001[Music] I feel you. I love you. Hey, hey, hey. [Music] Hey, [Music] hey, hey. [Music] Hey. Hey. Hey. [Music] Hey, hey, hey. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Hey, hey, hey. [Music] Okay, I am going to call the July July 21st, 2025 meeting to school. Let me try that again. July 21st, 2025 U46 school board meeting to order. Roll call, please. >> Miss Kerr, >> here. >> Miss Khan >> here. >> Miss Martin >> here. Miss Nolan >> here. >> Miss Schwarz >> here. Miss Thomas >> here. President Owens. >> Yes. Here. >> Haven't done this in five weeks. May I have a motion to move into close session to discuss individual student disciplinary matters. ending probable or imminent litigation. The appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees, specific individuals who serve as an
002independent contractor in a park, recreational, or educational setting, or specific volunteers of the public or legal council for the public body. The purchase or lease of real property for the use of the school board. The setting of a price for the sale or lease of real property owned by the school board. An internal audit, control weakness, identification of potential fraud risk areas, known or suspected frauds, and fraud interviews, collective negotiating matters between schoolboard and its employees or their representatives, or deliberations concerning salary schedules for one or more classes of employees. Review of close session minutes and individual student matters. So move >> second. Roll call, please. >> Miss Kerr, >> yes. >> Miss K. >> Yes. >> Miss Martin? >> Yes. >> Miss Nolan? >> Yes. >> Miss Schwarz? >> Yes. >> Miss Thomas? Yes,
003>> President Owens. >> Yes, >> we're in close session at 5:01 p.m. [Music] Hey, I'm great. How are you? [Music] I feel I know. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Hey, hey, hey. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Don't know. [Music] Hey, hey. [Music] Was it something that's [Music] Hey, [Music] are you [Music] Everything. [Music] I need a out. Clean. [Music] Hey. [Music] Hey, hey, hey. [Music] Hey, hey, hey. be a [Music] Please feel. [Music] Heat. Heat. N. [Music] Hey, [Music] I love you. Heat. Heat. N. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Don't let me know. [Music] Hey, hey, hey. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] I feel I don't feel it. Hey, hey, hey. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Hey, hey, hey. Heat. Heat. [Music] Hey, hey, hey. [Music] I'm
004feel I don't feel it. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Hey, hey, hey. [Music] I don't [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] I want. I'm [Music] Hey, hey, hey. [Music] Hey. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Don't know. [Music] Hey, hey, hey. [Music] Thank you. [Music] What are you all [Music] Hello. [Music] Hallelu. Harbor [Music] hours. You're Remember? [Music] I love that it's very Friday. [Music] County. I know it's Hey, how are you? [Music] Everybody down. [Music] I got to do something different. [Music] Good evening. Welcome back to order at 7:04 p.m. If I could have everybody please stand as your say to the flag of the United States. >> Thank you everyone. The first item report. >> Thank you, President Owens. This evening we have the 2025 20226 school improvement plans update. Brian
005Tennyson, assistant superintendent of teaching and learning, and Matt Rami, director of assessment accountability, will provide the board of education with an update on the 2025 2026. I think I'm just gonna leave it here if you can hear me. >> All right. >> Good evening, members of the board. Uh thank you for having us tonight. We're going to give you an update on our school improvement plans for the 2025 2026 school year and also an update as it relates to our schools in targeted and comprehensive status. >> All right, we want to emphasize that um the school improvement plans while encompassing uh in its impact the entirety of uh the intention and details of our uh strategic plan that we've recently uh committed to. We're going to emphasize its connection tonight uh specifically to goals one,
006two, and three. So, our schools that are in comprehensive and targeted targeted status do have some uh extra requirements to ensure that they get the state grant. So, first these schools are in their status for four years. They also have to have custom goals that are aligned to their identified student groups. Then they also have to have budgeted budgets that are directly aligned to those school improvement plans. And every year those plans are approved by the school board and also by the state board. And by aligning our budgets and our plans to uh specifically goal one, building early academic and social emotional foundations, goal two, safety, sense, belonging, and inclusion, and goal three, academic growth, and mastery. Uh it does help keep all of that work in line. This slide shows a summary of the
007schools and where they are in that four-year cycle. So this year we do not have any schools in year four. So all of our schools are going to continue on in this year um unless new schools are identified in October. So we do have a updated SIP plan or the school improvement plan. Um and we uh wanted to make sure that uh we connected it to the strategic plan. So as we pointed out uh this is aligned to the building early academic social emotional learning the safety and sense of belonging academic growth and mastery and instructional vision. Um, and that what we did in terms of trying to support schools through this process is that we created a rubric of expectations in order to be able to support school leaders and to calibrate across the
008entire district what it is that we thought a school improvement plan uh needed to include. We also uh provided uh complete examples uh so that uh there was a model that school leaders could use team and silk teams. And we also provided a menu of high impact instructional practices so that we could emphasize the impact that a school improvement plan is about improving adult practice that ultimately then impacts student learning. So here we're going to show a few slides of our example school improvement plans. And this one has a smart goal for numeracy. We have similar smart goals for literacy and also for conditions. And then the second box two is student impact. This is something that the schools could monitor on a quarterly basis to see if they're on track for that year- end
009goal. And then box four focuses on priority teaching practices. So um as we just heard how we added this menu of high impact teaching practices. Uh this is where the schools could directly put the practices that they're going to focus on as the the main purpose of a school improvement plan is to change the adult practices in the building. This next slide, while not specifically new to schools, is new in that the 45day plan overview describes the expected roll out of focus for the entire year. And it emphasizes the growth and high impact instructional practices. Again, we're specifically identifying that this is very much included in our goal one, goal two, and goal three of academic growth and mastery in order to be able to specifically speak uh to what it is that we're looking
010for, but also be able to start to identify measurements of accountability. In this next slide, this is where we start to see where data is then put into the plan itself. And that uh through monthly monitoring, we will also be able to have them uh collect the data on a different sheet, but we'll also have them track progress as to on track or off track and then also to provide an explanation in order for their SIP teams to be able to have voice in this process. And this slide shows a overview of the schools that are in status and what they're using those supplementary funds for. Um, as you can see, the vast majority of the funds, uh, well over half, is for the staff to implement the school improvement plan. it is to um
011have those staff do extra hours outside of work, extra days in summer um to do that extra work and attend extra professional learning sessions and there is a little bit of work still in there with some learning partners. They're all state approved and that's really to you know build those skills within the schools so they can become sustainable. So right now, uh, current actions that we're doing to address some of our disproportionalities, our executive directors are meeting with principles on a regular basis, uh, to develop action plans to address those gaps. Um, we also provide reflection data templates and those are provided by the assessment office to support those planning meetings. And we have uh new curriculum resources and assessments that are aligned to the state assessments that are going to be fully implemented this
012school year. Then our next steps uh is basically we wanted to emphasize that we have monthly, quarterly and annual monitoring systems put into place so that uh we could monitor along the way and then uh do the classic uh beginning of year, middle of year, end of year reflections as well as uh compare the annual monitoring metrics uh in order to ensure that uh not only are we progressing but we're progre we've seen that progression along the way and we will take questions. >> Thank you for the presentation and for all of the attachments. Do board members have any questions? Don thank you for the presentation. I have one small question. So on the very last slide uh it mentions that the uh it's for the application for the title one section 103A grant funding.
013Um, for this grant, is this one that comes from the federal and filters through the state or do we get the funding directly from the fed? >> Uh, this one is from the state. >> It is from the state. Okay, good. Thank you. >> Any other questions, >> Sue? So, will these plans be modified as as you know the year goes on? Something may need to be tweaked or they notice something's not working. So, there'll be They'll be live sit plans in other words, >> right? I I very much appreciate that. Yes. While we accept the plan and submit it as is, they are expected to be uh reflected upon along the way uh as as in a sense a continuous improvement plan. >> Any additional questions? >> Thank you for the presentation. >> Thank
014you. Thanks. And the next presentation, our next uh update is the facility planning update. Brian Lindholm, chief of staff and Dr. Anne Williams, deputy superintendent of operations, will present to the board of education, an update on facility planning. >> Good evening. Can you hear me? Okay. Okay, thank you for another opportunity to provide the board of education with an update on our facilities work. Tonight's presentation is organized into two sections, construction updates and sustainability features, each reflecting key milestones in our Unite 46 facilities projects. We will begin with construction updates highlighting our progress at four priority sites. Hollow, Kenyan Woods, Kimble, and the new middle school to be built in Elgen. Then I will turn it over to Mr. Lindholm to speak about sustainability features including storm water detention, geothermal, and solar. Before we get
015into those updates though, we'd like to kick it off with a video produced by our extraordinary communication and community relations team that highlights the significant progress made at the four sites I will provide updates on later. [Music] So, as you can see, we've been very busy. [Music] Okay, our first update tonight is on the Hawk Hollow Middle School project in Bartlett. As we head into the final stretch of the conversion of Hawk Hollow from an elementary school to a middle school, the building is buzzing with activity every day. While construction crews are wrapping up the finishing touches, our district teams have already started to move in, setting up new furniture, delivering equipment, and arranging classrooms. Inside, the learning stair now has its final railings and seating installed. And the stage lights, as you can see
016in the picture on your far left in the cafeterium, are up and running. We're also testing and certifying all of the low voltage systems like internet, phones, and security in close partnership with our staff. Outside, the main entrance canopy shown in the top p top middle photo has received new lights and sleek metal panels. Landscaping has started as well, as you'll see on the next slide, including prep work for planting planting greenery and laying down pavers. Once the final side work is done, we'll install the building's new signage. Here, the image in the upper middle shows reused brick pavers, a nod to the school's legacy as an elementary school. Also, you see exterior photos on the left upper side and center of the screen showing the new entrance canopy and landscaping prep underway, adding curb
017appeal and creating a welcoming outdoor area. Inside, the gymnasium is finished and ready on the right, offering a bright, spacious environment for athletics and physical education. You also see the two-sided stage which connects to the captorium with adjacent learning spaces allowing for flexible use during performances, presentations, and large gatherings. The image of the flexible classroom in the top left corner space shows the bright, clean layout being prepped with furniture and equipment. These spaces are designed to support collaboration, movement, and hands-on learning consistent with our vision for 21st century instruction. Lastly, we're excited to invite everyone out to the Hawk Hollow Middle School ribbon cutting, which is scheduled for Wednesday, July 30th at 5:30 p.m. The event will take place at the new site located at 235 Jackaranda Drive in Bartlett. And this celebration marks a
018major milestone in the launch of our state-of-the-art learning spaces for our middle school students. Now, let's take a peek at Kenyon Woods Middle School project in South Elgen. As you can see in the aerial photo, the Kenyon Woods edition is progressing rapidly. The first layer of the roof is nearly complete and we're on track to have it dried in by the end of the week. This is an important step. It allows interior trades like mechanical, plumbing, and electrical to begin work inside a protected environment. Also, we're pleased to report that we're we've completed the planned KMED power transfer. So, the addition now has permanent power and we won't need to interrupt instruction during the school year to address that. You'll also notice how the exterior brick work mirrors the original building. The design intentionally blending
019the new construction into the existing school. Here you see the interior masonary walls and door frames are going up, bringing the outlines of classrooms, offices, and collaboration spaces into view. These photos show that the addition is really starting to take shape from the inside. The steel framework you see in these in images forms the backbone of our future learning spaces. And once the roof is fully sealed, overhead systems like piping, duct work, and electrical lines will move in right behind. Over the next few weeks, expect more roofing, masonary, and interior trade work as the project continues full speed ahead. Now, let's take a peek at our most complex project, Kimble Middle School. Kimell Middle School continues to be our most challenging and logistically complex project. As we carefully navigate managing construction around ongoing instruction, every
020phase is being coordinated to minimize disruption to students and staff, ensuring learning continues safely and smoothly. On the left here, you can see the results of the demolition of the existing stairwell and concrete slab, part of the interior reconfigur reconfiguration efforts. And on the right, work is underway in area B's foundation, laying the groundwork for new learning and support spaces. Here on the left you see demolition work has also taken place in area E where crews have removed existing structures to support a completely reconfigured interior layout. This phase is essential to align the space with the school's updated instructional design and improved circulation plan. On the right, we're seeing significant progress in the administrative wing, which is being built within the footprint of the former auditorium. That space was taken offline during spring break and
021we expect the administrative staff to begin moving into this area very soon with cleaning crews coming in late this week to finish up. This will allow construction efforts to shift to other priority zones within the building. Now, let's take a look at our new middle school in Elgen. Following approval of the mass grading permit from the city of Elgen, our construction team has been actively on site for just over two weeks. In that time, we've made significant progress with top soil stripping, shaping, and compacting the building pad as well as installing temporary drainage to support the earthwork. The top image on this slide here shows the view of the new middle school site from Hilltop Elementary, which sits just next to the site. The bottom images show ongoing site development, including major grading and building
022pad preparation. Work is also advancing on key elements of the site's sustainability infrastructure, which Mr. Lindholm will get into in just a few moments. While recent rain caused a slight slowdown, crews were far enough along that we were able to stay on schedule overall. And we're expecting the storm water retention systems to actually go live next week, which will allow us to hold more water on the site and to release it slowly in the newly created detention areas. This will help address some of the longstanding draining issues in the Chapel Creek community. Even though that community is just outside of our project. I'm also very pleased to report that we are on track to begin foundation work this Wednesday, a full week ahead of schedule, which marks the start of vertical construction on this site.
023Lastly, before I turn it over to Mr. Lind home to highlight the exciting sustainability features incorporated into some of our projects. I'd like to leave you with something to look forward to. We'll be kicking off a school naming campaign for this SL this site in August. This is a unique opportunity for our community to leave a lasting mark to help shape the identity and spirit of the school that will serve generations of students to come. We cannot wait to hear your ideas, your stories, and your nominations as we work together to give this new school a name that reflects our values, our future, and our pride. So stay tuned. Your voice will help define what the school stands for. >> Thank you, Dr. Williams. So, as we continue to advance our Unite U46 initiative, we're
024committed to building sustainable, future ready schools that serve both our students and our communities. Tonight, I'll provide a brief overview of three critical infrastructure components integrated into our new construction projects. Storm water detention, geothermal heating and cooling, and solar energy systems. These investments are not only environmentally responsible, they are fiscally strategic. Each of these systems reduces our long-term operational costs, enhances our energy efficiencies, and aligns with our district values around environmental stewardship and equity. As we design and construct new building environments, we are ensuring that our infrastructure supports healthy, resilient campuses for decades to come. So, let's begin with storm water detention, which is essential to both our site safety as well as regulatory compliance. So, As you may have seen in the earlier time lapse video um from the site work being done at
025Kimble, we've installed a large underground storm water detention system which is known as a storm trap. This system functions as a vault beneath the surface that temporarily holds storm water and slowly releases it into the sewer system at a controlled rate. This approach helps mitigate flooding, protects the surrounding infrastructure, and supports the district's long-term goals for sustainability and climate resistance resilience. Sorry. The design, including the size of the vault and its release rate, is based on engineering calculations that will meet the city of Elgen storm water ordinance requirements. Looking ahead, a much larger storm trap over three times the number of cubic feet will be installed at the site of the new middle school on Rson Road, further reinforcing our commitment to smart, sustainable development. Next, uh, geothermal heating and cooling. As we shared in
026a previous update, we are moving forward with the installation of geothermal systems to provide heating and cooling at several of our United 46 sites, including the new middle school and the new elementary school being planned in Elgen as well as at Century Oaks Elementary and Glen Brook Elementary as part of their renovations and additions. Geothermal systems are highly energy efficient and take advantage of the consistent temperatures underground to regulate indoor climate. These systems work by circulating water through a closed loop network of underground piping and the building's HVAC system. Inside the building, heat pumps use a refrigerant system to exchange energy with the circulating water. In the heating season, the heat pump draws warmth from the ground to heat the building. And in the cooling season, the process is reversed. The heat pump extracts heat
027from the building and transfers it into the ground. The earth acts as a natural thermal battery, storing excess heat in the summer and making it available for recovery in the winter. This technology not only reduces our energy consumption and utility costs over time, it also supports our commitment to environmental stewardship and long-term operational sustainability. And finally, solar energy systems. Last month, we shared that we're exploring solar panel integration into the design of our new elementary school in Elgen at the former David C. Cook site. While it is true that some federal incentives are being phased out under the big beautiful bill, Illinois continues to offer strong state level programs making solar a viable and a valuable option that many school districts are including in their building designs. As shown in the draft image on the
028right, the sawtooth roof design that honors the site's history would also create ideal south facing surfaces for solar panels, which would maximize our sun exposure. Solar panels can offset as much as 60 to 90% of a school's electricity costs as well as reduce carbon emissions. The payback is typically six to 10 years with benefits lasting 25 years or more. Solar could also bring educational value with fulltime energy monitoring and integration into STEM coursework to promote energy literacy and environmental responsibility. We're continuing to explore this option as part of the final design and funding plan for this project and we'll bring additional updates as we move forward. And that concludes tonight's uh presentation. Next month we will share more detailed updates on the work being done at Century Oaks and Glen Brook elementaryaries. Uh, and are
029there any questions at this time? >> Thank you for presentation. Do board members have questions? Sue, great presentation. One question about geothermal, which I must admit I don't know much about. Is any location adaptable to geothermal or does it have to have certain characteristics? In other words, if you decide to build a school here, would would you be able to do ge geothermal? Would or do you have to certain does the ground have to be a certain way? >> We have teams come out and take boring samples to make sure that so you do have to have a boring field set up um to go ahead and it ends up being quite a few that you bury deep into the ground to allow this sort of system to operate. Um on top of that could
030end up being a parking lot. It could be schools soccer fields on top of it so far underneath but they do have to take some samples to make sure they're going to be able to that's going to be able to serve the function. >> So, it has to have have certain characteristics to be able to do this. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Any additional questions? >> Thank you. >> Comments from the audience. Thank you, President Owens. Uh this evening we do have public comments. So coming forward is Brenda Gomez to provide oh video. >> Good evening. We are now opening the public comment portion of the board of education meeting. Those who completed a request to speak card will be called to provide comments in the order in which the cards were received. Online participants
031have been provided meeting access via Zoom. Written comments emailed to boardu-46.org have been posted to the agenda for public viewing. To ensure that all comments are heard, speakers must comply with the following procedures. Individual comments are less than 3 minutes and comments may not mention the name or personal information of any student other than the speaker's own child. Please note that while board members listen to speakers, they do not respond to comments or answer questions. Thank you. particip. board. Personal Our first speaker this evening is Lori Estanislau. And Lori, please please say your name again for me so I make sure I get that correct next time. Good evening. This is so nice to be here in this beautiful facility and being able to speak to you tonight. My name is Lauria Estanislau. I am
032a transition par educator at South Elgen High School and the professional development chair for our union. Do you tonight, I'd like to share an experience with you this summer at extended school year at Streamwood High School. Day in and day out in our schools. We are with our students. We are supporting. Our focus is on their needs and their educational goals. I had an opportunity to observe my fellow PAR educators, many I have never met before. My observation was during arrival, dismissal, and in the hallways. What stood out to me was their relationship with students. many they have never met for the first time. Their kindness, their dedication, their adapt adaptability, humor and professionalism was evident. They rallied around each other to support students during challenging situations. They are kind and understanding. I'm sharing this
033with Because of being part of the team that plans and provides for our colleagues, I don't always see the outcomes. I read the evaluations. I analyze the data, hear from those who will share their experiences. But what I don't often see is how their learning impacts students. Having this opportunity was a blessing and a snapshot that I will carry with me as we go into our upcoming school year planning to professional development. I would wholeheartedly like to thank President Owens and the rest of the board, Dr. Johnson and all her team and especially Heather Fellows, her team for the collaboration and investment in professional learning. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Our next speaker is Jose Perez. Uh, good evening. My name is Jose Perez. I'm a graduate of Streamwood High School and current employee
034and DUI member. Um, I wanted to actually talk to you guys as an individual and talk a bit about my experience here at um,46 as a student and how I got here. Um, as a 5-year-old, you always want to be a couple things, right? You want to be an astronaut. You want to be a magician. Heck, you even want to be a doctor, lawyer, astronaut, right? Um, however, as a 5-year-old, I already knew what I wanted to be like. I wanted to be a school worker. Why? Well, she's actually right here, Miss Ramirez. Um, she uh she's the homechoolison from Ridge Circle, and she has always been uh there from the very beginning. Um, she was always the first person that I got to see. She was always the first person that gave me a
035big smile coming into the office when I was always late. Um, and throughout the years, you know, she always was the person that was able to get me into a pretty good mood, especially when there were things going on at home. Um, and you know, as a 24 year old now, I get to work with her at Rich Circle. Um, so a full life, you know, turnaround. And um so I had the opportunity to work with her as a par educator and I'm slowly reaching my goal to become a teacher. Um because of her dedication and dedication of others um I now understand the importance of always coming to work and impacting the students I encounter the same way that Miss did um and honestly countless other PA educators. These people right here that you
036see, a lot of them have actually been here when I was in middle school and uh basically throughout my entire you know high school journey and just in the district, right? Um so you know all the other countless par educators I have met and students have impacted me. I'm able to do the same thing and move it forward. So I just wanted to share that little experience and just let you know how happy I am to be here. Thank you. >> Thank you. Thank you for the comments. The next item on our agenda is other business board member and superintendent update. And I'm just going to real quickly as we start into this uh section of the agenda again welcome everybody to our brand new facility here at the U46 welcome center. It's great to
037have a nice crowd here because it really illustrates the fact that we can comfortably support now a lot of people engaging with uh board meetings where we we couldn't do that at our previous facility. Um so welcome to everybody and I want to give a big big big shout out to and I'm not going to mention names because I'll miss somebody. Um but to everybody who has played a part in getting us to this point of making the move over here of making sure that the board members that administration has the tools and the things that we need to effectively conduct a meeting um especially to uh Dr. Johnson and the cabinet team for making sure that we have um what we need for listening to our feedback as we went through a test run.
038Um thank you for getting us to this point. We really really appreciate it. Board members have anything else to add or anything else to share? Anyone? Nope. Dr. Johnson. So, I will echo so many of your comments, President Owens. A tremendous thank you to our extensive team who really supported this transition. It is absolutely a beautiful space. It is truly welcoming. I for one so appreciate all of the photos and the representation of the school district. I think it serves as a wonderful reminder of our purpose and why we're here and what we're all here to do. And so, thank you so much to the board of education, your leadership, and your support for these types of updates to all of our facilities to support programming and and engagement with our community. Uh, and thank
039you to our operations team. Of course, while I'm in the process of that, we have as you as as you get updates regularly some very exciting sign like largecale projects, but we have projects happening at absolutely every building already throughout the summer um on an ongoing regular basis. So, a tremendous thank you to our operations team for the work they are doing. They are working 24 hours a day, whether it's a big project or a small project, which might be new carpet, paint, new tile, um landscaping. We love seeing all of the photos, but really thank you to them um for this extensive work that they take on every summer once we clear out. It's awesome. We're excited to see the first day of school, which will be here three weeks from now. Today, we'll
040be celebrating the fir the completion. I know. >> I know, right? Can you can hardly sleep, right? The enthusiasm. I have I have a couple at home, one who's super excited and one who's not. So, um that's just how they are. Uh but thank you to our operations team. Um and and that work is happening everywhere. Transportation is busily preparing and getting ready to transport all of our students. I know they'll be out with their test runs before we see you again, making sure we've got everything routed. Clearly our our support uh team members here tonight are already participating and planning professional learning and excited about those opportunities along with our our teaching staff, our administrators. Um I know that I am probably leaving out a group. Food service never takes a rest, right? Um,
041but I I just appreciate it because while our students aren't here and they might be really enjoying summer recess, some of them somewhere, we have so many extensive team members that summer is a very different experience for them. And uh, so on behalf of administration, thank you so much for that tireless effort to flip for the new school year, which is here in three weeks. [Music] Um, I just also wanted to add I I look out here and see all of you wonderful paras and I'm just reminded of how much you've impacted my own family with all of the love that you showed my particular guy. Um, and I know you do that for all of our students. So, thank you. >> Okay, anybody else? Okay, next item is foyer request. Dr. Johnson. >> Thank
042you, President Owens. This evening we have 10 Freedom of Information Act requests that are available on the public domain of board docs and later this week will they will be moved as well to the school district 246 website. >> Thank you. And the next item is consent agenda. >> This evening on consent agenda, we have personnel report and workers compensation cases. Minutes of board meeting April 28th, 2025. Termination of Rosalyn M. Cobbs, admin assistant, as Equity Innovations. Termination of Antonia Hernandez Colleen, driver route. Termination of Lindette Moore, driver's assistant. Resolution for the disposal of surplus personal property cafeteria tables. Resolution for the disposal of surplus personal property career and technical education. Bid plant operations herbicide and fertilizer treatments. Bid plant operations Larson Middle School domestic pipe insulation project number 508-25. Bid procurement athletic trainer provider.
043Bid procurement Liberty Elementary School Library Furniture. Bid operations, Unite U46, New Middle School in Elgen. Proposal information services, Vonic interactive displays, commercial displays, mobile stands and licenses, contract renewal, plant operations, Brightley Incorporate Incorporated asset essentials corpro software occupancy permit six, Hawk Hollow Middle School addition and renovation permit number 31-1352. Larson Middle School air cooled chillers permit 31-1453. Nature Ridge Elementary School air cooled chillers permit number 31-1455. Oakhill Elementary School air cooled chillers permit 31-1456. Ridge Circle Elementary School air cooled chillers permit 31-1457. Sunnyale Elementary School air chillers permit number 31-1458. Are there any items that board members would like remove from the consent agenda? Hearing none, may I have a motion to approve the consent agenda as read into the record? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Roll call, please. >> Miss Kerr, >> yes.
044>> Miss Khan, >> yes. >> Miss Martin, >> yes. >> Miss Nolan, >> yes. >> Miss Schwarz, >> yes. >> Miss Thomas, >> yes. >> President Owens, >> yes. >> Motion carried. >> Next item is discussion action. Dr. Johnson. Our first item is itemized bills for July 21st, 2025. Robin Cornelen, executive director of financial services, will respond to questions from the board of education regarding the attached bills. Administration recommends the board of education approve the list of bills in the amount of 57,61,370.91. May I have a motion to approve the list of bills in the amount of 57,61,3 911. >> So moved. >> Second. Any questions or discussion? Okay. Roll call, please. >> Miss Kerr, >> yes. >> Miss Khan, >> yes. >> Miss Martin, >> yes. >> Miss Nolan, >> yes. >> Miss Schwarz,
045>> yes. >> Miss Thomas, >> yes. >> President Owens, >> yes. >> Motion carried. >> Our next item is a resolution to approve the 2025 2026 tenative budget and set public hearing. Dr. Ann Williams, deputy superintendent of operations, and Robin Cornelison, executive director of financial services will present an overview of the tenative budget for the 2025 2026 fiscal year and the supporting resolution on or before August 9th, 2025. The tenative budget will be made available for public inspection and a public notice will be published in a newspaper of general circulation. The resolution presented tonight requests approval of the budget in tenative form and addresses the requirement regarding the notice of the public hearing. This timeline fulfills all Illinois school code requirements. Administration will be available to respond to questions from the board of education. Administration
046recommends adoption of the resolution to approve 2025 2026 tenative budget and set public hearing. Before we have the presentation, I'm going to read the motion into the record. May I have a motion to adopt the resolution to approve the 2025 2026 tentative budget and set the public hearing? >> So moved. >> Second. >> I'll turn it over to you, Dr. Williams, for the presentation. >> Thank you, President Owens. As you may recall, the FY26 tenative budget was developed prior to the approval of what is now known as the big beautiful bill as well as the funding freeze. Um, as a reminder, the total revenues for the tenative budget are 99 million. Total expenditures are 957 million. We do have a plan deficit as it relates to capital projects, but there will be changes between now
047and the final budget that we proposed to you in September. Um, as it relates to our capital projects, while everything remains on track, we are closely monitoring potential increases in construction costs due to tariffs on materials such as steel, aluminum, and electronic components. We are also monitoring indirect pressure on the Illinois state budget that may come from the loss of federal funds for state level programs. As we continue to modify the budget over the next five five weeks roughly, as we continue to monitor the budget, we will make adjustments and we will bring additional updates to you during the A August meeting. But I do want to take a final moment to thank the board of education because due to your financial stewardship over the past um few years, the district is able to maintain
048all of the programs planned in the tenative budget regardless of what happens at the federal level with the federal grant funds that we are closely moni closely monitoring. Be happy to address any questions that you might have at this time. >> Thank you. Do board members have questions, Don? So, I just want to thank our team for um staying on top of all the changes that are happening at the fed and state level. There is a lot of noise in the media and social media, and I think people sometimes miss the fact that this is going to affect real students in their communities. So, um just thank you to everyone on the team that's trying to get their hands around the numbers and continually updating us so that we can serve our students. >> Thank
049you. Anyone else? And I'll just I'll reiterate, I appreciate the the constant focus on doing what is best for our students and what their needs are. Um, so I appreciate that and and um, you know, thank the team for I know the work that is ahead of you over the next few weeks as we settle on the final budget, but thank you for the work. >> Thank you all. >> We can take a mo or we take a vote to approve the resolution. >> Miss Ker, >> yes. Miss, >> yes. >> Miss Martin, >> yes. >> Miss Nolan, >> yes. >> Miss Schwarz, >> yes. >> Miss Thomas, >> yes. >> President Owens, >> yes. >> Motion carry. >> Our next item is a bid procurement Hawk Hollow Middle School Library Collection. Coming forward to
050join Robin Cornelison is Denise Smith, procurement coordinator, to present the attached proposal summary and respond to questions from the board of education. Administration recommends award to the lowest responsible bidder, Flet Content Solutions LLC, in the amount of $77,160.3 and requests authorization for district administration to execute related documents. This expenditure will be charged to the capital projects fund. The cost is included in the budget for the 2025 2026 fiscal year. May I have a motion to award the bid to the lowest responsible bidder follow Content Solutions LLC in the amount of $77,160.3 and approval for authorization for district administration to execute related documents. >> Second, >> are there any questions for >> So these are these are physical books. Will the students also have access to ebooks? Is that different thing or is it do we
051have something that the district as a whole gets the ebooks >> that is included in the complete specification for these books? >> Okay. >> Any additional questions? Roll call, please. >> Miss Kerr, >> yes. >> Miss Khan, >> yes. >> Miss Martin? >> Yes. >> Miss Nolan? >> Yes. >> Miss Schwarz? >> Yes. >> Miss Thomas? Yes. >> President Nolan? >> Yes. Motion carried. Our next item is a contract renewal from Specialized Student Services for student read 180. Amanda Leatherbeby, director of specialized student services, and Dr. Christopher Sanzer, assistant director of specialized student services, will present the attached proposal summary and respond to questions from the board of education. Administration recommends approval of the contract renewal with Hooton Mifflin Hardcourt in the amount of $192,3712 and requests authorization for district administration to execute related documents.
052This expenditure will be charged to the education fund cost is included in the budget for the 2025 2026 fiscal year. >> May I have a motion to approve the contract renewal with Newton Mifflin car in the of 192,3712 and approve district administration to execute related documents. >> Second board members have any questions. >> Roll call, please. >> Miss Kerr, >> yes. >> Miss Khan, >> yes. >> Miss Martin, >> yes. >> Miss Nolan, >> yes. >> Miss Schwarz, >> yes. >> Miss Thomas, >> yes. >> Cuz No, >> yes. >> Motion passes. >> Thank you. The next item on the agenda is other business. Dr. Johnson. >> Thank you, President Owens. This evening we have a graduation requirements update. Lala My Store, Deputy Superintendent of Instruction, and Michelle Chapman, director of post-secary success, will present
053the graduation requirements update and respond to questions from the board of education. Good evening. I I am here to share some updates to our graduation requirements. The purpose of these updates is to align the U46 graduation requirements with the Illinois school code graduation requirements. We have three updates tonight. The first update is math. Our current language states that students must have three years of math to graduate. That includes algebra 1, geometry, and algebra 2. The Illinois school code language requires students to have three years of math in high school, which includes algebra 1 or integrated equivalent and a course with geometry content. For the class of 2030, our current eighth grade students, the mathematics requirement will be three years of math in grades 9 through 12, including the completion of algebra 1 and geometry or
054the integrated equivalence. This slide illustrates what math course options a student would have if they took algebra 1 their freshman year. Our math department will bring forward these potential changes later this year. For our freshmen, we would add an honors algebra 1 course and twilight geometry bridge. We would continue to offer geometry and honors geometry to our sophomores. Junior year students could take algebra 2 honors and regular or a new inter intermediate algebra course that would be aligned to our ACT or SAT. For senior year, we will be we will streamline our offerings to align with our student needs. This is another illustration showing all the math courses available to our students. Students who take algebra or geometry in middle school will continue to have math course options to meet their postsecary needs. The next
055update to our graduation requirements is in science. Our current language requires one year of biology and one year of physical science. The Illinois school code language requires two years of laboratory science. For the class of 2030, the U46 science requirement will change to two years of a laboratory science. We will continue to recommend that our students take biology as freshmen and chemistry or physical science as sophomores. Our last graduation requirement change is in physical education. Currently, we require seven semesters of physical education to graduate. And this part of the requirement will not change. What will change is that beginning in the 2026 27 school year, driver's education will become a credit bearing course and will count as one semester of physical education for students who choose to take the course. Thank you. board members have
056questions. Shondaanda, >> thank you for the presentation. I wanted to go back to the um slide I think slides two and five. So, you mentioned that for middle school they'll still get the credit for algebra and geometry if they, you know, if they get the grades both semesters, but then they'll still have to take three years of math in 9 through 12. So, for students in say the accelerated math program as they're going on, they'll still have to three years of math regardless of where they are for 9 through 12. Yes. Okay. Thank you, >> Don. So, I'm going to start with staying on the math slide. Okay. So the intermediate algebra which I understand we're not presenting that tonight but my question is um so if a student takes and this is slide five
057that intermediate algebra course instead of algebra 2 >> it looks like what they can take after that is limited to um the DC general math and the AP compsai. Is that correct? >> And the transition to college algebra on the bottom and transition to qualitative literature or >> qualitative Oh my gosh. >> Sorry. >> It's okay. So then if a student was >> What's the the transition to CA? That's I'm sorry. >> Transition to college algebra. >> College algebra. >> So those are our partnership courses that we have with LG Community College. So depending on which course a student takes and if they get a C or better, they can automatically go to ECC into credit varying math courses. >> So if a student, and this is just after having kids have done the SAT
058and like the math portion being really difficult because you take certain math classes and then you kind of forget. So if a student took the intermediate algebra which is you know intended to kind of align with some of the testing prep, could they then still take algebra 2 and take like an AP precel or something of that nature if they wanted to get one of those AP courses in? They could. Is that an option? Okay. Thank you. Any questions? >> I have one quick question on slide six. So the our current language is biology and one year of physical science. The updated language is the two years of laboratory science. Is there a requirement at the state level for which because you had Illinois language for the math but for the science you didn't didn't
059include the the current language. The language is just two years of laboratory science. >> that's all it says. >> Okay. Um and so through the course selection when students are in eighth grade that'll be that'll still be the recommendation is that they start with biology and continue with chemistry >> or another science. Okay. >> Yes. Is it refresh my memory? Taking chemistry in high school is a prerequisite to take biology for physics. Is there a prerequisite for chemistry? Those are all additional questions. So then one last question, the um change of driver's ed to being a credit bearing course and are we looking at possibly expanding the amount of driver's ed we are able to offer? I know it's very popular and more students wish they could take it. >> Yeah, we we can we
060continue to evaluate how many students we have that are interested in the course and then look at our staffing based on that. >> Thanks. So, and and following up on that question, I know a lot of students take drivers at over the summer. Does that mean they would be getting a PE credit? >> Yes, they would get a PE credit, but every semester that they're enrolled in high school, you have to be enrolled in PE. >> So, probably they wouldn't be doing >> Okay. So, they could end up with nine PE credits. >> Yes. Yes. >> Any follow-up questions? Okay. Thank you. >> Next item. >> Our next item is the May financial report. Robin Cornelison, executive director of financial services, will review the attached financial report and respond to questions from the board of
061education. >> Good evening, Dr. Johnson and the board of education. Tonight, I'd like to present the May 2025 financial statements. In May, school district 46 posted a monthly deficit of approximately 26.4 million, bringing the total fund balance to 765.7 million. Despite the deficit spend for this month, the district remains in a strong financial position with 356 days of cash on hand and over 846 million in combined cash and investments. The amount owed by the state to the district decreased month overmonth to 940,822 indicating a continued time timeliness of state payments. A little bit about our revenue. The May revenues were about $46.2 2 million, increasing year-to-ate revenue to approximately 683.1 million or 83.3% of our annual non- financing budget. In June, we historically received 22% of our revenue from the property taxes that we'll start
062to get from Kain and DuPage counties. Local revenue reached 320.6 6 million or 77.7% of the budget, mainly driven by property tax collection and investment income. State revenue added 27 million in May, totaling 295.1 million or 87.9%. Federal revenue totaled nearly 2 million, reaching 92.5%, continuing a strong trend of our timely federal reimbursements. On the expenditure side, in May we totaled approximately $72.6 million, pushing our year-to-ate total to approximately 709.7 million or 82.8% of our budget. A couple highlights is that our salaries have slightly exceeded the annual budget at 100.3% while benefits remain below budget at 91.6%. For FY25, the district transitioned to a more detailed position level salary budgeting approach. At the time the budget was developed in June 2024, staffing projections assumed 4,945 full-time employees. However, by the end of June 2025, we
063had actual staffing in those same categories at 5,098. That was an increase of 153 positions. This increase reflects successful efforts to fill long-standing vacancies supported by strong collective bargaining agreements and the district's growing reputation as an employer committed to equity and opportunity for all students through our mission of all means all. We will continue to review the salary and benefits as we finalize the FY26 budget to ensure what we are presenting is in line uh with our uh available positions. Our capital outlay rose to 38.8 million reflecting our facility and infrastructure projects. We do anticipate this to increase in June as the summer projects start to ramp up. For our liquidity, as of May 31st, the district held cash and money market balances at 392.4 million, investments at 454.1 million for a total of 846.5
064million, supporting long-term financial stability. Year-over-year, we are consistent as our U46 strong revenue performance, disciplined expenditure management, and robust cash reserves keep the district in excellent fiscal health heading into the final month of the fiscal year. >> Thank you for the presentation. Do board members have questions? >> Thank you. Okay, that brings us to work session. Dr. Johnson, this evening we have the 2026 2027 board of education meeting schedule. Trisha Olsen, chief legal officer, will present the 2026 2027 board of education meeting schedule. I'm happy to answer any questions that you might have to the document that is attached to board materials. Any questions? >> Thank you for putting that together. It's very helpful to have this calendar a full year in advance or more than a year in advance. So, thank you for the
065work it takes to put that together. Uh that moves us to work session resolutions. Dr. Johnson, >> our first item is a resolution approving shity bond of treasurer. Dr. Ann Williams, deputy superintendent of operations and Robin Cornelison, executive director of financial services will present the attached resolution approving charity bond of treasurer. Administration recommends the board of education adopt the resolution. Board members have any questions? >> Thank you. Thank you. Our next resolution is for the disposal of surplus personal property preschool furniture. Katie Cox, director of early learner initiatives, will review the attached resolution and will respond to questions from the board of education. Administration recommends the board of education approve the resolution for the disposal of surplus personal property. Do board members have any questions? >> Thank you. Next item is work session bids and
066proposals. >> Thank you. Our first item is a bid for assessment and accountability and student success fall practice act. Brian Tennyson, assistant superintendent of teaching and learning and David Bell, coordinator of assessment and accountability will present the attached proposal summary and will respond to questions from the board of education. Administration recommends award to the lowest responsible bidder, Progress Learning LLC, in the amount of $14,000 and requests authorization for district administration to execute related documents. This expenditure will be charged to the education fund. The cost is included in the budget for the 2025 2026 fiscal year. >> Do board members have any questions, Don? So, looking at the um the bid costs, I guess I'm just kind of thrown off by um how ACT C like this is their product and they're like eight times the
067price. Is there was there like a a difference between what they were providing that they're eight times the lowest bid and do we have any concerns on what the lowest bid is in the product they're providing? It's just such a big difference, >> right? I I don't have any concerns. I The difference is uh brand name and it's their product. >> That's fair. I just wanted to make sure it just was a very wide range. >> For sure. >> Thank you. >> Any additional questions? >> Our next item is a bid for plant operations high school auditorium wireless intercom system. Sheila DS, assistant superintendent of operations, and Ashley McCainy, assistant director of operations and maintenance, will present the attached proposal summary and will respond to questions from the board of education. Administration recommends awards the
068lowest responsible bidder sound productions in the amount of $85,1152 and requests authorization for district administration to execute related documents. This expenditure will be charged to the operations and maintenance fund. The cost is included in the budget for the 2025 2026 fiscal year. >> Do board members have any questions? >> Thank you. >> Our next item is a proposal information services copers. Jim Wolf, director of information services, will present the attached proposal summary and will respond to questions from the board of education. Administration recommends approval of the proposal from Proven It Incorporated in the amount of $237,625.80 and requests authorization for district administration to execute related documents. This expenditure will be charged to the education fund. The cost is included in the budget for the 2025 2026 through 2029 2030 fiscal years. >> Do board members
069have any questions? Thank you. >> Our next item is a proposal from the office of teaching and learning NCTM 2025 annual meeting and exposition. Brian Tennyson, assistant superintendent of teaching and learning, will present the attached proposal summary and respond to questions from the board of education. Administration recommends approval of the proposal from NCTM 2025 annual meeting and exposition in the amount of $46,683 and requests authorization for district administration to execute related documents. This expenditure will be charged to the education fund. The cost is included in the budget for the 2025 2026 fiscal year. >> Do board members have any questions? >> Thank you. That brings us to work session contracts over 35,000. Dr. Johnson, >> thank you, President Owens. Our first contract, Specialized Student Services, AMN Healthcare Incorporated Related Services and Behavior Support Team. Amanda
070Leatherbeby, director of specialized student services, and Dr. Christopher Sanzeri, assistant director of specialized student services, will present the attached proposal and respond to questions from the board of education. Administration recommends approval of the contract with AMN Healthcare Incorporated not to exceed the amount of $2,18,096 and requests authorization for district administration to execute related documents. This expenditure will be charged to the education fund. The cost is included in the budget for the fiscal year. >> Do board members have any questions? Um, and I think this is just kind of a general question for all of these set up. Um, are we behind on services for any of our students? Do we all compensatory services? >> For the most part, we should be caught up uh with compensatory services. I think there's a little bit from the
071ESY session um for speech and language, but otherwise we should be caught up as at the end of the year. >> Okay. Question. >> Any additional questions? >> Next item. Our next item is a contract renewal specialized student services psychologist services. Uh Amanda Leby and and Dr. Christopher Senzeri remain to present the attached proposal and respond to questions from the board of education. Administration recommends approval of the contract renewal with Reber Consulting LLC not to exceed the amount of $80,000 and requests authorization for district administration to execute related documents. This expenditure will be charged to the education fund. The cost is included in the budget for the 2025 2026 fiscal year. >> Board members have any questions? >> Next item. >> Continuing with our specialized student services team. We have a contract renewal for specialized
072student services speech and language therapy services. Our team remains to present the attached proposal and respond to questions from the board of education. Administration recommends approval of the contract with the listed vendors in the amount not to exceed $3,84,840 and requests authorization for district administration to execute related documents. I'm going to read each of the vend vendors and the amount into the record. AHS staffing $277,200. Bilingual speech solutions $344,520. Communicate Therapy LLC $138,600. Cheryl Lipy Hoa $18,240. Quantum Speech and Language Services LLC $135,960. Epic Special Education Staffing $252,120. Katherine Burgess KB Bilingual Services 151. 800 Maria T. Rodriguez, $132,000. Solient Health LLC, $545,160. The Stepping Stones Group LLC, $739,200. Tanama Speech and Language LLC, $151,800. Therapy Care, $18,240. This expenditure will be charged to the education fund cost is included in the budget for the
0732025 2026 fiscal year. Do board members have any questions? Next item. Next is a contract renewal for specialized student services Easter Seals Metropolitan Chicago. Again, our team remains at the deis to present the attached proposal summary and respond to questions from the board of education. Administration recommends approval of the contract renewal with Easter Seals Metropolitan Chicago in the amount of $344,81920 and request authorization for district administration to execute related documents. This expenditure will be charged to the education fund. The cost is included in the budget for the 2025 2026 fiscal year. >> Do board members have any questions? >> Thank you. Our next item is a contract renewal for assessment, accountability, and student success, school climate, and culture training. Brian Tennyson, assistant superintendent of teaching and learning, and Matt Ramandi, director of assessment and accountability
074and student success, will present the attached proposal and respond to questions from the board of education. Administration recommends approval of the contract renewal with the Flipping Group LLC in the amount of $52,150 and requests authorization for district administration to execute related documents. This expenditure will be charged to the education fund. The cost is included in the budget for the 2025 2026 fiscal year. >> Do board members have any questions? >> Uh just some clarification. So the proposal mentions Coleman and Parkwood um and that how successful they were, but you also attached our contracts for OILL McKinley and Huff. So are they new to the program? Is Coleman and Parkwood just renewing theirs or >> Yep. So yeah, that's exactly it. So the two schools are renewing it and then we have some other schools that
075are adding on. >> Okay. Because it looks like it really worked well at the schools that used it. Yeah, they had a really high growth on their sense of belonging survey. So, it's great to see. >> And and do schools I know when I read I've actually read some of the uh SIP reports and a couple of them schools were were struggling with school environment. Has that been something that they've been you know suggested that they might try? >> Uh well, right now we're sticking with the schools that are in status because they have the budget to support it. Um so, but if you know there are results that are positive, that's that we'll look into further. >> Okay. Thank you. Any other questions? >> Thank you. >> Our next item is a contract renewal
076curriculum and instruction K12 science and planetarium Pearson. Silia Banks Banks, director of curriculum instruction, and Deborah McMullen, coordinator of K12 science and planetarium will present the attached proposal and respond to questions from the board of education. Administration recommends approval of the contract renewal with Pearson in the amount of $153,000 and requests authorization for district administration to execute related documents. This expenditure will be charged to the education fund. The cost is included in the budget for the 2025 2026 fiscal year. >> Board members have any questions? >> Thank you. >> And next Contract renewal information services infinite campus student information system. Jim Wolf, director of information services, will present the attached proposal and respond to questions from the board of education. Administration recommends approval of the contract renewal with computer information concept CIC in the amount
077of 1,231,340 and requests authorization for district administration to execute related documents. This expenditure will be charged to the education fund. The cost is included in the budget for the 2025 2026 through 2027 2028 fiscal years. Do board members have any questions? >> Thank you. That being the last item on our agenda, I will ask for a motion to adjurnn. >> So moved. >> Second. Roll call, please. >> Miss Kurt, >> yes. >> Miss Khan, >> yes. Miss Martin, >> yes. >> Miss Nolan, >> yes. >> Miss Schwarz, >> yes. >> Miss Thomas, >> yes. >> President Owens, >> yes. >> We are journed at 8:20 p.m. >> Thank you everyone. Have a good night. Heat. Hey, Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music]