some of them are video game-like in the way they use dopamine hits, earning badges, and incentives to keep kids on the screen. Research has shown engagement is not the same thing as learning. This type of app can make it difficult for students to switch to less stimulating activities that require deep focus, patience, and endurance. Things like reading a book, writing a paper, or learning a new math concept. Our learning apps should be backed by independent research showing they actually improve learning. Data provided by these companies sometimes is not accurate. There's plenty of research showing how much better retention and comprehension

036are when reading text on paper, along with how beneficial writing things by hand are for memory and how much more enjoyable reading a printed text is as opposed to reading from a screen. We know excessive screen time, especially on one-to-one devices, is overstimulating. It can lead to anxiety, behavioral issues, and reduced attention spans. The district needs to evaluate if what is happening in the schools is the best for learning and for our kids' well-being. Thank you so much for your time. Next, we have Kathleen Meeks. Superintendent Kim, members of the board, my name is Kathleen Meeks. I'm a Batavia parent, community member, public school educator. My husband teaches in this district. My daughter attends H.C. Storm, and my son will be joining her this coming school year. I appreciate the time, unpaid labor, and care

037that goes into many of your roles, and recognize the difficulty of the decisions before you. Here to share I'm deeply concerned by the direction and cumulative impact of programming decisions currently being discussed by this administration. For example, H.C. Storm some of the most diverse needs in the district, some of the highest opportunity gaps, and houses the district's EL program. There's discussion about decreasing class sizes at some of the grade levels, again eliminating the EL kindergarten and first grade program, cutting a valued educator at H.C. Storm with a provisional license without offering an opportunity to interview, and consolidating or reducing interventionist positions at all schools. At the same time, there appears to be little discussion around reducing enrichment opportunities. My own child benefits from enrichment programming, but I also don't want her to experience an educational

038advantage at the expense of her peers who also need and deserve support. This is antithetical to the promise of public education, and I don't want her any student receiving the implicit message that some students matter more than others. These don't feel like isolated decisions. Together, they send a message about what and who is considered expendable. Additionally, the district continues expand expanding access to technology and screen-based learning at increasingly younger ages. We all now know there is growing research connecting excessive screen use to weaker academic outcomes, decreased attention spans, and increased mental health concerns among children and adolescents. This comes off of an additional concern that arose when I attended my son's kindergarten orientation last month and was informed that all kindergarteners will also be receiving one-to-one devices and will be on them 30 minutes a

039day at school. As both an educator and parent, I worry about the broader message this sends regarding district priorities. Research consistently shows that students, especially younger students and students with greater academic or socioeconomic needs, benefit most from relationships, small group and instruction, large language-rich environments, intervention support, and meaningful human connection. Yet, we are simultaneously discussing reducing the very human supports that help students remain engaged, connected, and successful in school. People cannot simply be replaced by devices with larger class sizes. Many, including myself, have shared how other districts are making more robust changes in technology and cell phone use in schools and how my own district that I teach at made simple policy changes last summer, which were easily able to implement in the fall of this year. Finally, I also want to acknowledge the growing

040lack of trust many families feel toward the district process itself. With limited transparency and little meaningful community input, it creates the perception that these decisions are being made in a way that overwhelms staff and families before they can fully respond. Whether intentional or not, that perception and impact matters. Trust is built when communities feel heard, informed, and genuinely included before decisions are finalized, especially decisions that affect the students with the greatest needs. I urge the board to reconsider the cumulative impact of these changes to prioritize smaller class sizes, early EL support, intervention services, educator opportunities, and student-centered learning environments rooted in human connection, rather than increased dependence on screens. Thank you again for your time and consideration. >> [snorts] >> Thank you. Our next speaker is David Peebles. For a good start, I I have

041a handout and uh you can pass it around and see what I'm going to talk about tonight. Uh as as you heard, uh my name's David Peebles, lifelong resident here Batavia, except for the 2 years I was in the army, also a graduate of Batavia High School. I have a direct connection to Batavia schools since my dad was a music teacher for 30 years in the school system. He was a triple threat. Orchestra, band, and choir. Orchestra degree from Northwestern, band degree from VanderCook, and choir from North Park. Um I'm I'm here because I I'd like to donate what I've just passed around, a piano, to the high school because they have 10 uh practice rooms and they use electronic pianos because they don't have to tune them. However, a regular piano is with they

042need the one of those because if you're a serious student, that is the way to go. My dad's instrument first instrument was violin, his second was piano. So, he knows quite a bit about he knew a lot about that. I also uh helped out in finding instruments for the school. We found a grand piano. I found the grand piano and Dr. Hitchens said, "Be sure to get that." So, we got it for the school and they used it for a a number number of years. Uh I'm myself I'm getting older as you can see, and I I don't play the piano. My my mom played piano and my dad was the great piano player. I was a percussionist. So, anyway, I'm I'm I'm been willing to donate that accord- accordingly. Um conclusion I thank the

043board the teachers for another school year in educating the future citizens of the USA. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Our next speaker is Courtney Hayes. Hello. All right, I'm going to try to talk quickly cuz I I'm going to fill my full 3 minutes here. Um I will back him up though. We need a real piano. >> [laughter] >> Um okay, so so very quickly, um there had been a post about a transgender politician. I wanted to say that I highly support the post. It ended up getting deleted because of hateful comments and I just wanted to express that we should continue to teach those things in our school. We have a legal obligation to teach things like that. Um and to make sure that students, families, and staff feel safe and welcome in our

044schools. And so, the actionable point to that would be what are we doing to make sure that our trans and queer families feel safe and included. Um I also wanted to say that neurodiversity affirmative practices are not district-wide and I would really love to see that. And I will back up the point earlier about um aids and interventionists being so important to our schools. Okay, that's my first three things. I'll try to breathe. >> [laughter] >> Um my main point I want to talk about is continuing to hire Ms. Cesteroni and I'm going to try not to cry or look at you. >> [laughter] >> Um as a full-time kindergarten teacher anywhere in our district, preferably at HC Storm where we are. Um and if we do that, consider maybe giving a temporary one year

045approval while she has her provisional license, um, knowing that this is not something that necessarily we're going to approve for everybody with a provisional license, but in her case she is the exception and this would be a one year, uh, opportunity for her to meet the full standard. Um, I'm going to quickly talk about all the reasons why. Uh, she has two years of experience in this job in Batavia public schools and she would be at a salary step that has lower pay because she has been in Richmond and not licensed. So, it's beneficial from a financial perspective. We're saving money by hiring her. We know the quality of her work. There's zero risk. She has two years of demonstrated classroom success following the curriculum, taking data, and demonstrating positive learning outcomes and stand- via

046standardized assessments and hands-on functional skills in the classroom. Staff and parents would give strong recommendations for her and already have. She is focused on relationship building with students and families and we want the content to continuity of staff. Recent concerns have included the use of screens and technology. She's the exact opposite of that. She's very hands-on. She is very movement-based in her learning and provides many sensory experiences. That's exactly the type of educator that we want in our schools. >> [clears throat] >> She focuses on social emotional outcomes and growth in in our youngest learners and on universal design so that all students benefit including those with IEPs and then also implements those same strategies I can't look at you. >> [laughter] >> For every student, I mean truly implements them for everyone. In a

047really true way that that affects everyone. Um, she's implemented home school connection activities with interdisciplinary support throughout the school, um, involving parents in those social emotional outcomes. Um, she has her provisional license from ISBE. This requires the same content exam as the PEL. She's already passed it. In fact, the ISBE actually converts the provisional license into the PEL. So, we know that she has a documented timeline and we can already see her success generalizing to the classroom. Thank you. Our next speaker is Juliet Delabia. Good evening. It's nice to see everybody. Thank you for all the time that you give our district. I'm a parent here. I have three children and as of tomorrow night, I will have a high schooler, a middle schooler, and an elementary kid. So, um we're in the thick of

048it. Um I'd like to briefly briefly talk to you about student Chromebook use, particularly at the elementary and middle school level since I haven't had experience with a high schooler yet. Many families appreciate that students have access to technology, but we're also seeing some consistent challenges. At home, parents have very limited ability to guide how devices are used, especially when it comes to distractions like YouTube or general browsing when they're supposed to be working on you know, using the resources that we provide them like IXL. >> [clears throat] >> Right now, our only real option is to turn off the internet access entirely, which isn't practical or balanced. We're also hearing that during the school day, some instructional time can be spent managing device use and that students are often able to work around restrictions.

049That creates challenges for both teachers and families in maintaining consistent expectations. I've learned that the district uses Lightspeed Systems, which includes tools that could help address these concerns. For example, it appears possible to provide parents with the ability to pause devices or set limits at home, restrict YouTube to approved educational channels, or apply stronger controls by grade level, apply more consistent filtering during the school day to reduce the need for active monitoring, support more developmentally appropriate and intentional screen use. So, I guess my question would be, is there an opportunity for to provide parents with access to these tools even as an opt-in option or pilot program? I don't see this as limiting technology. I know that we need to use technology, but I also think that we're the adults here. Our kids are not.

050They don't understand what it can do to their brains, that do their systems, and I feel like we have a role that we need to fulfill, a responsibility that we need to show them that there are responsible ways to use screens, and there's a time for fun, and there's a time for learning. And they don't get to decide necessarily how much time they spend on screens. Um so, I'm just hoping that the district, the board, will consider partnering with the parents in the district and letting us if nothing else, letting us control what our kids are able to access in our own homes. Thank you. Our next speaker is Emily Mazagol. No, it's Mazagol. Thank you. >> I'm so sorry. That's okay. Nobody gets it right. Hi, I'm Emily, and I have a second and

051fourth grader in Hooverwood Elementary School. Um and as my kids have moved through elementary school, it's become increasingly clear that there are no unified guidelines in the classroom for the use of technology. Uh we all know that technological advances often outpace our ability to create rules around it, but students in this district have had Chromebooks for years, and the research is now in and definitive that not only are is it not aiding children in the classroom, often it's detrimental to their learning, especially in the early childhood classrooms. Um so, we in BPS should be continually striving for excellence, and so, I'm glad that we have this push in the community currently to bring this oversight to the board's attention. I would ask that a committee be formed to partner with parents, teachers, and administration to

052establish a set of rules for using technology in the classroom. Um some of these restrictions should include YouTube restrictions because there is some pretty free access going on right now, time limits per grade level, and I would think keeping Chromebooks at school, especially in the elementary school, there's no reason for them to have them for homework at home. And as we've heard already, there's a lot of um issues going on when they're away from school. And they're heavy to bring home. Um so a set of rules will help us keep Batavia public schools as a wonderful place for all students to learn and grow, and we can make it happen. Our next speaker is Haley Lamb. Good evening. We really need to be able to try to not do everything cuz it's the danger zone

053of not accomplishing anything. Tom King, September 23rd, 2025. You've been doing a lot. But all it is is taking. Our taking our interventionists from our elementary schools and our novels from our high schools. When does the giving back begin to happen? How do those things better our children's education? Those questions are being asked to the board without response. Your decisions affect our children's education. There are many voices in the room that are offering concern, and it's your responsibility to address our concerns. Why is this an adversarial relationship? Why do you put us in a position to fight you? 3 minutes is not nearly enough time to say what I want to say. But you're failing our kids. You're failing our community. Our community is begging for help and you continue to ignore us. You have

054dozens of supporters behind you and when you posted about Sarah McBride, but who did you email with responses to? Our kids are being bullied and they are being ignored. There are no tampons in the bathrooms that we pay for as taxpayers and they are ignored. You do not give our kids enough recess that is mandated by law. 15 minutes increments and we still can't accomplish that. Our community is sick and tired of being ignored. We are not pains in the neck. We are passionate parents and family members. At night when we try to lay our heads down to sleep, we wonder if we've done enough. Did our Did we give our kids enough undivided attention? Should we switch to organic? Are we doing enough to protect them? And as I stand before these incredibly passionate

055families behind me, I know they all lose sleep over this. As then I look before me, I see incredibly refreshed refreshed adults. It's time that you let our heroes, the teachers and staff in our schools do the hard work. Let us help you do the hard work. And until we can work together as a team, we're going to lose and you're going to fail our kids. And for the parents in the room, your kids are legally required to have 30 minutes of recess every single day and the community will not get that. In 15-minute increments and they still cannot give us that. So I ask for your guys' support so we can work together. Thank you. Next we have Bridget Johnson. I'm Bridget Johnson, interventionist at Louise White School. I generally try to avoid public

056speaking, but as I often tell my students, we can do hard things. So, I'm here tonight not only to speak on behalf of interventionists, but more importantly to advocate for the students we're committed to helping succeed. The interventionists were not made aware of this decision to reduce or eliminate our positions until late March, but discussion at the district level began months before that. If our April 9th meeting with Mr. Newkirk had occurred earlier in the school year, we would have had the opportunity to share a better understanding of our roles, and that what we do every day goes well beyond providing academic support for tier three students. We provide safe spaces for those students struggling in the whole group setting to develop resilience and a sense of achievement. For many of our kids, consistent intervention

057time is where struggles become successes and frustration becomes confidence. When my position was reduced from full to half-time for next year, I was not given the option to work between two buildings as EL and high ability teachers do. Instead, it was given to our EL teacher. In order to meet the professional responsibilities of their role, they're required to administer assessments to EL students for approximately 6 weeks throughout the school year due to MAP, ACCESS, IAR, and ISA testing, plus additional days for makeups. During those testing windows, those tier three students would not receive their their services. That's about 30 days of no tier three support. Shouldn't we be placing the same value on their instructional time and academic needs as we do for other student groups? And if not, what message does this send to

058those kids, their families, and to our community? I understand that I was not considered for the half-time EL position because I do not hold EL certification. For that reason, I would expect the same professional standards to apply to someone assuming the responsibilities of an interventionist. However, this position was assigned to an individual who not only doesn't have a K-5 teaching certificate, but does not have a professional educator license. While I cannot say if that's even legal, I can say it seems unethical. Students who struggle with reading and math require specialized instruction by educators with the appropriate elementary teaching credentials. Tho- Those responsibilities should be entrusted to individuals with the proper training and experience to effectively meet those needs. This leads me to question whether the decision to reduce my position to half-time and combine it

059with a half-time EL role was made as a convenient way to maintain a full-time position for that staff member within our building. Rather than it being given the thoughtful consideration it deserves by looking at the long-term impact this change would have on our students. I urge you to carefully consider whether this change truly aligns with our district's mission statement and commitment to supporting the success and growth of every student. Thank you. Our next speaker is Amy Arndt. Good evening, Superintendent Kim and members of the board. My name's Amy Arndt, and I'm here tonight as the mom of a soon-to-be second and fourth grader at HC Storm. Um and actually I want to mention who my second grader had Mrs. Cesaroni and we absolutely 100% support her staying on um in her role. She was amazing

060and I don't think we can really do any better. Um but I'm here to share my concern regarding the proposed increase in class sizes for the coming school year um for the fourth grade school class. Um this class will be taken from three sections down to two, which is alarming to me, especially as the interventionist positions are also being reduced. This needs to change from a business conversation to a conversation about these actual lives, these children who in this particular group have already demonstrated a wide range of support needs. This is a conversation that needs to shift from budget and numbers to focus on the students, the teachers, and the staff. We need to hear how the school administration plan to support the teachers and staff while cutting interventionists and increasing class sizes. We ask

061so much of our teachers. They're expected to continue to challenge the high-achieving students, support struggling learners, and catch those falling behind. We ask them to do all of this while also taking into account their social emotional needs of all the kids in their class. Um please consider reviewing and accounting for the number of IEPs and 504 plans in this upcoming fourth grade class. Speak to the school psychologist. Speak to the third grade teachers about this current group. Speak to the interventionists and paraprofessionals who work with these students every day before making this crucial decision. I've always been so proud of my son's love of math, a subject I always dreaded. I found a particular study about increases in class size being linked to significant decline specifically in fourth grade math scores. I could stand up

062here and quote studies specifically about increased class sizes detrimentally affecting learning until I'm blue in the face, but it is already so universally understood that you don't need me to do that. As a parent, I want my child and every child in this class to continue loving school, feeling supported, and having the opportunity to succeed. Thank you. Our next speaker is Frank Kosmac. Hi. Um I kind of find it funny that we have support staff and interventionists who pull the kids away from electric electronics, give them a safe space, make them feel important. And then we have a group that's saying, "Hey, technology's too much in the classroom." Our interventionist and support staff, especially at HC Storm, is amazing. My kids every morning love to visit her classroom. They love everything about you and too

063much. Um I'm going to Same thing, look this way. Um I have a second and fourth grader, and I'm concerned as well about the increased class size of the fourth grade cohort, the unit, whatever you want to call them. Um Everyone knows class size is important, the smaller the better. Having the support staff for those kids, it helps create a foundation for those kids to be the best community members, whether it's middle school, high school, college, after. It all starts at the elementary school, and that is why our elementary school teachers, support staff, interventionists are so important. I mumble when I talk cuz I didn't go to speech. My kid has a speech impediment. Thankfully, the support staff there has made him more legible than I am. My daughter loves everything art, and because of

064the art classes given at HC Storm, she has turned into a better artist than myself. She can't paint a wall, but she can draw a beautiful horse. Um my kids' favorite part of HC Storm is having their small little group sessions with the teacher and the support staff. That's where they feel the most comfortable to be themselves. And as a person who's very emotional 99.9% of the time, having that close-knit community, having those support is so important. It makes you feel better. And it just It feels like we're letting our kids down. And like as a parent, I'm going to have to pick it up. But I'm not going to be with them while they're at HC Storm. You don't want me teaching class. Nobody wants me to do that. I need the community's help

065to make sure my kids can be the best. I'll do everything outside of the school hours. But when they're with other people, they learn more and they are better. I guess I'm just not that good. Sorry, my wife's not going to watch this, I hope. Um I had other things to say, but she told me not to. I think we have one of the best school districts in the state. And I really think it comes down to the entire community. It starts with the parents, the students, the teachers, the support. I plead with you all to just let's think of the kids and how we can empower them to be better. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Our final speaker is Ashley Hanson. Good evening. My name is Ashley Hanson and I have a daughter at

066Louise White. I'm here because I strongly believe we need to reconsider how much screen exposure we are normalizing in schools. Children today are growing up surrounded by technology specifically designed to capture and hold their attention. Schools should serve as a counterbalance. A place that strengthens focus, patience, and creativity. Instead, we're increasingly replacing books and hands-on activities with screens despite mounting evidence about the negative impact on their developing brains. I'm also deeply concerned about my child accessing YouTube at school. Independent testing by child safety researchers has found that YouTube's restricted mode regularly misses 20 to 30% of inappropriate or mature content. I do not believe the perceived benefits from using YouTube in school justifies this exposure. I also don't think that children should be spending their day their school day on a platform intentionally engineered to

067maximize engagement, prolong screen time, and make it difficult for them to disengage. Especially during the very years their brains are still developing the ability to focus and self-regulate. I respectfully ask the district to make the following changes for the benefit of our children. Remove YouTube access on student devices. Provide parents with transparency around student screen use during the school day. And develop district-wide screen time guidelines informed by child development research and cognitive science. This is not an argument against technology. It is an argument for appropriate use. Less screen use during school isn't a step backward. It is a deliberate step towards protecting the very skills education is meant to build. Thank you. Okay. That concludes our public Very much. All right. Our next item is consent agenda according to our board policy. We designate a

068portion of the action items on the agenda as a consent agenda for those items that usually do not require extensive discussion before These items generally are routine recurring and can be grouped together for efficiency. Steve, would you like to take us through them? Absolutely. 9.1 is the approval of the minutes from April 21st, 2026. 9.2 is the approval of our closed session minutes from April 21st, 2026. 9.3 is our monthly approval of payroll and bills. 9.4 is our monthly personnel report. 9.15 is the approval of donation. We would like to thank the women uh donation. 9.6 is the approval of the destruction of closed session recordings from November 19th, 2024. 9.7 is the approval of the stop loss insurance renewal. 9.8 is the approval of the appointment of an IMRF authorized agent. 9.19 is the

069approval of Tyler Technologies school ERP pro subscription renewal. 9.10 is the approval of textbook and display service. 9.11 is the approval of the CNI software renewals for 2026-2027. 9.12 is the approval of M-Class dibbles. 9.13 is the approval of Microsoft volume licensing agreement. 9.14 is the approval of our 2026-2027 K-8 meal price increase. 9.5 is the approval of Red Rover renewal. 9.16 is the approval of three-year agreement for annual penetration testing services. Thank you, sir. It was quite a lot today. Uh does the board have any questions or comments? Uh Okay. On the textbook and display, we got an email um raising some red flags about specifically students not reading novels within this curriculum. Um what is our response to the concerns about the academic and workforce setbacks that that would lead to? >> Sure.

070So, I'll go in uh make sure everyone has a clear understanding of the process we went through to select this and then where we're headed with it. Um so, this again comes from the board's strategic plan around literacy. So, over the course of this year, you've approved different things for the elementary, the middle school, and this would be the final piece of the high school. So, it's a direct link to our strategic plan. And it really spawned from not only the community kind of saying this is something that we want to see improvement in, but the state itself said literacy There's something going on with literacy instruction. So, they put out the Illinois Comprehensive Literacy Plan, which is kind of a synthesis of a lot of research on what works to get kids reading. So,

071we did an intensive study first of the ICLP with our staff with a lot of our staff to kind of make sure that we were aware of the shifts in literacy instruction that were coming. Um so, that was kind of a big educational push for us. As a part of that, we did a gap analysis with our current curriculum and where we're going. And what the gap analysis really showed is that we're not meeting the the components of the Illinois Comprehensive Literacy Plan. And because of that gap, we didn't feel that our current curriculum could be manipulated into fulfilling those gaps, we went looking for new curricular resources at all levels. So, at the K through 8 level, we're using a a product from Amplify that you guys have approved. There's not a a product

072that extends in the high school. So, the high school team, the SALT team, um they really looked at what was out there for high schools. And we're not talking cuz we don't really control the curriculum for like AP Lit, AP Lang, um our electives courses we do control but it's like very self-contained um those things. What we do control is like where most of our kids are at and that would be your required English 1, English 2, and English 3 classes for freshman, sophomore, and junior students. So, they went through, they uh interviewed all sorts of um vendors to see what their products did. They had a list of criteria that is in the board report that really shows like where that particular product is in terms of our criteria and uh our power standards.

073So, the team went through that, they narrowed it down, they did further interviews, and they decided to pilot Savvas, which is uh from this vendor. um Um They went through a I said pilot and I'm not supposed to use that term. So, we went through a field test of Savvas at the high school this past semester. So, we had English two and English three teachers along with special educator and EL support staff go through that field test of the Savvas product. What we discovered through that was that it was very rigorous. Our students were struggling a lot with it. It took like some time to get the the rigor under control for students. They felt a sense of accomplishment. They were doing far more writing through the the field test than they were previously. And

074the the teachers really worked hard to implement the field test. As we debriefed with them, as we looked at the SALT team, we went through our process that CAC regulates and they made a recommendation to move forward with Savvas. So, we did a training with them just to introduce all of the staff to Savvas and what's in the textbooks. We did that on April 6th, I believe, the the day back from break. And then we've been planning for implementation since then. So, I met with the English department. Um That was yesterday. That was yesterday. And then we discussed several things. They wanted to talk about communication with parents, separate trainings for English one, two, and three, and then their concern about not reading any novels. So, we talked about those concerns. There is a book

075club that's kind of an attachment to Savvas, but because this is such a big shift from going from a teacher developed curriculum by tradition to implementing this this curriculum, Um, we put a pause on that the book club, the novels uh for a a period of a year. Now, within Savvas itself, there are full-length texts as well as interviews, um um podcasts, um screenplays, um those types of things. So, there's full texts like The Tempest and Metamorphosis, um The Crucible are example of full-length texts within it, but it also uses a variety of texts to teach the standards in English for those classes as well. So, um whole process, we have like a scheduled plan to revisit the use of novels within that, but because this is such a a huge lift for both our

076staff and our students, we put a pause on that um for a period of a year. So, then would it be possible that there would be periods of years, plural, that kids would not be reading novels? Well, they're reading full-length texts and they're reading a lot of really dense, rich text that's on grade level. So, um It feels like it replaces novels, basically. >> Yeah, and I think um English class isn't the only place where we where reading within our schools. So, I know some history teachers have that have novels as a part of their class. Our school librarian is very active in getting kids to do a lot of reading. So, I think they will still have opportunities to process through novels and to read that type of text, but not as a part

077of our kind of first year of implementation of Savvas. Okay. Um, and then will the teachers have enough time to familiarize themselves with the new curriculum over the summer? Yeah, we have we have a scheduled training on the the second institute day. So, we have all day with them >> Okay. to uh we'll work with the trainers different trainers to go through here's how to plan with Savvas cuz it will be different for our staff. Yeah. And then um one of the assistant principals and I have like a support plan of time cuz one of the things that in our other implementations that teachers said was the most valuable was time with their team. So that's something that I've worked with Joanne and Bob Dietz and Haley Nikolaou, the assistant principal overseeing the English department

078and really like that's our mission is to find time for the teams to meet and process through this because that's what our teachers have said in our other pilots is like the most important thing for them is time with their teams to kind of work through the challenges of this. Is there Sorry, is there crossover between like the middle school English [snorts] curriculum and the high school English curriculum? Like is this going to bump into anything? There might be a few little bumps like that. We haven't because the middle school did a mid-year implementation, we haven't seen like the full effects of that. Yeah, so we're working through those those pieces. Okay. So next year the middle school will be doing a very similar process to the high school which would be their first full

079year of implementation, but they jumped in with both feet mid-year and did that implementation. And again, it's a really tough process to implement a brand new curriculum. We have teachers who have been teaching for 25 years and they said I feel like a first-year teacher, right? Like this is very different for them, but we're seeing the the rigor level and the benefits to students really coming through. Okay, thank you. Yeah. Um Dr. Newkirk, could you talk through the process of how we'll evaluate if this is being successful, the timeline, and what that process looks like? >> Yeah, part of the the curriculum resources and assessment suite that comes with that as well. So it's great to look at MAP scores and to look at the ACT test and the pre-ACT. Those just don't happen often

080enough for us to get a good read on this. So they do have assessments that go along with each of the units. So, we'll be monitoring each unit together. We'll be looking at those results, seeing what are kind of the benefits and the drawbacks of that. Um we probably won't do that for the first unit because we're still getting our feet under us, but for that the other units that they'll be teaching, uh we would do that to see like the format of assessments to track our progress. And you use the term uh the SALT committee. Could you uh explain what that acronym is? Yeah, so we have a group of we put out Colleen does a good job of recruiting previous things out there. So, thank you Colleen. Uh Colleen's a uh the co-chair

081of CAC and CAC puts out a charter. So, the charter says we want to work on this subject area. So, in this case ELA and we're looking for this number of people. So, CAC creates all of that, kind of gives a description of the work that they'll be doing for that particular year. We put that out to all staff um to volunteer to not volunteer, but they become a part of a committee, a paid committee that they're a part of. And we have really tried to make them empowered to make decisions on how to move forward with all of this. So, the members, the teaching members of the SALT team along with the the leveled administrators that are a part of the SALT team as well, we try and empower them for decision making, which

082means like I keep my mouth shut most of the time and let the team kind of process through and own that. When they're debriefing with the team, we're really listening to what they're saying, what are the struggle points, where do they need support. Uh but we're trying to have these SALT teams really make a lot of these decisions. And what we've seen is there's a lot of buy-in when that happens, right? So, our elementary staff is really bought into a big curriculum change that's coming next year with CKLA. Our middle school staff has jumped on board with that as well. Um we'd love to see more people participate in the the subject area leadership team process, but the people who are there are really committed to it. They do a good job of going back

083to department meetings and communicating the progress along the way as well. Which is very helpful. Thank you. I initially was a little concerned about them not reading full novels, so I came and looked at the materials on display and I was actually impressed with some of the things I saw there. Like they had it was included the letter from Birmingham jail a short story by Kurt Vonnegut, a JFK speech, an essay essay by Neil Gaiman, an interview [clears throat] with a North Korean refugee, caged bird by Maya Maya Angelou writings by Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, David Thoreau, an excerpt from Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin. So it was like very extensive and even though um it wasn't you know full you know novels, I feel like there was such a wide range of text that the

084students would be experiencing. Um I did have one question about there was a page about AI an AI tool. AI powered writing tool that was that's supposed to like give feedback to the students as they're writing. Um so I was a little concerned about that. Uh it did say that it could be turned off. So I was curious about >> Yeah. the AI assistant >> haven't made any final decisions on how to approach that yet. We have used an AI writing feedback tool at the middle school for a number of years and we've got rid of that with Amplify because it's part of of their suite as well. All of this these curricular resources and pretty much every piece of software has some AI embedded within it now. It's kind of um amazing how the

085industry has adopted that. Um the feedback can be really beneficial because students can put their own writing and get like immediate feedback instead of having to wait for their teacher to grade the paper. So, there's some benefits to it, but there also can be some like abuses to that as well. Or shortcutting of using AI, which is something that we deal with quite often. So, we haven't really made any final decisions on how to process through that, but we'll do that with the teachers when they get back. And then the other question I saw in there that there were some supplemental materials that were online, but the rest is all like that chunky >> Yeah, there's there's a big chunky book and there's a workbook. So, um workbooks are coming back cuz we have them

086in the math curriculum at the middle school and they'll be a part of the ELA curriculum, which is good for There are some pieces that we do on technology and we have uh with the pilots at Savvas, we did use the LightSpeed technology field test. As Sorry, can We did that with the field test teachers, they used the LightSpeed technology cuz it does give you like a dashboard [clears throat] of what kids are actually working on and they found that to be very helpful, especially during like online assessments um for various reasons. As you can guess. So, um you said this will be used for English 1, 2, and 3. What about the honors program? The honors will get the same, but they have different units. So, there's five units in each of the books

087and really we think it's feasible to do about two or three units and then the honors classes will do a fourth unit. So, it's very rigorous to begin with, so the honors have that extra unit that they'll be working on. We're going to see how that works for next year. So, we worked with Savvas to kind of identify what those units would be cuz we have identified over a period of years what are our power standards in Batavia. So, looking at all of the ELA standards, what are the ones that are most powerful for our students? They looked at that and then matched them to the units and identified either three, two, three, or four units that we'd be covering each of those classes. And so, will the English one and two of those novels

088also be put away for a year? Yeah. Okay. But we're still keeping novels for the literature composition. Yeah, all of the AP classes, a lot of the electives will still have novels as well. And if a teacher, if I let's say I'm let's say I was a teacher that field tested Savvas this year and I did my homework over the summer and I kind of really got a good grasp on it. So, let's say come right after winter break, I'm like, you know what? I think I can feel like I can introduce a novel. Will they be allowed to do that or they still will be like, no? Um the only feedback that I've received from them, and they spoke up in our in our department meeting as well. There were two teachers in the

089meeting that were a part of the field test and both of them said that they tried a novel because we had a course fee that bought the novel for the students before we knew we were piloting this. So, they felt like the need to use that novel. They said it was kind of a train wreck. So, they they were telling their department members, we don't want to do this in the first year. I don't know, we'll get to that point and I'll check in with those people to see where they're at, but they did not recommend us getting into the novels during our first year. So, we really tried to listen to them. So, they this program that picks the novels that for the teachers to read, like the teacher doesn't >> No, that the

090we tried to weave it in on our own and it blew up a little bit for us and they they said I would not want to I would not recommend us doing that. So, that was part of it. But Savvas has their book club and they have both the resources and the books that would come with it if if to go in that direction. And then the only other question I have, and this is more towards Tony, is Tony everything that we're voting on for this um 9. All of them, is it in our budget? Were these allotted for in our budget? This um to be honest with you, I haven't gone through the list myself because there's so much stuff on here today. Um but [clears throat] my understanding is that is true. Yes.

091I have a question but it doesn't relate to Savvas. Is it all right to move on to a different question? I just have a quick question because I have the email um and I don't know if I heard this answered or not. So I apologize if you guys already did hit on it. I'm just taking a lot of information. One of the things that this um writer had brought up is like the cost to student stamina by taking away novels. Is that something that's been discussed during this process and is there a concern about the students not having more or more lengthy text to go through? I understand there's a variety but um what has the feedback been regarding a possible hit to their stamina? I don't I I I it'll be interesting to see

092how this year progresses and it'll be something that we look at. There are so many extended pieces within the Savvas curriculum like um even as an English teacher back in the day like I would always skip Act 4 of Hamlet which I was required to teach to my students because nothing really happened in it. And like we need like I kept spending like a month teaching that that play so like we skipped Act 4, I did a little summary and we moved on to Act 5 where the real action happens. So um there are many extended um pieces within this that I think our students will still have opportunities to practice their reading stamina. But it would be something we monitor for sure. Uh so I have a question about 9.7, the approval of the

093stop loss insurance. >> [cough] >> Um could you explain what that is and there's the rather dramatic increase? Yeah. >> [clears throat] >> So 0.7? Stop-loss insurance is insurance on your medical insurance. So essentially when you have a really high claim come in, the stop-loss kicks in and actually reimburses you money for that claim. So since we're self-funded, we're paying every medical bill, but when that high claim comes in, this insurance kicks in and then it pays them for us or reimburses them for us. So last year, we paid about $427,000 for stop-loss insurance and we got back $725,000. So if you think about it like your your house, if you file claims on your house and you get a new roof and you get new windows and you get new um everything, right? Your

094claim your renewal the next year goes up. So that was the largest driver in this. So because we had those high utilizers in those claims, that's what caused our um rates go up. And this is becoming a trend in medical. We talk about this a lot in the insurance committee where the cost of medical is just going up. It's outpacing a lot of different industries and this is just a result of that combined with the high utilization. So yeah, 41% is a huge increase. Um but it's there to safeguard us in case we have high claims. So if we don't have high claims this year, does it ever go [clears throat] down? It can. Yeah. It's one of those where they look at your insurability and then depending on your utilization, it can go down.

095So I think there was maybe it was a year or two ago we actually got a very small or actually a decrease. And I remember Rob asked about it. Like, how did this happen? And I stood up here and said, "We had a really good year." And now I'm here to say we had a really bad year. So. As an interesting aside this year, too, we're seeing a 40-plus percent increase on our workers' compensation insurance. Because we've had a couple of really bad years for workers' compensation. This is how insurance works. Tony and Josh, I'm just curious, this question just popped in my head. Are any of our insurance carriers using AI predictive models to also forecast some of those calculations? To your knowledge? They do a very thorough analysis, especially with stop-loss, because size

096involved, and they're insuring over a very large claim amount, and they could be on the hook for literally millions of dollars. And so, they're scrutinizing. They do not share how they scrutinize them, but they go through the detail very carefully there. Thank you. No, it's okay. We're good. But, did you want me to ask it just to keep it sanctity of the board questions? Any other questions on other line items? I had a question about 9.12. Um, if this is a different assessment than has been used in previous years um due to the change to Amplify. Yeah. So, this um we've used a product called AIMSweb for fluency and dyslexia screening for many, many years. It's never was kind of um usable. It was very hard to use. It was like a separate data system

097that we had to bring into some of our systems. It was a little disjointed, decision-making pretty complicated for interventionists and for special ed teachers. So, when this when we moved to Amplify, we started to look at Mclass DIBELS. DIBELS has been around forever, but this is a a system that aligns with that. So, we and Natalie Hustle worked with reading specialists and interventionists and others um the psych school psychologist to to query whether this was the correct move to move away from AIMSweb and towards this. We'll still keep AIMSweb for some math benchmark assessments, which we need to do, but this will replace a big chunk of what we've been using in the past. And for Kelta, to answer your earlier question about the budget, are these items there all in the budget? Thank you.

098I actually have one more question on 9.14, the K-8 meal price increase. Could you talk about what that increase is? Sure. So, um our K program is on the National School Lunch Program. So, we get federal dollars for all meals that are sold. And every year we have to use a tool called the it's the PEL. There's always an acronym, right? Um but basically what it is is it's to make sure that our paid students are paying enough to make sure that we're not just taking the federal government's money. So, there's this whole calculation that goes through and essentially the minimum that you have to always increase your meal price 10 cents. So, you go through this whole calculation and because our National School Lunch Program portion of food service is in the positive, which

099is great, we have to increase by 10%. So, that's where that I'm sorry, 10 cents. So, that's where that comes from. So, this is something that happens every year. I just pointed out cuz I was going through it and I saw increase and then only to see it be a dime with Oh. Um I thought that was a win actually cuz everything else is going up more dramatically than that. So. >> Yeah, no, we're very fortunate. Our current food service contract um is very favorable to us um and it allows us to keep the prices where they are at that moment increase. Thank you. Good questions. Any others? Okay, hearing none. I will entertain a motion to approve all items in the consent agenda as presented. So, moved. Motion by Raquel. Second. Seconded by Rob.

100Cindy Peasley, let us know the roll call vote. Swisegood? No. Slyger? Yes. Meadows? Yes. Gilbert? Yes. Garrels? Yes. Arlandis? Yes. Gonzalez Thomas? Yes. The motion passes. Thank you very much. And two reports, FOIA reports, Tom. Um nothing [clears throat] extraordinarily out of the ordinary. We did have one denial of a FOIA request. Um but other than that, everything's been provided with the status. All right. Any questions? Otherwise, Tony, treasurer. Travis, is the treasurer's report? Nothing out of the ordinary. We're coming to the close of the fiscal year very soon and we're on we're very close to what we expected in terms of budget. That's good. All right. And Tom, committee updates. Yeah. Um so, some of the committee updates were not able to get into the report because they've recently uh met. So, at the

101next meeting, you'll see some updates from there. Wrap wrap up kind of committee meetings that took place. Um I didn't know if any of the board members wanted to jump in just to give a preview as to what might have happened. I have an update. Um for the Batavia Foundation last week was a senior night where we celebrate a lot of our outstanding students and the scholarships are given out and the Batavia Foundation handed out thousands of dollars of scholarships, so I just wanted to go through those and and recognize the students that were awarded scholarships, so the for the Dr. Stephanie Pace Marshall Scholarship, Isabel Witt was our winner. For the Michael Boniface Scholarship, it was Tamani Mitchell was the winner. For the Molly May Vance Scholarship, Miss Mallon Weiss was the recipient. There

102were three winners of the William Freiburger Scholarship, so it was Casey Hubert, Nia Schofe and Mia Tarmichael. For the Thomas Schmidt Scholarship, Shaylie Rogers was the recipient of that award. For the Bulldog Legacy Award, the winner was Stephen Banos. And there were two winners of the Matthew Nana Scholarship, Wynn Tian and Dylan Wells. So, good job. Congratulations to all those recipients. RAC met yesterday. Uh we continued the discussion about getting possibly getting back on the school lunch program or the national school lunch program at the high school. Um but again, that's something that's for the future. Not this coming school year. Uh and the I I don't want to steal Josh's thunder cuz he's going to be presenting information about Miles My School Books. >> [laughter] >> And um What was the other thing? Oh.

103>> Oh, the lunch. >> participation. >> Next week, so. I'm going to stick with that. Building the excitement. I get it. >> Yes. Yes. Okay, thank you very much. All right. Um actually other action items, approval of inquiry journey journeys, Brad? Sure. So, inquiry journeys is um a social studies curriculum that um CAC is recommending for approval. Um this is something that we've used for the past 2 years within the district in different scales of field tests. So, this team is recommending this move forward. One of the biggest things with social studies is it's about inquiry, right? It's less about dates and names and facts and more about inquiry. This is one that aligns with our our state standards. Um and this is kind of a a good place for the elementary to kind of

104move forward with dipping their toe into inquiry and moving kids forward in social studies. Any questions? Okay, hearing none, I'll entertain a motion to approve inquiry journey as the anchor resource for elementary social studies. So moved. Motion by Danielle. Second. Second by Katie. Cindy, please lead us in a roll call vote. Arlott You? Yes. Eros? Yes. Gonzales Thomas? Yes. Susicki? Yes. Sager? Yes. Kilburg? Yes. Matos? Yes. Motion passes. Item 11.2, approval of language studio for the 2026-2027 school year. Yep, this is another kind of support system. So, we engaged our ESL teachers at the elementary level in looking at how we're going to deliver services next year, how we can best support our EL students. Um with Amplify coming in, there's a a product that Amplify has called Language Studio. Uh a couple of our

105ESL teachers tried this out with their students, found it to be very successful, um and they're looking forward to implementing this next year with our ESL students. Any questions? Was this offered as an option when we were originally looking at Amplify C&A? It was. It was like there, like you could kind of opt into that, but we were so focused on that core curriculum piece that we waited till after we were within the field test to kind of start looking at what are we going to do with some of these other support services that we need. Good question. It's There's a lot of products that they offer. It's very overwhelming when you kind of get into this, and then you got to be very careful about what you choose, so we're not overloading our system

106with a lot of new things and making sure the teams themselves are invested in that implementation. And at first our our ESL staff was like, "I don't know about that. I kind of like what I'm doing." Um but after they got into it, we had a a call with them a couple weeks ago, and they were like, "Yep, we're on board. This is going to be really great for our students." And I actually see this as a benefit for students beyond um English learners because there's so much vocabulary work, background building, that this could be potentially used in the future with other students that need that level of support. Any other questions? Hearing none, I will entertain a motion to approve the con- d- d- yep, contract estimates for Amplify for Language Studio. So moved.

107So moved by Rob. Second. Seconded by Raquel. Cindy, please lead us in a roll call vote. Geralds? Yes. Susicki? Yes. Hilbert? Yes. Mathews? Yes. Orlando? Yes. Rosales Thomas? Yes. Slyger? Yes. Motion passes. Item 11.3, approval of the purchase of a driver's ed and student transportation vehicle. Mark? Thank you. Um so, this is not only, as you said, the driver's ed vehicle, but we also use it for very kind of specific activities as well. So, driver's ed currently has two vehicles they use mainly for driver's ed, but obviously there's certain times, more kids, they need the third one, usually in the summer. Um but this is also good for like during the day you can take two students to, you know, wherever they need to go, or if, um athletes go down state, if there's, you

108know, one or two, you don't have to take the activity bus, which I'll be talking about later. A full activity bus, you can just take, um this type of vehicle, and we have had a Honda Odyssey for a number of years. It's a 2008, so it's been very reliable. It's 18 years old, it's time to get another one. Um they do last, um obviously, with 18 years, so I'm looking to get a very similar one, um to that. And you need a used one, there's a market for them. I have I'm learning a lot about, um this type of market, and it's actually more economical to you go used than to get a new one, so that's why this will be a used one. Any questions? Um what's going to happen to the 2008? Yeah,

109so we're going to, um try to get some money for it, and we will. Um so, I actually, as I thought about this, I needed to put that in, so I will be putting that in next month. Um so, actually I'll be putting all of them in next month. I don't really know the exact price, so I'm going to get an estimate of that, but yeah, we will get some money out of the 2008. Um really we'll get some money just because it's not really high mileage for a 2008, so um yeah. I see that, um, because it's a used vehicle that it's exempt from the bidding process, but it was specified that McGrath would be used. Is there a reason for that? Yeah, um, McGrath is very local Honda dealership and they have a

110lot of Honda Odysseys. Um, that's really the driver. Um, it's something local you can go and how used vehicles work is they don't hold them, um, even if you put a deposit down, so you literally, if they have them you know, I'll I'll know and now that's why the not to exceed number is on there. Um, that's kind of a range of, um, what kind of fits this situation. I have a Honda Odyssey, so I totally support >> [laughter] >> Do you want to sell it? It is. Any other questions? Okay. You know, now I'll now entertain a motion to authorize the purchase of a used driver education student transportation van from McGrath Honda in the amount to exceed not to exceed, let me make sure I get that right, not to exceed $40,000. So

111moved. So moved by Katie. Second. Second by Raquel. City Clerk, please list on roll call vote. Signor? Yes. Arlando? Yes. Carrolls? Yes. Susicki? Yes. Gonzalez Thomas? Yes. Meadows? Yes. Gilbert? Yes. Motion passes. Item 11.4, approval of a maintenance truck purchase. You're going to see a trend here. It's all about vehicles tonight with me. Um So, this has been we're now at, I think a nine or eight or nine-year process of kind of getting all of our maintenance trucks each year newer and newer. So, when we started this it was 2018, so we're eight years and this is really kind of the last truck until we really start the entire process all over again. Um So, we do have a 2008 International 2008. Um one of those trucks left. We're looking to get rid of that

112and And again, Raquel I will get that in next month. And I'm going to say that again to you because the next one's the same way. But, we will get some value out of it. And again, it really depends on kind of the timing um as far as we put it on an auction site. Um we've done that with multiple different vehicles. Okay. Other questions? Okay. I will entertain a motion to authorize the purchase of one 2027 maintenance truck through the National Joint Powers Alliance cooperative purchasing contract in the amount of $55,934.76. So moved. So moved by Aaron, second by >> Second. by Raquel. Cindy, please lead us in a roll call vote. Swiskey? Yes. Garrels? Yes. Orlando? Yes. Kilgore? Yes. Gonzalez-Thomas? Yes. Matos? Yes. Slager? Yes. All right. Item 11.5 cuz Mark's legs are

113getting tired. Approval of a multi-function school activity bus and there's an abbreviation in here, but you're stretching on this one. Yeah. Um purchase. So, please continue, sir. So, for a number of years we leased our activity buses. And if you remember about a year ago, we decided to buy them. And part of the plan was is once we own these, [clears throat] now we're going to get in the plan of basically purchasing a bus every one or two years. So, this is the first um bus that we will purchase. Um and this is also a not to exceed number because I've been working with um different Well, there's only a couple. There's not many, but dealerships for this and they have some remaining. So, instead of having to build one out and it takes at

114least a year to do this. There are some remaining. So, and it's going to be a lot less expensive than, you know, if you go into the next year. So, what we'll do is is with your approval get this one purchased as soon as possible and then there is still a trade-in value. And really, what we're trying to do here is keep the warranties. So, we try to keep all five buses within the same mileage. Buses have a total and they might be going a different distance than at the high school. But, we try to rotate them and keep them within and it's really your 36,000 or 60,000 as far as warranty goes. One of our buses is it's going to buy by the time we trade it in it or sell it it will

115be over that 36,000 mark. So, that's kind of the goal on all this is to not take a bus so far that it doesn't really have much value. So, we will get I'm estimating it's going to be 30,000, maybe more back as either either a trade-in or a sell outright. That's not a I haven't made that decision yet. I'm just trying to get the best price. Um, so really if you look at this, you know, take that off and it's you know, it's going to be a 70,000. Yes, it's expensive, but 70 or 80,000 I'll purchase. You can't count that in cuz you're purchasing it and then later or Kelly will get this in the appropriate one and you'll know exactly the value of that that bus. >> you're eyeballing them right now. Yeah. You

116better get those numbers in. >> [laughter] >> Yeah, before you go to the high school >> [laughter] >> Better train the new guy, just so you know. All right, any questions? You said there's five and the goal is to do one a year. Um one depending on the mileage, but one I would say one or two years and so the kind of you get it's really that eight year type eight to 10 year cycle of all of these to really get the value. The very similar things that I've had it done in the past for the maintenance trucks. Really the mileage, I mean activity buses we put more miles on just because we're going a farther distan- distance, but you still have to kind of figure that spot. And I already know that, you know,

117these have a value. So, to get that back. But, yeah, five the five activity buses works well. Um There's some days we could use more, but um that seems to be a good thing. We did have four and we increased it to five. Well, I think it was probably three or four years ago. We used to only have three when we first started. Yeah. I think it might be informative. Could you talk about like some of the uses of the activity buses? I think are really assisting kids and families the last years that we weren't before, I think. Right. Yeah, laws have changed with us. So, we can use it a lot more. We can use it really when this first started you could not use them during the day. It was only extracurriculars after

118school and that's it. Now, it's really by level, so you can use them at the high school. Um Again, I don't I don't even know all the different ways, but yeah. Um taking kids to certain things. You know, I know life skills class use them. I mean to go to different programs throughout the district. So, I mean I I don't know that it's that years, but five, seven years ago you couldn't do that. So, that has changed. So, really these buses are used all the time. They're mainly used after school for anything from athletics to music to clubs. And both mainly at the high school level, but at Rotolo as well. Yeah, I was thinking when I was helping coach the play football in the fall these girls would practice till 4:45 and then I

119think about a half to 2/3 of them would take that activity bus and got a ride home which is I mean I don't know how many there's probably a lot of kids that would not have been able to participate if they didn't have that opportunity. You were actually thinking of the activity bus so that does get confusing but these are our smaller 14 passenger activity buses. You're thinking of the activity buses we use through El Moy Central that take you know that take you know students and drop them at specific sites throughout town these side west side sites but yes they're the same name but they're not the same vehicle. >> Okay, thanks for clarifying. >> Those extracurricular buses are the ones >> [cough] >> the big ones that Mark's talking about after practices or

120um extracurricular club kind of events. Those are the buses that are both funded by the district and BAS donations. They've really helped us engage in getting extra bussing for kids so that they can participate in that work. So those are the regular buses that we use. Thank you. Any other questions? All right, I will entertain a motion to authorize the purchase of one multi-function school activity bus. I'm not going to say it from Midwest [clears throat] Transit Equipment through Sourcewell Cooperative Purchasing Procurement in the amount not to exceed $120,000 even. So moved. So moved. Was that Danielle? Danielle second by? Second. Second by Raquel. Cindy please lead us in a roll call vote. Arlandu? Yes. Susicki? Yes. Guerros? Yes. Snyder? Yes. Gonzales Thomas? Yes. Medows? Yes. Kilgore? Yes. Motion passes, thank you. Item 11.6 approval

121of boundary for Abbey Meadows and Harvest Pointe. Tony? Yes, if you recall a couple months ago we talked about this as a possibility where there are two new developments underway being built on Redand the essentially the near the intersection of Redondo Road and Butterfield Road. Um these two developments are within a mile and a half or within walking distance Currently they're within the attendance boundaries of JB Nelson School. Those boundaries were drawn some 20 years ago. And before any children move into these homes, we think it prudent that we move the attendance areas from JB Nelson School to Wood School. That way these kids can actually walk to school and it fits with our neighborhood schools model where where we can. Not all aspects of town are obviously walkable, but where we can do that,

122we try to and and this aligns with that principle. If I recall correctly and he was kind of that JB Nelson is the one that when they did the RSP study that was a little bit on asset crunch crunch, not quite there yet, but it was on the closer side. Yes, it was if I recall correctly off the top of my head it was 92%. And the ideal is anywhere between 80 and 90%. And next year we do think that it will be probably right around 89 or 90%. This is the natural course of things, not because of moving these right these these developments, but that was just going to be the natural course of it. Do you know if any of the homes are sold in that area like if we had any people

123register for the school yet? No, we haven't had anybody register yet, but you know, I think the first homes are about finished. I don't know Mark, have you heard anything lately by chance? Um the last I had heard is that there will be people moving in by the end of the summer. If I recall correctly, they were going to start sales in May, first closings in June. So, right around that time frame. Okay. No, there's one development that's single family and one development that's multi-family. So, I don't remember which is which to be honest. But one will be town homes and one will be single family homes. >> [clears throat] >> Okay, any other questions? All right, I will entertain a motion to approve the reassignment of the Abbey Meadows and Harvest Point developments from

124JB Nelson So moved. So moved by Katie. Second. Second by Raquel. Cindy, please lead us in a vote call vote. Siziki? Yes. Alderman Thomas? Yes. Alderman Orlando? Yes. Alderman Yarros? Yes. Alderman Saiger? Yes. Alderman Gilber? Yes. Alderman Meadows? Yes. Motion passes. All right, we are through the action items. Thank you everybody for your time and effort on that. Discussion items, item 12.1, ramp agreement. Brad. So, this is just so people have time between now and the next meeting. We'll bring you the full agreement next meeting to approve, but this is a a part of a group that Tom got us involved in. I'm going to put it squarely on him as part of the Aurora Education Commission. He's a big wig on that. So, he's like opened some doors for us. So, this is a

125partnership with a lot of different school and educational entities including Chicago Public Schools. We're a part of Vallees, which is our career and technical education. So, it's us, East Aurora, and West Aurora that are participating from Vallees. We have some vocational centers and then a system a CTE system downstate. So, kind of a a nice group of diverse partners that are working together with an organization out of NIU called Ed Systems and we've we've met them as a part of the Rural Education Commission and they're they're very involved. They're really good at data. And this is a regional acceleration of model pathways project that we're working collaboratively with them on. They obtained some grant funding and they'll funnel that through VALLEYS to to help fund some of this work about $63,000 I think is what

126VALLEYS will get between the three districts that are a part of that of this work. And what we'll do is we'll look at creating a data infrastructure to really analyze our region to see what career pathways we need for our students. And I think that's a huge piece, right? We want to make sure that the programming that we put forth to our kids really matches what our region needs in terms of jobs and careers. They'll provide some technical support because they do this work throughout the state and then we'll develop a regional action plan for developing work-based learning opportunities for our students with all of these other organizations. So I think it's a really awesome opportunity. We had our first call about a week ago to meet all the different partners and kind of process

127through what this might look like. I included I think the Commission on Purposeful Pathways. I found I had not seen that before but I found that to be really valuable as a read to kind of show like what the the true purpose. Why are we building these pathways? It's really impactful on students in terms of their college selections and their career selections later on and um some really valuable work to me. So I included that little research brochure in the discussion as well. We don't need to talk about this or if you have questions I'm happy to answer them. I don't know as much as I want to cuz we have another couple meetings coming up but they're asking us that we get the start this process to get this agreement up and running so

128that we can share data amongst the the partners. Tim, did I miss anything? No, you did a really nice job. Thank you, I appreciate that. Any questions for him to answer now or later when he learns more about it? So, I get the program. So, like how Like if I'm in high school and we adopt this, like how is it going to benefit me? It's probably a couple years out before this to like really impact. We're going to continue to do our work-based learning. Um one of the nice things is in kind of teaming with West Aurora and East Aurora, they're at little different spots than we are, too. With some successes and setbacks just like us. So, I feel lucky to kind of work with those two school districts to kind of see what

129they're doing and how they're processing through this. In education, we tend to kind of all do our own thing and not really collaborate very well uh because we think like our circumstance is so different. And that's just not the case. We can learn a lot from each other. So, I'm really happy to work with East and West Aurora on this project and then to learn from other organizations that can help improve our product um in terms of what we're doing with work-based learning. So, it's going to be a couple years where I think we'll start to see the fruits of this. One of the really exciting pieces will be the data piece, Ed Systems, and I think I put a link in the the memo to what they've done with other statewide data. It's really

130helpful for making some data-based decisions when they are compiling the data for us uh and mapping that data to see what's happening in our region versus other regions. I think if I can add on, if you don't mind, Brad. >> Please. Um for me to answer your question, Raquel, I think one of the additional benefits to though is as well as Brad put, while we kind of navigate towards the more robust programming under this particular area I think this gives us an opportunity to sharpen the things we are doing right now. Uh Um if you look at the language in the text, a lot of it is based around presentation. You will see a lot of familiar language that our teams have presented to the board about what we're doing. Like if you take the

131education pathways program for example, a lot of the work-based learning skills that are coming through this, student internships that we've been talking about, working with some of our teachers at BHS right now who are taking the lead in developing the foundation for us to get ready to launch paid student internships that we will host Um there's a lot of work in that. I think these are the things that give us the the kind of that North Star navigational tool to keep heading towards. Um so that when we are ready to kind of launch bigger, um this where we're like foundationally ready. We're set. And we're aligned to the standards that the state's looking for as well. So. That's all I have to say. Yeah, there were some pretty smart people on those calls. Other questions?

132Okay. So Brad, next steps? You learn a little bit more about it. >> I'll learn more. I'll bring it back next month and we'll see where we're at with the agreement. Okay. Great. All right, item 13, board and superintendent comments. Tom, anything to start with? As is always, this is my one and only comment tonight. Um I liken tomorrow evening to the final act for those of you who appreciate the theater or fine arts. If you're a sports enthusiast, this is the Super Bowl tomorrow night. Um so excited to be at graduation. See our students walk across the stage. To me, that is the highlight of what we do in education. To see our students as they matriculated through the district and now move on to their next goals in life and you know, um

133so just really excited. I know in my visits to the buildings over the last week or so that a lot of students are excited about this the event for tomorrow night and so all I have to say to the board is my only comment is go Bulldogs tomorrow night at NIU. Great. Board member comments. Okay, Christine. Thank you. Uh I just wanted to mention that I can't remember his name, the gentleman that spoke about the piano. Mr. Peoples. Mr. Peoples. I think I've mentioned before the park district program where um they have discu- conversations and there was a conversation about music in Batavia and he sat next to me and so I had a [clears throat] conversation with him about his dad who was a music educator. >> [snorts] >> It's nice to see him

134again. Um and then my second thing is with the amount of emails and concern we've gotten about Chromebook usage, if that is something that people would be interested in putting on a future agenda, I think the timing is not great cuz I would want teachers to be involved in that conversation or at least to get feedback from the BEA to get an idea of like what what it what it actually looks like in the classroom. Um but I was just wondering if people are interested in having that conversation at some point in the future to get more information about you know, what does it actually look like? Yeah. And I'm wondering for our school update meetings coming up here right the schools, can we have them comment on that or ask for their feedback and

135input on that? Yeah. Um how about on Tuesday evening I can also present I I put our our committee messages are designed to intentionally be summarize of a you know, two-hour long meeting, you know, so they're not minutes per se, but they're a summary. Um Next week what I can do is share a snippet of like what our conversation was at DCC. We did begin our conversations around the use of screen time. We had a conversation about devices. This was a conversation we had with the board in the fall. We've talked we also discussed the AI maturity tool that I've shared with you earlier. So a lot of these things that are being raised do not I think a lot of the speakers actually spoke to this is they don't live in isolation of each

136other, right? They're all they're all tethered to each other. They all touch each other and I think it's really important as we respond to this, we look at it holistically and and at DCC we had a conversation to kind of start navigating what that might look like. But I can give an I can provide an update at the Tues Tuesday evening meeting. Start with that. I would say start with that and then I agree with you like if we were to have a discussion the teachers are like the most important piece really, so maybe in the fall. We'll see where we're at. Half of it's teachers. Yeah, just a reminder at the DCC level half of that group is teachers as well. So I was a part of that DCC group, so. They're part of

137the discussion. And then my last thing is congratulations to our Bothell graduates. college or trade school or I hope you feel that your BPS experience has prepared you for what's to come. I know some of you probably had hurdles to overcome to get to this point. I hope you're proud of your accomplishment. You persevered and you made it. And I'm looking forward to the new school year. I know we get a break. You know. But I'm excited for the new year. I have a year under my school board belt, so I feel like I'm a little more confident and prepared. And uh I'm looking forward to making good choices for all of our students. Rob. Yes, first of all, I'll just piggyback off of Kristen's uh congratulations to all the graduates tomorrow. So, I look

138forward to being there and celebrating with you. Um tomorrow. And I always enjoy the uh the speeches. Um you know, usually pretty inspiring. So, I'm looking forward to to hearing that. Um And speaking of the experience of the BHS, I had the opportunity to go to my son's college graduation, undergrad graduation over the weekend. And I always um I always get pretty inspired when I go go to those uh type of, you know, for various family members. And you hear some of the speakers and um couple of ones that uh really stuck out to me was um a woman by the name of Marguerite uh Barankitse, who um was involved in, if you remember, the early '90s Burundi, Rwanda, the genocide that happened over there. She actually was part of a very um tragic situation

139over there. I I won't go into the details here, but you can look that up. But um she was very hopeful even going through that. Um and she was able to kind of um save a number of people's lives and turn turn it around. And she used her you know, her will to um come up with a uh programs that uh help refugees. And And I think about our graduates here, they're moving on to various, you know, pathways after graduation. But I I I if you always keep in mind that, you know, that hope, you know, you're working um for the common good. So, uh I hope they they keep that in mind as they as they move forward. And then the other one was um Dr. Tim Shriver, who's part of the Shriver Kennedy

140family. Um he's the daughter of Eunice Kennedy Shriver or son of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, sorry. Um and he uh picked up where his mom left off with Special Olympics. So, he talked about that. And he really talked about you know, the dignity of people. And he encouraged the graduates to really uh really look at when you you interact with people, um you know, look at the dignity there. And every person is special when and we need to treat each other that way. So, um just a couple thoughts I wanted to share. All right. So, it's May, so it's Happy Asian Pacific Heritage Month. It's also Mental Health Awareness, and I think a lot of people after tomorrow will have a good mental health break >> [laughter] >> for a few months. So, uh >> [clears

141throat] >> and then just thanks to Robin and Danielle for taking on the task of interviewing and selecting our student board members. I appreciate that. And then congratulations to the class of 2026, and I hope everyone has a healthy, safe, and happy summer. Nice. Um I want to start by saying we had so many uh celebrations at the beginning of the meeting tonight. So, congratulations to people that are new to the district, our new uh student board members, and everybody that was is recognized tonight. It's always inspiring. Um I want to say congratulations to all those who are retiring from BPS 101. And uh I think Thursday will be almost their last day. Uh so, we're excited for them, and I'm a little envious of what they get to embark on now with their next

142step. Um I want to thank my fellow board members for their service to the district. I know we our work continues, but there's sort of a rhythm to it right now. So, I want to thank them for that. And I want to specifically thank uh my family, specifically my wife and my kids for the sacrifices they make to allow me to serve. Uh of course, I want to congratulate the class of 2026 and their families. I agree. I'll echo the sentiments. For me, it's one of the highlights of the year. The energy in that building is someone who's has child walk across that stage. It's a very special moment for friends, family, and the entire community. So, I look forward to seeing everybody there. And then I want to say thank you to all the

143teachers, staff, administrators, families, and members of the community who have supported our students and the district. I hope everyone has a great summer, and we look forward to seeing them back in the fall. Okay. Um congratulations to the class of 2026. I I'm sad not to be there tomorrow. Um I never got to experience a graduation until I attended as a school board member because of circumstances. So, I maybe I could have, but I should have, but I didn't. Um I think one of the coolest things that I will always take with me was walking into the room and on the first year I didn't really know anybody and any of the kids that were graduating, but it was like walking to a into a group of kindergarteners, and it was just so cool to

144see all of them. They were just so giddy. The energy, like you were talking about the energy, it was something I've never experienced before. And then as the years gone, [snorts] like, you know, I've I think I've gone to three so far, and it's just And then it was cool to see my friends' kids. And then, you know, just uh And this year it's it's hitting me because these are the kids that when my daughter started as a kindergartner, these are the fifth graders. And so, I know a lot of them. Um and it's just wild, but um congratulations. I will always say that graduation graduating high school is not a given. It is a heck of a journey, and there are so many circumstances. So to any of the students who are not able

145to graduate because of certain circumstances, you do still matter. We still celebrate whatever journey you've been on and hope for the best. Um, and for all the other kids, no matter where they're going, just I hope for the best and um, wishing you the best of luck. I do have to read. I just like can't look around because I'm going to get emotional. Um, This part is really hard. Um, so I'm just going to read, okay? Um, after much reflection and with a very heavy heart, I am announcing my resignation from my seat as a school board member. Um, the reason for my resignation should not come as a surprise. Over the past 3 years, I've openly discussed in our meetings and emails the barriers I have often faced. When I was sworn in, I

146promised to use my voice to advocate for every student and our staff members and to help ensure a safe and inclusive environment for all. I also took an oath to represent my constituents honestly and courageously. I understand there may be disappointment or confusion surrounding this decision. I leave knowing I remain true to those commitments. I was an advocate before this role and I will continue to be one after it. When I ran for school board, I identified a need for stronger communication and transparency. I believe that by serving on the board, I would be able to better understand district decisions while helping elevate the voices and experiences shared by students, parents, and staff. Instead, I encountered repeated barriers to open dialogue, transparency, and meaningful discussion. Efforts to place issues on agendas often required months follow-up

147and too often concerns raised by our community felt dismissed or minimized. I was especially discouraged by the inability of our current processes to genuinely hear staff and student voices. The board is elected to serve alongside the community, not separate from it. We should be hearing directly from students, staff, and families, not solely through the lens of administration. Seeking a full understanding of an issue should never be treated as an inconvenience. Over time, these breakdowns in communication and transparency limited my ability to effectively advocate for the community I was elected to serve. If I may leave the board with one suggestion, it is this. Please prioritize curiosity, transparency, and an open board dialogue. I know we get offered one-on-ones, but I have often stressed in our various groups the immense importance of our various perspectives to

148come together in one room and to hold conversations in one room. And we often do not have that opportunity. We should absolutely value the expertise of our administration. Absolutely. But that should never supersede the lived experiences of our students, our staff, parents, and the broader community, especially our students. The makeup of our table at the moment symbolizes who is being centered in our discussions. I hope in the future the table changes a little bit. It's going to seat board members, student board members, and maybe there's an possibility to bring various store staff members voices to the table during discussions that impact day-to-day life inside the classroom. Just kind of like what you guys were talking to, right? Um as many of our decisions do affect those two groups. They are the only ones who can

149speak to the direct impacts of those decisions. To the incoming student board members, this made it an especially hard decision for me. Um This was truly the last thing that has kept me here for a while. Was this last effort. And so I thank you guys for joining me with that, with my ask for it. Rob, I appreciate all of the effort. You made it such a great experience. I told my close friends that it did was not lost on me that the majority of the time that we're doing our interviews, the diversity in the room was incredible. The way that we were able just to like take these kids in and just really hear them and I just it was so inspiring and I appreciate all the effort and the care that you put

150into it. I I feel that especially with that type of momentum, I'm not saying anyone else here does not have the same, but I've only experienced it from Rob. I do feel that they're going to be okay and they're going to be heard. Um and I want them to hear that their voices matter deeply and every that's made at this table directly impacts their lives. So, their experience are valid, they're important, and they're deserving of of the space and respect. And I really hope that this board encourages that sort of culture that really really allows them and lifts them to be able to do do their job. Their new roles on the board, they bring me so much hope and I cannot wait to see what they accomplish. My board members again, the decisions we

151make affect countless lives and should never be taken lightly. Asking questions is not disruptive. It is our responsibility. We owe the community more than the bare minimum. We must continue asking ourselves, have we truly listened to the people most affected by our decisions? Have our actions made their lives any better? Please do not allow the fear of changing the status quo stop this board from making impactful decisions and changes. Thank you. >> [clears throat] >> Um I will start by saying happy summer and happy graduation. On March 2nd, I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. I've not recovered from my first flare yet. I'm told it could take a year if I'm careful to manage my stress. On a different school board, a disease that is exacerbated by stress might have been manageable for me. My

152partner was the school board vice president in the town we moved here from. I've witnessed a curious, collaborative, communicative school board in action. When a school board has a unique identity separate from district administration, goals which center its students and teachers, and an administration that caters to it and not the other way around, I've seen school board work add more value than stress to board members' lives. It has become impossible for me to manage stress while sitting on this school board. When I ask for items to be placed on agendas and try to bring forth community questions and concerns for discussion as a board, I'm met with disbelief, defensiveness, tone policing, vague legal threats, the implication that I'm incapable of understanding how things work, and worst of all, silence. These are tactics used within frameworks

153of white supremacy, meant to instill fear rather than collaboration. You may recall that I pulled the board at the last meeting about discussing the Women's History Month social media post about Sarah McBride. There was consensus to do so, and yet that discussion didn't make it on this agenda. I wasn't communicated with about why it's missing or when it might appear in the future. If it ever is included on an agenda, it will be a minimum of 3 months since it was posted and the community asked us to respond to the hate speech against our beloved trans community members. If it doesn't get on an agenda, our trans community and their loved ones and allies will have effectively been silenced in favor of allowing space for hatred, bigotry, and a lack of education. On the rare

154occasion this community does receive a a response to its questions and concerns from this board, those responses come from one singular voice amongst us. At our board workshop last year, a commitment to seeking my feedback and perspective on issues was made. I suspect some of your interests are given opportunities to be represented in our board communications, but that commitment to me has never been fulfilled. I've never been offered an opportunity to be heard. We like to say that we as a board are taking community feedback seriously, only none of it ever ends up on an agenda to allow us the opportunity to collectively consider it. If things go the way they usually do when I speak, these statements will be met with defensiveness rather than curiosity, creating perfect conditions for us to dodge accountability for

155how our decisions get made. The one thing I was able to accomplish during my year on this board was getting pads and tampons stocked in bathrooms at Batavia High School. Up until a few weeks ago, students were reporting that the only way to obtain menstrual products at BHS was to walk to the nurse's office. There's evidence that menstrual products have not been supplied in the bathrooms for despite the law which says they must be. While ultimately the empty machines seem to have been stocked and the broken ones seem to have been replaced, when I brought this concern to administration, I was met with pushback there, too. I suppose it got resolved because I didn't bring it before the board in the public. It was addressed without transparency, communication, or accountability, but it was addressed. It's

156been extremely stressful for me since before my health took a turn to bring any community voice to this table. In my attempts to fulfill my duty to identify with and represent the needs and desires of our community, I've been effectively silenced as a board member at nearly every turn. It's not possible for me to do school board work alongside an admin an administration that insists it's always learning, always growing, and yet is somehow always right. It's not possible for me to do this work with folks who for the most part seem fine centering administrations' needs and desires over the communities. I'm incredibly sad to say I can no longer bear the stress of operating from my voiceless seat at this table. I can no longer tolerate asking questions that never get answered. It was my

157intention to do this board work in conjunction with the other work I do in my personal life, but I found that instead of being belonged by this school district, I'm consistently placed outside of it. It takes from me more than I'm allowed to give to it. Had I not been diagnosed with a chronic illness, I might have been able to continue speaking to ears that refuse to hear and minds that refuse to simply learn something new. But in my present circumstances, I cannot. I am also resigning effective at the close of this meeting. One thing I've learned is that I can be heard and affect change outside of this space. I will rejoin our community as a parent, a queer person, a disabled person, and a community advocate whose voice should be valuable to a

158district who counts among its goals belonging and diversity. I'll watch for and seize opportunities to amplify our students', teachers', and communities' voices. Congratulations are due to board member Slaeger for bringing student voices to this table. You've faced all the barriers I have and more in improving accountability, transparency, and communication in this district. I hope you feel appreciated for the hard work you did to make student voices heard. I hope the students appointed to these positions are protected, listened to with curiosity, and actively belonged to this space by this board. Thank you to the teachers who've been brave enough to speak with me even when you've seen me being silenced and discredited. Your support has been super meaningful. I hope someday this board will have an understanding of what our teachers' needs and desires are. I

159wish I could have understood that better during my time on the board and been a better better advocate for you, but I felt largely shut out of your spaces, too. I hope whoever replaces me in this seat will have awareness and understanding of the carefully crafted barriers to bringing meaningful conversations before you. I hope you'll be able to overcome those barriers better than I am. It's with deep regret, disappointment, and sadness that I vacate this seat. It's out of concern for my health and the harm I am surely doing that I refuse to continue operating in the ways I am forced to here. I'm grateful to our community for electing me and making clear you want your voices heard. Thank you for giving me this platform for a year. I hope I can be more

160effective alongside you in making Batavia's school district one that we all deserve. One where community needs and desires in educational matters are represented in good faith. One that works for all and not just a powerful few. One that doesn't add stress to people's lives, but relieves it. Our community has brought many issues before this board that have not been addressed. Queer acknowledgement and inclusion. Technology, screen time, and cell phone usage. Curriculum, class sizes. The value of a teacher outside of just their licensure. Reductions in staff that could prove disastrous for our most vulnerable students. And more. I hope someone on this board or someone's on this board do have a voice that is heard and that you will respond to this community about what matters to it. Our community, and that includes students, parents, teachers,

161staff, neighbors, friends, everybody, deserves to be centered in the ways our policy and the Illinois Association of School Boards requires. Thank you. Uh I am only going to do two things. One is congratulations to um everyone at the conclusion of their educational journey, whatever that is. Um and to those that are moving on, as Kristen said, to college, trade, year off, or or straight into the job force. Um one part that I do have in the speech that I am honored to be able to kind of be a part of. I always just want to kind of say there's bulldogs everywhere. Um my son, like Rob, though this is my son's third graduation that I went to as he worked his way toward law school, and he tells me it's his final one. Um he

162was telling me a story that he goes, "Oh, I got a funny call the other day." And I said, "Yeah, what what was?" He said, "Well, do you remember blah blah blah?" I can't remember her name right now. And he said, "Kind of sort of." And he says, "Yeah, I only I kind of knew her, but he was like, "Oh, I'm graduating with with her from Colorado Law in Boulder." And so she is a fellow classmate of his that he went on separate journeys through their kind of educational career and ended up in Boulder at the same time, at the same place. He did not know her very well. She did not know him very well, but she took it upon herself to call him to let him know that if he had not already

163done some things he needed to do about transitioning his license and getting some data that he needed to apply for the bar to start now cuz it could take like 6 months to get and that would be past his deadline for the bar. Fortunately for him, he had not transferred his license as far She jumped right into I'm going to live in Colorado. My son took about a year into this until he got his in-state tuition and then he got his Colorado driver's license. So, I was just remark that, you know, someone reached out some a fellow classmate from 8 years prior of his last graduation took the time to give him a call to talk about a challenge and an issue that he had and that no matter where you go, I think often

164times there are bulldogs there that are taking a lot from this world and the space and being able to bring it back to each other. So, uh with that, I will entertain a motion to adjourn. So moved. So moved, Rob. >> Second. Seconded by Aaron. All in favor? Aye. >> Aye. All opposed? It is now 9:32 p.m. and the meeting is adjourned.