Board Meeting Highlights

May 23, 2022

Complete Meeting Packet

REGULAR MEETING

Student Recognition - Dr. Cremascoli

The Science Olympiad Team placed 12th out of 22 teams at State competition. The following students placed in the State Meet in their respective events:

  • Road Scholar - 2nd Place - Ritvik Goyal and Matt Peng
  • Electric Wright Stuff - 3rd Place - Aryaman Varsheny and Matt Peng
  • Sound of Music - 4th Place - Ken Kallister and Andrew Li
  • Experimental Design - 4th Place - Matt Peng, Ken Kallister, Ritvik Goyal
  • Green Generation - 5th Place - Jordan Leinberger and Jerry Du.

Wilmette Junior High won second place in the 2021 Illinois Certamen League State Competition. Second place students were Adam Tynkov, Jacob Wilkins, Any Kesler and Anna Sandler. Anna Sandler also won the "Outstanding Player Award" (MVP) and received a very ostentatious medal.

Eight students medaled in the National Latin Exam (NLE) in March: Anna Sandler took gold on the NLE. Silver medal winners were: Aiden Khanna, Shiv Jamnadas, Shane Walker, Cahterine Ji, Anyi Kesler, Jacob Wilkins and Leo Appel.

Board Reports

During the May 6 Committee of the Whole the following committee discussions took place.

Facility Development Committee (FDC) - Mr. Panzica
Summer 2022 Construction Project Update
Joe Papanicholas of Nicholas and Associates provided a report on summer construction at McKenzie, Romona and Harper. Mr. Papanicholas stated his team was tasked with procuring mechanical equipment with the prepurchase method. They were able to secure a chiller, unitvents, windows, framing, and glazing, all shipping in June with summer work to begin as soon as staff have left the buildings for the summer break. He noted pricing has held for the duration of the construction phase and estimates are under budget.

Central Elementary Roof Replacement
Mr. Bultemeier reported the Central School roof leaks were remedied temporarily by the initial contractor who had obtained the corings. STR Architects conducted further investigation and found additional areas of moisture below the roofing surface, an additional 3,100 square feet. Considering the roof is 21 years old it replacing this entire section of the roofing is being considered. At the Committee meeting, the Board approved a resolution for emergency roof work covering 11,000 square feet to begin when school releases for the summer. The quote for the work is $227,500 for the emergency roof repairs, however, any additional replacement work would be at an additional cost. Masonry work for chimney repairs will also be at an additional cost. The work is estimated to take 5-8 working days, weather permitting. The final costs will be reported at the August Board of Education meeting.

Long-Term Facilities Planning
Mr. Bultemeier presented detailed information on many proposed projects throughout the District to obtain initial Board feedback to set plans for the June committee meeting.

Long term facilities plans align with the multi-year strategic plan. School based capital projects are budgeted for each school. Summer construction projects are funded with long term debt issuance or existing reserves. A spreadsheet of projected projects for the six schools and district office were reviewed. Maintenance repairs include piping, boiler, unit-vent replacements, roof and window replacements, and air conditioning enhancements. Roofing and boilers were assessed at all D39 buildings to anticipate scheduled repairs.

The schools are all fairly equal in regards to access to air conditioning, however, McKenzie will have 100% of classrooms air-conditioned following summer 2022 construction and Wilmette Junior High School now has approximately 75% of its classrooms air conditioned following last summer’s successful 2nd floor air conditioning project. Air conditioning enhancements are a major priority for the schools. Additional priority projects include roof and window replacement at the junior high and unit-vent replacement along with building automation onto one system at Highcrest Middle School. Additionally, piping replacement for the District office restrooms will include bathroom renovations.

Mr. Bultemeier provided several construction scenarios to be conducted over summers from 2023-2027 for Board consideration. Each scenario incorporates air conditioning at each school (Central, Harper, Romona and Highcrest); partial roof and window replacements at the junior high; and District office piping and bathroom replacement, all within varying time frames to befit the budget.

School Finance Committee (SFC) - Mr. Cesaretti
Presentation on Long-Term Debt Planning
Elizabeth Hennessy of Raymond James presented financial market updates and long-term debt plans along with District 39 financial history. Ms. Hennessy reported on AAA-MMD Index and Treasury rates, Non-Referendum Limited Bonds (DSEB) and Funds On Hand (FOH) and current rates of interest. The District can issue bonds without a referendum to fund capital projects if the debt service payments fit within the DSEB, which is $1,590,979. The Debt Certificates are paid from the Operating Levy and DSEB is a separate levy in the Debt Service Fund so it does not negatively impact Operating Funds in any way. Ms. Hennessy presented options to issue non-referendum debt from the Debt Service Extension Base in 2023. The proposal is for an issuance generating $11.4M in proceeds leaving a window in 2030 to issue more DSEB bonds. This option included the current interest rates plus a 1% cushion for a total interest rate of 4.33% repaid over 13 years. Another issuance option is for $12M in proceeds, but this option would not not allow the District the opportunity to issue any non-referendum bonds again until 2035.

Lunch Fees for 2022-2023 School Year
Historical lunch fee data was provided that included revenues, expenditures and a review of fees charged directly to students’ lunches. Three lunch fee options were presented. Options were to increase lunch fees by 20 cents; 40 cents; or 60 cents. Due to the dramatic increase in food costs and the costs for staff salaries and benefits, Members agreed to the 60 cent increase for the coming school year. The Board will be asked to approve the 2022-23 lunch fees as part of the Consent Agenda.

District 39 Fiscal Year 2023 Draft Budget Presentation
Mr. Bultemeier presented the FY23 Draft Budget for initial review. Details of the presentation were provided later in this meeting.

Strategy - Mrs. Schneider-Fabes
Science Olympiad
Science Olympiad discussion was postponed to the June Committee of the Whole meeting due to time constraints.

District Strategic Advisory Team (DSAT) Update
The entire DSAT team met to finalize the Key Performance Indicators for presentation later this evening.

Liaison Reports

Community Review Committee (CRC) - President Poehling

The committee finalized their audit and Social-Emotional Learning reports which were presented later in the meeting. The CRC’s last meeting will be held on June 7 to discuss topics and select officers for the next school year.

Educational Foundation - Mr. Cesaretti
The Ed Foundation slated new trustees and officers for the coming school year. Treasurer Kristie O’Neill presented the budget report.

District Strategic Advisory Team (DSAT) - Ms. Stone/Mr. Panzica
The Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) report was presented later in the meeting.

Wilmette Village Intergovernmental Cooperation Working Group - Mrs. Kim/Mr. Cesaretti
The next meeting will be held on June 8 which conflicts with WJHS 8th grade graduation. Requests were made for any available Board members to attend the meeting to represent the D39 Board.

Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB) - Mrs. Kim - no report

Legislative Update - Mrs. Kim - no report

Information Items

Written Communication

Announcements from the Superintendent - Dr. Cremascoli

COVID Mitigations Updates
During last week’s review of our COVID metrics, it was decided that District 39 will maintain its current COVID mitigations through the end of this school year. Based on CDC metrics, the Cook County COVID community level is currently at “medium” and cases continue to be reported across the schools. Based on this review, it is prudent to maintain the current D39 Off Ramp mitigation measures in place for the final three weeks of the year.

End-of-Year Preparations
Schools and classrooms are preparing for the quickly approaching conclusion of the school year. Classmates and teachers look forward to summer break and an exciting new year ahead while also preparing for a poignant farewell to their close-knit classroom community and school friends for the summer.

WJHS Graduation
WJHS Graduation ceremonies are scheduled to be held outdoors again on the afternoon and evening of June 8th.

Elementary Open Houses
Elementary school staff are preparing to host open house on Wednesday, May 25th. Open House offers an opportunity for students and teachers to show off their work and welcome parents into their classrooms. This will be the first time in more than two years that parents are allowed to visit classrooms more freely. School principals have organized events with special attention to minimize crowds and PTAs will host their typical family gatherings outdoors, weather permitting.

Highcrest Middle School Outdoor Concert
The annual Highcrest Middle School Outdoor Concert will be on May 27 at 1:45.

Reflections Celebration
The annual Reflections Event, a District celebration of career milestones and retirees, was held in-person on May 19 at the Michigan Shores Club.

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Zoe Yalcin of SmartProcure submitted a commercial FOIA request for any/all purchasing records from November 17, 2021 to present. Illinois Policy Research submitted a FOIA request for names of all District 39 full/part-time professional staff in teaching or paraprofessional positions.

Strategic Plan Updates
  1. Community Review Committee Report: President Lindsay Anderson & Vice President Amy Wechsler Ross presented the SEL and Audit reports.
    Building Responsive Social-Emotional Learning through Strengthening Parent-Teacher Communication and Increasing Parent Understanding of and Engagement in Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Instruction

    CRC Audit Report of Cultivating Growth Minded, Resilient Students (2014-15)

  2. 2021-2026 Disrrict 39 Strategic Plan’s Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
    The D39 Strategic Advisory Team (DSAT) group helps ensure a strong foundation of shared decision-making, ownership, action planning and accountability. This group is not a voting body; rather, a team to help establish and review key performance indicators (KPIs) to guide decisions on refinement of action plans and make recommendations to the superintendent. Each DSAT member will serve two year cycles for the duration of the current strategic plan which ends spring of 2026. With the exception of the first year of the strategic plan, the team will meet quarterly to monitor progress on the key performance indicators established.

    This year’s objective for DSAT is to establish key performance indicators (KPIs) for each strategic goal. The full committee met five (5) times this year along with each goal’s subcommittee holding meetings in-between to focus on their respective proposals for KPIs. The DSAT has finalized its recommendations for Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) aligned with each of the Strategic Plan Goals and each of these were presented to the Board for their review. Each KPI will provide an opportunity to measure and monitor the district’s progress toward accomplishing its goals, as well as opportunities for celebration and adjustment, as needed. The establishment of KPIs is a critical component of the district’s multi-year Strategic Plan and continuous improvement efforts. The KPIs were reviewed and discussed.
Annual Business
  1. Lunch Fees for 2022-2023 School Year
    At the May committee meeting, the Board reviewed historical data regarding lunch fees compared to lunch prices and surplus (loss) amounts. The three primary cost components to the food service program have risen quickly in recent years. Medical insurance saw a 9% average renewal and salaries continue to rise to keep with a tough job market for employers. The cost of food and materials has risen in the 10% to 15% range in the last year. Three options for fee increases were presented. The option for a 60 cent increase in lunch price was chosen for the 22-23 school year.

  2. District 39 Fiscal Year 2023 Draft Budget
    The draft budget was initially presented to the Board for review at the May committee of the Whole meeting. The tentative budget will be approved In June. The final Fiscal Year 2023 Budget will be approved at the public hearing to be held in August prior to the regular meeting of the Board of Education.

  3. 2022-2023 Student/Staff Plans
    The annual student/staff report provides a status update regarding student enrollment and subsequent staffing needs for the coming school year. Enrollment and staffing continue to be monitored throughout the summer.

BOARD ACTION

The Consent Agenda was approved including the following:
Personnel Report dated May 23, 2022
2022-2023 Lunch Fees

BOARD ACTION

Upon resuming the Regular Meeting of the Board of Education following Executive Session, the Board approved a Notice to Remedy for a tenured teacher.

The next regularly scheduled Board of Education Meeting will be held on Monday, June 13, 2022 at 7 pm at the Mikaelian Education Center.