001me we pledge allegiance please this is the meeting of the regular meeting of the Board of Education Riverside Brookfield Township District 208 give a roll call please Ms Nardi mistake here we have recognitions this evening good evening guests and I'm a board members of District 208 six rbtv students received Crystal pillar nominations for TV projects they produce in their media arts classes at RB Crystal pillars are equivalent to National Wars probably the most prestigious Awards in radio and broadcasting for high school students the crystal pillar nominations were presented by the National Academy of TV Arts and Sciences at the recent High School Video Awards held in Naperville the nominees were senior Sammy again and Jake O'Brien for the Sports Talk Show crossover Sports Sammy again and Jacob Bryant and Junior Matt Morgan for live event
002sport coverage Bulldog basketball Junior Michaela angrist was nominated for her news package Dusty group and her music video busy and sophomore Liam hickey for his talk show the fantasy rundown winning Crystal Palace where Sam Egan and Jacob Ryan for their Sports Talk Show crossover Sports and Sammy again Jacob brand and Junior Matt Morgan for foreign coverage Bulldog basketball I have more guys so don't come back to get your words okay have a little more rbtv students want additional awards at the same Festival the Midwest media Educators Association so pretty much for every National Organization every category are we have representatives there and more importantly they had winners rbtv students won first place for the best high school news program rbtv news the news program was a collaborative effort between two production classes and features senior
003De La Luna del Castillo and Junior Michaela Angus as anchors senior Sam Egan and Jacob Brandt took second place for the Sports Talk Show crossover Sports Michaela English came in third for her 11 miles movie trailer as sophomore Leo Mikey received fifth place for his talk show back talk with WGN TV's Micah mattering let's give it up students when I call your name please stand come receive your diploma and we will face our Board of Education Sam Egan come on up Sam [Applause] certificate okay he may be nervous uh congratulations Ryan Jake we have Matt Morgan Matt no Matt this evening Michaela Angus Michaela [Applause] we have Liam hickey Liam you know Liam today and last but not least Delilah Luna del Castillo Delilah [Applause] congratulations congratulations folks we also did set up the step
004and repeat did anyone get a picture who wanted a picture there I'm sorry Ms Rusk is pointing out here we go and doctor's getting the picture absolutely please please no have them come up on a board this way you could take a picture of the board and uh this way not the whole board but I'm saying they're coming up to the front there you go we can let the production stamp tell us what's the best backdrop how's that okay where's my where's my certificate yeah good all right good call thank you thank you all right thank you thank you congrats anyone else we're good okay folks we also just set up the step and repeat for the family everyone will like the picture you know uh you're more than welcome to go to the step
005and repeat once we're done here and now introducing our newest member of the class of 2023 Jessica Menke [Applause] good job Jessica congratulations and we'll sit down behind you here we go uniforms congratulations for the mentally family and guests we do have a reception for you we have some coffee some treats and the step everything you're more than welcome to Hangouts they take some pictures and enjoy okay again Jessica we're extremely proud of you congratulations [Applause] foreign president that concludes the recognitions for this evening thank you Dr Freitas and again congratulations we will now move on to visitor statements for the evening I'm going to read a small um paragraph while I think those have signed in could kind of come up to the table up front yeah let me wait for the room to
006clear for a brief minute the Board of Education welcomes and encourages the participation of its citizens in the business of the school district there are two points in the meeting where visitor statements are scheduled citizens are 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 if a 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 so if you want to come up one at a time and state your name and make your public comment yes please I'll raise my hand in like 30 seconds left okay I have to
007use my Watch today I'm sorry you're okay [Music] um so good evening board members faculty and everyone attending this meeting my name is Mia Ruffalo and I'm a 2020 graduate student I want to share my experience that I had here at the music department during my time here at RB as a student I was a part of the band all four years I started doing band in fifth grade at kamark and learned to love and appreciate the art of music I knew I wanted to continue my passion throughout High School being able to be a part of a band playing wonderful pieces of music has shaped my life although I'm not pursuing music in my higher education the skills I've learned from band like self-discipline teamwork time management responsibility critical thinking and so many more
008are why I still use in everyday life now like at my job which is at a hospital in the ER and in my nursing program being able to perform for an audience is more than extraordinary that feeling you get stepping out on stage and seeing the excitement coming from the audience is something that I will never forget the time I dedicated to this music department was truly the best directors like Mr Baum and Mr Loeb are one in a million being able to be a part of their band was an experience like no other their love for music rubbed up on all the students including myself having them as a part of this school has changed so many of our lives for the better although I did not have Miss Matana as a director myself
009because I was not in choir the students that I've talked to that had her have nothing more than the best to talk about her she is truly an amazing director here at RB coming in as a freshman who didn't know anyone I instantly felt welcome and supported by my peers as a kid I had a hard time making friends being in band gave me that opportunity to get out of my comfort zone and meet new people as time went on I made lasting freshness of friendships and to this day and I consider them family the opportunities we got to do like playing in New York on the Intrepid and in La at Universal Studios is another core memory for me that I will never forget being able to get the chance to perform and share
010our music for people even on opposite opposite sides of the country was an honor being part of the music department isn't just about playing music it's also about finding yourself and meeting so many wonderful people for some band choir or orchestra are probably probably their favorite class of the day and allow them to be their true self you never know what could be going on in someone's life and music could be the only outlet that they need I appreciate every single faculty member and student who is a part of the music department for making it feel like home without bands my life would be so much different and I don't know what I would have done without it like I've stated before music in general helps shape students and the lessons and skills that learned
011will be used in higher education jobs and even in life this is why the music department is not a want it's a necessity here at RB thank you thank you thank you [Applause] thank you hello my name is Alex angeloni and I am a 2020 rbhs graduate and current choral music education major at Western Illinois University I want to start by saying that I would not be the dedicated passionate and successful pre-service teacher I am today without the RB music department I was a transfer student my freshman year here from a district that would not have given me the same musical or educational opportunities that RB has the music department was the place where I made my first friends and was allowed to express myself in a space where I felt truly comfortable sharing music
012is a vulnerable thing to do yet here that vulnerability was not seen as a negative thing but rather a way to push us to be the best we could I was always encouraged to sing and play out loud and proud and that has stuck with me into my work towards becoming a professional musician and educator over my four years here I went from being a scared freshman that knew nobody to being a drum major of the marching band and president of the choirs those accomplishments and the musical experiences I had such as performing at Allstate in parades and in festivals across the state and Country would not have been possible without three full-time music educators at last month's board meeting a chart was shown that detailed how the number of students in music at RB
013has decreased since the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic based on those numbers it is clear that there is still enough student interest to run through choirs without a teacher whose sole focus is to plan and teach choral music those students will be at a disadvantage I know Mr Baum and Mr elope are more than capable of taking over some of the choirs but I also know that stretching the department out as thin as possible will not lead to an increase in numbers one of the board of education's goals is to maintain responsible budgeting while investing in staff and programs directly affecting student outcomes myself and countless others who have chosen a career in music or simply to keep music in their lives are proof of the positive impact that investing in the music program here
014has made while I do not know Miss Matana personally it is apparent that she is an essential part of the continued success of the program and that she deserves to be invested in as well one of the main things I have been taught as a musician is resilience everyone here who has given statements and those who will continue to give them are resilient and will not rest until the matter is settled this school would not be the same without the sound of the Bands choirs and orchestras filling its halls with music during concerts assemblies events and everyday classes music education matters and I hope for the sake of future students like myself that it will continue to be supported and invested in here at rbhs thank you thank you [Applause] alrighty perform my notes Here
015hi there folks hopefully you all remembering memory uh I remember you Dr skincus um let's see so I have just a few words I want to say here hi I'm Jonathan Wells I'm a former student here from 2018. um and if you don't know who I am you can go look at the wall over there by the music department which uh you know great group of people that have been leading that department for the past you know however many years they've been here uh as an alumni to this uh school during the transition between Mrs Morelli and Miss Dunham which was formerly Mrs Prince this music department has seen some of the best talent I've seen in my life and I've gone to Bradley for five years I've seen a lot of Talent come in
016front of me every program that RB has that you have ever had specifically the concerts they've all been so memorable I can remember almost every single concert I've been here to and they've all just been something that when I was a part of I was always so grateful to be a part of um the music teachers are specifically the reason why all of this was so impactful to me and the community I mean who can forget every year when we played White Christmas and we had 15 alumni come up to sing with everybody you know you can't forget those moments not only that these music teachers that are possibly losing funding they are Role Models they are people who genuinely invest in their students more than an average teacher does and there's no shame on
017Earth not shame but there's no hatred or dislike with any normal teachers it's just that the music teachers here they really develop their students in a way that you don't see in a normal classroom while I don't know the current teachers here other than Mr Baum personally my experience with every teacher and director in my 15 years of making music has been the exact same which is an adult that has provided me a home to feel safe in when I couldn't feel safe in my own home express my own love of music and made me feel supported in the things that I have done in my life whether they be music or not what this district has done since Mrs Borelli has left I feel like has been just a true shame in cutting their
018capabilities and making it to where they cannot perform their jobs to the absolute fullest and these teachers they really show you and develop the entire culture of the school without the music department you wouldn't have a true culture one last thing I'd like to share since uh me graduating here uh Mrs Prince and Mr Baum both purchased a pitch pipe for me and it has been something I have kept and used almost every day since so thank you thank you [Applause] hello my name is Haley Rayfield I graduated from RB in 2021 and I'm here tonight because I am disappointed that the school board does not see the value in providing a quality music education to the students of RB during my time here I would always look forward to fourth period because that's when
019I got to go to magical singers and high school is really hard for many it was for me I struggled with grades and mental health but always found myself excited to go to school because of music because of all the work Miss Stone and put in the choir teacher at the time we had so many opportunities to sing at festivals and conferences all around the state we frequently visited colleges to sing with their choirs we would sing holiday Tunes at churches and at the Riverside Holiday Stroll and we often had professional choirs and famous composers come to the classroom to speak to us as a student that never really connected with science or math I stayed engaged in school through these music educational experiences taking time to plan and execute all these things outside of
020school's hours was grueling I'm sure but our teacher was supported Enough by the district to make the extra planning worth it after graduating from RB I began studying music education and vocal performance at Ithaca College in New York I long admired the hard work and dedication I saw from Miss Dunham Mr Baum and Mr Loeb and I knew I had to make a difference in students lives the way they had made a difference in mine RB changed my life through its music program and someday I hope to teach middle or High School choir a dream I never would have thought to have if it hadn't been for the incredible music educators at RB part of my music education degree is 100 hours of Music classroom observation so during my first trip back home from school
021I came back to RB to observe Miss matan's classroom her first year here was right after I graduated so I had never seen her teach before then but I learned more about teaching and those two days of observing her classroom than in my entire first semester of college she has an incredible way of approaching the scary parts of learning music like music theory or sight singing and takes and makes them accessible so that even the kids that were just there for the art credit would enjoy it though I never had her as a teacher the positive impact her hard work has had on the school is obvious Arby you have three very gifted music teachers please don't lose them by showing them you don't value the impacts their time has made on students lives thank
022you thank you thank you [Applause] hi my name is Maddie Smith but when I went here my I went by Maddie Hanrahan um I graduated in 2017. um and I don't think it's an exaggeration for me to say that everything important to me in my life right now I have because of the choir department and the music department at this school I decided to go into music because I learned to love music when I was here because of the wonderful teachers we had so I went to Illinois Wesleyan University I received a Bachelor's of Music in vocal performance while I was there I was a part of the higher level choir we got to travel all around the world we toured in Poland in South Africa in Canada and I actually had the pleasure of
023singing in um Andrea Bocelli's choir at one of his concerts once I graduated I had many performance opportunities I toured with prayer fire theater in Bloomington more recently I was in a show with Chicago kids company and now I have my own business teaching private voice and piano lessons I also just accepted a job as a part-time music teacher at a Catholic School um and I continue to perform whenever possible I also work at a church as a band director where I sing and play piano and the reason I have all of that is because of my time here I also have so many relationships that I made through my time in choir I recently got married and two of my best friends who are the only people I kept in contact with from high
024school I met both of them through choir they were both in my bridal party and my husband actually I met through choir at my University and I would not have met him if I hadn't been a part of this choir department so if you decide to continue to cut this budget and not value this Department you are letting so many kids down and this community you are stealing these experiences from these kids you are taking away so many opportunities and I hope that you realize that if you decide to do this these stolen experiences these unfulfilled dreams is on your shoulders it's on your shoulders and you know this is happening all over people like you are deciding that music isn't important in education and these these departments are still around when I was in
025school here the board tried to cut the fall play and by the time I graduated the fall play was happening again so you can try to cut these things the community's not going to allow it so just know that if you go through with this you are failing this community you are failing your students thank you thank you [Applause] good evening my name is Amy bugs I'm a proud RB Alum and a parent of an RB Alum and a current student actually here as well this is a story of a girl who in junior high left band because she didn't love it Along Comes High School Riverside Brookfield and she chose not to sign up for band however as the year begins and progresses she hears from friends about how much fun they are having
026in bed the friends they are making the activities they are participating in the music they are learning the courses and the Fantastic teachers and she asks her parents can I give it another try absolutely they said sophomore year the girl joined the RB symphonic marching band and had been loving it ever since she enjoyed the friendships made the camaraderie they shared the field shows they painstakingly learned and subsequently performed numerous times the concert performances the long days and countless hours of practice both at school and at home the parades marched in and the fabulous trip to La she was fortunate to be a part of and if you haven't yet figured it out this is about in December of 2021 we attended her final band concert she unfortunately had to drop her spring semester use
027a course due to a issue with a required class that ended up getting canceled so she had to take that course her final spring semester instead but despite not being in music course that spring semester she stayed in regular communication with Mr bomb and Mr Loeb they encouraged her to play in the pit Orchestra for the Musical Chicago she was even encouraged to learn another instrument and it wasn't just one she ended up learning two with their guidance and support thus she had yet another wonderful experience as a member of the RB music department while now we're having the privilege of Miss mantana as a classroom instructor she did have her Direction and assistance for various miscellaneous moments during their overlapping time here in the music program Mr Obama Mr Loeb especially we thank them
028for instilling the love of band the music and the participation that they instilled Into the Heart of our daughter and so many other students that they have conducted and been a part of their lives over the years we're grateful that she had such a wonderful Music Experience not only the educational aspect but also the sheer enjoyment and fun that she experienced since my time is coming to the end I just want to say that every student that walks these Halo calls deserves the same top quality experience in every area of study offered be it math science English homeac shop class and especially music you've heard from others how important music has been in their lives we're still feeling the effects of covet some of that comes down from limited opportunities in grammar schools and now
029that they come to high school they have that opportunity again please keep in mind that not only does our music program affect and reflect our school it has a positive impact on our community and just look at the rousing response they get when they receive Applause and cheers in a parade or when they perform on stage thank you thank you thank you [Applause] [Music] [Applause] are there any additional comments for this evening thank you hello hello my name is Maggie white with the music and theater sponsors group I've been monitoring the inbox of our organization over the last couple of days and emails continue to pour in I've printed out 28 tonight things are still coming in I'm hearing from alums of all eras and from all over the world one of the letters is
030from uh Allure Brown from the class of 1985 who wants to add her voice to those supporting the music department and to outline the benefits of the Arts and education she was a member of the concert band marching band choir and theater group during her time at RB she says I can say without a doubt that it was absolutely vital to my success at University and my career since although I didn't study music or theater formally After High School the skills I learned during those formative years have served me well indeed there were practical skills but it was more complex skills such as teamwork resilience resourcefulness self-sufficiency personal responsibility making a business case and Leadership that I only came to appreciate much later these skills were not gained in the classroom they were learned in
031rehearsal rooms on stage at 7 A.M practice sessions because this was the only time we could get the basketball court on muddy football fields so much mud and on the parade routes of course there are all the personal memories and friendships but I suspect you're not interested in that although now working in higher education the emphasis on student experience has never been more important the music and theater programs are not about test scores but they are no luxury they provide a safe haven for the introverts the creatives and the awkward ones thank goodness High School would have been a diminished and dreary experience without music and who wants that for their children this again is from Laura Brown class of 1985 who is a curator of Photography at museums of the University of Saint Andrews
032in the UK I'll just keep reading till you tell me to stop I've heard from a Hannah Smith who is from the class of I don't know but more recent she is has not studied music but she was in post high school but she was heavily involved in the RV music and theater Department in addition to help increase her confidence which has served her well and helped her in her graduate career some of her Fondest Memories and greatest High School Achievements happened with the RB music and theater Department 30 seconds he says I believe I would not be where I am today without the confidence that this department has helped me to build today I'm getting a doctorate degree and regularly have to be confident in the decisions I'm making on behalf of others for
033their well-being being able to perform in front of others helped me get to where I am today in my confident decision making the r b music and theater department is like a team in fact the best team I have ever been a part of working as a team with others in that department has also helped me with my communication skills now I work on a healthcare team and um are you leaving us copies of those or are we receiving those give you copies of all of this because I have many more thank you we appreciate it thank you you have already thank you [Applause] hello all my name is Liz bushio you probably know that by now I've been up a few times I'm going to read another letter that we received I'm going to
034paraphrase it first and then the last two paragraphs are really powerful so I want to read those this is from Doug paulet and he was featured in The Landmark recently he's a professional actor at the Looking Glass theater right now in Chicago he graduated in 2003. um he's very sad he can't deliver these himself but I think he's probably on stage right now he's also a member of The Actors Equity Association he's been at Drury Lane Marriott Theater Paramount Theater he's been in commercials TV shows such as Chicago Fire And he says None of these accomplishments would have come without my formative years in the Arts at rbhs I feels very fortunate to be part of a group of singers artists dancers and musicians that pass through RB at that time and he said it
035wasn't just the students it was the teachers at that time there were four full-time music teachers at RB there was um an outside extracurricular Club such as madrigals and men's Ensemble that actually became classes because they became so popular um and what he also says is that sadly this is not the first time he's spoken to the board in a board meeting here where there was uh shrinking and undermining of the Fine Arts positions on the table enrollment may seem like an easy easy reasoning to make these choices but it's asking a lot of Any teacher let alone a fine arts department teacher to continue providing the excitement and momentum and keep a class or group growing when they themselves don't receive the support and Trust from their school to make those gains and then
036to ask a music teacher with an instrumental Focus to head a group of a vocal group with which they likely have much less experience shows an ignorance and lack of respect for the multiple disciplines of the Fine Arts if those class numbers continue to dwindle it will not be hard to see why when you attend a musical acquire concert or the orcasus dance show to bask in The Marvelous achievements that they are it seems a hallow gesture when considering your decisions the success of those events happening through the sheer heart of the students and grit of the adults tasked with using limited resources to make magic happen think what more they could do with your Aid I ask you to reconsider minimizing this position even further and instead move toward providing the stability and support
037that the arts program needs to grow and encourage student participation you will see the difference you can make when art and artists are given space and Light and that again was from Doug Pollock thanks Liz thank you [Applause] okay hi I'm Michelle spovacek and I'm here to read a few more letters that we have received from the community about the music department I'm writing you today to express my feelings toward the choir and musical theater Department I graduated RB back in 2005 and I can honestly tell you those were the best times of my life and I can strongly say it was because of choir musical theater Mrs Morelli and Mr Moe have molded so many students to be the best persons they can be if it wasn't for those two teachers I don't think
038I would have enjoyed my time at RB even half as much you know a teacher has impacted you in your life when you continually talk about them to people all the time what made choirs specifically unique at RB was the variety of students that would join no one was excluded and that made it feel comfortable to be yourself I look back to the days I was in choir and realized how much it impacted me still to this day I continue every day to talk about my days being in choir and the musical theater and not one moment do I think back and say how much I regret joining this is coming from someone who played Sports his entire life and was a jock at RB during his years there as well I continue my education
039as a Middle School PE teacher but I still take what I've learned in choir and musical theater and use it in class because being in front of your students every day you are still that lead role I truly believe that this department needs to stay at RB and would be ashamed to take away the take that away from students thank you Tom Busick class of 2005. [Applause] hi my name is Gwen Adelman and I am a 2022 rbhs alumni I'm a current choral music education and vocal performance major at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University I'm writing to you tonight in concern about the state of Arby's music program through my time at RB I was a participant in both theater and music I held a choral board position for two years and
040I was an attendee of Illinois Allstate to say music was a part of my high school experience was an understatement obviously music achievement has been a big part of my personal path in music but Community long-term friendships and acceptance have been my main drive to continue working in music is not just extracurricular it is a critical part of many students social lives in high school as well as an important part of a well-rounded education music offers an outlet for students who may not feel comfortable in other subjects it gives them the opportunity to feel welcomed and safe during the school day music is also an incredible source of student Independence in the music classroom students are given the opportunity to take part in their own learning during my time at RB I was given the
041opportunity to help create music arrangements for the choir build my own personal reporter and contribute my own ideas to the classroom this gave me confidence in my education and my ability to contribute it to it my decision to continue and invest my own life in music may not be common through our VHS however that does not mean music isn't an essential part of the school we live in such an art-rich community and we need to continue to feed it thank you thank you [Applause] Hello friends visual aids visual aids it's fun first off thank you for your time tonight and for your duty to this board my name is Cara kesselring and I'm a professional musician I also have a 15 year old daughter here at RB I'm part of a parent group that advocates
042for RB's band choir orchestra and theater department at the last Board of Education meeting Dr skincus and Link Miss Lindquist presented historical and current music department enrollment numbers and related Staffing decisions based on those numbers after digesting this information we researched what other high school music departments look like I've reached out to music teachers at York New Trier Westmont LT oprf West Aurora Fenton glenbard East and Platteville they all vary in size but all have Stellar music and Fine Arts programming that prepares students Beyond high school with three to five full-time music teachers in varying areas of expertise f after telling the status of our District's turnover and lack of support they feel sorry for us in our position as high schools have suffered the same music enrollment drop-offs as RB has but instead of
043cutting teachers their schools offer support while the department rebuilds many of the schools we reached out to don't require a minimum number of students to run a music section we heard from some smaller sections being combined temporarily but classes were co-taught so FTE was not affected during the turnt downturn many schools still have a fine arts requirement for graduation as music classes are valued a valued part of their students overall education here are some interesting numbers from York High School in nearby Elmhurst although York High School has 1118 more students music enrollment is similar to RBS and they have more than twice the amount of music teachers interesting teachers are telling us that they need time for their departments to recover from the pandemic the numbers are heading upward but it will take a few
044more years in the meantime it is reckless to let enrollment numbers Drive Staffing decisions in the music department this tunnel vision when it comes to enrollment numbers doesn't take into account their bigger picture that it's difficult to hire and keep an exceptional teacher in a less than part-time salary it would be short-sighted to force a great teacher like Miss Montana to look elsewhere for employment RB will will piece together a subpar anemic Department a department that could be so much more but will be stretched too thin this Administration and Board of Education doesn't seem to be hearing what the community is demanding support for a strong music department with three full-time music teachers just yesterday we heard that two of our choirs may be combined if that's true that would be in opposition of what
045we were told we were told that all of the same music classes would be running again this coming year running two choir choir sections at the same time in the same classroom does not count as running them on their own it is a deceptive way to eliminate a beloved teacher what our community wants and what is expected of our schools is lifelong learning in the Arts that we can be proud of folks just say no to lip service show us you're ready to make a positive long-term change oh and FYI the reason my family moved to Brookfield was because I met James Baum in a tap dancing class and he told me he was the band director here he encouraged me to move my family into this awesome District you never know whose lives you
046can change every day thank you for your time thank you [Applause] foreign okay good evening my name is Lisa genunis and I am president of the rbhs music and theater sponsors parent organization we heard time and again from the RB Administration and Dr skincus that students are not choosing music classes as their electives could it be that they are not given enough opportunities to opt for a music class or that they've been steered away from music classes in order to fit all the required academics in their schedule we've considered these arguments and come up with a few Solutions how about having a lunchtime music lab offer a choir or a music class during lunch periods we've heard that for many kids that the band or choir room is their preferred hangout or safe space for
047those kids that can't fit a music class in their packed schedules this is a way for the for them to get in their creative time all while avoiding the cafeteria this would be an excellent excellent for the best buddies choir that was pulled from the course offerings make acapella a class Miss Matana started this extracurricular club for those students who wanted to sing but couldn't fit Choir in their schedule could this also be offered over lunch let's get the band back together we've heard that others other high schools are doing something like this it's a music refresher course for those kids that dropped a band during the pandemic because it just wasn't fun over Zoom they can offer a beginning band class to get students a second chance to be a musician without worrying that
048they are too far behind this may also help fill the covet Gap in music students number four offer a drama or intro to theater class we've also heard that other high schools are doing like theater camps over the summer um a lot of students jump to the chance to be part of the spring musical so let's encourage that theatrical growth summer singers or Theater Camp in in addition to the what I just said that um many students would jump the chance to continue singing together over the summer I know that they hate to leave choir at the end of the year and so they would I know my son would sign up and a heartbeat to continue to sing over the summer they could also use work on their musical theater repertoire for the next
049audition as far as I know there are no Summer music classes offered at RB why not offer something to keep our students engaged any of these new classes could be taught by Miss Matana usually usually utilizing her musical gifts instead of sticking her in study halls isn't that what we all want we want to give our students all the academic and enrichment opportunities they deserve what makes you be the RB unique is its small size and its broad offerings diminishing the music department takes away one of its best assets please consider this when finalizing your Staffing commitments [Applause] hi my name is Cindy Reynolds and I'm not here tonight to talk about the music programming uh you probably know how I feel about that and my daughter spoke earlier anyway um I did not realize
050that Mrs Grace Lee would be here tonight but it's exam it is an example of her dedication it looks like my procrastination worked out well in this case so she's able to hear what I wanted to say in person tonight so I want to formally thank Mrs Lee and the entire specialist special education department who supported my son at RB Mr Lee was the case manager who led this team now I believe that my son is wonderful and has many talents however anyone that knows him also knows that school has always been a struggle due to his ADHD diagnosis if the key was on your soccer team so I can remember um anyway Grace Lee has been has been amazing I can't say enough good things about her her organization work ethic dedication and persistence
051has been instrumental in chances education most important it's clear that she really cares about her students getting a high school diploma is not a given and is not an easy thing for every kid to achieve for some it's a difficult struggle I am not a helicopter parent and I can tell you without a doubt that Grace Lee is one of the reasons chance receives his diploma I can't tell you how many conversations I had with Mrs Lee at eight or nine at night conference conferencing chances so she could offer him some firm and Urgent worst of encouragement not just about school but life the rest of the team has been awesome as well especially Mitch Zealander and Jordan zillinger sorry and Jordan Mack Mitch has always been kind sincere and generous and was especially awesome
052in supporting our family after our house fire in 2020. additionally Jordan Mack was a friendly and consistent Mentor every day helping chance with his executive functioning skills and trying to get him to take charge of his education so I think you should know what an awesome and inspiring teacher you have and gracefully my son loves her she'll be one of those important mentors he'll remember for his whole life and thank you for your support of the RV special education programming it makes a difference excellent thank you the Japanese [Applause] is there any additional public comment this evening good evening good evening my name is Eric West I've lived in Brookfield now for seven years uh I'm the proud parent of two future RB students they currently attend um Brook Park or preschool part of the
053reason my wife and I chose to move to Brookfield is because of the quality of the schools that we've heard about that are in this area and we know that many other families have chosen to move to Brookfield and Riverside and the other areas very much so recently for that same reason good schools have good music programs building a music program takes time and I know this firsthand because I am also a music teacher I'm currently rebuilding the choir program at my school because it was also shut down as a part of a pandemic but just like you can't turn a cruise ship on a dime you can't build a music program in just a year I'm lucky to have support from my Administration but it sends me to hear all the reports that I'm
054hearing tonight that the school district where I live is not supporting its music program in the same way I applied and interviewed for this job last year and I'm honestly thankful that I wasn't selected because I would have been able to support my family on the kind of salary that it's been cut down to I wouldn't recommend the job to any of my friends either and that's a shame for the education of my children and all the future children and students of Riverside Brookfield thank you thank you thank you [Music] [Applause] evening my name is Jeffrey Fingerhut my son Owen just graduated this past spring having spent all four years in the orchestra and my daughter Sophie is a rising sophomore and participates in the choir I understand that the number of students taking music
055classes has declined as we work through coving however the numbers that I've been shown indicate that the middle schools are ramping up and within three years even by the frankly odd metrics that you have for how many teachers are required we will need at least three full-time instructors we have top instructors currently and we need to make sure to keep them I believe that we need to absorb the added cost in the short term to keep the high talent that we have now and we'll clearly need in the next few years and I hope you agree thank you [Applause] any additional comment seeing some individuals who didn't come up this evening seeing none I would encourage those who were not here at the last month's meeting to review the rather lengthy discussion we did have
056about music and Fine Arts Staffing just as by way of background the agenda we have discussion information foia items Dr skincus uh we have a couple for this submitted a Vince sby Prairie State Wire any contracts or agreement entered into with your school district and vendors providing diversity equity and inclusion Services Catherine smizer NBC 5 all settlements or agreements resolving any foil lawsuits we did not have any Bob skolnick lambarg resignation requesting resignation letter submitted by Gary probes Kirsten Bell requesting information related to Staffing study halls Fine Arts World languages and Josiah Chatterton Prairie State Warrior current school board members contact info those are the foia submitted since last month any questions or comments seeing none at your goals update do we have one for this evening um I did not receive any feedback so
057I'm assuming all board members are okay with the goals that were presented in June and that we could take drafts off of those I did not have any additional changes anyone else and we didn't get any comments from remember we were not here thank you very much Dr skincare you and your teams work on those additional discussion items I know miss hareska you had something not for today for in the future in the future okay I was just overly prepared okay don't we do that at the end of this okay thank you president's report having non-superintendent's report what page are we on on the agenda right we'll get through it now I usually don't access it this way 84. thank you uh superintendent's report cafeterian Library HVAC replacement is moving along according to schedule on
058Thursday July 13th portions of the building will be without air conditioning while work is being completed for the project we have to shut the electric off and portions of the building so those staff members that are impacted will be of the ability to work remotely that day athletic summer camps will continue as regularly scheduled summer school will be moved to 209 and summer camps for Village of Brookfield or relo relocated to 130 room 130. uh the construction of the coffee bar and the student cafeteria has started to start this is scheduled to start this week it's begun today we had a brief meeting to start lay out some plans um two rounds of interviews have been completed for the coordinator of public relations Community engagement position and candidate is being recommended to the board tonight
059the Chicago Zoological Society Brookfield Zoo will host a master planning session at RB's Auditorium Tuesday July 25th at 5 30 PM the committee would love to hear from the high school and local community about ideas for the future of the Brookfield Zoo including infrastructure traffic flow and programming ideas so those community members that are watching this may be a good idea if you have concerns with Zoo traffic and parking on the field or the schools ongoing discussions with the zoo to try to gain access to the field for classes during the school day as well as after school activities it may be a good idea to attend that meeting and voice your concerns can you include the details on our Friday package I will thank you the Administration has identified two candidates for the 23-24
060school year to serve as internment assistant principals of Athletics Tom dolman will go to the board for approval tonight and Dan Jones retiring A.D from Hinsdale Central we'll go to the board and either act August or September once TRS processes his retirement uh an introductory meeting with our new state representative representative Rasheed is scheduled for early August uh president zaylas and if Dr fredis is back from vacation we'll also attend this meeting with me as far as committee updates the policy advisory Council met on June 21st to review the Press Plus packet issue 112 and recommendations are included in the board packet other than that there were no other components to my update thank you to doctors cancus any questions or comments seeing none you're doing Dr spantana's report this evening I believe I am
061uh I need to get to that Dr spatanna is doing well she had a baby boy so she both baby and Mom are doing well um monthly summary the total operating revenue for the month was 716 605 with 32 percent coming from evidence-based funding 320 came from federal and state Grant reimbursements and 23 from property taxes total operating expenditures for the month for 3 million 82 416 with 53 percent towards salaries and benefits 14 for other um example 345 000 were used to upfront money for security cameras and the Freshman Chromebooks 13 for purchase Services um and and special ed services from Lansing monthly financial statements the fund balances show the district ended FY 23 with a surplus of 634 and its operating funds this is over the budgeted surplus of 625. summary of Revenue
062show the district has received 99.9 percent of our budgeted revenue for the Year this percentage is lower than this time last year of 107. the district received 98.41 percent of budget amount of per property tax cook County's delay in the fall and spring collections likely contributed to this amount being under budget by 442 thousand the summary of expenditure shows the district has spent 99.92 percent of the budgeted expenditures for a year this amount is slightly higher than last fiscal year at this time which was 97.3 the statement of revenues and expenditures report for June 1st 2023 to June 30 lists all the revenues expenditures for the month it also Compares budget to actual for each account Student Activity account remember is available for boards FYI and a negative account balances represent positive fund balances for
063those accounts I believe we did have a question submitted on but I think that's under the bill is less correct this lacks questions okay um and that is it for the assistant superintendent report for tonight and there were no other questions submitted on these assistant superintendent report anything else at the table looking looking then we'll go on Dr Freitas and the principles report please good evening honorable board members so we're entering currently session two of summer school and I just quickly like to recognize again Miss Grace Lee who works with our students that are in Credit Recovery Mr Jimmy wellner Mr Alicia Kimbrough who are advocates for the students who need that extra encouragement and they've done a great job throughout the summer where's her program has bridge to RB Bannon Flex View show for
064more details see the summer school hyperlink there here throughout the summer as you can see there are several projects going on we've seen server communication so please uh be aware anybody coming in RB and watch out for the construction residency begins tomorrow Manana and again this is for people for community members who've had the resident documents verified have they ever had their documents verified yet they must come in you know Monday to Friday during school hours to get verified once your documents the verified you receive a personalized email from our assistant principal Mr Dave man who will invite different in-person residency that is very important days that we have different residency July 12th tomorrow from 83 the 19th 11 to 7 to 26 11 to 7 and August 2nd eight to two um in August
065we got freshman orientation Thursday the 10th from 10 to 11 30 a.m and Connelly athletic Stadium we have family welcome back night the same evening August 10th Thursday in the Commons area and we have our open house August 23rd 6 to 7 30 in our classrooms as far as activities and Athletics we do have some summer camps coming up in July we have football camp boys Golf and girls gymnastics and many others listed in the program there fall Sports practices tryouts contests begin in August for more information visit our athletic website io.at team.com our BHS home we hope that everyone has a fantastic summer and at RB we're here to serve if you have any questions please reach out to us Madam president thank you principal's report thank you consent agenda this evening I think
066we have approval of minutes please the Board of Education Township High School District 208 Cook County Illinois takes the following action and the listed consent agenda items approves minutes from the meetings held on June 13 2023 open and closed as presented in the July 11 2023 board agenda packet second a second from Miss Locke all in favor aye motion carries old business press Plus packet issue 112. it was before that I was looking at my my script so there's nothing for Life Safety Capital Improvements or sustainability this evening correct the project is still ongoing okay and then tentative budget updates now that the fifth year budget update no again no questions were submitted um June 30th actuals have been updated so if the Board needs you have to month or the next four weeks to
067review it before August if you want to submit any notifications or questions I think having the year end in there was helpful so thank you now press plus if I made yes okay whether there were I had a couple of questions submitted uh policy two colon 80 references display of iasb code of conduct and regular board meeting room Marianne was going to print that off and put that in our closed session uh area where the superintendent's conference room is seven colon 305 indicates the Border points or approves a concession concussion oversight committee that committee was done uh several years ago and it just it's the titles of the people were approved but if the board would like to have that shared in a Friday after I could list the members of that and if we
068need to reapprove it or the board would like to see that we can discuss now my only thought process is most of this press packet was about um reviewing policies in a five-year cycle and that was the type of thing that we probably should just make sure we're generally aware of okay I cannot I could include it in the but I had no questions of substance so thanks to everyone who looked through all those yes it seemed like most of them were just updates in footnotes yeah right page now correct that is correct yeah okay the Board of Education Township High School District 208 Cook County Illinois approves press plus policy issue 112 as presented in the July 11 2023 board agenda packet second a second for Mr Durkin that's an all in favor aye
069any opposed motion carries moving on to new business payment of bills there were two questions submit so I did talk to the questions submitted in relation to all of these refunds and they said they say reg fee refunds but really they were Camp refunds so I talked to the business office and they're going to change those um to say summer camp or Camp refund something like that or Camp ref or something correct and the one did not have one that's just an oversight and there are families that will you know pay for two weeks at a summer camp it may only can make three we you know if it's a three-week camp you can only pay for two so they'll set they'll contact a business office and that's why we issue various refunds but none
070of them had to do with current um pay to participate any additional questions on the payment of bills from anyone seeing none the Board of Education Township High School District 208 Cook County Illinois approves the payment of bills as presented in the July 11 2023 boardage under packet second for Miss lock and we do need a roll call please disposal of surplus press Surplus personal property excuse me and what page are we on could we Refresh on that one I missed Dr smetana because she would keep me 2 44. thank you again these are just this happens about every six months this is equipment that can no longer be used by the high school out of date obsolete things like that any questions from anyone on the board no one submitted questions okay then um
071seeing none can we have a motion please miss gaska whereas the superintendent has recommended and the board of education has determined that certain Surplus personal property listed on the attached exhibit one Surplus personal property belonging to the district is no longer needed for school purposes and should be sold and whereas the board of education has determined that the sale of the circle Surplus personal property in accordance with Section 10-22.8 105 ilcs 510-22.8 at a public or private sale is in the best interest of the district now therefore be it resolved by the Board of Education of Riverside Brookfield School District 208 Cook County Illinois section one that the superintendent is hereby authorized to dispose of the Surplus personal property by public or private sale in a manner which is in the best interest of the
072district section two in the event that any property remains unsold the superintendent May dispose of it in a manner which is in the best interest of the school district Section 3 the superintendent shall report to the board the items sold the buyer and the amount received for each item can you have a second please second second from Mr Durkin and we need a roll call yes yes and we also have the ATT cell tower contract so we uh the cell towers off of First Avenue we have two uh companies that are on it Verizon is on the top speed spot which pays slightly more ATT is the second spot below that um what a lot of these cellular companies are doing because you know the trend of school districts can't college campuses are putting cell
073towers on their campus to help generate Revenue a lot of these companies have hired third party like managers to try to consolidate lease payments consolidate rental payments Etc so we have been negotiating with att's uh Company New Singular Wireless for about a year and the current agreement locks in our current terms and allows us to continue to generate 27 000 plus over the next several years what they try to do is locking into a long term or try to get you to take a lump sum payment up front a lot of the contract language they're pushing is really Pro um cellular the cellular company so we used to we had to go back and forth for over a year this is very standard we have lost we had team we had Sprint on there with
074we out of schools and people that have cell towers are losing carriers because it has like Sprint and T-Mobile combines it um so the one question submitted is this kind of like market Standard it is it is an industry industry Trend and Kristen and I after way industry thought it was best to make sure we never go down and can get an annual increase throughout the length of the contract and so that's what the terms we agreed to so just to clarify this is a new singular is replacing the atnt we still have a Verizon agreement for the near future correct but it is possible that they would come back with one of these companies as well or they could be taken in by this particular one correct okay I think that's just a it's
075a Known Unknown risk of this agreement yes were there any other questions do we want to do a first read or approve this I believe this is the second uh is this the first one it says first read in the agenda but we we um I think she introduced us in June though right she referenced it in her report okay I don't think we've seen the contract terms until now is my record I'm fine if the board would like to wait till August okay it's your call does anyone have any objection to moving it now do you want to look at it again no okay I think we've heard about it a couple times and our questions were answered so I'm comfortable moving forward as well all right supportive the Board of Education Township High
076School District 208 Cook County Illinois approves the contract extension with new Singular Wireless PCS LLC as presented in the July 11 2023 board agenda packing second the second from this lock and we do need a roll call this is the point of our meeting with second opportunity for visitor comment if anyone wants to come forward okay um moving on to discussion items requested we have none for this evening but we do have consideration of items for future meetings so I attended our planning meeting for the Illinois Association of school boards and um it was kind of the organizational meeting I'm now one of the delegates at large on the executive committee and we'll be helping plan the meetings there's two meetings that are coming once I have more details we'll put that on there the
077fall meeting will be at the elm Crest and it sounds very exciting they're going to have an application for superintendents or principals to present it's within a seven minute very structured kind of presentation platform on something novel that's going on in the district and you see vignettes of several of the districts within our West 40. so that has been popular in other venues with the cook with the Illinois Association school board meetings and that gives us a way to see what some of the other 40 districts in our group are doing and that's this fall that's the school okay and so once we get a better idea who's going to be presenting or what's going to happen if we can bring that forward and then spring I'll be bringing a requests to host the spring
078meeting here uh we could tell us some suggestions and uh topic of interest is women in leadership and they have a couple uh speakers that they've had in the past that are prominent uh very successful women and once they have an agreed upon contract and we have some ideas on dates then we can bring that for the next meeting so sounds kind of exciting everybody's coming back after covet trying to get some more excitement involvement and just get board members talking with other board members again so I think if we can find a date that works with the administration that makes a lot of sense to host that in the spring yeah it'd be it'd be fun right to have other but it's again it's no cost to the district it is no cost to
079district and you know there's a fee like we pay a fee to go other places there's a fee that's charged yes any questions or comments from Miss ruska okay thank you so we'll get more information from either iasb are you directly in the coming weeks about the fall and in the spring right matters for closed session we have appointment employment compensation discipline performance or dismissal of specific employees of the public body student discipline individuals student matters purchase sale or lease of real property probable imminent or pending litigation Collective negotiations and school safety the Board of Education piece of considering the closed session matters as presented in the July 11 2023 board agenda packet a second second for Mr Durkin would you need a roll call to go into closed yes yes yes yes yes okay
0808 11. we are in closed session