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: February 10, 2016, Regular Meeting
  
Meeting Video and Agenda Attachments

Pledge of Allegiance -- Thomas Jefferson School: (Video Clip) Larry Sasso, Thomas Jefferson School Principal, introduced members of the TJ Rocks Club to lead the Board in the Pledge of Allegiance. The TJ Rocks Club recognizes the great things going on at the school by creating videos of different school activities and sharing them with the larger community. The club screened one of its videos prior to leading the Pledge.

Conduct a Public Hearing Concerning the Intent of the Board of Education of Community Consolidated School District Number 15, Cook County, Illinois, to Sell $27,250,000 School Fire Prevention and Safety Bonds: (Public Hearing Video Clip, 2016 Summer Life Safety Projects Video Clip) Michael Adamczyk, SFO, Chief School Business Official, presented the Board with updated details on the District's proposed bond issuance. The Illinois State Board of Education approved roughly $27.25 million of the $29.6 million of projects the District submitted for approval. The list of work included all of the items that the District's life safety study identified that must be corrected within one year, as well as some items that must be corrected within five years. No citizens commented at the hearing.

Because these repairs are deemed mandatory by the state, no referendum would be required for the District to issue life safety bonds to fund the projects -- only Board approval is needed. Due to numerous unresolved financial concerns at the state level that could significantly impact the District's budget in a negative way, the Administration has recommended that the Board finance the projects through the issuance of life safety bonds. Those potential negative events include: 
  • The passage of Senate Bill 1, which would change the state's education funding formula and result in an estimated annual revenue loss of approximately $9.6 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 up to $1.2 million.
  • A pension cost shift, which would cost the District an additional $800,000 annually. 
The Board will vote on issuing the first series of these bonds (up to $19.5 million) during its next meeting on Wednesday, March 9. With the Board's approval, the District would likely close on the bonds around the end of March. Under the proposed 10-year repayment plan for these bonds, the owner of a $250,000 house would pay approximately $15.58 additionally each year, which would amount to a less-than 1 percent increase in a property tax bill.

Later in the meeting, the Board awarded the 2016 Summer Life Safety Projects bids to 15 companies for a total bid award of nearly $11.8 million.

Recognition -- Blessings in a Backpack: (Video Clip) Scott Thompson, Ed.D., Superintendent of Schools, introduced the volunteers from the Blessings in a Backpack program, and thanked them for their efforts in providing more than 200 D15 students with enough groceries to feed themselves each weekend. The volunteers -- all of whom are retired teachers from Glenview's Willowbrook School -- are in their third year of leading the Blessings in a Backpack program in District 15. They are Sheila Ander, Annette Bonneville, Karen Kaiz, Andi Pechter-Friedman, and Jan Southerton.

Recognition -- 2015 National Board Certified Teachers (Renewals): (Video Clip) Lisa Nuss, Executive Director of Personnel and Human Services, introduced two District 15 teachers who renewed their certification this year with the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, and Dr. Thompson presented each of them with the District's "Above and Beyond" Award. Those teachers are:  
  • Donna Morris, a reading specialist at Stuart R. Paddock School, who renewed her certification in Early and Middle Childhood Literacy: Reading-Language Arts.
  • Gina Van Wyk, a sixth-grade teacher at Jane Addams School, who renewed her certification as a Middle Childhood Generalist.
National Board Certification is an advanced teaching credential achieved upon successful completion of a voluntary assessment program designed to recognize effective and accomplished teachers who meet high standards based on what teachers should know and be able to do. Their renewals mean District 15 remains among the state's leaders in number of National Board Certified Teachers with a total of 67.

Superintendent's Report: (Video Clip) Dr. Thompson reported that he has reconvened the District's Facilities Plan Committee for the purpose of exploring how the District's buildings can best facilitate 21st century learning. The Committee's focus will be on answering some of the following long-term questions: 
  • How do the physical setups of our schools and classrooms limit and/or enable teaching and learning? Do they have the space they will need to accommodate the large-group, small-group, and individual instruction needs of their students and staffs, as well as the wrap-around services required within their respective communities?
  • What curricular changes might cause us to reimagine the way our schools look? What would need to change to allow the District to implement full-day kindergarten, expand our preschool program, and create academic academies or grade-level centers?
  • What impact will our enrollment have on our long-term facilities plans? How many students will we serve? Where will they live? How far will they have to travel to school?
  • Should our boundaries be adjusted so that -- as much as possible -- students attend their neighborhood schools, and elementary schools feed into the same junior highs and high schools?
  • How can the District ensure the dollars it invests in its buildings provide the best value for taxpayers? From an operations and maintenance standpoint, are any facilities aging past their point of usefulness? Should we consider closing any older, smaller buildings because they are simply no longer worthy of further investment?
  • Finally, do the answers to any of these questions indicate the District should build new or larger schools that are closer to where our students live and better equipped to deliver the instructional programs they need?
The Facilities Plan Committee's answers to these questions will help guide the District's efforts to ensure that its facilities are properly situated to serve its students and meet the demands of modern education. The Committee will present its recommendations to the Board later this spring.

Citizens Address the Board: (Video Clip) One resident spoke on behalf of a group of parents who are concerned about first-grade class sizes at Lincoln School, and one resident spoke about safety concerns related to his child.

Next Regular Board of Education Meeting: Wednesday, March 9, 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