001Good evening, everyone. Thank you so much for coming this evening. I'd like to call the order of the March 20th, 2025 Community Unit School District 95 Board of Education meeting. Kate, will you please call the roll? Mr. Have? Here. Ms. Maloney? Here. Dr. Pinter? Here. Mrs. Warren? Here. Mrs. Danniger? Mr. Atian? Here. Mr. Goldberg? Here. If you'll all rise, please, and join us in the Pledge of Allegiance. We actually have a special guest this evening. He'll be leading us in the Pledge. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States and land, to the republic, one nation, Thank you so much. Well, folks, once again, good evening, and thank you so much for joining us this evening. Welcome to spring. Doesn't quite seem like spring out there, but it actually is. And interestingly enough,
002today is the first day of the calendar year where the sunlight hours exceed the sunset hour. So we actually have more daylight today than we have nighttime today. This is the first day of the year to do that, so that's kind of awesome. I wanted to spend just a moment and talk about something that's near and dear to my heart. I've been working with a group of students for now for almost two years who share my passion for all things that roll, explode, and make noise. And so last year was our first ever car show at Lakeserrick High School, and it was done as a charity event. They raised money last year for juvenile diabetes. And this year they've got a much bigger batter show planned. We have several food trucks coming. And this year
003they've decided to endorse a charity which is also very near and dear to me, which is the Wounded Warrior Project. And for those of you that don't know, the Wounded Warrior Project not only raises money and helps soldiers, sailors, and airmen who have been wounded in action, it does a lot for their families as well. In fact, that foundation has given more college scholarships than any other foundation in the country. So it's really an amazing charity. I'm really taken by the fact that the students embrace this charity. So you can see the link up there. It's on our website as well. You can come out and just enjoy the cars. There are gonna be a lot of exotic cars will be there this year. Donate some money if you care to, but certainly if you
004have time to come out on Sunday, May 4th and join us from 11 to 2 p.m. that would be very awesome. Again, it's something that's near and dear to me. I'm so proud of these students that have been working very hard to make this a reality. It's really quite awesome. Now, I know the reason that most of you are here tonight, of course, is for our monthly awards. And I'll share with you that this is our favorite meeting of the month by far. It gives us an opportunity to really take a moment to reflect and to celebrate the fact that we have so many awesome staff members, students, and family members that come out. And so this is a chance for us to recognize some of those every month. So what's gonna happen is that
005Mrs. Malik will run a short film and it'll talk about each one of the honorees tonight. Once the film is concluded, the board will assemble over on your left-hand side. You'll be called up to receive a small token of our appreciation. And tonight is actually extraordinary because we not only have our normal monthly board awards, we have some special awards tonight as well. So anyway, sit back and enjoy the film and we'll get right to it. Good evening. Welcome to the District 95 monthly board awards where we are pleased to recognize students and adults representing the vision and values supporting the District 95 mission to empower every learner to achieve personal excellence. Tonight, we begin with our student recognitions from Lake Zurich High School. Jessica Eng, Lake Zurich High School, 11th grade. As a student
006in German for honors, Jessica consistently demonstrates exceptional thoughtfulness and a unique ability to connect knowledge and skills from various disciplines to enhance her understanding of the German language. What truly sets Jessica apart is her unwavering dedication to using German in the classroom, fostering an immersive learning environment for both herself and her peers. Beyond the classroom, she represented the high school with distinction at the UIC German High School Day. Jessica's academic excellence combined with her kindness and support for others makes her an outstanding bear. Miguel Mendoza, Middle School South, 8th grade. Miguel exemplifies the qualities of an outstanding student through his dedication to academic growth, curiosity, and respectful demeanor. One of Miguel's greatest strengths is his ability to make meaningful connections between the curriculum and the real world. He also advocates for himself, never hesitating to
007ask clarifying questions to ensure he fully grasps new concepts. Beyond academics, Miguel is a model of kindness and respect. His dedication to academic success, particularly in math, is evident through his persistent effort and willingness to challenge himself. Miguel is an example of the qualities of an outstanding student through his dedication to academic growth, curiosity, and respectful behavior. One of Miguel's greatest strengths is his ability to make meaningful connections between the curriculum and the real world. He is also his own strong advocate and never hesitates to ask clarifying questions to ensure he fully grasps new concepts. Beyond academics, Miguel is a model of kindness and respect. His dedication to academic success, particularly in math, is evident through his persistent effort and willingness to challenge himself. Marshall Gray, Middle School North, 7th grade. Marshall demonstrates many characteristics
008identified on the district's portrait of a graduate. As a natural group leader, Marshall has an incredible ability to bring others together, fostering collaboration, and making everyone feel included. His wide circle of friends is a testament to his inclusive nature. Always willing to participate in class, he contributes thoughtful insights and encourages others to engage as well. Marshall is an effective communicator, able to express his ideas clearly while also listening to and valuing the perspectives of others. His growth-oriented mindset drives him to continually strive for excellence. Emily Guerrero, Sarah Adams Elementary, 5th grade. Emily consistently arrives to her specials classes with a positive mindset and an eagerness to learn. When faced with challenges, she approaches them with determination, exploring new strategies to achieve her goals. She is thoughtful and always willing to help others. When a new
009student arrived at school with limited English, Emily played a key role in making them feel welcomed and understood. She is always ready to lend a hand wherever it's needed. Congratulations. Emily consistently arrives to her special classes with a positive mindset and an eagerness to learn. When faced with challenges, Emily approaches them with determination, exploring new strategies to achieve her goals. She is thoughtful and always willing to help others. When a new student arrived at school with limited English, Emily played a key role in making them feel welcomed and understood. Emily is always ready to lend a hand wherever it's needed. Colin Spazieri, May Whitney Elementary, 4th grade. Colin is a bright, kind, and curious student. He excels in school, but is never boastful, and he is always willing to help others. Colin consistently brings his
010best to his schoolwork, modeling the district value of the academic excellence, and his respect and good nature make him a great friend to everyone. Colin leads by example with respect, kindness, and a positive attitude. Congratulations. Francesca Faust, Spencer-Lumis Elementary, 3rd grade. The specials team proudly recognizes Francesca for exemplifying our district's core values and demonstrating outstanding character and leadership. Francesca excels in P.E. class, and her passion for sports is a reflection of her academic excellence and her perseverance. Francesca leads by example in all of her specials classes with her positive actions and words, demonstrating kindness and respect to her classmates and teachers. When working on teams or in groups, she encourages others to join in, creating an environment of respect and integrity. Violet Front, Isaac Fox Elementary, Kindergarten. Violet consistently displays a positive attitude and enthusiasm
011for learning, which is infectious to her classmates. She shows kindness and respect to everyone and is always willing to lend a helping hand. In addition to being a role model in terms of behavior, Violet has shown a dedication to learning and has grown significantly since the beginning of the year. She is a positive force in the classroom and inspires others to follow her good examples. Mirza Segura, Seth Payne Elementary, Kindergarten. Mirza comes to school every day with a smile and a desire to learn. She works hard and approaches her learning with great enthusiasm. Mirza can be found around the classroom helping others, saying kind things and putting forth her best effort. She collaborates with her peers and is always supportive of others with kind words or a helping hand. Mirza displays exceptional behavior and is
012kind and inclusive to everyone. Way to go, Mirza. Moving on to our adult recognitions. Jody Henning, Lake Zurich High School, Volunteer of the Month. The high school is incredibly grateful to Jody for her tireless dedication and passion, a true cornerstone of our athletic booster club. She brings a spirit of teamwork and generosity that uplifts the entire athletic community. While Jody didn't do it alone and she would be the first to say that, even when setting up for events late at night or early in the morning, Jody shows up with enthusiasm and heart. We are lucky to have such a dedicated volunteer whose efforts make a lasting difference. Congratulations and thank you. Lisa LePage, Sarah Adams Elementary, Staff Member of the Month. Throughout the halls of the school, Lisa spreads warmth and cheer. Her kind smile
013and welcoming nature create an atmosphere that celebrates everyone within the walls. Lisa plays a key role in cultivating a positive work environment and transforming spaces. For example, the bulletin boards, full of creativity, reflect her work both inside her classroom and across the school. Lisa's ability to make personal connections is unmatched. It's not uncommon to receive a card filled with words of encouragement, kindness, and gratitude. Lisa is dedicated to student leadership and mentorship. Recognizing the power of peer influence, she has developed a program where older students are encouraged to mentor younger students in PE classes. Overall, Lisa creates an inclusive, dynamic, and innovative environment where PE class is an enriching experience for all. Moving on to our special recognitions, we begin with our National Merit Scholarship Finalists. National Merit Scholarship Finalists are high school seniors who
014have demonstrated exceptional academic ability and have been recognized as such by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. These students have achieved high scores on the PSAT, NMSQT, high scores on the ACT or the SAT, and demonstrated high academic excellence in courses at Lake Zurich High School. Congratulations to Arushi Bhagat, Leo Michaels, Shireen Singh, Jeannie Yu. Brendan Glenn, Lake Zurich High School, College of Lake County Dual Credit Instructor of the Year Award. Lake Zurich High School math teacher Brendan Glenn was selected as one of College of Lake County's Dual Credit Instructors of the Year. Mr. Glenn was nominated by his students and selected through a blind review of the nominations. Here are some excerpts from the student nominations. Mr. Glenn has been the most receptive and understanding math teacher I've ever had. You can feel his passion
015for math and education. His patients knew no bounds as he assisted struggling students, breaking down concepts into simple terms. Congratulations. Congratulations to the Young Adult Center team on receiving a prestigious Illinois State Board of Education Those Who Excell Award of special recognition in the team category. The Young Adult Center team was nominated for many reasons, including an improved service delivery to young adults in the transition program, especially after moving to the new building. They have expanded life skills practice opportunities, expanded pre-vocational skills practice opportunities, expanded community-based learning opportunities, and expanded community engagement opportunities. Congratulations to the entire team. Dr. Lauren McArdle, Assistant Superintendent, Illinois State Board of Education Those Who Excell Award winner. Congratulations to Dr. Lauren McArdle on receiving a prestigious Illinois State Board of Education Those Who Excell Award of meritorious service in
016the school administrator category. Dr. McArdle was nominated for many reasons, including her engagement with parents through various initiatives, from early childhood sessions to technology safety, substance awareness, school safety, or SEL topics, such as building resilience. A champion of student behavior support, Dr. McArdle leads the district's behavior committee, district safety committee, and district threat assessment team. One of her crowning achievements is the district's new Young Adult Center. From overseeing the building renovation to establishing a robust support program for students, she was hands-on with every aspect of the project. Congratulations, Dr. McArdle. Congratulations. Okay, good evening, everyone. Thank you so much for being here. So I'm going to call up the names of each of our award winners, and we'll ask that you come up and go over to our Board of Education members to receive a
017certificate. Then we would like you to stand in the middle here. We'll take a quick picture of our own, and then we'll get out of the way so that you can take pictures as well. We'll start with our students of the month. From Lake Zurich High School, Jessica Eng. From Middle School South, Miguel Mendoza. From Middle School North, Marshall Gray. From Sarah Adams, Emily Guerrero. From May Whitney, Collins Bezira. From Spencer Loomis, Francesca Faust. From Isaac Fox, Violet Front. From Seth Payne, Mirza Segura. Our volunteer of the month could not be here this evening, but let's give a round of applause for Jody Henning from Lake Zurich High School. Our staff member of the month, from Sarah Adams, Lisa LePage. And now our special recognitions, our National Merit Scholarship finalists, Arushi Bhagat from Lake Zurich
018High School. Leo Michaels, not here. Shireen Singh. And I believe our last finalist is also not here, but let's give it up for Jeannie Yu. Also not present tonight, but let's give some applause for Mr. Brendan Glenn, who is the CLC Dual Credit Instructor of the Year. And now our Young Adult Center team. I'm gonna read all of the names. I know you're not all here, but I'm just gonna ask you to come up as I read your name, if you're here. Julie Anderson. We'll hold our applause till the end, okay? Because there's a lot of them. Julie Anderson, Tara Batchelor. PJ Bregenser. Christine Batita. Christine Casanova. Dionne Couples. Rebecca Flanagan. Lisa Frebus. Jake Jobst. Jim Pfeiffer. Maddie Pioir. Kim Quast. Laura Ryerson. Jan Robertson. Kelly Schoonover. Julie Wetterberg. Dave Williams. Kelly Wolinski. Brittany Yates.
019Aracely Zanteno. And Tanya Gild. Now we can clap. And our last, but very much not least, recognition. Someone who loves being the center of the spotlight, Dr. Lauren McArdle. Okay, so we're gonna take a quick picture. Then we'll let you take pictures, and I don't know if Mr. Goldberg mentioned it, but very important, there's cake afterwards. There's actually two cakes, because there's a lot of people here. So hold tight, and we'll get to the cake in a minute. Feel free to come up and take pictures, folks. Keep smiling, everybody. Any other pictures? All right, let's break and have some cake. Thank you all very much, congratulations. All cabinet members, Mrs. Stallion, please report to the table. Folks, we're gonna go ahead and resume our regular board meeting. You're, of course, all welcome to stay if
020you'd like. We won't feel bad if you leave, of course. Only Kate, do we have anybody sign a public comment? No, we do not. Thank you very much. Given that, next item on the agenda is the consent agenda. Dr. Gold. Thank you, Mr. Goldberg. This evening I have for you the approval of the Treasurer's Report, Bills Payable List, and District Activity Bills Payable, disposal of equipment, food service contract renewal, middle school course proposal, Skyward Financial Human Resources System Conversion, and the personnel report, which includes employment of non-certified staff, resignation of non-certified staff, and stipends for March 20th, 2025. Thank you, Dr. Gold. I need a motion to approve the consent agenda as prepared and presented by the administration. May I please have that motion? So moved. Second. Thank you, Peter. Thank you, Eileen. Call the
021roll, please. Mrs. Warren? Yes. Mr. Aitian? Yes. Mr. Goldberg? Yes. Mr. Hayes? Yes. Ms. Maloney? Yes. Dr. Pinter? Yes. Okay, thank you very much. Next up is the Superintendent's Report. Dr. Gold. Thank you. This evening I have for you, as is included within the board agenda, the FOIA items, and then you did receive one communication. There was a media request sent to you related to the theft by past D95 coaching staff, so you did receive that. Mrs. Malik will take care of that request on behalf of the board. And then we have just a few dedication and events since we met last week. Not a whole lot in my report. However, something very exciting. I know that we have shared this with you previous, but we have scheduled the date of the dedication for on
022behalf of John Kaiser Jr., and so that's over the robotics lab. If you recall, it will be on April 23rd from four to 5.30 p.m. Board members, please note that you will need to RSVP, so if you could do so as soon as possible, that would be great. It will be open to the public. Dr. Walsh has communicated through his newsletter, I believe, today. If not today, then tomorrow. We have several items for continuing to mark your calendar. I did include this as a part of your calendar of events over the next couple of months, but please note tomorrow we have a sip and chat, and so that will be related to our strategic planning part two, so excited about that. And then just continue to take note of the other items. For the graduation
023at the high school, if you could please let me know if you will or you will not be in attendance, again, that would be helpful. And that's all I have for you this evening. Thank you very much, Dr. Gall. We do not have any reports to the board this evening, so moving on to item eight, discussion without action. We have the approval of the Dell annual staff laptops and replacement of student CAD computers. Good evening. As Mr. Goldberg stated, this is our order that we put in for the Dell Microsoft computers. Staff have an option of a 14 or 15 inch. All new staff get that option, and then staff who are finishing their four-year obsolescence cycle. In addition, this year, our CAD lab computers are up for renewal in our obsolescence program and due
024to the need for us to meet the requirements for us to meet the requirements of the machines to meet what we need for Project Lead the Way and our dual credit course with Collegially County. We are upgrading our CAD computers to the Dell Precision 5690, and so that will include a greatly enhanced core processor, RAM, and the Nvidia graphics program that will greatly enhance the program and put us in good shape for the next four years. Okay, thank you very much. Any questions or comments on that, folks? Please, go ahead. I'm assuming the 31 is the quantity that the existing cart has. Will we need to increase that number depending on the popularity of some of these courses, which I know are new to our curriculum? So we are, in my ideal world, in the
025next few weeks, once I go through the budget and check everything, what I would like to make it a goal to do is there's two engineering rooms at the high school. I'd like to be able to get a cart of these in each one of those rooms. If we can't do it for next year, we'll still be okay because these computers are needed for the advanced engineering as opposed to the intro to engineering. However, the software that College of Lake County has asked us to use with the students in the dual credit courses that matches theirs, they would like that available to our freshmen as well so they can begin to learn how to work in that program. And so we are crunching numbers right now and I am hopefully going to be able in
026a couple weeks to come back and ask for an additional cart. But as of right now, as part of our MLI and obsolescence program, this is the order that's going in. It's replacing the existing computers right now and until you really see what the need is for the curriculum, if we need two carts, that's what you'll determine. Okay, thank you. It's likely the board will see something come back. We're still working through the budget, but as you are aware, but I would be surprised if you did not see another cart come through. Well, especially since isn't the project lead the way happening this year instead of the next year because we were able to, oh, at the middle school. So the high school isn't until next year. So that's what I'm start to worry about
027is how many sections of that are you gonna have and you don't really have a feel yet. So I can see, but I would guess that would be taught in one of these engineering rooms. So basically the schedule has to work that all of those classes can fit in those two rooms and as long as you have a cart in each room, you should be able to meet all the needs. We already know for sure that the advanced class that these are needed for to meet the specifications of what we anticipate over the next three years, that we have enough for that, but we very much would like to give the freshmen the opportunity to learn the program so that as they move into these advanced classes, that they're ready to go. So these are
028computers that stay in the school in the classroom? They do. Okay, thank you. Mary, one of the things that I would ask that you might want to consider looking into is generally speaking for high-end compute uses, the trend is to move away from putting a lot of capability in individual desktops or laptops, but move to a compute server, right? So you stand up a server, load it with blades, and you have a lot of GPUs in there, and that way you can have almost any computer remotely log into it and run the application in that environment, and it's actually a much more efficient use of resources than say, for example, I'm making money up, but say you were spending $50,000 buying high-end desktops or notebooks, you could buy a very high-end compute server and almost
029any device could log into it and run the application remotely. That's generally speaking how industry works. So one of the things, as we continue to expand these programs that require more compute resources, it might be something worth considering to look into standing up a compute server and centralizing that, and that way you only have to upgrade that central server in the future, you don't have to upgrade the individual devices because you're really just using them as remote terminals effectively. Anyway, something to consider, that is generally the way that industry works, but, and again, I love the fact that we're expanding this programming, we simply might wanna look at embracing a better way to provide those compute resources to a larger audience. Yeah, absolutely, thank you, and may we have the board's permission to put this
030on the consent agenda for the next April 3rd meeting? Any have any concerns? Okay. No, I just have one comment, two I did. No, I appreciate the description of what went into the Dell 5690. I mean, if you look at it in comparison, it is certainly the most expensive one, and I tinker with computers sometimes, and I build my own, so I could tell the price there is on the high end, so I appreciate, and I understand the CAD programs really, by themselves, consume a lot of RAM and processing power, so I appreciate you upgraded it for the students to be able to do it and explaining why it is so much more expensive than the others. Thanks. Okay, thank you, Mary. We do not have any discussions with action this evening, so with that,
031I'll need a motion to move into closed session for the following three reasons. One, the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees, specific individuals who serve as independent contractors in a park, recreational, educational setting, or specific volunteers of the public body, or legal counsel for the public body, including hearing testimony on a complaint lodged against an employee, a specific individual who serves as independent contractor in a park, recreational, educational setting, or a volunteer of the public body, or against legal counsel for the public body to determine civility. However, a meeting to consider an increase in compensation to a specific employee of a public body that is subject to the Local Government Wage Increased Transparency Act may not be closed and shall be open to the public and posted and held in accordance
032with the Open Meetings Act 5, ILCS 120 slash 2C1. Secondly, litigation, when an action against, affecting, or on behalf of a particular public body has been filed and is pending before a court or administrative tribunal, or when the public body finds an action is probable or imminent, in which case, the basis for the finding shall be recorded and entered in the minutes of the closed meeting, 5, ILCS 120 slash 2C11. Lastly, student disciplinary cases, 5, ILCS 120 slash 2C9. May I have that motion, please? So moved. Thank you, Eileen. Thank you, Mark. We call the roll, please. Ms. Maloney? Yes. Dr. Pinter? Yes. Mrs. Warren? Yes. Mr. Aitken? Yes. Mr. Goldberg? Yes. Mr. Haib? Yes. Thank you, we do not expect to take action coming on a closed session.