Arlington Heights School District 25 Board of Education met April 23.
Here is the minutes provided by the board:
Brian Cerniglia, President of the Arlington Heights School District 25 Board of Education, called the meeting to order to accept a motion to adjourn into closed session at 7:03 p.m. The meeting was held remotely via Zoom.
The meeting was noticed for closed session to discuss: Appointment, Employment, Compensation, Discipline, Performance or Dismissal of Specific Employees/Independent Contractors/Volunteers of the District, 5 ILCS 120/2 (c)(1); Review closed session minutes, 5 ILCS 120/2 (c)(21); Collective negotiating matters between the public body and its employees or their representatives, 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(2); Security procedures to respond to the safety of employees, students, staff, the public, or public property, 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(8); Litigation when an action is probable, 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(12).
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Regular Meeting Brian Cerniglia, President of the Arlington Heights School District 25 Board of Education, called the meeting to order at 7:37 p.m. on April 23, 2020. The meeting was held remotely via Zoom. Roll call was noted and the Pledge of Allegiance said.
Board members present: Brian Cerniglia, Chad Conley, Scott Filipek, Erin Johannesen, Rich Olejniczak, David Page, and Anisha Ismail Patel
Board members excused: None
Others Present: Dr. Lori Bein, Superintendent; Stacey Mallek, Assistant Superintendent for Business/CSBO; Brian Kaye, Assistant Superintendent for Personnel & Planning; Chris Fahnoe, Director of Technology and Assessment; Ryan Schulz, Director of Facilities Management; Adam Harris, Communications Coordinator; Lana O’Brien, Recording Secretary; staff; and community.
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Organizational Meeting of the Board of Education
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Recognitions and Presentations – Mr. Cerniglia recognized the extraordinary work that Dr. Bein is doing during these challenging times. He stated that the leadership, direction, and sense of community she has provided is beyond reproach, and that the
Board is very thankful to have her guiding the district. He also thanked the administration and staff for all that they are doing to take care of the children in the district. He will be drafting a letter to the staff on the Board’s behalf reiterating the great work that the district employees are doing, and asked Board members to send him anything that they would like included in the letter.
Community Input - None
Consent Agenda Motion: D. Page moved and S. Filipek seconded the motion that the Board of Education approve those items on the Consent Agenda as follows: (A) Personnel Report and Addendum to Personnel Report; (B) Treasurer's Report (C) Fixed Asset Disposal Report; (D) Invoices (E) Regular and Closed Session Meeting minutes of April 2, 2020. Roll Call: B. Cerniglia, yes; C. Conley, yes; S. Filipek, yes; E. Johannesen, yes; R. Olejniczak, yes; D. Page, yes; and A. Patel, yes. Motion carried 7/0.
Dr. Bein announced that Mrs. Ann Buch will be the Westgate Elementary School Principal starting with the 2020-2021 school year. She welcomed her back to District 25 and stated that the staff and community are being notified. She will begin on July 1, and the district will arrange an opportunity for the community to meet her when possible. Board members welcomed her back to the district.
Communications: The following reports were given:
● NSSEO – Ms. Johannesen reported that Miner School recently lost a student that had graduated. The Miner playground project is in full swing and looks incredible. It is a dream for the students, and the Miner School Principal is happy with the progress. Asbestos removal will be completed at the school while there are no students.
● IASB – Mr. Cerniglia reported that there was an IASB webinar at noon today. The next Zoom video conference is on April 27 and the topic is post-pandemic budgets for schools. Ms. Patel attended the last two Zoom sessions that IASB hosted for Board members regarding how school districts in Illinois are handling the pandemic. During the Zoom meeting Ms. Patel talked highlighted the positive things Dr. Bein has done. During one of the sessions, District 25 was mentioned as an example of how a district is handling the pandemic in a positive way.
● ED-RED – Ms. Patel reported that Sarah Hartwick from ED-RED stated that the governor’s office is coming out with information every day. There will be a $2.5 billion decrease in revenue in 2020, which will lead to a shortfall in 2021.
The following reports were received:
● ATA – Ms. Drevline thanked Mr. Cerniglia for his positive comments about Dr. Bein. She thanked Dr. Bein for her continued support of the staff, and stated that they are excited to have Ann Buch back in the district. Board members will be sent a video showing how a Patton Kindergarten teacher is connecting with her students. Board members thanked Ms. Drevline.
There were no reports from the following.
● PTA
● ABC25
Committee of the Whole Reports Student Learning – No Report
Student Services – No Report
Business and Finance 2020-21 NSSEO Budget Ms. Mallek stated that all member districts meet with NSSEO throughout the year regarding the budget. Individual program costs will be increasing between 3 - 4%. For 2020-2021, we are budgeting for 27 known students at this point. The NSSEO budget will be $2,201,529 which includes a contingency of $176,499 for four additional students and estimated summer school costs. The total anticipated tuition budget of $2,606,029 represents a decrease of $272,687 from the current year budget due to graduating 8th grade students. Any changes in the IDEA funding are unknown, but we anticipate it will stay flat.
There was discussion about the number of District 25 students in the program. District 25 is an NSSEO member district, along with seven other districts, including Districts 214 and 211. NSSEO provides many of the services our children need. There are more students in NSSEO than are in private placement. We have fewer students in NSSEO because we have internal programs such as IS and Foundations. Our population is very typical, and spread out among the schools.
Internet and WAN Agreement for Rand School Ms. Mallek stated that Rand School is not eligible for the free e-rate service because it is not a school. The district is recommending Comcast, our current provider, for these services to maintain our building automation system, which runs through Rand School.
Motion: D. Page moved and A. Patel seconded the motion that the Board of Education approve the agreement with Comcast for Internet/WAN services for Rand School. Roll Call: B. Cerniglia, yes; C. Conley, yes; S. Filipek, yes; E. Johannesen, yes; R. Olejniczak, yes; D. Page, yes; and A. Patel, yes. Motion carried 7/0.
Amendment to Bus Transportation Contract for 2019-2020 Ms. Mallek reported that the district has negotiated with Cook County School Bus Company to reduce the amount that will be paid to them for the remainder of school
year because we are not fully utilizing their services. The district will be paying them 85% of the remaining contract. The Illinois State Board of Education recommended that school districts continue to pay for school bus providers during the time when schools are required to be closed, but would otherwise be open. The amendment to our current agreement would allow the district to continue to compensate the bus company, in exchange for the bus company not laying off the dedicated team members that are responsible for providing service to our school district in order to best assure we will have continued service in the future. The amendment requires the bus company continue to pay District 25 drivers and provide payroll records evidencing such continued compensation. As a result of this condition, service providers will be expected to resume normal operations This will ensure that all services can be restored as soon as it is deemed appropriate.
The district will be able to apply for reimbursement from the state for all transportation costs incurred that are beyond transporting students. Costs related to the distribution of food, distribution and pick-up of student assignments and work, and use of vehicles to provide wi-fi and other similar costs, shall be allowable and reimbursed by the formula under Section 29-5 of the School Code. We continue to use three busses for our food delivery on Wednesdays.
Board members asked questions and there was discussion regarding the specifics about the amendment to the contract and the amount that the district will be reimbursed from ISBE.
Motion: S. Filipek moved and E. Johannesen seconded the motion that the Board of Education approve the amendment to the Bus Transportation Contract for 2019-20. Roll Call: B. Cerniglia, yes; C. Conley, yes; S. Filipek, yes; E. Johannesen, yes; R. Olejniczak, yes; D. Page, yes; and A. Patel, yes. Motion carried 7/0.
Facilities Management Award of 2020 Roofing and Masonry Projects Mr. Schulz stated that the scope of work is for the removal of a failing unused masonry chimney and the restoration of several small roof sections at Westgate Elementary School. The budget presented to the Board in the fall of 2019 carried money for the chimney removal and complete replacement of these roof sections, but under further review it was determined that a restorative coating would be the best course of action for these areas to provide a long term roof solution without the removal of the existing roofing insulation and roofing membrane. The final cost is less than was budgeted. The initial low bidder was not fully responsive to the bid requirements so the district is recommending DCG Roofing Services.
Motion: D. Page moved and E. Johannesen seconded the motion that the Board of Education award roofing and masonry scope to DCG Roofing Services in the amount of $47,860 including Base Bid. Roll Call: B. Cerniglia, yes; C. Conley, yes; S. Filipek, yes; E. Johannesen, yes; R. Olejniczak, yes; D. Page, yes; and A. Patel, yes. Motion carried 7/0.
Award Miner ACM Flooring Abatement and New Flooring Installation Mr. Schulz stated that the scope of work covered is for asbestos flooring abatement and replacement on the second floor at Miner School, which is occupied by NSSEO. This flooring is original to the building and has exceeded its useful life. The flooring is currently not a hazard, but it is becoming evident that it will not be able to be reliably maintained in the near future. We have received a proposal from Consolidated Commercial Flooring of Chicago for the new flooring installation in accordance with the Sourcewell cooperative purchasing contract. The pricing from that proposal has been reviewed and is in accordance with the expected pricing structure we would expect for the scope. The scope and proposal were reviewed with NSSEO.
Motion: A. Patel moved and D. Page seconded the motion that the Board of Education award the ACM flooring abatement scope to Valor Technologies in the amount of $52,200 including Alternate Bid #1 while rejecting Base Bid and Alternate Bid #2. Roll Call: B. Cerniglia, yes; C. Conley, yes; S. Filipek, yes; E. Johannesen, yes; R. Olejniczak, yes; D. Page, yes; and A. Patel, yes. Motion carried 7/0.
Motion: A. Patel moved and D. Page seconded the motion that the Board of Education award the new flooring installation scope to Consolidated Commercial Flooring of Chicago in the amount of $118,395.53 under the Sourcewell cooperative purchasing contract. Roll Call: B. Cerniglia, yes; C. Conley, yes; S. Filipek, yes; E. Johannesen, yes; R. Olejniczak, yes; D. Page, yes; and A. Patel, yes. Motion carried 7/0.
Personnel and Planning Personnel Plan for 2020-2021 Mr. Kaye reported that each spring staffing plans are reviewed with school administrators. These staffing projections are based on student enrollment projections, program needs, mandated state programming, student identified needs, and the goals of the district. Mr. Kaye reviewed the changes for next year which include a sunset on Mandarin Chinese language at Thomas; social workers at both middle schools; additional two sections in Early Childhood, and two additional TAs; Math Intervention positions at all elementary schools; and bringing back the extended sub position. The district is also continuing to budget a contingency amount to accommodate staffing needs that may arise due to unexpected enrollment changes, or new students with special needs entering the district. The 2020 - 2021 budget will include a contingency for salary and benefits for 5.0 FTE certificated teachers and 6.0 FTE teaching assistants. Board members were thanked for their continued support.
There was discussion regarding the school nurse position. The district has been unable to fill a total FTE, but there is an agreement with one of our RNs, who will be going to school for her CSN. Once she completes that, the district would hire her as a school nurse. There is another individual interested in the same scenario, so we could potentially have two CSNs. Mr. Kaye thanked Dr. Lasiewicki for her leadership in working with the current CSNs on this. It is not currently an addition to the personnel plan because we have the FTE already in the budget. Mr. Kaye was thanked for the detailed information.
Motion: D. Page moved and A. Patel seconded the motion that the Board of Education approve the 2020-2021 Personnel Plan as presented. Roll Call: B. Cerniglia, yes; C. Conley, yes; S. Filipek, yes; E. Johannesen, yes; R. Olejniczak, yes; D. Page, yes; and A. Patel, yes. Motion carried 7/0.
Superintendent Report – No Report
The Board did not return to the closed session.
Motion: D. Page moved and C. Conley seconded the motion to adjourn the meeting. Roll Call: B. Cerniglia, yes; C. Conley, yes; S. Filipek, yes; E. Johannesen, yes; R. Olejniczak, yes; D. Page, yes; and A. Patel, yes. Motion carried 7/0.
The regular meeting adjourned at 8:28 p.m.
https://www.sd25.org/cms/lib/IL01904427/Centricity/Domain/218/200423%20Board%20Minutes.pdf
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