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The following Board meetings were held on Tuesday, December 13, 2011 in the Resource Center of Carleton Washburne School:
5:00 P.M. Special Meeting
7:15 P.M. Tax Levy Hearing
7:30 P.M. Regular Board Meeting
Notes from the meetings follow in green:
Special Meeting
I. CALL TO ORDER
II. ROLL CALL
All present.
III. PUBLIC COMMENT
None.
IV. SUPERINTENDENT REPORT
A. Information Items
1. World Language Program Recommendations
Assistant Superintendent Trisha Kocanda began by explaining how a Program Revision differs from a Curriculum Review. This type of major program shift is typically the result of new research, mandates, or community requests and often requires infrastructure changes. The proposed changes to the current program goals are in response to community and staff expectations of what skills students currently need to be global citizens and include an expectation of functional language proficiency in the areas of speaking, listening, reading and writing.
The World Language Curriculum Committee was introduced. They presented revised program vision and goals, recommended program structure changes and shared a proposed timeline.
Committee Members
Luz Cannon.............................Crow Island School
Alisa Shapiro...................................Greeley School
Niki Tottingham.............Hubbard Woods School
Eliana Kahn...............................The Skokie School
Suzanne Pesa.............................The Skokie School
Julie Ambrose...........Carleton Washburne School
Julia Garcia-Roch......Carleton Washburne School
Katy O'Donoghue.....Carleton Washburne School
Steve Schacherer..............................Administration
The recommended program revisions are below. It was noted that these changes are dependent on one another and are not a set of options. They will have a ripple effect on other curricular areas and must be thoughtfully considered in context.
Recommended Program Revisions and Target Dates
1. Pursue a FLES (Foreign Language Elementary School) program model with a language proficiency goal.
2. Increase instructional minutes at grades 1-4 to at least 90 minutes a week (2013-2014).
3. Modify the 5th grade schedule to increase the frequency of language instruction (2012-2013).
4. Modify the 6th grade schedule to include daily instruction in the target language (2012-2013).
5. Maintain the 7th & 8th grade schedule of daily instruction.
6. Continue offering French and Spanish.
7. Offer a choice in language for 6th graders, so a daily commitment to world language is in place for three years (2012-2013).
The Board posed questions about the timeline and schedule specifics, and suggested continuing to explore adding a character based language such as Mandarin. The World Language Program Revision will proceed as presented.
2. Strategic Planning Process
Dr. Hagerman presented the updated Strategic Plan Process document and highlighted changes and additions made since November. He acknowledged the tremendous time commitment of the Board and emphasized that strategic planning is an organic process that requires flexibility on the part of all stakeholders. The planning document will be updated monthly and is available on the District website.
Committee assignments, meeting dates and focus group schedules were discussed and confirmed. Additions to the communication schedule and stakeholder list were shared.
The Board discussed process and potential outcomes. They agreed to review data from the focus groups while preparing the survey in order to insure that issues relevant to the community are explored.
B. Action Items
1. Approve Strategic Plan Process and Communications
Approved unanimously.
V. PUBLIC COMMENT
None.
VI. ADJOURNMENT
Tax Levy Hearing
I. CALL TO ORDER
II. ROLL CALL
All present.
III. WELCOME BY BOARD PRESIDENT
IV. PUBLIC COMMENT
None.
V. PUBLIC HEARING ON THE 2011 TAX LEVY
Although the Truth in Taxation law does not require a public hearing if a tax levy increases by less than 5 percent, Dr. Susan Pingitore, CFO/COO, nevertheless held a hearing in the interest of full transparency in the process. Dr. Pingitore described at how she arrived at the levy, which is the dollars raised for the District from property taxes. The levy takes into account the function of assessed valuation, last year's levy, anticipated new property growth, and the Consumer Price Index. The requested levy is 4.99 percent above last year's, for a total of $34,916,000. The estimated levy for bonds, established by the County, is $4,607,130.
VI. PUBLIC COMMENT
None.
VII. ADJOURNMENT
Regular Board Meeting
I. CALL TO ORDER
II. ROLL CALL
All present.
III. WELCOME BY BOARD PRESIDENT
IV. PUBLIC COMMENT
Penny Lanphier and Heather Smith addressed the Board on issues related to Junior Kindergarten.
V. COMMUNICATIONS & FOIA
Board Secretary Beth Filip Moritz read a letter from Laura Roney, president of the Winnetka Public School Nursery, on issues related to Junior Kindergarten. Ms. Mortiz reminded attendees that communications must be submitted at least 24 hours in advance of the Board meeting in order to be addressed at that Board meeting.
Ms. Moritz reviewed two FOIA requests, one for all building permits issued by Winnetka during the last six months and one for all teacher email addresses. The former was directed to the village website, and the latter was directed to staff email addresses on school websites, as the District does not forward its lists.
VI. CONSENT AGENDA -- The Consent Agenda included payroll, bills, and Special Board Meeting minutes dated November 14, 2011.
Approved as presented.
VII. PERSONNEL REPORT
Jon Kaplan moved to vote on the personnel report absent the sabbatical request. The motion was approved; the personnel report was approved as amended. Mr. Kaplan as well as Tom Shannon stated that while they support the principle of sabbaticals, they did not believe that the educational objective of the request justified the expense. The request for sabbatical was approved by the Board with a 5-2 vote.
VIII. SUPERINTENDENT REPORT
A. Recap of Work Session
B. Administrator Evaluations -- Goal Setting
Dr. Hagerman shared the evaluation instrument that has been developed for conducting performance reviews of all administrators by the superintendent. The focus was on the goal-setting portion of the instrument; each administrator's goals align well with Board goals and, in the case of principals, the School Improvement Plans. Administrators also have set goals reflecting professional development. Evaluations of administrators will be complete by March 1, 2012.
C. 403(b) Process
The District's current 403(b) Plan Document does not permit loans if there has been a previous default. After working with legal counsel, the Administration recommends approval of an amendment to the Plan Document to permit a loan to an individual who has previously defaulted, but only until January 31, 2012. After that date, loans to those in default status would not be permitted. This allows an auto-correction to the overall plan that would put the District back into compliance with plan requirements.
D. Gift Donation Approval Process
Last summer, the School Board approved a donation agreement with the Greeley PTO to build outdoor-learning classroom spaces. Subsequently, however, it became clear that the architect's fees would exceed $25,000, triggering several processes that public school districts are obligated to follow. Because the PTO wishes to work with a particular architect who shares its vision, Dr. Pingitore recommends that the project be considered a gift from the PTO. Dr. Pingitore also has asked the District attorney to prepare a new donation agreement for the project, to protect the District's interest. Ms. Crumley encouraged PTOs to work closely with the District from the beginning stage when undertaking any such projects in the future.
IX. BOARD GOAL UPDATES
Dr. Hagerman reviewed the past month's progress on the Board Goals that were established this fall. For Goal Area #1: Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment, Ms. Kocanda reported that two staff members have become certified trainers for the Common Core State Standards initiative, which gives the District access to many training materials and first alerts. She also informed the Board that piloting new math materials will need to be pushed back to next fall rather than this spring. The District has recently learned that math materials aligned to the Common Core are not yet available. Modifying the timeline in this way does not alter the end goal of piloting a new math curriculum in fall 2013. For Goal Area #3: Communication, the communications team continues to publish communications pieces on the schedule established in August, as well as make updates to the website. In Goal Area #4: Human Resources, in compliance with Senate Bill 7, the District created and met with the District's Joint Reduction in Force Committee. And finally, in Goal Area #5: Strategic Planning, process plans and communications have been created, as detailed in the 5:00 Work Session (above).
X. ACTION ITEMS
A. Approve the cost of $4,183 for the Junior Kindergarten program for 2012-2013 plus a $150 non-refundable registration fee.
Matt Hulsizer moved to table this action item and have a Board discussion about whether or not to offer a Junior Kindergarten program. The motion was voted down. The action item was amended to stipulate that Junior Kindergarten would be offered at a tuition rate of $4,183 provided the program has at least 18 registrants. The motion was approved as amended 6-1.
B. Approve the tuition cost of $3,300 for the Little Learners program for 2012-2013.
Approved as presented.
C. Approve the financial structure of the Elementary Strings Program whereby the District incurs 100% of the cost of the program and makes recommended changes to program service delivery.
Bill Meuer read a statement expressing his concern that instructional time be safeguarded for required subjects and that making the program free sets a precedent and commits the Board to unknown costs in the future. The motion was approved 6-1.
D. Approve the IMRF Policy recommendations as presented in the Executive Memo by Dr. Susan Pingitore.
Approved as presented.
E. Approve an amendment to the 403(b) Plan Document to permit a loan to an individual who has previously defaulted, but only on a limited basis.
Approved as presented.
F. Approve the proposed donation agreement for the creation of an outdoor learning environment at Greeley School.
Item was amended to approve the mutual agreement to rescind the previous agreement, and approve the new donation agreement. Approved as amended.
G. Approve the 2011 Tax Levy Resolution and file with the County Clerk the Certificate of Tax Levy as submitted and all accompanying resolutions.
Approved as presented.
XI. OTHER BUSINESS
Mr. Meuer requested that the Board revisit the issue of sixth-graders in band and orchestra missing out on other arts classes if they opt to take a world language class under the proposed program restructuring.
Mr. Shannon brought to the Board's attention a summary of comments to the Winnetka Caucus on how the Board should conduct itself. Ms. Crumley noted that she had questioned what was meant by a statement in the Caucus' platform indicating that the Board is ineffective. The Board agreed to invite Caucus members to the next few meetings and perhaps participate in a meeting in the spring.
Dr. Hagerman and Ms. Crumley recently met with the members of other Village boards to discuss the flood-water property management issue, which will affect the drainage of Skokie School's field.
XII. PUBLIC COMMENT
Beth Loehr addressed the Board.
XIII. ADJOURNMENT
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