001it's called order at a regular meeting of the Board of Education District 208 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 liberties roll call please here present and present we do not have any recognitions this evening I do however want to acknowledge that our two student advisors for the year are with us for the first time we have Joseph Camp Schroeder and Michaela Uribe Alvarado so thank you for joining us we appreciate you guys showing up this evening visitor statements we have any visitor statements tonight yes the Board of Education welcomes and encourages the participation of citizens in the business of the school district there are two points in the meeting where visitor comments are scheduled citizens
002are welcome to raise questions or make comments at either one comments will be limited to three minutes per individual and cannot be combined please note the Board of Education will not answer questions or engage in dialogue during visitor comments the person would like additional time to address the board such a request should be submitted in writing 48 hours before the meeting to the superintendent my name is Lisa genunis I have a sophomore or C Junior he's a junior it's rising Junior um at RB read a statement from the music and theater sponsors on behalf of the rbhs music and theater sponsors parents students and everyone who has been paying attention the last few months we'd like to thank you for engaging with us on the future of the r b music department we were informed
003in July that Ms Kaylee's Montana has been retained at the 0.6 FTE status that she held last school year and will be the director of all three choirs plus the acapella group we're excited that Miss Matana will be able to build on the excellent music education that she has provided the last two years we are grateful that our school sees the importance of a strong music department and look forward to working together to grow the department in the years to come last week a few of us had a productive meeting with Dr skincus I'm president Zales and Ms Lindquist we discussed how we can improve communication between the school and our community gain a better understanding of the Staffing and course selection process and most importantly how to increase music interest in the music classes
004at the feeder School level in order to retain those students as they enter High School we're hopeful that with the support of the administration we can further our mission of supporting and promoting the activities of the RB music department students and educators the RV HS music and theater sponsors parent organization is often running with 96 members already joining or renewing their memberships before the start of the school year please visit our new website at www.rbhsmusic and theater.org for volunteer opportunities a full activity calendar and general information we would also like to invite everyone to join us at our first official meeting of the school year on Monday August 21st at 7 pm in the band room we'll be taking we'll be talking about ways to get involved as well as strategies for growing our presence
005in the community again thank you for all that you do for our school we're taking action this evening we have not taken action foreign hello my name is Vicki Greco I am a lifelong resident of Brookfield I have four children two of whom graduated and a rising Junior and a sixth grader coming in and I have been watching everything that's been on the school board meetings and I just want to say thank you from mice Rising Junior as well for he is his first year of music and he joined because of the theater program which is so great and seeing the change on his schedule was let's just say a very happy day for us and so we appreciate your listening to our voices I perused your Board of Education goals and I think there's
006so much that can be done through music with those goals for example the first one about maximizing curricular days and academic rigor and New Opportunities I think Lisa just told me that she's had such great conversations but like things like beginner guitar and things like that and I know there's a process so I'm not going to bore you with that but I want to get on record that I thought the one with methods to increase two-way engagement maybe even some sort of liaison idea where that teacher goes to some theater schools because we don't have choir necessarily in them but maybe even upping the orchestra aspect at Brook Park because Brook Park does not have an orchestra right now and my son plays violin and not that it's your problem but something that would even
007increase the enrollment there so that you would see more Orchestra students because the Orcs just just amazing here as well the diversity equity and inclusion goal that you have how about like a world link or a world music class where they get to go and explore the different areas of our surrounding communities and get really like soaked in the cultures that we have here and bring that diverse background back to their classmates and things like that and then the fourth one maintain responsible budgeting while investing in staff and programs directly relating student outcomes I think just in general just having that full-time full-bodied music program here would be such a beacon to the community and to the stakeholders um my daughter went here four years in choir got a full ride scholarship to Concordia and
008because of not just because of her music involvement because of Clarion as well how she mixed those two and didn't just do all AP but she enjoyed all those aspects of things my junior suffers with anxiety and the community and theater department has been great for him and I hope for the future for my sixth grader he comes in and we don't sit here and worry about it at all so I really appreciate your time and all of the work that you guys have done for us and for everybody in the community and everybody in the every Department in the school so thank you thank you [Applause] thank you any additional public comment this evening if any of us asked for you to keep on a third teacher can you state your name very quickly
009oh certainly I'm sorry Joe Lombardo thank you I'm a resident of North Riverside and a while back uh I and many others asked the board to keep on a third teacher and I expressed interest in this because I thought it would give my son who's in the band more opportunity to actually get classes in practice without being squeezed out because I would imagine that the other teachers had to take on the responsibility of choir so I appreciate you keeping on the third teacher um my son speaks Japanese and has learned because of his mom and has lived in Japan for a while as well but that is really translated to music as well because once he was able to pick it up reading music is like reading a language and it was really awe inspiring
010to see him do it so quickly um and to see him succeed in something that I never thought would be something he would actually do and then see it kind of gets squeezed out or see and possibly getting squeezed out it's kind of something that I panicked at because I thought man I never thought he could do it so um I really appreciate you taking on that responsibility and giving everybody across the music department more opportunity just like my son so thank you very much thank you thank you [Applause] anyone else seeing no further comment we can move on to the rest of our meeting the lawyer requests we did have foyer requests this evening Dr spinkus we did we had three unless from Prairie State Wire regarding substitute teachers um Catherine smizer from nbc5
011regarding any book cancellations and then Justin from databed Julia Dustin from databed requesting quotes or a copy of the bid documents and bids that came in on our landscape bed any questions submitted or any comments on those no questions or comments were submitted on us seeing none the district goals updates we have that this evening the district polls update I just wanted to update the board that the administration did meet as a group both district and high school last week and we started to discuss some of our initiatives and lay things out in regards to our district goals Dr Freitas is holding his building level Retreat I believe that is tomorrow tomorrow so these are front and center and we'll continue the practice of providing an update related to The District holes at the Cow
012meetings we also under um you need career opportunities board member Durkin assisted in again getting coordinating myself and the director from the Des Plaines Valley Regional and it looks like their DVR which is our career in technical Ed Cooperative that we belong to with seven other high schools is going to work with the plumbers Union and they're going to offer a pre-apprenticeship class for students in the DVR Cooperative as well as from CPS and if Bill wanted to add a little they could as well yeah I think it's just a couple of schools in the DVR we happen to be one of them uh very fortunate it's a pilot program for the plumbers and their goal is to try to teach kids to come in you know the the core math and science learning for
013their trade as it applies to the plumbers trade so if successful they would be awarded Five Points towards their uh entrance exam if they decide to pursue it in the future and it would probably go maybe two nights a week for a couple hours down at the union hall there's still a lot to be sorted out but you know it's very promising and hopefully you know we get some interest from some seniors this year next year some Juniors you know it's just going to get better as it goes on so it's uh exciting to announce and then with that that aligns with our different curricular experiences we also remember we also have students this year that are signed up for dual enrollment uh so they'll be coming here in the morning and then trans being
014transported to Triton uh we may have a few seniors that are driving but we have kids signed up for criminal justice certified nursing assistant and Welding so we have students earning college credits also not only pressure credits but college credits as well so it directly aligns to that board goal that's my update on the district calls thank you any more comments or questions I can make a quick comment and say Bill your name comes up with gratitude and appreciation from DVR when I'm in my other role uh saying about that topic so thank you plumbers Union and things like that so I appreciate that effort and keep up that good work thank you more to follow any additional discussion items for today's agenda or later on from anyone seeing none reports we can move on
015to the superintendent's report superintendent's report 23-24 school year it's here faculty and staff report Monday August 14th for their Institute day and students report for the first day of school on August 15th with a late start I'm sure Dr Freda will provide a little more his report uh the cafeteria and Library HVAC replacement project is complete to the extent of where we did we started walkthroughs and punch lists today if you haven't noticed uh we're getting all the grass out by the area where that was a staging area we have one or two squares of concrete that need to be replaced that were not replaced from uh that were damaged previously earlier in the project but that should be done before Monday construction on the coffee bar in the student cafeteria is complete the next
016phase is the equipment installation and preparation so we're hoping that will be open for students mid first quarter our Communications position that was identified through our community survey is one of our board goals Ms Kylie Fletcher is joining us here tonight and she has officially started on August 1st and I'd also like to personally thank the families and community members who attended the Chicago Zoological Society Master planning session that was held at the RB Auditorium and advocating for the school and our relationship with the zoo so thank you very much to everybody that did that in regard to superintendent advisory councils there are no new updates on any of the advisory councils for tonight quick question is the coffee bar open for the first day of school or is that a little bit delayed it's
017going to probably be a little bit delayed we're hoping mid first quarter okay haven't answer questions from anyone Dr Freitas welcome everyone and I'm extremely excited because in next week we start the school year so on Monday the teachers are back for an Institute day where we get to share our goals you know and in a nutshell our goals are to grow and do credit and do an enrollment to grow in our Equity work and to grow academically and together we will grow our B our first day of school is Tuesday August 15 they start 8 55 parents are more than welcome to drop with their students you know earlier students will report you know to a classroom by alphabetical number we'll have a master list and also this package will be emailed and everyone
018received it during residency as well but we are here fresh and orientations coming up this Thursday August 10th from 10 to 11 30 at the stadium it will be led by a student Association family welcome back night will be the same day August 10th from four to six families are welcome and invited and open houses towards the end of the month on August 23rd from 6 to 7 30. um Athletics have begun as of yesterday so we want to wish all of our coaches and our forests of all of our Fosters and athletes the best of luck and that concludes my principal report and now I'd like to turn it over to our two student advisors to the Board of Education report on day one um starting off with our student advisors report we have
019teaching and learning first day of school is Tuesday August 15th full day late start um 8 55 a.m and then continuing on with school culture and operations watch the construction around the school and follow the directions and then attend freshman orientation family welcome back night and open house I'm Joseph camshrader and I would like to attend the Lord for having me in this position um moving on to activities and Athletics um fall Sports began yesterday Monday August 7th good luck to all of our fall athletes and our first marching band halftime show will be on August 25th during our first home football game of the season great and sometimes I need a little nudge from Mr Durkin from miss ruska that if you guys have something to say and I don't see you please get
020my attention somehow because we want your feedback and input as we go through items I will comment on that as well I was my summer just ended yesterday I will be getting in touch with you to kind of onboard you and give you some background uh both in this gas guy and and myself so we're hoping to meet with you guys but welcome and officially and formally uh glad to have you thank you thank you moving out if you want to go ahead the Board of Education Township High School District 208 Cook County Illinois takes the following action on the listed consent agenda items approves minutes from the meetings held on July 11 2023 open and closed as presented in the August 8 2023 board agenda packet the second second from Mr all in favor
021any opposed okay your initials down wrong but I'll give you a new name um moving on to Old business life safety items Capital sustainability no update I've provided that during uh the superintendent report and there is I don't believe there are any additional updates on the budget either there are no additional budget uh items updated and I did not receive any additional requests so we'll be asking for the board to take action next month in September [Music] good reminder thank you under new business payment of bills there were no questions submitted there the Board of Education Township High School District 208 Cook County Illinois approves the payment of bills as presented in the August 8 2023 board agenda packet a second and the second from Mr Novak the names are clearly not coming to me
022quickly at all today with a roll call please yes yes yes yes yes yes activity account for class of 2027 this is fairly standard no questions formality so that they can start doing fundraising for homecoming in their activities for the next four years the Board of Education Township High School District 208 Cook County Illinois approves the activity account for the class of 2027 as presented in the August 8 2023 board agenda packet could we have a second please second second for Mr Durkin would you need a roll call yes yes yes and then Dr skincus you want to walk us through the Landscaping project bid which I know we have as a first read but we may need you may want to take action if we need to get some order and complete for our
023pushes and some of the native plants and so uh This was done by the landscape Art Attack Kirsten and one of her last meetings brought the board up to speed so the bids did come in it is broken down into three uh phases but I am recommending that we would approve including the two Alternatives the total project which is about 181 000 we had budgeted close to two thousand this is to improve the whole front side of our building which is pretty out-to-date also putting in a paver patio for our students who eat lunch out there in the spring and fall and just dressing up the front of the building so um project is scheduled to commence on September 5th and hopefully have completion through October so that it is important tonight if we could
024take action on this we do have a letter of recommendation from the architect that they did go through the bid documents uh with the lowest bid and that they do qualify and meet all the requirements any questions on this I'm afraid of going ahead yeah it's fine I'm glad to see we're doing the pavers because we have one of our goals is to be you know environmentally conscientious so the papers allow for you know natural absorption of the water into the ground and I don't know if they're using any natives or not but you know if there's opportunity that's always a good thing but I that we're keeping that I think the plan did call for Native Landscaping whenever possible it was my read on it right yes ma'am and it was a competitive bid
025so yeah any questions any objections to moving forward tonight so we can get this moving for the upcoming school year as soon as possible the Board of Education Township High School District 208 Cook County Illinois approves Allied Landscaping Corporation with a base bid price and two alternate options in the amount of 181 025 for the Landscaping project as presented in the August 8 2023 board agenda packet second for Miss luck uh we do need a roll call please this lab yes and on the the mou and the commercial kitchen mou on a commercial kitchen uh one second so what the architecture contract our AIA agreement with dla requires that whenever we're doing any additional projects there's an mou and so again uh similar to like the Landscaping the goal as it was discussed previously with
026the board in June and July is trying to get a commercial kitchen installed late spring early summer next year so that in Fall of 24 25 we can offer dual credit to for our some of our Foods classes that have really taken off but in order to do that we need to do an mlu with dla so that they can start to do drawings designs um you know Scopes and measures of what our facility can handle and what's a reasonable space look like Etc so it should not exceed 15 000 and this is for them to begin doing some preliminary work for us and it's just basically time and materials what's the estimated turnaround time on this uh I think they were going to try to get something back to us before October so that
027we can go out to bid like late late fall early winter and then the goal would be to do construction next summer is that correct correct the dla piece one cool question our life safety we're going to have our new study done right our new study will be done at the 24. okay so but this we should be able to get this done before I think so yes and this would not I mean new construction does not count as part of Lifesaver yeah okay I apologize is there a not to exceed on this or explain okay so what's everyone's thoughts on moving forward on this tonight or I mean to me it's in my opinion it's fairly perfunctory I I would agree moving forward it's probably better just for timings because it gets it off
028of our plate but also allows uh movement forward that doesn't have consequence in further decision making and just helps us to guide any future decisions correct correct so the sooner we can get this complete the sooner we can get plans and we'll go out to a competitive bid the Board of Education Township High School District 208 Cook County Illinois approves the dla memorandum of understanding commercial kitchen lab as presented in the August 8th 2023 board agenda packet second second for Mr Durkin we do need a roll call please miss nardis Mr Novick yes of course yes Mr Durkin yes yes yes yes do we have any visitor statements at the second portion of our meeting moving in we did not have any requested discussion items for this evening I do I take it back real
029quick we there's a lot of things on August you know there's the freshman orientation and the family welcome on the 10th and then there's open house on 23rd you want some board member presence on any of those days uh I will be there well I I will be here as a parent yeah we could wear shirts I also don't want to ruin that experience that's your thing to be a parent either way right but for those of us that are not parents did you want any support I think that has not been a practice in the past okay the board has been invited to the um yeah but that was I think that was in the Friday packet right okay I think historically yeah okay that's a good suggestion if anyone can make it I
030would think especially to the faculty to the family yeah because all the festivities are upon us quickly and it's just like just checking yeah that was something you wanted presents any other items for discussion how about the future anyone looking to my left looking to my right seeing none we have matters for closed session appointment employment compensation discipline performance or dismissal of specific employees of the public body student discipline individuals student matters purchase sale or lease a real property probable imminent or pending litigation Collective negotiations and school safety the Board of Education Township High School District 208 Cook County Illinois enters closed session for the purpose of considering closed session matters as presented in the August 8 2023 board agenda packet second second for Mr Durkin in the roll call please yes this is Mr
031Durkin yes yes yes okay we are going to move a closed session thank you everyone