Recognition -- Richard L. Bokor, Board Vice President: Mr. Bokor, who served on the Board for nearly six years, passed away unexpectedly on Sunday, January 4. The Board recognized his passing with a moment of silence after his name was called for the last time during roll call. Moments later, Scott B. Thompson, Ed.D., superintendent of schools, presented Mr. Bokor's wife, Ann Bokor, a retired District 15 teacher and administrator, with a plaque honoring his service to the District, as well as his teaching and coaching career that spanned more than 40 years. The plaque featured a small sculpture of a Converse "Chuck Taylor" sneaker, and its inscription read, "You went the extra distance for children. You daily walked alongside children. You taught them how to walk and, by your example, where to walk. Your footprints will be the steppingstones to their future."

10-Year Life Safety Study (A Items)/Additions to Capital Improvement Projects -- Summer 2015: Dr. Thompson reported that, after further review of the District's new 10-year life safety study, the Administration and the District's architects and engineers agreed that $1.7 million of projects related to ceiling tile replacements should be reclassified. The study originally listed those projects among the $24.5 million of high priority items requiring completion within a year of the report's filing. Dr. Thompson said that, in their current condition, the ceiling tiles can still perform their primary safety function as fire barriers. Their replacement is more of a cosmetic issue, so they can be listed among the $110.6 million of lower priority projects requiring completion within five years of the report's filing. This review also found an additional $600,000 in savings related to corrected cost calculations. These corrections trimmed the estimated costs associated with the high priority projects identified in the study to $22.1 million.

Dr. Thompson noted that this extra analysis of the life safety study allowed the District to confidently conclude that none of the high priority projects pose an immediate danger to students and staff. Additionally, while the review did not find any other projects that should be reclassified, it did help the Administration and the District's architects clearly identify several high priority items that should be addressed prior to others on the same list.

Notably, said Dr. Thompson, the full functioning of the fire alarm systems affects the safety of those in the buildings. While all of the District's 23 fire systems are fully operable and have performed appropriately during their annual inspections, 18 of them are nearing the end of their life cycle and will need to be replaced in the near future. Dr. Thompson said it would be prudent to begin this work this summer -- prior to the creation of the District's master facilities plan -- and asked the Board to increase the District's spending for capital improvement projects for the summer of 2015 by roughly $750,000 to a total of approximately $3.65 million. This would allow the District to replace its five oldest fire alarm systems, which are located at Thomas Jefferson, Gray M. Sanborn, Marion Jordan, Pleasant Hill, and Frank C. Whiteley Schools. The Board agreed and directed the Administration to seek bids for these projects.
 

In addition to the fire alarm systems, Dr. Thompson said the review also allowed the Administration and the District's architects to identify other projects that should be tackled sooner rather than later-intercom systems, HVAC systems, some roofs, and other smaller lighting projects. The District's custodial staff members have already begun to address items that can be completed in house, he noted.  

  

Dr. Thompson concluded by noting that, after the Board's fourth and final Community Communication Forum addressing the life safety study, he will form a facilities committee. The committee will meet throughout the spring, and in May it will provide the Board with a recommendation as to how the District should use the life safety study's results to create a comprehensive facilities plan that will outline how the District intends to address its facilities needs for the next decade and beyond.

Superintendent's Report -- 2015-16 School Calendar: Dr. Thompson recommended that the Board approve the draft, and not the revised version of the calendar presented at its December 10, 2014, meeting.

The calendar presented in December called for classes to begin roughly a week earlier than normal next year. This change was proposed due to Township High School District 211's plans to change to a collegiate calendar that begins earlier in August to allow for the first semester to be completed prior to winter break. District 211 plans to make the change for the 2016-17 school year. Over the years, District 15 parents have strongly indicated in surveys that District 15 should do its best to align its calendar with District 211, so the calendar proposed in December was intended to do just that while also modulating the impact of District 211's changes by spreading the effects over two summers. The cancellation of three days of classes during the first week of January due to inclement weather served to further reduce the length of the already shortened summer break outlined in that December proposal, so the Administration recommended a return to the plan presented on November 13, 2013.

Later in the meeting, the Board approved the version of the 2015-16 calendar originally presented on November 13, 2013. After the meeting, though, the Administration determined that the calendar the Board approved listed incorrect dates for spring break, so -- during an upcoming meeting -- the Board is expected to approve a corrected version of the 2015-16 calendar that includes the following key dates: 

• Beginning of the School Year: Staff Institute Days are scheduled for Thursday and Friday, August 20 and 21. Grades 1-8 begin classes on Monday, August 24. Kindergarten and early childhood classes begin on Tuesday, August 25.
• Thanksgiving: Thanksgiving will be celebrated on Thursday, November 26. There will be no school that week, but parent-teacher conferences will be held on Monday and Tuesday, November 23 and 24.
• Winter Break: There will be no school from Monday, December 21, through Friday, January 1, with schools reopening on Monday, January 4.
• Spring Break: There will be no school Monday, March 21, through Monday, March 28, with schools reopening Tuesday, March 29. (Note: Friday, March 25, is a nonattendance day for students and staff.)
• End of the School Year: The school year will end on Friday, June 3, should the District not use any snow days.

Sixth-Grade Academy: Meg Schnoor, Ed.D., assistant superintendent for teaching and learning, reported on the District's investigation into launching a Sixth-Grade Academy pilot program at Carl Sandburg Junior High. The Sixth-Grade Academy concept was envisioned to give 25 at-risk sixth graders from Sandburg's elementary feeder schools an extra opportunity to learn with and get to know more mature students, as well as some of the teachers they would likely have as seventh and eighth graders. It would also provide these students with more targeted interventions in the areas of math and language arts.

 

Dr. Schoor reported that a team from the Department of Instruction (DOI) explored this concept with Sandburg staff over the past year and has come to the conclusion that the investigation should be put on hold. She said DOI has been unable to find any research on the proposed model for the program, so it does not currently have data to support its launch. Additionally, said Dr. Schnoor, Sandburg's faculty do not believe there's adequate space at the school to house the program, and that the resources needed to implement it (the equivalent of 2.5 fulltime teachers) would be better off allocated elsewhere in the current economic climate.  

Superintendent's Repor -- The Public Response Group: Dr. Thompson shared with the Board his decision to engage the services of The Public Response Group to assist in the development of the District's facilities plan and to investigate the possibilities of creating academies in some of the District's elementary schools.

ED-RED Council/Legislation: Michael Adamczyk, chief business official, reported the following: 

• Gov. Bruce Rauner was inaugurated January 12, and Illinois' 99th General Assembly was sworn in January 14. Democrats continue to maintain a veto-proof majority in both the House and the Senate.
• No extension of the state's temporary income tax increase was passed, so rates decrease from 5 percent to 3.75 percent. This will create a $2 billion budget shortfall for the state and make its budget unconstitutional for the current year. Consequently, Gov. Rauner has asked all state institutions, including the Illinois State Board of Education, to cut their budgets by 20 percent.
• Illinois' Attorney General Lisa Madigan has asked the state's Supreme Court to expedite its ruling on pension reform, so a decision may be made by late April or early May.

District Fifteen Educational Foundation: It was reported that the Foundation has scheduled its gala fundraiser for March 14, 2015, at Concorde Banquets in Lake Zurich, and that the 2015 "Got2Run ... for Education" Run/Walk to Benefit Wellness in School Children will be held Saturday, May 16, at 8 a.m. in Arlington Heights.  

  

Communication Committee:

 

The Board's remaining Community Communication Forums on the District's new 10-year life safety study will be held at 7 p.m. on the following dates and locations: 

  

Date	Site	Elementary Schools to be included:
Thursday, January 15	Walter R. Sundling Junior High	Marion Jordan, Lincoln, Stuart R. Paddock, and Gray M. Sanborn
Thursday, January 29	Winston Campus Junior High	Jane Addams, Lake Louise, Virginia Lake, and Winston Campus Elementary
Thursday, February 5	Plum Grove Junior High	Hunting Ridge, Pleasant Hill, Frank C. Whiteley, and Willow Bend