Meeting Video and Agenda Attachments

Pledge of Allegiance -- Winston Campus Elementary School: (Video Clip: 00:00-04:20) Andrew Tieman, Winston Campus Elementary Principal, introduced a group of students who earned the Winston Campus Elementary PBIS Student Award last year to lead the Pledge of Allegiance.

Public Hearing on the Adoption of the FY2017 Tentative Budget: (Video Clip: 04:30-10:10) The Board conducted a public hearing on the proposed 2016-17 budget, which was first presented at the Board's June 15 meeting, and will be presented for adoption during the Board's next regular meeting on Wednesday, September 14. Excluding the Health Life Safety Fund, the budget proposal outlines approximately $150.5 million in operating fund revenues and $150.4 million of operating fund expenditures, resulting in a projected $64,724 surplus. The proposed budget would increase the District's June 30, 2017, fund balance to approximately $64.8 million, or 39 percent of the District's budget.

No changes were made to the proposed budget in advance of the hearing. However, since the proposed budget was first presented, the state passed a budget for K-12 education for the current school year that will provide additional revenue resources above the amount included in the June budget presentation. Additionally, the District is still hiring certified staff for the 2016-17 school year, and it is also finalizing the budget allocation for program assistants. These and other changes will be reflected in the final budget presentation to the Board in September.

Superintendent's Report -- Facilities Plan v2.0 Committee Report: (Video Clip: 10:10-27:57) Scott Thompson, Ed.D., Superintendent of Schools, introduced Committee members who shared the boundary proposals the group developed to support its recommendations for addressing the District's long-term facilities needs. Those recommendations, which were presented to the Board in April, are as follows:

• Build an elementary school for Grades K-5 on Osage Park property in northeast Palatine.
• Use the District's Ela Road property to build a middle school in the southwest portion of the District.
• Transition the District's existing junior highs to middle schools serving Grades 6-8.
• Align elementary schools to consistently feed into middle schools, and middle schools to consistently feed into high schools.
• Close Gray M. Sanborn School, which is the District's oldest facility.
• Provide full-day kindergarten.

The Committee summarized its proposed boundary changes according to the following high school attendance areas they would impact.

• Palatine High School Attendance Area: These proposed boundary changes would be driven by the creation of the new northeast Palatine elementary school at Osage Park and the closing of Gray M. Sanborn. They would impact the attendance area of every school feeding into Palatine High School. The plan calls for turning Jane Addams School into a middle school STEM academy, sending Jane Addams students to Virginia Lake, Winston and Lake Louise Schools. The plan also shifts Lincoln and Winston boundaries to the northwest largely to accommodate Sanborn students. The alignment of the elementary and middle schools in the Palatine High School Attendance Area would be as follows:

• Winston Campus Middle School: Winston Campus Elementary, Lake Louise School, and the new northeast Palatine elementary school
• Walter R. Sundling Middle School: Lincoln School and Virginia Lake School
• Jane Addams STEM Academy: Voluntary attendance, but students living closest to the school would be given the first option to enroll.

• Fremd High School Attendance Area: These boundary changes would be driven by the creation of the new middle school in the southwest portion of the District. The attendance areas for Pleasant Hill, Marion Jordan, Hunting Ridge, and Frank C. Whiteley Schools are not changed by this plan. The boundaries for Stuart R. Paddock and Thomas Jefferson would see changes to absorb students who live in the Fremd attendance area but currently attend schools located east of Route 53. The alignment of the elementary and middle schools in the Fremd High School Attendance Area would be as follows:

• Plum Grove Middle School: Pleasant Hill School and Stuart R. Paddock School
• New Southwest Middle School: Marion Jordan School, Hunting Ridge School, Thomas Jefferson School, and Frank C. Whiteley School.

• Rolling Meadows High School Area: All students attending Willow Bend, Central Road, and Kimball Hill Schools-which are the District's elementary sites located east of Route 53-would attend Carl Sandburg Middle School and Rolling Meadows High School. However, the boundaries for these three elementary schools would need to be redrawn to distribute those elementary students in ways that will make the best use of each building's capacity. Consequently, there could be opportunities to create academies in this area.

To view the Committee's PowerPoint presentation, click here. For more detailed information on the proposed long-term facility improvement plans and accompanying boundary change proposals -- including maps, graphics and financials -- click here, and scroll to Page 14.

Superintendent's Report -- Opening of the 2016-17 School Year: (Video Clip: 27:57-38:49) Dr. Thompson share a brief account of the opening of the school year, emphasizing the following:

• About 60 new teachers participated in the District's comprehensive, two-week New Teacher Orientation program provided by the Department of Instruction. During the orientation, teachers received training that will help them "hit the ground running" in the implementation of the District's student-centered curriculum.
• The District began the 2016-17 school year with 11,864 students enrolled in Grades K-8. Last year, there were 11,974 K-8 students enrolled in the District at the end of August.
• District 15 schools had highly successful PBIS evaluations last year. Ten D15 schools were among the mere 43 schools in Illinois that were recognized for Platinum Level Implementation. Also, only 130 Illinois schools were recognized for Gold Level Implementation, and nine of them are from District 15.

Superintendent's Report -- Referendum Resolution: (Superintendent's Report Video Clip: 39:37-48:30, Vote Video Clip 1:14:08-1:14:43) Following up on the Facilities Plan v2.0 Committee's presentation, Dr. Thompson said that, while there never seems to be a good time to ask taxpayers for additional money, it is always a good time to do the right thing for the community. Building two schools, offering full-day kindergarten, creating middle schools for Grades 6-8 to match the District's curriculum, aligning middle school boundaries with the boundaries of the high schools their students will attend, alleviating busing costs, and reducing the amount of time students spend on buses-all of these goals outlined in the District's long-term facilities plan will greatly enhance the community, he said.

Consequently, Dr. Thompson shared with the Board the Administration's recommendation to pass a resolution to place a $130 million School Building Bond question on the November 8, 2016, General Election ballot. Later in the meeting, the Board approved the resolution to ask District 15 voters the following referendum question:
With built-in contingencies, the projected cost of building the two new schools is $128.5 million. The District anticipates that savings related to costs for furniture, fixtures, and equipment could lower that price by at least $1.5 million. By asking for voter approval for $130 million, the question builds in the cost for acquiring the Osage Park property proposed for the new northeast Palatine elementary school from Palatine Park District.

William Blair Company, the District's financial advisor, has outlined for the Board three scenarios for repayment of the $130 million, and at an upcoming Board meeting will explain the options to help the Board decide which is the best fit for the community. Those repayment scenarios show the projected impact of the bonds on residential taxpayers between $122 and $157 a year for the owner of a $230,000 home.

2016-17 Board of Education Annual Goals: (Video Clip: 51:15-54:08) Dr. Thompson presented the Board with a draft of the proposed 2016-17 Annual Board Goals. The goals are as follows:

• Reduce Student Achievement Gaps: Examine achievement of all groups of students and create plans to reduce/eliminate gaps between different groups of students.

• Learning and Organizational Development: Enhance D15 schools as places creating successful young people who are knowledgeable emotionally and physically healthy, motivated, civically inspired, engaged in the arts, prepared for work and economic self-sufficiency, and ready for the world.

• Enhance Nutritional Offerings: Evaluate current Nutritional Services offerings to students and identify areas of enhancing those offerings, including improving nutrition and providing culturally responsive food.

• Communications: Create Superintendent's Community Relations Committee in order to increase strategic communication initiatives (including enhancing/revamping D15 communications department) and driving high-quality, frequent, two-way communication with all stakeholders.

• Resource Stewardship: Ensure the District remains fiscally responsible (while maintaining quality educational programs and facilities for our students) including seeking ways to reduce the burden on real estate taxpayers whenever possible.

The Board generated ideas for this year's goals during its Board-Administrative Retreat in June. Dr. Thompson then used those suggestions to draft the proposed goals for the Board's consideration. Once the Board approves the goals, the Administration will be charged with creating plans to ensure they are accomplished. Those plans will include timelines, specific action items, and evaluation tools, and they will assign responsibility for each component of the goals.

Later in the meeting, the Board voted to seek the community's input on the proposed 2016-17 Annual Board Goals before they are presented for approval at the its next regular meeting, which will be held Wednesday, September 14, at 7 p.m. at Walter R. Sundling Junior High. Click here to provide your feedback on the proposed 2016-17 Annual Board Goals. Please submit comments by Wednesday, September 7.

Citizens Address the Board: (Video Clip: 54:12-1:13:20) Six residents addressed the Board-four regarding the proposed closing of Gray M. Sanborn School, one regarding the District's November 8 building bond referendum, and one regarding the Board's responses to residents who attend meetings and make public comments.

Next Regular Board of Education Meeting: Wednesday, September 14, 2016, at 7 p.m. at Walter R. Sundling Junior High, 1100 N. Smith Street, Palatine..