CCSD15 logo CCSD15 Board of Education
580 N. 1st Bank Drive, Palatine, IL 60067 · 847-963-3000 · www.ccsd15.net

MISSION STATEMENT:
To produce world-class learners
by building a connected learning community.   


BOARD BRIEFS: January 13, 2016, Regular Meeting
  
Meeting Video and Agenda Attachments

Administer the Oath of Office to Newly Appointed Board of Education Member: (Video Clip) Judge Arthur L. Janura, Jr., administered the "New Board Member Oath" to David Gurion. Mr. Gurion will fill the seat vacated upon the November 24 resignation of Manjula Sriram. The Board appointed Mr. Gurion to this position during a special meeting on December 21, and he will serve the remainder of Ms. Sriram's term, which expires in April 2017. Mr. Gurion is a district sales manager for Zep Inc., a specialty chemical manufacturing company. A product of District 15, himself, Mr. Gurion was a student at Lake Louise School and Winston Campus Junior High. He is raising his two children in the community; they attend D15 schools. In addition, Mr. Gurion has been a volunteer with many local organizations.

Pledge of Allegiance -- Willow Bend School: (Video Clip) Melissa Sabatino, Willow Bend School Principal, and Ewa Pitcher, an English as second language teacher at Willow Bend, introduced 11 students who were born in such countries as Syria, India, Bulgaria, and Poland. All of the students are newcomers to both the school and the United States, and Willow Bend chose to honor them by giving them the responsibility of leading the Pledge of Allegiance. "Appreciating the United States and understanding the opportunities afforded her residents is reflected in the Pledge, and as our immigrant and visiting families represent a considerable portion of our school population, we would like to celebrate this distinction," said Mrs. Sabatino.

Superintendent's Report -- Overview of Life Safety Projects: (Presentation Video Clip, Life Safety Amendments Video Clip, Qualified School Construction Bonds Video Clip, and Reimbursement Resolution Video Clip) Michael Adamczyk, SFO, Chief School Business Official, reported that the Illinois State Board of Education questioned whether many questions projects the District submitted for its review this fall qualified as life safety projects under school code. That list included all items that the District's life safety study determined must be corrected within one year, and some items that must be corrected within five years but-in the opinion of the District's architect-would be more cost effective to complete in conjunction with other high priority items. The list totals approximately $29.6 million in projects that would be complete during the 2016 and 2017 summer breaks.
 
Due to the number of questions ISBE had, Mr. Adamczyk; Craig Phillips, Environmental Services Manager, and Jan Taniguchi of STR Partners, the District's architect, met with ISBE officials on December 14 in Springfield and resolved most of ISBE's concerns. Since then, ISBE has -- to date -- approved nearly $27.4 million of the projects submitted, and is expected to decide on the remaining items in the very near future. Despite this delay, bid packages have already been prepared and advertised for the life safety projects scheduled for this summer, and those bids will be presented for the Board's approval at its February 10 meeting.

Once ISBE approves a final total, the Board must decide whether to fund the projects by issuing life safety bonds, using its fund balance, or both. Mr. Adamczyk presented the Board with five-year forecasts that projected each scenario's impact on the District's fund balance. They indicate the District's 2019-20 fund balance would stand at roughly $46.2 million (28.7 percent of its budget) if the projects were financed entirely through bonds, $31.2 million (19.37 percent) if half of them were financed through bonds and half were paid for with reserve funds, and $16.2 million (10 percent) if paid for using only the District's fund balance.

Mr. Adamczyk also shared how numerous unresolved issues at the state level could significantly impact the District's budget in a negative way, and explained how those issues have led the Administration to recommend that the Board finance the projects entirely through the issuance of life safety bonds. Those issues include the following: 
  • The potential passage of Senate Bill 1, which would change the state's education funding formula and result in an estimated annual revenue loss of approximately $9.4 million. 
  • The proposed two-year property tax freeze, which would result in an estimated annual revenue loss of $2 million. 
  • The State Superintendent's recommended 2016-17 budget, which would result in an estimated annual revenue loss of $1.2 million.
  • A potential pension cost shift, which would cost the District an additional $800,000.
Should the Board decide to issue bonds, it could pass a resolution to do so at its February 10 meeting. Updated calculations of a bond issuance's impact on taxpayers will be presented to the Board at this meeting. However, earlier this year, two different $21 million life safety bond issuance scenarios were presented for the Board to review -- one with a 10-year debt retirement schedule, and one with a 20-year schedule. Those estimates show the projects costing the owner of a $250,000 home an additional $606 over the course of a 10-year term, and an additional $798 over a 20-year schedule.

Later in the meeting, the Board approved three measures related to the District's life safety projects. Architects have identified several additional projects that would be more cost effective to complete in conjunction with other high priority items, and the Board approved their submission for ISBE's consideration. It also approved a resolution that would allow the District to reimburse itself out of bond proceeds for any expenses related to these life safety projects incurred up to 60 days before issuance of the bonds. Finally, it approved the District's application for Qualified School Construction Bonds (QSCB), which were created under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and provide federal funding for the rehabilitation and repair of existing school buildings. If selected for the program, District 15 taxpayers would pay less in the long term, as QSCBs are low- or zero-interest bonds.

Superintendent's Report -- Superintendent's Goals Update: (Video Clip) Scott Thompson, Ed.D., Superintendent of Schools, presented the Board with a summary of the work that has been done thus for to meet his six goals for the year. 
  • A report to the Board on the cost and space requirements necessary for implementing a full-day kindergarten program will be presented this spring.
  • Exploring the idea of creating academies across the District will be a part of the Facilities Plan Committee's work that will begin later this month and continue throughout the spring.
  • A pilot of new math programs is underway, and the District is also in the midst of a robust curriculum review cycle that is preparing it to adopt new materials for math, science, and reading instruction.
  • Efforts to increase the number or at-risk students participating in the District's preschool program are already showing positive results.
  • The District is studying how a shift from a two-tier busing schedule to a three-tier schedule could impact its budget, schedules, and various stakeholders, and will report its finding in March.
  • The District's soccer program, its promotion of the Palatine Area Chamber of Commerce's Young Entrepreneurs Academy, and its creation of new mariachi bands and coders clubs in its junior highs are some of this year's efforts that have increased the overall school experience for students.
ED-RED: (Video Clip) State Rep. Elaine Nekritz, whose 57th District includes a portion of District 15, provided an extensive legislative update to the Board.

Citizens Address the Board: No citizens chose to address the Board.

Next Regular Board of Education Meeting: Wednesday, February 10, 2016, at 7 p.m. at Walter R. Sundling Junior High School, 1100 N. Smith Street, Palatine.  
BOARD OF EDUCATION
Peggy Babcock, President
James G. Ekeberg, MD, Vice President
David W. Seiffert, Secretary
Gerald D. Chapman, Ed.D. 
David Gurion
Zubair Khan
Jessica C. Morrison

SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS 
Scott B. Thompson, Ed.D.

COMMUNITY CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL DISTRICT 15
Serving all or part of:
Palatine · Rolling Meadows · Inverness · Arlington Heights
Hoffman Estates · Schaumburg · South Barrington
847-963-3000
www.ccsd15.net