001[music] >> Okay. >> [music] >> Okay. >> [music] >> Okay. >> You're so good. You're so good. >> [music] >> You're so good. >> [music] [music] >> You're so good. >> [singing] [music] >> Ooh. Ooh. >> [music] >> Ooh. Ooh. >> [music] [music] >> Ooh. >> [music] >> Ooh. >> [music] >> Oh. Oh. >> [music] >> Oh. Oh. >> [music] [music] >> Oh. Oh. >> [music] >> Ooh. Ooh. >> [music] >> Ooh. >> [music] [music] >> Ooh. >> [music] [music] >> Oh. Oh. >> [music] >> Oh. >> [music] [music] >> Okay. >> [music] [music] >> Do do do do Ooh. Ooh. >> [music] >> Ooh. Ooh. >> [music] >> Ooh. Ooh. >> [music] >> Ooh. Ooh. >> To go into close session agenda. Um The board met in close session this evening at 6:00 p.m.
002to discuss matters that fall under the following exceptions. All matters are exceptions to the Illinois Open Meetings Act. Student matters exception C 10 individual student discipline. Personnel matters exception C 1 specific personnel appointment employment compensation performance and dismissals. Negotiations exception C 2 collective negotiations and legal matters exception C 11 actual or threatened litigation and C 2 collective negotiating matters. At this [clears throat] time I would like to ask for a motion to go into open session. So moved. Motion by Mr. Riddle. Second. Seconded by Ms. Ramirez. Can we have a roll call vote, please? Ms. Fabian. Yes. >> Ms. Hannah. Ms. Lenzing. Yes. >> Mr. McBride. Ms. Ramirez. Yes. Mr. Riddle. Yes. President Rodriguez. Yes. Motion carries. We are now in open session. Next item on the agenda, Pledge of Allegiance. Mr. DePuy, can I
003ask you to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance? I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. Please be seated. Next item on the agenda is the president's report. I just have a couple of items I wanted to go over. Um in the um February 20th, 2026 meeting of the large member uh unit districts. Um one of the main topics of discussion was social media and its use by Board of Education members. And uh some questions came up. I'd like to share this with the board and with the public. Social media and its use by Board of Education members. What can you post on your personal site? Are there policies
004or protocols that govern what you can post? Answers varied across boards. Below are sample protocols or policies shared. The IASB, the Illinois Illinois Association of School Boards, came up with the following points. Board members recognize that while we may be giving our individual opinion or stating a fact on social media, it has the potential to impact the entire board. When promoting official district business and activities, personal use of social media should be limited to directly sharing links from the district media platforms without personal editorial or opinion. And board members will not post rebuttals, responses, corrections to district-related social media posts. Uh board members recognize that while we may be giving our individual opinion or stating a fact on social media, it has the potential to impact the entire board. No more than two board This
005is important. No more than two board members shall comment on or post on a matter that is related to the operations and or issues within our school district. And that again goes back to the Illinois Open Meetings Act. can be construed as an unofficial, illegal meeting um and discussion between school board members. When more than two board members are tagged by community members on the matter that is a current or a potential district issue, consider removing yourself or ask to have yourself removed from that conversation and avoid engagement to eliminate the appearance of any Open Meeting Act violations. And encourage board members to refrain from engaging in social media discussions related to board topics. Um if any board members would like a copy of this, I can I can get you copies. Just let me
006know. I got a question. >> Yes, sir. Why are you reading that? Why am I reading it? Yes. Did something occur? No, I just just I'm sharing uh what we discussed at the large member unit district meeting, last meeting that we had. Okay, I just I just wanted you know, I just wanted to nothing did occur >> No, nothing No no no board member had >> This was not uh because of any incident that happened. >> Okay, yes, that's my that's my question. >> I'm just sharing the uh content of [clears throat] the meeting. This is the whole That was the majority of the discussion at that meeting. Thank you. Okay? And secondly, inter- intergovernmental committee lun- committee luncheon which I attended last Thursday, March 12th, um at um at the Greenbelt Cultural Center, it
007was a very uh productive meeting and uh hosted by Lake County Forest Preserve and uh we had a presentation by the Forest Preserve District about um what they have accomplished over the years in in setting up Forest Preserve uh districts land and preserving land for public use in our in our county and in our primarily we're talking about the the Forest Preserves within Waukegan. Carmen Patlán uh from the Center for Imm- Immigrant Pros- Progress and Dulce Ortiz from Mano a Mano were there discussing various issues regarding immigration. Anthony Vega um spoke primarily concerning uh issues regarding our hospital, which has a lot of us very concerned because of the uncertain status of uh Vista Hospital. And there were updates from intergovernmental partners including Waukegan Park District, Waukegan Township, Waukegan Housing Authority, Waukegan Port District, Waukegan
008Public Library, Lake County Board, and the Waukegan School District. And I did speak out and I I was just very happy to uh talk to everybody about the two um uh International Baccalaureate schools that we now have in Waukegan, the only two in Lake County are Waukegan schools. And uh by the way, there was a beautiful article, I don't know if any of you saw it, in the News-Sun last Saturday by Mr. Steve Seiden. Beautiful article in which he uh discussed the um the accomplishments that we have here in our district with the establishment of these two schools. And also talking about a third school that is in the process, a middle school, um which is in the process of applying for that, uh Robert Abbott Middle School, which will give our students that are
009in the uh elementary schools that want to continue with that type of education give them the opportunity to continue in um middle school. And I think that's all that I have. Student Oh, and I wanted to mention to Superintendent Plasencia is not here. Uh she is still out of state because of a uh family death. Okay, death in the family. And um board member Anita Hanna is also not present tonight because of illness. And uh student school board member uh Frankie Jakobe is not here tonight [clears throat] because he has to study. And I'm very proud of him for making that decision. I know it was a difficult decision to make cuz he hasn't missed As far as I know, he hasn't missed a school board meeting yet, but he just felt that he needed
010that extra time to study, and uh and I just want want to let you know, Treasure, that if that ever happens with you, we will certainly understand, okay? All right, moving on. Student board member report. Okay. Hello. Hello everyone. Sorry about that. I don't have much today to present, so I just wrote down some notes, but I want to share that uh the principal advisory the principal advisory club and I are creating an assembly to give uh students engagement uh more in our school along with other staff members at the Washington campus. Uh we split uh the idea into three different groups. The assembly group, which we are planning the idea on on like what they were going to do with the assembly and also the activities that we're going to do. And then also
011the spirit week, which we're going to think of ideas to like, you know, keep students engaged during the week of the assembly. And then also the bulldog birthday and name, another idea that will engage students by and also create a positive um tradition around like that we can keep in our school and that would be a a lasting legacy of the principal advisory students that are already seniors like myself. Um and yeah, we plan to have it sometime in April, so hopefully next meeting I'll have pictures and videos that I can show you guys. Thank you. Great. Thank you very much. Um item seven, special recognition and presentation, spotlight on 60. >> [music] [music] >> We've been a chapter since 2022. We started with a few individuals with a vision and we have expanded to
012include a variety of individuals at different leadership levels throughout the district. Our mission is to develop and support a strong network of male leaders of color within Waukegan Public Schools who lead with [music] determination and commitment through their authentic selves and lived experiences, ensuring all students reach their maximum potential. Our vision is to support the growth and development of Waukegan Public School male leaders of color >> [music] >> through quality, quantity, and care. We believe through executing our mission and vision, we're able to positively impact the growth and development of male leaders of color within our school district. >> We've done things in the past where we had our district-wide student leadership summit over at the Greenbelt Cultural Center a couple years ago where we had students from the middle school [music] and high school
013come together. This year, working with our upperclassmen, we took them over for an experience at our district studios. Our goal is to support one another, you know, as men of color. You know, growing and working through education, you know, we face different challenges sometimes that are unique, but all guys who have at one point been in your shoes. You know, we college, we've all graduated, and now we're in leadership roles across the district. >> how the video production actually goes, put them through a mock newsreel where they were able to read script, read through the teleprompters, and see what actually happens behind [music] the scenes. Good evening, Waukegan. Thanks for joining us for your nightly update on all things local. I'm [music] Shy. And I'm Harley. We've got a packed show for you tonight, including
014the major development at City Hall, a look at the Cubs' latest move, and your weekend weather forecast. >> Looking at a mild start to the weekend with a high in the upper 60s on Saturday. >> And then with that, that launched us into our student principal of the day, >> [music] >> where we had members of our high school team go back to their elementary schools and serve as principal of the day where they got to interact with students. It was a fun experience. I enjoyed the kids. Uh from a leader standpoint, it showed me that influence go a long way cuz I seen that a lot of kids wanted to talk to me, wanted to be around me. It was basically picking up on the stuff I was saying. So, I definitely had to
015watch a lot of things I was saying. Uh but overall, it was a fun experience. I loved that how all the kids did their sales like they have their own personality. [music] They They're in their own world. They really don't care much. Like it shows a lot of freedom. Many of the things that [music] we do when we meet is we try to engage into opportunities for us to discuss some of the certain things that [music] happens to us and how we can navigate through it, problem-solving, and giving [music] us additional support or guidance on how we can navigate through all the systems of education. The Waukegan MSL chapter remains committed to uplifting, empowering, and promoting the professional growth of members of color leaders within WPSD 60. Together, we will continue building leadership, strengthening our
016impact, and shaping a brighter future [music] for our students and our community. We look forward to that, and that's all the time we have for tonight. Good night, Waukegan. >> [applause] >> Nice That was a nice village. You say it takes a village. You guys were there. Thank you. Okay, um approval of minutes, item eight. Approval of the minutes for the special open session, February 23rd, 2026. Motion to approve. Motion to approve by Mr. Riddle. Second. Seconded by Ms. Lenzing. Any comments, questions, changes to the minutes? Roll call vote, please. Ms. Fabian. Yes. >> Ms. Lenzing. Yes. Mr. McBride. Yes. Ms. Ramirez. Mr. Riddle. >> Yes. President Rodriguez. Yes. Motion carries, minutes are approved. Item nine, opportunity for public comment. Thank you. Okay, when I call your name, uh please come up to the podium.
017You'll be given 3 minutes. Uh state your name, and um let's see, start off with Justin Simon. >> Ladies and gentlemen of the Board of Education, district staff, colleagues, and last but not least, members of the community. I'm Justin Simon, a proud union member. In the coming moments, you will hear from my fellow union members about our experiences over the past months. Human union members have followed the terms of our negotiated contract, and at multiple points have we have been stymied. Our membership has sought out and received pre-approval for coursework from Idaho State University, only now to be denied credit for lane changes. Our membership has taken classes that have improved our practice and are directly related to our roles as educators, only to be told that they are not valid. Our membership has previously
018received lane changes for graduate level courses from this university, but again, for some reason, now things are different. The voices that you're you're going to hear from just represent some of the 50-plus members of the union who are affected. And that number is only growing as more teachers are taking classes, and never once has the district informed staff that this coursework from an accredited university may possibly not be accepted. My story is simple. In the spring of 2025, I took four classes from Idaho State University. Want to help our students more, I took classes including how to have a trauma-informed classroom and literacy strategies for students who are bored. I submitted my paperwork for a lane change in May. Then in October, I emailed the HR department to confirm that everything, quote, was set for
019my lane change on October 31st. I received a prompt reply that, yes, my paperwork was on file. It wasn't until after I was supposed to be paid that I received notification, not from the district, >> [clears throat] >> but from the union, that the district was not going to pay anyone who used classes from Idaho State University for lane advancement. All we want is that the Board of Education and the community to know that we are asking the district to follow the rules that they agreed to ton. Thank you for your time and consideration as you listen to me and my fellow union members. Thank you. Thank you, Beth Paglia. Beth Paglia. >> [applause] >> Good evening, Board of Education members, colleagues, and community members. My name is Beth Paglia, and I'm a fiercely proud
020union member, lead teacher, and alumna of Hyde Park Elementary, Daniel Webster Junior High, and Waukegan East High School. After college, I returned home to begin my career in education and have remained here in a variety of teacher and administrator positions for my entire 32-year tenure. Before taking Idaho State graduate courses last year, I emailed HR to reconfirm they were approved for lane advancement, despite knowing people had already been paid for them. The response? Yes. After submitting my first round of courses in May, I followed up by stating I wanted to finish my final 30 hours over the summer. If all required paperwork was submitted by the September deadline, would we be paid at the appropriate rate on October 31st? The response? Yes, that is correct. Like more than 50 others, I have not been paid.
021I took these courses because my senior credit recovery students were struggling last year, emotionally and academically. They were anxious and scared during their last semester of school while anticipating life after graduation and dealing with the uncertainty and chaos happening around them. The course titled Youth Mental Health helped me to create a bell ringer that was a quick pulse check on their mood. As they worked on their recovery courses, I could prioritize my one-on-one conversations with them based on those responses. This assured that one adult every day was asking and follow up and following up on how they were feeling. As an administrator for 18 years in roles such as curriculum coordinator and house principal, I created many programs and implemented them with through professional development. A great deal of my work even today is focused
022on interventions. Returning to the classroom meant that I now needed to practice what I preached. I took the course intervention strategies for educators within the multi-tiered system of support to brush up on new research and strategies. I implemented activities to work with small groups and provided individualized instruction in the credit recovery classroom. I also created a professional development plan that I'll work through with their tier two intervention teachers where they can try different strategies and come back together to reflect and share. You often ask for feedback on professional development and how it has a direct effect on students in the classroom. I just shared three specific examples. As you deliberate this issue impacting over 50 frontline employees, I implore you to reflect on the decisions and comments you've made publicly. Will you uphold the terms
023and conditions of our contract? We've done our due diligence precisely to avoid this very situation. Are the courses approved? Yes. Will we be paid? Yes. I'm not sure why we're even having this conversation. Prior to your next meeting, I ask you to come back and watch this segment of this board meeting. Your collective and individual decisions will unequivocally reveal to your staff, students, and community if, as you've continuously stated, you truly value and support the professional development and growth of those who work tirelessly to provide our students with the social, emotional, and academic supports necessary for success. Thank you, Ms. Taglia. >> [applause] >> Melissa Silverman. Good evening, board members and administration. My name is Melissa Silverman and I am a proud union member. In February 2025, I submitted a transcript and lane change form
024from Idaho State University. Everything went through and I got my lane change. So, I decided to take additional classes at my own personal expense. I submitted my transcript and lane change form around January 28th, 2025, 3 months prior to the September 30th deadline. So, for 4 months, and I only found out from my union on October 30th, I expected a lane change that has yet to come. I took a variety of classes that have helped me as an educator. The ADHD class taught me that no matter how many times you say a page number, there are going to be students or any adult in the room who aren't hearing you. And since then, I always put the page number on the board. And the kids all know this. I took a class on twice exceptional
025children, as well as another class on dyslexia. I watched a lot of videos and read a lot of articles on the brain. Knowing how the brain works has helped me a lot in my daily teaching. I have several articles saved on my computer to go back to for further reference. It is unfair to change the rules of the game it to change the rules in the middle of the game. Any student can tell you that. I had no reason to think my lane changes would be denied because I followed the rules. Please do what is right and reconsider our lane changes from Idaho State. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Silverman. Wendell [applause] Pearcy the second. I trust you're good. It's been a while. Um good evening, members of the board and community. My name is
026Wendell Warren Pearcy the second. I'm a proud long-time teacher and union member for District 60. I'm here to speak about an issue that directly affects not only the educators, but also the integrity of the agreements that govern our schools. Many of us have invested significant time, energy, and financial resources into advancing our education. We pursued graduate-level coursework through accredited institutions because we believe in being better educators for our students. We did exactly what the district has historically encouraged us to do, continue learning, improve our practice, and bring that to the classrooms. Well, with the approval of the human resource office, I did just that. I took graduate-level courses such as community-based learning, engaging multilingual learners, uh youth mental health, innovative teaching strategies, just to mention a few. There's more. Along with the content courses that
027Along with the courses that I did for my content area. But, however, despite teachers fulfilling these requirements, the district is now refusing to recognize the credits and advance teachers along the salary schedule as required under the collective bargaining agreement. To retroactively deny salary lane advancement undermines both trust and fairness. But, the issue goes beyond compensation. It sends a message about how this district values professional growth. If teachers are discouraged from pursuing further education, the people who ultimately lose are the students. Our community deserves schools staffed by teachers who are continually learning and improving. And teachers deserve a district that honors the agreements that make that growth possible. So, tonight, I respectfully ask this board to reconsider its position and take the necessary steps to comply. Doing so would demonstrate a commitment to fairness, to professional
028respect, and to the stability of the agreements that govern our district. Professional integrity matters, and so do the educators who dedicated their working lives to this district. Thank you for your time and attention. Thank you, Mr. Piercy. Ashley Bone. Good evening. My name is Ashley Bone and I'm a proud member of the teachers union. I'm here this evening to speak about the graduate level courses that I took through Idaho State University and the salary lane changes I was supposed to receive in the fall of 25. I was expecting to receive my lane changes and pay adjustment on October 31st. However, on October 30th I was informed that my credits would not be accepted. I had previously submitted graduate level credits from the accredited Idaho State University in the spring of 25 and received a lane
029change. At that time the transcripts I submitted showed that there were 15 additional credits in progress. Nothing was said about them not being accepted in the future and there was no change to our current teacher contract. When I reviewed the contract, there was nothing that stated courses needed to be towards a degree or from a specific institution. It simply says they need to be at graduate level. The district accepts credits for lane changes for graduate courses taken through other institutions that are not towards a specific degree, book studies, union courses, and even credits earned as teachers mentor new teachers within the district. Courses in progress on my spring of 25 transcripts included foundational reading skills >> [clears throat] >> and the importance of spatial reasoning in elementary mathematics. I also took courses focused on specific
030populations of students including gifted and talented, English language learners, and students with ADHD. I believe that it is important to understand these populations of students in order to provide opportunities that are challenging and appropriate to their unique learning needs. At the end of the 25 school year, I learned I would be a math instructional support teacher for the following year. To support this new role, I took several courses in the summer focusing on using AI in the classroom, guided math instruction for grades K-2 and 3 through 5. These courses helped me learn different strategies that could be utilized in small group instruction to support student growth and development in the topics and skills that are required in each of those grade levels. Because of these courses, many of the students I supported have shown a
031significant amount of growth between the beginning of the year and the middle of the year NWEA assessments. Ms. Plasencia stated that she wanted to make Waukegan the most literate district in all of Illinois. I would like to help Waukegan become the most mathematically capable district where students understand the value of their money, how to use math in their everyday life, and how to make sense of math in the world around them. In closing, I would like to state that I took these courses not only to support my learning and the growth of the students, but to support my family through a pay increase that the contract guaranteed me. I currently spend more than half of my paycheck to provide child care for my own children so I can work here in Waukegan. The pay increase
032would have allowed my children to participate in music lessons or sports or for us to take a small family trip together, which we have never been able to afford. Your decision not only affects teachers and our professional career, but our families as well. We are real people with real families and real children whose lives are affected by your decision to not honor the teacher contract and the credits that we worked so hard to earn to better ourselves and our students and make Waukegan School District great. >> [applause] >> Thank you, Ms. Evans. Rayan Nickerson. This is not my first time. This is my fourth time coming before you about this issue. Proud Waukegan born and raised, graduated class of 1991, Waukegan West Campus. Mr. McBride, I know you very well from way back in high
033school. I am here again asking you to honor the terms outlined in our contract regarding the lane changes. I, like along the rest of them, completed these graduate level courses that had already been approved given lane changes to other teachers. Like she said, in the spring she got hers, but in the fall you paused it. That's unacceptable and it raises concerns regarding our regarding the contractual compliance. These courses were taken in good faith based on established practice. The district's decision to reverse course after the fact is a huge problem. Financial or participation concerns do not justify retroactively denying compensation for the work that was completed under clearly communicated expectations. This program is not new and identical coursework was approved for lane changes. There has been no clear rationale provided for the inconsistent treatment of the
034current submissions, which calls into question the fairness and transparency of your decision. The courses I completed, to name a few, student engagement, PBIS, parent involvement, community schools are directly aligned to my position in this district. You have been unfair and not trustworthy. But as I look back over um other contracts, now I don't know exactly where money comes from, but February 24th, 2026, a contract was renewed in this district for counselors, I believe it's BAM, it might be a great program, I don't know if anything was cut, but 2.2 million was passed for that. But yet you don't have the money to pay us. You are wrong on that. And I'm not going to let it go. Thank you, Ms. Nickelson. Greg Buchovich? >> [applause] >> All right, good evening. Sign behind you says Waukegan
035Community Unit School District number 60. You should add a line underneath there. The district of the double standard. These teachers, I mean, come on. They are educating the kids of this community, coaching them. That is who the kids look up to. They're talking about a contract. Contract is a legal binding uh piece of paper document that you're supposed to honor. The Board of Education signed that. Yet, they're here months later still talking about the same thing. Just a few weeks ago, the board president made the rest of the board aware that uh the superintendent has put them on notice that uh they have to meet to discuss her her goals or her whatever it is. And so you all had to schedule a special meeting so that you could talk about that kind of stuff
036because it was in a contract. A piece of paper that you all signed and she signed and you're obligated to to honor just like you are to these people. And I heard some of them paid out of their own pocket for for this. Is Is that how that works? Okay. You know, you want to talk about the double standard? 10 years ago about this time, the board hired the now superintendent and according to the uh job application that was here and then disappeared, came back again, uh it indicated that by June of 2016, she would have her doctorate degree. I haven't heard anybody refer to her as doctor yet. Matter of fact, if you go through uh through the FOIA process, uh over several years, uh the district reimbursed her for doctorate level courses. So,
037where is that? Yet, these people here paid out of their own pocket and they're entitled to something and you guys are dragging your feet. And you have one employee who asked you to meet talk about the fact that she hasn't gotten this done. That's what you need to do. Thank you, Mr. Milkovich. Lauren De Jean? >> [applause] >> I'm a little bit taller. Um Hi, my name is Lauren De Jean and I'm a proud union member. I'm here to talk about the grievance concerning Idaho State that has been filed about the acceptance of lane change advancement credits from Idaho State. I am one of the teachers that has been personally affected. I have worked almost 10 years in this district and I have poured my heart and my soul into my classroom and into all
038my students. I decided to take these Idaho State lane advancement courses to try to pour a little bit into my own life and back into my students as well through my teaching. Over the past 5 months, I took five different lane change credits and every class I took seriously. In my free time, I filled up several notebooks with notes. The topics were various. Uh brain-based learning, MTSS, nature writing, restorative conferences. The list goes on. I I I did so much reading and so much writing and I read so many articles because I took these classes seriously and I was told that they would be taken seriously. And I was able to take what I learned and pour it back into my teaching. But unfortunately, the district has not poured back into my own hard work.
039Um I'm very hurt by the fact that these have not been accepted. These notebooks are just a visual fraction of the work that I put in through these classes. Um they are a representation of my passion for my teaching. They are a representation for my passion for working for this district. The district not accepting these classes has hurt me deeply. Um I feel like trust has been broken. And I am here to please ask you to do the right thing and honor your word, honor the word of the contract, and honor the work that has been put in by all of these teachers over here. Um and please accept the Idaho State Lean Change conferences credits. If you would like to see my notebooks, please, I would welcome a discussion with you about what I
040have learned. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Dunn. >> [applause] >> Luz Ganda Good evening. Thank you for this opportunity to be here today. So, last week I came to ask about the program Burlington. Normally, you direct me to a person, but nobody directed me to a person. So, I'm in these classes because I'm trying to learn English. But, I am without the materials to learn English. So, how am I supposed to learn English if I don't have what I need? Since January they should have renewed contract. Since January 15th, there should have been a a contract renewal. So, the company was nice enough to extend our logins until February 15th. And the parents have had a whole month without being able to log in and do the work. So, supposedly this is already approved, so
041who is responsible? So, I think I'm going to have to talk to the state. So, on some occasions I have gone to parent meetings. And they told me to go to the superintendent, which I did. And then they told us to go to the board. Which I already have done. And then and they told me that if you they don't pay attention to you, then you can come to us. Because you're not only ignoring me, you're ignoring all the other parents. And that's not fair. Because supposedly if the state has already approved that money, why has it not been approved? And that is very upsetting. Because those of you that are sitting there to support the parents. So, where is your support now? Also want to add something else. I do feel really sad and
042I do have conflicting feelings right now, seriously. [clears throat] Now that I see all of the teachers here today They are themselves are saying that they're preparing themselves. So, they are better able to provide better classes and so our students can get prepared. And nobody is paying them for what they have spent out of pocket themselves. Now sometimes I understand why my why my students um have a bad experience and they don't receive the support. They're probably their teachers are not the same as these teachers here where they spend out of pocket. I used to be total middle school. >> So, I mean I've already had this experience even throughout middle school. I've mentioned that all these issues, but they've never listened to me. So, Uh so, as what I understand is that whatever whatever's
043whoever's in charge of the curriculum is whatever you have to follow there. And if a teacher wants to invest in themselves, you ignore them and don't even give them what they invested. And it is the district's responsibility to support the teachers when they want to prepare themselves so they can improve our students' learning. So, I do appreciate your time and I'm sorry if you feel uncomfortable, but just like I am uncomfortable, um that's that's how you should feel as well. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Ms. Granda, can you meet with um Ms. Ambrosio? That Excuse me, Dr. Ambrosio. She She just stepped out into the hallway. Thank you. Thank you. Next item on the agenda is the consent agenda for academics. We have on this agenda four seven eight nine 10 Looks like 12 items.
044These are items that have all been discussed, presented to board in previous meetings and discussed, and they are considered to be non-controversial agenda of items. So, rather than to uh spend the time to approve each one separately, we're going to take them as one item unless any of the board members are requesting that any of them be separated out. Board President Yes, Board President, can we separate out items K and L? And you can take them together if other board members want to do so. K and L, you want them to be taken as one item? You said? Okay. Any other requests? Okay, so what we are looking for then is And I'm going to read what all of these are so that everybody knows what we're what we're talking about. Asking for motion to
045approve the consent agenda for academics items A through J, which are renew A, renewal of Illinois High School Association membership. B, Amplify M Class Math and Amplify Boost Math for grades K through five. C, renewal of Amplify Dibles Lectura grades K through five. D, payment for advanced placement exam fees for WHS students 2025 to 2026 renewal. E, renewal of the NWEA MAP assessments for SY2627. F, renewal of ACT Education Corps pre-ACT pre-ACT fall assessments for grades eight through 10 for school year 2627. G, renewal of yearly Microsoft Office licensing, H, attendance at the training of ECERS- S3, that's early childhood environmental rating scale, I, E-rate Aruba Central AI Analytics, and J, Waukegan High School Prom. Motion to approve. >> Motion to approve the consent agenda by uh Mr. Riddle minus items K through L. We
046have a second. Second. Second by Mr. McBride. Any discussion on this motion? Can we have a roll call vote, please? Ms. Fabian? >> Yes. >> Ms. Lansing? >> Yes. >> Mr. McBride? >> Yes. >> Mr. Ramirez? Mr. Riddle? >> Yes. President Rodriguez? Yes, motion carries. Uh next item is going to be the last two items on the consent agenda, item K and L. K is a Daytona, Florida Army and All Service Nationals Drill Team, and L is a Clark Elementary School May IB Professional Development Request. Do we have a motion to approve? Motion to approve. >> Riddle. Second. Second by Ms. Fabian. Any discussion on this motion? Ms. Fabian? Just again, and I've mentioned this before in the past, is to continue to be aware of flight statuses. We are once again back to, you
047know, the cuts in TSA and that having and having a lot of delays, one for the weather, but also because people aren't able to get through TSA, so just want to make especially when we're traveling with our students or we're traveling um Sorry, [clears throat] well, this one's a bus, but when we're traveling that we're hyper aware of um everything that's going on with travel, so that we can properly prepare and warn our parents, um but also for those traveling for professional development that they're constantly monitoring that, so nobody's missing their flights and having to get reimbursed or whatever and go through all of that process to move um to move their flights. So, I'm just also hoping that when when they're purchasing their flights, they're also purchasing the um what do you call it?
048The insurance, the travel insurance, just in case those changes do have to be made. Thank you, Ms. Fabian. Any other discussion, Mr. McBride? Well, to Carolina, to your point, I'm feel pretty good because uh Waukegan is not going. Zion Abbott will be right there with them. I found that I did so their drill team be right down there with them. That's great. Thank you. >> going to win. Any other discussion on this motion? Roll call vote, please. Ms. Fabian? Yes. >> Ms. Lenzing? >> No. Mr. McBride? Yes. Ms. Ramirez? Mr. Riddle? Yes. President Rodriguez? >> Yes, motion carries. Okay, next item, item 11 is a consent agenda. This is the agenda for operations. There are 12 items on the agenda, and we'll be voting them all as one item, and they are No, there's three
049items, A, B, C. Approve A is approval of Golden Apple Scholar partnership 3-year agreement. B, approval of the purchase of SDX 6040 X-ray scanner for Waukegan High School Washington Campus, and C, approval of human resources recruitment travel authorization. Motion to approve. >> Motion to approve by Mr. Riddle. Second. >> Seconded by Ms. Fabian. Any discussion on the motion? Roll call vote, please. Ms. Fabian? >> Yes. Ms. Lenzing? >> Yes. >> Mr. McBride? >> Yes. >> Ms. Ramirez? Mr. Riddle? Yes. >> President Rodriguez? >> Yes, motion carries. Okay, purchases and contracts. A, renewal of outside legal counsel immigration matters. It is recom- Sorry, I apologize. Can we close the door for a second? I just don't want the mics to pick up. Thank you. Thank you. It is recommended that the Board of Education approve the
050engagement agreement with Cho Immigration Law effective January 1, 2026, and authorize the general counsel to sign the engagement agreement. Motion to approve. >> Motion to approve by Mr. Riddell. Second. Seconded by Ms. Fabian. Any discussion on the motion? Roll call vote, please. Ms. Fabian. Yes. >> Ms. Lansing. >> Yes. Mr. McBride. Yes. Ms. Ramirez. Mr. Riddell. Yes. President Rodriguez. Yes, motion carries. Item 13, personnel items. A, personnel items for 224-26. It is recommended that the Board of Education accepts the administration's recommendation to approve the appointments, retirements, and accepts the resignations and termination as found on schedules F-1002, G-660, and L-949. Motion to approve. >> Motion to approve by Mr. Riddell. Second. Seconded by Ms. Fabian. Any discussion on the motion? Roll call vote, please. Ms. Fabian. Yes. Ms. Lansing. Yes. Mr. McBride. >> Yes. Ms.
051Ramirez. Mr. Riddell. Yes. President Rodriguez. Yes, motion carries. Item 13B, expansion of outside legal counsel engagement for Delgado Law Group. It is recommended that the Board of Education approve the expansion of the district's engagement with Delgado Delgado Law Group to include periodic assistance with contract matters at the request of the general counsel. Motion to approve. Motion to approve by Mr. Riddell. Second. Seconded by Ms. Fabian. Any discussion on this motion? Roll call vote, please. Ms. Fabian. Yes. >> Ms. Lansing. Yes. Mr. McBride. >> Yes. Ms. Ramirez. Mr. Riddell. Yes. President Rodriguez. Yes, motion carries. 13C, approval of administrator position collapses and reclassifications for FY 2026-2027. It is the recommendation of the administration that the Board of Education approve the collapse and or reclassification of certain administrative staff positions attached to this item as recommended by
052the superintendent to be effective July 1, 2026. Motion to approve. >> Motion to approve by Mr. Riddell? Second. >> Second by Ms. Fabian. Any discussion on this motion? Ms. Lansing? Oh, I think Ms. Fabian beat me to it and I'll go after. I just want to say again, well, I don't know if you guys explained this last time. We are looking at the positions and not the people. We absolutely value the staff that we have here. Um, I know it's very hard when you're looking at the names to take that emotion out of it because we it is the we are looking at people. However, in this case we need to make sure that we're aligning with the district and that we're making sure that we're prioritizing our needs and some of these positions have
053been vacant for a long time, too. Some [cough] of them collapsed. Um, but I want to make it very, very clear that this decision was not made looking at the individuals in the roles. We are looking at the positions and I've worked with many of you and I value you all. And so I'm excited to see that, um, the majority will be staying in the district um, or applying in other positions in the district and I hope to continue to see you working with us. Thank you, Ms. Fabian. Ms. Lansing? I just want to say that, um, for the positions that we have vacant I completely understand. Um, for ones that are being combined with responsibilities, I understand as well. It's when we have others where their whole position is being impacted but I'm not
054seeing other fiscal management happening on other ends to try [clears throat] to prevent this situation. That is frustrating to me. Um, so for that, I'm going to be voting no because I think we need to be taking a bigger picture approach to this. Yes, I think looking at the positions and the functionality and if it's beneficial to the district is important. Some of these positions should have been eliminated a while ago. So, this should be an ongoing process, not just when we have federal financial constraints coming down on us. So, those are just some of my frustrations around this. I understand a lot of the logic tied to it, but because we haven't taken other measures, I don't feel comfortable saying yes. Thank you, Ms. Lansing. Can we have a roll call vote, please? Ms.
055Fabian. Yes. Ms. Lansing. >> No. Mr. McBride. >> Yes. Mr. Ramirez. Mr. Riddle. Yes. President Rodriguez. Yes, motion carries. Item 14, grants and donations. I see none. Nothing under number 15, other. Financial reports, number 16. It is the recommendation of the administration that the Board of Education ratify the second March 2026 of board bills, manual check request payments, and Old National Bank insurance payments for the period of March 4, 2026 through March 10, 2026. The accounts payable board payments for the period of March 4, 2026 through March 10, 2026 totals $975,829.30. The manual check request payments for the period of February 18, 2026 through March 3, 2026 totals $581,954.86. The Old National Bank insurance insurance payments for the period of March 4, 2026 through March 10, 2026 total $0. Motion to approve. >> Motion to
056approve by Mr. Riddle. Second. Seconded by Mr. McBride. Any discussion on this motion? Roll call vote, please. Ms. Vivian Yes. Ms. Lenzing Pass. Mr. McBride Yes. Ms. Ramirez Mr. Riddle Yes. President Rodriguez Yes, motion carries. Reports and presentations. Do we have any committee reports? No committee reports. Yes. Delegate reports, there is none. Superintendent's report. We do. So, we have a presentation on our just an update regarding summer school program summer programming. Um, so what we have our our team that's put this together that will present on this. Good evening, Board of Education. Hi, welcome. Um, so we just wanted to just update you. We have some information that we have shared. However, if we continue, um, thank you. Um, although directly in front of me, what I'll do is pay attention is what is being
057broadcasted here. Our summer school is going to be throughout the whole month of June. The first day of summer school for students is June 2nd, Monday through Thursday. And the very last day is uh June 31st. 31st, whatever. 30th. Thank you, 30th. Yes, thank you very much. So, they're going to have the schedule much as you see there for all all of our grade bands and the times for our student attendance as well as a sandwich from right in the beginning for 30 minutes for our teachers and right at the end of the day for our staff. >> [cough] >> Um, you'll see our sites that we have so far. We have compacted our sites to be what we're calling, you know, what we have called cluster sites in the past where schools combine as
058teams and they work within the building throughout the month of June. Um, we've been calling them these huddle sites, right? Um, but you're going to see that we have a preschool site. Um, we have a partnership uh for preschool and those are our students that are preparing to go directly into kindergarten. Um, so we appreciate that partnership with our staff. For elementary schools, you see our three huddle sites there and the schools that are working with one another for the staff for the students and the families. Um, on our 6th through 12th side, we have Smith, we have Lewis, um, and then and then we're at Brookside for our high school course. Um, here we have what our enrollment is, which much is similar to the years past. See that. Um, really what we've worked
059on is similar to last year and we're building upon is across the span of 17 days of summer school. What we do is at each grade band is we make it fairly Monday through Friday. These are the pieces that the students are working on to ensure that no matter what site our students are at, that they're receiving a similar instructional, um, experience. We also have common grades that the kids will get, right? If this is a Tuesday and this is a this is a a formative assessment, whatever tasks students are working on, we want to ensure that students are being graded on similarities across the 17 days of instruction for summer school. So, if I'm a parent, what I'm looking at is at the end at the end of the at the end of the
06017 days of the four weeks, um, we know that the learning experience has been guaranteed so that the grades that they have on their report card represents this curriculum and this learning experience. Very important especially with the promotion policy and with the grades that, um, that we're able to give the data to our families every single week and we're giving them updates of how well students are doing that week as evidenced by the grades that the parents can log into and see within the parent platform. So that's um the integral piece of it all as well as what what we speak to often as that guaranteed and viable piece um even within summer school. >> [clears throat] >> This is the experience that you're going to see at the preschool level for our students as
061well as our uh K through 5 students. Our middle school, similar to last year to build upon and what and what each of their subjects look like. The shift in middle school specifically is they do also have uh their guaranteed and viable grades that happen across each subject. Um but what we look for is about two if not I believe that we landed on two, which is the same as last year, two grades per subject. So if I'm a student that's going through middle school, I'm going to have two grades a week in math, two grades in science, two grades in in language arts, um etc. So those are also mapped out for that common learning experience so that we can collect the data, communicate to our families, intervene where needed um if student needs
062additional support in a promotion grade. And um also through for our high school. Um we're going to we have two different schedules in high school. Um we're going to have high school that is around a credit recovery based um in which we use online credit recovery. And when when we're looking at the data of students that need that, they are in they have multiple failures. And so they're looking to recover multiple credits um and work on that over the summer school over the the month of June. If students have one failure, um what we're looking at is is ascertaining that data and analyzing it so that we have a live teacher in front of them um specifically for that one subject. It would be near impossible to have them in school for 4 hours to
063make up the credit of English language arts lit comp nine course as well as possibly semester two of algebra one, physics from semester one. And so we use our data to to formulate a plan for their credit recovery over that month. That's one side of summer school for high school. The other side is we have we have a get ahead course such as geometry. So students who have been taking accelerated math in eighth grade and have passed it are can take geometry um over the summer for 6 weeks because there has to be a set amount of hours if you are not credit if you are taking a course for the first time. And so they have a very mapped out plan of what they work on. It's very rigid structure for 6 weeks uh
064at many hours a day and it's been very successful for the students who have taken it over the last 3 years. As well as our newcomer program, um we have that at Glen Flora at Lewis and at Brookside. For ESY, um we look at our individualized IEPs at each of our schools. The teams get together and they see where ESY will be held. They're meeting with families um over the next couple of weeks and they are offering those opportunities so that students continue their learning and that it doesn't have um so that the learning is not interrupted. And so the IEP and the IEP dream teams with their families determine that. Uh we will continue to have our meals for students, uh transportation for students, and they within their summer school sites, this is where
065parents and families can um seek that information and ask questions um in that particular main office of the school that they will be attending for summer. We continue to have our community partnerships, United Way as we spoke of, for our preschool, Get Ahead. We have uh social emotional development support within Jocelyn and our Boys and Girls Club. They continue to support us as far as also with our youth guidance, our BAM WOW, and they're assigned to schools at the same hours um just as those team work together. Um if you are a parent, if you are family that has students that are going to summer school, um what you want to make sure is that you are early and often communicating with your school right now, with your teacher, with your school office. You are
066checking in on their grades and you're asking questions such as, "How are they doing in their core? I know that I see their grades in their report card. I'm wondering how they're doing every 2 weeks." Our our teachers and our staff very good at updating such as apps such as Remind. Um but having that information and asking those questions is very important as um you know, the month of June comes fast. And having to attend summer school can put a wrench in possible vacation plans. And knowing that at at a promotion grade, the possibility of being retained is landing on a GPA, passing your courses, and ensuring that you're in your summer school classes, and not missing more than 3 days. So, all of that is very important when it comes to the consideration. So,
067ask a bunch of questions, and you start with your with your teacher who is your your number one um support for your student for your child. And so, here are upcoming next steps. And if you have any questions for me, which may or may not We may or may not have one more slide. I'm not sure. Thank you. I had a feeling. Um okay, I'll jump in. I have a couple of questions. Um one thing I'm still not seeing, and I've brought it up years prior, is the uh district reading camp. So, on the back end, I understand why that's not happening for this year, but it is something that we can include in budgeting and planning for summer school 2027, because we desperately need to close the gap for so many of our kids
068with their reading proficiency skills. Um within the summer school schedule, so all of these teachers are coming together from different locations at these sites. Are they having staff meetings? Are they getting together to touch base, and when does that occur in the schedule? Because during the school year, we have late starts. Right. >> Correct. Yeah, so our professional development day for all of summer school is on May 28th. In which, because we have different sites, we may not be able to bring all the the math teachers of elementary [clears throat] together into one space. So, what we do is we create videos, so you could reference it on how to access the curriculum, how do you work on the pacing, um just the how-to of just how we teach those 17 days and how we
069grade. So, that's one piece. And if I'm overwhelmed on the 28th of May and I have something going on, even though I'm there and I'm logging in virtually or I'm watching the video, I can refer back to it, which is always really nice, and I can play this again should I have a question. We also provide uh we're also online for any individualized questions um during windows of time. But, that's just on the 28th. Um we are popping in schools on the curriculum side every day. And and we're seeing we're seeing that everybody has what they need. Do you have any questions? Um as far as the schedule for the 4 weeks of summer school, um what we're working on right now on the back of house is on and and this also determines if
070I'm a site, if we were all one site of one school, you might want to take the 11th, you might want to work on the 15th, right? We kind of work together as a team to determine how we're covering those buildings across admins. So, there's there's usually two to four admin each day. So, what we're looking at is on a Monday, we know that we are we're besides just welcoming our staff, right? And and the everyday ins and outs of a building, um we want to make sure that from the week before that our grades are being entered. Um we have any follow-up calls to our families. On Tuesdays, we have those team meetings. They're virtually after school. Um in which we're we're seeing that students are showing up. We're checking our attendance. We're talking
071about data. We're talking about grades. What else do you need as a site? How can we help you? How do we get it to you quickly? On Wednesday, what we're doing is we want to run our IC reports of the grades. So, we can spot early and often if certain grades are not being entered and the ones that are, so that we are able to communicate with families within that week. Hey, just want to make sure that you know or this wasn't brought or hey, what could we do to help? So that in that week of school, we're making sure that our students are getting their grades and they're getting the help that they need. So then therefore on a Thursday, we're sending those letters home, we're calling the families, and we're seeing for the
072next week of school that we're set up for success. So it's almost like a rinse and repeat a Monday through Thursday steps for those four weeks. Um and then back to Monday again and anyone that had letter they may, you know, come in and let's go let's talk about it. Okay. So it it kind of has that cadence. Okay, understood. So it's more just supporting the individual teachers, not getting them together as a team to review big picture things. Which for summer school I can I can understand the format of that. Um and then just two more questions. Do you have an estimated because those communications are going out to families, which is my second question. Um do you have a good idea of what class size during summer school is going to be? About
073About 20 at the highest end is a 25. So our goal size 20 and it's going to it's going to fall between depending on a site or a grade um 15 to 25. Okay. Um and then when you say that you're communicating with families, can you help me understand the forms of communication? And really the underlying question I have around that is how are you confirming that they're understanding that this is their way? Because I'll tell you my if you put it in my kids folder, I get it 80% of the time. I still need a reading log for one of my kids. So I just want to know how are you confirming that parents are actually aware because to your point, Ms. Rice Silveira Sanchez, they're looking at vacations for summer, our older students
074are looking at summer jobs that they're planning. So I just don't want them hit with a curveball. Yeah, thank you for the question um board member Lansing. So, also good evening board and community and colleagues. We do every since the uh promotion policy came out, we have been placed into effect through the help of Dr. Jonathan and his team as well as our IT staff with Dr. Quezada's team. Uh we do every time there's a progress report or a quarter uh report card that goes out, um if there's different criteria for GPAs or number of credits [clears throat] or scores for their um elementary students with a 4 3 2 1, uh parents receive an automatic mail um every progress report or every uh grade every report card, which means they're receiving communication approximately every
0754 and 1/2 weeks if their student is falling at risk. Uh another aspect that we have taken in uh and planned for is that we have a dashboard and that um all principals and MTSS teams have access to and they can see at any given moment anyone who is in their building who might be popping up that at risk, who could be on the verge of falling into um retention based on their GPAs or who's already kind of already there just based off of their where they already are performing. Uh principals meet with their MTSS teams, they document interventions in Branching Minds, and meet with all principals quarterly to ensure that their documentation is is there as well as that their their communication with families is documented in our PLP log, which is part of
076Infinite Campus. And so, in addition to the written notifications um that they receive through the mail, they're also receiving um in-person or phone call messages with their principals. Thank you. You're welcome. Thank you very much. Mhm, thank you. Okay. Information item. You want to All we have is um the May the 4th report, February 2026. Um First So, for the information items, we have the FOIA report for February referencing the work that was done on FOIA's um uh for the month of February. There are two policies up for first reading, the prohibition against bullying with statutory updates, uh language being added, and then library three policies, excuse me. Policy 5233 library materials and 5235 musical instruments and uniforms, which continues the work at doing a deeper dive into our policies um in the curriculum section
077to assure alignment with current practice as well as uh fairness and access across the board for all individuals. So, I just have a comment on C. Go ahead, Ms. Sullivan. Um for those who are on that committee, I want to make sure that all of our policies and our our practices are aligning. And so, for that musical instruments and uniforms, I did see that there was some fee changes added into there. As a parent, I just received a a flyer regarding our volunteer hours that parents and um students can volunteer and receive $20 for every hour towards fees, and fine arts is specifically mentioned in that. And I believe music is considered fine arts. However, there has been challenges in the past where students and parents were not able to use that $20 credit towards
078the rental fees of music instruments um or towards the um fee of the of the instruction the uh not the band, the individual lessons. >> Oh, yeah. Um so, there's a yearly fee that they pay for that. Yeah. So, I don't see anything in this policy that negates that, nor does the other policy about the volunteer hours being credited towards fine arts um negate that. So, can we clean this up? Either clarify it in this musical instruments one that yes, we can use that $20 per hour to pay those fees or no, we cannot. And if parents and families cannot, then the other policy needs to be clarified as well. So, thank you. We can take a look at that, but I do want to just I will also go back and look. My recollection
079is the fees were removed, but the repair costs, which are not the same thing as fees, if there's damages is what remains, but I concur we should have a continuity across policies. So, thank you. Okay. Item 19, old business. We have two board policies that are up for second reading. Board policy 5202, development of curriculum guides, and board policy 5230, instructional materials, second reading. And I believe these are going to be up um as an action item on the next agenda. Is that correct? Today, because it's second >> today? Oh, okay. Okay, good. I guess we're going to act. It is recommended that the Board of Education approve the amendments to board policy 5202, development of curriculum guides as presented for second reading. Motion to approve. >> Motion to approve by Mr. Riddle. Second. Second
080by Ms. Fabian. Any discussion on the motion? Roll call vote, please. Ms. Fabian. Yes. Ms. Lansing. Yes. >> Mr. McBride. Yes. Ms. Ramirez. Yes. Mr. Riddle. Yes. President Rodriguez. Yes, motion carries. Item 19B. It is recommended that the Board approve the amendments to board policy 5230 as presented for second reading. Motion to approve. >> Motion to approve by Mr. Riddle. Second. Second by Ms. Fabian. Any discussion on the motion? Roll call vote, please. Ms. Vivian. Yes. Ms. Lansing. Yes. Mr. McBride. >> Yes. Mr. Ramirez. Yes. Mr. Riddle. Yes. President Rodriguez. >> Yes, motion carries. Item 20, new business. It is a recommendation of the administration that the Board of Education approve of representation agreement with SVN Chicago Commercial Realty to represent the district in the sale of property of the property located at 742 Greenwood
081Avenue, formerly Welcome Center, and authorize the Board President to sign said agreement. Motion to approve. Second. Motion approved by Mr. Riddle, second by Ms. Vivian. Any discussion on that motion? Roll call vote, please. Ms. Vivian. Yes. Ms. Lansing. Yes. Mr. McBride. Yes. Mr. Ramirez. Yes. Mr. Riddle. Yes. President Rodriguez. >> Yes, motion carries. Board President, before we move on to student discipline matters, um for new business, I would like to see if the board is open because we're closing in on our first year of the reorganized meeting schedule where it's twice a month. I know typically we've been out on time for the public, um but when we have our closed session materials, sometimes those require longer conversations. So, I wonder if the board is open to going back to the three meetings a month
082where the one meeting is, of course, open session for public comment, but the remainder of the session is targeted solely for these conversations that require more than the 6:00 to 7:00 time slot. And it doesn't have to be decided today. >> Yeah. Um but it is something that I think would be beneficial so that all of our questions can be answered, people feel heard, etc. Or could we add it to when we have those lengthy agendas and I've asked for that in the past to move those meetings to 5:30 to 7:00 instead of cuz sometimes it's not that long like that much longer. And so I don't feel like we need a whole other day to discuss, but we know when those items are really packed and it's going to take more than an hour.
083So if we could just say everybody come at 5:30 for this specific one, I think that would also be another option. Or it could be a both and, right? For ones that it's not it's if it's definitely more than the hour and a half go the route of having that separate meeting. But if it is just we need that little extra, requesting the 5:30 start, I think I I can make it possible on my end if I know in advance. Or if you're at work. Okay, well we can we can bring that up for discussion. I mean there's we can set them up whichever way works Okay. >> for us. And now that you've brought it up, I just would ask board members to think about it and uh we can bring it up for
084discussion at another meeting. Great, thank you. >> Thank you for bringing it up. Okay, student discipline matters. 21A student discipline agreement for student XXX247, who has that? That's not Okay. It is recommended that the Board of Education approve the student discipline agreement for student X X X 247 and authorize the Board President to sign the agreement. Motion to approve. >> Motion to approve by Mr. Riddle. Second. Seconded by Ms. Fabian. Any discussion on this motion? Roll call vote, please. Ms. Fabian. Yes. Ms. Lansing. >> Yes. Mr. McBride. >> Yes. >> Mr. Mares. Yes. Mr. Riddle. Yes. >> President Rodriguez. >> Yes, motion carries. 21B student expulsion student number XXX355, Mr. >> I have that. Who has this one? Yes. Um so the resolution whereas following a building level investigation, student XXX355 was determined to have
085possessed a weapon while at school, which under the school code requires a mandatory referral for expulsion for a period of at least 1 year unless modified by the superintendent, whose decision may be modified by the board. (105 ILCS 5/10-22.6 D2) parentheses Whereas the Board of Education of Waukegan Community Unit School District No. 60 did receive and consider the principal's recommendation and the superintendent's agreement to modify the mandatory expulsion period for student XXX355 and the reasons therefore. And whereas the modification proposed is in the best interest of the district and the student and based on a totality of the circumstances supports the maintenance of a safe school environment free of disruptive influences which can be a distraction to learning while continuing to hold the student accountable for the student's conduct. Now, therefore, it is hereby resolved
086that one, the whereas clauses are adopted herein by reference as findings of the board. Two, the board concurs with the superintendent's modification of the mandatory minimum expulsion period to one day of in-school suspension, the days already having been served, and an individualized safety plan. Three, the superintendent or the superintendent's designee is to notify the parents of student XXX355 in writing of the board's determination within the next five school business days. Four, this resolution is effective upon approval by the board. I move that we approve this resolution as read. Motion by Ms. Lenzing to approve, second by Mr. Riddle. Any discussion on this motion? Roll call vote, please. Ms. Fabian? Yes. Ms. Lenzing? >> Yes. >> Mr. McBride? Yes. Mr. Ramirez? Yes. Mr. Riddle? Yes. Yes. Yes, motion carries. Item 22, board member time. We will
087start with Ms. Ramirez. Um thank you very much. Um like to apologize for not being here last week, but I had to tend to my own student, uh which I'm very happy that um he will be graduating in May finally. Woo. And I'll be done with uh college. >> [laughter] >> All right. Uh but with that being said, um just um parents, we have less than 90 days before the school [laughter] year's done. Um make sure that um we're checking those uh class um online classes, what to do, what to not do. Um it's down to the wire. Um the weather's crazy, so just prepare for everything and anything these next weeks. Thank you. Mr. Riddle. Uh yes. And yes, the the end of the year is coming quickly. Um so definitely students and families
088uh continue to aid your students as best you can, and students continue to work hard. Um the year's uh coming quickly to a close, and spring is coming as well. We don't It doesn't look like it out there, but it is. And then today's St. Paddy's Day, so happy St. Patrick's Day to those who are Irish and those who wish they were. We're all Irish [laughter] in many ways. And have a good night. Thank you, Mr. Riddle. Mr. McBride. Uh I'm so glad spring break is coming. I don't know what to do with myself. That's it. Thank you, Mr. McBride. Ms. Lenzing. Um I also wanted to say happy St. Patrick's Day for those who celebrate with the fellow Irish descendants, and appreciate those who celebrate with us. So I like Mr. Riddle's, or those
089who wish to be. I love it. Um I I think we do have a lot to learn from the Irish. So even though we just celebrate this one holiday per year, I recommend you you look into some Irish history and dig deep. Um we do have spring break coming up. Again, there's the meal drive this coming Friday at Brookside campus on Monroe Street. So, that's road that goes behind the school. It is from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. I got permission to help volunteer. Um so, please come through. We can't guarantee any supplies the later it gets in the night, but we're wanting to make sure our students are getting fed. So, huge kudos to Ms. Williams and her team and everyone that's going to be volunteering. We really want to make sure these kids
090have what they need during this restful period. Hopefully, everyone's getting some rest. Um so, in addition to it being March 17th, St. Patrick's Day, it was also our primary voting day. So, hopefully, people were at the ballot because that directly impacts what happens in our communities. So, hopefully, you got in line in time. Um if not, we do have the general election. So, please don't miss that one. And then the last thing I want to touch on is um I hear the concerns with the teachers union and we have some community members advocating on behalf of them that they're using their own funds. From my understanding in the contract, there is tuition reimbursement for graduate level courses. So, if that's a misunderstanding on my part, I'd like to know, but we also had another article
091in the paper from Mr. Satan about how here in Waukegan, we are doing a lot of things to grow and develop our own. So, if I'm misunderstanding something on the tuition reimbursement, please let me know, but I believe that is available to our staff. Um other than that, yes, we have less than 100 days left in school. Please try to make connections with your teachers or with the parents of your students positive ones. So reach out when things are going good, too, because that's really going to motivate everyone to get a nice end to the school year. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Lansing. Ms. Sabian? Again, thank you to all who voted. Our legislators also directly impact educational funding. So we want to make sure that we stay up to date with who's going to
092benefit our district specifically and our students. So again, thank you for coming out. And I also want to thank our our Lake County Anthony Vega for moving those polling sites outside of our school districts so that we don't have strangers coming in and out to vote in our schools. So thank you for that. Our foundation fundraiser was held March 1st. I think 1st, 3rd, I don't know. All my days are 2nd. It's a day. It's a day. >> [laughter] >> It's a day that happened. Thank you to all of those who participated and came out and supported. We will be doing another one in April and we'll give you more information as that date gets closer. Our budget transparency presentation will be tomorrow on YouTube at 6:00. I hope people watch because we often hear,
093you know, all there's all this spending. How do we know it's going to the right place? This is how. You are able to see it. You know, how all the different funds are used in our district and how we plan for the following year. So please tune in to that. And if you have questions, you're always able to email the district. And I just want to remind everybody that this season is so not just Irish celebrate St. Patrick's Day, so do Catholics and Protestants and and many Christians. Um and so it's also Lenten season, Ramadan, Navaratri. And so it's a season of a lot of reflection, a lot of prayer, involves a lot of fasting. And I just want to say regardless of your faith, as we watch the news and everything that's going on
094in the world, is actually a very great time for all of us to do do just that, reflect and pray for peace. And for those of you who are not religious, it is still an opportunity to reflect and advocate for those who can't advocate for themselves and to continue to promote peace. Like uh I believe his name was Shamarian said, "Watch what you say." Mhm. Because the kids are listening and they do look for those leaders. And so I just want to encourage everybody to spread kindness, take that spring break to rest and come back with hopefully a more pleasant attitude cuz I know we're all getting antsy at the end of the year. Um, and so just enjoy your spring break and I hope to see you back after. Thank you. Ms. Allen. Okay.
095Hi, I just want to hope that everyone their break. It's well needed over I'm pretty sure for everyone and I hope that the weather does get better. Hoping that the snow melts for sure. And I just hope everyone stays warm tonight. Thank you very much. Okay. Um, we've been hearing a lot about this Idaho State situation and grievance and at some point in time board has got to get together to discuss this, deliberate. And so I'm proposing that since it is early, only 20 to 9 and we have to get together either tonight or schedule a special meeting, I am going to ask that we go back into close session to deliberate tonight so we don't have to set up another meeting. And so at this point I would like to ask for a motion
096going to close session for the purpose of discussing legal matters exception C11, actual or threatened litigation, and C2 collective negotiating matters. Do I have a motion? >> Motion to approve. Second. Motion by Mr. Riddell, second by Ms. Lenzing. Can we have a roll call vote, please? Ms. Fabian. Yes. Ms. Lenzing. Yes. Mr. McBride. Yes. Mr. Ramirez. Yes. Mr. Riddell. Yes. President Rodriguez. >> Yes. Motion carries. We are now in closed session. We will be adjourning right after closed session. There will be no more business conducted tonight.