001To call this meeting of the Summit Hill School District 161 school board to order can we please rise for the play Roll call Melissa Ryan here John winter here Adrian Chavez here Patrick Oliphant here Ron Petrie here Amy Burke Here and joy murphy is not here on our way Okay, Eric green much come forward, please Yeah, you're the teacher Very important. Don't worry. I'm gonna read it All right So this past fall Summit Hill junior high eighth grader Nora Brown auditioned for and was selected to the Illinois music education associations district one honors choir When audition results were released we learned that Nora scored in the 99th Percentile in all three audition categories making her one of the highest scoring students in our IL MEA district Based on her outstanding district audition score nor was
002selected to sing soprano in the IL MEA all-state honors choir Becoming the first and only Summit Hill student in our district's history to receive this distinction out of approximately 1500 students statewide who auditioned Nora was one of just 150 selected to sing in this prestigious ensemble in late January She attended the Illinois music education conference in Peoria where she spent two days rehearsing with top student singers from across the state Culminating in a performance at the Peoria Civic Center arena Nora's accomplishment reflects her exceptional work ethic Dedication to excellence in her craft and genuine love of music We are incredibly proud of the way she has represented Summit Hill junior high school and our entire school district Congratulations to you on this remarkable achievement. Would you please come forward and receive your certificate? At This
003time we would like to recognize our February summit award winners so we get to the near end of the school year and The recommendations come in fast and furious and so we try to dedicate our board meetings to just one Winner, but we have too many so we have two tonight. So everyone will just have to bear with us We are excited to recognize our two summit award winners this month First up is Mary Drew early learning center social worker Joy Galvin who is in her 11th year of working in our district She served at DJR before moving to the Mary Drew early learning center with the 20 24 25 school year She was nominated by paraprofessional Stephanie Norell who wrote joy goes above and beyond on a daily basis She is a constant smiling
004happy face for students as well as staff She is always checking in to see if you need anything and lend a helping hand and always making sure our hallways are Exciting and new for our kiddos Joy's love for our students shines through daily and you can always count on her for something new and exciting like our little chicks Are just one example And I think she's the mama hen anyway She works hard and loves harder and I couldn't think of someone more deserving of the summit award than joy So the Mary Drew early learning center director Kim Zilka adds Joy's unwavering commitment to fostering a supportive and nurturing environment for our preschool students as well as her colleagues has helped make our School a special place to be she brings a sense of warmth and
005compassion to her interactions making our preschoolers feel safe and valued She creates a welcoming space where children can thrive both emotionally and socially In addition to her social work support joy is willing to go above and beyond to support the program and her peers She helps create a fun work environment and always is willing to lend a hand to paint Organize or document the fun that the students are having She makes our school a wonderful place to learn and grow her dedication hard work and passion for helping others does not go Unnoticed and we are beyond lucky to have joy as a part of our team joy Thank you so much for everything that you do. Would you please come forward? I I The board just wants to recognize that joy Murphy here at 702
006Okay, next up. We have Lincoln way special area. I'm sorry Lincoln way area special education 843 bus aid Joe Montalione who is nominated by parent Kelly McCarran So the nomination reads Joe is an amazing bus aid who truly makes a difference for special needs students including my son As a parent I am grateful for the care Patience and kindness he shows every day Joe has a special way of making each child feel loved accepted and important He treats the kids like friends while keeping them safe and supported He goes out of his way to play games Joke with them and create a fun positive environment Which makes a big difference in how the children start and end their entire school day Joe's dedication warmth and genuine care mean more to our family than words can
007express and he is absolutely deserving of this award In addition Judy boyans the assistant director of Lincoln way area special ed district 843 who oversees transportation Rights Joe is a true asset to 843 during his 12 years with us He's shown exceptional care for the well-being of the children on our buses 843 is a better organization with Joe as an employee and the children of the Lincoln way area are in good hands with Joe assisting them Congratulations on your summit award Joe and thank you for all that you do for our students. Would you please come forward? At This time if all of the honorees would like to use this opportunity to head out by all means go ahead Thank you again I Will move on to for be a freedom of information act Okay,
008we had one foyer the request was made by mrs. Plunkett and this was completed in the appropriate timeframe and Moving on to foresee our lovely student board member education report Good evening board members this month the student board members have been working hard to make sure the students voices Have the opportunity to be heard and today I will share with you how One of our goals this year was to get a student idea box at Summit Hill junior high and now we are actively working on Doing the same at Hilda Walker this will offer the opportunity for more students voices across the district to be heard and Also, so the students at Hilda Walker can learn more about the board of education We will also be trying to ease the transition from Hilda Walker student
009council to the Summit Hill student council by making both clubs more similar We are take Talking with the administration and club sponsors to see how this can be worked on The last thing we would like to bring to the board's attention tonight is a student stance with the outbreak of AI We student board members would like to make it very clear to the board and our public that most of the students at Summit Hill High do not support the inappropriate way that AI is being used at our school That and that we are impacted by it as well and that we love our school and value our teachers We thought this perspective would be valuable to share. Thank you Thank you. That is extremely useful information and interesting as we move forward with that and
010see how that plays a role in our learning Thank you and our other student board members you want to start off the public comments good evening Good evening, everyone According to the American Academy of Pediatrics peanuts tree nuts milk and seafood including fish and Shellfish are among the five most fatal food allergies in children. My sister Savannah in the crowd Savannah has a severe peanut allergy and is part of this statistic Because of her allergy she is in able to she's unable to participate in many of the hot lunches treat days and candy graham sales is in Imperative that we accommodate to students with food allergies So that everyone so that everyone is able to enjoy the special school treats Today I am asking that we consider these accommodations as we continue to create memories
011with our students. Thank you Good evening, everyone We have noticed that students at Summit Hill Junior High have been making inappropriate videos Of teachers the videos students have been making are hurtful or rude I think the district should have a clear policy that students can understand the school district can always track down these unkind videos This isn't okay and should not be tolerated. Thank you. Everyone. Have a great night Thank you. Yeah, I think that all three student speakers are proved today why this is such a tremendous addition to our Thank you guys very much. Absolutely Thank you Letters and communications are in the back of the board book and we will move on to 5a our consent agenda Hold off on motion, but we will move to approve the items on the cassette agenda
012for this meeting as presented including 5a 1a regular session meeting minutes of January 21st 2026 5a 1b closed session meeting minutes of January 21st 2026 5a 1c policy committee meeting minutes of January 26 2026 5a 2 approval of bills list of February 18th 2026 5a 3 approval of resignation of staff Janet Carcelli effective February 27 26 Christine page effective to be determined 5a for approval of family medical leave employee 2842 5a 5 Approval of employment of staff Carolina Calta school psychologist at DJR for the 2627 school year Ryan Reid paraprofessional at Summit Hill Christine page receptionist at Mary Drew 5a 6 authorization to bid lawn maintenance 5a 7 authorization to bid pest control maintenance 5a 8 authorization to bid stage curtain inspection 5a 9 authorization to bid summer inspections 5a 10 authorization to issue a
013request for proposals for generator maintenance 5a 11 authorization to issue requests for proposals for closed loop water services and 5a 12 approval of memorandum of understanding for elementary music teachers Do I have a motion? so moved Second do we have any discussion? roll call Adrian Chavez I John winter Patrick Oliphant I joy Murphy I Alyssa Ryan I Amy Burke I and Ron Petrie I motion carries Right now we are going to with the approval Move our closed session to this point so we're going to go to 6b And I'll need a motion to go to closed session for the items Listed one litigation when an action against affecting or on behalf of the particular public body has been filed or impending before a court or administrative tribunal or when the public body finds that the
014action is Probable and imminent in which case the basis for the financial be recorded and entered into the minutes of closed meeting 5 il CS 122 C 11 to the appointment employment compensation discipline performance or dismissal specific employees specific individuals who serve as independent contractors in a park recreational or educational setting or specific volunteers of the public body or legal counsel for the public body including hearing testimony on a complaint lodged against an employee a specific individual who serves as an independent contractor in a park recreational or educational setting or a Volunteer of public body or against legal counsel for the public body to determine its validity 5l I'll CS 122 C 1 3 self-evaluation practices and procedures or Professional ethics when meeting with a representative statewide associations of which the district is a member
0155 il CS 122 C 21 can I have a motion? so moved second roll call Melissa Ryan I Ron Petrie I John winter I Patrick old font I Joey Murphy I Amy Burke Adrian Chavez I Motion passes we will move to close session there will be action items after you have to call second We are now open in session it is 915 roll call most Orion here the joy Murphy here Adrian Chavez here John Murphy What? John winter here Amy Burke here Adrian Chavez Patrick old font here and Ron Petrie here, sorry Okay With that I have Two statements I'd like to Read First is something I forgot to do earlier We'd like to clarify some information on the snow removal billing from last month's meeting as board members we are here to be advocates
016for the community and Includes doing our due diligence when a concern presents itself That's why it is important to keep an open line of communication between the board and superintendent and all of us in the community There was confusion with the addition of the April bills as the bills list had a signature page after the second page so therefore 44,000 655 on the April bills was not Included in the initial numbers and mr. McDermott did have the correct numbers for the alpine snow at a total of 141,000 and 820 Dollars and we work together and that is now clarified The other statement Is regarding in action and alleged construction fraud manner the Summit Hills School District? 161 School District Board of Education is expressing deep concern and frustration regarding the continued lack of prosecutorial action
017by the Office of the Will County State's attorney James Glasgow in Connection with alleged improper conduct involving storm construction or storm consulting group over the past five years Each board has cooperated fully with law enforcement authorities providing documentation financial records audit findings and internal investigative materials related to significant Irregularities discovered in connection with invoicing for construction and related services provided to the district by storm to the period from 2017 through 2021 These concerns were formally referred to the appropriate authorities for investigation and potential prosecution Despite the passage of substantial time since the referral no charges have been filed nor has the school board received Substantive updates regarding the status of this matter Our responsibility is to the taxpayers students and families of this community When public funds are at issue incredible evidence of misconduct is
018presented We expect appropriate and timely action the continued delay undermines public confidence and leaves important questions unanswered The district has incurred significant financial harm as a result of the alleged conduct Those funds were intended to support classrooms Educational programs and critical infrastructure improvements for our students The board is formally requesting explanation of the current status of the investigation Clarification regarding any additional information needed from the district and a timeline for prosecutorial determination The board respects the independence of the state's attorney's office and the complexity of the prosecutorial decision-making However, transparency accountability and Timelessness are essential and expected when public resources are involved The district will continue to pursue all available remedies to protect taxpayer funds and ensure that any responsible parties are held accountable through appropriate legal channels The board remains committed to fiscal responsibility
019Transparency and safeguarding the integrity of our district We will not weaken our board's resolve to continue to pursue this matter on behalf of our taxpayers With that we will move on to Old business the adoption of the 2026 2027 school district calendar 5b Okay So in front of you this evening is a draft of the 2627 school calendar After sharing this calendar with the board and past correspondences along with soliciting feedback from our union leadership team We are ready to formally recommend the following candle calendar for approval The calendar looks similar similar to last year's with opening institutes for employees scheduled for August 17th and 18th and 19th which that 19th will be a teacher workday This offers teachers a day to be in their classrooms It looks very similar to 157 sees opening of
020school and helps avoid students ending the school year on a half day on a Monday Speaking of May 2027 our last day of school would be May 26th We will also follow the same winter break and spring break schedule as link my high school to 10 So that all of our students can be off at the same time once approved We will post the calendar on our website so the families and our staff can begin planning for next year. Dr. McDermott I had that question that I asked you about July fourth holiday and I Wasn't really clear on What you meant like you? Because I didn't know why we weren't putting a holiday in there for our 12 month employees So the template that you see is for the it's a student calendar and it
021is the template from the state And so with July 4th falling on a Saturday It's not recognized on this particular calendar that you have we will Either celebrate that day on the third or the sixth Either on the Friday or the Monday and we'll work that out internally with our employees you get the Friday off Because we usually go to Fridays off in the summer. So would it be like the Thursday off? Potentially, okay. Good. Okay. I just want to make sure they're getting their holiday Oh, believe me, they will make sure that the holiday is received, but that's a good question Do I have a motion that the Board of Education adopt the Summit Hill District 161 calendar for the 2627 school year as presented motion so moved any further discussion or questions It's
022aligned with Lincoln ways, so the families together if it's with our professional development needs for the teachers, so Roll call Melissa Ryan Adrian Chavez Patrick Oliphant. I Ron Petrie. I am you Burke. I John winter. I and Joey Murphy I Motion carries and calendar is approved Moving on to 5c new business 5c one can I actually have a motion to Table the first and second reading of board policies so that we can have another policy committee meeting to add additional policy second any discussion right now We will discuss further and policy committee meeting and once the policy is created. Can I roll call? Patrick Oliphant. I Ron Petrie. I Amy Burke. I join Murphy. I Adrian Chavez. I John winter I Melissa Ryan. I 5c to approval of employment of director of business Services We're
023very pleased to bring forward Amy curtain for consideration as Summit Hill School District 161's new director of business services or CSBO We had 23 candidates to play apply for the full-time director position and 10 for our interim posting We chose five candidates to participate in first round interviews After days worth of vetting the first round interview team recommended two finalists for the second round team to interview Amy curtain won both the first round and second round interviews with the most votes She's a Marquette graduate with a degree in business administration Finance and accounting she has a master's in school business management a CSBO license and is a CSBO Coming to us with over six years of experience she also has experience as both a payroll specialist and an accounts payable specialist and is an excellent
024fit for our district office and school district as a whole a Plethora of different additional information has been shared with the board along the way including interview questions Rationale for our choice and more at this time We would like to recommend Amy curtain to fill the administrative role of director of business services For the remainder of this school year in the entirety of the 26 27 school year Do we have a motion that the Board of Education approved the hiring of Amy curtain for the director of business services? administrative position for the remainder of the 2025-26 school year and the Pro-rated salary of $140,000 and for the 26 27 school year $144,200 Second any discussion Roll call Melissa Ryan. I Patrick Oliphant. I John winter. I Adrian Chavez. I Joy Murphy. I Amy Burke. I
025Ron Petrie. I Motion carries and welcome welcome to the team moving on to five see Three approval to dissolve an administrative contract as of June 30th, 2026 Okay, this topic I approach with mixed emotions as we recommend approving the dissolution of Jason is Donis's administrative contract Due to his extraordinary health issue Jason has faithfully served Summit Hill for decades and due to his recent transplant We will need to he will need to be in a position that controls the number of students. He comes into contact with Jason is a miracle we've talked through this for months behind the scenes between the two of us as we look for the very best way to protect him and Provide him a place where he can continue to be amazing for students And just to give everyone a
026sigh of relief. The next motion will be employment of Jason is Donis So this first one is dissolving his administrative contract at this time by mutual agreement I move that the Board of Education approved the dissolution of Jason is Adonis's Administrative contract, can I have a second? Roll call Patrick O'Font. All right, Adrian Chavez. I join Murphy. I Amy Burke. I'm Petrie. I John winter. I Melissa Ryan. I So I talked to Jason Before this vote was taken. He wanted me to express his gratitude to the board Not just for the well-wishing but also for the consideration and what is best for him, I mean he realizes that That it's a joint effort between the board administration him based on his health I'd like to say to mr. Sedona's that you're an incredibly kind person
027and I'm glad you're here with us to Continue on I wish it was in the principal capacity, but I'm really grateful for Just how well you treated our students and our families I've had great interaction with you. Even though my kid went to a trail I had some events over by him and he's just an incredible guy So we're happy you're still with us and teaching our students and we're here for you in any capacity you need You have and will and will continue to make a great impact on our community 5c for approval to reclass administrator to teaching position as of July 1st, 2026 So this would come this recommendation would come right on the heels of the last and that is we would like to reclass Jason His donors into a teaching position
028starting July 1st, 2026 In accordance with the current collective bargaining agreement and in consideration of his lane and step Jason's precise teaching position will be determined collaboratively with him building administration and again in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement Can I have a motion that the Board of Education approve reclassing Jason? Sedona says position to a teaching position beginning July 1st, 2026 so moved second roll call Melissa Ryan I Ron Petrie I Amy Burke. I John winter. I Adrian Chavez. I Patrick Oliphant. I join Murphy. I Welcome back. Mr. Sedona's and five see five Based on board feedback and in interest of helping community There seem to be an interest in extending the kindergarten registration and reregistration discounts for one additional month It this action item is included in the agenda for our board to
029discuss consider and possibly approve Do you want to finish the second? Sure from the administrative perspective? We have not extended the discount in the past as this would push the date out beyond the March board meeting Where staffing decisions are made for the next year the original discount a rate date is beneficial to the district as it helps gauge Staffing needs for next year in the context that Summit Hill School District 161 has not raised registration fees again for any grade level or any family this year and Have amongst the lowest registration fees in the Lincoln way area. We would not approve recommending extending the date this year We would keep the date as is Okay, so do we want to make a motion to? Approve extending the kindergarten registration, and then we'll have a
030discussion motion second discussion So the whole reason is so for staffing is that the whole reason why you don't want to extend it Typically we offer the discount to encourage people to register so we can get a count of students who would be coming in 75 days from the last day of school puts us at the end of March So that March board meeting is really where you make like your final staffing decisions if you're going to release someone And so the impetus for offering the discount is to encourage people to do that so we have the information ahead of time If we extend it another month, then that board meetings is going to come and go before We would have any before we would close it up And so what we looked at was
031we did not make a recommendation to increase any of the student fees for any student And we extended that to every parent and so the discount is really advantageous to the district now and not necessarily later if the board feels that That's an incentive for our parents to come out and Register then by all means we can do it really. It's at the discretion of the board I just wanted to give the board the administrative perspective as well Why we do that in the first place what? They say can we do a one or one week or two week thing with that would that be helpful on either way to the parents And to the end to your planning because I do respect that too as far as it could be as long as We
032conclude that in time for us to analyze the data and look at it ahead of making Staffing recommendations for next year. Yes Yeah, if we do it like for one week, that would be long before the next board meeting with that I'm just trying to get the timeline and what your reasoning was for not Going for one month, which I I don't disagree with but if we did it for like one or two weeks that gives everybody a hail Mary to let me ask to rush the door So they still have plenty of time to get the discount right through through March so we still it's still there Let's advertise Get in there by March 1st Would it be reasonable to think that we would still have a majority of the students signed up by
033the original March 1st deadline I don't think that even if you wanted to and this is where I would like some feedback Couldn't we still proceed with the staffing decisions because I don't think there's gonna be Busloads of students signing up after we discuss that I think it just is a nice olive branch to parents that are maybe Life is gets crazy sometimes who might be a little bit behind but it wouldn't be for a majority of the students I would think most of them would be signed up already and we would still be able to proceed with the planning But that's where I would like some feedback. That's sure question that I have so we typically As students matriculate through the school district, we roll the same number forward primarily. This is for kindergarten
034registration So when we talk about sectioning and kindergarten There has been some general discussion amongst the board as to whether Ten sections is sufficient if we need to add add an 11th section And so tracking those numbers which we're doing right now puts us which will be the next part of my report puts us right on par with last year So we're sitting at 220 students 20 of whom are in specialized instruction So we're between night. We have 1920 and 21 depending on the class If we're going to make decisions about adding sections We would need that now So we can start making some staffing decisions Would it be reasonable to think that we would have that information already in hand or do you think that more people would just wait? Right now we have
035109 students signed up for kindergarten So that's half. This is why it's good for discussion. Yeah, sure of everything Said a one or two could push a section in the need for another right, so the last page of my The next part of my report so then I can skip that part is kindergarten registration has yielded 105 students the past two years were 109 and 101 and so At this point, you know, so we're using that number to project forward We imagine we're gonna be between 210 and 220 next year's last year Yeah And then depending on the number of students who need specialized instruction who would go into for example a developmental kindergarten class Yeah, that impacts the number of students in each of those kindergarten classes. So The value for us right now
036is kindergarten registration Can we just make a better push to get the people to come in by the deadline I mean we have a chef night coming out. I mean there's ways to On social media channels Yes, I mean would that be more beneficial to kind of Patrick say hey, we had 18 I believe 18 dr. McDermott could correct me if I'm wrong at the start of the school year I think even 17 in some of the classes and we ended up with 20 and 21 So we get a lot of kids the first week of school We I know I'm just saying we need like this information If we want to keep those class sizes small Low then we need To really push this information out and we need to get the kids so
037we don't have that at the very end Right when school starts those two weeks those teachers start with 18 and a couple of them got to 21 That is accurate. Yeah I think you're just putting more stress. I mean you're trying to do a good thing the discounts out there. It's still out there like And we haven't raised our fees to I mean I think all those things we right now if you're hearing this You know somebody that hasn't registered their kids go talk to three neighbors. Talk to your neighbors. Let them know communicate like hey I registered kids are you know? Your son or daughter is going into this grade and Dr. McDermott, I heard you say about the marquees could we possibly put them on the school marquees as people drive by they
038can see registration The park district yeah And then also one other thing when there was school closing due to The freezing temperature, I know that one school district I don't remember which one they actually had it on the computer where the minute you log on to the Face page of the district it has it in a square It said it could say like kindergarten registration, please register now like I didn't know what We can't I know someone who can't sitting in the back And we can also Get a flyer, and I'll be happy to drop them to the different daycares to around here if you'd like Which would might be able to help disseminate or they can post that I can ask them to post on their websites to their parents too another idea Okay,
039so right now the motion is to approve the extension so We're in the motion Timmy gave me the date of February 28th is the last day 28th, but you need this information when prior to the March board meeting and that's Can we just go like a week or two down? Can we give them an extra especially if we have a pop-up and the marquee and all this other fancy stuff could we? Can we go a little bit closer to maybe that Friday when you're creating a board book Totally up to the board two weeks. I say two weeks So you enjoy you would want to? amend that motion and to extend Make a motion to extend the registration discount for an additional two weeks to March 14th, okay I Make a motion to amend thank
040you. So you're amending it to March 14. Well, that's the motion And then if it's seconded second roll call We have Adrian Chavez. All right, Patrick Wolf on. All right, Amy Burke. I John winter. Hi Melissa Ryan. Hi Ron Petrie. I joy Murphy. I Moving on to Superintendent and staff report very short report today because we've already done the closed session work And that is the enrollment update so you can see in your board book any changes from last month We are tracking it very carefully For example in kindergarten right now. We have 21 21 2019 2020 2020 2019 so it kind of fluctuates So we're hovering right around that 20 number and you can see that for each of the grade levels and then the very last line is Just a look at where
041we were at last year and the year before as far as kindergarten registrations go So hovering rate at that 105 mark and that's all I have is a superintendent report Moving on to seven board member reports buildings and grounds. Mr. All right Just do a recap and when I'm finished I'd like to extend an invitation to Walt to come up to add anything that he would like to add as well but a lion's share of our meeting was spent discussing the state of our Maintenance team and how they operate and how the maintenance in our district operates This was largely due to you know driven by the fact that we just had a recent vote to for an emergency replacement of two boilers and You know not at not at a cheap cost Walt provided
042Not just a really well and thought-out Description of how we operate at the moment But also presented a very detailed equipment list that specified Let's just call it a ratio of work needed to our in-house team members available to answer the call We have an extensive amount of major equipment throughout this district and a very limited in-house staff Which then lends itself to how do we take care of this equipment and a majority of it is done through third-party? Service contracts, which is just the nature of the beast with the business model, right? But Walt answered all of our questions did a tremendous job It is on the district website for everybody to go back and check out themselves We discussed the importance of preventative maintenance in general and for those that are not really
043that familiar It is work that you do to major mechanical equipment to not in reaction to a failure but to condition it and continue to let it operate in the future and It the preventative maintenance programs Really extend the lifespan of equipment and are better for our fiduciary Responsibility and we really went in-depth on that a little bit It is important to understand that there were direct results of our meeting We had two action items for to explore service contracts for a generator maintenance and closed-loop system That were a direct result of our discussions, which was very helpful And also I'd like to note that you know, it's important for us to emphasize No great things happen without bold ideas and conversation and in that spirit I really and knowing the challenges that our team
044has here Just with their sheer staffing size and the money that we're spending for Routine maintenance that usually could be performed by in-house team members we wanted to to give an opportunity to Walt to Really explain almost like a dream list of what he thinks a future staffing project could look like in this district And he went above and beyond he gave us a multi-year tiered understanding of how what additions he thought would be most helpful to the district and Suggestions on return of investment how to pay for that or at least partially which I thought was tremendous So I would like to turn it over to Walt to Expand on anything that I left out or anything that he would like to bring up in public comment Which thank you for your preparation by
045the way In what type of just so people can hear the dialogue, right? What type of maintenance would you want to move in-house with an additional staff member or two? Yeah, and there were two options that we discussed one would be to do that training for internal which is I think is a good idea Another option would be you know, the Lincoln Way District does have a trades program That it would also be worth entertaining Trying to find somebody who is from our district who is a Summit Hill grad who went through there that might also be available In interested in joining the team. So we keep it in the community as well Again, not disparaging ideas But all good things come from discussion and bold ideas and conversation. I felt it was really productive
046I really want to thank everybody who was involved But yeah, I'll turn it to you all and then we can move on I Would I would add to I really appreciate the preparation and information you gave us. It was very well thought out in I Do like the idea of always starting in-house first for those who are really interested And if we can't find someone that's interested to take that next step to take on more responsibility and of course that would come with compensation, but I like that our vendors who sell us the equipment would provide that training too for free free of charge, baby And and I believe it'd be a smart move to have more support for wall in those in those areas Where we can save a lot of money by paying
047instead of paying contractors and again, I think there needs to be a little cost analysis Maybe Patrick and wall can work together to provide that so we can share that with the board to show how if we did go forward in the future with You know an additional person or two that would would take care of those responsibilities how that would save the district money To be clear it would not be just me and Walt discussing It would be in there because it's his body. This is Right like it We don't overstep on these things right here to help add our professional experience as much as humanly possible for the betterment of the district Yeah, as we think about expanding while do we have the room to hold the equipment? That we're looking for to
048be able to use like so I just don't know like our building That is one detail that we did talk about was Figuring out a way to start getting more supplies You know for routine replacements on hand uses belts all this stuff. They don't take up a ton of space So do we have that space they don't like even the chemicals like the chemicals like And we have the space in the buildings that kind of hold that stuff and things of the nation okay, thank you 43 meeting They still transport 630 students 70 students are They have a Pioneer Grove 33 and Mokina Junior or Mokina School District 21 in the self program 12 in the stellar program it's exciting because Mokina Has allowed them to start joining some of the clubs and they have
049some of the students from The self and stellar program in their Dungeons and Dragons club and the Arabic club, so they're gonna start welcoming them into those clubs Another meeting this Wednesday this Tuesday Building reports want to start with Walker and work away, sure We enjoyed two solid sold out performances of the Hilda Walker drama club performance of Alice and Wonderland jr. Last weekend the show was wonderful the set was beautiful and the students were captivating We are so proud of the cast the crew the front of the house team and our students who ran sound and lighting A huge thank you to the directors Thank you to the directors mrs. Lu cow and mrs. Dominic and the many parent volunteers who helped make it happen Our sixth grade students just wrapped up first ever
050Olympic writing Olympic weekend We are joined by a guest author mr. Alan st. Jean who worked with every sixth grader ELA class to write and illustrate their own narrative story the week wrapped up with the closing Ceremonies where they finished stories were shared and judged by the panel of special guests. Thank you to our judge mr. Adrian Chavez for spending the entire day with our students They're forever changed The students and staff at Hilda Walker are competing in the winter Walker winter games throughout the month of February Teams have been chosen and competition is well underway The dynamic leaders on the Hilda Walker student council have been hard at work planning this event for the school The event will culminate with an Olympic themed spirit week and assembly to celebrate the end of trimester 2
051Please save the date of April 11th for the annual band booster spaghetti dinner held at Hilda Walker intermediate school. Thank you. Miss Carol Indian trail trailblazers we won first place as the state Prodigy champion our students across the state answered the most questions our top four classes were Stiders and Taro Schneider and Rios our number one class for the school with questions answered was mrs. Rios. Congratulations a Big thank you to all our volunteers and it's go for putting on a wonderful winter carnival for all of our students And we look forward to our mother's son event on March 6. Thank you. Mrs. Right. I have Summit Hill junior high our Summit Hill competition cheerleaders performed at the IESA state competition last week and came home with a third place finish The performance was absolutely
052amazing and their girls should be so proud great season and another trophy to add to our collection We are excited to host the Summit Hill Educational Foundation annual bingo night on February 27th from 6 to 8. Please come join the fun our jazz band participated in the old quarry jazz festival last weekend and our solo and Assemble Symbol contests will be held this weekend at Summit Hill junior high We are thrilled to have local district students perform alongside our students. Good luck to all Congratulations to Katie Goddard for being named as ISBE's teachers of the year someone who is so incredibly deserving We are so proud of you and look forward to this spring's recognition ceremony. Thank you. Miss global All right representing a dr. Julian Rogus school grades one through four Writing has been
053a building-wide goal this year at DJR last Monday all students in classrooms Participated in our first school wide drop everything and write Activity in which all students rode across the building at the same time Using a picture prompt to spark creativity with a common theme February has a lot of fun celebrations from our 101st and 102nd days of school. Oh is the best To our Valentine's Day parties and the annual Chinese New Year parade performed by our first grade Thank you to our staff resco and our parent volunteers that assist in providing these memorable activities DJR will be participating in the st. Jude Children's Research Hospital marathon This will be our 20th year and as a school we have raised over $200,000 we would like to continue this awesome tradition our goal this year is
054to raise $10,000 for this worthy cause Trimester three is just around the corner and we are so proud of how much our students have been learning and growing all year long We are also excited to share that both of our daily kindness award walls We're nearly filled and we still have three months to go. Our students have truly made our school community shine Thank You. Mr. Bradley and miss bolfer cool, and I got Rogus kinder so Kindergarten students celebrated the hundredth day of school They made posters of a hundred items decorated t-shirts and were visited by zero the hero The kids as well as the teachers were amazed how quickly a hundred days of school went by I did too Kindergarten students also celebrated hibernation day the students learned about animals that hibernate While having
055a PJ day and making their own caves under their desks with blankets. It was a fun day and the students learned a lot Students had a great time at our Valentine's Day party hosted by resco Kids had fun dancing going down on the jumpy slide and playing many games We are so thankful for the partnership with resco. They do amazing things to enhance our student experiences at school Rogus took time as an entire building to celebrate the importance of writing Monday at 245 all students in every area of the school Repeating we're writing about the picture prompt that was provided students did an amazing job in the activity brought our entire school community together Celebrate to celebrate writing our staff is preparing for kindergarten readiness, which will be held on February 19th We look forward
056to meeting our incoming students and families come out and join us for a fun night of our end for our incoming Kindergarten students. Thank you, Mrs. Boss Mary drew elementary students Followed the date follow the daily Pledge of Allegiance with a list of positive statements. I am smart. I am strong I am brave. I am kind I am loved and I can do this They love doing this routine with miss Kathy from our office Mary drew elementary or Mary drew early learning center hosted a preschool peak This open house was scheduled to give perspective parents a chance to walk through the building and to see what The early learning center has to offer students in in our community Mary drew early learning center will be freezing for a reason in March Staff will be participating
057in the Special Olympic Polar Plunge to raise money for the Special Olympics Team Mary drew dunkers have already raised $1,000 a week Team Mary drew dunkers have already raised three thousand dollars And uh the preschool registration for 26 27 school year is up and running Please check the summit hill 161 website for more information Kim zalka Thank you our future meeting dates are this saturday, february 21st for the special meeting board planning From 9 a.m. To 11 30 and then our regular march 18th 2026 at the Mary drew administrative center at 7 p.m Do I have a motion to adjourn? So moved second all in favor. Aye any opposed? Good evening