001fusing. I am reconvening into open session Township High School District 113 public hearing on Tuesday, February 11th, 2025 at 709. This agenda item is a public hearing concerning the intent of the Board of Education of the district to sell not to exceed $25 million, school fire prevention and safety bonds. A roll call please. Mr. Braza. Aye. Dr. Elliott-Shermer. Here. Mr. Heineman. Here. Ms. Lupa. Here. Mr. Nieder. Here. Ms. Shapiro. Yes, please. Mr. Walker. Here. Ms. Newman. Here. I would like everyone else who is present to identify themselves. Tina Jansky, Executive Secretary. Tom Krieger, Chief Human Resources Officer. Lisa Delacqua, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Construction. Karen Warner, Chief Communications Officer. Tiffany Rowe, Assistant Superintendent for Student Services. Brian Atwood, Chief Operations Officer. Molly Mahanti, Assistant Superintendent of Finance. Katherine Anderson, Principal at Deerfield Bay School.
002Ron Casbaum, Chief Information Officer. Mira Ante, Executive Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Shayla Holland, Superintendent. We welcome your comments and questions and give them serious consideration pursuant to Board of Education Policy 2-230. Please limit the length of all comments to no more than three minutes. Any questions may be sent via email to be answered subsequent to the meeting. As a reminder, public participation is not intended to be a back and forth discussion between the public and the board. This public comment period will be for a maximum of 30 minutes. Are there any public comments regarding the public hearing? Is there a motion to adjourn the public hearing? So moved. Is there a second? Second. All of those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Abstention? Motion carries. The hearing is closed at 7 10. I am reconvening
003into open session Township High School District 113 public hearing on Tuesday, February 11th, 2025 at 7 11. This agenda item is a public hearing concerning the intent of the Board of Education to authorize certain repairs to school playgrounds or paving using fire prevention and safety funds. A roll call please. Dr. Elliott-Schrimmer? Aye. Mr. Heineman? Aye. Here. Ms. Lupo? Here. Mr. Nieder? Here. Ms. Shapiro? I'll give a here instead of my yes please. Mr. Braza? Here. Ms. Newman? Here. We welcome your comments and questions and give them serious consideration pursuant to Board of Education Policy 2-230. Please limit the length of all comments to no more than three minutes. Any questions may be sent via email to be answered subsequent to the meeting. As a reminder, public participation is not intended to be a back and
004forth discussion between the board and the public. The public comment period will be a maximum of 30 minutes. Are there any public comments regarding this public hearing? Is there a motion to adjourn the public hearing? So moved. Is there a second? All of those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Abstentions? Motion carries. It is 7 12. The hearing is closed. I am reconvening into open session Township High School District 113 Committee of the Whole meeting on Tuesday, February 11th, 2025 at 7 12. A roll call please. Mr. Heineman? Here. Ms. Lupo? Here. Mr. Nieder? Here. Ms. Shapiro? Yes please. Mr. Braza? Here. Dr. Elliott-Shermer? Here. Ms. Newman? Here. Is there a motion to approve the agenda as listed? So moved. Is there a second? Second. All of those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Abstention? Motion carries. Okay. Board
005reports. A couple of housekeeping items. First, Jenny and I are looking forward to attending the musical at Highland Park High School coming up later this week. Oh, and Mr. Nieder as well. And then I am also going to be able to go to the understudy of the DHS musical. So I think that's fantastic. I also loved seeing the signing of the blue pole on Instagram at Highland Park High School. It's a rite of passage earned by our seniors as they complete their high school experience. I'm personally filled with hope every time I see our students laughing and enjoying the moment. I will reiterate the board's message from our last meeting and Dr. Holland's staff and community message. District 113 is and will continue to be an inclusive school community. Our district's vibrant learning environment is
006created through our students and their staff showing up and being seen in their unique and authentic selves each day. There is now a board committee report for diversity, equity, and inclusion committee. Dr. Jody? Yes. Can you turn your mic on please? Thank you. So today the DEI committee met to discuss the affinity group program that's going to be started for our staff. The staff will have the ability to gather by the identity that they wish to highlight. We discussed how this plan will be rolled out toward the beginning of next school year and we talked about the why and how it was really important to focus on this as a part of our community's values and our school's values and that this presents a wonderful opportunity to build connection not only within the affinity spaces
007but across different affinity groups as well. Fantastic. Thank you. Ed Red? I have nothing to report. Those are the best reports. And then the last part under board reports is talking a little bit about our board protocols. As most of us are aware but just to reframe and refresh, we have had superintendents and board communication protocols since 2020. Those have been up on our website. We've updated them throughout the years and we most recently updated them in August at the start of this school year to align with a new board and a new leadership with Dr. Holland. Through the learnings that we experienced at joint conference in November, the board felt it was important to expand our protocols to include how we engage with the community and staff, utilize social media, and speak as one
008voice. These protocols support our policies 2-130 and 2-140. They were written using guidelines from IASB as well as sourcing examples from district 112 and district 109. They are living breathing protocols that we will adapt as the district and the board needs. Upon our agreement this evening that they are in the state that we would like them to be in, they will reside on the district website for anyone to read. Are there any questions or clarifications or any points anyone from the board would like to make about the protocols? Fantastic. Great. So then after this meeting, we will make sure that they are available up on our website. Okay. Superintendent, Dr. Holland. Good evening, everyone. Just a few remarks. Just thinking about the time of the year, many of us leave our homes when it's dark
009and we return when it's dark, cold, and gloomy. The weather in February is gray, requiring an additional boost to get out of bed in the morning for all of us. The weather outside has not stopped the hustle and bustle though of our high schools. As you mentioned, there are a lot of great activities occurring. Our buildings are thriving inside and there are a lot of special events happening. I want to say to everyone happy Black History Month. As someone who identifies as a black person racially and as an African American culturally, I'm grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the history of this district. And I want to thank the district for not only elevating this month of black history, but for the efforts to support inclusion across our district in many ways
010and for many groups. So thank you. On February 14th, we have our next staff institute day, which will include a full day of learning and engagement for our staff. There are learning opportunities planned for different employee groups and it'll be a great day to have an opportunity of learning, reflection, and practice for all of us. I want to let the community know that on February 25th, at the Highland Park Arts Center at 830 in the morning, our district, district 113, as well as district 112 through north and Highland Park Library, we will be doing presentations on the state of education. And so I just wanted to let the community members know that that will be taking place and you're welcome to join us. I want to just also talk about a new family partnership, our
011new engagement opportunity for our families and school community. Many of you know that we have a long-standing positive history and partnering with Deerfield Parent Network, DPN. They've been a supportive partner to our district. They provide timely programming for Deerfield High School and they also provide many engagement opportunities open to all of our district. In an effort to continue to build and expand on our engagement opportunities for all of our families across the district, we have also partnered with the Family Action Network, known as FAN, to provide learning and engagement opportunities for our students, staff, and families. FAN offers a wide variety of virtual and in-person opportunities and we will work with FAN to identify authors and presenters around topics of interest to our school communities that are relevant and also of interest to students and
012staff members across our courses. As a part of joining the network, we will have opportunities to host network events as well with well-known international authors and speakers. We are offering free books to community members for upcoming presentations and I just want to say we are very fortunate to continue our partnership with DPN and we're also excited about adding an additional layer of opportunities for community engagement. We'll send out some information following this meeting. There are events tonight but we're all here but there's also an event coming up on February 19th. David Greenberg, the author of John Lewis, A Life, will be presenting and we'll continue to push out additional opportunities. On March 6th, we have Adam Chandler who wrote a book called 99 Percent Perspiration, A New Working History of the American Way of Life.
013So there are very various topics and just a different way for community members to engage and our students and staff members. I've been receiving a lot of questions regarding the state of our district, especially with local and national conversations around state funding, grant funding, federal funding, as well as discussions around the Department of Education. So I want to share a few things about that and let everyone know that we have been monitoring the national and statewide discussions regarding the potential dismantling of the Department of Education. While executive orders speak to educational priorities, the orders require the development of a plan to dismantle the department. A few weeks ago, we experienced a short-lived freeze of federal grant funds. Although there has been a lot of discussions, there hasn't been, we have no clarity basically regarding what
014will occur. I don't think anyone does. Changes to funding have historically had to be approved by Congress. On our radar is the potential impact to our special education funding, specifically our IDEA grant, and also our Title I funds, which are federal funds allocated to supporting students identified as low income. Although we receive a limited amount of Title I funds as compared to other districts, in the approximate amount of $120,000, there is a larger also concern regarding the removal of funds that support our students with disabilities through our IDEA funds, and that's about $2 million. All monies matter, and we use those funds to really pour into the services and resources that we provide to students. The possible removal of any amount of funds requires us as a district to determine how we will make adjustments
015within our budgets to continue our services for students. In my short time in the district, I know our district prioritizes making sure we go all out for each and all of our students, and of course, as we may have to make financial decisions, it just will require us to reprioritize and think about those shifts. If these funds happen, if they're ever called into question, again, we will need to determine the scope of our services we're able to provide and realign our financial projections. Since changes to funding will have a similar impact in districts as our own, I think we should also consider creative solutions along the way. Many of you know that we're a member of a special education cooperative, True North. I think we should partner in discussions with them, continue to keep our
016sender and feeder districts in the loop, and see what's possible in terms of even more collaboration around servicing and supporting the needs of our students. At the end of the day, they all come to District 113, so I think this may be an opportunity for us to rethink maybe how we're doing things or what we're doing. I also just want everyone to know that we're going to continue to monitor this and keep the board informed and the community, but as of right now, although there are many questions, we have many of those same questions ourselves, and we are paying attention to the landscape. I also want to comment on the communication that went out today, a joint statement from our district, District 113, the City of Highland Park, and North Shore School District 112. I
017just want to reiterate a couple points that were shared in the communication. I definitely want to recognize first that the situation is deeply concerning and raises many questions. Unfortunately, we're in a situation where we have limited information that we can share because of the ongoing investigation with law enforcement. In addition to the police investigation, District 113 is conducting a Title IX investigation, several Title IX investigations in accordance with federal and state law, as well as our board policies. Title IX investigations are separate from the criminal investigation, and it's important to know that we have specific steps that we're required to follow that differ from other proceedings and procedures that we have also outlined in our policies. All that to say we are following the law in terms of the steps that we're taking. Both investigations
018are ongoing. A limited group of administrators representing both districts, that is District 113 and 112, are working closely with the Highland Park Police Department to identify and notify victims among students and staff who may have been affected with great sensitivity for the privacy of all victims. As investigations continue, the appropriate agency will also follow up with families. District 113 personnel have completed searches of all of our bathrooms at both high schools to ensure there are no recording devices in them. We are also looking at the facilities and our structures. As a part of their regular protocols, our facilities and security staff continue to screen restrooms for evidence of any recording devices or anything that does not belong there. Supporting our school communities and ensuring that our students and staff feel safe at school is and
019remains a top priority for us and we encourage our school families and staff to continue to reach out to us. We're accessible but to also utilize our district website which also has information regarding our protocols. I also want to remind everyone of the support that you can receive if you're a student who has questions or a staff member. We send out communication today regarding the support and services you can access during this time. Thank you. Thank you. FOIAs are next. So the following on the screen, a FOIA from Owen Wang. This is the FOIA that we received and responded to since our last board meeting. Thank you. Okay, moving on to student liaison reports. Mr. Walker, welcome. Hi everyone. This week we started the showing of Legally Blonde at Highland Park. I know a few
020people in it and I know they put a lot of effort into it this year and I know everyone's super excited to go see it. This is the last week of charity drive at Highland Park. Students this year have been really engaged and it's nice to see everyone come together to support something. We've been having a lot of fun events at school like ping pong after school, the blue pole signing, and a lot of other stuff like that. And then just some sports stuff at Highland Park. Girls gymnastics came second in the conference this year so congratulations to them. And girls basketball had their senior night win. They're going back to the conference championship game second year in a row so congrats to them as well. And then Tom and Jammers had their senior night
021on a boys basketball day which ended in a win as well. I was there. It was great. And yeah, that's what I got. Fantastic. Thank you so much. Okay. Next is public comment. We welcome your comments and questions and give them serious consideration pursuant to Board of Education Policy 2-230. We'll go in the order of the numbered card you received when registering to speak. When I call your number, please come to the podium, identify yourself with first and last name and city in which you reside. And if applicable, state the agenda item to which your comment is directed. Please limit the length of all comments to no more than three minutes. I will raise my hand at 30 seconds remaining as an indicator and then we'll verbally ask you to wrap up your sentence at
022the three-minute mark. When possible, we will try to incorporate your questions into the relevant agenda item discussion. However, any questions may be sent via email to the superintendent to be answered subsequent to the meeting. Neither the board nor the administration respond publicly to these comments during the meeting but may follow up on comments afterward. So the person with number one, please, is first. Susie Wall, Highland Park. Congratulations. You reached a new low today. So now my daughter's potentially being filmed in the bathroom at high school. Good job. You know the kid had tools to do this, right? Now everyone knows, everyone knows you can bring anything you want into Highland Park High School, anything. You know, if only there were device to detect things like tools, vapes, knives, guns, and keep them out of school,
023if only. You know, I'm going to go back to April 4th, 2023, when my daughter was a freshman. She's a junior now. You know, it's been nearly two years since she was on the floor, think about two hours, loaded gun in school. Her, Mr. Pujara, wonderful physics teachers at the door with a sledgehammer. We fought hard. We worked our butts off to get those metal detectors into school. It was like a full-time job. I was here a little more than I wanted to be, right? We won. I don't know if you remember this, you made this. 77% of the community wants weapons detection systems and they want them used. Can you imagine if you like surveyed the community about a new gym floor and then you only installed half of it? Pretty stupid, right? But
024our kids' safety. You know, their physical and mental well-being. I mean, you sit there spouting about DEI and the weather, for the love of God. None of that matters. Our kids are not safe. You can bring anything you want into Highland Park High School. Got this fun email on January 28th that now you would use them at every entrance. Really? When's that going to happen? My daughter says she hasn't seen a metal detector used since it was warm out. And that's been some time. Make it happen. What more is it going to take? Does someone have to die? Who has to die? Is there a signup sheet? This is unacceptable. What is it? Is it laziness? Is it stupidity? Do you need money? I mean, start a GoFundMe for the love of God. For the
025love of God. Musicals coming up. Our auditorium holds 990 people. That's 3,000 people when you add the pit, the cast, the crew. You know, if I were really crafty, I'd bring something in during that time and hide it. You know, this is unacceptable. Why are our kids not protected from knives, gun, vapes, and now hidden cameras in the restrooms? Is there footage of my daughter out there? What if it were your child? My child was on the floor for two hours. I thought she was going to potentially die. And now this? Your number one job. It's not a priority, Dr. Holland. It's the priority. Keep our kids safe. I'll be back with more parents and more media. Do your goddamn job. Here, pass this around. Thank you. Number two. Good evening. My name is Enrique
026Perez and I have two kids at Highland Park High School. The theme of what I want to talk about in the three minutes that I have is very simply random chance to stop a bad event. And the reality of security is we as a security community, that includes all of us, parents, administrators, law enforcement, need to be successful 100% of the time. A perpetrator only needs to be successful once for things to happen. My son and my daughter are not entirely safe at Highland Park High School. I get it. It's a school of almost 2000 kids. So the chance that they're going to be the victim, but nobody should have to be in that probability of being the victim today or last week, whenever this camera event happened, they both had the chance of having
027their privacy violated in a very severe way that no kid, no adult, anybody should have to have. This should not have ever happened. I'm angry at the privacy being potentially violated, but I'm also angry that after two years, almost two years since the lockdown we had back in two years ago, Highland Park High School is not fully secured yet for about a full year. I saw it every time there was an evening event, every time I went to a concert or play, the metal detectors were propped up against the wall, not being used. What good are they? What good were they? You have zero security in the evening events and you have random security during the day. Random chance to stop a bad event. Random chance, not a full blown chance. Recently, you added the
028bomb sniffing dog or your explosive sniffing dog to the coverage, but I'm still getting reports that students are doing what they did when the metal detector was introduced. The one detector is that they're texting each other what entrance the dog is at and they go somewhere else. So they just don't have to avoid it unless they want to pet the dog if they're able to. So still getting reports that that's happening. And what about the students and staff that are not being checked at the other two entrances or they'd come in through other ways? Random chance of stopping a bad event. That's not a hundred percent. The bad person has to only succeed once. I understand that you guys have an idea as to who is the person that potentially placed the camera and that
029the police are on. It's fine. What sanction is that student going to get once everything gets adjudicated? Is he or she going to be expelled? Are they going to have something else placed on the record? What is going to happen for these kind of events? Mitigation, which is something that all of you or some of you pushed so hard when we were fighting for the metal detectors. Was this student exhibiting any kind of bad behavior or any telltale signs like so many kids that lose it? Everybody from a shooter to somebody who tries something like this. It always comes out that somebody in their circle knew that this kid was having an issue when something bad happens and nobody did anything about it. Was any mitigation done with this child? Random chance to stop a
030bad event. Do a better job. Every entrance needs to be covered every hour, every entrance of every day. All the events in the evening. Please make it happen. Thank you. Moving on to discussion items. Dr. Holland. So this one's mine. This is a resolution authorizing. I'm sorry. I apologize, Brian. I've got too many tabs open in my brain and on my computer. I apologize. Are you good if I go? We're having discussion of a resolution authorizing safety fares to school playgrounds or paving using fire prevention and safety funds. So this is a requirement to submit an amendment to the 10-year health and life safety plan in order to submit this amendment. This one item requires a public hearing and a resolution. So later today the next item will be to vote on that resolution. This
031is something we need to do to be allowed to submit. So we have the hearing and now we'll have the action on the resolution. Correct. Which allows us to submit the amendment. Okay. Are there any questions? Okay. Moving on to action item. It is recommended that the Board of Education adopt the resolution authorizing certain repairs to school playgrounds or paving using fire prevention and safety funds as presented. Is there a motion? So moved. Is there a second? Second. Is there any discussion? A roll call, please. Ms. Lupo? Aye. Mr. Nieder? Aye. Ms. Shapiro? Yes, please. Mr. Braza? Aye. Dr. Melchick-Shermer? Aye. Mr. Heineman? Aye. Ms. Newman? Aye. Motion carries. Next is the consent agenda. A board member may pull any item for separate consideration. Does any board member wish to pull an item off the
032consent agenda for separate consideration? It is recommended that the consent agenda be approved as listed. Is there a motion? So moved. Is there a second? Second. Is there any discussion? A roll call, please. Mr. Nieder? Aye. Ms. Shapiro? Yes, please. Mr. Braza? Aye. Dr. Elliott-Shermer? Aye. Mr. Heineman? Aye. Ms. Lupo? Aye. Ms. Newman? Aye. Motion carries. At this time, the Board of Education will move into closed session as permitted under the Illinois Open Meetings Act. The purpose of the closed session is to discuss personnel matters under Section 2C1, the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees of the public body or legal counsel for the public body, including hearing testimony on a complaint lodged against an employee or legal counsel to determine its validity. There will be no action taken after closed.
033We will simply come out of closed to close and adjourn the meeting. As authorized under Section 2C of the Open Meetings Act, may I have a motion to enter closed session for this purpose? So moved. Do I have a second? Second. It has been moved and seconded to enter closed session. I will now call for a roll call vote. Ms. Shapiro? Yes, please. Mr. Braza? Aye. Dr. Elliott-Shermer? Aye. Ms. Freeman? Aye. Mr. Exercise? Aye. Aye. Motion carries. Thank you, everyone. We will now go into closed.