Quincy Reporter

Community Consolidated School District 181 Board of Education met Oct. 30.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

Call to Order

The Regular Business meeting of the Board of Education of Community Consolidated School District 181, DuPage and Cook Counties, Illinois, was called to order by Board President Michael Martin at 6:00 pm on October 30, 2023, at Hinsdale Middle School, 100 S. Garfield Ave., Hinsdale, IL.

Roll Call

Jean Duggan, Recording Secretary, took roll call. Board members present were: William Cotter, Grace Shin, Asim Aleem, Michael Martin, and Meg Cooper. Absent: Margaret Kleber and Sinead Duffy. Also present is Dr. Hector Garcia, Superintendent.

Pledge of Allegiance

Michael Martin led the Pledge of Allegiance.

Board of Education Celebrations

The Board congratulated the students selected to perform at the ILMEA State Festivals. Band, Orchestra, and Jazz Band students from the entire state can audition to participate in the performances. This year, District 181 had over 30 students selected.

In addition, three D181 students and art teachers participated in the 2023-24 IAEA’s Statewide Student Art Show. Hinsdale Middle School received the School of Distinction for excellence in Art, Design, and Media Education.

The Board also thanked the building administrators for their dedication to students, staff, and families.

Lastly, the District celebrated Unity Day. George Dennehy, an inspirational speaker, presented a message of acceptance and celebrating diversity at all the schools.

Executive Session

Michael Martin made a motion to adjourn into Executive Session at 6:08 p.m. to discuss personnel, safety, and negotiations. Meg Cooper seconded the motion. On roll call, the following members voted “Aye”: Grace Shin, Michael Martin, Meg Cooper, William Cotter, and Asim Aleem. “Nay:” None. Absent: Sinead Duffy, and Margret Kleber. The motion carried.

Call to Order

Jean Duggan, Recording Secretary took roll call at 7:04 p.m. Board members present were: Michael Martin, Grace Shin, Meg Cooper, William Cotter, and Asim Aleem. Absent: Sinead Duffy, and Margret Kleber. Also present, Dr. Hector Garcia, Superintendent.

Public Comment,

No public comments.

Action Items

Approval of HCHTA Contract

The Board of Education approved a new four-year contract with the Hinsdale-Clarendon Hills Teachers’ Association (HCHTA). Board President, Michael Martin, thanked the HCHTA members and District Administration for their collaboration in reaching this agreement.

Mr. Martin said, “This contract is a testament to our District’s commitment to providing students with a premier education. It includes competitive teacher salaries, benefits, and other key components, while still keeping our financial goals in mind.” He added, “I want to thank our teachers for their recognition and willingness to share some of the recent increases in insurance premiums and operations of the District. This new four-year agreement supports our commitment to remaining fiscally stable in the long term and recognizes the work of our talented staff.”

Co-President Cassie Soofi said, “On behalf of the Hinsdale-Clarendon Hills Teachers’ Association, we would like to thank the Board and Administration for their collaborative effort in negotiating a fair counteract.” Co-President Jaime Sciaccotta added, “Your partnership is invaluable to our students, community, and teachers. We look forward to our continued work together.”

The contract, which will run through the 2026-27 school year, replaces a four-year contract agreement that expired on June 30, 2023.

Michael Martin made a motion to approve the contract between the Hinsdale-Clarendon Hills Teachers’ Association and Community Consolidated School District 181 (July 1, 2023-June 30, 2027). Asim Aleem seconded the motion. On roll call, the following members voted “Aye”: Grace Shin, Michael Martin, Meg Cooper, William Cotter, and Asim Aleem. “Nay:” None. Absent: Sinead Duffy, and Margret Kleber. The motion carried.

Facilities Master Plan Recommendations

Mr. Duggan shared that the Facilities Master Plan was approved by the Board of Education in May 2018 based upon the Facilities Condition Assessment Report (FCAR - 2015- Wight and Company), Educational Adequacy Analysis (Healy Bender), Health Life Safety Surveys (Annually conducted by the ROE), Staff Surveys, Anecdotal Feedback and School tours by committee members and the District Architect. The 10-year project plans are revised annually after completing that year’s summer projects. The timing of some projects may be moved due to changes in circumstances that would necessitate completing the project sooner or later than planned. Pursuant to the Facilities Master Plan and the needs of the District, the following capital projects are being recommended for implementation during the Summer of 2024, he said.

District Architect Projects:

The District Architect oversees these projects. The Architect prepares all plans, specifications, and bidding documents. Additionally, the Architect makes site visits, prepares and submits all permits and payment requests, and reviews all vendor‘s supporting documents.

Total Cost Estimate

● HMS

○ Settlement Cracks - $59,500

● Madison

○ MRC Remodel - $297,500

● Prospect

○ Resurface North Parking Lot - $302,260

● The Lane

○ Resurface playlot - $119,000

Buying Cooperative / In-House Projects:

Cooperative purchasing is “Procurement conducted by, or on behalf of, one or more Public Procurement Units” as defined by the American Bar Association Model Procurement Code for State and Local Governments. District 181 is a member of Sourcewell, a national cooperative purchasing agency. Sourcewell streamlines the procurement process by developing RFPs for national, competitive solicitations that meet or exceed local requirements. These projects are overseen by the Facilities Department, thereby saving the District the soft costs associated with Architect projects.

Total Cost Estimate

● Monroe

○ Moisture Mitigation and Flooring Replacement - $500,000

○ Playground poured in place surfacing being added - $60,000

● Prospect

○ Playground replacement - $300,000

● Madison

○ Playground poured in place surfacing being added to complete the playground - $130,000

● The Lane

○ LED Retrofit and Replacement - $65,000

● Walker

○ Playground replacement - $300,000

● The Lane

○ Playground poured in place surfacing and grading being added to complete this project - $200,000

Asim Aleem made a motion to approve the Facilities Master Plan Recommendations as presented. Meg Cooper seconded the motion. On roll call, the following members voted “Aye”: Grace Shin, Michael Martin, Meg Cooper, William Cotter, and Asim Aleem. “Nay:” None. Absent: Sinead Duffy, and Margret Kleber. The motion carried.

School Maintenance Grant

Ms. Bradford shared that the School Maintenance Grant is a dollar-for-dollar state matching grant program providing awards up to $50,000 to grantees exclusively for the maintenance or upkeep of buildings or structures for educational purposes. There is no limit to the project cost; however, grant awards shall not exceed $50,000.00 per award, and applicants must provide a match from local funds equal to the grant amount requested.

Ms. Bradford said that If awarded, grant funds would be applied to the playground replacement at Walker School, a project that is included in the district’s long-term facilities plan. The playground is original to the building. A new playground would be more ADA accessible, would add sensory learning areas, and would meet updated safety standards for students.

Per a question, it was noted that last year, they used the grant to help pay for the Oak School roof.

Meg Cooper made a motion to approve the School Maintenance Grant as presented. Grace Shin seconded the motion. On roll call, the following members voted “Aye”: Grace Shin, Michael Martin, Meg Cooper, William Cotter, and Asim Aleem. “Nay:” None. Absent: Sinead Duffy, and Margret Kleber. The motion carried.

Informational Items

Full-Day Kindergarten Update

Mike Duggan, Director of Facilities, shared an update on the status of full-day kindergarten from a facilities standpoint.

Mr. Duggan said the State of Illinois approved a change to the school code to mandate that all school districts offer full day kindergarten by 2027. The District began to plan for an August 2025 implementation.

Mr. Duggan said the plans were based on the current and future enrollment trends received from the District’s demographer. He added that based on this information, it was determined that additions to six of seven elementary buildings would be necessary to have the capacity to house the projected additional sections of kindergarten.

The framework being followed in the creation of these plans has been to concentrate on the following:

● Plan and rationale

○ Construction decisions based on enrollment trends from the Demographer’s report

○ The location and designs of additions are determined based on existing conditions at each site.

○ Mitigate disruption to existing learning environments

○ Deadline for completion - August 2025

● Timeline

○ Fall/Winter 2023/2024 - Permitting, bidding, and awarding of contracts

○ Summer 2024 Construction - mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems and interior finishes to the extent possible

○ Summer 2025 - Complete construction, site work, and punch list items. Occupancy August 2025

● Cost Estimates

○ Original = $27.1 MM ($26 MM - FDK + $1.1 MM Oak Renovation)

○ Initial Design Phase = $26.4 MM (Including FDK and Oak Renovation)

○ Costs will be refined at bidding

Math/ELA/ACE Placement Criteria/Summer Program Dates

Mrs. Kristin Reingruber, Director of Assessment, Instruction, and Evaluation, shared an update on the Math/A-ELA/ACE Placement Criteria and Summer Program Dates.

Mrs. Reingruber said the Department of Learning presented the initial criteria for the 2024-25 student course placement in 3rd-8th grade advanced and accelerated mathematics and 6th-96h grade A-ELA and ACE. She also said that when making student placement decisions, it is imperative to consider multiple measures to determine the appropriate placement. She clarified that the correct placement of students into Math, A-ELA, or ACE Courses that are challenging yet not frustrating is critical to building a solid foundation in core content areas.

She highlighted the following:

● Percentiles remain unchanged

● Enhanced the math placement process with a “preliminary consideration” for students who are “on track” to qualify by the end of the year

● 2024-2025 placement timeline

● Summer Learning proposed dates: June 6-28, 2024, for math bridge, June 10-28, 2024, for Summer Learning, ESY, Time to Shine, and Math Camp.

Preliminary Tax Levy Memo

Ms. Bradford shared an update on the preliminary Tax Levy numbers. She noted that the State of Illinois Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (PTELL) is designed to limit the increases in property tax extension (total taxes billed) for non home rule taxing districts. Although the law is commonly referred to as the "tax cap," the use of this phrase can be misleading, she explained. The PTELL does not "cap" individual property tax bills or individual property assessments. Instead, the PTELL allows a taxing district to receive a limited inflationary increase in tax extensions on existing property plus an additional amount for new construction, newly annexed areas, and recovered TIF valuations. The limit slows the growth of revenues to taxing districts when property values and assessments are increasing faster than the inflation rate.

As a whole, property owners have some protection from tax bills that increase only because the market value of their property is rising rapidly. The "limiting rate" is calculated for each taxing district by the county clerk to implement PTELL. The sum of a district’s rates extended for those funds subject to the PTELL cannot exceed this limiting rate. After calculating preliminary rates for the funds, the county clerk will compare the sum of these rates to the limiting rate. If this sum exceeds the limiting rate, the county clerk will reduce each rate proportionally unless instructed by a taxing district to reduce them differently.

Ms. Bradford said that as of October 19, 2023, the District received Preliminary Estimated Equalized Assessed Values (EAV) from DuPage County (which includes Downers Grove and York Townships), which makes up 90.5% of the district’s EAV. She also shared that, unfortunately, Cook County values are not available. Therefore, estimates will be used based on past trends. Based on estimates received from DuPage County and past trends for Cook County, the projected Equalized Assessed Values for the tax year 2023 is estimated to be $3,074,060,962, or an increase of 4.9% from last year’s EAV of $2,929,710,303.

Ms. Bradford said that Cook County and DuPage County have a projected combined new construction decrease from $29,324,143 to $24,860,151 or -15.2%.

She also said the district can project the limiting rate and the extension limit based on the following factors:

● Calculating the Adjusted Extension Base from the previous year’s extension (without debt services) and knowing the CPI of 5.0%

● Projected EAV and New Property

● Projected Limiting Rate = 2.47%

● Projected Extension Limit = $76,408,544

These numbers are based on preliminary estimated Equalized Assessed Values and estimated new construction amounts. She said she would update the calculations once further information is received from all townships. She did clarify that those numbers are still preliminary. The county does not have all tax exceptions and appeals determined when taxing bodies’ levies are filed on the last Tuesday in December (December 26th). She said it is good practice to ask for slightly more than the estimated extension limit. This allows the district to capture the amount they should receive if any of the estimates change. However, being a PTELL (tax-capped) district, the district will only receive the final extension limit. The projected numbers will be updated in November once the District gets the updated Equalized Assessed Values and New Construction Values. This does not include an abatement amount. She said the amount will be determined in February and filed with the county.

FOIA Update

The District received two requests and completed one request since the last FOIA update at the September 18, 2023 meeting. The District is in the process of responding to the second request.

Consent Agenda

Personnel

Certified Licensed Educators

Employment pending successful completion of onboarding process and background check
Name	Position	Location	FTE	Salary	Effective Date
Taylor Button	Physical Education	Walker	.45	$28,495.95	11/08/2023

Classified Staff

Employment pending successful completion of onboarding process and background check
Name	Position	Location	FTE	Hourly Rate	Effective Date
Melissa Uhlir	IA Specialized RISE	Walker	1.0	$21.59	9/5/23
Lori Chana	IA-.5 Specialized/.5 Spec Ed.	The Lane	1.0	$20.49/$17.64	10/5/23
Tathir Abidi	IA-Special Education	Madison	1.0	$17.64	9/27/23
Barbara Dawes	RTI Tutor	The Lane	Hourly	$20.54	9/29/2023
Joy Witt	RTI Tutor	Elm	Hourly	$20.54	10/25/2023

Resignation
Name	Position	Location	FTE	Effective Date
Melissa Uhlir	IA Specialized RISE	Walker	1.0	9/12/23
Beth Grunow	RTI Tutor	The Lane	Hourly	5/24/23
Viviana Perez	IA Specialized ECE	Oak	1.0	10/17/2023
Juan De La Tour	Elementary Head Custodian	Monroe	1.0	10/24/23

Dismissal
Name	Current Position	Location	FTE	Hourly Rate	Effective Date
Laurel Alexander	IA-Special Education	Elm	1.0 FTE	$17.64	9/20/2023

Approval of Minutes

The Board was asked to approve the following minutes:

● Regular Business Meeting - September 18, 2023

● Regular Business Meeting - October 16, 2023

Monthly Financial Report

The Board was asked to approve the September 2023 Monthly Financial Reports.

Quarterly Financial Report

The Board was asked to approve the FY24 Quarter One Financial Reports.

D181 Board Operating Norms

The Board was asked to approve the October 2023 D181 Board Operating Norms.

Resolution - Disposition of Surplus Property (Furniture and Equipment)

Each year, the District donates or otherwise disposes of obsolete surplus property. This year, most of this property was donated to SCARCE, a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating sustainable communities. Most donations to SCARCE were textbooks and obsolete equipment. The balance of the property was furniture and other items which were no longer usable.

Resolution - Disposition of Surplus Property (Electronic Equipment)

The District has surplus Chromebooks, iPads, MacBooks, network equipment, battery backup units, computer carts, and other miscellaneous technology equipment that has been replaced with newer equipment or is otherwise no longer needed. The list of devices to resell or recycle includes approximately 600 Chromebooks, 1,500 iPads, 550 MacBooks, and 115 projectors, among other miscellaneous hardware (approximately 3,000 assets in total). Because of the low interest rate financing options offered directly by Apple, those devices are leased over three years (iPads) or four years (MacBook Airs) whereas Chromebooks are typically purchased outright.

At the end of the Apple leases, there is a nominal buyout fee. The devices become the property of the district at the conclusion of each lease, making them available for resale. New iPads are given to students every three years. Students entering Kindergarten receive a new iPad and use it for 3 years. Students entering 3rd grade receive a new iPad and use it for 3 years. Students entering 6th grade receive a new Chromebook and use it for 3 years. The Chromebooks used by middle school students are purchased outright annually for 6th-grade students. Those devices become available for resale after the students complete 8th grade. Staff iPad devices are also on a 3-year replacement cycle, and the MacBook Airs are on a 4-year replacement cycle. There was a higher number of devices available to be disposed of this year compared to an average year since both staff replacement cycles (4-year MacBooks and 3-year iPads) were available for sale in the same year.

The recommendation was that the surplus equipment be resold through Coretek LLC as they had the highest estimated bid.

Committee Reports

The Finance and Facilities Committee met on October 24, 2023. The topics for discussion were as follows:

● Quarterly Financials

● Preliminary Tax Levy Memo

● Full-Day Kindergarten Update

● Monthly Financials

● Facilities Master Plan Recommendations

● Resolution - Disposition of Surplus Property (furniture and equipment)

● Resolution - Disposition of Surplus Property (electronic equipment_

● School Maintenance Grant

The Academic Success Committee met on October 12, 2023. The topics for discussion were as follows:

● Summer Math Bridge Review 2023

● Summer 2024 Program Dates

● Math/A-ELA/ACE Placement Criteria

● PWA Data Review and Mid-Year Qualification

● District-Level Committee Updates

Gifts and Contributions

The Board was asked to accept the following gifts and contributions with gratitude:

Donor Name: D181 Foundation

Donation: Author Talk ($950.00)

Beneficiary: Clarendon Hills Middle School and Hinsdale Middle School

Value: $950.00

Donor Name: D181 Foundation

Donation: Superintendent's Lighthouse District Fund

Beneficiary: D181 Staff

Value: $1,000.00

Payment of Bills and Reimbursements

Bills and Reimbursements were presented in the amount of $2,443,297.53.

Michael Martin made a motion to approve the consent agenda as presented. William Cotter seconded the motion. On roll call, the following members voted “Aye:” Grace Shin, Michael Martin, Asim Aleem, William Cotter, Sinead Duffy, Margaret Kleber, and Margaret Cooper. ”Nay:” None. Absent: Margaret Kleber and Sinead Duffy. The motion carried.

Adjournment

Michael Martin made a motion to adjourn at 7:41 p.m. Asim Aleem seconded the motion. All in favor. The motion carried.

https://go.boarddocs.com/il/hccsdil/Board.nsf/files/CXCSAQ709DF8/$file/2023_10_30_Reg.%20Bus.%20Mtg.%20Min..pdf