Oswego CUSD 308 School Board met Nov. 27.
Here is the minutes provided by the Board:
1. Call to Order – Executive Session (6:30 pm)
The meeting was called to order at 6:32 p.m. by President Brad Banks
1.1 Roll Call:
Upon Roll Call the following members answered present: Brad Banks, Matt Bauman, Lauri Doyle, Brent Lightfoot, Toni Morgan, Heather Moyer, Jared Ploger
Members Absent (at roll call): None
2. Closed Session
2.1 Enter Closed Session under statute(s): 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(1) The appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees of the public body or legal counsel for the public body, including hearing testimony on a complaint lodged against an employee of the public body or against legal counsel for the public body to determine its validity; 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(2) Collective negotiating matters between the public body and its employees or their representatives, or deliberations concerning salary schedules for one or more classes of employees
A motion was made by Mr. Jared Ploger, second by Mr. Matt Bauman, to enter Closed Session under statutes 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(1): The appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance or dismissal of specific employees of the public body or legal counsel for the public body, including hearing testimony on a complaint lodged against an employee of the public body or against legal counsel for the public body to determine its validity; 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(2) Collective negotiating matters between the public body and its employees or their representatives, or deliberations concerning salary schedules for one or more classes of employees
Final Resolution: Motion Carried 7-0
Aye: Mr. Brad Banks, Mr. Matt Bauman, Mrs. Lauri Doyle, Mr. Brent Lightfoot, Ms. Toni Morgan, Mrs. Heather Moyer, Mr. Jared Ploger
The Board of Education entered closed session at 6:34 p.m.
2.2 Return to Open Session
A motion was made by Mr. Jared Ploger, second by Mr. Matt Bauman, to return to Open Session.
Final Resolution: Motion Carried 7-0
Aye: Mr. Brad Banks, Mr. Matt Bauman, Mrs. Lauri Doyle, Mr. Brent Lightfoot, Ms. Toni Morgan, Mrs. Heather Moyer, Mr. Jared Ploger
The Board of Education returned to Open Session at 6:55 p.m. The Board Members took a break before the Call to Order for Open Session
3. Call to Order – Open Session (7:15 pm)
The meeting was called to order at 7:15 p.m. by President Brad Banks
3.1 Roll Call:
Upon Roll Call the following members answered present: Brad Banks, Matt Bauman, Lauri Doyle, Brent Lightfoot, Toni Morgan, Heather Moyer, Jared Ploger
Members Absent (at roll call): None
Administration Present: Superintendent of Schools Dr. John Sparlin Associate Superintendent for Educational Services Dr. Lisa Smith Assistant Superintendent for Business and Operations Mr. Asif Dada
Others Present: Board Attorney Maureen Lemon, Ottosen Britz Kelly Cooper Gilbert and DiNolfo, Ltd; as well as employees of the District and members of the community.
Recording Secretary: Ursula Coan
3.2 Pledge of Allegiance
Pledge of Allegiance was led by Board President Brad Banks.
4. Recognitions
4.1 Showcase Schools – Prairie Point Elementary and Thompson Junior High School
Dr. Sparlin introduced the Principal of Prairie Point Elementary School, Dr. Jennifer Groves. Members of the staff and the following students presented an overview of their school to the Board of Education and the Public: Enly Wright and Alex Eloe
The second showcase was led by Mr. Anthony DeFeo, Principal of Thompson Junior High School. Members of his staff and the following students presented an overview of their school to the Board of Education and the Public: Matt Crowe and Cassidy Shugarman
The complete presentations for the showcase of schools including the audio recording can be found at the following link: http://www.boarddocs.com/il/oswego308/Board.nsf/Public
5. Public Comment
5.1 Each Person will be provided five (5) minutes to speak before the Board of Education
There was no public comment
6. Comments/Reports
6.1 Board Member Updates
Mr. Bauman shared that he was attending an event with his family hosted by an organization named CIACO (Chicago Italian American Charitable Organization). A group of mostly business owners come together to raise money in order to be able to give back. This year they prepared 600 food boxes for the Thanksgiving Holiday. The boxes feed a family for about a week. Three of those boxes were donated to families in our district. Mr. Lightfoot congratulated our girls swim team that finished second in the State. He also mentioned that the Oswego Jazz Festival is taking place this Saturday at Bednarcik Junior High School. Mrs. Moyer stated that she visited the GOAL and Opportunity program at O3C. Mrs. Moyer shared that the students and staff were very excited about the upcoming move to their new location at East View. Mrs. Moyer also attended the Triple I conference in Chicago for two days. She attended several interesting sessions and will share that information with the rest of the board members. Mr. Ploger attended the Triple I conference as well and voted on the district’s behalf for the Resolutions that were discussed during the previous board meeting. He attended a session regarding non-traditional Library settings as well as a presentation that featured Lt. Co. Dave Grossman, who is on the Commandant’s Professional Reading List with his book ‘On Killing”. Since 1975 no students have been killed with a school fire, but many have lost their lives in school shootings.
6.2 Board Committee Reports
Mr. Ploger stated that the Teaching and Learning Committee talked about SEL needs. Statistics are sobering as we move more towards restorative justice. Our building leaders are promoting the culture to be proactive, approachable and creating a safe environment for students. We also have to keep in mind that the SEL component takes a toll on our educators. Therefore, we need to keep the proper resources in place. Mrs. Moyer shared that they also talked about the curriculum review cycle that was presented to the board and did not get adopted. Mrs. Moyer stated that the committee members would like some feed-back as to why that did not pass and which direction we will be taking. Mrs. Morgan stated that the Policy Committee went over several sections of policy, mostly needing changes in legal references and language. The policies are on the agenda for a First Reading today. Mr. Bauman stated that they also discussed the cell phone policy. We need to have more conversations regarding our expectations. It would be nice for students to bring their own device as it eliminates the need for the district to purchase devices for each student. How can we monitor what they access in the classrooms and while sitting at lunch? Our district Wi-Fi has certain restrictions of what can and can’t be accessed in our buildings.
7. Approve Consent Agenda
7.1 Approval of Minutes from November 13, 2017 Board of Education meeting Open and
Closed Session
A motion was made by Mr. Jared Ploger, second by Mr. Brad Banks, to approve all items under consent, including 7.1 Minutes from November 13, 2017 Regular Board of Education Meeting Open and Closed Session
Final Resolution: Motion Carried 7-0
Aye: Mr. Brad Banks, Mr. Matt Bauman, Mrs. Lauri Doyle, Mr. Brent Lightfoot, Ms. Toni Morgan, Mrs. Heather Moyer, Mr. Jared Ploger
8. Information Only
8.1 Purple Heart District
Dr. Sparlin invited Mr. Rick Gardner to share information regarding our district becoming a Purple Heart District. Mr. Gardner is a Purple Heart recipient himself and would like to ensure that Veterans are recognized. The purpose of the Purple Hart Trail is to create a symbolic and honorary system that gives tribute to the men and woman who have been awarded the Purple Heart medal as well as all Veteran’s. The Village of Oswego has many military Veterans in their community. The Purple Heart Trail creates a visual reminder that others have paid a high price for our freedom. There is signage up at the Oswego Village Hall, welcoming everyone to their Purple Heart Community. If SD308 will participate in becoming a Purple Heart District, the Board of Education will sign a Proclamation and a Plaque will be presented to be displayed at each of our High Schools.
8.2 Stewart Farm Lease Extension
Mr. Dada stated that in the past the lease was extended for two years and this time it would only be a one year extension at $290 per acre. Stewart Farm is located at 126 and Minkler Road, a total of 122 acres. It was originally purchased for the third High School. Mr. Lightfoot questioned why the price per acre has declined from $425 per acre in 2014 to $290 per acre. Since the price for corn has been consistent in the last few years, the amount to lease the land should not decline. The board members asked administration to check with other farmers to make sure this is the best possible price we can get.
8.3 Board Policies First Reading Section 1: School District Organization (1:10) Section 2: School Board (2:260) Section 4: Operational Services (4:110,4:150) Section 5: General Personnel (5:10,5:20,5:100,5:220,5:250,5:330) Section 6: Instruction (6:150,6:300,6:340) Section 7: Students (7:10,7:15,7:190,7:192,7:250,7:275,7:340)
The board members had no questions or comments on the Board Policies.
8.4 Budget Reduction Plan
Mr. Banks stated that the Board will be looking at the possible budget reductions over the next 2 months. We can’t look at the past, all we can do is work towards financial stability. He provided the board with the following timeline:
o Mr. Dada will deliver the presentation “Balancing Educational Excellence with Fiscal Responsibility”
o Dr. Smith will review potential reductions and revenue options
o The Board will decide which budget balancing scenario to use
o On December 11th the Board will go line by line to engage in conversation and take a straw poll
o The Board will attend H&S and PTO meetings across the district to ensure that we are transparent
o On December 5th the Finance Committee will receive the same presentation
o The Committee will go through the same process as the Board. The Finance Committee serves in an advisory role.
o December 11 and/or January 16 BOE meeting, the Board will look at three documents, the list of reductions and revenues, the recommendations from the Finance Committee and the working document the Board is creating as we go through the list of reductions and revenues line by line.
o The Finance Committee will review the information at their January meeting
o The Board will vote on the agreed upon list at the January 29, 2018 BOE meeting
Mr. Dada shared his presentation, showing past reductions of approximately $5.5 million over 2 years and the 5-year projections as well as the three scenarios, depending on how much the Board decides to reduce. The three scenarios presented suggested reductions of either $3.5 million, $6 million or $8.85 million. With the first scenario, the district would be back in a deficit by 2020, with the second by 2022 and with the third one we would be balanced through 2023. Mr. Bauman mentioned the proposed senate bill of a property tax freeze and Mr. Lightfoot stated that it did not include Kendall County and therefore would not apply to us even if it was adopted. Dr. Sparlin mentioned that he attended a session during Triple I discussing SB851 and members from districts in different counties spoke on what that would mean to them if it was approved. The districts would be worse off than they were two years ago. Mr. Ploger asked how much it would add to the deficit if the Board decided to go with a more energetic curriculum cycle. Dr. Smith stated that the amount would depend on the rate of the adoption. Depending on what the budget would allow, the curriculum cycle could move fast or slow. Mr. Ploger clarified that it would be imperative to have a recommendation from the Teaching and Learning Committee soon. At this time, Dr. Smith presented the board with the 2018-19 Potential Budget Reduction Options. The purpose of this presentation is to provide the board with a deeper understanding of the costs that are associated with the different programs and activities. We currently have 45% of our students in Elementary, 25% in Junior High and 30% in High School.
Following the presentation, Dr. Sparlin invited the Board to ask additional questions or make comments regarding each item. At this time, the Board would also ask for additional information that is needed before the next meeting on December 11, 2017.
Mr. Lightfoot had the following questions/comments:
o It would be helpful to add a score depending on the impact of each reduction on students
o Number of students impacted
o Could we combine certain electives between the two High Schools (reduce FTE)
o Find a way to offset cost for sports
o More cost savings opportunities in Transportation (central pick up/drop off location)
Ms. Morgan had the following questions/comments:
o Who are the members of the committee that put this list together? Mr. Dada stated that it is the SLT Team (Dr. Sparlin, Dr. Smith, Mr. Dada and most of our Directors)
o Did the team look at operating and testing costs? Dr. Smith stated that it is being considered and we are currently not paying for AP tests anymore o Partially grant funded employees - If an employee is funded with 100% grant money, they can only focus on the Title I buildings, whereas if they are partially paid by district funds, they can lend support to other buildings as well.
Mrs. Moyer had the following questions/comments:
o If there is a reduction in Reading Specialists, who would we not be able to serve?
Dr. Smith stated that when ELA was adopted, we moved into the Literacy Specialist model to support the teachers as well. Depending on the numbers that would be reduced, the bar for the students identified would need to come down.
o What would a partial reduction of activities and sports look like? Would each building decide on their own or would it be district wide? Mrs. McDowell stated that the Elementary buildings receive a minimum of 8 club stipends. The teachers propose their clubs to the principal and they in turn select how those stipends get used. Dr. Smith stated that the board members will receive a list of clubs in each school with the number of students participating. o If the district were to implement a fee for summer school transportation, would there be a fee waiver in place as well? Mr. Max stated that this would be put in place.
o If Professional Development times get reduced, it would limit the amount of time that groups can come together and potentially participation, if it is held after school.
o What does it mean to reduce Special Education staffing based on program reviews? Mrs. Volpe stated that one of the department goals is to do a comprehensive review of all special education programs as well as evaluating how they are staffed.
Mrs. Doyle had the following questions/comments:
o Mrs. Doyle stated that while building and district administration has taken a pay freeze for the last 2 years, she feels that potentially each department could eliminate one support staff position. What might that look like?
o A list of clubs and sports from each school
o Cost per sport o When Grant money is used to pay staff, do we receive additional funds or does that take away from something else we could purchase? Dr. Smith stated that it is a reallocation of Grant money.
o Dollars that are spent on testing – can that perhaps be reduced or is all that data really needed? The board will be given an overview of the various assessments and their cost.
o Has the district explored offering Drivers Education from an outside source? Mr. Max stated that the policy changed at the State level with SB1947, the outside organizations would still need drivers that are ISBE certified and many of them don’t have that. So far we have not found anything that would be a good option.
o Mrs. Doyle requested the cost of the High School Activity buses
o Junior High Electives – Mrs. Lueders stated that it would be an option to reduce electives and have a study hall in their place. Mrs. Doyle requested a dollar amount for that change.
o Concept to reduce one period at the High School level – Is this comparable with other districts to have six classes and a study hall/lunch? Mr. Max stated that some districts have 7 period days and some have 8. He can provide the board with some examples of what the schools can offer as well as a list of schools that limits the number of courses a student can take to six versus seven. By State Law students have to receive instruction for 300 minutes per school day, therefore the periods would need to be longer.
o Mrs. Doyle requested a listing of how many hours teachers are out of their classroom for committee meetings and the associated cost for substitutes (Professional Development and any Committee work).
o If fees for extra-curricular sports would be raised, Mrs. Doyle would like to see a solid plan to make sure a student is not excluded from sports because of the lack of ability to pay the fee.
Mr. Bauman had the following questions/comments:
o A recommendation of what a good balance of TA’s would look like? o The cost for Online Learning and Dual Credit offerings? Mr. Max stated that the only additional cost for dual credit is a stipend for the teachers.
o The Drivers Ed fee of $400 would still be a little less then an outside organization would charge.
o What are the funds used for that are allocated to each building every year? Student supplies, classroom supplies, copy paper, postage etc.
Mr. Ploger had the following questions/comments:
o What process was used to gather input from building principals? Mrs. McDowell stated that at each level of the Principal’s meetings, the Cabinet presented the budget reductions as well as the list presented tonight, allowing feedback and/or additional suggestions. Every building principal in the district was consulted. Dr. Sparlin had some conversations with the OEA as well. They do understand our financial situation.
o In regards to Junior High Sports, the transportation piece is the largest portion.
Did we look into reducing the B squad and asking schools to play at our locations to reduce transportation costs? There are districts at the Junior High level that just play each other.
Mr. Banks had the following questions/comments:
o Are there any opportunities besides Swimming and Hockey where we could establish a co-op between the two High Schools? o Students pay a fee for the bowling course and the district pays the transportation only.
o If we were to sell Old Traughber, how would that impact the budget? Mr. Dada stated that it would just be a one-time addition to our fund balance and it would also eliminate the operating costs for the building.
Mr. Banks thanked the administration for getting all the information together for tonight’s meeting. Mr. Banks asked the administration to provide the additional information requested in tonight’s meeting as soon as possible. The majority of the board members were in agreement to look at reducing eight to ten million from the budget. Mr. Banks stated that the board would continue to discuss and take a straw poll vote on each line item. The board members will be visiting the PTO meetings over the next 2 month in order to inform the community. Mrs. Moyer stated that she would like to hold a Public Forum before a final decision is made. The complete presentation for the Budget Reduction plan including the audio recording can be found at the following link: http://www.boarddocs.com/il/oswego308/Board.nsf/Public
9. Action Items
9.1 Approval of COTG Copier Lease Agreement
A motion was made by Mr. Jared Ploger, second by Ms. Toni Morgan, to approve the COTG Copier Service Agreement Extension and new Lease as presented
Final Resolution: Motion Carried 7-0
Aye: Mr. Brad Banks, Mr. Matt Bauman, Mrs. Lauri Doyle, Mr. Brent Lightfoot, Ms. Toni Morgan, Mrs. Heather Moyer, Mr. Jared Ploger
9.2 Approval of Personnel Report
A motion was made by Mr. Jared Ploger, second by Ms. Toni Morgan, to approve the Personnel report
Final Resolution: Motion Carried 7-0
Aye: Mr. Brad Banks, Mr. Matt Bauman, Mrs. Lauri Doyle, Mr. Brent Lightfoot, Ms. Toni Morgan, Mrs. Heather Moyer, Mr. Jared Ploger
10. Adjournment
10.1 Adjourn
A motion was made by Mr. Jared Ploger, second by Mr. Matt Bauman, to adjourn.
All were in favor unanimously to adjourn.
Final Resolution: Motion Carried 7-0
Aye: Mr. Brad Banks, Mr. Matt Bauman, Mrs. Lauri Doyle, Mr. Brent Lightfoot, Ms. Toni Morgan, Mrs. Heather Moyer, Mr. Jared Ploger
Meeting Adjourned at 10:11 p.m.
https://www.sd308.org/site/handlers/filedownload.ashx?moduleinstanceid=9932&dataid=44916&FileName=11.27.17%20Board%20Meeting%20Minutes.pdf
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