Quincy Reporter

Community Consolidated School District 181 Board of Education Finance and Facilities Committee met Jan. 17.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

Call of Meeting

The Board of Education Finance and Facilities Committee meeting of Community Consolidated School District 181, DuPage and Cook Counties, Illinois, was called to order by Board Member and Finance Committee Co-Chair Asim Aleem at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 17, 2024.

Roll Call

Finance and Facilities Committee members present were Asim Aleem, Margaret Kleber, Hector Garcia, Mindy Bradford, Meg Cooper, Mike Duggan, and Catie Norton.

Guests:

Steve Monroe, District Manager, Quest Food Service Management Services.

Pledge of Allegiance

Mindy Bradford led the Pledge of Allegiance.

Public Comment

No public comments.

Approval of Minutes

Asim Aleem made a motion to approve the minutes from the December 12, 2023, Finance and Facilities Committee meeting. Meg Cooper seconded the motion. The motion carried.

Celebrations

Ms. Bradford noted the following celebrations:

● Successful pre-bid meetings were held at all six schools receiving additions to the Full-Day Kindergarten project

Reminders

● Quarterly Meetings (2nd Quarter) will be held with District Department leaders and Building Principals during January to discuss financial results for the year's first half.

● The final CPI-Urban Consumers for the calendar year 2023 was 3.4%. This CPI will be used for the 2024 Tax Levy. CPI averages (capped at 5%): 3-year avg=3.4% and 10-year avg=2.5%.

Discussion Topics

Food Service Presentation (Quest)

Steve Munroe, District Manager, Quest Food Management Services, provided an overview of the food service options available in D181. He noted the following:

● Quest and D181 first began their partnership in 2008

● Structure of Agreement

○ Quest collects all revenue directly

○ Quest pays for all labor, product, and direct costs

○ Quest receives 5.85% of total revenue

○ District 181 receives any revenue left after these costs are paid

● Quest provides fresh, high-quality food, exceptional responsiveness, and personalized service.

● They offer full meal choices at the district’s two middle schools and free/reduced meals & milk at the district’s seven elementary schools.

● Many of the food items are sourced from local farms in the Midwest.

● Quest seeks stakeholder input through Student Food Committees at both middle schools. 

● Kitchen Upgrades

○ June 2023 - The walk-in cooler/freezer at CHMS was replaced

○ New merchandising coolers installed at CHMS

○ New milk coolers at the K-5 buildings

Committee members engaged in a discussion related to the level of sales, total revenue percentage as compared to other districts, and price increase history.

Quarterly Financials

Ms. Bradford presented the Quarterly Financial Report.

Operating Funds Year to Date:

● Ending Fund Balance $49.2 MM: Trending on track

All Funds Year to Date:

● Revenue $40.9 MM: Trending on track

● Expenses $39.0 MM: Trending on track

She noted that Purchased Services (approx. 66%) were higher in part based on the Purchased Services components (architect fees, testing fees, etc.). She said that supplies were higher than the prior year due to the timing of textbook purchases (some of which were recorded at the beginning of FY24).

The capital outlay is higher than the prior year based on higher anticipated capital spending (initial Full-Day Kindergarten Costs, District Office Purchase) and higher Summer Project Capital spending in Summer 2023 vs Summer 2022. She said she was anticipating full-year capital spending to be less than the budget due to the timing of the renovations associated with the district office and the timing of the expenditures related to full day kindergarten.

Full-Day Kindergarten Bid Update

Mike Duggan, Director of Facilities, shared the summary of the full-day kindergarten bid update:

Status: Timeline:

● December 18, 2023: Bid documents published

● January 4, 2024: Pre-bid walk-through and building tours

● January 25, 2024: Bid opening

● February 12, 2024: Present recommendations for the award of successful bids (Finance/Facilities Meeting)

● June 3, 2024: Commence construction

● August 9, 2024: Complete deadline of Phase I

● July 18, 2025: Substantial completion date for all construction

● August 20, 2025: First day of student attendance for the 2025-26 school year

Items for Recommendation

Recommendation for Approval of Owner’s Representative for Full-Day Kindergarten Ms. Bradford and Mr. Duggan presented their recommendation for the approval of an Owner’s Representative. They shared some of the following reasons:

● Expertise and experience in construction management help improve the efficiency of the process and the navigation of any challenges

● Comprehensive oversight of our projects that vary in size and complexity across six locations

● Impartial eye during any disagreements between the architect and contractors - aggressively representing the district’s interests.

● Effective communication and coordination to maintain transparency and help streamline the decision making process to meet all project timelines

● Aggressive cost management (particularly as it relates to change orders) and fiduciary responsibility to ensure the project is delivered within budget

Mr. Duggan shared that the District is recommending the District approve the hiring of Turner & Townsend Heery. He said they have a solid reputation in the marketplace, especially for construction oversight/management. They also have significant K -12 education experience and a tremendous depth of resources available to assist with any facility-related needs that the district may have. An added benefit is that they have a record of identifying cost savings that typically save clients between 4-8 times their fee, which they document via a formal cost-saving log. Finally, they provided several relevant references.

Mr. Duggan shared that the District had contacted and met with four potential firms, and only two firms provided formal proposals. The other proposal the District received was significantly lower, but there were concerns about the extremely high-level nature of that proposal (including the fact that no relevant references were provided). Additionally, the strength of the second firm was in the areas of design/architecture - areas that have already been completed for this project in conjunction with the district’s architect. The District needs a firm with strengths in the area of construction oversight for the Full Day Kindergarten project.

Committee members discussed the difference between a lump sum fee and a fee-based proposal. Mr. Duggan said he would provide this information before the February Board meeting.

The committee agreed and supported the recommendation to bring this item forward for Board approval.

Monthly Financials

Ms. Bradford presented the monthly financials for December.

Operating Funds Year to Date:

● $51.4 MM: Trending on track

○ Includes relief to the taxpayers and purchase of district office building

● Revenue $34.7 MM: Trending on track

● Expenses $24.1 MM: Trending on track

The committee agreed and supported the recommendation to bring this item forward for Board approval.

School Fees

Ms. Bradford shared the recommendation for the proposed 20204-25 school fees:

She shared that the administration recommends school fees to the Board of Education each year for the following school year. District 181 collected $1.2 MM in student registration fee revenue for the 2023-2024 school year. Based on three years of historical data, District 181 does not collect approximately 10%, or $127,800, of fee revenue. The District has reduced the % of uncollected fees to 7% for the current year and is identifying ways to further reduce the level of uncollected fees moving forward.

These fees are in place to help offset expenses. The majority is for supplies, field trips, and technology. She said that the cost for field trips depends on the price of the field trip and transportation and is assigned throughout the year and is assigned to students as field trips are taken.

The 2024-25 school fee proposal is as follows:

● Maintain curriculum fees across all grades.

● Maintain technology fees based on the cost of technology equipment per grade level.

● Continue to apply field trip fees based on the individual cost per field trip and subsequent transportation.

● Proposed changes to a small number of optional fees

The committee agreed and supported the recommendation to bring this item forward for Board approval.

Resolution to Prepare Tentative Budget for Fiscal Year 2024-25

Ms. Bradford presented the Resolution to Prepare the Tentative Budget for 2024-25. The Resolution allows the District to prepare the budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2024, and ending June 30, 2025. The Business and Operations Department will begin the multi-step process of working with the department and building leadership to create the school district budget for the next fiscal year.

The committee agreed and supported the recommendation to bring this item forward for Board approval.

Summer Project Bid Approval and Award

Mr. Duggan shared that the original 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. He noted that 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 originally planned.

He shared that the following capital projects are being recommended for implementation during the Summer of 2024.

District Architect Projects:

● HMS Settlement Cracks (Bulley & Andrews will pay for)

● Prospect Parking Lot Replacement

○ Estimate total: $361,760

District In-House Projects:

● Monroe - moisture mitigation and flooring replacement

● Monroe - playground poured in place, surfacing

● Prospect - playground replacement

● Madison - playground poured in place, surfacing

● The Lane - LED retrofit and replacement

● Walker - playground replacement

● The Lane - playground poured in place, surfacing

● Madison - MRC remodel

○ Sub-total: In-House/Co-Op: $1,940,809

○ Plus Architect Projects: $361,760

○ Gross Total: $2,302,569

○ Less School Maintenance Grant: -$50,000

○ Less: HMS Settlement Cracks: -$59,500

○ Net Total: $2,193,069

The committee agreed and supported the recommendation to bring this item forward for Board approval.

Future Agenda Items

● Monthly Financials

● District Office Building Update

● Abatement Amount Decision/Resolution (Fund Balance Strategy: Phase II)

● Full-Day Kindergarten Bid Approval and Award

Adjournment

Asim Aleem made a motion to adjourn at 6:25 p.m. Margaret Kleber seconded the motion. The motion carried.

https://go.boarddocs.com/il/hccsdil/Board.nsf/files/D23TSV782C36/$file/2024_01_17_Fin.%20and%20Fac.%20Com.%20Mtg.%20Min..pdf